Final Results

Dr. Lee came by last night to show us the post-op MRI. Unfortunately, not all of the tumor made it out. There are two small pieces that remain next to her spine, but at this time they are not threatening her spinal cord. Dr. Sekhar is not planning to remove them unless it becomes necessary to later. There is the possibility that they may not grow, that the radiation she will have will take care of them, or that they could go away on their own.
I personally am hoping for the latter. On the other hand, they may begin to grow, and need to be removed during another surgery in a few months. We'll see. Seeing the MRI was amazing! When the tumor was first discovered we viewed her initial MRI which was devastating. Now I've replaced that image in my brain with the current MRI and it is such a relief. Dr. Sekhar is a truly gifted surgeon, and has accomplished what no other doctor thought was possible. The amount of gratitude I feel is overwhelming...I don't know that I will ever be able to express it in it's entirety.

Zoe is doing great. She is currently asleep in her "princess chair"(the comfy chair that sits next to her hospital bed). Her pain is under control, and I'm pleased because she is becoming more communicative about her pain. After her first surgery she was expressing it in other ways such as through anxiety, anger, and crying which you can't always rely on to be indications of pain.
We didn't want to over medicate her, but she would often times deny having pain, because she was more afraid of what would be done if she admitted to it. Now she know the process, and is more comfortable with what goes on in her daily care. She's eating, drinking, and is frustrated that her body is not quite ready to get moving again the way she wants it to. I'm also happy because after this last surgery they put a smaller halo brace on her. The last one was apparently too big for her (which leads me to wonder why they put it on her in the first place...but I'm not going to dwell on that), and I think she will be able to adapt to it easier.

Not too sure what the next week holds for us, but we'll try and keep you posted. She should be out of the ICU, and down in the Pediatric Unit ie. "Crazy Town" by the end of today or tomorrow. Woohoo!

"Hope" is the thing with feathers-
That perches in the soul-
And sings the tune without the words-
And never stops-at all-

And sweetest-in the Gale-is heard-
And sore must be the storm-
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm-

I've heard it in the chillest land-
And on the strangest Sea-
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb-of Me.

-Emily Dickinson

Thanks for all your love!
Colleen