Novwember 16, 2020

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I was just thinking how life throws us all curveballs.  Things that on the outside can look bad, but everything has a gift.  Everything has purpose.  And even when things may appear bad, there is good.  In the depths, if we look, we can find light.

If I look at what we are going through now, I don't consider anything other than full physical recovery for Marlon.  If anything I can see the emotional may take more attention.  Is this naive?  Pollyanna?  Or just a way forward?  I suppose it doesn't matter.  We all have our challenges.  We all deal with them.  We all have good days and bad days.

I feel ok now because we are having good days.  A parent's days are strongly affected by their child's.  If Marlon were in the midst of a bad spell I would feel more down, I am sure.

When asked today by Josephine, how he rates how he is feeling out of 10, he said 8 or 9!!!  That is an amazing gift.  Wow!

Tomorrow we are back at the hospital.  As long as his blood levels are ok, or ok enough, he will have the MRD.  The procedure with sedation where they pull bone marrow out of his back.  The bone marrow is then tested.  Assuming it continues to look positive, and leukemia levels are down, then the next stage of treatment begins, which is enrollment in a study.  In the past PH+ ALL (the type of leukemia Marlon has), has been treated with more heavy-duty chemo.  This study is looking at the results of less aggressive chemo but continuing with the daily chemo drug that he has been taking since the PH+ was diagnosed.

All that to say we don't know what is coming next.  Lol.  We never really do, do we!?!  One way or another more chemo, but the question is, how much.

Marlon likes the way the hat sits on his head.  One eye has a spectacle, not tears.

This next picture is the sun with a look of dismay, cleaning its sunglasses, looking down at the violence below…

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