News and Nerves

This week is full of doctors appointments interspersed with tons of fun with the baby. The summer has gone by so fast, but we had a nice labor day weekend, and spent time with family and friends. 
I had all my scans done over the weekend, and received my results today. I am officially in remission, and the lymph nodes in my neck have shrunk even more than on the last scans. My body doesn't take up any dye, so I'm in full remission. It's a relief to have the final scans done and to be officially on follow up. And I can eat SUSHI!!!
Saoirse had a regular pediatrician appointment (so calm in comparison), and her surgical consult for her abdominal surgery. She is also having pre-op later this week. The meeting with the surgeon went very well. He came in with good news - the tumors had shrunk about 30% since the last scans, and 60-70% since her diagnosis. Also, the tumors show a lot of calcification, which hopefully means that most of the tissue has died. Most of her tumors had been dead tissue when they did the initial biopsy, but seeing the calcification hopefully means that any living tissue is now dead as well. Seeing the difference in the placement of her other organs is astonishing as well! Her kidneys had been pushed way down towards her pelvis and sort of squished in there, and now they are up where they are supposed to be and actually look like kidneys. The tumors have also shrunk away from some of the main blood supply of her kidneys, which means that there should be less complications during the surgery. Saoirse will loose her right adrenal gland, but the surgeon is hoping to save at least part of her left one. Of course, the goal is to remove all the tumor that can be seen and felt, but we are hoping that she can have as normal a life as possible when this is all over, and saving even just 20% of that gland would make that more possible. It's nerve wracking to have her be in surgery for up to 12 hours, but we know that it is to help her heal, and we just have to grin and bear it. We will hope for the best, and hug her lots when she gets out. 
After the surgery, Saoirse will be in the hospital for about 2 weeks, so we are doing as much fun stuff as we can before then. We have had a few play dates, and even went up to a friend's in Maine - which I think is the first time she's been to Maine. We are going to storytime tomorrow, and will (weather permitting) be adventuring to the zoo sometime over the weekend. I was even able to go to "moms' night out" with friends last weekend, and we had a blast! I really think we should make it monthly.