One Year!!!

This week we are celebrating the One Year mark! I can hardly believe it has been 12 whole months since I gave Ethan his last dose of Prednisone. July will mark the end of his chemo treatments, but we are still celebrating nonetheless! I mentioned this milestone to Ethan just the other day, his brother asked him if he remembered what he felt like when he was on prednisone. Ethan responded, "Oh Yes"! I had headaches, stomach aches, couldn't sleep". When we both mentioned to Ethan how grumpy he was, he seemed rather surprised!!!

 I am so happy and thankful to see my son happy and healthy, to see his smile and hear his laughter. This year has brought us together as a family, in a way we have been learning and getting to know our son as we haven't before. The longest Ethan has ever been off prednisone was 14 months and that was back when he was 2. So we didn't quite know what to expect, how would he behave off these steroids? How much of his behaviour was caused by the steroids and how much was actually Ethan? We were happy to discover that most of the mood swings and meltdowns were caused by the steroids. Yes, he is still a normal child with his ups and downs, but nowhere near as severe as when he was on prednisone. 

Ethan's eating patterns have also changed, gone are the days of ravenous eating. Finding low salt snacks and foods were a challenge, especially when the steroids made him want to eat anything and everything in sight. We are still trying to follow the low salt diet, it seems to make a difference with his protein. If he has a day of more salt, we do notice that he will go up to a trace of protein for a day or so.

Sleeping has also returned to a more normal pattern and one that makes our life so much easier. I would often lay awake worrying about Ethan not sleeping. He would often cry that he wanted to sleep but just couldn't. Which would then affect his moods and desire for going to School as well. I am happy to report that since January, Ethan has been doing much better in School too. He still doesn't enjoy School, but at least he doesn't complain like he used to. Doing small outings and day trips with the boys have become so fun. Not having to worry about Ethan complaining how bad he feels, makes the trip so much more enjoyable. We asked Ethan what he would like to do to celebrate his one year off prednisone. His response was to go to Hawaii!!!!!! AHHH, a boy after my own heart! Well, we settled on going to Hell's Gate and Othello Tunnels just outside of Hope yesterday. We had a great time together, making memories. We have no idea what the future will hold and if we will have to return to the land of steroids. But for now, we are continuing to celebrate every day, as a gift from God!