Last Halloween I was out to here (hand waaay in front of your stomach) pregnant and thought I might even have a Halloween baby. I certainly didn't picture spending Georgia's first Halloween in the hospital but I have to admit, they do just about everything possible to help you forget where you are... there was ghost bowling, pumpkin bean bag toss, trick-or-treating throughout the floor, face painting and just about everyone was dressed up.

With fellow ladybug Ashlyn

Me & my tired bug

With some of our favorite nurses

Nana came all dressed up!

Grammy & Grandpa came too

Georgia & Grandpa won the cake walk!

I am simply beyond words, I don't know how to thank all of you who participated in the Leukemia/Lymphoma 5K today on.. TEAM GEORGIA! To my dear friend Megan who did an amazing job organizing this I can't even begin to express what you mean to me. I am blown away by everyone who participated - there were buttons and signs, this is such wonderful support. When Megan started putting all of this together she asked me what Georgia's favorite color was.. purple, I thought... yeah, purple. A day later I got an email from my dad on a totally unrelated subject telling me that purple was the cancer survivor color... that's right! We can't wait to participate next year!

Team Picture

Julie & Megan in the team color

Family & Friends

Go Team Georgia

Michelle, Nat & Megan

Today was a better day. It's amazing how the sight of good friends and a sister can completely change your attitude... well that and the cutest little ladybug in town. Georgia had a really good day today, no anti-nausea medication, in fact no medication whatsoever! We were unhooked from her IV for eight hours and took the opportunity to give her Halloween costume a test run. She was extra giggly and I was thrilled to see her really putting weight on both of her legs. All of a sudden she is moving around and willing to use her left leg much more... it was a good day.

They don't come cuter than this

Big stander

It's hard work being this cute!

I am wishing I'd never heard the term AML Jail, I suddenly feel the need to escape this place! This morning the doctors did their normal rounds then shortly after we were hooked up for Georgia's second blood transfusion. We did our normal roaming the small hallways and saying hello to everyone and played on the mats of our "studio apartment." Nana Kathye was here today so I was able to get outside, I walked to a grocery store that is about five blocks from the hospital, that is the furthest I have been in nearly a month. It felt good to breath in some fresh air but I think it made me all the more frustrated that this is what we're calling home. I am sick of this place, I don't want to get in an elevator before I can take a shower (parents have to go to another floor) I want to go outside with Georgia to show her the fall colors, I want to have a glass of wine while I cook dinner, I want to not be sitting here in the dark on the computer.. I want to go home and be done with this whole nightmare. Instead we're in the beginning phase, albeit done with a big scary portion but we have a long road ahead of us.
I talked with attending oncologist today about different scenarios based on what they see after doing an MRI in a couple of weeks... hopefully the tumor is just gone but if not they may do a PET scan to see if anything left is scar tissue or live tumor cells, if chemo needed to continue there is a chance that we could do some low dose outpatient stuff but it will all just depend on what they see. I was happy to hear her say that the goal is to NOT do another round of the AML therapy.

At midnight tonight Georgia will get her last dose of chemo for AML. The past 10 days have been quite a journey and I am feeling relieved to be at the tail end of this chapter.. we are now going into a phase that the nurses affectionately call "AML Jail." This is the phase where we watch her white blood cell and ANC levels drop to zero then start to rebuild, this is the phase where Georgia will simply not have an immune system. The jail part is because we are not allowed to leave the SCCA unit, so we are here to just wait. Although this will be our last dose of chemo the next week is still a sensitive time as her body will still be dealing with the side effects of this treatment, we will be watching for mouth sores, fevers and any sign of infection.

I am so glad that I won't have to watch the nurses suit up in their chemo garb putting on a mask to cover their mouth that has a plastic shield to protect their eyes.. this while they are accessing a line that is connected directly to my baby's chest.

