Quick Update

Isabella’s first grade teacher reports that she’s doing amazingly well at school and fit right in both academically and socially when she returned.  This is really great news considering she missed more than half the school year.

There also isn’t much more to report as we all return to what is now our normal lives.  Isabella’s next MRI is scheduled for October 10th, and we should get the results within a few days afterwards.

One pretty cool thing to report though is that Isabella’s hair is growing back in very nicely, aside from the area that was exposed to the radiation.  They expect this area to start growing back within the next few weeks.  But Isabella is very proud of her new hair growing back.  Last year,  when she went to school, she would prefer to wear a hat.  Now, she doesn’t want to wear a hat so that she could show off her hair!

We’ve read that when cancer patient’s hair grows back, it could grow back a different color, texture, and curliness, so we are very curious to see as her hair gets longer.  The picture below does show that her hair looks like it will return to being curly.  You have to zoom in pretty close, but you could see some of her hair curling up at the back of her head.

Also, if you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to support my cousin, Adlar, as he races the New York City marathon in honor of Isabella.  Click the link over to the right to make a donation online, but if you prefer to mail something in, feel free to contact me (roneil@icatar.com).  The race is scheduled for November 1st.

Back to School (First Grade Edition!)

Isabella was extremely excited to start first grade last week.  So far, Isabella has fit in well in school and she has been excited to see all of her friends again.  Here are a couple pictures from her first day.

Plus here’s a bonus pic of me and the kids that I absolutely love.  We took it this weekend before we went to the Oyster Festival here in Norwalk. 

All Home!

Finally after a long six weeks in Boston, everyone is home. There are no more scheduled treatments for Isabella. The only thing that is planned for now are a bunch of MRIs, with the next one in about 4 weeks. Although we've breathed a sigh of relief for the last treatment, we will still be apprehensive at that MRI to see if there are any cancer cells left. We've learned from the beginning to approach this with cautious optimism, and we will certainly do so for every MRI for the next couple of years at least.

It was 294 days ago when our lives were shattered when we learned of Isabella's tumor. I know that our lives will probably never be back to what it was on November 16 - that was the day when we went to My Three Sons and the kids rode a bunch of rides and won a bunch of tickets to claim for prizes. That was the day before a doctor came into the waiting room at Bridgeport Hospital and told us that there was a 10cm tumor that replaced a large portion of Isabella's brain.

Tomorrow, 295 days after that awful first day, we will try to start back with normal lives. I will go back to work and take my usual train into the city. Julianne will wait with Annalise and Isabella at the bus stop as they go off to school. I'll come home off the train and we'll all be able to have dinner at home together for the first time in a long time. Someone will cry about something, but soon, the controlled chaos will be back in our house.

And that'll be just fine by me.

Finishing Up the Day

So after Isabella completed her treatment and rang the bell, we served the cakes to the people in the waiting room, as well as the doctors and nurses.  Afterwards, we went up to the Healing Garden on the 8th floor of the hospital.  We then walked a little bit around Cambridge St. to get some lunch, then headed back to the apartment.  After dinner, we walked along the Charles River and finally just got back a little while ago.  You can see some pictures from the remainder of the day below.

We will spend the rest of the weekend here in Boston, then head home on Monday so that Isabella can get ready for her first day of school on Tuesday.

This is our nurse Rachel who spent every morning with Isabella during her treatments.

Roneil sits with the children in the Healing Garden. Julianne, Isabella, and Annalise look out over the Charles River from the Healing Garden.

Isabella and Nathaniel sit by the reflection pool in the Healing Garden.

We found these flowers that matched Isabella’s dress perfectly.

A nice sunset walk along the Charles River was a perfect way to end the day.

Isabella's Last Day of Radiation Treatment

So today is Isabella's last day of radiation treatment. She has been up here in Boston for the last six weeks receiving daily radiation Monday through Friday. Today is almost like a typical treatment day as Isabella woke up smiling and there's the rest of the hustle and bustle as we try to get everyone ready to go over to the hospital. The difference with today is that we will be bringing over a couple cakes (yes, that's right, a couple) to help celebrate this being her last day of treatment. We are due at radiation in 10 minutes so I have to go and finish getting ready. I will keep this post updated with our progress and some pictures and video as we go along the day.

Here is a picture of Isabella getting ready for treatment.

Update 8:40am
Our nurse Rachel just took Isabella into the treatment room and the anesthesiologist just walked in as well. So we should be done in an hour. We were so excited to get here that we forgot the cakes. Fortunately, our place is just across the street so we'll walk back while she is getting treated to grab the cakes.

This is the famous bell that we will be ringing soon!

Update 9:43am

Friday is also a special day here at the radiation treatment in that all the kids getting treated and their siblings get to pick from a room full of toys.  Annalise and Nathaniel have already picked their gifts, while Isabella will pick hers once she gets out.

Here, Annalise can’t decide between a toy gun or a set of finger nails extensions!  Quite a choice, eh?

Update 10:15am

They just called out and said Isabella has woken up from her anesthesia.  Julianne will go back and sit with her.  We will wait until she’s more awake to ring the bell.

Update 10:36am

Isabella just came out of the recovery room and we are now just waiting to meet with the radiation oncologist before we ring the bell.  Here is everyone walking out of the recovery room with all smiles.

Update 10:53am

Her treatments are officially complete!  Here is Isabella ringing the bell.  More updates in a bit (including a video!)

Last Treatment Day Tomorrow!

The whole family is now up in Boston for Isabella's last treatment day tomorrow! I plan on blogging early and often tomorrow. We are scheduled to be at the radiation floor at 8:30am for a 9:00am treatment start. She should be out of treatment and waking up from the anesthesia about an hour to an hour and a half later, then we will record Isabella ringing the bell to signal the end of her treatment. This will then be followed by a small celebration and some cake.

In one of my earliest posts, I likened this journey to a marathon as opposed to a sprint, but although tomorrow may symbolize the finish line, we must continue to run even past that finish line. Even after this last treatment, we will continue to have MRIs and follow ups for years, and we'll watch every move and twitch that Isabella has. It does feel like we are at the end of a very long tunnel and we certainly appreciate the many of you who have followed us from the very beginning and those who joined us along the way.

We're almost there!!!