Prayers for MRI tomorrow (Monday) to show no-growth!

As we mentioned in the blog yesterday, tomorrow Eloise will have an MRI to provide a baseline for her high dose chemotherapy.   It will also be helpful to check up on her hydrocephalus.  As this is another ‘key-moment’ we thought we would write another blog to outline it further and ask people to pray…

Eloise will have a general anaesthetic for the MRI – which will mean she won’t be able to eat from about 7 in the morning until she wakes up at around 4 in the afternoon.  We also expect the community nurses to visit and take bloods first thing, followed by an ophthalmologist appointment at St George’s just before her MRI at 2pm.  It’s going to be a long day distracting her from food and getting a hungry toddler through these appointments….

Whether or not the tumour has grown in the last nearly-4 weeks since surgery is crucial for Eloise’s prognosis (gosh, the weeks are full but passing quickly).  Many, many ETMR’s relapse very quickly after surgery (within a few weeks), and so far we haven’t seen any cases in the literature of survivors who have relapsed.  So we really, really need the scan to show that the tumour hasn’t reappeared….. It’s hard even writing this as we need to try and remain hopeful (whilst realistic) whatever the outcome tomorrow is.  So please, please pray…

Eloise continues to be getting stronger and it’s been lovely to see her smile and toddle around again.  It’s actually been amusing this weekend as we have been able to ‘normal parent’ her – so often we are just getting her through a treatment/situation and surviving, but this weekend was a glimpse of normality.  She idolises Anna and wants to be much older than she is.  She’s still so cheeky and completely disarming when she wants to be!  And she still knows how to wrap us round her little finger, be cute, cheeky and get away with anything!

Also, throughout this whole process, we have been meeting and coming across some wonderful children and families suffering from childhood cancer.  Childhood cancer is so rare, and it’s a very surreal world we have entered, but we would be grateful for you to pray for these children and families too.  They too are facing many of the same/similar mountains to us – so please pray for them too. For scan results, for treatment plans, for chemotherapy, for surgery, for radio-therapy, for siblings, for logistics, for emotional and mental strength to keep going despite the outlook etc etc…

A side note on our work: A few people have asked us about our work situations, so we thought we would give a brief update. We are really grateful that Melissa’s work (the FCDO) and Pete’s work (EPG) have both been fantastic – supportive, understanding and caring.  This has really made a huge difference and we are exceptionally grateful.  Melissa is taking a sabbatical for the year, enabling her to focus on Eloise’s health during all the intense treatment.  Pete is off work until July, after which they will re-assess.  This is enabling us to cope with all that needs to be done to keep Eloise’s treatment going, see Anna, cherish the very few moments we have together as a family, and in many ways survive this season….  When meeting others going through similar exceptionally taxing cancer treatments (particularly with toddlers), we’ve seen that they too have needed both parents to not work for the season in order to survive the treatment – but realise for some this is very tricky both financially and because of their work situation.  So we are really grateful that this option is available to us.

For those that pray:

• Praise that Eloise is going from strength to strength and that her seizures have stopped since surgery – this remains a big answer to prayer
• Please pray for the MRI tomorrow to show no growth – whether or not it has grown is one of the ‘key moments’ in the next few weeks
• Pray for the logistics tomorrow – that Eloise doesn’t get too upset being nil-by-mouth until the scan at 2pm!
• Praise that both Mel and Pete’s work have been so supportive
• Pray for other children and families battling childhood cancer
• Pray for continued favour on the outcome of Eloise’s application for proton beam therapy