Round 3 here we come!!

We have had a great past few days. Brian has felt the best he has yet, with little side effects besides a headache. My old college roommate came down with her husband and son over the weekend to visit and with Brian feeling well we were really able to enjoy the time we got to spend with them. We were able to go out to eat, watch movies, play games, and just catch up on old times. It was a great distraction from the daily reminder of cancer and allowed us to have fun before coming back to the hospital again on Monday.

Brian had his dr appt yesterday to get the results from the tests he had last week and everything looked great. The first 2 rounds of chemo were able to kill 90% of the cancer!!! We knew that Burkitt's lymphoma is very aggressive and would react quickly, but we didn't know how quickly and what to expect. The dr showed us the scans of his body before and after the chemo and for the first time we were able to see exactly how bad it was when he was diagnosed. From the pictures, the cancer occupied his entire digestive tract (which explain why he couldn't eat before) and several other spots under his arm and in the stomach area. Now, after the chemo, there is a huge difference!! All of the spots are either gone or decreased dramatically. There are still several "hot spots" but they definitely aren't as large so you can tell they are reacting to the chemo. The lymphoma specialist even recommended speeding up the chemo process from starting a new round of chemo every 21 days to starting every 18 days. She still wants him to complete the standard 8 rounds of chemo to make sure they get all of it and don't leave any cancer cells to return. So besides knowing that the chemo is working and the cancer is decreasing, our treatment schedule won't really change too much. And since the chemo is what makes Brian feel horrible, he will still have to suffer through another 3-4 months of this. We felt great after receiving the results and were admitted into the hospital right away to get started on round 3. He began the chemo last night and as I'm writing this I'm in the recovery area with Brian while he rests after getting another lumbar puncture. After every procedure the drs recommend something different to try after the punctures to help with the headaches, so after he finishes the last one I'm sure we'll find something that works.

Even though we just came back to the hospital yesterday, it is already starting to wear on both of us. Brian gets very frustrated laying in bed feeling bad and it's hard on him feeling helpless. It's also hard when you are feeling better to come back into the hospital knowing that the chemo is going to make you sick and feel horrible again. He has the long chemo session this time, so we'll be in the hospital for 7-12 days before getting another break for a few days.

Brian and I also want to reiterate again how thankful we are to everyone and everything you are doing for us, whether it's praying, watching our house, dog sitting Allie, helping financially, commenting on the blog, or sending a card to let us know you are thinking of us, nothing is too small and we couldn't make it through this without all of you. THANK YOU!!!

Happy Great New Year!!!

Happy New Year everybody!!! 2008 is off to a great start and we are determined to make this year even better than last. Brian has been out of the hospital and without appointments since last Thursday when his blood levels indicated he was doing very well. Even though he still had some bad headaches we were been able to relax at the apartment and enjoy the time he had off from the hospital. We have tried to take advantage of his immune levels and get out a little every day so that we aren't couped up all the time. He went to Target with me on Friday and even though he had to hold on to the cart and couldn't walk for long, it was still nice for him to get out. We were even able to have a date night and went to Saltgrass for dinner. We both really enjoy our date nights, especially since they revolve around steak since he has to try to keep his red blood count up. Monday we managed to get out and go to lunch and the movies to see I am Legend. Staying couped up all the time is starting to wear on both of us, so it was really nice to be able to spend time out and around Houston before he goes in for his next chemo session next week. Yesterday was the best, we continued our New Years tradition of having 2 tvs in the living room to watch as many bowl games as we could. We set up a picnic in the floor and spent all day being lazy and watching football. And to top it off, most of our teams won (even though Brian could barely stand to watch the end of the Tx Tech - Virginia game).

Today is our long day of tests. We have been at the hospital since 7 this morning and won't get to leave until after 10 tonight. He has already had his blood test and has a cardiac scan, PET test, CT scan, and xray later today. I'm not sure when we will get all the results back, but we are scheduled to come back on Monday to meet with the main dr and start the next chemo round. Hopefully today will go quickly, Brian hasn't been able to eat since last night and he only has a 2 hour window this afternoon where he will be able to eat, and as most people probably know, a hungry Brian is a grumpy Brian.

Hope everybody is having a great new year and try to make this year the best yet. We never know how much time God will bless us with so make sure the time we have on this earth counts.