Today was a full day, even though on the surface it may not seem like it. We accomplished two tests and a bath! In a week full of bad news, there was at least some positive news today.
First, we know that the tumor hasn’t grown into Eli’s skull (technically we knew that yesterday from the head and chest CT scan). As a comical side note, they did find something in his right ear that is a mystery. They kept asking us if he has ever had tubes in his ears (like we’d forget that) and have determined that it is something he probably shoved down in there a while ago. They plan on having an ear/nose/throat doctor pull it out whenever time permits.
Second, we know that the tumor isn’t closing off the blood to the kidneys. He had a kidney ultrasound today so they could monitor the arteries to the kidneys and fortunately those seem to be just fine. He has had really high blood pressure the last few days, so they were worried that he might be having kidney problems, but that’s not the case. They’ve been able to manage the blood pressure with some potent medication.
Third, although we know the tumor is in the bone marrow (putting him at Stage 4), the preliminary results from today’s bone scan shows that there are no tumors actually growing on his bones. That is great news because those are extremely difficult to remove and would be a very bad sign. Final word is still coming back, but they are pretty confident that is one thing that hasn’t progressed into a dangerous thing yet. He was injected with radioactive liquid and then his whole body went through a scanner to show his bones and see where new growth was occurring. It was a pretty amazing process.
Thank God for His role in science and for the advancements in technology that physicians have made to better understand the things that go on in these extremely complex bodies He has designed.
We are still waiting for 100% final reports from the pathologists before starting any treatment. They emphasize that we have to know with absolute certainty what this thing is before we start treatment. So we could potentially not hear back until Monday. Until then, more tests and start planning our ideas for treatment under the assumption it’s what everyone suspects it is (neuroblastoma).
Please continue to pray. Hopefully this new “update format” serves people well.
Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits, 3who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases
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