Skip to main content

Enjoying our Freedom!

It has been so amazing getting out and about with Violet this past month! We have been able to visit our family so much more and go on fun outings together. We have gone everywhere from the grocery store, the mall, church, the Seattle Aquarium and the Point Defiance Zoo. After 6 months of only getting to see the hospital it has been so exciting! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to get Violet out of the home and to see her enjoying new sites.



Violet loved the aquariums! Seattle Children's Hospital is decorated in an ocean theme so there are some small fish tanks throughout. Violet has loved to watch the fish and that is one of the words she loves to say. So, we knew that she would be so excited to see the huge tanks at the aquarium. She was hugging the tanks like she wanted jump right in and was squealing with happiness. It was funny to see all the people around her smiling and laughing at her excitement and my husband, Josh, heard a woman behind us say, "She's so happy to be alive!" :)


After all the excitement ...


Violet only had to go to the hospital twice during the last 4 weeks. She had one appointment to get a saline and heparin port-a-cath flush and she did so great. It was a quick access, flush and de-access. This was done because Violet is no longer having weekly labs so they need to make sure her port line stays clean and clear of clotting. The other time we had to go to the hospital was because Josh and I got that horrible stomach virus that had been going around and then Violet got it. She was vomiting over and over so when I called the nurse I was told to bring her to the ER since she is still considered a "high risk" little girl as long as her port-a cath is there. After getting fluids for a few hours we were able to take her home and continue her care ourselves.

Violet's next appointment is scheduled for 3/28 and this will be an EUA (exam under anesthesia). We are praying for no recurrence. The next day, she has an appointment with her oncologist and we will discuss the results of the exam and Violet's overall progress. If there is no recurrence we will be scheduling a surgery date to have her port-a-cath removed!


Please continue to pray for our little Violet's health. She is doing so well and we are so proud of her ... and inspired by her! God has truly blessed us.

Comments

  1. I have been thinking of you 3 so much lately !so happy to hear wonderful news and see pics of her so happy ..thank you for updates ....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Please Join Us In Prayer - CT Scan Tomorrow

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...

Violet's Port-a-cath Surgery

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...

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 ...