Wednesday to Sunday October 23rd to 27th, Results, Recovery, and Re-Normal?

Well despite not ngetting our call Tuesday night with the official results, everyone slept great; I guess we were so exhausted from our long day that we didn't stay awake all night wondering.  But once the girls were off to school, it was all I could think about!  When Ingram woke up, he was his regular happy self, but was definitely sore and didn't ask at all about going to his preschool even though it was his Harvest Party day and they were having a hayride and picking out pumpkins.  After breakfast and his first dose of medicine, he was ready to snuggle up in the chair and watch cartoons for a while...which ended up lasting most of the morning!  The call finally came into Craig and he relayed everything to me at home.  Dr. Gajjar gave us the official ALL CLEAR and it was the most exciting news of all!  We were doing the happy dance in the den and Ingram decided it was good enough to get out the candy bucket; I won't admit how many pieces of  candy we had, but just know it was a big celebration! 

The following is what was written on Ingram's Facebook page...Ingram the Conqueror ~ Ingram's MRI results are "all clear." This process doesn't seem to get any easier and we greatly appreciate everyone's prayers and notes of encouragement. We are blessed to be surrounded by so many loving friends. We praise God for His provision.  Ingram also had his port (gas tank) removed from his chest. The port was a direct route for his IVs to go into his superior vena cava. He is a little sore from the surgery, but nothing that morphine doesn't fix. In fact, last night he was doing handstands on the couch, to our dismay. He grimaces and says his chest hurts, we give him medicine, and five minutes later he's back to being a monkey.  We are grateful that God has allowed Ingram to continue conquering cancer. Some of our friends haven't been afforded this much time with their children, and they are never far from our minds - even on days like this.

Ingram's "Clear Scan"
We Joke That He's The Only One That We Know For Sure Has A Brain!

Ingram Attempting To Do The "Hot Dog" Dance With Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

He Wanted To Send A Picture Of His Surgery Site To His Friends At School
So They Know He Had His Surgery!

Yep...Loving Cartoon Time With My Little Man!

After we had way too much candy, we headed upstairs to play Wii.  Nolan's mom stopped by the house and brought all of Ingram's Harvest Party goodies over and Ingram sent a bunch of goodies home with her for Nolan.  Ingram took the longest nap ever today and didn't even protest having to take one (he normally begs and pleads to not have to take a nap).  After his nap, though, he was ready to get moving and decided to race Daddy and the girls down the street on the way to soccer.  We stayed home so he could lay low, but there wasn't much "low" to it for him!  He did manage to get his favorite foods again for dinner and then snuggled some more on the couch before it was bedtime.


Apparently Coloring On Top Of The Desk Is Another One Of Those Things
You Can Do After Having Such Good News!


Ready, Set, Go!
Getting His Race On!

Thursday morning he woke up and came downstairs asking what he should wear to school!  I couldn't believe it, but should have known he would want to go to school.  I let him go with strict instructions to take it easy.  I know, there's no way to hold him down and that was confirmed when I heard the day's report from several other moms and teachers.  Apparently he was running around the playground showing everyone his port site and then he just couldn't keep from dancing in Music class; all of his teachers kept telling him to "settle down" and "take it easy" but Ingram had other plans for his day!  I don't think he got any warnings for misbehaving at all.  I'm thinking he was playing the "cancer card" for his teachers, but I know he had a super fun time being back with his buddies!  He even had such a fun day at school that we figured out a way to go back that night for his Open House and collected all sorts of art work he had been making since the beginning of school.

 
Less than 40 hours after surgery and this little stud wakes up asking to go to school! And to top it off (literally), it's Hat Day so he's wearing his "Ingram the Conqueror" hat!!


Surprising His Girls After Getting His Port Bandage Off!

A Close Up Look At His Surgery Site
Steri-Strips Will Stay On For About 10 Days Which Also Means
No Shower Until They're Off!
***Stinky Boy Alert!!***


It Seems That We Have Two Ingrams...
One In Pajama Pants And The Other Decked Out In Tri Delta Colors (which
was his explanation for why he picked yellow and blue)!

