25 days down!!!! / Spaghetti Dinner Tomorrow

So we are 25 days down of the 60 in this phase and I am so excited. Troy is doing great despite the eating constantly and mood swings. Seriously, he is eating non-stop but that should wear off soon. We go on Monday for another spinal tap and several different chemo drugs so I am not looking forward to that. Then the next week we do it all over again. The later part of this phase is pretty intense and the doctors say he should be pretty tired. I can’t imagine him anymore tired than he already is. The dude wants to go to bed so early every night and I find him asleep throughout the day also. I guess the more rest the better for him. Almost half way through and we are so lucky to not have had too many issues. I can’t believe it has been 5 months since this all began. It sure has gone by slow but hopefully time will fly once we are in maintenance. We know in the end everything will be just fine.

Tomorrow is the big day for the SPAGHETTI DINNER/SILENT AUCTION. So much hard work has been put into this & I hope everyone who reads this can attend. There is so much awesome stuff up for auction and even more that has not been added to the website. Check out the items on the benefit link on Troy’s blog under spaghetti dinner. http://www.wendtfamilybenefit.org/ We are talking Suns tickets, zoom teeth whitening, photo sessions, and much much more. We are so excited for this event and appreciate all the hard work that has been put into this.

Tough Week

We have had quite a difficult week. The chemo drugs are really starting to wear on Troy. He is crabby, tired, and just feel like crap most of the day. I can tell he really is trying to be a good boy but he just feels so miserable. The other night we took him to the ER after he had been throwing up every 10 minutes for 7 hours. He then got a slight fever and blood in his throw up that we decided that is enough we need to take him to the ER. They re-hydrated him and gave him a different nausea medicine that seemed to work. After a horrible night of no sleep he finally slept for 5 hours and then took another nap later that day. He is just so tired right now and wants to go to bed so early. It is truly heartbreaking to watch your child in pain and not do anything to help take the pain away. We are going to try the new nausea medicine now at home and see if that works better for the tummy aches. I knew this phase was going to be tough but I truly hate it right now. Why do lifesaving drugs have to make you feel so crappy? For now we are just trying to get through this difficult phase and we look forward to the up and coming maintenance phase. Thanks for all the support from everyone. We are and will forever be grateful.

START OF FINAL PHASE

Tomorrow we will be starting the final phase before we are in the maintenance period. This phase will last 60 days and is the most intense we have had since the beginning. We start tomorrow with a spinal tap, back on the steroid, and several other drugs. Troy will be getting 18 does of drugs a day and his face will get plump again. He will be looking nice and chubby for Christmas. Good thing he looks great with chubby cheeks. We just want to get through these next few months and make it to the ever coveted maintenance phase. That will be a miracle in itself. Cars continues to be Troy’s obsession and every time we go to the doctor he gets to pick a toy from the closet or treasure chest and what he gets just about every time, a car. He truly loves them all and never gets tired of playing cars. One of the child life specialist got Troy started with a bead necklace that shows every time Troy has had a surgery, blood transfusion, chemo, days in the hospital, pokes, access of the port, and several other things. The necklace is already full and I can’t imagine how long it will be when we are done with all this. Troy wasn’t very interested in the beads so Abby finished it for him but they offer so many great programs for these kids. Any little thing helps in my eyes. Thanks to everyone for your support.

New Website

This picture was at his birthday a few months ago but he looks so great. Anyway, an awesome website has been set up for Troy with info about the spaghetti dinner or to donate to the silent auction. It is so great and the finishing touches are still being added but it looks amazing. Check it out at wendtfamilybenefit.org. Once again, many many thanks to all our support and to Jeff Stout for designing the web page. You did an incredible job.

****SAVE THE DATE****

Some friends of ours are planning to have a benefit spaghetti dinner for Troy. This will be on FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9th from 6:00-8:00. It will be $5 per person or $20 per family. Please spread the word and more info will be coming soon. As if a spaghetti dinner wasn’t enough they will also have a silent auction that night. If you would like to donate one of your talents, goods, services, or theme baskets that would be awesome. I know a lot of people with many talents to share so please sign up. I have also set up a Benefit Fund at Bank of America for Troy. If anyone can not come that night but still want to contribute you can call or go into any Bank of America. Just give them the name TROY TYLER WENDT LEUKEMIA BENEFIT FUND and you should be good to go. This of course will help Troy in his fight against leukemia. We appreciate everyone and their willingness to help. Once I get more info I will let you know so just keep that date open.

Very Grateful

I usually like to post a picture of Troy along with an update on how he is doing but he is taking a nap right now and I wanted to post this while I had the chance. Our family has been so lucky to have such wonderful people around us that are so willing to help at the drop of a hat. We have received so many cards, gifts for Troy and Abby, loving notes, meals, and just a genuine concern for Troy and all of us. If I wrote thank you notes to everyone I would be writing for days. I have been truly overwhelmed with how kind people have been. I know we have been so lucky to have Troy do so well with his chemo and all the love and prayers I believe has been a great help. This sounds cheesy but seriously I can’t help but be grateful for such amazing people around us. Thanks to you all.

VACATION

Well we made it back from vacation and boy did we have a blast. We are so lucky that we had no issues or problems with Troy since he had chemo 2 days before we left. The beach was certainly the highlight for Troy. Abby and Troy could stay all day and night if we let them. Most of the time they would just run from the waves and it made me tired just watching them run. The weather was perfect and everything went just great. We know that was a small miracle to not have any problems.

Troy did have an allergic reaction to one of the chemo drugs a week before we left. He got hives all over his body the day after he had a PEG Asparaginase shot in both legs. The drug that is substituted for that is not approved yet so at this time he will not have that chemo drug anymore. This was the first snag we have run into since this started so I can’t complain. I asked the doctor what that will do are far as his progress goes. He said we don’t know what the effects are when you don’t receive the shots but we do know that when the PEG shot is given in the high doses that Troy was receiving it is very effective. Kind of a bummer but what can you do? He only has one more of those shots on his protocol so that is ok. He goes this Thursday for some more chemo and then we start the intense phase which will last 2 months. By Thanksgiving or Christmas we should be in maintenance which will be heaven. I can’t wait.