Alex was finally able to sleep 8 hours straight last night. He is tapering off the Prednisone so hopefully the sleep will last. Prednisone has also given him acne on his chest and back as well as a puffy face from all of the water retention. The doctor says all this will slowly go away over the next month.

Alex ran 7 miles in 30 degree weather this morning, spent 5 1/2 hours in the hospital for chemo and then rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes tonight. He is crazy, but all the exercise is keeping him sane. The doctors don't seem too worried about it. He doesn't get much sympathy when he comes in and says, "I've been feeling really tired" but "I ran 7 miles this morning."

He started the Consolidation phase of treatment today. This phase includes weekly lumbar punctures as well as 4 days of medications through his port. We will go to the hospital once a week for the LP and to access his port to get the first dose of the medication. On days 2, 3 and 4 I will be administering the medication at home through his port. The nurse taught me how to flush his central line with saline, administer the medication, flush again with saline and then inject heparin into the line to keep it from getting blocked by blood clots. I was really nervous at first, but after actually doing it today with the nurse, I think I should be able to do it. My sister in law, Susanna, is a RN. She was there with me and will come over tomorrow when I do it for the first time (just in case I forget how to do it). This is all on top of the other pills Alex must take and the twice daily injections for his pulmonary embolism. I think I'm going to get a white board tomorrow so I can write a time schedule for all of the meds! It's starting to get a bit confusing.

Alex's hair is really thinning out and he has decided that he will shave his head tomorrow. My guess is he will be wearing beanies a lot which is okay since it is winter here.

Blood counts are dropping but the doctor says he is still good to go for a Thanksgiving Dinner with the family. He is really looking forward to turkey and the trimmings. We went to a wedding dinner last night and he had 3 helpings of the potato cheddar soup and ate salad for the first time in his life! He has also been eating the lettuce and tomatoes on his burgers! Not sure how long that will last but I'm happy he is open to trying "new" foods. Just like his dad, he doesn't care for desserts so more for me.