Finally some pictures! Gentry's surgery on Monday went fine. They took out the central line and put a new one in. It was pretty tough on us when they took him into the OR because he was crying for and holding his hands out to us as they wheeled him away. He was very mad when he woke up and Jerry and I took the brunt of it. Finally he settled down and we were home by early afternoon. He has chemo today so keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smooth. Also, we are waiting to hear back on Brooks' lab results. He had to have his newborn lab re-done last Friday because the first one that was done in the hospital came back inconclusive. Keep your fingers cross and pray that this one comes back fine. We should know in a couple of days.

We ended up having to check into the hospital late Wed. afternoon. After chemo on Tuesday, Gentry was complaining about his arm hurting. During Wed. treatment Dr. Rosen checked out his arm and told us to watch for swelling and redness. We came home with our backpack of meds and had only been home a little over an hour when Gentry got sick. While changing his clothes I noticed his shoulder was very red and extremely swollen. Jerry called in for us and they told us to stop his pump, flush the lines and head to the hospital. Thursday was a frustrating day as we waited and waited for information. Gentry had an x-ray Wed. night and then Thurs. morning he had another x-ray with dye injected into his central line and then a sonogram. His central line was not letting the dr. pull blood from it because there is a clot in his vein and the tip of the line has shifted. Poor Gentry had to get stuck 3 times for IV's whichi was not fun to deal with and the hospital was not great at getting the info to Dr. Rosen. We were very frustrated. We finally saw the surgeon today and he is going to replace the central line with a different one on Mon. morning. We check in at 7:30 and the surgery is at 9:30. We should be home sometime on Mon. 

Brooks had his 1 week check up today and the good news is that he has gained weight. The bad news is that his lab work from the hospital was inconclusive so I had to take him back to the hospital to get lab drawn again. The lab tech said it's really common and annoying. The other problem is that the pediatrician heard "rattling" in his chest and is worried about RSV. Please pray that Brooks does not get sick. We are glad to be home tonight but completely exhausted.

Today was our first day of Gentry's new chemo treatment. He had medicine administered through his central line and after about 2 hours they also gave him a spinal injection. It was a tough time, he is given numbing medicine which hurts since it has to be injected into his back. I am totally sympathetic considering how many times I was given numbing medicine in my back last week when the epidural was not working. After that he can't feel the injection but was so upset at that point that we were all crying. The procedure lasts only about 2 minutes but it felt like an eternity. Afterwards he sat on my lap for about a minute and then was back down on the floor playing. Then his central line is hooked up to a pump that is put in a little backpack with a huge bag of chemo meds. He will have it hooked up all night until we go back in the morning. The backpack is on wheels so he can just drag it around with him. We were all tired and emotional when we left. We will keep everyone posted on the next 2 days of treatment.

On a lighter note. Brooks is a total angel. It's like he knows that there is a lot going on and he just needs to be laid back. He has a huge appetite and eats great and is actually sleeping pretty well at night. I promise to get some more pics on soon, things have just been a little hectic!!!

Brooks Scott Brown

8 lbs, 9 oz, 19 1/2 in

Born at 4:39 Jan. 15
We are home & doing well. More pictures to come!

Thursday Jan. 15th we check into St. Joe at 5:30 am to have a baby! After all the information we were overloaded with on Wed., Jerry and I talked for a long time that night and decided that I should be induced. So the big day is Thursday and we can't wait to see what this little guy looks like and are SO ready to hold him. Gentry is excited too and has declared that it is dads job to change the stinky diapers! I like the way he thinks. We will keep everyone posted on how things are going!

Gentry's bone marrow biopsy came back clear which is great. He is not showing cancer cells in his bone marrow right now! We are so happy that the induction chemo worked so well and so quickly. This does mean that he is officially in remission but it does not mean that he is done with treatment, we have only cleared the first hurdle. We met with Dr. Rosen today and he gave us the treatment plan for the next 2 1/2 years. That means he will almost be 6 years old before he will have completed all the treatment. The round of treatment we are starting is for the next 6 months. He will take a medicine every day by mouth (he will actually take this the entire 2 1/2 years) and have to have blood drawn weekly to check his levels. Starting Jan. 20th he starts chemo which will include a spinal treatment and a 4 hour treatment in Dr. Rosen's office, then we go home with more chemo meds, a pump that will be hooked to him and a little backpack that will have all the equipment in it that we will need at home. Then he has to go back to Dr. Rosen the next two days, Jan. 21 & Jan. 22, for 1 hour treatments. He will also have to take a liquid vitamin that is crucial in controlling the chemo he gets during the 4 hour treatment. The next week he is back on steroids for 7 days and will also receive a quick chemo treatment through his central line. Then 2 weeks later we start the process all over again...for the next 6 months!  Needless to say we are very overwhelmed. It was a lot of information to process  and we have to remind ourselves that Gentry is still sick but better than he was a month ago and is on the road to recovery. He is still handling everything so well. 

On top of all this my due date is still Jan. 21 right in the middle of the first week of this new round of chemo. We all went to the OB today after Gentry's appointment and she will induce me next week, Wed., Thurs., or Fri. It's my decision whether I want to be induced or wait it out. She said her daughter did not have many side effects from this round of chemo but she would hate to see me go into labor right before it starts or during it. Dr. Rosen said even if I am in labor, Gentry has to be in his office on Jan. 20 to get started. She said I didn't have to decide today and in my opinion it would just be easier for her to make the decision for me. My brain is on complete overload! On a lighter note, Gentry really got a kick out of hearing the baby's heartbeat today. He was also quite the ham at the dr. office, even saying that Jerry has the biggest belly in our house right now. It was hysterical! I will let everyone know what we decide about the baby. Please keep up the prayers. We know they are working and so thankful for the wonderful support we have received from everyone. 

The bone marrow biopsy went great yesterday. The procedure doesn't take but a few minutes and Gentry was pretty funny coming out of the local anesthetic again. We are blessed that he wakes up with no problems. Of course he was starving yesterday morning so he was pretty grumpy that he couldn't eat anything until after the procedure. Two of our favorite PICU nurses were working so they told Gentry they would order his breakfast for him and he told them he wanted chicken strips and french fries. Even though it was morning they managed to get chicken strips for him. We only have a few more days on the steroid and then Gentry should be back to not wanting to eat every 20 minutes. Dr. Rosen thinks he might have some results today but if not it will be the end of this week or beginning of next week. The good news is that the dr. thinks Gentry looks fantastic and scheduled us for a check up with him next week. We will go over all his levels (bone marrow, red & white blood cells, blood platelets) and discuss his next treatment of medicines. So no chemo this week or next week! We also see the cardiologist next week so hopefully we will be done with the heart medicine also. What a relief it will be to take a break from having to give Gentry medicine all the time. Dr. Rosen also thinks it will be good for Gentry to get back to his pre-school. The main thing we have to be careful of is other children/people with fevers. Runny noses and coughs are not a threat, especially since everyone has a runny nose right now. We just felt so happy when we left knowing we are done with the first round of treatment.

Also, I went to my OB yesterday. I have not progressed any since last week. She does not think this baby is going to come early. She is going to be out of town next weekend so that is the only time we don't want the baby to decide he is ready to get here. My official due date is Jan. 21. I will keep everyone posted! 

Happy New Year!!!!!!