Update at 3 months post-chemo
Logan’s three-month post-chemo blood test in mid-July confirmed remission. As I have written before, remission is as good as it gets. Early in July Logan swallowed his final antibiotic dose related to cancer treatment. So for now, no more meds, though monthly blood tests will continue, and our prayers are always that the leukemia stays away.
What this continued remission allowed was Logan and Amanda and Austin to join the family for a fun vacation in Austin. The results allowed Logan to swim in the pool and hang out with us all. Logan’s Uncle Kevin from Florida had never held Logan, and so this was a heart-warming milestone. The picture above shows our children and grandchildren during that vacation. Even though it was 106F and late in the day, all had big smiles including Griffin and Logan. It was hard to imagine the entire family being together like this while Logan’s leukemia was being treated amidst COVID. A vacation seemed so foreign during those months in the hospital.
What if…
We know that the story at this point could be much different. One evening earlier this summer I was helping Amanda hang curtain rods in their new home and she seemed quiet. I asked if she was OK, and Amanda shared that she had received an email from a parent she met in online cancer support groups. (The support that the ‘cancer kid’ parents supply to each other is awesome.) That parent had sent Amanda pictures of his little three-year-old daughter’s funeral. His daughter had the same leukemia type that Logan had, and her medical team was never able to get her into remission. How her diagnosis and treatment was different from Logan’s I do not know, but I can tell you this little girl’s story gave me pause and has me tearing up as I think of her.
Play
What I saw during the family vacation was a super-sweet toddler finding his way among a kinda-large crowd of people, some unfamiliar. Donna and my four children and their significant others and the grandchildren were together. Watching Logan interact every day and play with his older cousin Griffin is what Donna and I were most anxious to see. Of course as has been previously noted, lots of precautions were in place during treatment to keep Logan safe. And those precautions kept the cousins apart during the chemo treatments. But this summer over the last couple of months, Logan and Griffin have had several play dates as parents and siblings A.J. and Bridget have been getting together over the summer. Prayers answered.
The above hospital picture of a forlorn-looking Logan was added mostly so we can all remember the impact that chemo treatment has on kids. Such a difference from the first picture, with Logan’s blonde hair and huge smile. Logan’s fight with leukemia has changed me. I will be a better family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker when I hear of a cancer diagnosis. I am embarrassed at how cavalierly I reacted to such news in the past, and that will change.
We cannot schedule a parade because of a three-month blood test. But what we can do is take the advice of a cliche and live each day that is given to us as if it were our last.