All stable

We saw Lisa at the hospital today and had a good chat with her about the 2nd MRI results. She pulled up the images from the July scan and the one we had last week to show us what’s been happening inside Carys. In the past 2 months, it seems like not much has been going on at all!! So far, the remaining tumour looks quite stable, which is good news. The tumour is clearly visible on the images, running along the side of the spine, but there was hardly any difference in size and shape. Mum and Chris came along with us, so we were all very relieved when we saw that there was no change. Lisa seemed quite happy with the results too. In addition to the scans, the urine tests also showed stable levels of HVA – one of the hormones secreted by the tumour. Although the level is slightly above normal, it’s not increasing, which is good. Lisa believes that the tumour has had its big growth spurt, and now will remain stable. Though of course there are no guarantees. We continue with the waiting game, but at least we can breathe a little easier knowing that it’s not growing. Carys will be on 3-monthly MRI scans for at least the next year to keep an eye on things. If all stays stable, the MRI frequency will gradually decrease.

2nd MRI

You know you’ve been going to the hospital too often when a nurse thinks you work there! Carys had her 2nd MRI today, and the nurse who checked us in looked at me and said, “oh I’ve seen you around before. Do you work here?” It was funny, but a bit sad at the same time. The process today was really smooth. No waiting around and all done in a couple of hours. We didn’t give Carys a pre-med this time, to see how she’d handle the initial steps into the GA. But we’ve noted that she definitely should have one next time. As soon as I carried her into the treatment room and she saw the 3 guys in scrubs and the bench to lie down on, she really screamed and clung to me. It was heartbreaking to pry her little fingers off my jumper while she was crying out “mummmeeeee!!!” and help hold her down whilst the anesthetist put the mask over her face. So next time, I need to ask the nurse as we check in that we need a pre-med to keep her calm. I might need some too! Coming out of the GA was ok this time. We were ready with warm milk and strawberries, so it was a little easier. We will see Lisa next Tuesday to compare the 2 MRI images and see how the tumour is behaving.