Wow, so much has happened in the last couple of weeks. To start off, Garrett celebrated his 9th birthday and we were all thrilled that he didnt have to spend this one in the hospital like he did last year. He loved playing Laser Tag and hanging out with some of his closest friends. I seriously wish we could have invited all his classmates, neighbors, friends and teachers to celebrate with us because every single one of them has made such a difference in his life. This morning, we headed downtown for his next set of 3 month scans. We had a wonderful opportunity for Garrett to participate in this afternoon, but it would only be possible if everything went smoothly and on schedule at the hospital. Once we got checked in, Garrett noticed I had some Press n Seal and sleepy cream and he quickly became nervous. His port was removed in June and he immediately connected the dots and knew that he was going to need an injection in his arm for these scans. I reminded him about the exciting plans we had but told him that whether or not we could go all depended on how cooperative he was willing to be. By the time we got downstairs to Imaging, Garrett faced his fears and said he would go by himself and didnt need his Dad or I to be with him. The smile on his face when he returned minutes later with his IV in place was priceless! Im not sure who was more proud...him or us. We eventually went back and got his chest CT done, followed by X-rays of his right wrist/arm and then we had a couple of hours to wait before they could do his full body bone scan. He wanted to go up to the 4th floor and visit all his friends and nurses. We lucked out seeing one on them in the elevator when we first arrived that morning and then saw many others later in the afternoon. While on the 4th floor, Garrett walked over to the hospital school room that he spent a lot of time in and keyed in the code to unlock the door. He was quite happy when he realized he still remembered the code and was able to unlock the door. Later on, we saw his teacher and Garrett told him how much he misses hospital school. (Most kids would if they got to spend a little time once in awhile playing Wii with the teacher!) We finished his bone scan just in time to grab a late lunch and get on the road to head to the Mountain Home Air Force Base. We were invited by Make a Wish of Idaho and the Thunderbirds to watch the Thunderbirds practice for their air show this weekend. As we boarded the bus to take us onto the AFB, we started talking to another Make a Wish family and realized they are distant relatives. (Garretts great-grandfather and Heidis great-grandmother are siblings.) It was fun to get to know them and hear about all they have been through with their daughter. We had an incredible experience standing by the flight line watching the Thunderbirds amazing maneuvers and witnessing the power of their aircraft. After the show, the pilots came over and interacted with us signing autographs and posing for pictures with these amazing kids. One of the news stations asked if they could put a microphone on Garrett while he watched the show and afterwards they asked a lot of questions. We had to laugh tonight as we watched the news segment because the story they aired wasnt all factual. They reported that Garrett had chemotherapy just this morning which made me laugh out loud because they proceeded to then show footage of me explaining how he had more post chemo scans. They also reported that doctors told us today that things are looking good in his battle against cancer. The truth is we dont meet with Garretts oncologist until Monday to get the official results. However, as we headed home, we decided to stop by the hospital and see if the radiologists had completed their reports of Garretts scans. With grateful hearts and a huge sigh of relief, we are thrilled to say that all reports indicated no sign of cancer! His next scans will be in December. We feel truly humbled knowing that some of the other osteo warriors we follow arent receiving the same kind of great news. If the day wasnt full enough, as soon as we got home, Daddy took Garrett to his school carnival while I took one of his sisters to a book signing event for the newest Michael Vey book. Its been a long day, but we have much to celebrate and give thanks for as we head to bed this night. Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers and well wishes for Garrett!
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 05:09:35 +0000
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