The morning started early. I had to wake up Ro, and he had to drink contrast in order to have his CT done. We had to fill a big cup with Sprite, add the contrast, and Ronan had to drink all of it. If any of you know my strong-willed child, you would have been so proud of him this morning. All night I kept thinking there was no way he was going to cooperate and drink all of that before going to the hospital.
We got him a straw. It took about 20 minutes, and I talked him through it the entire time. He did it without putting up too much of a fuss. What an amazing little guy. This is all so unfair to him, but he handles most of it so well.
Ronan’s scans are done. We won’t know the final results until next week. Dr. M took us back and showed us the CT, though. He couldn’t give us exact measurements, but the tumor looks very contained now — maybe about the size of a small apple. I hadn’t seen the very first set of scans Ronan had done until today. His tumor was massive. It had pretty much taken over his entire abdomen.
Dr. M said it looks like it has come off the aorta, which is great news… but we still won’t know final results until next week. The bone marrow biopsies were done as well, so we will be waiting on those results too. Lots of waiting. Trying to be patient. Good thing we are in such a great city to keep us busy. We don’t have to be back at the hospital until next week, so we are going to enjoy our little break. I will let you know as soon as we hear more.
While we were waiting for Ronan to come out of anesthesia, there was a big buzz around the hospital. I quickly learned that Jake Gyllenhaal was coming by to say hello to the kids. He showed up for about two hours and was so adorable. He took pictures with the kids, talked to parents, and really took his time.
As he was getting ready to leave, our little Olivia ran up to him and handed him a Rockstar Ronan card and the “naughty” version of the Rockstar Ronan bracelet. Olivia pointed to where Liz and I were sitting, and Jake came over to say hello and talked with us for about five minutes. He was so sweet and genuine. He put on Ronan’s bracelet and said he was going to wear it. He took one look at Ronan’s picture and told us how beautiful he was — which we already know — but it was very kind of him to say and to take the time to talk with us.
You can tell he really is a nice person, and he totally made all of the kids’ and moms’ day today. Not to mention Liz, who was over the moon, to say the least. Maybe he will rock the Rockstar Ronan bracelet on the red carpet and help us raise awareness for childhood cancer. He seems like he has a very good heart.
That’s all for today. Thanks for checking in with us, and Happy Holidays!!
xoxo
The picture below is for playroom Cathy at PCH. Ronan says, “Hellllloooo Mr. Potato Head!” We miss you!!
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