To start I want to put out a friendly reminder that we would love to see golfers and runners/walkers getting their registrations in for the EmmaStrong “Drive for a Cure” and “Fun 5k Run/Walk” that are coming up. The businesses are stepping up for sponsorships and we are starting to line up some pin prizes but now I want to start seeing registrations pile in for the golfers. Please help us spread the word to any golfers that you know as I understand this website only reaches so far. If you don’t have a group of four, don’t let that stop you contact me or register as however many golfers you have and I will do everything I can to help you find your four.
This past week has been one unlike many others in the past 15 months for Emma, as she went an entire week without a single doctors appointment or visit. Brent decided he wanted to get a sinus infection Wednesday, so Kathryn still had an exciting week of handling both kids Thursday and Friday. Thankfully she enjoyed the quality time with the kids. 
The week started with a phone call in to Dr. Abromowitch to see what she wanted to do about seeing how her kidneys are functioning this week. She decided that based on the past three weeks there was very little chance that her kidneys were behaving any better this week then last. After four weeks without chemotherapy her kidneys should have started to recover and last weeks increase in protein showed that was definitely not the case. Because of this Dr. A thought it would be better to just give Emma the week off from collecting and to just plan on having a conversation with the Doctors is Boston next week.
The general understanding that we have is that we can expect the conversation to go one of four different ways in Boston. The majority of the deciding factors will come from the MRI scan that we get on Wednesday morning. If the tumor somehow has behaved even without chemotherapy for the past five weeks plus we assume we will have two different options. The first option could be to continue to do nothing until scans say otherwise or the second option would be to wait long enough for her kidneys to recover and then resume the current regimen while paying even closer attention to the kidney behavior.
The other available directions are much less enjoyable as they both involve the MRI coming back with a concerning amount of growth. We try to think positively around the Gehring household these days but with over a month without chemotherapy we need to be prepared for this possibility. It is amazing how quickly you get used to hearing positive reports like we have for the past 8-10 plus months, but we need to remember that this is a marathon and there will be hiccups in the plan.
Anyhow, back to the possibilities that involve concerning growth on the MRI. The first option would be to pick another chemotherapy option that would be easier on the kidneys and yet effective enough to limit tumor growth. The second option would be if the tumor growth occurred in a place that would be accessible surgically. There is an outside possibility that the neurosurgeons could feel as though a surgical procedure could be needed to most effectively help Emma out in her continued battle. We as a family would really like to avoid this option, but need to be prepared for it as a possibility.
Either way we will do our best to update everyone about what we find out on Wednesday. Thank your for the continued prayers throughout all of this we appreciate each and every positive thought and kind gesture that have been almost constant for as long as we can remember. We are also really looking forward to these upcoming activities and can’t wait to see everyone at the course on May 24th the second anniversary of Emma’s birth. Can’t wait to see your name on the golf registration list.