End of Induction

The last couple weeks have been somewhat challenging and fatiguing. Towards the final days of his steriod regimen, Casper started to experience some severe side-effects. In addition to the freaky amount of weight gain (see pics), he also lost the ability to balance and stand up. Additionally, the drugs severely altered his personality, and we felt as if we were witnessing him morph into a completely untamed wild animal in front of our eyes. During the past few days of the 'roids he spent literally all day and all night growling and crying (in-between mouthfuls of macaroni and cheese). Any attempt by us to soothe him was predictably returned with a swipe and a "Go Away," or a "I don't like...". He was very upset and in chronic pain, and Spencer and I felt quite helpless in our efforts to comfort him. We were able to keep him well fed though, Spencer spent a couple weeks on the couch downstairs primed to respond to Casper's requests for food throughout the night.

Thursday the 25th of March marked the last day of Induction, which also meant the last day of steriods (at least for the time being). Casper went into the hospital and had another bone marrow aspirate, lumbar puncture and the picc-line in his arm was replaced with a "port." The results from these tests are a crucial factor in predicting how he should (in theory) respond to treatment, and in determining which protocal in the treatment "road map" he will be taking.

We received the results back from these tests this past Tuesday, and we were cautiously optimistic to learn that Casper has continued to respond very well to treatment, and that he is officially termed "in remission" at this time :0). His treatment protocol at this point should be the most benign, toxicity-wise, of the four arms on the map, but as with all the protocals it will remain a three-year program.

It's amazing to see the resiliency of youth. Within a day of being off the steriods, the storm cloud above Casper's head subsided and the rate at which the transformation took place was astonishing. The past few days have felt surreal, it has really been therapeutic to see him smiling, laughing and cuddling, and all of us have felt emotionally re-charged by the return of his quirkly little personality. Unfortunately, Casper still hasn't gained back the use of his legs yet. The doctors are confident that this is a side effect of both the steriods combined with one of the chemotherapy drugs, Vincristine. He still has one more dose of Vincristine so this may not change for a while, but the good news is at least he's deflating, so carrying him around is not quite so crippling!