A Brooke Mulford Update

Let the scanxiety begin...

Well, it's that time again, the dreaded quarterly scans and all the scanxiety that goes along with them.  I say dreaded but part of me actually looks forward to them because if they are clear scans than part of me can breathe a little easier...at least for a little while.  It has been a difficult 3 months for our NB family.  We've had 3 friends relapse in the past 3 months and one other lose his long, hard fought battle.  I can't even begin to describe the rollercoaster it is to live in this world of pediatric cancer.  I've  grown to love and bond so much with these kids and their families - I feel their fears, the pain, the uncertainty, the heartache...but, I also am so inspired by their unwavering faith, strength, courage and determination. I praise God, and the amazing pediatric oncologists and researchers who fight so hard for our babies every single day.  I celebrate each child's milestones and miracles and every minute of my day with Brooke.

I have much to update you on with Brooke and our last 3 months but it is late and we have a very early start at CHOP tomorrow.  I have fun photos and videos to share of kindergarten graduation and her dance recital but I am on my mom's computer so that too will have to wait.

Our schedule for the next two days is roughly this:

Tues: 7:00am arrival at CHOP to start drinking contrast and have IV put in and labs drawn.  Somewhere around 10am she will be having a CT scan of her head, neck, chest, and abdomen.  Between 10:30-11:30 she will have an echocardiogram and EKG and finally at 1:00 she will have her MIBG injection (radioactive dye).

Wed: 7:30am arrival at CHOP for an 8:00 MIBG scan and 1:00 oncology clinic appt where I will get the results of the scans.

These scans mark another milestone in Brooke's journey as they are her 1 year post treatment scans!  Once these are done she is scheduled to transition to scans every 6 months - bittersweet really, on the one hand more time between scans means added scanxiety because more time has passed but also hopefully at some point I can start feeling some reassurance that with every year that passes her chances of relapse decrease.

Please pray that we are blessed with clear scans again.  Also, pray for miracles for these children: Brooke Shockley, Trey, Hayley, Robyn, Hannah & Beth and adults: Ellen, Chris, George and our dear friends Amy & Isabella's father/grandfather.  Also, for Brooke's PopPop Dave who has not been feeling well for awhile now.  We know how much all of your prayers have done for us and the miracles that we have been blessed with because of them.

I will update as soon as I can.
God bless,
Amy