We are out of isolation! Yay! I can’t even begin to tell you how excited we are that we could take Gabe to the zoo this weekend and today. The weather was beautiful, and it was good to get out the hotel room and soak up some sunshine. Five weeks is LONG time to spend in a hotel room.
We stopped Chemo by IV last Tuesday and by mouth on Thursday. We are now waiting for all of Gabe’s counts to come back up so he can have a procedure. In this procedure they will do a bone marrow to see if the Leukemia came back. They will also do a spinal tap, and remove his PICC line (IV line) from his arm and place a port in his chest. This port is designed for more long term use. They will use this port for all of his future chemo treatments, and to draw blood, give him meds, etc. As of yesterday, his counts were still too low for surgery, so they are retesting again tomorrow. If his counts are good, then hopefully surgery will be Thursday, (we will have to stay overnight at the hospital) and then hopefully a few days later, will be able to come home!
I told our doctor the other day, that in one way it seems like it’s been forever since we’ve started this journey, and then the other hand, it seems like this first portion of treatment has flown by! I continue to be amazed at how well Gabe is doing, and to see how God has worked in Gabe since his diagnoses.
We learned that on the first day we were here, 80% of Gabe’s cells were Leukemia cells and then on day 15, there was none! I fully believe that this is due to God, and Him giving everyone at St. Jude the ability to do what they do! I can’t imagine going through this without a relationship with God, and the peace that He has given us. I still have moments of complete fear and worry, but I know God has worked out every step of our journey, and that He is going to use this in a mighty way. The picture below shows what the Leukemia cells looked like when we first arrived at St. Jude. The big dark black ones are the Leukemia cells.
We go back for labs tomorrow, so please keep Gabe in your prayers as he has this next procedure, and as we go into the next phase of treatment called Consolidation. This next phase will last for 8 weeks, and we will come back to Memphis every week. We love you all!
#GabeStrong
Great news.I will continue to pray for you all during Gabe’s healing journey.Love you all.
We will continue to praise the Lord for Gabes continued healing!!
So glad the leukemia cells are gone, and praying they stay gone! And so thankful Gabe is doing so well. Praise God for all these blessings among the challenges. (Looks like the blanket might be a keeper, yay! 🙂
Thankful Leukemia cells are gone and praying they stay gone! Praying also for his next phase of treatment and for all of you as you transition and go through this. (Looks like the blanket is a keeper! Yay!)