Best Friend arrived - timing couldn't have been better

On Monday night, Noah's best friend arrived.  His name is Noah as well, and they have been friends since they were 6 months old.  They go to camp together every summer for a few weeks, and are incredibly bonded.  When we found out he was going to need the first spinal surgery, his friend was the first thing I thought about.  I wanted them to be able to see each other.  Though he lives in Southern California, they got on a plane, and came up immediately.  Throughout the past 8 months, he has come many times, and we are incredibly grateful and thankful for him.

His visit has brought such life to Noah.  He is running around Boston with his friend carefree. It brings absolute joy to him, and even more to me.  On Tuesday, we got the results back from the blood work that had been increasing.  I couldn't sleep an ounce on Monday night, and though the results are still slightly ambivalent, it appears that things are moving in the right direction.  The indicator in his blood count has been going up, indicating some cancer cells still hanging around.  They went up again this week, but only slightly, not on the same trajectory as the last few times.  So, the doctors are calling it a plateau and expecting it to go down the next week.  He said had we taken the blood work one more day, it probably would have made the difference.  However, they will still proceed with an MRI today to see if they can see anything.  If they find a cluster somewhere, they will add a boost of radiation to that area.  Though I am not totally relieved, I am cautiously optimistic.  

The next few days, we hope to pick apples in New England, and take the Noah's to a huge corn maze outside the city, and just enjoy the time here as best we can.  The rest of the family is coming on Saturday, and we just can't wait to see them either.  It has been a tough few weeks away from Adam and boys, and for them as well!!!

 Found an incredible park on the esplanade in Boston.  We visit almost every day.

 Two guys on the virtual reality roller coaster simulator.  Wasn't sure it was the best thing for his brain, but boy did he love it.

Students from Suffolk University came to cook dinner with some of the kids.  And best friend Noah of course.  On the menu:  waffles, eggs, and whipped cream

Breakfast for dinner