1911 and my boy!

[nfranco]

AWESOME! The good guys won!
So glad to hear this, I hope your hearts are lighter now.
Continued good thoughts and prayers for the whole Gibson clan.

[Smuckatelli]

Jay,

Andy has past all of the nadirs for the various chemo drugs that he was on.

His immune system should take a few months to get back on line.

Is he still on the Septra/Bactrim?

When is his port coming out?

These are truly exciting times for all of us members of the M4Carbine Gibson Clan group.

[Gibson]

I did not want to belabor this thread further.

Andy's port is out, has been for some weeks. He has been taking Septra, as well as a dietary supplement. He is GTG. I pray to God that it's gone for the entirety of his life.

Thanks again to you all.

[SeriousStudent]

That's very good news about the port.

I hope he's enjoying his summer, and having a great deal of fun with you and the family.

[Nephrology]

Gibson,

My thoughts and prayers to your son, but above all CONGRATULATIONS on being done with chemo!!! That is one beast off his back that I am sure he is glad to be rid of!!

I thought I'd let you know that the director of the school of graduate studies at Mayo Clinic is himself a cancer survivor and has turned his career into a means by which he might fight for others like him. He is a very inspiring man and also a man of deep christian faith. He is now well into his fifties and has a lovely family. Perhaps a peek into Andy's future! Not that I am trying to be pushy or anything, cough, cough, ahem...

[HAMMERDROP]

Sweet...best news I have seen in a while.

God Bless

Michael

[Smuckatelli]

I did not want to belabor this thread further.

Sorry Jay...ya ain't gunna get rid of us that easily.

Andy's immune system is going to start coming back on line now, within about six months it should be back to normal. Keep in mind his immune system has been artificially suppressed for over three years now.

The first year out of treatment he'll still be getting monthly CBCs, are they still going to do that at St Jude's? Also check to see if they offer Long Term Follow Up (LTFU) after that. He didn't get radiation so he shouldn't have any issues but keep in mind the 20 something spinal taps enabled methotrexate to cross over the blood brain barrier. Tomas hasn't had any issues and neither will Andy, it's just something to keep in the back of your mind.

This is a pretty good resource:

http://www.survivorshipguidelines.org/

[Gibson]

It just seems that you would get tired of our trials and travails. Andy now goes but once every four months.

Two things I have learned from this:

1) There are still some good folks left on this oblate spheroid we ride through the solar system on.

2) You better live each day, guys. Stop. Walk outside, if possible, and watch a sunset. I turned 47 in April. I have lived a helluva rough life. No joke. Now I stop and walk outside and watch the sunset, it's my favorite time of day. I'm going to really see a few before I give up the ghost.

Pray for my boy.

[Gibson]

Just a note to let you guys know Andy is still doing well, he worries but I can't blame him for that. He turned 16 on July 16.

God bless you all

[Sentaruu]

I am glad to hear he is doing well.

it is so true, you really do have to value the time you have on this earth because it can all come to an end in an instant.