Worst fears confirmed

Our worst fears were realized this afternoon when we received the confirmed diagnosis of AML (acute myeloid leukemia)  for Matthew.  I think Nicole and I had prepared ourselves for this but were holding out hope that maybe there was something in the last test that would point somewhere else.   Matthew did great when they put in his PIC line and even during his spinal tap.  The sedatives did their magic but he still managed to make some cute faces at the nurses.

Matthew will be part of a study that is aimed at developing a new drug for treating leukemia.  This drug is designed to work specifically on the chromosome (11) that is affecting Mdogg.  

So what's next?  Beginning tonight, Matthew will have 10 days of intense chemotherapy.  When that is complete, he will be able to go home for a month or so while his blood counts come back up.  At this time, he will return to Children's Memorial (cmh) and have 8 more days of chemo.  Assuming no problems, he will return home for another month and then back to CMH for 5 more days of chemo.  At this point, there are a couple of different things that could happen, including a likely bone marrow transplant.  

CMH has been great.  We feel very fortunate that we are being cared for by the doctors and nurses there.  Matthew, although tired and rightfully cranky, is in pretty good spirits and enjoys being naked all the time.  He also learned a new word...'doctor'  and likes playing with the mechanical bed.

Thank you for all of the thoughts/prayers/and well wishes.