Trials and Smiles

Jordan's birthday celebration may not have been a blast, but it wasn't a dud, either. The German chocolate cupcakes, recipe compliments of Liz, were a hit, and the visits and gifts (games, movies,a handmade quilt, aww, even those wacky bug vision glasses) were warmly received. When a four hour get out of Hospital Free card was presented by the staff, Jordan lost no time in requesting a meal of Brianna's delectable barbecued chicken. The downside of the day, though, was having to hand over his nearly brand-new laptop to a friend for repair. Still, the upside is having a friend who's willing to work on it, maybe keeping it from being shipped all the way back to California. Thank you, Harold!

The fourth round of chemotherapy began today with the twin dragons of Ifosfamide and Etoposide. Already, for an unknown (to us) reason, his heart rate dropped to 47 beats per minute. The normal rate is about 70-90 bpm. Another concern is that just last Thursday, he required two units of packed red blood cells, and yesterday, only 3 days later, another 2 units had to be transfused. The results of chemo just are not meeting expectations. This morning, phone calls were made on Jordan's behalf in search of additional options and information. The NCI responded by supplying links to 2 clinical trials ongoing at the NIH, with a promise of more trial data to come. We've been told that another bone marrow biopsy and more testing will be performed after this round. If warranted, we would like to have a new strategy for treatment in place.