The Last Treatment

Things are definitely getting brighter for Drew. Dr. Olson feels the tumors are dormant, however, will continue watching for new growth. He was very positive about Drew's progress. He will continue to see Dr. Olson for eye exams under anesthesia. They will watch for new tumors and any change in the dormant tumors. He is fairly confident there is no activity, but will continue to monitor him for the next five years. The hope is if a new tumor surfaces, they can catch it early enough to treat it with freezing and lasers. This would help avoid another round of chemo.

Drew had his last chemo treatment on Thursday and Friday. It was a very emotional couple of days. Dr. Steiner and Dr. Lund, the oncologists, started Drew out on this process six months ago, and they were there to bring him full circle. There was a lot of celebrating. The nurses bought Drew a gift, balloons and made a sign for him. They have been so wonderful over the last six months. They were so caring and compassionate to Drew. There are not words express the amount of gratitude we have for them. They have a difficult job, and they are an amazing group of people. They cried tries of joy with us on Thursday and Friday that Drew was all better. We will miss the immensely. They have been such an important part of our lives over the last six months. They have touched our lives and hearts in ways you can never imagine. How do you thank the people that helped save your child's life?

What's Next: We need to get through this next month. Drew will have a blood transfusion on Friday, and potentially a platelet transfusion the following week. We will work with the oncologists until his counts are back up and his port is removed. He will get monthly eye exams for a while, then move to bi-monthly and then every three months for the next five years. His port will be removed, when we move to bi-monthly eye exams. At this time they will do another PET scan and MRI to make sure there is no more cancer. He will see an oncologist every six months, for thorough exam to make sure there have been no long term impacts of chemo. These risks include bone cancer and leukemia. He will see the oncologists for the rest of his life. He will see the Pediatric Optomologist every six months to access vision. At some point we will patch the right eye to build strength in the left eye. This all seems like a lot, but really it is just precautionary. For the most part he will live a normal life. Once his counts are back up, he will be able to go back to a normal life. He will no longer be in isolation!

Six months ago we sat here crying tears of sadness wondering how we would get through this, and now I sit here crying tears of joy. You did it Drewbug. You have fought the toughest battle in your life and have won. You are a CANCER SURVIVOR. We are so proud of you. We love you so much and can't wait to spend the rest of our lives watching you grow-up.

We will continue to update the blog until he gets a clean bill of health. Thanks you again everyone for all your support and prayers.