It's been almost a month since the last update as Graiden finished chemo.  In that time:

-Graiden's older brother Jacob graduated, and he was able to attend the ceremony and party a couple of weeks later.

-Summer started.  It is not quite the same for him since he missed basically the last 2+ months of school, and is still working to finish two classes during summer.

-Most exciting for him, he was able to go to the KPBI Birthday Bash featuring his all-time favorite band, Five Finger Death Punch.  Oldest brother Cody bought tickets back when chemo started and it was Graiden's goal to be healthy enough to enjoy the concert at Red Rocks.  Mission accomplished!

Graiden was scheduled for the MRI & PET scans on Monday 6/4 and chemo port removal surgery on 6/13 (today).  The Friday before scans, the doctor called; now they were not being covered by insurance and deemed medically unnecessary.  I've spent a lot of time on the phone with the insurance, case managers, and the doctors since then.

The MRI was approved and Graiden had that done.  Still no PET though, and as far as I'm concerned it HAS to happen.  Graiden had several MRIs over the first 8 months and the lymphoma was consistently missed.  His last PET scan (after chemo round 2) showed decrease in [lymphoma] activity in his arm/shoulder but his lymph nodes lit up.  Most likely it was due to him fighting off an illness, but another scan would confirm that.

And here we are today.  I found out late yesteday that port removal is a GO.  His doctor is comfortable having it removed, and Graiden definitely wants it out.  His power port is totally internal (which is a much easier type) but it can be painful and affects what he can do and how he moves.  If he misses the surgery window today, the next available option is in July and would interfere with his youth group summer camp that he's been anticipating for the last year.   So, out it goes.

We are 100% believing that he is done with chemo and Graiden is in remission; now we just need that evidenced with the PET scan.

Please pray for:
-An uneventful "easy" surgery today for his port removal
-Insurance to approve the PET scan - and getting it done before June 30th (major financial reasons in that deadline)
-Continued healing for Graiden's body; remission from the lymphoma and no lasting effects from chemo
-Strength as he is expecting to start reconditioning his arm this summer

#TeamGraiden, Thank you all for your prayers and concern!