Okay, so it's been awhile...

Whew, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. As if dealing with a toddler with iv lines attached isn't enough, we've been trying to get ans stay in the Christmas spirit and get all that needs to get done, done! As of this moment, there is still a Halloween flag waiving in front of our house, as well as a large 'Happy Halloween' greeting prominently displayed in our front window. Even the mailman has made comment regarding it's untimeliness! Oh, well, just another thing that isn't getting done in our house in lieu of spending time with the kids!

Despite the fact that we are once again in the hospital, this has been a great week for us. Sophie's damaged lymph node seems to have healed up so the drain that was in her belly following surgery was finally removed - Whoo Hoo! She was also on the IV nutrition and since she can also return to a fairly normal diet, we stopped that too! She was IV free for a day and a half or so.

We returned to GUH Thursday (12/14) to begin the second round of chemo. Sophie had a post-surgical nuclear test, the MIBG and a small undefined spot appeared in the location of the removed tumors. We had hoped that all was removed, but were aware that there would probably be some residual tumor left following surgery. Recall after the first surgery, the surgeon indicated that the tumor could not be removed completely as there was not a plane between the tumor tissue and the artery - removal could have caused a catastrophic tear in her aorta so it was not attempted. The hope was that the chemotherapy would cause a plane to form between the tumor and the aorta. This did occur, thus the tumor was able to be removed. The problem is that the tumor is the manufacturer of the plain, not the bodies' healthy cells, so the plain is left behind when the tumor is peeled away. Because of this, we took the advice of our doctors and have begin another round of chemo. We are expecting that this will be her last round!!! We are headed home tonight after chemo - actually right about now, we already have the papers!!! Can I get a Whoo Hoo!

As usual, Sophie is in amazing spirits. She continues to entertain those that surround her, including her own family. She has quite a vocabulary now. My personal favorites... 'mon and 'mere - come on and come here. Also, the secretary here on the pediatric ward is Maria or Ma-wie -pause, pause, pause- a. There is so much more!

Zach is really coming into his own these past few weeks. I believe he truly understands now what is going on. He told me that he was worried about his sister, but that he thinks she will be okay. We think so too!! So will we all!

As the Christmas holiday approaches, we are thankful for you all and your thoughts and prayers. We are hoping to see you soon and to begin reconnecting our lives to yours. We still have a few months to go, but there seems to be another light at the end of the tunnel, this time there aren't any whistles associated with it!

If we don't get back to the blog before the holidays, may health and happiness grace you and your loved ones this holiday and throughout the new year. Peace to all!