Friday morning was extra special at our house because at 5:30am there was lots of noise in the kitchen!  Normally, I start making breakfast and lunch for Madison around 6am and sometimes Craig is even lucky enough to get a hot breakfast too.  But today, Madison was in the kitchen cooking Birthday Breakfast for me...fresh hot waffles!  After a great breakfast and getting Madison and Craig off to work, I crawled back into the bed until it was time to get Lindsey up and off to school.  The rest of Friday was supposed to be another fun day at home trying to keep Ingram from overdoing it after he was at school all day yesterday, but it totally didn't happen!  We ended up running all sorts of errands that needed to be done and then dropped Madison off for a Fall Retreat with some of her school friends from another local church.  Lindsey and Ingram were excited to be "on their own" and helped pick the plans for the rest of the weekend.  We went out for birthday dinner at Memphis Pizza Cafe and then did some birthday shopping and finished off the night with an extra large order of birthday ice cream at Baskin Robbins!


Sending Part Of The Girls Off For The Weekend!
Hadleigh, Libby, Madison, Carlee, Suzanna, And Ingram

Lindsey had a soccer tournament this weekend and Ingram had his last soccer game with Happy Feet!  He ended up making three goals in his game and was soooo excited when he got a medal at the end of his game.  He even played against his buddy Preston during the game; Ingram came over to the side during a water break and said that "Preston was trying to take the ball away from me!"  I'm pretty sure he would have rather been on the same team as Preston instead of playing against him, but they still had fun running around on the field together.  Lindsey and Ingram picked out a baby gift, decorated the card, and wrapped it all for Baby Baird;  I'm not sure I've even taken a gift to a baby shower in a puppy dog bag before, but I guess there's a first time for everything and of course an explanation at the shower!  Ingram got to go to a wedding with us after the shower and then we watched Lindsey's second soccer game that night.  I say we watched it, really Ingram played with the other siblings while Craig and I watched the game.  He had so much energy once we were home that Lindsey read the whole Tickle Monster book while Daddy tickled the fire out of Ingram; Madison's going to be upset she missed out on this one!


Ingram Getting His Happy Feet On!

It's Just Ingram Making Another Goal!

Ingram And Preston Showing Off Their Medals!

The Boys Of Lady Lobos Taking A Break From Tag!
Ty, Keller, and Ingram

Sunday was a super exciting day because Madison was coming home!  We missed her so much while she was gone, but she had a blast at her retreat and was ready to sleep for about two days after just one weekend away.      Also, St. Jude released a story called "Facing Fears on Halloween" and it was about Ingram's cancer and his treatment at SJ, as well as the fun Trick or Treating that the hospital puts on for the kids.  The picture they used was made with the "Avengers" and it was right after Ingram's first MRI after the completion of treatment.  We've said it before, but it's crazy to think that was about a year ago and how much has changed for Ingram.  The last year and a half have been something else, but we've been gearing up for getting his port out for several months and now I think we're ready to actually start taking baby steps to getting back to our new normal.  With Ingram's port out, it signifies much more than being finished with treatment, it also means getting on with our lives.  Cancer will always be the first thing we think of when anything happens whether Ingram gets a cold or has a headache or can't figure out how to write his name without asking for help.  We typically use Sunday nights as family night and to get ready for the week ahead, but this Sunday night is a little more special...not only is it the start of a new week, but it is also hopefully the start our new normal--Ingram with nothing extra inside his body! 

Little Miss Sleepy Head Wasn't Quite Ready For The Attack Hug Ingram Gave Her!

Ainsley, Allie, Madison, And Suzanna
"Is It Time For Bed Yet?"

This Is The Link For The "Facing Fears On Halloween" Article

 

Monday and Tuesday October 21st and 22nd, Getting Ready For The One Year Post Treatment MRI And Port Surgery Day!!

