February 7, 2000 - We have actually been living a pretty normal life these days.  Andy went 6 weeks without seeing a doctor.  Andy has his eyelashes and eyebrows back.  He has enough hair on his head that he just looks like a little boy with a short hair cut.  We don't get sad looks when we are out in public anymore.  We went to the clinic today.  Andy has grown a bit.  He is between the 50th and 75th percentile for weight and right on the 50th percentile for height.  All his blood counts were normal.  He talks all the time now.  Instead of crying and fussing during the exam he just said 'Stop it!'  His 'foot drop' problem is better.  He still stumbles a bit more than I think he should but he can jump again. We don't know of any successful treatment for children who relapse with clear cell sarcoma.  There are new things to try all the time but nothing that has been tried in the past has worked well.  Andy will have his first 'off therapy'  ultrasound and chest x-ray on February 17, 2000.  We are very anxious about these tests because while he could relapse any time between now and years from now, the most likely time for a relapse is in these first fews months after completing his chemotherapy.  Odds are he won't ever relapse but we will always worry. February 18, 2000 - Yesterday Andy went for a chest x-ray and an abdominal ultrasound.  He tolerated the tests and the medical professionals very well.  We talked about what was going to happen quite a bit before we went. Today the oncologist called and said 'Andy is healthy, there is not a thing wrong with him'  I really, really like the sound of that. April 14, 2000 - Andy is doing great.  He visited with his surgeon today.  He went in for a 'port removal evaluation'.  He is scheduled for a chest CT, abdominal ultrasound and bone scan on May 5th.  He will see his oncologist on May 8th.  If everything is clear he will have his mediport removed on May 9th.  Just one day before the one year anniversary of his diagnosis. May 9, 2000 - Andy had his mediport removed today.  His scans were all clear.  He is not taking any medication and except for a few clips doesn't have anything in his body that he wasn't born with.  The surgery went very well.  We checked in at 7:00 am and were home by 10:30 am.  We don't have any doctor's or clinic appointments for six weeks. Andy is a happy healthy little boy! June 19, 2000 - Andy had a check up and all is well. He missed having his port though because they had to stick his finger.  He threw a tantrum because he didn't want to leave when it was time to go home.  He likes the playroom too much.  Next scans are July 18. July 19, 2000 - Andy has his chest x-ray and abdominal ultrasound and both were fine. He's potty trained and has given up his pacifier.  He is growing up! August 31, 2000 - Andy turned 3 today. He is a happy, healthy little guy.  He starts preschool next week.
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