On a roll

Well, we're back in the hospital now. And oddly enough, it feels comforting to be back in a familiar place. Of course, I have LOVED being at home. But being here at the hospital again has a comfortable feel about it. I know the nurses and doctors and they know Ethan. I know the "lay of the land" and feel more prepared this time around. Ethan's good blood cell counts have dropped and his spleen is slightly bigger than it was before, but nothing that the doctor didn't expect. He will start his round of IV chemo later today and will be on it continuously for 6 days. If all goes well, we'd be able to go home shortly after that to continue his other medication by mouth. Pray he will be "side effect" free!

I was thinking today how thankful I am that God is guiding every step of this process. He brought us here to these doctors and have guided them in the best ways for Ethan. I am also very happy with this children's hospital and very thankful that they care so much about us and Ethan. And more importantly, I'm thankful that Ethan is under the Lord's care. I found out today that overall Ethan has responded better than all of the pediatric oncology specialists thought he would. Because JMML doesn't have a lot of concrete evidence or specific treatment procedures, a lot of the treatment is somewhat experimental. I mean, they do know what general steps to take, but the specific direction a doctor chooses is sometimes up to his own best judgement simply because there's not enough data to pull from. And so far, the path of treatment they've chosen for Ethan has responded well. Continue to pray for that! And for the Lord's wisdom to be with Ethan's doctors.

On a side note, I want to share some "mommy fun" with you! You might be wondering why I chose "on a roll" for this post's title. Well... Ethan rolled over for the first time last night! The first time was on the floor in the living room. Adam, Ethan and I were watching TV and Ethan started moving toward his side... after a few minutes his whole bottom half had turned over but he struggled with his head and one of his arms. It was adorable and we were excited to see him having fun with "the fight". THEN, this morning when he woke up, I went to get him and he was completely on his tummy! We always put him to sleep on his back... and this morning he had turned his head all the way down to where his feet were when I laid him down, AND he had rolled over all the way!! I was so excited that I had to take pictures!

The "before" shot I took after the fact, just so you'd have a point of reference. But, the "after" is how I found him this morning. What a joy to have his first roll at home and at only 3 1/2 month old!

Before...

After...