A few pics of this week.

Max getting ready for surgery Tuesday.

Gowned up, Elmo hat on, Milo (his duck) in his arms; He is ready to go.

Max took a walk around the hospital tonight (Saturday). He cried when we came back to the room.

Another journey has begun...

Today we received the the pathology results. They are exactly what we had expected. Max has cancer.
It feels weird to say, "My son has cancer." Wow, never in a million years did I EVER expect to say that.

He started chemo tonight. Tomorrow he has off and then another chemo cocktail Sunday. He will need to come back Mondays and go the the outpatient clinic, and every 3 weeks he will be back inpatient for a couple days.

Sorry for being so short. I am tired and anxious of what tonight is going to bring.

Max and Wes are 3!!!! -and- MAX 3.0

This is gonna be short and sweet...

Max and Wes and 3!!!

Our Miracle Men turned 3 yesterday. Still can't believe it! We had a fun impromptu party Monday night. The boys had a blast being the center of attention. Nothing like presents and balloons to make a kids day!

MAX 3.0

I am calling yesterday MAX 3.0 for Max Man. He turned 3 and had 3 procedures.
The surgeons first put in his broviac. It is the "port" he will use for chemo and labs. It is smaller than I thought and I think it will be easy to take care of. He also had a biopsy of his liver. The surgeon said the tumor looked "angry." My friend (Our amazing nurse Ashley tuned fantastic friend) pointed out, "what tumor isn't angry???" We are very glad we found it now. It hasn't spread to any other parts of the body. The third procedure was a specialized hearing test. This was done to get a baseline of his hearing. This was done because one of the chemos they would like to use affects hearing.

Chemo will start later this week. We are waiting for the pathology reports to come back to know the exact chemos and how often the cycles will be.
He has a good prognosis. The specialists used the word remission and cure several times. So we wait for the biopsy results and make a plan after that.

Tired.

Sorry I will update tomorrow. I am exhausted.
Surgery went well. We are just working on pain management. I will have a more detailed post tomorrow.

Kate

Max is on the Move!

The boys have been making incredible strides lately! We are so thrilled with all the progress over the past few months!

Max is officially off the vent!!!!! Woooooo Hooooooo!!! He is doing very well off of it. He recently had a trach infection but he handled it so well he didn't need to go back on the vent. A VERY good sign that his lungs are getting stronger!
He also decided yesterday the he was going to walk!!!! He has had the ability for a while he just lacked the confidence. I can't believe how fast he is.  Now I have 2 walker, 2 climbers, and 2 talkers.

Wes is doing fantastic. He is starting to say words, and signs all the time! He is still super spunky and keeps me on my toes. I LOVE it!

Feeding therapy is going well. It is going to be a slow process but they are both making great progress! Wes opened his mouth yesterday and took a bite of food. He didn't gag or wretch or anything! AMAZING!!!!!! Max is a little slower. His cautious personality really takes over. But, he is allowing me to do mouth exercises andand little kisses.

We are on a roll here at the Wiersma household. Go guys Go!

Better and better!

So it has been a while.  Sorry.

Max and Wes are doing amazing! They have learned to say a couple words. Baby, ball, Dada, Mama, Papa (my Dad), and a few others it is so cool to see them soak up everything. They are little sponges these days!

We are starting feeding therapy next week. I am very excited to start this process. It will be long and tedious but it is a huge step in loosing the feeding tubes.

Wes is into everything. My Dad has to constantly remind me that it is a blessing. I know it is, but when your in the thick of it that is not your first thought.  :) He loves learning new things, reading, and singing...and being busy busy busy!

Max is off the vent!!!! As of last week Friday Max has been vent free. He gets humidity to his trach but it isn't any type of lung support. Max is almost walking. He can walk he just doesn't have confidence yet. He will take a couple steps and then realize he is on his own and then sits down. It is quite cute. He tries hard to keep up with Wes.

Every stage gets better and better. They are just soooo much fun. I don't think I have ever laughed so much before. They are such good little men.

Please pray that the boys continue on this fantastic path. We are so amazed at how well they are doing. Also, Max needs to continue to gain weight or he'll have to go back on the vent at night. So please pery he continues to do so well and grows and grows!!!
Thank you all for all your prayers and support. We appreciate it more than you could possible know.

Pics coming soon.

I apologize for not posting the pics of the boys second birthday. I will hopefully get them up soon. We had a great day. The boys loved plating with Papa. Grandma, and Grandpa. They also had fun playinf with spaghetti as you will see from the pics when they get posted.

Big things are coming up for Max. We will find out at the end of the month if we can get rid of his vent. Please pray that his lungs are developed and ready to be on their own.
He is becoming such a...toddler. It is amazing to see them learn new things. To see their faces when they know they did something you asked, priceless.

Wes is having a sleep study to hopefully get the go ahead to be done with oxygen. Don't tell their docs but he hasn't slept with oxygen in almost a year.
He is FULL of it. To smart for his own good. He loves to push my buttons, like most toddlers like to do to their mothers.


I also want to share with everyone that Max and Wes are finally going to get baptized. June 19, Fathers Day, come to Haven CRC in Zeeland. We would love to celebrate the boys with all who want to join us.