5 Words

That was all it took for Dr. Kushner to say:

ALL TESTS SHOW NO NB!

Next trip is middle of January after Nick's 11th birthday.

Scans Clean!

I just heard from Dr. Kushner that the CT, MIBG, and MRI are all NED! As I have said before this news was expected but it still causes us a big sigh of relief as one small little spot on any of them means "relapse". Now, we must wait for the urine, blood, and bone marrow results which should come in by Friday of next week.

So, not NED yet....but very pleased with the scan results.

All Finished

We just completed the final test for this visit. We don't have any results yet but most likely the tests we did on Tuesday were clean or they would have contacted me. However, I hate to assume anything as they are very matter of fact around here and until we know all of the results....we just don't know.

So, Nick is on his way home right now with his Uncle Mike. I am staying an extra day due to a business meeting. I will update the blog as the results start to come in.

Mindy Trinidad

Our thoughts are with the Trinidad family today as they honor the life of Mindy. I am sorry that Nick and I can't be at the service. Nick, like everyone, loved Mindy and will never forget her driving him around in their Porsche with the dog on his lap.
http://mindytrinidad.blogspot.com/

CT & MRI:

On Tuesday we completed both the CT Scan and the MRI Test. Both went smoothly and it is possible that we will have the results today. Today is the bone marrow surgery this morning and MIBG injection this afternoon. Once they do this then Nick can take out his IV line and that will make him happy. He hates having that line in. Tomorrow is only the MIBG Scan which doesn't require any more IV access.

Nick decided that he liked Scalinatella so much that he wanted to go back there. So, we did. This time, we took Uncle Mike Broz with us as he was in town. It was a nice way to finish off a busy day in which I had a business meeting out in New Jersey sandwiched in between the tests.

New York, New York

Here we are again, in the greatest city in the world! It is hard to believe that 3 months have passed already since the last scans in July but they have and here we are. Nick and I arrived last night about 11:00pm after an uneventful flight on Northwest via the Twin Cities. Robinson, (Henry's Brother) picked us up and dropped us off at the Affinia Gardens at 64th between 2nd & 3rd. Of course, and as usual, I had him wait for us to put our bags in the room and then take us to Wollenski's Grill. Pretty decent steak until 3:00am...if you're into that...and I am. I don't usually go there during normal hours as I think there are better places like Wolfgangs, Uncle Jacks, and Old Homestead but late at night...Wollenski's Grill is the greatest!!

Today, we got to sleep in and then deal with the pre-boarding process at MSKCC. Of course, they never heard of us when we got there and had to come back 3 hours later after they got their act together. No problem. They are very friendly, apologetic and accommodating once they know we are there. We picked up the urine bucket, multiple contrasts and potions to drink, got the IV inserted, and are ready for the tests tomorrow. Nick made sure to pick out nurse Jenny who in his opinion is the only nurse who can put in an IV successfully. Of course, they all can but Jen has been able to hit Nick's vein each and every time on the first try and today was no exception. She loves Nick and sits there and talks to him and really makes him feel comfortable.

Tonight, we went to Scalinatellas for a wonderful dinner. I told Nick that this trip I am picking all the restaurants...period. Carolyn is not here to stick up for him so he came with me and said it was the best dinner he had ever had. It was!! Wow!

Tomorrow, it is either Wolfgangs, Primola or Campagnola. I can guarantee you it is not going to be China Fun or that other rat infested place that he likes over by the Shelbourne.

I'll update each day from here as these tests are extremely important and we hang on the results as they have life changing consequences for our entire family. Dr. Kushner spent a lot of time with us today and was excellent. He answered all our questions and really seemed to enjoy talking to Nick. He is one of the leading Oncologists in the world and has saved many kids and yet he was as humble as could be and I felt like he was a friend. He always gets in a few good natured California jabs as he is a New Yorker through and through. We also got to see Dr. LaQuaglia who was Nick's surgeon and he talked to us a little. He couldn't believe how great Nick looked.

Lets get through this and have another 90 days!!