Just got home from trip to Florida, Got Good CT Scan results, Brody getting chemo this week, and Brody will hopefully have surgery in a few weeks to remove as much of his tumor as possible

We (Bill,  myself,  Geordi,  Jaden,  Brody and their friend Levi) just got home from a trip to Florida late last night.   It's not something we really have the money for right now but we decided it was worth the additional debt.   We all needed this time together and Brody especially wanted to go.   How do you say no to a boy battling cancer?   I am so glad he was well enough to go and that we had enough of a break in his treatment regimen to go.   We went to Disney for 3 days and enjoyed the beach in Treasure Island,  Florida for 2 days.   Brody's favorite ride at Disney is still Splash Mountain.   He did manage to allow us to check out other rides at the parks this time though.   Brody just barely met the height requirement to ride Aerosmith roller-coaster.   He was super excited to ride this and absolutely loved it.   We rode it multiple times but not as many times as Splash Mountain,  of course.   We were lucky to get to enjoy a visit with Bill's sister,  Nancy,  while in Treasure Island.   Bill hadn't seen her in a very long time and the boys and I had not met her yet.   We enjoyed our time with her and are so happy that we were able to see her.   We greatly enjoyed our trip and wish it could have been longer.  

Brody had a CT scan early this morning and is getting his chemo right now.   We got good news on the CT scan today.   The tumor did not get any larger since the last scan 3 weeks ago.   The tumor is the same size as the last scan.   I would,  of course,  prefer it had gotten smaller but not getting bigger is wonderful news too.   The new chemo regimen appears to be at least stabilizing things.   His CT scan results are being sent to Cincinnati Children's for review also.   Our oncologist emailed the oncologist we have been consulting with at Cincinnati Children's to let him know the scans are being sent and that he wants the tumor board to review them and strive to schedule Brody for surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible in 3 to 4 weeks.    This will be a MAJOR surgery as Brody's tumor is very large with major organ and vascular involvement and is still within his spinal column.   His bowels will also need to be moved away from the residential area of his tumor.   It will be held away from this area with mesh.   This will allow radiation treatments to the area after the tumor is removed.   Intestines cannot handle very much radiation.   Moving them away from the treatment area will allow Brody to receive this additional treatment.   Otherwise he could not receive more radiation treatments to this area as he has already received the max he can without moving his intestines over.  

I am happy and sad at the same time over the prospect of upcoming surgery.   All the potential complications and seeing Brody go through another massive surgery are worrisome.   It is Brody's best chance of survival or at least significantly more time with him than what we could have otherwise.   Brody is a tough,  very strong boy who absolutely has not stopped fighting.   He is full of life and makes the most of each day.   He remembers how he felt after his last major surgery similar to this one.   He knows it will be rough with significant risks but he is not ready for the alternative to not go forward with this fight.