Hey,
This is a shorter blog to simply say, “please pray”. Murphy has a couple of important scans and milestone tests next week that we would love prayer for. On Monday March 10th, Murphy will head into hospital for a full day of Kidney function testing and scans, this will be his first evaluation in 6 months. On Wednesday, March 12th, Murphy will have his full body PET Scan to check for signs of relapse as we are now at the 1 year remission mark! Praise God! Scans and tests bring a level of nerves for the whole family, especially in the week prior. We believe we will have good results to report this time next week, but as a family we journey this ‘week before’, together in prayer and often talk about the Hope we have in God with the kids. It really is the only way to approach these big scans and tests! This has been the longest we have been without a PET or MIBG since diagnosis. Please pray and believe with us that it’s a clear result next Wednesday for Murphy.
A few weeks back Murphy developed a cough, which seemed to not pass when other family members recovered from the virus. After a check-up and x-ray it was evident Murphy had Pneumonia . Pneumonia can be one of the side effects of the clinical trial medication DFMO Murphy's is on, so Doctors need to manage this carefully. The fortunate thing was that it only took a couple of days for his chest to improve and clear and a turn-around in his energy! Praise God! Murphy seems to have really coped with this well, and after a few days' rest he was desperate to get back to school and basketball.
Another update that I’ve been needing to share is regarding Murphy’s hearing. Fluid retention and slight loss was to be expected, as it’s a common side-effect of DFMO, and we have gradually seen his hearing declining. What we have learnt is that this hearing loss was in-part due to increasing fluid in the ears from the DFMO. In the latter part of 2024, Murphy was getting an ear infection nearly every month. This constant ear pain and discomfort sped up the process of Murphy getting to see an ENT and having ear tubes inserted in a short surgery. After only a week, Murphy’s hearing was retested, and Praise God because he scored much better than he did pre-surgery!
Nat has been a super mum, like always, caring for all four of her kids, and especially her boys these past few weeks. As her ENT appointments finished for Murphy’s tubes, Hugo’s sinus needed clearing, which led her there for a procedure this Monday. What made Nat feel like a frequent flyer was that on that same Monday appointment she needed to book Ted in for a check-up on Friday of this week because he has a broken nose from a Trampoline/ Basketball incident. Any parents of boys reading this will understand I am sure haha!
To finish, I must share the celebration we had in our recent trip to Tennessee. As we had a weekend with friends, we paused to share a cake to celebrate 1-year cancer free! ONE.YEAR.CANCER.FREE! This is such a huge Milestone and reminder of God’s healing Miracle and it does give us a great reason to celebrate! Thank you for celebrating with us, for praising God together and to look at the challenges of life knowing that our God is greater.
