Next Treatment Date Set
Mood:  happy

I continue to be pleasantly surprised and happy with Children's Hospital in Boston. 

When I tried to call and schedule her next treatment date (hoping for the first of August), I received some very disappointing news.  First I could not schedule her until Dr. Alomari gave them the approval and secondly they were booked out til November due to high volume season and Dr. Alomari is going on vacation.  So I sent a simple email to Dr. Alomari just to let him know I was trying to schedule her next treatment for ASAP and I could not do so until he gave scheduling the ok.  So when I called scheduling a few days later I was shocked when they told me they could get her in on August 15th.  I told her I was very pleased with that date and she informed me that Dr. Alomari had told them he wanted to get Cassidy in before he went on vacation (something I didn't even request in my email).  So once again I am extremely pleased at how smooth the process is flowing.  God sure does have a way of working things out! 

Lookin' Good
Mood:  energetic
Cassidy's lip has shown great progress and the swelling has really reduced dramatically.  She is doing great and happy to be able to do a little more activity.  I am anxious to see what's in store over the next several weeks.  I am planning our next visit to Boston for the week of August 5th.  Be sure to check out her pictures!

Home Sweet Home
Mood:  happy
Well it is good to be home.  We arrived in late Thursday and I of course ran to my family's in Peoria on Friday to get Kennedy.  We all missed her so much!  Cassidy kept telling everyone at the hospital and at our housing about her baby sister, I didn't have the heart nor did I want to admit that she is not much of a baby anymore.  Cassidy is happy to be home but misses her friends from the house in Boston.  She is still doing very good and her lip is slowly going down.  It is still hard to keep her down.

48 Hours Later
Cassidy's cheeks are a little more swollen today, and is causing her a little more pain.  We did have to give some pain meds today, but she is hanging in there.  We will all be glad when the swelling starts to subside.  Thanks to everyone that took the time to look up airfare and call us with the deals they found.  We are so thankful for such wonderful friends!

24 Hours After Sclero
Mood:  cheeky
The reason I chose cheeky as my mood, is because Cassidy is pretty much all cheeks and lip right now.  However she is doing great.  She can't eat enough and wants to be up playing.  I am having a hard time getting her to lay down and ice her mouth-I guess that is a blessing.  She did great last night, only gave her pain meds 2x and she probably would have been fine with tylenol alone, but I didn't want to take the chance.  She finally came out of the anesethsia early this morning and was upset by her swollen lip, but is dealing well with it.  It is extremely hard to eat or drink.  I have to sometimes feed her through a syringe, but she is trying the spoon.  It is rather messy.  The bed is covered in blood stained saliva and her shirt is covered along with her bear, pillow, and blanket.  With her lip so swollen she cannot keep from drooling.  Yet through all this she has MINIMAL complaints.  We are so proud of her and how she is handling all this.  God has definately prepared each of us in our own way to tackle this milestone.

Out of the hospital and resting
Mood:  chillin'

Cassidy is resting and doing great.  She is complaing very little of pain or anything else.  She is bothered by the fact that her lip is swollen 5x more and she can't close her mouth or swallow easily.  Other than that we are doing good so far.  We are resting at the Devon Nicole House (low income housing for hospital children that we were fortunate enough to get).  We are playing it by ear on returning home.  We don't want to plan something too soon for her.  The hospital was wonderful.  I cannot rave enough on the care and expertise that we recieved.  Continue to pray that she has an easy recovery!

Cassidy is currently in procedure
Mood:  caffeinated

So far our experience here at Children's hospital in Boston has been oustanding.  The staff is wonderful and have gone out of their way to make Cassidy happy and comfortable.  Craig was able to be with her while they put her under.  She was without fear and doing great.  I know that your prayers are working for all of us.  She has been in procedure for about 2 hours.  We can't be given an accurate estimate of time because it all is based upon how difficult it is to access the necessary areas to treat. 

We met with a plastic surgeon yesterday.  The process as planned is what we expected:  treat with sclero and once the lip becomes harder (from scar tissue) then surgery.  This will alow the surgeon to remove and contour her lip better. 

 The confidence and expertise  that we are experiencing here with Cassidy's malformation is so reassuring!

Off to Boston
Mood:  don't ask

We leave for O'Hare airport in 15 minutes and I am sick to my stomach.  I don't talk about my worries or fears much, I push them aside until I have to deal with them.  Tuesday morning will be an extremely hard day for Craig and I, but even more so for Cassidy.  She is aware that she is going to the hospital for the doctors to work on her mouth.  She is not stressed or concerned at this point, which is wonderful.  I owe thanks to Arthur (the cartoon) for that, it helped her understand about going to sleep for the test.  Please pray for Craig & I, but mostly Cassidy.  I do not want her to have a difficult recovery and I do not want to have any complications.

Thank You & God Bless each of you!

Planning Our Trip
Mood:  bright

Well, we are starting to make plans for our trip.  Everyone is asking if we are driving or flying.....we still don't know.  Right now with the price of gas, the cost to drive or fly works out to be about the same- $700.00.  I think we are going to try to see if we can get some last minute flight deals.  We were however able to get into to the hospital provided discount housing.  This will save a bundle compared to hotel prices! 

We are trying  not to think about the actual treatment at this time, but drown ourselves in making the preperations and trying to get in some good family time.

Treatment Scheduled in Boston
Mood:  bright

We decided and felt that God is leading us with Boston for Cassidy's treatments.  We were very happy and comfortable with Dr. Alomari when we visited and feel he has the experience that is needed to treat her.  I was excited when I called for an appointment.  They were able to get her in for her first treatment on June 17th.  I didn't expect to be able to get in so soon.  We will also have a consultation with the surgeon there.  We haven't decided if we will do the surgery here or there, but figured it wouldn't hurt to get an opinion while we are there.  Please keep us in your prayers-especially Cassidy!