Good News
Days this week have been reminiscent of our "normal sort of days" prior to Ethen's diagnosis. Christie and the kids have done learning exercises, played games, and enjoyed short spurts of sunshine while doing outdoor activities. I have worked on different projects and taken meal breaks with the family. There has been a sense of normalcy some days, at least in the sense that we had known it. Other days have been filled with doctor's visits of varying lengths.
Today we had a long day at the hospital. We were prepared for it though, so it didn't seem so long. This morning we arrived to the clinic early to run blood tests to determine if Ethen could go straight in for his MIBG scan (the one that shows where the cancer is growing and actively absorbing the iodine dye), or if he would need platelets. Turned out that he did need platelets, which were transfused in the clinic. After transfusion we went to the radiology department in the hospital where we waited with Ethen for about an hour before he could be anesthetized and prepped for his scan.
Three hours after leaving Ethen as he drifted off to sleep, we rejoined him, wide-eyed, in a recovery room in the children's hospital. As he snacked on some Goldfish® crackers, we carried him to another wing of the hospital for a prescheduled transfusion of red blood cells. As we neared the end of the transfusion bag, Ethen's doctor appeared in the wing. I waved at him as he walked the other way, waving in return. We figured he came to see another patient, and we went back to watching TV and chatting about current events. Soon he reappeared and announced that he had some good news. Ethen's MIBG scan was negative. ...What? What does that mean? I thought to myself. "Freakin' awesome," said the doctor, to which I replied, "Freakin' awesome." Well, needless to say, it was the best news we could have hoped for. Ethen's tumor is dying. The spots in the left femur and right ocular orbit are diminished (invisible on the scan) as well as the main mass in his abdomen (also invisible). This means that we can continue with the treatment protocol and not regroup and start over with a different attack angle. We'll know more next week, but we were happy to end a week with some good news!
Thank you all for your prayers for Ethen! Although we know the road ahead lies long, we are encouraged by the Lord's working through your prayers thus far. Not all neuroblastomas respond the way Ethen's has—the doctor was surprised with the results today. We know the Lord has been gracious to Ethen in this. We can tell already that Ethen is less uncomfortable than before chemo (although he is more easily fatigued now), probably due to an estimated 50% reduction in the tumor size (we'll know more accurately next week). Pray that future rounds of chemo will likewise kill off the cancer. For this week though, please pray that Ethen's neutrophil counts rebound quickly. He is scheduled for a stem cell mobilization next Wednesday (I'll write more about that later).
Today we had a long day at the hospital. We were prepared for it though, so it didn't seem so long. This morning we arrived to the clinic early to run blood tests to determine if Ethen could go straight in for his MIBG scan (the one that shows where the cancer is growing and actively absorbing the iodine dye), or if he would need platelets. Turned out that he did need platelets, which were transfused in the clinic. After transfusion we went to the radiology department in the hospital where we waited with Ethen for about an hour before he could be anesthetized and prepped for his scan.
Three hours after leaving Ethen as he drifted off to sleep, we rejoined him, wide-eyed, in a recovery room in the children's hospital. As he snacked on some Goldfish® crackers, we carried him to another wing of the hospital for a prescheduled transfusion of red blood cells. As we neared the end of the transfusion bag, Ethen's doctor appeared in the wing. I waved at him as he walked the other way, waving in return. We figured he came to see another patient, and we went back to watching TV and chatting about current events. Soon he reappeared and announced that he had some good news. Ethen's MIBG scan was negative. ...What? What does that mean? I thought to myself. "Freakin' awesome," said the doctor, to which I replied, "Freakin' awesome." Well, needless to say, it was the best news we could have hoped for. Ethen's tumor is dying. The spots in the left femur and right ocular orbit are diminished (invisible on the scan) as well as the main mass in his abdomen (also invisible). This means that we can continue with the treatment protocol and not regroup and start over with a different attack angle. We'll know more next week, but we were happy to end a week with some good news!
Thank you all for your prayers for Ethen! Although we know the road ahead lies long, we are encouraged by the Lord's working through your prayers thus far. Not all neuroblastomas respond the way Ethen's has—the doctor was surprised with the results today. We know the Lord has been gracious to Ethen in this. We can tell already that Ethen is less uncomfortable than before chemo (although he is more easily fatigued now), probably due to an estimated 50% reduction in the tumor size (we'll know more accurately next week). Pray that future rounds of chemo will likewise kill off the cancer. For this week though, please pray that Ethen's neutrophil counts rebound quickly. He is scheduled for a stem cell mobilization next Wednesday (I'll write more about that later).
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