NO MORE PORT!

Hospital days have been our life, but this is the best Hospital day yet!! Elizabeth got her port out!! I woke up to 10 missed calls from the Hospital. They were trying to reach us to tell us to come in 3 hours earlier than planned because the surgeon's schedule had changed. We woke Elizabeth up and rushed right in. Here she is before, in her scrubs, and after, in recovery sleeping. It went well! She is soo very excited to have this icky port out! Hopefully we are headed home within the hour. I will keep posting on her progress at home and moving on to outpatient PT in a few weeks. Love to all!! Thanks for the prayers! We know that everyone is fighting life's battles in different ways and we pray for all of you too!

I can't believe we've made it!

Today is Elizabeth's LAST DAY OF RADIATION!! (I just noticed that the last post I did never actually posted...as you can tell from reading it, I wrote it last week;) I am filled beyond words with joy and gratitude that today has arrived! Even though getting chemo was amazing, it still felt like we had a last big stretch before the "finish line." Elizabeth's set to get her port out on Thurs. It's a dream come true! Thank you amazing people for your prayers and support. We have not been on this journey alone and we could not have made it without you! I continue to offer prayers of gratitude every day for all of you, for the miracles that we have seen in Elizabeth's life, (and our family as well) and also pray that this cancer never returns. We're at the end of the road of a survival journey, and starting out on another new journey that will have some new immediate challenges and offer a  different life than we could have ever imagined. We are just so thankful to be here!

I have "de-hospitalized" Elizabeth's room and was shocked at how much there was to clear out...leg braces, walker, needles, sharps containers, wound supplies... you get the idea. It feels so great to have her room look like a teenage girl bedroom again. I think we are going to get some new bedding and pillows to celebrate. I am waiting in the hospital room for Elizabeth to come back from her last radiation treatment and then we'll meet with the Dr, find out the follow up plan, go home, and celebrate!!

Halfway done

Elizabeth is halfway done with radiation today! She's been tired and battling a little cold, but we are excited to have only 5 more days of doing this so that her body can really start to heal!

REMISSION!!

We made it! Scans this week show Elizabeth is in remission!! (They actually don't use the word "remission" with Ewing's sarcoma...instead they say "No evidence of disease" or "NED," bur all that matter is that this is what we have been praying for since Sept 23rd!) We are thankful for this miracle as a result of the Faith and prayers on our behalf and the amazing Dr's and nurses that have cared for her. We are so thankful for God's mercy, for the comfort of Christ through His atonement, and for seeing the hand of God in our lives constantly through you...the amazing people supporting us. Elizabeth is currently getting her 3rd day of radiation. Sadly, she's been nauseous the last few days and we weren't expecting that. It's not uncommon for some "scatter" radiation (as they call it) to go to her stomach and cause this. Elizabeth remains tough, as always. We have the weekend off and back to radiation all next week. The following week we will finish up radiation and get her port out. I think that's when I will REALLY feel like we can celebrate! She'll go back to Primary children's to meet with the rehab Dr on June 30th and shook ne able to transition to outpatient therapy at that time. I am so excited to get her to this phase!

Last long day...Hopefully...

We've been to SLC 1-3x a week since chemo ended. Last Friday she had an MRI. Yesterday was her radiation pre-treatment appointment. Today she had her first radiation treatment in the morning, then an echo on her heart, then a chest CT, and then an appointment at the oncology clinic. We're thankful to be on the home stretch of treatments and trying to stay positive and upbeat because we are so very tired. The radiation went smoothly today and they were able to significantly reduce the amount of radiation that she's getting to the organs around her lungs. We are grateful for this blessing. Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day and you are enjoying the start of summer. Thank you, thank you for the continued support and prayers!