Radiation

Things were going well throughout the fall of 2007. Kiddo had caught up in school and was cleared to play sports, ride a bike, go swimming and do whatever else she wanted. We went in for a routine checkup in the early winter, believing we had put this behind us. We were crushed when the doctor told us that the tumor had come back. They could not do a second surgery, as there was too much scar tissue from the first. She would have to go through 6 weeks of radiation as the next step to get rid of the tumor. This was almost harder to hear than her first diagnosis, because we couldn't see anything wrong with her.

They began radiation at the end of January 2008 and it lasted until March. Kiddo seemed to take it all in stride and made friends with everyone she met. Her sunny disposition made the process so much easier. Her halo became her tiara, the radiation room became her spaceship, the cyberknife became her laser and the attendants became her crew. She was a time traveling space princess. Sure, there were a few exhausting days for all of us, but all in all, she made it through radiation without any lasting ill effects.

After radiation, the months crept by as we nervously waited for her six month check up. The doctors found no signs of life in the tumor. The tumor wasn't growing, but neither was she. They decided to put her on a growth hormone, as she was barely in the 5th percentile in height for girls her age. This would mean that she would have to get daily shots. This was tough at first, but eventually she started giving herself the shots. Now she's a pro, and she's growing like a weed!