Post Appointment Update

We left out this morning, tired, or at least I was.  Only 4 hours of sleep last night.  grrr
Anyway, a miracle happened this morning.  We made to Cooks right on time!  That never happens!
First stop at ortho.  Briley had x-rays of both femurs.  Her surgeon came in and said that the bones were healing nicely and the rods are were they are suppose to be.  Soooooooo, she doesn't have to wear the braces anymore.  And the big news is, she is allowed to start putting weight on her legs!!!  Time for her to start walking again!!!! (more on that later).
All four incisions looks good.  The bump on the side of her left knee is actually one of the rods.  And it's swollen more than the other because of that rod irritating the surrounding tissue, but it's nothing to worry about.
They called over to Cooks home health for a walker and we were done there.  Alicia and I were very excited to hear the wonderful news!
After ortho, up to the oncology floor we went.  We first got to meet a parent who Alicia has been talking to on Facebook through a cancer page.  Her 3 year old daughter has neuroblastoma and still has some tumor left on her spine.  She's a precious little girl named Maddie.  Please say an extra prayer for Maddie that she will win the fight against cancer.
Briley went back for a CBC & port flush.  All of her counts looked great!  Her ANC is 1400!  Hemoglobin was 11.4 and platelets were 200,000+!  All of this is good news!  It looks like her counts have stabilized again!
Next month, on the 11th, she is scheduled for a lumbar puncture with chemo injection & vincristine through her port.  She has these done once/3 months thanks to the research that she's on.  Otherwise it would be once/month.  
She usually doesn't feel good after the procedure, but perks up the next day.  I really hope that this round doesn't affect her much since we have the kid's fishing tournament the next day!  We'll play it by ear and she how she's feeling that morning of the tournament.  We'll carry an extra zofran or two on the boat!
Really the only thing that has me a little worried about the tournament is from a sunburn!  She takes methotrexate once/week by mouth, and she will get it injected into her spinal fluid the day of her lumbar puncture.  One of the side-effects of methotrexate is sensibility to the sun and sunburns can be a big issue.  I'm sure Alicia will smoother on the sunscreen!
Ok, back on track.  After her appointments, we drove over to Pappadeaux's for lunch.  Good stuff!  Briley just had to eat some gator!
Then we decided to take the kid's to the Ft. Worth zoo.  They enjoyed it very much!  Bryson was super excited and was very good.  He agitated the gorillas  and the big croc wanted him for a snack!  It was so humid there today, it was almost miserable, but we didn't care.  The kids were having a blast!
Then it was time to come home.  Both kids crashed within minutes of leaving the zoo.  They were worn smooth out, as is their daddy!
We made our way home without any problems and couldn't wait to get Briley standing up and walking!  We adjusted her little walker to fit just right and then it was the moment of truth!  
The truth is - it's going to be a long road.  It didn't really hurt her much, but her coordination is out of wack and her legs are very weak.  She was not able to stand on her own.  I stood behind her and supported her as she tried to take some steps, but that didn't work out to great either.  Especially that left leg.  It's lagging behind a little.  The main thing is, she tried.  She tried very hard and wanted to do it!  And it will come with time.  We will work with her as much as we can get by with and get her going again.  It amazes me how the simple task of walking that most of us takes for granted can be so hard for others.  I'm proud of her and we'll keep moving forward!
Briley was also able to take a real bath tonight!  We've been laying her on the kitchen counter and washing her hair in the sink and giving her a sponge bath.  So being able to sit in the bathtub again was a big deal!
I think the biggest surprise of the day has been Bryson's reaction to big sister trying to get back to doing normal again.  He was rooting her on and hugging her when she was trying to walk.  And then he was so excited for her when she was able to take a bath!  He's love for her poured out tonight!  He was one proud little brother!
All in all, today was a great day!  We were blessed in so many ways and I want to thank each of you for praying for Briley.  I think many prayers were definitely answered today!  Words cannot express the gratefulness that we have from the support that we have received.  Thank You!