Well earlier this week we got the news from the oncologists that Blaise's margins were officially, officially negative. Great stuff, but what does that mean? So when the femur was taken out of Blaise's leg, the edges were tested quickly to see if there was any cancerous cells. There were not, but that was expected. So we had to wait for the official results to come in. These tests involve the bone calcifying over, and then being sliced apart and examined. Well if you can believe it, Blaise's tests were not that easy. And that is a really cool thing! The bone needs to be dead in order to calcify, and Blaise's bone was not dead, except the tiny part where the tumor was found. Annie was calling it a tumor nest, sounds legit, but I am not sure it is a technical term! This affirms what the original doctor said way back in February, nothing looked grossly abnormal! Remember, he said when initially went in, and we thought it was a weird infection, that everything looked normal and he really needed to search for disease to take out. Well Annie caught this tumor so early, it did not have time to eat into his bones, or soft tissue or anything else really! Great job!
Weekend Update!
So this was quite the weekend. As one of our friends at the hospital said, "You guys are always so busy." I am not sure we are busy, or we're just trying not to sit around and think about cancer constantly. We're just trying to maintain our sense of normalcy, which involves doing super fun things all the time. Why would we waste our time doing not fun things if we could always do super fun things?
As I said in my last post, it was Annie's 10 year reunion this past week, Go Cats! I was the youngest alum there, class of 2013! It was pretty funny to hear people whisper to each other as we rolled Blaise by them, "There is the little boy from Facebook" or "look at his Villanova cast." Blaise and Lucy unimpressed with VU, or just really hot and tired. Dad was unimpressed because they ran out of Miller Lite!
After the reunion, we tried to cool off and regroup. And boy did we ever. The Westgate Hills Civic Association had a showing of the Wizard of Oz in the park. It was awesome. Dorthy on the big screen, in the park and hanging out. And our kids were really the only kids there that knew what the movie was about. Blaise knew all the words, songs and dialogue. They set up a snack stand, with popcorn so Lucy loved it. And they had a 50/50, we did not stay until the drawing so not sure if we won! One of Blaise's friends from school was there too and was excited to see him!
But the busiest day of the weekend was Sunday. I know everyone is super excited to see how the bike ride to AC went. Well it went, and we crushed it! We lost a team at the start, but met up with her later on. We were so late to the bridge that it opened back up for traffic so we had to use the walkway then had to get a police escort across the Admiral Wilson Blvd. But we raced our way through South Jersey (stopping every 12 miles or so) straight to the Atlantic City! Next year's ride is June 11th, so start training!
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| 1st Rest Stop |
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| At the end, Boardwalk Hall |
Odds and Ends
People always ask how Lucy is fairing throughout this process. She is doing great because she loves being with her brother. She wakes up every morning asking to see Blaise, then asks to play in the basement. She is also becoming quite the handful. She has her personality, and knows what she wants. And when she does not get it, she lets you know it!
Also we have started to notice Blaise trying to move around a bit more. He is starting to climb off the couch or chair and roll over the floor. Its pretty funny to watch. It is also pretty funny to leave a room, then come back in a couple minutes and find him on the floor reaching for toys!
Chemo started back this week, and Blaise is moving through it fine. But tragedy struck yesterday on the way to chemo. A mild fender bender...
It was just Annie and Blaise in the car and they are fine. A few scraps and bruises but otherwise OK. I think Blaise was more upset that his PB&J flew out of his hands and he couldn't finish it!
Remember, the T-shirts are in and about half have gone out. Get your payments in and we'll get your T-shirts out!
Also next Thursday, Dine and Donate at The Taproom in Haddonfield. The party is raging from 4-9 pm! It has turned into the premier social event on the South Jersey calendar! If you're in the area come by and have fun with us and our friends!
One Final Thought!
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| picture from CCHS Facebook page |
A former colleague of mine, Jack Phipps is retiring after 52 years at Camden Catholic High School. We celebrated Jack this afternoon at Pinsetters, and it was great time seeing my friends from CCHS. There is no doubt that he was positive influence on each of us as a teacher, counselor, colleague or fiend. Jack is always asking about Blaise and loved seeing him at after school happy hours. He told me today he can't wait to go down to Cape May in September, and I know he'll enjoy it! Good luck Jack, and thanks for everything.
