I thought I'd let you know Michael had a wonderful Christmas Day.  He enjoyed his Play Station 2 most of the Day.  A good friend Theresa Griego and her husband Raymond brought over a Ham, and all the fixens to go with it.  A wonderful neighbor Vicki and Bob Smith brought over a few plates of turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. So we all ate very well.

Michaels temperature has been stable.  His appetite is good and has been doing a good job of eating a big breakfast daily.  He has been able to keep down the glutasolve thanks to the great "NASA, Astronaut tang story" uncle Danny shared.

We pray daily his white blood cell count goes up, to further protect him.  Nurse Practitioner Tammy shared with us again that Michael has a greater risk of an internal infection than any external germs entering his system from the outside.  They conducted blood cultures and so far there has been no bacteria or infection in his blood stream.

He has spent the majority of his time the last three days playing play station 2.  He received over 12 new games to include his favorite Madden 2004 from his Aunt Karen in Michigan.  He enjoys the snow boarding game and the adventures of Dark Alliance.  When his blood counts are up, he always enjoys playing video games with someone else instead of by himself.

We learn something new everyday.  I think one of the important lessons learned during round one of Chemotherapy was Michael is very sensitive  to smells and sites of certain foods.  It was most helpful when food arrived around dinner time prepared and we didn't have to heat up anything in the microwave.  We can't eliminate Michael being sick during Chemo however, we can help by providing a neutral smelling environment.

For folks providing things locally, paper towels, Gatorade (orange and lemon lime), OJ, Clorox wipes, Hand wipes, cheerios, anti bacteria soap are all things we go thought the fastest

Michael can snack all day long to try and gain weight.  Chips, ding dongs, cup cakes and war head  candy are some of his favorites.  He lost five pounds in week one and it is a daily battle with him to try and keep him eating.  He currently
weighs 97 lbs and can't afford to keep losing weight.

Our family is humbled by the tremendous support we have received from our friends and families to include our work places, church, and neighbors.  Some days are so overwhelming it is hard to function for all of us.  It is always nice when something is done; like when we walked in from Chemotherapy and some hot food had already arrived.  Thank you Chris and Kristy Lesuik for the
Chicken Pot pies that arrived the first night we came back from Chemo.

Lacene and I don't always have a need when someone calls asking us what we need, usually because someone else has already taken care of it.  If you feel led to do something, bring something by, send a card or letter, just do it.  It's very difficult for us to ask for help from someone, and usually we are better at responding  when someone offers.

I did want to mention no flowers or plants please.  The water that collects, and the flowers can cause mold or bacteria that are dangerous to Michael right now.  Thank you for the love and thought that went into sending them.  We found a safe home for them.

With great love and appreciation,

 Tom Downing