The Day After Yesterday

I sort of left you all hanging yesterday.  Promising updates on both sister fronts, only to go completely silent.  I know.  It's just I needed a day to process.  And now here I am.  The day after yesterday.

Missy's MRI results came back showing aggressive new growth of her tumor.  So aggressive that the doctors up at the NIH (National Institute of Health) think the best action to take is most likely going to be to go in and remove the new growth.  Her doctor will meet with the board on Tuesday, but he seemed to think at their appointment on Friday that surgery would be the best option.  This is not the worst news we could receive, although it took me several hours to realize that.   The worst news could have been that there was aggressive growth and there is nothing they can do.  This is worlds better than that, and that fact is what I am holding on to.  We have options.  We have treatments.  We can fight.

Actually we have two treatments, which makes this news even easier to handle (not to down play the blow that this news has been to our entire family and especially Missy, who will have to have a third brain surgery in 18 months).  Four months ago the doctors took Missy off an IV infusion treatment that was meant to cut off the blood supply to the tumor.  The six months she was on that medication there was no growth.  She was also on a chemotherapy pill, which they left her on, but gave her a break from the IV medication.  Without that medication the tumor has grown out of control. 

Fighting cancer is very hard.  And the most effect way to fight it is to remove as much as possible.  And that's what they want to do.  The most effective treatment.  Because she is very strong, she is fighting very hard, and they want to give her the very best chance to beat this.  And that means taking out what they can, then putting her back on the medication that we now know works to stop growth of whatever is left.  So we think that is the plan.  So we will know for sure on Tuesday, but we are expecting surgery in early January. 

Fuck yesterday.  Fuck Cancer. Today we are looking at how lucky we are to have two very good ways to fight this cancer.  Today we are fighting.

**Yesterday also held news on Baby Girl, but nothing exciting like a planned birth day.  They say she has flipped back over, but we found out they are basing her position by nothing but feel.  She has not had an ultrasound since she was 7 months (her one and only ultrasound).  The birth mom did not realize she was pregnant until she was six months along, so her dates are very questionable.  The birth mom is not dilated at all, baby and mom are both doing good, blood pressure is fine, they seem set to just let her keep going and let Baby Girl decide when she is ready.  Could be soon, could be in January.  Who the heck knows at this point.

**Yesterday also included the event of a LIVE SQUIRREL getting into our house.  That's right.  But that is a story for another day.