Clinic again...

First of all... Hi to Uncle Sam. Hope you are enjoying things stateside (and in tropical paradise, no less).

We left the hospital Monday morning. No conclusion about what caused the fever... probably just a minor yeast infection? Anyway, IV antibiotics did the trick.

Tuesday was spent hanging out and making Flower Fairies (using a kit from TC).




Mollie went to clinic today (dressed like a rockstar).



It was a quick visit just to monitor her CBC. We spent most of the time in the waiting room playing bowling on the Wii (well, Mollie watching and Matt and I playing). Mollie's blood counts were great. Her ANC was 5400. At diagnosis, it was 0. Since then it's bounced around between 800 and 3000, so today's results are really good. That means she has one more week of consolidation therapy and then she starts interim maintenance (IM). IM starts out with IV vincristine, a 5-day pulse of dexamethasone, oral 6-MP, and oral methotrexate. Sounds worse than consolidation to me.... but it is essentially the same therapy she'll be on for the next two years. In fact, the protocol states that she will be on long term maintenance (LTM) for 2 years from the day she starts IM.

Postal service update: we have received several letters and postcards (Mollie enjoys hearing from friends and family) and a package from Lauren (Mollie loves the paper dolls).

Hospital Ins and Outs

Mollie woke up at 5 AM Sunday with a fever of 99.5. Throughout the day she complained of various ailments and wanted to go to "that place where they have comfortable beds and Rice Krispies" (the hospital). We decided to just keep checking her temperature and it stayed between 99 and 100 all day. So we finally spoke with Dr. B who sent us to the Pediatric ER.

She got her port accessed AND also a venous blood draw (to make sure there was no infection in her central line). Then she got IV antibiotics and we waited around for something to happen.

Finally the attending came in and told us he had Dr. B on the line; they wanted our opinion on whether she would be better off going home or being admitted. Matt and I both preferred to go home, and they said fine. But... Mollie was all set to go to the hem/onc floor and get settled in. So we spent about 10 minutes talking her out of staying in the hospital and hyping up going home.

About five minutes later the attending came in and said, "Dr. B just put the brakes on going home". All the doctors are scared of Dr. B. So we had to re-talk Mollie into staying in the hospital. Sigh.

Looks like we're going home today though. Dr. A rounded this morning and agreed to discharge her since her fever is down, her ANC is good, and this doesn't look like anything serious.

Right now Mollie is at Camp 2 Go. The child life team is hosting a "summer camp" right here in the hospital. I'm headed out to see if she's having fun...

Clinic visit continued....

I *think* our internet access is fixed (fingers crossed).

Mollie's clinic visit went very well. She is tolerating the 6-MP very well. Her counts have been very good (ANC = 2900, plts and Hgb in the normal range).

In general, she is doing very well. Her appetite is not very good, but she's maintaining her weight. She can now swallow pills, so giving her medications is much easier. Her main complaint lately is that she wants to go to school. She's also complained that her forehead hurts sometimes and she feels like spitting up (but hasn't). These episodes seem to last only for a few minutes- I think it's nausea.

I am worn out. My biology class started last week and it's the same class I taught over the summer so it's not too much work. I have some loose ends to tie up from my previous job (ugh, sigh of dread). And I've been staying up late watching the Olympics (I just can't help it... they only come once every four years).

Clinic visit

Today we're in clinic for IT chemotherapy (the last spinal tap for a few weeks-yay!).

My internet service has been down and classes have started for me so I haven't kept up with the blog as well. Hope to be back online soon.

Hair

I received this e mail the other day (Skimra is my sister's best friend):

Hey everyone,

Well the time has come, and yes, hell has frozen over. On August 8th, 2008, we had our final assembly at Camp O---- for the summer season. At that assembly, I asked M---- to cut off 12 inches of my hair to be donated to Locks of Love. After the hacking session, the total amount of hair, braid and all, was about 15 inches. I never thought I'd actually do it, but I think it was about time for a change, and to try and do some good in the world for those who are going through tough times. I offered Katherine my hair for little Mollie, but we both agreed that Mexiswede hair was probably not the best pick for her blue eyes, fair skin, and platinum blonde hair...

Here's best wishes to Mollie and all others fighting the fight... Keep going, and never give up.

For your enjoyment, here are some pictures of the epic event.

Love,
Skimra

Skimra you are awesome!

Mollie and I have talked about wigs and she *thinks* she wants one. Seems reasonable, but the wig she wants is a rainbow afro!

More on that address book...

I found it!! In the diaper bag (tells you how much stuff is in the diaper bag, LOL).

What a relief!

By the way, for high school friends, Giancarlo's mom gave me that address book as a high school graduation gift!

Activities

This week should have been Mollie's first week of pre-kindergarten and she can't attend. Poor sweetie. She said, "I wonder what all of the kids in my class are doing right now..." She really misses the regular contact she's had with friends. We've signed her up for the library story hour and I'm trying to find a ballet or dance class because she loves getting out of the house.

As for what the future holds, school-wise, I can't even go there. I have so many concerns about socialization, academics, religion, etc. I have too many other things on my plate right now to start down the path of.... "If we don't get her into the right preschool then we might not get our first choice kindergarten" or, since we were talking about moving (pre-diagnosis), "What happens if we move?".

So, I'm just doing my best to keep all three of us occupied, active, and learning new things. This afternoon we went to a local park/interpretive center and Mollie had a great time looking at all the flora and fauna. Anyone know a good place to get one of those insect magnifying glasses?

After the park we stopped at a local kids consignment store and looked around. Mollie has a little "spending" money so I told her she could pick something out. There were all kinds of dolls, toys, crowns, etc. You know what Mollie desperately wanted? A mop! So, Mollie is preparing to do some cleaning with her new rag mop and the broom/dustpan she already had.