Last week we received some wonderful news. After Neve’s exam on Friday, May 27th, her doctor reported that her eye is the best he’s seen it in the recent past! The scleral buckling procedure is working and the retina is healing around all of the edges. It is not 100% as there is still fluid behind the retina, but the doctor indicated that it will just take some time for that fluid to reabsorb into the body. The pressure in her eye is back up to 12; anything over 8 is considered good. And more importantly there continues to be no active cancer, no new growth and no visible seeds. For the few days leading up to the procedure, Neve had been complaining of pain in her left eye (her good eye) so the doctors checked and were able to confirm that the left eye was clear and healthy. They also conducted a refracting exam on the lenses of both eyes, which indicated that they are both healthy with no need for glasses at this point. We go back again in about four weeks for another EUA and without any changes will move to every 2-3 months between exams.
It would be an understatement to say that we have had a huge weight lifted off of our shoulders. I sat in the waiting room and sobbed tears of immense joy. Overwhelmed with emotion, I savored every ounce. In all truthfulness, there have been three times during this journey where I’ve felt like I’ve been outside of my body. The first when she was diagnosed, the second when we learned the large tumor was responding to the Intra-arterial chemo and then after this appointment. We know we’ve been headed toward this direction for a few weeks, but we also knew there was only about a 70% chance of the buckling procedure working. So hearing the news that it was working and Neve’s eye was healing was pure music to our ears. For the first time in 10 months, we are able to breathe.
Someone asked us if Neve understands the good news…and we think she does. However, we’ve not let her carry the weight of her cancer. We’ve remained outwardly positive while praying for the best possible outcome. So while the good news brings many answered prayers, Neve just continues to embrace life. She is so very excited to start Kindergarten in the fall and this summer she will be busy with camps, swimming, dance, play dates and keeping up with her brothers. At her pre-K graduation last week, her teachers described her with three words that we think fit her to a T: Courageous, Spunky and Secure. If she’s mastered these at the age of four, we can’t wait to see what lies ahead for her.
