Called to Serve.....

Garrett recieved his clearence from his doctor to turn in his mission papers and received permission from the mission office to serve a mission. He received his call today....





BALTIMORE MARYLAND MISSION!!
Here is a little map I found that shows where he will serve. We are so excited and proud of G and know that he will be an AMAZING missionary! He reports to the Provo Utah MTC on July 7th 2010. Once we get his address and things we will post that so you can all send him letters along the way! Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers on Garrett's behalf. The Lord really does hear and answer prayers.

Follow-up #1

Garrett had is first followup appointment with his Oncologist today. He had a CT scan with contrast on Monday and then met with the doc today to review the findings. The doc said....

He's still clean!

The CT scan showed that the blood clots have gone away and that there are no new masses or signs that the cancer has come back. His blood markers, CBC, and one other tests all came back normal. He also got some good news that he no longer has to take the Cumadin (spelling sorry?) blood thinners. He is really excited about that. That means that as far as they are concerned his body is as back to normal as it can be.

YAY for G!

The only bit of "bad" news is that instead of having to wait only a year to turn in mission papers he will have to wait two years. Apparently the first two years are the most likely time that the cancer could come back so they don't want him going anywhere during that time. But once he is cancer free for two years he is free to put in papers. It was a little discouraging but he was happy to know that all is well still.

Thanks to everyone for continued love and support.

And the verdict is.....

Garrett is now considered....

CANCER FREE!!!!

The doctors in Utah said that the tumor is only about 2mm big and that since there is no other tumors left in his body they are almost positive that it is just scar tissue. They also said about 5 years ago and CT scan wouldn't have even shown a tumor that small.

So Garrett has to have blood work done in three months and then another CT scan in 6 months. Other than that for now the only thing he still has to do is take the blood thinners.

YAY!!!!!! Can I get a Woot Woot!

I think that we are planning on having a celabratory party soon...so stay posted for the details!

CT Scan results

Well, Garrett had a CT scan on Wednesday. He has his last round of Chemo on Tuesday and then went in to the Cassia Regional Hospital to have a CT scan with contrast done. This was done to see if the chemo had done its job and gotten rid of all of the tumors in his body. Garrett hates getting this done because he has to drink this "nasty stuff" (as he calls it). I saw it and trust me when I say that it didn't look appealing. It was flavored apple smoothie but G said it didn't taste like apple or smoothie so he doesn't know why they even call it that :)

They had the CT scan on Wednesday and then headed to Twin to meet with Dr. Symingon his oncologist on Thursday for the results. They actually brought the results with them but Dad said he couldn't read what they said because it was so full of "medical mumbo jumbo".

When they got there Dr. Symington showed them what the scans showed. The tumors in his lungs are gone...but the two blood clots are still there. Much smaller than before but still there. If he was not in chemo and healthy the clots would most likely have dissolved by now but due to everything else it takes the body longer to dissolve. The blood clots are still a worry of sorts but not as major of concern as before since now they are much smaller.

The tumors in his lymph nodes are all gone too, except for one very small on one lymph node. Dr. Symington said she didn't want to make any decisions without consulting his other oncologist in Utah first. So Mom, Dad, and Garrett went shopping for a couple of hours while the Dr. called down to the Hunstman Center to discuss what the next course of action is. When they got back to the hospital a couple of hours later still no decision had been made.

Dr. Symington said that they have three options.

1- Do 2 more rounds of Chemo: She said this isn't really a good option because it has already done its job and his body has been through enough. His body has a harder and harder time making new white blood cells after every treatment so she really doesn't want to put him through more.

2- Remove the lymph node and the tumor: This isn't really a good option either due to the blood clots. While they are smaller in order to do surgery they would have to take him off of blood thinners and that could cause more blood clots and complications. It is a risk that she is not really sure is necessary at this point.

3- Do nothing and monitor the tumor to see if it really is a tumor or just scar tissue: This for obvious reasons isn't really the best option either. If it is a tumor and they do nothing it may grow bigger or spread again. They would do a CT scan again in 6-8 weeks to check on it and keep doing CT scans every 6-8 weeks to monitor it. Again, if it was a growing tumor than a lot could happen in 6-8 weeks.

