Tomorrow is the big day - Noah's MRI is scheduled for 7am, and we were told to arrive at 6am. Based on past experience, the actual scheduled time for the scan means nothing; we hope Noah doesn't have to wait for hours without eating or drinking as he has in the past. 
We've had a good day: Noah had his port accessed in clinic today for general anesthesia in the morning, then we did some shopping and had a nice dinner. Even after a relaxing evening, I'm still really stressed and nervous about the scan. This is a really big deal, with one of three outcomes. 1. Noah has no residual tumor, the chemo has been effective and he will be declared in remission. 2. The spot that was found on his last MRI is still present and large enough to warrant more chemo treatments. 3. The spot that was found on his last MRI is present and growing, large enough to warrant another surgery and chemo treatments. Of course we are praying in faith that Noah is cancer free. Depending on the scan, Noah's neuro-oncologist and possibly his neuro-surgeon will read it to decide what our next step will be. 
After Noah's scan we will go back to the oncology clinic and wait for the results. I cannot promise that I will report through a blog tomorrow, but I will do my best. If anything I will report through Facebook since I can do that through my phone. I want to say thank you to all who are praying, and to Julie for organizing the prayer vigil at our church. I've already got some encouraging emails about those who have had special experiences in prayer for Noah. No matter what comes of this test, we will still continue to trust in the Lord to bring glory to Himself through this circumstance. Pray with us that this season of our son's suffering is about to come to a close. Love to you all.

Well, we had our clinic visit this morning in Birmingham, got Noah’s port accessed, and realized when his labs came back his ANC had dropped considerably. Because of this, Dr. Reddy thinks it will be best to wait another week before we begin treatment No. 6, and John and I are both in favor of that! We are now leaving the hospital and on our way to have lunch and spend a few hours in Birmingham before we come home. I hate that Noah’s body is having a hard time coming back from the last treatment, but I’m very glad that his doctor is willing to give him another week of rest. We are looking forward to a week without shots and some normalcy!

Thank you for your prayers , and I will post a more detailed blog tonight. 

Ok here's the more detailed blog:
We are home! As I wrote earlier today, Noah's blood wasn't quite as strong as it needs to be for the next treatment. We will wait until Tuesday to check his counts again and go from there. More than likely he will be able to go ahead with treatment number 6 on Wednesday. Now here's the news I wasn't expecting to hear. Treatment number 6 may not be the last. What I don't remember hearing when we began this chemotherapy process was that there are 17 treatments in Noah's specific protocol. All we heard and understood was that there were 6 scheduled treatments and an MRI after that which would determine the next steps. The nurse practitioner did encourage us that the previous 2 patients (and only other patients) that have used this protocol (at this hospital) did not need the full 17 rounds of treatments, and they are both doing well today. She seemed confident that he wouldn't need the full protocol. Anyway, right now we're definitely looking at one more chemo round and an MRI; the concern of the spot on the last MRI is ever constant in my mind. Still praying it won't be there at the end of June. The possibility of more treatments still exists, but we're also praying that number 6 will be the last! Noah has had a long day of traveling but still has lots of energy to get into EVERYTHING he shouldn't be getting into at home. So he is doing great. :) I will be sure to post when I have a definitive answer about next Wednesday.

It has been 12 days since I last posted, and I've been told that is too long. So, for that I apologize! I have been so caught up in life the I haven't made time to let you know what's been going on with Noah. He has had a really great 12 days. Since we left the hospital two Wednesdays ago he has not had any problems at all. His blood counts came up really well, and his platelet levels are high enough to go ahead with his LAST scheduled treatment this Wednesday. After this treatment and the neutropenia that is sure to follow, we pray there will be NO MORE TREATMENT needed and our boy will be cancer free.
John had a great time in Chicago with the ABTA team and will post a blog with pictures about his experience there. We are still selling t-shirts to help support the American Brain Tumor Association; you can purchase them here. Thank you to all who have donated to ABTA in honor of Noah or bought a t-shirt to help support their cause. Through the 5k run the organization raised over $750,000 for brain tumor research funding. We are excited that we were able to be a part of that this year. Next year we plan on having our entire family there. :)
Prayer requests for this round of treatment are no different than what I requested for the previous rounds. We pray for Noah to keep his appetite and energy, for nausea and vomiting to be far from him, for cancer cells to die and good cells to live...I will post more on Wednesday after he begins that LAST treatment. God bless.

Noah's ANC came up remarkably this morning and we were told we would be going home. This was such a surprise for us. He is still neutropenic so we will continue to watch for fever and give him a nightly shot to stimulate his white cell growth. We will return to Children's on Friday morning for lab tests and a platelet infusion (outpatient). This is such a blessing for us since we expected to be in Birmingham through Friday! Thank you for your prayers!

​Noah's ANC went up a little today and he hasn't had a fever at all. Hopefully after a few more days of this trend he will be well enough to return home! My mom saw the first printed t-shirt and she said it looks great; I will post an actual picture of the shirt on the Order Noah T-Shirt page as soon as we get home. I won't be able to blog for the next few days (my HP won't let me edit our site from the hospital & John will have his computer at home) but you can follow my status updates through Facebook. I'm sure the next few days will be pretty uneventful as we just wait for his counts to rise. Please pray for his neutrophils to grow! I will post again sometime on Friday - hopefully from my home. God bless, hope everyone has a great week. 

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday; Noah and I were lazy during the morning and then we had lunch with Daddy and Mimi. He even played outside for a while during the afternoon. His temperature started slowly climbing around 6pm, and by 9pm we were on our way to Birmingham. He had his port accessed and labs drawn while in the ER, then we were admitted upstairs around 2:30am. He is getting an antibiotic dose, has already had platelets this morning, and is now getting some red cells. His ANC is 2 today; I'm expecting that to bottom out and then begin the slow process of climbing up. We should be here about a week. I'll continue to update as the week progresses. Thank you for your prayers! 

I have created a T-Shirt Order Page; See the Order Noah T-Shirt link at the top of the blog for more info!
Quick Update: Noah is neutropenic, but is holding his own. No fever, a little energy to play outside w/ Dad and ride the lawn mower (before I get emails - not while cutting the grass, just a ride!) so we're just hanging out, having fun, and trying to make every minute count before the dreaded hospital stay. Hopefully that won't come until maybe Monday when he will more than likely need some blood products. So we're still home! I will notify of any changes. Hope everyone has a happy Mother's Day!! Love you Mom!

If anyone has asked about Noah this week, I've replied, "so far, so good!" We got a good report on his blood test yesterday; he has a pretty good amount of energy and has been visiting with family every day since we returned from his last treatment. Nevertheless, our bags are packed and we're prepared to head back to Birmingham at a moment's notice.
I don't have much to say except thank you - I hope that doesn't get old - to our family, friends, and community, and anyone who has ever lifted a prayer or supported us in any way. Everyday I am overwhelmed by the generosity of others. I will update if Noah's health changes so you will continue to know how to pray. Once again we're asking God to keep infection far from Noah, and keep fever at bay. Hope everyone has a great week!