Hoping for the Best

Right now we are just playing a waiting game.  Tyler has had two lumbar punctures that tested with no signs of leukemia in his spinal fluid, so we are thrilled with that good news.  However, his white blood cell count is dangerously low right now, which puts him at an increased risk for illness.

Today he is getting an MRI to see what changes (if any) have occurred with his tumors down his spinal column.  I think they will have shrunk, but the best news we could get would be that they have gone away completely.  We're definitely hoping to get the results of that test read as soon as possible.

There is also a very strong chance that Tyler will have to check into the hospital to get some high dose chemo that will knock his leukemia completely out.  If that happens (which looks likely at this point), we are looking at another 4 week stay at a local hospital.  We're hoping to keep him healthy enough at home that this doesn't come to pass, but sadly we may not have a choice.

We hope to know more at the end of the week.  Many thanks for the prayers and encouragement on Tyler's behalf!  We hope that our next approach to the folks in the Ariad trial will be the one where Tyler is accepted.  Getting accepted into that study is our first choice (and our oncologist's first choice) in treatments at this point.