NED

For those of you unfamiliar with NED, it is now my favorite place in the world!  Wednesday we went to SLC for and MRI and to meet with two of our doctors.  We have officially been welcomed to NED, a.k.a. No Evidence of Disease land!  The MRI of Trent's hip looked fabulous.  When Dr. Gouw asked the radiologist for his preliminary findings he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well there is a big divot there."  HaHaHa!  I will take that divot any day over finding something else there! 

When we met with Dr. Gouw he burst into the room and just blurted out, "Your scan looks great, that's what you want to hear right?!"  Grace and Katie followed and were all smiles.  We were both just beaming.  I couldn't wipe that silly smile off my face the whole time we were in there.   Dr. Gouw, Katie, and Grace were just as amazed and excited as we were.

I know they didn't expect this outcome when they first saw Trent. This one is definitely a case for the medical journals. We are going to do a chest CT in April and from there start the every three month scanning. I hear of so many people who make it to NED and then have a recurrence later on. I sincerely hope that is not the case for us but I have to prepare myself for that possibility.

                 Dr. Launce Gouw, Katie Thomas, Grace Noda- can't even express how much we love them!

 Grace doing the "Your scans look great!" sign.  The first time we got good results this is what we saw before Dr. Gouw even had the chance to say anything.  After that, we looked for it every time!

This is Vanessa.  She is sooo cute!  She is a little chatterbox about sports with Trent and he loves that.  On scan days she always found a way to find us after the meeting with the doc to find out how we did.  That is one of the great things we found at the Huntsman.  The people there are genuinely concerned about each individual patient. 

 This is Kelsey.  Not a great picture, I took it with my Blackberry and I think I moved when I took it.  Sorry!  Kelsey is such a sweetheart!  We both just love her to death!  She is another one who would search us out to find out results.  She is hilarious and was always a good laugh even when we didn't feel like laughing.

This is Stephanie Stapleton.  We first met her in the Lab.  She taught us a bunch about how to care for Trent's port and after that she was a lifelong friend.  She is one of those people who makes you feel so good and positive.  She is also the giver of a much loved Minion. :) Only wish it were real!

When we met with Dr. Jones he asked what Dr. Gouw had told us.  We mentioned NED and he just threw his head back and his arms in the air and laughed.  He was totally amazed.  Again, we were both smiling like idiots.  He would like to see us as often as he can when we go for scans so that will be good to keep in touch with him.  He invited us to participate in the Sarcoma Walk that the Sarcoma unit at the Huntsman organizes each year.  I have a feeling that we will be doing a lot of these types of walks in the future!  Last year the walk was held just days after Trent had his surgery on his hip.  It is quite satisfying to be on the end of it. 

Dr. Jones and Nancy.  Don't you just love that bowtie!?  He has a son who is a total "mini-me".  He brought him on rounds after the first surgery and he is adorable!   Dr. Jones and Nancy are awesome.  Again, no words. :)

As we were leaving, we ran into Jon Huntsman Sr.  Trent called out, " Brother Huntsman!"  He turned around and greeted us.  We thanked him for providing such a nice facility for us and told him we were winning the battle.  He told us he loved us and was so pleased things were going well.  It was so satisfying to get to thank him in person.  We have thought about him many times and been so grateful for his generosity.  So to tell him that face to face was nice. 

To celebrate we stopped at DQ for a blizzard.  Can you say LAME!?  We were both too tired to do anything else and it was raining really hard so we just wanted to go home.  Surprisingly I didn't even shed a tear until we were almost home and I was listening to the song, "He Hears Me".  Trent was fast asleep and I was bawling like a baby.  I KNOW our prayers have been heard.  I KNOW the Lord has heard every cry of anguish and caught every tear.  I KNOW He is mindful of every fear, hurt, success, and joy that we experience.  He is with us through it all.  Our journey has many miles left to travel and we don't know what lies ahead but I KNOW we can face it because we are never left to do it alone.