Round 4 of Chemo Begins - in Amarillo

We drove down to Amarillo again this morning to start Josh's 4th round of chemo. We had his blood drawn yesterday afternoon, and his platelets and hemoglobin were up, but this morning they told us that his ANC's (Absolute Neutrophil Count) is low.

They said they will go ahead with chemo as there is a risk of relapse if we delay chemo much longer, which after talking to the oncologist is more of a concern then not having his ANC's not recovering.

Josh did gain another pound from last week, so he is up to 110. He is negotiating with the nurses to try and get out for lunch, after his lumbar puncture and before they start chemo this evening, but the doctor is concerned about his ANC's (and wether he will come back for chemo). He is also trying to negotiate to have as many of the unpleasant things (like dressing changes) to occur while he is under anesthesia.

His spirits are good (although he didn't sleep well - was up numerous times during the night) and he has been entertaining the nurses and doctors. They did his lumbar puncture and will start his chemo this after noon.

For all of you that have had an ultra sound, Josh knows how fun it can be to have all of the gel smeared on you. They did an echocardiogram to check his heart function (which he barely tolerates) although it is cool to watch his heart moving. We will update you with all of the results later.

He is always funny, but even more so when under anesthesia. You'll have to ask him if you can see the video.

Thank you for your continued prayers.