The crazy thing about scans is that you never know when the scanziety is going to hit; Craig and I had a few "moments" over the past month and especially during the couple days right before appointment day. The weirdest thing is that the kids have them too because they're on the same ride as we are, but we huddled and prayed in Madison's bed together when we realized the tension was just way too high Monday night in the house. Not only does a really good cry let out the emotional overflow, but so does praying together; I'm so thankful that we have a Heavenly Father that begs for us to come to him and lay our burdens down. 

Our Tuesday morning started out very early at the Dismuke house, but I'm happy to report that I think everyone had a good night's sleep despite knowing how big of a day today was going to be!  We left for St. Jude around 7am and Ingram drank his apple juice and watched Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure on the way.  Once we got to SJ, we checked in and headed to the lab to get accessed for the first time in 3 months!  Ingram was a little anxious about it and was worried it would hurt, but he was the bravest little dude around and got his LAST poke with a 1,2,3,4,5, Ninja Turtle (he was wearing his birthday Ninja Turtle pajamas) and didn't even cry.  He also bumped up in weight class since our last SJ visit and weighed in at a whopping 45 pounds and he'd had also grown a few inches over the course of our time at SJ!  We couldn't leave the lab without Ingram collecting his own blood and picking out his toy from the treasure chest...a red Frisbee flyer.


About To Get Poked And Still Goofing Off!

Last Port Access Complete With A Custom "Ingram 5" Sticker!

Next up Ingram got to throw toys around in the Audiology department; really, he was throwing blocks left and right..at the sound of the beep!  With every MRI, he also gets a hearing test to make sure that there is no hearing loss from the drugs he was on during chemotherapy.  He's passed each one (5 tests so far since finishing chemo) which means that sometimes he chooses to not listen and gets in trouble on occasion.  And yes, despite everything, just ask the girls; they do not like it at all!  After cleaning up the blocks, we went to E clinic to get the "Pre-MRI" okay and build a few train tracks while we waited.  Ingram "scared" Nurse Katie with his mask, but was very quick to come out and say "It's just me!" when she screamed.  Before we left the clinic,  Daddy made it in and Ingram took off running to see to Doggy Daze before we checked in for his MRI.  Ingram hadn't played with the dogs in forever and there were 5 dogs today:  Bailey, Spooky, Neyland, Jake, and Boss!  He pet each one and talked to them like they knew exactly what he was saying; he does the same with Beau at home and for the most part, we pretty much think Beau understands Ingram. 

 
Permission To Throw Blocks...Only At St. Jude!

Gotta Love Nurses And Doctors That Can Hang With This Character!

Getting Some Love From Neyland!

Once we were back in the MRI holding area, it was time for Ingram to change into hospital clothes and go through the metal detector which he loves.  Daddy and I had to do it also, but someone (she shall remain nameless) kept beeping because of clothing; lets just say Daddy was cracking up while this was going on and Mommy was getting a little irritated!  Ingram also got to pick out a toy from the treasure closet and picked out the best toy possible...a Whoopie Cushion!!  Typically a Whoopie Cushion last a few days at our house until it bursts, but Ingram was blowing this one up so many times that it only made it less than an hour.  We all survived the chaos and hung out in the Sedation room until it was Ingram's turn in the machine.

 
The First Whoopie Cushion Of The Day!


Running A Little Behind So We Watched A Hot Wheels Movie!

It's Go Time...Still Smiling!

Once he was asleep (despite him telling the Anesthesiologist that he didn't like to be put to sleep), we gave him our kisses and left to wander around the hospital while he was scanning.  We wound up in the cafeteria since it was already noon and we hadn't eaten yet then just sat eating and not talking because the nervousness had set it.  There's something about knowing that they are looking for cancer right at that very moment that is very unsettling, but I'm so thankful that we were there together.  Once we got the call that he was starting to wake up (about 3 hours later), we couldn't get to his side fast enough!  Ingram is always funny when he's coming to from the anesthesia and today was no different.  He was a little more subdued because he also had his port removed (HUGE DEAL!!!), but he was still making everyone laugh especially when he decided that he needed to go to the bathroom and wanted to do it by himself! 

