Hi all, I apologize this is coming to you so late! This is the blog post I wrote on Thanksgiving, and am just now publishing. I will post another update on Jack right after to make sure everyone is up to speed. Enjoy!
(rewind to last Thursday night)...
Hi family and friends (and probably some people we don't know at all...),
We have so much to be thankful for, and what an incredible holiday to remind us to be more aware each and every day of all the blessings in our lives. As the day comes to a close, I thought it might be appropriate for me to list some of the things our family thanked God for today.
We are done with Radiation! Now, Jack will be able to have his entire days to focus on working hard at therapy. He should start gaining more energy every day and his days will be much less hectic. And we found out that...
The plan is to discharge us on December 8th. Woo hoo we are going home!! After that time, Jack will do outpatient treatment, hopefully somewhere close to the house. This decision was based on the consensus from the therapists that Jack would benefit most, once he is home, from one on one treatment. And what about the tumor, you ask?
As of now, the MRI they did last weekend is showing the tumor is the same size... Which is a HUGE blessing! Both Dr. Natia and Dr. Claire are very encouraged that not only is the tumor the same size, but it has changed in composition, meaning that cells on the inside of the tumor are dying, and will hopefully continue to do so over the next 6 months! (radiation affects last that long).
Not sure exactly what that means yet as far as a possible biopsy, and/or chemotherapy, but they will do another MRI close to the New Year which should give them a better insight into what the best next steps are for Jack.
Thanksgiving Day today was actually, well, pretty perfect in my eyes. The day started off with Charlie, Tiffany and I doing the Gobble Jog on the Marietta Square. It was a great morning, and other than eating donuts before the race, Charlie was a definite leader with his perseverance and will power to finish in great time. Here is our finishing pic!
All 6 of us met at the hospital around noon, and some UGA students as part of the Children's Miracle Network provided an enormous Thanksgiving dinner for all the patients in Rehab and their families. We chatted with some of our therapists, at some delicious food, shared Thanks with other families who were there, and truly felt looked after by people we didn't even know. It was awesome.
Then, around 2pm, some of our dearest friends and amazing family put together a Thanksgiving feast of all of our favorites and brought it into the hospital room. And I meant ALL our favorites. An entire Turkey with our family recipe of stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread stuff with sausage, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberries & cranberry sauce, squash casserole, apple pie, and pecan pie. And just cause we felt we needed to contribute, Charlie and I made corn casserole and pumpkin pie. I'm not kidding you when I say that we all felt so incredibly blessed and appreciative of the people who took the time on their family holiday to make ours so special!
I mean, seriously, look at this spread!
The rest of the day we spent grazing over the food, enjoying some delicious wine, watching football and just being together.
It will undoubtedly go down as one of my favorite Thanksgivings of the 30 I've had.
So, from our family to yours (better late than never, right?)...
We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope you all know how incredibly special you are to us, and how thankful we are to be surrounded and loved and supported and prayed for by all of you.
We love you!
April
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