This was a post that Brent & Kathryn made via Facebook while emmastrong.com was down with some technical difficulties. Thanks for your understanding while we get things squared away with the website!
Via Facebook: We have had so many texts and messages of support today that we wanted to share with as many as we could that we had some good news today. The scans showed that Emma’s brain tumor is stable and showed no growth. The two small tumors in her spine have shrunk. The doctors were cautious but happy with these results. Anytime that the scans show no growth is a good thing. We have to continue to monitor the growth, but at this point they are happy with how she is responding to this treatment. The treatment she is on now has several side effects that can cause problems after a year on it, so it will be a balancing act to determine at what point the side effects out weigh the benefits.
At this point though, we are happy with where we are. All of the doctors agreed that that they were very pleased with her developmental progress. Although, we certainly have a long ways to go with her motor and speech development, they were happy with the progress she has made the last few months. Emma has tolerated this new chemo regimen well and has made many small gains in therapy because she feels better. We are so very thankful that this chemo seems to be sending us in the right direction for now because Emma has tolerated it so well.
We are also very thankful tonight for all of Emma’s prayer warriors out there who have been praying for her and sending positive thoughts our way. It was a long day of anxiously waiting and your support helped us get through it. Your prayers and support mean so much to us and have helped us to make it through each step on this journey.