A mountain retreat

Summer finally got the sleepover she was wanting at Memaw's house - with me! Even better, two nights!!! We went up there on Thursday morning and waited for the snow. When we saw it starting, we got bundled up and went outside to try to catch some flakes with our mouths. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but still fun.
It was so beautiful to see the flakes falling and slowly covering the ground. The pictures just don't do it justice.

When Memaw and Nanny got home from work, we got bundled up and went for our first sledding excursion. Summer absolutely loved it. She did not complain once about walking up the hill and wanted to go every time. I did go a time or two alone, but usually she was riding with one of us.

Scratch got in on the fun too. She rode in the lap of whoever was on back. When we put her on the back by herself, she usually jumped off before the ride was over. It seemed like she could not get enough of the sledding either. Of course, it could've just been our body heat she was enjoying.

The ride started with a big push from someone to get us going.....

Everyone was all smiles while on the sled. It was really a blast!

Summer is ready for another round, even though it was dark outside (about 8:00 p.m.). Uncle Bradley had been asleep all day, so we went out again while we were waiting on the Bama game to start. Summer told everyone that she was going upstairs the whole time the game was on. Then she asked me if I was going to go to bed. :) LOL She is so perceptive. I don't usually watch the games with her daddy, so she just figured I'd go to bed as usual.

We waited until Uncle Bradley pulled the 4 wheeler out for more light.

After the sledding was done, Summer wanted to play "Dark Tag." Basically, tag (or hide 'n go seek) in the dark. When it was our turn to hide, we hid on the ground behind a car in the field. Summer wanted to lay down so we did. Then we made snow angels while were laying there waiting on Memaw to find us. Can you see her little angel on the left of mine?

Here is our little snow man. The snow was not good packing snow, but I did attempt to make a snow man nonetheless. It only lasted a day because someone (probably Mr. Nobody) knocked it over. Summer and I tried to put it together last night, but it was more trouble than it was worth.

On Friday, we walked to the end of my mom's street to try out the sledding there. It was fun, but Summer preferred the yard where we started.

She was really bundled up for our outdoor excursions. Three layers on top and bottom, one being her footed pj's. Under it she would wear either tights or pj pants and a shirt. Then we would put the off white pants on top and a big jacket. She also wore little gloves and never once complained about having cold hands. It must have been because her jacket hung down over her hands. We did have a few problems with her boots being uncomfortable with the footed pj's, but once outside they were forgotten. Amazingly, her feet never got cold either. You can really see how long her hair and eyelashes are getting in this pic.

My sister and her family came over for some more sledding and fun. The men rigged up a slide on the back of the 4 wheeler and we all took turns getting pulled behind. Clint is on in this picture. At the end of the post, there is a video of Summer's turn.

Last night, Summer made one last angel on Mom's porch. She wanted to go outside and play "Dark Tag" again, so us two went out for a bit. We did play very long because it was cold, dark and slippery, but it was fun anyway.

Guitar Hero was a fun game for the whole family, although I must say I like Rock Band better. The drums and microphone really do add to the game, especially for those who aren't good with their fingers. Summer got a little help from Memaw this morning before we headed home.

Here are a few videos from our winter fun:

Summer sledding

Cousins sledding

Summer gets pulled behind 4 wheeler

I hope everyone enjoyed the snow as much as we did!

A great start

This year is off to a great start. We ended 2009 with friends and started it with them. Yesterday, we went to do our last Christmas exchange of the year with the Lynch's. We also had some awesome BBQ pork butt. When I told Clint was were here having, he said it didn't sound too good. But it was! Summer and I loved it. She loves just about any kind of BBQ - pork, chicken or beef. Baked beans are also on her "loves to eat" list. Today, at Chuck E Cheese, she wanted a salad instead of pizza. Sure enough, all she ate was cucumbers, tomatoes, a cracker and a few bites of black olives. For breakfast she had a mini ice cream sandwich followed by an orange. She begged me for a grapefruit, but I didn't have time to cut it up and wait for her to eat it too.

I was trying to get her out the door. Then, we had a major shoe meltdown. "I can't decide," she would say. "I wanna wear boots, but...." Oh my. It really tried my patience. I was equally frustrated because no shoes I picked felt good to her. Drama queen. I am thinking of shrinking the shoe supply therefore eliminating the need to choose. You have one pair, you wear them, right? Not sure I can bring myself to do that seeing as how it will be a complete waste of about 6 or 7 pairs of shoes that will be too little in a few months. But, we won't have that deciding problem. We are getting better about the clothes choosing. She still has the option to dress herself most of the time, but I still won't let her wear something out of the house that completely clashes like what she wanted to wear yesterday. Just because the pants and the shirt both have butterflies on them, does not mean they match or go together. Try telling that to a 3 year old. :) I wouldn't trade all these moments for anything though. They are just growing pains. The struggles and meltdowns are just part of life. They are normal.

