O Dark Thirty: Wake Up and Hustle and We Are HAPPY TODAY!

We arrived at the hospital around 5:30 a.m. We finally checked in and Mr. Blue Eyes got four pokes and an I.V. By 9 a.m. he was getting sedated (yup, back to sleepy land) so they could put a Picc line in. This line is how he will receive all of his chemo drugs and blood draws. He ended up with four holes and the Picc line in him, but he did not cry; he just winced, squishing his blue eyes closed and grasping  my hand. He is a trooper!!

Corban and his many pokes with a silly face when he woke up!

Then we sat around a lot waiting for this and that. Our Doc gave us a chalkboard presentation (and he is a crack up) on Corban's disease. ALCL Lymphoma is a non-Hodgkins lymphoma. There are four types with this class. Ours is quite rare, especially to present with a skin lesion and not be at stage 3 or 4. It is often misdiagnosed. It is ALK-Positive, which is good news because it means Corban's type is easier to treat. It also has a 30 attached to the cell, or something like that. I will ask the doc, but I want to remind myself by writing it here. Mr. Blue Eyes' marrow and spinal fluids are clear. We also found out that there is an 84% cure rate. We are going with a 100 %, since we are praying our way through this. We are going with the doctor's recommendation on the types of chemo he will use. This is all based on studies done at Stanford by an oncologist who our doc called today. He also consulted with others to make sure all treatment was a go! At the end he added, "I will let you know when you should worry!" WE LOVE THIS GUY!!! We are feeling like this doc is a Godsend. We are really, really blessed and feel we could not be in more capable hands.

Mr. Blue Eyes said that the eckocardiogram was like watching  a cool movie. He said that when he heard the noise his heart makes he thought it sounded like a toilet flushing over and over again. LOL! The tech told him he had a nice, strong heart — 76 beats per min., and it was also good lookin'! We spent an hour sitting there, watching his heart just pumping away. What a miracle! Then I thought more about the comments made regarding his heart. He does have a strong heart; it is kind and sweet, and full of compassion and sensitivity. He devotes much of his time to making his sister laugh and smile, even pretending to be a "My Little Pony" with her. He is a B.F. to his brothers and his dearest friend Landon. He does have a good heart; one we admire.

Our Nurses that day were Molly, Rochelle, and Kara. It was 9:43 when the chemo first rolled through this strong heart that we love. I want to say I still had the zeal and excitement of the morning when it all finally happened. Instead, I trembled and my heart broke to look at it and try to embrace the idea of it going into his little body. I was thrilled that the climb up the mountain has begun, but I know the mountain will be steep and hard to climb for all of us. Especially for Mr. Blue Eyes.  

Today was our happy day.  A day to celebrate the start of this healing process, the start of kicking the crap out of his cancer!!!!