The Littlest Soldiers

The medals on our chests
Are port-a-caths for meds
Helmets won't stay on
'Cause no hair is on our heads.

Our weapons of destruction
We take every day
We fight the battle within us
While we struggle on to play.

We fight with honor and courage
No Marine could do as well
We are only little children
Living in this hell.

So bring on the medals
The Purple Hearts of Wars
The Gold Cross, The Silver Star
To place upon our scars.

For we are the Children of Cancer
No one has fought so hard
But every day we struggle on
Our life is our reward.


*this poem was posted at the clinic today and I had to share it with you. It is so hard to put into words how hard this situation is, and this poem said it all beautifully.

Love, Cherie

Post From X

Hi everybody I feel fine.Thank you for all the messages you all have sent me.I feel like i'm in house prison, and i'm bored out of my mind!I went to the clinic today and had a procedure.They call it a LP but that just means lumbar puncture. They put medicine into my spine to kill the leukemia.I dont like doing those because it makes me nauseous when they put me to sleep.
I start homeschool next week for 5th grade with my 4th grade teacher Mrs. Jones. She is really nice.I never thought I would want to go back to regular school so bad!I dont have much else to say so I will write again later.

Xavier

Treatments have begun for the consolidation phase. Yesterday we spent about 8 1/2 hours at the clinic, Xavier had a spinal tap of meds, as well as IV chemo. He has been complaining of alot of soreness in his back. It is to be expected considering all of the procedures he has had! We are also dealing with more nausea w/ the new medication he recieved this morning. We are needing to use the nausea meds that were prescribed more now than in the 1st phase of treatment. He is being so brave and strong, I can't even begin to explain how proud Jared and I are of how he is dealing with everything! When X is feeling a little better he will post his own thoughts/opinions. So look for that soon!

Cherie

July 22, 2008

Xavier was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on June 16, 2008. He began the first phase of chemotherapy which is called induction and lasts 29 days on June 19. His doctors ordered many different medications and treatments which included, IV meds weekly, daily oral prednisone ( a steroid ) and weekly spinal tap meds. He has tolerated everything relatively well, with only nausea and fatigue. July 17 was his 29th day and the end of phase one of chemo. His doctors performed a bone marrow test, spinal fluid test, and an MRD test to determine how well his body has responded to treatment. We are so pleased to say that after the doctors reviewed the results X is in REMISSION!! We now will be moving on to the next phase of treatment called consolidation, which will start this Thursday the 24th. This phase will last for about 2 months. Unfortunately this will be more extensive and we will be going to clinic 4 times a week for 2 weeks, then 2 weeks off, then 4 times a week for 2 weeks again, and 2 weeks off. These will be new medications, and we dont know how Xavier will respond to these meds and what the side effects will be. We still have a long road ahead, even though X is considered to be in remission, his treatments will continue for 3-5 years. We appreciate your continued prayers and support, and will do our best to keep you updated on his progress through this blog. Feel free to post messages as well, we would love to hear from you! Xavier will be posting his own thoughts as well, so we hope to hear from you all soon! Thank you so much for your love and support. And a special thanks to Wendi for setting this up for us!! :)

Love, Cherie