We actually have a date for James' last chemo. Friday, October 23rd. He will finish the last pills and we will be done with chemo. The week of Nov 2nd, we'll get James' counts checked locally and the results will be sent to the oncology team and the surgeon. (Please pray with us for GREAT counts!)
The surgeon is in the loop now to start the process of reversing (hopefully and Lord willing) the ileostomy James had to have at the beginning of treatment. If the problems were caused by the chemo AND all is well with the pieces and parts after 2.5 years of chemo and non-use, then they should be able to put our little guy all back together again. Which is, of course, what we are hoping and praying for!
Assuming all is well with counts, James will have a fluoroscopy of his colon on Nov 9th. This will ensure there are no blockages or anything strange with all this non-use. Later that day, James will have procedures in Day Surgery. The oncology team will check his bone marrow and spinal fluid one last time. (Pray all is CLEAR... no more leukemia... EVER, Lord willing!)
During the surgery time, the surgeon will do a rectal biopsy to be sure that James still has all the important cells that should allow him to 'work like the rest of us'. The surgeon will also do a scope of the colon and check the health of James' colon and the mucosal lining. If all is well, he will flush the colon (via James' mucous fistula) and see how things work. Then we will figure out where we stand on the road to repairing James' ileostomy. (Please pray for a healthy colon with great mucosa, all the right cells in all the right places, and that there would be no blockages and things would flow JUST like they are supposed to.)
As we get closer to procedure day, I'll ask for prayer that either James would tolerate the fluoroscopy well, or they would be willing to sedate him for the test.
When James started chemo, it seemed like it would be FOREVER before we finished. Treatment is 130 weeks and we are now in week 128. With the end of treatment, brings the beginning of other new things... so we have endings and beginnings and we have James with us still. Which, if you had seen him 2 and half years ago, you would know that that is nothing short of a miracle. We are so grateful for God's mercies!
Monday, October 12, 2009
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2 comments:
I'm so glad you posted this as a blog. Explaining it to me in detail helps with the things I don't understand!
Know that we are praying each and every day for that little fellow and for the wonderful family in which God has placed him. Y'all are very special to us, and we love all of you.
I agree with Donna. The explanation greatly helps my overall understanding of the situation. Continuing to pray.
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