October 1999

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border-top:1px solid #393939; clear:both; display:none; width:100%!important; position:relative; z-index:999999!important; height:90px!important"> <div class="adCenterClass" style="display:block!important; overflow:hidden; width:916px;"> <div id="footerAd_container" style="display:block!important; float:left; width:728px"> <iframe id="lycosFooterAdiFrame" style="border:0; display:block; float:left; height:96px; overflow:hidden; padding:0; width:750px"></iframe> </div> </div> </div> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04400640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" ><B>Michael's Battle with Leukemia</b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </b></FONT><B>    |     </b><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michaels Battle with Leukemia"><U><B>home</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Me"><U>About Me</U></A>   |   <B>October 1999</b>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November"><U>November</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December"><U>December</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January 2000"><U>January 2000</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February"><U>February</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March"><U>March</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April"><U>April</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May"><U>May</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June"><U>June</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July"><U>July</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="August"><U>August</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September"><U>September</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="October"><U>October</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November"><U>November</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December"><U>December</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January 2001"><U>January 2001</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February"><U>February</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March "><U>March </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April"><U>April</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May"><U>May</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June"><U>June</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July End of Treatment"><U>July & End of Treatment</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1st Year off Treatment"><U>1st Year off Treatment</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Second Year Off Treatment"><U>Second Year Off Treatment</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photos"><U>Photos</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#0000BF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="063a2070.jpg" border=0 width="162" height="263" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></b></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>I am a brave warrior!</b></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>October 1999</I></div> <div> <B><U>October 2, </U></b></div> <bR> <div> It is now obvious to us that our summer is over and the colder weather is upon us. Most of Michael's play time is indoors now but that doesn't seem to affect his energy level any. He had his monthly appointment in Ottawa on this past Tuesday and everything is great. His blood counts are exactly where they want them and they are happy with his weight gain. He is now 18 kg... and he has also grown .5 cm. He had his IM mtx needle and also had his port-a-cath flushed. He is now trying to practice some relaxation techniques while he is getting his mtx needle as he is so scared even before they come near him with the needle. At least he counts now... while he deafens us! :o) We hope that soon he will be able to relax enough that it won't hurt him too much. He had a lot of fun playing with his little friend Jessica who is also going through the same treatment as him. At least they can chat about what they are going through. Funny Mike who is terrified of his needles... tells Jessica not to worry that it  doesn't hurt! He did this so that Jessica wouldn't be scared... what a little man! Michael is also back at school and thoroughly enjoying it too!</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>October 5th...</U></b></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Yesterday we went for blood work which went pretty well for Mike. He is more relaxed at our lab here in town than when he goes down to Cheo. I guess there was just too much that happened to him there. We got our blood test back today and it was a go ahead for chemo. </FONT><B>His wbc is 3.6, hgb is 117, platelets are 213, neutrophils are 1.7 and his monocytes are .20</b> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >~ Seeing that his neutrophils are above 1.0 he gets his flu needle. We should have put the emla cream on for the flu needle too as it hurt. But he has to have another one in the beginning of November so we will have to make sure that he has it on then. He wanted to watch his chemo needle (IM) today which I usually don't allow as he is already so afraid but he wanted to and said that he would be nice & still and wouldn't scream... well I am now deaf!! After it was over he said " I don't think I will watch next time because it scared me but it didn't hurt". You would never know it by the way he screamed, then he jumped off the table and went to pick out his stickers. He has quite the collection of stickers now and he says he is going to bring them into the class. Then he went off to collect his treats he gets from the receptionists... they really spoil him and he just loves it.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Next appointment: October 13th... Wednesday due to Monday being a holiday.</b></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="064736a0.gif" border=0 width="115" height="106" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></b></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>News Alert:</U></b></I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Arial" ><B> Mike has just informed me that he now has something else he wants to do concerning his wish. The wish foundation has granted his wish to go to Disney World in Feb. 2000 and now mike says...hey I want to fly the plane....hmmmm...do they have autopilot??