Chemo 5

​This picture is of Noah's last dinner before the chemo...he loves turkey and corn on the cob, so we had a Lawler's feast. I expect his appetite to dwindle as early as tonight. We are currently in Birmingham for his 5th treatment (of 6 scheduled) and should be here through mid-day Friday. The past week has been a great one. Noah's blood counts were pretty good, so we were able to get out of the house and even do some grocery shopping with him. He played outside when the weather permitted, and visited with his cousins for a day; he hasn't seen them since December, due to low white cell counts and sickness. Things were almost as good as "normal" so going into this treatment has been hard, knowing his health will begin to decline pretty much immediately and I will be back in hyper-sensitive keep-my-son-safe-mode! So keep praying for us please, especially for John as my patience decreases and my nervousness is on the rise, due to Noah's impending neutropenia and potential for infection. 
On a better note, we were able to meet up with a couple of families we've met through Children's that are going through all too similar experiences. It's unfortunate, but at the same time good to have friends to talk with that have "been through it" already, or are going through it with us. There is an instant connection, especially for me, with a mom who can look at me and not have to say anything, and her eyes speak to me, "I know." There is level of comfort in that; I hate it that there are others struggling through this same situation...but at the same time I'm thankful for their friendship and help. 
Right now Noah is getting his first chemo drug...the one that requires his blood pressure to be monitored during the entire drip (2 hours or so) and he is NOT enjoying being hooked up to two lines at once! This drug also will begin to make him nauseated, so please also pray against nausea and vomiting for him. He will have one more chemo drug tonight, two more tomorrow, and an antibiotic on Friday morning before we leave.  
It is dinner time, so I'm going to close for tonight. The pictures above are from last week...good times. Thank you guys for everything and much love!

---