The Adventures of Evan: Day 548 - The Halfway Point (photos at bottom)

Despite the title of today's blog let me add a disclaimer to avoid any confusion. When we started this journey the doctors informed us this was a three year process, but it doesn't take into account setbacks, scheduling challenges or how Evan's body has responded to certain treatments. Today I'm celebrating our "halfway point", but we may end sooner or later than the 1,095 days originally forecast.

A few weeks back during Evan's last chemotherapy appointment the NP that day indicated she would speak with the medical team on helping define an end to our treatment plan. We have no illusions that it's concluding anytime soon; however, if the standard for treatment becomes two years at some point, we would be adjusted to this new time frame. For our own sanity it would be good to put a stake in the ground on a date as it would give us a goal to work towards.

On the health front we've had a little bit of a bumpy weekend. Evan has been battling a cold for the last few days. Friday it came to a head in the form of a fever. Cristy notified Aflac and they instructed her to bring him into the ER for evaluation. He was given antibiotics and blood was taken to review counts and run for cultures. No cultures have formed thus far. His counts looked strong, meaning they feel he should be able to fight off whatever he has. Despite his strong counts he has continued to have fevers this weekend. They're not coming with great frequency and are generally low grade. The on-call doctor has instructed us we can administer Tylenol for the weekend and to keep a close eye on him. I'm happy to report he's not acting sick and has constantly tried to engage in roughhousing with me so I feel good about where he's at.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane. Our journey is far from over and these fevers are subtle reminders that we should continue to cherish each day. The family and I have treated our time as a gift and are trying to act socially responsible. This experience has caused all of us to take a closer look at ourselves and do what we can to help others. I certainly don't consider myself to be a good person, but this experience has made me take inventory of myself and my relationships. I hope Cristy and the boys grow from our ups and downs to become better people. With little control over the outcome at the end of the day that's all we can do until the cancer is gone.

What follows are lots of photos showing the highs and lows we've experienced up to this point, along with an overdue song. Many have been used in this blog before, but I've tried to slip a few in from my private stash. Evan's strength throughout has been amazing and given the same circumstances I can't guarantee I would have the same positive and fearless attitude that he has had. I still have a very hard time looking at any photos of Evan despite his improved health. Will the question of 'what if?' always be with me? I still don't know. I hope one day I can look at pictures or videos of Evan and smile or laugh at our good times, but that day is not today. Not while we still have more fighting to do. I'm so proud and grateful for my family, friends, medical team, volunteers and even many strangers. Without them I shudder to think where we'd be. My goal has been, and is, to pay it forward where at all possible.

We've had downs and it's weird to say, but we've had many more ups. This whole struggle has caused all of us to dig deep and be better versions of ourselves than would have been possible ordinarily. Thank you to EVERYONE who has helped and inspired us along the way!

Music

This is a song that we first heard at Camp Sunshine during the closing ceremony. I liked it enough to look it up and both of the boys have since latched onto it. It's called Superhero by Ross Lynch of the Austin and Ally show on Disney.