It's hard to imagine that it's been over a week since Ethan's appointments and I haven't updated Ethan's site yet - Before I go into all the details - I want you all to know - that everything checked out just fine - We do not need to go back to Rochester again for another 6 months. - Hard to imagine!! We usually end up with an appointment here or there - but not this time. If all goes as planned - no Rochester for 6 months!!

Also - take note - I've updated pics.

Ethan's first appointment was a chest x-ray at St. Mary's Hospital. As we walked down the halls - memories of the times we spent there came flooding back - thinking of the times we had been in that same spot under different circumstances. As we walked down the hall, I always try to take note of people's faces - trying to decide if we've seen them somewhere else - at some other time. His appointment was at 8:30 - so as we were walking - there were a lot of employees of the hospital on their way to work. We met with Penny, she was a pediatric surgical nurse (I believe) while Ethan was going through treatments. She was so good to us and was the person who finally got his feeding tube to stop leaking. We also met up with Randy, who is in charge of the child life group on third floor. While Ethan was a patient and going through treatment - Ethan had given Randy a John Deere sticker for this name tag. Believe it or not - Randy still has that John Deere sticker on the back of his name tag.

We flew through the chest x-ray with flying colors - no problems - no questions and we were on our way for his MRI. This too, was at St. Mary's.

We ended up having to wait about an hour before we were called in. We needed to go through the usual routine - filling out our paperwork, getting Ethan weighed in, telling the nurses that Ethan will not change clothes and then waiting for the anesthesiologist doctor to come and talk us - telling us what to expect. We had Dr. Berge (sp??), a doctor we have had before. Once he saw Ethan, he remembered him, but did not remember that he could only open his mouth a little bit - because of this - they use a fiberoptic and go through Ethan's nose for his airway. Shortly after our doctor consult, they called Ethan back and I went along. Ethan had on his NRHEG sweatshirt and one of the anesthesia nurses asked us if we knew any of the Schlaak's. Well, that's kind of a silly question if you are from New Richland. We told him yes, and he went on to tell us that he was Neal and Jill's nephew. He showed us his name badge and it was Jay Bergner. He and Ethan shared some conversation about Neil and John Deere tractors and Jill being Ethan's teacher - then talked about Anna and Colton. As people say, it's a small world we live in.

Eric and I headed to first floor, to the control room, to wait for Ethan to come out of his MRI. As we were waiting, Dr. Berge came to talk with us. He told us that it was harder to get the fiberoptic where it needed to be and there had been some bleeding from Ethan's nose. He said that we may need to look at doing Ethan's MRI without sedation the next time. His concern is the chance of hurting Ethan doing something to him that is supposed to be for his good. Doing an MRI without anesthesia is a little nerve wracking - as the MRI will take about 40 minutes. During this time - Ethan would need to be still. For Ethan, that's not an easy task. They did say that the MRI could be scheduled on 2 separate days - doing half one day - the other half the next. All we can do - is give it a try - If it doesn't work - we will go back to being sedated.

While Ethan was in his MRI - I made a trip up to third floor to see if I could find any familiar faces. Of course, I did, not many nurses - but I ran into Penny. She told me that it had taken her a while to recognize us - as Ethan has grown so much. It has been almost 4 years since we started Ethan's journey. We also got to see Val, who is one of the child life specialists - she and Katie had quite a bond so it was good to talk with her. As we were all standing in the hallway - we also met up with Gretchen - Gretchen was a resident when Ethan was diagnosed. She was the first person from the hemonc team that we saw. We reminsced about some of the things that happened during Ethan's treatment. The one thing that Gretchen brought up - was after Ethan's initial surgery - he broke out in a terrible rash. It was a Friday night at 9 p.m. - and she had to call in the infectious disease doctors and dermatology to figure out what Ethan had going on.

Once Ethan woke up - he was a little groggy - and not too happy with his IV. They had used too much tape and his arms are getting too hairy - He couldn't get the tape off - and it hurt too much. It took longer to get the tape off his arm - than it did for him to wake up from the MRI.

We headed off to McDonald's for lunch - as we didn't have much time before our our next appointment. Ethan ate like a trooper - Ate his hamburger and french fries and then we off to the clinic downtown.

Our appointment was with Dr. Rodriguez. We got to visit with hemonc nurses, saw Donna, and Dr. Kahn. Dr. Rodriguez told us that his MRI was unchanged - which is a very good thing. Ethan's bloodwork also all looked good. His chest x-ray was clear. She told us the further out we get - the less likely chances of recurrence. We asked when we needed to come back - thinking that we may get moved out to a year. Dr. Rodriguez said they want to monitor Ethan closely because of the high dosage of radiation he received so we will be going back in 6 months.

