Meet Me at the Fair!

Mike's parents came out to visit. We were very excited, as we haven't seen them since Saoirse was two weeks old. We got out of the hospital just in time. Monday morning was looking a little bleak for getting out at first, but I told them we had to be out by bedtime so that we could get home to get the house ready for guests. Sadly, they had to follow us around the hospital for the first two days, as Saoirse had all her tests to do. But it was nice to get to show them where we had been spending half our time for the past five months. One thing was planned that we absolutely had to make happen - the Topsfield Fair.
Danvers is one town over from Topsfield - the home of the oldest continuously running fair in the US. I have been going to the fair since I was little, and love going every year to see the giant pumpkin, eat a pickle, and see all the farm animals. Saoirse has been very into animals and making animal sounds lately, so we wanted to make sure that she got to see them at the fair. We went on a Thursday, so that hopefully it wouldn't be so packed with people (it wasn't too bad), and we could get around to all the things we wanted to see. We got some lunch and then toured around, seeing all the vegetables and taking a picture at the giant pumpkin. Saoirse wanted to see some animals, so we looked at the sheep and llamas and alpacas. We walked around and were walking through the crafting area when Saoirse wanted to watch a woman throwing a pot. She thought this was very interesting, so I'm pretty sure we're going to have to get her some clay and a toy potters wheel. The highlight of the day for her was watching the horses compete in the arena. She loves horses, and watching them run and trot seems to absolutely thrill her. We stayed there for a while and watched the horses compete, and she clapped after every round. It was hard to tear her away. Even though we couldn't let her touch anything, or run around the petting zoo, She seemed to have a blast. I can't wait for next year when she will be able to do all the things she wants. 
We also hit a festival in Newburyport over the weekend. This was more like a sidewalk sale, but it was fun to walk around outside and listen to some music. We even got to discover a few new things in town that we didn't know where there, including an awesome antique store that had so much stuff you could spend days there! I also got something that I have been looking for forever - a 2 foot leash to walk Fallon with - made by a woman who creates things out of lobster trap rope. I couldn't believe it when I saw her whipping one up as I walked by, I kind of accosted her and asked to buy one. All in all, it was a great day, and we all enjoyed spending time outside dancing and laughing and discovering new things together. 
As the week went on Saoirse started to warm up to her Mamaw and Papaw. At first, she wasn't sure about these "two people hanging out with us all the time," but she started to warm up to them and by the end of the week was loving playing and laughing with them. Hopefully we will be able to see them more often so that she can run up to them and hug them as soon as she sees them. Maybe we will have to skype more often.
After all the tests and all the fun, we got some very good news. Dr. Obeng called us to let us know that Saoirse's MIBG scan had come back with no evidence of disease (NED)! The scan showed no dye picked up anywhere in her body. The CT scans confirmed, and the bone marrows, which came back later, were clean as well. Saoirse is officially NED, and is doing wonderfully. We are not out of the woods however, as Neuroblastoma is a notoriously tricky disease, and can hide out in the body in cells too small to be seen on scans (minimal residual disease, or MRD). With the results of her scans, we will be traveling to New York City to meet with a doctor at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center and discuss other options for Saoirse's next step in treatment. This is by far the most difficult decision we will be making in her treatment plan, as the options are very different from one another. Right now we are just thrilled that she has responded so well to her treatments, and that she is doing so well after everything she has been through.