2/19/2019 0 Comments Quick Update!Hello Everyone!
We have good news! Sawyer’s ANC has been increasing nicely and he is feeling much better. It is now in the normal range. He is no longer having regular fevers and the sores in his mouth have healed significantly. He is still complaining of headaches and throat pain but it has decreased compared to just a few days ago. As of right now the plan is that he will transition to the Ronald McDonald house on Thursday! Thank you all again for your prayers and support. Until next time. Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, & Calvin
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2/14/2019 1 Comment Second Stem Cell Transplant!!Hello Everyone!
Happy Valentine’s Day!! We just wanted to give everyone an update on Sawyer’s treatment. He is in the middle of his second stem cell transplant. He did very well while he was home and was able to start his second transplant as scheduled on January 30th. He received his cells one week later on February 6th. We were told that this transplant would be more difficult than the last and it looks to be the case. Even though his counts had recovered nicely prior to his admission his system was still weakened from the first transplant. Currently he is experiencing regular fevers and nausea as well as a significant amount of pain in his mouth and throat as a result of the Mucositis that has developed. He still has no ANC but, we are hopeful that his ANC and counts will recover soon which will help his symptoms. Thank you all as always for your support. Please continue to keep Sawyer and our family in your prayers and intentions. Have a wonderful day!! We will keep updating with Sawyer’s progress. Thank you for reading! Until Next Time, Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, & Calvin 1/6/2019 0 Comments Out of the Hospital!!Hello Everyone! Happy New Year!! We just wanted to do a quick update about Sawyer. He completed his 1st Stem Cell Transplant and transitioned to the Ronald McDonald House on Thursday (1/4). The mucositis he developed has pretty much cleared up in his mouth, but he does still have some pain in his throat. He is still on constant NG feeds and receives IV fluids at night which Jeremy and I administer. Currently, Sawyer must go to the hospital 3 days a week to make sure his counts are good. As of right now the plan is, he will stay at Ronald McDonald house until he starts his next stem cell transplant which is tentatively scheduled for January 30th. The good news about being here is that Sawyer can play in common areas, go outside, and there are no visitor restrictions so anyone who is feeling well can come and visit him. We are also very happy about spending time together as a family again. If any of you are interested in visiting Sawyer, here is the website for the Ronald McDonald House: https://rmhccni.org/lurie-childrens-house/. As always thank you for your continued support. Please continue to keep Sawyer and our family in your prayers and intentions. Wishing you all many blessings in this New Year! We will keep updating with Sawyer’s progress. Until next time! Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, and Calvin Sawyer and Mommy went for a walk around Navy Pier.
12/27/2018 1 Comment We have an ANC! Go Cells Go!Hello Everyone!
We were very happy to hear that today with Sawyer’s labs he has an ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) of 64. That is still really low but after about a week and a half of having an ANC of 0 it’s progress and it should only go up from here. Sawyer did develop Mucositis in his mouth and throat which also comes with a significant amount of pain but it has been mostly controlled with the help of a PCA (patient-controlled analgesia). They did place a feeding tube into his belly but he has not been able to keep anything down so he has been receiving nutrients via IV. We are going to try and attempt the feeds again soon. 🤞🏻 Santa came to the hospital and brought presents for Sawyer and Calvin. We got special permission for Calvin to come up so they were able to open their presents together. Even though it was a short visit and Sawyer wasn’t feeling very well it was nice being all together. He was very excited about the new LEGOs he got and wanted (Mommy) to start building them right away. Thank you all for your help this holiday season! Your support has meant so much to us and our family! We do not have enough words. We love you guys! Thank you as always for reading. Please continue to keep Sawyer and our family in your prayers and intentions. Wishing you all the best in the New Year! Until next time! Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, & Calvin 12/16/2018 1 Comment First Stem Cell Transplant!Hello Everyone!
