An unexpected turn......

Many of you are now aware that there was an unexpected turn in the health of our little Enrique. As we were preparing and packing to leave to go back to Ecuador and emergency MRI showed that the area behind Kike's left eye (that was previously clear the end of March) had an aggressive, grape sized tumor that was pushing on the false eye and also creating extra pressure in the brain. Lumbar puncture was positive for cancer cells as well.

This is the normal MRI in March. the black area where an eyeball should be is the prosthetic. All of the tissue behind it looks normal like the other side.

6 weeks later this MRI was done..... Notice the globby tumor with the "tail" that now extends over to the other side.

Dr. Garrington gave us a few choices ranging from comfort care to aggressive treatment. We have opted for aggressive treatment. So on the day we were to be flying to Ecuador, Kike started a 4 day course of chemotherapy, much more toxic than what he has had previously...... He handled it well, with only a few days of vomiting and severe malaise. He did, however, end up back in the hospital a week after his release with a fever and no white blood cells. He was in the hospital 6 days, feeling a bit down and weak but overall ok. We were able to take him out of his room and pull him around the hospital in a wagon and as he got more strength he was able to wander on foot.

He will have 4 months of chemotherapy and then a Bone Marrow Transplant. The Stem Cell harvest was scheduled to start yesterday and was to last 2 to 5 days for 6 to 8 hours each day. ... By God's grace through the drugs we had been giving him the past week, they harvested all the cells they needed in just 2 hours!!

They will freeze the cells and give them to him at the end of chemotherapy. The plan is to give very high doses of chemo the last round which will hopefully kill all the cancer but will also kill most of his marrow as well. The stem cells will be given back to him and he will stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 weeks.

Kike is headed for a very rough few months. Please pray for him. He will have an MRI on Friday June 23. If the cancer is responding to treatment we will continue chemo. And hopefully he will handle the next 3 treatments as well as he did the first one.

We decided to purchase a house here in Aurora in May. We planned on being here a year or so more for Kike's aftercare and to let the kids stay in one place for a bit. It will be a huge blessing, though, with this new turn of events. We now have room for a rocking chair, a place for the little guys toys, and a small back yard with a hose and some grass! Kike is expected to need more care as the chemo progresses. The doctor says that many kids end up needing a feeding tube and some end up needed various kinds of home care. At least we will have a little extra room in our house if that happens. And from what I gather he will be home bound for 3 months or so after the transplant, so a little extra room will be good for that as well. Funny how I thought we were buying a house for one reason but it appears God directed for something totally different.....

Please also pray for our family. I know this is very hard on Ginia, Emery and Josie, even though none of them let on. There will be many more long days in the hospital and many days where the kids will be home alone while we tend to Kike's needs. It is not going to be easy to continue to be as involved with them as we have been in the past...