It's Easter morning and as Amanda and I lay snuggled up in bed, she whispers quietly that she is ready to be checked into the hospital so that we can get started so that we can get back home. Although God continues to confirm for us that this is exactly where we need our precious child to be, five pieces of our hearts remain in Columbia and they are doing Easter morning without us. We really miss her brothers, sisters, family and friends...Denver seems a very long way away from Columbia. But quietly I remind her that this is a good thing and soon we will be on our way home again.

The "attention" that Larry mentioned that Amanda has received has been almost overwhelming. It is truly a team effort here and we have met most of the individual members. Slowly and patiently they have explained, answered and reassured us regarding the procedure that Amanda will have in the morning. To me, one of the best meetings was with the Dr. Wilkins, the man who actually pioneered this arterial-infusion. After examining Amanda and talking with us regarding her case, he has agreed to take her case himself. His radiologist will preform the procedure, his team will review the findings and he has even agreed to ultimately be the surgeon who will remove this tumor from our daughter. He has done "hundreds" of these, his procedure is unique and it has had very positive outcomes. Larry and I were in complete agreement that he is the one we would like to have in charge of Amanda's case. And, Amanda's first words when he left the room were "He's really nice".

There is a "medical" mode I find myself in sometimes...listening closely, trying to ask the right questions, trying not to break down under the overwhelming details, being strong for Amanda...but when Dr. Wilkins looked at me and promised me that he would "care for her and treat her as though she was his own daughter," the tears came. As a mother, what more could I ask of him...

Later that day Amanda returned to the Rocky Mountain Cancer center to be accessed and given her chemo backpack. Already the people of that center are becoming familiar and treat Amanda so dearly. A large yellow duck was waiting for her (they were sorry that she had to be away from home beginning treatment on Easter weekend so they wanted to give her an Easter gift) as well as a new pink/plaid fleece blanket so she would have something soft to take with her to the hospital. They thought it was great when they learned that she brought her own special prayer blankets with her on each of her hospital visits.

As of this morning, Amanda has not had any negative side effects from the chemo pump that she is wearing. Although it is a new experience to deal with the tubes and the bag, she is doing well. Heavy fog, some ice and gusts of winds kept us from getting too far into the mountains yesterday (technically we were in the mountains...we just couldn't see them!), but here in Denver a light snow couldn't stop us from discovering a great outdoor shopping plaza, a wonderful sandwich shop, a story that involved a buffalo (but will have to wait until another time) and even time for a movie.

And now it is Easter morning. The "Easter bunny" found Amanda here in Denver and so she awoke to an Easter bag waiting just for her. But the main focus of today will be that He arose. He loved us enough to die for us, but more than that, He rose again to give us the promise that there is nothing that He does not have power over. As a mom, what more could I ever wish for...


To see some pictures, click on the picture below. That will take you to a small web album where you can click on any of the thumbnails to see the larger picture.

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