Crazy few days

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated...it has been really crazy here.

On Friday we met with Dr. Dome and our surgeon. Both were absolutely amazing and. It is so nice to be compforted by their amazing energy for helping Gracie. We decided to have a portecath inserted for Gracies chemotherapy. The procedure was set for Monday.

On Sunday we went to hang out with Matt. It was really nice to have the support around us Sunday. Mark and I were really having a tough time. We knew that this was the last day before all of the craziness began for Gracie. We drove to DC Childrens on Sunday night for Gracie to be admitted. The wanted to keep an eye on Gracies blood sugar during the fasting she would need for the surgery the following morning.

Gracie was an absolute hit on the Oncology floor. Everyone was just amazed by her energy. She was sooo happy to play in the toy room that was across from our room....how convenient.

We started our day very early on Monday morning. They came and got Gracie around 7 and too her to surgery. It was only a 45 minute procedure. During that time Mark and I went to go and eat breakfast and just really release all of the emotions we had been experiencing. Mark is my rock and just the most amazing husband. He was so strong for Gracie and I. He kept me positive and happy through all of this.

When we were finally reunited with Gracie she was still out from the surgery. When she finally woke up I was very surprised that she did so well. She just wanted mommy and daddy to hold her. We sat in recovery for quite some time.

When we finally got back to her room it was around 11:30. Gracie was ready to play already. What a little trooper. So daddy and I got her some toys from the play room and played with her in her room.

Dr. Dome came around around 12:30 and we had our family meeting on the care of Gracie. It was soooo much information. Our plan for now is to start her on very mild forms of Chemo. After 6 weeks they will reevaluate with a ct and check progress. If her tumors have shrunk considerably they may continue for another 6 weeks...if minimal shrinking or no shrinking they will remove after 6 weeks. We still know very little about her tumors and we really wont until they get in surgery and remove them.

An interesting piece of information that was clarified. The Dr.s kept telling us the 2 tumors were on her left kidney (the smaller one)......They are actually on her right kidney. The doctor then wanted to do an EKG for future purposes. Another form of chemo that they may use in the future could cause heart damage so they basically wanted to get a good baseline and make sure that her heart is ok. Gracie had a blast walking around the hospital. During the EKG though, Gracie was so tired, her poor little eyes kept shutting....but the pain of the scan near her port was a little painful for her. When we got back to the room they gave her some tylenol to help.

Mark and I left Gracie with her wonderful nurse for a moment after that so that we could go to the gift shop and get Gracie a balloon...she had been admiring everyone elses in the hospital. She had so much fun with her nurse. They walked the halls searching for circles on the floor. Gracie was soo excited about her balloon and didn't let it go the entire time we were there.

When we finally got back to the room, Gracie took a well deserved nap. The nurses then came around with Gracies chemo. Gracie slept through the whole thing. It was really quick. Each round took about a minute. Afterwards we had to wait around for about an hour to see how she reacted. She slept the entire time. Poor baby.

Finally at around 8:30 we got released. Gracie did wonderfully all the way home.

This morning Gracie did have a bit of nausea but we gave her the anti nausea meds and she has been doing wonderfully. She is eating and playing and happy. I just hope that things continue this well for her. She is sooo strong...I am just completely amazed by her!