10/15: I binge-watched the first season of American Horror Story. I'm late to the game, I know. But I was in a fragile place when it first aired and could only handle light and fluffy. So I finally settled in to give it a shot and could NOT STOP WATCHING. It was incredible all the way up to the bogus ending. This may not seem important but I'm serious about my television-watching hobby. So...there's that. And just before midnight, I found myself driving to a local bar so that I could be there when...
10/16: ...my nephew Brian turned 21 at midnight!!! It was fun to be there. I don't remember doing anything particularly special for my 21st which is a bummer. Or maybe I had the best time ever and the brain cells that remember that are dead. Onward.
Stayed until last call and then crashed at home because it was a very big day. Spencer's post-treatment biopsy!! Todd took off work to go with us and it was a LONG day. But hopefully the last long day ever. He had an Echo under sedation because chemo can damage the heart. This would've been a major bummer because he was born with a strong heart. We didn't want the thing that was saving his life to leave long term damage. He had a bone marrow biopsy and a spinal tap and once he came out of sedation, we got to leave.
The docs gave him Tylenol right away because they drilled into him several times to get a useable sample. Drilled is not an exaggeration. The tool looks like a cork screw. They said he deserved a "big treat" for all he went through in a day. We picked up Sully and got carry-out from Carrabba's which included a fancy dessert trio for our tough little guy. Then we just had to wait and hope we'd have a reason to celebrate that weekend. The wait was TORTURE.
10/17: While waiting for the big call, I restructured my workout/weight loss goals. I lost a lot of muscle tone I had built up in the hospital and gained back a few pounds. It was a bummer after all my hard work. But I set a goal for the end of the year and one by Valentine's Day. Hitting the rec 2-3 times a week. Again, this is just a boring tidbit for the record.
10/18 - 10/20: The day dragged on and on and on waiting for the phone call from the docs. We had a mini-celebration in the works but we needed the word...and it wasn't coming. Every minute was creeping by. We were ready to start a celebration weekend but we needed something to celebrate. We needed an end to this nightmare. And then Todd got the call.
SPENCER IS IN REMISSION.
They did not detect any abnormal cells in his bone marrow or spinal fluid! They won't say he's "cured" until more time passes but this was so awesome. I was texting, Facebooking, Tweeting, calling everyone to let them know the great news. His appointments will be once a month for 6 months and then they will become more and more spaced out. We went to Tony Maloney's to kick off our celebration. I kept feeling that heat was coming off the top of my head. Dizzy excitement.
The next day, my family got together to celebrate the good news at Shinto. Spencer really loves the theatrics and it was good to get together for such a good reason. Aunt Sherry and Uncle Dan got him a sweet hat to commemorate the day we got the big phone call. He was so happy and the last 8 months felt like a dream. A nasty, horrific dream.
The last day of celebration weekend was spent at our kick-it spot, The Boneyard, watching the Browns game and just living and loving life. It had been a great (and fattening) few days and I was ready to get back to real life. A cancer-free life. I still can't believe we all made it through with our heads screwed on.
A lot of people sent us pictures toasting Spencer's news over the weekend. Too many to post them all. We have and have had the best support system through all of this. It was a win for everyone.
10/22: Maybe we got a little comfortable riding the good news train. Something had to put us back in our place. The night before, Sully tried to scale the baby gate for the first time. Luckily, he was cautious and slow moving.
Not so much the next day. He succeeded in his climb and paid the price for being Adventure Baby. I took Sully out of his high chair and as I was getting Spencer, Sully went up and over the gate, smacking his head on the linoleum. It happened that fast. There was no way I could stop it.
It was HORRIBLE. His mouth was open and his face was red and scrunched as if he were screaming but no sound came out. Then I watched his eyes roll back and his body go limp in my arms. I'm not sure how long he was out but enough for me to call my sister screaming hysterically. I sped to the ER (and got reprimanded for not calling 9-1-1) and they rushed him right in. An initial exam looked good but the did a CAT scan (strapped to the table and terrified, it was enough to make me want to vomit) to be safe. No bleeding or serious contusions. It was deemed a Funcussion and we had to keep a close eye on him for a day. He moved slowly at times but overall, he was back to his happy self. I'm still mortified.
Pp 
10/31: And wrapping up the month as well as our catch-up, we went to my mom's annual Halloween party. It was storming like crazy so the boys only did the Trick-Or-Treat thing at my parents' house but their bags were filled to the rim. It was another great Halloween for a The Ganserts.
I'll try to be less of a stranger! Spencer has his first check-up in a month next week so I'm sure I'll have nothing but good news to report. Or I'm hoping so anyway!
Thanks for sticking around.
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