Hello y'all- I feel like I have a lot of info to throw out there today- it seems like every time I catch my breath there is another new team of doctors in the room giving me even more information.

I'll start with last night- Mason was finally able to get the nausea under control around 8:30 p.m. and requested a can of ravioli, followed by a cup of microwave mac and cheese and turkey protein bites. He was able to eat a Twix ice cream bar and drink a Core Power protein drink. He kept all of it down so we considered it a successful dinner.

At about 9:45 p.m. Mason popped up in the bed and declared that it was time to take a walk. We made it about 25 yards before he got tired and the nausea started creeping back up. Thankfully I had a wheelchair with us, so he was able to sit down and I walked him in a circle around the floor before we went back to the room. When visiting hours end at 8:30 p.m. each night, they turn out most of the hall lights, so it was a very peaceful, quiet time.

When we got back to the room, we dealt with more big frustrated feelings. He is just tired of feeling so sick. I think that while some of the physical symptoms are taking less of a toll on Mason, some of the emotional responses are going to become a bigger part of each daily battle, which is to be expected.

We were tucked into bed and asleep by 11:30 p.m., and outside of a few trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, we had a peaceful night. Mason woke up around 6:30 a.m. and said his nausea was at a 3/10. He then promptly fell right back to sleep, and we both slept through the nurse shift change at 7 a.m.

Hayley and Alex came to visit this morning and brought Mason Chick-fil-a for breakfast. Alex decided to hang out for the day, so he has been diligently getting his brother whatever he has asked for- but also has been able to watch as Mason fights the nausea- so he has a better idea of what Mason's days look like for now.

When the doctors came by today, they did let me know that realistically, based on Mason's blood count numbers and his continued fevers, we will likely NOT have an opportunity to go home for a little break between now and the next chemo treatment. Based on this news, we are going to focus in on making him feel as comfortable as possible while he is here so that he can start taking more regular walks, get out of the four walls of his room to explore the rest of the hospital, and hopefully even receive visits from all of his friends who are waiting so patiently to reconnect with him. (We had more big emotions when Mason heard this- he's remaining as positive as he can, but this has been a lot for me to take in, and I'm not the one who has to lie in the bed and feel as sick as he does.)

With that goal in mind, we also met with a new team of doctors, the PACT team, who are available for additional support services for patients and families that are dealing with these difficult diagnoses and lengthy treatment paths. I was able to introduce them to what is important to Mason for quality of his time here, and we spent time talking about what our specific goals for him are. They were able to share a few alternative ways that we can possibly help him with the nausea, including wrist bands to work on pressure points and essential oil scent sticks (peppermint was a no-go but the lavender scent actually did help him immediately). They were also able to provide some input into a few changes in the anti-nausea meds and dosages, so we are really hoping that these changes will help significantly in the next few days.

Mason was too nauseous to do anything with the occupational therapist today, but he did come out from under the blankets when the physical therapist popped in. He was able to do a few leg exercises with her, and we received a whole workout set for him to work on in his own time, when the nausea allows it. Basically- any use of his muscles at this point is a bonus.

I spent time with our main physician in charge of Mason's case as well. She wanted to check in with me after I had time to process the big news and new direction for treatment (bone marrow/stem cell transplant) after last week.

She let me know that on day 29 of the cycle (next Wednesday, 6/26), they will go in and do another bone marrow aspiration and lumbar tap. The results of that bone marrow test will help direct the next course of chemo- the meds and dosages will change based on what they see in that test. He will receive additional chemo within the spinal fluid on that day as well- in order to make sure that remains clear. I believe the next round of chemo would start one week after that test. The doctor also indicated that a good number of patients with the particular genetic make up of leukemia that Mason has will not necessarily clear the leukemia blasts during the first round of chemo (which we didn't), but they tend to see smaller numbers after the second round. At this time, the number of blasts present is not increasing, which is what we want to see if there are going to be any blasts at all.

We also discussed a few different questions I had after I mentioned that I had tried to google the name of Mason's specific genetic mutation. Here's the honest truth y'all- I did one quick google search on the night Mason was first diagnosed- just on general pediatric acute leukemia. Based on a few of the items I saw within those results, I have had to step away from my computer and avoid every natural impulse to research every piece of information that we receive. Instead, I have been focused on the information the doctors are providing to us and sometimes even that amount of information can be overwhelming. So when we got the news last week, I thought that I could go ahead and do some research on what that mutation meant. I WAS SO WRONG. I went down a whole separate rabbit hole, and his sweet doctor talked me back around to what I need to be focused on for Mason's fight.

I also spent time today being introduced to our main point of contact with the transplant team. We have an appointment to sit down with the physicians next Wednesday, 6/26, to go through a complete overview of what the process looks like, what expectations might look like, and to answer all of those 3 million questions I have been jotting down. Although the transplant team is currently located in a separate hospital within the Atlanta area, the doctors will come to us for next week's appointment, knowing that we are still inpatient here with Mason. Potentially, by the time Mason is ready for the transplant itself, the entire Aflac center that we are being treated in will be moved into a brand new facility (the Arthur M. Blank hospital), including the tranpslant team. I never thought I would be someone who would be getting excited about a brand new treatment facility and Mason being one of the first patients to be treated there- but here we are on this particular ride and I do think we could look for some positives as I have been hearing amazing things about the new facility.

The nurse practitioner was just in to swab Mason's cheek to begin the process of determining his genetic/bone marrow make up that will need to be matched for the transplant. They will draw blood from the rest of the immediate family tomorrow in order to have time to go through their process to determine if any of us are a match or if we will need to go out to a registry.

That's about it for now- Mason just got another dose of anti-nausea meds, he has his lavender scent stick to help him, and hopefully his dad can get him talked out of bed for another short walk tonight- after he eats more ravioli (and apparently pickles- that was his request of the day from the grocery store- and yes, that combo causes me to have a bit of sympathy nausea as well- but we will provide him with whatever his little heart desires).

I am headed home for the night to make sure I am present for one more task that I have not been looking forward to- packing up big brother Jack to leave home for college. Tomorrow morning, after we come here for the blood draws, John and I will bring Jack just down the road into downtown Atlanta to move him into his summer dorm at Georgia Tech, where he will be pursuing a degree in physics.

So just don't mind me if we happen to run into each other any time in the next while (or possibly forever- who knows?) - I'm going to be a bit of a hot mess... Mason doesn't know that every time I am talking him through a particularly bad moment of nausea, I'm teaching myself as much as him to just "focus on your breathing- in through the nose, out through the mouth- let's just focus on this moment. You're doing great and it's going to be okay."