Monday, May 25, 2009 -- Maggie Kate had a great visit to Memphis last week. Her MRI and skeletal survey showed continued remission, and we are so thankful! She also had a hearing test, which revealed hearing loss in her left ear. Again, as in September, the deficiency was attributed to ear infection and fluid. So our next doctor visit will be to the ENT for tubes!
Maggie Kate's visit to St. Jude wasn't all great. We found out that her doctor is moving to Boston to begin work as a department head at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical Center. I think Dr. Galindo was just as upset as we were about his leaving St. Jude. The opportunity for him was just too great to pass up! He reminded us, though, that Maggie Kate will always be the first patient in the world ever treated for LCH with clofarabine, and that it's use is becoming widespread, helping many children overcome this terrible disease!
Another highlight of our visit to Memphis was Maggie Kate finally getting a St. Jude teddy bear that bears her name! She was so proud and let everyone in the gift shop know that SHE was Maggie Kate! Of course, everyone knew who she was because a huge poster with her picture on it is hanging from the ceiling! If anyone would like to order a bear, they are available at shop.stjude.org. We loaded up on them for family and friends.
I have recently been in contact with the Make-a-Wish Foundation about setting up a wish for Maggie Kate. We are in the early stages, so I'm not sure how long it will be before Maggie Kate will receive her wish. I know it will be well deserved!
We hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day and fun summer! Maggie Kate's next visit is in six months, so our summer will hopefully be without visits to St. Jude!
