Little Buddy continues to improve a little bit each day. The improvements at this point are true baby steps. A smile here, a finger movement there. He still loves music therapy and is even starting to "sing" by making little noises. He wants so badly to talk! We can see his tongue moving and his brain trying so hard to remember how to get the words to come out. One thing he does remember how to do is laugh, and everyone works very hard to get him to do it!
Little Buddy is going into surgery today to have a more permanent IV (PICC line) put in for his chemotherapy. It is a fairly easy and routine procedure, so we don't anticipate any problems. He will also have a spinal tap at the same time to see if there are any cancer cells in his spinal fluid, so they know how agressively to treat him. Then he will probably start his radiation therapy with the Huntsman Cancer Institute in a week and a half or so. The side effects, both short and long term, aren't much fun, but we are grateful that the therapy is there because his chances of survival without it aren't very high. So, given the alternative, it's a very easy decision to make. We hope that better and more effective cures for cancer are developed soon, so that other children won't have to go through what the kids now have to. But again, we are very grateful that the cures are there, and with both raditation and chemotherapy, Little Buddy has very good chances for a long and happy life.
