It seems that I'm over 2 weeks delinquent in getting the news out that Ethan's 3rd set of post-treatment scans were clean...! We're thrilled with the news and are anxiously anticipating the celebration of his 2nd anniversary from diagnosis, May 4th. Each year that separates us from that traumatic day is a huge milestone for our whole family.
We've really enjoyed the 10 months that Ethan's been off treatment. We're discovering, though, that we weren't wholly prepared for the world of what they call 'survivorship.' We were so happy to be out of active treatment that we blindly entered that phase with only some vague guidance as to what to expect.
As it turns out, Ethan has gone through some significant psychological adjustments over the past few months and his powerful little brain has noodled through a lot that I wish he wouldn't have... He's developed some behavior that is a little bit hard to figure out. Some might be normal 5-year-old stuff, but some may be left over from all that he's been through. His Oncologist says that a lot of it is textbook psychological issues that they see in kids who are
much older. She said that in all of her years of practice, she's never seen it in someone even close to his age. At the same time though, she says Ethan is perhaps the most precocious child she's ever treated, and that if it would happen to someone younger, it would make sense that it would be Ethan.We've got his Pediatrician consulting with his Oncologist and his Neuropsychologist to help us noodle through some of the issues. I've also been doing a lot of reading on childhood cancer survivorship and am surprised that there is actually a fair amount of information available now that more and more children are surviving this disease. It seems that as a child develops, they reinterpret their memories based on their evolving cognitive understanding - and their reactions might reflect confusion, anger, fear, etc. I had hoped that he went through this at a young enough age that we might escape a lot of that, but I suppose time will tell how much it weighs on him - and us. We'll get through it - and maybe it will even turn out to be normal 5-year-old stuff.
On a lighter note, Ethan's now playing t-ball. He and all of his pre-school buddies have formed a team (the Rock Hounds) and the season starts Saturday. They've been trying to practice as much as the rain will allow, but I've got to tell you... I think hearding cats would be easier! They're all so excited to see each other outside the school and thrilled at their new catching and hitting skills. The little issue of rules escapes them for the most part. It will be a lot of fun to watch, but probably not for the opposing team. They'll each have a random mix of 5, 6, and 7 year olds who have some more experience with the game. ;-)
Happy Spring everyone ~
Kim.