First, as some of you may already know, in a few days Casper’s Uncle Louis and Aunt Jaye are departing for Hawaii. But Louis and relaxation are a bit of an odd couple, and he has more than a little masochism in him, so it comes as no surprise that he has decided to dedicate one of his precious vacation days in Hawaii (that might otherwise be spent re-enacting a Corona beer commercial) to riding his bike up the grueling Haleakala Highway in Maui…in honor of Casper. Wow! There is now a link to his blog page on the links page, or you can find it at http://www.climbforcasper.blogspot.com. Please check it out. Thanks Uncle Louis!!!
Next, to get everyone up to date on Casper, he ended up getting admitted to the hospital again just after Janet left for England. After two weeks it became obvious that Casper did not agree with the cytarabine we were administering to him through his port at home. We were supposed to give it to him, in two separate rounds, for four consecutive days a week over a two week period. But he landed in the hospital each round after receiving only his first dose at home. He developed really high fevers both times, lost his appetite and generally didn’t feel well. The skin issue became much more severe the second time around. A bright red rash broke out all over his body and we were put in isolation for several days while the doctors ruled out the possibility of it being contagious. Thank God Maria’s friend Izzy was in town visiting so there was someone to take care of Amelie, feed the dogs and smuggle wine into us at night while we waited out the storm at the hospital. Izzy is awesome, period.
After we got past the two cytarabine rounds, things became somewhat more civilized and less surreal. Casper began to physically recuperate after getting absolutely hammered during Re-Intensification. His hair is on the rebound, he is finally back to his original energy level and that great sense of humor is definitely 100% back. Maria’s mom returned from a trip to Europe and came up for a visit and to help with the kids, and Maria's dad and brother Andy also made the trip to Portland to see everyone and lend a hand in helping us regroup. Casper absolutely loved seeing them.
The transition from Re-Intensification to Maintenance was fairly painless as well, except it was delayed by a week because on Casper’s scheduled start date his blood counts weren’t back up yet. But yes, CASPER IS NOW OFFICIALLY IN MAINTENANCE – HALLELUJAH! We even have a treatment end date: May 10, 2013. That may seem far off at this point but at least it is a date certain we can mark on the calendar, as long as Casper remains in remission (knock on wood). While he will continue to receive medication daily at home, Casper’s hospital visits will become less frequent. He was even able to begin going back to nursery school last week.
One final note, we celebrated Casper’s third birthday last week. We stuck candles in a Boston Cream Pie and had a mini-party with Mae Mae (Casper’s original homie) and her mom Erin at our house. Erin and her husband Jason also provided much needed Amelie coverage during the second hospitalization (thank you!!). Casper’s birthday was bookended by quick visits by Spencer’s sister Marian before and his brother Louis after. Birthday gifts generally fell into two categories: train stuff and race car stuff, and there were waaaaaay too many of them for his own good. Still, it was a very happy birthday week.
Thanks to everyone for their continued heartfelt generosity, well wishes, love and support. Please don't stop sending the positive thoughts our way, we can't tell you how much it means to us!**
**Another post hammered out by Dada, who in posting agreed to indemnify, defend, save and hold harmless Mama, her officers, agents and employees, from any and all potential claims, suits or actions arising out of the post.