Speaking of normal, it really does seem like everything is back to normal with Summer. No more worrying about going places for fear of her getting sick. While, I still do not want her to get sick, her immune system is working and should be able to defend her against the normal everyday illnesses that may be going around. I am so thankful to have a snotty nose kid. Although buggers are gross, I am not worried that we will land back in the hospital at any moment. I am so glad those days are over. She rarely complains of leg or foot pain anymore so her muscles must be taking up slack for any nerve damage she sustained from the chemo. PTL! Everyone always asks how she is doing and I say, "She back to being a normal kid." Feels good to be able to say that.

Her hair is looking like it will be darker, at least on the sides of her head. For some reason the top still looks blonde, but it could just be wishful thinking on my part. She's got a super fuzzy head now, but you can still clearly see the scalp and it has been two and a half months since her last treatment. Her eyelashes have definitely already surpassed mine in length. I guess it is a good thing I don't have to bat mine at the men anymore. LOL

This year I want to continue to live for the day, making the most of every one I have with her. That will mean lots of playing doctor or LPS or house or whatever, but aren't we always wishing we could be a kid again? I guess I still can as long as I have her to bring me back into the world of play. Let the games begin!!!

Back in the swing of things

Summer has her no more chemo party at the clinic this afternoon. This is actually the first Monday in probably six months or so that we have not had an actual appointment at the clinic or been in the hospital. As fate would have it, we ended up having to go anyway so Summer can get her cake. It isn't until 1:00 this afternoon though.

We just showered and she is making her "dolly" in the floor with her clothes. She already tried on the shirt I picked out (this hasn't happened in a while), but insisted on taking it off to make her dolly before putting on anything else. I don't know what is up with the dolly, but I'm going to let it go. She is becoming more independent at playing. Her imagination soars. Yesterday, we were at my aunt's house who has a rather hissy cat. So, Summer wanted to lay on the couch pretending she was a cat and have me come up and pet her. Then she would wake up and hiss at me and chase me through the house. She even got my Granny and Sandra to play along a few times. I even chased my Granny around like I was a hissy cat. I must say I've never done that with her, even when I was a kid. The only time she was chasing me was with a fly swatter....and I was faster than her. :) It was so much fun. And, a pretty good workout too!

We've developed sort of a night time routine. At some point it will be time for "goodnight games." We will play Pretty, Pretty Princess or Go Fish or Crazy Eights or Old Hare (like old maid). She likes to play and would never be happy with just one game. She just told me Hannah Montana was her favorite game still, but the last time we tried to play my CD player wouldn't work. :( NOT. Sometimes we also play Hungry, Hungry Hippo or Don't Spill the Beans. After that we will brush our teeth and usually read a few books. Of course, we don't limit game playing to night time. I don't think she would go for that.

She loved helping me put the tree up on Saturday. We had a little talk about how some of the ornaments can break easily on the hard floor so we have to be careful. That put a little fear in her and she was careful with all the ornaments. I don't think we broke any this year. However, all three of the stocking holders managed to get broken (and repaired) at some point in the day. First, Summer knocked off one trying to hang a stocking on it. Two seconds later, the second one went. I didn't make too much of a fuss of it because the look on her face was enough to know she was upset by what she had done. Anyways, the day was spent decorating and finding old treasures. When we came to my Memaw's old Nativity, Summer wanted to set it out. It was cute. She tried to stuff all the animals in the one stall in the stable. Then we went over the Christmas story again and moved them around. Good times. That night before bed we read a few Christmas books, one of which Summer's Nona had given her which tells the Christmas story too.

Summer especially likes to wrap presents. There are still no presents under the tree for her. I am trying to decide how to do it. I have accumulated quite a few little gifts for her throughout the year. Maybe the 12 days of Christmas will be possible again if I can get them all wrapped and organized. That's hard to do when she is here though because if she sees the wrapping paper, she is stopping by to help. Tape is usually her job. I did let her wrap her Paw-Paw's present by herself. Well, I did the tape, but she did all the folding of the paper. There is one more thing I have to get because she is asking Santa for a magnetic dart board like we saw at Learning Express. I hope I can find a coupon like I had the day we saw it. I just couldn't buy it then though with her with me. Plus, we were on the bike. There is no sneaking there.

