He is DONE!!!!!!

.... with therapy. Thank God and all of you. Joey had his last radiation therapy at 11:00 a.m. this morning. As with the chemo, he has come through with flying colors. A bit of a sore throat and some fatigue but it didn't slow him down. He is so looking forward to going back to school on March 24 (wear your t-shirts that day if you think about it) and getting back to a "normal" life.

His neuro psych consult went fairly well - he will need accommodations at school for slowed neuro processing, concentration and focus issues. He still has no reflexes (you know the tap your knee thing that doctors do) and his fine motor skills and the numbness in his hands and feet will all take 6 months to a couple of years to resolve. Most of this is due to one of the chemo drugs, Vincristine. It is some bad boy stuff - except it helped kill the cancer - YEAH! (ya' gotta take the good with the bad).

Joey will have an appointment with his oncologist next Wednesday and then will have the full battery of scans and test done March 19. In about 6 months they will do a quick day surgery to remove his port (the thing under his skin where they connected to put his chemo in). All that will end his acute treatment and then he will be on maintenance. Maintenance includes a PET scan, CT scan, blood work, Pulmonary function, EKG, Echocardiogram and physical done by his oncologist every 3 months for 2 years then every 6 months for the following 5 years then once a year for 10 more years!!!!! He will be thoroughly watched - which is okey dokey with me.

Our family would not have gotten through all this without each and everyone of you - those of you we have met and those of you we haven't met. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our wish, hope and prayer is that God blesses each of you with health, hope and love just as we have been blessed.


the Rippels