Six months / three months

We had a positive visit at MD Anderson today, and they put us on a 3-month / 6-month schedule. That is, we are still on a 3-month testing cycle, but we need come to Houston only a every 6-months  – unless the tests suggest something otherwise.

We started the appointment cycle at 9:30 with the check-in and some preliminary exams. About 11 a.m., Dr. Gombos’s PA, Megan, and his nurse Suzanne ushered us in for the “detailed interview” stage of things. During this process, we met Dr.  Gombos’s new PA, Cliff Leonard.

All the staff praised the work of the ocularist (Donnie Franklin), saying the prosthesis really looked good, even when it was sitting on the counter!

Dr. Gombos came in, and we discussed why some call ocular implants “coral” and the procedure known as “pegging.”  The implants are called coral because they are porous and encourage growth and familiarity with blood vessels and other body tissue. Pegging is the process of drilling a hole in the “coral” and then placing a peg on the prosthesis that fits into hole.

Dr. Gombos said he does not favor pegging because the increased risk of chronic infection outweighs the marginal cosmetic improvement.

We’re good with that.

So we left MD Anderson about 12:30 p.m.  with a handful of orders and prescriptions. We have to fulfill some of the orders this month, some in May, and return to Houston in August. Hooray!

Riley on the mend

Well, we finally made it!  After 11 weeks in the cast, Riley is finally free and moving about.  This also means that she is back to using the potty all by herself.  No more diapers–hooray!  The pictures below detail the break and our trials with the cast in place.  Now Riley hobbles around cheerfully all by herself and has resumed activities such as playing in the park with her older sister, Jenna, and riding her tricycle up and down the block.  Riley still enjoys playing computer games, which became her favorite pastime while she was immobile.