Maybe he IS Iron Man.

You know how you can tell when it's the day Nathan has had chemo?  You CAN'T.  Seriously.  We have just returned from dinner at Applebee's (danke, Cathy and Carsten! xo), where he put down his usual chicken tenders, fries, and Sprite - and as I type, he is packing his lunch for tomorrow: "Um, can I bring some of those chocolates to school? Tell your friend they are really good!"  (thank you, Kara! xo)  He seems to have a cast-iron stomach so far, and from what the nurses have told us, if the drugs haven't made him sick yet, they probably won't.

All his numbers looked good again today, and especially for the future Dr. Kirkpatrick of Vienna, Virginia, here's a little more detail on what the doctors look at and why.

* Hemoglobin: This is the protein in red blood cells that's full of iron and carries oxygen throughout the body.  Patients undergoing chemo need to have super-efficient oxygen transport because lack of oxygen actually stimulates the growth of the cancer cells and makes them resistant to the chemo.  Weird, right?

* Platelets: These are the little sticky fellows in blood that make it clot - especially useful for boys like Nathan who regularly run into things lead an active lifestyle.  They split and reproduce quickly in order to make new cells, and that makes them susceptible to the effects of chemotherapy.  These drugs work best on rapidly dividing cells.  This makes chemo effective on cancer cells, but other rapidly dividing cells (in your blood, hair, and the lining of your GI tract) can end up as collateral damage.

* Neutrophils: The Marines of the bloodstream, these bad-ass white blood cells are the first ones on the scene when infection hits (can you tell the boys are playing "Call of Duty" while I'm blogging?)  If there is a major malfunction with Nathan's white blood cells, he'll be far more likely to pick up infections - and that could mean hospitalization and postponement of chemo to allow him to get better.

So basically, a good blood count means that Nathan's body is repairing itself sufficiently between chemo treatments.

Dan tells me he managed to get a few photos today - look for them this weekend, along with more Q & A.

Have we told you lately that we love you?  That's not just the 2-for-1 Applebee's happy hour talking.  We really do love you.