Just a couple quick notes about getting in touch with us....
If you've sent us an email that we haven't responded to, please don't take it personally! If you were lucky and happened to email while we're on the computer, it may have gotten answered immediately. But, since until today we've had just one computer for the whole family to share, I know there are emails that have gotten lost in the shuffle. If we haven't responded to a question/request in a few days, please, please, please forgive us and try again. Hopefully we'll be better now that we have two computers between us. Thank you to several family members who chipped in and made that happen! :)
Additionally, the notebook where we were keeping track of visitors, meals, and gifts has gotten lost in the shuffle between the hospital, home, and back to the hospital. We are doing our best to remember, but please forgive us if we miss thanking you personally.
Truly we appreciate everything! Every playdate or ride for our other kids, every gift, every card, every email, every visit, every phone call, every word of encouragement, every meal, every goodie, every prayer...it's all so very appreciated! We have felt the power of earthly and heavenly angels sustaining us and buoying us up every step of this journey. Thank you!
Getting in touch:
Email:
Lara: goolds@verizon.net
(I have a couple of other email addresses, but this is the one I prefer for personal communication. Feel free to send important emails to multiple of my addresses and Glen's.)
Glen: glen.goold@yahoo.com
Call us:
hospital room: 703-776-4513
call or text:
(email us to get the numbers)
For cards/packages:
Please send them to our home address, since the hospital has proved to be less than reliable in mail delivery
(email us if you need our address)
Spencer's room has been heart attacked! Thank you Tindalls!
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Update
Spencer is on his 5th day of his 2nd round of chemo, which includes receiving three types of chemo. The daunorubicin (aka the "red pee chemo") he gets every other day for three doses, the cytarabine (ara-c) (the reason for his 4-times-a day eye drops) he gets twice a day for 8 days, and the etoposide (the "blood pressure medicine" since it requires his blood pressure being taken every 15 minutes over the 4 hours it is administered) he gets every day for five doses.
Tonight is his last night of getting all three in a row.
He is also on a variety of antifungal, antibiotic, anti-mouth sores, and anti-nausea medications....all taken preventatively.
It takes 7-10 days after the chemo is started for the side effects to kick in. We expect the blood and platelet transfusions and other unpleasantries to begin sometime next week.
They say that often times the mouth sores (mucosits) are a bit better the second time around. The doctors have added a glutamine drink, which Spencer finds absolutely disgusting, as an additional preventative measure. We hope it helps!
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"...heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that 'angelic' is the only word that comes to mind."
~Jeffrey R. Holland 
There's actually a gazillion more possible side effects that could be on this list (but thankfully aren't), but suffice it to say Spence has had better weeks. Just as he was really starting to feel better after his surprise appendectomy, the irritability and fatigue set in with a vengeance. Now he has a nasty case of nausea and is throwing up everything he eats. The powerful anti-nausea medication they give him (Ativan) knocks him out flat, which means that lately he's been too pooped to read, play Words with Friends, or even watch tv, let alone do homework. 
