Well...

I was planning to post that Mollie has been healthy lately and then she woke up this morning throwing up. She seems fine now, so I think this is probably a chemo side effect. This week has been really busy so far and I don't think she has gotten enough rest, so I'm hoping she'll rest up today and be feeling better by tomorrow. Getting her to lay down and nap/rest is no easy feat though- she wants to be up doing something!

Thankful

I hope everyone has a peaceful and enjoyable Thanksgiving. I am glad we had no internet access at the beach! We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Edisto Island. Just our family and Matt's brother and sister-in-law. It was quiet, relaxing, scenic. Lucy and Mollie had a great time shell-seeking, running around the huge beach house, and especially visiting with uncle Sam and auntie Liv.

I am just so thankful for an uninterrupted family vacation, with all the kids (including baby #3) feeling good. Mollie and Lucy both seemed to grow a lot in the last few days. Lucy is talking even more (and with better pronunciation) and Mollie is being very motherly (even changing Lucy's diaper by herself!) and more cooperative about food.

Mollie is so excited for Christmas. She wrote a letter to Santa Claus last night (and included Lucy's wish list too). So many houses in our neighborhood are already decorated. I take a more gradual approach, but I guess it is time to start putting up some decorations and baking Christmas cookies. Our family is running/walking a 5K this weekend to raise money to buy red wagons for the Children's Medical Center- maybe we will all wear our Santa hats.

On the medical front, Mollie seems to be tolerating the 100% chemo dose (although, only the counts will tell) and is scheduled for her monthly IV chemo next week. Her energy level is pretty good, but she is really fretting about her hair. She wore a scarf to school today and that seemed to go over pretty well. I borrowed the "Why, Charlie Brown, Why" video from the clinic and she has a book about a little girl with cancer that she wants to share with her class, so I will try to arrange that for later this week. Simple answers are good for kids, so we don't want to overdo it, but Mollie seems like she really wants everyone to understand her situation. It's a fine line.

Clinic Update

Mollie had yet another clinic visit yesterday to check counts and get her (seasonal) flu shot.
Her counts were great (ANC = 2900) so she's back on 100% chemo dose. She goes back in 2 weeks for IV vincristine.

She was very scared about her flu shot, but Lucy was so sweet and helped her through it. She saw Mollie crying and came up and hugged her and said, "It's okay, Ma-wee." The shot was over in a flash and when nurse Pam was rubbing Mollie's leg to make sure the antigen was distributed, Mollie said it felt like a massage!

No news = good news

Mollie's been doing fine the last few days. She's energetic and eating well and acting like her normal self. I am enjoying the 75% chemo dose because.... there's no pill cutting!! Usually, we have to cut pills in half every day; because it's chemo, we're supposed to wear gloves and be really careful about cleaning up afterward. This week, it's all whole pills!

The bad news is that Mollie's hair is still falling out and it's noticeably thin. So, she has requested that we get the Charlie Brown movie (Why, Charlie Brown, Why) to show her class. And, we'll also try to get Ms. Kym to do a presentation. She is okay with people asking her questions about her hair, but she gets tired of explaining. And she really hates it when kids say she looks like a boy. We went through a phase of adults mistaking her for a boy too. Maybe this time we'll get more headbands with bows or something. She said definitely no wig- too itchy.

We're all looking forward to the weekend!

Good Counts!

Mollie's counts were good yesterday:

WBC 5100
ANC 3700
Plt 308,000
Hgb 10.8

So, she is now on 75% chemo dose and will recheck counts (and get her flu shot) next week.

She was feeling good this morning and even woke up early enough to work on a Christmas craft project before school!

And it's off to clinic again...

This time just for a blood count check.

Mollie had a good day at school yesterday and it is her turn to be the "special person" so she gets to show and tell today. She brought a huge fall leaf that we found over the weekend and a plastic shark toy ("because the theme is the ocean this month, Mama").

I'll pick her up after lunch and head downtown for counts. If they are up, the will probably bump her chemo dose up to 75% and then 100% in 2 weeks. I'm not sure what happens if the counts are low- I'm guessing they will hold chemo until they rebound. Hoping those counts are up!

Weekend Roundup

Mollie had a pretty good weekend! We went to the zoo on Saturday (her last day of steroids). As usual, we entered through the botanical gardens - Mollie likes the gardens better anyway. She enjoyed hiking down a woodland trail to the river, but was tired by the time we actually got to the zoo. On the trail we spotted a butterfly, ladybug, baby snake, 2 lizards, and a giant beetle. So she said she already saw a bunch of animals and didn't need the zoo! I couldn't agree more. We did a very brief tour of the zoo and then headed for home.

Unfortunately, by this time Lucy was really starting to get sick (runny nose, watery eyes, cough). Today, she developed a fever and has been cranky and uncomfortable all day. Mollie played with Isabella most of the afternon. She had a lot of emotional ups and downs during the day (steroid withdrawal) but tonight she is back to her usual self. Now, if only we can keep her from getting whatever Lucy has...