The next couple of weeks will tell us which direction we will head next, once her ANC level is back to 200 she will have an MRI on her leg to see if the tumor is gone.. if it is and we have a donor match we will prepare for transplant. If we are going straight to transplant it is my understanding that we will go home for a couple of weeks but staying in close contact with the SCCA to do a battery of tests. If the tumor is still sizable they will likely want us to do another round of the AML treatment which would mean going home for a few days then essentially repeating what we've just done.

Georgia continues to amaze me.. her weight is up, she hasn't been sick in days and she has doctors coming by just to see her wave and smile. She is comfortable here now, she doesn't cry at the sight of a nurse, she is easily distracted during daytime vitals and will most of the time sleep though the nighttime vitals. This eases my stress and makes me sad all at the same time.

Our portable in room "spa"

We are use to people continually coming in our room day and night but this morning we were visited by the charge nurse asking our permission to be a part of a documentary that Children's is filming on safety. The camera crew was following our nurse throughout the day and wanted to show her unhooking Georgia from her IV pole and weighing her.. I said sure, why not mix things up a little. Georgia took a good nap and woke up about 15 minutes before it all began. I wasn't sure how she'd react, she is much more comfortable with the staff now but still doesn't like people messing with her IV or hickman. Our nurse came in and was followed by a man with a decent size camera, Georgia looked and waved. Once the nurse started to unhook her line from the IV Georgia glanced at what she was doing, looked at the camera pointed at it, smiled and started waving - such a ham! When I set her in the scale she just stared at the camera smiling the whole time, once her weight registered she started clapping - ha! Needless to say she got a lot of compliments on doing such a good job in on camera debut.

In other news, Brian is heading back to work tomorrow but is staying at home tonight. He was at home for two nights earlier this week because he thought he might be getting sick, this gave me a trial run with him not actually being out of town. Tonight after we finished eating and playing Georgia and I walked him to the big double doors at the entrance of the SCCA unit Georgia kept pointing at the doors, she wanted to go too. I told her soon, soon we'd all be walking out together. Brian hit the button and both doors opened, we waiting on one side while he was on the other waiting for the elevator.. he kept hitting the button so the doors kept swinging open... I kept telling Georgia to wave but she just looked at him with a serious face, this made me need to swallow hard, put on a brave face and tell her we'd be alright and he'd be back soon.

What is healthy? As we make our way into cold and flu season I have started to ask around.. what is considered healthy enough for the SCCA unit of Children's Hospital. A lot of the kids here simply don't have an immune system so what may just be a little tickle in your throat is a big deal to someone around here. Brian has actually spent the last couple of days at our house for just that reason. The nurses have told us that anyone coming to this floor should be 100% symptom free for at least a week.. this is for an individual and household.
There is nothing more I would love than to have visitors all of the time but I have put my wants on the back burner for Georgia's safety. This is a fine line to walk for someone like me who is both social and far from a germ-a-phobe. I have told several of the nurses that I'll need training before going home on what is ok for the typical teething, puts everything in her mouth Georgia and the new germ free (or close to it) way of life.

I remember the doctor commenting on how much hair Georgia had when she was born and it dawned on me in that moment... I had never considered if my newborn baby would have hair or not. I'd prayed for a healthy baby, studied the ultrasound pictures for features of Brian or mine and definitely wondered if my very strong premonition that this baby was a girl was right.. but never hair.

There have been a lot of comments about the color of Georgia's hair... born with dark brown hair just like her daddy.. would it stay this way? Over the months is has lightened up, had orange and reddish highlights and is now settling into a beautiful silky warm blond.

Chemotherapy kills rapidly dividing cells, cancer cells... hair cells. I asked before treatment started when I should expect her hair to fall out and they said two to three weeks, basically shortly after chemo ends.

Right now Georgia hasn't lost as much as a strand of hair but I know it's coming and it scares me.. my sick girl who looks healthy is going to look sick but be getting healthy? I know it will grow back and that in the big scheme of things hair is far from a big deal but it is one of those tell tale signs that she is battling cancer. For how much I want to get out of here I think it will be good to transition to that time here amongst people who won't be staring at her or making me feel like she stands out.

