We have some busy testing days coming up.  The Oncology side is checking how well he did from the 6 rounds of chemo and surgery. The Stem Cell side is checking a baseline before transplant.  The long list of test abbreviations is enough to keep you tongue tied, just know they tested everything and everywhere.   The testing was broken up by a lovely Labor Day weekend.  The Murtaghs threw a great  BBQ and we got to unwind before the long week ahead.

 One of the million tests was his first dental exam. I had been prepping him and saying that the Dentist wants to count his teeth and for whatever reason Liam could not wait to meet the crazy lady who wanted to count his teeth. It made our first visit to the dentist hilarious instead of nerve racking.

It was a long week before we heard any news from all the tests but they all came back as fabulous as we hoped and prayed. All of Liam’s hard work was paying off. The tumors seem to be all gone and Liam’s spine is holding stable. Liam’s skull has a bit of healing to do now that the tumor is gone, but it is barely noticable in comparison to how it looked in March.

The only sorta negative result was his hearing. The 2 rounds were toxic to Liam’s hearing and he will be fitted for hearing aids a few months after Stem Cell Transplant. For right now Liam has mild/moderate hearing loss besides the frequent “huh,” you would honestly never know. The second transplant uses a similar chemotherapy that might further affect his hearing, but hopefully not.