12/23/2025
Cru Update
We are home from Cru’s final dose of Cisplatin! 🎉
He’s had four total doses, each with major challenges:
1st: 10 days inpatient with sepsis, lung full of blood, and COVID
2nd: 7 days inpatient with severe mucositis
3rd: Managed at home but extremely difficult—no appetite, nothing tasted good
4th: Inpatient an extra five days due to side effects; TPN has helped tremendously this round
The good news—he’s HOME. His immune system had been at zero, but his counts are finally starting to rise, and we’re doing everything we can to keep him safe at home.
If all goes as planned, Cru has 10 weeks of chemo left:
2 outpatient doses (our first time!)
6 inpatient doses, each 3–4 nights
We’re hoping Cru will Ring the Bell in the second week of March, followed by clean scans and ongoing monitoring every three months. We’re all looking forward to some normalcy again—driving, the gym, and time with friends.
Some recent positives: Cru has missed being outdoors. The first pic is from a seven-mile hike he and Joe did just two weeks before diagnosis—yes, with an unknown cancer and large rib tumor. To get outside he slept in his hammock on our balcony (with many dad check-ins). Joe has basically become a nurse, and we’ve been incredible blessed by a “12 Days of Christmas” gift that has brought joy during a season spent mostly hunkered down.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed, supported, and loved our family through these grueling months—we truly couldn’t have done this without you.
We’ve been deeply impacted by the cancer world. These young warriors are the bravest, most beautiful souls. We love our cancer friends and are constantly praying and cheering for you. 💛
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours. ❤️🎄
