Friday, September 27, 2013

An Amazing Time and Some Sobering News

     This last week and a half our family has been sweetly savoring everything.  I have never appreciated the small moments you get as a parent with young children and the quality time with my husband as much as I do now.  And Hazel has been feeling so well that it has been so wonderful to just enjoy our time as a quasi normal family!  One of the amazing moments we were able to share was taking a trip to Disneyland!  This was our little Hazelnut's first time and she just LOVED it!  All of the children seemed to have a magical weekend.  Here are a few pictures, and then after I will discuss the sobering news we also received:







     The time at home has been peppered with so many appointments at the hospital to prepare for Hazel's stem cell transplant, the most important one being our meeting with Dr. Tran our oncologist where we discussed all of the results from Hazel's tests and the procedures involved with the transplant.  We first went over the results from the MIBG and CT scans.  As we already were aware, there is still a small portion of her original tumor that could not be removed during surgery, and the idea was that it would already be dead tissue going into transplant after receiving that last round of Chemo in Phase I.  However, the MIBG scan indicated that the small portion left in her little body is, in fact, live cancer cells.  Needless to say, we are disappointed in this news, but the doctor assured us that although this is not favorable, about 50% of Neuroblastoma cases head into transplant with live cancer cells and it is not something they haven't dealt with before.  This news makes all of her upcoming treatment all the more critical and now we may have to consider even more treatment (i.e: MIBG therapy).  We also discussed the possibility of a second surgery, and should be hearing back from the doctor on that in the next few days.  I am unsure about what this news means for Hazel's chances because we did not discuss that, but I can only assume that it just makes the next year more difficult and arduous for all of us.  
     We then discussed the reality of what we are about to go through with the stem cell transplant, and this entailed quite a lot of information; so I will write another post detailing all of that for you.  In the meantime, please pray that God will use the rest of Hazel's treatment to eradicate ALL of the remaining tumor, and that when all is said and done, we do not have to face the reality of relapse and can be finished with cancer!!

21 comments:

  1. Prayers to little Hazel and your family... all the road bumps, will be flattened one day. Keep hope and faith alive always..

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    1. All our prayers are going out to Hazel and your entire family.

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    2. Dear father in heaven you hold Hazel's future in your hands and I pray you give her peace and comfort throughout her treatments, as well as her family. You give us beyond what we could even ask or think, and the promise of salvation.i pray for complete healing of Hazel and a bright, happy long future to spread the good news of jesus Christ my lord and savior. Amen

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  2. Praying for your family :)

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  3. I work with your Aunt Laura and I had the pleasure of meeting your beautiful daughter the other day. She brought a smile to everyone that met her, myself included. She is a unique and special little girl. I am moved to pray for her and for your entire family. God bless you and yours and may you remain as strong as you've been.

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  4. praying for your family... how wonderful that she got to visit the happiest place on earth. the pictures really pulled at my heartstrings. i love this beautiful little girl...

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  5. May god bless little sweet Hazel and heal her body of any cancer and make her well again! Please Lord watch over this little girl she is such a fighter and SO strong! I pray that God will deliver great news that Hazel is cancer free!!!!!!

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  6. Always in our prayers....<3
    The Ballens (with extra love from Zoe)

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  7. God Bless your family. The great healer is at work too.

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  8. Hoping for the best news for Hazel and for all your family. Sorry to hear the news isn't everything you'd hoped for. The pictures of Hazel at Disneyland are great. She looks like she had a wonderful time.

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  9. Will be praying everyday and wearing my 'Hope for Hazel' shirt too !

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  10. Always praying for these babies who have to deal with so much. Sending love and God's blessings to have these cancer cells GO AWAY and the surgery will go well and easy for Hazel. She is a precious child and we are all praying for her and your family.

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  11. Thank you for the updates. Love the Disney photos! All of your children are just beautiful!! Continuing to pray for God to remove all cancer from Hazel.

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  12. Those pictures of the kids with the Princess are tooo too sweet. I'm so relieved that you had some time to just enjoy. Always in my thoughts.

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  13. Hazel will be fine once she is done with her treatment. Our prayers are with her.

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  14. Prayers to you and your family. Your beautiful little girl always smiling, in spite of her ongoing battle. Givese perspective, makes me appreciate what truly matters in this world. Love, family, time. My daughter Grace is 2.4 years old and loves seeing Hazel's pretty face. I do too. May God continue to keep you and your family strong.
    With kindest regards and multiple hugs,
    Amy and Grace from Northern VA

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  15. Praying for your beautiful family. Love the pictures you posted.

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  16. keep smiling happy hazel. boston,ma.

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  17. Praying for your family

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  18. I have been following since she was featured on the news about the pizza party!
    I am deeply moved and this beautiful little girl is the strongest! She is so adorable and such a fighter. I cannot fathom having to go through this as a parent, my heart goed out to this entire family! Lauren you are doing an amazing job! I keep you in my prayers all the time, and for God to completely heal little Hazel so she can live cancer free!! God bless, and I hope everything is going good for you guys!!

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