happy tears.

last wednesday we heard the worst news possible. that reese's tumor had grown.

i, genuinely, did not think we'd ever hear that. it came as such a punch to the gut. how this baby, who seemed perfectly okay on the outside, had such horrible things on the inside was beyond me.

the rest of the week was getting ready for surgery yesterday.

she had had chemo on tuesday. it was a long day - but we had no idea that it wasnt working.

thursday was an endo appointment.

friday was an MRI. we went to the outpatient place for that -- and it was so different. they accessed her port, we hung out, i held her and hummed while they put her to sleep... then i laid her down and waited for her to come out.

saturday, EJ hung out with reese while i took ASM to the mall for outfits for photos that we were having done on sunday. i will have a whole blog post on those [absolutely amazing, breathtaking, omgilovethem] photos.

we spent the week and weekend loving reese. loving her home. loving every tiny bit about her. loving her in bed with us, loving watching her with her sisters, loving the hugs, kisses, and snarky stares... all of it. aidan and sawyer rub her feet with lotion all the time. reese just lays and watches and relaxes.

monday was pre-op. i went in to the pre-op appointment and then had to go downstairs for lab draws. i went back to grab sawyer, then aidan... then EJ called me and said that he went to check her lab results online and that her sodium was at 128. that is so so low.

he called the endo line. and long story short, they wanted us to be admitted that night. i was already taking ASM over to my parents house that night bc we had to leave so early on tuesday - so i dropped them off and headed down. we went to the oncology floor and just watched her sodiums so that we could still have surgery that next morning.



she really felt good. like normal reese. this is how she has been at home. so so happy. it was nice to see her smiley face all evening.

EJ stayed monday night while i went home to get some things for the next day. after no sleep, lots of stress, and worried bones, she went down to surgery at about 9am? ish? i dont really remember.

EJs dad was in town so we all hung out down on the lower level waiting for calls. by 2pm, she was out and she looked dang good. some pain, of course, so we gave her meds for that. everyone seemed happy. the doctors seemed to believe that our neuro surgeon had done an amazing job, but we would know nothing til the MRI.

in true reesey form, in no time, she wanted to sit up and EAT! it was amazing. i was just shocked that she was so.... okay.

i stayed last night and loved on her as best as i can with her being in the crib. i brushed her hair 100x. i lotioned her hands to keep her happy when nurses messed with her.

this morning we had an MRI. i walked with her down, put her on the bed to go to sleep... and left. no news until this afternoon.

a neurologist came in and told me the best news ever.... they got out MORE than they had hoped. originally, she had hoped for 40%, but the fellow told us that if he had to guess, he'd guess about 80%!!!!!!! ::happydance::

our sweet strong girl.

eta: i should add. we talked to the neuros at st. jude last week as well. we overnighted our past scans. the neuro said that our dr was a badass (ok, he said it in more professional terms, im sure lol) and that he trusts her to do the best and that his approach and decision would be the same. and that ALSO, our oncologist is a consult for st. jude --- so yes, we are in good hands. it completely solidified our decisions and im so glad since our neurosurgeon did [as he expected] such an awesome job.

she looks like she got into a fight, today because of swelling. but like everyone said "whats the other guy look like?" ;) and if that other guy is the tumor --- he looks bad :)

the oncologists came in to talk to us and we have an entirely new chemo plan with 4 meds and a ridiculous schedule with side effects that will have us be in patient for a few days a month.

but for now --- we are over the moon.

thank you thank you for your prayers. God listened. He got us into the ER last week so our NS could cut that asshole tumor out... so we could start new chemo on the rest... so reese could get better.

you are all amazing prayer warriors, friends, supporters, and family.

more updates soon. but for now - thank you. and praise God.