Well,
Everyone is wondering how things are going so I thought I better update.
Caitlyn is very tired and spends alot of time sleeping. In fact I got a call from the school that she was sleeping through class, so we are now letting her sleep in, in the mornings and I am taking her to school during lunch and for a period after lunch. They have assured us that she has all of her credits and will not be writing any exams so school right now is more for the social aspect. But that usually is enough for her and she will come home for a 2 hour nap after.
She is also having trouble with mixing up words and not being able to get her thoughts across. She knows what she wants to say but it just doesn't come out the way she wants. This is due to the location of the new areas. She occasionally is frustrated with it but eventually we figure out what it is that she is trying to say. Caitlyn being Caitlyn can usually make something funny of it and we all laugh.
She also had a fun excurtion on the 21st when she was asked to go to a Marlies game in Toronto. It was a spur of the moment thing when one of her friends, Emily Kelly was going with a family friend, Don, and they had an extra ticket. They had a blast!!! It is a long story but a stranger out of the crowd ended up coming up to them and giving her a Marlies' jersey which she later got signed by the goalie and a couple other players. Pictures to follow!!! It was exactly what she needed. Some fun!!!
Tomorrow she is participating in the Cops for Cancer golf tournament as the "team captain", basically she will be at the dinner as a representative of the Cancer Society. Her dad and I are golfing in it and her brother is shaving his head at the event. We might note that he has raised around $1400 for the event.
Well, until next time......

The Cobeans

Well......final MRI result are in.........

Well,
We received the final MRI results on Thursday night. Well, it wasn't as good as anticipated after all....... They have found there to be 3 new areas of great concern. These areas are unfortunately outside the original tumour area and are in the frontal lobe of the brain. They are very small right now, but none the less they are there. Not the easiest news to swallow!!!
There are two options that were given. We can wait for 6 weeks and repeat the MRI to see what they have done and at that point discuss treatment options. There is possibly 2 different trials of chemo that are available. Surgery is not an option nor is radiation. The other choice was to go to Sick kids run some tests now and assess chemo. Given that she is feeling so well, they are hesitant to this one, as you start to look at quality of life.
Well, after discussing it with Caitlyn, who took it all in stride. Caitlyn has decided that she doesn't want to start chemo right now because she is feeling so good and doesn't want to ruin it. So here we wait for 6 weeks. The doctors are absolutely amazing at Sick Kids as we had this discussion with the one Neuro oncologist at 11pm that night. She wanted to be honest and up front with us, but in the same token she was very upset telling us because Caitlyn has left a footprint on their hearts too, just like everyone else she has had contact with.
Well, we will keep the blog up to date regularly and for those who are out there praying for us, an extra one won't hurt!!!

Thanks
The Cobeans

Okay! I will put a posting up, I am sure there have been a few on the site today looking for the update.
We spent the weekend in Toronto, and participated with friends in the Meagan's Walk, which is a fundraiser for pediatric brain tumour research at Sick Kids. This is our 2nd year and had a really good time. Then Caitlyn and I and our friends Pat and Lyndsay stayed Sunday night for Caitlyn's appointments on Monday.
She saw the neuro oncologists and the dietician during the afternoon. They were both pleased!! She has gained back some more of her mobility with her leg and arm and she also gained 2 pounds which is a great thing.
Then onto the MRI. They were an hour delayed therefore we were not out of the hospital until 10 pm. But the radiologist (a fellow, just learning) approached us after the MRI to ask if she had any headaches or any changes in her condition since the last MRI. He then stated that there were changes in the MRI but really couldn't expand on it. He strongly encouraged me to contact the doctor this morning but I knew that the doctor had told me they would call me today. Well, long story short. The neuro oncologist called at lunch to tell me that all is the same or stable. She has looked at it and compared it with the last one and can not see any change. She told us that this is a peliminary report and that they would be looking over it again with a real radiologist today for a final report. But she assured me that there was definitely nothing obvious and that she was unsure what the fellow was talking about. Now we breath again!!!!!
This being the case we are not to see them again for another 3 months. Good report?....well, I am pretty sure!!
Now that is why I was delayed in making a new entry on the blog.
I will update with the confirmed when I hear.

Thanks for the prayers and support everyone
The Cobeans