Good News

There is power in prayer and well wishes. I have to say a special thank you to all of the people in my life or the lives of those who know me for taking the time to pray for Caden. It has not been in vain--but then prayer and faith never really are. Please read the update that I woke up to read this morning. It's good to start your day with a smile.

"It seems like we have been here an eternity. We have lived an entirely different life here in the last 7 1/2 months. Waiting, and waiting, and waiting... We have been through the unimaginable. It was not in vain. We found out today that Caden is officially in remission!!!!! That's right...CANCER FREE!!!!! I pray it stays that way.We will be heading back to Anchorage very soon and he will continue the last stage of recovery in his own home! Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers! We did it! "

The image is Chinese character for double happiness...I thought it was appropriate.

Update and Pottery

We went to the multi-craft store today and had a really fun time painting pottery. I wish I had thought of it sooner because the dish I made is for my friend Tatiana's birthday, which is Thursday. I can't wait to see how my dish and the kids' dishes turned out. We really did have fun :) Now for the update on Caden. Below is a letter from my mother and a picture.

We took Caden to the clinic yesterday for labs, a doctor visit, the final bone marrow and lumbar puncture. His ANC has dropped back down to 176. Normally this would mean he would have to go back into the hospital but the doctor told us if we are real careful with him (keep him isolated) he wouldn't have to. So we keep him in the room at the RMH or walk him straight out to the car.

They cancelled his entire follow-up procedures until next week with the exception of his labs. We will have labs done again on Thursday to see what his counts are. The CT scheduled for this Friday was rescheduled for Monday Aug. 4th; they haven’t given us a date for the final bone marrow or spinal lumbar puncture yet. (August already; can you believe it!)

Caden is taking all of this really well. He isn't fighting us on staying in the room because he doesn't want to be in the hospital. He was in there so long that every time we are in the car, he has to have his window down for fresh air. It is bitter sweet; you realize how much he misses being outside but it isn't worth the risk to take him to a playground or to the beach yet.

Attached are a couple of pictures from his discharge date that you will love. It was a blessing to share in Caden and Schelly’s excitement when he saw his mother coming toward us on the path to the RMH. He had his arms reaching out for her as he ran toward her saying, “Mommy I'm free from the hospital!!!!” I wish I had taken a picture from behind to capture the look on her face too; but his smile is priceless!

Please continue to pray for healing and a smooth transition.
Cindy

What's That? Good News! About Time!

Oh Happy Day!

I have attached both the letter and the pictures my mother sent today as her Caden update. It is finally time for some good news. NOTE: Corinnea notice your beads in the second picture :)

Hello, hello, hello! I had my update ready to send out yesterday. I was going to give you the results of his blood work. His ANC was at 238!!!!! I was so excited, the nurses were laughing at me! Joyce, the nurse Caden had yesterday morning, is in love with him. She told me she is happy and sad and that she is going to miss him so much. Oh and surprise, this is the beginning of your 28 day countdown, the doctors are discharging you today! It was so funny because Caden was still asleep when she told me. I packed our belongings then woke him up to tell him we could leave after he took his medicine and ate his breakfast. He jumped up (he never wakes up like that), took his medicine, put on his own clothes and said "yeah, let's go I will eat at the RMH." It was a good thing I had already packed our belongings! I told him I needed to call his Mommy to come pick us up but he said no, he wanted to walk to the RMH and surprise her. What comes next? We wait for his counts to come up so they can do the final LP and Bone Marrow test, this is to confirm he is cancer free. (Just writing it brings tears to my eyes.). They will also do one more CT scan before they are done (I think to check his internal organs before they let him go home). They did the final hearing test last week; he has some hearing loss in his left ear (this doesn't surprise me as this is the ear that has been bleeding periodically throughout treatment). Before they can remove the Hickman line his platelets have to be much higher and stay high on their own. We are far from that right now. His platelets and RBC are low enough that they will be doing transfusions today. They will do that in the out patient clinic at the hospital. We will be there all morning but will go play this afternoon. Attached are a couple of pictures of his last day at the hospital. He went around and gave his nurses hugs before we left. Those pictures haven't been downloaded yet as they were taken with my other camera; these were taken with my Blackberry. Please pray for his bone marrow recovery and that when they do the final test we get the official word that his cancer is gone! Love to all of you and thank you for your support! Cindy