Today was a long day at the hospital.

Brooklyn had her bone marrow biopsy, but we won't have the results until sometime next week. Her biopsy is being sent to California for specialized review by a pathologist. They are looking for minimal residual disease (MRD). If no MRD is found, it means Brooklyn is in remission. Even with remission, she will still need to complete the remainder of her treatment plan.

If the biopsy shows there is still leukemia present, she will undergo another cycle of chemotherapy followed by another bone marrow biopsy. If that biopsy still shows disease, we would then begin discussing a bone marrow transplant.

Unfortunately, after multiple attempts, the team was unable to successfully complete Brooklyn's lumbar puncture, so she was not able to receive the chemotherapy into her spinal fluid today.

Since the lumbar puncture wasn't successful, Brooklyn is scheduled to have the Ommaya reservoir placed next Wednesday. This is a small device that's surgically placed just under the scalp by a pediatric neurosurgeon.

During the procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision in her scalp and places the reservoir beneath the skin. A tiny tube is then carefully guided into one of the fluid-filled spaces in the brain where the protective spinal fluid circulates. This allows her chemotherapy to be given directly into that fluid without needing repeated spinal taps.

We also met with the genetics team today. They are testing Brooklyn to see if she carries a genetic change that may have predisposed her to developing leukemia. The results could help provide answers about why this happened and may also help guide her future care. 

Again, thank you for all your prayers, messages and support. ❤️