Four down, Two to go

Life has kind of gotten away with me again!! I am sorry for not updating sooner!
Kenneth had his fourth Chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday. It went okay, but we are learning some things. As I mentioned before, Kenneth kind of has a problem with needles. We have found that one of the Chemo nurses is in cahoots with Kenneth's veins and can start the IV immediately without any trouble. Unfortunately, she is NOT the one who started Kenneth on Tuesday. Another nurse, who is very dear, was having quite a bit of trouble getting the IV in and therefore was fishing around. Well, that kind of makes Kenneth's stomach turn, drops his blood pressure and makes him feel sick; not a good start to a day of Chemo. So, Kenneth slept a lot during this treatment trying to recover from the traumatic hook-up (and from general tiredness from the last couple of busy, but fun days). So, we have learned that we just need to ask for the right nurse from the start. It makes a huge difference for Kenneth. The last few days Kenneth has been a little more tired and had a little more nausea than after previous treatments.

We also have some good news to share:

• The X-ray that the doctor ordered after the last round of chemo (because Kenneth was feeling a little bit of irritation in his lungs) showed that there is no re-accumulation of fluid around the lungs and the tumors are no longer visible. Hooray!! The doctor suspects Kenneth was feeling the tumors shrinking and tugging on the lung tissue.
  
• The last blood tests show the Liver function is back to normal. At the start of this the cancer was affecting the Liver.
• Kenneth gained 5 more pounds in the past 3 weeks!!! In fact, the doctor very sensitively suggested he be careful not to overdo it. He even suggested some light exercise. How wonderful that he is gaining and not losing weight and this stage!!! We feel very thankful for how well he is feeling.
  
• Last bit of good news: the doctor sees no reason why we cannot go ahead and book our flights back to New York for Kenneth to walk at his graduation from Cornell University in May!!! We are so excited to be able to be there for that event and to visit family and friends in our dear New York.
  

Well, for now that is what is going on around here. I have a few more posts to write about our adventures (San Fransisco, Redwoods, Natural Bridges Beach), challenges (the kids are sick again =( ) and successes (Arianna is essentially potty trained!) around here, but I am worn out for tonight, so goodbye for now!!!