Day 5 - DONE

We are home and all is well.  We had a wonderful supper from James' mom. 
Here's the rundown for next week:

• Monday - Blood work and 1 Chemo treatment.  James  is on three chemo drugs and gets one every Monday.  Please pray for him as this is the drug that made him ill on Monday.
• Wednesday - Appointment with Dr. Coscio
• Beginning Monday, James' white blood cell counts will drop and won't rebound for a couple of days.  He will get at high risk for infection. 

We love and appreciate everyone reading this blog.  Here's to a happy and prosperous new year to you and yours.
God Bless,
Amy

Day 4 and Day 5

Wahoo!  We made it to Friday!  Day 5 and we are done for the week!  I am sorry for the lack of posts yesterday.  No news is good news!  We arrived downtown in true August Hill fashion.  We were exactly one hour early.  I thought the appt was for eight but it turns out it was for eight thirty- oops!
James is doing well.  No nausea and no fever.  He has been a bit more tired but that is to be expected.  For now, he's relaxing, eating Blue Bell Rainbow Sherbet and watching "Gunsmoke".
I will update sometime this weekend as I return to work tomorrow...ugh!
Happy New Year All!!!
Amy

Voice Of Truth - Casting Crowns

Day 3

We're back at the hospital for day 3 of chemo. James' blood counts were up this morning and his liver and kidneys are in good shape. The treatment is beginning to wear on him as he is already napping. This is a common chemo side effect: fatigue. We'll be here for our normal eight hour day today and tomorrow. On Friday, we will go downtown as our local MD Anderson office will be closed. Say a prayer for our trip to Houston because James is not a fan of my driving!

Amy

Day 2 Continued

We had an very uneventful day and we're so thankful for it! James had no temp and no nausea today. It looks like one of the chemo drugs is to blame for the rough night last night. The good news is he will only get that particular drug on Mondays so the rest of the week should be smooth sailing!
Tonight we have to give huge praise for Meme and Aunt Donna and the hard work they put in at our house while we were at chemo. We came home to a spotless house! What a wonderful help! So thankful for such a wonderful family!
Goodnight all,
Amy

Day 2

Day 2 is underway. James' fever broke somewhere around 3 AM and was normal when we came in today. He is doing well considering the rough night. He's a little less than half way done. Pray for an uneventful day!
Thanks for covering James and I in prayer!
Amy

Also...

In your prayers tonight, please thank God for Dr. Coscio. As I mentioned, I called regarding James' temp about an hour and a half ago. She just called back to check on James. She is the best! A real blessing in all of this!

Day 1

To start, thanks to all who prayed over James' fever. His temp was normal this morning so he started chemo as scheduled. Praise the Lord!!!
The day started in the lab where routine blood work was drawn then a long visit with Dr. Coscio. To sum it up, the team at MD Anderson is 90% sure James has a germ cell tumor. As a precaution because the diagnosis is not 100%, he will have scans run after his second chemo treatment to monitor how the tumor reacts. For now, he will receive meds, two chemo drugs and fluids over the course of 8 hours/day for 5 days/week every third week for four cycles of treatment. Day one is complete. James' treatments are very aggressive therefore there are lots of side effects.
Today, he experienced a bit of nausea. It was treated intravenously with meds and pretty much knocked him out for the evening. Since we've been home, he has started running a low grade fever accompanied with chills and sweats. Because this side effect was not mentioned today, I called the doctor. At this time, his blood pressure and pulse are normal but I will monitor all three components (temp, bp, and pulse) through the night. If is temp or bp drop, we will land ourselves in the hospital for the evening. Please pray for James.
I will do my best to keep everyone updated. I can not express how much the out pour of love, support and prayer means to us!
Praying for rest,
Amy

Help for James and Amy

Hi all-

Most of you may already know me, but to introduce myself - I am James' sister, Lauren. I wanted to find a way to help my brother and Amy financially with some of the upcoming medical bills that they are facing. While they are blessed with good insurance, their out of pocket costs will be substantial, and James will be on short-term disability for anywhere from 3 to 6 months.

On the right side of the blog (underneath the followers), there is a "Donate" button to accept monetary donations. If you feel led to do so, please follow the button to PayPal to make a donation.

Thank you in advance for helping my brother and Amy in their time of need. Please continue to pray for them as James starts Chemo tomorrow at 8 a.m.

Thanks and love to each of you,

Lauren