Her situation

Everett has cancer. She had an ugly, nasty, tumor removed from her lower jaw on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008. The doctor let me know when he called that afternoon, that her prognosis was not good, as the shape, color, and growth pattern indicated melanoma. Two days later the pathology results came back--malignant melanoma. We were referred to the University, and at the first available appointment (Jan.29), we learned that the tumor had returned. Already! In just two weeks, it was visible in her gum--a vengeful little bump the size of a pencil eraser. Her options: chemotherapy (low percent chance of impact), radical surgery (remove the section of her jawbone where the tumor was growing, including enough to hope all the malignant tentacles went with the saw), radiation (3 or 6 week schedules), a cancer vaccine (9 clinical trials on pooches with mixed results), and of course, do nothing.

I cried. A lot. They took x-rays of her lungs, and aspirated the lymph nodes in her neck, to see if the cancer had already spread. They sent us home, with a promise to call when the results came back on her lymph nodes.

Does anyone remember the weather that day? At 4:30pm, when we left the University, it was 2 degrees below zero, with a windchill reaching 30 below. We ran to the car, climbed inside, and sat in the frigid metal. The wind buffeted the car. It was unbelievably cold, there was no sun, and my Little Girl had cancer. I didn't know what to do.