11.14.2010

Clinic Update and other highlights from early November

Some of you know from Facebook that Mollie's application for secondary insurance through the state of North Carolina was declined.  Boo!  Georgia has a much more generous program (called the Katie Beckett waiver) and I am so glad that we were there when she was diagnosed.  Definitely a low point, but we're moving on.


Highlights from the previous week include:

The weather 
We are having wonderful fall temperatures, beautiful skies, and brilliant foliage.  We pulled out our jackets to wear in the morning, but we shed them by the afternoon.  It is such a welcome relief after a sweltering summer!  We have enjoyed leaf-peeping in the parks near our house as well as the enchanting botanical gardens at UNCC.

The fall harvest festival (almost right in our backyard)
Lucy and Mollie enjoyed riding Freckles the pony and petting the goat, goose, chickens, rabbit, and piglet from a local farm.

Football
Matt and Mollie went to see the Panthers play the Saints last Sunday.  The Panthers are terrible, but Mollie doesn't care!  She is their biggest cheerleader! She composed numerous cheers for the team in her notebook and demonstrated them for us.  She is one cheerleader that I appreciate!

Matt took Lucy to see Davidson play football yesterday while Mollie went to a birthday party.  She was very brave and gave a high five to the mascot!


Clinic (Yes, clinic).
Mollie had clinic on Tuesday and it went very smoothly.  Her ANC is 4400!! and all other counts and blood chemistry are normal.  She is growing taller and slimmer and is feeling good.  We got some tips for handling her dry skin and scalp.  Dr. J. and I discussed doing a neuropsych evaluation (recommended for anyone who receives multiple doses of intrathecal chemo- probably will do it about a year from now) and scheduling Mollie's echocardiogram to monitor her heart function (recommended for those who have received adriamycin- done annually).  We go back in a month for another check-up and the port removal surgery is ON for this week!


We hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!  Please keep Mollie in your thoughts & prayers on Tuesday WEDNESDAY as she undergoes her surgery.  Tuesday is on my mind because I have to get everything ready by then!

8 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos! I love the changing colors and the girls look wonderful. Mollie and everyone will definitely be in my thoughts Tuesday. Can't wait to see those earrings!

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  2. I'm so happy to see Mollie and Lucy having fun together (and Little Liam from the Halloween pictures, too!). I know Mollie will be glad to get that port out--and the idea that the surgeon will pierce her ears while she's under is great, too! We miss those fall color changes--we don't see much here in Florida. Sure hope you have a nice trip to Disney World, too (we live about an hour and a half or so from there). We've traveled a lot of times there over the years when our daughter was younger, and she really loved it-(but of course). They'll probably have some pretty Mickey Mouse pierced earrings there, too.
    Anyway, I pray that Mollie's progress continues and that surgery goes well; and that you have the most fantastic trip ever.

    Love,
    Cousin Theresa

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  3. Great photos! Although the fall colors are outstanding, I especially love the cheerleaders.
    Mollie is in my thoughts and prayers as she gets her port removed. What a milestone!
    See you all soon.

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  4. Gorgeous photos and love your new blog look. It sounds like things are moving forward in a (mostly) positive way. Jeez...you guys didn't need that insurance denial especially with the Georgia house still in your ownership! The girls look wonderful!
    Nicola

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  5. Great photos. Definitely sending thoughts and prayers.

    Michelle

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  6. Congratulations, the illness finally over an done with!

    As to Neuropsych Evaluation I distrust people who claim being able to "quantitatively measure the cognitive and behavioral capabilities of a patient."
    ( http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/317596-overview ;
    http://ccm.psych.uic.edu/Research/ResearchProgram/Neuropsych/evaluation.aspx )

    Molly seems happy and bright. So why worry at all?

    On top of all your courage, I admire the blog-story and all the beautiful photos.

    Cheers ... Helmut

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  7. Today is the day! Happy port removal day! The port fairy came for Rowan, a tooth fairy on special assignment, just like the steri-strip fairy and the ear tubes fairy. Mollie should handle it just fine. Rowan didn't even need anything other than OTC meds by day 2 for the discomfort. They let us have the port after we pushed a bit.

    I'm proud of you for getting rid of the leftover chemo meds. I let Roro dump the prednisone in the sink, with this big happy smile on her face, but it took me months to get rid of the stash of drugs we had accumulated. You go girl!

    And of course you are waiting for the other shoe to drop. How can you not? You've lived through lightning striking, and that will forever change your perspective on what is possible. The only tincture for allaying that fear, I'm afraid, and I hate this with a passion, is time. Ugh. But that distance, the softening of the acuteness of the trauma, the experience of weathering her first off-therapy fevers and illnesses, the clinic visits which show her growing and her counts normalizing, all of that will help you slowly but surely move away from the fear of relapse.

    The blog looks so beautiful. And I am truly envious of your autumn!! We have nothing like that here in Phoenix. Enjoy every minute and love up on those sweetie-pie kiddos,
    Michele, Rowan's mommy

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  8. Hi everyone, we will have a proper update with photos shortly, but wanted all to know that Mollie's surgery (and ear piercing!) went well today. She was given a little morphine for the discomfort but is otherwise fine and excited about some post-operation pizza. Aside from Liam's birth in January this is probably one of the best days we have had in a long time.

    Thanks for reading!

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Comments are always welcome!