Hello and happy Friday! It's been a busy few days so I haven't had time to check in. We are resting this morning after a big day yesterday, so I thought I would hop on and give a quick update. Overall- Mason is doing really well.

We had one issue on Tuesday night, when he once again threw up the NJ tube that had been placed that day. The team adjusted his nausea meds in order to help him get it under better control, and also agreed to only do feeds through the tube in the overnight hours, while he is sleeping, in order to avoid any nausea during the day that could be caused by the feed. Mason is also eating well during the day, so they are comfortable with night feeds only.

This did mean that he had to go back down to the procedure room on Wednesday to get the NJ tube placed again. He was a trooper and managed the procedure well, even though it was VERY uncomfortable and took a bit longer than it had the day before. (John was on duty that day, so I don't know if they were back in the monkey room or not. Thank you to everyone who confirmed that Mason was 100% correct and I clearly don't have a photographic memory when it comes to Curious George- no tail!!)

Outside of that procedure, things have remained stable. I am excited to announce that for the first time since we arrived at the hospital on May 25, Wednesday's lab work showed ZERO leukemia blasts. This trend continued yesterday and today- the doctors are pleased with this development and we hope it is a trend that continues, although there is a potential that they will show up again. We also continue to be fever-free- today marks one full week since our last fever.

With the absence of fever and the leukemia disease itself, Mason is starting to look more like himself. He still needs to gain back some serious weight, but he has more stretches of time where he is awake and alert and willing to chat. We have had several discussions in the last few days about what we need to work on in order to be able to go home following this round of treatment- including pushing ourselves to get out of the bed more often. Because he is mid-treatment and still feeling the side effects of chemo, this feels like a huge challenge, but he is getting himself mentally prepared to take it on- one day at a time.

Yesterday was a holiday- really the first one we have spent inpatient. I wanted to make it somewhat special for him- since all these days run together and he's always asking what day it is. His big brother Jack is on a mini-break from his summer classes, so I was able to swing by GA Tech and pick him up on my way to the hospital with a cooler filled with goodies.

Alex, Jack and I arrived during one of Mason's more alert hours- lunchtime. We set up a board game for him to play with his brothers, and he was able to eat a full picnic of two hot dogs, three slices of watermelon, jalapeno chips and a piece of cake. He humored me and put on the red, white and blue beads that I brought just to be festive, and he beat his brothers easily in the game pretty quickly. Then we all settled in to watch a movie together. Alex and Jack headed home with John and Adrienne so Mason could rest- he was wiped out after a big afternoon.

When he woke up from his nap, Mason asked for the homemade spaghetti I had brought up for him to eat. He devoured the bowl pretty quickly. (I have completely ignored the power of mom's homemade food y'all- since I am at the hospital so much and so tired when I get home, I have relied on hospital food, catering from the family lounge and food delivery services to provide him with meals. (The kids at home (and myself) have been eating through all the meals that have been delivered by friends- thank you all so much!!) After watching him eat the hot dogs yesterday (and ask for more after they were all gone), the spaghetti last night, and the homemade chocolate chip muffins this morning, I told him that I would bring him one homemade meal each time I come back to the hospital. His next request was for my wild rice casserole- so that'll be on my list of things to do when I get home tomorrow!)

After he ate, it was time to attack the 7 chemo pills, plus the 4 other meds that he needed to take, all at the same time that he was receiving one chemo dose through his lines. He moved over to the bed next to the window before we got started, as it was starting to get dark. We turned on his favorite country playlist and watched together as the entire horizon lit up from different fireworks displays in and around the city of Atlanta. Although I never want to have to go back to the ICU again, that move meant that we ended up in a room that provided a view of all the best fireworks shows- so we will take that win. While we would much rather have been on the boat at my parents' cabin, watching the fireworks over the lake in northern Minnesota, which is where we usually are, this was also a pretty special moment that we got to share. And then I had to kick him out of my bed- which he only agreed to when I told him he could nap there again today- we got a new mattress topper on it and it is so incredibly comfortable!

We had another mostly quiet night last night, and his labs this morning continue to look good. He is responding well to the current round of treatment. Specific prayers that he continues to respond well, that we continue to avoid fever and that he gains weight and energy over the next few weeks would be appreciated.

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday!