Dear Friends and Family,

We thought our hospital stays were over after Quincy's last round of chemo in September, but we found ourselves back again at UCSF at the end of last week.  On the way to radiation Thursday morning, Quincy spiked a high fever and got sick.  Because she had her Broviac catheter still in her chest, the risk of a bacterial infection was very high.  Her illness, combined with the fact that they could not draw blood from her broviac, required Quincy to be admitted to the hospital.  On Friday her doctor decided to remove the catheter and she had surgery in the afternoon to “pull-the-line.”  The procedure took about 20 minutes.  Her fever remained high through Saturday night but we were finally able to go home Sunday with Quincy's “tubies” in our pocket.

Nearly two months have passed since she finished her final round of chemotherapy.  Every day she is gaining more energy.  We love seeing the color back in her pink cheeks and rosy lips.  Her most recent blood counts were actually close to being in the “normal” range, which has not happened in over a year.  The other big change since she's been off chemo is the start of some hair growth.  Her little head feels like peach fuzz.  The nurses say her hair may grow back a different color or texture and Quincy tells them she'll be happy with red, orange, or white hair!

We are almost through Quincy's radiation treatment to her arms.  It's a very intense schedule just like her earlier radiation treatment; Monday thru Friday for six weeks. Every morning we drop the boys at school and then drive into San Francisco.  Quincy is such a sport, even when the morning rush hour traffic makes her queasy.  The procedure takes about 15 minutes.  Unlike the previous radiation to her abdomen, there should not be any short-term side effects other than a skin burn to her arms.  Of course the long-term effects of radiation to children are very serious, but we'll be happy to tackle them when the time comes.

Halloween was great fun at our house; such a difference from the previous year. Quincy had been planning her costume for quite some time.  She was a cowgirl with pink cowboy boots, black hat, suede vest, pink bandana and denim skirt.  She even insisted on carrying her pony-on-a-stick and galloped from house to house.  Brody was Harry Potter and Keenan his sidekick Ron Weasley.  The kids really enjoyed themselves and had a great time collecting too much candy. 

November 1 marked one year from that fateful day our pediatrician sent us to the emergency room at Children's Hospital in Oakland.  Those were very dark days following Quincy's cancer diagnosis; but here we are, one year later, at home with our happy and active little girl. When Quincy finishes radiation on November 21, she will be officially off treatment.  Starting in January, Quincy will have a complete set of scans (MRI, CT, Bone) every three months for the next two years.   Two years off treatment with no relapse is the magic mark for Rhabdo.  Reaching this mark will mean she has a strong chance to beat this monster.  We know these are long odds; but looking at the little girl at home with us today, we know these odds were pretty long too.

We thank all of you again for the love and support you have shown us over this difficult year and for keeping our daughter in your thoughts and prayers.  God bless you.

Love,
Roger and Lisa