Done with treatment!! May 2014

It's been awhile since Jake finished his treatment, so it's time to update the blog. His last treatment, April 15, 2014,  was uneventful. Just the same old routine of going to clinic and getting his chemo. The dacto has slowly built up in his system so he has been getting progressively more nauseas after each treatment. He lied on the couch and threw up a few times the night after the treatment. But just as always he bounced right back and the next day he was feeling a lot better. 









Last Chemo Treatment

The final scans May 6, 2014, were scheduled for three weeks after the last chemo thus completing the final round. It turned out to be a very long day. We invited our parents to be there for the bell ringing. They had to just "hang out" while we ran from floor to floor. We started on the first floor in cardio to get his echocardiogram. The doxo has the potential to damage his heart but his doses where so small that the exams where basically a formality. Everything looked excellent. Then it was up to clinic to get his port accessed (for the last time!!). Next was back down to the first floor for the CT scan. Again everything looked good.

 It was then time for the celebration. The nurses all gathered in our room and sang "No more, No more chemo....therapy! to the tune of We will Rock You. They gave him a basket with toy a big stuffed dog. We then headed over to the bell and had our sweet little boy, who had been through so much, finally reach up and ring the bell. It was so awesome to finally be done with treatment.



At last, it was time for the port to come out, May 12, 2014. They were able to schedule it a week after his last check up. It was a pretty simple procedure. They made a small incision below the port and pulled it out. I asked them if they were worried about his artery bleeding when the needle is pulled out. The doctor explained that the artery wall closes right up and heals.  The actual procedure is only about 30 minutes. We spent more time in recovery feeding him popsicles than waiting for the surgery. Finally they brought in the wagon and we loaded him up and pulled him out of the hospital for the last time.

You wait for this moment from the day they are diagnosed. All you hope for is that your child will be cured and you will be able to take them home. However when that time actually comes, it's a little nerve racking to leave. I didn't realize the comfort I'd felt knowing that he was getting medicine and regular scans. Now I find myself wondering if it is gone or if it will come back. You just have to trust in God and know that He has a plan for us and everything will work out. With the port out, the risk of a port infection is gone so now we can start taking him places and not keep him so isolated. Now when we are getting ready to go somewhere and that sweet little boy comes and asks "Can I come" we can answer "Yes!".  First place we took him - Cold Stone.

  He is scheduled for alternating CT scans and sonograms every three months with yearly echocardiograms. (I'm writing this after he has already had his first checkup in which everything looked great.)