Been a busy few days! So they decided after all to keep going with chemo and not do surgery yet. This was actually a relief to hear because previously they wanted to hold off on surgery because it would be a big surgery, so to have them think that was the best plan forward had us concerned. So we are back to the original plan of continuing chemo and adding radiation either in this cycle or the next.
Monday he had his PET scan and the results of that showed that the cancer is still shrinking, but still going slowly. They were hoping it would shrink faster but they are happy that it is going in the right direction still and that chemo is continuing to be effective. We were told that surgery would still be in Seth's future as chemo and radiation will not eliminate his sarcoma and it will have to be surgically removed at some point. Basically we are just going to have to wait until his treatments make it small enough to remove.
Tuesday we had a consultation appointment at the Cross Cancer Institute with his radiologist, Dr. Chafe. She says she has been working with the team since the beginning but didn't want to meet with us as she knew its a whirlwind of information in the beginning and she didn't want to add to that, which was very appreciated. She showed us some of the images of Seth's PET scan from previous and we were amazed at how technology can show you the human body slice by slice within millimeters! She said she had to meet with Seth's team but figured within the next 2 rounds of chemo that Seth would have radiation. That'll be quick appointments, she said similar to getting an X-ray, so it's like 15 minutes. She'll decide for sure what treatment for him but she said probably something like coming in everyday for 2 weeks for radiation treatments. Side effects are low and let's pray they stay away from Seth like most other side effects have so far, thanks to all the prayers. Praise God for granting that request so far. 💝
Wednesday Seth had 3 appointments back to back, one for his regular PICC line dressing change and bloodwork and the other was a Pulmonary Function Test. He had to be in a little glass box and do some different breathing exercises so that they have a base line for when he starts radiation treatment. He'll have this test again in future to keep an eye on his lung function. After that we met with Dr. Eid, I finally got his signature on our Handicap Placard form so I'll get that going and then he said that he'd like to get Seth admitted this weekend. We told him about Seth's Charity Hockey Tournament and he said that Friday would've been the earliest he'd get in anyway. It just depended on if a bed is available, whether he'd be admitted Friday or Saturday.
 |
| Seth's PFT appointment, at this point she shut the door for air pressure purposes. |
This was such good news for our family! No surgery which means Seth could be home for Christmas and go to the Charity Hockey Tournament and feel at his best for both! Praise God for granting us those couple days together!
Christmas Day both our sides of the family had plans for the afternoon and evening so we went to one for a bit of the afternoon and then to the other for dinner and evening.
Boxing Day, the Charity Hockey Tournament Day! How amazing. When I got there my eyes kept welling up just seeing all the people that showed up, some that I didn't even know! It was quite something to be at this tournament and be the recipient family this time. It was such a strange and wonderful feeling. I remember someone saying to us that we would feel our community pick us up and hold us there and that is such a great description of it! And what a tournament it was! Ending with a shoot out between the teams fighting for first place! Seth helped coach his little brothers team along with his grandpa, and put on skates at the end to present the trophy! Again praise God that Seth felt good that day, so he could enjoy it all and not feel ill in anyway, other than taking the elevator instead of going up all those stairs. 😉 His brother, Drew, scored 2 goals and we were hoping he'd score a third so we could throw our hats on the ice.😂😁
 |
| Putting on skates to present the trophy! |
At the tournament I got a call from the Hospital that they had a bed ready for Seth but to not rush and enjoy the tournament and just come in whenever your ready. They weren't going to start fluids until later anyway. So Bryan took Seth in just before 9pm and stayed the night with him.
 |
| Seth with dad and Uncle Jared. 💕 |
Bryan will be taking Drew to the Hockey tournament in Calgary on Monday. Originally if Seth were to have surgery we weren't sure that would happen either so I'm very happy that it's another round of chemo instead of surgery and that on top of Seth being able to enjoy the last couple days Drew could also go to his tournament. I'm comfortable enough knowing how Seth reacts and what to expect when we go home so I was comfortable having Bryan go to Calgary. In all the unknowns we had going into this week it turned out pretty great! Praise God ♡
There are no amount of thank you's that we could ever give to all of you for all your different ways of supporting us. We keep saying we CANNOT imagine people who go through this without the support of community. It's a hard road but it feels so much lighter and, I don't know how to describe it, the word enjoyable comes to mind but I feel like a terrible mom saying that, but just being able to feel God's presence like we've never felt before through granted prayers and all of your love and support around us is just something that's amazingly indescribable. I don't wish this road on anyone but at the same time I wish you could all feel what I feel.
 |
| Photo from someone who will remain anonymous in case it offends anyone that it's a photo during prayer haha! I thought it was a fitting photo for here because we've all been constantly praying together. Our family, starting second from left, Bryan, Seth, Myself (Laura), Hailey, Mya, Drew. |
No comments:
Post a Comment