Hi all people! I just cannot feel that we are on the cusp of Labor Working day and summer months coming to a near. The previous 5 to six months have been a whole blur and this summer months, in particular, has flown by. There’s been hospitals (chemo, stem mobile harvest, surgical procedures), clinic appointments, and driving again and forth to New York.
But, a person foot in entrance of the other and one day at a time, we are grateful to be heading into a new year with a robust boy and hearts whole of hope.
Dominic experienced a chaotic very first couple months of August…
🔍 First, he had a new set of scans (MRI + MIBG) in addition another bone marrow biopsy. The scans still demonstrate sickness all over his bones but most of the places are “dimmer” than ahead of, and the bone marrow involvement decreased by over 50%.
So, there is nonetheless do the job to do, but there is an enhancement. And! Dominic did each of the scans without having anesthesia (he has been sedated formerly due to the fact you have to lay fully however and the MIBG is above 2 several hours). He’s a rock star.
🏥 Upcoming, he experienced his initial spherical of immunotherapy. The antibody he’s provided targets the protein of neuroblastoma cells and considering that they typically sit on nerve cells, there is significant nerve pain accompanying the remedy. The infusion is brief (45 minutes) but intense.
There is a lot of pre-medication and agony management through and following, and he would generally sleep the overall rest of the working day afterward. But, the treatments are outpatient so no healthcare facility stays, and they do not affect counts like chemotherapy, so no neutropenia or blood or platelet transfusions.
🦸♂️ Then, he crossed off yet another large hurdle… radiation. He did this awake with no anesthesia as well… two times a day for five days, he was strapped down making use of a special mask that was molded to his head and upper human body to retain his head and neck in the actual exact posture each time (his clavicle was radiated thanks to the cluster of diseased lymph nodes that have been there, as properly as the tumor bed in his stomach). An wonderful female who will work there has the young ones pick what they want their masks to be and then custom paints them… Dominic selected Iron Male. There are some exceptionally exclusive men and women in this environment.
He could also decide on whatever new music he preferred to be piped in just about every time and selected Christmas tunes every single working day 💕🌲 He thoroughly rocked it and the folks working there were being absolutely phenomenal.
➡️ Next… we get to be house for a couple of months, then it is back to NY for a different round of immunotherapy, a new set of scans, and a further bone marrow biopsy.
📘 In the meantime, he started out kindergarten this week! He’ll be joining class almost right up until his oncologist presents him the go-forward to show up at in individual, which we’re hoping will be late September.
💈 His eyebrows, eyelashes, AND hair have all commenced rising back again! He’s had a ton of vitality, has acquired back all of the bodyweight he dropped following operation and that past round of chemo and is otherwise executing definitely, definitely nicely.
❤️ Thank you all for your continued prayers, it usually means so a lot to our household.
In other news, I am organizing to get some e-mails scheduled out heading into the drop and vacation period to refresh some internet site material. So, you can search ahead to me popping into your inbox far more frequently in the coming months 🎉
