Going Home!!

I know that everybody is going to be surprised, but we were able to come home today! I didn't post anything yesterday because I kept getting good news and wanted to wait till I can post everything. Brooklyn did so well in the NTU. She was so much better than last time. She didn't fight with the nurses or techs at all. We had some amazing nurses that really helped her get through it. She went the whole day yesterday without morphine and all of today without loratab. By the time we came home she was just taking Tylenol and ibuprofen. It is so amazing that she can have in depth brain surgery and go home four days later with just some over-the-counter medication. We started going physical therapy yesterday and she loved playing with the toys but couldn't walk. Her hand eye coordination has improved in just a few days. There is still a lot of swelling and we won't see much improvement till that goes down and it usually takes a week.

When we left the hospital today then we were able to pick up Brooklyn's puppy. She was so excited! He is so fun to play with and the people we got him from started paper training him and he actually has only gone on the paper or outside. He plays really hard and then just sleeps. We are still working on a name for him and hopefully when Brooklyn can move around better we can post some pictures. She loves to watch him play but can't really jump in there. Porter sure jumps in there and I think that they will be best friends. So far the whole family loves him a lot. I will keep updating my blog on Brooklyn's progress and her treatments. Thank again for all the comments and prayers.

Recovery Day 1 & 2

Brooklyn's surgery went really well yesterday. We got here at seven and had an MRI to scheduled for eight. This MRI is different than all the other ones. This one is called a sterotactical MRI. It helps find the best pathway to the tumor. As we were getting ready for the MRI the nurses and anesthesiologist came over and said the surgeons first surgery cancelled and the OR was ready for her right now. This was awesome cause they were thinking we wouldn't get in till ten. So we walked down to radiology with Brooklyn where they gave her general anesthesia and took her to the OR directly from there. I would have to guess but I think that she went into surgery around nine. She was in roughly seven hours and I didn't get to see her till five thirty that night. Good news though, the surgeon felt like he was able to get everything. Brooklyn has had a harder time waking up than with her other surgeries. She mainly just slept for a day and an half. The neurosurgeon said that because of the swelling it was putting some pressure on that part of her brain and it would go down. Yesterday late afternoon she starting being herself. She starting to be really fussy and move her arms and legs.

We had to stay in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) another night. They couldn't do her MRI yesterday because her breathing kept going too low and they didn't want to intibate her again (breathing tube). They won't let us go to the NTU (neuroscience trauma unit) until they get the results from the MRI. This is the first time we have spent more than a day in the PICU and it is not fun. Hopefully, everything will comeback on her MRI normal and we can be down graded. The NTU is just a step down from the PICU. You still have to call to come in but they will let you use your cell phones and don't regulate the visitors as much. We really want to be downgraded so Porter can come see Brookie and mommy. We sure miss that little stinker. My mom has been watching him at my grandmas and I guess he is doing awesome and probably forgot that he even has a mom. I will try to keep daily updates on Brooklyn's progress.

Family Update

I know that almost everybody has had to go to Paige for updates so I will try to do better. Porter is now nine months old! H[e is huge and trying to walk everywhere. So far he is only able to walk along furniture (fingers crossed!). Derek has started an internship with Telford Ag. He is their bookkeeper and also managers a large account they have with Reesers Food. I am pretty much doing the exact same thing. Brooklyn, as most of you know, has had another set back. We went in for our routine MRIs before starting chemo and there was another tumor. We talked with a lot of doctors and after some time decided to go through with another surgery. The neurosurgeon felt like this was still a good option because it has not spread anywhere. The bad thing is how quickly the tumor came back and with another set of radiation. This is going to be a rough summer but we decided to help Brooklyn get through it by getting her a puppy. She is so excited. We are picking it up on our way home from the hospital and the people were nice enough to let us come play with it before her surgery. We want to thank everybody who has kept us in their prayers. We hope you all know how much we love and appreciate you and will try better to keep people updated.

It's a boy!!

Yes I got my ultrasound yesterday and we found out we are having a boy. I know that a lot of you didn't even know that I was pregnant but honestly we were so preoccupied with treatment I forgot myself. We are really excited to be having a boy after having the perfect little girl. Brooklyn is really excited and points out babies everywhere. So far the ultrasound showed that everything is healthy and normal. I am due August 19.

Completion of Treatment!!

Yes, we are really done with Brooklyn's radiation treatment. She had almost a full seven weeks. It is so nice to be home. Brooklyn is doing so well and is already showing improvement. She is starting to eat more and eat things that she hasn't for awhile. We want to thank everybody for their prayer and support through this entire process. I don't think that we could make it without the love from our friends and family.
This is the machine getting lined up to start treatment.

This is Brooklyn's awesome team of nurses. They loved her so much. They really made the treatment a lot better for her. Brooklyn would run right to them and play with them everyday.

This is right when Brooklyn gets sedated. They hook up all the monitors to check her breathing and heart rate during the treatment.

Brooklyn would wake up every morning and ask for fishies. When we get up early she still asks me "Fishies mommy?" I have to tell her no but they would let her feed them everyday.

This is Brooklyn's friend. She started treatment five weeks into her treatment. Her name is Alexa. She has the exact same kind of cancer that Brooklyn had. Her tumor was in a different ventricle. All of her hair loss was sadly on the top her head. LDS only sees a couple children a year so it was rare to have two at one time. I think that they made it a little easier for each other. We hope that her treatment goes as well as Brooklyn's did. I had to make two posts to get all the pictures in I wanted. Keep reading and there are more pictures.

More Pictures

Here is the entrance to the radiation therapy. I am so glad that I won't be seeing this every day!

This is a close up of Brooklyn's mask she has to wear. It bolts to the table underneath.

This is Brooklyn right when she is done.

We were really lucky to have my sister and Brooklyn's cousin come stay with us for a few days. This is Brooklyn and Maddox in recovery, eating cereal and watching cartoons. Brooklyn loved having Maddox there. She still asks for him every day.

One thing Brooklyn really loved was Mt. Dew. She had so little energy that it didn't matter. It might give her ten minutes of energy and we didn't mind the few extra calories.