ALL CLEAR!

Dr. Gold just called with Chase's MRI report. "Everything appears clear and normal"! Fantastic!

Yes, Chase, you still have to go to Houston. Well, we knew that anyway, but Dr. Gold said now's not the time to let our guard down (but still - fantastic!) He also gave Judith the name of the head of pediatric brain tumors at MD Anderson, who's a good friend of his, and who will follow Chase while he's down there. Blood tests, his final Vincristine shot, and whatnot.

Besides being good news (did I mention the fantastic news?), this means he'll probably get the shortest of the radiation treatment options, at about 3 1/2 weeks.

I've been scrolling through the pics some more, and I find this fascinating. Or creepy. But it's all good!

Smile!

So many pictures...so little knowledge. Dang. Chase had his 2+ hour MRI tonight. He didn't get an actual report (Friday night, not critical, need I say more?) He did get a CD full of indecipherable pictures to peruse for the next few days. Actually, he's to hand deliver them to Houston on Tuesday, but I'll peruse them for the next few days! He said he didn't mind. So here are a few for you!

Here we see his head. And a bit of his nose, mouth, and tongue. There's a brain too. Looks fine to me! Oh, I'm sure the doctors know what they're seeing, it's just me who's frustrated.

I just thought this was a pretty view from the top.
Not anywhere near where the tumor was, but it looks neat.

I do wish I could learn what all this stuff means. Without having to go through years of school or anything time consuming or expensive like that...

This is the back of his head - yup, those are his ears off to either side.

Chase and Judith will be spending tomorrow packing for their month or so in Houston. How do you pack for a month??? Pack for a week and plan on laundry, I guess. I don't know if we'll have any news before Tuesday, but if anything interesting happens (like an actual report on this MRI), I'll blog it right here.

Now there are three heading to Houston - Chase, Judith, and me! No frequent flyer miles needed after all - Judith sent me a link to some cheeeeap Air Tran deals.

So Judith's happy, John's sad, and the cats will be whining. A lot. Go with your strengths, kitties. And John.

Mom always said that after a few days, fish and guests both stink. Thankfully, Air Tran's deal allows me to stay just until Thursday. I can be Judith's "brains" and an extra set of ears for Chase's first appointment Tuesday morning, help them get settled in the apartment someone's generously providing (I'll bring the wireless router!), and maybe even find a good Tex-Mex place before heading for home.

Chase's 2 hour MRI is scheduled for Friday - tonight - 8PM! We expect a good report. Pretty please...

Not too much dust on the blog - it hasn't even been a week!

Now on to the next phase - Proton radiation at MD Anderson in Houston. We hope. Maybe I'm the only one still holding my breath about the final okay from the insurance company. Judith's forging ahead, and Chase is...well, I'm not sure he's too concerned either. Mostly he's making the most of his time left in NC before flying down to Houston on Sunday. He's probably also trying to avoid thinking about his next MRI, scheduled for Friday at 8PM. Or maybe I'm just projecting.

Chase's radiation doc sent some pathology slides. Every time I look at stuff like this I think I'll be able to make some sense out of 'em.

Nope, not this time either. Good luck y'all.

I'm trying to figure out if I should also fly to Houston and be Judith's "brains" for Chase's first appointment down there. I'm sure they'll do fine (she's gotten much better at parsing doctorspeak - really!), but I can help her retain stuff and I'm pretty good at google. If I don't go, who would do the blog? But if I leave, my husband will just work even later hours than usual, and then who would the cats whine to for food?

There are no frequent flyer seats back until the following Sunday. Can Judith and I spend a week together without turning into sparring siblings? Will Houston have enough chocolate?