Hi, Mark!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:   
      
   MH>  This past year has been especially difficult with   
   MH>  regards to medical related things with two of my kids.   
      
   MH>  First, we completed the long awaited Hirschsprung's   
   MH>  corrective surgery.  This involved multiple operations   
   MH>  over a period of a few months.  All went excellent and   
   MH>  that has been completed.   
      
      
             Ah, success at last!  Thanks for the update....  :-)   
      
      
      
   MH>  Second, was my daughter's herniated disc back in March.   
   MH>  That operation went great and that has been resolved.   
      
      
             So you made it over another hurdle.  But then....   
      
      
      
   MH>  Third, on April 1st, my son (still getting used to being   
   MH>  Hirschsprung's free) was diagnosed was Leukemia (B-ALL).   
   MH>  That was a huge shock to us - especially since he has   
   MH>  already been through more medical procedures than many   
   MH>  gown adults.   
      
      
             You may remember our daughter had ALL when she was three.   
      
             The bad news is that kids with Down's syndrome have a higher risk of   
   developing leukemia than "typical" kids do.   
      
             The good news, however, is that ALL in young children is the easiest   
   form of leukemia to cure... or so we were told years ago.  And we heard from a   
   number of medical professionals that *kids with DS* do particularly well.  :-)   
      
      
      
   MH>  He has been responding great to the treatment and was in   
   MH>  total remission on day 29.  It is a long treatment plan -   
   MH>  7 months of typically, weekly treatments/visits.  Followed   
   MH>  by once every 12 weeks for several years in the maintenance   
   MH>  phase.   
      
      
             Yes, it was a long haul for us too.  I understand the treatment is a   
   bit different nowadays.  Is he getting any medications at home?   
      
      
      
   MH>  Taking things day by day and week by week.   
      
      
             I learned about that from the kids in the oncology ward.  The   
   younger ones lived in the moment... if they threw up, e.g., they'd be fine   
   again almost immediately afterwards & wouldn't expect a recurrence.  OTOH the   
   nurses told me teenagers often began throwing up as soon as they set foot in   
   the ward....  ;-)   
      
      
      
   MH>  There are good days and not so good ones, but overall   
   MH>  things have been really good and heading in the right   
   MH>  direction.   
      
      
             Glad to hear it!  I think your positive attitude goes a long way   
   too. Kids, especially the young ones, pick up on their parents' feelings   
   intuitively   
   ... but many of them seem to lose the ability as they develop language.  It   
   may be just as well in situations like this to have a kid who takes somewhat   
   longer than average to reach certain milestones.  If you believe things are   
   heading in the right direction, your son probably will.  And the not-so-good   
   days are much easier to deal with if one can remain focused on one's long term   
   goals....  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)