We had a "normal" breakfast today. All three of us had cereal. I can't remember the last time that happened. Summer told me she liked the milk and asked what flavor it was. I told her skim. :) She is eating so good and gaining weight too from the looks of her. Her hair is growing back. She has blonde fuzz all over her head although you can't really feel it yet. Her eyelashes are longer and will probably be longer than mine by the end of January. That's just not fair! She is a bundle of energy, always wanting to play. Last night, I let her run me across the bridge. She would pull my hand while I jogged on a small ledge and then I would have to do hers. We ran into some of our neighbors who probably thought it was quite a sight to see. Then she asked me to pick her up and run which I did. I had a hard time making it to the end, but she wouldn't give up on me. :) She's such a blessing and an inspiration to me. I know now is the time to live life to the fullest. There is no reason to wait. Oh, what an adventure this life is....and a fun one with her by my side.

3 Words Video

I am so excited to share this video that was made of some of the cancer patients at our local hematology and oncology clinic (where we go every week). A lot of these kids have become Summer's friends, and I have become attached to a lot of them too. Probably more so than Summer. Please watch this video and lift them all up in prayer. These kids are fighting to survive.

Also, just wanted to write that Summer's eyelashes were growing back, but are almost gone again. It is amazing how quickly they grow and fall out. Last week, she had full, short lashes. Now, they are sparse. We are going to buzz Daddy's hair today, although I don't think we will cut it all off. Who knows, I do have a head razor somewhere. :)

400th blog post about my beautiful baby girl

This morning I was looking at my beautiful baby girl, I mean big girl, and noticed some new growth on her eyelids. Little, blonde, baby eyelashes. I wonder if they will darken up as they grow out. I also noticed that she is down to 1 long eyelash on the right eye and 2 on the left. I just love looking into her big brown eyes too. They are so deep and rich, like good chocolate. (okay, that was slightly corny) Her tan face is surrounded by straggly blonde hairs, mostly at her hair line. There are a few other hairs on her shiny, tan head. It just amazes me how shiny your head is compared to the rest of your skin. She looks so healthy right now. If it weren't for the lack of hair, you wouldn't be able to tell anything was going on with her. I am so thankful that she is doing this good.

We will probably stick close to the house for the rest of the week. Her counts are dropping now and risk for illness is going up. We do have an appt. at the clinic tomorrow for a push of Vincristine and a count check. Hopefully, it will be a quick visit. The past few weeks I have noticed it taking less time for these appts. Of course when you are there for admission, you spend the whole day in the clinic waiting for a room. Luckily, we have two more weeks before our next admission....for chemo that is. A fever would land us back in there too in which case we would probably bypass the clinic and go straight to a hospital room. I looked at my calendar the other day and it looks like we may actually finish up with chemo by the end of September. We haven't had too many delays in her treatment. Everything has gone pretty much as expected, if not better. I don't think I could ask for anything more than we have received from God. I believe He is going to let me keep my baby. That's what it is all about.....believing. Putting your faith in His hands and letting Him take control.

Oh what a journey is this thing called life!

Update: Jayden went to be with the Lord yesterday afternoon. Please keep his family in your prayers in the days and weeks ahead. I can only imagine what they are going through at this time.

A menagerie of activities

We have been on the go since we got out of the hospital. Nothing unusual there. Thursday afternoon we went to the Discovery Museum to see the Curious George exhibit. Summer enjoyed it and it was nice to be doing "normal" things with her. So nice, that we went to Playgym on Friday morning. It was the first time we had attended the 3 year old class and things were a little different. Summer was sure to notice what we did NOT do that we did in the 2 year old class: no bouncing on balls and no bubbles. I know this because yesterday I was telling someone we went to Playgym and they asked Summer what she did. Instead, she told them what they did not do in class. :) Kids are so smart!

Friday night she was supposed to go to a birthday party, but by the time it rolled around, she did not feel like going. Instead, we chilled on the couch watching Dragon Tales. Have I mentioned this is her new favorite video? Again, I miss Barney. I know, I know. Some may think I am crazy, but Barney is just good stuff - very positive and always upbeat. Plus we have at least 10 of those videos so there is some variety. After that, one of our friends had some steaks to grill, so we ended up going over there and then playing games. Katie had a game perfect for Summer called Pretty, Pretty Princess. It was fun and easy to play and best of all you got to put on jewelry. Katie ended up giving it to Summer who has thoroughly enjoyed it. She is even going to take it to her Memaw's house today. I am going to keep it in mind for any little girls I need to buy a gift for. Too bad Summer has missed all of her friends' (with one exception) birthday parties this year. I have all of their gifts, unwrapped, in my laundry room. Not sure what to do with them now unless I somehow manage to get them wrapped and give them to them next time we see them. Who knows when that will be though?

