The wait on surgeries is a notorious combination of boredom and anxiety, though Dr. Boop significantly diminished the latter with his early morning announcement that the procedure would be much simpler than planned. Fortified with snacks and ample access to the internet, we were prepared for the long haul, but only an hour after we got the call that they had opened we got another call that Dr. Boop was scrubbing out and ready to talk to us.
Continue reading Post-Op Update
Category: Effects of Cancer and Treatment
More Good Bad Luck
These past few years, we have done a poor job in updating on Colin and his progress. Though I can’t completely escape guilt on this point, I am happy to report that the reason is that we have all been busy with normal life and that he has been improving steadily. We moved to Ithaca, the boys have been going to the same elementary school together, and we all enjoy living in a neighborhood that is full of kids and friends.
Counting the Years
After the absentee winter thawed into spring, Colin returned to Memphis for his four-month check-up. This visit marked two years from the end of radiation and a juncture I hadn’t dared contemplate when we were still at St. Jude. We are also nearing his fifth birthday, simultaneously the third anniversary of his diagnosis. These milestones have snuck up on us, with the pleasantly mundane realities of daily life overshadowing the gravitas that cancer tends to impose. Continue reading Counting the Years
Indestructible
Before launching into the latest long-overdue update, I want to post information about the 2011 St. Jude Give Thanks. Walk that is taking place across the country this weekend. We are going to New York City on Saturday, November 19, to support the hospital in a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. If anybody can join us or participate in one of 80 cities across the country, we encourage you to do so. Also, please consider a donation to St. Jude (our fundraising page). Not only do we know from personal experience what an amazing place it is, but independent research demonstrates that St. Jude is a quality charity. The hospital received a top rating on Charity Navigator because it has proven that dollars donated equate to dollars spent helping the kids. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…
After getting news of another stable scan at the end of June, we returned home to start off a busy summer. Continue reading Indestructible
Summer Kick-Started with a Scan
Even on the cusp of summer, Memphis is unforgivingly hot, but the weather is nearly irrelevant when you’re back for check-ups at St. Jude, which we were at the end of June. Continue reading Summer Kick-Started with a Scan
Full Circle
Colin returned home, nearly a year from the completion of radiation and two months short of his fourth birthday, with a good scan and no trach. Continue reading Full Circle
True North
Colin is in remission, and it now seems easier to utter the words aloud. His scan from January was still “stable,” with Dr. Gajjar now asserting that the sliver of “whatever” that cradles Colin’s brain stem is scar tissue. Continue reading True North
Put Me in, Coach
As Colin’s trajectory moves unevenly but steadily upward, we have also been taking him out into the world to finally do what he could not a year ago. Continue reading Put Me in, Coach
No, No, No, How are You Doing?
Perhaps I was naively unconcerned about Colin’s latest scan. Continue reading No, No, No, How are You Doing?
Parallels and Contrasts
It is all too easy to feed off of birthdays, anniversaries, and other meaningful demarcations of time. Continue reading Parallels and Contrasts