July 27th Update

Tyler visited the hospital once this week, on Thursday, for a round of routine blood tests. Everything is in check, and Tyler is getting stronger each day. The doctor has now set a tentative date to start his radiation / chemo treatments in preparation for his bone marrow transplant. He is expected to enter the hospital on the 7th of August, with the actual transplant taking place just under a week later. This coming Tuesday, Tyler will receive some outpatient chemotherapy, a bone marrow aspiration, and lumber puncture but if all goes well, he will be spending this weekend at home. His days this week were busy. He spent a “water day” at day camp at church, which Bethany attended all week. He visited Nancy, Daniel and Tiffany, and actually was permitted to push Daniel into the pool in his work suit. This event turned out to be the highlight of his week! He is now moving fluidly from his wheelchair to other locations with the use of his arms. His legs, however, are notably stronger. He is in good spirits and is enjoying this window of time being a ‘regular’ kid.

July 20th Update

Tyler visited the hospital twice this week, for routine blood tests. He is doing well, but needed a blood transfusion today, as his white blood cell count was low. This is a side effect to his last chemotherapy treatment, and actually demonstrates that the chemo is doing its job in his little body. Overall, Tyler is getting stronger, using his upper body to move himself from his wheelchair to the chesterfield. He has been busy playing with his cousins, enjoying his time at home. His appetite is slowly returning, but he is still having difficulty with his taste buds (yet another side effect of the chemo!). Tyler’s next appointment is on Monday, and we hope that he is able to enjoy a relaxing weekend at home with his family. Well...as relaxing as this active little boy would like it to be! Please continue to pray that his body is in the best condition possible, as mid-August is just around the corner, and this is now the expected date for his transplant.

July 14th Update

The evening following my last post (on Monday), Darla was called and told that Tyler would be entering the hospital for a four day round of chemotherapy. Tyler went into the hospital on Tuesday of this past week, and was released last night (Friday). The goal of this round of treatment was to keep his body in remission, and he seems to be gaining strength day by day. When I first got to the house today, Tyler was in Mark’s van helping his Dad vacuum. He was smiling and looked more like his old self than he has for awhile. Although he is still not walking, he is much stronger and is capable of moving himself from his wheelchair, and onto the floor, crawling to get to his desired location or toy. He stayed awake until the wee hours of the morning, playing and talking with Bethany, as he hadn’t seen her all week. They had lots of catching up to do!

A Rainy July 9th Update

Darla, Mark and Tyler trudged up to the Children’s yesterday for another round of blood tests, in order to determine whether the transplant will take place this week. Results were called in, from the dedicated Dr. Mitchell on his cell phone, and it was decided that Tyler’s treatments and transplant would be bumped a few weeks (about a month). Tyler’s liver enzymes were up, as an expected side effect to his past chemotherapy treatments. As the doctors want Tyler to be in the best possible shape to start his bout with radiation, we will now be looking at August as the month for his whole procedure. All in all, the little man is doing well, eating, playing and basically gaining more strength with every passing hour. His current course of treatment will be as an outpatient, receiving chemotherapy in order to maintain his current level of cancer free cells. The family has Monday and Tuesday off, as Tyler’s next visit to the hospital is on Wednesday. Tyler still has low immunity, so the family will be sticking close to home during their downtime. Thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts.

July 4th Update

The Wallis family packed up Tyler’s things for his long awaited hospital visit today. However, they were informed that the entire procedure will be moved to next week, as Tyler’s body needs to be in tip-top shape. Tyler was given a blood transfusion, in hopes of strengthening his little body. Darla and Mark are psychologically and physically exhausted, as they have been anxious these last few days, expecting to start the lengthy process towards recovery, but are confident in Dr. Mitchell’s decision. A quiet evening was spent at home as Poppa prepared supper and Nanny visited. Visitors are limited as Tyler’s immunity has gotten lower in the last few days.

July 3rd Update

After much anticipation, the start to Tyler’s treatments has been delayed. A trip to the hospital on Friday uncovered a high level of enzymes in Tyler’s liver that remained high yesterday. The family will take another trip to the Children’s today for an MRI, and also to determine whether another change to the treatment schedule is due. Last evening was spent playing videogames, and snacking. At one point, there were two Nintendo DS, a Game Cube, and music going from the radio. Tyler has become very skilled at playing videogames. He also seems to have mastered the French language. For a boy who only completed half a year of kindergarten; he is capable of translating many words from French to English, as well as carry on a conversation in French. We joke with him that his blood transfusions were probably donated by French speaking individuals! Please pray for Darla and Mark, to give them strength through such unknown territory, as they are fully aware of the complications that may occur. We expect the road to recovery to be very long, but we pray that there will be few bumps along the way.

Getting The Ball Rolling...

Tyler heads to the hospital on Tuesday to get the ball rolling towards his transplant. During the past week, Tyler was up early for visits to the Children's for tests, scans and results as the doctors are keeping close tabs on his progress. A dentist appointment was even thrown into the mix, to make sure that every inch of him is in the best shape possible. Tyler's appetite is back in full effect, with him craving "Bits and Bites" at all hours of the day and night. He is enjoying munching on Tsatsiki and pita. Tomorrow's schedule includes blood tests, and hopefully some time with family, as we are not sure how long Tyler will be in isolation. Sitting with Tyler, at the laptop, I came across a quote that he kept repeating, "the first step to better times is to imagine them". Hopefully we can allow our imagination to take a back seat soon as better times are surely around the corner.