Here we are...9 months post treatment! Mitchel's 9 month followup was on April 9th. It was great to see the St. Jude staff again. They all greeted Mitchel enthusiastically with big smiles, telling him it was great to see him and how good he looked! Mitchel was so humbled by all the attention and enjoyed seeing everyone that day. Although he doesn't miss going there for treatment and labs, he does miss his "St. Jude family." Mitchel had an abdominal ultrasound on April 16th (at St. Francis at 7:30 am, with no eating or drinking 8 hours prior - double whammy of too early in the morning and no food!!!) His counts were all good - yay! -  but he has had some weight loss since his January visit which was the reason for the abdominal ultrasound. There were no obvious findings on the ultrasound to indicate any issues related to his liver or stomach, and there were no enlarged lymph nodes so that was an answered prayer. Dr. Kumar would like to see him back in May for a weight check and exam just to make sure he is gaining/maintaining his weight.

Mitchel finished his ICE work at Kuntz at the end of March and has been enjoying his free time after school hanging out with his friends, going to Bloomington to eat, kayaking, and staying up way too late! It is wonderful to see him living life, not worrying about his counts being too low to hang out with his friends, not having to deal with medications/schedule, and having the energy to go out and be active. He is going to Prom next weekend with a group of friends even though he doesn't know what he is wearing yet but I'm sure they will go shopping this week, probably Thursday or Friday; plenty of time to get this figured out!😆 He has also decided he is going to paint Luke's garage - it was Mitchel's Christmas present to Luke in 2022 - so he is happy to be able to get that done for him! (Luke too, I think!)  

Mitchel continues to do well in school and will graduate next month. He is eager to be done with school but also is a little nervous about the unknown after graduation. It seems like he just got back into the swing of things after missing half of his junior year and honestly, I really don't know how he is even old enough to graduate high school!! 

He is thankful for everyone that has asked about him and has continued to keep him in their prayers. We are thankful for his good health, positive attitude, beautiful smile, and kind heart. Most of all we are thankful for God's love and grace throughout!