P.S.

One thing I forgot to mention...About two weeks ago channel 12 news came over and interviewed T and my dad about this experience. They heard about him around the time of that big volleyball game at Gilbert High, and wanted to do a "feel good" story about him. Today that interview aired on Channel 12's EVB Live. I thought it was really good, but they got some of the facts wrong, which is fine. It was funny to watch them on TV. My mom recorded the episode, but neither my dad or Matthew will watch it. They're hilarious.

Miracle on 155th Street

Matthew went to Phoenix Children's Hospital this morning at 10:00 for his appointment. He couldn't eat after midnight on Sunday, so he ate and ate until 11:59PM. It was funny because he said he felt like he was eating his last supper. haha Dork. His chemo makes his metabolism so fast that he is always hungry. He eats like every 30 minutes. The first thing they did this morning was pump dye through his port into his body, and it took his body 55 minutes to distribute it. The dye was a radioactive sugar solution, and T could taste it as it was being pumped in. He said it tasted terrible; metallic like coins. Then they did his CT scan, and then his PT scan. The scans took about 45 minutes.

T is getting ready to go into the heart of the beast. He was able to put his phone above his head and listen to music during the whole thing.

They wrapped him in those gray straps to keep his arms separate from his body so they didn't blend together in the scan. Then they covered him in a  warm blanket because the room was freezing.

I think this is a really cool shot:

Results!!!!!!! Ok so this first picture is the PT scan they did when he was first diagnosed. All of the black circled in red is the cancer. The black circled in blue are his muscles. His muscles really show up in this scan because they were contracted from the amount of pain he was in. The black circled in green is just his IV. 

This is his PT scan from today. Again, the cancer is the black circled in red. There is very little left! The blue circles his bone marrow that is regenerating. The other black masses that aren't circled are just his other major organs, obviously.

Here are the originals side by side:

These are the results we were hoping and praying for. The rate of Matthew's recovery from cancer is truly a miracle. It's been really amazing to watch and it's definitely a huge relationship and testimony builder.

Notes from Spain

Saturday, November 24

On Saturday morning we got a package in the mail from a ton of the missionaries in Chad's area in Spain. They each wrote him words of encouragement and enlightenment, and it was really fun to read. There were quite a few letters in Spanish, so we had Sakeri translate them for us. One of the Spanish speaking missionaries that wrote him had Leukemia when he was a kid and was healed, and is now successfully serving a full time mission. Chad has the best missionaries in his area.

Just a Quick Update

Matthew just finished his fourth chemo on Friday, so now we just have his PT/CT scan and his surgery to think about. I'm really excited for the results of the scan because it will tell us so much about where T's cancer is and how it's reacting to the treatments. I'm also nervous though just because it's cancer and cancer is unpredictable. I think my family feels the same way, but with the way things have been going I am pretty positive that the results will be great. His scan is on Monday the 26th, and it should last about an hour. Dr. Williams (T's Oncologist) said that on Monday after the scan we can go over and see the results of his latest scan next to his first one to see the difference. We haven't even seen the first one because things were really bad in the beginning and we were scared, and nowhere close to emotionally prepared to see it. However, Dr. Williams promised that there will be great progress because he hasn't been on any kind of pain meds in weeks.

His surgery is Friday, December 7th at 7:30AM, and although they're not going to touch his heart, it is being performed by a heart surgeon because they are used to and the most qualified for this kind of procedure. During this operation, they have to make a big cut down his chest and break his sternum to get into the cavity where his pet lives. It's just like open heart surgery and should last about 4-6 hours. It's funny because T asked them if they would preserve his tumor in a jar for him to keep, but they said no. haha How gross would that be? He was totally serious too. It's so like him to ask for that though. He just wants his brother to see it. They told him that they need his tumor to dissect and study, but they might be able to take pictures of it for him when they get it out. I hope they do! That would also be gross, but I think it would be really cool to have. When the operation is over, they will wire his ribcage together and sew him back up. Matthew is really excited to get the tumor out because he can feel it and it hurts him sometimes when he stretches. He's also excited for the gnarly scar and the fact that he'll have wire wrapped in his ribcage. After the surgery he will be in the Phoenix Children's Hospital for 3-4 days, so he'll probably need some company. He will start chemo again the first of the new year. It finally feels like there is a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. There are many things to be thankful for this week. Happy Thanksgiving all! Enjoy your turkeys.

