This weekend we went up to Snow Hill Farm (a few hours drive from us, in South Carolina) to visit Mollie's great-grandparents, Mollie and Charles. It was great-grandpa's 88th birthday, so uncles Robert and Jim and Matt's brother and his wife came for the festivities as well.
Mollie had a fun time visiting with everybody and she caught two fish, including a 16 inch catfish, with her Barbie pole! It was nice to be away from internet, cell phones, and TV and just hang out. Mollie and Lucy did a lot of coloring and running around.
Mollie is back at school this week, with a spinal tap scheduled for next week. She is adjusting very well to the challenges of school: getting up early, navigating relationships with her classmates, jumping right back in after missing a few days here and there. I have truly amazed at how well she is handling everything. We have a conference with her teacher next week and I'm eager to get her input.
9.08.2009
9.05.2009
On the mend
Mollie had a great day at school on Friday, and then a play date with Bella. She's definitely feeling better, although the cough is hanging on.
Have a great weekend!
Have a great weekend!
9.03.2009
Crafty Day
Mollie stayed home from school today due to 1) yesterday's fever and 2) big time antibiotics. Other than the cough, she felt pretty good and did not want to just stay home and rest. So... we picked up some bagels and cream cheese and headed over to the park for a picnic. Mollie and Lucy had a great time playing in the water park, but the play structure was just too hot, so we didn't stay for long.
Mollie missed art class (her favorite) at school today, so we had our own art class at home. She has been learning to recognize all the color words, so I made a color wheel for her to paint. The learning experience was two fold: she had to recognize the colors that I wrote on the wheel and then we talked about primary and secondary colors and color mixing. Definitely a success!
After a little down time, I took Mollie to her first Girl Scout (Daisy) meeting. The troop made paper bead necklaces, a craft right up Mollie's alley! Lucy also had a fun time scooting around on the floor in the gym, where the meeting was held.
Today definitely made up for yesterday! I plan to send Mollie to school tomorrow since her cough seems to be getting better and she's tolerating the antibiotics well.
Mollie missed art class (her favorite) at school today, so we had our own art class at home. She has been learning to recognize all the color words, so I made a color wheel for her to paint. The learning experience was two fold: she had to recognize the colors that I wrote on the wheel and then we talked about primary and secondary colors and color mixing. Definitely a success!
After a little down time, I took Mollie to her first Girl Scout (Daisy) meeting. The troop made paper bead necklaces, a craft right up Mollie's alley! Lucy also had a fun time scooting around on the floor in the gym, where the meeting was held.
Today definitely made up for yesterday! I plan to send Mollie to school tomorrow since her cough seems to be getting better and she's tolerating the antibiotics well.
9.02.2009
Clinic Update
Have I mentioned the spontaneous nature our lives have taken since Mollie's cancer diagnosis?
Today, I planned to pick Mollie up from school, take her to clinic for counts, and return her to school. After school, she was to attend the first meeting of a Nature Club for K-2nd graders at a local park.
As you may have already guessed, it didn't go that way at all. It started with Mollie coughing and wheezing in the middle of the night. At one point, she had such a hard time breathing that we almost went to the ER. But the pediatric ER was closed and it would only be a few more hours until the clinic opened, so we decided to try to hold out until morning. We fixed Mollie a spot on the sofa, and she calmed down enough to go to sleep. The coughing subsided somewhat and we all got a little (a very little) rest.
We headed to the clinic as soon as it opened, and Matt postponed some meetings so he wouldn't have to go out of town. It was a struggle to get Mollie to wear a mask (to protect the other patients), but Miss Kym walked by at just the right time; within minutes, Mollie was wearing the mask.
Mollie had a low grade fever, but her lungs sounded pretty clear, and her ANC was 3400. She was a trooper for her port access this time. She was scared and said it hurt, but she stayed very calm and was even laughing when she tried to drink water through her face mask. She recieved an IV antibiotic (rocephin) and a prescription for another antibiotic (Zithromax) and we got sent home. We'll skip the Bactrim (Septra) for the next two weeks (with all the other antibiotics, I'm not concerned) and stay on 100% dose of oral chemo.
We ended up being in clinic until about 2, but don't think I'm complaining. She could have been admitted to the hospital, and I'm so glad she wasn't! She is still in good spirits, but we will keep her home from school tomorrow so she can rest a bit more and we can see how she's reacting to the new meds. Hopefully, she'll be back to school on Friday and ready for the weekend!
Today, I planned to pick Mollie up from school, take her to clinic for counts, and return her to school. After school, she was to attend the first meeting of a Nature Club for K-2nd graders at a local park.
As you may have already guessed, it didn't go that way at all. It started with Mollie coughing and wheezing in the middle of the night. At one point, she had such a hard time breathing that we almost went to the ER. But the pediatric ER was closed and it would only be a few more hours until the clinic opened, so we decided to try to hold out until morning. We fixed Mollie a spot on the sofa, and she calmed down enough to go to sleep. The coughing subsided somewhat and we all got a little (a very little) rest.
