Family Fun

We have had a great last couple weeks. Some amazing friends of ours gave us a two night stay down in Monterey, so Mike and I got to go down last week and golf and visit with friends from college and enjoy some time alone together. It was great because it seems like we have been really busy lately and haven't even gotten to talk much, so it was great to get away and have fun. My parents watched the kids and they loved spending time with Gaga and Papa. The kids had Monday off from school for Presidents Day so we went up to Tahoe on Sunday and spent the night with our good friends at their cabin. Kelsey woke up with a cold that morning so she wasn't feeling great and I think the elevation might've been bothering her ears because she wasn't diggin' the snow, but the rest of the kids loved it!! They went sledding and made snow angels and nailed me with a few snowballs. When we got back Monday, our original home nurse, Wendi, came over to draw Brooklyn's blood. Her son Zach is done with his treatment so that is great! He still has some more surgery ahead of him, but thankfully his cancer is gone! It was so great to see her again and catch up. Monday also kicked off the start of baseball season! Mike is bravely coaching both Braden and Kayla's teams this year. He is so good with the kids and really knows how to teach them the game, but it will be a busy spring for sure! Brooklyn wants to play baseball so badly too, so we got her some cleats to wear to the games and Mike gave her one of the extra hats. It's going to be hard to keep her off the fields during the games! When we saw her oncologist this month, I asked about the fact that her ANC level has been so good since she's been on maintenance (except for the two times we've been in the hospital.)  They ideally want her counts to be between 500 & 1500 and they have been higher than 1500 the whole time. I personally like it when they are high because I feel like she is "healthier" and will be better able to fight a virus should she come in contact with anyone with a cold. However, I also know that we want to make sure the leukemia stays away, so it is best for her to receive the right amount of chemo to keep her in the correct range. When the nurse called with her numbers that night, she told us that the doctor wanted us to increase the amount that we give her at home. We actually forgot to do it the first week (awesome job, I know) but we increased her pills over this last weekend. She seemed to do fine with it, but by the 3rd morning, she was feeling nauseous and not great so we let her stay home from school. It is hard to figure out exactly how to make her feel as good as possible, but we are working on it. Giving her some anti-nausea medicine on Tuesday seemed to help her feel better, so we may need to start giving her that more regularly. It makes me a little sad that we have to give her more medicine, but I also trust the doctors and know that they've done enough research to know the best way to cure our little girl. Yesterday after school, Kayla came home with a fever and said her stomach hurt. She felt pretty bad all afternoon and her fever was up to 102 so we made the spare bed in Braden's room and had her sleep in there. Of course we don't want him to get sick, but if Brookie gets a fever, we will have to head back to the hospital, and we really don't want to do that. The kids have all been hanging out together though, so there is a good chance Brooklyn will get sick too. I was thinking this morning that it's kind of like when you're watching a suspenseful movie; you are on the edge of your seat because you just know something is coming and you want to be prepared for it so you're not thrown off guard, but you don't know quite when it will happen. Hopefully our life won't be like a crazy movie this weekend, but I might pack a bag of stuff so we're ready just in case we have to go in. Mike and I were just saying the other day that it is really amazing how 'normal' our life is while going through this battle with Brooklyn. We are so thankful for all the research that has been done to help find a cure for all of the children with leukemia. Our doctors and nurses, outreach from our friends and prayers have really carried us through this time, and we are thankful.

What a Year

It has been just over a year since our lives have changed dramatically. Yes, of course our lives changed a lot after we got married, and after we had our first child, and then the next, and then the next...but to receive the news that one of your children has cancer is never something you expect. It is almost surreal to think back to the night when our pediatrician called me at home to tell me that Brooklyn's blood tests had come back and that he was pretty sure she had Leukemia. I was floored. She had been sick back in October for a couple weeks, so our doctor ordered some blood tests, which came back pretty normal, but he just wanted us to follow up with more tests the next couple months to be sure all of her numbers were going the right way. I really hadn't wanted to go in that day in January because I knew she was fine, and I hated having to get her arm poked for nothing. She had been acting totally normal, in fact, we had just gone to her gym class and I had a little time to spare before I had to pick Kayla up from preschool. It wasn't fun but she did great and we went on with our day. When he called that night, I didn't even know what to say. I didn't know anything about Leukemia, or much about cancer in general, except that it is bad. I never even watched the St. Jude commercials because I thought it was so sad to see kids that were so sick. He told me we would have to check in to the hospital the next day and expect to be there for at least a week. He had called ahead for us and had already spoken to the Oncologist, whom he had worked with during his residency. I tried to ask questions, but didn't really know what to say. Mike was still at work so I had to call him and tell him to come home through my tears. It all seems surreal now. That week in the hospital seemed like an eternity. We learned more in 48 hours than we ever thought we would know about blood or cancer or surgeries. Our pastor called a wonderful doctor from our church and she came and met us at the hospital and helped answer our questions and even met with the oncologist with us to help get some answers. It was awesome the way that our family and friends rallied around us, stepping in wherever we needed help. We didn't have to worry about Braden and Kayla because my parents were with them and we had people taking turns driving Kelsey back and forth from the hospital 3-4 times/day so she could nurse. It was comforting to know that we didn't have to worry about the other kids during a time when we were worried so much about Brooklyn. One of the hardest parts about that week and that time was that she seemed totally fine. So, it was like we were taking a healthy kid in to the hospital and making her sick. She was so amazing throughout everything. She never questioned why we were there or why she had to do all of this stuff. It was all so confusing, trying to decide if she should have a broviak or a port, whether she should be on the "study" version of treatment, how she should take her medicine...these were all things we had never thought about before and didn't know the right answer. We learned though that because of all the research that has been done and trials and tests, the cure rate for ALL is almost 90%. That means it goes away and never comes back. I never thought I would be thankful for the kind of cancer my daughter has, but I am. We have been so incredibly blessed by so many people this year. The support from our families has been wonderful and we are so thankful for them. The way that our friends have rallied around us with prayers, time, meals and gifts as well as two amazing events in Brooklyn's honor has been more than we could've ever dreamed of.  We are so humbled by your support and thankful for your help throughout this past year. I was looking through pictures the other day and it almost brought me to tears to see how bald Brooklyn was this summer, and to see how big she got during her first month on steroids. She has been through so much this past year, but to see her now is amazing. You wouldn't even know she is still going through treatment. Sure, the steroids that she's taking again this week still stink, make her irritable and cause her to wake up all night long and we still have to be extra careful with germs and fighting infection, but overall, she is doing so well. Her sweet spirit and amazing fight are proof that God is holding her through this time, He is holding and helping all of us.