Monday, May 2, 2011

Again another post that I have been trying to write for about 4 days now, and I write and lose my way or I get into something else.

Emily got to meet Cindy Bear whom came right to our site on a Golf Cart

Friday afternoon Emily and dad and I had an interview with the Make A Wish Foundation.  I think this is a wonderful foundation, but it really seems weird to think that Emily is going to be granted a wish.  However at the same moment I think it is fantastic that they grant wishes for the "Wish Child" and their family.  Just as the interviewers indicate, it is not only the child going through, but so is the rest of the family!  After the interview, we figured since Emily starts chemo on Monday, we left to head out of town for the weekend to head to Yogi Bear Campground.  This Yogi Bear Campground was great and the area was nice.  They even had Cindy Bear take a ride on the back of a Golf Cart and come by and meet Emily at our site.  How awesome is that, right?  We enjoyed the time camping together with each other and just having a good time.  While we didn't do much, it was still nice to be together and it was so nice to see Emily smile, be happy and eat.  It really was.  She was having a good time.  Dad and I even got to have some time where we sat out by the fire after the girls were in bed and have some time to talk, which was nice as well.

Tomorrow, Monday we head back in for Round 5 of chemo.  This round includes the cisplatin that we had such a hard time with during Round 3, so we expect the same of which she went through before, but this time even more since it is an accumulative affect.  Once this round is over and her counts head back up, Emily will be heading to CHOP for her surgery.  I am trying to work with CHOP on that now because we will need to head out a few days before the actual day of the surgery for pre-op and to see where Emily will be after the surgery during recovery.  Our hope is that the surgery be scheduled toward the end of the week, so that during recovery family can come and visit if they would like.  At least that is what we are hoping. We are very nervous about the upcoming events and what Emily will have to endure.  i think the hardest part is to finally see her back to herself (this round took a long time for that to happen) to only have to undergo another round of chemo and watch it happen all over again!

Nick Franca lost his battle and I can't tell you, how devasting it is to know that he lost his battle.  What makes it hard is to know that they can lose their battle not just from the cancer itself, but from the what happens in between.  We worry about this.  Germs are a huge thing to worry about, and all that other that comes along with this.  Another NB family son, Ronan, his parents were told that there was nothing else that they could do for his son.  I feel much of what his mom writes, and while we are not even remotely in the same situation where she is with Ro and where we are, I can totally respect what she is feeling and have felt the same way at one point or another myself.

Cancer is not a joke and I never want someone else to endure all that a cancer family deals with.  Its scary, not just the chemo, but like I said above, because what can happen in between. It puts a lot on a family and all we want to do is make sure that Emily is happy and not in pain.  I feel like we are doing that and more.  We try and I think she deserves that. 

Please send lots of love and support that Round 5 is much easier than it was during Round 3.  During Round 3 what was supposed to be a 4 day stay at the hospital, turned into an 8 day last time.  Our hope is that it doesn't happen this time.   Please send lots of love and support that Emily just sails through this round while Mom and Dad are there to support her.

Thank you again for all of your love and support that many of you leave, they mean a lot to us and I can't tell you how much they mean to us.

Good Night all!

Emily being cute in one of the hats at Yogi Bear.