Week 6

We are officially 1/3 of the way done with chemotherapy! Well, I'm rounding up a little... we just did week 6 chemo today and we have 19 total.  And, Kaelyn still has her hair! She is one lucky girl.  Though, I don't really think it would have bothered her had she lost it.  I know I would have been able to handle it too, but I am grateful that she has kept it so far.  It is still possible that she could lose it at some random time, but we will see.

Yesterday we had a couple of Make-A-Wish volunteers stop by to visit with Kaelyn and find out what her interests might be.  We filled out some paperwork while Kaelyn colored with markers.  Lucky girl.  I never let her use markers unless they are the Color Wonder kind!  We aren't entirely sure what she will be wishing for, but I'm thinking it will end up being a Disney wish since that is what she is most familiar with right now.  Disney World offers some special treatment for Make-A-Wish kids, so I'm thinking that may be where we will go.  I'm so grateful that Kaelyn has this opportunity and for the volunteers and those who donate to the foundation to make this possible.  These kids really deserve it.  I actually read a news article last night about a dad who refused to sign off on his daughter's wish to go to Disney because she "wasn't sick enough."  He said wishes should only be granted to those who have a little time left to live, to make a last memory.  That is not what Make-A-Wish wants to provide for, though.  Though those children would definitely be included, Make-A-Wish's purpose is to provide time away from treatment, where a child doesn't have to worry about their regular, every day life of doctor's visits, pokes, tests, and the lack of childhood!  I think the Make-A-Wish foundation is so awesome and again I am so grateful for them.

Kaelyn is still doing so well.  She had a  mouth sore last week, which is usually due to low blood counts.  Her CBC came back with normal results though, so I think it may have just been a large canker sore.  Next week she receives the medication again that will potentially lower her blood counts, but so far it has never gotten low enough to cause any concern, maybe just cause a little bit of tiredness, but no immunodeficiency.

I am so grateful to everyone who has let Kaelyn and us know that they care, who have given gifts or other things to help, or who have just expressed concern or offered prayers.  I don't think things could be going any better for us right now.  We are truly blessed!

I hope this isn't inappropriate.  This is Kaelyn's preferred clothing choice.

Showing off her new Make-A-Wish hat.

Round 3 - Year 3

This past Thursday Kaelyn had her 3^rd round of chemo, and she is still doing great.  They said she would probably lose her hair this coming week, and if not, definitely after she receives the dactinomycin again on Thursday.  I'm still holding out hope that she won't lose her hair, since it is possible not too! We will see though.  I find myself playing with her hair all the time, just running my fingers through it.  I know in the grand scheme of things it is a completely unimportant aspect of our lives, but I will be a little sad to see it go.  Mostly because I worry it will be different when it grows back, and I fear it won't be as cute :) I'm sure it will be though.  At the appointment we found out they would be upping her doses because she's back to her normal weight since surgery.  She had no trouble getting back to where she needed to be :) As far as lab results, the only thing that was low were her neutrophils.  They actually weren't necessarily "low," just lower than normal, and that was a good sign because it meant the medication is working.  It is likely her blood counts will be affected more in the future and the medication builds in her system.  Usually the only problems in that area with Wilm's patients are low platelets, and possibly low RBCs, which would require a transfusion, but that is about it.

Kaelyn's birthday was last Tuesday, and she's had a lot of celebrating leading up to it with family visiting.  She definitely got lots of presents, including a cute sandbox for the backyard, a kid's camera, and a cute little teepee her dad made for her that she adores.  Since Brock was working for 14 hours of Kaelyn's birthday, we just did fun things that Kaelyn wanted to do at home, like decorated her cupcakes, played in the sprinkler, and painted with water colors.  Then we visited Brock on his lunch and went out to Red Robin, mainly because they were the only place I could find that still sings to customers on their birthdays!  The only downside of that, Kaelyn hated it!  I don't know why, but she just glared at all the people singing to her.  It was a little embarrassing to be her mom at that moment!

One of my favorite parts of Kaelyn's birthday was when we got the mail.  It wasn't intended to be associated with her birthday but it did make it more special.  Kaelyn got a letter from "Make a Wish Foundation" telling her she was eligible to Make a Wish! I had always thought that these wishes were granted for terminal children, but apparently they are for any child with a life-threatening illness, so if you have a child in that category you should look into referring your child, or one that you know.  Rae opened the letter with me, and a bunch of little silver confetti stars fell out of the envelope.  It was so cute.  I'm so grateful that she will have this opportunity.  I will tell more about how the whole process goes in a future post.

As for Isaac, he is now walking all the time and picking on Kaelyn as much as he can.  Right now it makes me laugh, but I know it won't be too long before I'll be annoyed with it.  It's just funny to see how little he is (referring to age, not size) and how he already tries to get a reaction out of Kaelyn.  He mostly just like to jump on her if she's laying down, or grab her clothes and pull on them, or take something away from her (which she has done plenty of times to him!).  She screams at him and he laughs.  The other day Kealyn and I were laying in her knew teepee and Isaac came in trampling us.  I said "Ow!" in an exaggerated, joking way and Kaelyn got really mad at Isaac.  She said "Isaac, don't hurt mom!"  When he did it again she said "ISAAC – (long pause) YOU STINK!" That cracked me up.  She was so serious.  I think it was her first real insult to her brother, so I expect more to come soon.  I'm laughing now, but I'm sure that will change quickly!