Day 4, January 31, 2013..

Day 4, January 31, 2013. Parker has done pretty well today, he slept through the night, and you could tell he was so tired from long days, and from being under sedation yesterday.  I feel so bad for this little guy, because you could tell he was in a lot of pain last night. They made sure to get him some pain pills, and then he slept great. The doctors came in today and told us he looks good and is going down the right path. We are so happy to hear that. Today is the day they will start the vincristine (chemo) through his IV port, they will also start him on the steroid, and they do PEG chemo today and they have to watch him closely, because a lot of kids have allergic reactions. They told us with the steroid he will be hungry all the time and he will gain a lot of weight in his cheeks, and in his stomach. They put him on the steroids because the steroids help push out the blasts (leukemia cells). We have had lots of people in and out of our room, we have had social workers, child life specialits, and volunteers, we have had a lot of great people in here to help us with everything. We are so grateful they have such wonderful staff members here. They have taken such great care of us. If it weren't for the fun nurses we have, I don't know what we would do. Parker is a serious mamas boy, and I can't even walk out of the room without him freaking out. They told us he has a bad case of mommy-itis, and yes he does, if I could get away to go shower, it was kinda a nice break from all the stress. The nurses were great and would sit with him and entertain him for 15 mins or so, so I could just get out for a minute. There are so many great people here.

We miss Ethan SO SO much! Ethan is 4 1/2, and he is such a special kid. We know he was sent to our family to be Parkers older brother, and our great example. Ethan has such a special spirit and loves doing things for others. I got to spend time with him today, and I was so excited to see him. My parents brought him to the hospital so I could go have lunch with him, before he goes and stays with our family in west jordan. My parents sat with Parker while Ethan and I went to the cafeteria for lunch. When we got our lunch we went and found a place to sit, it was very crowded in there. When we sat down, we were about ready to eat and Ethan said mom we need to say a pray, and I said yes we do. So while we sat in a booth in the cafeteria, with people all around us, Ethan prayed for our food, and for his little brother and the temple, and many more things. He makes me so happy! I hope all of those people around us listened to the words Ethan said as he prayed and thought of  all the things in their lifes that are most important, and go home and pray often for the many blessings in their lifes. After Ethan finished the prayer, I gave him a great big hug to hide my tears and then he pulled away and said mom are you crying? I tried to tell him I wasn't, he said why is your face so red? Because I was trying really hard not to just start bawling. This is so hard not having my boys together. The child life specialist made a book for Ethan to explain to him what is going on, and it had a picture of Parker in it, and it explained that he will be in the hospital and he will have an IV put into his chest where the doctors will put in the medicine to help Parker get better, and that mom and dad will be taking Parker to the hospital often and he will get to spend time with family when we are away, and for him to never feel like he did anything wrong. It was a great book they put together for Ethan. He loved it! :)

I am so grateful for the family I have been given.
Love to all my family and friends, thank you for all you do for us. :)