Amanda, Chemo & Houston

On Monday Amanda received the first half of the chemo infusion that she needs to have before we return to Houston. Thankfully she does not experience side effects from this dosage but we do know that the second half will be more difficult for her. This is the same cycle that caused us to have a transfusion last time and was possibly associated with the fever that she experienced. Amanda will receive the 2nd of half of the transfusion next Monday. We would appreciate your prayers, in advance, for her safety and protection as we rest this week in preparation for Monday's infusion. The remainder of the week we will have a series of lab work done to watch her counts and then return to Houston to begin Amanda's radiation treatment.

MD Anderson Medical Facility (Houston) is unbelievable. To say it is "huge" does not adequately describe it. Waiting rooms crowded with people of every different nationality and language, appointments 2 or 3 hours behind schedule, at least 7 different sets of elevators listed by alphabetical letters that lift you to different sections and divisions of the hospital, an entire indoor park - complete with a popcorn machine and vendor - and some of the best doctors in the world..those would be some of the phrases that describe it. And in the midst of this all this size, crowd, waiting and sometimes confusion, there was Amanda.

The unknown was all around us and yet there was this precious 15 year old child calm and collected. She answered questions, listened to doctors, and let everyone scan, photo, and test her as they requested. She never complained, she never got frustrated. She would return to us in the waiting room, after sitting in a room for an hour or more waiting her turn for a scan and tell us about the nice people that she had visited with.

There are never any guarantees for children with cancer - actually not for any of us - but after our time there we came home with a new hope for a future for Amanda that looked better than what we had dared to dream. I have so many things that I could share but I want to list a few of the shining moments that broke through the unknown to remind us that even in Houston we were covered by faithful prayers.

• Jamie & Jessica - they opened their wonderful home (and pool) to us and gave us a place to rest and where we were always warmly welcomed. New friends to us when we arrived, but now and forever dear to us.
• Dr. Anderson - one of the leading experts in the field of Osteosarcoma in the world. He is Amanda's doctor down there. While talking with us he told us that the most difficult cases in the world come to him and then he looked at Amanda and told her that to him, she was not " his most difficult". (He explained that Amanda's tumor is difficult due to its size & location; however, because of how effective he believes that her chemo infusions have been, he speaks optimistically of her successful response to the radiation treatment.) I will never forget the smile on Amanda's face as he went on to offer her some of her "teenage" life back. Believing that this procedure will be successful, he approved her full participation with her cheer squad in the fall (he just asked that she not be one that they throw during stunts - in case they would drop her. I was fine with that. ) :-) He went on to tell her that he would try to have her ready for her spring soccer season in 2008. You can't know what that meant to Amanda (or to Larry and I) to finally have someone offering her back some of the things that this diagnosis had taken from her.
• Dr. Woo - the world's leading radiologist with the new proton radiation beam. It is he and his team that will develop the complex combination of two different types of beams and the radiation series pattern that Amanda will receive. As parents, who else could we hope for than the leading expert to care for our child? We would go, we would travel anywhere that we could to find the best for our child, and yet he was there in Houston, at our 3:00 appointment, waiting to meet Amanda.
  
• Molly & Nelson - a dear school friend to Amanda, Molly was able to travel with us to Houston (Jessica is her sister) and she helped to fill Amanda's free time with teenage girl friendship and giggles. Nelson (the darling little dog of the house) gave the girls a new purpose...they became his personal swim instructors.

We are home again, tired, but so thankful. The prayers and the support that we receive from our family and friends renews our strength and our spirit as we continue down this path. And then of course there is my own private inspiration...it's the picture I see in my heart that in the midst of all the noise, people and chaos of a world renown medical center, there is a child, smiling, peaceful and trusting.

Continuing to learn from my daughter,

Denise