Day 6 has been by far the hardest for Camden. His pain is being managed by continuous morphine. A side effect from the megadose of chemotherapy has left him with mucositis (inflammation of mucus membranes in mouth, throat, and stomach) and also causes sores in these areas. Camden's does not have visible sores, but he cannot open his mouth and is in a lot of pain. We are fully relying on tube feeds for nutrition. Last night he vomited out his NG tube and it had to be removed and replaced. His ANC is 50, still declining to 0...praying his suffering will not last long, as it is painful to watch your child like this, but our strength, courage, religion, and faith prevails and will guide us through and Camden will quickly recover! Please continue to pray for his complete healing! Much love~

Day +5: Despite starting to feel yucky...Camden got up, took a bath, got dressed and played a little in the hallway!  13 days into the transplant process...engraftment takes place around day +10 through +14.  We still have the most difficult week ahead of us.  Praying....

Day 3:  Another relatively long day on the transplant floor.  Camden and I were shooting hoops this morning after our new child life friend brought us a basketball net for his bathroom door! Today Camden, Ron, and I made the decision to proceed with the NG tube in his nose.  This will allow us to give him his oral medications through the tube instead of him worrying and getting upset about taking so many medications by mouth.  In time, when he is not eating as much, it can also be used for nutrition supplementation.  Praying those little stem cells are working diligently towards engraftment!  Lets GO stem cells, LETS GO!  Praying, believing, trusting, and praying some more.....

Prayers are being answered!! Nursing comment to Camden this morning, "WOW, I have NEVER seen someone run so fast down THESE hallways!" That's my boy. Thank you Jesus!! THANK YOU JESUS FOR ANOTHER PERFECT DAY!!!! xoxo

Our superhero is doing SUPER FANTASTIC!!!  He amazes us daily!  His dinner tonight was tacos and Italian ice!  ; ) His ANC today was 700....so he still has to drop to 0 and recover to 500 and stay at 500 for 3 days to ensure engraftment (successful transplant)....then homebound to complete isolation for 100 days!  Crusaders, symptoms are ALWAYS worse when counts are getting to zero, stuck at zero and recovering from zero, so please remain diligent with your prayers! As always, much love!!!!!

We have every intention of kicking cancers butt today!!

Day 0!  The time for Camden's stem cell transplant is 12:30 and we are guessing it will take about an hour!  Prayers, prayers, prayers!!!

Day -2 is a day of rest!  No chemo today.  Camden is disconnected from his IV pole and roaming freely within his room.  He is still eating and drinking (which has slowed down some).  The transplant doctor suspects within a few days he will require a feeding tube....Praying we prove them wrong, but realistic too!!  I am okay with whatever Camden needs to get him through this with the least amount of pain and the most amount of support!  I cannot praise the staff enough....it takes a special person to be an children's oncology nurse and we are thankful to have so many on our side...from Boston to Hartford!!  Chemo resumes tomorrow and then transplant 24 hrs after....