821 For Anna - A Leukemia Journey: Day 116 - 118 Continued

Arriving at Cincinnati Children's Hospital after 14 glorious hours in the car, we were greeted by Dr. Stella Davies & Dr. Christine Phillips. In our first meeting they explained why they were concerned with the results from Maria Ferari. They expressed that they were not convinced that Anna had any cancer in her body at all. In fact they were suspecting that what MFCH was seeing were something called Hermatogones. These are normal cells that grow in the bone marrow and can become present after a round of Chemo, but they wanted to make sure. So the following day, 6:30 am Thursday - Anna saddled up for ANOTHER bone marrow test. As usual she was fantastic!

The CCH team that morning was amazing. It showed us how much more advanced this facility was VS MFCH. The cleanliness was over the top positive, and how they cared for the patient was extraordinary. It was becoming more and more clear that perhaps we were not in the best place for Anna back home. There was a reason they were # 1 Cincinnati Children's

So the procedure was over and now we wait 24 hours for the results. What's the best thing to do while you wait for results? Go to the Newport Kentucky Aquarium of course.

Now the following morning we eagerly await the results. They say with and as told us thy Anna is in Remission and does not need a bone marrow transplant. At first we were taken back as we now have trust issues. But after they reassures us that there is an additional data point telling them the same things we were relieved, ecstatic, elated.... Ok ok we were happy! In addition to telling us that, they also shared that they dug back to the beginning of Anna's treatment and reviewed images and actual slides. What this allowed them to tell us is "Anna has been in remission since day 29" The team at Maria Ferrari was WRONG since then.

So now what? Clearly we were no longer comfortable at MFCH and moving to Cincinnatti for the next 2 years is not ideal. So Dr. Davies suggested Memerial Sloan Kettering in NYC. She's is friends with the head of transplant there. We concurred and she then put the wheels in motion to connect us with that team.

Off to celebrate now! Where too? The Cincinatti Zoo. It was awesome.