Great News!

We are home from St. Jude and we received great news! The tumor has not grown! It looks the same as it did last time! We are so relieved!!!!!!!! Thank you God for taking care of us!!



Our trip couldn't have gone any smoother-thank you all for the prayers-I know they made a difference!

We ran a little behind schedule Monday morning but got there with no problem. She had an eye appt and PT and OT evals. Her vision has not changed (still 20/20) and her optic nerve looks healthy! The PT and OT both said she looked great so they are recommending no evals for a year unless I have a concern. She had to have blood drawn and she was so brave. We still have to hold her down but not like before. She was much easier to control this time. After those appointments we went to our clinic (E clinic) to get clearance for the MRI. They check her blood counts and listen to her lungs to make sure she is ok for anesthesia. The nurse, Lindsey, does a bunch of neuro checks to be sure there is no weakness, her eyes move together, balance, etc. Then we were done and had enough time to go to the zoo. She had so much fun! We only had 1 1/2 hours but we managed to see a lot! The goat she is petting in the picture was her favorite animal (I think b/c she touched it). It was a beautiful day and the zoo was so nice-trees changing colors everywhere. We went out to eat after and then went back to the Grizzlies House to sleep. It was a wonderful day and we felt so greatful for it.

Her MRI was on Tuesday morning. It went well except she did not want to wear the hospital gown. We had a big meltdown over that-so I put on a hospital gown and then she was fine. They put her under with gas this time, then started the IV. I was so glad we didn't have to hold her down again! They also gave her a different medicine b/c she has been coming out of anesthesia extremely cranky. It worked! She was so sweet this time when she woke up! After the MRI we went to our clinic to meet with her neuro-oncologist, Dr Armstrong. I spent the whole time crying-I was so embarrassed that I couldn't get it together. I guess all the stress and worry caught up with me. We got to have a good talk with him though and ask lots of questions. We really like him-he is so calm and reassuring. After that we ate lunch and headed home. Dr. Armstrong said he would call as soon as he knew about the MRI but it wouldn't be until evening more than likely.

Every time we heard the phone ring we got nervous. The ride home was hard b/c we just wanted to know! He called at 6:10 and gave us the good news. I bawled. I can't even explain the relief I felt. I am so grateful to God for giving us 3 more months. He has been so good to us!

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the prayers! You just don't understand how much it means to us. Please continue to pray for her. This will be a lifelong fight for her. Please don't ever stop praying for her! I would also like for you to pray for all the patients at St. Jude. I am forever changed by the things I have seen there. There are so many families out there in such worse situations than us. There are so many brave little kids there. If you have healthy children, get down on your knees and thank God! Any time life gets you down, remind yourself of all the blessings that may seem insignificant. At any moment they can be taken away. None of the families there expected this to be their life. Pray for them all.

"Give thanks unto the Lord" Psalm 107:1