It’s been a great weekend at home, full of games, laughter, and snuggles.  Now, Levi has a big week ahead as he gets closer to the next steps of treatment.  As he has been doing so well and making so many improvements, it can be easy to overlook the side effects that can occur.  Since he is so young his brain is still in ultra development mode, which means his treatments can impact all of the things his brain controls including physical movements, hearing, vision, and learning ability.  This week he will undergo testing to see what impact it may have already have and help the doctors continue to find the balance between helping him and avoiding these effects - not always easy in the treatment of cancer!  He will start the week with neurocognitive testing tomorrow morning.  He’s such a smart cookie so we are hoping to get good results tomorrow!  He will then have full hearing and vision testing which means he will have to go under anesthesia again.  At the same time, he will have a full MRI of his brain and spine.  This is really important to tell us if the cancer has responded to the treatment he has gotten so far.  Then, finally he will have his feeding tube replaced.   [...]

Levi has been in a great mood and surprised us all last night when he decided to show off and sit up by himself for story time without any support.   What a strong (and super adorable!) little man!   [...]

Looking at this photo of Levi from one year ago compared to today – it’s amazing to think of how things have changed and what “Thankful” means to us now.  When Levi was born, he stole our hearts right away and we knew that there wasn’t anything we wouldn’t do for him.  Never did we imagine though, that there would be a day that we would feel like we couldn’t do anything…that even our everything might not be enough.   For us, that day came on June 14th.   But luckily, we did not have to do this alone.  Thanksgiving holds extra meaning to us this year as Levi is home, he has the same loving and sweet personality now despite everything he has had to endure.  We are thankful that somehow we managed to keep our heads above water.   We recognize that it is because we have been joined on this journey by so many others to help us, to encourage us, and to lift us up when we have needed it the most, that we are able to say today we are THANKFUL.[...]

To stay up with the times, Levi has happily started using his tablet for his own version of remote learning while at home.  Owen too has adjusted to school at home, although both boys prefer “recess” and have been getting in a lot of soccer, play fighting , and every other game Owen’s mind can make up (there are so many!).   [...]

One day home, the smiles are back and he's showing off his fancy footwork. 

Levi, Owen, and Radar make a great team! Score one for team Levi![...]

REGULAR CHEMO IS DONE!!! 

Levi is finished with his regular chemo and is headed home for a bit! He has a long way to go, but we have so much to be thankful for - like you!  You all are an AMAZING part of his journey, thanks for being here. [...]

Levi’s procedure went well.  He has been very tired since and we are now just waiting for his counts to come back up so he can go home.  Little by little though, he continues to get better.  
While he’s sleeping, he has recently changed to sleeping with his tools instead of stuffed animals.  He must be dreaming of working hard building things with Owen again!      [...]

Levi is having a much better day today - look at that smile!   After a few more transfusions, he’s been showing of his Amazing Levi strength and throwing his favorite elephant across the room.   It is so much fun to make others pick it up for him!   
Today, he will be having another procedure at 2:30 as his feeding tube moved from his intestine to his stomach.  This is probably part of why he has been feeling so yucky (as if chemo wasn’t enough).   So, they will use a scope to put it back in the right place. With that and a couple more days of antibiotics, we’re hoping he can go back home soon![...]

Levi was sent home from the hospital only to return about three hours later. Bummer. He got to say hello to Big Brother Owen, doggie Radar, and Grandma, only to get a fever and return to Iowa Children's. The doctors brought down his fever but now he has to stay in the hospital for about another week because he's on antibiotics for possible infections.  [...]

Although it would be even more impressive to see the stadium full of fans and waving, it was still a nice break to see the view of the game from the top during an otherwise yucky weekend.   What an amazing tradition and one that we appreciate even more now.[...]