Out of 3 daughters Mimi is our middle child, older sister Iza by 3 minutes and a younger sister Magi by 3 years. Mimi was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on August 12, 2009. After 2 years, 2 months and 26 days on November 6th, 2011 she took her last chemo pill and is considered OFF Treatment! This is our story of our journey through childhood cancer.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Clinic Day.

Mimi needed a small pep talk on the way to clinic since she did not want her port accessed. She wasn't crying or anything I think she just thinks it is cool to get her finger pricked and watch as the blood drips to the tiny little tube, oh and the tube is purple which happens to be her favorite color. If you are thinking she is a bit odd liking to watch her blood her sisters are big fans of watching it also. She got weighed, measured and accessed while Magi and Iza watched and said "Ooooo Blood" as it went into the test tube. She also received her monthly Vincristine through her port and tonight she started the monthly five day steroid pulse. I have warned her teacher of steroid mood, although I am sure she will be on her best behavior during school hours.

Today one of the nurses showed the girls an actual port they thought it was really neat. They both saw it before Mimi had hers put in last August but neither of them remember. The fact that that is becoming a distant memory for them is a good feeling. Although Mimi still remembers the first nurse that took care of her and we have lots of Barbies named Kelly. So bad memories are fading but the good ones are staying.

Today's Counts:
WBC - 3.5
Hgb - 11.6
Platelets - 263
Neutrophil - 2000

Monday, September 27, 2010

Last peeps of summer weather.

Not counting today we had some wonderful weather. This past week the girls have been playing at the park after school, this weekend we attended a outdoor birthday carnival complete with face painting and a water slide! Although nothing tops of this Sunday when the girls joined Dziadziu in the ocean, I just took pictures and stayed out of the water.

School has been going really well, the girls are making friends and learning lots of new things. They are still running out the door to get to school and at pick up smiling, even though sometimes tired. I love our walks home and they tell me about their day I get to hear it twice, both sides of the story. I have said it before but I love this age, they change SO much, they are making friends of their own, both of their personalities are really changing, they have always had their own identities but more so now that they are in school. They were telling me they had to sit in pairs and guess each other favorite colors, they laughed and said they sat together because they would win, they just realized they have some advantages. Iza also keeps asking me to cut her hair so her and Mimi can confuse people.

Not to leave Miss Magi out of this post she has been doing great as an only child during the day. She has also started ballet classes once a week in the mornings. So far she is loving it!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Clinic Day.

Mimi had to miss most of school today since we had an appointment about her foot first thing in the morning and a clinic appointment right after. She went back for lunch and joined her class in the lunch room.

First her foot seems to be working the way it is suppose to, all the bones and muscles are fine. The only thing I found out is that the top of her feet is high (almost like the bone on top is slightly higher than normal) which explains almost 5 years of her hating sneakers! They were just uncomfortable on her feet, the doctor just suggested not to tie them tight on top. As far as the occasional pain and weird walking with the right toes pointed in we will keep watching it and hope it goes away, since he did not see it as a problem at the moment.

Next was clinic for counts. Super fast! And great counts too which makes me feel a little less freaked out about school. Since the counts were good chemo is on 75% dosage instead of 50%, we are working our way back to 100% hoping for no count crashes.

Counts:
WBC - 3.4
Hgb - 12.4
Platelets - 244
Neutrophil - 1600!

GOLD STAR goes to Miss Magi who went to all the appointments with us today and was a superstar!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Flashes of Hope

While at Camp Sunshine we had an opportunity to get photographed by Flashes of Hope, such an amazing organization. All photographers volunteer their time and talent, all the services are free of charge. The photographer was very playful with all the girls and captured their silly smiley faces.

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School is a hit!

The girls are loving school. They are so excited every morning to run out the door and up the hill to go join their classmates. Their days are filled with friends, learning, listening and running around being kids. When Magi and I pick them up in the afternoon after sister hugs they talk and shout about their whole day, I absolutley love hearing all the details of their day. All this fun definitely takes a toll on them because by 6 o'clock everyone is so tired and ready for bed it gets pretty nutty around here, that will take some time to adjust to. The most important thing is they want to get up in the morning and do it all over again!



Mimi has been feeling pretty good and has been keeping up with the whole day of school. I hope it continues that way. We will go in Wednesday morning to check her foot and also to clinic for counts.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Our Little School Girls!

First day of school was great! They girls were so excited they ate really fast got dressed and wanted to run up the hill to go into school. This morning Auntie Tracy was here for emotional support, Toto (aka Victor) and Daddy came from work to walk up the hill with our official Kindergartners. While the girls were at school Magi played with all the toys she is usually not allowed to play with she never really missed her sisters but was happy to go pick them up. On the walk home they talked and talked and talked about their first day, about their new friends, snack time, story time, lunch, play... It was great. They were yawning at 5:30 and sleeping before 7pm, I say that is a good 1st day!

Before we left the house the girls asked me to draw a heart on their hand so they can have my heart at school with them... They saw it in a commercial and thought that is what you do.
I HEART five year olds!


Running up the hill.
The building in front of them is the school, we can see it from our house.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Neutrophil Dance Worked!

A quick finger prick and counts were in and surprised all of us! The Onc On-call was surprised he did not get a call from us on Tuesday night after seeing her in the morning. Mimi was miserable all day Tuesday and most of Wednesday after the spinal tap. For the most part she has been doing really well while on steroids this summer, but that is not the case this week! She has been getting really upset and hiding in the closet crying. For some reason chose Magi to lash out on, she has been really mean to her an and poor Magi doesn't know what to think of it. Mimi does get in trouble for it just like anyone would but I just try being proactive about it and keep them both happy and away from each other. Hopefully just until Sunday!

Today was the Kindergarten Welcoming Party at school. Since Mimi's counts were way better than Tuesday we were able to go. I won't lie it was a bit emotional seeing Iza and Mimi at their desks with their names. They are so ready and so excited! Now they keep asking how many more days until the 7th.

Counts:
WBC - 1.89
Hgb - 13.6
Platelets - 218
Neutrophil - 1000!