Today, Piper had a CT, an echo cardiogram, and an appointment with her oncologist. Since Piper does not have her port anymore, she had to have an IV placed. She was not happy.... It took two times for the nurse to get it right. I wasn't very happy, either. They finally got it right, though.
Enter the ketamine. Ketamine is the drug they always use to sedate Piper. It works great, and it is quick! It lasts just long enough for them to get the CT images. She started coming out of it before we even got her off of the CT table. She handled it well, though. Daddy was there to hold her so she was happy!
As soon as the CT was over, they were ready to do her echo. That went amazingly well! She usually does not let people put leads on her, and she also doesn't typically cooperate with the ultrasound process. I guess she was still a little relaxed from the ketamine!
After several hours, we were finally finished. There is one thing you can always be certain of at Duke. A procedure that only takes a few minutes will take at least an hour. AKA : Duke Time. We were finally allowed to leave the radiology dept. We headed up to the 4th floor to the oncology clinic. They drew labs, and we talked to a few nurses and doctors. They still didn't have the "official" results from her scans yet, so they told us they would call later today.
Piper's oncologist called this afternoon to tell us that her scans were all great! There is actually hardly any trace of her kidney remaining. This is actually good news. Her kidney has basically shriveled up, and is disappearing! The reason that this is good news...... if the "good" cells aren't growing, then the "bad" cells aren't growing. As long as the kidney is basically gone, the cancer cells can't grow back!
So, today we thank God for Piper's failed and disappearing kidney. I never thought I would be writing something like that. Only God could know that kidney failure could be the best thing for our little girl. We have faith in God's love for Piper, and we know that He will continue to do what is best for her.
She did an amazing job today, in spite of everything she had to deal with. We are so proud of her!!!