Arizona Turkey:

We Have The Best Grandma!

I'm sure those of you who know Renae know how awesome she is, but she's really outdone herself this time. She made Matthew a cancer quilt a while ago. It's taken me a while to get this post up because she refused to get in a picture with it. Anyways, she embroidered volleyballs and pawprints on squares and took it to Gilbert High for people to sign. She also embroidered his favorite scriptures on squares, and cut squares of his favorite team and one of his favorite superheros, and on the back she put a bunch of random buttons. This quilt is so cute and I'm sure it was a TON of work. Matthew sleeps with it on his bed every night. He absolutely loves it. Thanks Grandma!

Chemo Round 4 Day 2

Matthew has figured out a great strategy...He stays up really late on the night before each day of chemo so he can sleep through the whole day. It seems to be working well for him. His face is so chubby because of the amount of fluids he has constantly running through him.

Yesterday was a really long day for mom and T at the clinic. He didn't even get hooked up to anything until after one. He was so late getting his treatment that he was sent home with his huge bag of fluids he gets over night in white cooler so a nurse could come to our house and hook him up to that. He also had a 4 hour bag of fluids to finish before the traveling nurse got to our house, but when she came to switch his bags she noticed that the pump wasn't working. After a while of playing with his machine she got it to work, but he still had like 3 hours of fluids left. So.....my mom had to change out his bag around midnight. She was on the phone with a nurse who walked her through it, and together they successfully set up his huge bag of fluids. It really is huge. I'll try to get a picture of it before he uses it.

OH! So guess what?? This is Matthew's last chemo therapy before his surgery! He is going to be scheduled sometime after December 3rd, but we don't know the exact date yet. I think he's nervous about it, but he's also excited because he doesn't like the idea of a tumor living inside of his chest. He's also excited because he can feel it and it's uncomfortable. These are exciting times!

T and T Swift!

So Matthew has this friend...His name is Cameron Dudley. Cameron is no stranger to this blog. He appeared earlier because he visited Matthew in the hospital, and he took him to the mall and bought him a hat. Yes, that cute blonde boy. Anyways, for Matthew's birthday Cameron got him a CD case signed by Taylor Swift. It was really cool.

Later we found out that Cameron's dad is friends with a guy who is or was Taylor's neighbor. Cameron has met her because of this connection, and he wanted to do something for Matthew because of his (obsession) with her. Cameron wrote Taylor a letter telling her all about Matthew and what he's going through, and gave it to their friend to deliver to her. This past Wednesday Matthew got something in the express mail. I was the only one to watch him open it, and I'm glad I did because his expression was PRICELESS. He very carefully tore the strip of the envelope back because of the how important it looked. When opened it and pulled out a piece of paper, his face got a look of, how I would describe it, shock and disbelief. He was speechless, and after a few moments he managed to say, "Who did this?" I went over to him and he showed me an autographed picture of her. He had a bunch of friends over that day, and when they realized what happened they were all excited about it too. I think I can speak for Matthew when I say, Thanks Cameron!

They Like to Move It Move It

Saturday, October 27

My Aunt Julie wanted to get involved in the fundraising effort for Matthew, so her and her friend Kelley got together and planned a zumbathon! What is a zumbathon you wonder?...It is a zumba session where a bunch of women payed to dance for Matthew. How do you feel about that Matthew?? hahaha It was a great event. They got permission from Gilbert High School to use their gym, and some really great people came out.