 
So Sleepy, But Oh So Thirsty!

Trying To Smile For His First Picture In 18 Months Without A Port

The OR Port Picture
You Can See The Port (Left Side Of X-Ray) On Top Of His Chest
And The Line Running Into The Superior Vena Cava.
It Has Been The Direct Access For All Things Blood, Chemo, Sedation, Etc.


Ingram's Port!


Once he was dressed and somewhat normal (aside from being able to say a complete sentence or walk a straight line), we rolled him to the cafeteria to get his lunch.  He ate a grilled cheese and tator tots while he FaceTimed with Madison since she was out of school already.  He was still acting goofy, but she was soooo excited to see his face and he was excited to show her his bandage from his port surgery.  After a quick visit to the Clinic and picking up all his necessary medicines and giving him his first dose of pain medicine, we left SJ not knowing anything official about his scans other than they were finished and his port was out.  We weren't able to keep his port, but they took a picture of it and Ingram can't wait until "P" day at school to take his port picture for Show and Tell!


FaceTiming With His Madsion!

Wide Awake And Ready To Eat Some Potatoes!

By the time we were getting into our neck of the woods, Ingram's pain medicine was definitely kicking in but the girls really wanted to see him.  We pulled into the soccer fields two cars behind them and they ran to the car as soon as we stopped to see Ingram and give him a great big hug and kiss!  Ingram had also gotten them some Dum Dums at SJ and was letting them pick their colors before they had to run to their fields to warm up for their games.  I headed home with him and he pretty much laid around the house for the rest of the evening while Daddy and the girls tried to stay warm at the fields.  I walked into a tornado in the whole downstairs of the house (remember we weren't home for a couple hours) and couldn't believe how much of a mess it was!  It made me wonder about how things were while we were in active treatment and since I couldn't remember the messy part of treatment but Craig refreshed my memory...it was the same disaster every day we were at the hospital and he picked it up nightly while I took care of Ingram.  I laughed because it took me over an hour to pick up and put away everything the girls had gotten out just in one hour after school from snacks to homework to changing clothes to leave the house.  That's a "practical" reason I'm so glad we're done with treatment!

Ingram never got sleepy from his pain medicine and he was wide awake and a little on the hyper side when Daddy and the girls got home from soccer.  Actually, he was trying to do headstands on the couch, standing on our bar stools, but most of all he was to eating!  He had two huge pieces of chicken, a bowl of oranges, pretzels, chocolate donuts, and more apple juice.  I'm pretty sure he also got into the candy bowl too, but I never found the wrappers; I'm hoping Beau didn't help him out with the miniature Hershey bars.  The girls finished their fabulous Wendy's dinner and then they were talking non stop about their day and their games;  Ingram decided that he needed to talk at the same time too so it was a very loud kitchen which I love!  After a very long day at SJ with Ingram and a crazy evening at home, we finally got everyone to bed at a decent hour and then began the real wait to hear the results from our doctor.  Thank you all for your prayers, text messages, phone calls, and emails of encouragement; we have truly felt them and thank you for them. 

Monday to Sunday October 14th to 20th, Staying Busy!

The girls had to go back to school on Monday, but Daddy and Ingram were still off for Columbus Day and decided to have a little fun by themselves!  They started off at Sky Zone (SJ peeps...shhhhh...don't tell our doctors) and then wound up eating lunch and going shopping for some new clothes since he's just about outgrown every pair of pants and shorts.  They were gone all day long and had a blast hanging out together!

