Moving On

Returning birds are building nests around our house, and the nettles and rhubarb have awakened. Wren grows more strength and confidence with each passing day of spring. We spent Mothers Day in a canoe on the lake and then made guest appearances as a part of the "Salmon Symphony", an afternoon performance celebrating salmon and our rivers. I read to the girls (and the audience) a story about the life cycle of Pacific salmon, and Wren effortlessly stole the show with her funny little questions about the events unfolding in the story. She is doing so well and sometimes has more energy than Chloë, which is no small feat. On Saturday evening Wren attended a friend's birthday and was running around outside with a bunch of other kids having the time of her life. It was wonderful.

We return to Vancouver in a few days for the final round of tests relating to Wren's treatment and the antibody trial. It is a full week of MRI, two MIBG scans, bloodwork and a bone marrow biopsy (I nearly passed out last time). If all goes well, Wren will not require further tests for three whole months!

We are very positive about how things are going, though with neuroblastoma, even the short-term prognosis is impossible to determine. This disease is notorious for relapse. We celebrate Wren's good health and each day we share with her.

Today I am playing "medical kit" with Wren and we are giving one another "injections" in our knees (like when we used to give her G-CSF and GM-CSF). Owie Baby has an IV and an NG tube right now, and is covered from head to toe with Dora band-aids.

Our lives are beginning to settle a little. Paula is in the garden and I am returning to work soon. Our financial situation is sound. We remain grateful for all of the support that we have received, it has made our finances stress-free for the past year and a half. Recognizing that we think we will be able to make ends meet, we will be closing Wren's account at the credit union. Thank you so much for carrying us along all of this time. I feel that it has really contributed to Wren's health.

I took a roll of black and white film while we were in Hawai'i. Here are a few of the better photos.

With love,
P2, C and W.