Welcome Sophia Hope Bell!!!

Welcome Sophia Hope Bell!!!
Maddy has officially become a big sister!!

Friday, April 11, 2008

GOOD NEWS!!!!

Well, the scans are complete. We had to go back today (Friday) for the 48 hour scan (48 hours after injecting her with the radioactive iodine isotope) and we were done around 1PM. From there, it was bated breath until about 5:30, when we began to wonder why they weren't calling. Was it bad news and they were trying to come up with the next step because they knew we would ask? We had the on-call physician paged (Dr. Roberts) and she called us back after about 20 minutes. She said that she had been busy with admissions and hadn't had a chance to look and there was no report from the radiologists in her medical record either. She said she would call us when she had a chance to look at the images and discuss them with radiology.

She called back at 7:21PM and told us that the nuclear medicine radiologist had not read the scans yet, but the general radiologist and she had both looked at the scans and there was NO EVIDENCE OR RELAPSE!!! Everything looks the way we would like. This scan sort of "glows" in areas where neuroblastoma cells would take up the iodine isotope, but they saw nothing but normal uptake (brown fat, salivary glands, etc.). Her privates were glowing, but that was because of her bladder and the fact she gets so upset her pees her diaper.

We are still awaiting an official nuclear medicine reading, but I expect nothing other than what we've already heard. This week has been one of my worst ever. Between speculating how Madelyn's disease returning will after all of us, mostly her, and how upset she gets when she goes through these scans, my heart has been so heavy. Today, after the scans, I returned home with Sheila because I didn't want to be too far from her like we were last Friday when the MRI results came back.

Right now, we are busy fielding phone calls from friends and family, and to be honest, I just want to talk to my wife and take just a minute to thank God for everything. This week we were tested, and I would be lying if I said "I knew it". But reading our previous post, we knew there was a chance that this was coincidental and had a simple explanation. There was also a chance that her disease was back. Luckily for all of us, God's Will has won out again, as it always will. I would find myself selfishly praying for Maddy's scans to be clear, and apologized mid-sentence, and prayed that His Will was for her to be OK and of not, He would help see us through. Nothing feels better than trusting in Him.

I am going to hurry Sheila off the phone, so I am sorry if she hangs up on you. But we are going to go sit on the deck, talk about Madelyn, and bask in this moment for just a short time. We know that the future will be filled with these tests for the rest of her life. While it was difficult, it will definitely prepare us better for the future.

Our love and prayers for all of you,
The Bell Family

2 comments:

Jessica said...

Hey SC Bells - we were SO relieved to hear Madelyn's good news and are praising God for healing BOTH of our daughters! I truly hope all of this is far, far behind us now...keep delighting in your little girl and we'll do the same. Next time we go to Charleston we'll try to meet up with you - I'd love to get the two together!
-Jessica for the NC Bells

Anonymous said...

HEY RICK AND SHEILA AND OF COURSE MADELYN. SO , SO GLAD FOR THE GREAT NEWS. YES, GOD DOES LISTEN, AND ANSWERS LOUDLY. BY THE WAY, RICK, I TEND TO AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT MADELYN HAVING A REACTION TO THE MEDS , RE THE TEMP. METABOLIZED YES IN A FEW HOURS ON A NORMAL PERSON, OR CHILD, BUT LETS REMEMBER , HER LIVER HAS BEEN COMPROMIZED IN THE PAST, AND IF HER LIVER FUNCTION TESTS ARE OFF EVEN JUST A LITTLE, THEN MAYBE SHE CAN'T METABOLIZE AS FAST,AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN A REACTION CAUSING A TEMP. MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO ME. ANYWAYS, THE PIC OF POOH AND MADELYN ARE PRECIOUS. IT MUST HAVE BEEN MAGICAL WATCHING THE EXPRESSIONS ON HER FACE. I REMEMBER HOW MY GIRLS REACTED, PRICELESS. LOVE TO ALL, JACKIE AND CHUCK WINTERHALT