Heading Home

It is hard to really believe it, but we are heading home this afternoon. Julia has been cleared at this point in her surgical recovery. They prefer to wait to start chemo until 14 days from the surgery to allow full recovery for her body. During this time they will also receive a confirmation from the central board on Wilms' tumors. They will analyze the cells and make their treatment plan so we can ensure we are doing the best thing. The rest of her tumor that was removed, beside the anaplasia cells, has 'good chemistry'- meaning will respond treatment. They will plan to begin around the end of next week. Her treatments will be outpatient unless a reason arises otherwise. It is a mild level of chemo and is generally well tolerated. It is not known whether she will loose her hair or not- different for every child. They do not expect her to need radiation treatments. We will need to be careful of her exposure to other children. Her biggest threat is bacterial infections, not viruses- though they would be unpleasant. We can be as careful as possible, but many of these are the bacteria already on our bodies that become problematic when the immune system is suppressed. Whenever she gets a fever during this process she will be admitted for antibiotic treatment. That is about all we know at this point. They hold off on the full scale explanation of the specific drug treatment just in case the board has a different plan- they are the most up to date resource available to Wilms' patients.

Please pray for us as we prepare to head home today. It makes me anxious just thinking about it. This hospital has been a very safe place for all of us. I know she will be excited and that will make it easier. It will be such a blessing to see her brother, to take a bath, and to sleep in her own bed tonight.