MAINTENANCE!!

Well it's official, Carson is in Maintenance! He started on April 6, 2010, We now have an end date for treatment of >>>>November 20th, 2012!! We CAN NOT wait for this date to come!!!

On Tuesday April 6th Carson received Vincristine as well as he started three different pills, two chemo pills Mercaptopurine & Methotrexate, as well as Steroids again(our favorite drug) Yuck! This will be consistent in Maintenance, as well as once a month he will head up to the clinic for the Vincristine IV, and then every three months he will continue to get a Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap). The first few months of Maintenance Carson could potentially still have low counts,(ugh) so we still need to be careful. The DR.s "play around" with dosage a little to try to keep the Chemo working properly. Not too much but not too little.

Well we are so PROUD of Carson for making it through the last Nine months! We hope to throw a huge party for Carson in the next few weeks. A Maintenance party! We really want to recognize his accomplishments and let him know how proud we all are of him, that he is such an amazing little kid, a tough little fighter, and that he really is our little hero! While we do know that he is still not out of the woods and that he still has a long road ahead, we still want to recognize this current milestone. Unfortunately the poor little guy still has a lot more drugs to take, a total of 10 more back pokes, many more tests and a long road of recovery from any side affects that all these drugs may or may not cause. SO FAR though... What a relief to be able to say that the last nine months are over with. NINE long, agonizing months 0f....(deep breath) lots of heavy chemo drugs, many yucky back pokes, many delays for low counts, allergic reactions, fevers, ER trips, many hospital stays & lots of time really..... just feeling yucky and being stuck at home. Poor Carson in the last nine months has had to miss Halloween parties, Christmas parties, Birthday parties, and lots of other activities that are few and far between that most kiddos around us take for granted, playing with friends and cousins, the trips to the toy stores, parks, playgrounds, the zoo, the movies, eating out at fun restaurants, etc.. etc..

Carson, Hopefully over the next few months we can help make up for a lot of what you have had to miss and going forward that you continue to do well, that you keep fighting with everything you've got, and that you continue to stay strong. We hope that you can get out a little bit more, spend time with cousins and friends that you love, and really just be able to be a kid again! Carson you still have an amazing support team with lots of people rooting for you! Keep up all the good work!!! WE all love you soooooooo much!!!