Emery update--hello from Houston

After long flights and not much sleep, I arrived in Houston around 1 PM Sunday. Bonnie's college friend and former track teammate, Lauren, picked me up from the airport and brought me to the hospital to join Bonnie, David, Sarah and Rosanne (David's mom) in the waiting room. Emery had a good night Sunday night, did not have any problems with her first dose of chemo and her daddy stayed in the room with her overnight so Bonnie could finally get some rest. I did not see Emery right when I arrived because they'd taken her to have an MRI and a bone marrow biopsy. The afternoon was spent hanging out in the waiting room with family and a couple of friends who dropped in. Finally, Emery's latest procedures were done and we were told that there were no complications and she was doing just great following the ordeal. All of the medical folks have been extremely impressed with how well Emery is doing and how strong she is in spite of all they are putting her through. We did not get test results right away but the doctor came in today and said the MRI looked good. Still waiting for the bone marrow results.


Emery's in the PICU so only two visitors are allowed in at one time. I finally got to see her last night after she recovered from the day's procedures, had Mommy and Daddy time, and got fed. She was really swollen and puffy from all the fluids but otherwise seemed to be feeling okay. It's pretty shocking to see our precious little baby hooked up to lots of monitors with cords and tubes coming out of various parts of her body. She looked so tiny lying there on her back in the institutional type crib. Her eye is still only partially open, which they think is due to the tumor pressing on a nerve. Luckily the MRI showed that there was no tumor behind or near her eye so hopefully that will resolve in time. She was alert and responsive, watched us when we were talking with her and later was able to be taken out of her crib for Bonnie to hold her and nurse her (she'd been taking bottles of breast milk till then--Bonnie gets to go to the "Milk Bank" and pump regularly). I know they were both happy for this time together. Sarah, Rosanne and I also got to spend some time with Emery and stayed at the hospital till almost midnight. David stayed in the room with his baby girl overnight and said she had a pretty rough time last night with tummy troubles and fussiness so we are glad Daddy was there. He was one tired dude today, though, and got to go to a "nap room" and rest for awhile.


Today has been fairly quiet on the medical end; Emery had a chest Xray and we are awaiting results of that. Otherwise, I think they have let her have more of a restful day. She is not nearly as puffy and looks more like her real self again. She had a little fussy period but mostly has been content to lie in her bed and sleep or watch us while we talk with her and keep her company. One or two of us are with her at all times and don't want her to go for a minute without someone who loves her. Sarah has been a huge help and a big support so we were sad to see her leave tonight but she has her own little girl who needs her at home. We are just thankful she was able to come.

Lauren showed up with bags and bags of delicious healthy food from Central Market--what a great friend she is! I can't tell you all the calls, emails, texts and messages we've had from so many people--it is very heartwarming to know all the love and concern and prayers that are coming our way. Thanks to all of you! We've had so many offers of assistance in every possible area and appreciate it immensely. So far we are all doing fine and keeping a very positive and upbeat attitude about everything. The docs are very encouraging about Emery's prognosis.


We still don't really know what the overall plan is going to be. A lot depends on how well she does with the round of chemo (two more nights--tonight and tomorrow night) and how she responds. Part of the concern is that the tumor is close to her spine so they are planning to shrink it with chemo and maybe avoid surgery, but surgery is still an option if the chemo does not do the trick. They feel hopeful, though, because there's still some cushion space between the tumor and the spine so they don't feel that it's quite as urgent to do something invasive yet.


We had a new nurse tonight and she let me hold Emery for about 30 minutes after she bathed her and changed her bed. I was thrilled! She went right to sleep and we just sat quietly for awhile. Her other grandma came in and claimed her turn so I *reluctantly* handed her over. :) We are taking shifts with Bonnie and David tonight so everyone can get a little bit of rest. Hopefully the next chemo will go okay and Emery will not have a tough time tonight. I will try to do better about updating daily if I can. We also might have some photos to post next time.