Wednesday, May 25, 2011 (day before surgery)

Mondays visit to CHOP was comforting to Doug and I...meaning we definitely feel like we made the right decision on taking Emily to Dr Mattei! We arrived late a little worried that we would have missed him since he was flying out, but he was still there! We were able to meet with him and he walk us through the surgery! He seems to feel confident that he can remove all of the tumor and while there he will look at the lymph nodes as well just to make sure that there isn't anything there. He did state he was 99% sure he would be removing the adrenal gland because most oncologists want it gone so there is hopefully not a chance of relapsing! We also met with the anesthesia area and the nurse practitioner came to meet with us and go over questions that they had and questions we had! Then we went to the oncology department to get Emilys counts checked! By time we finished all that it was 430pm! We all still needed to eat, so afterwards off to Whole Foods! Obviously after that it was a long ride back to Virginia! Brianna came with us so it was a bit overwhelming because she was fussy here and there but overall Doug and I feel like we have made the right decision on taking Emily to CHOP for surgery!

Yesterday we prepared for getting ready for our trip to Philly! We checked with Ronald McDonald house and were told we would need to call about 10am to see if they would have any rooms for us to stay in! That makes it hard because we were already debating on if we should bring the camper! There was so much that needed to be done , I was able to prep a few meals, make dinner, wash clothes and start packing!  Doug and I have been exhausted, so exhausted mentally, physically and emotional! The past few nights we have just passed out! Last night we were laying down in the living room and fell asleep until 630 this morning!

Today and right now we are heading to the Ronald McDonald house to stay the night and then be at the hospital at 715 am for surgery!  We are both nervous and anxious about the next day ahead of us but also ready to get this part of this protocol over!  We are very thankful to my dad who is taking care of Brianna until Saturday for us and for Regina who is going to meet us at tonight and be there for us for surgery to support us! It really means a lot to us! 

Doug and I are asking that you send lots of love and thoughts our way and be thinking of Emily during this time! It really means a lot to us! I will try to update tomorrow once Emily is doing well! 

Remember to love and kiss your children as often as possible!