I'm sorry it has been so long since my last update. School has kept me very busy and will continue to do so until April. Oh well.
We had a major event at our house over Christmas break. Bram's front bottom tooth started wiggling in December. On December 28th, while we were in the endocrinologist's waiting room, his tooth fell out. My little boy had lost his first tooth. We placed the tooth under the pillow that night and he awoke the next morning to discover five gold dollar coins under his pillow. The Tooth Fairy was very good to him.
Bram then lost his second tooth a few weeks ago. I explained to him that the Tooth Fairy would probably not leave quite as much for his subsequent lost teeth, that she leaves an extra large reward for the first tooth. Sure enough, he woke up to discover two gold dollar coins under his pillow. He was still very happy. His new teeth are starting to come through. One of them is a bit crooked, but I'm just thrilled that he has teeth to replace his baby ones. One side effect of radiation to the head can be a lack of adult teeth formation.
Back to Bram's trip to the endocrinologist. Bram will be undergoing a three hour hormone study on March 12th. They will hook him up to an I.V. and then give him a two drug cocktail that stimulates the release of HGH (human growth hormone). They will then take blood samples every half hour to check his HGH levels. If the test reveals what the doctor expects, Bram will soon be starting HGH shots to help him grow.
It is not an ideal situation. I've been researching HGH and cancer. From what I've read, there is no evidence that HGH increases the risk of a return of the original tumor; however, there is some evidence that HGH slightly increases the risk of a secondary tumor. The two types of secondary brain tumors that tend to occur are meningiomas and gliomas. The protocol for dealing with meningiomas is brain surgery. You remove the tumor and it doesn't come back. Gliomas, however, are fast growing and keep coming back. No good cure exists. They are fatal. Fortunately, the increased risk is small.
I have had many sleepless nights wrestling with the question of HGH therapy. If Bram doesn't receive it, he will not reach anything close to average height. At first, I was opposed to any increased risk; however, I have to weigh my fears with his desires to be like his peers. He is only in kindergarten but his small stature is already bothering him. He wants to be bigger and faster like his friends.
If the HGH screening returns the expected results, Bram will begin receive a shot HGH once a day, six days a week. The treatment will continue through puberty. I was also told that once Bram stops growing (hits adulthood), he will still probably need some lower dose of HGH in order to feel good/normal. The doctor said that it is similar to an insulin shot; he called it painless. We'll know more in March.
For now, Bram is in good health and is as cute as ever. He has discovered (thanks to an introduction by Mommy) the wonder of Star Wars and has started collecting the Imaginext Star Wars toys. He is doing well in school ( he has started reading, writing, and adding) and is a very happy little boy. He continues to make me laugh on a daily basis. I need to get back to writing down the things he says so that I can post it here on the blog. I should be able to do that again once things slow down in April.
I hope you are all doing well. Thank you for following Bram's progress.
Your prayers and support are very much appreciated - as always.
Alayne
