good news

life is good!

i received some really good news about the young man above who lives here in henderson who has battled the past 8+ years with hodgkins. when i saw his name in the subject line on my email this morning, i'll have to admit my heart sank.

i guess i'm from the old school of thought,
"no news is good news"...  however,
i was extremely, pleasantly surprised.

YAY, NICK!
the very positive update from nick's mom:  "February 20, 2008 at 07:58 AM CST
Day 567 – Eight years and 12 days ago Nick was diagnosed with Hodgkins and 7 days after that he was released from the hospital --- on my birthday. Since then, February’s have been unsettling for me, particularly when scans are involved. Not that I’m superstitious but, in my mind, the date links me to fault……. that I didn’t watch enough, that I didn’t do what I was suppose to or that I should have been able to do something to prevent this horrible thing that has happened to my son. I think all parents would feel the same way but in the harshest of reality we know that there is very little that we have full control over and we just have to pray for God’s mercy and strength to carry us through.

Nick’s last scans were in September (an eternity ago). St. Jude has added a new building to house their radiology/imaging department. Scans have been delayed since November waiting for the PET to become available. Since that time he has suffered through a horrible case of shingles, had his car hit by a drunk driver, and has become increasingly less mobile from prednisone induced joint damage. So our journey to Memphis Monday night for scans on Tuesday was more ominous than usual.

Nick’s first appointment was early so Bill set the alarm for 5:30 am to give all of us enough time to get ready. Obviously there was something wrong with our clock because after Bill & I showered, we realized it was 5:00 am so I actually got up at 4:30 am. Our schedule went uncommonly smooth. We actually kept on-time for the most part. Our last appointment was with Dr. Hudson and, of course, she had already called for the CT/PET readings before we got to the exam room. CT was clear, PET was clear (except for something in the jaw area which she said was “not worrisome”). My prayer, my hope, my full desire is that we have come full circle. We have some “clean up work” to get Nick back up and going but, hopefully, the Hodgkin’s is gone for good. In the last eight years, this is the longest length of time he has been able to obtain clear scans without chemo. His last chemo was July 31, 2006."
thank you, GOD, the gaddis family received good news! may it continue!

i love good news!
i love the gaddis family!
i love that we live at a time  in which cancer is no longer,  necessarily  a death sentence!!!  i love the whole idea of st. jude's!
i love our most awesome GOD!!!
love and God's blessings, dani xxx