Valentines Party and Trey's B-day at school!

We got permission to go to the school so Trey could participate in the Valentines Day class party and also to bring treats for the class since his birthday is on the 15th. (there is no school on the 15th) Trey was sooo excited to see all his friends. We got there before the kids came in from recess and I could tell Trey was anxious to see everyone. Then they came in and when they saw Trey they all came up to him to give him hugs! I was not prepared for the tears that came. I felt really emotional and felt silly crying in his class. ( Don't worry I didn't blubber much :) It was just amazing to me all the love and concern the other children showed Trey. All the kids made a Happy Birthday card for Trey and Miss Mitchell had gotten him some balloons. He even went up to the front of the class as the kids sang Happy Birthday to him. I know that it seems silly to get all emotional over this, but when your child has a life-threatening illness, everything becomes a big deal.

He had a great time playing the games and being with his friends. We are hoping to be able to go back in a few weeks, this time with a Child Life Specialist from Primary Children's. Child Life is a program designed to help families with ill children cope with the illness. They have a program where a specialist will come out to the school and for about an hour teach the kids in Trey's class about what Leukemia is and answer questions they might have. I am in the process of getting approval from the school to do this. I think it is a great program and I hope we can get approval. I think it would help the other kids better understand Trey's situation and alleviate any fears or concerns they may have. Hopefully all goes well.

On to the next phase!

Okay, so Trey has successfully moved onto the next phase of treatment! Yippee! He is in the standard risk group and we have the treatment plan laid out for us for the next phase. This next phase is called Consolidation. He isn't on the steroids (at least for now). I can really tell a difference. Trey doesn't seem to be asking me what there is to eat all the time! In the consolidation phase, Trey only gets one dose of Vincristine by IV. Last phase he had it several times. He will still have the back poke ( spinal tap with the chemo). He is also on a medication called 6MP or Mercaptopurine. This helps to destroy cancer cells by interfering with the cancer cells growth cycle. One of the common side effects is that he could have low blood counts. Right now his CBC or complete blood counts are a bit low. His ANC are at 1.5 which is still in the range they should be. (ANC tell how well he can fight infection) His platelets are 140 and normal range is 150-400. At one time his were down to 24, so we are happy with 140. The Red blood counts are lower too. Normal is 4.0-5.20 and his are at 2.61. We are hoping that they stay the same or go up so he won't need a blood transfusion. He may need one if his RBC go down anymore. We just have to keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't showing signs of being really tired.

Ever since last week Trey has been doing so great. His energy level is way up and he is smiling lots more and seems so much more like himself. We are so happy about that! One day he told me that he felt really good and that it was like he wasn't even sick!

While we were waiting to be seen, Trey took advantage of the activities they had there for kids to do. He made a valentine for his oncologist. Now you have to remember that Trey is a BYU fan and always wears his BYU sweatshirt to the clinics. Primary Children's is right next to the University of Utah and many of the doctors and nurses there are Ute fans. Trey gets "teased" about being a BYU fan. So of course to get back at the doctor, Trey made a Valentine and wrote BYU ROCKS! on it. Dr. Barnette got a HUGE kick out of it. The other staff there saw it too and we all had a good laugh!

A visit from St. George

Cute Boys!!

Trey has had a great week with lots of friends. This is one of his good friends that came up from St. George. Camby and Trey were buds from the time they were 3 years old. Camby moved about 3 years ago and Trey has missed him alot. Thanks Camby for coming over! (Thanks Jayme, your visit meant alot to us!)

Looking Good!

This picture taken shortly after Trey let Shane shave what was left of his hair.

Trey and I at the clinic.....waiting for the Doctor.

Trey has had another great week! We found out last Thursday, that his counts were even higher then the previous weeks! We are so happy! This time he didn't have the chemo injection (Vincristine). Trey did have another bone marrow aspiration. They will test this to see if the bone marrow is making blood cells correctly. The results of the tests will also determine which arm of treatment Trey will need to be on. There are 3 groups. High risk, Standard risk, Low risk. We will find out for sure which category Trey will fall into next week. The doctors think he will be in the standard risk group. But the bone marrow aspiration testing will confirm their diagnoses.

Trey also had another spinal tap or lumbar puncture. This is done to test for infection or bleeding around the brain and spinal cord. So far all the tests have come back clean. We are thinking that they will be clean again. With the lumbar puncture, they give a dose of chemo. So Trey did have some chemo treatment. This week he is also off the steroids. He continues to take an antibiotic which helps treat or prevent infections.

Trey still feels tired and weak. He rests alot and takes naps on occasion. He has a hard time climbing up the stairs, so he tends to stay downstairs for most of the day. Trey continues to have his hunger pangs. He craves pastas alot. The famous question continues to be "what's there to eat?" He has a happy smile on his face most of the time and he has a good attitude. Thanks Trey for being such a great kid! Our other kids have been just as great! We appreciate all their help!

We are anxious to learn more about the coming treatment plan for Trey. Thank you for all the wonderful prayers! We know that Trey has been able to make it so far because of the blessings of the Lord, through the power of prayer. We love all of our AMAZING family and friends!

Grandma Comes!!!!

Grandma and Trey...getting ready for a fun game of Sequence.

This week we had fun with my mom! The kids loved seeing her and spending time with Grandma. She was a great help with watching Trey while we were at work and cooking us meals and helping me around the house! Thanks mom for everything! We love you!!!

Crazy kids! It took LOTS of pictures to get one with all of them smiling nicely!

Trey and Grandma!

Friends!

Trey's counts are high right now-which is good. This means we can have some visitors as long as they are healthy. Trey had his friend Taylor come over. They had lots of fun playing with pokemon and playing checkers. Thanks Taylor for coming and cheering Trey up! You are a great friend!

Trey also had his cousin Grayden over. They had lots of fun. They played Rat a Tat Cat and they played playstation and watched a movie. Trey feels so lucky to have such great friends! Thanks Grayden for coming and putting a HUGE smile on Trey's face! You are a terrific friend and cousin to Trey! :)

Trey, sister Alanna, and cousin Grayden. Fun Times!

Big Brother love.

Skyler and Trey AFTER the big hair cut.  What a big brother he is.  He didn't want Trey to be the only one without hair.  
Skyler and Trey BEFORE the big hair cut.

Skyler wanted to support Trey, so he decided he would shave his head.  Yesterday, Skyler told me to shave it now, or he may change his mind.  So outside we went and out came the scissors and hair trimmers.  We almost had enough hair to make a wig for Trey!  

Trey's clinic visit went well on Thursday.  He only had blood drawn and the chemo treatment. No back pokes this time!  Yeah!  We are blessed because Trey's counts were up.  The doctor said that meant he could have healthy visitors!  We've been excited about that.  Trey seems to have more energy and wants to do more.  Happy Day!