It’s right there….ONE more dose!! Marianne, one of my super talented sisters, made this for me. I am going to make a t-shirt out of it for Avery.
I am HOPING she gets the last dose on Wednesday so I can give it to her!!
Along with that my super talented sister made me this….
Just so you know, you can save it and print it off. I am going to SUPER size it for my living room!!
St. Baldrick’s asked if I would write about our first event with them. They helped edit and add the pics. It actually turned out great! And for once, I get a say. AND my hair looks pretty good (thanks to Melissa Jacks and her amazing photography skills!).
YAY, she got chemo. Again, weird that we are so excited to dump toxins into my kido. But we ARE excited! That means only two more doses to go!! Yes, she is pretty sick. It’s been a few weeks so that makes it kind of hard. But I am hopeful that she bounces back and we get chemo next week too!! She is going to have to gag down a few Ensure a day to make sure that happens. But a small price to pay to be D O N E!!!
On other news….I have been doing some crossfit. With my friend Mandy. The tops of my thighs are so sore I can barely stand up/sit down. I like being sore, but this is REDICULOUS! What got me motivated? I ran into Kim. She lived by us across town. Cute girl. Has four kids. Busy mom. But when I saw her again….WOWZA! She looked AMAZING. She has been doing crossfit. Yep, it works. And with summer coming, I needed to tighten things up. For me having a partner is key. I work ALOT harder with her there watching. Plus she is smaller and younger than me. Motivation fer sure!
And when you feel better, you eat better. Payton and I do a green smoothie every day for breakfast. Everyday. I skipped a few days and I was craving it. I don’t have a fancy blender. In fact I just broke one and had to buy a new one. It was $25. Again, tons of recipes for green smoothies. But I like mine.
Green Smoothie
1 orange slice off peel
1 apple cut cheeks off core
1 huge handful of spinach
2 tsp. chia seeds (I want to spout these, but haven’t tried that yet)
1 cup almond milk
1 cup water
Blend until all the bits are gone. Then add:
1 banana
4 strawberries
Blend again.
The banana and strawberries I put into small zip bags and freeze. It makes it cold and yummy. I add in blueberries or raspberries if I can find them at a good price. Some add in kale. I love to eat kale in soups and pasta, I am not crazy about it in my smoothie. If you want an added boost, you can throw in a scoop of greens. Green Smoothie Girl has her own version, or you can buy some at about any health food store.
Hope you are all having a super week!!
Avery had ANOTHER delay. This is getting old. BUT, we are getting ready for the Southern Nevada Make a Wish Gala. SUPER fun. And trust me when I say, you are NEVER overdressed at a Las Vegas event. So we have to go big. I have been stressing over my dress. Here is what I came up with. There is no pattern….Sorry.
Just a maxi dress, but the fabric is super awesome. Dresses it up. I might try to find a black leather belt instead of the shiny one. Maybe….if I have time.
It is made from a super cool light blue metallic fabric. The underneath is lined in a black satin. I put pennies in sewed into the hem to keep it from flying away and give it some weight. A great idea…I know. Genius.
Hopefully we will have news of getting chemo this week!! Here is hoping!!!
If you are a parent, you know about guilt. Not spending enough time with each child. Not realizing that they are really sick until they throw up in the hall. And it just doubles or triples when you have a kid with medical issues. You feel bad because the other kids don’t get the same attention as the “sick” one.
We did this. We chose to dump toxins into my healthy child. We chose to make her sick. I remember a conversation when she wasn’t eating. She understood this cancer won’t kill her. It won’t. But chemo could. At least the complications from chemo could. Not eating for weeks, that could.
We all have the ebbs and flows of life. But when you have a kid with cancer, even non life threatening cancer, it is much more of a roller coaster. And just when I think we are leveling out, it hits again. And I realize we are no where near the end of this ride.
Her white counts are low. Like 200. At 400 she has to stay home and stay away from anyone who might be sick. It could put her in the hospital. It could kill her. It makes me want to throw up to even admit that. But it’s the truth. And we chose this path.
There has to be a better way. There has to be treatment that doesn’t put the flu as the killer in a child’s life. There has to be an option that doesn’t make a kid not eat for months so that they look like the kids in third world countries that are starving. There has to be a better option other than sight or health.
It’s not about the hair, or the tube up her nose. It’s about finding ways to help a child be healthy and happy. Lead a full life. Not loose a year or even a month of their precious childhood fighting something that wouldn’t even kill them.
It’s why I sew. I can’t think about what I can’t control. I can’t think about how sick this has made my healthy happy child. Or how my other kids have been robbed of these last two years. I can put fabric together and create. It’s about all I can do some days (along with doctors visits).
So get involved. Donate to St. Baldrick’s. Volunteer for Make a Wish. You can make a difference if only in the life of one sick child. (Or bring me fabric).
And thanks again for all the prayers. They make the most difference. God is in charge. He lets me know that most days. It’s humbling.
Alright, it’s been an eventful few weeks. First, the Avery update. No chemo last week. Platets and red blood transfusion. Then Sunday she had had a low grade fever for 12 hours, so got to spend 5 hours in the ER. Her counts were ok. So then we got to go home. I relate the ER to the machine from “Princess Bride”. It sucks the hours or days out of your life. Anyway, no chemo again today. Her other counts were okay, but her ANC was SUPER low. That is the white blood count. White blood is the stuff that fights infection. She can’t go to school or anywhere really until Monday. Unless she gets a fever. And then we can go to the hospital for a few day stay. Let’s REALLY pray that doesn’t happen. THREE MORE DOSES TO GO…….
On a lighter note, we had some birthdays. Mine for one. I am officially past my 30’s. It’s weird. I don’t feel older than 33. Actually closer to 28. So if you ask, I may/may not admit my new age.
Avery turned 10. She is finally in double digits. She shares her birthday with three other cousins. Actually, it’s even cooler than that. We had babies on March 30th, four years in a row! So Allyson is 12, Hannah is 11, Avery is 10 and Shakur is 9. They are all seriously strong Aries personalities. Hannah lives in AZ, but was here for spring break. She came to the doctor with us and it ended up being a trip to the hospital. It was Avery’s best trip to date. Because Hannah and her laughed and giggled the entire 9 hours we were there. Hannah did have to look away when they did anything with blood. She has a weak stomach.
I have been sewing…a lot. Big surprise, I know. It’s therapy for me right now. And I love creating. I saw this link for another blog. It’s about creating and not being afraid to try new things.
There are other things besides using a pattern to make something. I would love to learn patternmaking. I am working on that darn second book of my trilogy. I needs to get done. And there are lots of other things I want to try. But we do need to get through chemo first. AND Payton is having what appears to be blood sugar issues. I have a niece that is 11 that is diabetic. I am REALLY praying that it isn’t that. But when I take Avery to the Endocrinologist next week, I added Payton to her patient list that day too. We will see what she says. Always a medical adventure at our house!!
I hope you all are having a warm and great spring like we are!!!