Next stop was Dr. Mohney, the eye doctor. Ethan did his eye exam and did quite well - with his glasses on. When Ethan's eye was at it's worst - he had vision of 20/400 - Now it is at 20/60 in his right eye. Dr. Mohney said Ethan's eye looks the healthiest and he is seeing the best he has ever seen. Since the improvement in his vision - we got a new prescription for his glasses.

Ethan's patience at this point - was running out - Eric stayed to get his new lens and we decided to go and try to do some more visiting. When Ethan was first diagnosed, the first ENT doctor we saw was Dr. Dana Thompson. She and Dr. Sorum de-bulked Ethan's tumor - the took the part that was in his mouth out. We saw her a few times as Ethan went through treatments - but then Dr. Thompson left - She took a job at a different hospital - I believe in Cincinnati, OH. The last time we were in for Ethan's appointments, Dr. Arndt told us that Dr. Thompson was back and we should stop in to see her. So that's what we did. We stopped at the ENT department front desk and asked if Dr. Thompson was in - The desk clerk told us that she was - but she had a full day of appointments if we had wanted to see her. I explained the situation and said that we didn't need an appointment - but just wanted to stop by and say hi. The desk clerk went to the appointment rooms and came back a few minutes later - she put us in a room and told us to wait a few minutes. Dr. Thompson walked in - took one look at Ethan and gave him a huge hug and had tears running down her face. She said she was so happy to see us and thanked us at least 5 times for stopping by to see her. We visited for a short time before she needed to get back to her patients. She said that we had made her day by stopping in to say hi. As we were leaving she gave Ethan another hug and had tears again. It was so good to see her and it's so nice to have her back again.

Wednesday morning we had an appointment with Dr. Moore - Ethan was a little naughty and got a little squirrelly as we waited for the doctors - Dr. Moore and Dr. Eli. He had the camera out and was impatiently waiting to show everyone his picture of his goat, Maddie. Ethan snuck his way down the hall and started to take pictures - Dr. Moore assured us that Ethan's MRI looked great - and there had been no change to anything. When I had called to schedule Ethan's appointments - I had mentioned that I had been noticing a lump under Ethan's chin that was kind of bothersome to me. Each night, I put lotion on Ethan's face and under his chin and I feel this lump - It has not gotten any smaller -or any bigger - and it has not changed. Dr. Moore took a look at it and felt it and then stepped out of the room to check Ethan's records. He came back in and told us it was a piece of plastic - We must have looked at him as if he were crazy - because then he explained that it was a coupling that they had used to put Ethan's veins back together again after his surgery to remove the tumor. Ethan will be fine with it there and it will stay there - unless another surgery is scheduled. Dr. Moore checked out how far Ethan can open his mouth - which isn't far - and noticed Ethan's other big front tooth coming through. Dr. Moore looked at Ethan and said, "Ethan, you are remarkable - I didn't think that I would ever see that." The other remarkable thing is that Ethan's jaw is growing - where the shoulder bone and his jaw bone were put together. Both Eric and I heard Dr. Moore say something about 4 cm of growth - At first we had thought he had meant he had grown that much in 6 months time - but when we looked at a ruler - that's 1 1/2". We don't think that's possible - but I guess it really doesn't matter - What does matter - is that he is growing. Dr. Moore talked about needing to do surgery at some point - but not exactly sure when. The surgery he is talking about would be to do some work on Ethan's jaw joint to get his mouth to open wider. But, as long as he is growing on his own. he doesn't want to disrupt that. He also wants us to see Dr. Rieck - who is a dental surgeon - when we come back in 6 months.

We have been so blessed with Ethan's journey thus far. We have been so fortunate to have the outcome that we have had. We know of way too many people who have not been as fortunate as we have. When we were waiting for Ethan's MRI - there was a mom and dad with a 13 year old son who was also having an MRI - he had a spinal tumor and was scheduled for surgery the following day. It was apparent they were quite nervous and rightfully so. I told them not to worry - the doctors and nurses would take very good care of them. When a day like that begins - the outcome is so uncertain at that point.

As we walked through the Mayo Clinic - you see so many people and can't help but wonder why they are there. We met one gentleman in a wheelchair with 2 prostetic legs. He was being pushed by a younger man - and a person can only wonder what and why.

Again - we have been greatly blessed and we thank God for all he has done for us and our family - We also want to extend our thanks to each and everyone of you who have followed our journey and continue to do so. We appreciate all that has been done for us no matter how small.

Just a reminder that the Waseca County Relay for Life is coming up - July 24 and 25 at the Waseca County Fairgrounds. It runs from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. Anyone wanting to take part in this or make a donation - just let me know. There is also a survivor's banquet on July 20th - 5:30 p.m. social and 6 p.m. supper at Trinity Lutheran Church here in New Richland.

Again, thanks for all the support and remember "Keep the Faith" no matter what.