Oncology Appointment 10/18/11

God blessed me with a very calm heart for our visit with Dr.Shu today. He said the compression that showed up in Luke's scans in April in his T12 vertebra was healed...regenerated...all better!! I'm Praising the Lord for his healing hand!

Strangely enough they are now seeing a compression in his L2 vertebra which is down his back a little lower. This is really confusing. Dr. Shu has no idea what is going on. As for Luke's labs, his blood looks all good and we don't have the results of the HVA-VMA(urine test that shows tumor markers). So...the Doctor is going to refer us to an orthopedist to have an x-ray taken of his spine to get a good baseline for the future. We will continue to pray this week that his last test will be clear and I'm thinking if God can heal T12 he can defiantly heal L2 !! Thanks again for praying with us. I will let you all know what happens next :) ~Erica

October 2011

Along with the rest of his siblings, Luke was enrolled in public school this August. We just had our first parent-teacher conference with his second grade teacher Mrs.Trasarre and I am glad to report that he is doing wonderfully! This is his first year ever in public school so I was a bit worried about how he would do. He is really enjoying all his new friends, playing basketball and tether-ball on the playground, running laps for P.E and math (believe it or not!). Lukas is also playing soccer like a champ(getting some goals even)! This year his U8 team is called "The Big Horns"under our favorite "Coach(uncle)Ken". We have had a little problem with our Friday schedule, which goes... 8am school, 2:30 Awana(kids club at church) then 5:30 soccer practice. That makes for a long day and a very exhausted little guy, but he's gaining endurance.

This Friday (October 14th) we skipped out on school, Awana and soccer practice and headed down for a day at the hospital. Luke had his labs and C.T scan done and then we did some shopping. Everything went very well and it was another 'first time ever' for Luke...he did NOT cry or scream for his IV!...not a peep...he is one amazing boy!! We will go back to the Oncologist for a check up and to receive the results of these tests on Tuesday the 18th. We are in prayer as always for Luke's complete healing and asking God for these tests results to be completely normal. Please join us in prayer. Our Lord Jesus Christ has been so merciful these last 2 years and 8 months of Luke's Journey and we are so thankful for your prayers.

Miracles happen all the time

Well, I closed with my last post hoping to report good news....and....guess what!! There was no cancer seen in Luke's Mibg scan and they also did not see any tumor markers in his UA. This news was such a blessing! I walked out of the Oncologist's office to the car forgetting my purse, I was so excited.

I held Luke as he fell asleep the other night and I said "you know, its a miracle?" he said "what is a miracle?" I answered, "that's when something great happens that only God can do" he replied thoughtfully "Well, I can think of a lot of miracles" he counted on his fingers "You getting married to Dad...getting all of us kids...and... I know the biggest miracle EVER!... it was Jesus dying for us so we can go to heaven". He smiled and fell asleep.

I'm thinking God must have mighty plans for this little man.

Thank you, my friends, for all your prayers and comforting words. ~Erica

We find out Monday what God has in store for us!

April Scans

Today we got the results of Luke's scans from last week. Dr.Hsu said they saw compression in his spine at his T12 vertebra. They would like to do an Mibg scan to see if their are any Neuroblastoma cells in the area causing this. There are other causes of spinal compression, but of course the reason for all of these scans it to catch ANY abnormalities. Luke is feeling great he's playing baseball like a champ, eating well, gaining weight, growing taller and smarter everyday. We already had an appointment scheduled with UCSF to meet with Dr.Horn, one of our bone marrow transplant specialists, so we will take copies of Luke's C.T. Scans and see what they think...It's hard not to start thinking the worst...I'm not sure why our mind's do that to us :/ I saw a poster of "Dory" from the Disney movie "Finding Nemo", it said "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming".LOL, It's true, we just have to keep moving along, and keep ourselves from wading in worry. I trust in the Lord... no matter what comes our way. He has shown me his power, love, mercy and his gentleness. In him I find my strength :) I hope to report good news soon...Keep praying for our Lukas !!

January 2011 Scans

Luke and I had a quick and easy check up at the Oncologist Wednesday. The nurse put us in the same room we were in when they told us he needed to have a bone marrow transplant (icky memory) but....this time was much better. Dr. Shu said his scans and blood and urine tests were all perfect!! April will officially mark one year "off therapy", because he was taking oral meds. until then, so Luke will have scans again then, along with a ECHO of his heart to check for any damage the chemo could have caused. If all is good, we will then be put on a schedule of scans twice a year! I am praising God for everyday I have with my boy. He's such a blessing. He lost another tooth this morning...I think that was number 7 so far. He was very proud he has passed up cousin Veda on the race to loose the most teeth. And speaking of number 7!! Luke's birthday is coming up on the 27th of this month. He picked out a toucan piñata at the grocery store on our way home from the Doctor's office. Not sure why a Toucan, but that's what he wanted, so of course Grandma Kay wanted to get it for him. He carried it out of the store with a big smile on his face. I thought it was pretty cute that he was re-thinking the idea of hitting it with a bat on his birthday...I think he wants to keep it :)

Scans for the New Year

Mike and I were both able to take Lukas for his tests and scans on Friday. It was an early morning appointment an very cold and misty in Sacramento. Everything worked out just as it should at the hospital. Luke got his blood work and urine test and drank his giant cup of "red juice", aka, contrast. He got his IV with, not too much screaming. Daddy taunted him saying maybe he would feel better if he sang the song from Beauty and the Beast...to which Luke snarled with a crinkled up nose "gerrr...stop it Dad...I don't like princess songs!" Then of course when it came time to remove the IV Daddy started in with a soft voice, singing "Tale as old a time...Beauty and The Beast" but this time Luke was laughing "St-ahpp-it-Dad". As we where leaving Lukas asked "why do I have to do these scans again?" I said "why?, because you had cancer...remember your tummy bump?" Luke replied shaking his head "all this, for a little bump?" My eyes widened as I recalled the pictures of that enormous tumor removed from his little precious body." Yep" I said.

Thanks to all my facebook friends for praying with us our memory verse for this week Psalm 103:1-4
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless His Holy name!
and forget not all of his benefits:
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from destruction,
who crowns you in lovingkindness and tender mercies.