I hadn't realized that I had gone so long without updating. Abby has been doing fantastic. Her last two rounds of chemo haven't affected her quite as much, so she's been feeling pretty good. We are also getting down to the very end of chemo. She has two rounds of chemo left. Each round lasts three weeks, but for her final round of chemo, she gets the last two weeks off, meaning that she only has four weeks of chemo remaining! May 11-15 will hopefully be her last chemo ever.
This week, Abby has a few important things. On Thursday night, she has a sleep study. This is one big step towards getting her trach out, if she passes. Unfortunately, the ENT has decided that she needs to pass a swallow study before she can be decannulated. That is a big problem considering that she eats very little. A good day is 2-3 sips of water or milk and a few nibbles of cheese. Combined with having to add barium to anything consumed in the swallow study, we aren't hopeful that she will eat anything. She may have a swallow study this week, but we aren't sure yet. On Friday, Abby will be admitted overnight for her VAC chemo. This chemo is the hardest on her of the three, but thankfully this will be the last time she gets this one!
Three weeks ago, Abby had her opthamology appointment. Unfortunately, it showed that she does have some nerve damage in her eye. Although she sees 20/20 out of her left eye, she only sees 20/60 out of her right eye. This has nothing to do with the eye itself, but damage to the nerve, either from being compressed by the tumor, damage from radiation, or both. Because it is nerve damage, nothing can be done to correct it or improve her vision. They aren't sure if it will stabilize or continue to get worse (it has worsened from her appointment in December). She has another appointment in June, so we will see how things are progressing at that time. As for the appointment itself, Abby did awesome. She answered all their questions and did the high-tech eye chart. She cooperated when they looked in her eyes and even put her head in the headset so they could take a better look and see if any lenses helped her vision.
Alexis continues to do great. She is growing like a weed and I can't believe how much she talks. She routinely puts together four and five word sentences. Most people can't believe that she won't even be two for another three months.
To finish things off, here are a few recent pictures of the girls.
