Graysons Transplant

This is the hardest update to write.

50 days cancer free. The longest stretch to date without a relapse.

It's taken me a while to get my head around everything, but last week we found out the cancer is still there.

I had pushed for a biopsy after my mum-instincts were telling me something wasn't right. To the credit of the doctors at starship they listened and got involved early, so the spread is limited, but just the fact it's *still* there is...

Terrifying.

Another transplant is not an option. Neither is new chemo. Before Grayson's transplant our doctor said if this occurred we would have a 10 - 15% chance of reaching a cure.

When we got the results last week we were devastated.

But.This is Grayson we are talking about.

Grayson, who takes everything in his tiny toddler stride with a wave and a smile for all those around him.

Grayson, who has come through everything thrown at him so far, and is still learning and growing, becoming the happy wee man we are so fiercely proud of.

We are not without hope.

Grayson's doctors are going to try a controlled Graft Vs Host attack, where they let his transplanted donor cells run wild and catch any cancer cells in their crazy attempt to protect themselves from their host. This is not going to be a walk in the park, it can be fatal in it's own right, but if managed well the donor cells may be able to take out any and all the cancer that continues to hide and multiply. They also attack his good cells so this is a painful process.

They are also going to put him back onto the so called 'wonderdrug' that he was on earlier, the one that didn't provide a cure prior to the transplant but could give him enough time for the donor cells to get their hands dirty. Likewise, there is the potential it would work in conjunction with his new grafted cells in a way his own cells could not. We are still waiting for this to arrive in NZ from the UK.

It's not a perfect plan but it's something. It has considerable risk, and will be a hard road to walk, but we do it together, importantly with the support of friends and family.

We are taking it day by day, and when that gets too tough we take it moment by moment.

Today he's doing OK. Today he's happy.

#NotTodayCancer #Battler