Daley Ponderings

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)

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)

Grace had several appointments at Dartmouth today: audiology, ENT, oncology/nf1, lab draw This is my memory's summary of Jon's report to me: A lot of time for not a lot of progress.  Education/information, but no decisions. The ENT was not experienced, so they want her to see the adult... (More)

As they say, no news is good news.  Not much exciting has been going on lately.  Grace is eating a fairly regular diet at meals, which has always been pretty small.  Yesterday, she drank a lot, which hasn't been common for her, so we give her 600ml of water via her NG tube, 50ml... (More)

This includes anesthesia and intubation and all that goes along with that. Please pray for her surgery and for the results. Thank you. An "aspirate" in this context means removing a small amount (7 ml in Grace's case usually) of the bone marrow fluid and a biopsy is removing a small chunk of... (More)

We have lots of good news to report. Grace has been improving the last couple of days.  Her abdomen measured 53.5 cm, the smallest it has been in weeks.  They have changed her cyclosporin from IV to NG (nasogastric) which is a step towards getting ready to be discharged.  The... (More)

The last couple of days have been tough, but today is looking up. At 2:00 this morning, Jon called me to say that her breathing was worse and they were considering bringing her up to the ICU. I called my sister, she prayed for us. 45 minutes later, Jon texted to say that they had increased her... (More)

I woke up at 6AM because it turns out that is when the hospital does weekly generator checks which involves the power going out, which shuts off the ventilation fan briefly and triggers these color changing lights (that we didn't know about previously, see below), and so the nurses run around to... (More)

T-minus seven days and counting. Transplant Day is Day 0 and they count all other days from that. Yesterday, I left off while Grace was still sleeping. She woke up slightly grumpy, but soon was fully awake and her normal self. Chemo every six hours, blood draws every half hour (!) plus... (More)

Based on the number of supportive messages we got yesterday, I know you are all eagerly awaiting an update. We arrived at the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund Clinic for lab draws and "here's what's happening" meetings. We sucessfully ordered Grace some food, and then we had to pop across the street... (More)

For the most part, these last two days went pretty well.  Grace was a trooper as we navigated the multiple confusing buildings and talked with many providers and was poked and prodded by various specialists. Her audiology appointment went pretty well.  The doctor was impressed with... (More)

The only known curative therapy for JMML is a bone marrow transplant, so we will be going down to the Boston Children's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute . Their team is one of the leading cancer centers for treating JMML. We had our first visit on December 12, and are still processing... (More)

Someone just asked for advice on Facebook, and I figured I should save it here so I don't need to type it again when someone asks later.   We've had just about every kind of insulation in our house. So, more than you asked for, but hopefully useful. Also, if you don't know about it,... (More)

I typed up my memorial service reflection for a presentation we did at our church recently.  I don't think it has been typed up before, so I thought I'd post it now.  (Am I allowed to be amazed at myself?) Heather's memorial reflection, March 16, 2003 Isaac Christopher Daley - a... (More)

11/2 - Jeremiah, "Aunt Prudence gave us this one."  perfect grammar 11/3 - Jonathan, "Mom, did you know that if you take the 'c' out of 'record' and add 'er' at the end, it becomes 'reorder'?" 11/3 - Jeremiah, walking backwards with finger in front of his face, "Me try to pick [scab],... (More)