Happy Halloween!

Ava celebrated her first Halloween yesterday! I will share some pictures below but first here is an update on her and Linda:

Naked Face (almost): Ava had all her breathing tubes removed this week and has been without them for about 4 days now, breathing the same air as the rest of us! She seems to be doing well without them so we're hopeful that will continue. They call it "Naked Face" in the NICU. She does still have her feeding tube until she masters bottle feeding better - but, has taken a few full feedings by bottle from the nurses. Mom and Dad are bottle feeding her but not quite as skilled as the nurses yet.

Ava has also been pulled off her red blood cell booster shots ("Epo") in hopes her body is now mature enough to create enough blood cells on her own. These shots are given subcutaneously 3 times per week (ouchee) so we're hopeful she can stay off these. Ava is about 4 pounds, 11 ounces now and has been steadily gaining each day. She has had a congested-sounding nose (much more than normal and even after suctioning) the past few days but we're told this is a common preemie thing and not a sign of cold or illness. Upcoming, she has another eye test Tuesday, and she is due for her vaccinations late this week (four pokes - ouch!).

Taxol Round 3: Linda survived her next-to-last round of chemo! Less than two weeks until we are done with chemotherapy. She is currently a bit tired (for her - but she still was up before me this morning to go meet people at the "Eat and Run" race on campus) and gets achey from the taxol/neulasta. Her anemia was slightly better again this time - it is slowly improving although she is still well below "normal".

Some people have asked why we did chemo BEFORE surgery since that isn't what they've seen others do. This is called "neoadjuvant chemotherapy". For us, it was the right path since it reduces the tumor size prior to surgery, thus making the surgery less invasive and less destructive should we opt for lumpectomy. However, it is also nice mentally to know how well the chemo is working (and if the type of chemo wasn't working well, the docs could have opted for a different regimen). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer is used in up to 50% of cases at most progressive cancer centers.

Trick or Treat! Here is our little "Pea Pod"! Special thanks to Lisa Bennett and Michelle Mahana for custom making the Pea Pod costume for Ava - it was a HUGE hit in the NICU!!!

Ava warmed up for the trick-or-treating in her kittie costume (the nurses bought the NICU babies these outfits!):




Ava had a hand-made OSU trick-or-treat bag from friends Bill and Judy Winkler. They also made a Halloween bib and some special cookies that Ava shared with her nurses.




Check out these cute cookies - they tasted great too!





And finally, here is Ava in her Pea Pod costume and a quick movie while we were trick-or-treating!







Video of Ava's Trick-or-Treat adventure:

Rob.