Sunday, August 21, 2016

Two-Year Mark

This is the two-year anniversary of Trip being off treatment. What an absolute blessing that we have gone two years without any major health issue and no treatment!

Trip went through a couple of months at the end of 2nd grade where he was sick often, tired for no reason and had no energy. Of course I panicked and overthought every little thing. His oncologist, Dr. Martin, and the entire CCBD team at Children’s graciously still take my calls seriously and entertain my need for answers. His blood work has remained normal even through that strange period of illness and fatigue. He continues to have little LCH lesions pop up on his scalp, but thankfully his body is doing what it needs to do to knock those out without treatment. He only has one little area of concern on his scalp right now.

He has grown in height and gained weight this summer (he gained 6 lbs in one week with his grandparents in Arkansas!). It’s comforting to see him grow given his endocrine issues. The DI continues to be managed easily and Trip is learning more about how to manage it himself. He is recognizing times when his med is wearing off and has even had to alert his teacher when I have forgotten his morning dose… oops.

We put him back in therapy after Thanksgiving last year due to unsettling changes that increased his anxiety level. For obvious reasons, he will likely deal with anxiety for the rest of his life, but I’m hopeful he can learn tools to deal with it properly. Recently I was reminded that the emotional effects of treatment still bother him when the alarm on my phone went off using the same ringtone I used to time when to administer his chemo pills. His body shivered and he explained he didn’t like sound because it reminded him of having to swallow all those pills.

He is starting 3rd grade tomorrow. I couldn’t be more thankful and proud that we have made it to this point. I’ve tried to read some of my old journal entries, but I always quickly stop. I’m still not strong enough to relive some of those moments, but just the thought of them increases my gratefulness for this moment.