Saving Sarah

We had a wonderful week.  Sarah is totally used to her routine now, she even gets excited when we pull into the parking lot of her treatment center.  When we get in the building they scan Sarah's badge and take us back to a holding room while they take Sarah's vitals.  Sarah plays with toys, throws a cute little football across the room and giggles when her nurse throws it back to her.  Then they take her across the hall to the treatment room where she sits patiently on the table while the anesthesiologist accesses her line and puts her to sleep. I was really sad to leave our friends at Primary Children's.  Sarah and I had our favorite nurses that we would ask for and they let us have them whenever possible.  We love the doctors that care for her and know her so well. They truly became part of our family and we were so sad to leave them.  I was surprised how easy the transition has been though.  The people at SCCA are all so kind and are dear to...

Week two of radiation finished!  Monday morning we were about to walk out the door of our place to leave for her appointment when Camden found a cracker and shared it with Sarah.  I heard her take a bite and ran over to fish the bite out of her mouth.  I got it out but was nervous they would put off treatment for a few hours because of it.  Instead of putting it off and making her be NPO for another six hours they canceled her appointment for the day.  It is too risky to put her to sleep if she had any food.  I was pretty mad at myself the rest of that day.  We have since made extra sure there is nothing either of the kids could find in the mornings before her appointments. Tuesday after Sarah's appointment we went on a drive and she was SO excited to see a Chick Fil A.  She loves Chick Fil A!  Her appetite is back and she is doing really well. Thursday morning Sarah had an MRI at Seattle Children's Hospital, then we went straight to her ...

It has been a fun week here in Seattle.  Sarah is tolerating the treatment really well so far.  We go into the clinic about the same time each week day.  She can't have anything to drink for a couple hours before treatment because they have to put her to sleep before treatment, that's probably the hardest part for her because her "mimi" (bottle) is a huge comfort to her right now. We get to the clinic and they take her vitals while an anesthesiologist comes to meet with us and makes sure Sarah is ready to go.  I carry her with me across the hall to the treatment room and hold her while she falls asleep, (it takes effect really fast).  After she is asleep I wait in the lobby with Grandpa and Camden or play Mario with Camden in the playroom. They come to get me when she is waking up and we are done for the day.  She is happy and well and we are able to go on some fun adventures with Grandpa or Daddy. Nathan and Hannah flew in Thursday night and we ...

It has been a wonderful two weeks since Sarah's surgery!  She loves being with Hannah and Camden outside of the hospital.  Aside from the scar on her cute little bald head, she looks like a healthy little girl.  She runs around the house, climbs the stairs, plays hide and seek and loves life. Nathan drove Sarah, Camden, and I to Seattle last week.  Before we left we stopped to get gas and ran into a dear friend whose encouraging words were straight from heaven and just what we needed.  We left early in the morning and drove all day.  When we made it Camden said, "That wasn't too long." Just a few of many, many tender mercies! The first day there she had an appointment at Seattle Children's Hospital.  We will be meeting with the doctor there weekly while she undergoes radiation.  We spent the rest of the day exploring and getting familiar with our temporary home.  The next day we met our radiation team at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. ...

Nathan, Sarah and I left early this morning for the hospital.  I was hoping it was early enough that Camden and Hannah would sleep through it and not even know we left.  Hannah slept....but Camden didn't. He didn't want me to leave again.  He wakes up every morning, "Do you have to go back to the hospital?" Today he didn't pout or have a melt down, but he was broken hearted.  They are all so tired of this...tired of having a part time mom, tired of Sarah being sick and in pain, tired of being away from each other. We got to the hospital and Sarah didn't even cry, she's so used to it now.  We had to wait a few hours for surgery, thankfully she slept through most of the wait.  The anesthesiologist brought her some medicine to help her relax so she wasn't scared to leave us.  It works super fast.  We gave her a hug, handed her to the doctor and watched as he carried her away. Surgery was about five hours.  She has a team of amazing surgeons ...

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions.  Sarah had her MRI last Thursday to check tumor status.  Nathan and I have felt so good about it.  We really believed the chemo would be good. It was obviously wiping her out, so it must be getting the tumor…right?   I took Sarah downstairs and held her while they put her to sleep, I watched them lay her on the machine, and I felt totally fine.  It was a couple hours before they brought Sarah back up to the room sleeping soundly. I knew it would take a little bit for radiology read the scan, so I took a nap with Sarah.  I woke up to our wonderful doctors walking in the room.  They are totally invested in this.  Sarah isn’t just a patient to them, I know they love her and want her to beat this. I could see it in their eyes…something was wrong. They told me the tumor was growing.  It was definitely smaller than it’s been in the past, but it was there….it was growing.  The MRI of her spi...

It has been an eventful week for Miss Sarah! Last Monday she started chemo.  Her dressing was removed to prevent skin burns from Thiotepa.  3x daily baths begin.   Tuesday, more chemo and more baths.  During one of her baths I notice her line looks like it’s come out slightly.  They do a chest x-ray…it has come out a little, but it is still in just far enough.   Wednesday we give Sarah her first bath of the day and the line has come out at least two inches.  We hurry and put her gauze wrap on to hold what is left of the line in place.  Another chest x-ray confirms the line is out of place.  The gauze comes off for her next bath and the line just falls out.  She needs a new line placed before her counts drop but after the crazy skin burning chemo has been out of her system for 48 hours.  That evening I realized she would be going in for surgery the next day and hadn’t had a priesthood blessing.  I text the Branch Pr...