Monday 3/5/01 - Timothy's labwork Thursday was really good. He's been getting the injections and that helps his white blood count. His labwork today was lower for WBC and Hematocrit, but it is expected to drop after the last chemo. Still, counts are good enough that he doesn't need a transfusion. He will have more labwork done Thursday. Specific prayer request at this time would be for his Port A Cath. That is the area in his chest that is accessed with a needle to draw labs (blood), give chemo and other procedures. In the last month or two it has been more difficult to access, meaning Timothy has to get poked more than once to find the right spot and get the blood to draw. This causes a lot of anxiety for Timothy, the nurse and Ed and I as well. We appreciate your prayer. The needle can stay in Timothy for one week, so if he is going to have labs twice in one week, he chooses to leave the needle in rather than get accessed again. Timothy continues to show us his faith and strength in the Lord. Each night before his injection he asks for prayer. Love, Ginny
Thursday 3/8/01 - Timothy gets to stop his shots! His labs came back today and the WBC is good. His Magnesium is too low, even though he has been taking supplements, so tonight he is getting an IV for 4 hours which contains magnesium. The doctor wanted this monitored (blood pressure, temp. and such) so nurse Hazel is here with us. It was fun to have her for dinner and now she and Timothy are playing Monopoly. We were glad he did not have to go to the hospital for this. Thank you for your continued prayer. Love, Ginny
Tuesday 3/13/01 - Timothy had labwork done on Sunday. All of his counts are good and his magnesium is up. We are hoping with he supplements it will stay at a normal count now. Timothy asked what foods he could eat to help magnesium. We checked it out on the internet. There was a lot of information about how important this chemical is to the body. There were a few foods listed that he likes, including peanuts and artichoke. Timothy likes his peanuts "honey roasted" and his artichokes drenched in butter and mayo. This should add a few pounds! When we walked to the park Saturday, there were a couple of soccer tournaments going on. Timothy enjoyed watching the game and yelling for the teams. He misses soccer and is anxious to get back to playing some day. Love, Ginny
Friday 3/16/01 - Timothy's magnesium level and white count dropped. He'll take a couple more pills a day for the magnesium and we'll see if his count will come up. Timothy has felt good all week, but today he woke up nauseous and with his head hurting on the left side. He has been sick a couple of times and is unable as of yet to take his medicine. He may need extra hydration tomorrow if he doesn't get better. We're praying that he will. Timothy has more labwork scheduled for Sunday. Love, Ginny
Wednesday 3/20/01 - Timothy came home from the hospital today. The good news is, he's up to 83.5 lbs and his hearing test was great. The bad news is that this is the chemo that makes him really nauseaus. He's feeling pretty bad tonight. Timothy had the opportunity last week and this week to talk to two different newspapers about his illness. I hope the articles will be a source of encouragement to others going through a difficult time and also reflect his tremendous courage. Thank you for your continued prayer. Love, Ginny
Thursday 3/22/01 - Timothy has felt better today, but his lab work came back with his magnesium count low. We weren't too surprised because Timmy has had trouble keeping his supplemental pills down the last few days because he's been nauseaus. The doctor ordered more labwork for tomorrow. If it doesn't come up, Timothy will probably get the 4 hour IV of magnesium and also some hydration. He hadn't been sick all day, but his evening he threw up and then told me he was sorry, that it was hisfault because he drank his milk too fast! I felt terrible that he was actually apologizing to me. He must have seen the distressed look on my face when he was getting sick. I reminded him that NONE of this is his fault. He can't control how the chemo makes him feel. Thank you for praying. Love, Ginny
Sunday 3/25/01 - Timothy is doing much better. His labwork done Friday showed his magnesium level had come up a little so no additional measures were taken. He is not feeling nauseaus anymore and is able to take his supplemental pills. We were at the park yesterday and the boys brought their bikes. A young boy who appeared to be about Timothy's age, although much larger, said "hey, let's race around the park." This was about 3/4 mile. The mother in me wanted to step in and tell this boy that Timothy couldn't race because he was going through Chemotherapy and it wouldn't be a very fair race. It also flashed through my mind that the boys would get their bikes tangled up in the race and Timothy would take a tumble. I kept quiet. Timothy said "okay, but I don't know how fast I will be because I haven't had much exercise lately." Well, they had a great race and Timothy wasn't that far behind. He was huffing and puffing, but had a great big smile on his face. I'm glad I stayed out of it. After a few minutes rest, the boys went on to play hand ball. Timothy will get more chemo and labwork done tomorrow at the clinic. Love, Ginny
Wednesday 3/28/01 - Timothy is looking and feeling well. He got Chemo Monday at the clinic and then upstairs at the hospital got a Pentamadine treatment through his IV (to protect against infection) and also some Magnesium through the IV. The rest of his labwork looks good so we took out his IV needle. Timothy's already looking forward to the summer so he can swim when he's not accessed. The next appointment is Monday 4/2 for more chemo and labs. Thank you for your continued prayer. If any of you get the LA Times, check out the paper this Sat. There will be an article about Timmy. Love, Ginny
Tuesday 4/3/01 - Timothy had his appointment yesterday for chemo and labs. Most labs look good, hemoglobin low at 8.6. I'm waiting to hear if the doctor wants to repeat the labs this week to make sure if he might need a transfusion (they transfuse at 8). We're praying it goes up before next labs. Timothy's next MRI is scheduled for 4/25. Thank you for praying for this date as well.
P.S. - Update, Timothy will get a transfusion tomorrow. He'll check in at the hospital t 10:00 and it should take between 4-6 hours. We, once again, are so thankful to those who take the time to donate blood, AND thankful to live in a country where things like "transfusions" are readily available to those in need. Love, Ginny