"Yea! We're Going to Dye!"

Imagine hearing that phrase ring through the house!?  The irony was that Aaron's 6 year old voice was yelling it so enthusiastically and excitedly that it was hard to get a read on what he was actually talking about.  The homonym finally made sense in my head, and we all began laughing!  It was finally time for Family Home Evening -- and time to dye Easter eggs -- and Aaron was so happy!

The earlier part of the day was remarkably quieter.  Brendan and I slept a good part of the morning while the kids were at school.  Brendan read -- then read some more.  Later, he worked on a few sections of math.  Coming home from the hospital takes a lot out of us.  The let down, the exhaustion, the lack of focus.  For me especially, it's a bumpy transition from home to hospital and from hospital to home.  It always takes me a day or two to figure out what I'm doing and regain enough energy to do it.

Jace and Maddie Foster came to see Brendan's puppy and visit for a few minutes.  It was great to have friends over again!

So where are we. . .?
It has taken time to wrap my head around where we are in this crazy journey of cancer treatment.  Technically, Brendan has completed his esthesioneuroblastoma treatment plan: Since October 8th he has had a tumor biopsy, two sinus resection surgeries, craniotomy resection, reconstruction of his cribriform plate and eye socket, a bilateral neck dissection to remove affected lymph nodes, 28 days of radiation to the head and neck and 5 additional days of radiation "boost" to the neck lymph nodes, and 5 rounds of chemotherapy.

Along the way Brendan has battled recurring sodium level struggles, (leading to one seizure and numerous dangerously low sodium drops requiring PICU intervention and 3% sodium solutions), a week long fight with bacterial meningitis (after struggling through post surgical chemical meningitis), 5 bouts of c. diff (one requiring Life Flight), upper-to-mid range hearing loss, countless hearing and eye exams, multiple lumbar punctures, MRI's, and CT scans, 5 bone marrow aspirates, 4 bone marrow biopsies, and 1 bone scan (so far).  Brendan's received 5 units of blood, 1 platelet transfusion, and has spent both Halloween and Valentine's Day in the hospital.  One of these days I will count up how many days he has spent inpatient compared to outpatient in the last 5 months.

Kristen captured this moment last night -- Brendan is so excited every day when his dad comes home!

So where do we go from here. . .?
. . .Good question.  With MRI and bone scans showing "bone issues," and 4 bone marrow biopsies giving inconclusive results, I am not sure.  I'm not sure the doctors know yet.  What we do know, is that in order to get more conclusive results, we have to allow Brendan's bone marrow to heal after all of the chemotherapy he has received.

Issues that have been raised have been spots on the MRI where the bone marrow may be dying.  And restricted blood flow through the bone.  And, most concerning, were the "spots" that lit up on the bone scan indicating increased metabolic activity in the bones and marrow.  Brendan's scan lit up the bones all over his body.   Increased metabolic activity picked up in the bones can indicate metastatic cancer cells, infection or inflammation, or other unexplained metabolic activity.  The bone marrow biopsies were supposed to answer the questions about metastatic cancer cells, but didn't.  Without any definitive answers, they sent Brendan home to recover.  In the absence of any other symptoms, we hope these issues go away as Brendan heals.  The last word I got from the doctors was that Brendan would have clinic visits, then we would consult together again in 3 -6 weeks when Brendan's blood counts return to normal and there won't be any confusion as to whether chemo is affecting test results.

Sorry it is so late. I give Brendan his last (or first--however you want to look at it) dose of antibiotics for the day at midnight.  So I've been spending too much writing time just killing time. . .