The End of an Era

And good riddance!

This morning was Julia's last chemo. It went off without a hitch, as expected. She's been feeling tired and not terribly well today, but from past experience, we were totally expecting that. We're betting on Tuesday being a yucky day and things heading up after that.

Julia will have an ultrasound and x-ray during the first week in July and then if we get the all clear, she can have her surgery soon after. It's planned as a short-stay procedure, so she could possibly to home the same day. At that time, they'll remove her chemo port from her chest. The original plan was to remove her g-tube as well, but we've decided to go a slightly different route. There is an upgrade of the g-tube so that instead of the tube hanging off of her, there is a little button-like disc which sits flush to her skin. This will allow us to continue to administer the drugs that she has to continue for the next few months. So during the surgery, they'll remove the current contraption in her stomach that is holding her stomach wall to her abdomen wall that allows the hole to stay open. They'll replace it with a small inflated balloon. We initially were turned off to this route because we thought it would require an additional surgery in a few months. Then it was explained that removing this stomach "button" is as simple as deflating the balloon and pulling it out - a simple non-surgical procedure that a nurse could do in the clinic. The hole would then seal up within a few hours.

We would love to make a few summer plans, but we're still hesitating because if dates get pushed back for any reason, plans could be ruined. One thing we're planning is to have a party at some point this summer after her final scans are clear.

On a blog-related note - I've added a "Follow by Email" feature on the left side. You can put in your email address and then you'll get an email sent to you every time the blog gets updated. When you first sign up you'll need to click a confirmation link that gets sent to you to confirm it's really you.

Last night we decided to set up the tent in the backyard. Julia was excited to repeat her experiences of backyard camping and Finn was excited to try it for the first time. I slept out there with the two kids while Mandy and the dog held down the house. For all the sleeping bags and blankets we had piled up, it still wasn't terribly comfortable (for me). The kids are back out there again tonight, but with Mandy this time. Mandy asked Julia if she felt good enough to sleep out and the child said, "Well I feel nauseous, but some fresh air will be good for me."