Week 8

We had a nice visit last week from Grandpa. I think Zachary may have started a trend. ( See Grandpa's Haircut) The kids had a great time on Christmas Day , receiving everything they asked for including Guitar Hero and a trampolene.

Zachary is doing well and eating a little better. We had hoped that he would have eaten better during this time, but he is feeling well and is very active. He still has a couple of weeks off so we'll see if he can gain a little weight.

Week 7

Friday was the last day of radiation and the last day of this phae. We will miss everyone at Jackson who have made Zachary feel so comfortable. On Friday, Santa came early and the staff at Jackson sang a Christmas carol for Zachary and then gave him an abundance of gifts. I can never thank them enough for the love and care they showed Zachary. The end could not have come soon enough as Zachary appetite is at it's lowest point. We will use this time off to try to get some weight on him before the beginning of the next stage. Here are some pictures of Zachary at the Heat game (Thanks to the Jackson staff) and at the football game this weekend.

Week 6

As of Friday we have completed six weeks of treatment. This should be the last week of this phase with 5 radiation sessions and 1 chemo treatment this week. His weight was a little down and so was his blood work. We are still within the parameters where they will continue to treat him without the need for transfusion. His appetite is at its lowest and getting him to eat has been a struggle. With 4 days left we see the finish line. We expect his appetite, blood counts and weight to improve substantially during his 4 weeks off. Apart from the occasional nap Zachary is still very upbeat and energetic. Here as some pics of Zachary playing in Erica's room with the Wii.

Week 5 Thanksgiving Week

This was a short week for Zachary. He had his fourth chemo treatment this week along with only 3 radiation treatments. He did lose a little weight this week but his blood count improved which is great. Luckily we only have 2 chemo treatments and 12 radiation treatments left in this phase.

With this being Thanksgiving week, it is a time for reflection and a time to appreciate all that we really have.
We give thanks for:
Having our wonderful children who mean the world to us, our family and friends that have always been there for us, our co-workers and employers which have facilitated us in every way possible, our church and community which have flooded us with kindness, and the special people that have taken care of our little boy as if he was there own.
Basically, we want to thank everyone for everything you've done. We couldn't have done this without everyone's support.

Week 4

We have now completed 3 weeks of radiation and 3 weeks of chemo. This marks the halfway point of the first stage. Zachary is doing well. In the last two days the radiation treatment has started to catch up to him and he is starting to lose some of his energy. A good nap usually helps with that. He still isn't eating as much as we need him to, but, we did have a couple of good days where he ate well and he was able to maintain his weight this week. Blood counts were slightly lower than last week but they have not reached a critical level yet and the doctors are optimistic that they will recover a bit. Zachary did have a great weekend at his school fair were he was able to see some of his friends. One picture is Zachary at the fair and the other is a picture of Zachary getting ready for his daily visit to Jackson.

Haircut Day

One of the side effects we have been expecting was hair loss. This week it finally began to fall and quickly. By Friday I expect that he wouldn't have had much left. Knowing this was coming we planned on cutting my hair off at the same time. As you can see, this was a family affair with Natalie and my father joining in on the hair cutting. Enjoy the pictures. By the way, I know Zachary looks better than me without hair.

Week 3

Well, we've completed two weeks of radiation and Zac has taken his second chemo dose. The chemo has had some side effects on Zac, including a sore jaw and sensitive teeth that kept him up at night . Luckily these symptoms only appeared for a couple of days. We'll see how this week goes. Zac is still losing weight and does not have much of an appetite. They have given us some medications to try to boost his appetite. We'll see how well they will work.
His blood work results have declined a little bit and we are keeping a close eye on these things. Apart from all of this, Zachary is upbeat. He is laughing and playing and being his normal mischievous self. Here he is playing his favorite game online, Toontown.

Week 2

Zachary has completed 1 week of radiation and has also started the chemotherapy. So far so good. Zac's appetite has been affected and this is evident as he has lost 2 pounds this week. The good news is that his blood count is good. Today we started a new medicine for nausea which should help his appetite. His spirit is very upbeat. I included a picture of him about to receive his radiation therapy. He is incredible. He will lie there without moving for up to an hour. The doctor's have told us most kids his age need to be sedated for the procedures. Can you imagine how terrible it would be if he had to be sedated on a daily basis?

The First Week of Therapy

October 30, 2008

Zachary started his radiation treatment yesterday. He is feeling a little nausea . It is still too early to know what side effects he will have. At this point he is still very energetic and happy. Unfortunately the worst is still to come. He will have another radiation treatment tomorrow and then will rest the weekend before starting up again on Monday. The radiation therapy will last 6 weeks Monday through Friday. On this Wednesday coming up Zachary will also start his chemotherapy. This will be once a week on Wednesdays.

This is Zachary at Disney last weekend. We decided to take him before starting his treatment, he might not get a chance to go again for a while.