Monday, March 19, 2012

A new normal

As we've discovered this year, nothing ever stays the same, a new normal seems to happen every few months.  This last month has been different....in a good way!

We heard the news on March 8, 2012 that our entire year of praying and hoping and fighting for led us to...."There has been a complete anatomic and metabolic response to chemotherapy."  Praise Jesus!  Her PET scan showed no signs of the Lymphoma, so we are celebrating the fact that she is in "remission" from cancer. (and will be in remission until the 5 year mark of clear scans/blood work when she can be declared "cured").  We are taking a deep breath and still letting those words sink into our life.


Emma and Joe on Splash Mountain at Disneyland



She did have an abnormal result on her ECG heart scan, so we went last week for a more in depth MUGA scan of her heart, and should know the results this week.  All in all, it's not a big deal if her heart output was effected by the chemo (Her doctors told us that if there was damage, the effect on her life would be that she would never be able to compete in competitive long distance running....well, shoot!)  I guess she'll just have to use her time in other ways......a million other choices lay before her......we are not worrying too much about this little challenge that may or may not be true.


Being brave getting an IV placed in her hand for her MUGA scan.

We've had longer stretches between appointments, which feels so freeing!  We've also had the school science fair, placed all our puppy babies in their new homes and just saw the production of Mama Mia! on stage with some dear friends.  Life has been good.


Thanks for the fun night Tina and Bailee! 

We have other friends who are still traveling on their journeys of this cancer thing...and we are not forgetting them in any way.  We are still cheering for you Emma, Jacob and Diana!  (we saw little baby Diana in the hospital a few weeks ago when Emma Kait had a fever and had to stay 6 hours for bloodwork...Diana was a toddler walking down the halls with her IV pole behind her! Yay Diana!) And, we have new fellow travelers on this road from our circle of friends....Heather (a mom from school) and Lachlan (a little boy we knew as a baby from our preschool days).  We are praying for Lachlan and Heather's healing and recovery and rehab from brain surgery from tumors. 


3rd place in the Science Fair for 5th grade!

So...what is next for Emma Kait?  Our care continues to stretch out ahead for the next five years and beyond. We start with her port removal surgery this Friday the 23rd of March.  Then we see the clinic every month for blood work until the 6 month mark when her PET scan is repeated as well as other in-depth blood work.  Then, if she has another clear scan, the visits stretch out to every 2 months for awhile, then every 3 months, then 6 months, then yearly at about the 3 year mark. 




Loved our pups but so happy they all found great homes.

We are also preparing for a family trek across the US with Jon's parents in a motorhome...to gather as a family to celebrate our brother-in-law Chris' retirement from the Air Force and to celebrate Emma's new freedom from Chemo!  It should be an adventure for sure...we are looking at traveling through 13 states in 14 days in early April. 

Thank you for continuing to keep Emma in your thoughts and prayers and for encouraging her in her next stage of life....she is more prepared than ever for the challenges that lay ahead.  All of us who were a part of her journey this past year....her year of preparation and strengthening for her adventures ahead....we can all say with great confidence and conviction....GO EMMA!

-Rebecca

Our Emma Kait

Our Emma Kait

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