June 24, 2011

Well, Kass gave us a huge scare on Wednesday! We were getting ready for the interview with the Review Journal who was coming to do a story for the local newspaper and she came in our room crying.  She said, "Mom, I just got out of the shower and I heard something in my skull crack and now I can't really move my head; every time I move it hurts!" I panicked because of the look of pure fear in her face.  My heart skipped a few beats and all I could do was ask God, "please help us!" I made her sit down and explain to me exactly what had happened, I wanted to make sure she had not slipped in the tub since poor balance at times, is one of her symptoms. She proceeded to tell me that she had not slipped, just that she had heard a crack when she was getting dress and it scared her.  I immediately called the neurosurgeon's office and spoke to her assistant who helped me asses Kassidy over the phone.  The assistant said that as long as she didn't have any trouble swallowing, breathing, fever, and could at least move her head some, to keep her home.  She instructed me to give her one of her pain pills she had leftover from her surgery and that she would call back in an hour to check on her.  After an hour, Kass was able to move her head without hurting, but I immediately made an appointment to go see the doctor and of course she couldn't see Kass that same day since she had scheduled surgeries all day, so we had to make it for Thursday afternoon.  Meanwhile, we had to keep a close watch on her and ended up canceling our interview.
Thursday, Kass had two appointments, one with the doctor that was referred to us by Tyler's parents, the boy from Centennial who had a brain tumor 3 years ago.  We were impressed with this doctor because he taught Kassidy the importance of eating and drinking the right things while she's in treatment so her body is able to recover faster.  He taught her how to tell what's good for her and what's not with a very simple step that she was pretty impressed with.
We also went to see the neurosurgeon that afternoon which told Kassidy that everything seems to be normal.  She did explain that Kassidy's skull had been sutured back up and it still has not healed completely so she needs to be careful with the area. That it's all part of the healing process.  Ryan and I looked at each other and thought "still kinda scary".  The doctor also said that she could do anything if she feels good enough to do, just no contact sports. So, what does she want to do, go to Xtreme's softball practice.
That evening I took her to practice and she got to do a couple swings for batting practice.  NO sliding, catching or running bases, but she got to be a part of practice which she loved.  Also, after practice all the Xtreme girls had a sleepover which Kassidy said she wanted to go to. Wow, didn't realize how hard it was going to be to let her do that.  We felt like she was going to her first ever sleepover. But later on that evening, she said she was having a blast.
Today, I received great news that the site is up for those who want to register for the Livestrong ride on October 1st here in Las Vegas and those who want donate to Kassidy's fundraising page.  Christina and Lisa worked very hard on putting the page together in very little time so we could get the ball rolling.  All of the funds collected through the link with Kassidy's picture on that page will go to a fund solely for Kassidy.  We are extremely elated that they have given us the opportunity for Kass to be the face of this years Livestrong ride.  What an honor! Like I said before, Ryan and I have riden this ride two years in a row now in honor and memory of other friends and family.   Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that someday we would be riding for our daughter's life!  So please help honor those who are battling or have lost the battle to cancer through this ride.  We would love to see you all out there on October 1st.  Livestrong!
http://www.lvcancerfoundation.org/