Here is what we are NOT waiting for tonight… We are NOT sitting for hours in an emergency room waiting to be told we can go home. We’ve done that before – and when they called this evening to tell Mark that his labs were back and he needed to get to the ER – he told them no, he would not be doing that. The nurse was none too pleased with him and it was a long conversation. She hung up, talked to a doctor and called back to tell him to please come to the ER – he said “No, thank you.”

We actually forgot to go and get labs on Thursday, so they reminded us today. When we arrived at 12:02 we learned that they closed at 12:00 and would be closed for 90 minutes…. so that was a wait. When the sarcoma team messaged Mark at 5:00 they had not yet received his results, but last week’s labs were looking better than the previous round and they were not worried. The team asking him to drive to SLC at bedtime were the weekend crew. He does not have a single symptom for which they were looking and he promised to just lay in bed and not die.

Our plan for now is to wake up in the morning and go to an infusion center, take more labs and receive a unit of blood.

There IS something that we are waiting for – this is what prompted me to begin writing… but I absolutely cannot remember what it is… Perhaps waiting for normal brain function to resume…

We ARE waiting for a demolition permit for our home. Then, once we finally get the permit we have a mandatory two week waiting period. Don’t they know we have been waiting for months??? This is something I cannot let myself think about – it is easier to wait if I don’t remember it is supposed to be happening…

Now – here is something else we are NOT waiting for – the results of our PET scan. They actually came in yesterday and we are so very pleased to share that his tumors are beginning to shrink! For example, one of the large tumors in his lungs was about 5 cm and is now 4.4 cm. The pericardial lesions have an “improved appearance” and the largest went from 3.6 cm to 2.3 cm. The left leg tumor is also shrinking and the hot spots in his right leg are showing a decrease in activity. The conclusions did include this sobering statement, “However, there is still persistent multifocal high-grade malignancy as detailed above.” We know there is still a battle to be fought, but perhaps the tide is turning?

It was just so nice to have a good report! I know that it will make a difference in our experience as we head back for chemo next week.

We thought that we would be waiting to hear about all of this until next Wednesday when we see Dr. Chalmers. Yesterday morning Mark handed me his phone with MyChart pulled up. He left the room and told me I should read it. I was so nervous… but as I read the good news I laughed out loud! Just like the man in the waiting room had done on Wednesday. There was no one there to see me – or to catch my eye and share a smile… so… I am sharing with our friends. Are you smiling?