Chemo ends on Friday.. then the waiting game begins, we wait for her blood cell counts to drop then recover, typically this takes about three weeks. Georgia is doing amazing, she is crawling again and really using her leg which is such a good sign. Here spirits are high and was told today that she should be a beauty queen because she has the wave down... literally waving to everyone she saw today.

"I feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe..." this is the most recent quote that a dear friend sent to me today and this seems to fit just right.
With all of the absolute chaos that has entered our life in the past weeks I have felt calm and comfort from so many amazing people. The outpouring of prayers, toys, food, kind words and out and out love for all three of us makes my heart full and the kindness just keeps on coming.
Unbeknownst to us Brian's cousin, Erin Lomeli, set up a trust for Georgia. What a wonderful gesture. The reason I mention this on our blog is because so many people have asked how they can help. For more information you can go to any branch of Bank of America and inquire about the Georgia Claudia Handsaker Irrevocable Trust.

Although Georgia hasn't left the hospital in weeks she is making her way across the country... Really good friends of ours have been in Hawaii visiting family.. Thanks for the pic Megan, next time we'd like to just come along!

Another friend who I haven't seen since high school but have reconnected with through Facebook took Georgia with her to the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society... Thank you Jen!!

Here is a little glimpse of our wild and crazy Friday night.... can't seem to figure out how to flip it to view right side up, but you get the idea.

Frustrated, that I how I have been feeling a lot lately. The other night at midnight when the nurse came in to do Georgia's midnight medicine dose and draw labs she said that Georgia would likely need a blood transfusion by morning. At four am the on call resident came in with a consent form for me to sign... he started with "I'm sorry we didn't have you sign this before" then went over the risks and why they needed to give her red blood cells... all of which my brain was trying to process and think of all the right questions that a good mom would ask before letting strangers transfuse blood into their child. He said, the risks are low and we do this all the time... well resident, MY KID DOESN'T DO THIS ALL THE TIME!
A day before that a dietitian stepped into our room and asked if she could talk to us... sure, I thought what does she want to talk about? She said, "I understand the doctor talked to you about the fact that Georgia is getting close to needing a feeding tube..." I looked at her shocked, No! No one has talked to me about that.. she then proceeded to show me a record of Georgia's weight and how it has been dropping. I was furious, we have been her for over two weeks and now we are having this conversation??? Why didn't we talk about what her weight was and did everything we could to keep it there while she wasn't getting treatment? I had a word (shall we say) with the doctor about how displeased I was with their "say nothing until she's lost weight" approach. She said "I'm sorry, then told me that she is at a healthy weight but kids on chemo need to have extra weight on to avoid the feeding tube... and that it's not a big deal, kids get them all the time. Well doctor, MY KID DOESN'T GET THEM ALL THE TIME!
Yesterday during morning rounds the crowd of doctors and nurses piled into our room, read off their numbers and Georgia's plan for the day. Once finished the attending doctor said to Brian and me "it is really important that you get out of the hospital, you know, this is a marathon not a sprint.." then asked us what we were doing to get away.. all in front of the doctors. This to me was an inappropriate setting to ask these questions and quite frankly none of her business. We hate living here but if this is where Georgia is than this is where we want to be. Being with her, giving her comfort brings me comfort and sick or not I think my daughter is pretty stinkin' awesome and I like hanging out with her!
This is a frustrating world to live in.. my child's health is their business, but it's my life. All of the people who poke and prod her get to go home each night to their lives but we remain here living ours. I am tired of getting unsolicited advice from people who have never walked in my shoes.. what I would really like to say to them is, when your baby has cancer let's talk about what you'd do, but until then remember that to you this is business, but this is my whole world.
Georgia did get a blood transfusion and is doing really well, she has more energy and her "happy scream" is back which makes me smile. We are working on her weight and so far have avoided the feeding tube.. she is eating olive oil on just about everything and has taken a liking to butter.

