ONE
The good bit.
I never knew how important one number can be. A single number can hold so much weight. Today’s number brought about a flurry of joy, Murphy scored a ONE for his MIBG result. What this means is that his body has gone from having literally hundreds, if not thousands, of tumours, to now having only one site containing active cancer. PRAISE GOD.
Rewind to the fun bit.
Today was like many others in this wild journey, an opportunity to find joy in the midst of great trials. I applaud Nat for finding the most unique ways to make Murphy smile and laugh! And as we read from the Bible months ago, a JOYFUL heart is GOOD medicine. Today’s birthday for Murphy could be one of disappointment (waking up on a hospital bed without all of your siblings around!), yet Nat helped execute a fun filled morning for our 5 year old boy, Murphy! Neuroblastoma will not destroy him, and it sure as heck won’t kill his spirit!
At 4:47am, Murphy woke up in bed and called out to Nat, “it’s my birthday and no one is here.” To which Nat replied, “It’s still night time, please go back to sleep.” Fortunately Murphy took his mother’s encouragement, and fell back asleep. Fast forward an hour and a bit, Murphy woke up and enjoyed the first few moments of the morning with Nat, as they opened a present and slowed into the morning. Then at 7am, the kids and I, along with Nat’s parents, came up to celebrate his birthday! And in the wishes of Murphy, he wanted a Mario party. Therefore, Nat hired some costumes for her and I, and we dressed up for the occasion! It was a hoot! Calista, Hugo and Ted all loved giving Murphy his presents and we instantly began playing with the loot of toys. And with Princess Peach and Mario around, it was a heap of fun! A lot of the staff and other children loved the costumes too! Joy was had by all!
With the kids being driven to school, Murphy shortly thereafter was taken into day surgery for his MIBG scan. A lengthy scan of 2+ hours had us a little nervous. We were believing for a great outcome, but hesitant to get ahead of ourselves due to last MIBG shocking us at the results. As Murphy came out of scan, he wasn’t too pleased to have woken from the general anaesthetic, and we had a hard few hours comforting him. But like all hard moments, they have a way of passing eventually. Murphy was back smiling and playing with his new toys. We also had a lot of amazing hospital staff visit and celebrate his birthday!
As the day continued Nat and I still hadn’t heard any news - we were full of faith and in the delay felt peace more then anything else that God was obviously up to something. In the late evening after a different scan which was testing Murphy’s kidneys, we met with the oncologist in the hallway of the oncology ward - our home away from home. Nat begun by asking, “is it good news?” to which the doctor replied with a smile. That sweet smile laid the best foundation to what we were about to hear. The doctor asked, “do you want to know the Curie score?” Nat and I, without looking at each other instantly replied, “yes!” And it was then that we found out that his fourth MIBG test was a ONE! Nat screamed and launched into my arms. We were speechless, crying in the hallway. After a moment we looked over to find the doctor’s eyes to be filled with tears of joy too.
Amazing news! There is only one cancer spot left in the Liver, that is all. The tumours that were present in the last MIBG in the legs, skull, spine and marrow are ALL gone.
Thank You, Jesus.
The doctors took so long checking, and double checking, and triple checking, because the score was so drastic, needing the afternoon. to re confirm results before speaking with us.
Thank you for your support, prayers, and messages of encouragement. After a long year of setbacks, delays and bad news, it’s Murphy’s BIRTHDAY where we received this amazing news. Gods timing, faithfulness and goodness never ceases to amaze me.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MURPHY
