Short and Sweet

Something wonderful happened this week. Tate realized he is strong enough and has enough balance to walk without his cane.

Due to COVID and the excessive heat keeping him home, Tate hasn’t had the opportunity to test his new no cane status anywhere but here on Northridge Street, but it’s coming. Greg and I are so happy and so proud of him. We had grown accustomed to hearing the thunk of his cane as he entered a room, and now he keeps sneaking up on us! It’s startling in the best way to see him suddenly standing there. He doesn’t walk normally yet: his feet are floppy due to the foot-drop so he has to lift his knees pretty high with each step, and his hips are wobbly which gives him kind of a marionette cadence – but no matter! He’s walking without using equipment and without assistance for the first time since July 2018.

Tate has an appointment Tuesday afternoon with the Nurse Practitioner Angie. He’ll be getting his usual 25% dose of Vincristine (which I realize is 100% for him) and beginning his 5-day steroid pulse. I’m curious to see how his weight has changed since beginning the appetite stimulant and how the increased dose of Methotrexate impacted his ANC.

That’s it for us this week. We hope you’re all staying safe and healthy.