Mostly a good day

It has been a pretty good day. Rebekah has been doing reasonably well. Her appetite is coming back, although finding the "right" foods to get her to eat is tough. Yesterday, the doctor mentioned that she wanted to keep an eye on Rebekah's weight. The general guideline is that when kids have lost more than 10% of their weight, they want to start treating the weight loss as well. When Rebekah was first in to see the oncologist (when we were first diagnosed), her weight was 16 kilos, so if she gets below 14.4 kilos we need to consider treating the weight loss. Last Thursday, her weight was 14.8 (so it was getting close). Her weight yesterday was up to 15.5 (we checked it after seeing doc).

The antibiotics have given her diarrhea, once again, and now she has a diaper rash. It is not as bad as the last time, but it is definitely sore and irritating. Rebekah is not happy about it. The diarrhea is getting better, but unfortunately the rash is getting a little worse. Rebekah had been doing really well at telling me when she needed a change and the rash had stayed away. Yesterday, when we were out at the doctor's office and the routine was different, she wasn't changed as rapidly and the rash started. Uugh!

Her attitude can still use some correcting. I think some of it is her wanting to control something, since there is so much that she can't control right now. We try not to let her get away with it. I'll give her a little more grace than normal because I know she's having a rough time. I don't want her turning into a spoiled brat.

As we said yesterday, Rebekah is scheduled for an MRI on Thursday. The MRI is really the best test for seeing how the tumor has shrunk in order to determine what can be done through surgery and if radiation will be required. In addition, they will want to do a Cat Scan of the chest to confirm that there is no spread of the cancer to her chest (which they really don't expect since it wasn't there in the chest before). The Cat Scan should happen while we are in the hospital next week. They will also want a Pet Scan of the head, so that they can see which of the cancer cells are dead and which are alive. Since this test has to be done at a different hospital, it will be probably done the week following chemo. This test is really more of a "confirmation" test and likely won't change the surgery/radiation approach.

Please pray that the tumor can be completely removed surgically so that no radiation is required, that the Cat Scan comes up clear (and the cancer hasn't spread), that the Pet Scan shows ALL the cells are dead, that her diaper rash goes away, that her appetite continues to increase, that her attitude improves and that we all have a good week. Praise God that Rebekah is gaining weight and has some of her spunk back, that we are keeping some sanity, that Sarah is a content little girl and handles most of the ups and downs with us pretty well and that we know that He is in control of the situation.

I wanted to share a little story with you. Earlier today, I was right in the middle of something and Sarah was crying and I couldn't get to her easily. Rebekah was watching me and I asked her to go tell Sarah that Mommy would be there soon. Rebekah ran to Sarah and I could hear her saying "ChiChi, ChiChi, Mama, Mama" (she calls Sarah ChiChi). Sarah quieted down and I could hear Rebekah squealing and having fun and she seemed to keep Sarah content for several minutes. I am amazed some days at how much Rebekah understands. Her verbal skills are not great, but in her way she was telling Sarah that Mommy would be there soon (and more clearly than I expected). Sarah seemed to understand. It just warmed my heart to hear them. God is good! Kids are a miracle.