It’s been a busy week but the boys are enjoying their last weeks at home before school starts.

Yesterday the boys went fishing with Gpa/ma J at the pond. Bennett caught a nice bass and Hamilton caught a couple cat fish.

Hamilton has had a vacation bible school this week which has made the week go by so fast.

Bennett hung out with a friend today playing xbox at his house. And they went to the varsity football camp this evening. It was from 5 to 8 than he came home and went to bed fairly early.

He has been walking on his ankle all the time for about 3 days now. We looked at his ankle last night and tonight and it does look a little swollen. Very discouraging! We’re not getting too excited yet and we’ll keep an eye on it and see if it worsens. So far, it is not causing any pain which is good. We ask and pray to God to heal his ankle and strengthen his bones.

“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” Luke 3:8

Bennett weighed 135 at the Dr. office yesterday. He was hoping for 138 but not quite there and that would be a record, maybe next visit. He has been lifting weights at home besides three times a week at the high school. He also has been drinking some chocolate protein shakes. We asked the nurse practitioner if the shakes were okay for him and she said it was good.

Some good news, he has grown, he is now 5′ 8″ 1/2 growing 1/2 inch officially! We go so frequent and they check his height each time. Yesterday he was officially at the 1/2 mark! He does look taller.

I was surprised that she decided to keep Bennett on the same 75% dosage of chemo and didn’t increase any of his pills. She indicated that since he started so low that she wanted to make sure it’s going to stay at this level for awhile. She also noticed that his platelets have dropped from 200 to 145 so they are not being as consistent as his ANC and hemoglobin numbers. I’m glad we are being a little more cautious and protective of his numbers.

Bennett’s glad to not have to worry about his crutches and have to have them tagging along. He went tonight to watch the varsity football players practice, I wonder some days if he really wishes this would all go away and he could play and do whatever he wants. May God bless Bennett with strength, positive attitude and patience.

The MRI results were good but I’m not doing any back flips yet. The results showed the inflammation and infection around the ankle is much better! The stress fracture is still showing up but found out today that it will. I guess it will scar and not be completely gone for awhile. We didn’t realize that, I was hoping for a clear “healed” picture.

The nurse practitioner said he could begin walking on it full time now for a couple weeks and see how it goes. We pray that it is healed and doesn’t cause anymore problems. If it does, I already have it worked out for us to be referred to an orthopedic Dr. I hope his main oncology Dr. agrees. She has been gone on vacation for a month.

Bennett had a good appt. He received the iv push of vincristine and his pentamidine breathing treatment. He received another infusion of the immune globulin. I hope this extra antibodies in the plasma infusion is helping keeping any infections away.

Bennett was really tired today with getting up so early this morning and having so many things to accomplish at the Dr. visit. We’re blessed and thankful all is going well!

Bennett is doing good. We leave bright and early in the morning at 5 a.m. for his MRI on his ankle scheduled at 7:30, we have to be there 30 minutes before. I didn’t think we were going to get this accomplished, the clinic is afraid our insurance will not pay for it since it is so soon since the last one, it’s been 6 weeks but normally a follow up MRI is not done. We pray the MRI shows the stress fractured has healed !! I’m not sure there has been enough time to show a change in his weak bones but it would be a blessing if they didn’t show osteopenia this time.

We will go to the clinic after that for his regular scheduled monthly Dr. visit and chemo appt.

Yesterday, after Sunday School and church, we all went to the Lake and the boys went tubing. It was a beautiful day. Today, Bennett had weight lifting and than went to a friend’s birthday party in Marion.

Hamilton has been busy with football practice. And tonight started our Vacation Bible School at church in the evenings.

Thank you for your prayers and May God continue to bless Bennett.

“So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you.” 1 Peter 4:19

Bennett’s ANC today is 2,210 from 2,752 five days ago. His WBC is 3.4 from 4.3 and neutrophils were 65 from 64. His hemoglobin is 12.4 from 12.9 and platelets are 148 from 155. Hooray!

We have decided to go on the weekends for his blood tests. St Louis didn’t care and it will make it easier on us. Bennett won’t have to get up so early on Monday morning now.

His calcium was 10.5 which is a little high. Normal range is 8.4 to 10.2. He is still taking two calcium supplement pills daily so we will ask the Dr. about if he needs to cut back the dose.

