March, 2011 posts

FINALLY THE DAY IS HERE! Posted on Tuesday, March 01, 2011 10:14 PM WELL FRIENDS, the day has finally come.......... We leave tomorrow for Duke ......for Dylan's 3mnth post-op follow-up appt, (he is VERY EXCITED) however, since he has been having other issues we will be going over all those tests with the docs as well, hopefully they come up with a plan if necessary for Dylan as far as any possible treatment needed and help needed for him at school if necessary. So, basically, Weds. we see the doc to go over the EEG results from last week and in the evening Dylan will have an MRI for his brain and spine. Then on Thursday we will see the neurosurgeon, neuropsychologist, and cancer specialist. When we see them the results will all depend on the tests coming back from last week and the MRI's.  We are hoping and praying for NO NEW GROWTH of the CANCER (since it is a recurrent type of cancer), that the skull bone in Dylan's head healed properly so that he can resume regular exercise and activities, and hope that nothing new has shone up in his brain or spine on the MRI. That's what CONCERNS me the most I think, he continues to have intermittent pain in the same area of his lumbar region.....on the spine and the muscles around it.  I have seen the muscles look somewhat swollen around that area of his back and when I or the doctor press on or around his spine it hurts him really bad. So, to make a long story short, I have been a basket case, I want everything to be better and GET ALL GOOD REPORTS, we have been praying, but I have also been crying, I would be lying if I said I was not worried and scared!  We know GOD IS GOOD, and he continues to AMAZE US, we are asking EVERYONE TO PLEASE PRAY FOR GOOD NEWS on this very important appt for Dylan. We appreciate all the continued support from this wonderful community and MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL! __________________________________________________________________________________ EEG RESULTS Posted on Wednesday, March 02, 2011 8:02 PM Hello,  Well after sitting at Duke for awhile.......we finally left there at 545pm......Dylan's EEG is ALL NORMAL! YEAH, one test down!  THANK U JESUS!AND ALL OUR PRAYER WARRIORS! Mike and Dylan are at the hospital now getting ready for his 2-3hr MRI. The poor little guy was starving when we got done and had not eaten since lunch, but the doctor told him he could not eat before the MRI's because he has to have an IV with contrast to look at the fluid in his brain and spine. So we got him some dinner to eat when he gets back to the hotel. We were able to take him and the girls down to the pool & hot tub for about 45mins before they left for Dylan's appt, that made Dylan feel better. : ) Will update again tomorrow! -Kerry ________________________________________________________________________ Dylan RESULTS Posted on Thursday, March 03, 2011 9:24 PM Hey everybody, Well after being at the hospital for 6 hours and seeing Dylan's surgeon and cancer specialist......Dylan is still CANCER FREE, no new growth, the skull bone healed nicely, and the MRI's came back normal! PRAISE GOD.........HALLELUJAH!  The docs told him he can resume normal activities, within limits to which sports he plays for now. We are still waiting to hear from the neuropsychologist with her test results, although we did get a preliminary report saying that there are some deficit areas, as far as how he is able to learn things now. We should know more about this in a few days. The cancer specialist told me to start keeping a log to see if Dylan has anymore episodes of possible seizure activity, even though the EEG showed normal, it's been awhile since an incident, therefore the EEG would show normal. They think that with some time, exercise, good sleep pattern, and better diet, his fatigue and aches/pains will start to go away, especially since he has not been able to do anything for so long! (9 months-- UNBELIEVABLE that's when this all started with Dylan spinning in a chair!) So basically, we won't have to return to Duke for a follow-up with these doctors for six months unless Dylan starts having any type of new symptoms or side affects! YEAH! : ) THANK YOU GOD and THANK's TO ALL OUR PRAYERS WARRIORS! GOD IS AMAZING! We are celebrating right now with an early dinner at Red Robin! "PIECE OUT PAPPY"  The Prater Family __________________________________________________________ Dylan update Posted Saturday, March 26, 2011 Hi There, Just want to let everybody know how Dylan is doing.  We got the final report from the Neuropsychologist from Duke, it was very specific about the deficit areas.  Dylan has a hard time with his visuospatial/cognitive areas.  He currently has deficits in visual memory, visual processing, and visual tracking.  All these problems affect they way he interprets information that he is learning and reading, so I got him the help he needed to assist him in these areas at school.  He has had some emotional ups and downs since we have been home, and I learned some very interesting information about children that have been diagnosed with cancer from The American Childhood Cancer Association. "They may be coping with trust issues, since the world no longer feels safe.  They often feel that their parents and other adults can no longer protect them."  We have seen this in Dylan quite a few times since he has been home and his behaviors did not make sense to me until I found this research.  For example, we had a very big thunderstorm the other day that included tornado watches; well I had to go to the store during the storm and Dylan kept hugging me, he was very scared and kept asking me not to go, it was too dangerous! Aside from these few things, right now, Dylan is doing pretty good.  He has been enjoying playing outside, riding his bike, and playing some basketball.  We let him participate in a basketball fundamentals 5 day class, where the parents do the training with the kids.  Dylan ABSOLUTELY loved this!  It was a GREAT outlet for him, and we did not have to worry about it being a contact sport. The neurosurgeon at Duke did tell Dylan NO CONTACT SPORTS, for now, because he is worried that if Dylan were to get hit in the head hard enough to cause a concussion, that it would make his visual/cognitive deficits much worse. So for now we will continue to count our blessings and pray that God will continue to heal,  watch over, and protect Dylan! We are supposed to go back to Duke for another check up in September, granted nothing else happens before then. Thank You All! The Prater Family