Yesterday, Summer wanted to go to the aquarium, so we did that. I made her wear her mask there since it was very busy in there and her counts are probably dropping. She stills seems perfectly healthy though. Still no sickness from this last round of chemo. I am just amazed at how her body has adjusted. She ended up getting a toy from the gift shop. I have always been strong before and been able to walk through it without buying anything, but yesterday she picked out a "sea slipper." It is basically plastic or rubber tube filled with blue, sparkly fluid, 3 fish and a turtle. You can put your fingers in the ends. Summer can actually put her whole hand and arm into it. It is pretty slippery and slips out of your hand if you are not careful.

Last night, we went to a birthday party for one of my friends. Summer came with us and was pretty much a Mommy's lap girl all night. ;) We were supposed to stay and watch the UFC fights, but Summer was ready to leave before the first fight was even over. LOL Daddy was happy to oblige her and we left after it ended.

This morning I noticed some swimmers in the river and I told Summer to come look. She said she wished we could go watch them, so we got dressed and hopped on the bike. It was our first time to go to a Triathlon and it was pretty neat. We parked and walked down to the river to watch the swimmers swimming to the exit from the water. Then they ran up the steps to their bicycles. We watched them take off and by the time we were headed home, there were a few people back from cycling starting their run. It was neat that we got to see that. Summer was hungry when we got there, so we found a booth selling cookies and got one for us to share. Summer wanted to bring it home to eat, but we ended up sitting where we could watch the swimmers and bikers. She only ate a few bites of it and said I could have the rest. What a sweetie! I did save half of it in case she changes her mind later. I have a feeling I will be the one to finish it though.

She is all ready to go to church so she can go spend the night with her Memaw afterwards. I think I'm going to sit around and chill the rest of the day. All this running around has me worn out. She is still going though. Oh, to have the energy of a 3 year old again.....




P.S. Eyelashes still at 1 & 3

Long time no blog

We have been busy since we got out of the hospital last week. Saturday was filled with swimming at my aunts and my moms. Summer actually wore her floaties and swam by herself. It was amazing to see her so independent. She is just kicking for the time being, but will be using her arms too before too long. It is so exciting to watch her grow and try new things. Needless to say, I didn't leave my mom's with Summer. She wanted to stay and spend the night. :)

On Sunday, we met up at church. Then we (Clint, Summer & myself) went to eat at a little bistro in St. Elmo. It was a pretty neat place that Clint said reminded him of Italy. Summer decided to sing "Because He Lives" while we waiting for our food. She wasn't singing quietly either. LOL She wanted me to join in, but I didn't want to ruin any one's lunch or should I say brunch. She sang it two times and then found something else to entertain her. She really loves that song though. I wonder if I could get her to sing it at church one day. Maybe we could do a duet. Not sure I would sound that great, but together we might be able to pull it off. I guess she just needs to learn the verses now.

After that we went to my best friend's baby shower. It was nice, but Summer was definitely a Mommy's girl while we were there. I think she was ready for a nap since she fell asleep just as we pulled into the driveway. It always seems to happen that way. But, she ended up perking up a little before we left there only to rush home and meet up with Daddy. Then we headed to her first baseball game. Lana's Love Foundation had reserved some sky boxes for us which was nice since it was pretty hot outside. They provided food and drinks which were awesome. They also got some balls for the kids (and adults) to try to throw into a basket at the end of the game. She said that was her favorite part. Plus, she got a mini baseball cap which she proudly sported on the way home. It wasn't really meant to be worn, but don't tell her that. :p It was an awesome experience to go to the game. I am so grateful for the Websters. They are great people. I'm sure we wouldn't have gone this year without their invitation. They did this and so much more to help out current cancer patients. It is amazing how giving some people are....and to total strangers.

Monday we had clinic and her counts were all up. So, we got the go ahead for the beach. She goes back in Monday for cycle 5 of chemo. It is so amazing to be on the downside of the chemo hill. The other day Summer asked if her eyelashes were going to come back. She only has 2 & 3 now. I told her that after we were through with all the chemo all her hair would come back so don't worry about it. That seemed to end that line of questioning.

