Now for a more extensive update. If you missed the earlier post, Carolyn's bone marrow and spinal fluid were clear of any cancer. Praise the Lord! Dr. Black called around 5 pm today with the news. It was the expected news, but still such a huge relief. Mike and I were so anxious. By the time Dr. Black called my head was hurting and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I cried harder than I have in a long time after Dr. Black called. All I could say was "Thank you, Lord" over and over. I am overjoyed for Carolyn. 

Today's results were the most important. There is still some testing to be done on the samples taken from the marrow and spinal fluid, however. They will take a closer look at the samples for any "minimal residual disease" and chromosomal abnormalities (leukemia is an acquired genetic abnormality). Even should they find residual disease or genetic abnormalities,  treatment will not be initiated. They will simply watch her more closely as she may be at higher risk for developing leukemia again. We are praying these results will be as favorable as today's results. 

Carolyn has been having trouble with her left knee the last couple of weeks. I mentioned this to the doctor today. He told me that hip problems often present as knee pain. When Dr. Watts ordered all those CT scans a couple of weeks ago when she was sick, one of the scans picked up a change in her left hip. Degenerative changes to the hips is one of the potential side effects of her treatment and this is most likely what is going on. She had a plain x-ray on her hip today and the x-ray was normal. This is a good thing because it means these changes are not bad enough to show up on plain film. The plan now is to keep an eye on her pain and treat with Advil and ice.  Hopefully, now that she is off treatment these changes will not get any worse. 

The most important thing is that she is cancer-free. We are filled with thanksgiving tonight.