Basically, Garrett is not the textbook patient. The doctor is uncomfortable with all three options. So what has been decided is that there is a Tumor Board that will meet in SLC to discuss all of Garrett's options and decide which is the best possible course of action in this situation. Apparently the Tumor Board meets when the course of action doesn't follow the normal protocal. The Tumor Board meets on Tuesday so we should hear something from them either Wednesday or Thursday.

Pray that their decision will be the most beneficial to Garrett and hopefully get this Cancer overwith!

Last Chemo Treatment.

This is a short little video of G at his last round of Chemo. It was really cool because I (Robyn) was able to take him. It was a really surreal experiance. This treatment was very short. They gave him a bag of saline to hydrate him and then gave him his chemo along with another back of Saline. It took only about and hour and 45 minutes or so. We watched a couple of CSI reruns on the TV. It was very surreal because the room where he gets chemo is just a really large open room with recliner chairs and cabinets everywhere. In each of the chairs was someone who was getting chemo. There were women and men, young and old. Each of them had someone sitting with them and a blanket wrapped over their legs. I was so grateful that I was able to share that with Garrett.

Three down...One to go...HOPEFULLY!!

G finished round three of chemo yesterday. He's pretty beat but feeling energized knowing that there is a very good chance that he will only have one more round to go!! Monday starts round 4 off with 5 days in a row.

He has another pulminary function test today so hopefully that will be a good indicator at how well he is doing. He also has to go every day to the hospital to get Pnuemagen (Spelling...no idea) shots. These shots help his body make white blood cells. If his count is too low they can't do Chemo.

Keep your fingers crossed that this will be the last round. Once they are finished they will schedule him for some various scans to check that the chemo "melted" the tumors in his lungs and stuff like they had planned.

We'll see!! :)

Better LATE than NEVER....

Dad finally emailed me some photos from Graduation and from when the baseball team shaved their heads. So here you go...enjoy.
This is the baseball team showing off their funny bald heads. Can you tell which one is G-baby? His head is the most white and shiny :)

Here's a picture of all of their faces. What good friends they are to do such a crazy thing.

Here is from Graduation. This is Alex, Jayne, Katelyn, G, and Parker. John and I were unable to fly up to attend and Heather had her grandfather pass away so she wasn't able to attend either.

The proud parents with their 5th child graudation from Burley High School. Go Cats!

This is Garrett and Kace and someone else who I am not sure who they are....Sorry.

Pathology Report

Monday Garrett had an appointment with his Oncologist in Twin before his Chemo treatment. The doctor gave them the pathology report from the testicle that G had removed last week.

Drum roll please......

The tumor is now just a dead tumor with no more cancer.

This is SUPER news. The doctors kept telling us that there are two types of tumors. The kind that the Chemo doesn't penetrate and then kind that Chemo does. They always remove the tumor just to be safe...why take the risk....but apparently the Chemo is working. He started round 3 on Monday. He is only scheduled for 4 rounds. Once they are finished they will do another CT scan to see if the tumors in his lungs and stuff have "melted" away like they had anticipated. This news that the original tumor has been cleared of cancer is such a good indication.

If eveything keeps going like they plan, Garrett could be Cancer Free by July!!! Keep praying that things keep going textbook.

Surgery

Garrett had surgery yesterday to remove the cancerous testicle. They really felt that if they removed it now they can still get the pathology on the cancer. That has been the biggest worry for the doctors to this point. It is something less than 1% of the time that they start treatment without a tissue sample of the cancer. Because of all of the problems that Garrett had with the blood clots and stuff they just couldn't get one without it being too risky. Well, after two rounds of Chemo and his blood right where they want it they decided now would be a good time.

Mom and Dad drove Garrett down to SLC to the same IHC hospital where he stayed at the beginning. They met with the same Urologist that met with them when Garrett was there the first time. He is a really great doctor and they really felt like he knew Garrett's case best. He was taken into surgery around 1:30pm. It is just a quick surgery only lasting about an hour and 15 minutes. Afterwords he was transferred to a recovery room. After about 4 hours he was awake and keeping food down so they released him.

So, Garrett is at home but is unable to move around for a few days. He has to sleep in a reclined position for about 3 days. He is also in a little bit of pain from the surgery. He is doing very well though. The surgery went just as they had hoped.

He was supposed to be playing in the Shrine Football game next Monday. Since he will be unable to play, they still asked if he would come. So Mom and Dad will be taking him up to Boise on Monday with a wheelchair so that Garrett can attend the Shrine game.