Sawyer started his First Stem Cell transplant on Tuesday the 11th. His last MIBG scan on November 28th did not show much change from the previous scan on November 1st and was still scored as a 3. Even though he did not reach a curie score of 2 both our team and the stem cell team thought it still would be effective to proceed with Stem Cell. The goal here is to kill any cells around the central mass or cells that may be hiding in other parts of his body. Removal of the central mass will occur during Radiation and Immunotherapy. He has been receiving high-dose chemotherapy since Tuesday (11th) and Sunday (16th) will be his last day for the chemo. He will have Monday off and will start protective precautions which means that he will not be allowed to leave his room. He receives his cells on Tuesday (They call it a cell-abration!!). Other than being annoyed the first 4 days about having to take a bath every 6 hours (4am baths are no fun), he has been doing very well. (One of the drugs he receives, Thiotepa, is secreted through the skin. If left on the skin too long it can cause burns—hence the baths.) This week he has been spending his time decorating his room, playing games and walking the floor while he can. About 3-5 days after kids receive their cells is when they start to feel bad and they typically don’t start to feel better for another 10-12. We will just have to take it day by day and the Drs. will adjust his treatment accordingly. Of course, this is not where we want to be spending our holidays, but we are very happy that we are proceeding with treatment. Sawyer and our family got a special treat a couple of weeks ago. We were invited by United Airlines and the Cal’s Angels Foundation to participate in their Fantasy Flight to the North Pole on December 1st. It was a lot of fun! We arrived at O’Hare Airport and were greeted by festive employees and volunteers they escorted us to our gate where we had breakfast, played games and boarded the plane for a trip to the North Pole. The flight took about an hour and was filled with fun we sang songs and were joined by the CEO of United as well as the director of O’hare airport. When we landed we got to meet Santa, have lunch in Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen, and even go on a sleigh ride. As we left each of the boys were given presents from Santa. All the United employees volunteer their time and funds to make the day special for the kids. A big thank you to everyone at United and Cal’s Angels for making it such a wonderful day. Please check out our pictures page with photos from the day. Our last bit of news is not very happy unfortunately. Last week we said goodbye to our family’s best friend our beloved dog Jack. Jeremy and I got him together before we were married. I still remember the day we went and met him for the first time. He was the first dog we were going to meet and on the way I told Jeremy not to get too attached because we should meet some other dogs. Well after our meeting I told Jeremy we don’t need to see anymore dogs. He was our first baby, a wonderful dog and a member of our family for over 12 years. We hated to say goodbye because we loved him so much, but we knew it was time. We will miss you Jack, love you buddy! Thank you as always for reading. Please continue to keep Sawyer and our family in your prayers and intentions. Have a wonderful holiday season! We will keep updating as Sawyer progresses with Stem Cell and his treatment. Until next time! Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, and Calvin 11/14/2018 1 Comment 5th Cycle of Bridge TherapyHello Everyone!
I can’t believe it is Thanksgiving next week. These last couple of weeks have just flown by. Sawyer and Calvin had a very fun Halloween! They went as Batman and Robin and got tons of candy and treats. On November 1st Sawyer had a long day at the hospital. He underwent updated MIBG, CT, and MRI Scans and a bone marrow aspiration. Good news! We are seeing more progress, his MIBG went down to a 3 from a 5. This week we are in the hospital for one last round of the bridge (combination) therapy. The plan right now is that he will have another updated MIBG scan in about 2 weeks and then he will begin his 1st Stem Cell Transplant the week of December 3rd. He has been doing very well and feeling good, so we pray that keeps up!! This week there were some special visitors at the hospital. Players from the Chicago Bears came on Monday and spent time with the kids. Sawyer was a little nervous, but he did eventually take some pictures with them, and they gave Sawyer a Bears teddy bear and we gave them some Super Sawyer bracelets. Our Child Life Specialist told us that 55 members of the team we here. It was such a fun experience for the kids! Check out our pictures page for some new photos!! Thank you as always for reading. Please continue to keep Sawyer and our family in your prayers and intentions. Have a wonderful week and Happy Thanksgiving! Until next time! Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, and Calvin Hello Everyone!!
