The Final Push

Things are going well at the Scheck Household. After being allowed to come home unexpectedly, we quickly got into step with a relatively normal family rhythm. It's become tempting to think of life in another 4 to 5 weeks when this next round of chemotherapy will be over. Life will have its own challenges then, presuming a normal life while knowing that there may be years of holding our breath and waiting, but we'll have our Henry still.

There are still a few hurdles to clear before that time. One more round of high dose chemotherapy with some dangerous side effects. Up to this point, Henry has come through with flying colors and we'll hope for the same. While it's an unpleasant process, his rebound this time has been ever so encouraging. During this next round of chemotherapy, which starts tomorrow, we do know to expect some degree of hearing loss, and we've been told he'll need a hearing aid. We'll also begin discussing the need for Henry to have radiation. This will be the most difficult decision we'll have to make regarding his therapy. Up until now, there has been general consensus on his course of therapy. Things are less clear regarding risks and benefits of radiation. We plan to solicit multiple expert opinions before deciding.

I can't overlook another bit of good news we got recently. On Tuesday, Henry had a spinal tap, the results of which were negative, meaning no cancer cells were present. Though not 100%, this result means it is less likely that the residual abnormality on the MRI is active tumor.

So we're back to Baltimore starting tomorrow. Henry knows it, but doesn't like it. Come to think of it, that's kind of how we feel too.