All Clear

Not that I've found clarity or anything, in fact, I've been living in a fog since this all started. More like clarity as in Emma's spinal fluid was clear. Hooray! The spinal tap results came back a few days later and it was nice and clean. No tumor "seedlings." This is a good thing. She also made it through the Port-a-Cath surgery with flying colors. Did really well with the anesthesia albeit a little grumpy when she woke up. But waking up grumpy has always been par for the course so far.

Radiation Treatments
A clean spinal tap means that radiation treatments would only be targeted on the cerebellum and not the entire brain and spinal column. They would only zap it where the tumor was formerly located. This was definitely a good, good thing. Often when doctors irradiate the entire brain and spine, it causes more side effects than just treating in one spot.

Radiotherapy treatments would occur daily starting at 7:20 am, five days a week for six weeks. This was on top of our crazy therapy schedule that occurred in the afternoon at Texas Children's Hospital. We will be very busy. Our treatments meant that she would have to be sedated with general anesthesia every day. No food or drink is allowed after midnight; so she is not allowed to eat any breakfast or have milk before heading down to Methodist. Poor child.

Port, Port, Port
Like I said, Emma sailed through Port-a-Cath surgery with no problems on Monday, July 14th. Dr. Anna Brandt was the surgeon behind the "port" installation. The traditional place to put a "port" is generally on the chest above the breast. When I heard that, I was a little apprehensive about the placement. I mean, kids are so active--I didn't want her squashing her port. Dr. Brandt decided that the best place to put her Port-a-Cath was under her left breast. "I put them where her future bra will be," she said. "Helps to hide the scar. I consider prom dresses when I do these types of surgeries."

She got to put on a pair of blue pajamas instead of a hospital gown in preparation for the surgery. They also outfitted her with her very own bouffant-style, surgical hat that the doctors wear. She loved it--she looked like a little surgeon in blue scrubs. I swear we are grooming this kid for a medical career. Hopefully pediatric oncology.