This tired mama is heading off to bed but wanted to report that there was no throwing up today and the little lady ate pretty well too - progress. Now if I could only convince the nurses to leave us alone for more than two hours at a time... still working on that one.

There are few things that I feel like I have control over these days which is hard but I am forced to remind myself of something my dad taught me.. he always told my sister and me the one thing you always have control over is your attitude. Since bringing out the big guns of chemo (I mean medicine) yesterday Georgia has done pretty well but has been dealing with some nausea and vomiting.. we are working on getting the right combination of medicine to keep her feeling good and not getting too sleepy. It's hard to watch your child get sick.. yesterday seconds after she'd thrown up and the nurse came in she looked at her and waved. If Georgia can move on from it than so can I. Tonight she was pretty wound up at bedtime, squirming all around, clapping, saying woo, and ahh and occasionally raspberry.. you'd never know she is sick. So when you are reading our blog know that.. picture Georgia happy and well, that is the path we are on and we are certain that we'll see it through.
I read an email from my dad this evening which I will be reading again when my spirits are low, he said:
I have created this new visual to help me through this. I am seeing Georgia completing her five year check up with a clean bill of health, having just turned 6 years old and making her first snow board adventure down Whitefish Mountain. I can truly see this clear as day. I am positive it is going to happen. She is not only musically gifted with a great sense of humor but a very adept snowboarder as well.
Positive thoughts bring positive results!!!!

Happy 11 Months my baby girl. You are my darling, without a doubt, an amazing child.. I knew this the moment you were born but you have been absolutely incredible this past month. Just weeks ago I would never have imagined that we would be where we are today. You are so smart Georgia, when I took you for your second ultrasound of your leg the other day you started crying when we were about five feet from the door.. you remembered and you'd only been in that room once before.
Your smile and little wiggle dance keeps me going everyday. You have the entire staff of the SCCA wing in the palm of your hand.. they ohh and ahh over you, when our door is open they wave and fight over who you are smiling at.
You have mastered waving this past month and almost every morning when your eyes open your hand shoots up and you start waving. You are an EXPERT with raspberries and I have been very impressed that you know which doctors to give them to. You love to put your hand up to your mouth and make a bah, bah, bah sound.. typically just as the docs are talking about your care.. this really shows the sense of humor that I have seen emerging lately. You are starting to understand giving a high five. You still are my dancer and you love music.. listening to it, dancing to it and even playing your whistle and macaranas.
The month ahead is going to be a tough one Georgia girl but I think daddy said it best today.. he said, "you know who is going to get us through this... Georgia." Everyday I think I couldn't possibly love you any more but you always prove me wrong. The strength you are showing is inspirational, I hate that you are going through this but love that you are mad and ready to tell the world about it. I am so proud of who you are... I love you my sweet girl.

For the fifth time in just under two weeks I walked my Georgia girl into an operating room and held her until the anaesthesia took effect and she was asleep.. I laid her down on the table and walked away. Every time I have had to leave her I tell her how much we love her and that everyone in the room will take very good care of her.. I tell her she is going to do a great job and that her Grandma Claudia will stay in the room with her.
Today Georgia had a second biopsy of her leg tumor, they need more tissue to be able to track her progress appropriately. It's funny, we've signed so many consent forms for them to use what every tissue, bone marrow, etc is left over for research yet every time they come back to us and say they need more. Georgia also started chemotherapy today.. we thought it would be tomorrow but this first dose is done through a spinal tap. Apparently leukemia can hide out in your spinal fluid so although hers has tested negative they still say that it is necessary. They started it today so that she would only have to be sedated once for two procedures. I don't know how I feel about having started chemo, it is a word that I hate and quite frankly think of as a bad thing.. I am working on changing my mindset to chemo is medicine.. medicine that is going to make my baby better.
Chemotherapy is harsh, she will be getting three different types over the next 10 days. The goal is to get it in, attack the tumor then flush the rest out.. Georgia gets a liter of IV fluid a day to keep things flushing which means a lot of diaper changes. Chemo is secreted through the urine so they want you to change diapers every two hours so it doesn't sit on her skin.. I now have to wear gloves when I change her diaper (or if she throws up) to avoid getting chemo on me.
In our true fashion we weren't going to go into this with our heads low. . just before heading off to the operating room we listened to a little music to get pumped up (thank you Jody!) ... we kicked things off with the Rocky theme song, then Eye of the Tiger and We Will Rock You.. watch out cancer.. it's time to move out, you're not welcome here anymore!

