Liam's Cancer Fight Day 8-MIBG

Day 8 (Friday December 13th):

Chemo was done. 3 nights of chemo and Liam handled it all like a champ. We woke up and once again Liam was NPO since they would be doing the MIBG or "glow in the dark" scan. This was the only thing keeping us in the hospital from what we understood. We did your typical morning routine where we ran the halls with Liam, had a smoothie with Indy and Bryan, and got cleaned up for the day. Indy was going home and Bryan was packing up their stuff. I couldn't even imagine what they had been through.

He did make a comment the other day when we visited their room that Natalie and I looked really good for parents going through cancer. They see couples all the time that just look disheveled, exhausted, and hopeless. I think it's a testimony to how Natalie and I work together, how we handle things, and to how our Heavenly Father watches over us. When we were in the ER at McKay my Dad and I gave both Natalie and Liam blessings and part of those blessings included patience and understanding as well as strength to get through this. Bill and I also did another blessing for Liam on Saturday once we had more information. There is no way we could have made it through this week without the love and support from our friends and family and most importantly, our Heavenly Father.

They came in and scanned Liam's bladder and the scan showed a few different results of about 30-50ml but one scan somehow showed over 200ml+ and they decided they wanted to cath him. Natalie and I didn't think he needed to be and felt like the scan was off. We asked if we could wait until he was sedated for scan to cath him and the nurses obliged. At about 11:00, one of the charge nurses that Natalie works with (Kate) stopped by for a visit. Not sooner did she get there when the came in and told us they were ready for Liam's scan. We were carrying Liam instead of hauling the crib all the way down and right as we were ready to leave the unit they made Natalie sit in a chair. We got to the room where they did the scan and it was similar to the MRI. They gave him the anesthesia and we held him until he started to fall asleep. We laid him down, gave him kisses on the forehead, and headed back up to the room to visit with Kate.

While Kate was there, we had several visits from the staff to educate us on port care, how to handle him getting sick, and a plethora of other things that we needed to know before we went home. Poor Kate put up with all of it. After she left, Natalie and I decided we wanted something really good for lunch so I headed to R&R BBQ and picked up a couple of two-meat plates. YUM!! By the time I got back, Liam was back from his scan and was getting ready for lunch himself. They ended up cathing him before his scan and only got 20ml. We new he was just fine but better safe than sorry.

We had a few more education visits and one of the nurses tried to tell us that we would have to do a bone marrow transplant (even with his own blood). Natalie and I were like, Um…no. They haven't said anything about needing a bone marrow transplant! She tried to tell us that everyone with a Neuroblastoma does this. After a few minutes of dispute, she finally called the Dr to verify. Sure enough, Liam wasn't going to need one. Yet another example of how things were looking really good for Liam. He has definitely been the exception, not the rule.

The doctor came and informed us that there was some issues they were dealing with regarding the insurance company. Apparently they didn't want to cover one of the shots Liam would need to help his white blood count stay up. There was one called Gritex (?) and another one called Nupigen. Finally the insurance company agreed to cover it after the doctor wrote a medical necessity letter. The drawback was we needed to be discharged to get the shot since it was considered an outpatient deal. They also told us that they had informed us incorrectly yesterday that he only needed 2 rounds of chemo. He said he will more than likely need at least 4 total (including the one he just completed). It wasn't great news but it wasn't terrible news. We would do whatever we needed to do to make sure we beat this thing. They did say that Liam's hair typically wouldn't fall out until about the 3rd or 4th round so there is a little hope that is hair won't ever fall out (not that there is anything wrong with being bald). Our next round would be the 2nd of January but would only be one night!

After all the training and game planning with the doctors the time had come. It was finally time to leave Primary Children's. We were on our way home! Well after two wagon loads of blankets, treats, clothes, supplies, and presents, saying bye to the staff, and loading up with medication from the pharmacy we were on our way home!

Diagnosis ✔️
1st Round of Chemo ✔️
Game Plan in Place ✔️
Prayers Answered ✔️
Beat Cancer COMING SOON!!