Sooner than expected!

 Well its hard to believe we are 6 months post chemo treatment!  Finding our new normal has been a journey of ups and downs but we are finding our stride.

Last appointment we were told to enjoy the summer and, Kaleb was to live like any other teenager... and that he has! 

Once school ended Kaleb returned to work for 3 half days per week.  Kaleb was finally cleared at work to operate the forklift once again!  He has the odd shift this summer that has had to be cut short or canceled as he was struggling with energy but in general he is able to manage.  Light duties are slowly being transitioned to more challenging tasks but his boss is very understanding and supportive of him taking small breaks when they are needed.  

In the beginning of July, Kaleb learnt that his skin is even more sensitive to the sun than ever! (he was so sure he was going to be invincible to the ways of the sun but not so much....) We also found out that Kaleb's allergy to mosquitoes has gotten worse.  He had been out in the backyard for 15minutes and came in covered in welts.  Poor guy had so many bites that we had to cover his entire torso in calamine lotion and give him Benadryl for the swelling.  (again not so invincible... maybe the Drs know what they are talking about??) 

In July we also took a week to go camping with family, the day before we were scheduled to leave Kaleb had a huge energy crash while out with his girlfriend.  We had a call asking us to pick him up and informing us that he did not feel good.  After getting him home we found out that he had a fever and that he was beyond exhausted.  After getting him settled into bed with some Tylenol (thank goodness he was allowed to use it again!)  for the night, we all stopped packing and we were ready to throw in the towel.  You see Kaleb's journey with cancer started days before our scheduled family camping trip last year and sadly after the year we have had, the fear can take over and you can begin to fear that the next "shoe" will drop.  We started to figure out a different plan just incase Kaleb was not able to go, but we ultimately decided we would see how he was doing the next day before we did anything.  In the later part of the morning Kaleb woke up and seemed much better although extremely tired.  He wanted to try and go so we scrambled to get everything packed and loaded into the trailer and truck to make it to the campground before dinner.   

                        

Over the course of the week, Kaleb was able to check off some of his bucket list that he had made of things to look forward to do after treatments were done.  The first day we arrived Kaleb went into the water (something he was not able to do due to his PIC line) The next day Kaleb took the paddle board out on the lake and just drifted around enjoying the freedom and the stillness of the water.  Kaleb was able to spend time with his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  When Kaleb was not out in/on the water he could be found playing guitar, reading a book or napping... lots of napping!!   Kaleb also was able to go fishing with his Grampa, something he was excited to do because he had missed out on the opportunity the previous summer due to being in the hospital. Amelia was able to get one day off of work so she came up in the afternoon of our last full day at the camp and we were able to enjoy some family time all together (even Locksley came!!) 

On the 9th of August, Matt and Kaleb headed over to London for the next set of tests.  Thankfully it was a later appointment so they did not have to head out till noon so they were able to sleep in a bit.  The routine for appointment days went smoothly. Matt was able to get the day off of work and I was at home to make sure Kaleb's Emla cream was applied in the correct place and that there was lots on there. (in order for the cream to work on Kaleb it needs to be on for 2 hours instead of most people who only need just 1 hour) I also needed to make sure they had his medical binder available and that they had everything they needed.  Once they left 2 of my sister's and my little nephew surprised me and came over with lunch for a visit and to help me stay distracted.  

Kaleb had bloodwork done even though he was not scheduled for it.  Matt requested it as Kaleb has been getting more frequent nose bleeds and we needed to make sure his platelets were ok.  Since they were going to take blood they decided to give Kaleb an IV.  This would ensure he only had to have one poke instead of two because of the CT scans.  Once Kaleb had his CT scans the boys left the hospital to grab some food before heading back home.  Results would be given to us on the 22nd when we were scheduled to come back to see the specialist.  

The next day I received a phone call from London hospital notifying me that Kaleb's platelets were good and that the nose bleeds could be due to air conditioning.  The rest of the results would be given to us at our next appointment with the specialist on the 22nd.  

We were contacted by email from our Nurse Case Manager letting us know that the specialist was not going to be there on the 22, would we like to have a phone call from her instead of traveling all the way to London.  

Yesterday we received a phone call from the specialist. All good news.

Kaleb's CBC blood tests all came back in the blue range (where you want to be) normal!!

Kaleb's ESR blood levels (Erythrocyte sedimentation Rate- this test shows if your red blood cells are inflamed and would indicate to the dr. to run more tests) Kaleb's are back to normal!!

Both of Kaleb's CT scans came back stable.  There are still spots shown on the scans but they have not grown and they have not changed so they could be residual scaring from the cancer. 

There is always a chance of reoccurrence but the further out Kaleb is from treatment, the chances become less from this happening.  In the mean time Kaleb will continue to have tests every 3 months to keep an eye on everything. 

The specialist also went over how Kaleb is doing.  His weight loss is not alarming as we tend to be more active in the summer but he needs to maintain and not loose anymore weight or we might have a problem.   We went over what she would like to see him eating, that he needs to be drinking lots of water and as always that his sleeping at night is extremely important.  We talked about what he is allowed to do for lifting and activities he will have to avoid.   As for the nose bleeds she has recommended that we talk to our family Dr. and see if we will have to see an ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist.  Symptoms we will have to watch for would be: fevers, weight loss, night sweats and, lumps or bumps.  

Well that is all I have for you today but I will be sure to keep you all up to date as time moves along.  

Until next time

Katt