Post some good news

That’s so precious 🥰

1. Was able to find a local vet who does house calls so I was able to get Baby his rabies shot, exam, etc. I was worried about his shot given neighborhood dogs and wildlife we have roaming around.

2. Have managed to stay out of hospital since May 19.

3. Almost finished with documentary reviews

Send some to California we could really use some to. I can't remember the last time we had rain. It's been months - I think we got a tiny bit of drizzle a few months ago - just enough to mess up my husband's truck but not helping any plants.

My great news is that my son finally went in to get scanned and he is still cancer free!!  I am so relieved!  He did tell me that he has developed a small problem due to his original cancer surgeries and he needs another surgery, but it isn't to remove cancer.  He said it is a small procedure and his doctor told him there is a 99% chance that all his symptoms will go away and he will be just fine.  I liked hearing that part.

What I find so interesting is that he has chosen to return to Mayo in Minnesota to have this surgery done.  

Some back story:

He was originally diagnosed as a child here in California.  It is a long story, but we learned the doctor here had never seen a single case of the cancer my son had.  My sister did research for us and found out that Mayo Clinic had pediatric doctors that had seen this cancer before and that they were very comfortable performing the procedure on my son. They also had a specialized machine to scan him that California didn't have.  This is when I learned that you need to seek out a "center of excellence" with the most experience for whatever kind of cancer you have for the best possible chances of survival. That makes obvious sense, but it hadn't occurred to me.

We were told there was no cancer in his lymph nodes from the doctor here.  And as I said, they didn't have the equipment to scan him to check to make sure. My sister told us that if there was any in the lymph nodes, it typically traveled to the lungs next and at that point it would be inoperable.  In talking to a surgeon at Mayo on the phone, they told me he absolutely needed to have the lymph nodes checked and surgery done if the nodes contained any cancer.  We decided to take him to Mayo and not listen to the doctor here who had zero experience with this cancer.  Mayo removed over 80 lymph nodes and over 70 were filled with cancer.  My son would have died if we left him in the care of the doctor here.  When we returned home, I called the doctor here to tell him what we found in his lymph nodes.  The doctor said he was very surprised and that he was "just sure" there wouldn't be any.  How scary is that?

And even though he is an adult now, I guess he has decided he only wants the surgery done at Mayo because they saved his life when he was little.  He and his fiancé are driving there just like the many trips we used to take when he was little.  He said they are going to turn it into a mini vacation like we used to do too.  I love the fact that my son has such good memories of his multiple surgeries at Mayo that he feels comfortable in having this procedure done there too.  

So my news has a little bit of a scary factor in it for me, but it is truly amazingly good news overall.

ETA:  I just spoke with my son and I found out that his doctor in Idaho actually did his residency at Mayo and due to the complications with my son's case, he actually recommended he get the procedure done at Mayo and told him which doctor was "the best of the best" to use.  So that is why he is having his surgery at Mayo, it wasn't just his personal choice, although he said he might have just chosen Mayo anyway.  I'm really happy about it being done there.

I recently moved to my parents' childhood hometown. They are no longer with us but it does help me to feel closer to them.

I am hosting a coffee event this morning for a Women's Meetup group I just started. Then later in the day is our first Farmer's Market of the season.

Also, a bit later this morning, I am getting a large piece of furniture (only $60) that we spotted at a flea market recently. I am going to use it to display some of my mom's things I got after her recent passing.

I have read each and every story here...and wanted you all to know that I rejoice alongside you!

Someone in the family was exposed to covid and had to quarantine.  At the end of quarantine they tested negative.  So nice to read everyone's good news.