Pixie Dust for Brianna *UPDATE 7/13*

[lovewalt]

Hi Everyone,it's been awhile since I've posted but I know how strong the power of Pixie Dust is and I wanted to request some for my dear friend Katrina and her 5 year old daughter,Brianna.
Brianna had a cough that was lingering on and Katrina wasn't too concerned at first.This is the first winter Brianna has been in daycare so she was bound to pick up a few bugs.But the cough kept on and was getting worse.Worried that she might develop bronchitis Katrina took her to the doctor.After a chest x-ray it was discovered that Brianna had a tumor in her chest and she was hospitalized immediately and surgery was performed to remove it and perform a biopsy. Unfortunately,the biopsy results were not good.The tumor was malignant, Brianna has cancer.

She is still in the hospital and is recovering well from the surgery.They are hoping to take her home for the weekend before coming back and starting her chemotherapy on Monday.
Katrina is my oldest and dearest friend.We were room-mates in college and we were pregnant together.My own daughter is just 3 weeks younger than Brianna.They've had play dates since they were infants and they are like family to us.So I'm asking for Pixie Dust,as much as you can send, in hopes that the cancer has been caught early enough for the chemo to do the trick.

2/14/08 UPDATE: I have some more news on Brianna.First of all, I stated in the first post that the tumor was removed.I was mistaken.They only were able to biopsy it due to the size, which has been classified as Stage 3 cancer.
After spending a few days at home,Brianna has returned to the hospital today to start chemotherapy.She will probably spend 3-4 days in the hospital for this.Then the plan is 3 more rounds of chemo every 3-4 weeks to shrink the tumor so another surgery can be performed to remove it.

UPDATE:3/1
Brianna's first round of chemo went pretty well.Her blood counts are up and they are hoping for round 2 to start next.Unfortunately we haven't been able able to visit our Buddy (Buddy is her nickname,by the way) because between DD and I we have had some sort of bug passing back and forth for the last 2 weeks.But Katrina has a Caring Bridge webpage if you'd like to take a look:http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do

UPDATE 5/15
Brianna is scheduled for surgery next Friday May 23rd.After several rounds of chemo the tumor has not shrunk.We were hoping it would because it's a softball sized tumor and attached to her aorta.It will be a tricky surgery but not unheard of. During the surgery there will be at least 3 surgeons in the room - one for each portion of the procedure. A cardiac surgeon for the tricky part of removing the tumor from her aorta, a spinal surgeon for the piece that originated on/by her spine that allowed the rest to stem from, and a cancer surgeon for the primary removal of the tumor itself.
I'm asking you to keep that Pixie Dust coming and to keep Brianna and her family in your thoughts.I will report back after the surgery.
Southern Mainers- there are a couple of benefit events coming up for Brianna PM for details if you are interested

HAPPY UPDATE:5/24
Great News! Brianna's surgery only ended up taking 3 hours,much less time than anticipated.They were able to remove 95%-98% of the tumor.I haven't seen her yet but the report is that she looks great and is resting comfortably in the PICU.
Thanks for all the Pixie Dust.IT"S WORKING!!!!!!

UPDATE:7/13
Well, it looks as though Brianna still has a long road ahead of her. The pathology finally came back on her tumor and the results were not what we had hoped. About 10% of Buddy's tumor is nodular neuroblastoma, which puts her at high risk for recurrence.
She recently finished round 1 of inpatient chemotherapy with a new,stronger drug combo.She was home for a week but then came down with a fever and was readmitted to the hospital with very low white blood counts.She was just released last night to go home again but Katrina had to promise to bring her back if she so much as sneezed!
This would be a great time for another dose of Pixie Dust!

[Hayden's Dad]

I am so sorry to hear about that. Here is some Pixie Dust and Prayers for her and for you.

[MsMin]

So sorry to hear that little Brianna is going through so much. Sending loads of and will keep her in my prayers. Please keep us posted. Hoping they caught it early!

[RenDuran]

Oh....these are the posts I hate to read. I'm definitely keeping Brianna and her family in my thoughts. Sending too!

[mickey&missy]

My prayers and positive thoughts got to Brianna and her family!

[jwildflower1981]

Poor baby. We will keep Brianna and her family (and yours too) in our thoughts and prayers. Here's an extra stregnth dose of pixi dust for you

[magicofdisney]

My prayers are with you, Brianna and her family.

[mmwonka]

[laprana]

Lots and lots of and prayers coming your way!!

[offwego]

Lots of pixie dust on it's way. That poor family has my best wishes as they cope with this difficult news.

[gauvin4]

Oh gosh. I hate hearing about kids getting sick. I'm sending tons of to all of you.

[RedSoxFan]

My thoughts and prayers are with you, Brianna and her family.

[rcaide]

Sending prayer and . I am a firm believer in miracles and the power of prayer.

[Goofeygal]

My prayers and thoughts are with her and her family.

[ElenitaB]

Holly, thanks so much for bringing this to our attention so that we can add our prayers and for little Brianna. She and our family will be in my prayers. Look for a PM please!

[Tinkerfreak]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Please give that little girl a big hug and tell her that we are all praying for her. I'm also saying a prayer for you and your family to get through this. It must really be hard on your daughter and the rest of your family because you are so close to Brianna.

[DizNee143]

pixie dust for Brianna!!

[disneydeb]

Prayers and pixie dust for Brianna

[TXTigger]

Prayers and for Brianna, her family, and you.

[DisneyWhirled]

I am so sorry to hear this. I will keep Brianna and her family as well as yours in my prayers.

Sending lots of pixie dust