last treatment of '12

Madi had her last treatment for this year on the 18th.  Her numbers have remained up enough to keep receiving her treatments, which is a huge blessing.  She's been more tired lately, which is understandable.  I've also noticed a bit more bruising, which we just have to keep an eye on to make sure they show signs of healing.

We've been very proud of her determination to still go to school as often as she can.  I rarely ask her how she is feeling of a morning.  Maybe that sounds a bit callous.  However, I've found that if she doesn't think about it or dwell on the possibility of not feeling well,  she feels good most of the time.  As with most 5 yr olds, she isn't shy about letting me know if she truly doesn't feel well.  After treatment on the 18th she was too worn out to finish the school day.  I guess she knew what she was talking about.

Along with being more tired than usual, Madi is a bit more emotional.  Little things will get the tears flowing.  I've also had to calm some small fears and help her to realize she won't break if she does get hurt.

Who can blame the little girl?!  (Although, the whining can be a bit excessive.)  We are trying to minimize her desire to manipulate family situations to fit her wants.  I'm sure we give in a bit more often these days, though.  When you have 4 other kids, you toe the line to limit the potential for resentment.  It's something that is very hard as a parent.  We also have to be careful that we don't allow the other kids to get the upper hand and work situations too much to their benefit.  Some days are easier than others.  Some days I feel like I'm caught in a meat grinder.  Fortunately, we have some really good kids with compassionate hearts who are willing to learn how to best serve others.  Lots of extra learning experiences for all of us.

On a separate note - Kevin and I were the recipients of an anonymous gift the other day.  We did want to be able to extend a huge 'Thank You!' to whomever and let them know how much we appreciate this.  It's been set aside to use toward gas after our holiday travels are done and we are once again going back and forth to the Pratt Center.  Such a blessing!!

trying to catch up

It's been awhile since I last posted, and I apologize for the delay.  Life is very busy, but especially this time of year, it seems.

So, what's been going on.....

Madi had her last treatment on the 28th.  Pretty uneventful.  Since it was at 10am (a later time than usual) I was able to splurge and grab a coffee on the way to the Pratt Center.  To easy my guilt, I got the kids each a cake pop.

Once Madi was accessed, she was able to spend a little time with Ms. Jill doing a couple of crafts.  It always gets her involved with at least one of the other patients and lets her see there are others going through some of the same things she is.  It helps.

The day after treatment, was a trip to the dentist.

Ever heard of the saying 'adding insult to injury'?  Well, poor little Madi just has a couple of teeth too many in that pretty little head of hers.  The dentist has decided to leave all those pearly whites where they are, for now, and re-evaluate the situation at her next cleaning in March.  We are really hoping she will be able to wiggle the baby teeth out before then, or we will be scheduling an extraction.  A very minor problem usually.  ( I had several teeth pulled growing up, so I know it's not a big deal.)  However, when it comes to Madi having teeth pulled, there are a few more steps involved.  Phone calls between doctors, blood counts done, possible transfusions...... As I said, we are hoping she gets them out on her own.  

Birthday party over the first weekend in December.  Lots of fun!

Tuesday, the 4th, was another physical therapy session.  She is doing so well that we are going to take a break until next year.  There are still things that she gets to work on at home until then; however, it will be nice not to have to make the trip over to Olive and New Ballas for a few weeks.  (We are definitely doing our part to keep the oil companies in business.)

Our family was blessed with a stomach bug this week.  Great fun! (I hope you all can sense my sarcasm.)  Thankfully, it skipped a couple of us - Madi being one of the lucky ones.

Friday, Madi went in for another lumbar puncture.  It's been a little while since she has been to Test and Treatment.  A very good thing, in our minds.  The purpose is to test the spinal fluid and see how the treatments are working for her.  She also received another chemo dose - methotrexate is now at 250 mg.

Daddy took the day off and went with her this time.  This was the first solo run for Kevin.  We never know whether to give Madi several days to get use to a change in her normal routine, or if it is better to spring it on her at the last minute.  I really don't think there is a right answer to this.  This time we told her well in advance that it was Daddy's turn to take her, and we got to hear her cry about it for several days.  While I really wanted to break down and just take her myself, she needs to know that Daddy can take care of her just as good as Mommy.  It worked out and she did fine.  She really had no choice since it was our decision to make.  

It was somewhat humorous on my end, though.  I kept getting text messages asking if things were happening the right way and if certain things were okay.  Text from Kevin: Madi assures me that his is normal and we should ride all over like this.  Yep, 'surfing' is OK.

Bonus - Santa stopped by for a visit.

I was able to talk Madi into letting me buzz the remaining fuzz off her head one evening.  Since the weather is getting cold, she is wearing hats almost all the time outside of the house.  I got tired of seeing all the fly aways.  She seemed to have fun during it and now she doesn't have to worry about looking like she has a bad case of static.

Today, Madi went in for an hour evaluation.  This basically gives everyone a cognitive baseline for her.  If in, say, five years something starts to change or there is a red flag of some sort, we will be able to compare the baseline to whatever the new issue is.  Once she turns six, she'll have a couple more appointments to complete the evaluation.  We did find out today that she is at a reading readiness level equivalent to 2nd grade.  Not sure what that means exactly, but it sounds good for a kindergartener, huh?

Next treatment will be December 18th.

Please keep praying for our little girl!  We fully believe in the power of prayer.  There are times when we feel like we have been getting so much good news, that eventually we are bound to get some bad.  No matter what happens, we know God is in control.