We went to Good Sams in Mt Vernon first thing this morning to get Bennett’s CBC test. I found out the results middle of the afternoon from St Louis. His ANC had dropped from 660 to 290. His hemoglobin and platelets are still good.

ANC below 500 is a severe chance of getting an infection.

Since ANC is lower than 750, he cannot receive chemo therapy tomorrow. It is part of the treatment plan to wait until his ANC is at 750 or higher. Other times his ANC will be lower than this but if it’s not in the plan to wait than we don’t.

He still has been nausea and upset to his stomach. I have a hard time believing he has the stomach flu. He has felt this way for a week and half. He threw up three times today. He ate very little and is trying to drink. He has laid in bed all day.

The anti-nausea medicine didn’t really work last week when he was sick so he doesn’t really want to take it. Especially since he has to take other pills and they make him gag and causes him to throw up sometimes.

Even though he cannot have chemo therapy tomorrow, I requested for him to be seen by his regular doctor and let her know what is going on with him. We will leave home at 7.

A Benefit BBQ Dinner and Live Auction for Bennett will be on Saturday, June 2nd at Benton Boneyard Boccie Ball Club. 17th Street BBQ Dinner with 2 sides begins at 4:00. A live auction will begin at 6:30 p.m. Also there will be a 50/50, raffles items, and silent auction too.

Anyone interested in helping or donating for the auction, may contact Jim LaBuwi or Boneyard Boccie Ball Club at 435-3216.

Come bring your family and enjoy the Fun! You do not have to be a Boccie member to attend.

Bennett was in bed all day today. He was too tired to do anything.  I would of taken him to the moon if he wanted to go. He did watch some TV and play Xbox games.

He didn’t eat breakfast. He had a couple of bites of BBQ sandwich for lunch. He hasn’t ate dinner and his stomach is bothering him. He threw up a few minutes ago and didn’t really have anything to throw up.  I’m trying to get him to drink as much as possible.

We go to Mt Vernon in the morning for CBC test. We need to see what his ANC is before we go to SLCH on Tuesday.  His ANC has to be 750 before he can continue the treatment phase that he is in.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Our prayers were answered, Bennett felt much better today. The fluids by IV he got yesterday really helped. This morning he ate a few bites of apple jacks and stayed in bed all morning. Bennett’s baseball team and Hamilton’s team had a game today, I just knew we were going to stay home because he wasn’t moving around much this morning.

It was time to start getting ready to go to the game and Bennett said he wanted to go. He got up, took a shower and off we went to the park! I was so proud of him and so happy!

It was difficult for me knowing Bennett wasn’t going to play but he seemed to have good spirits and went to the dug out.

It was a double header, he stayed through the first game and part of the next in the dug out. By the time we got to my car to leave, he already had his head down and was pooped out.

As soon as we got home, he went to bed and slept for a couple hours. He got up and ate a little.

This was a big step compared to how he was several days ago, but he still isn’t able to do anything that requires energy.

Thank you for the prayers, God Bless PAGE #35!

What a stressful day. I had called St Louis Dr this morning to see if the home health nurse could come and draw his blood for a CBC test. He didn’t feel like going to Mt Vernon to the lab.  She came and took it but than we lost where his blood ended up. I waited 2 hours before I started calling and found out that there was mix up in communication and nothing had been done yet with it. It took another hour of waiting to hear back.

The good news is that his counts were better. Hemoglobin that I had been worried about went from 7.9 to 9.6. Platelets were good and ANC went from 507 to 660.

I was still concerned of why he has been feeling so tired and nausea especially since hemoglobin was good. He hasn’t really ate or drank anything to speak of since Monday. By this time, it was 1:15, the St Louis nurse said she would talk to the Dr and call me back. She called back at 1:30 and said we could go to Mt Vernon Hosp or come there but we needed to be there by 3:00. I told her, it might be 3:15 before we made it to their floor depending on traffic. Bennett and I made a mad dash to St Louis and sure enough we were in the clinic room at 3:15.

The Dr. said the nausea and throwing up is not a side effect of the chemo he had on Tuesday. She was surprised he was still feeling so bad. She thought he was dehydrated and needed an IV of fluids. She did a electrolytes test on him and it came back normal. She thought he might have a stomach bug. The main thing was to get fluids in him today and make sure he went to the bathroom. We were able to come home, left SLCH at 5.