Just a quick update we know we have not posted in a little while we have been busy. Sawyer completed his 3rd round of his combination therapy and it went very well. He came home and started going about his regular routine. He went back to school and was playing with his friends. This week (10/15) he started his 4th cycle he has been doing well he has had no fevers thus far and his pain is being managed very well. He will being having scans again on October 31st and November 1st. If the scans are looking good he will then be starting the first of his two stem cell transplants in the following weeks. We will have more information after the scans. This past weekend Jeremy and I were honored to be asked to attend and share our story at a fundraiser for the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation (CNCF). This wonderful organization was started by Pat Tallungan and her family after her son Nick was diagnosed at the age of 6 and lost his battle with Neuroblastoma at the age of 10. Since then they have been working tirelessly to fund research that helps find a cure for Neuroblastoma. CNCF also funds an Annual Parent and Caregiver Education Conference where parents can meet with leading researchers to discuss the new advances in Neuroblastoma research. If you are able please consider donating to this worthwhile foundation. A link is under our donate page. Thank you as always for reading and please continue to keep Sawyer and our family in your prayers and intentions. Until next time. Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer and Calvin 9/22/2018 0 Comments Update....ScansHello Everyone!!
We heard from one of Sawyer’s doctors late yesterday afternoon and it is good news! On Thursday, he had updated CT and MIBG scans performed. The MIBG is nuclear medicine imaging. Essentially what they do is the day prior to the scan he receives an injection and the active Neuroblastoma cells absorb the medicine. When he is scanned the following day the Neuroblastoma cells will glow where there is still activity (e.g. living cancer cells). The image is assigned a numerical value based on how much is glowing. For instance, when Sawyer was first diagnosed and had the scan done it was an 18 after his 6th round of chemo it was a 9, this time it was a 5, for his stem cell treatments to be effective it must be a 2 or less. The plan is to continue with the remaining 2 cycles of the combination therapy he will be going in on Monday (9/24) for his next one. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers they mean so much to us! Thanks for reading! Until next time! Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, and Calvin 9/9/2018 2 Comments Update on Treatment!Hello Everyone!!
We have a lot to catch everyone up on. Sawyer has completed 2 rounds of his combination therapy (chemo and immunotherapy). While he was receiving this treatment, he experienced some pain as well as, fevers, nausea, and fatigue. He was a real trooper through everything. The first few days were pretty rough finding the right balance with his pain meds and other meds to counteract the side effects of the pain meds, mainly itching. This second cycle was a little bit better than the first. The good news with this treatment is that as soon as he is done receiving his meds the side effects stop. This meant that he did not require any extra time in the hospital and he did not have any fevers in between rounds so we didn’t have to make any unscheduled trips to the hospital. Sawyer will be having updated CT and MIBG scans on September 20th. If this treatment is successful and his doctors are happy with the progress he will begin his 3rd round the following week. In between cycles the boys have been busy. Sawyer was feeling well enough that he started school on time. His first day was on August 21st. He seems to be liking it very well, he has some old friends from last year and is making some new friends in his class this year. Calvin had his first day on September 6th. He loved playing with all the different toys just not having to put away the toys. Aunt Lisa and Jen’s parents were a big help watching Calvin for us this past 2 cycles. We don’t know what we would do without you guys. We were also able to take our first day trip since Sawyer’s diagnosis to celebrate Jeremy’s Grandmother’s birthday. It was nice to get away for the day and the boys had a lot of fun visiting with everyone, especially their cousins. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to get our annual family pictures taken by our friend Stephanie at Bright Eye Photography please check out our pictures page for the beautiful photos! Also, this is the last call for T-Shirt orders!! If you want any make sure you get your orders to Jen at [email protected] ASAP! Thank you all for your continued support and prayers they mean so much to us. Thanks for reading! Please continue to keep Sawyer and our family in your prayers and intentions. Until next time! Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, and Calvin 8/19/2018 0 Comments T-Shirt OrderHello Everyone!!
We have been having quite a few requests for Super Sawyer T-shirts so we are going to be placing another order. We are hoping to have enough orders to keep the price of the shirts at $15 + shipping that we had previously. If you would like a t-shirt please email Jen at [email protected] with your size requests, we can order Youth sizes XS-L and Adult sizes S-XL we can also order 2XL and 3XL sizes but there will be an additional cost. We will keep the orders open till September 10th. Thank you all for your support!! Jen, Jeremy, Sawyer, & Calvin |
Sawyer's Parents
We are Jeremy and Jennifer Hunter, the loving parents of Sawyer and Calvin(Sawyer's little brother). We firmly believe that it family always comes first and would like to keep everyone updated through this site and this blog on the treatment and care of Sawyer during his fight against Neuroblastoma. Archives
July 2021
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