I'll show YOU whose boss!

Here are some pictures from our very social weekend.. my dear friend Jody, Georgia's surrogate uncles, Matt, Kyle & Kyle, her cousin Lauren and our close friends Meredith & Charlotte all came to visit.

Nibbling an apple that Jody brought

Hanging with her uncles

Lunch with the ladies

Lauren, Charlotte & Georgia

I want my life back.. I don't know how else to put it. I miss my simple, happy, making it all work life. We had some friends visit today - it was SO good to see them, feel their love and support and also have a little distraction from our daily life here. When we walked our friends out of our room this evening I was overcome with that feeling you got as a kid of wanting to stomp my feet and pound my fists because I wanted to go to. Why is this happening???? This isn't fair. I see so many pictures of people taking their kids to the pumpkin patch and am so frustrated that we literally can't do that. My family of three is living in one room that has one window that faces another building. We are taking Georgia outside each day because once her blood levels drop we won't be allowed to leave this floor.. this makes me feel claustrophobic. We should be raking leaves in our backyard and having her play in them, we should be going for long walks on these crisp fall days but instead my baby starts chemotherapy next week - how are we here?

Things that annoy me:

• When your new resident comes into your room, sees that all three of us are sleeping but shakes my leg and says "good morning!" with a wide grin.. then proceeds to check Georgia's heart rate. She then pulls back the covers and when I ask what she is doing says "I wanted to look at THE leg." I promptly pulled the covers back over Georgia and said shes fine.
• When a new nurse comes in to check Georgia's vitals while she is sleeping and makes no attempt to keep her asleep.. then once she is done and Georgia is fully crying leaves the room without a word.
• When a nurse basically corners me to ask what the treatment plan is then proceeds to tell me that most parents trade off staying at the hospital so at least one of them can get some sleep.. Well, childless nurse let's talk once you have kids ok?

Don't get me wrong, the vast majority of the staff here are truly amazing but there are some that really bug!

We have been asking about the blood and bone marrow donation process.. it sounds like neither can be done specifically for Georgia but if you donate blood or sign up to be a bone marrow donor then you will be increasing the pool in which they are drawing from for her. Here is a website that gives some additional info:

http://www.psbc.org/programs/marrow_join.htm

I know that a couple of dear friends are organizing blood drives so I will certainly pass along any information I have on those.
I keep saying this but the support we feel from all of you is amazing and although we haven't seen many of you in person lately I get so much comfort from so many kind words. I am so blessed to have the support from friends and family and am amazed at how Georgia's story is reaching far and wide.

