Friday, September 9, 2005: Good news. The MRI is clear. Now we have to see when they can work Leela into the surgical calendar to remove the catheter.

It’s been a long week for Leela. On Tuesday we went for a checkup to the Ocularist. Leela was very brave and did not cry when Mr. Hughes took out the prosthesis for a cleaning. Everything looked good.

Wednesday was Leela's first day of pre-Kindergarden. From all reports she had a great day. (I posted a photograph of her on her way to school.)

Thursday she missed school in order to receive the MRI. Except for a slight bureaucratic screw up, it all went very smoothly. Lesson learned: before you arrive for your MRI make sure you have the insurance authorization number, the codes for the authorized procedures, and the authorization’s expiration date. Geetha and Leela left for the hospital just after 7am and were back at home around 11:30am.

Today we went for Leela’a appointment with Dr. Lawlor in order to find out the results of the MRI. While we had every reason to expect it to be clear, both Geetha and I were quite nervous about it. We were made even more nervous by the fact that Leela seemed to be running a slight temperature and was obviously not feeling well. I found myself trying to decode the looks we were getting from everyone. It did not take long, however, for Jessica, Leela’s nurse practitioner, to tell us that it all looked good. So chemotherapy is over! Aside from the surgery to remove the catheter, Leela will have to return to Children’s Hospital once a month for checkups and in six months for another MRI.

We should know more about when she is scheduled for her catheter removal next week. It is a very quick outpatient procedure. The first thing Leela wants to do is have a bubble bath with her sister with “lots of splashing”.