Annie's 1st Surgery

December 19th 1999 Sunday. My mom and Jesse came up early for the preparation of Annie's surgery. We had to get a sitter for our other kids. One of the staff of where I was working said that she would watch them the whole weekend . . . She was a life saver. Our other kids were wonderful during this time. They were always asking about how Annie was doing and that they miss her. Their names and ages are Jennifer 7 1/2, Holly 5, Nicholas is 1. They took Annie to surgery at 10:30 am. We waited....

The surgeon came in to update us on what they were finding. For a short time they had us really confused because they thought that she had a lymphoma of some sort. Then they told us that they had more than likely had the final diagnosis that it was indeed a Wilms, stage 3. They had to do a biopsy instead of a removal because the tumor was like a jelly mess that spilled out inside of her abdomen. There was no way that they can even try just yet. After surgery they took her to PICU (pediatric intensive care unit). That first day she slept through. Monday the 20th she pretty much slept though also. That was the first day she started chemotherapy. On Tuesday the 21st she was more aware of her surroundings and awake more. She watched the Annie movie over and over again... She got a blood transfusion on Wed. Her hemoglobin went down to 7.3. That was her first. She went to the floor on Wed. evening the 22nd. She just wanted to watch that Annie movie. Thursday she swelled up so much that she gained 11 lbs. She weighed in at 40 lbs. They gave her lacex to help her pee and another drug to help pull fluid into her blood so she can pee. That lasted for 2 days.

The first night she was in her room she wanted me to sleep with her so the nurse asked me to watch her tummy. Confused I asked why. She said to make sure her tummy won't burst open at the incision site. W O W I really didn't think that it could happen... If her belly got any bigger it might. Luckily it didn't. Santa came and went. Annie got presents at the hospital. It just wasn't the same. She had gifts at home that we saved for her. The girls wanted her to come home so we can open presents. I just let them. I was not going home without Annie . . . . She got better. She would not eat or drink anything! That was the hardest of all.

Annie got to come home on the 27th of December. She went in for monday Vincristine and doxoribucin and adriamycin alternately every 3 weeks. She took the chemo great. She came home and get sick for a couple of hours and then be ok. A few times we had to go back for IV fluids the next day. She had to have chemo every monday for 12 weeks then every 3 weeks for 11 more treatments.