Liver Enzymes Follow Up 3

Yesterday, 1/31/17, Dempsey had MORE labs to follow up on his liver enzymes.

Liver enzymes are still too high at 184.

     They need to be below 175.

          He continues his chemo hold- week 4.

               Now also holding Bactrim on weekends (totally fine with that).

Still no work from CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) on the NUDT15 test results. Our CHOC OPI nurse/ doc (not sure which she is- sorry) said they, CHOP, are running slower than usual. Annoying.

The plan to restart his chemo at 75% dose is still in place, assuming his liver enzymes get to the acceptable range. This isn't ideal but it a step in the right direction. We need those NUDT15 reuslts!

I truly believe that this is God's way of protecting Dempsey right now. Our sweet boy has been drug free for almost a month- praise God!! We have been able to focus on detoxing his little, over-taxed body and allow his liver to do what it needs to, how it needs to, as it needs to. Please pray over this organ of his specifically- that it will receive the rest it needs, rejuvinates quickly, and regenerates stronger than before so it can do the work it will have to unlike it ever has before.

Dempsey is STRONG. Dempsey is HAPPY. Dempsey misses the nights in the hospital at CHOC where it was just he and his daddy for the night. That last one makes me cry. Y'all, are baby has been through a form of hell I pray no person ever has to endure and he remembers the good things. Praise God for his protection of our baby's mind- another of your many prayers answered in the most wonderful way.

Meanwhile, Dempsey has (long-since) said good-bye to his therapy trike and said hello to a "normal" bike, with training wheels for now. Enjoy some photos.

We bought the bike from Andrew at the Cyclery Bike Shop in La Mirada on January 27th.

We took the bike for its first out-of-our-neighborhood ride on January 30th at

Wilderness Park in Downey.

For now, there is a whole lot else to report. I am grateful for that fact!

In the works, planning to build a "business" around educating, empowering, encouraging, and providing hope to other leukemia families through speaking engagements and sharing resources and networking. Have NO CLUE how this will work, if it will work, or when it will work... but I think it's necessary and divinely inspired.

PRAY AS YOU FEEL LED, friends. We still need prayer. Every day, all day, we need prayer. We are nowhere near done with this craptastic journey called cancer but we do feel peace, hope, and purpose in it and through it.