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...

Running!

Just after the start

Today, Mollie participated in a "fun run" in honor of Veterans Day. The run was a mile- Mollie probably ended up doing a little more than half. We're really proud of her! Just consider what she's been up against recently: 1) a 2 week hospitalization for H1N1 flu & pneumonia; 2) 4 days of decadron (steroids); and 3) IV chemo this week (a major side effect of vincristine is foot droop and bone pain). This kid is a champ!

The superstar coming in to the finish line!

Tomorrow is her last day of steroids for this round; we're all looking forward to that. This round hasn't been too bad though. Last night, Lucy ended up throwing up all night and we tried our best to keep Mollie away from her. Lucy is better today and Mollie has not gotten sick (but I still have my fingers crossed). Mollie was sad about having to stay away from Lucy so she made her a special gift (a barf bucket full of washcloths, a stuffed animal, and a get well card). She's glad they can play together today and wants us to move Lucy's crib into her bedroom this weekend.

Halfway through the steroids

Mollie went to school for half the day today. After she finally got out of bed this morning (a big challenge, especially when she is taking dexamethasone), she was very cheerful and looking forward to school. She was also really happy when I picked her up.

Afternoons are another major challenge during the steroid pulse. She started getting impatient when we went to pick up Lucy. Then she teared up, saying she wished she was still in pre-K because they got to play more and it wasn't so much work! She had a similar complaint yesterday and when I asked her about the "work" she said she was tired of doing so much "cutting and gluing!" She has a little more homework to do tonight, but I think I'll let her skip anything that involves cutting or gluing.

Oh no! Lucy just threw up...

Brief Update

Today was a pretty typical "steroid" day. We stayed close to home. Mollie wasn't feeling up to doing much, but she did manage to finish a lot of make-up school work.

Her leg/hip has apparently stopped hurting (yay!) and her ANC is 700 (low, but we'll take it). I'm planning to send her to school tomorrow for a half day since she does pretty well in the morning. In the afternoon, she can take a long nap and go to Daisy scouts if she's feeling up to it.