Violet Brielle Spataro

Germophobia: An apprehension concerning germs. Someone who has such a concern is often referred to as a "germophobe".  Ok, so I have officially become a germophobe. And, I don't care if there is a negative stigma attached to the term. I have become a germophobe for the safety of our baby. If anyone thinks that I'm the crazy lady at the store because I'm wearing latex gloves ... so be it. Heck, I might even bust out a hospital mask if I feel the need as the cold and flu season arrives. This entire situation has really changed me because I don't care what others think of me anymore as I am living and doing these things to ensure the health of our child. The last 2 visits to the hospital for Violet's blood tests have been a bit tough. Violet is a smart little nugget and she learned very quickly that if a nurse is going for her chest that means something bad is about to happen. So, she is definitely getting upset during her port access (sterilizing the area,...

We all have prayed and prayed for Violet to have amazing strength through the process of her treatment. God is SO good! Here is a photo of our Violet the very next day after her surgery ... From the few surgeries that I have had, I know I am never this happy the next day! She slept through the night the day of surgery and the next and continued to eat normally. At the very worst she was a little fussy at times but she is teething through all of this too. We were so very happy to have Violet handling everything so well.  On Thursday we went to the hospital for her first chemotherapy infusion. I was nervous to have her port accessed for the first time, especially with such a short amount of healing time between this appointment and the surgery. The nurse came out, applied a numbing cream to Violet's port site and had my mom and I watch a video so that we would know what to expect and how everything would proceed. The video actually made me a bit more uncomfortable. I understood...

We just made it home from Seattle Children's Hospital. Violet's surgery was successful and lasted almost 2 hours. Then, she was in recovery for another 2.5 hours. The first thing we were told when the anesthesiologist and doctor came in was that it took a little longer than expected because they had a hard time finding a vein for the IV. Our poor little baby had her hands, wrists and feet poked and when they could not get any of those to work they ended up shaving some of her hair and getting the line in on her scalp by her temple. My eyes quickly welled up with tears with the news but I then took a deep breath and tried to focus on the fact that she was awake and well ... something to be very grateful for. The doctor let us know that the port was inserted by 2 incisions, one in the neck and one in the chest on her right side. There are dissolvable stitches in place on the skin and underneath the skin as well. The port is stitched into the muscle of her chest wall and the li...

The last 5 days have been long and exhausting. To say we are overwhelmed would be an understatement. But, you never know until you are in a situation like this how strong you can really be. When we have our moments where we hit our end Josh and I pray together and God reels us back in to start fresh. On Wednesday afternoon Violet came out of anesthesia with no issues and she handled everything she had to go through that day very well. We were very grateful for that. There was a delay in the doctor getting to speak with us after the procedure that made waiting for news that much longer. The nurse brought Violet in to us as we were waiting and I got to feed her. Seeing our baby with an IV in her little hand, the redness of her eyes from the exam and the thought of the radiation she had just been exposed to from the scan was very difficult. When the doctor came in he explained a lot to us. First, he explained there was no indication on the scans that the cancer had spread to her right...

I just received the call from the hospital with Violet's appointment time. We will be checking in at 9:30 AM at Seattle Children's Hospital. They let me know the procedure will take approximately 1.5 hours and then recovery from anesthesia will be a few hours. These will be the tests that tell us everything about the stage of cancer. We would love for the tumor to just be gone! If that is not the case, we want to hear that it has not spread anywhere else at all. We want to hear that Violet's life will be saved, her eye will be saved and her sight will be restored. There is a beautiful prayer that went out for Violet by email. We do not even know the wonderful man who wrote it but I thank God for him. The prayer was forwarded to me and I want to share it below: As you have said a personal prayer for the benefit of Violet, lets also come to collective agreement in Prayer for her comfort, healing and above all God's Glory ... Father God, Maker of all things good, c...