The True End to Chemotherapy

January 31st marked a day of extreme happiness for Sawyer. The first day day since October 20, 2011 that he didn't have to take some form of chemotherapy. The daily regime of morning and evening pills is over! Mark and I wished we could have been in New Paltz to mark the day but we had to be satisfied with a phone call and sending a card (with some money so Sawyer could do something fun). We were thrilled to hear that Sawyer's friends planned a celebration for him: cookie cake, dinner out at his favorite restaurant, and some rounds of pool afterward. Sawyer said "it was great!" He sent us the above picture as he posed with the group. Now we look forward to hearing how Sawyer starts to feel as his body rebuilds its immunity and totally flushes everything out of his system. It will take a few months but hopefully day-by-day he notices more energy and overall just feeling good. He'll get his medical port removed in mid-March at the same time of his next check up. Keep your fingers crossed that those checkups over the next 2 years continue to show he's in remission! How blessed we feel to be at this point, knowing too many other families never make it this far. Continue to appreciate each day and remember to tell your loved ones "I love you" - life can change in an instant for many reasons. October 20, 2011 was that day for us. Sharing our journey with all of you helped us each step of the way. Thank you.

The Long Awaited Day

Yes, January 12th finally arrived, the last chemotherapy injection!! 40 months, conquered.

I filmed the short ceremony performed by the nurses at Strong (in the pediatric oncology unit). They wrote the words to the song and it's wonderful! If technology works like it should, you can watch the video at: http://youtu.be/JFAnLKXSzTE (Be prepared to tilt your head; I didn't realize I shouldn't have turned my phone to capture it. Hopefully I can figure out a way to rotate it later, but wanted to get it out to everyone :) Make sure to turn up your sound).

We had a small party at our house on Sunday, Jan. 11th with family and close friends to mark the occasion. We're so lucky to have such a wonderful and caring support group and community to watch over us for over 3 years. Hugs to each and every one of you.

Sawyer returns in mid-March for a check up and to have the medical port removed from his chest. Then he'll have ongoing check ups for the next couple of years. I'm sure I'll post a few more times on this blog, but hopefully it's time to wrap things up. Thanks for being with us every step of the way!

Let the Countdown Begin!

Yup, the official countdown has begun.... only 28 more days of chemotherapy!!! One more trip to the hospital for an infusion (Monday, Jan. 12) where Sawyer will get to ring the bell in the oncology ward signalling the end of his treatment. Guess who's going to be crying with joy that day...

December rounded out as a good month. Sawyer got all A's for his first semester and is ready to go back to get started with the spring semester. I'd say that was a great sign!

Sawyer is spending his break staying up late, sleeping in, and catching up with high school friends as well as doing some "light" reading on Applied Hydrology to help prepare him for (fairly certain) research with his advisor/department chair over the summer.

We had nice Christmas celebrations with our families and just returned from a four day trip to the Adirondacks. We highly recommend the First Night activities sponsored by Saranac Lake. All in all very relaxing, making it hard to want to get anything accomplished at home!

Happy New Year!