Long, long day...

Yesterday was a really, really long day. We left the house at 8:45 and didn't get home until 4:30. And we only had 2 doctor appointments!!! As most of you know, Kaidan has been struggling forever with stomach issues, and we have met with the GI doctor several times. Yesterday we saw him again. We sat in the waiting room of the GI clinic for almost 2 hours!! I was so mad! Once we got into a room we waited another 30 minutes before he actually came in. Anyway, last time we saw him he thought Kaidan was constipated and I was very skeptical. The whole issue we have is with pooping too much and always having tummy pain. Today he stressed again that he thinks constipation is what is going on. He wanted to do a rectal exam and Kaidan absolutely refused, so we opted for an abdominal x-ray instead. We are looking to see if she is backed up in there. I haven't heard back from him yet with the results, but if she does have stool throughout her colon and intestines we will do a clean-out and see if that helps. If that is not the issue then we will go in for an endoscopy. After the GI appointment, we saw the orthopedic doctor for Kaidan's ankles. They are causing her so much grief. Don't get me wrong, she still does as much as she can - she's trying to play soccer and do recess, etc. - but she pays for it when she does these things. Anyway, the orthopedic doctor confirmed that, from x-rays, it looks like the AVN (avascular necrosis) is back in the ankles. This is not good news. We are going to have an MRI tomorrow to confirm this and then we'll discuss what our options are. Something has to be done. I told the doctor that I don't want to do anything outrageous, but I do not want Kaidan living in pain like this anymore. It's absolutely not right - he agreed. So, what have we learned? Well, cancer is a cowardly, vicious beast. It doesn't go away just because treatment is over. It tortures and torments the cancer patient and their family - physically and emotionally. Why should anyone have to endure this, especially children? Chemotherapy saves lives, but not without a price. It leaves a trail of destruction everywhere that it has gone. I am so thankful that Kaidan is alive. I know of so many other families that are going through things I couldn't even imagine, and I am humbled by that. But, that doesn't make it okay. I want Kaidan to live the life the doctors promised - why do they promise things they can't control? They gave us false hope that we would be done - November 2009 was the end...but, we will never be done - this will never end. Even if she does get relief from all of her aches and pains (which I will never stop working for, by the way), we will never stop wondering and worrying. I'll update again after we hear from these test results to keep you all posted.