</b></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <B>That should be real interesting eh? Imagine what he will tell his friends when he gets home.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>October 13th </U></b></div> <bR> <div> We are a little late with our blood work as Monday was Thanksgiving. Normally we would only have chemo delayed by a day but our doctor is on holidays this week and our nurse was so kind to come in and give Michael his chemo on her day off. Blood counts are good...<B> </b><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>wbc 3.5, hgb 122, neutrophils 1.6, platelets 201, and monocytes are .20</b></FONT></div> <div> Mike's chemo was at 1pm so I kept him home from school which did not go over well as he really loves going. He is very comfortable now with his nurse and the secretaries so at least that is good. But chemo is another thing. He is still scared and tries everything to avoid going but once we get up there he is pretty good. He was pleased with himself as he put on his snap pants and couldn't wait to show the nurse how his pants unsnapped :o) He is getting better at relaxing... he didn't scream much at all and he wiggled his toes and also looked at the ceiling and laughed. This is what little Jessica at Cheo told him to do... the fear is still too great but I am sure that we will overcome it and things will soon go smoother. Once it is over he rushes downstairs to see Joan, one of the secretaries to get his treat... anything to make it easier on him.</div> <div> We weighted Mike today and he now weighs 40 lbs... no wonder my back is getting sore!! He is full of energy and wearing the tread off of the wheels on his bike...</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>..... 92 more needles to go!</b></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>October 19th</U></b><B>...</b></div> <bR> <div> Another chemo day finished. Michael's blood counts were good. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>wbc 3.2, hgb 126, platelets 253, Neutropolys 1.3, and monocytes .20 </b></FONT>He was very stressed today. It was not easy to get him to the doctors office as he is still very scared but the relaxation techniques are working as he says the fear is more than the pain of the needle. He of course got some more smarties from Joan which he looks forward to. He is now 41 lbs. and 44 inches tall. Once we got home he was off outside to play army man!! Takes after his dad!! :o)</div> <bR> <div> Our next visit is to Ottawa where he gets vincristine, IM mtx, LP and starts prednisone. This Mike doesn't mind as he is sleeping when it is all done, then he wakes up ready to run again!!</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="066a40f0.jpg" border=0 width="420" height="271" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This years Cops for Cancer was dedicated to Michael.... Sept. 18th 1999.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0674fe30.jpg" border=0 width="335" height="227" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The 3 Musketeers and a Frog!!</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>October 26th</U></b></div> <bR> <div> Well our appointment today was very long. We got to Cheo at 9:30 am and never left until 4:00 pm.</div> <div> Michael did his blood work on his own (what a big boy) as we had an appointment to discuss his Neurophychological Assessment that he had done in July. This basically gives us a guideline on where Michael is going to have difficulties in school. In some areas he scored at the high end of the percentile and in others he scored low. Basically he is right on for his age but where he scored low in some areas the Doctor is recommending that he have speech and language therapy and also occupational therapy within the school setting. When he had his seizure on Feb. 1st of this year they did a MRI and they found no reason for the seizure but did find that he had mild atrophy of the brain. They cannot prove whether or not he was this way before the leukemia. Some kids have this and they don't have leukemia. So basically we are not to worry too much about that issue.</div> <div> He also saw the physiotherapist while we were there as he experienced some nerve damage due to the Vincristine that he receives. This is called Vincristine induced neuropathy. I do not have the results of that yet. So today he was given Vincristine, had methotrexate via Lumbar Puncture, Mtx IM (needle) and he also starts Prednisone tomorrow, which is the mood altering drug. His blood counts were as follows:<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>wbc 3.86, hgb 125, platelets 242, neutrophils 1.57, and monocytes .21 His ALT was 36</b></FONT></div> <div> He was only stressed out about having his port-a-cath accessed and once that was done he was fine. He doesn't mind the lumbar punctures because he is asleep. So today he didn't even feel the mtx needle. Michael continues to amaze everyone because once he woke up he was off and running (literally) like the energizer bunny we all know. We went to the ward floors to visit his nurses and he had hugs and kisses for all. He loves to go down there especially when there is nothing being done to him. So now we just have to wait and see if this dreaded vincristine knocks the feet out from under him!</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>October 27th</U></b><B>...</b></div> <bR> <div> We all sat here this morning listening for Michael to wake up as last vincristine he couldn't walk the next morning... Well.. we heard thump.. and pitter patter.. and he ran downstairs.. holding the railing of course! So pleased with himself that he could Walk! Tomorrow is another day... if nothing happens by Friday I assume he will not be affected by the vincristine...</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>October 29th</U></b><B>...</b></div> <bR> <div> Well I am happy to say that Michael woke up this again this morning full of energy and running everywhere he goes. He is so pleased with himself that he can still walk without any difficulties that he can't wait to show everyone. He will get this vincristine again on Tuesday so we will see what happens then. This is just great, we are so happy as he has come so far.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>