Still hanging in there

James has been doing pretty well. He is starting to walk a little on his leg which is good. He crawls everywhere mostly. He started PT again which is a little challenging. Nothing too exciting or new. His hair is coming in nicely. He says he wants more hair than his Papa, haha so hopefully we can make that happen. He is very excited for Christmas. This is his favorite time of year and last year he spent it in the hospital, so we have to make up for it. He asked for The King(from cars) and snow for Christmas. I already got him the car but as far as the snow goes, well lets just say for the first time I will probably pray for snow. Good thing we are going to Utah this year so the chances are pretty good. He is still packing on the pounds, his pants are finally getting a little snug. It's nice to buy him new clothes, especially since he has been in the same size for over a year. He goes in a week and a half back to the eye and orthopedic doctors. His eye still doesn't close all the way so they might need to do another surgery. He is doing great, I'm so thankful for this sweet boy and all the time I get with him.

Couch potato

James went to his orthopedic doctor and finally got his cast. They said he has to wear it for four weeks and then we will go back and see how it's doing. It might take longer than normal to heal because his bones are weak from the chemotherapy. He's allowed to walk on it as much as he's able. James though doesn't think he can or is scared, so he sits on the couch most of the day. I have him try and walk and crawl a few times a day. He got his hearing aids. He didn't like them the first couple days but now he thinks they are ok. He calls them his ears lol. He's still doing his therapies and started speech again. Yesterday at clinic his doctor was very happy that he's gaining so much weight. He looks like a completely different person than the one at this time last year. We talked about his face. The right cheek and part of the mouth doesn't move. I wanted to know if there was anything we could do to fix it but they said no. The nerves are most likely permanently damaged and plastic surgery wouldn't help at all. I hate hearing those kinds of things. It makes me frustrated and sad that he will have all these permanent things and there is nothing I can do. I know he's a little kid and they don't care how they look so I guess I shouldn't worry about it. He goes in to get the volume turned up on his hearing aids tomorrow hopefully it will go well. I love my sweet boy and am so glad I still get time with him.

Broken bones stink

Well James has broken his first bones. Sunday night after we had gotten ready for bed James was climbing up to his bed on the top bunk. Usually I'm standing behind him but I was putting Zoey to bed and I guess he thought he could do it.Well he lost his footing and fell and landed on his right leg wrong. I knew immediately he broke something. I took him to the ER and we had some X-rays done of his foot and leg. Sure enough he broke both his Tibia and Fibula up close to the knee. They put him in a splint and sent us home. They won't have to reset it thank goodness! He goes in to see the Orthopedic surgeon on Friday and will probably get his cast. I was so excited that this year he wouldn't have to be in a stroller for Halloween, well I'm wrong. Looks like I'll be pushing him around again. Oh well! He isn't in too much pain but he's scared to move at all. He mostly hangs out on the couch either watching movies or playing iPad. He will probably be in a cast for 3-6 weeks. Physical therapy has been delayed till his cast comes off.  His physical therapist said "well that's what happens when we teach him new things." She's been teaching him to climb the rock wall. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery and is back to his normal self.

MRI scan

James had his three month post treatment MRI this week. His scan came back clear! No cancer cells anywhere! We were so relieved that it was good news. He will have his next scan in January so until then we will just enjoy our time together and not worry about anything. He gets his hearing aids next week. Hopefully he adjusts ok to them. His eye is getting a little better. Sometimes it still doesn't close all the way when he sleeps. His next eye appointment isn't till December so we will see what happens. He is still doing really well during therapy. I'm always amazed at how far he has come in the last year. This time last year he could barely sit up by himself and now he's walking and climbing. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers!

Going well

James is doing really well! He went into clinic today and has gained 2 pounds since they took him off his feeding tube. He is really enjoying food lately. His eye is still a little crooked but looks better than before. He wears an eye patch everyday for at least an hour to keep it nice and strong. He was fit for his hearing aids and will have them by the end of the month. We found out our insurance doesn't cover hearing aids and it was going to cost about $4000. Thankfully though his doctor said we would more than likely qualify for this program where this organization gives them to you for free. We are still waiting to hear if we got them. James is still doing OT and PT every week. Speech has been put on hold till his hearing aids come in. He had his neruophsyc evaluation and it came back that James is exactly where he should be developmentally. He actually improved since his last test in December. His next MRI is scheduled for Monday morning. It will take about 3 hours to get all the scans they need and then we wait for the call telling us good news or bad news. I hate it when it's MRI time, it makes me nervous. We are trying to get a couple fundraisers together soon. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father everyday that James is here with us and doing well.

Eye surgery

James had his eye surgery yesterday. The surgery went well and he is home and doing good. His eye isn't straight yet. They said it takes a week or two before its straight. His eye is a little puffy but looks good. It's kind of weird to be able to see both eyes now. He was supposed to get fit for hearing aids last week but he had too much ear wax. So we took him to his pediatrician to get it cleaned out. Today he is supposed to go back and get fit for his hearing aids. He picked a rusty orange color. He gained a whole pound since being off his tube! So as long as he keeps it up he can keep that tube out. Also he only has to go to clinic every two weeks now instead of every week. His MRI is in mid October. As long as it's clear then he will only go to clinic once a month until February and then he can get his port out. It's nice to be home this year for all the holidays. Hopefully James continues to have no Cancer cells and can enjoy being a little kid.

Back to reality

We had a whole week off of doctors appointments and it was great. James had such a fun time on his trip. It was really hot which made walking around uncomfortable but we still had fun. James loved all the rides. He got to meet Mater in Cars Land and it was a little overwhelming for him I think because Mater was huge. I hope James remembers this trip.
He went to clinic yesterday and they took his NG tube out. As long as James continues to eat and doesn't loose weight he can keep it out. I hope we don't have to put it back in because James loves having it out. He had his neruo psyc evaluation done this week. Pretty much they test to see what all he knows and where he is at developmentally. We don't get the results for a couple of weeks. James had a hearing test done right before we left and we found out he has severe high frequency hearing loss in both ears. He's getting fitted for hearing aids on Friday. He also scheduled to have surgery on his eye next Thursday so lots of stuff coming up. I'm just happy we are getting him back to semi normal. I know he won't ever be how he was and that's ok. I'm just so grateful he's still here with us. I pray everyday that the Cancer will stay away. He has his 3 month MRI coming up in 3 weeks and it's always very nerve wracking.