Last Day of Pre-school!

Tomorrow is Mollie's last day of pre-K. We will be attending the "closing ceremony" and then letting Mollie pick the lunch spot. She missed the first half of the school-year because of the chemo, but without knowing that, you would never be able to tell. She settled right in, became good friends with her classmates, and has really enjoyed these last 5+ months.


Time really flies and in some ways I am glad that we're zooming through chemo. However, I know it will be all too soon before Mollie is driving off to the mall with her high school friends... so I want to savor these moments of childhood too.

Leukemia Video

I was just visiting Isabel's blog and her mom had this video posted. We have a copy of the DVD (sent to us by Stephanie, a friend of Matt's parents). Mollie enjoys watching the DVD because it has so many things that are familiar to her. It is a simple and positive, yet realistic, look at leukemia.

Check it out at AboutKidsHealth!

Play Time

We just got back from playing at the park with Mollie's new friend, Hannah. Hannah's mom is a cancer survivor who we met through TNT and Mollie and Hannah are going to the same school for kindergarten next year. They got along famously!

Mollie is getting a bit bolder/braver at the playground. I noticed she's been playing on the tire swing at school and tonight she was climbing up the climbing wall. She wouldn't have touched these things a few weeks ago.

Mollie told me that one of her good friends at school asked her if she was pregnant! because her tummy is big. After I choked back my laughter/shock, we talked about how the medicines give her a "turtle belly"- it's worse when she's on steroids, but it has yet to go away completely. It wasn't teasing, but I could tell Mollie felt self- conscious. She said she is a little too shy to tell her teacher if it happens again (and there's only one more week of school left), but she assured me she would talk to Ms. Nancy. Nancy, the school director, is a breast cancer survivor and completely understands some of the things Mollie is going through. She makes Mollie feel very comfortable and she is also a great role model of how to get on with a normal life after cancer. I am hoping kindergarten will go as smoothly...

Happy Moments

A beautiful handmade quilt from Matt's second cousin Theresa

Finding a silver dollar in the grass in our yard

Letters from chemo angels

Total immersion in arts and crafts or pretend play

Making stuff out of carboard boxes

Mollie is like a different person once the steroids have worn off. She is content, focused, and sweet. She's busy being five and being a big sister.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sigh of Relief

Mollie woke up feeling great this morning! Yesterday, I had to pick her up early from school because she was so tired. She even took a 3 hour nap in the middle of the day! After her nap, we cleaned up her room while Lucy cooked in the play kitchen. Mollie's room seemed really cluttered, so we removed some larger items, rearranged furniture, and now it feels much calmer in there. She is saving up her money to buy a bean bag chair since she's outgrown her rocking chair.

Last night we had an interview with NBC Augusta's Bridgett Williams. It will be broadcast for the Children's Miracle Network Celebration (telethon) at the end of the month. Mollie was a little shy, but she did a pretty good job answering questions. It's hard to be put on the spot like that!

The interview caused us to reflect on the journey, how our lives have changed. For us, the changes have been mostly positive. Yes, there is always fear and the heartache of seeing your child in pain, but we don't have any control over that. What we can control is how we live. I think this experience has forged stronger bonds between us and opened our eyes to seeing the joys in each day.

Struggling with Steroids

This weekend has been challenging, to say the least. The steroids have really hit Mollie hard, and she's having some leg and jaw pain from the vincristine as well. The steroids seem to manifest themselves in Mollie as an inability to make decisions, especially about what to wear and what to eat. She gets so frustrated and we end up going around in circles and Matt and I end up getting angry. It is impossible to tell where the steroid effects end and the five-year-old exerting control begins. Tomorrow is the last day for the month and we can't wait! Three weeks and one day until the next round.

Despite the difficulties, we have managed to sneak in a little fun. Friday night, we went to a Brews, BBQs, and Blues event at a local outdoor amphitheater. Lucy had the time of her life and Mollie tolerated it. Then, Saturday, Mollie and I went to the Team in Training info session, followed by a trip to the park so the girls could play in the newly opened water park. Today, after a very tough morning, Mollie played on the trampoline at Isabella's house and we went to the Greenjackets game (Mollie ate some Dippin' Dots and then slept the whole game).

Matt and I both think it's important to encourage Mollie to get up and do things, even when she is on steroids. We don't want to push her too hard, but we don't want her to lay around the house watching TV for 5 days a month either. It is hard to find the right balance and to know how hard we can push.

Clinic Update

Clinic went fine today. We had some tears for the finger stick and port access, but after it was all over, Mollie didn't even want a band aid. Her ANC is a little on the high side again (3200); they want it to be < style="font-style: italic;">like pizza, ate pasta. She has started her monthly dexamethasone and it is already affecting her. She's complaining of some pain in her sides and is having a hard time making decisions. Despite that, she had a nice afternoon making cookies, cakes, and other confections with playdough.