Another Therapeutic Weekend

Chase did really well this weekend, starting with a field trip with his kindergarten class to the cider mill on Friday. He was feeling pretty well, although a bit nauseous in the morning, and it was a good opportunity for him to get out with his classmates. He held it together until one of the supplements upset his system again right after lunch and he “lost it”. We’re learning more about which supplements to avoid in those situations and he hasn’t vomited since then. He was in great spirits the rest of the day and weekend.

On Saturday, Chase was full of energy and played great in his soccer game. He really enjoyed getting out there and “mixing it up” with his friends and classmates. It was really nice to see, since this is as therapeutic as anything right now. We realize how important it is to keep him active and vibrant so we’re always looking for ways to get him out. There’s a couple more weeks of the soccer schedule left, then we’ll have to get him into something else (probably go back to karate, which he really liked and wants to get his orange belt soon).

The best part of the weekend was the fact that we’ve finally got the catheter system completely working. Last night was the first time it stayed on the entire time with no leaking. Carol came up with a better way of applying and securing it (with Chase giving her the “slack” to keep trying). What a huge relief – after all the options that we’ve tried (with 10 types of samples from 3 different manufacturers) we finally seem to have a system that works consistently. Now we’ll just need to quickly get supplies of the one that works to keep our momentum going along with Chase’s cooperation.

The only setback over the weekend is the fact that Chase caught a cold (along with the rest of family, except Barbara for now) and the symptoms were bad enough that it didn’t make sense to have him go to school (sinus, runny nose, cough, etc.). We’re trying to minimize the spread of these bugs in his classroom so he doesn’t get exposed to any more than necessary through the school year. Hopefully he’ll get over it quickly and his immune system will be boosted in the process to keep fighting off this tumor. Once we backed off the supplements that his stomach couldn’t tolerate (mainly the fish oil and the strong mulit-vitamin) he’s been holding down the rest and we’re also boosting his vitamin C (10X recommended daily amount) so we’re confident he’ll soon be as strong as ever.

Thanks so much for all the prayers and support.

Lots of love and gratitude,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase and Barbara Ann