He has had a good weekend. Sid, Hamilton and Bennett went fishing last night at Rend Lake but didn’t catch anything. Tonight, they have gone tubing at Rend Lake. Bennett has been wanting to go tubing with the boys but I wouldn’t let him because of Rend Lake water is so dirty. I asked St. Louis this week to see if maybe since ANC is so good that they would be okay with it and they said YES!

Another thing that Bennett can do now is mow the yard. We were told that the dirt and stuff flying around the air isn’t good for him to breathe but they have given him the go ahead to do that as well now since I asked!

What a deal! All the limits and restrictions Bennett has had on him sure gets tiring and boring so we are so thankful that he can do a few more things! You know, it never hurts to ask!

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend! God Bless!

Bennett weighed 135 pounds yesterday at his Dr. visit! Yeah! He is finally back to his normal weight. This is the first time since March that he has weighed this much. He started getting sick in March and April is when the sinusitis problems really started. We are so thankful that he has gained the weight back and he looks healthy too.

The nurse practitioner decided to keep his chemo the same for another week which is 75% less so he took 9 methotrexate pills yesterday. Every night he takes 2 6mp pills and on the weekend, he takes 1 1/2 pills.

Bennett had a fun day. He went fishing with a friend but he didn’t catch anything. They hung out at home and played football with Hamilton. Tonight he went to a miner’s game with another friend and spending the night with him. I am so appreciative that he is up to doing things with friends finally and has the ambition to ask.

“You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord, You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand.” Psalm 139:4-6

Bennett is doing good. He had a good appt with the nurse practitioner today. She felt like his ankle was doing well. We admitted cheating and not using the crutches all the time especially in the last week. The good thing is that it isn’t bothering him and is not swelling. She is going to try to fit us in the schedule for a MRI next Tuesday when he has his regular monthly chemo appt. We pray for Great News and that the stress fracture is completely gone!

Hamilton went with us today and we had a good trip. We went to Cabela’s after his appt and it was dinner time so we stopped and ate. We got caught in the rain on the way home.

“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall…. but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8

Bennett’s ANC today was 2,752!! Yeah! It was 3,233 from 10 days ago. His WBC is 4.3 from 6.1 and neutrophils were 64 from 54. His hemoglobin is 12.9 from 12.8 and platelets are 155 from 196. All are Awesome!

He is still on the 75% reduced amount of chemo so we will see at his Dr. appt tomorrow if the Dr. changes his dosage.
We hope to have good news tomorrow about being able to have a follow up MRI on his ankle so we know if it is healed now rather than walking or running on it and it starts bothering him again.

He has been very disappointed about having to limit his activity because of having to stay off of his ankle and using his crutches. To the point that he is about done with them. He really does miss playing whether it’s playing on a sports team or playing in the yard with Hamilton. His activity has been very limited this summer. We pray his ankle is healed and he can move on.

Thank you for the prayers and we pray that this is the last “hill” he has to climb during the rest of this long journey.

“Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.” James 1:2-4

Bennett is doing good and he has been feeling well too. Amen!

He has been taking calcium supplement pills twice a day. We pray and hope that this is helping strengthening his bones. His ankle has been feeling good. He walked on in some yesterday when we went to Cabela’s. He just hates using his crutches. He is so tired of them.

After Sunday School and church, he played outside with Hamilton. He rode his dirt bike around the yard. We had a chance to go through his clothes drawers today and organize them.

We go in the morning for a blood test to our local hospital. We pray for good counts.

“We who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” Hebrews 6:18-19

Bennett had a busy day. He had weight lifting this morning and ran errands with Sid. Also, they went to the country and practiced target shooting. He had a girl friend over and they watched movies together and went on a golf cart ride.

I called St Louis the other day and got a call today from his nurse practitioner in St. Louis. She wants to see him this Tuesday and see how he is doing and also look at his ankle. I asked her about doing another MRI and she said it’s possible and she will see about setting it up for the next Tuesday when he has his regular monthly appt.

I have asked for another MRI to verify if the stress fracture is gone. I do not want him to start running and playing sports on it unless it’s completely healed. He has been off of the ankle for about a month and his Dr. requested 6 weeks. If his ankle is not healed and he starts using it than it’s possible in a month or two, it will start hurting/swelling again. This would be a huge disappoint and aggravation especially if it’s during high school sports. Bennett doesn’t need anymore disappoints or medical problems. So hopefully the Dr. will agree and we will be more pro-active on this.

Hamilton’s game tonight was canceled because we had to forfeit with not having enough players. This was the last games of the season so it’s over. The Jr. Football program starts with practice on Monday so no break in between sports for Hamilton.

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24