Isabella McIcatar

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  Isabella shows her Irish side by taking a sip of some green milk.  Yummy!

MRI Update

So we went back into the City today to get Isabella’s MRI results.  To cut to the chase, our doctor told us that the MRI “essentially looked stable.”  She mentioned that the radiologist did point out an area that may have progressed (i.e. grew) but she wasn’t overly concerned about it and stated that the difference could be due to the way the MRI takes scans.  An MRI takes scans basically one slice at a time as it moves from the top of the brain to the bottom.  If the scan started off by a millimeter or if Isabella laid down at a slightly different angle, it would be difficult to compare exact sections with previous scans.  Our oncologist also did mention that some areas actually looked better, but again, this could be due to some measuring areas.

In any case, she believes that it is worth it to continue treatment, but maybe this time, mix up the chemo cocktail again since tumors have the ability to grow resistance to certain chemo.  Sure, we would have been ecstatic if the MRI showed a dramatic decrease in tumor size, but at least we didn’t see significant growth which probably would have ended any more chemotherapy.  I don’t want to paint a rosy picture since there is still a lot of tumor present, but this was the next best thing, and we’ll take it and be cautiously optimistic.

Isabella Expresses Herself!

Today, one of Isabella’s drawings that she worked on while at the hospital was on display during the Express Yourself art exhibit.  The exhibit is for children who suffer from chronic or life threatening illnesses the chance to have an outlet.  In addition to art and drawings, children were able to sing, dance, recite poetry, and play instruments.  It was truly inspirational to watch these kids, most of whom have only known suffering for most of their lives, to be able to display their creativity.  Isabella was really excited to see her art work on display.  Here are some pictures.

There were several dozens works of art on display at the exhibit.

Isabella stands proudly beneath her piece of work.

Here is a close-up of Isabella’s work, “The Rainbow House”.

Here’s a shot of when they were showing all the kids’ work as a slideshow to the whole room.