Oct 7 was Simone's 7th birthday. She had a great time with some cousins and friends. We had some fun games and an awesome cake my sister, Alisa, made. Simone thought it was the best party ever.
On Wednesday, Oct 12, the day started out with taking Simone to Primary's Hospital in Riverton for an MRI. This time she wasn't going to be sedated. We wanted to try it without because she hates being put to sleep. We got there and I thought for sure she would be confident and wouldn't be scared. The MRI machines are so loud and a bit claustrophobic. We get in the patient room. She has an IV put in because she has to have contrast. No big deal to her. Then we head to the MRI machine. She seemed fine. She gets up on the table and gets strapped in. The nurse puts the The Little Mermaid on for her with these big glasses that block out the light and big ear phones to block out noise. She seemed o.k. but wanted her arm out. I think she was getting a bit unsure as the time went on. So as Matt and I were leaving the room and down the hall. We could hear her yelling "I can't breath" and "stop what you are doing, I can't do this". We walk back to the room. She is panicking. The nurse pushes the button to slide the table back out and unstraps her. She tries to calm her down but was having a tough time. The nurse asked if there was anything she could do to help her. She said "can I have my Mom just touch my legs when I do this. It will make me feel better". So I stood in there with her, touching her legs the whole time. She did great and I only saw her move her nose a few times. She is awesome!
Next we head to the main Primary's Children's hospital. We have to go to Neurosurgery to get her shunt reprogrammed. Every time she gets an MRI sometimes her shunt moves a bit because it has magnets in it. It had moved a bit. So they fixed it pretty quick and we were on our way to our next stop. We head up to Oncology. I was feeling quite nervous. They weigh Simone in and get her wristband. She is happy to see everyone. They all love her there. We get to the room and wait a bit. Dr Bruggers arrives and tells us the great news. Simone's tumor has not grown. She is doing great. We are excited and scared at the same time. Its a relief to not have to go to all the doctors appointments, blood draws and chemo, but scary to not have her on chemo. We don't know what the tumor is going to do now. Crossing our fingers it never grows again.
The nurse says she has a surprise for Simone. She takes us to the back and a bunch of the nurses and her Dr are back there. They had a blanket with a bunch of toys wrapped inside. Simone thought this was awesome. She also got to ring a bell 3 times to signify the end of her chemo. They sang her a song too and she loved it. It was so neat. I will never forget this day.
Simone has so many people who love her and our family. We are grateful for all the people that have fasted and prayed for her. We are also grateful for all the special things people have done for us throughout this year. Simone is truly an angel on earth with a little bit of sass. We are so lucky to have her.
This next week Simone will have her port out and we will be on to the next chapter of life. Hoping for the best.
