Gwizah, thanks for the retraction- been there, done that. Everyone's comments are well received, also. (Randy, you are not a total stranger, as you have answered personal emails going back to the first days of the epods.)
Concerning the leukemia...
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is the most common and most treatable form of childhood leukemia. You are right about the advances in medicine today being able to work wonders. My son is currently in remission but faces approximately 2 1/2 years of chemotherapy. At this point we travel to Duke (about 2 hours from my home) each Monday for a day clinic, then stay 3 nights on the third Monday. The next month we start over. We also give 3-4 oral medications per day at home to deal with infection, digestion problems, and as a mild chemotherapy. Just as you've heard, we have good days and bad. For now, the good days are outnumbering the bad. Due to his age and type of leukemia, the prognosis is very good.
It's amazing how children adapt and thrive in whatever they are facing. He actually looks forward to our admissions- gamerooms, lots of friends his age, roving Nintendo & playstation sets, volunteers with games & crafts.
We also have a nearly 3 year old daughter, which really throws in an added bonus of "fun." To be honest, spending time at Duke makes you completely appreciate how blessed most of are to be healthy and have healthy loved ones. After diagnosis, friends & strangers begin telling you that their husband, father, grandmother had some form of cancer. In reality, my family is lucky in that this type of cancer has gained sufficient study and responds so well to current forms of treatment. With new medications on the horizon such as the latest, "Gleevec," I can foresee many cancers being treated with milder, safer therapies and perhaps dropping cancer from the Big 3 in American killers.
OK, said enough. Thanks again for the nice comments. Whether at home or from the hospital room, the message board has become a part of my family.
