ALL about Caleb

nothing like meme's kleen kitchen's chicken. yummy (thanks mom!). so anyway, just got back from cbc visit. dr's pleased w/ caleb's granulocytes (infection fighters in the white blood cells) & now we're gonna move into the next phase in 2 wks. this is the first time we get to skip a week. yay!!! but i'm not looking forward to "delayed intensification" which is just what it sounds like. in 2 wks he'll be getting an lp (lumbar puncture aka spinal tap-i don't know if i've ever mentioned it but the lp is done from time to time to check the clarity of his spinal fluid & to administer meds through that area cause leukemic cells like to hide in there & in the cerebral cavity) & some vincristine & some new drug doxo-something...i've gotta do my research...nurse said it looks kinda like koolaid & its a 30 minute drip. the lp means npo (i hate those days!!! npo means no food or drink all morning until after the lp). but that is nothing compared to 2 wks after that...he'll be taking some heavy chemo for 4 days in a row & then 4 days in a row the following week & he'll be on his decadron (steroids) for 7 days. i don't know how we're gonna work that out with our jobs but we'll figure something out. i hadn't even thought about our weekly visits during the school year. it'll wane down soon enough to once a month but we don't know how far down the line that'll be. it's like we've been on a holiday with this "interim maintenance" cause he's been like a normal kid except that he looks like mr. clean. the last time we went through this was at the beginning so it's like "here we go again!" only this time at least we're somewhat prepared with what to expect. he's gonna be neutropenic (which means he'll be very prone to infection due to the chemo) & nurse said he's gonna hit rock bottom. not looking forward to it at all...