Band Concerts and Other Normal Things

Tonight was J's 6th grade band concert.  He plays the alto saxophone.  It was a typical middle school band concert.  They managed to play together.  There were only a few times when the band was supposed to be silent, but one person took an impromptu solo.  There was a fun song played by all three grades about the revenge of the dust bunnies, with a live vacuum cleaner at the end.  They performed in their gym and had the performing band in the center, and the two sitting bands were in the back of the room seated in chairs.  J fidgeted like a 6th grader.  He whispered to classmates while other bands were performing.  He couldn't stop talking about how much fun the evening was.

Quick Update

J had a long day at the hospital getting CT scans, labs, and follow-up visit.  The long and short of it is that the lymphoma remains in remission.

Remembering

Anniversaries seem to assume a celebration of sorts.  But people who have lost or have been hurt also know there are sad or somber anniversaries.  It has been a year (Feb 11) since we found J's lymphoma.  Talking with J tonight he said, "It doesn't seem like it could have been a year since that all happened, it doesn't seem like it has been that long."  I reminded him he was in a bit of a daze during a few months of treatment.  He chuckled a bit and said, "Yeah".  I asked him earlier what he thinks about regarding his experience over the last year.  He said he kind of prefers not to think about it at all.

So Much To Be Thankful For

I had meant to post on Thanksgiving, but I also knew we were just a couple days away from another follow-up appointment with CT scans.  6 months later, all clear.  J took his last dose of antibiotics that he was taking as a precaution against certain infections until his body had recovered enough from the chemotherapy.  He no longer takes any regular medications.  He surprised us with the last doses by swallowing his pills with a drink of water.  He has come so far from our crazy fights on how to get him to swallow pills.

Happy Birthday!!

J had a marathon of tests a couple weeks ago.  He had his CT scan, which showed no new disease.  Good news!  He had an echocardiogram to make sure the heart didn't get injured too much from the chemotherapy.  The heart is still working well.  He had a host of labs that reportedly are fine.  I couldn't find the kidney stones anymore on the CT scan.  So nice to repeatedly have good news.

A New Life

Mom and J went to meet his new oncologist a week or two ago.  It is very interesting how God works in our lives.  Prior to the diagnosis we were contemplating switching jobs and moving.  I had already interviewed for the position and was given a job offer.  I signed the contract and Mom placed the contract in the mail the morning we found his mass.  I had already determined to start with the new job in mid-August.  Then we find the mass.  That's the kind of discovery that can destroy plans (and it did disrupt several plans).  But here is the beauty of how it worked, we were able to have J treated with his long inpatient treatments in a hospital that was two minutes from our house.  I worked at primarily at one hospital, the same where he was treated.  It wasn't an easy four months, but it ended up being only four months.  We were able to follow through with our fun summer plans, and add some new activities.  I was able to start work in August as planned.  It's hard to imagine coincidence working so beautifully.  We count it as blessings from God.

Six months

It was six months ago today that we discovered the lymphoma.  By 11 pm we had already found the mass on ultrasound, been admitted through the emergency department, obtained an MRI, and were admitted to the Children's Hospital, hoping to have surgery the next morning and discover exactly what we were dealing with.  I remember doubting that it could be anything benign and hoping it would just be lymphoma because the alternatives would have been worse.