Rally For Hunter

Yesterday 7/10 Hunter had his second clinic visit, we did not have to stick around for a lumbar puncture afterward so Hunter was in a much better mood having been able to eat beforehand. He experienced a lot of anxiety and fear leading up to this appointment and while there, he was very distraught during port access, the needle poke part of the appointment.

Once we made it through access, he did great sitting for his treatment, we were laughing and cutting up and the nurses kept coming by to see what the commotion was! It’s good to see him acting like himself and it’s the days and moments like these that we just want to live in forever…

We did get some not so great news; we spoke to the doctor about his marrow results (the marrow they collected while he was in hospital) the leukemia cells have a particular marker or genetic makeup that doesn’t change his overall prognosis, but will require more aggressive treatment. We’re just starting this journey and we’ve only just stepped over the starting line but we’re holding onto hope that no matter the news, he will beat this. So, we drive on.

We ask for prayers that Hunter will continue to respond well to treatment and that throughout this process he learns to lean on his family when he’s feeling confused, angry, or sad. We’re also praying for Jackson to be able to do the same, as he bears witness to his little brother fighting this battle..

Hello everyone!

I hope you had an awesome weekend celebrating with family and friends. Our country has endured a lot in recent years and going through something like this, with our baby, really brings things into perspective. We lean on our neighbors to make informed decisions that affect our communities and families right alongside us but in times of personal crisis, we trust our neighbors to make those decisions FOR us. So as we move through the rest of the year, living our lives enjoying our freedom, let’s take the time to reflect on how we are loving our neighbors and find ways to grow in community together because that is the only way to get through what is to come.

Hunter has been fighting a pretty concerning cough and upper respiratory congestion for about five days now. We took him to the emergency room the morning of the 4th to be evaluated; they found nothing on his chest X-ray and concluded he may be experiencing allergies or a virus that his body is just having trouble fighting, due to his condition and treatment affecting his immune system.

We were able to go home that day and enjoy some fireworks with friends that night. Since the 4th we’ve been struggling with medication giving and oral care. Hunter is starting to realizing it’s going to be a long road of daily medicine and hygiene as well as weekly clinic visits and he’s not happy about it, so please pray for him to have patience and trust in us and the treatment plan his doctors have laid out for him.

I’d also like to ask for extra prayers that he learns to lean into his family and friends and opens up to us when he has big feelings about what he’s going through, this morning was particularly hard for him emotionally and it’s hard for us to watch him struggle with such big things at such a young age…

He has chemotherapy on Thursday 7/9 and we’re hoping this visit to the clinic is much less scary for him.

Thank you for your prayers and support, we couldn’t do this without you all.

Good morning!

Hunter has completed his first outpatient chemo treatment and we are currently waiting for his LP procedure. Numbers looked great so Hunter will be able to celebrate with us this weekend and he’s really hoping to watch some fireworks!

This morning has already presented us with some challenges, the early wake time for his appointment makes him extra sluggish and it has been very hard to have him fast for his procedure. The steroids that they have him on to help kill the cancer cells, also make him extra hungry! He had a hard time when they needed to access his port with a needle so they could hook him up to his IV for chemo (and when needed before and during his LP) so please pray accessing and de-acessing his port gets a little easier as we move through this journey.

We’re also asking for extra prayers for our routine at home; oral care has been demanding and that’s one of the most important things we will do, Hunter is not a fan of brushing/swishing or swabbing five times a day (who would be??) Nutrition and exercise is another big portion of what we will focus on at home, we want to make sure he’s eating foods that will support his system and give him energy to be active on the days he feels really good, there will be days he really won’t be able to do much after treatment.

Thank you for your continued support!

Hunter was released from the hospital on 6/29 following stable numbers and a chemotherapy treatment on 6/28, yesterday was his first full day at home. While he struggles at times to take his medicine or let us brush his teeth (oral care is very important as the treatment can cause painful sores) he does not seem to struggle to have energy!

We went to the skatepark to scope it out, our little daredevil has been begging to go, then we grabbed lunch somewhere cool. Trying to take full advantage of the good days! He slept great and has been looking like he feels so much better for now.

Tomorrow 7/2, will be his first clinic appointment for chemotherapy as well as another spinal fluid draw. Prayers labs come back stable, for patience during treatment, and minimal pain after lumbar puncture. Thank you everyone for your continued support, it truly means so much to us!