First Overnight - Port Implant

Well, we made it through our first BIG day at the hospital. The plan was to get to the hospital early for a follow-up MRI (with an IV for contrast - which caused a lot of feelings beforehand), then straight to surgery to get Charlotte's port implanted in her chest. After the surgery, we were to be moved into the room that would be our "home base" for the next few days of the stay. Things mostly went according to plan, but we're finding out that it's rarely as smooth as they or we want it to be. To be fair, we were warned by multiple people to expect that, but that only softens the blow a little bit.

Happy to say that Charlotte did amazing with her IV for the MRI. She had a very helpful dose of Lorazepam on the way to the hospital, and was significantly more relaxed for the IV than previous attempts. She asked that Lauren go back to the tube with her, so I waited and hoped that the MRI itself would also go smoothly. While Charlotte was in her MRI, I got a call from the surgery center asking if we were still planning on coming to the appointment today, which must have been scheduled to start soon. I had to chuckle a little bit when I told them that we were indeed already checked in to the hospital and that Charlotte was heading to surgery as soon as she got out of the MRI tube. I won't pretend to have any idea about how difficult it is for a hospital to try to keep track of all the moving parts for each patient, and truly appreciate that the lady who called from surgery was just doing her job with possibly limited information, it was just something I found mildly amusing in the moment.

The MRI did indeed go smoothly, so thanks again Lorazepam! Charlotte said she was much more comfortable during the experience, and her mood was even cheery as we made our way to surgery. She kept a good attitude as we were getting prepped for surgery. I do say 'we', as I got to accompany her back to the operating room for anesthesia, looking quite dapper in my protective suit. Charlotte was very brave on the way back to the OR, but was starting to get nervous once we were in the room. She did her best to stay strong, and I'm proud of her resolve. The anesthesiologist was able to work quickly, and before long she was out. It's a strange experience to watch your child go from mild panic to being asleep in a manner of seconds, but it definitely makes you appreciate modern medicine.

Lauren and I were able to get some food, coffee and fresh air while she was having her procedure. This was a welcome respite, as we knew there was going to be a lot more waiting rooms later. Indeed, after the surgery was complete, we got to spend time with Charlotte in the recovery area. It was there that we first learned that the hospital was very full and our overnight room wasn't going to be available for a while. After 45 minutes in the recovery area, we got moved to a temporary room that we lovingly called the "broom closet". Just enough room for Charlotte's bed and the nurse's station, with one small chair next to the bed and no windows. We spent a couple hours (at least it felt like a few hours) in here while Charlotte continued to wake up and get some food before our overnight room was ready for us.

Our overnight room is pretty nice. There's a good amount of space, and it has a recliner and pull-out sofa that technically fits two. We were all much more comfortable, and were able to get settled, and order some dinner, which we all needed more than we realized.

It was after dinner that we got our biggest surprise of the night. The MRI results came back showing more reason for concern that there is an additional mass in Charlotte's left knee in addition to the one we already knew about in her right knee. We had known this was possible, as it was the main reason for the MRI in the first place, but still not something we wanted to hear. We were able to get a last-minute CT scan that night after we'd all gotten ready for bed to get a better look at the left knee. The doctor said he was going to order a biopsy, and that it might be able to be scheduled for this morning, which meant no food or drink for Charlotte until that was done. We all did our best to get some sleep after this, which went better than expected, though I'm sure Lauren and I looked a little comical squeezed onto the pull-out sofa.

That brings us to now. We found out around 9:30 this morning that the biopsy was scheduled for 10am. Charlotte just went back for a biopsy on her left knee. Because the mass is smaller, they are using some special imaging to help the team find the mass during the biopsy, but it should result in a smaller, less painful recovery. We don't yet know if the results of the biopsy will change the overall treatment, but it should give us a more complete sense of what we're working with.

We're now playing the waiting game and we'll see how she's feeling after this procedure. We're hoping that we can still start with chemotherapy today as well, but we'll see. We're doing our best to roll with the punches and take care of one thing at a time. It's possible that everything is delayed another day, but hopefully we don't have to stay longer than originally planned.

As always, we're blown away by the love and support from everyone. All of the kind words, thoughts, prayers, and check-ins have been wonderful. Thank you all for everything so far!