This afternoon was our big meeting to discuss the Georgia Cure Plan.. it was a packed house - Four grandparents, one aunt, Brian, me, Georgia's pediatrician, our new resident, our old resident, the oncology "fellow" and the attending oncologist as well as our nurse today, a medical student, a child life specialist, our social worker and of course little miss Georgia.
Questions were asked, answers given, side effects discussed and we were given a treatment road map. Overall the consensus is that Georgia has JMML a type of Leukemia, she also has AML which is a different type of Leukemia.. JMML is something that you "meet the criteria for" and AML (in her case) is one where you take a biopsy of her tumor to determine. They know 100% that she has AML , the JMML she meets the criteria for which includes her skin rash which is called JXG or histiocytosis. The tricky part is that sometimes JMML will have"blasts" where it will go through the bloodstream and cause a blast which would result in her tumor.. the mysterious part of all of this that they can't find any Leukemia in her blood or her bone marrow. They also can't find anyone else, ever who has had a display of symptoms like Georgia.. it's like her body skipped the second step (the blood/bone marrow) but still had a blast.
The Cure Plan:
AML is treated with chemotherapy, JMML is treated with a bone marrow transplant, Georgia will have both. Typically AML is treated with five rounds of intensive chemo, sometimes a transplant is necessary. Georgia will receive one to two rounds of this intensive chemotherapy then go to transplant. The chemo is given for 10 days then you spend the rest of the month in the hospital letting her body recover. If we don't have a bone marrow match by the time the first round is done we'll likely go on to round two.. if we do have a match and the leg tumor has shrunk or is gone we'll go straight from round one to transplant. The oncologist handed out our treatment road map to almost everyone in the room.. Georgia took my copy, crumpled it up looked at it then threw it on the floor - I love this girl!
They need to do another biopsy of her leg tumor on Monday so likely chemo will begin Tuesday.. I am glad to have the weekend to take a breath, love my girl and visit with a few friends. Once all of this starts she will be very susceptible to getting sick because she will essentially have no immune system - that is a scary place to be, finding the balance of staying sane and protecting my daughter.
I still feel like I am in the twilight zone but am feeling very positive about what were doing - all through this treatment we are involving the naturapath on staff here to keep G feeling as good as possible. This is going to be an agonizing road but I know we can do it.. I know she can do it.

Last night we had a visit from Diana & Nancy, both very good friends of my mom.. Diana did some cranial sacral work on Georgia which instantly relaxed her.. this is the second time Diana has worked on her and the second time Georgia has slept through the night, through vitals and all. Nancy is a musician (Grammy award winner at that!) and came to play some music for Georgia. It made me feel so happy to see these two women who are so warm, gentle and maternal loving my daughter. Georgia got such a kick out of the music, she was rocking back and fourth, clapping her hands and joined in with a little shaking of some maracas!

Living in a hospital is such an odd experience, you are here because you are sick, one thing that everyone knows a sick person needs is rest but that is the one thing that we can't seem to get. Georgia has her vitals checked every four hours (assuming all is well) round the clock, then they check her IV every two hours.. needless to say that the vitals taken at midnight and four in the morning wake her up and the visits in between wake me up too.

I thought I would give you a glimpse of how our days start, the team comes in and the resident starts by saying "this is Georgia Handsaker, our 10 month old female ... presenting symptoms of both JMML and AML, ... today's plan is... All of this while I am sitting in my pj's!

Grandpa was here for the meeting today and took this pic

I'm mean really guys I know I'm cool and all but this is a little much!

Georgia's surgery went well today, she had her catheter placed in her chest and an ultrasound on her heart - they kind of chemo they are proposing can be damaging to the heart so they want to know where they are starting from. After surgery she was wheeled in a crib back to our room.. I was happy that she wasn't upset but heartbroken that she might be getting use to all of this. I scooped her up and held her in my arms until she fell asleep then cried.. this is all so much to take in and we aren't even at the starting line yet. I am terrified for what's to come. Tomorrow is our "treatment plan meeting" or as I like to call it our Georgia Cure Plan meeting.. grandparents, one of her aunts, and her pediatrician will all be there.

