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We arrived at Riley to have Sam’s port accessed and then headed over to the MRI department for Sam’s 10:45am appointment.  They were running behind, so after waiting in the waiting room for a little over an hour, we were called back around noon.  Eddie, the MRI guy, had Sam change into some oh so fashionable hospital pants (his shorts had metal snaps on them) and positioned him on the MRI table.

Sam’s end of treatment scan was a full brain, full spine scan.  This is a baseline scan to compare to the scan at the start of his treatment and to act as a reference for future scans.  This type of MRI lasts TWO HOURS!  Sam was such a trooper, doing it without sedation and keeping perfectly still.  He amazes me.  I don’t know that I could hold perfectly still for that long.

After the scan, it was back up to the Hem/Onc Department to meet with Dr. Pradhan.  After the radiology department reviewed the MRI, the results were in.  CLEAN SCAN!  HOORAY!  This was such great news!  This scan didn’t worry me, for I knew that Sam had just endured eight rounds of chemo and was confident it had taken care of any lingering cancer cells that might be floating around in his body.  Yes. I had total confidence that this scan would be clean.  It’s the future scans, the ones that take place the farther we get away from rounds of chemo, that I’m sure will make me a nervous wreck.  But I have faith and hope that all future scans will be clean as well.  And it was time to celebrate!

Before we left, Sam made a stop at the Beads of Hope cart to retrieve one of his last beads…the end of treatment bead.  During Sam’s treatment, he received a bead for each process he went through during his treatment.  There are beads for MRI’s, beads for blood transfusions, beads for chemo, beads for clinic visits (he got a lot of those) beads for surgery, beads for hospital stays, beads for good days, beads for bad days, beads for holidays…..so many different beads for each step of the process.  When he began his Beads of Hope, he received his initials and a small silver bead that simply read “Hope.”  On Thursday he received another important bead-a butterfly.  How symbolic that this particular bead, the end of treatment bead, is a butterfly.  Just as a caterpillar begins his journey as one type of species, and soon is transformed into a totally different, beautiful creature-we feel we have undergone the same transformation.  Not only did Sam begin this journey with a cancerous brain tumor in his body and is now finishing treatment with no evidence of disease, he has undergone an emotional transformation as well.  We all have.  We are not the same people we were 14 months ago. How could we be?  We have learned many things about ourselves and others through this process.  We like to think we have become a more kinder, more understanding, more loving, more compassionate and a more faith filled version of our former selves.  This is not a journey we would wish on anyone, but do like who we have become.  Things that used to be important seem so small and insignificant now.  We truly don’t sweat the small stuff and are even more grateful for life’s simple pleasures.

On Thursday, September 2nd, Sam will return to Riley again for another milestone…surgery to remove his port.  He will be put under and be in surgery for about and hour or so and will be able to go home the same day.  Afterward, he will go up to the third floor to the Riley Hem/Onc department for his end of treatment celebration and the ringing of the bell.  We are so looking forward to it.  Stay tuned for some photos of the big day at Riley!

We were SOOOOOOOO happy and on such a high after Sam’s super end of treatment MRI scan that we were floating on Could 9!  And because of this high and state of euphoria, we were easily swayed and talked into something we were not yet ready to do.  Yes.  It’s true.  We caved and did this…..

A new puppy!  Meet Miss Roxy.  Or Foxy Roxy or Roxy Rue depending on the day.  She is a twelve week old Boston Terrier and is a little sweetheart.  The boys are having so much fun with her when she isn’t biting at their toes.  :)  The next morning Jere and I were looking at each other scratching our heads saying, “What have we done??!”  It is true- Champ’s passing effected us all in a way we didn’t expect, but we had vowed to wait and be dog free for awhile.  So much for that idea.

We had forgotten how much work goes into training a puppy.  But it’s been worth it when we see how much joy she is bringing the boys!

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but
let God transform you into a new person by changing the
way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will
for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Until next time,

Erica

Another trip to clinic for bloodwork since Sam’s counts were low the last time tests were ran.  Sam was on the borderline for receiving a platelet transfusion the last time we were in and Dr. Pradhan wanted to make sure his numbers were headed in the right direction.  Dr. Pradhan let us go home without a transfusion last week if we promised to keep Sam quiet over the weekend-no rough housing, no swimming or jumping into pools, nothing jarring-just resting and recovery.  Low platelets could mean internal bleeding, so it was important for Sam to keep a low profile until his numbers came up.  We were also told to watch for bruising, nose bleeds, and bleeding gums.  And of course, Sam had some bleeding gums over the weekend!  Gahhh!  Always something it seems!  After watching Sam closely and talking it over, Jere and I decided that Sam’s bleeding gums were the result of biting into a delicious chocolate chip cookie (made by me, thank you very much!) and not a platelet issue.  Sam had lost a tooth earlier in the week and we think that when he bit down on my delicious cookie, one of the chocolate chips or M&M’s hit right where he had lost a tooth, causing it to bleed again.  After rinsing his mouth and laying on the couch for a bit, we were happy to see that there was no more bleeding.  There were, however, more chocolate chip cookies!

Back at clinic on Tuesday, Sam’s platelets had risen to 27,000.  Still quite low, but no need for a transfusion.  His blood count had dropped too since the previous week, but again, not low enough to require a trip back to the infusion room.  Sam would be leaving today without blood products!  Hooray!  His ANC level, however, was a different story.  165.  Wow!  That is truly the lowest its ever been.  I feel like I keep saying that…”The lowest it’s ever been.”  Well, this truly is the lowest it’s ever been.  The longer you go through chemo, the longer it takes your body to recover with each round.  The drugs are powerful, but destroy the healthy cells as well.  With an ANC of 165, it was lockdown time again!  That meant, staying inside, no visitors, lots of hand washing and just a lot of waiting for the numbers to rebound.  We are all not a big fan of lockdown time.  Cabin fever can set in quickly.  However, with all the heat and humidity that we have been having here lately, we actually didn’t mind too much this time.  Sam will have his numbers checked again Thursday, August 5th when he is back at Riley for his End of Treatment MRI.  This will be an hour and a half scan of his brain and spine.  Please pray that it is clean!

