Clinic Update & Pictures

The update from the clinic is good- ANC = 2040. So... Mollie starts back up on daily chemo (6MP and methotrexate) at 100% dose. I am guessing her counts are going to crash again and then they will cut back on her dose until we find a happy medium. We may need to consider changing antibiotics since the Septra (Bactrim) she takes as a prophylactic can also suppress the bone marrow. But for now, all is well.

I also talked at length with Dr. Bell about the swine flu vaccine. She says get it. All of us, including Mollie. Mollie may not be able to mount a full immune response, but any immunity is better than none.

Mollie' seems ready for the first day of school. I will meet with her teacher next week to give her some information and talk about our concerns; she seems really responsive and I noticed a huge bottle of Germ-X in the classroom, so I feel pretty good about Mollie going to school on Monday.

Here are a handful of pictures from our trip. I can't really sum up the whole trip in a paragraph, so I'll just mention a few of the highlights: Claire's baptism, days at the beach, family dinners, rafting on the Truckee, Fairyland with Anita, and visiting my grandma at Mercy.

Jet Lag

We got home from California late last night. After a week in Tahoe and then a few fun days visiting family and friends in the Bay Area, we are exhausted!

Both girls traveled well- nobody got sick (thank heavens!) and everything went very smoothly. The trip home was a little challenging; I was traveling by myself with Mollie and Lucy since Matt went home a few days earlier. Let me tell you, three people in an airplane bathroom is a very tight squeeze!! We had a very short layover (30 min) so we had to run through the airport to catch our connection. But, we made it. We haven't even attempted the daunting task of unpacking.

The trip was really wonderful. Our annual trip to Tahoe got canceled last summer after Mollie's diagnosis so we were REALLY looking forward to it this year. Mollie enjoyed swimming in the crisp, clear waters of Lake Tahoe and Lucy enjoyed throwing rocks. It was fabulous to have a whole week to spend with family that we love dearly, but don't see often. Mollie and Lucy had a great time with all the family around. They loved playing with their second cousin William, and Mollie especially loved doting over her two newest second cousins, babies Claire and Vivian.

Tonight we attended an open house at Mollie's school. We got to see her classroom and meet her teachers. It turns out her friend Hannah will be in her class- they are both very excited! She's got her "first day" outfit all picked out and is eager to start on Monday!

Tomorrow, we go to clinic for blood counts. Please cross fingers/pray/chant/whatever that her counts are high enough to re-start chemo. She has been without oral chemo for a month; it has been a nice break, but I want it to be over!

Tomorrow, pictures & details of our trip and a clinic update.