Remission! I have been waiting to hear that word for 8 months now and I heard it come out of my Doctors mouth yesterday! That's right, I am in remission.
I finished up the chemo in mid August and have spent the last 2 months praying for remission but not allowing myself to get my hopes up too high as the last 7 years and especially the last 8 months have been a roller coaster of ups and downs. Joa as usual has been a rock for me as I seem to bounce between calm and total panic depending on the minute. I know that God calls us to live for today and not worry about tomorrow but I have really struggled with this over the last 2-3 months.
I have had a tremendous amount of support both emotional a physically over the last 6 months. There is no way to mention everyone but Joe Lampen raised a ton of money and ran the relay for life in support of his cousin and me. Donna Messinna ran the Chicago Marathon for the LLS in honor of Me and Kara Kontos who has also had some long struggles with blood and other types of cancers. Ryan Cook and the rest of my friend who turned the Wedding Dress Party in to a fund raiser (see the Wedding Dress Party post for details on that one)! My friends have constantly called and checked up on me, neighbors have made dinners and others have let me use their cottage for a place of relaxation and rest. Countless people have been faithfully praying. My mother is also a rock and has been a relentless prayer warrior for me.
I have also been researching some holistic methods of treatment as my Doctors tell me that this disease will be back. I have visited 3 holistic Doctors and I will have my final recommendation next week. Although all of the Doctors have different ideas of how to treat this one this is for sure. My immune system is and has been severely compromised and it seems that there are a lot of things that I can do to clean it up and boost it's performance, therefore hopefully holding this cancer at bay longer and maybe forever. I will keep you all posted on that once I choose a Doctor and start the therapy.
The last week or two have been great as I have had some time to unwind with the fam and go on a 3 day mountain biking trip up north with the boys (this is our version of deer camp, picture posted below after our Iceman pre-ride and a misc night ride pic).
Back to the Remission thing. I after 6 months of Chemo and 2 months off I had a PET scan to to re stage the cancer and see how the Chemo therapy had worked. My Doctor was quite confident but I have been on some drugs that are for Non-Hodgkins and I have Hodgkins so no one knew for sure if it would work. There is one that is for sure in the world of cancer and that is nothing is for sure. Anyways I was preparing myself for him to say that we got most of it but not all of it and that I would need more treatment either now of in the near future. However my scan was crystal clear and I am in remission. I am still in shock but I'm coming around and ready to move on.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We are truly blessed.
Tim and Joa
