It was a long day, with his surgery pushed back several hours from its original start time. Owen was hungry and a little cranky at times, but was mostly a trooper. And, when he woke up from surgery, he had his favorite Ritz crackers to chow down on.

They gave us his (thoroughly cleaned) port as a souvenir and we went to Golden Corral for dinner so he could eat his fill.

He’s not totally done with treatment yet. He’s got a five-day bout of steroids starting tonight and will continue oral chemo for a few more weeks. He takes his last dose on May 10th! A month later, we’ll go back to VCU for a check-up and we’ll get to ring the end-of-treatment bell!

It’s a little surreal that we’re here, but I am so grateful we are.