Consolidation 1 Week 3

Last week was mom's week to take Everett to Children's for his arsenic treatments.  It was another uneventful week, which is just the way we like it.  Most days we were at the clinic by 9:30, hooked up to his arsenic IV and EKG monitor and running by 10:00 and back at Ronald McDonald house by 12:30 or 1:00.  Everett hasn't had a single side effect from the arsenic so far and we pray that his last 2 weeks (and his second round of arsenic) are the same. 

Each day that I spend with Everett at the clinic, where they pump his little body full of poison in hopes of killing every last leukemia cell, I am amazed by how brave and strong he is, and I am shocked that a 2 year old will sit in one spot for 2 and a half hours playing quietly simply because mommmy told him he had to so he could get the medicine that will make him all better.  Whatever the nurses and doctors ask of him, he willingly complies, and even asks "can I help you?".

Everett is doing great, smiling and laughing, playing and just being himself.  Every day at the clinic, he runs to greet his nurse and has a way of making everyone's day a little bit brighter.  So far he seems unfazed by the turn his life has taken, and we are working hard every day to make sure that he and Avery have as "normal" of a life as possible.  For now normal happens to include weekly trips to the hospital.

As for me, I feel privileged to be able to take this journey with Everett.  With every fiber of my being, I hate that he has to fight cancer, but I am so proud to be his mom and every day I am inspired by him.  Each day is a struggle to hang on, and some days I don't feel strong enough, but I will for him and for Avery...because they deserve everything in life and it is our job as parents to do everything we can to give it to them.