Update - more TIAs

Rick has been feeling well, but has had several TIAs or "mini-strokes" the last week which we believe to be from the Moya-Moya syndrome (http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site2156/mainpageS2156P9.html .

They have lasted from 2-10 minutes, and he loses most of the right side functions. Otherwise, he's been in school and very active.

Meeting with the doctors next week to discuss......

Keep the prayers and good thoughts coming!
Bill

Some good news........

Good news to report: Early last week, Ricky started having symptoms very much like the previous three times he had the tumor so last Wednesday we had a MRI done and the results were very good. No tumor visible, no new growths! Doctors think he may have had a virus that presented the same symptoms. We are VERY relieved! This week we went to Dana Farber and Rick had a very good exam, his platelets hit 101,000, that’s the best they have been in many months. We were able to increase the Irinotecan dose by 25% as a result. Rick had his flu shot as well as his monthly antibiotic yesterday along with the anti nausea and chemo medicine, so he was not feeling that good this morning but went to school just a little late. He loves school and has been doing very well, spelling tests have all been 100% for example. We are so proud of him and he is an incredible inspiration.

There is new research from Duke that highlights the effectiveness of Irinotecan, especially when combined with other drugs, like Avastin. See: http://neuro-oncology.dukejournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/15228517-2008-075v1

Last, he had his eye exam Monday, which looked great, no issues from the radiation last year or any other potential problems. He doesn’t have to go back now for a year.
Once again, we thank you for the prayers and good thoughts. I’m sure the angels are listening.

Wednesday Oct 8th Update

We had our every two-week visit at Dana Farber yesterday. Rick’s platelets climbed to 96,000, his White Blood Cells also increased, and his ANC continues to raise, all good stuff. His exam was stable, and he continues to feel “great” (his words). We added Ativan for his nausea during chemotherapy, which seemed to help a lot. Pizza Uno last night on the way home. He went to school today, a little tired but otherwise, he’s having no side effects except constipation and still an occasional TIA. He looks great!

He has been in Albany NY and Perkinsville VT with family the last two weekends and we're going to RI this weekend, he's a busy guy! He has more energy than we all do!

The next MRI will be November 8th. Please keep the prayers and good thoughts coming.