Violet's MRI

The day after Violet's exam under anesthesia she was scheduled to begin her next round of chemotherapy. My mom and I went to her scheduled appointment which has always gone like this: labs, appointment with her oncologist and then the chemotherapy infusion. On this day, we were told during her appointment that her ANC had not come up from the previous week so unfortunately, Violet's chemotherapy had to be postponed. Her ANC was in the 400 range and it needs to be over 700 to begin chemotherapy.

I was disappointed that there would be a delay in her treatment, but grateful that Violet could get a couple days of downtime before her next appointment. And, this meant that we could go home now and she would get more playtime with grandma!

We had a visit over the weekend with my step-mom and my sister from California and it was much needed family time! It was wonderful to watch Violet enjoying more playtime, love and hugs. We were definitely showered with many blessings from them over the weekend and were sad to see them go.

Josh and I got up early Monday morning to take Violet to the hospital for her MRI. We checked in at the Radiology department and they took us very quickly. We were led to Violet's room where she would be prepped and be brought back to for recovery. We got Violet changed into her little hospital gown and waited. Josh and I were both very nervous as so much was to be determined from this procedure.

The anesthesiologist came in and let us know how she would be caring for Violet during her procedure. We were happy to hear that she would not need a breathing tube in her throat for this and they would only be using a small tube to hold her tongue down for a clear pathway. Less invasive is always a good thing.

Violet was in very good spirits, as usual, as we waited for the hospital staff to let us know they were ready to begin. She sat on her daddy's lap and I was able to get a little video of her very first wave on cue ...

After about 20 minutes they came in to get us and we carried Violet over to the table to begin the process of getting her to sleep. As they put the mask over her face to administer the first sedative I sang to her and Josh told her everything was okay. She struggled a bit at first but then relaxed and went to sleep. Josh and I gave her a kiss and then had to leave her.

The procedure took about 45 minutes and then they brought Violet back into the room to recover. She was still asleep with the tube in her mouth and they let us know that she should be waking up within 10-15 minutes. It is always hard to see her come out of anesthesia with so many things attached to her.

When Violet woke up, we were able to feed her and she did very well. The nurse removed her IV, we got her dressed and were able to take her home. Violet had no signs of nausea and slept for half of the ride home. She continued to do very well for the rest of the day.

I just spoke on the phone with Violet's doctor and got the results of her MRI. When the phone rang and I saw who was calling my heart felt like it was in my throat. We have great news to report ... The cancer has NOT spread to her optic nerve!!! Praise God!!! And, they got measurements of the tumor and it is 23% of the size it was when it was discovered.

Her doctor said that we will continue Violet's therapy the same as we have been doing. They want the tumor to shrink and come off of the optic nerve. If that happens then there is still a chance that it can be lasered away. We want that tumor to come off of that nerve!

After I got off the phone with the doctor I cried and thanked Jesus with all of my heart for giving us this great news. I can't even explain how thankful we are for it.