Keep Smiling

Just a brief update after visiting the clinic today. First off, let me say that Andy and I felt like today might be the turning point in our life, given that we weren't sure what Dr. French would say about the bump on Maggie's bicep. We were worried all week long, sometimes to the point where we both felt sick to our stomach. Our innocence has been lost since Maggie was diagnosed with cancer and we are all too aware of the scariness when it comes to cancer and relapse.

So, I took Maggie into the clinic and Dr. French and the nurses agreed that what Maggie has on her arm is something within the vein, quite possibly from all the pokes she has received, including a picc line. Maggie also had her counts drawn and they are all very good. This is a relief as he said most often a person would see relapse in the counts. We pray that Maggie's cancer is gone forever and her counts show this each and every month. We are very grateful to God for being faithful. Though we absolutely hate these types of scares, they do remind us that God is near. Thank you all for your prayers as well.

Maggie continues to improve in her leg strength. We are noticing that she is beginning to pull herself up (sometimes with only one leg). She crawled up several stairs tonight, not bearing weight on her right leg, but this is a step in the right direction. The goal now is to give her time to heal while also allowing her to put weight on the leg to give it strength.

Dr. French also took away Maggie's last dose of lasix. This is a big step in the right direction as well. It shows that her body is healing enough to get rid of the fluids versus having medicine do it for her. This also means that we get a break next week and don't have to go to the clinic. Being on lasix has meant weekly electrolyte and weight checks to make sure she is doing okay.

They are also slowly weaning Maggie's formula feeds down. She currently has a 4 hour window when she is not receiving formula and she can go "free." If she is hooked up to her feeds, we normally have to follow her around so as not to allow her "tubie" to get tight and end up coming out (as this has unfortunately happened once before). It gives us all a break. Unfortunately she is not taking much more by mouth, but Dr. French is not surprised. It is going to take time, but hopefully the day will come when Maggie is self-sufficient (and hopefully that day comes soon).

I guess this post ended up being longer than expected, but one thing you can expect, as I alluded to in the last post, is smiling, happy pictures. We have been assured that Maggie is still on the right track and we are relieved and very happy. We can again breathe and enjoy our "normal" life. We look forward to sharing more of our happy little girl. She is such a joy in our lives and we hope she might bring some joy to you as well.