We just got back from our check-up in Memphis, 9 months post treatment. I'm so glad to say that it was good news again with the MRI results, and there is no evidence of active disease! Wahoo! I was really scared this time... hoping and praying that there wouldn't be anything new growing. 1 day before we left, I heard that a girl with the same thing as Jude who was going through treatment the same time as us, has had her tumor grow back. Besides that, another family we lived next to was back at St Jude because their son's leukemia returned....and to top it all off, Michael, (27 yrs old) the guy in the picture with us from the last blog entry, suffered a hemmorage in one of his brain tumors and died. It was a really sad day for me to hear all of this. My heart goes out to those families. It's a huge reminder to be greatful for every day we have with our loved ones.
Jude had alot of check-ups while we were there, starting off with his two favorite nurses Mr. Ron and Mr. Ed. No problems with the IV, and Jude was a pro! He has gained almost 3 pounds since our last visit, and grew about a centimeter and a half. After seeing the endocrinologist, he said Jude is most likely going to need to start growth hormone shots soon, because the radiation has damaged the putuitary gland and Jude is hardly producing any. (This is something we were told before treatment started, I just wasn't sure when it would happen) We have to get on the ball with this before he starts puberty (which is going to begin early). Crazy stuff for me. For some reason, the growth thing really gets me the most. Even with the growth hormones, Jude will never reach his height that he would've been before all of this. He's going to be significantly smaller. But that's ok.....I'm just so happy he's here and doing so well right now!
His eyes were checked, and it appears that his eye is crossed from adapting to the muscles damaged during the tumor operation. If this is the case, then Jude will have glasses and it may be corrected in 4 or 5 years down the line.
Mr. Terry, Jude's physical therapist, was pretty happy with Jude's progress. He has a pretty steady gait and at this time, the main focus should be getting Jude's balance increased. His speech has improved as well and Mrs. Angela was very impressed! Mrs. Laura won't be here any longer because she is expecting a baby and moving, so we will be sad to see her go...but she said Jude is doing well also.
Finally, Jude was given a pretty thorough cognitive test, because the chemo and radiation can lower brain function over time so that it makes it harder for Jude to learn. I don't have the complete results yet, but I was happy to hear that they said Jude was a very hard worker, no attention problems, and he has a high tolerance for frustration. (At home though, is another story! haha!)
All in all, it is such good news! Now, Jay and I are going to focus on keeping Jude as healthy as possible, and putting him on some natural things that will hopefully prevent any future tumor growth.
Thank you everyone for caring so much about Jude! We really love you all!
