Count Your Blessings

I just found some pictures on my camera today, and thought I'd update everyone on Jack's hernia operation.  The procedure was done at Florida Hospital in Orlando by an awesome pediatric surgeon named Dr. Thompson.  This was a routine procedure, but we were so nervous and hesitant about him being put under at such a young age.  The doctor said no breastfeeding after 3am, and they didn't take him back until 8am (did I mention Jack eats every 2 hours?) which made for a very grueling 5 hours.  Hearing your hungry baby cry might be one of the worst sounds in the entire world.  But we thankfully made it through the morning, and the surgery went extremely well.

When the doctor told us Jack would need surgery we starting feeling pretty sorry for ourselves.  Like we really needed one more medical drama right now?  But I have to say, when we got to the hospital and saw families with children who had real problems and serious medical conditions our whole attitude changed.  Thank God we were there for something minor and fixable.  Thank God we had great insurance to cover it.  And thank God we could take him home knowing we wouldn't have to be back any time soon.

Here are some pictures from our hospital stay.  Florida Hospital has an amazing Walt Disney Pavilion wing for children and their families along with a fantastic staff of nurses.  Jack fell in love with Nurse Michelle who was truly our angel during our stay.

Round 4 of Chemo...DONE!!

Hey everyone!  This is Sam here.  I'd like to first say thank you so very much for all of the cards, emails, messages and phone calls.  It's so good to catch up and hear about what's been going on with everyone.  Even if it's just Will writing about what's broken down at the dairy this week or a little "thinking of you" from Christina Marie and Nessie...I love it so please keep them coming!

Well, as of today, I'm half way through my treatments.  When I started all of this my doctor told me I would need 6 or 8 treatments, and, of course, we were hoping for 6 but it turns out I'll need all 8.  It feels good to be halfway through, though each one has been getting a little bit harder.  I recently had a CT scan to check my progress and the results were very good.  Most everything has been reduced in size or eliminated completely!  It's good to know this stuff is working because you begin to wonder sometimes.

Some of you have asked about the chemo I'm getting.  It's called R-CHOP, and it's typically used for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but has proven very effective for my type as well.  It requires me to sit for 6-8 hours on Day 1, 4 hours on Day 2, and then take a pump home for the next 48 hours to slowly administer the last of the drug.  I don't like this part at all since I can't hold Jack and feel pretty useless and crummy, but there's not much I can do about it.  I start feeling a little better by the next week, and by the third week I feel almost normal...just in time for my next round!

Well that's all I have for now.  Please continue to keep Jack, Kristen and me in your prayers and I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to our blog!  Many of you have called and emailed checking in for updates on Sam and Jack so we thought this would be an easy way of keeping our friends and family in the loop.  We'll try to update as often as we can, and we look forward to hearing from all of you!

Just to catch everyone up...

Sam was officially diagnosed with Nodular Lymphatic Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma on February 24 at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL.  We became concerned when just a month earlier he found a swollen lymph node on his right side under his arm.  After several tests, CT scans and one very painful bone marrow biopsy the specialists at Moffitt came up with a diagnosis and an aggressive treatment plan.  We were cautioned that chemo would be tough, but the prognosis was good and he could get his treatment right here in Vero.  We left Tampa that day feeling a bit scared and overwhelmed, but very hopeful.

Two hours after returning home that night my water broke, and Jack was born 3 weeks early on February 25.  It was a great delivery and he was born healthy and perfect, though quite small.  He may, in fact, be the smallest Tripson ever weighing in at just 5 lbs 15ounces!

Some days can be awfully tough and we're long overdue for some real fun, but we thank God every day for having each other and for blessing us with the most beautiful baby in the world.