Thank you for taking time to follow Meaghan's journey of healing as she battles Medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer.

Meaghan, our five year old daughter, was diagnosed early November 2009 after an MRI revealed she had a 4 cm solid tumor in her cerebellum. The tumor resection, while successful, resulted in serious complications.

Cancer is a family affair and here I try to chronicle not only Meg's journey, but our whole family's as well.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Here She Comes...

It feels as though we live lifetimes between posts. So much changes with Meaghan each day. Sometimes for the better, sometimes the worse.

Since my last post Meaghan has had another inpatient chemo stay. Our actual hospital stay was pretty uneventful as far as those things go. Just over 24 hours in the hospital. There is still a lot of prep work getting Meg ready for her hydrating chemo stays. Before every cycle, Meg has to have her audiogram and blood work. At the mere mention of the word "draw" she starts panicking about the poke. Our blood work is now done at home, for which I am very thankful. But even with the emla cream to numb the area, Meg has a lot of anxiety.

Meaghan's tolerance of hospital stays is wearing thin. Thankfully, "Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakuel" was released just in time. Daddy was a hero and brought the dvd to her at lunchtime. Also, one of Meg's bestest girlfriends, Kayti and Meg's Nonnie came to spend the day with us. Meaghan also spent a delightful hour with the friend she was hoping to see most: Ellie, the therapy dog.

Ellie is a sweet, velvety soft, four year old buff Cocker Spaniel. Meaghan and Ellie have become pen pals since her last chemo stay. Meg has a picture of Ellie taped to her bedside wall. Ellie spent an hour curled up on Meg's bed, content to be stroked and fawned over. Ellie has a special place in all of our hearts, even Ed's. You see, while Meg may not remember, Ellie came to visit us in the ICU. At a time when she couldn't hold her head midline, could barely keep her eyes open and was in a constant state of agitation, I placed Meg's hand atop of Ellie's head and a small miracle happened. Meaghan was soothed. Her eyes opened and she moved her head in Ellie's direction. It was one of Meaghan's very first steps toward recovery.

We've shared so many of Meg's milestones that we'd like to share another: Friday, March 26th Meaghan started using a walker! She is so proud of herself! When she is feeling well, she asks to use her walker all the time. As our dear friend Jacquelyn is fond of singing with Megs, "Here she comes on the run with a burger on a bun - and pickles on side!"

I hope you enjoy watching Meaghan in action as much as we do!!


2 comments:

  1. From Anna - "That was so great! Can I watch it again?" She is very proud of her friend! :)

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