She is doing so great! I feel really awesome about everything right now. Negative scans, halfway through treatment and a trip to the beach. What more could we ask for? I am so thankful for everything God has given me. Even when things look bad, I know good is lurking right around the corner. He is so good!!!

Results and a Fever

The CT scan came back negative - NO SIGN OF DISEASE! PRAISE THE LORD!!!

So, we keep on keeping on with her scheduled treatments. Only 4 cycles to go....

Summer was running a fever this morning when she came to my bed. I didn't take it right away because it was 5:00 a.m. and I wanted some more sleep. I got up around 7:00 and took it. It was only 98.6 F under her arm. That didn't seem right so I retook it in her mouth - 100.7. Then I changed thermometers and it was 101.1 orally and 99.1 under her arm. I went ahead and made the call since I knew she had a fever. We got the wrong people on the phone and they tried to tell me to take her to the ER. I told her there was no way I was taking my kid with no immunity to the emergency room which is full of germs. She called me back realizing she had gotten our call in error and was paging the doctor (I guess oncology kids should be directed to a different answering service than "normal" kids). We came into the clinic rather than the hospital which is where we still are. They may not admit her. Right now they are just observing to see if her fever comes up since her Tylenol is wearing off. She might get an IV antibiotic here and then go home and come back for another tomorrow. That is fine with me because the last place I wanna go is the hospital. We have only been out about 48 hours now so I'm not missing it yet. LOL We will also be returning there next week for more chemo. So, HOME sounds like the perfect place to me right now. Just waiting to see if that is where we are actually headed.....

Summer wore her Barney costume today. She wanted to wear her Barney slippers and I made the mistake of telling her she would have to wear her costume too if she wanted to wear them. Of course what 3 year old is going to say no to that? Definitely not mine. :) Barney and I are watching Super Why now in the "sick" waiting room where we are avoiding the germs. It felt weird coming in this room since we have never been here before and it is kind of scary to be in the sick waiting room when she has no immunity. But, I was told it is clean in here. ;p I still wish I had my Lysol with me, but it is in the car in our suitcase.

Today we are 2 & 6....eyelashes that is. I really can't believe they are still hanging on. She also still has hair around her hairline....fine blonde hairs. For the most part, her head is smooth as a baby's butt....one without diaper rash. :) Clint and I both love to rub it. Sometimes he teases Summer that he wants a lollipop....her head that is. I haven't seen him lick it in a while though.

Summer and I had a good time singing a little bit ago. I started off singing her "You Are So Beautiful" and then "You Are My Sunshine." Then she wanted to sing "Because He Lives." We sang it over and over and over. I'm not sure why, but she really likes that song and so do I. She is into music like me, but I just hope she gets a better singing voice than I have. If not, she will just have to stick to singing in the car like I do. She loves to dance to music too....just like me. The other day she kept telling me to cut the radio up and she was dancing in her carseat. It was unusual because we were listening to "my" music. Usually she wants "her" music on when we are in the car. But, she was happy with the beat of the music on the radio so we stuck with that. I hope she gets my dancing ability as opposed to her Daddys. He's about as smooth as sandpaper....at least when it comes to moving those hips to a beat. He did dance with Summer a little yesterday, but it made him dizzy. At least he tried. I know they both enjoyed it, as did I enjoy seeing the smiles on their faces!!


************UPDATE***********************

The nurse just came and took her temp. - 101 F. So, we are being admitted....

No results yet

We will not get the results from the scan until tomorrow afternoon. We are supposed to call sometime to get them. So when is it actually afternoon anyways? 12:01? :p

Looks like we are not gonna make the beach either. She goes back on Thursday for counts. The doctor said we could delay chemo a few days, but we will just wait until a better window opens up. We do have several other things we can do here this weekend so no big deal. (still trying to convince myself of that one :) )

Other than that, we are down to 3 & 7 eyelashes. She is still eating pretty good. Just trying to find something to do that is not too hot and not too germy. She still has no white counts. We are still giving the shots until they go up. I wish I could say that was getting easier, but it is not. Meds are taken pretty well though....with only a few "nows" in the mix. Lucky Summer only has to take them once a day.

I am hoping to take Summer to a friends to see her kittens sometime this week. There is also a farm which has been offered up for us to visit so we may do that too. There is also the park. I wonder if it is okay to take her into public water playground type places with her counts being so low. They probably use a lot of bleach in those things so maybe the germs are all dead. Man, I would've never imagined myself having to think about this type of thing on a constant basis. But, I have to. Better to be safe than sorry and end up back in the hospital!

