The End of a Long Week

What a week it has been! We are all pretty tired from it. Today's test went reasonably well. It is always frustrating to need to be at the hospital at 6 am for a test that is scheduled for 8 am, but we have learned to deal with it and when to push to keep things on track.

We are so proud of Rebekah. She's had a rough week and she has been a trooper through it.

Today's anesthesiologist was great! He talked with Daddy for a while last night and met us in the room today, before the procedure started. He had read much of Rebekah's chart and seemed as though he knew her, even though this was the first time he worked with her. He allowed us in the room while she was being put to sleep. He took it very slow, so it took a few minutes before she was asleep. He allowed us to work with him through the process. He commented that he was thankful for our help, that he enjoyed working "with" us and that we were helpful (and not hindering the process like many parents might).

After she started to wake up after the procedure, we all headed up to her room. The anesthesiologist determined that we did not need to go to recovery, but could head directly to the room because she was doing well. He came to the room with us and let the nurse know that we could go as soon as she was ready for us to go home. I think that helped us get out of there earlier than we might have otherwise been able to do. It seems like we've sometimes (at this hospital) had to wait 2 hours after the procedure before we've been allowed to go.

Debbie brought Sarah and met us at the hospital once we were done and we were home by about noon. It sure seemed like it should be much later, but it was really about noon. Both girls went down for naps and so did Mommy and Daddy. Again, big THANK YOU's go out to Debbie and her family for keeping Sarah.

The girls have had fun playing, Sarah has been eating up a storm and both have brought joy to our hearts. While Mommy was making dinner, the girls were playing in their playroom. Both Mommy and Daddy were listening and keeping an eye on them. When I went to get Sarah to put her into her highchair, I walked into the room and found Sarah playing without pants ... or diaper. Ugh! Thankfully her bottom was clean and we didn't seem to have a mess to deal with.

Both girls went to bed a little early tonight. They both seemed to be pretty tired and crabby.

Now we wait for results... Tuesday, we have our appointment, so until then we wait and try to do so patiently. We are hopeful for "good" results, but always know there is the possibility of recurrence. Waiting can be difficult.

I called the Eye Doctor's office today to try and schedule her for clearing the plugged tear duct and to do a more intense eye exam while she is sedated for the tear duct procedure. The person who does the scheduling was training this afternoon. She called back, after hours, to let us know that she had gotten the message and would check with the doctor to see what all needed to be scheduled and will get back to us sometime next week. Now that Rebekah is done with Chemo and has recovered from the last Chemo, we can move forward with the Eye Doctor.

Meanwhile, there is talk about getting her Central Line removed as early as next week. I would like to know when the Eye procedure(s) will be scheduled. I am somewhat afraid that we remove the central line and then find out that she has eye issues that need immediate attention requiring multiple sedations which would mean multiple IVs. I don't really expect it to be the case, but just don't like the "unknown". At the same time, the central line requires daily care and protection and has a risk for infection which could put her back in the hospital, so there are some very good reasons to get rid of it.

Tomorrow, we will get up early again but this time for fun. Mt. Hood Snowmobilers club is sponsoring a day on the mountain for all Candlelighter's families. Candlelighter's is a cancer support group that does a great job of supporting cancer families in many ways. There will be snowmobile rides for everyone and food and fun to be had. We will drop Sarah off at Grandma M's before heading to the mountain. Sarah didn't much care for the snow in November, so we figure she'll have a better time at Grandma's and we'll have a better time without a screaming unhappy child. We asked Rebekah if she wanted to go for a motorcycle ride in the snow (she knows what a motorcycle is, but doesn't know what a snowmobile is) and she said she did, so we signed up for the trip. We are hoping to have a great time!