Thursday, Dec 10th update

Tanner and his mom left early this morning to go back home (Lebanon, MO). As we are so grateful that he will start to transition back into a normal teenager life, there are a lot of different emotions running rapid. This journey has brought all four parents closely together, as well as our families. We know Tanner is excited to see his friends and be able to sleep in his own bed.

He will return back to St. Jude at the end of next week for his final PET Scan. We still do not know when his port will be removed, but as he said last night, he will feel the finality when that is removed.

Thank you for continued prayers and support. We will still be posting updates and hopefully, some photos.

Tuesday, Dec. 8th update!!

Every Monday we meet with Tanner's team of specialist, and we were told that yesterday marked his last official visit with his oncologist! Even though we knew this would be coming soon after being told that Tanner was in remission, it felt surreal to hear the words. It's hard to say how everyone was feeling, especially going through this emotional rollercoaster, but I know we all gave thanks to God first with hearing of this news.

Tanner has two full days of appointments this week. Today, he will be receiving an MRI and a spinal tap. Tomorrow, more tests and meeting with hospital professionals. This aides in future studies for St. Jude! We were told he could go home after this Wednesday's appointments and then return next Thursday for his final PET Scan.

Tanner has been in a really good mood lately and feeling back to his jovial self. We can't imagine what Tanner feels or even try to put into words. Yesterday, we saw a full of life Tanner with that sweet smile that melts your heart.

On the 5th of Sept., we heard the most devastating news and now, we hear Tanner will get to go back home to start to live a "normal life" as a teenager again. We can't expect Tanner to go back and transition quickly to the boy he was before this journey, but we know that the strength that our Heavenly Father gave us to get through this, will be the same strength that Tanner will go to, to aide in his transition.

All four parents never gave up hope that Tanner would be healed from this, but it has opened up our eyes to the many, many children we come across at St. Jude every day that still suffer from this horrible disease. We will continue to pray for the children that are still fighting this battle. If you ever have a chance to pay it forward or to contribute to St. Jude, please go to their site and look at the different ways that this can be done. We were told that the St. Jude Marathon weekend raised eight million dollars and this equates to keeping the operating expenses working for four full days.

We will be posting about the upcoming appointments and the progress of Tanner. We thank all of you for the precious blessing of giving of yourselves selflessly to show us so much support! God Bless all of you! Please know you made a difference during this most challenging time.

 

Sunday, Dec 6th update

Today, marks the 21st day of Tanner's last chemo session. We have been blessed that Tanner has stayed "outpatient" status during this time. His recovery has taken a little longer than expected, but of course Tanner's team of physicians want to make sure he is fully recovered before they schedule his release. As of today, we are not aware when Tanner will be released from St. Jude. We are hopeful to hear this next week. What still lies ahead is PET Scans, other tests,  as well as, the scheduling of the removal of Tanner's port where his chemo is administered. We continue to receive so much support from family, friends, and the community. We have been  humbled by the kindness through this whole experience.

We would like to highlight some items during Tanner's last chemo session. Tanner's grandparents flew out to Memphis to spend Thanksgiving with all of us. This lifted Tanner's spirits up and we were so appreciative.  We had a wonderful time together as we had so much to be thankful for.  Yesterday, family and close friends were able to attend the St Jude marathon weekend. Tanner was able to walk through the 5k event and it brought much joy to see Tanner feeling well enough to do this. We know that having his friends walk beside him pushed him even more. We thank the moms that brought down the group of friends to walk with Tanner.

As soon as we know of an exit date for Tanner, we will update everyone.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!