We're done!

Malcolm had his very last chemo treatment today - we are done round six and done all his treatment! He also had his central line out. His counts are all nice and high - ANC jumped up to 2,600, hemoglobin was 127 and platelets 344.

It seems surreal - it is strange to pick him up and not have to worry about pulling on his line or worry about him snagging it on something as he plays. In a couple of days, once the site where the central line was inserted has healed over, he can have a real bath! Donovan is very excited at this prospect. We can finally try to get back to normal and not have to worry about going to the ER if he happens to spike a fever. In fact, Malcolm may never need to be hospitalized again - how crazy is that?!

The photos above were taken about a week and a half ago. Malcolm was invited to the party of one of his friends from daycare. We agonized over whether he should attend or not but decided it is important for him to start enjoying regular things again. I have also taken him grocery shopping this month - in the fall, we were avoiding taking him anywhere because it was cold and flu season and he was so susceptible to catching stuff. Now we figure that although his immunity is still a bit compromised, it should be ok to take him a few places where there are other people, especially if it will be a good experience for him. He had a great time at the party and we feel we made the right decision to take him - thanks Harry and Irene!

I have been meaning to write a blog entry about Malcolm's birth as this is a topic that people are often interested in. I have started drafting it and will post it later this month. In meantime, if you are wondering what it is like to receive such unexpected news at birth, I encourage you to go to www.kellehampton.com and play the video. The first half of this video describes an experience that I think is quite typical.

Feel free to celebrate on Malcolm's behalf - we certainly are,

Mary Ellen