Wednesday, March 9, 2011

This past week

On March 1st, Joel had chemo and a check up from his doctor.  Dr. D took one look at Joel's hair, laughed wickedly and told him he would soon take care of all the new growth.  Should we be afraid?  He also gave Joel the okay to come home so Joel and Grant drove home on Wednesday.   On Thursday he went to youth and saw all his friends.  On Monday he enjoyed the sunshine and a good book.
Tuesday was chemo at the hospital in Vernon.  Just vincristine so it was nice and quick.  Blood counts are staying about the same as last week so he didn't need any transfusions.  He is supposed to start the next set of chemo in Vancouver on March 15th so he will have to have blood work done again on Friday to see if his ANC counts have come up yet.

Joel has been getting some homework done.  He has also spent some time looking through some old pictures.  We have discovered the secret to why he is coping with the leukemia and his treatments so well.
First of all, he rarely had a room of his own.  First he had to share a room with this one.  She kicked out several of his teeth.  She also held him in a headlock while she yanked out others.  She would eat all of her ice cream and then she would eat his.  She would wake him up first thing in the morning by ripping off his covers.  She would rescue any stray animal that she could and hide them in her room…. hedgehogs, baby birds, mice.

Then he had to share a room with these two.  They would hide rubber snakes and spiders in his bed. When he did get his own room, it was also the guest room so whenever anyone came to visit he would be kicked out of his room.  People usually came to visit in the summer so he would move outside into a tent.  There the mosquitos would poke him and take half his blood…. not unlike what the nurses do now.
He was stuck with this one as his mother.  In a futile attempt to keep his weight up, I have been cooking all of his favourite foods…. fruit perogies, apple pie, lasagna, chicken fried steak.  Now he is nauseated at the mention of any of them.
But Joel was not all innocent either.  He built up his strength by holding his older cousin by the ankles, headfirst into the outhouse.  He also hid rubber snakes in his uncles bed.  He lit fires in the back forty and chased bears on the quad.  This boy is fearless…. except for when it comes to his mama cooking his favourite foods.

4 comments:

  1. Bwahaha! Those pictures made me laugh out loud. Your kids are so funny!
    It must be nice to have your whole family home for a while :)

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  2. LOL - holding his cousin by the ankles into the outhouse?? he sure did!!! haha i remember that summer. good times.

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  4. Love it! I can think of another reason Joel is doing so well ..

    Proverbs 17:22a "A joyful heart is good medicine ..."

    Keep smilin' you guys! :-)

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