September Update

Today, 9/26, Dempsey had his second infusion at St. Luke's here in Boise, ID. It went well, as normal. How crazy is that to say? An infusion of chemo at a children's hospital was "normal". Crazy reality. Regardless of our "normal", God has continued to tangibly show his faithfulness in ways we are deeply grateful for.

After today's appointment, we will be increasing Dempsey's weekly methotrexate (MTX) dose by half a pill. He will be going from 11.25mg to 12.5mg. This is a 5% increase. Yes, it's an increase, and I (Coral) am not happy about it, BUT the ONC only wants to increase it by 5% instead of 25% like most ONCs. So, I feel this is a safe increase and we will have a month (4 doses) under our belt by the time the next labs are run. His mercaptopurine (6MP) remains around 65%, for now. We will consider upping the 6MP by 5% next month, depending on Dempsey's numbers. The ONC's plan is to alternate the drugs we increase month-to-month. So, Sept is MTX and Oct might be 6MP.

The reason for this increase is because Dempsey's ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) has been consistently higher than desired. This whole cancer treatment is a balancing act at best and a science experiement at worst. Nevertheless, God is in control and we are doing our best to protect Dempsey's body. It seems like the Lord's favor has covered us as we've used the breadcrumbs he left for us - praying community, NeoLife, doTERRA, AmTryke, trampoline, organic foods, etc... remember Dempsey's winning equation? (see photo below)

Okay, so, we've been in our rental for two week now. It's glorious. The boys love having their own room (together) with separate beds. We enjoy being able to sprawl out over 1,00 square feet and having a yard for the puppers. Life is good. We've been exploring the Treasure Valley a little bit more each week, covering just about all the cities in the valley. We are trying some new burger joints, tons of new parks, at just plain old driving around to take in the sights.

We sincerely appreciate your prayers and financial support as those are sustaining us through Dempsey's journey. This Idaho faith journey has been a miracle in its own right and we are grateful to be allowed to travel it. Please continue praying for this Idahome journey of ours. We can use all the spiritual support we can get. Also, please follow our Idaho journey on my Making Idahome blog via my website.

Dempsey's Winning Equation