Also, I will post about Garrett's graduation as soon as my Dad emails me the photos. :)

Seminary Graduation

Wednesday night Garrett graduated from Seminary. It was a really cool night for him and his friends. Graduating from Seminary means you completed 4 years of Seminary and covered all 4 books of Scripture. I am really proud of Garrett to have made it through all 4 years. It is really a blessing to have seminary available to us. Here are a couple of pictures from the event.

Here is a group photo with Garrett and some of his friends following Graduation.

This is everyone from the family that was able to attend. Parker and Heather drove up from Twin and Katelyn was home for the week from Pocatello.

I forgot to rotate this picture before I posted it so...sorry! This is Garrett and his good friend Kace.

Garrett's bald head stands out a little more because everyone who shaved their heads, their hair is starting to grow back. Garrett has been feeling pretty good. Only one more treatment on Tuesday for this round of Chemo. Then he will be half way done (hopefully). Mom and Dad are taking Garrett to meet with a surgeon in SLC on Thursday of next week to hopefully set a date for the testicle removal. It will probably take place the week of memorial day. They are hoping that by doing it now they might still be able to get a tissue sample as the Chemo won't have killed all the cancer yet. We'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

Next big step: High School Graduation on the 20th. YAY!!! Go BHS Class of '09!

Round 2

Garrett started round 2 of his Chemo on Monday. So today puts him at day three. He is doing really well. These last few days after chemo is legs have been really weak and jello-ee (if that is a word) but then after he lays down for a little while he feels better. He is still super tired but doing well.

He has two more rounds this week, Thursday and Friday, and then he has his next treatment on day 9 which is Tuesday of next week. Then on Wednesday he has Seminary Graduation....YAY!!! Then the next treatment is the following Tuesday on day 16, followed by High School Graduation on Wednesday.(GO CATS!) These next few weeks are going go by so quickly with everything going on. I think that is a good thing because this round will go the quickest.

Garrett also got the results of his pulminary function test. It is a test that they do to his lungs to see how much air they can hold and how much air he can push out. In the hospital when they did this test it was only at 75%, today's results were 95%. That is a huge improvement. They are really glad about that.

More Baldies!!!

I think dad was feeling a little bit of peer pressure, because today he shaved HIS head too. And I have to tell you, I KNOW we had WAY too much fun with this one. I've got several videos we're posting here, and they're all hilarious so just watch 'em all.

And this is one of Garrett's best friends, Sam. He shaved his head last week too. Don't they all look so good with no hair? :)

On another note, Garrett has been losing quite a bit of hair over the past two days. yesterday he had white spots on the side of his head where he'd been pulling it out. And today he's got like a receeding hairline near his temples where he sleeps. And today when he took a bath, the tub was full of little hairs when he got out. Just from washing his head. Sigh. We all knew it'd happen.

Baseball Senior Night

Last night was senior night at the baseball game. Garrett obviously didn't play but he was still recognized. They saved him for last and let me tell ya: he sure got one heck of a round of applause! The support is never ending!
The proud parents and their senior!

Right after all this happened, the team lined up on the 3rd base line and faced the flag for the national anthem. During the prelude part of the song that announcer said a little spiel about Garrett that brought a few of us to tears including himself. They said "Notice both teams wearing yellow Livestrong arm bands. This is for Burley Bobcats Centerfielder and #5 Garrett Lyons who was diagnosed with cancer 3 weeks ago. He wants to thank all his teamates, coaches, teachers, friends, and family for all the prayers and words of encouragement through his battle with cancer." That was enough to make my eyes well up. Thanks again to everyone who has supported Garrett and our family through all of this! We love and appreciate every single one of you!

New Oncologist

Today Garrett and my parents met with Garrett's new oncologist in Twin. She had been on Vacation last week so they met with one of the other doctors in the office. She was apparently very thorough and nice. She met with them for over an hour making sure all the basics were covered and to make sure that everyone was on the same page with everything.

G-baby was supposed to be having his last treatment of this cycle of chemo before cycle 2 starts next week but now they are going to skip it. They did a blood test to check his white blood cell count and it way too low to do Chemo. So instead he has to go to the hospital every day this week to get a shot that will help his body boost his white blood count. They said that it isn't "bad" per say but it is lower than they would like. So if you see Garrett walking around with a doctors mask more frequently that is why. We don't want him to get sick with something stupid like a cold and end up in the hospital.

