Birthday Fun!!

Thankfully, we made it through the last couple weeks without the kids getting sick. None of the kids got the stomach bug that Kayla had, although Mike and I had a few days where we weren't feeling our best, so that wasn't fun. Last Monday kicked off a busy week for little Brookie though, so we were so glad that we were all healthy again. We went to the Oncologist Monday morning and got great reviews. :) She is growing well and is responding well to the increased chemo. Her numbers are actually back up despite the larger dosages making her feel nauseous. She is also cleared to do some "normal" stuff like swim lessons and gym class again! We were so excited because we have taken a year off from pretty much everything in order to minimize her exposure to germs. She also wasn't supposed to swim much last year because she had the broviak in which wasn't supposed to get wet. Now that she has a port, her risk of infection is lower and she is able to start up some classes again! She loved going in the pool last summer, but it was so much work trying to keep her broviak dry and cleaning the site and the tubes over and over, and she wasn't able to swim without help (although she really wanted to), so it will be great to get her started in some lessons to prepare her for a fun summer of swimming! After her appointment, she got her blood drawn and more chemo at the infusion room and then we rushed home to pick up Kayla from school. Tuesday, Brooklyn missed school because she had a spinal tap. We haven't been there for 3 months, but it was astonishing to see how "routine" it has become for us. She understood that she couldn't eat in the morning, and made sure that we remembered our 'surgery bag' full of toys and books that we always bring with us when we go. The nurses were all so happy to see her and 3 or 4 of them gathered all around her when we got there to welcome her and comment on how much she'd grown and how pretty her hair is looking. They were running a little behind, which is hard for little ones when they have to wait to eat, but Brookie started playing with another little girl in the waiting room who was waiting for the same surgery. I have seen her and her mom in the infusion room before and her hair is grown out about the same amount as Brooklyn's is, so I imagine she is at a similar stage in her treatment. She is in 1st grade and was very sweet playing with the toys in the waiting room with Brooklyn (though I still kind of cringe when we play with toys in the waiting room and I think about the germs that are probably on them!) It is crazy to think that as her mom was waiting for her daughter to go in to surgery, she was probably having all the same thoughts and feelings that I was having. Neither of these little girls deserves to have cancer, neither of us want our kids to be sick, but there we all were in the same room, bonding over our unexpected and unwanted similarities. I pray that they have the same support and devotion that we have had from friends and family throughout their journey with cancer. They've changed the rules at the surgery center, so I had to wear a full "bunny suit" - scrubs with the hair net and everything, to go into the surgery room with her. Brooklyn thought I looked pretty funny, and I'm sure I did! She woke up right after the surgery was over this time, usually she sleeps for at least a half hour, so we didn't have to stay for too long. She was tired that night but seemed to feel fine. Wednesday was her birthday!! I decorated the house Tuesday night so it was all pretty when she woke up in the morning. She said a couple times, "I tant bewieve I'm tor years old!" It was so much fun to celebrate and have her feeling good on her birthday. It was so different than last year when she had just finished a month of steroids which made her gain 10 pounds. She was barely able to walk, her whole body was so swollen and she got tired so easily. It is amazing to see how well she is doing and feeling just a year later. We went to get "tozen yodert" for lunch with some friends and then had our family over that night to celebrate. Petaronni pizza and cupcakes never tasted so good! :) Thursday she got to go to school and brought more cupcakes to celebrate with her class. They were all happy to see her and she got to wear a birthday crown all morning. Friday was her birthday party. We got to have it at My Gym this year with a bunch of her little friends. She wasn't able to really leave the house last year for her birthday, so we celebrated at home with our good friends, but she has been wanting to go back to gym class, so it was wonderful to get to have her party there. They cleaned all the equipment for us before we got there in order to minimize her exposure to germs and the two teachers that hosted the party were amazing with all the kids. Brooklyn was so happy and had the best time. She fell asleep on the couch at home before she even opened her presents, it was a big week for a 4 year old! Saturday the kids (and Mike) had baseball practice and Sunday we celebrated my mom and aunt and my birthdays. March is a busy month! This Monday during the middle of the night, Kayla came in crying that her throat hurt and we found out yesterday that she has strep throat. We have her sleeping in Braden's room again and she is doing much better after starting her antibiotics last night, but we're hoping, once again, that no one else gets sick. We had a mellow day at home today, trying to get Kayla to rest so she gets better, and keep the other three healthy at the same time. We had a contest going to see who could wash their hands the most, so hopefully all the germs went down the drain! It has been quite a year for our sweet little Brooklyn, but she continues to amaze us with her strength and bravery every day.