Every drop counts

Josiah was able to start his next phase of treatment this week.  His ANC was up to 1260.  This phase is called Interim Maintenance.  He went in for chemo and a lumbar puncture on Monday, then back for a chemo infusion on Tuesday.

I have heard someone say that a diagnosis of cancer can be financially crippling for a family without health insurance.  I can absolutely see how true that would be and I continue to be so thankful for God's provision for Josiah's medical needs through Aaron's job, our health insurance, and gifts.  Just for fun, on Tuesday while Josiah was hooked up for chemo, I decided to calculate the cost (original amount billed to insurance) of one drop of one (90 minute) infusion on one day.  Once I shared my mission, I let nurses place their bets.  :)  According to my calculations, since 97.9% of each drop was saline and the rest was actually chemo medicine, 2.1% of one drop had a price tag of $30.

Our family is participating in a race on March 8th at Grand Canyon University to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer and directly benefit Phoenix Children's Hospital and the Children's Cancer Network.  If you want to run with us, let us know and register under "Team Timmons" at http://www.runtofightcancer.com.  If you would rather make a donation, go to:  http://grouprev.com/team-timmons.  Every drop counts.

A niece, a wait, and a race

Today we celebrated the birth of our newest family member!  Aaron's brother Ben and his wife Pamela got to meet their precious daughter Zoe Kate this morning.  Pam and Zoe are doing well and we couldn't be more excited for the three of them!  

I was so pleasantly surprised with how well Josiah did in the clinic today!  Accessing and de-accessing his port were not nearly as difficult as usual.  Josiah even caught the nurse off guard when he shouted "One, two, three, go!" and the nurse wasn't ready.  :)  I was also surprised to learn that his ANC had dropped from 396 last week to 176 today.  That means we put off treatment for a second week.  I asked how long this can go on and they were vague in their answer so we'll just keep taking this one week at a time until his body decides to start making more red and white cells or until someone with letters behind their name gets concerned.  

On another note, our family has registered to participate in the Run to Fight Children's Cancer at Grand Canyon State University.  Aaron is signed up for a 10k, I'm signed up for the 5k, Josiah is doing a 1/4 mile survivor's walk, and Stella and Mary will be enjoy all the kid friendly activities when they are not cheering for someone.  Aaron is a runner.  I have the best trainer this side of the Mississippi behind me, but let's just say it is not going to be easy or pretty.  It feels good to be working toward this goal though.  Rumor has it that at least a few friends will be joining Team Timmons as well so it should be a really fun day!  Let us know if you want to run too!

A day in the life of child with cancer

Someone nudged me to give you a real picture of what Josiah is facing and how to pray for him.  

Tomorrow will be hard for Josiah.  He will wake up early and eat some cereal.  Then he will fast until his lumbar puncture in the early afternoon or until we find out his blood test dictates that he is still not ready to start his next phase of treatment.  Either way, the hardest parts of his day are getting his port accessed and de-accessed.  This brave little guy has to unzip his shirt and let someone poke a needle into a port that lies beneath his skin.  He had a spell where he could do it like a rock star, but lately he has been really scared and it is even worse when he is hungry.  The staff at Phoenix Children's are awesome and patient, but it is stressful for all of us when he is really scared.  Then we wait for results.  If his ANC is above 750, he will get two types of chemo, then head over to the hospital for a lumbar puncture.  Waking up from anesthesia is generally rough, except for the one time he was cracking jokes with the nurses in recovery.  He is hungry because he couldn't have lunch, but not interested in eating because of the anesthesia and chemo he's had.  He is tired because he got about 30 minutes of sleep when he would normally nap for 2-3 hours at that time.  Then they have to take off his dressing and pull the needle out of his port.  If his ANC is high enough, they might let him leave it in over night so we don't have to access it again in the morning when he comes back for more chemo.  All for now, mama needs to get some sleep.  

Kicking off February!

A brief update on Josiah:  Last Tuesday his ANC was something-teen, on Friday it was 18.  (This just means his body has a very low ability to fight infection.).  Friday he received some red blood cells in hopes of getting him ready for a new phase of treatment starting today.  Well, today his ANC was only up to 396 and it has to be 750 for chemo so they have delayed treatment for a week of recovery.

Here are a few things I'm thankful for this week:

• Thank you to everyone who donates blood and platelets regularly!
• Thank God we live 30 minutes from an excellent cancer treatment center.
• Our washer is being fixed as I type this.  Unfortunately, the dryer didn't survive loads of clothes that didn't have the water spun out as well as the wash machine does.
• Mary finally lost her first tooth (thank you Stella for sitting on her head) and pulled her second one out on her own a few days later.  
• People who pray for us every day.  Your faithfulness means so much to me.

I will leave you with an encouraging story I read this morning.  A regular guy was asked to do a very big task.  A job that would seem overwhelming to many.  Build a HUGE boat and collect 7 or 2 of every type of animal in the world.  God provided what he needed and Noah provided the elbow grease.  After working his tail off to build a huge boat, God "Shuts him in" with his family and the most diverse collection of animals in the world for 150 days.  Now I love my family, but 150 days????  I'm just saying…. And I enjoy going to the zoo, but 150 days locked in a zoo boat????  What might sound like punishment was actually God's grace.  Divine provision and protection for him, his family, and those animals.  This was a very encouraging perspective for me to look for God's grace in overwhelming tasks and difficult circumstances.  Oh, and at the end of the story he gets to leave the boat, eat meat and see the first rainbow!  Check it out for yourself in Genesis Chapters 6-9.