Signs point to YES . . .

We had to be at the PICU this morning at 7am for Ben's MRI, kidney function test and lumbar puncture. We got checked in and then kind of hung out while the numbing cream and Versed (a tranquilizer???) took effect so Ben could get his IV in his hand. Ben likes Versed. He gets pretty happy.


Once the IV was in (9am~ish) we walked to the MRI room and left Ben with the doctors. We had a couple of hours to kill so we got some breakfast and then went back to his room to wait for him to come back. The time went pretty quickly, but I definitely like Bob Barker better than Drew Carey on the Price is Right. Once we Ben got back they did the lumbar puncture. While the doctor was doing the puncture the doctor said something like, "I like to see the scans for myself. and "I can get the verbal report but I really like to see what is going on so I can better explain it". Immediately my mind went to the worst possible scenario. We sat around waiting for Ben to wake up for a half-hour or so. After two hours under anesthetic it took a while on oxygen before he was interested in much.

When Ben finally started coming around he was VERY groggy. Even with the enticement of french fries, he was pretty out of it. The doctor came in and we braced for the news. He said that it looked as good as it possibly can. Ben's brain has continued to fill in the space once occupied by the tumor. There will still probably be some ongoing adjustments there; his counts all were in good ranges; there was no sign of cancer cells in his spinal fluid. WAHOOOOOO!

We are extremely excited to say the least. They will send these results to Seattle for final reading and evaluation by Ben's team. One of his doctors is headed to Alaska in a couple of weeks and we anticipate having the opportunity to meet with him. We are just happy that this hurdle is over. After having this be so totally consuming since February it is a little different not to have an appointment scheduled or to know a new test schedule.


One of the negative attributes of ATRT cancer is that it has a high rate of recurrance. For now we plan to simply live every day. To that end we will probably not spend much time here updating the "wild adventure". It has truly been an adventure thus far and will continue to be I am sure, but with no immediate news (other than the hopeful return of Ben's hair) I imagine we will spend most of our time chasing kids and their various activities rather than updating the blog.

We continue to be every grateful for the love and support of family and friends. Many we have met along this journey, and many more who have just always been there when we needed them. To friend both old and new, Ben says thanks!!

Signing off - - - - It is time to go get Ben into the tub and try to scrape off the layers of cotton candy and ice cream from the celebration party we had for Family Home Evening!!


Love,


The Allreds