August 30th Update

Well, chemo treatments 3 and 4 went really well. Peyton was really sick on the day of the 3rd treatment, August 20th. We all had some sort of stomach bug I think. It passed through all of us. He was throwing up and he just felt miserable. If we all hadn't had the same thing he did, I might have been worried about it being from the chemo. After about 24 hours we all started feeling a bit better. Thank goodness! No fun when you all get sick!! No complaints after that from Peyton.
This past Friday, August 27th, was successful too. He did really great and hasn't had any problems.
He's started preschool and loves that! I'm so excited to see how happy he is on those days! Those teachers at Trinity are AMAZING!!! He loves you all.....
We are so very excited to be able to spend the next two weekends at home without having to travel to Denver! Yay! We stopped at Kohls for a little "back to school shopping" on Saturday. When asked how he was doing by the young female clerk Peyton responded, "Good! I don't have to have my chemo for 2 weeks!" She was speechless and didn't really know what to say. I explained to her that yes he receives chemo once a week in Denver and he's really excited to get to stay home for awhile. Seemed simple enough to me!! She didn't really know what to say to that. I guess you don't have too many 4 year olds saying they are just glad to stay home and not have go through a chemotherapy treatment!! He's such a big boy and really handles this all so well.
One of the nurses at the hospital asked him what his little brother's name was. Peyton said, "That's Wandon! He's a trooper!"
We all laughed......I think they are both troopers!!! I guess we've said that a time or two! Out of the mouths of babes, right??

August 19th

Tomorrow is chemo treatment number three for Peyton. This week wasn't bad by any means, but I did notice a few changes in Peyton. He was off the nausea medicine for a couple of days but we had to put him back on due stomachaches. He didn't throw up, but just complained of his stomach hurting. His color was also a bit more pale this week and he had dark circles under his eyes. This wasn't constant, but it did correlate to him saying he wasn't feeling too good. Honestly, his energy level and overall well-being is great! I'm thankful for that! I just hope he continues to stay strong.
The last couple of days have been difficult as I've returned to work. I missed my boys sooo much today!! However, Peyton is excited to start back to preschool next week, and I'm so happy he has that to look forward to!!
I'll update after tomorrow's treatment. Off to bed I go......

August 13th- Chemo and Audiologist Appts..

Friday's appointments went great, just a long day. We were at Children's Hospital for 7 hours. Peyton did his chemotherapy first and then we met with an audiologist. Peyton passed his hearing test and the doctor said he could hear even the highest of pitches. That's good news! The doctor said she treats several kids who have experienced permanent hearing loss from chemotherapy and doesn't want this to be the case for Peyton. There are no guarantees though, so we'll have to monitor this on a very regular basis. She suggested we do the hearing tests on our weeks off from chemo (Peyton has 4 weeks of chemo on Fridays and then two weeks off) but we explained how far it is to drive to Denver, and how we will very much enjoy those 2 weeks off! We agreed to do the tests on the same day as his chemo treatments. We both know these will be long days for him, but it's better than driving back up there during one of those weeks off each month! Not sure how frequently he'll be tested. The doctor wanted time to consult with the oncologist first and then they'll let us know.
Peyton feels great! He said his stomach was hurting last night, but it was time for his nausea medication. No complaints after taking that...thank goodness! He seems to be doing well this morning. We are headed to the park soon! So far so good.....
He's very excited to get back into preschool and I'm excited for him! He loves preschool and being around the other kids! I just can't believe it's that time already. :)

August 12th

Back we go to Denver tomorrow for Peyton's 2nd chemo treatment. He had no side effects with the first round and we are thankful for that. We will continue to hope this is how it goes each week. Peyton will also see an audiologist tomorrow to get a hearing test. One side effect of chemo is hearing loss. The doctors will monitor this on a regular basis to make sure this isn't the case for him. Hopefully all will go well tomorrow.

I've been going back to my classroom a little bit this week. I can't believe it's time for school to start. It's hard to actually talk to people in person about all this; I find I am much stronger over the phone or by email/text messages. I do find comfort and strength in my coworkers though, and appreciate all of their kindness and support.
I'll update tomorrow.

1st Day of Chemotherapy

Today Peyton had his first chemotherapy treatment. He did so great! What a brave boy he has been over the last few days. We are so proud to be his parents! His attitude through everything has been amazing; even when he's tired and "just wants to go home." He didn't have any side effects today. However, he could still have symptoms over the next few days. Doctors did give him nausea medicine for his stomach just in case he experienced any discomfort, but so far he's done great! Doctors did inform us that even if he does fine with this week's treatment that's really no indication of how next week's treatment will go. Each week could be different. He might not have symptoms this time around but could the next. Darn!! I guess we'll take each week as they come and pray for him to just bounce back each time. Hopefully the medicine will do what it's supposed to do and this won't be a huge issue for him.

Peyton didn't complain at all today about his incision where they placed the port. The only time he even gave it much attention was when the nurse ask him to raise his arms up high and he realized he couldn't do that with his left arm very easily; he felt a little tugging on the inision I'm sure. I saw him squint just a bit, but that was all. What a big boy....

We are so very excited to be heading back home tomorrow. We've been in Denver since Friday. Can't wait to return to normal life for a few days. We don't have to be back until the 13th. Our schedule is 4 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Meaning Peyton will receive treatment once a week, for 4 weeks ,and then he'll have 2 weeks off with no treatment. This will continue for the next year.

Day 1

So today was the first day of a year long journey we are about to embark upon. Today Peyton had the mediport put in so that he can receive the chemotherapy each week. We arrived at the hospital at our scheduled time of 10:15 am. Surgery was scheduled for 12:00 but was delayed about an hour. By 1:00pm Peyton was very tired and hungry; he hadn't had anything to eat at that point in 15 hours. We were beginning to get a little anxious but shortly after 1:00 they came to get him. I was able to go in with him until he was completely asleep and then I left to wait with Charlie and Landon. The surgery took a little over an hour and then we moved into the recovery room with him. Everything seems to have went well. It was just a really long day. All total we ended up being there for 9 hours. The doctors, nurses and staff at Children's Hospital are sooo amazing! They take such great care of kids....
Tomorrow will be Peyton's first round of chemo. It will start at 1:00 and should last about 3 hours doctors say. I'm glad today is over.......we will all probably sleep well tonight.

Update

On Monday, Peyton will be getting a Implantable Vascular Access Port, or Mediport
device implanted under his skin so that medications (in his case chemotherapy treatments) may be delivered directly into his blood system. On Tuesday, he will receive his first chemotherapy treatment. We know he will continue to be the big spirited little boy we have all come to know and love. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

If you are interested in attending a benefit dinner and silent Auction to help raise money for Peyton's medical fund, please read previous blogs.

Thank you.