March 14, 2010 - last clinic appointment

Hi everyone! I just wanted to update the blog with some photos... past and present... and to finish things up.

Alex has had her last round of chemo and is finally done with all her medication. We celebrated all this with a trip to Las Vegas last week. Alex has been wanting to see a Cirque de Soleil show so we figured Las Vegas would be the easiest place to do that. I can't believe the people that came to Las Vegas to celebrate this with us. I have truly unique people in my life. My best friend from Kansas and her husband flew in... Debbie and Richard Folkers. These are two people who flew out to Utah after Alex was diagnosed JUST to give me a hug! AMAZING friends, these two. We also had Dan's son, Mick and his girlfriend, Amanda, with us. My cousins April and Rian were there from California. VERY nice to see them! Rian's father, Bill Medlin and his wife Sue from California were there also. I am SURE you all know Bill and Sue from their constant support here on the Caringbridge site. These two people sent Alex gifts and cards constantly! For the celebration dinner we also had one of Alex's favorite teachers show up, Cynthia Smith. She drove all the way to Vegas for dinner! Amazing woman! This teacher of Alex's would drive down to Salt Lake (where we live) in the beginning and would watch Alex while Dan and I went to a movie... or dinner. She is a great friend! Dan also had his best friend show up for dinner... Cory Chamberlain is a pilot that has flown with Dan for years! He drove all the way from Salt Lake City for this dinner also.

What an amazing time we all had. I wish I could have had more time to spend with everyone individually but there just wasn't much time with Alex and I going to two Cirque de Soleil shows. It was great to see everyone though! Both Alex and I appreciate your support!

What's next???

Well... Alex has two things that have to be done soon. The first is another Echocardiogram. They took one of these the day after she was diagnosed. They wanted a really good look at her heart... to be able to compare it with the one they need to do this month. All of these drugs are so hard on a body. They want to make sure everything looks good and little if no damage has been done to her heart. We really need some good vibes for this please!

She also needs to schedule a surgery to remove the port that they put into her chest in the very beginning. They no longer need to access that for chemotherapy. She still has blood draws every month, but they do not need to use this. This will be a great thing for her to have removed!

Other than these two things, she only has to go into the clinic once a month for blood draws and physicals. YAY!

Alex has also started her second year of college. She is extremely busy but loving it! It's so nice to see her back in her element. She is a history major and loving the college life. She still lives here with us and probably will for awhile longer.

I cannot tell all of you how much it means to me to have all these messages here for Alex and I. I can't believe there have been over 6,000 people that have come to this page to read about our journey through all of this. I have printed out this journal today and have read through from the beginning. I cannot believe Alex has had to go through all this! I cannot believe I have done all this! It's truly a testiment in not knowing what you are capable of until the situation arrives. I wish I would have known about CaringBridge in the very beginning. I wish this journal was complete. This journal was started after the REALLY bad stuff... I wish I had a daily account of my time through November and December. Those were very dark days for me. The only thing that got me through that time was my AMAZING husband, my incredible mother, and a few select friends and family. I have no idea what Alex and I would do/would have done without my husband. I have never seen anyone care for a child that isn't their own, like he cares for Alex. He's held her... he's carried her... he slept many a night in the hospital so I could come home and sleep in my own bed with my dogs... have a cup of coffee in my own kitchen... This man has always said that he wanted to do something with a higher purpose. I think he has covered that. He was also our advocate. In the beginning all I was worried about was Alex. I didn't know the right questions to ask. The protocal of treatment is literally as big as a ream of paper... they stacked notebook after nookbook in my arms the night we were admitted into the hospital. I had NO idea what we were facing. Dan took ALL of this home and read it. He highlighted everything he had a question on. He asked anything that he didn't know. He questioned things I didn't think of. If there really is a heaven... I think he has earned a front row seat. I really do.

Also, I could not have made it through this without my mother. Any of you who know her understands this. She is the most amazing woman that I will ever know. She came whenever I needed her without question... without worry for her job... or herself. She just showed up. I know that she feels so incredibly sad that I have had to experience all of this. As a mother, the last thing you want is for your children to experience this type of pain... this type of worry... BUT... I want her to know how very much she means to me and that all of this would not have been possible without all her help. She is the best mother anyone could hope for!

