November 18, 2010
Be strong and do not lose heart. Refuse to give up. The enemy would have you to believe in hopelessness, but he will not succeed as long as you maintain your position of hope. Give him no ground. Take the time and make the effort to exercise your faith and to believe Me and know that I have heard your prayers, says the Lord.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
---2 Corinthians 4:17
We have had good news this week and Cory had a temper tantrum...
The good news....
As I mentioned in my earlier post, we were going to do a bone marrow test and a lumbar puncture. Here are the official results....
All tests showed no CANCER CELLS!!!! We are technically cancer free!!!!
Our oncology doctors said we couldn't have asked for better results. It is very rare that the first bone marrow test comes back clean but we knew better...we had faith that the Lord would answer our prayers. Now back to reality, this is wonderful news but we still have a very long road to go. Even though these tests came back with favorable results, we are not out of the woods yet. We have four more cycles of chemo and I am sure there will be bumps in the road with those but considering where we have been, this is definitely wonderful news. We will be starting the next round of chemo this weekend but for now we will take them and shout from the highest rooftop Cory is Cancer Free!!!! Now back to our serious mode....
Cory's temper tantrum...
Yesterday, Cory was scheduled to go for an upper-GI to check for acid-reflux. He is going to get a g-tube inserted in his belly today and he can't have reflux. He went down for the test and he did pretty well until he was given the contrast fluid. Well, let's just say he didn't like it at all...he threw it up...all over everyone. Needless to say, the nurses were not happy with that. His nurse, Annabell, said they were trying to roll him to the right so the contrast could drain and he decided he was going to roll all the way over. Well, when he did that, he busted open his incision on his head. It was only a small area but it was enough that Dr. Whitehead needed to be called in for a repair job. When he looked at the area on Cory's head, Dr. Whitehead decided to go in and put a drainage tube in and he also decided to take Cory back to surgery on Tuesday and replace the bone flap...a month earlier than expected. Again, Cory doing what Cory wants to do...
The rest of the night was uneventful but after the day we had, we couldn't ask for anything more.
Cory had a cat scan this morning around 4:00 am to check the positioning of the drain tube in his head. After that, he slept the morning away to prepare for his surgery inserting his g-tube. He went in around 1:30 pm and came out around 2:30 pm. Surgery went very well his surgeon said.
We had another cat scan earlier this week to check for any signs of infection. They found nodules on his lungs and it was thought to be a type of fungus. This is nothing out of the ordinary for a cancer patient. We are constantly in contact with different types of fungus. Since we have an immune system, we can fight it without issue. Since Cory doesn't have an immune system, he has to take anti-fungal medication, which he has been on since he started chemo. The infectious disease doctors want to get a sample of it so we can better treat the infection so it won't get out of control. He will be going in for a biopsy Friday after lunch. He is also back on antibiotics because of the incident with his incision.
I think that covers it in regards to updates on Cory. We have been blessed with such wonderful news and we have everyone to thank for it. Without your prayers and positive thoughts, I know the outcome would have been different.
An update on the people we have met in PICU....
I have great news about the 16 year old that was in a car wreck a couple of weeks ago in Nacogdoches. We found out she had broken every bone in her body from her neck down except her collarbone and one of her feet. She went into surgery last week and she was pinned and plated back together. She was moved to Pediatric Care Unit, upstairs, this past weekend. Her uncle came down yesterday to check on Cory and to give us an update on her. He said she was doing very good and could possibly be moved to a room next week.
We have met another family while here. Their daughter was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1. Spinal muscular atrophy is a group of inherited diseases that cause progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. This is a fatal disease with no cure at this time. She is the cutest little girl with big eyes and dark hair. She is battling an upper respiratory infection and is holding her own. Please say a special prayer for this little girl.
I will close this post this evening...I need to go and check on our little man. I feel he is no longer mine anymore, he is every one's little man. We have all been praying so hard and so long that the wonderful test results are not just our victory, it is every one's victory. Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers you have been sending our way over the past month, yes, it has been one month. We have fought so hard and so long that some days it doesn't feel that long but then some days it feels like it has been a lifetime.
Keep the faith that Cory will win the fight...that we will be driving into EC this spring with a healthy little man telling me "Hurry up Momma, I gotta get home to play with my Star Wars toys....I missed them and I want to be home...."
God Bless you All....
Jenn