You see the sweet little boy in the picture above? That is Titus, my hero, bringing cookies to his doctor and his nurses this last Friday (thank you Grandma Lisa for finding the perfect distractions and giving him something fun to do and think about while at clinic!). Since my last update on Titus we have experienced some new highs and lows.The highest was the birth of Titus’ little sister, Aurora Marie! She fits her name now that she is over a month old: always asleep,except when she’s hungry!
The more recent lows have been Titus’ latest month of treatment. This included the steroid from hell, Dexamethasone. While the steroid works alongside his chemo, and is technically chemo itself, fighting off cancer cells…it also wreaks havoc on Titus’ emotions and appetite. He is miserable while on it, and is a completely different child. Thankfully he finished this segment over a week ago and is finally returning to his old self, except for the bloating that will continue to go down over time. Titus also finally began losing his hair a couple of weeks ago. It had been thinning for awhile, but recently it literally started falling out in chunks, so he got a buzz - he is almost completely bald.
The hair loss caused his scalp to be sensitive at first, so he began to wear a winter cap because his “hair hurt” as he put it. I have to say, he is pretty darn cute walking around the house in a ski cap while it is over 100 degrees outside!
Titus has just finished the first half of Delayed Intensification 2, and will begin the second half this Friday if his ANC is above 750. He was scheduled to begin last Friday, but his ANC was only 320, up from 290 the previous Friday. (Read my posts Counts, Treatment Map, and Medication List, for additional info.) So this Friday, if his ANC is up, Titus will have another lumbar puncture with intrathecal Methotrexate. He will also receive a chemo called Cytoxan, which is given over 30 minutes to an hour via his port. He will get IV fluids for 3 hours before and 4 hours after (if I remember correctly), because this drug can cause irritation and bleeding of the kidneys and bladder if it is not flushed out quickly. He will also start a chemo that he gets via his port at clinic, and then as a shot at home for the following 3 days, as well as a chemo by mouth.
My son is being bombarded by chemotherapy, literal poison, pumping through his veins, killing necessary cells along with the cancer cells. While he needs chemo in order to kill the cancer cells, the chemo is so destructive and scary. He is currently severely neutropenic, meaning his immune system couldn’t fight off the smallest bug. A bug/germ that would give you or I the sniffles for a few days could potentially kill my son. I pray constantly for protection for him because I know that while we are doing all we can to protect him from germs and treat his cancer, it is ultimately out of our control. If I wasn’t a believer, I guarantee I would have worried myself to death by now.
Now to answer the question that everyone asks: “How are you? How is Titus?”
Truthfully?
My son has cancer. There really isn’t any other way to answer that. Unless you have been where I am, there is no way to explain “how we are”. What I can say is this: thank you to those who pray unceasingly for him and us; Thank you to those who have given of their time and resources to assist and bless my family; And please, keep praying for my son. He has so much life to live, and I am going to do everything in my power to see that he does just that.
