Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Collin has continued to have a lot of fatigue since my last post. On Saturday October 13, we decided to make a trip up to State College to attend the THON 5K. My hope was that Collin would sleep in the car on the way there and back, and hopefully be able to have a few hours of fun in between. It was a beautiful, brisk fall day, and we were excited to see our THON students and fellow Four Diamonds Families. Unfortunately, it turned out to be too much activity for Collin; he was pretty unhappy the entire time we were there, and just kept saying he wanted to go home. Throughout last week, he has asked to go to bed around 6:00 pm, and has been sleeping eleven to twelve hours a night, as well as two to four hours during the day. When awake, he hasn't wanted to play much; he's been playing on the iPad, looking at books, or watching TV...things that don't take a lot of energy.

Last Friday, October 19, Collin had his first post-radiation MRI. To say I was anxious would be a huge understatement. The night before the MRI, I barely slept. I couldn't focus, and I couldn't turn my mind off. I wanted the results to be all clear more than I've ever wanted anything. I truly felt like I couldn't breathe. I was terrified. It was a horrible, dark place to be in. Friday morning, everything at the hospital went smoothly. Collin said he didn't want to go to the hospital to have his "pictures" taken, but when it came time for him to be put under, he sat on the table, calmly held my hand, and didn't fight the anesthesia. Finally, late Friday afternoon, we got the call. There is no evidence of any tumors in Collin's brain!! There is an area at the bottom of Collin's spine, where his original tumor had spread to in 2010, that has always been watched closely. Thankfully there are no changes in that area either!!

I can't describe the feeling of relief that we feel with this news!! We are so very thankful for this blessing, and the blessing of the love, support, and prayers of so many around us!! We will finish 2012 with cautious optimism, and renewed hope that Collin will beat this once and for all. Our fight is far from over, but it's nice to be able to breathe again. Our next step is to decide, with the help of Collin's oncologist, whether to start Collin on more maintenance drugs that will hopefully kill off any cancer cells that may be left, or just wait and watch.