Our first week home

Anna has been doing wonderful her first week home after treatment. She has been more tired than normal, but other than that she is her spunky little self. We went to the lab today to have her blood counts checked. They dropped last week after her treatment, but are now back up. They came up quicker than expected, so that is a great sign. The mass is even smaller than the last time I wrote. So we see definite signs that she is responding to her treatment.

We appreciate everyone's prayers. Thanks for all the comments too! It's great to know that we have prayers coming from around the country for our little girl. And we love hearing from you too! We will continue to do our best to keep everyone posted on her condition.

Love to you all!

We are HOME!

We arrived home from the hospital Sunday afternoon. It has never felt so good to climb into our own beds. Anna was so excited to be home. She just kept running from one room to the next. She is doing wonderful. We see no signs of side affects from the chemotherapy. PRAISE THE LORD! We ask that you continue to pray for her to respond as well to her remaining treatments as she has to this one. We can also tell a noticeable difference in the size of the mass on her neck. Anna will be monitored in Auburn twice a week and then every third week we will travel to Birmingham for her treatment. Thanks again for all the prayers and support. It has been amazing to witness God's hand in all of this. We have seen Him at every turn the entire time. We also ask that you pray for the other children at Children's Hospital and their families. We have truly seen the difference that prayer can make. We love you all and will continue to keep you updated on Anna's progress.

Anna's Diagnosis and treatment

Anna has been diagnosed with PNet (Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor) . It is a type of childhood cancer. She has a tumor that is located on the left side of her neck. It extends from the top of her spine, down the side of her neck down towards her collar bone. Although it is a fairly large tumor it is localized to that area. It is pressing on some of the nerves that control her left arm, therefore they have opted not to attempt to surgically remove the mass first. She started her first round of Chemo Thursday and will complete that round tonight (Saturday, October 22, 2005). If everything goes well tonight we can go home tomorrow. We will continue to visit Children's Hospital in Birmingham every three weeks for the next year for Anna to receive Chemotherapy. After the first twelve to fifteen weeks of her treatment, her surgery team will re-evaluate the tumor and see if they can remove it at that time. We will still continue her chemo treatments every three weeks even if it is removed. They want to make sure they take care of any other stray cancer cells she may have. She has done fantastic throughout this entire ordeal. We want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and support. We will keep you updated as things progress.