Tuesday, August 11, 2009

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!!


I cannot believe it has been over 2 months since I posted to Elijah's Blog. It seems odd that during a crisis or in the midst of turbulent times the need to communicate emotion is so tremendous...now during the calm I find myself just being still. It's a fantastic feeling.

UPDATE:
Elijah had his scheduled CT Scan, XRay, and Ultrasound recently. It was one of the LONGEST days we've spent at Vanderbilt. Especially since the CT Scan is sedated which means Elijah cannot eat. A two year old at 10am coming out of sedation with an empty stomach is no cake walk believe me.

All results came back great with two exceptions. His iron is still critically low. So much so the doctors are considering injections! Also, the Ultrasound showed swelling in the abdominal lymph nodes. I don't remember my reaction to that news-I do remember the past 6 months flashing before me and a feeling of helplessness as I thought of Elijah possibly going through treatment again.

Thankfully, we returned for blood work a few days later and his AFP levels (tumor markers) were at 2.2 which is extremely low meaning no cancerous tumors detected. The oncologist believes he may have caught a stomach bug, which just so happened to have been going around daycare that very week. His immune system was strong enough to fight off the symptoms but the infection was lurking in his little tummy.

Elijah is doing fantastic. He's such a big help with his little brother Jacob and absolutely loves school. He sings ALL THE WAY HOME from daycare...EVERY DAY, and hopping while simultaneously saying "Hop, Hop, Hop" is still his preferred mode of movement.
Elijah has a surgery (his 7th) coming up in September (unrelated to the hepatoblastoma). I will post updates as the surgery nears.

Thank You for your continued prayers. We love you!