I have a few others that have been crucial as friends and supporters. I consider them the best people in the world. They know who they are and they know how much I love them! I hope we only talk of happy and healthy things from now on!

And last but not least.... I want to thank all of you that have been a part of this ongoing blog. I have no idea what it would have been like without all of you. I read your messages daily. You will never know what effect you have had on all of this. I wish I could thank each and every one of you in person! I am so grateful to all of you. Thank you all for being a part of our lives!

And lastly from me... there is always the monster in the closet when it comes to leukemia, Alex and how well she is doing. The success rate for leukemia in her age group is good. BUT... as a mother, it's not what I would hope for. With that said... I hope that she continues the way things are... that she only has improvements ahead of her... and that she gets all out of life that she wants. She SO deserves it. And I hope that you never have to read anything else about leukemia and Alex.

March 4th-7h, 2010 - Celebration in Vegas!

Here are some photos from our celebration in Las Vegas. We had a great turn out...

One of my very best friends in the whole world.. Deb

Alex and Rich (our very good friend)

Alex and her grandma

Debbie, Mick, Amanda, Alex and Rich

Debbie and Rich

Cynthia and Alex

Cory and Alex

Everyone at breakfast in Las Vegas

My cousins April and Rian (with me)

Mick and Amanda

February 25, 2009

Hi everyone!

I thought I would take a minute and update the blog. Alex is doing great! She is on her Spring break right now and is finally able to hang out with a few friends. It is so awesome to see her joining the real world. I have posted a new picture of Alex with NO hat! She has so much hair. Doesn't she look awesome!

She had a clinic visit on the 12th. Everything went well and her counts had finally came back up. She had spent a few weeks with VERY low white counts. I hated sending her to school with such low counts, but luckily she did OK. It is not a great time of year with everything going around. Anyway... things went well at the clinic and is now back on full doses of all her meds. Yippee! Now, hopefully, they can get all her stuff dialed in so she doesn't lose her counts again. I really don't want to be so concerned with taking this trip coming up. The doctor doesn't seem to be at all concerned about it, so?? Not so easy for me.

I hope everyone is doing well. Things here are so much better than last year, so I have no complaints.

I will update when I have some more information.

January 28, 2009 - Back to School

Hi everyone! I have been gone awhile and thought that I better update.

Things have been going pretty well. Alex is hard at it with school and all. I think it tires her out quite a bit but I can tell she is happy. I will update her "back to school" picture as soon as I am done updating. She has her hat on so you can't tell how much hair she has!!! It is coming in like crazy. I hope she will let me take a picture of her with her hat off because you guys won't believe it! Totally different than the other times her hair has come back in over the last year. It is THICK!!

Well... she had clinic 2 weeks ago Friday with her regular monthly IV chemo and she also had a lumbar proceedure with the Methotrexate. She did really really well with everything. Her blood counts were TOO good, so they increased her oral meds again. I told them that she is still sick all the time (nausea wise) and so they are tweaking a different medication and hopefully that will be a little easier on her.

So, that is about all that is going on here. Alex is back to school 4 days a week and I miss her terribly! It is such a great thing she is back though. I will update as soon as I have more information.

Thanks for tuning in everyone!

November 2, 2008 - Alex's first vote!!!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2008 10:27 AM, MST

Hi everyone! I just thought I would update the photo page with photos from this year. I wish I could post more than 12. It is hard to decide on the best 12. I have to remember that 12 is probably enough for you guys :o)

The first photo starts out in January. This was the evening of New Years Day. She was really sick at this time and we went to the emergency room around midnight. She was admitted for 12 days. I really don't have any pictures from the time she was admitted until January. It was such a crazy time that the last thing I was thinking about were pictures. I wish I had taken some now, though. It is just amazing to see the progress and just how much a young body can heal. It has taken so much work from Alex and all of us involved.

The last picture is Alex voting. This is outside the booth, since you can't take a picture inside. Can you believe they wouldn't let a mother take a picture of her baby voting for the first time?? The nerve! I had to promise Alex I would NOT take out the camera again until something spectacular happens.

That is it for today. I just thought I post some pictures from this last year. I am sure you will understand how delighted I am by these last photos.

I will post more later. Thank you for tuning in!

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.