The last week has been a bit hectic. Alex went in last Tuesday (Feb 16th) for blood counts. Although he had been feeling pretty good for about 10 days, Alex awoke with nausea and dry heaves! Definitely the Anticipatory Nausea. His blood counts were good and so he began the Delayed Intensification phase of his treatment on Wed (Feb 17th). The drugs were basically the same as he was given during the Induction phase in the US. Alex couldn't eat or drink while in the hospital. The place really gets to him and he is constantly nauseated while there. Once home, he is able to eat and drink and is able to keep some of it down. It's amazing both in the US and here in HK, the other children (pediatric oncology patients) don't seem to have the nausea. For some reason Alex is very sensitive to the drugs. Plus, I think, he is old enough to be scared and so mentally it's much more difficult on him than the other patients.

He still doesn't like to talk about his condition or his treatment so we don't talk about it other than what has to be done and when. Fortunately, he has some other things to think about. Alex received his acceptance to BYU-Provo on Wednesday before he went in for treatment so that was nice to have something else to talk about and focus on. We are all very excited and happy that he can plan for next Fall.

We were back in the hospital on Saturday for 7 hours while he received yet another chemo drug. This is one that is administered over a 2 hour period. So what did we do the other 5 hours you ask? We had to wait for nearly 3 hours before the chemo was even delivered to the nurses from the pharmacy. We are learning that there is no need to get there before 11:30am no matter what time your appointment is. The pharmacy doesn't deliver the chemo until after 11:00! After Alex was done with the chemo, he had to be observed (for allergic reactions) for another hour then we had to wait another hour for a doctor to show up to write up the order to de-access his port and discharge him! We will go back on Wednesday for more treatment.

The nausea is back and Alex is having a hard time with it. Today has been a particularly bad day. He can't seem to keep anything down which is a problem because he has pills to take 3 times a day with food. He is on steroids again but this time it's Dexamethasone. He also takes an antacid because of the steroids, an antibiotic to prevent a certain type of lung infection and he is still on blood thinners to prevent clotting.

All in all, he is doing okay. It helps to have the distraction of sisters in the house and to be back here in HK.

Alex has been feeling much better since last Thursday. He had his last dose of 6-MP (oral chemo drug) on Tuesday evening. Forty eight hours later, he was feeling much better. The nausea and vomiting are pretty much gone as the medication works its way out of his system. He seems to have more energy and is more engaging. He tries to go to school when he can but it's hard to get motivated when you know that pretty soon the whole process starts over.

The next phase is scheduled to start next week so we are making the most of it. He has been enjoying all the greasy foods his system has not been able to tolerate: pizza, chicken wings, McDonalds, etc. He's been asking to go to Korean BBQ so we will do that this weekend. Also asked for curry so we are having that tonight.

Will post an update once we start the Delayed Intensification/Re-Induction phase. We wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Year of the Tiger. Chinese New Year is on Feb 14 (Valentine's Day) this year.