November 10, 2006

It has been a long time since posting, which means life is moving right along and there is not much to report. YAY!!!

The girls went trick or treating here in Denver on Halloween and had a great time. They both had bags packed with candy. Leah insisted on going "lots of places." This far different than last year when she did not feel well at all. At the time we did not know why, but attributed it to being tired from school.

On Monday Leah's port was removed. Chris, Leah and I had to be in Iowa City by 8:45 on Monday and had her port accessed one last time so they could sedate her that way. Everything went very smoothly. Leah did (and still does) have a bit of a cold so I was not sure they would do surgery, but anesthesia looked at her and decided she would be just fine. Leah was so brave! She has been all along, but aside from getting a little quiet before surgery sat on my lap, talked to the nurses and was so cooperative. Surgery lasted a little over an hour and instead of the screaming child we are used to when she comes out of sedation, Leah cried a little, but was very cooperative and just laid in my lap. Within about 45 minutes she had her clothes on and wanted to see James. We did make it there, but she lost steam and was very tired out. Leah slept the entire way home and rested at home on Tuesday since Chris was off of work. The incision to remove her port is right over top of the one they used to put her port in. And, we now have her port to show everyone.

Our next Iowa City trip is on November 30. Please pray for a very low AFP reading. That date will be one year since Leah was first diagnosed. It is amazing how a year has elapsed. In some ways it seems like no time has gone by at all and in others it seems like forever. In any event, we hope we can put the events of this year behind us and that Leah can have a long and healthy life. She still looks and feels great and after we returned from Florida, her appetite really took off. Maybe it was all the icecream she ate on the trip.

This weekend we are looking forward to snow (at least the girls are). Reeve is getting bigger --she looks more filled out and is smiling a lot. Unfortunately as the third child she has far fewer pictures than the other girls, so maybe this weekend I can get some taken of her to post as well as one of Leah with her port.

It's time to start the morning rat race....Thank you for checking in on us, and please continue to pray.