Results

May 2, 2009

(Airica 2 1/2 Years Old)

Today Airica is in the same condition, stable but still critical.  But already by making it through last night she beat her 30% chance, and made it 100%.  That alone gave us all so much hope that this amazing child could get through this, whatever it was.

Today we also got the results from the biopsy.  Airica was being diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  We were told that this type of cancer was very hard to detect, and the symptoms were so similar to the rheumatoid arthritis she had been dealing with for the past 3 years.  Achy muscles, loss of appetite, fatigue, were the first, then fevers.  All symptoms of both and all but the fevers, which came last, seem like day to day teenager symptoms.  

Now what?  Well, it seems that the cancer and the cancer treatment was not the priority right now.  Keeping her alive on the machines and trying to figure out why her lungs failed was.  The cancer was on the back burner for now.  We were also told that the treatment and recovery from this type of cancer would seem like a piece of cake compared to what we were dealing with right now.

Airica had two nurses taking care of her 24 hours a day.  One nurse was a specially trained nurse that knew how to control all the machines that were keeping her alive.  The other was monitoring her many IV's and medication doses. Both, always making sure she was as comfortable as possible.  They played music for her and talked to her.  I knew that I talked to her but when I saw the nurses do it as well, it touched my heart.  

I don't know why I was so surprised, but I was.  I heard them say things like:

 Here is a fresh sheet for you Airica, so we can keep you all covered up.  

I am going to move your arm Airica so I can change the dressing on your IV.  You are doing such a great job Airica resting your body and healing.

I am going to restart this Hannah Montana album for you Airica.

We are going to lift you now Airica for your chest x-ray.

These conversations were so natural, and I knew they were not just doing it for my benefit...they were doing it for hers.  We could no longer stay in the room with her, there was no room, and too many machines that were so delicate.  We had to suit up to go in and talk to her and kiss her on the forehead.  We did this  every hour.  I would show the nurses, some of which had not met her until she was in this state, pictures and tell them about Airica and how funny she was, and how when they got a chance to see her smile first hand they would fall in love with her.  The truth is that they already had.

(Monsters is what we called the cancer)