It is with renewed spirit that I am writing today.. hearing medical terms, living in a hospital and trying to wrap your brain around the fact that your world has been turned upside down is daunting to say the least. After a visit with a dear friend (also friend of my moms) yesterday evening that helped me find my center again. If I lead with my head I am terrified of all of the information coming my way, if I lead with my heart I am sick with grief for this situation, but if I lead with my gut.. my real compass I KNOW we are going to be just fine. That said I think we are getting ready to walk through fire but we will come out the other side stronger and if it's possible even more in love with our daughter.
A long time friend has been sending me quotes that have helped me through these days.. a recent one that seems to fit just right is from Winston Churchill.. "If you are going through hell, keep going."
We met with the Attending doctor who specializes in Georgia's type of cancer (more than Leukemia) and she gave us the most clear information we've had to date. The picture is still not clear and we will be taking careful steps to make sure we are heading down the right path. They still can't find another case where someone has presented with the symptoms that Georgia has but if you look at it in just a slightly more general setting there are about two in a million a year.
Today Georgia had another bone marrow aspirate, bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap as well as some DNA testing to help lead us to the answers we are still seeking.
A lot of people have offered to get tested to see if they would potentially be a bone marrow match for Georgia .. I am asking questions about that and as of right now it sounds like people would just have to sign up to be a general donor which would go into the World Bank that they are looking at. I will find and post the website with the correct information when I have it.
Tomorrow is a ultrasound of her heart and insertion of the Hickman catheter - essentially surgery. Friday our Oncology team is meeting with the transplant to discuss the plan moving forward. After that meeting we will have a meeting to hopefully come up with the Georgia Cure Plan.
Again, I am overwhelmed with the support everyone has shown, I can't tell you how much it helps us. There have been countless offers to bring us anything.. that time isn't now but it is coming. We need a little more time to see what path we will be on then we will have a clearer picture of the help we need.

"I have never seen it take this long to get test results" is what I was told by a second year resident yesterday. They are doing studies on Georgia's DNA to get to the bottom of this but the picture is becoming clearer. By last night we were told that although the final pathology results are pending they are almost certain that we are looking at Leukemia..that is the first time I have typed that word and my hands are shaking. The next step is to figure out what type, they have narrowed that field to two and will need to do further testing to determine the next steps. The treatments are vastly different for these two. We have been told to anticipate being in the hospital for the next month.

Even with narrowing to two she is still puzzling the doctors and they have reached out to other experts around the world to see if anyone else has seen the combination of symptoms that Georgia is presenting. Tomorrow there will be another bone marrow draw, Thursday they are going to put in a Hickman catheter and we are hearing that likely Friday she will start chemotherapy. There is also a good possibility that we are going to need to do a bone marrow transplant. Because Georgia doesn't have a sibling they will go to the world donor bank to try and find a match. Unfortunately family isn't usually a good match. The future also will likely hold blood transfusions, we have started to encourage people to donate blood - you can't donate specifically for Georgia but it will help.
My heart is broken.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude, the out pouring of love and support for our family has been amazing. I know that so many have had said prayers since finding out about what we are going through and I was blown away today when I heard from so many friends who said that their entire church was praying for our sweet baby girl.
This weekend was quiet as far as doctor visits. I am happy to report that today was the second day that Georgia has not had a fever and her white blood cell count is down (although doc says it's because of her fluids I am choosing to believe otherwise) and we have enjoyed laughing with our girl who resumed dancing (wiggling around) smiling and waving this weekend.
It is hard to believe that anyone who has to stay in a hospital has to share a room but especially kids. We had our own room for a couple of nights but had a two month old roommate and her family as of yesterday. It sickens me to think that poor little baby is here getting chemo and is also frustrating that two babies are sharing a room because that meant little sleep for Georgia today. By the end of the day she was exhausted then we discovered her IV was shot (again) so we were off to the "Treatment Room" to get a new one. Our smart girl instantly knew where we were when we walked through the door and started crying then moments later threw up because she was so upset. Fortunately the nurse was able to get an IV in her foot quickly so now she is sleeping.
Tomorrow is a big day and the only thing that matters is that we are going to beat whatever is laid our in front of us.. period.
Again, I can't tell you how much the love and support means to us, it helps to know there are so many amazing people all over the world (literally) praying for our girl.

More pictures

Here are a few more pictures that auntie Leslie took of our gorgeous girl

And we wait

A puzzle, rare, mystery are all words that doctors have used to describe Georgia this week because of that we likely won't have test results to confirm a diagnosis until Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.. our girl making the most of this situation and telling us all what she thinks.

Uh no thank you, I don't want a leg brace

Alright buddy, you and me.. we're gonna make a break for it!

Take that IV!