Darien made it through her first chemotherapy treatment. To repeat a few things Valerie mentioned in her e-mail, Darien had surgery on Monday (2/17) to install a "permanent" IV access port. She began receiving chemotherapy Monday evening and finished Tuesday evening. No serious nausea, although she did get sick twice. As a part of taking the drugs, they also include a lot of fluid continuously. She ran a fever Tuesday night and some of her liver function numbers were slightly elevated on Wednesday, so they kept us an extra day to try to figure it out. Nothing really came of it though and we got home Thursday night. While in the hospital, Darien was not processing the fluids as fast as they were coming in, thus, she gained a lot of weight (still less than what she weighed before all this started). From Thursday until Tuesday this week, she lost 9 pounds (fluid weight) and looks very skinny. She is eating and drinking better now has gained back a couple of pounds. I figure she is still about 10 pounds or so less now than before her first surgery. She had an appointment in Temple Tuesday this week and they were pleased with the liver numbers. It appears that her remaining liver is working ok for now. They are concerned about her kidneys, however, because some of those numbers were elevated. Otherwise, they told her to eat and drink so that she can regain her strength, stamina and hopefully, her spirit. She still goes to school (2/3-days) when she is in C.S., although she gets fatigues very easy and takes several naps. She is on medication and takes shots daily to try to minimize the negative effects of chemo. She also has blood work done frequently while in C.S. so they can monitor blood counts and kidney functions, etc. While in Temple, Valerie and Darien went wig shopping and ordered one the same color and length as her current hair. When she picks it up next week, she can have her own hair dresser trim it to match her hair style more closely. We are expecting her to begin loosing her hair next week. If things continue as they are, she has a checkup in Temple next Tuesday and then she will have her second chemo on Monday (3/10). It appears difficult for the doctors to monitor the effectiveness of the chemo on the cancer since there is nothing simple that can be measured. As I mentioned in a previous e-mail, there is a tumor marker in the serum that can be monitored, but I'm not sure how sensitive this marker is to tumor activity. The only sure way they can tell how they are doing is with x-rays. They probably won't take more x-rays for another month or two. If they don't see any new tumor growth, then they must be doing ok. They told Valerie on Tuesday that she can expect to continue chemo for about 2 years. Hopefully, if she is doing well, they will reconsider.