Amazing

Harper continues to surprise us, though I suppose if I were smart, I'd stop being surprised. As has been her pattern, she handled the most recent chemo round (her first since her kidney removal surgery) better than could be expected. She's had a little nausea here and there, and she did vomit once in the hospital before coming home, but by and large, she seems relatively un-phased.

We've learned not to underestimate her willpower, and her desire, it would seem, to live a "normal" life. Close friends of ours and their daughters joined us today (Sunday). They were up for anything, and so, it seems, was Harper.

We started with sushi (Harper's suggestion). It was really hibachi with sushi added in, but as wild as it seems, it's one of Harper's favorite foods (second to Skyline, of course).

After our bellies were full, we explored the Falls of the Ohio park, including walking around down on the fossil beds. With the river down and the spillway closed, there was a lot of space to roam, and Harper kept up, if not led the pack. She event climbed up and down piles of rocks. It was hard to tell she'd had had chemo just 48 hour prior.





Next we ventured to the other side of the Ohio to the Mcalpin Locks, where we waited and watched a river barge maneuver through the locks headed downriver. Having not seen it before, it was interesting, but in actuality, there's not much to actually "see".

We then rewarded ourselves for our hard barge-watching with ice cream from Polly's Freeze. Yum. Not good for the waste line, but definitely good for the soul. Sad that they will be closing for the season next weekend, but it just makes their reopening in the spring that much sweeter.

Through it all, Harper pushed through, rarely complaining. She enjoyed herself. She enjoyed playing with her sisters and her friends.

I am continually surprised by her - her strength - her calm - her general positivity. I don't know if I could be the person she is if I were in her shoes. She truly is amazing, and I thank God for allowing us to keep her - hopefully a long while longer.

Good News

Today was a day for follow-up doctor appointments. Almost completely good news.

We met with both the oncologist and the surgeon.

The surgeon is happy with her progress. She got out of the hospital following surgery faster than expected, and has recovered faster than most who undergo the surgery she experienced. Just a few more days (3 weeks from surgery to be exact) and she'll release her to continue chemo.

The oncologist had the best news, with a small dose of scary news. First, the good news.

She confirmed the tumor tissue removed during surgery shows 99+% necrosis. This means the chemo is WORKING. This is absolutely awesome to hear. She is very happy (as are we) with Harper's progress. She wants to start back up on chemo, as soon as the surgeon releases her. So, likely later next week.

The small dose of scary news is that we are starting to talk about using some radiation. Specifically, radiation of the area where the kidney was removed - to help ensure we get all of the tumor tissue in that area. Fortunately, no talk about radiation of the liver.

The liver lesions are also showing a big reduction in size. While I don't recall the exact dimensional sizes we discussed during the appointment, I would estimate that between the 2nd and 3rd CT scans we saw a 40% reduction in liver tumor size. This makes me very happy.

We also confirmed that her lungs are clear. Only 2 small spots were noted, and the radiologists think its probably scar tissue. We'll continue to watch them in future scans to see if they change at all.

All in all, things are looking very positive. We continue to read about others battling this and other cancers that are not seeing the success we are. We feel very lucky. While anything can still happen - right now things are going in the right direction.

Thank you to all who have supported us - financially, emotionally, and prayerfully. We're almost halfway through the treatment plan. Please keep it up and (hopefully) we'll be talking about clear scans in 18-20 weeks.