Bailey Update

 

Just a quick Bailey update for those not following along on her site. Her rotationplasty was June 5, 2012, so we are about two months out from surgery. Her leg is doing great and healing well. She would be ready for weight-bearing (and a prosthetic leg) if it weren't for chemo which completely slows (almost seems like it goes backwards) the healing process. We are hoping that by the end of September she will be cleared to start the process. Otherwise, we could not be happier with how things are going with her "rearranged" leg. She was blessed to avoid a pathological break at any point prior to surgery, so she was up and active, even at the beach the day before...which I believe has helped greatly. Her strength is good, flexibility is good, and her range of motion is terrific. Regarding physical therapy, we are kind of on hold, because there really isn't anything else that she can do until she gets her prosthetic leg...there is nothing else to improve. We are all fairly used to her new look now, although it certainly draws a lot of stares from the outside world. Once she has her prosthetic, I  think the staring will likely take on a different (and less shocked and rude) nature, since most people are familiar with prosthetics and it doesn't have quite the surprise value of 2/3 of a leg and backwards foot. Based on our three lousy surgical options, we are still thrilled and peaceful about our decision...it was the right one for this child. Bailey has been steadfast since the day she heard the choices.  She is however, growing tired of the immobility and she is ready to get back up on two feet. 

Bailey had a little time off after surgery to allow some healing. Our first chemo back was difficult...hard to get into that routine again. We are in the groove now, even though it feels as though darkness looms before each hospital visit...they just aren't any fun...absolutely miserable on a number of levels.  This weekend she finished her last Doxorubicin/Cisplatin combo. Ciplastin is nasty for her - and so it was a happy day to cross that one off the list. She has ended up back in the hospital with a fever between 9-14 days from all three of these thus far...so we are expecting the same this fourth time around as well. There is a fun event this weekend and the first day of school is next week...so we are hoping she can at least make it to those things...but as we have learned...there is no planning with cancer. There have been so many disappointments that Bailey knows to temper her excitement about anything. We are not in control of this beast. She has eight rounds of chemo left in her official Osteosarcoma protocol. As we near the end, I will update more about next steps. Our greatest prayer is that this child will be done with cancer forever.

Overall, Bailey is doing quite well. She is still walking through the stages of grief, but there is definitely more joy and less anger and sadness now. Kids handle things very differently than adults do and I think we could learn much from their ability to live in the present. Bailey is a warrior and she is fighting this battle with an attitude most adults would find difficult to maintain. She has handled this beautifully...we are in awe of her...and we are so proud of our amazing kid!