Updates from Texas...

I talked to Beau last night and he told me that round two has been harder to recover from than the first round. He has zero energy and hasn't really felt like doing much of anything. His blood counts were pretty good at the end of last week but when he went back Monday for blood work, they had gotten lower. When this happens, they make him come to the lab every day for blood work instead of every other day until the levels go back up. Even though he has no energy, he says he feels alright...just sluggish. According to the doctor, it will probably get harder for him to recover from each treatment but they said everyone handles it differently.

Keep praying for Beau's attitude and spirits to stay up beat as he deals with all this stuff!

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent mail and packages to Beau...that has been keeping him occupied and he really appreciates it!

Two down...

The last bag for Beau's second round of chemo was started around 9:30 Monday night. Thankfully, he was not as physically sick this round. He still felt nauseated alot but he never actually threw up! Mom said the only thing they did differently this round was a pill called Emend to help with nausea. He was still getting Benadryl and Reglan for nausea but the Emend seemed to make the difference in him not throwing up this time. He will probably get to go home (to Sam's house) tomorrow morning.

In one of the first posts, I mentioned that Beau may be able to come home and do the rest of his treatments in Georgia but he has decided against that. We believe M.D. Anderson is the best place Beau can possibly be for cancer treatment and he would like to stay there for the rest of them...not to mention the hassle it would be to change doctors and go back and forth to Atlanta for blood work every other day. He would probably just end up staying in Atlanta most of the time so he still wouldn't really be "home". This means he won't be coming back to Georgia until July since he has four more treatments to do.

Please continue to pray for Beau to handle the treatments well and for him to recover quickly in between treatments. If he continues to recover quickly, they might be able to put the treatments closer together and get it all over with sooner than we originally thought.

Thank you all so much for walking this road with us but most of all for being faithful with your prayers...prayer is a powerful thing and Beau's story is a great example of that!

More pics....

Beau and Jeanne at the beach in Galveston before second round...
Joseph Pappy and Beau (favorite nursing assistant)
Learning how to flush Beau's port-a-cath...

Pics from the beginning...

Coming out of ICU after surgery to remove tumor & upper lobe of right lung...
Incision after surgery...
Beau getting a visit from Thomas and Austin after his surgery...
Not feeling so well during the first round of Chemo...

Beau and Dr. Robert Benjamin - head of soft tissue sarcoma department at M.D. Anderson

Second Round

Beau finally got into a room on Friday afternoon and is going through the second round of chemo. He hasn't been sick yet which is great! Mom says they have been staying on top of the nausea medicine and trying some new combinations and so far they have worked. She says he has been sleeping alot and he's felt a little weird but that's pretty much it. Please pray for him to stay nausea-free!!

More pictures to come soon!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support...

More Speed Bumps

Unfortunately, just like the first round, there is a delay in Beau getting into a room at the hospital.  He was supposed to go in today and start the second round but they are waiting in the hotel until one becomes available.  I think it's pretty frustrating for them to sit and wait since Beau's been mentally preparing himself for the second round so hopefully a room will come available soon...

Please keep Beau in your prayers as he heads in for this next treatment!

Hair brained...

So Beau's hair has started to fall out...and as you can see, he is pretty amused by this:

The doctor told him that it would be "cleaner" to shave all of his hair right when it started to fall out so it would create less of a mess...

Here is the finished product:


Beau is still feeling good and has a great attitude about all of this. Please continue to keep him in your prayers! His next chemo treatment will begin on the 19th.

Thanks to everyone who has sent cards and packages for Beau!

Good Weekend

Beau had a pretty good weekend...he's feeling alright and even went out and hit golf balls on the driving range!  His white blood count dipped pretty low right after his chemo ended and he ran a fever for a day or so but he's doing alright now.  Since his white blood count was so low, he has had to go to the hospital every day for blood work instead of every other day.  

Dad and I saw so many people at the race track in Atlanta this weekend that told us they were praying for Beau...many of them we didn't even know.  This means so much to our family and we can't thank all of you enough for remembering Beau in your prayers.  Prayer is a powerful thing and Beau needs all he can get as he fights this battle.

Thanks for keeping up with Beau's progress!

Home...

Beau was able to go home from the hospital yesterday. He is feeling better and Mom tells me he wanted Burger King on the way home so I took that as a good sign! He is feeling weak but I guess that was to be expected. Beau's chemo treatments are on a 21 day cycle so he will be going back in the hospital for the second round on March 19th. Meanwhile, he will have to go in every other day for blood work.

We want to thank the Mosley's again for allowing the use of their house out in Houston. Sam has really gone above and beyond...she had her house sanitized by a professional cleaning service for Beau's return, she's done everyone's laundry, made dinner, got Beau lemon meringue pies (his favorite) and stocked the fridge with Gatorade that he's supposed to be drinking while on this chemo. Sam also tells me that packages and cards have been arriving at the house daily so thank you all for thinking of Beau!

I will be posting some pictures soon so you all can see what Beau has been up to out there...

Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes....please keep them coming!!

No Visitors...

Mom wanted me to let everyone know that Beau is to have no visitors for awhile. The doctor said his white blood count will probably bottom out this weekend which will makes it very easy for him to catch anything that is going around. The last thing he needs right now is to get sick with something else on top of these treatments. They said for him to be around as few people as possible until they can see how he is holding up and watch his counts...he might be able to have visitors after the second treatment but we will have to go by what the doctor says at that time. I know there were quite a few people that wanted to go out a visit Beau but for now, we've been told that it just wouldn't be good for him.

I'll be sure to let everyone know if this changes....

A Rough Few Days...

Beau has been having a rough couple of days since the last time I posted. He has been pretty sick and hasn't been able to sleep...even with Ambien. He's pretty frustrated by this as I'm sure we all would be, so please pray for him to get over the nausea and get some rest. His last chemo treatment for the first round was on Sunday night/Monday morning but he is still in the hospital so they can monitor his kidney function. Mom says he might be able to go home (to the Mosley's house) tomorrow but they are playing it by ear. Once he goes home, he will have to go back to M.D. Anderson every other day for blood work so they will be up and down the road quite a bit (thank you to Pitts Toyota in Dublin for providing them with a Sequoia while they are out in Texas).

Please keep the prayers coming!

Snow is falling but the hair is holding on...

Beau is still doing well, thankfully!  Jessica's most recent update says:

"Beau had a much better day today than yesterday!  He felt well, watched the Nationwide race, and was able to take a shower.  Because he started feeling sick a couple of hours ago, the nurses gave him something to help him feel better and rest.  Hopefully he will sleep well tonight.  Thank you for all the prayers."

I talked to mom this morning and Beau is still feeling good...they are disappointed that they are missing the snow in GA and Beau is disappointed that his hair hasn't started falling out yet (go figure) but aside from that, everything is going great!  

I have had a few people telling me that they were having issues with posting a comment...there are lots of options for "comment as" and the easiest option to choose is "name/URL" and then just enter your name...I'm not sure about all those other options!

Thanks for keeping up with Beau...keep the prayers coming!