Still Well!

Elizabeth has managed to stay well even though Danny, Matt, and Mom have been sick. The antibiotics and cold medicine have helped and the sick-ees are all feeling much better.

On Thursday Elizabeth had dance class. If all is going well in June, she'll be in a dance recital at CSUN (Cal State Northridge). She is learning the routine and we've already ordered her gorgeous costume complete with tutu. Elizabeth does have a tendency to add a little extra twirl here and there, and wave her arms to add more "flourish"... she does have a way of making the dance her own!

Yesterday we got Elizabeth's blood counts faxed over. Everything looks great. We don't think her white blood count (WBC) ever really dropped, and she's NOT on neupogen (GCFS) this time to keep them up. Last chemo in the fall, she had to have injections every morning of GCFS to keep her WBC high and thus keep Elizabeth from getting sick. She hated those shots (keep in mind she gets about 5 shots of insulin daily, so needle sticks aren't really the problem anymore) because it burned when injected. Sometimes we had to sit on her to give the shot, so we were all very grateful when Dr. Marcio said he wanted to try it without them. I think it is safe to say that Elizabeth doesn't need them at this point, which is very good news for all of us!

Looks like everything is on track for round 2 next week. We are seeing Dr. Marcio in clinic on Tuesday and will hopefully find out if we are doing the chemo inpatient or outpatient, and what days we'll be doing it. This weekend is the Boy Scout Camporee at the Castaic camp site and Elizabeth really wants us all to go. Mom isn't too thrilled about the idea of having two preschoolers AND an infant out camping at a real camp site (past years' Camporees were on the VA Hospital lawn!), but if Elizabeth is well and not getting chemo we can't really say no. Not that it has ever been easy to say no to her even before the cancer!

Last night the whole family went out to dinner at PFChang's to celebrate Mom and Dad's 11th wedding anniversary. The food was great and the prices not too steep. We all had a great time, and Elizabeth was glad to have found yet another reason to get dressed up. All she wants to wear these days are her dresses! Good thing she has a closet full. This is one kid that is as thrilled to get dresses as toys.

Elizabeth asks to check her GuestMap at least 3 times a day. She has it read to her each and every time, so thank you all for signing it. It really does mean a lot to her (and us!). In fact, she's asking Mom right now if she can see if she has anyone new on her map...

Thanks for your prayers. Elizabeth's tummyaches are just about all gone now, which, regardless of how well the chemo is working, is great news. We are praying that this is the right treatment and that we will reach a day when she's cured. We're just waiting for that miracle!