Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Have you ever noticed how medical personnel use terms and abbreviations all the time like a secret code? Here are some we hear all the time in our world, and these are only the tip of the iceberg: NPO-latin abbreviation for "nothing by mouth", EFS-event free survival (which means in the tumor world that no major medical issues arise, including a recurrence of the tumor), BID-twice a day, LP-lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap, CSF-cerebrospinal fluid, CRP-C-reactive protein, DX-diagnosis, Hgb-Hemoglobin, RBC/WBC-Red blood cells, white blood cells, SQ-subcutaneous, and one of our new favorites-NED-no evidence of disease, which is the word on Hannah's MRI (another abbreviation) today!!!!! YEAH! It doesn't get any better than that-NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE!

We got the call this afternoon, what a relief. I still won't feel completely satisfied until we get the written report from the radiologist, because often they note other things. We have been surprised by a written report before, after having read it, but not being told all of the particulars beforehand. Here are a few photos of Hannah as she braved the MRI machine again.

We only went to clinic to day for Hannah to be accessed, no visit with the doctor. We were happy to see our friend Kaitlyn and her mom Carolyn there, I was hoping since it was a Tuesday that we would see them. Here is a picture of Hannah and adorable Kaitlyn-look at all that beautiful hair she has! Kaitlyn has ALL-Leukemia, and is still in the midst of chemotherapy. God bless her, she is a sweet little girl.

Hannah was great today being accessed at clinic. Today's bribe was a nintendo game that she has been wanting, so she can play directly with Colby. She was incredible. It is so much less stressful (for me at least, and I think for her too) when she is not hysterical. When nurse Donna asked her today to stick out her chest because she couldn't get the needle in, Hannah stuck it right out! I asked her if I could take her picture during the accessing, but she said NO WAY MOM! She's not close to that yet. But, it's ok, I would expect her to say anything else.

The MRI today was much quicker because they only did the brain. Next time-in June-they will do the full brain and spine. For the first time, Hannah said she felt nauseous after they injected the dye today. They have to use contrast dye during the MRI so that any tumor spots can be highlighted in contrast to other normal tissue. It makes them easier to see. She didn't get sick, but she laid down for a bit after we left the MRI and got to the car. She popped right up when we got to the mall and headed for Build a Bear. Here is Hannah with her new chick "Polly." What a great day today. They drew some labs today that I asked them to while Hannah was accessed. This post is already long enough, so I won't go into detail now, but we should have the results back next week. We go back to clinic for her next level check at the end of March. Freedom!!

Thanks for checking in on us. If you visited today, please drop us a note in Hannah's guestbook, we would love to know you've been here!

xoxo Kim