Round 3 (already!)

Tuesday, Matthew started round 3 of his treatment. I wasn't ready for it - I thought he had another week to go. But it's good news, because it's progress. So yay!

His current phase of treatment is called Interim Maintenance I. There are two rounds of Interim Maintenance over the course of his treatment. This seems like it's going to help things ease up on us a little. He only goes to the doctor every 10 days, and all the chemo is intravenous, except for a single lumbar puncture in 30 days. The medicine he'll be getting in his IV is called Vincristine (which he got during his first phase of treatment). It only takes 3 minutes to administer it through his IV. He has not suffered any obvious side effects from the Vincristine in the past, except that it probably contributed to his hair loss - so he may lose the rest now. He'll also be getting IV Methotrexate. This is what they've previously been putting into his spinal fluid, but the IV dose is a lot bigger. It may make him nauseous, but they give him anti-nausea medicine with it, and Tuesday seemed to go well. I didn't notice any nausea, or other problems. They said that if he gets sick at home afterwards, I can give him Benadryl and it will help. The Methotrexate takes 15 minutes to administer through an infusion in his IV.

He doesn't have to take any daily medicine at home - just his antibiotic twice a day on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Interim Maintenance I will last 57 days, unless there are any delays. The thing that could delay it is his counts. They will only administer the regularly scheduled chemo if his counts are high enough. So the day before each appointment, a nurse will come to our home and draw Matthew's blood. If his ANC is above 500 (if I remember correctly) they will do his chemo the next day. If it's lower, they'll delay it and check again in 4 days. If it's still lower, they will give the Vincristine, but not the Methotrexate.

Methotrexate will lower his counts, and they want to give as high a dose of it as possible, so it's a constant juggle. If his counts are high enough, they'll continue to up his dose until he reaches a maximum. So, it seems that for the next 57 days, Matthew will have pretty low counts. Hope that's not a problem with cold and flu season coming up.

SO, with all the technical stuff out of the way. I have some fun stuff!

My husband's amazing family has been working hard since right after Matthew's diagnosis to put together a fundraiser for us. I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm going to mention it again. It's a classic car show - and I've heard there may be as many as 70 cars there. There will be a silent auction, boutique/craft sale, face painting, and a $3 hot dog lunch. While I can never describe how grateful we are for the financial help we've been receiving (it has kept us afloat!), I'm almost more excited for the fun event with so many friends and family there. I think it's going to be such a good time! And honestly, my sisters-in-law know how to throw a great party!

I can't upload the flyer, but I'll copy and paste what I can here:

Classic Car Show

Fundraiser

PCA Parking Lot

4654 West 1525 South

Saturday September 24, 2011

11:00 am – 3:00 pm

There will be fun for everyone!!!

· Boutique sale

· Bake sale

· Face Painting

· Silent Auction

· Lunch

Please join us for a fundraiser to benefit

Matthew Burr, Battling Leukemia at age 3.

All proceeds will go to help Matthew and his

family through this hard life experience.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them

every step of the way.