Back to Chemo

Just a quick note to say that Olivia got the okay from the surgeons on Tuesday to start chemo. Her leg is healing really well. The chemo will slow the healing down but everyone is happy with how things look.

Came in Wednesday and will go home on Friday afternoon, followed by two weeks at home. Still a long way to go but we know what to expect and in a few months Olivia will be able to start focusing on getting back on her feet!

Bored:)

Oh my god. You guys do not know how boring it gets. If it's from sitting in the waiting room or just being at home... it can get BORING. Im doing good and my cast is almost signed up! Don't worry i will leave some spaces for people who want to sign later. Love the support and everything you guys are giving me.

Love you guys<3
Olivia

Hospital Stay

First day home after 7 days in the hospital.

Thanks Summit UE for the great Welcome Home sign. Morgan couldn't wait for Olivia to see it and point out who drew each letter!

Our stay was mostly uneventful. Lots of rest and recuperation. A few days after surgery, the bandages were removed. Olivia couldn't wait to get rid of the "fluff." When asked how many stitches she has, the Dr. told Olivia that her chart would say TMTC -- too many to count! That wasn't good enough for her so the nurse started counting. 86 on the outside! And many, many more on the inside.

Next, a removable cast was made. It took a few tries to get a comfortable fit, but she got her favorite color (hot pink) and began to have it signed. Finally, she had a couple of PT sessions to learn to get around safely and with minimal weight-bearing. She won't be doing anything beyond that for about 3 months or so. She did great and if there's anything she has to learn, it's to slow down.

For now, she needs to rest and heal (and maybe start doing a little homework!).

Surgery

It's about 11:oopm and Olivia is resting. We arrived at the hospital at 6:00am and she was in the OR by 7:30am. Almost 12 hours later we got the word that she was in the ICU. She did very well through it all. We are incredibly thankful to have had three excellent surgeons on her case: Dr. Gebhardt (the main guy), Dr. Weldon (the vascular guy), and Dr. Samson (the plastic surgeon). The procedure went better than expected -- she didn't lose any blood vessels, and they did not have to use muscle to help close. Both of these will make a huge difference in the healing process and in building her strength. She'll be in the hospital for 6 or 7 days and then a little break for healing before getting back to chemo.

We also got the GREAT news from Olivia's oncologist, Dr. Renella, that her scans came back clear. We still have a long road ahead, but the results have all been positive so far. Thanks for hanging in with us. Your love and support make a HUGE difference in keeping Olivia positive and helping her to stay strong.

m

Goodbye Summer

It's been a busy week. Spent a beautiful Sunday in NH with the Burkes before Olivia's chemo treatment last week. Best way to keep her mind off chemo? Tubing! Chris is a little sore from the face-plant he did early in the day. Wish I had that on video.

Olivia was barely done with chemo when she had braces removed, then scans and tests in preparation for surgery.

So one leg of the process down. The shortest one, yes, but at least we are moving forward. The next part is surgery. Not sure what is worse. All the chemo or the thought of Olivia having to go through major surgery and extensive PT. I have tried every which way to find a loophole. However, I have now accepted that it is essential to the treatment. How many times and different ways did the doctors have to explain that to me? It wasn't until our friend (and outstanding orthopedic surgeon) George's eyes bugged out of his head (like, was I insane?!) that I decided to accept it and move forward. But one can still dream.

Olivia is doing very, very well. Her oncologist told her last Monday that she was doing better than all of the kids he sees. That was a nice send-off for a beautiful weekend at George and Elizabeth's in Maine. Great weather, food, company, fun.

Now we have two days before surgery with NO appointments. Olivia has heard from many of her teachers at school and she is in touch with a couple of girls from her classes. She won't attend but we will keep her as up to speed as possible with a tutor.

Will be back post-surgery...

(And maybe I'll take some time to figure out how to format these posts.)