WE'RE HOME!!!

Mom here, still on lovely hospital time (i.e. waking at all kinds of odd hours), posting in the middle of the night to say that Elizabeth did get her drainage tube out today and is sleeping soundly in her own bed. YAY! Two weeks is an awful long time to be in the hospital for something totally unplanned.

We have a whole lot of thank you's to post that I will be getting through this week. Our wonderful docs and nurses (most of whom will be named individually later this week) were great. And once again, Maureen Massarella (who was very brave and stayed while Elizabeth's drainage tube was pulled) made our stay as pleasant as possible with her homebaked cookies, home grown tomatoes, hand made jewelry, and time-occupying activities for the kids... oh, and did I mention MORAL SUPPORT?! Julia Rabago, with CHLA's child development center helped us immensely by getting Matt and Danny in for two days last week. Matt has also now decided that Julia's beautiful daughter Mikayla is his girlfriend (she is a couple years older, and still tolerated playing with him). I don't think Mikayla is in on that decision...

And Elizabeth certainly wouldn't have gotten through the long ordeal without Grandma Kirsten's visits... complete with plenty of goodies and activities (Grandma claims that that is what grandmas are for, afterall, but really, Mom, you don't have to spoil her EVERY time!).

We were also very excited to visit with the Duran family (the girls attended the ballet tea with Elizabeth on April 30... check the post from early May for the pictures), minus Noah and Zach (missed you boys!). Elizabeth was a not-so-charming hostess, but our boys and Mom and Dad were more than glad for the visit... and extra thankful for the great snacks!! (Mom says a big YUM and thank you for the Oreos... YES, Mom had some, too!) We adore big sis Haley (although, it seems Mikey is pretty fond of her himself...) and Abby is just the biggest bundle of love and hugs you'll ever meet. While we have never experienced the joy of "low counts", we appreciate Lindsay and Noe taking the time to visit, even with the added precautions they had to take for Abby's safety that we can only imagine. Thanks, guys, and we made the change in camp dates so it's a go!

Also, a big thanks to Chris Hoefflin for stopping by and visiting Elizabeth, complete with new bear friend "Fiona", who sports a very nice gold ribbon in support of Childhood Cancer Awareness and wears purple butterflies on her ears. It is truly a comfort to know that everyone at the Michael Hoefflin Foundation is available for us whenever we need anything, especially Chris and Sue Hoefflin and Lisa DeLong. Chris brings such a sense of calm into the room which, after too many days in the hospital, made a big difference!

Well, I'm tired now, so I'll end here, but the thank you's will continue trickling in...

Above all, thank you all for your prayers. During this hospital stay we met two particular patients that truly stand out that I'll be mentioning this week, too. Please remember that while most childhood cancers are successfully treated, there are still kids who lose the battle. Even kids who manage to beat the cancer will often have long term complications or side effects from treatment. When you say your next prayer for Elizabeth, please include the following kids who are also in a fight for their lives: Abby, Ava Rose, Amelia, and Nicholas. All four are kids we have met and all four need the prayers as urgently as Elizabeth does. Thanks again.