Tuesday Ingram went back to school, but we all woke up so late that I didn't have time to make lunches.  I ended up taking everyone's to them later and wound up at Ingram's school during picture time which was pretty special.  (For more on that, feel free to check out the blog post "2013 Team Ingram Video").  Tuesday night it was raining and a little chilly, but both of the girls had soccer and Ingram was along for the ride as well.  Lindsey had a game and Madison had practice.  Ingram thought it was funny to keep moving his umbrella so that he could catch rain in his mouth for some reason.  Apparently rainwater tasted better than bottled water and was more fun to drink with Daddy while they were walking around trying to find Starbursts!

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty calm, but wet all the same.  School and soccer is pretty much the name of the game around here and everyone was pitching in and getting stuff done.  We started homework in the car and even ate dinner in the car before Madison's game.  Of course, Ingram got to play with Ames and Henry at the fields while Peanut finished up her homework from the sidelines of Madison's field.  We were so glad when Thursday night was over and everyone was nice and warm in their beds!

Things really picked up on Friday and we didn't slow down at all until Sunday night at bedtime!  First, we got to go to Dogwood to watch Lindsey play in the 4th Grade Newcomb Ball Tournament.  It's pretty comical to watch them learning to play volleyball this way, but they seemed to really love it.  Lindsey even brought out Ingram's Georgetown Hoya blue hair to intimidate her opponents by having "amazing hair" (that's from her Lion project this week); she learned a lion's mane is also used for making themselves look bigger so that was her motive also.  Next we stopped in at Dean Studio and surprised Mr. Andy and Mrs. Annette with a visit!  Ingram even got to test out some new equipment for them and tried to teach Dylan how to play music.  Since they have the big screen there, Ingram asked to watch "his" video on the big screen but had lots of trouble picking out his seat.  He went to the top row, the bottom row, back to the top, and finally sat on the bottom row but still couldn't stay still.  Friday afternoon, the girls had an interview with Memphis Parent magazine for their online blog and they had a fun time with them.  Ingram greeted our SJ gals and our MP gal with a bucket of candy because everyone needs candy by the time you get around to Friday afternoon!  Our kids were definitely in wild mode because it was Friday, but I'm pretty sure the candy sent them into overdrive because they were pretty much jumping all over the place and showing their true (crazy) colors on a beautiful Friday afternoon! 

Both Friday night and Saturday night, we did a last minute fundraiser at "Haunted Houston" at Madison's school.  We set up a table and told people about St. Jude, Children's Cancer, and of course Ingram and the girls.  We were so shocked with these middle school kids kept coming and asking about everything and dropping their change and dollars in the collection bucket.  We raised over $75 for St. Jude, but more importantly, we had a great time talking to students, their parents, and school faculty about our experience at St. Jude.  While we were there, Ingram ran around like he knew exactly where he was going the whole time; they had inflatables, crafts, face painting, food, and a haunted maze.  He did everything over and over except for the Haunted Maze; he begged and begged to go in, but we decided to say no to that one!  Anytime he saw someone wearing a Halloween costume, he'd go chasing them around with his buddy Harrison and they poked them with their Halloween swords.  These two were not shy at all, but every now and then the big kids would turn around and send them running back to us. 

Ingram also had a soccer game Saturday morning and wore his Georgetown Hoya hair to his soccer game since Lindsey had gotten it out for her Newcomb Ball game at school.  He wore it during his practice, but when it came to game time, he was all business!  Beau even got to make a special trip to the soccer fields and once Ingram saw him, he started to run off the field to play with Beau, but we stopped him and he finished his game.  Daddy and Madison tried to teach Ingram to ride his bike without training wheels again, but it wasn't a success.  Actually, it was pretty funny to watch Daddy at age 39 try to ride a Cars bike made for a 5 year old!

Saturday night the kids (and I'm including the big kid mentioned just above) had lots of energy after Haunted Houston was over and were begging to go have some more fun. It did take a lot of convincing, but we headed out at 9:30pm for some "BOO" fun with some friends (one of which will remain nameless because they got us on Friday night!) and made some mischief memories with the kids.  Every family should roll another family at some point in their lives and tonight was our night!  

