Chloe Update!!!

     Chloe had to go in for her scans and tests this week. Her hearing and EKG (heart) test came back great. Her  MIBG scan is one that checks specifically for Neuroblastoma and it showed no traces of the cancer in her bones anymore!  The bone marrow  aspiration showed zero traces in her bone marrow. The CT scan on her chest did show her tumor was 87% percent gone.Which means there is still 13% of her tumor that is still in her chest, but her doctors felt very confident on just watching it every few months. They said from previous cases like hers, if the majority of the tumor was gone, then the tumor usually stayed "stable" and didn't grow or cause symptoms. IF by chance it did change between appointments then we would probably start up chemotherapy again or possibly surgery. They had explained to me that too aggressive of  treatment on her could cause just as bad side effects, so they try to do what is necessary, and kind of the "protocol" and if she doesn't respond, then they go to the next plan. They decided with her surgeon that doing surgery to get her remaining tumor out was too risky because of its location in her chest. It is very close to arteries and nerves...So with that news we had her broviac ( central line) removed. The surgery was SO fast and simple, she did great. and even was running about an hour or so later!  We go in for her appointment the end of June, and I am pretty anxious for it because I am SO paranoid with her. Every little sign that something is "off" stresses me out. I know I will probably always be this way with her, because she technically still has her cancer, but I am just taking each day as a gift!  She is seriously my wildest child, I love it! She has been running through the sprinklers, and taking lots of baths, and getting messy! Things she hasn't got to do since diagnosis,and life has seemed pretty normal around here. No more home health nurses coming over, no more meds everyday, and appointments every other week. It has been SO nice!  We feel like we have our lives back and we are definitely living them. LIFE IS GOOD here at our casa!!

Last round of chemo!! YAY!

Last week I took Chloe in for her 8th round of chemo. I cannot believe we have finally reached this point. At diagnosis when they told us she would have to come in every 3 weeks for 3 LONG days of chemo it was SO overwhelming and scary. Thankfully our strong baby girl has done extremely well through all of it. She has the most amazing spirit. There have been those days that you can tell she doesn't feel well, but she refuses to relax. She just wants to keep up with her brother and sister. I am SO thankful that she is such a fiesty little girl, it sure has helped her through this crazy cancer journey. In a few weeks we have to go in for a CT scan, X ray, a bone scan, EKG to check her heart, an audio test for her hearing, and a back poke to check her bone marrow...if all come back favorable ( at least 95%) then they will schedule her surgery to get her line removed. I am so happy to be near the end of this. I want to be able to get back to our life and let Chloe enjoy her childhood. This cancer has stolen so many moments from her like her first birthday party, family Christmas parties, many other get togethers, and small day to day things like playing at playgrounds or just splashing in the tub. Because Mike (Daddy) works out of state 20 days at a time it makes me the primary parent trying to do it all for all 3 kids, which unfortunatly hasn't worked out so well the past months. My other two kids have had to be sent to sitters, and I have missed some milestones in their schooling, which has made them and me sad. So needless to say this can't be over soon enough!