Month: September 2006

I think it’s been awhile since we’ve reported 2 pieces of great news all in one day, but here goes! The day began with a call from “Auntie Meeses and Uncle Scotty” (Erika’s sister Michelle and husband) reporting the birth of baby Brooks. He arrived right on his due date… what a guy! We are so happy everything went well and the kids are thrilled to have another cousin! I just asked Peter what he has to say about Baby Brooks, and he said, “I want to say Good Luck to Auntie Meeses for having the baby!!”
The other positive to report is that Peter’s white blood cell counts, as well as his hemoglobin and platelets are on the rise… yeah! He “bottomed out” around Friday-Saturday and now all of the numbers are increasing. That is fantastic because now he is a little less susceptible to infection, and it means he does not need any kind of a tranfusion at this point. Barring any surprises, it looks like we’ll be able to stay at home for another week until we report back for Round 2.
Life is getting back to a new sort-of normal. Although I had quickly forgotten how BUSY Baby Kate is at 9 1/2 months… woah! So we might just need more help than originally thought, but we’ll work it out!! Anyway, things are going very well after round 1 and we are very happy about that. Thanks to all of you for your continued support, visits, calls, emails, prayers, etc. We can only hope that the next round goes just as well!
Peter calls his cancer “the Path Thing” (i’m guessing he overheard a conversation or two with the doctors regarding the pathology of the tumor). Anyway, we have been talking a lot about beating this thing and says he is going to beat the Path Thing 100 to 0 !!!! Now that’s the attitude! He’s been mildly active since we’ve been home, riding his bike or playing baseball outside for 10-15 minutes/day. He had a game or two of hockey in the basement with big Pete L today, and he plays Air Hockey multiple times a day. Practice makes perfect as they say, and Peter is definitely getting his!!

There isn’t a lot to report at the moment and I believe that’s a good thing. Peter is doing well and side effects continue to be minimal. His blood cell counts are very low — as expected — making him succeptable to infections. He wears a mask if going into public. But, as Erika mentioned in the previous post, he seems to be taking it all in stride.

I’m sure that the return of Ellie has helped ease his isolation at home. And once Kate beats her ear infection, she can rejoin the clan as well. Here’s a picture of Pete and his favorite little girls taken earlier in the summer. If you’re wondering why Peter’s hands are raised, take a closer look. In his right hand you’ll see the butt end of a hockey stick, so we can deduce that he has scored a big goal.

It’s about 5:00 in the afternoon and we are getting ready to leave Grandma and Grandpa Poopster’s (Hanson’s) house in Crosslake. We’ve been here for a few hours and we went for a boat ride, had lunch and fished off the dock. Peter is still feeling great and showing no side effects of the chemo. We have become hand-washing fanatics and we’re going to “re-introduce” Ellie into the mix today. Kate still has a bit of a cold so Grandma will keep her here a few more days.
While it’s absolutely beautiful today, I must say it doesn’t feel like a “normal” Labor Day. I can’t help but to think that Peter would be starting his second year of Preschool in a week or so, but that won’t be the case this year. He understands that he won’t be able to go and he seems OK with that. He was also going to play soccer this fall but told me the other day: “My team will have to get another player since i’m sick, but my team is still going to win. Abbey (Pohlkamp) won’t let me down, Mom!!” He understands more than I ever dreamed he would about what is going on.
We are getting into a new routine, or “normal”, as they say! It involves lots of meds, flushing his Hickman daily, charting everything he does. With that, everything seems to take a little longer, but that’s OK. We are very happy to have an energetic boy for now, and one of his sisters coming home today – he is so excited about that! Thanks for your continued support, comments, call, emails, etc. We can’t thank you enough.

Peter is still doing well. He’s been playing some air hockey and various games. He even rode his bike in the driveway (he was racing his dog, Baron) and remains his happy-go-lucky self.

However, he is weak. Before his diagnosis, he wasn’t eating well and low energy kept him from playing and working his muscles. He was losing weight. Then two weeks in the hospital only exaggerated his condition. So like a newborn horse, he is a little unstable. On the long walk from his hospital room to the car, he took a couple spills (no harm done).

Erika and Ty are getting into their new routine. They are administering various medications multiple times per day through Peter’s line. They also have to care for the lines. In addition, they will be keeping careful records of food and drink intake (and bathroom activities). A nurse will be visiting a couple times per week to take blood and do checkups.

That’s it for now. Happy Labor Day!

What a neat sign. It’s on the Brainerd Ice Arena. Thanks to the sign’s creator(s) and to Sue Peltoma for the photos.

Also, I’ll continue to post updates while the Eigners are home, so stay tuned.

Round one of chemo in the bout of Peter v. Cancer was completed at noon today and Pete-man is returning to his corner with a spring in his step. This metaphor is appropriate not only because he’s done so well, but because he’s going home this afternoon! That’s right. The discharge papers should be complete any minute and by 2:30 PM the Eigners should have their vehicle pointed north.

To be leaving on Friday afternoon as opposed to leaving over the weekend was somewhat unexpected, but Peter has been resilient and is in good form. With proper care and some luck, Ty, Erika and Peter won’t be back in Minneapolis for two weeks when round two begins. The most prominent concerns are ensuring that Peter doesn’t pick up any viruses as his immune system is weak and keeping his Hickman clean and intact. Although the first round of treatment is done being administered, the effects will continue to pervade his little body.

It is thrilling to see Peter doing so well thus far. I’m anxious to learn how effective this treatment has been, but we won’t know for two months or so. As the plan stands, that is when he would go through the same battery of tests to learn just how little cancer is left, if any! One can hope! And this one will.