sadie update

Today was the appointment with Dr. B. the Oncologist/Hematologist. We waited almost 2 hours to get in with him. Sadie had a great time waiting as there was a little area with books, toys, art and a full-time art teacher and other children to play with. I saw her smile at the little girl across the table as they painted together and then i saw her face change to a question mark as she noticed that one of the little girls' eyes had been operated on and disfigured. I don't think she noticed that the one little boy had a bandage around his neck, one girl limped and jumped from place to place, and another little girl sounded like her voice-box had been altered. She just played. For me...every little detail was taken in. It was impossible, even with the highly positive people, murals and energy around us, to ignore the reality of where we were waiting. The tiles on the walls made by children and their families who were battling cancer, the newspaper clippings on the walls about how the sound of a mother's voice has been proven scientifically to release hormones/chemicals that soothe and heal, how the house across the hospital was recently been opened to accommodate families waiting on blood tests, a bald teenage boy being measured and weighed in the hall, a stylish looking teenage girl with her mom limping out of the exam room, big smile on her face. I looked over at Sadie's blond hair like a halo around her own beaming smile as she twirled her paintbrush on the paper plate. She doesn't belong here....does she?? Sadie flew out of the art station with a paper airplane and threw it down the hall to cheers from the art teacher and spent the next 15 minutes throwing it back and forth to Curt while i nursed a fussing Eva.

Finally we were called in.
The verdict.

There were 2 tumour markers that were checked along with the blood work: HCG and Alphafetoprotein. The HCG was normal but the AFP was right at the cut-off. (9) Dr B said that even so, if it were a germ cell tumour, the number would probably be much higher (1000!) because they grow so fast. He will be booking Sadie for a CAT and a PET scan and more blood work within a week or two and said that he would try to book them at the same time so that she would not have to be put to sleep twice. They would inject a low dose of radioactive dye before the tests which would illuminate any bone lesions (associated with LCH). He said that she may have LCH existing only in the pituitary, but to determine that, he would need to eliminate other options. With Sadie being so healthy otherwise, there is no reason to put her through the agony of a biopsy to determine this. If it is only in the pituitary, and not causing other endocrine problems, he would just monitor it closely for growth or change as treatment is usually to keep the child from developing DI... and Sadie already has that. All in all, it was a fairly encouraging appointment. So, i guess the short story is that we will be undergoing more tests. ...just noticed i said "we"... If you are praying with us, you are included in that "we".
James 1:2-8 comes to mind, so here it is in a "Message Bible" paraphrase:

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.

You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.

Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father.

He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it.

Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves.