CLEAR CLEAR CLEAR!!!

By -
Charlotte’s scans 9 months post treatment are CLEAR! No evidence of cancer! She will get her longest break yet—an entire summer off! It’s been 3 years, since 2015, she hasn’t been in treatment during the summer and so we will take our first real vacation all together since before diagnosis leaving for a week away at the beach this weekend. I really almost have no words at this time. No words to really capture the joy and relief and wonder Brian and I feel. This little girl co tinues to amaze and lead us. I wish every single one of you could have been there to see her in action at her appointments this week. She defys all logic. Her spirit and so so strong and full of joy and life and love. She is evidence of God’s love and grace, in the flesh right in front of us every single day. She helps me be brave. She helps me love deeper. She helps this entire life of ours, no matter how short or long, be full of abundance. She is a wonder this little one. Celebrate with us...your prayers and love and support have helped get her to this day. We are so grateful to you all and to the medical teams and medicine and to to our powerful God who we continue to feel next to us every single step of the way as we continue this journey towards complete healing for Charlotte. She’ll keep going, keep moving. And just before we tucked the children in for the night...a rainbow arched above a neighbors house across our street. As Brian and I were corralling our crew from showers into PJs, we would have missed it. But that’s the thing. You all are right there. You can help chase these rainbows with us. And so a neighbor messaged us the rainbow she could see from her porch. And I felt His peace and love wash over me. He can’t always take away the hurt and pain. But he will guide us through it with the promise of more then we could ever hope for on the other side.❤️🌈

Now, bring on summer!! #Charlottestrong
Not tonight’s rainbow (it won’t let me load that one right now) but a huge double rainbow Brian and I recently saw just before scans while out in Raleigh with friends😊

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ROUND 2 under way

By -
Image
It was exactly 4 Monday's ago. We left our pediatrician and ended up here at Duke Children's just about this time of day where we were about to receive Charlotte's cancer diagnosis. It was any parents worst nightmare as we came to learn and understand this diagnosis. It feels like 4 months ago. We are still coping and feeling our way, but never in a million years could I imagine being in this "place" that we are today, emotionally and spiritually. We are still coping and going through the grieving stages, but hearing the news today that Charlotte is healthy enough to begin round 2 was great news. A couple weeks ago, hearing that your child needed chemo was gut wrenching but today it is music to our ears. It means Charlotte has recovered from round 1 and is ready to continue to fight and heal while we all cheer her on. Her spunky spirit is back. She had a wonderful, restful weekend home playing with Taylor and Parker and also getting to see some family and a few f
Read more

Reliving June 13

By -
Image
Today in 2019, was probably the hardest day of my life. You might have thought that would have been the day she was diagnosed or maybe that scary time we had during Charlotte’s transplant, but it was today. We snapped this picture below waiting for Charlotte’s doctors to come into her examination room during her standard check up at Duke. Mere minutes later, we saw more than the normal 4 feet in front of the door (the oncologist and NP that would see her). When the door opened and child life was there—Brian and I instantly knew. Child life had come to distract Charlotte so we could talk to her doctors. The world went into slow motion and I don’t know how I didn’t hit the floor if I’m honest. Brian’s face instantly drained of color. We knew immediately her scans had shown her disease, her cancer, had returned.  After all she had been through, all we had seen, all we had survived as a family…this day drained the hope out of me and I can still have a visceral response remembering it. Of c
Read more

Getting some sleep and planning on a wagon ride!

By -
Image
Good morning! They think we might get to a room later today! Steps closer to coming home! Her X-ray showed improvement with lung fluids. Still fighting a fever and needs oxygen. Finally got put back in solids and ate some bites of spaghetti last night. We both slept better last night too. We didn't get out yesterday so maybe today. We have a wagon and are hoping to take her for a ride maybe even to see the helicopter on the roof:) Got a little kick in the gut with some news specifically regarding her tumor genetics. I was really down and having a hard time last night. But woke to a new day. And Brian has a contact in Cincinnati who put him into contact with a leading researcher for high risk NB and after talking with him we feel better about not just our current plan here at Duke but also about all the new research that hasn't even been published yet which has MUCH better prognosis outcomes for someone like Charlotte. I really needed to hear that and the timing of this doctor
Read more