On October 7th, we lost a beautiful woman, after a courageous battle to cancer - Ryan's Mother, Bonnie-Lynn Blundell. She will always remain in our hearts and we know she will watch over us and provide us strength to fight with Keian<3<3<3 Perhaps she selflessly gave up her fight, to surround Keian with her strength. I thank her for the gift of her incredible son, that she raised with such a powerful sense of family values - without him, we would not be Team Keian.
Keian's treatment has been pretty quiet this month - we barely got back on chemo for 2 weeks, before his blood counts crashed again. This time, the worst they've been. We're now on week 2 of being homebound. No matter how hard we feel it is at times constantly repeating day after day, it's so incredibly difficult watching a little 5 year old not being able to go to play with friends, or go to school - he's missing so much of just being a kid.
We did have a follow up appointment with Keian's Neurologist on Tuesday - we were able to finally get a glimpse of his MRI from when he was admitted for neurotoxicity back in September. Though Keian's symptoms have since subsided, there is a very strong chance he will have additional symptoms once he is back on the methotrexate. He will be getting a repeat MRI on Tuesday to form a baseline and show starting point. They would also like to compare to see if he has permanent scarring. This is one of the scariest things, aside from the original diagnosis. The methotrexate is one of the best drugs to treat Leukemia, but is one that is known for causing neurological deficits. Keian has increased sensitivity to this drug, and therefore we made the right decision to take him off the study and not subject him to the high dose.
Keian's appetite has depleted even more. We were told by his Dietician to offer him high fat meals, so that he would have some calorie intake. Despite our consistent offerings, he will either refuse or try to eat, which is usually followed by a bout of nausea and vomiting. Since being weighed last week, he has lost 4 lbs. 4 lbs may not seem like alot for you and I, but to a little boy that is fighting leukemia, every ounce makes a difference. He's needed more ondansetron this last couple of weeks, which helps to keep the nausea at a manageable level. Quite honestly, I'm extremely surprised at his energy levels considering his lack of nourishment. It's the little things now - seeing him jump up and down while playing Wii, makes me beam for the rest of the day.
Now that we have that all out of the way, we have a couple amazing things to share!
When at Keian's Neurologist appointment, we ran into his Oncologist - she had just gotten the results back from our blood tests the previous week. Ryan, Joren and I had our blood drawn to check to see if we would be a match for Keian's bone marrow. It was a very slim chance that Ryan and I would be and there was only a 25% chance that Joren would be a match. Well, that 25% chance became our reality! Joren is a perfect bone marrow match! As of right now, this is just information. We are positive with his results, so far, towards treatment and are still keeping the hope that he will not require a transplant. But, if it's ever needed, his little brother will be able to give him the biggest gift of all.
Over the weekend, one of our bestest friends, who happens to be an incredible photographer came for her weekly visit <3 This time, she came bearing her camera. She captured some pretty special moments for us. One of her good friends custom made a Kaptain Lasers costume just for Keian. Let me tell you this...the pictures do not do it justice. Keian just beamed from ear to ear the second he saw it flash in front of his eyes. This truly completes Team Keian.
To those of you that have showed remarkeable support over these last few months - we couldn't be as strong as we are right now without you. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts - for your countless messages of encouragement, meals, hugs and un-ending friendships that grow with every word. We love you all so very much<3
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