It's been SUCH a long time. This is WAY overdue.

The summary: We've had some bumps in the road, but Molly is still good. 

I'll try to sum up the last 4 months quickly.  In late May Molly came to me and said she thought she had a UTI - normal symptoms, plus blood in her urine. We took her to the doctor, and he did the test and wrote her a prescription for an antibiotic.  Over the next week, it had little effect so we returned.  They tested her again, wrote her a stronger antibiotic, and told us they would call when the culture returned.  They called the next day, pretty worried.  They said she did not have an infection, but her kidneys showed concerning signs.  They wanted her to get a bladder and kidney (renal) ultrasound "stat."  I've never had them order anything "stat" before, so I was a bit freaked out.  Were her kidneys shutting down? Was this the return of the cancer??

They made the appointment immediately and we left after that call (took Molly out of school and I left field day at my school) to drive to Prosper to get the imaging done.  They did the imaging, but the right doctor to interpret it was out of the country.  Apparently, there aren't many pediatric oncologists out there. So if any of your kids want a lucrative academic pursuit - there it is.  He returned about a week later (that was a long week for us).  He told us that he saw some concerning things in Molly's bladder.  For any other kid, he wouldn't worry too much and just repeat the scan in a few weeks, but with Molly's history, he wanted to schedule her for a cystoscopy (bladder scope) under anesthesia to really know what was going on and take a biopsy of what he saw.  Crud.  A tumor in the bladder?  That is an odd place for this to show up.  

So a few days later we went to the hospital in Prosper (so much closer than Fort Worth - yay!) for the cystoscopy.  The doctor came in and explained to us that he had staff on standby to reinsert a port in the case of finding something concerning.  Molly and I were so disappointed.  She had JUST gotten her port out a few ago and she really hated that thing.  Plus, they must really think this is something to have staff on standby to insert a port (and presumably start chemo immediately) if they saw this was cancer.  Going in that morning, I just thought it was a scope and it would take days to find out things, rather, it was a much bigger morning for us. 

The procedure went well.  The doctor came to tell us that her bladder looked terrible.  Several lesions, a large suspicious mass, etc  He took the biopsy and to his surprise, it just looked like inflammation.  Thank God!  He was surprised, and I was just thankful.  He said that it looked like this was "just" a side effect of the intense radiation to her pelvic area (her biggest tumor was in her pelvis).  We went home so grateful and Molly recovered (although it wasn't a super easy recovery). We followed up with the doctor a few days later and he called this "radiation cystitis."  It's something Molly will have forever and we will manage the symptoms.  

Not long after that, we met with Dr. Akers, Molly's main oncologist to go over her 9-month scans.  Unfortunately, they found one new 5 mm pulmonary nodule and 1 mm increase in the size of 2 existing nodules.  NOT good news.  Was this the relapse we were dreading?  We weren't sure and neither were they.  The changes were so tiny, they fell within the "margin of error" for the radiologist.  Additionally, these scans were done in Prosper whereas the previous ones were done on a different machine in Fort Worth.  Dr. Akers took this to the tumor board and they concluded not to wait the full 3 months for new scans, but rather 6 weeks.  Okay... so we wait and worry. 

Scans were repeated (on the same machines in Prosper) on July 27. We heard the next day that they "looked good," but nothing more.  I wasn't convinced until I had all the details.  Dr. Akers called and told us that the increase in size wasn't seen in the new scans and the nodules that were seen were gone.   Praise GOD.  Truly!  Was it a miracle? Was it an error in the machine?  It didn't matter.  We were so grateful!  

But cancer keeps life interesting....

We are now on August 8th.  Molly and Lucy had just returned from camp for a week and Molly woke up Bryan and me around 1 in the morning saying she couldn't urinate.  She knows she needs to urinate, but simply can't.  When she tries to "force the issue" it's nothing but blood.  I immediately get up and take her to the ER in Prosper.  This poor girl is SO uncomfortable, and I'm worried about her bladder wall being damaged and her bladder ripping.  She also hasn't been catheterized while awake, so I was preparing her for that experience.  We got there, got registered and Molly wanted to try again on her own. She passed a HUGE blood clot. And by big, it was huge.  Maybe this is TMI, but it's just what happened.  She passed several smaller bits of clots and a ton of blood.  Holy cow... what does this mean?  The doctor on call had only treated 1 other case of radiation cystitis in children 10 years ago, so he had to call our pediatric oncologist. They ran tests,  gave her fluids, and started an antibiotic just in case.  Molly felt so much better! They said we were good to go and follow up with the doctor. 

