Monday, February 14, 2011

Darby's biopsy

This morning we took Darby to Egleston for a bone marrow biopsy. The procedure went well and all of her doctors and nurses commented on how much she was growing and how good she looks. As soon as Darby woke up from the anesthesia, she said "baby-guy." For those of you who don't know, Darby has two prized possesions. Her first doll, aptly named "baby" and her well worn pink bunny, strangely named "guy." Over the past few months their names have gradually morphed into one word. She couldn't wait to eat and drink and her main request was for "nanny" which is her word for candy! The first thing she ate today was Valentine's chocolate!
Her primary oncologist, Dr. Keller, came and examined her and said her counts are still right where they need to be. He also said that they are putting a rush on the biopsy results. What would normally 2 to 3 weeks will now only take about 1 week. We may have the results as early as this Friday. After three months of holding our collective breath, I guess we are not the only ones anxious to see what the cancer is doing. For the time being, we will start another cycle of maintenance chemo at home. There is still no need to up her dosages so we hope Darby will continue to do as well as she has been doing. Dr. Keller feels optimistic about the results, but he also cautioned that if her cancer cell level was even slightly elevated, Darby would need a transplant. He feels that if the level is still the same, he should consult with other members of the children's oncolgy group to get a consensus about further treatment. Of course, we hope and pray that none of that will be necessary and Darby will be in molecular remission.
We realized today that it has been 11 months since Darby's diagnosis. People say this all the time, but it truly has been the longest and fastest year of our lives. As we quickly approach Darby's 2nd birthday, we are so grateful that she is still with us. Watching the struggle some of our friends are having in dealing with the loss of their child to this terrible disease, we are again reminded of how much we have to be grateful for. I'll post an update as soon as we receive Darby's results. We appreciate those of you who are praying with us for good results. Oh, and happy Valentine's Day!

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