Another Update! :-)

On Friday we arrived at clinic early without allowing Forester to eat as is required to test his cortisol level. Testing his cortisol is  a simple blood test and it was added to the rest of his routine blood labs that were ordered. After they took his blood he was able to eat so we went downstairs, & brought up some food for Forester to eat in the clinic.  He proceeded to eat some eggs, grits, a biscuit, bacon and a pack of Nekot peanut butter crackers!  Now, before you go gettin' yourself all excited there is a bit of information I neglected to to tell you in my last post. About 2 weeks ago when Forester was barely eating, Pete & I decided to start giving him Megace again. This is an appetite stimulant that he has been given over the last year and a half when his weight has gotten too low. This stuff works but tastes disgusting. Anyway, we only had a little bit left so he received about 5 days worth. We called the clinic to ask them to call in a refill and they kinda freaked on us and said no. We were told that Megace is only to be used during chemo treatment and he can't have it anymore.  It turns out this drug can have some substantial side effects and it shouldn't be given unless absolutely necessary. Also, since Forester has been off of treatment for 3 months now they want to know why this is happening - not just treat the symptoms but find the root.  But, like I said this stuff works. For the last week or so Forester has been eating a block of cheese a day. I am not exaggerating. A BLOCK of cheese a day & snacking on other things throughout the day. Major improvement. But, I think we shot ourselves in the foot because at clinic they raved that Forester's weight was up 2.2lbs and rejoiced in watching him devour that breakfast! I kept mentioning that these things were related to the Megace but I'm not sure they heard me....but oh well.  The cortisol level came back not just normal but "great" and all of his other blood counts looked really good as well. For the 1st time in 18 months Forester's red blood cell count was at 11 (normal)! HAPPY!  I guess this means we're back at square one with the appetite stuff once the Megace effect wears off but I am thankful that his cortisol is normal and that his body is doing what it is supposed to be doing. Our new regimen will be Zofran & Zantac in the morning & Prevacid and Zyrtec at night.  Forester's blood labs did indicate seasonal allergies & that can contribute to stomach upset sometimes. So that's where we are on that.

Yesterday was MRI day and our little man did great. He was so patient as the wait was long and boring as usual. Not one complaint! Sedation and wake up went fine and then he headed back to school.  Seems so weird to have your child under general anesthesia in the morning and then studying at school in the afternoon, but I digress... We received a call today that the scan looks "fantastic" and we will talk about scheduling the port removal surgery at his next check up in October. WOW. We are thrilled beyond words!!! Thank you so so much for your thoughts and prayers for us.  We are so thankful for you and your love for our family.  And a huge thank you to some of God's angels here on earth, Staci McLain, Mary VonRosenberg, & John Fortney who helped in big ways yesterday so Pete & I could both be with Forester & hear news about the scans right away. God bless you!!

In other fun news, on October 1st Forester & our family will be attending another Braves game! Coach Glenn Hubbard asked Forester to come back and once again enjoy batting practice & some other fun stuff now that he is feeling well enough to really enjoy it. This man has been amazing to us and has such a servant's heart. Forester can't wait and neither can we!

Thank you again for your prayers and as always we'll keep you posted.
Love,
Whitney