Anna's First Laser Treatment

My youngest daughter, Anna, is almost four-years-old. Last November, she was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma Nevus Syndrome. You can click here to read more about that. It has affected her body in many ways, and you can click here to read more that, too.
Yesterday, we took Anna to Le Bonheur Hospital in Memphis for her first laser treatment. The CO2 laser removed the basal cell cancers very quickly. Dr. Fleming zapped 75 spots in 25 minutes! I'm blogging about our experience with Gorlin Syndrome (another name for BCCNS), because it is a rare genetic condition and there just isn't a lot of information out there. Maybe God will use this to help another family.

Here we are on the way to Memphis - a four-hour drive! We had to circle the BCCs (little cancer spots) before we arrived at the hospital.

Thank you, Lord, for tablets! We watched Monsters University on the Kindle while waiting to go back.

You can see here the little circles where the doctor will use the laser to remove the cancer spots.

I must say that Le Bonheur has the BEST toys! When we first went back into the OR area, they took us to a huge wall filled with Melissa and Doug toys! Anna picked a mermaid.

Kisses from mama!

We drove for four hours, then we waited in the hospital for almost three more hours before they took us into the OR. The whole procedure took a total of 25 minutes!

The cancer spot is now replaced with a little red hole. She's not in any pain, and the scarring will be minimal, so they tell me. We'll come back again for the same laser procedure next year. Her body doesn't know when to stop making cells, so the BCCs will keep coming, and we'll keep having them zapped off. When she's older, close to 20, the BCCs will get more aggressive and the laser won't be effective anymore. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we're thanking God for the laser!

What a trooper! Anna did a wonderful job, and she's back to her old self today. Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and mercy! I truly felt my Father carrying me through this whole process. It was, and still is, very hard on my heart to see my baby with tiny red holes all over her body, but I know that God is good, and I'm thankful for modern medicine that zapped those little cancers right off of her.

And thank you for letting me share my precious girls with you; it helps me to get my thoughts out. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day! And if you have little ones, hug them tightly - they really are blessings from our loving God.