Until next time,

Erica

DAY SEVEN

Day Seven of Sam’s Round 8 chemo cycle was just like any other day seven of previous rounds…pretty uneventful!  After staying the night in the hospital for the beginning of round 8, we made our way back on day seven for Sam’s second dose of chemo for this round.  This dose, a dose of Vincristine, is given on the third floor in Riley’s Out Patient Center, otherwise known as the ROC.  When we visit the Oncology clinic, it’s the same routine…weigh-in, get’s Sam’s height, take his blood pressure and temperature and then escorted back to one of the exam rooms for bloodwork.  We also visit with Dr. Pradhan or nurse Jayne during this time.  When the results of the bloodwork were returned, Sam’s numbers had dropped a bit.  His ANC level (infection fighting ability) had drop some,  but his platelets and blood count were low.  Over the course of his treatment, platelets had never been an issue, but after eight rounds of chemo and constantly being hit with heavy drugs, his bone marrow is feeling the effects.  It was decided that Sam would receive yet another blood transfusion and we would wait and recheck his bloodwork again in a few days to see if he needed platelets as well.  Daddy and Sam enjoyed three hours in the infusion room while Jack was at camp and I was visiting my sister and her family in Oregon for my nephew’s baptism.

DAY FOURTEEN-SAM’S LAST DOSE OF CHEMO….FOREVER!!!!

The smile on all of our faces this day COULD NOT be contained!  This was going to be Sam’s last dose of chemo, not only for round 8, but in his protocol.  He is finished with chemo.  I’ve waited forever to say those words.

This called for some celebrating!  First up, a little car paint!  Sam has been such a trooper and has shown such courage for the past 14 months-enduring brain surgery, radiation, 48 weeks of chemo, seizures, blood transfusions, scans, needle pokes-you name it!  I wanted everyone to know that this was his last round and wanted him to be recognized!  He loved the idea and even helped decorate the car.  He added a few happy faces and then just one word…DONE.  I think that said it all.

All the way downtown to Riley, we jammed to Sam’s ipod and waved with a smile to all of the honkers we passed.  I had to suck on my two front teeth from time to time to keep the tears from falling.  This was it.  Our last time headed to Riley for chemo.  Down at clinic, nurse Sally kept saying, “Hey Sam!  Do you know this is your LAST chemo??”  We were all smiling.  Yes.  We did know.  And you could see the joy on all of our faces!

Sam with Dr. Pradhan (we LOVE him!) and nurse Sally.  (We LOVE her too!)

Sam’s counts were down this round so we were asked to return the following week for more bloodwork.  That’s okay.  We are used to that!  After clinic we continued the celebration with a little lunch at one of Sam’s favorite restaurants-Charleston’s!  He loves their Mac N Cheese and their warm croissants. It was such a wonderful day filled with happiness and a sense of accomplishment.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Phillipians 4:13

After each round of big chemo, Sam comes home from the hospital with fluids.  For five nights, he is hooked up to an IV bag and his system is flushed and hydrated with a 10 hour drip.  This process flushes out his kidneys, hopefully reducing the amount of damage to them from the heavy doses of chemo drugs he received during “Big Chemo.”  (That’s what we call our first day of each round when we stay overnight in the hospital and Sam receives a chemo cocktail of three drugs.)  When Sam comes home from the hospital, his port needle and line have already been accessed.  All we need to do is hook him up to his IV at night before he goes to bed.  Setting up the pump, priming the pump, flushing his line and giving him a dose of heparin are all tasks done by Dr. Daddy.  For some reason, I have been dismissed from this job, unless of course, Daddy is out of town and I am the only option.  Only Dr. Daddy is allowed to do fluids.  I have been kicked to the curb.  :)

Picture of some of Sam’s fluid supplies.  Looks like he only had two days left in this picture!  Did I mention that he strongly dislikes receiving fluids?  Receiving fluids means having to have his port accessed, and we all know what a big fan he is of having his port needle in his chest!  It also means using the restroom a lot!   But we keep telling him, ” this is your LAST one! “

“It’s not how much you do, but how much love you put into what you are doing.”

-Mother Teresa

Upon arriving home, it was instantly obvious that our dog Champ had gotten worse over the past 24 hours while I was away in the hospital with Sam.  His foot that held his cancerous tumor had begun to ooze and bleed even more, he was licking it constantly, his leg and foot were now swollen, and he was favoring his bad leg.  Jere and I made the tough decision that it was indeed time.  We sat the boys down and had a gentle talk with them about Champ.  Many tears were shed by all.  He was so gentle with our boys when they were babies and they would constantly sit on him, pull on him, get right up in his face and use him as a step stool and he never seemed to mind a bit.   It is hard to say good-bye.

Champ was spoiled Wednesday night with lots of love, hugs and attention.  Jere cooked him a nice, juicy steak on the grill and Sam fed him an entire 1/2 pound of turkey from the deli.  (Oops!  A couple pieces of turkey as a treat quickly turned into the entire bag!)  What a feast!

Thursday morning, after a little walk out in front of our house, (his foot was far too swollen and he was too uncomfortable for anything more) it was time to say good-bye.  Jere loaded him up in the car and then they were gone.  Such a sad, sad day.

Good-bye Champ.   Thank you for all the years of unconditional love.  You have been a member of our family for 12 1/2 years and you will be greatly missed.