Sunday, March 25

Hannah has had an eventful few days. Thursday she had her practice session for her shorter treatments beginning on Tuesday. Her nurse Rachel and I were allowed to stay in the room with Hannah since it was only practice. She was laying on the table, they put on her mask, then it bolts down to the table, so that she is not able to move. The mask is quite tight since they want absolutely no movement during the radiation treatments. We listened to her book on tape and she did great (much better than I would have). So, beginning Tuesday she will no longer to have anesthesia with her treatments. This means we don't have to restrict her eating in the morning and she won't have the recovery time after treatment like she does now. We are having a party after treatment on Monday to celebrate-NO MORE ANESTHESIA!!

Dave came up on Thursday so that I could travel home to see Colby in her first school play. Here is a picture of Colby as a gingerbread cookie in Hansel and Gretel, it was wonderful! We also met with our oncologist on Thursday who said Hannah is doing great! So great, she may start her chemotherapy soon. How is that for a prize? We know it has to start sometime, you can't avoid it, so we'll be ready when they begin.

On Saturday morning Hannah got a visit from Uncle George and Aunt Mary Katherine. She likes to have visitors, and was happy to see them. Then, Dave and Hannah went to the Boston Bruins/NY Rangers Hockey game. It's only a short walk from the hospital, and Hannah was excited to get out, and sit in the special wheelchair section. I came back up and Dave headed home on Saturday afternoon, to go see Colby in the play on Sunday. Hannah and I took a trip to the Aquarium today again. We saw the harbor seal show, the penguins, the tank divers, the 3D IMAX on the Deep Sea (which was very realistic and a bit scary too) and had lunch out. I tried to entice her with fish shaped ravioli, but after 4 bites we were done. Her appetite is really waning now, so we'll see what they say at treatment tomorrow.

To wrap it up, here is a picture of Hannah with Audrey, the childlife specialist at Spaulding. She runs the playroom, helps with things like anger management, sadness, etc. and really just plays with the kids to help keep their spirits up and make sure they stay busy. Hannah absolutely loves her. Last week they painted her fingernails and toenails 20 different colors. When we went over for radiation treatment, they had to choose a finger which wasn't painted blue. They told us the machine that reads her pulse couldn't read it! This is a picture of Hannah and Audrey and their syringe painting. What an artist! What a mess! But lots of fun too!XOXO Kim and Hannah