He slept on the way home and still isn’t ready to eat or drink. The Dr. said he needs to try to eat some crackers and few sips of gatorade periodically to keep from getting dehydrated again.

I appreciated the poems from Kelly and Gloria, they touched my heart.

“O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress.” Jeremiah 16:19

It’s been a rough day for Bennett. He was very sick today. He was so tired this morning, he didn’t even want his TV on or take his medicine. He didn’t open his eyes until about 1:00 today. He tried to eat a couple bites of pizza and threw it up.  He did lay in his bed and watch a little TV this afternoon and tonight.  He hasn’t  got up out of his bed.

He wanted some popcorn tonight so I fixed that and he ate a few bites. He is talking this evening but has no energy.

I hate it when he feels this bad. He makes me treasure even more the days when he feels like doing a few things even if it’s for a few minutes.

Please pray that the side effects from the chemo will go away and he will be able to get up/out tomorrow.

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” Ephesians 6:10

Bennett started out the day very tired and weak. He slept all the way to St. Louis.

He received another spinal tap and a chemo shot in the spine. It was very trying today. It took the doctor several tries and a long wait for the spinal fluid to fill up the testing tubes.

He also received chemo through an IV accessed by his port.

He has to lay down flat for 30 minutes after the procedure. He usually IS ready to sit up and eat. Today he was not. He laid for an hour and half before he was ready to move. He has to eat and drink a little bit before we can leave. He only ate a couple of chips.  Today’s procedure made him very tired. He didn’t feel like stopping to eat so we came straight home as he laid in the back seat.

He felt some better when we got home. He played for a few minutes with Hamilton. He has felt nausea and hasn’t eaten tonight. I have given him anti-nausea medicine earlier but it isn’t working.

His ANC dropped today to 507. An ANC less than 500 means significant risk of developing a serious infection because he cannot fight it off. He must wear a mask and not be around people that are sick. Hand washing is crucial to him and everyone around him.

His hemoglobin is also low at 7.9. If it goes to 7.0, they will need to transfuse RBC. It’s important to look for signs of his hemoglobin dropping even lower; looks pale, lack of energy, short of breath, and headache so we can have his blood counts checked.

I feel we are going down the hill and his body is getting to a low from the chemo treatments. This is expected but difficult to accept.

Your continued prayers are a blessing!

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Bennett has had a pretty good weekend. He has been sick some to his stomach but it usually goes away after awhile.

He was able to enjoy the sunshine Saturday. After he went to the bake sale, he went to the pony baseball practice for awhile. He couldn’t play but he was able to enjoy seeing his friends.

He was able to do some homework and have a couple of friends over.

He has to rest after exerting a small amount of energy but after he rests for awhile, he has been able to do something else.

He has been pretty nausea today. He has ate very little, food smells even bother his stomach. He has stayed in most of the day. He has kept himself busy taking apart battery operated cars and making new ones with different parts.

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

Thank you to the 6th grade girls that had a bake sale today to raise money for Bennett. How SWEET of you all! We appreciate your kindness and support! Bennett couldn’t pick a favorite, it all was good!

Thank you very much Bailey Wynn, Kalie Montgomery, Bailey Muir, Makennah Miller, Cassidy Neal, Britney Tindall, Taylor Williams, and Megan Overton!

We made it back home from St Louis. Sometimes me and the other travelers have a time sharing the road, ha ha

Bennett’s blood counts were good today, no blood transfusions needed. His hemoglobin is still a little low at 8.2 but no transfusion until it’s at 7. ANC was good at 1,342.

He was pretty soar today after his procedure. The spinal tap is a long needle that is stuck in his back that takes out spinal fluid and than they insert another needle of chemo. They have to take out the amount of spinal fluid that is the same amount of chemo that is given into his spine. They test the spinal fluid to verify there is no blasts/cancer cells.

He also had 3 chemo shots in his legs today. He has to get the shots in his legs versus through the port because the chemo drug they used today has less side effects if given in your leg muscles. He will have several more of these later in his treatments.

He had another chemo drug given to him through his port too.

These days make me sad as I can’t hardly stand seeing him get all of these shots and treatments. Bennett does so well though. He is very nice and appreciative to the nurses/doctors. He is such a trooper!

Bennett felt horrible on the way home, he had a severe headache, we called the doctor and this was probably a side effect from the spinal tap. I gave him pain medicine and he feels better tonight.

Our next appointment is next Tuesday.

“And we know that in God works for the good of those who love been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28