Thirty Days and Waiting

What a fun and interesting day yesterday! We had a few familiar faces in the morning and then again in the afternoon.  It was great to see everyone and catch up given the circumstances.  A huge thank you to all of those who think of our girls.  I love seeing smiles on those two faces!! In trying to keep it fun while we stay here, we are working on once a week theme days.  Last week was Mexican Fiesta Friday.  One of our nurses decided it would be fun to create a "paper doll" version of Otto.  She came in with a drawing of Otto and different changeable outfits to go along with any theme.  Otto loves all the nurses, but she's making her way to the top of his list!  lol! Reflecting on yesterday, there's really no new updates.  His day was pretty similar to the last few.  No fever, eating well, laughing and joking around...  They are all good things!  However, last night, we got to go through a common side effect of chemo a...

Happy afternoon! Otto had another wonderful day yesterday.  He continues to be fever free and is off one of the two antibiotics.  He was also well enough to allow him not to be on any addition IV fluids.  Otto is excited that he now can walk around this joint without the big metal pole companion.  Tess, Lulu and I came to the hospital this morning to see a smiling kiddo just hanging out.  On to some more important news...  We are officially onto Day 7 of treatment!  In our family, this is the best news yet.  We have had two previous run-ins with this awful disease, both that didn't go beyond a week.  And here we are.  A week into treatment resulting in a happy, content kiddo.  We are a firm believer in that everyone's prayers are helping us all get through this.  We continue to be thankful for everything that everyone is doing out there.  We are so incredibly lucky!! Sending you all so much love! Mark, Leigh, Ott...

There were so many great moments yesterday.  Where to begin? Otto went for a walk a few times down to what is known as the "Healing Garden".  A few days before, we had to literally help him out of bed.  It would take us a good 10 minutes to get down there.  As soon as we would get to the entrance to the garden, he would want to turn back because he felt so tired and weak.  Yesterday, he willingly got up (in fact - reminded us that we needed to get our exercise in!).  We took only a few minutes before reaching the entrance, and in addition was able to get outside and enjoy that beautiful sunshine! Another highlight from yesterday is that he went the entire day without having a fever.  This was HUGE!  All the doctors were pretty happy about this, and are recommending that he be off one of the two antibiotics.   Counts, again during the day, looked really good.  We know it's one day at a time, but for now, we are so happy that Ott...

Good morning!  Otto wants you all to know that he's doing well.  He had another great night, and we are over the moon happy that he has been fever free for 18 hours.  Mark went to rounds this morning with the team, and Otto's counts continue to look really good.  His white blood cells are continuing to dwindle (which is what we want) and his body is preparing itself for the ultimate fight.  So, that's pretty amazing news for us, considering what was dropped on our laps Friday afternoon. I know that it is most likely that people are wondering if we are in good hands.  I will tell you that we are.  The doctors are on top of everything - from what is currently going on to what could happen - and have a plan to counter it all.  We are incredibly lucky to be surrounded by individuals whose life's passion is researching and helping kids with AML to beat it and succeed.  With that being said, we see these individuals from time to time throu...

Last night was hands down the best night I think he has had in a while.  Although we have been warned that he will have a series of good mixed with not so good days, we will take it! Yesterday's big goal was to get his energy up.  In order to get that accomplished, he was given a few bags of red blood cells.  What a difference that made!  Otto slept less and was definitely more perky.  He even played video games on the XBox 1!  And if anyone knows our kid - that's a really good sign that he is feeling better.  Lol!  Otto also received some more platelet and plasma transfusions.  This will help ensure that his blood is able to clot better. We also received a beautiful gift crate from the neighborhood with all sorts of goodies and cards.  But the best gift of all was the poster that they made.  It's covered in a large heart surrounded by all these little messages of inspiration and hope.  Speaking of which, he just obtained a...

Hi everyone,   Hoping this message finds you all well.  We are ever so grateful for the continuous messages of prayer, positivity and love.  Otto is a very lucky boy to have all of you in his world.   So, we got back the results of his spinal tap and we are incredibly happy.  There are no leukemia cells that appear to be in the spine.  What does this mean?  Three less bags of chemo to have to take during the 10 day period!!!   Yesterday was Day 2 of chemo.  He had one dose in the morning followed by two doses in the early evening.  For the most part, his body handled them ok.  He's still getting fevers here and there, but thankfully Tylenol kicks in to make things better.    Today is Day 3.  We are looking at 4 doses throughout the day.  One thing I am noticing is that chemo makes you tired and sleepy.  All that is telling us is that his body is taking it's time healing itself.  And we are just ...

Some people have contacted me because they are having trouble opening the doc.  If this is the case and you want access, you can either reply with your email so it can be shared with you.  Otherwise, you can email Kim (iankim02@gmail.com) or Gina (ginanelson78@yahoo.com) with your address for access. Thanks for everything.  All the words, prayers, and gifts are amazingly helpful! - Mark and Leigh