October 28, 2008

Today is the one year anniversary of Alex's diagnosis. What a night that was. I will never be able to drive by St. Mark's Hospital without thinking about that emergency room visit. There are so many things that I don't remember but this night has stayed vivid in my mind. Let's hope the next year brings better things and less complications!

On the clinic update... Alex had her first treatment in the maintenance phase. Not too much to celebrate there besides it officially starting and our next appointment isn't until November. Very wild! Alex had a lumbar puncture and IV chemo... and we also picked up 6 different prescriptions. We got her a month long "pill box" to put all the new drugs in. She was thrilled with this idea. NOT... but this is part of her treatment and cannot get forgotten.

There will be a nurse that will come every couple of weeks for awhile to draw a CBC and make sure her counts are staying within a certain range. The oncology clinic wants her counts low enough to be killing any lingering cells, but high enough so she can live normally.

Another thing that I thought I would update you all on... something I haven't mentioned here as we haven't had enough information to pass on up until now... Since Alex was diagnosed in 2007 and she was only 17, she is granted a WISH from the Make A Wish Foundation. Any child with a life threatening illness is eligible. She has mentioned many many things but finally decided on wanting to go to Italy next year. Today (wild since it is officially a year today) we found out that her wish has been granted. SOOOO cool! So, the Make A Wish Foundation will fly Dan, Alex and myself to Italy for one week next year. We are going to pay the additional money and take Dan's sons and my mother is going as well. We are also paying to extend the trip. This is such an incredible foundation. First Alex wanted to meet Noam Chomsky... then Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert... Then decided on a "Travel Wish".

I hope everyone is having a great October!!! I will update as soon as I have more to tell :D (big smiley!)

Thanks again for all the messages! I absolutely love them!

October 22, 2008

Hello everyone. We went last Tuesday to clinic and it was a very quick visit. Alex did really well with it. Her counts weren't all that great, but the treatment went well. Can you believe that this last regular treatment was just 2 weeks shy of a year? Maintenance actually starts this week. The home nurse will come tomorrow and draw blood to see if her first treatment of maintenance can start on Friday. She will get a lumbar puncture every 3 months, and of course we found out that it is at the start of every 3 months, so that means one on Friday. Hopefully her counts are good and she can get it going. Please send good blood ju-ju so Alex can get going on maintenance. Also... I don't know if I told you all, but I took Alex to Westminster (her college) and dropped her off last Wednesday to sign up for all her classes in January. She didn't want me to go with her. It was a very strange feeling to be dropping her off somewhere on her own. It's a great thing, but it felt like the first day of kindergarten again. She thinks I am crazy, of course, but all you mothers would understand. Everything went well and she actually met with one of her old professors. She is hoping to find some part time work there when she starts school. Also, Dan and I went up to her grandfathers and brought her car back home. She thinks she is ready to start driving again. Dan and I both have been out driving with her. She is doing really really well. It is a scary thing for me. You all would NOT believe how Dan is with my child. Of course, those of you who do know Dan would believe it. I don't know what I would have done without him all these months. Him and my mother. Dan makes sure he is off work for every single treatment if he is in town. He gladly does for Alex as if she is his own. I feel incredibly lucky to have found a man that treats Alex with a love that you can see and feel. Dan is, by far, the best man I know. My mother... well what can I say about her?? She is the best woman in the world!!! I will tell you, it has been a very very hard year. But, even in the very worst of times, I knew that I never was dealing with anything alone. There will never be a way I can thank Dan or my mom enough. Although I do know that both do so out of NO obligation, but out of love. Another thank you that I want to send out is to all of you! I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea what all these messages have meant to me. There have been some very stressful times and I can come here and read such positive things and go away with a different perspective. You have all given me more than you can ever know. Thank you! I will keep updating the site when I have things to report on. I know that there are many out there that read the blog and love to know how Alex is doing. Please send good blood ju-ju for tomorrow :o) I count on all your blood vibe sending. I really do.