Getting Ready for Christmas!

December 16th, 2013

The last couple of weeks have been spent getting ready for Christmas.  We have been busy baking, shopping and wrapping gifts.  You have enjoyed helping out as well as keeping me busy when you have been left alone for too long!  We have given up on shopping now that the malls are really crowed but we are done for the most part.  As for Santa, we made it to the mall on a Tuesday night, in hopes that it wouldn't be too busy, and we lucked out as there was hardly a crowd.  You were excited to see Santa and had no hesitation when it came to sitting on his knee.  You informed him that you would like a "real" Zamboni for Christmas to use on the rink in the backyard.  Lol...we will have to see about that!!

Our plans for Christmas are pretty simple.  We are sticking around here so we are close to our hospital, just in case anything happens.  We are still hoping for a phone call informing us of a cancellation and the chance to get your "tubes" out early.  Nevertheless, we continue with all things Christmas and thankful we are all together this year.

The last couple of days have been nice outside so we have taken advantage of that and played outside in the yard as well as the park.  Your dad has the ice rink finished so we have been encouraging you to try skating but you only last a couple of minutes and you want off.  I think you enjoy shoveling the snow all over the back yard more than skating!!

As we count down the days to Christmas I am overwhelmed by joy knowing how far we have come this year.  We prayed and hoped that we would be home for Christmas and we are not only home but know that you are healthy.  I definitely could not have asked for anything more this Christmas then the health of my family.

Love you to the moon and back,

Mom

Best News Ever!!

 

And the results are in...

On Wednesday we returned to Calgary to meet with Dr. Anderson, our Oncologist, to go over your tests results from the previous week. We had waited a long time to hear what the tests were going to stay. We prayed that you would still be in remission and we would not have to try a new treatment plan. After an agonizing long wait we heard what we needed to hear, you are in remission and all your tests came back clear and no signs of relapse!!! I was so overjoyed and emotional knowing that for right know the cancer cells are completely gone and we can start to concentrate on what the future will bring. I sit here trying to type the feeling I have and the relief I feel knowing that you are no longer sick, but I am unable to find the right words. I was happy to spread the good news to friends and family and many tears of joy were shed by all!!

We also discussed what was next, with Dr. Anderson, now that you are finished chemo and are in remission. He explained that your treatment was very intense and the type of Leukemia you had was very aggressive. Therefore, your body will take at least 6 months to fully recover and for the normal cells to return to normal levels. These means keeping to our "bubble" and avoiding places with a lot of sick people or germs. This is going to be tough since you like to get out and I do too, but we will find things to do at home. It will be nice when the weather is better and we can go outside or do activities in an open place.

Your plan for the next year is that you will have doctor's appointment every month, with Dr. Anderson, for a check up and blood work. However he is trying to contact Dr. Foulston, here in Medicine Hat, and see if she could do your check ups for 2 months and then we would go to Calgary for the third visit. This would save a lot of trips to Calgary, particularly helpful during the winter months. After months 3, 6 and 12, when you come for your doctor's visit in Calgary, you will also need to have an MRI, bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, ultrasound and x-ray. These means in the next year you will have these tests done 4 times. This is to keep a close watch for any abnormal cells or masses. Your cancer is so aggressive that the chance of the cancer coming back is higher during your first year in remission. So, as relieved as we are now, I am sure that we will still have some anxiety and fear of the unknown during this next year. We can take a deep breath now, but it is always in the back of my minds that this disease can make a quick come back. We all struggle with the ways in which this disease could effect the rest of your life; worrying more then others about blood work, being tired or lumps and bruises. I know this will impact your life forever and I would do anything to reverse it. I just wish it was all over, I wish you didn't have to have blood work every month, I wish that you didn't have to see your Oncologist until you are 18. I will always look for warning signs...when will a fever just be a fever? Do you have low energy just because you are run down or is the cancer back? I really hate cancer, I hate it so much!!   

But there is another side, you are a SURVIVOR! And, by the age of just 3 you have endured more then others 10 times your age and proven your strength and determination.  You have faced more adversity with very little understanding of what was going on, you just trusted us to care for you and showed the courage and determination we asked of you.  As a family, we refused to let this disease break us, we bound together even when we were apart.  I can't say we have 3 kids that never fight, but you see each other in a new light and I think you watching each other with tinted glasses.  Life has a different glow and sometimes you know its just more important we are together again.

News on your Broviac is that the next available appointment is January 20, 2014. This really sucks because you don't need your lines for anything now that you are done chemo, but the surgical wait list is so long. Your Broviac is a liability as it is a major source of infection, which is still dangerous with your low counts. I guess we will continue to check your lines every hour of the day for at least another month and have our emergency kit with us at all times. I hope that there is a cancellation and we are are able to get your line out before Christmas. If not, we can deal with it and know that there is actually an end in sight.

I should also mention that we are not in the clear when it comes to fevers. Your body is still recovering so if you run a fever longer than an hour we still need to go into the hospital instead of treating you at home. The process of taking blood cultures and treat it each symptom appropriately before it becomes something bigger. You continue to be on antibiotics for the next 6 months to help prevent major infection such as pneumonia, as your body still has a hard time defending itself.

Right now we will enjoy the holiday times together and be grateful that we can all be together for some of our favorite holiday traditions such as the Holiday train, Santa visits, Tree of Hope, Christmas baking and shopping for your siblings. We have so much to be thankful for; being together is the best present I could ever ask for!

Love you buddy,

Mom and Dad