Sunday was supposed to be a calm afternoon after church, but we just couldn't let go of our weekend.  It's hard to end a great weekend and to get ready for a new week that we already know is going to be difficult.  But with Ingram having his 3 month MRI and Port  Removal surgery on Tuesday, 6 soccer games and 4 practices in the coming 5 days (plus normal homework, cooking, and cleaning), we finally called it a night. 
 

Watch Out Daddy!!

Madison Was Having A Tough Time Figuring Out Who To Root For...
Daddy's Florida Gators Or Mr. Aaron's Alabama Crimson Tide?

Ingram Had No Problem Picking His Team...
Mr. Brent's Mississippi State Bulldogs!

Seriously, Who Could Be Scared Of This Big Mane??

Ingram Teaching Dylan About Playing Music!

"Hey, That's Me!"

Madison Getting Her Interview On!

Ingram Adding His Two Cents!

Peanut Providing Comic Relief...Again!

"Mommy, They're At My Table!!!"

Ingram "Trying" To Be Scary...It Didn't Quite Work As He Planned!

Friday Night's Boo Crew!

Ingram The Conquering Lion!

Madison Trying To Help Ingram!

Daddy Trying To... Well, I'm Not Exactly Sure What Daddy's Trying To Do!

"I'm Not Scared Of You Mr. Bones!"

Those Crazy Dismuke Kids!!

Quick Update...Scans Tuesday October 22nd

More to come later, but for now...Ingram has his 3-month appointment for his MRI and Surgery to remove his port Tuesday October 22nd.  It's a big day and we would appreciate prayers for clear scans, for an uncomplicated port removal surgery, and for a quick recovery from surgery.  Please pray for overwhelming and unexplainable peace for our whole family as the anxiety of these appointments affects us all in different ways. 

2013 Team Ingram Video!

Today I had to take Ingram's lunch to him at Preschool because we were running way late this morning; it was totally my fault because I slept through our "second" alarm to start our "second" morning with Lindsey and Ingram.  While I was delivering his lunch, his class was having their school pictures taken and they all looked so cute.  Ingram wanted me to stay and watch him have his picture taken and so I did.  As I was watching him, it hit me.  My eyes started to get all watery and he was just smiling away for the photographer.  I hid a little behind her so he couldn't see me, pulled myself together and gave him the biggest and bestest hug ever when he was finished. 

Last year at school picture time, Ingram wasn't even enrolled in Preschool because he was going through active chemotherapy treatment for cancer.  Last year at school picture time, Ingram was completely bald, skinny as could be except for when he was on iv fluids, threw up several times each day from his treatment, and looked yellowish-gray from everything his little body was going through to fight his cancer.  This year at school picture time, Ingram is learning to how to write his name and playing with his friends at Preschool.  This year at school picture time, Ingram has a full head of the cutest ever hair, has more than doubled his lowest treatment weight (22 pounds) and bumped up 2 whole sizes in clothes, throws up only when he guzzles a huge glass of orange juice, lemonade, or Gatorade too quickly, and looks all sweaty and red-faced the majority of the time from playing and running and acting like a normal 5 year old boy. 

I know it's just "school picture day" for the rest of the world, but today for this Cancer Mom, it's a glimpse of God's Love, Grace, and Mercy in allowing Ingram to still be a part of our family today.  We've lost many of Ingram's friends to cancer and I know their families would love to have just one more school picture day for their brave warriors.  As you watch the new Team Ingram video, please consider making a donation to St. Jude at www.heroes.stjude.org/teamingram so that Ingram and all the other kids still battling cancer can have another school picture day. 


This Is What Should Pull Up If You Go To www.vimeo.com And Search "Team Ingram"
The Left Is Last Years And The Right Is This Years.


This Is What Pulls Up When You Click The Link Below.

http://vimeo.com/75571460
This Link Is Also On The Top Right Side Of The Blog Homepage

 
Please don't just watch the video; watch the video and make a donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the children already battling cancer and for the 42 children that will be diagnosed today and every day with cancer until there is a cure.