One more journal update I will post here, nothing but great news, we are all so thanful for the support from everyone. Dad Jeremy's most recent journal entry:
I am exhausted.
B ut I am overjoyed.
T oday was our last day at Nationwide Children's Hospital until Monday June 14, when Jack is tentatively scheduled to start his two rounds of chemotherap y. Like I said in the previous post, nothing against Children's or its employees, but I'm glad to have that place in my rearview mirror for a few days.
Jack had his PET scan today, and after eating some lunch we talked with his oncologist, Dr. Martin. Every test Jack has been put through -- from the CT scans to the bone marrow to the spinal fluid to blood samples -- has come back free and clear of any cancer. Thankfully, the lymphoma did not get a chance to spread to other parts of his little body. We'll get the PET scan results Thursday or Friday, but Dr. Martin is confident it will come back clear.
So now we're embarking on the treatment portion. Right now, the plan is for him to be admitted to Children's for a three or four night stay. The first day will be to catch us up on what's happening, get comfortable with the process and meet the people. Then he gets the drugs pumped into his body.
The side effects aren't guaranteed, but Dr. Martin said she hasn't had a patient exhibit all of the side effects as well as none exhibiting none of the side effects. Who knows what it will be, but I'm rooting on him keeping his thick head of red hair.
Three weeks or so after his first treatment, he'll go through another treatment round.
And after that, he should be done. They'll run him through the battery of tests again to make sure everything in O.K.
There will be a check-up schedule for him, probably for the rest of his life. While it's not a substantial jump, cancer patients like Jack are slightly more likely to get cancer in the future.
It's amazing to think just one week ago, the words cancer and Burkitt's Lymphoma entered our reality. Now here we are, with a definite end in sight.
After getting about three hours of sleep after driving to Columbus last night, running around the hospital all morning and afternoon, and driving home from Columbus, my relief feels a lot like ... ZZZZZZZ ...
Oh wait, there's more good news. Evy has been such a great trooper through all of this, better than I could have ever expected a 5 year old to act. Today we found out she passed her preschool screen tests with flying colors; scores of 76 and above are considered above average, and she scored 75, 75 and 91. I'm so proud of her.
There's a lot to be thankful for around here. Especially the fact that Jack and Evy's bedtime is fast approaching.
I was addicted to The Hokey Pokey, but I turned myself around!