HAIR + FAMILY PHOTOS + SLC

It's been a week and it's only Tuesday.

Monday was gloomy, which is fitting because it feels like there have been a lot of stormy days mentally and emotionally recently. The trees are starting to lose their leaves, barely hanging on to their branches, just like my sanity some days. The vibrant colors of a short-lived fall are starting to fade, but we have hope and that isn't going away. Sometimes when it rains, it pours so we will brace for the gloom and prepare for sunnier days ahead.

Our family pictures were scheduled for 4:40pm and it was raining. The day before was a beautiful fall day and that just goes to show how quickly things can change and how some things in life are just out of our control. Our photographer messaged me and said she thought it would let up soon and asked if I still wanted to go for it. I said "Let's do it!" and we did. The rain paused long enough to finish pictures. The weather is temporary and will change again. It's just a temporary storm cloud hovering above us during this season of life and I know it'll eventually pass through.

We came home and shaved Eli's head. Then a pack of his best buddies stopped by with their new hairdos and Eli told me his coaches have a few less strands as well.

#PACKSTRONG

Now accepting suggestions for their band name...

The Buzz Boys
Rusty Razors
Shaved Ice
Bic Six
The Missing Strands Band

I have another really really good one, but this is a family blog. 😉 

This morning Eli and I got up early and I stopped to vote on our way out of town to Salt Lake City to the Primary Children's Hospital to meet with the Sarcoma Orthopedic Surgeon from Huntsman Cancer Institute. We had a slight hiccup with an oversight with our appointment not being scheduled, but they fixed it and we eventually got going. Dr. G. was super thorough and knowledgeable and works on an average of 20 osteosarcoma cases a year. He told us that he had spent a lot of time reviewing the MRI images and looking at Eli's case from every possible angle. He went over the images with us in great detail and discussed the options for surgery. Based on what we are dealing with there are a couple of different options with pros and cons to each. After this next cycle of chemo and the follow-up MRI scan, we will have a little clearer picture and know how close the tumor is to the knee. 

Happy Little Roadtrippers

In the Driver's Seat

A Fan of All the Selfies. All the Time.

If anyone is curious, this is what the tumor looks like in the bone. This is looking at the back of the leg.

Rear View

Side view of the leg. You can see the tumor and how close it is to the knee and how it has grown out of where the femur bone should be and extended into the surrounding connective tissue. The leg is very angry and there is a lot of inflammation.

Side View

We go back to clinic on Friday to check counts. If they have rebounded, we will be admitted and begin the next dose of chemo on Friday. This particular drug takes longer to clear the body so we may be admitted for a couple of extra days. I hope that Eli feels well through this one. The biggest side effect can be mouth sores and that will interfere with eating and he has been eating so well these last two weeks. I've been making him a lot of smoothies lately, without bananas because he is not a fanana of the banana. So maybe there will be a lot more smoothies and protein drinks coming up.

Eli has continued to just take things in stride and roll with the punches. My hope for him is that he continues to find strength even when he is feeling weak; that he can continue to weather the storm even when he is getting pummeled by everything that is uncomfortable. I want him to find courage even he is afraid and scared for what the future looks like with treatment, recovery, surgery and the aftermath of this battle. He's going to be a wounded soldier, but how he is approaching and rising up to the challenge is what will ultimately define him and teach him things about himself that he never knew he was going to learn at such a young age. He's going to have scars. I'm trying to look at this as not what is being taken from him, but what he is gaining and sometimes it's a hard shift in perspective. I know that there are going to be setbacks and it's hard to anticipate them before they happen, but I guess we are as ready as we can be.