Mid-Week Update

UPDATE:

• Spence is in a new room! He's in room 510 and his phone number is 703-776-4510.  Apparently his old room is receiving a lot of phone calls for him still, so feel free to spread the news of his new digs around!
  
  I'm pleased to announce that Spencer's packing skills have improved over the years. This time he brought to the hospital all his electronic equipment, a few books, his blanket, 6 pairs of shorts, 8 t-shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, 0 pairs of underwear, and 0 pairs of socks. How is that an improvement? Well it's at least a little better than the time when he was 6 or 7 when before going on a couple weeks long road trip, he loaded his bag with books, toys, and a couple random t-shirts.  

• Spence is on his second day of chemo.   

•  Dosages for the two types of chemo he's receiving  this round (ara-c and etoposide) are much higher than they've been previously and so it'll be extra important to try to keep Spence healthy.      Please stay far away from Spencer if you are sick at all!

• Glen and I visited Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore today.  We were hoping that the visit would help us solidify our leanings in the decision making process about whether to do a transplant, however we are now more confused than ever and are leaning exactly opposite of where we were yesterday.    Having said that though, we really, really liked the transplant doctor at Hopkins and thought it was cool that if we did proceed with transplant and if we chose Hopkins that Spence would be in a brand spanking new wing of the hospital.  Based on projected timing of a possible transplant he could even potentially be the first patient ever in a room. 

image from BaltimoreGrows.com

• (This is old news for those of you who are friends with me on Facebook.)
  The phone rang this morning and the caller ID read "Childhood Leukemia".  Thinking that it had the potential to be something important, I picked it up and was surprised when the lady went off on a random spiel about why I should  donate to support kids with leukemia, many of whom "may not live to see their next birthdays".   Although not normally much of a crier, especially in front of other people, I was really surprised when I bawled like a baby at the realization that my son was one of the poor pathetic children she was soliciting donations for.  I was shocked at how hard it hit me, but in the end felt more sorry for the poor random telemarketer who I am sure does not get paid enough to console sobbing mothers of children with leukemia. To preserve future mascara applications and my sanity (fleeting though it is), I have decided that I will avoid any future phone calls from cancer societies of any sort.

• In the way of much better phone calls, Spence got a phone call from a BYU football player today.  I forget his name, but they chatted for about 5 minutes or so. Thanks to Grandpa C. for arranging that!

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"The thermostat on the furnace of affliction will not have been set too high for us - though clearly we may think so at the time.  Our God is a refining God who has been tempering soul-steel for a very long time.  He knows when the right edge has been put upon our excellence and also when there is more in us than we have yet given."

                                                                                                  Neal A. Maxwell  (Thanks Desa!)