I LOVE Good News!!

The results from Adam's 9-month bone marrow aspiration are back and they look great! He still has 100% donor cells in both his bone marrow and peripheral blood and his cytogenetics came back normal (which means they didn't find the gene mutation that caused Adam's leukemia in the first place). This is all extraordinarily good news. Now, we continue to focus on reigning in his Graft v. Host Disease and look forward to having a really nice summer...at home...which we haven't had for the last two years. What a blessing!

One Year Ago Today

I simply can't let this day end without commenting on its significance. It was one year ago today that we learned Adam had relapsed. There really aren't any words to express the emotions, particularly fear, we felt when we realized Adam's cancer was back. I remember sitting outside the sedation suite at INOVA Fairfax Hospital, pleading with the Lord not to make Adam go through all of the chemo and subsequent transplant if it wasn't going to work. I couldn't bear the thought of him having to suffer through all of that treatment simply not to make it in the end. It has been a major roller coaster and we are still on the ride, but Adam is here and he is thriving. 

We have been pretty restricted since we were released from the hospital. Adam's GVHD (Graft vs. Host Disease) has required that he be on steroids and imuno-supressant drugs for the majority of the post-transplant period. It's been an intense experience to be stuck at home with a three year-old on steroids. We look forward to the time (hopefully later this summer) when Adam will be steroid-free and we can resume some normal activity. 

One of the things that has kept us busy is our garden. Adam is a self-proclaimed farmer, "just like Grampa." He loves to check the plants and see what new "baby" vegetables are visible. He is especially proud of his baby bell pepper. The first two pictures above are of Adam by the garden. The third is of Adam just outside of Russell's school.