Emery Update

Sorry, I haven't done any updates lately. Emery had her MRI and CT scans the end of March and they showed that her tumor is another 40% smaller! It has also come completely out of her spine! We couldn't be happier! Our doctor was just as excited and is looking forward to Emery being completely cancer free really soon. We are scheduled for surgery April 21st. Emery's surgeon is one of the best in the nation at removing Neuroblastomas. We are so thankful he is going to be performing the surgery. I hate that it even has to happen but to have such an experienced surgeon is very comforting. He said to expect a 5-7 day stay in the hospital for recovery. She'll have a chest tube again which I am not looking forward to but hopefully it won't have to be in for too long. We are so happy this crazy journey is coming to an end. It will be so great to return to Amarillo the end of this month completely cancer free. I can't believe three months have gone by since Emery was diagnosed. David and I were just talking about it yesterday with my sister and Miles. We have had such different experiences throughout this whole ordeal. I think the past three months have flown by - driving back and forth to the hospital and taking care of Emery has kept me busy. David, on the other hand says that it has felt like an eternity. The poor thing has been so busy with work, the house, our dogs and flying to Houston every weekend. I'm sure he is absolutely exhausted! He is more than ready to have us home! Speaking of, we are currently in Dallas at Sarah's house and are heading home tomorrow. Emery and I drove in yesterday from Houston and David arrived last night with his mom who is visiting her sister. David and I plan to hit the road tomorrow during Emery's naptime - she slept the whole way from Houston to Dallas but this trip is a couple of hours longer. I hope we are lucky enough to get a few hours into the drive before she wakes up! We will spend a little over a week at home and then we are planning on flying back to Houston a day or two before surgery. It will be good to spend another night or two with our Houston roomies, Dan and Lauren. It was so sad saying goodbye to them Wednesday night. They have made the past three months so easy for me and Emery. We couldn't be more thankful for such great friends.

So, that's the plan for now. We will have a relaxing and restful week at HOME and then head back to Houston for surgery. Emery can't afford to get sick before surgery so we will have to limit the amount of people we are around while we are home. :( We will have plenty of time to see everyone once she is home for good though, I promise! We are so looking forward to being back in Amarillo and catching up with everyone. Thanks again for the incredible support and prayers over the past three months. We can't believe we are so close to the end!