Happy Birthday!

Michael hit a milestone last weekend.  His immune system is one year old!  He did not appreciate my efforts to celebrate:  I tried to sing "Happy Birthday!" and repeatedly commented about "what a big boy" he is now.  He prefers to keep things a little more low-key. 

 

Since all of us weren't even together much over the weekend, it was difficult to have an official celebration.  We just spent every opportunity we had together remembering October 27, 2011--the events, the fears, the hopes, the intense physical struggles, the prayers, the people, the love and kindness, the blessings and victories.  Each one of us had a different perspective on the bone marrow transplant and the months that followed, but we could all agree that the last year has been an amazing miracle.

 

A year ago, the doctors, nurses, and coordinators were teaching us about all the side effects and complications that could occur as a result of bone marrow transplants.  In spite of all their promises and warnings, Michael has been free of complications.  The worst side effect Michael has suffered has been a mild skin rash.  It is simply hard to believe that the child I look at today is the same child who was so desperately sick one year ago.

 

I know I've shared before the prognosis that the doctors have given is that if Michael can remain in remission for two years, they do not anticipate the cancer ever returning.  One year down; one year to go!

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Once the school year starts, life always seems to take on a prescribed routine.  An exciting, chaotic, unpredictable routine!  We have settled into the crazy routine for a month now, and Michael seems to have made the adjustment without any problems.

 

Playing on the soccer team seems to be the most exciting part of the school year so far for Michael.  The physical effort and long hours on game days tend to exhaust him, but he enjoys every minute.  When I sit and watch him play in a game, I am simply overwhelmed.  Just one year ago he was so weakened by chemotherapy and preparing to face the fight of his life with a bone marrow transplant.  Soccer was the furthest thing from my mind then.  What a year it has been!

 

Michael's clinic visit last month was uneventful.  All bloodwork and his checkup were fine.  He'll have another visit next week.  We remain just amazed at and thankful for God's goodness to Michael and our family.

Our next big day will be sometime in early December.  Michael will have another bone marrow biopsy.  Until then, we'll keep taking each day and its "routine" excitement one at a time.

A New Start

The school year has begun!  We had some days shortened due to heat and ended the week with a tornado warning, but according to Kristen, our new Kindergartener, it was the Best Week EVER!  All the kids are adjusting well to another new school year.

Michael is doing well with juggling the physical demands of being a part of his soccer team and adjusting to attending school at school instead of at home.  He's been tired, but just being "one of the guys" again has encouraged him.  This will be an exciting school year.

 

Our first day of school

 

Good News!

The phone call we'd been waiting for finally came!  The results of Michael's biopsy are back.  We are so thankful to report that it's all good news:  there is currently no sign of cancer or the Philadelphia chromosome.  The new, healthy marrow is still 95% engrafted.  Only one more test result was pending, but the doctors were confident that it would simply reaffirm what the rest of the tests showed.

Thank you for praying with us.  We remain incredibly grateful for Michael's continued health and are excited to see what God's plan is for Michael's future.

Whirlwind Month

The month of August has passed so quickly!  We are in our very last days of summer; school starts for the kids on Monday.  (ALL the kids go to school this year.  It will be a sad day and a difficult adjustment for Mommy, but I don't suppose that you check our blog to get an update on the life crises of middle-aged women.) 

During the last weeks, Michael has stayed quite busy.  He began soccer practice two weeks ago.  He feels that though he began quite behind the other boys in terms of physical strength and stamina, he has made great improvement.  He is really enjoying playing and looks forward to his first game next Tuesday evening.

 

In preparation for school, Michael also began a crash course online to improve his typing skills.  One of the classes that he missed last year was Keyboarding.  Our focus was to keep him current in all of his core subjects, so keyboarding skills were low on our list of priorities.  When he realized that his class would move on to Computer Skills this year, he decided to do what he could to catch up.

 

The Friends of Kids with Cancer is a wonderful organization in St. Louis that offers a wide variety of opportunities and events to encourage "kids with cancer" and their families.  They provided tickets to a couple of Cardinal games recently which Michael was able to enjoy with family and friends.  One evening they invited many families to attend an after-hours event at the Magic House (a children's museum and top attraction in St. Louis) and provided great entertainment, dinner, and bags of school supplies for each child.

Throw in a few sleepovers, miniature golfing, some bowling, more swimming, school shopping, and family outings . . . you are up-to-date.

 

Probably the biggest event of the last weeks for Michael was his latest biopsy.  Last Tuesday, we took him for what is becoming a pretty routine procedure.  He saw his doctors in the clinic first, and they thought he looked fine.  Preliminary blood work came back looking great as well.  The biopsy itself took a little longer than usual.  According to the nurses, Michael was "jumpy" under the initial sedation, so they had to continue increasing his dosage.  We spent a while trying to convince him that he did want to wake up and come home with us.  I'm sure better parents wouldn't have so enjoyed all the distorted faces and groggy comments, but at least we stopped short of taking pictures or video.  We are still waiting for the results of the biopsy.

A few days before we headed to the hospital for the biopsy, we got news that yet another family in our small world was affected by cancer.  A young boy, the little brother of some of our children's classmates, was diagnosed with a pelvic cancer.  We stopped by to visit with the sweet boy and his family while we were at Children's.  Again we were reminded of how thankful we are for this journey that Michael is taking; it has taught us much and opened our eyes and hearts to the suffering of so many others.  As we shared with our friends, we agreed that the peace that comes from knowing that our God loves and has the perfect plan for both of our sons can sustain us through any trial.

 

I think I can safely promise that the next update will come soon.  We expect biopsy results any day now.  I sure wish this lesson in patience were a little easier to learn!

The Conqueror Returns

Michael came home from his week at camp tired but happy and healthy.  He had a great time.  We were so thankful that he had color in his face, had a typical amount of teenage energy, and didn't need to nap repeatedly.  What a difference from last year!

He got home Saturday to find that an wonderful organization Friends of Kids with Cancer had given him a block of tickets to the Cardinals/Cubs game that evening.  Off he went with a family group to watch the Cardinals win 12-0.

Today brought another monthly checkup at the hospital.  The doctors declared that he looked great and would see him in August when he comes back for his next biopsy.

We'll keep you posted . . .

Dear Journal,

A year ago today, I began a record of Michael's journey in a journal of sorts.  The entry for July 19, 2011, is simply:  "Diagnosis:  ALL."  I obviously didn't write much, but the message in those few letters was life-changing.

Each day, the journal has grown.  It soon chronicled the change in his diagnosis to Ph+ ALL (Don't google it; its prognosis is frightening and certainly not God's plan for Michael so far!) and all the medical procedures that followed.  Many of you are mentioned in Michael's journal; you called, visited, sent encouraging cards, and helped in amazing ways.  The journal continues to record his path of remission and recovery.  I hope someday that Michael will be able to look back through the pages and remember with joy and gratefulness all that God has done for him.

Reaching the one-year milestone is bittersweet, but I think that Michael and our family can honestly say that we are thankful for what this past year has taught us and will continue to trust in the God Who holds our future.