Deja Vu

The results from Ty's MRI on Thursday are frightening.  I needed a couple of days to come to terms with the news before posting, so I could explain what we were told and how we have decided to interpret everything. I needed to take some time to breathe again.

The radiation is working extremely well on attacking Ty's tumor at the brainstem, but the radiologist discovered two new lesions in his cerebellum.  The final MRI report reads that they appear to be growing very rapidly and that they are indicative of lepto-meningeal disease.  If that proves to be true, our doctors say a cure is no longer likely but they provided us with several alternative treatments to prolong life comfortably.

Let me tell you what we think of that news.  Unacceptable!  I was in a complete panic for a few hours after leaving the hospital (we were delivered the news just minutes before discharge on Thursday evening), however I settled down after a couple of hours and I was hit with such a powerful wave of serene calm, that I just know everything is going to be alright.  We have been delivered this news before, and they have been wrong every time.  I refuse to believe it this time.  I won't let them do this to me again!  I simply can't accept that cancer is spreading in my baby's brain while he is simultaneously undergoing radiation therapy, it just doesn't make sense.  All I have to do is watch him eating and coloring to see that he is getting better.  He is thriving!

Thursday was supposed to be a great day for us.  Ty completed his RT in the morning and we were so proud of him.  During his MRI I ran some last minute errands to prepare for Easter, and when we returned his doctor told us everything looked good but he wanted to wait for the final report prior to discharge.  He mentioned the new lesion, but he said he was sure it was nothing to worry about... that it looked like an old clot or potentially some disease that was eradicated during radiation, but he wasn't concerned at all. 
All day we looked forward to our celebration dinner together, we were so happy.  Of course, during the depressing ride home we debated cancelling our plans, but after talking through everything and coming to terms with the news that was delivered atthe end of the day we decided to be defiant.  We decided that the MRI remains inconclusive and we will not let this impossible guessing game sink our spirits.

I am not naive - I know the extent of how serious Ty's cancer is - but I decided to live in limbo until future tests prove something different.  Yesterday was Gavin's birthday, tomorrow is Easter... I am going to enjoy these days with every bone in my body.  In the meantime, I will be channeling all of your love and strength during these days of uncertainty.  We will schedule a follow up scan to look into this further toward the end of next week (probably Friday) and I will be sure to keep you all posted every step of the way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN
Gavin is two!  He embraced his new age by acting like a complete crazy baby all day yesterday and it was very amusing.  Today we will have all of his cousins over to celebrate with a monster-themed birthday party and I can't wait to share some pictures with you all. 

Ty had a very hard time accepting that it wasn't his birthday, too, so we are allowing him to celebrate his half-birthday at the same time (he turned 3 1/2 on April 4th) and we baked him 1/2 of a cake.  The things you have to do to appease a three-year old!  Gavin was a beautiful baby.  I can't believe he is getting so big and so fast.  So much has happened in our lives since the day he was born, he is so resilient!  He's amazing. 

XOXO from Gavin, Ty and the rest of the Campbell Family.