It’s been a rather eventful couple of days, and things are looking good. Where to start? I should actually try and do a better job of updating this thing daily, because everything is just starting to seem like one big day for me. I can’t believe that we checked in here 8 days ago. Where does the time go?

So yesterday Sara did very well, she fed herself through two meals (almost) and was conscious most of the day. They drained another 400 mL of fluid from around her lungs she she’s breathing much better (they’ve also been giving her 4 breathing treatments each day so her respiratory system is getting stronger and stronger). She got up out of bed twice and her vitals were great. In fact, they were so great that the nursing staff here at Los Robles decided that she was no longer qualified to remain in the ICU. Though we’ll greatly miss our nursing staff at the ICU and CCU, we’re glad to be here in our new room at the oncology ward. This room looks like a luxury hotel compared to the ICU and CCU; she has her own restroom, a pull-out bed for me, and a door to close off the rest of the noise outside. It’s very nice compared to what we’ve been used to 🙂 She’s also under much less observation here, so she has far less wires connected to her and things that go BEEP. Altogether a step in a much more comfortable direction.

Oh, and perhaps I forgot to mention the most important news of the day, our oncologist brought word to us today that both the spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy came back negative (meaning that the cancer has not yet spread to those regions). This puts her diagnosis in one of the earlier stages of cancer, perhaps Stage One or Two. This is also very exciting news for us.

One more test remains, and that is a full body MRI – it’ll let us know whether or not the lymphoma has reached her brain yet (which is unlikely since it wasn’t found in the spinal fluid underneath the brain from the spinal tap) and will also provide the road-map of blood flow for Sara’s body (indicating where the cancer will likely spread to next so we can hit it with a preemptive strike). We’ll likely do that tomorrow or the day after, as soon as she can lay flat without coughing.

Not yet sure how many more days we’ll remain here, but it’s safe to say at least through the weekend, if not another week or two altogether. Please continue to pray for her good prognosis, but now I ask that you add her personal comfort to your prayer priority. We don’t really know what we’re in for yet, now that she’s finished her first round of chemo, so we’re not sure what to expect. Needless to say, we’re most excited by the fact that the only thing left for her to do is get better. As soon as she’s able, we’ll be on our way home. Who knows? I might even get to go on a walk tomorrow with my wife. I’ve heard the view from the second floor is stunning.