Day 615 – November 23, 2023
Happy Thanksgiving! We are immensely grateful to be together as a family today, especially since we’ve learned we won’t be spending Christmas together this year. On Friday, CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) called to inform us that Harvey will need to return to Philly on Dec. 11th to prepare his body for CAR T therapy with the actual T cell infusion planned for Dec. 19th. He’ll need to stay in or near the hospital for 4-5 weeks thereafter to address any side effects that arise. Our medical travel plans will separate us (Harvey, Mom, and Dad) from Henry and Hattie in December and January. We are grateful to begin cancer treatment so quickly, but are having a hard time knowing we’ll be absent for both Hattie’s and Henry’s birthday and Christmas this year. We’ve cherished our time together today and will likely celebrate an early Christmas together next weekend before Harvey’s treatment begins.
Today we’re also extremely grateful that Henry (Harvey’s older brother) was able to be seen by neurology yesterday for an EEG and assessment. After having what we believe was a seizure nearly 2 weeks ago, everything looked normal and there are no indications that he’s at risk for having more seizures. (A huge thank you to Mayo Clinic pediatric neurology & our amazing family friend, Dale Magnuson, for making this happen! Appointments were months out and we were worried we wouldn’t been seen before we left for Philly.) This is a huge burden lifted – Getting answers for our oldest son before we travel a thousand miles east with our youngest son.
We’re just two weeks away from heading back to Philadelphia and about 26 days away from Harvey’s T cell infusion for CAR T therapy. Many medical updates are on the horizon, and undoubtedly, there’s a lot of uncertainty. However, we are incredibly thankful for today, here and now, with our family together under one roof. Our Thanksgiving was filled with eating, playing, eating, napping, and, of course, more eating. We are deeply grateful for each and every one of you. The unexpected outpouring of love and support have touched our hearts profoundly. We truly appreciate our incredible family and friends, and your generosity has made a significant impact on our lives. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving today!
Oh Joey, this is such a beautiful family picture! My heart goes out to each of you in that little Harvey has such a long road ahead of him. With God by his side and alllll our prayers Harvey will do well and come back from his treatments healed. Love and God Bless!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures and your story,continued prayers 🙏 🙏 🙏 are with you and your family and having to be separated for Christmas and birthdays