Big Weekend Coming Up (UPDATED with photos)

On Friday, Isabella will be going through an operation where they will implant a "port" in her chest. The port is placed right under the skin and is connected to one of her major arteries and is used to administer the medication during her chemotherapy. Since she will be getting treatments over the course of the next 6 months, this eliminates the need to constantly poke her arms with needles.

Then, during the weekend, she will receive her first round of chemotherapy. (Even as I type it, it still doesn't feel real, but this is as real as it gets.) Some of the side effects of the chemo is hair loss, nausea, and decreased white blood cells which makes it harder to fight off illnesses. Because of that, if you plan to visit Isabella within the next few months, we ask that you not be sick, and we will be passing the Purell around pretty generously. (We are hoping that she'll be home by Christmas.)

On a bright note, Isabella has started to walk on her own. She started standing with our support a couple of days ago, and would take a few steps if we supported her. But then just last night, we took a longer walk down the hall with her clutching my leg for support. Today at breakfast, we made the same walk, but this time, she just held my hand so she was supporting herself for the most part. Finally, tonight, she was so proud of herself that she started taking steps on her own, and would yell at us if we tried to touch her. Obviously, we're nearby to catch her if she falls since her legs are still weak, but we were really happy to see her walking. She still has to work on her right hand though. She can move her right arm, but her hand remains clenched. We're hoping that therapy will work with her more to make progress.


Finally, I apologize for the quality of the pictures. First off, they're taken with my phone camera. Secondly, since Isabella is so elusive towards the camera, I have to play ninja in order to get a picture of her.