All Clear

The Nurse Practitioner Angie called this morning with the results from Tate’s bone marrow test. He is still in remission! “Everything’s all clear” is what she said exactly. No evidence of cancerous cells was detected. Not only that, the pathologist noted that the kind of cells Tate needs to build his ANC and get treatment back on track are beginning to develop. I could hear the relief in her voice. By the end of the call I was standing on our ruined red couch bouncing I was so happy.

Tate’s face was precious when I told him.

Another bit of good news is that our insurance company has approved the blood test that will help Tate’s oncologist dose him properly. With relapse eliminated, the most likely cause for his immune system to have crashed so hard is that his body needs a smaller dose of Mercaptopurine, the chemo he is supposed to take nightly in pill form but hasn’t had for a months now. There is no alternate drug for this one; he has to take it. Fortunately the blood test should help his doctor prescribe enough of the drug to kill the bad cells that pop up without poisoning him further.

Tate is tired today: he is fighting a bad cold, growing a broken bone back together, generating crucial cells, and tolerating day four of steroids.

Thank you all for hoping and wishing and praying with us! And for us. Never once have we felt alone, and when it has been really hard and really scary, you’ve held us up, fed us, and made us feel better. Made us feel stronger. There’s no getting through this without you.