Two Years in Remission!!!!

Two years ago this week, Spencer walked out of the hospital bald and gaunt from his chemo treatments, but ecstatic as can be to be putting cancer behind him once and for all.    He since has graduated from high school, finished his freshman year at James Madison University, and is signed up to run in a long relay race in a few weeks.

Today he had his two-year check-up and was found to be healthy as ever!!     The two-year mark is a significant hurdle to overcome and we are thrilled with his continued health.  Check-ups now move to once every three-months!

Spencer and the amazing hem/onc doctor who coordinated  his care.
Dr. Shankar was a blessing of calm  during the time he was in the hospital.  

As we've approached this two year mark I've spent the last few months reflecting a lot on some of the ways that his battle with acute myeloid leukemia affected us and some of the things we've learned as a result of this challenge.    I hope you'll bear with some mushy reflections on my part.



Things we've learned:
*  God is in charge...trust in his eternal perspective.
*  life is short...don't waste it on stupid pursuits.
*  people are generally good, kind, and generous
*  when one door closes, another opens
*  the time we have with our kids, even in the best of circumstances, is far too short
*  modern day medicine is truly miraculous (if we had had our family a few decades ago we would not have any boys left (between Adam's difficult/emergency birth and Spence's leukemia))
*  the human body is amazing
*  life is sometimes hard
*  friends
*  light overpowers dark, but sometimes it takes time
*  God is keenly aware of us and our individual lives




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Clinic stats:
Weight: 75.6 kg     WBC:  4500    Hgb:  15.2   Platelets:   156