And We Wait

“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.”
G. M. Trevelyan

We are finally home and somewhat settled. Tyler and I have been back to work this week and Tucker is staying with Grammee. I will be taking chemo days off and other appointment days as needed. Tyler will be working 3rd shift soon so that he can be very involved with his appointments as well. We left Florida with Dr. Danny telling us to go home and try to make your lives as normal as possible. We are trying to keep Tucker's routine as it was before our trip and make each day as normal as we can because we now just wait. He will continue with chemo every other Friday till next September. They have really helped Tucker not get so sick from his treatments through a combination of medications. He is tired and puny after them but we will take that over non stop vomiting any day. We are thrilled they can make this as comfortable for him as possible.

The next steps: In 8 weeks they will do an MRI to get a baseline of what his spinal cord looks like. Dr. Danny (his radiologist) anticipates that because his spinal cord will still be very swollen from radiation we will not be able to tell much. They will do another MRI at 6 months 9 months and the year mark. By the 12 month MRI we should know the full results of Proton. We will have to go back to FL for his 6 month and 12 month check.

Side Effects from Radiation: These could take years to develop. Our prayer is that they never develop at all. However, if paralysis occurs we could possibly start to see that in 5 months to a year and a half from now if it were to occur. Other effects such as bladder and bowel issues could show up 5 years or more down the road. Nerve damage and pain could show up at any time. So unfortunately the Dr. said we will never be able to have a sigh of relief because side effects can continue to pop up for the rest of his life. However, the goal is for Tucker to be with us, enjoying life cancer free. We can handle whatever comes up down the road.

Things to pray about: That Tucker's MRIs show the tumor is gone. That the radiation and chemo will kill every single cancer cell so that he will remain cancer free and live a long happy life. We pray that his radiation treatments cause little to no side effects. Help us pray for patience as we await his scans and we ask for strength to continue to work and handle what life brings. Please continue to pray for Tucker's physical and emotional well being through his treatments. And as always continue to pray and have faith for a miracle of complete healing.

I am touched everyday by the kindness others are showing to our family. It has been truly amazing and I am so grateful. Not a day has gone by that someone has not tried to do something to help our family. Meals, donations, cards, calls, SMILES and hugs have filled our days. We are blessed beyond belief. Thank you God, for blessing our life with such amazing people. It helps us put one foot in front of the other everyday and that is such a gift.

And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
2 Corinthians 6:4-5

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Psalm 27:14

God Bless. Much Love from the Reeves Family.

From Messy to Magical

“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” ~ Groucho Marx

Tucker LOVED Disney. What kid doesn't? It was priceless to see his face when his jaw hit the floor as he realized POOH BEAR was standing 10 feet away from him. He was star struck!! :) The other highlights were meeting Tow Mater and Lightening McQueen and having BUZZ LIGHTYEAR...yes THE buzzlightyear ;) wave at him. He told every single one of the doctors and nurses at proton about that awesome moment. It was so precious. He loved the toy story ride and could have ridden it a million times which surprised us because he normally doesn't like rides but he really loves toy story in general so I guess that helped. We saw the Disney Jr. Show which is a puppet show of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, and other pirate characters from the disney channel that I don't remember the name of but were cute. Tucker clapped and danced to the music which was sooo good to see after he had been sick for so long. Tucker did not get sick the entire weekend and really enjoyed himself, so we in turn really enjoyed ourselves also. If Tucker is happy and feeling well we feel like we are on cloud nine it is such a blessing. I don't have a lot of good pictures from our weekend. Tucker liked to see all the characters from afar so we didn't get pictures with them. And it was so crowded we barely could stop for a second to take a pic without worrying about loosing our toes to another stroller. :P But i will share the pics I did take below. A HUGE thank you to my aunt Linda for getting us into Disney and helping us create such wonderful memories. We spent Sunday at my aunt's and enjoyed catching up with them. Tucker got to play with 2 of his second cousins and they had a blast. It was so nice to spend time with family. Thank you again aunt Linda we love you!

Today is Saturday. Tucker had a chemo treatment yesterday...his last one in FL hooray! They changed up his meds a little bit and his experience this time has been wonderful. As you know last treatment was awful. He was terribly ill for 7 straight days. This time thanks to all of your extra prayers Tucker is doing wonderful. He did not get sick during his treatment at all which was huge because last time he got sick several times before his drip was even over. He has eaten pretty good last night and today and his energy is no less than during the week. Last time he was a limp noodle for several days before we even had strength to sit up. So as you can tell it is an extremely different experience this time. Praise God!! What a wonderful blessing for our last chemo weekend in Florida. We are just taking each treatment as it comes and we know that every treatment may not be like this one from here on out, which we are prepared for, but we will definitely celebrate when it goes smoothly and praise God through the good and the bad. No matter how bad some situations seem, someone is always going through something worse. We have so much to be grateful for.

This week HOME seemed to pull at my heart strings a little more than it has prior. (Hence the carolina song playing with the disney pics..i know it doesnt really match but i love the song and its my blog so i can do what i want right? ;) I miss the beginning of fall in Greer. The pumpkin and pansy stands on the side of the highways, the vibrant leaves dancing on our trees around our house, the crisp morning temperature that perks you up when you step outside. I even miss seeing all the over the top fall and halloween decorations that adorn the neighborhoods. If we were home we probably would have gone apple picking by now and I would have gotten so excited to buy my first jug of apple cider of the season. The only way you would know it is fall here are the signs at Starbucks tempting me to buy a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Which I indulged in one morning and it was sooo yummy...but then it made me miss all my friends at home who also love pumpkin spice lattes and Greer in the fall! So needless to say yes I am missing home but I am keeping my eye on the prize and I know that it won't be long and I will be home. And we will be just in time to take Tucker on a hayride and pick out a nice fat pumpkin and finally welcome fall in Greer for ourselves! :) I can't wait.

Isaiah 55:12 - "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

Disney on PhotoPeach