Pray for Nothing

 Well, just to keep this type A personality on her toes, I found out yesterday afternoon that our scans for Andrew are this week. Yep. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We have to scramble for medicines he needs and childcare and rearranging our schedules. We have to figure out who can stomach the IV insertion that Andrew will have on Weds and will have to come home with for three days (one guess who that lucky person will be...hint....not me). We have to figure out what schedules can be rearranged. Luke's one year check up can wait a little while longer and anniversary dinners might have to be postponed. It is crazy. These scans were scheduled at three months for Andrew anyway, but we are having to hurry them because of a hopefully incorrect urine test. The ironic part is, we drove the second sample to UVA last Friday to just be able to be at ease that the urine number was right and now we will find out the scan results before the new test comes back on Thursday afternoon. So, needless to say we are a little frazzled. We are a little (and a lot) nervous. Rick and I are still very hopeful that the test was a fluke, but of course right now we dont't know for sure. We don't know if this week will be another drastic change in the Gilmartin family. We don't know if we will be admitted the hospital to begin another "plan" of attack to fight off the enemy that wages war in our son's body. We don't know if we will get pleasing results and be able to just "get back to normal." So we wait. We pray. We hope. We lean on dear friends and family. We hug our little ones tighter each day. We will keep you updated as we find anything out.
 The first procedure is tomorrow (Weds the 19th) at 2:30pm. Andrew will go to the clinic at UVA and have an IV put in his arm. Then he will go to radiology to have a radioactive agent injected in his body. This agent will cling to any cancer cells in his body. On Thursday he and Rick will report to the radiology office again at 7:00am!!! That means Andrew goes without breakfast at 6:00AM to the hospital. The scan will run from 8:00am until around 11am. This MIBG will focus on the "hot spots" in Andrew's body. The radioactive agent will light the cancer cells up like Christmas lights and let the scanners know where the cancer is. Then on Friday Andrew will go back again (we will not check into the hospital...all outpatient) by 9am to have the more focused MIBG and an MRI done. He will probably be there at least until 1pm. Now, we all have to remember that these scans were planned for June. All of them were scheduled as routine for his first year after having cancer, so the doctor hasn't issued any more than necessary. He also hasn't  told Andrew to be admitted or given us reason for real concern. The only thing that changed was the date of the scans and the confusing urine test that was "too high." So there is still great hope that nothing has changed and Andrew is fine. This is what I keep telling myself. This is what Rick and I keep repeating to ourselves. This is what we are clinging to in those late hours of the night. We cling to this and we cling to our God that is faithful and will bring us through. Please pray for healing in Andrew's body. Pray that nothing more has grown or spread and that these remaining cells will begin to breakdown and disappear. We will keep you all updated! Thanks for your love and support!