Clinic Update

Clinic went fine today. We had some tears for the finger stick and port access, but after it was all over, Mollie didn't even want a band aid. Her ANC is a little on the high side again (3200); they want it to be < style="font-style: italic;">like pizza, ate pasta. She has started her monthly dexamethasone and it is already affecting her. She's complaining of some pain in her sides and is having a hard time making decisions. Despite that, she had a nice afternoon making cookies, cakes, and other confections with playdough.

Ideas?

First, I updated the links on the right panetl to link to our friend Rhian's fundraising page. She is running the Hibiscus Half Marathon in Hawaii, raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society through Team in Training. Go Rhian!

Coincidentally, Mollie is also the Honored Hero for the local chapter of the LLS Team in Training. I hope Mollie can participate in something like this some day. We have met several cancer survivors who are participating locally, and they are an inspiration to us!

Finally, June 17 marks one year since Mollie was diagnosed with leukemia. I want to commemorate this somehow to remind her how far she has come from that scared little girl in the hospital. I am thinking of having this blog printed out (edited first, of course) as a book for her, but I would love to hear other ideas. That will be a tough week, I think. I get kind of teary and panicky feeling just re-living those memories.

Wigglers

The dentist appointment went well and Mollie has two loose teeth! The tooth fairy might have to wait a while though because we can just barely wiggle them.

Clinic got rescheduled for Thursday, so we get two more days before starting steroids!

A Walk in the Woods and Butterflies

The weekend didn't start out too well since Lucy and I were both sick (probably not Georgia's first cases of swine flu). We are hoping that Mollie managed to escape this ailment, but only time will tell.

I was feeling a lot better today, so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take a hike at a local nature preserve. We were proud that Mollie walked the whole way (~3 miles) with only a little complaining! We hyped up the "adventure" concept and ended up seeing turtles, beautiful butterflies, longleaf pine, an animal bone, and lots of ferns and flowers. Mollie talked non-stop about our discoveries and fairies (her favorite topic). We learned about fairy cars, boats, TVs, and houses. I love her imagination!

Yes, hiking in a dress!

It was hot and the girls couldn't wait to splash in the pool for a bit when we got home.

Isabella came over to play this evening. After playing indoors for a while, they put on butterfly wings (we got these in the mail a week or so ago and don't know who they are from... speak up if you're reading!) and pretended they were butterflies in our front yard. Aren't they cute?


Tomorrow brings a dentist appointment for Mollie, followed by clinic for IV chemo (and start steroids) on Tuesday.