Disappearing Act

 Here is the continued story. We were relieved on Wednesday afternoon to learn about the crazy urine test that had come back way too high for our liking. When the nurse told Rick in the clinic that the second test had come back and it was only 12.8 instead of 30.7, we were relieved to say the least. We took many deep breathes and shed tears of relief and praise. It is funny going through such a traumatic event such as cancer though. Part of me thought I would do leaps and cheers around the house when I found out the news, but instead I responded to Rick's call with a "oh that is good news" and a fairly monotone voice. You see when you get a scare like cancer returning in your son's body, you (or I did) spend so much energy and time worrying, praying, predicting what life will look like if bad news hits, that when good news comes in, you are thrilled, but the depleted energy in your body has to catch up to the thrill in your heart. It is a very strange experience. Anyway, knowing the normal levels of Andrew's test going into the scans this last week made the trips to UVA much easier. I decided to stay with the other three kids and try to keep everything as normal for them and Rick was an awesome dad and went with Andrew all three days.
 Wednesday, day 1 of the scans, Rick took Andrew up to the clinic for his "traveling IV" and his injection of radioactive isotope. The boy amazed us from the start as he only shed a few tears when the nurse put in the needle and then he was ready to hit the town again. That day was a short visit, but one of getting used to for the children at home. The girls studied Andrew's IV and covering when he arrived home and asked tons of questions. They wanted to make sure he wasn't hurting, that he didn't have to sleep at the hospital and that he was not sick again. It was interesting how much the IV jogged their memory of the last few months and the hospital time. Madi, my sweet sensitive girl, especially asked questions and just intermalized stress during this time. Andrew even asked me when I tried to put him down for a nap if he was going to sleep in his home crib or have to go back to the hospital.
 Thursday, day 2 of the scan day, Rick had to have Andrew up and out of the house by 6:00am. He wasn't allowed to eat anything due to the sedation and he wasn't thrilled about being woken up. This day was a pretty easy, straight-forward day. Andrew had his part 1 MIBG that was a 3 hour scan. Rick attempted to finish his sermon in the hospital cafeteria, but that proved pretty pointless with all the distraction both around him and within his heart. Andrew "woke up" around 11am and was home by 12:30pm. He seemed okay, however, the girls once again took immediate notice of the fact that he still had his IV on his arm and he wasn't home for good. The questions arose again about his cancer and why he had to go back to the hospital. A side note about this day...it was Rick and I's 10 year anniversary. We were blessed with a dear friend to babysit the kids and a night out to have a nice meal and share our hearts. We went down memory lane with where we were 10 years ago and how much life had changed. Had we ever dreamed we would be doing this with one of our children?
 Friday, day 3 and the last day of our scans, was a little more frustrating than the day before. We received a call Thurs night from one of the techs at the hospital asking if we could come earlier on Friday to have Andrew's MRI  We thought this would be beneficial to our time, however, Rick ended up being there from 8am until 12:30pm. Andrew was sedated for part 2 of the MIBG and then transferred to radiology for his MRI. He was home for the afternoon with some new Toy Story toys in hand. He just continues to amaze us. He sat in the waiting room with Rick, with no toys or books for over an hour waiting to go back. He didn't complain at all about being back at the hospital. He didn't mess with his IV in his arm the entire time he had it in. And he bounced right back after all the procedures.
   Rick called on his way back from the hospital to let me know he was coming and to tell me that everything went okay. As soon as I hung up with him, I received a call from one of the techs at the hospital. Apparently even after almost 6 hours of sedation and scans over the past few days, the doctors discovered that there was still an area that hadn't been scanned. The tech asked me if I thought Andrew would be able to remain still for 30 minutes while they did one more scan on his body. I boldly stated "no" and the tech let me know that he would pass that info along and a doctor would get back with me. About an hour later the phone rang and the "familiar" UVA hospital number appeared on our caller ID. I answered the phone only to hear our oncologist's voice on the phone. He proceeded to tell me that he had gotten the images back from the scans and needed to talk with both Rick and I on the phone!!!! My heart sank. This doctor in the past had had no problem giving me information on the phone without Rick. Now he wanted us both on the phone? What could this mean? I walked through the house trying to hold myself together. I called for Rick and told him the doctor was on the phone and we both needed to hear the news. My voice was shaky and my mind was already racing. Rick and I sat together as the oncologist informed us basically that everything looked GREAT!! The MIBG scans showed that less cancer remains than before and the cells are dying. He is very pleased with Andrew's progress and things are going as well as they could. He then began to try to explain what could have happened with the crazy urine test...explaining that it must have been diet or antibiotics. To say the least we were pleased with the news. Whenever I hear the oncologist on the phone my heart almost stops. I know I might hear information that could change everything forever. Once the words come out, you can never go back. So to hear words of encouragement and hope only lifted the incredible fear that had been living in my heart for almost 2 weeks. The cancer is DISAPPEARING and the battle is being won. Andrew is fine and our boy is back in our house sleeping soundly with no IV in his arm, only some war bruises on his body from the battle that he has been fighting for 6 months. Thank the grand General that he serves whom has led the fight and conquered the grave.