Basically, the conclusion of that visit was..... this may be the new norm.  So this was just a reminder that even though Molly is cancer-free, she will never be completely over the scars and reminders of this journey.  Blood, blood clots, etc. are within the realm of the expected, and if this happens again - off to the ER we go.  She received such high and necessary doses of proton radiation therapy to kill the tumor in her pelvis, but along with that also went her bladder health, kidney health, and fertility.  It's still a good deal in my eyes and hers. 

We are now coming up on her 1 year scans which are scheduled for 9/26.  

Other notable events and items:

We MOVED!  Yep - hottest summer on record in years!  It was the best.  ;) We moved to Denton where I work and where the kids go to school and do all their activities.  It just made sense.  We are now only 15 min from school and it's glorious!  I now work full-time and was asked to serve as the community representative for the Institutional Review Board for Cook's Hospital.  I am so honored to have been asked and will serve.

Molly is now a Sophomore at Denton High School in the IB program.  She is still in theatre and having a good time learning ASL. 

She was nominated for the Youth Leadership Team for Cook Children's Hospital.  She is going through the interview process and enjoying it.  It would be a chance for her to give her feedback in a way that can truly make a difference for other teens.  

Lastly, Molly was chosen by the Cook's Ambassador Program to be the local Children's Miracle Network Hospital's Champion for Jan 2024 - Dec 2024.  Her story and photos would go on all national partner materials like Costco, Walmart, DQ, etc.  Please tell me if you see her! 

Some personal insights I was gifted this morning......

As I was driving Molly to school, I told her about her being chosen for the Children's Miracle Network campaign.  She was so surprised and excited!  She's happy to help others and give some meaning to her journey.  However, I was also given these words to share with her:

"Molly, please remember how you feel right now.  Remember that these adults, with their wisdom, experience, and ability to make real change chose you. They know you and see that not only are you absolutely beautiful, but you are easy to connect with. You share your story so well - with grace - and in such a way that it makes a difference.  So when kids pick on you or ask rude questions about your bald spot (yep - this happened last week), encase those experiences knowing that those teenagers have no idea.  They just haven't had the life experience and they definitely don't have the wisdom that these other adults who chose you DO have.  The kids are curious and perhaps you can approach those situations in such a way that you know that this is a chance for you to help them grow and understand, rather than to react with anger or even hurt, because they simply don't - they CAN'T "get it." " 

I think Molly took that to heart and I wish her a good day and reminded her to go to Chemistry tutoring and bring up her grade!

On the way home, I decided to leave the radio off and give that time to God.  I gave God some repeated "thank you's" and felt some deep peace. Then the thought was given to me that Molly may have needed something this big in her life.  Let me see if I can explain.  Raising teenagers is hard.  Most of you reading this know and have walked (or are walking it).  The culture and the temptation creep in no matter what.  Along with just trying to keep Molly alive, we've been raising a girl with a BIG personality and a BIG presence.  Making sure she keeps her faith and grounding through this has been a complicated journey.  But I told her today that obviously, God wants her here.  Those nodules seen on the previous scans are gone.  She was recently called a "statistical outlier."  She's got work to do. 

Being very open about Molly's journey has been the right choice for our family.  It's also brought us opportunities to help others through the Ambassador Program and now the Children's Miracle Network.  While it's still weird to see Molly's face on banners and online, I am so grateful.  Because it's a big gift.  She has these reminders that she's worthy, that she's beautiful, and that she has a purpose. That she was chosen for something important.  What parent doesn't want their teenager to believe those things when they are doubting themselves?  Maybe Molly needed these big reminders to combat all the big voices inside her (and anyone's head) saying they weren't enough. Maybe her cancer journey has saved her in more ways than one.  

Thank you all for your continued prayers and love. :)