Consolidation, Day 1

Last night we had a little show-down over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but that's old news. Today went off without a hitch!

Mollie's ANC was just above the cut-off so she got her IV chemo and intrathecal (spinal tap) chemo as well. She also starts a new oral drug tonight, 6-MP. We are going to have to monitor her reaction carefully as it causes quite a bit of toxicity in some patients.

A coloring book from Syl, Keith, and William and turtle tatoos from Kels and family made the waiting easier. And the promise of another present afterward helped too (she's been eyeing the one with the little pink pegasus ring from the Johnsons). She took a nap in the clinic (and was even asleep while they were giving her chemo through her port) and then another nap in the OR recovery bed.

The best bit of news from today is that Mollie's cytogenetic report said that she has "no clonal chromosome abnormality." That means her leukemia is standard risk; she doesn't have any chromosomal rearrangements (like the Philadelphia chromosome) that would put her into a higher risk category. I still need to look at the report more closely and figure out what everything means.

Another piece of good news this week is that my friend bsa (nea's mom) found out that her abdominal mass was a GIST and was successfully removed. And she may not even need chemo for it!!

Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers! They are working!

Quick update

Pictures coming soon...

We had a great weekend at the barrier islands in South Carolina's lowcountry. The weather was great and Mollie had a nice time swimming in the pool and playing with grandma. She wasn't too fond of the beach because it was breezy and she's scared of the wind; we're working on getting her over that. It was a great break for all of us and, except for some difficulty bending down and getting up, Mollie was her normal self.

Tomorrow she is scheduled to begin consolidation (attempt #3). Please keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well. She should not be sick and we hope her WBCs have recovered and that her ANC is above 750. If that's the case, she will get IV chemo and then she'll go to the OR for a spinal tap and intrathecal chemo administration. Not fun, but necessary.

While we were gone, we received parcels from: Uncle Sam, Husqvarna (Charlotte), the Medranos, Theresa and Roy, and Genevieve.

Today was attempt # 2 for starting consolidation. Mollie's ANC was below the cutoff though so we're waiting until next Weds.

She wasn't as upset about the fasting this time- probably because we gave her ample warning.

We had a lovely trip to Athens yesterday...

Lucy looked at monkey pictures at UGA, then we had a yummy lunch at Doc Chey's noodle house (the kiddos ate Dorritos- what can I say?).

After that, it was a walk around town looking for bulldogs. We also had Ben and Jerry's.

Then, we topped the day off with blueberry picking at Post Oak Farm.

Mollie had a lot of energy and she and Bella got along splendidly.

No weekend is complete without a little Mollie health scare. Last night when I was helping her get her jammies on I noticed that she had a rash on her back, shoulder, and arm. Matt and I discussed and decided to call the on call doc because it looked pretty bad. The Dr. A wasn't too worried about it and said it could wait until morning as long as there was no fever.

Thank heavens the rash was gone by the time I was ready for bed so no doctor or ER visits!

Just the card/package update for this week.... Uncle Robert, Phil and Holly, Alex (Tian Tian), Nicola, J & C

Again, the encouragement is wonderful. Mollie REALLY appreciates the cards and listens intently as we read them out loud to her.

This has been a good weekend.

Mollie and I went to "girls night" last night, had a good time, and stayed out late. After sleeping in today, we had a relaxing morning. Then Shane came over to babysit while Matt and I went to lunch and a movie (first movie we've gone to together in over a year I think).

We still haven't done anything about the hair but let it fall out on it's own. Personally, I would rather see Mollie with no hair than straggly ragged hair, but I am letting her decide. After all, it's her body. Isabel's mom said she dyed her hair pink before cutting it so we may give that a go....

Our friends Shane and Michelle have really stepped up and made these last few weeks much easier. Thanks you gals!!