For Your Information...

Spencer has had 2 ct scans in the last few days, both of which have required an IV to be inserted in his arm, since the contrast dye they use cannot be inserted in his central line. 

Although Spencer's been hooked up to an IV through a central line in his chest for the better part of three months now and he gets his blood drawn almost daily, sometimes multiple times daily.  And he's also  had his appendix out, gone through several spinal taps and a handful of bone marrow biopsies....yet when it comes to being poked with a needle, he is not a fan.  Even the numbing cream did little to alleviate his worries, especially when the nurse informed him that she had to use a bigger needle than they even stock on the hem/onc floor.   

Lucky for me, we have nice friends that are keeping Spence's goodie plate well-stocked with delicious yum-yums (as Spencer likes to call them).  This homemade whoopie pie made by Jenny M. turned out to be a great panacea for soothing the pains of getting poked (and for keeping his weight up)!

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UPDATE:

• ANC is still 0. 

• The severity and persistence of Spencer's chest pain along with the daily fevers are completely perplexing and concerning to the doctors.  Nothing unusual was found on the MRI this morning.  Further CT scans were performed tonight.   They really hope to get to the bottom of it, so they can start treating the cause, rather than just the symptoms. 

• Still no blood transfusion. 

• In summary, Spence is exhausted from the low blood counts, is in continuous pain, and still has no immune system.  :(  

• Birthday cards have started to arrive for Spencer!  :)  Thank you! 

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“The Master not only foresees perfectly the growing power of the opposing forces but also knows what it is like to be mortal, He knows what it is like to have the cares of life press upon us. He knows that we are to eat bread by the sweat of our brows and of the cares, concerns, and even sorrows that come from the command to bring children to the earth. And He knows that the trials we face and our human powers to deal with them ebb and flow.


“He knows the mistake we can so easily make: to underestimate the forces working for us and to rely too much on our human powers. And so He offers us the covenant to ‘always remember Him’ and the warning to ‘pray always’ so that we will place our reliance on Him, our only safety. It is not hard to know what to do. The very difficulty of remembering always and praying always is a needed spur to try harder. The danger lies in delay or drift.”   Henry B. Eyring  (From Jen B.)