And so it begins...

The steroids have hit hard and Mollie is home from school today. She has already had breakfast, two snack refills and she's been asking to go the grocery store and then to Panera. I'm glad she prefers Panera to McDonalds, but it is not kind to the pocketbook!

Clinic Update

Mollie had to go to clinic today for chemo. All went smoothly (hurray!) and her ANC was a perfect 1400. During maintenance, they try to keep the ANC between 1000 and 1500; this assures that the chemo dose is high enough to cause bone marrow suppression, but not so high that it causes neutropenia (and greater infection risk).

Mollie also got a cardiac echo today, to check her heart function (remember, the doxorubicin can be damaging to the heart in some patients). Her SF was 35.3%- anything about 30% is normal, so she won't need another scan until next year.

We had to wait a long time for the chemo (vincristine), but it finally came and she got it through her port, no problem. Then it was off to have pizza will Courson and Zachary. Mollie had a great time at lunch, but she ate pasta since she doesn't like pizza She really enjoyed playing in the arcade and getting prizes with all her tickets. She said she had a lot of fun-- pretty impressive for a chemo/clinic day!

She is starting a 5-day steroid pulse so she will probably stay home from school some this week. Maybe we'll do Valentine crafts.

Share and Care

We went on the Share and Care retreat this weekend. It was organized by Mollie's hem/onc clinic. The idea was for some of the hem/onc families and staff to get to know each other better, to let the kids be kids, and to give the parents a chance to have some kid-free time. It was great!

Kym, the fabulous Child Life director, had all sorts of wonderful things organized. There was a magic show, campfire, arts and crafts, mini-golf, a dance, complete with djs, disco balls, and stage fog, and a movie. The retreat was at the same place where the summer camp is held, so we got to sleep in the cabins, eat in the dining hall, etc. Mollie is really excited to go to camp this summer!

The parents had several discussion sessions focused on dealing with pediatric cancer. Then the guys went and did a ropes course and the women got massages, facials, and manicures. All without kids. Very nice.

Mollie had a great time. She made friends with Molly's sister who's about the same age. Mollie was much more outgoing than I've ever seen her. She volunteered to go up on 'stage' during Magic Mike's show. She held a real, live dove and helped him with some tricks. Then she was giggling and LOVING the rest of his show. And the dance. Mollie was all decked out in a crown, fancy dress, and butterfly wings. Every other person was wearing jeans and their camp shirt, but not Mollie. She was dressed to impress! Mollie idolizes the child life specialists and interns, and was so happy when they ooohed and aaaahed over her outfit.

Lucy had a nice time too. Everyone wanted to hold her and she got a LOT of attention. The best part was getting to know some of the other families better. We see these people every week or two in clinic, but we don't always see the siblings and spouses, and we don't know much about their lives outside of clinic.

Somehow, I don't have very many pictures.... but trust me, it was fun.

Wishes and Heroes

Mollie's drawing of herself, in earmuffs, on a sunny day with Lucy, five smiling hearts, a cloud, and a big face.

Yesterday, was a good day.

Mollie's "wish coordinators" from Make-a-wish dropped by to say that Mollie will be getting her playhouse! She'll even get to invite all her friends to a house-warming party after it is installed. That will probably happen sometime in May. Now she is thinking about what she wants in the house.... kitchen, curtains, flower boxes, a fireplace. I think she wants it to be a like a little princess/storybook cottage. Do princesses live in cottages?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the local Leukemia and Lymphoma Society chapter asked Mollie to be an Honored Hero for their Team In Training (TNT) season. TNT is a program that allows people to train for an athletic endurance event (marathons, triathalons, etc) while raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The meeting was great- it was impressive to see so many people interested in both supporting the LLS and improving their own health / setting a fitness goal. Mollie was a little shy, but after eating cookies and running around for a little while, she decide to participate in "Blood Cancer 101."

We left the decision of whether to participate as Honored Hero up to Mollie, but we didn't even present it to her until after some serious thought. This is an honor that nobody wants (you have to have a blood cancer) and I don't want to make Mollie feel like she's obligated to do these kinds of things just because she has cancer. At the same time, if we can do anything to help or prevent other families from going through the same thing, we'll do it. There is nothing good about cancer, so we have to make good things come out of it. We got to meet some new people (even a long time leukemia survivor), eat some treats, and see others helping people just like Mollie. And I found out that TNT has raised over $800 million for the LLS since it began. Wow.

My sister's friend is running a half marathon this weekend for TNT in California- Go Dianne!

We're back

We just got back from a great mini- vacation in the North Georgia Blue Ridge mountains. We stayed at a cozy log cabin isolated from everything (4 wd required). Mollie had fun roasting marshmallows, drinking hot chocolate, and lounging by the fire.

Last week, Mollie did great at school. She has just jumped right back in like she never missed a day. She seemed concerned about her hair at first, but doesn't say much about it any more. She's more interested in talking about who likes High School Musical and who she played with at school. About the cancer, clinic, and all that other stuff: she says she doesn't really talk about it because the other kids wouldn't understand. She's right about that!

Clinic Update

Mollie is doing great! This morning started off a little rough with Mollie having a mini-meltdown about what she was going to wear and some spilled milk (in the car) on the way to clinic.

But things improved when we got to clinic. It wasn't crowded, and Mollie didn't fuss about her finger prick. I don't know whether it was the 2 packages of Oreos she ate in the clinic or the snow (yes, snow!) outside, but both girls were in a great mood.

Mollie's counts are great... ANC = 2200 and platelets and RBCs in the normal range. The plan is to continue the drugs she's on now and go back in 2 weeks for chemo and an echocardiogram (the check for any negative effects of the chemo on her heart function).

Hurray!

Weekend happenings

Well, Mollie fought off the cold and had a nice weekend. We went bowling on Saturday and the highlight for Mollie was buying a Hershey bar out of the vending machine. Unfortunately, Lucy ended up with a fever and cough so she's been a cranky bug most of the weekend.

Mollie and Lucy both slept over at our friends' house Sat. night so Matt and I had an enjoyable evening eating burritos, watching some Netflix, and then we got to sleep. And even sleep IN! Today, we went up to a children's museum, EdVenture, in Columbia, SC with Michelle and Isabella. The museum was pretty neat; Mollie's favorite part was the kid sized grocery market. She spent a lot of time in there shopping, checking out, and restocking the shelves. Isabella liked the African drums in the Timbuktu exhibit. Both girls had a great time jumping in the stomach of Eddie, the worlds largest child.

Tomorrow morning we are off to clinic to get Mollie's counts. We're hoping for a good ANC, but I won't be surprised if it's a little low since she's been fighting off that cold. Then later this week we will celebrate Lucy's birthday! She has been such a little trooper, going to almost all of Mollie's clinic and hospital visits!

Please send your good thoughts and prayers to our friends Katie and Molly.