Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Andrew was wowed when he came home from the hospital this afternoon to find his house full of balloons in celebration of his third birthday. He had a blast playing with his cousins and sharing not one, but two yummy ice cream cakes with the crew.

The stem cell removal that had been scheduled for today was delayed after several failed attempts because of a problem with Andrew's central line. Because they could not harvest the cells as planned, there will be a surgery tomorrow to put a temporary line into his femur. They will then collect the stem cells through that line. The procedure will require an overnight stay at City of Hope, but we are hoping Andrew will be home for the weekend and the start of next week before he checks in for round three of chemo.

City of Hope

First of all, we want to sincerely thank all of you who came out to give blood yesterday. We had over eighty people who came to donate their blood for Andrew and to give their support to Paul and Cynthia. We are also enormously grateful to Leigh, who did an amazing job putting the whole thing together and making sure that everyone in the community knew about it. Despite the gloomy weather, it was a beautiful day.

For those of you who could not make it to the blood drive but who still want to give blood, it is important that you know that Andrew's care is going to be moved to City of Hope in Duarte (just off the 210 and 605 freeways). To make a directed donation, please contact their donor center at
http://www.cityofhope.org/BloodDonorCenter/Friends.htm

In the coming week, Andrew will be receiving a blood transfusion followed by his stem-cell removal procedure, during which they anticipate using 8-10 units of blood. Additionally , he will be receiving Platelets during the week.

Many of you have been waiting to donate your Platelets until Andrew needed them - your time is now! For Platelet donations, you do not need to be a matching blood type, but you do need big veins and solid flow as the procedure requires an output and an input while the blood is circulated through a machine to filter out the Platelets for donation. So, take a good look at those veins and, if you think you'll qualify, please go to the website listed above to schedule an appointment in the next day or two if possible.

Andrew, our little Warrior, has been hanging tough with an incredibly peppy week. Even with zero white cells in the post-chemo down-swoop, he has been happy and chatty and still completely obsessed with fighter jets. With his third birthday coming up next week, that gives us some great ideas for presents (thanks to the internet for making Blue Angels paraphernalia so easy to come by!)

From Paul And Cynthia

Dear All,

We have had Andrew home for about two weeks now and have been enjoying our time together. He has been in good spirits, regaining his energy and--most importantly--his appetite, and playing. Treatment is moving quite quickly for us—Andrew completed Round 2 of his chemotherapy on an outpatient basis on Friday with no significant setbacks other than a bit of vomit—and we spend most of our time trying to stay on top of all we have to do for him, while also trying to educate ourselves on his disease, treatment protocol, alternative treatments, etc. We will be minor experts in Neuroblastoma by the time we get through this.

Nevertheless, we are home and have a moment to breathe and it was important for us to personally post on Andrew’s blog and let each and every one of you know how truly grateful we are for your kind words, kind thoughts, kind deeds these past several weeks. It is all welcome and appreciated. Quite honestly, we are completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love that we have seen from family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. From individuals to families to entire communities, we know that Andrew is receiving continual prayer and positive thought. Please don’t stop.

There is no way we will ever be able to thank you all individually for the contributions you have made to Andrew and to our family to help us through this time. From the blood donations, to the meals, the prayer lists, the toys and gifts, the cards and emails, the simple kind word or embrace—it has all been special, meaningful and appreciated. It does not feel like enough to send out a collective “Thank You,” but we hope you understand.

Again, please keep Andrew in your thoughts and prayers. With support like what we are experiencing, we will make it through this.

Sincerely,

Paul & Cynthia Filippone

By the way, we are also picking up our cancer terminology and lingo and Andrew is a “warrior” as he fights this disease. It is important to us that you have that image of him in mind as you think about and pray for him.

Blood Drive Scheduled: February 21st

Andrew has been enjoying a peaceful week at home. A highlight was his trip to the Arboretum yesterday to feed the ducks. He's also developed a new love for precision fighter jets and, thankfully, You Tube has provided a steady supply of viewing opportunities for him. He starts his second round of chemo on Monday (out-patient) and Andrew and his whole family continue to appreciate all of your prayers and good wishes.

For all of you local friends, Leigh Repstad has organized a blood drive for Andrew at St. James Parish Day School. Thank you, Leigh! All of the blood collected will be directed to Childrens Hospital for Andrew, and others in need in Andrew's honor.

Thursday, February 21st

9:30 am - 3:30 pm

St. James Parish Hall

1325 Monterey Road, South Pasadena

Make an appointment online at http://www.givelife.org/, and enter sponsor code: ANDREWF
or call Jesika Go at 909.859.7108.

Please allow 45 minutes to an hour for your blood donation and bring a photo ID.

What you should know:

• Must be at least 16 years old (16 year olds need parental consent)
• Must weigh at least 110 lbs and be in good health on the day of the blood drive
• No history of Hepatitis after age 11
• Not on any antibiotics 72 hours prior to the drive
• No tattoos in the last 12 months or unsterile piercings in the last 6 months
• Have not spent more than 3 motnhs combined, since 1980 in the areas of the United Kingdom, and no more than 6 months combined, since 1980 in Eastern/Western Europe
• Have not traveled to any country with a high risk of Malaria in the last year (including the rural areas of Mexico)
• All needles are sterile, disposable and never reused
• Please eat a good meal and drink a lot of fluids prior to donating
• Each blood donation has the ability to save 3 lives
• If you have any questions about your ability to donate, call the American Red Cross at (800) 843-2949, ext. 7066

Back in His Own Crib

After being discharged yesterday afternoon, Andrew and Paul returned home to meet up with Lucia and Cynthia for a quiet evening at home, together. Andrew was thrilled to be back with all of his toys and, once he finally settled down, slept peacefully all night in his own crib.

His second round of chemo is scheduled to start a week from Monday, and with any luck that should be an out-patient process, going in for a couple of hours each day for five days. The goal at this point is to stay fever-free and enjoy the calm peacefulness of home. I believe a trip to the Arboretum to feed the ducks is also on the calendar once the weather clears up.

From here on, I'll update with anything newsworthy, and we can all hope that it will become more of a weekly blog than a daily one.