All Is Seemingly Back To Normal This Week

All is well in our house and everything is seemingly "normal" again! What a week Liam had with his pneumonia. Luckily, his antibiotics and shots from the doctor helped him and his back to his old self again. I finally heard back from the nurse and Liam is now scheduled for his first chemo treatment on Friday, November 2nd. They want us to come in on Fridays, so I am guessing we will go in every Friday for the next 13 weeks starting next week. I'm still in denial. None of this seems real except the port in his chest, or as Liam says, "I have my own porch". lol!

He and Josiah are back to their usual antics. Liam may be the little brother, but he always stands up for himself and wins most battles with Josiah. He's such a strong little boy and a fighter. We will never be ready for this, but I'm confident he will face this challenge head on and come out victorious.

Playing with his birthday present from Grandma, Chuggington Choo Choo!

I am actually happy he doesn't begin treatment until after Halloween. He is so excited to go trick or treating this year as a monkey! Now I know he will feel fine and be able to walk around all day to collect treats. I can't wait to see him in his adorable Tom Alva costume.

Liam's Port Is Now Placed

Hi, everyone! Thanks for joining us here at Life With Liam. His journey with Neurofibromatosis is not new to us, but the recent MRI findings were definitely a shock. I've been meaning to write a background post here so you can read what Liam has already been through, but right now we've been busy taking care of Liam and staying in the present.

About One Month Ago..
I have to be honest... for some reason I expected it. Call it mother's intuition, but I felt like something was wrong before he went in for that MRI and for that very reason I put off that MRI as long as I could. We enjoyed the entire summer MRI-free, but it was time to face reality and go in.

Liam's oncologist schedules MRIs every 6 months to monitor the growth of his 2 tumors. They are not cancerous, but due to NF, they can continue to grow and cause other issues with his brain and vision. Unlike every other MRI we've gotten, this one came back with results we didn't want to hear. The tumors were growing much too quickly and Dr. McDonald wanted to proceed with a new treatment. No more waiting and monitoring, we were to begin chemotherapy.

Last Week
On Wednesday, Papa had to go out of town for work. Thursday morning, Josiah, Liam and I packed up the car and headed to Atlanta. Thursday was his pre-op appointment with the surgeon because it was time for the port to be placed.

What is a port? This is a tiny little device that can be placed in the neck or chest that allows easy access for the chemo treatment. Instead of poking Liam and putting in an IV every week he goes in for chemo, they will use the port for access! This will be much better and less painless for my little man, so I am thankful for this little purple invention. Plus, it is the only port safe for MRIs, so he will not have to get it taken out every time an MRI comes around. Phew!

Friday, Grandma met us at the hospital around 7am for the operation. Liam was so excited to see her and he loves visiting the Children's Hospital. There are so many things to do and see, I can't really blame him! We find something new to do each time we go. I knew we would be there for a while, so we quickly got settled in our own room and waited. They took him back around 10:15am and when they were finished about 1.5 hours later, the doctor came out and told us everything went well! One part down and many steps to go.

This Weekend
On Saturday Liam developed a cough and had a temperature around 102. We gave him medicine and waited for Papa to get home, but by Sunday it was still there. Papa took Liam to the Children's Hospital Urgent Care to see what was going on and found out he has pneumonia! They said it could be complications from the anesthesia or even a virus. Little man got 2 antibiotic shots and was sent home for the day.

Monday
We are scheduled to see Liam's pediatrician at 2pm to make sure he is doing better and the antibiotics are doing their work! Wish us luck. Liam has been a great sport about all this and is still playing. The boys think they are on vacation since we've been able to spend the night at Grandma's house all weekend! I'm sure they wouldn't mind staying longer, but I'm thinking we'll finally be able to go home today. Fingers crossed!