We get to go home in one week from today! I could barely type that with all the excitement surging through my body. It finally feels real. We are through the hardest parts of Brooklynn's treatment: conditioning of chemotherapy and radiation, extended hospital stays, and being away from friends and family. (The hide-a-bed Jordan and I are sleeping on almost made this list- it's that bad!)

We do have a little bit of a ways to go for her treatment. Just because we will be in Tacoma, does not mean Brooklynn can resume life as it had been. Our care is just switching from the Seattle team to our OG team at Mary Bridge. We are so excited to see some of the doctors and nurses, who were with us at diagnosis, and a huge part of finding the best solution to healing our girl's body. Brooklynn will be going to weekly appointments in Tacoma and we will be making the trek to Seattle once a month. 

Brooklynn cannot be in large groups at all, so the majority of people are still unable to see her at this point. She will not be going to church or school, as her little body is still very fragile. We will be screening all people that we do spend time with. If people are not vaccinated, and do not have their flu shots, they are not able to be around her.  Especially during this peak of flu season. I completely understand many people are not in favor of vaccinations, please just understand that means almost a year before being able to see Brooklynn. Please also understand that just because you are vaccinated, we still might say it's not a good time to see her. We have to be vigilant about protecting her, and are going to make decisions that are best for her. Even if you are vaccinated, there are other sicknesses like colds and other forms of the flu that you can carry and pass along. She is on a medication that suppresses her T-Cells in her body and will be slowly tapered off of it over time. The T-cells are the guys who tell her body to fight off invaders. Therefore any virus or bacteria in her body could be detrimental and land us in the hospital. She is still on this medication because the medical team does not want to wake up the t-cells and have them confused about the new marrow cells in her body, and start attacking. This can cause a rejection of the transplant or other major complications in her body, that are risks not worth taking. 

We have a big week before we go home. On Monday, Brooklynn's central line will be taken out of her chest. (PRAISE! We hate that there is external equipment leading to her heart!) Jordan and I are still trying to decide if she will get it replaced with a port. If we do not get the port, weekly blood draws will be taken from her arm or hand, as well as any future transfusions or IV antibiotics. If we do get the port, they still have to access it with a poke, it just supposedly hurts less. The benefit of a port versus a central line, is that the port sits under the skin, so the risk of infection is less likely. We had one practice blood draw from the arm, and it was not the worst situation we have been in with her. (Dressing changes have been the worst part of everyone's week for the last 2 months or so. Seriously, Everyone knows when Brooklynn is at the clinic and getting her dressing changed, because she screams so much. Nevertheless she is still infamous at the clinic for her sweet and sassy personality, and one of the staff favorite. But I digress). We will do one more practice blood draw on Friday, and determine if the procedure will include a port placement or not. Either way, it is one more major procedure for Brooklynn, which will be difficult on all of us. Brooklynn's last procedure was 2 weeks ago, and was her Bone Marrow Biopsy & Aspirate. She started having her night terrors again that evening, resulting in almost a week with very interrupted sleep, as she would wake up 3-4 times a night. Her brother still nurses through the night as well, so it tests the limits of how little sleep I can get and still function.  I definitely lost that battle, ending up incredibly anxious (read my post on beccaejones.com). I am finally recovering now, just to do this all over again. Please be praying for all of us with the procedure coming up! Especially since two days later we will be moving. It is exciting, but overwhelming. Luckily, we only came up with our two cars with stuff, so going back should be pretty easy. Pray for a smooth procedure, for Jordan and I to make the right decision regarding the port, and for an easy transition back home. We are excited to be able to see more of our friends and family. 

Also, now that the medical updates are mostly over, please follow what's happening in our lives over at beccaejones.com. I have transferred all of these posts there and will be doing the rest of my Brooklynn updates on that page.