Update from the clinic

Mollie's ANC is 1400 so we're starting maintenance. The chemo has been ordered, so Mollie has to get her port accessed, get the chemo infusion, and then it's over to the hospital for the IT chemo (spinal tap).

This is great news! We've been waiting to get to this point for 6+ months! Mollie is somewhat miserable because she is hungry; but she's not grouchy- she did offer to let Molly play with her Elmo toy a few minutes ago. As long as she's distracted, she does fine, but she tells me she's hungry at least once every 5 minutes.

Today Mollie is planning to bring her doll Kirsten into surgery for the spinal tap. And Michelle is watching Lucy- a HUGE help!

She also starts steroids today- a 5 day pulse. I'm anxious to see how this goes because she will get steroids once a month for the next 2 years.

ROTFL

That's rolling on the floor, laughing at Mollie. Let me explain.

We have been trying to get Mollie to eat more protein lately; we usually tell her that protein will help her grow stronger.

So yesterday, she asked me for some cheese to help her grow and to "kick butt on ass." Yes, you read that correctly and I almost spit tea out of my nostrils! I think she meant kick butt on cancer. Sometimes Matt says she's kicking ass on cancer... hence the confusion.

I am still chuckling about it.

Happy New Year!

We had our neighbors over for our traditional New Year's Eve cheese fondue last night. It was fun and low key. Mollie and Bella actually stayed up to usher in 2009. Lucy tried to stay awake, but finally gave in around 11 PM (thank goodness!).

I was worried about how Mollie would act around Bella; the previous night she had a big meltdown when Bella was here. Mollie had not been around any children other than Lucy for over a month, and I think she felt overwhelmed. And her social skills need some practice. We are looking forward to getting her back into pre-K and also having her see a child psychologist to work through some of her feelings.

Last night started out a little rough, but Mollie just needed a little encouraging and reassurance. She and Bella ended up playing for 4 hours with very little intervention. We gave them pots and pans to bang outside at midnight but Mollie heard firecrackers and was too scared to go out. A short time later they were snug in their sleeping bags. Unfortunately they were up at 7:30 AM today!

We hope 2009 will be filled with health and joy for all!

Bump

Well, LTM is delayed because Mollie's ANC is below the cutoff. By machine, her ANC was 11oo, but the manual count revealed that it was 650; the cutoff is 750. Her platelets and RBCs are in the normal range. The 10 days of antibiotics might have suppressed her ANC somewhat, or her bone marrow may just need a little more time to recover from DI.

So, we wait a week. Just a bump in the road, and a chance for Mollie to get a little stronger before starting more chemo. Mollie didn't even cry for her finger stick and she hardly complained about being NPO. In fact, when we got into the exam room she asked me to close the door so she couldn't see the snack area (it would make her too hungry).

We met a little girl named Molly today in the clinic. She was diagnosed with ALL a few weeks ago and was in the hospital at the same time as Mollie (before Christmas). She's just two years old and is going through the really intense chemo & steroids of Induction. Her parents have that "deer in the headlights" look that I'm sure we had too for a month or so after Mollie was diagnosed. I hope they ask us if they need help with anything- networking with other parents of cancer kids was one of the most helpful things for me.

Feelin' Groovy

These arrived in the mail today and Mollie was sooooo excited. Jay and Diane also sent some buttons. And Mollie got 3 books about bravery and some buttons from my aunt Sunni and a letter from one of her chemo angels. We feel like it's still Christmas!

Mollie is feeling good. Today is her last day of clindamycin (antibiotic). We are all glad because it has been bugging her stomach a little and she hasn't felt like eating much.

The plan is for Mollie to start maintenance tomorrow: a spinal tap (methotrexate), IV vincristine, 5-day steroid pulse, and daily 6-mercaptopurine. It looks like a lot of chemo when I write it out, but it is much less than she has been getting.

Merry Christmas

We hope everyone had peaceful, joy-filled holiday celebrations!

We had a lovely Christmas at home! Mollie and Lucy both enjoyed the decorations, festivities and gifts. Mollie claims her favorite gift was a giant stuffed Carebear from Ben and Jen, although she seems to enjoy all of her gifts. Her button collection is growing - she received some special buttons from two of my best friends, Lauren and Anita, and even more from her great-grandmother Mollie. GG Mollie gave her some buttons that belonged to her great, great grandmother Miss Eunice and also one off of her great-grandfather's Navy uniform.

Today.... we are off to the zoo.

Clinic update

Mollie's ANC is 16,000 today. That's right. Three zeroes. That's because of the neupogen shots, but still, it's impressive.

Mollie is scheduled to begin long term maintenance (LTM) next week (Dec. 30) as long as her counts are above the cutoffs. Matt and I are totally exhausted, and we'll never stop worrying, but we are so glad to be where we are right now.

In other news, Mollie has been adopted by two chemo angels. From the chemo angels website: "Chemo Angels is a volunteer organization dedicated to adding a ray of sunshine to the lives of those undergoing IV chemo treatment." This program connects volunteer angels (people who have undergone chemo, family members of cancer patients/survivors, or just kind people) with cancer patients who are undergoing chemo. The angels send cards, letters, and little treats on a regular basis. Mollie has been so surprised by their special cards (with stickers!).