Will try to post results as soon as I get them tomorrow.

Back in the slammer.... ;)

Summer made counts today for admission. Her platelets were 111,000 and her automated ANC was 900 so that is a green light for chemo cycle 4. I'm glad because that means we are that much closer to getting these cycles knocked out. Plus, she should be getting out on Saturday morning if everything goes as it should. Knock on wood. :) That means she, too, will get to enjoy the fireworks this weekend. Her friend Willow is supposed to come up and watch them too. That will be nice because they haven't seen each other since Summer's birthday.

Summer had a great weekend. She rode on the 4 wheeler with my mom. She is usually scared of it, but this weekend she loved it. She also got to spend the night with her cousins, but not enough nights for her. When I went to pick her up today, she wanted to stay another night. Unfortunately, for her, we had to come here (the clinic) to be admitted.

She has been eating like a horse. She is almost back up to 33 pounds which is what she weighed at the beginning of this saga. The residents said they still saw a few sores in her mouth today, but they look to be in the healing stage. She hasn't been complaining about them which means they must not be hurting very bad. We stopped using the mouthwash last Friday. They didn't tell us to, but I figure if she is not hurting that is okay. The stuff is not good for her teeth anyway. I read the label and it said it may cause them to discolor so when it isn't absolutely necessary, I think we will skip it.

When we got to the clinic today, I got her to sit in my lap and rocked her to sleep. I stared at her beautiful face as she slept. Then I counted her eyelashes. She has 10 on each side. I never imagined I would actually be able to count her eyelashes. She had long, beautiful thick eyelashes and now they are almost all gone. Her eyebrows are thinning out too, as are her nose hairs. I don't even know if she has any of those left. Her nose runs down her upper lip. Not a snotty run, but just the moisture from her nose that has nothing to cling to anymore. It is so hard to see the changes that have occured over the past few months, but she is still a beautiful little girl. That will never change.

Still no poop!

Summer had a fever of 101.6 an hour or so ago, so I am not sure if that means we are in for another 48, but it might. :( She still has not pooped. Getting her to take her stool softener is still rough. I really wish she would just take it, but it seems like most of the time we end up in a stand off. Her refusing and me telling her she will take it. It can get pretty ugly and that upsets me. I wonder if this will ever get easier for her. I have tried explaining to her we have to do what the doctor says, but sometimes she still doesn't want to. She doesn't think the medicine is working because she still hasn't pooped. If she does not see immediate results when I tell her what a medicine is for, she assumes it isn't going to work so why take it. She is really smart, but of course not smarter than the docs prescribing the meds. I just wish they could figure out a way to get the poop out. They don't want to mess with her butt at all because oncology kids don't heal very well since their immune system is shot. So, the risk of going that route is too great. Tomorrow I am hoping to get with a Dr. to see if there is anything else we can try. They did another x-ray of her belly today, but we won't get the results until tomorrow because their is no pediatric radiologist on the weekends. In the meantime, the belly pain continues.

She is wanting to eat, but I think her mouth sores are hurting her....along with her belly. She will take a bite of something and then say, "My belly hurts." I also noticed her wince a little like she was in pain when she tried to chew up a frosted mini-wheat. :( Despite the new reward/sticker chart I made the other day, we are still not getting 4 swishes a day in. We are doing better though.

She is still on the shots because her numbers are still low. Today she had to have platelets because they were only 13,000. They wait until they are below 19,000 to them to her. I found out a normal person has 130,000-400,000. Thankfully, it is a painless process. Her hemoglobin was above 10, so no blood was needed. They usually wait until it drops below 8 to give her a transfusion.

We had a nice picnic lunch outside today despite the heat. Summer didn't eat much, but she did ask for a hot dog and cheese sticks. She tried both, but only ate a few bites.

This trip to the hospital has been no fun. She has rarely felt like playing and I have been down in the dumps myself. Where did the fun mommy go????

The last thing I wanted to mention is that her beautiful, long eyelashes are about half gone. She has been rubbing her eyes a lot again today. I'm not sure if the eyelashes are getting in them or what, but wet washrags are her friend.

Please continue to keep us both in your prayers. Pray that God will give us the strength to continue on fighting the good fight. There are lots of frustrating moments where I'm sure Summer and I both just want to throw our hands up in the air and give up, but that is not an option. We will beat this thing. We have to.


P.S. I finally did win at Spider Solitaire. Longest winning streak: 1 Longest losing streak: 32 :D