Today we signed Ben up for kindergarten. A big step for him (and me). After all the formalities, we went outside to play. As the boys ran off to play on the playground I had so many thoughts and feelings flood my mind and heart. I was so excited for Ben and this big first step he was about to take and then I realized that Ev was playing on a playground. The last time he was on a playground was when we had to hold him up and help him out. Due to the time of year he was born and then getting sick last spring, he didn't know what he had been missing. It was such joy to see the two of them take off yelling at each other with such excitement.
Ev is signed up for preschool in the fall. My hope is that he will be able to fully be a part of it. We have no way of knowing whether his immune system will hold up well enough or what might get passed around at school. He is not up to date on immunizations either, as his body cannot take it until a year after treatment is done. So, we are taking a shot in the dark because it's what he wants and we have to start taking some risks.
Maintenance is not as cut and dry as the treatment phases prior. Before the lines were pretty clear and there wasn't any wiggle room. We did what we had to do and everyone made sacrifices. Now is the time that we start deciding how and where we will take our risks as we reenter a world that we temporarily left behind.
Ev continues to do well. I am still very much aware and thankful for every moment of it. And our return to clinic this past month was the shortest on record. He only needed one chemo med, an update on his counts and more prescriptions. Ev's ANC was 2000, the highest it has been since sometime prior to being diagnosed. This elevated ANC could be partially due to the fact that the boy just keeps on growing like a weed and there hadn't been an increase in his meds. So, this time an increase was given and that might bring him down a bit. The comfort zone for the docs is an ANC between 500-1500 for the maintenance phase.
In the months ahead we are starting to fill the calendar again with activities and outings. And, then I am arbitrarily filling the calendar in my mind with trips to the park, camping, hiking and all the random outdoor fun to be had.
Cheers to health and the greatly anticipated warmer months (especially in the Mid-west)!
