After the holiday weekend, we all went back to work and daycare.  I was at work for about 30 minutes when I got a call that Joey had starting vomiting.  I picked him up and he spent the day with his dad.  The next day, we spent some time visiting with the pediatrician and then went to see Dr. Rosen.  He got his Vincristine and spinal tap.  He was determined to be a big boy for the spinal and he was.  He didn't fight and he was really proud that he didn't shed a single tear even though it hurt.

On the way home, he fell asleep, so I put him in bed and let him sleep a few hours.  I checked on him and he felt really warm, so I checked his temp and it was 104.2.  He said his whole body hurt and he could barely keep his eyes open.  I paged Dr. Rosen who said that it can be a reaction to either the spinal or the chemo.  By the end of the night, his fever was gone and he felt better.  It turned out to be nothing much, but it scared me at the time.

This last week, Joey went to Camp Quality, a camp for cancer kids.  I just picked him up today, he was there from Sunday to today (Friday).  He had a complete blast.  He also became really close to another boy that we had met a few times before.  They were inseparable.  I have some pictures but will get more, and I'll post some later.

Katherine also got to go to camp this week, but she only stayed one night.  She went to a Girl Scout camp that she paid for with her cookie money.  She had a lot of fun, but I didn't get muc information from her and I didn't have a way to get pictures.

Independence Day 2011

Joey had been doing really well and not getting sick but then the week before the 4th of July weekend, we started having fevers.  On that Monday, it got up to over 103.  His new pediatrician and I didn't see eye to eye.  I wanted some tests and she wanted to wait it out, so that's what we did.  I told her that the last time he had a fever, it was a sinus infection, but she didn't want to x-ray him for that b/c she didn't see other signs.  By Tuesday the fever went went away but he didn't seem to feel well all week.  He was scheduled for a spinal, Vincristine, and steroids, but they were delayed due to the fever.

By Friday, we were packed up and ready to go to the lake for the weekend.  He had a double-header t-ball game, so we went, but he didn't feel like playing.  I decided to take him to Immediate Care and get the x-ray that I had wanted on Monday.  We got there, and he had a fever, a high heart rate, and moderately low oxygen.  They did the x-ray and his sinuses were full, which indicated an infection.  Because of the fever, Joey couldn't leave town, so he and I stayed home for the long weekend, just the 2 of us. 

I felt really bad for him to have to miss the trip, but we got to have some good one-on-one time together. We spent a lot of time at home, but also got to have some fun with friends and go swimming at the Y water park.

Jon and Katherine had a lot of fun with the family at the lake. Katherine rode on a ski trainer and Jon jumped off a 30-foot cliff.

 Jesse, Gentry, and Joey - All 3 are Leukemia fighters

 Swimming at the Y

Katherine at the lake on the EZ Ski

Disney World Vacation

My family has been talking about going to Disney World for the last few years.  When Joey got sick, we weren't sure if we'd still be able to go, but the doctor reassured us that we could go as long as he wasn't in the hospital.  We spent a week there and it was great.  Our kids got to fly for the first time, and they really loved the trip.

Joey is a Big Boy!

After 5 1/2 years of sucking his thumb, he finally decided that he was done.  We've tried for the last year to get him to stop but then started leaving him alone about it once he got sick.  We decided to try to help him stop again and he actually agreed with us that it was time.  It was hard for him for a few days, but then he was pretty much past it.  It's good because it drives me crazy to think about all the germ he puts in his mouth, but alittle sad because he's past that stage in his life.

He got to go shopping and pick out a special reward. He picked Buzz Lightyear.

Katherine's Baptism

On May22, Katherine was baptised at our church by her own daddy. 

Awana Awards

Joey usually goes to Cubbies at our church and he started this last year, but he was diagnosed the first week, so he missed most of the year.  However, he got to go for the last month and his Grandma helped him get caught up with his Bible verses enough to earn his award.

Katherine finished her 3rd and last year of Sparks and earned the Sparkie of the Year award.

I'm sorry that I've been so bad about updating the blog lately.  We've just been crazy busy, mostly with good things.  Joey has been doing really well and still taking his chemo every-other week with mostly no problems.  His labs have been dipping low, but they come back up. 

Tomorrow, we leave for our Disney World trip.  The kids are excited but don't know enough yet of what to expect.  They are very happy about getting to ride in an airplane for the first time.  Joey points them out to me all the time (he likes to argue with me that an airplane and a jet are two different things), and he's been begging to go in one.

I'll be better about updating this after our trip and I'll post pictures.  It's 2am now, and I better be off to bed.  Good night!