Karis woke up Monday morning not feeling well, so Valerie stayed home from work with her. We sent Darien on to school as she seemed to be doing o.k. After I got off the phone with Arlene, I called Valerie at home. She found someone to watch Karis, she picked me up at work, and we went to Arlene's office. Arlene met us as we walked in and she saw that Valerie was about to loose it. She gave Valerie a big hug and said that she was so sorry. We also knew several nurses and they were also present; standing around; waiting. Waiting for what, I did not know. I was clueless. I had no idea what everyone was so upset about. All I understood at this point was that the last test Arlene had done revealed something and she needed to go to the hospital to have more tests done. Arlene quickly explained our options. Go to M.D. Anderson or go to the Scott & White hospital in Temple. The only advantage she gave for going to Temple was that she knew the Drs. and she could be part of whatever went on. If we went to M.D. Anderson, which she would support if that's what we wanted to do, she couldn't help us; she didn't know the folks down there. We chose Temple, she gave us instructions, we went home to pack a bag for a few days, we waited for Valerie's mom to come to our house to stay with Vincent and Karis, we picked up Darien at school, and we were off to Temple.

We arrived in Temple Monday afternoon about 2 or 3 o'clock. We checked in at the desk and we sat down in the waiting room. We were the only people in the waiting room. Within a minute or two, a lady walked out, introduced herself, and sat down beside us. I recall her talking to us and Darien, but I haven't a clue as to what she said. She escorted us back to a room where she asked Darien to change into a gown. She took Darien's vital signs, weighed her, then gave her an exam. After pressing on her tummy so hard, Darien was in real pain. She could barely lie down. Looking back, I suspect that she, Dr. Thompson, suspected what was wrong. Dr. Frankel, head of pediatrics oncology, also came in and poked around on Darien. Dr. Thompson immediately ordered a CAT scan and we were off. The CAT scan didn't take long so we headed back in Dr. Thompson's office. While we waited for the CAT scan results, they asked numerous questions about our background, travel history, and Darien's medical history. About 5 o'clock the CAT scan results were in. Both Dr. Frankel and Dr. Thompson came in and told us that Darien had a large tumor in her tummy area, in and around her liver. I recall that Darien was sitting in my lap and that I don't recall reacting at all. Valerie, on the other hand, began to cry. Dr. Frankel, sensing that Valerie was getting upset and didn't want Darien to see, suggested that he and she go call Arlene Meyer and tell her the news. Arlene had trained under Dr. Frankel for a period of time and I could hear part of their conversation in the next room. About the only thing relevant that I recall was that Dr. Frankel told Arlene that the patient was doing fine but mom was a basket case. Me? I was ignorant. What is a tumor anyway?

The Drs. told us we would not be leaving the hospital for a while.

It's been 1 year since that day. I recall a discussion with Valerie the night before Darien's surgery (January 30). I remember telling Valerie that there were so many possibilities, so many if's, so many what-if's, that it was too difficult to comprehend. There was one thing that I was certain about, though, and that was that everything had to go perfect, everything had to go right in order for Darien to survive. And in my mind, there were about 5 or 6 "steps" that we had to accomplish perfectly within the next few weeks. If we stumbled on any one of those steps, if one of those steps didn't turn out the way it needed to, we would have been thrown into an endless stream of possibilities - the uncertainty of her survival would have increased dramatically, and I'm not talking about her long-term survival.

Without explaining the steps I had outlined in my mind, suffice it to say that they all turned out exactly as I had dreamed. There were 2 items that I hadn't even thought of that didn't go our way, but they had to do more with her treatment options and I was focussing on getting her through the next few weeks alive.

Darien is doing great now. She is still undergoing chemotherapy treatments about once every 3 or 4 weeks. She has had 11 treatments so far and the Drs. would like her to get treatments as long as she can. One estimates a total of 18 months and the other, 2 years. Darien's progress is measured via periodic CAT scans. They are looking for new tumor growth, not only in her liver, but in other places. Although they periodically believe they see something (small spots on her lungs, growth behind her sternum) the liver always has looked clean and everything else seems to come and go with the various CAT scans. Darien is ready for the treatments to be over, but her spirits are high and she understands the need for treatments and the unpredictable schedule we must follow.