Movin' Along...

Well, this past week is quickly becoming a blur...
So sorry to have been so quiet here--I know a lot of you all were getting worried!

Elizabeth is doing well.

We had round 3 of her gemcitabine/oxaliplatin (GEMOX) chemo last Thursday and Friday (5/5 & 5/6). Elizabeth got sick and had 2 pukey episodes on Friday afternoon, but that was because our nurse was absolutely sure that Elizabeth only needed benedryl for nausea, and not the benedryl/regalin combo she usually gets on day 2 of chemo. Mom disagreed, and Nurse X (who shall remain nameless, but Mom knows which one it was... grrrrrr) said she talked to the doctor and benedryl was all that was necessary. Well, next time Elizabeth will be getting regalin, too--even if Mom has to go find it and put it in the IV her darn self. After a $22/pill dose of zofran Friday night Elizabeth was fine. No more puking.

Elizabeth was pretty zonked out during and after chemo. She was still lounging on the couch watching PBS most of the time. We had a nice quiet Mother's Day at home and Mom was thrilled to get the extra hugs and kisses. The house still has some yellow and pink tulips and roses scattered about. Mom loved Mike's poem, Matt's "diamond" necklace he picked out, and Elizabeth's present--her own favorite necklace. We've got some really good kids!!

Monday night, Elizabeth finally put on some clothes (well, her Minnie Mouse dress up outfit, but at least it wasn't jammies) and we went to the Michael Hoefflin Foundation meeting. We go every 2nd Monday of the month. We are so grateful to have a place to talk to other families dealing with the same thing, and the kids get lots of attention in their own meeting/crafty time next door.

Tuesday we went to CHLA for Elizabeth's blood draw. Her CBC was normal (for her), so no transfusions (YAY!). She had an AFP drawn, but somehow it was lost between the nurse's station and the lab, so we won't be able to get those results. We were hoping to see the AFP dropping below the 859 last time, but we'll have to wait until next time for that... hopefully.

Elizabeth had ballet class yesterday, Thursday. We got her costume for the recital. It's beautiful and worth every penny. It's mostly lavender, but with plenty of pink, so Elizabeth is happy. She will have professional pictures taken at the dance studio (Center Stage Dance LA--I'm putting the link on the right so anyone local who wants classes can take a look) on Sunday in costume. We'll be sure to order plenty! Unfortunately, the recital is scheduled for June 12, and it looks like Elizabeth may not be able to participate. Why? Well, surgery...

Here is the update: Dr. Marcio has spoken with Dr. James Stein (the CHLA surgeon) and they both feel she is a candidate for surgery. This is great since UCLA docs thought she may never be operable. BUT, it will be another 3-4 weeks before it can be done. In the meantime, she WILL get another round of chemo (round 4), and it will be bumped up a week. SO... we will be in for more chemo NEXT week already! Elizabeth is scheduled to go to CHLA on Wednesday for blood work, an appt. with Dr. Marcio, and then (if blood work is clear) starting chemo. Looks like surgery will be sometime near the very end of May/beginning of June. So we don't think the ballet recital will be something Elizabeth can do. But, hey, getting the cancer out takes priority over everything else! There will always be more dance recitals--two months ago we didn't think we could say that. What a miracle!

Yesterday was also Daddy's birthday. When we went shopping, Elizabeth picked out a tropical Mickey Mouse shirt for Dad. She insisted on getting the matching little girl dress for herself, so now Daddy can match his little Princess for our visit to Disneyland hopefully for Elizabeth's birthday. She's been insisting we go celebrate her birthday (May 24) there again. We took Daddy to Red Lobster for dinner--he is the only one who really eats seafood, but it was his birthday afterall! One lady remarked on how well behaved our children are as she was leaving... if she could have only seen them earlier that day!! They must have gotten all their naughtiness out earlier and lowered their "badness levels" (Lilo and Stitch anyone?)...

I'll post more pictures next time... just trying to get the update up for now! I'll also be posting "Thank-You"s to all our special friends who have been so thoughtfully making Princess Elizabeth smile in the past 2 weeks.

Please keep praying... we're not in the clear yet, and it's your prayers that are truly helping us get through this. It is nothing short of a miracle that we have been able to go from hopeless to hopefull!