Regular FeedJack is back in school and doing really well with getting back in the swing of things after a pretty rough week. We went back down to PCH for a checkup with Dr Eshun and at the same time, we were doing the check presentation from the “Comedians for a Cure” event so it was an exciting day!
First for Jack’s checkup…we still do not really know what sort of an infection he had removed. It was a node but that is about all we know. All his labs look great, his urine analysis is the most “normal” it has ever been (which is really good!), he tested negative for Valley Fever but we will be doing another check for that next week. Dr Eshun wants to send labs out to CA for a more in depth look at it to make sure he doesn’t have Valley Fever. I promised Jack he wouldn’t be getting a poke yesterday so I wanted to keep that promise and would rather make another trip down to the hospital to get labs drawn so we will be doing that on Tuesday of next week. We will also be doing another CT scan next month to follow up after the surgery and at that time, we will be having an MIBG scan done for extra precaution. If you don’t remember what an MIBG scan is, it is the scan where we go in the day before and Jack is injected with a radioactive isotope that circulates through his body for 24 hours. The next day we go back for a full body scan and if there is any active Neuroblastoma in his body, the isotope will cling on to it and it will light up on imaging. We are confident that nothing will light up but we want to be as cautious as possible.
Everyone was thrilled that Jack was still cancer free and that the mass tested negative for tumor. We walked in to clinic and almost every nurse and doctor (including Dr Eshun!) was wearing Jack’s “Stronger than cancer” shirt. It was such an amazing feeling to see how much they all care about Jack and about all of the kiddos that walk into that hospital. They are constantly rooting for all of them and you can see on their faces just how much they love these kids.
We were able to all gather around and I told them all how much we love and appreciate them. How we know that the protocol that Jack was on obviously killed the cancer in his body but there is no way we would have gotten through the past few years without the compassion and support they have given us. These people are more than incredibly intelligent doctors and nurses, they truly do become your family. After we thanked them for everything and presented them with the check for just over $37,000, Dr Eshun said he wanted to say a few words. This is where Nikki and I became a tad teary again! He thanked us for all that we are doing to raise awareness for Neuroblastoma and Childhood Cancer in general. He told us how much he loves our “Comedians for a Cure” event not only because it is a fun night but because it brings together so many families that have gone through treatment at PCH. He loves how he saw so many parents and employees of PCH in attendance. It really felt amazing to know that he, and the rest of clinic, support us and what we do.
All in all, it was a good day. It was great to be able to give back so much for Neuroblastoma research and it was even better to know that Jack is still cancer free. This child amazes me with his strength and resilience. He has once again confirmed for us that we are dong exactly what we need to be doing. Fighting for him and for all of the kids and families that have had to face cancer.
Jack was a tad shy so he didn’t really want to take the pic! Look at all the shirts!! So amazing!!! I am going to be putting in another order soon so if you want to show that you believe we all are “Stronger than cancer”, you can go to the donate tab at the top of the page and donate the amount for the shirt. Short sleeve shirts are $20, long sleeve are $25, and children’s are $15. The short sleeves are more “fitted” so they do run a little small and come in both woman’s and mens sizes. The long sleeve are unisex and both are so comfy!!
