The last couple of days...

As you know, we have been preparing for and celebrating the wedding of Michael's big sister and new brother-in-law that took place this past Saturday.

The blushing bride and her smiling groom - Jenny and Ralph.

Michael wore a tuxedo like those worn by the groomsmen. When he tried it on at the rental store, he looked in the mirror and said "I'm handsome. Aren't I, Mama?"

"Yes, you are little buddy."

Then Michael and his big brother walked their beautiful sister down the aisle. It was a perfect day in a romantic setting surrounded by those that mean the most to us.

Michael was great during the wedding and reception but unfortunately, that is the only time since last Friday that he felt well. As is usual with the first week back to chemo after a break, Michael was terribly sick. When he woke up after his treatment, he was "out of it" a little more than usual. And he didn't have much of an appetite all evening - eating only a couple of bites of pizza and an ice cream cone. Then he woke up around 2am and started throwing up and it didn't let up until after 8am, when he was finally able to keep down some Zofran.

He felt good for the entire day but still didn't eat much. And he drank even less. Since he didn't get much sleep Friday night, he asked to go to bed pretty early on Saturday and he slept peacefully all night. Then on Sunday morning the vomiting started again. And he had severe pains in his stomach that made him curl up into a ball and cry out in pain.

All of the way home he alternated between getting sick and taking little catnaps. And it didn't get any better after we got home. Sunday night, he slept very restlessly and he still couldn't keep anything down on Monday. His eyes had black circles under them. His little lips were all cracked and his skin had a gray pallor to it. I was really starting to worry since he hadn't kept anything down for 3 days - even clear liquids.

Finally on Monday afternoon, the stomach pains subsided. He was able to eat a light lunch and, more importantly, was drinking some liquids. By today his appetite was back to normal and he went back to daycare. But tonight, he became very frustrated playing with his toys and began throwing a full blown temper tantrum. When he calmed down, I asked him to talk to me and tell me what was wrong. He started crying and said he couldn't peddle his bike because his legs hurt "real bad". And then he said that sometimes his wrists hurt, too. I think this is a new side effect of the Vincristine and we can only hope it will subside quickly.

It's funny - when we were at the wedding, I was watching Michael and thought that if you didn't know everything that was going on, you would think he was a typical, active, healthy five year old. But then in the blink of an eye, I am reminded that there is nothing typical about our life these days. I think this is the sickest he has been since he started the maintenance phase of chemo. I wonder if that has anything to do with Michael receiving a full dose of Carbo last Friday after receiving a reduced dosage last time around.

Please keep Michael in your thoughts and prayers, JoAnne

(Next time - more of our Make-A-Wish trip.)