New PJs

New pjs and slippers from Nahna and papa Wythe to wear to the hospital tomorrow. They are really fun!

Surgery Call Time

Just got the call: We have to be checked in at 6am tomorrow. Surgery is scheduled for 7am. Whew, that will be an early morning. The actual procedure is about 30 minutes. But overall, we'll probably be there until about 9am.  

I know it is a "standard" procedure but it is still a surgery, which makes us worry. We'll be glad when it is over and we are all home tomorrow. We'll post updates as we have them.

Lucy-isms

Lucy is one of Evelyn's school friends. Over these past few months, Lucy's mom has emailed me the sweet and funny things Lucy has said about Evelyn. It always makes us smile. Things like: Role playing at home and making Lucy's mom be Evelyn. When they are stuck in traffic, asking if Evelyn is stuck in traffic too. Extending her prayer list to now include Evelyn, Audrey, Evelyn's mom and dad, and now our house.

The most recent "Lucy-ism" was especially cute. Too cute not to share. It made Evelyn laugh and say "Oh Lucy!" Hopefully it will make you smile too. On Thanksgiving, as they went around the table, Lucy told her family she was thankful for "Potatoes, Evelyn McKnight and Chick-fil-A!" A great combination of things to be thankful for :)

It is official!

We finally received the X-ray results. All was good. Evelyn is officially off therapy!!

Good news day

When we woke E up this am she pointed out the window and said it couldn't be time to get up yet because it was still dark. Smart girl! We had to get up anyway and head to our doctor filled day. First, she peeked in my closet, ran to me in the bathroom and said, "Mommy, did you get another Rapunzel for me?" Sneaky girl! She saw her surprise for today's doctors appointments... Rapunzel/Flynn wedding toys. Big hit! She carried them through the hospital today.

She collected lots of stickers today. One or two with every stop we made.
X-rays first. She hopped right up and let the lady do what she needed, no problem. Then to the ultrasound. That took more persuasion... In the end, all was good. We had to do a second x-ray to get a clearer picture.

Then up to oncology. She made daddy get his finger pricked first. She told him it would hurt a little bit. Very funny. Not so funny when it was her turn! We go back for scans and bloodwork in February, a few days before her 4th bday, for her next checkup.

We are still waiting on the X-ray report. But the ultrasound was good. Her bloodwork and urine were great. Her weight is holding steady at 32 1/2 lbs.

Our last stop was pre-op with Dr Turner, who we just love. He move E to the number one slot for surgery Friday. An earlier day than today, but home sooner.

We will post an update when we get the X-ray results. Hopefully they are clear and we will still be good to on Friday and be closer to recovery!

Big day tomorrow

Tomorrow is going to be a long day at brenners but one we have been looking forward to for awhile now. We go in at 8am for an abdominal ultrasound and chest X-ray. This is to make sure there are no signs of the cancer returning. Then we meet with the oncologist for our "off therapy" protocol. (Yay!!) Then with the surgeon to talk about the port removal surgery on Friday!

A long day but even E is excited about it. She is going to tell Dr Turner that she wants to keep her Port. She calls it Ariel so we had to talk again about how it isn't really going to look like Ariel the mermaid. :)

We will keep you posted on how the day goes tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

With the holidays approaching and the year coming to a close, I have been reflecting on 2012. This year has been especially eventful with a lot of highs and a lot of lows. Overall, definitely a better year than it could have been.

Audrey, our youngest, was only 12 days old when 2012 began – now she is practically walking. Evelyn was just turning three and still seemed like a toddler – now she is so sassy and looks like a little girl. We moved from our first house, the house we brought Evelyn home to from the hospital when she was born, into a new house. And, we almost lost Evelyn. As I type the words, I still have trouble even believing it.

I am thankful for so many things this year. Things I never thought our family would face.

• Thankful my husband is so observant and spotted the tumor.
• Thankful for the pediatrician who recognized a problem but did not freak us out.
• Thankful for the doctors and nurses at Brenner’s who removed the tumor and treated Evelyn with such care.
• Thankful to my mom for giving up her daily life to move in with us and help care for our children. Thankful to my step-dad for understanding.
• Thankful for the tremendous amount of love and support shown to us by our family, friends and people we have only met through this near tragic event.
• And, most of all, thankful Evelyn is still here with us. I can’t imagine my life and our family without her.

We wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Hug your family, children and friends tightly.  And please know your support and encouragement has given us strength.