The insomnia brought on by the Prednisone (steroids) has gotten worse over the last week. It's been so frustrating not to be able to sleep more than 2 hours without waking up. For the week Alex has gotten more than 4 hours of sleep a night. He has spent a good part of most days on the couch trying to doze off. He tapers off the Prednisone for the next 10 days so that should help. The steroids also make him a bit moody, a bit puffy in the face and VERY hungry. He continues to have an interest in cooking and eating. Food is all he thinks about. With the nausea pretty much gone, he is really enjoying his meals and snacks. He eats literally all day long. He gained 1.5 kg this week.

We are at the end of the Induction phase (first phase of his chemo treatment). He just had a lumbar puncture yesterday. No meds were given through his port this week. Today we will go in for a PET scan to see if the cancer is gone. If so, he gets a few days off and depending on his blood counts next week, we should begin Consolidation (next phase of chemo) next Thursday. So far his counts have not dropped too low. In fact they were good enough for him to receive his H1N1 flu shot yesterday. We're still paranoid about germs. We wipe down everything with Clorox wipes!

Alex is beginning to shed his hair. He started shedding individual strands of it early this week but you can't really tell since he has so much hair and his hair is so long. He refuses to cut or trim his hair right now. Hanging on to it for as long as he can.

He has continued to run 6 days a week. It's the one thing that keeps him sane. Fortunately, the weather has been great here (high 60s all week). He runs on the trails at the mouth of Provo Canyon. One day this week he saw four deer while on his run. The dry crisp air is perfect for running. But it won't last for long. Snow is predicted for this weekend.

He has also been preparing to take the written test for his learner's permit. The trick is proving residency. Now that we have hospital bills with his name coming in, we'll take those in and see if it works. Once he has his permit, he can do an online driver's education class and then take his road test this summer.

His portion of the BYU app is complete, just waiting on one more piece to come in and he can hit the "submit" button. He is so looking forward to college life. We've had a lot of discussions on college majors and careers. He currently has 2 cousins applying and interviewing for medical school and one cousin about to graduate from medical school and interviewing for residency. All this and the fact that his life right now revolves around doctors and hospitals has made him think about a career in medicine. (Having said that, he can't stand going to the hospital each week for his treatment.) He has a lot of time to consider majors and careers but it gives him a reason to look ahead.

We'll post an update as soon as we know what the PET scan shows. Thanks for all of your love and support