Daley Ponderings

We have only read the test results ourselves and have not heard from any doctors yet. Her TSH is uncomparable, since the tests they do at Dartmouth don't go any higher than ">100" so is it 400 again, or 101 or 1000? But her T4 was up, almost to the normal range. So hopefully that means... (More)

Grace is getting an MRI, and ECG, and bloodwork (including thyroid) tomorrow morning at Dartmouth.  I'm not sure how much the thyroid medicine is working, so we'll see what the numbers say.  Her skin is very dry and she has rashes in places, and also the dryness is itchy so she... (More)

On Sunday, we went to the Franklin Park Zoo. This event was hosted by the Jimmy Fund clinic for its patients. It was sobering how many families were there, and it reminded me how many different types of childhood cancer there are. We had a fun time, though . There was a bubble lady, face... (More)

Well, I didn't manage to post this yesterday when the day was a nice round, even number, so I get to post it today when it's a prime number! This has been a full summer for us. Noah was home. Grace got to ride at Summerfest just like all the other healthy children! She had... (More)

Short version of the post - all good results!  You can read the longer version below. We are very happy and it has been a weight off of us.  Until a couple days ago, it was seeming like it was quite likely going to be a bad answer, as we've been praying and thinking over... (More)

The day of prayer and fasting for Grace has been scheduled for this Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Please observe this in the way that seems best to you. Jon and Grace will be at the Hillsboro Methodist Church ( 16 Henniker Street, Hillsboro, NH 03244 ) from 11AM - 6PM. Pray for complete... (More)

Jon was reading through Grace's test results and saw that the most recent bone marrow report mentioned the JAK3 mutation. He contacted her doctors because we thought that one was gone following the transplant. Dartmouth doctors can't see her Boston results to compare  so they contacted... (More)

Our week has been somewhat full, with a few extra church services, including Maundy Thursday with handbells, which I didn't find out until the end of the service that it wasn't recorded, and I meant to record it during rehearsal, but I forgot.  But, it went well, despite Jeremiah being... (More)

We had our appointment with the NF1/oncology doctor yesterday. It turns out the neurofibroma is even bigger than we thought. In addition to what we already knew, which is that it goes from her external ear where we can see into her middle ear, it also extends down under her ear into her parotid... (More)

As Jon mentioned, Grace is having ear surgery tomorrow to explore what's going on, get a biopsy, and maybe get a tube in.  The oncology/NF1 doctor also managed to schedule her bone marrow aspirate for the same day so Grace will not have to be sedated twice in a few weeks. Prayers for all... (More)

An ENT, a radiologist and an oncologist walk into a bar... Oh, maybe not, but they at least had a discussion about Grace while looking over the MRI and CT scan together and the conclusion is that it isn't a plexiform fibroma at all!  Which is what Heather has had the faith to pray for... (More)

Today is Day +365. One year ago, this is where we were: Today, Faith is recovered enough to participate in On Belay's Teen Winter Outdoor Adventure (pictures may come later, since she is there as I type.) Grace had her first post-chemo haircut (just bangs) the other day.... (More)

Because he likes to compete with Brandon Sanderson, SD Smith is launching a new Green Ember book today.  Our family loves the Green Ember series maybe even more than the Stormlight Archive. I've mentioned before that the soldiers' oath has special significance to us now that Faith has... (More)

Sorry we left you hanging about Grace's recent appointments. Here are some things to be thankful for about Grace. She did really well during her audiology appointment. It took a long time, but she followed all the directions and was cooperative as usual. She does still have some hearing loss in... (More)

Last weekend, Heather took all of the girls on a retreat and had a lot of fun together.  Those of us at home had a work day at Grammy's and another friend's house and then had a really great day at home with a friend from church.  Elbereth, Jonathan's snake, was out and various people... (More)