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.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Clinic Day.

It was a quiet day at the clinic, I think most of the world was shopping or sleeping in after big dinners the night before. Magi and Iza slept over my parents house so this morning after Daddy went to work Mimi and I slept in until 8:40, clinic was at 9. She was not happy about getting the sleepy medicine today so I figured the longer she sleeps the less we need to think about it. She woke up and asked for breakfast and quickly realized she can't have any. I quickly made her think of something else, I told her she can bring the camera to clinic and we can make a book about procedure day. She was very excited, I will be sure to post it when our book is done.

Counts were on the lower side, so 6MP (Mercaptopurine) dose is reduced to 50%, Bactrim (antibiotic) on hold and going back for counts on Wednesday. This past Tuesday during gym Mimi told me she was running around and her chest hurt, once she rested it was better. Since this is the second time this has happened on Wednesday she is scheduled for an echocardiogram and a EKG (electrocardiogram.)

Everything went well with the procedure (Intrathecal chemotherapy) the two anesthesiologists were really good with Mimi they took time to talk to her and showed her what all the machines in the procedure room do. Today she chose to watch as the white sleepy medicine (Propofol) was injected into the IV but got upset that it was gross. Sleepy head woke up when I told her it is time for lunch, her choice Subway!

Today's Counts:
WBC - 1.65
Hgb - 12.4
Platelets - 193
Neutrophil - 550

Monday, November 22, 2010

UDance at UMass

Saturday (Nov. 20th) we spent a good portion of the day at the University of Massachusetts. The UMass Fraternity and Sorority Council held its fifth annual Dance Marathon to benefit the Children's Miracle, 100% of the proceeds go to Baystate Childrens Hospital.

This was our first year going so I was not sure what to expect but I was amazed by all the college students that were there for one great cause. The kids and families walked into the hall on a red carpet while being cheered by the crowd, at the end of the carpet everyone was awarded with a medal. The music and dancing started right away. When we needed to step away from the loud fun we were able to go in another room where lots of fun activities were set out for the kids. Face painting, balloon clown man, twister, arts and crafts and more!

The girls loved watching the various dance clubs. Magi got to do Zumba, I was impressed she was keeping up! Needless to say it was NOT easy getting the girls out of there, after many goodbye hugs to their new friends we finally got on the road and the three little dance monkeys fell fast asleep.

Here is a link to the news you can see the girls getting their medals.



Sunday, November 21, 2010

Fun Times.

It has been so busy I have been unable to update. Last weekend we has a jam packed schedule of fun. We started of Saturday with a very fun birthday party for an adorable set of sisters, Happy 7 & 3 A & A!!!. It was at a Clay crafty place, they girls enjoyed painting ceramic creatures, we will be going back for sure! Straight from there we drove on the sleepy Mass Pike and when the girls woke up we were at Auntie Tracy's where they spent the night while I got to have an amazing dinner with some great moms in Boston.

The next day we headed back into into Boston to the New England Aquarium, Three little girls and three big girls as Iza said, Tracy and Ela came with us. Mimi wanted to see eels so bad, she did get to see them although they were being a bit shy, no matter how much she told them to move. Magi was quite exited with the sea horses she was showing them to everyone that walked by. Iza wanted to see sharks but was happy with the giant fish and getting to play with the star fish. The girls did pretty awesome walking all over the place in and out of the T and buses. Although Magi did have one major head turning tantrum which was quite comical... She was screaming (very loudly) that she wanted ready for this... EAR WAX, yes she wanted EAR WAX. I was trying to reason with her at first but she was having none of it. Finally I told her she can have my ear wax if she stops screaming. Eventually we figured out that she wanted Ear Muffs all along. Guess what is going on her Santa list?

This week school has been going good. Mimi has been a bit nauseous lately and I think something else is bothering her because she seems easily irritable. Again this is one of those things that I wonder "Hey is it the chemo making you feel like crap? and you just need to scream" or "You are 5 and are good at this game" Some mornings I have been letting her "no-throw-up-pill" kick in and she goes to school a little later.

Friday night the school held a pajama movie night event. The kids came dressed in comfy PJ's laid out their blankets and ate popcorn while watching a winter movie. It made me so happy to see all the girls enjoy their friends. I got teary seeing them so happy.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Clinic Day (Yesterday)

Quite the bust Wednesday we had between school, parent-teacher conference, clinic and work. We did it! So starting with the first Iza and Mimi are doing great at school their teacher had nothing but good things to say. They made us proud! Clinic was quick counts are good, we go back in two weeks for a Spinal Tap. Mimi is not happy at all to have to miss a whole day of school. ** Just got a call and Mimi's procedure has been rescheduled until Friday after Thanksgiving, she is happier that she no longer has to miss school.

At clinic both of the girls talked to the child life specialist about her coming to their class and explaining to everyone what a port is and all the things Mimi does while at clinic. I always left it up to Mimi weather she wanted that and at first she did not seem to care, but lately she has been asking me if someone can come to school and explain what her port does. Iza also wants to bring her SuperSib trophy.

Counts:
WBC - 2.37
Hgb - 12.1
Platelets - 268
Neutrophil - 770

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sister Letters.

Mimi has been writing letters. She does them all on her own, I love the funny miss-spellings like "Ee-Chther" meaning each other. Iza has been learning alot also it is so cute seeing them read together, not just eat the books anymore.

This morning Mimi had a tough time going to school, lots of tears in the morning, her ponytails were in the wrong spots. She was not happy going into her classroom but I was told after some TLC from her awesome teacher she ended up having a great day! I think this month of steroids has wore off...

Monday, November 1, 2010

Steroids.

I should have knocked on wood last week when I said steroids are not too bad for Mimi. For the most part she has been okay or maybe I just got better at knowing what might make Mimi explode. This weekend she wasn't really herself... Friday she took a three hour nap after some screaming over little things, Magi was touching her. Saturday was okay while at Six Flags other than being upset she is two inches too short to go on the bigger rides. Sunday we were home all day so she was able to chill but did not want to go Trick-or-Treating with her sisters, instead she wanted to give candy out. This morning she woke up and was so sad, she just laid in our bed. She cried when I told her it's time to go to school. We let her stay figuring she might go in late but she chose to stay home all day. She always wants to go to school so I know she wasn't being herself hopefully she will have a good day tomorrow. She is good at telling us how she feels and explaining her pain but for some reason she was having a hard time telling us what was wrong. She would just break out in tears. It is hard to figure out weather this is a regular 5 year old thing or is it a 5 year old on chemo thing...