Noah's New Treatment

We have made it through Noah’s first new treatment. We arrived at the hospital this morning by 8:45 and were in at the clinic before 9.  Noah had a very good attitude in the waiting room. Jessica did a great job explaining what was going to happen today last night to Noah before he went to bed. When it came time for his port to be accessed, he did it like a champ – not even a whimper. We were able to stay in one of the exam rooms for the entire time of the treatment. Noah only received 1 chemo drug and one tumor starving therapy treatment today. Before these drugs they gave him Zofran for nausea and Imodium for diarrhea. So far they have worked. While the machine was pushing the drugs in, Noah was able to play in the floor with a few toys, take a nap and play with the ipad. The only side effect we have seen so far is that he made sounds and gestures that he had a bad taste in his mouth, which is common in chemo, and he wouldn’t eat dinner.  Jess bought him an m&m cookie and he wouldn’t even eat it. I hope we can make it through the next few days without him throwing up. That would be great.
 
His doctor is confident that he will not become neutropenic. He will only have his blood checked once next week, and that is a blessing. His treatments will be every two weeks. We should be on our way home as soon as they are in his system. This new way of treatment is a relief to Jessica and I and especially Noah. We have grown accustomed to being home in the last few weeks. I am glad that isn’t going to change (hopefully).
 
In four days it will mark the one-year anniversary of when we first heard the horrible news about Noah’s condition. It seems like a lifetime ago and it seems like yesterday all in the same thought. So much has happened in his life in the last year. He has been such a champ through it all. I can still remember the day in 1997 when God put it in my heart that I would have a son and that his name should be Noah. The moment Jessica told me she was pregnant I knew it would be a boy. I know that his life, like all of ours, has purpose. He will be a righteous man in an unrighteous generation – that is why I feel like we were to name him Noah. To some I bet that sounds weird or flakey, but it is my reality. I have questioned so much in the last 12 months. I have given into doubt at times and have been angry at God as well. But through it all there has been so much evidence that God's hand is on his life. I can’t explain it all, and don’t want to try, but I know that Noah’s life is in God’s hands and so far He has decided to keep him here. I hope he decides to keep him here for a long, long time.
Please keep him in your prayers. Please specifically pray that this treatment would finish the battle with cancer and that Noah would suffer no long-term effects for the rest of His life.
We take the blessings we have in this life for granted until we are threatened with the possibility of losing them. Hug your children and kiss them goodnight. Make time to spend with them. Take advantage of the time you have now and don’t wait. You aren’t promised and have no guarantee that your loved one will be here tomorrow. Carpe Diem!