Tour of Long Beach

And they're off!

Beautiful downtown Long Beach at about 7:30am.  Riders waiting to start.

Bela cheering them on!

The Tour of Long Beach is a wonderful event sponsored by Wells Fargo for the Johnathan Jacques Children's Cancer Center, where Bela was treated.  I was asked to speak and share just about 30 seconds from our experience and how much we LOVE that hospital and how appreciative we are of ALL the riders who trained and raised funds for the hospital.  We met one woman on the sidelines who asked us, "Is that Bela?"  She told us that her husband wasn't sure that he was going to ride since he was still recovering from knee surgery, but when he saw Bela's picture and info online, he decided to ride, and just 3 weeks before the event!  We were so touched.  Those are the kinds of people we get to meet all the time now and we are so blessed to be a part of the family that is at Miller Children's!

Good News, and no "Buts"

Well obviously after the last post I was pretty down.  And with reason.  Yet I was really trying hard to be positive.  Then yesterday Dr. Z called, and it was one of those life-changing calls.  I'll never forget where I was or what I was doing nor how I felt.  It was good news!  Here's what happened...

The test results that Dr. Z shared with me last week that showed the abnormal chromosomes were actually from last August 2012 when she was first diagnosed.  Those results came from another lab and now that I'm explaining it it doesn't seem to make sense but when Dr. Z explained it I did understand.  So on Wednesday he was approached by another Dr. who revealed to him that there was a mix-up and the new test results from about a month ago of her bone marrow show NO chromosome abnormality!!!

Dr. Z was so happy I could tell in his voice and he had just found out 15 minutes before he called me.  I'm so appreciative that he called me right away.

So what does this mean? Well, first of all it means that Bela will NOT have to have another bone marrow biopsy in another week as was planned.  See, this abnormality is only found in leukemia cells, so this is an extra reassurance that most likely the AML won't return and she really is 100% CANCER FREE!!!

We give God all of the glory and praise Him!  We give thanks to all of you and all those who prayed for Bela and our family during these past 9 months.  We just can't believe it. I'm still in a bit of a shock.

When we thought last week that there still may be leukemia in her bone marrow, like I mentioned, I was trying really hard not to get depressed.  But you know what this has taught me? "Give thanks in all circumstances" came to mind.  Not give thanks that my kid has cancer, but remember to thank God: for His goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy (Bela's still alive and well!), His healing power, and the list could go on.  I was actually a bit embarrassed looking  back at how down I was, not that it was an abnormal reaction, but that I should thank God the same way and same amount whether my child is healthy or not.  That is His will for me in Christ Jesus.