We headed to the clinic as soon as it opened, and Matt postponed some meetings so he wouldn't have to go out of town. It was a struggle to get Mollie to wear a mask (to protect the other patients), but Miss Kym walked by at just the right time; within minutes, Mollie was wearing the mask.
Mollie had a low grade fever, but her lungs sounded pretty clear, and her ANC was 3400. She was a trooper for her port access this time. She was scared and said it hurt, but she stayed very calm and was even laughing when she tried to drink water through her face mask. She recieved an IV antibiotic (rocephin) and a prescription for another antibiotic (Zithromax) and we got sent home. We'll skip the Bactrim (Septra) for the next two weeks (with all the other antibiotics, I'm not concerned) and stay on 100% dose of oral chemo.
We ended up being in clinic until about 2, but don't think I'm complaining. She could have been admitted to the hospital, and I'm so glad she wasn't! She is still in good spirits, but we will keep her home from school tomorrow so she can rest a bit more and we can see how she's reacting to the new meds. Hopefully, she'll be back to school on Friday and ready for the weekend!
8.28.2009
The Story of Mollie's First Lost Tooth
Too excited to hold still for a picture!See that gap? Mollie's wiggly tooth came out last Weds. night!
She was brushing her teeth when she started screaming, "Mama! My tooth is GONE!" I thought it had gone down the drain or something, but there it was in the sink (she meant gone from her mouth!)
So the tooth fairy came and brought her a silver dollar and a certificate; after school, she got a flower delivery! She was also the first in her class to lose a tooth, so she brought her certificate in for show and tell.
Losing the first tooth is definitely a major milestone in growing up. Time is really flying, but it makes me so happy to see Mollie experiencing these normal phases.
Mollie goes to clinic to have her counts checked tomorrow. Two more weeks until the next spinal tap. She has developed a cough over the last week, so we will be sure to mention that tomorrow and see if they want to do anything. She has not had a fever, but she is pretty congested. I'm expecting that to have some effect on her ANC, but hopefully not enough to reduce her dose of chemo.
8.25.2009
Zoo & Baby!
The last few days have been great! Mollie is back to enjoying school without being too tired. She has a loose tooth (and I mean LOOSE), so the tooth fairy is preparing to make a visit sometime soon.
Mollie wanted to celebrate being off steroids by going to the zoo on Sunday, so off we went. It was hot and Mollie and Lucy both seemed a little subdued, but I think they had a nice time anyway. The best part was how Mollie spent her "Safari bucks" at the souvenir shop. She spent forever in the store trying to pick something for Lucy and herself, but "they just didn't have that many baby things that Lucy would like". She finally settled on some glow-in-the-dark frogs and they were both pleased. She's such a good big sister.
So, things are back to normal around here. Mollie goes in for a routine hearing and vision test tomorrow afternoon and then back to clinic for a count check next week (she is back on Septra, so Beth wants to make sure it is not suppressing her ANC).
In other exciting news (and if I know you in real life you probably already know this), we are expecting a baby, due in January! Mollie has really been expressing a lot of interest in holding & feeding the baby and wondering if it is going to be smaller than Lucy (I hope so!).
Here's a picture of Mollie in the school outfit that her chemo angel sent her:
Mollie wanted to celebrate being off steroids by going to the zoo on Sunday, so off we went. It was hot and Mollie and Lucy both seemed a little subdued, but I think they had a nice time anyway. The best part was how Mollie spent her "Safari bucks" at the souvenir shop. She spent forever in the store trying to pick something for Lucy and herself, but "they just didn't have that many baby things that Lucy would like". She finally settled on some glow-in-the-dark frogs and they were both pleased. She's such a good big sister.
So, things are back to normal around here. Mollie goes in for a routine hearing and vision test tomorrow afternoon and then back to clinic for a count check next week (she is back on Septra, so Beth wants to make sure it is not suppressing her ANC).
In other exciting news (and if I know you in real life you probably already know this), we are expecting a baby, due in January! Mollie has really been expressing a lot of interest in holding & feeding the baby and wondering if it is going to be smaller than Lucy (I hope so!).
Here's a picture of Mollie in the school outfit that her chemo angel sent her:
8.21.2009
Kindergarten on Steroids
Well, we have reached the end of Mollie's second week of school, her first on steroids. She has done great! Each day, she was smiling and happy when I picked her up. She has had a tough time waking up in the morning and she has been ready for bed by 7:30 PM, but she has handled all of it very well.
Mollie had school pictures yesterday-- not sure how those are going to turn out since she has big circles under her eyes.
Today she was off to the Y with Bella. She will get her last dose of steroids for this pulse tonight so tomorrow she should start feeling better and more energetic.
Off to enjoy the rest of the weekend...
Mollie had school pictures yesterday-- not sure how those are going to turn out since she has big circles under her eyes.
Today she was off to the Y with Bella. She will get her last dose of steroids for this pulse tonight so tomorrow she should start feeling better and more energetic.
Off to enjoy the rest of the weekend...
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