Results - One Year Post Treatment

We met with the doctor at 3pm today to go over the results of last week's two days worth of testing. After a brief exam, both Sarah and Rebekah went off to play with Mommy Debbie and Kelsey who met us at the hospital to take care of the girls while we talked with the docs.

Not being sure how to present this exactly, I will first start out by saying that there is absolutely NO signs of any cancer recurrence. It is very difficult going through this and I have to admit that this was a wonderful surprise that I was not expecting. Don't know why, maybe its because I was preparing myself for the worst, maybe its because I have been weak in faith or ??? The negativity notwithstanding, this was SPECTACULAR news and we thank you all so much for your prayers and support.

That is not the whole story, however. The side effects are beginning to show themselves. In medical speak:
MRI FACE - There has been an increase in mucoperiosteal thickening of the maxillary sinuses bilaterally and both mastoid air cells are now completely pacified with fluid...Increasing sinusitis and mastoid fluid bilaterally.
MRI BRAIN - There is progressive bilateral maxillary sinus and mastoid air cell disease.
The translation of this - the sinuses and the area surrounding them have been pretty severely and permanently damaged by the radiation and the effects are continuing to get worse.

There was discussion about her hair (or lack of hair) on the left side and lack of eyebrow and eyelashes on the left eye. Basically if it has not grown back in the first year we should expect that it will not. Rebekah is definitely going to be in need of a good hairstylist!

There was also discussion about what may (or may not?) happen to her adult teeth as she starts to loose her baby teeth. There continues to be a good chance that there will be growth problems with her adult teeth as well as her jaw and face as a whole.
The doctor was very delighted to see that the asymmetry he was expecting to see as her face grows is much less than he was expecting. She is having a harder time opening the left side of her mouth than her right, but no surgery is necessary yet.

We do realize that this might, on the surface, seem a bit depressing. But it is NOT! It is exhilarating! Our little girl is alive and it is so delightful to have both her and her sister playing together every day! Again, thank you ALL so much for your prayers and support. We could never have made it this far without you. Please do not forget to continue to lift us up as well as the other kiddos listed to the right who are continuing to face challenges and the families who are continuing to deal with the loss of their children. With the proper perspective our life is just about perfect!