Good news though: the doctor said the first round of chemo is a pretty good indication how the rest of them will go. So the fact that he hasn't been nauseated and sick is a good sign that he won't be for the rest of the treatments. Yay for that. Also, G has gained back 4 lbs! Mom has been catering to his appetite and it seems to be working.

G is still super tired but is getting used to it for the most part. His hair has started falling out (in other places than his head). I keep teasing him that he'll have smoother legs than all of his sisters!

Oh and the doctor said they may be doing the surgery to remove his testicle between the 2nd and 3rd cycles of Chemo. They are not 100% on that yet but it looks like that is where he's headed. If they do that they will probably go back to Salt Lake to have that done. We'll keep you posted.

Support

They say that one of the biggest helps in getting through a cancer diagnosis is the support from family and friends. Garrett has definately had that. We have had so many people calling, sending emails, stopping by, bringing meals, doing yard work, offering prayers, fasting and so many more things. It has truly been a strength for Garrett knowing that he has so many people to help him along this journey.

Here is yet another example of support that he has recieved this last month. My dad took this picture and sent it to me. I know it has been said by others but we as a family can not thank everyone enough for all of their love and support. It has truly been such a blessing to have such wonderful friends and family!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! We can not express our gratitude enough.

Skin...

Garrett decided that it'd be a little too freaky to wake up one morning with all his hair on his pillow. So today he bit the bullet and shaved it all off. Kinda sad....that boy has some of the greatest hair I've ever seen!

We probably had a little too much fun with the clippers. We gave him a reverse-mohawk to start (like on The Grinch) and then did one side and then the other.

When all was said and done, I think we were all pretty suprized how good Garrett's head was. No lumps bumps or wrinkles. He still looks good, even for a baldy. Now please let me apologize right now for the video. I took it sideways, and there's no way to fix that. Pictures I can turn, but for some reason the videos are stuck. So turn your head I guess :)

To show his support, Parker told Garrett a long time ago that he would shave his head too while g-baby goes through chemo. So, true to his word.....after g-baby got his head shaved, Parker took the hot-seat and we shaved his head too. We even let Garrett have a go with the clippers.

And then the two boys together with their white heads. I'm sure they'll color up in a couple weeks or so.

Well what do you think?

I also just got off the phone with Robyn, Garrett's sister, and she said that tomorrow she is going to shave her son's hair (Lucas) as well. What a loving family! We're with you every step of the way Garrett!

Other news! Garrett went to school today! Yes, it was only one class (Government)...but he went! I heard him say he practically fell asleep towards the end, so I duno how much of that he's gonna be doing....but maybe once in a while. He said he gets pretty tired anyway, but sitting in class for about an hour.....well it's not like American Government is the most captivating subject on the planet.

Also, yesterday Garrett had his first chemotherapy treatment in Twin Falls. The cancer center there is quite a bit different than what he was used to in Utah. And it took about 5 hours from start to finish, instead of 2 to 3 like they originally thought. There was just so much to do for that first visit. But I think it'll be faster from here on out. We are so grateful he is able to get this treatment as an out-patient procedure so he can spend more time at home. So far, still no nausea.....just a few missing pounds and a lack of energy, ESPECIALLY at night. Thanks again for all the support! He's doing great!

Photos from Prom

Promenade...

Here's the video from Garrett's promenade. That huge cheer from the crowd brought tears to my eyes. More pictures from Prom are coming...

Ten Pounds

I've lost ten pounds on the chemotherapy diet!

Livestrong!

Don't you think this first picture is absolutely amazing? It's brought tears to many people's eyes! A friend of Garrett's, Carli Parish, took the picture and obviously did a great job. Thanks Carli! His baseball team made these homemade bands to wear during their games that say "GL 5" for Garrett! The cool thing is, the opposing team and arch rival team Minico also wore them during the game since Garrett has become good friends with a few of their players. In fact, during the game this picture was taken, his friend from Minico's team wore #5 and played centerfield for Garrett! The support from his friends and teamates has been UNREAL!

We also have to show our support for Garrett as a family so we are all sportin' our "Livestrong" bands every day as well! If anyone is interested in getting one to wear in Garrett's behalf, you can purchase them online for $1 each @ http://www.store-laf.org/wristbands.html