Not a trace....

We met with the doctor today and Grace is cancer-free!!! The doctor said, "This is amazing, there's not a trace!"

We are so excited we can hardly keep it together!! We're crying and laughing and jumping up and down and clapping and screaming out and crying, laughing......

Gracie was on the phone and said, "I beated up the cancer!"

She has tests again in 12 weeks. If those tests are all clear then she can have her Broviac (central line) taken out. She'll be tested every 12 weeks for the first year. She'll be on an antibiotic for at least 6 months but that's way better than hospital stays and chemo.

Her white blood count is still low but that's normal as her bone marrow is rebuilding. The doctor said that she'll be able to start going to school in January. For now, it's better for her to remain in the homebound program, it will enable her to continue to get healthier and stronger.

Yeah!!!!! Gracie is cancer-free.

We don't know what to do--this is so amazing!

We don't even know how to begin to express our gratitude for the many, many, many acts of service and the millions of prayers offered in our behalf. It's a miracle--because of all of you--we could not have made it through. So many times we thought we couldn't go on for another minute and someone would fill the need, and made it possible for us to meet the challenge at hand. We've never been through a more difficult experience but we've never been so blessed.

Thank you. We hope everyone has a huge party tonight, tomorrow and everyday celebrating life, love, friends, family, kindness, courage and service.

In other news, Jessica made the All-City choir!! She is so excited. Her music teacher said she had a great audition!! 5th graders from all around the city are chosen to represent their school. So if you see her, please congratulate her!!!

Tonight we'll sleep like never before!!

Testing...one, two, three

Today, Gracie had her PET and CAT scans done. It was an ordeal--not the tests themselves but getting to the point the tests could be done was a mess.

Starting yesterday Gracie couldn't eat any carbohydrates--which was a challenge because she'd say something like--mom, can I have a Popsicle--no, sweetie that has sugar--papa, can I have a potato--no, it's a carbohydrate--papa a potato is not sugary--well, it doesn't taste like sugar but it really is--Let's put it this way Grace, you can have eggs, meat and cheese!!! That's it! That just made her want chips, cereal, bread etc more because they weren't on the list--is she a 6 year old or what??

We made it through the day and we woke up today and got Jessica and Jane off to school and we left a little while later and were at the radiologists office at 8:21am. But the first thing we ask for was a barf bucket--we weren't even half way to the doctor's when Gracie began throwing up. Of course, we didn't have a bucket, or trash can, or bag or anything--so she just threw up all over her blanket that she brought for her "comfort" item and Melissa was turned around in her seat trying to catch it all on the blanket, as Rod kept on driving faster and faster (the smell was motivating us to get there quickly). Luckily, Gracie had decided to bring her giant Cinderella stuffed doll also. So, we had a back-up "comfort" item. We highly recommend back-ups of all kinds!!

We get checked in and wait, and wait, and Gracie lays down and they call her name!! Back we go, to a room that is stifling hot because among other instructions we got were that Gracie should be kept really warm--jacket, long-sleeve shirt, pants, socks and shoes and we can't forget the hat!! The paramedic enters and puts numbing cream on a couple of different areas because it's better to access her not through her Broviac tube. We wait in the sauna of a room and he comes back 30 minutes later and he can't get a vein--she's too dehydrated--she's been poked several times and then they decide that they have to use her tube (great, all that trauma for nothing)--They also need to get the vomiting under control, but all meds have to be ok'd by the doctor. We got the ok for some anti-nausea medicine after about an hour and also for some Valium because she's upset about the pokes etc and we need her calm, calm, calm.

Next, comes the radioactive sugar--that has to circulate for 45 minutes or so--so, we wait, with the meat falling off our bones in the sauna they are keeping us captive in. (just so you know, trashy magazines are as trashy as ever and we had time to read them all!!!)

In the team comes and out go Rod and Grace (apparently the rules changed from the last time because now only one parent is allowed). By now, we are all exhausted and so the test that took about 40 minutes went perfectly--they didn't even have to give Gracie any extra medicines to keep her calm. She just laid there as still as can be while the machines whirled around her.

Recovery was another 40 minutes--they had to be sure she would keep liquids down and that she wasn't too loopy. Then off we went--at 2:00pm!!! All day long--and now Gracie wasn't the only one starving (Gracie couldn't eat anything after midnight)!!!!

First stop lunch!! Yummy!! Next stop home--we all needed a nap but none of us got one--so early to bed!! So, we are signing off because we need to be asleep in about 10 minutes!! Do you think we'll make it??? Have a super evening--we meet with the doctor on Friday to go over the results of the test. We'll update the blog asap when we get home. Until Friday....