Happy Halloween from the Lollipop Fairy!

 

going bald for St. Baldricks

I have to admit…I have a super cool Daddy…but you aren't going to believe what he is going to do to raise money for a very cool pediatric cancer foundation (St. Baldricks)!!???  He is going to have his head shaved!  Just like me!  He has to raise a lot of money before he will do it but he is getting close to his goal.  Check it out and please help him hit his goal:

http://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/79953/2012

GO DADDY!!!!!!

 

sweet surprise

Our dear…wonderful…and amazing friends left us quite the celebratory package complete with chocolate….some kid's "superpower" beverages (aka…power aide) and even some adult beverages for mommy and daddy.
What a neat thing to come home to after a long (and somewhat delayed) visit at clinic.
Thank you so much Miss Katie and crew!!!!!
 

 

no more scarves

As you can see, my brother LOVES to wear my head scarves and we all get a kick out of it.  Ironically enough, I decided Tuesday night that I didn't want to wear anything on my head to school anymore.  That means no more scarves or hats and everyone would see my semi-bald head.  Let's just say I was feeling pretty good about myself….and life….and my classmates…and I thought it would be ok.
And guess what??? It was!  I was proud of myself and so happy that I was brave enough to give it a chance.
Bald is beautiful after all!!

 

 

marvelous maintenance

Today I oficially turn the page in my road map and begin the coveted "maintenance" portion of my treatment for leukemia.  I will have my monthly spinal tap today…. per usual... and I suspect I will go home with some chemo pills that I will need to take every day (for the next year and a half), but the rest of the chemo treatments and medicines I will need to take will be less severe and…well…yucky…as some of the ones I have taken before.
Should be ok.
I am just excited to see my friends aka…(nurses, doctors, Miss Theresa) at clinic and of course I get to take a nice nap during my procedure.
You could say I am feeling "on top of the world"….or acorn sculpture at the arboretum :)
 

art…oh beautiful art

I love art and love the beauty of Cantigny Park so my buddy, Liam, and I head to art class there every Monday afternoon after school.  It's a nice break from all of the medical stuff that goes on in my life right now…...
 

 

 

 

speaking of hair......

 My friend's Mom from preschool thought it was pretty neat what my friend Kate did for me this summer by cutting her hair for Locks of Love and she wanted to do the same.  Check it out!  People are so cool.....seriously!
Thank you Miss Bridget!




Before..... and......after

hairy situation

"It's just hair" ... hair today, gone tomorrow and I pray that with the hair loss, my cancer will lose too."
Diem Brown

I am not going to lie to you….It was really sad for me when I lost my hair.  I dream of my hair coming back and my Mom helps me "style" my scarves so it looks like I have different hairdos.  The nurses at clinic tell me that my hair should start growing back when I start maintenance (October 18th…in case you were wondering).  But guess what?  It is already starting to grown back!
Pretty darn neat if I do say so myself :)
 

 

drinking wine for a good cause

My Mom and Dad went to a fancy shindigh (gotta love that word!) at our dear friend's house.  The same awesome friends who are raising money and participating in a triathalon for the Team in Training (to benefit the leukemia/lymphoma society)
http://pages.teamintraining.org/il/leontri13/sgordonqen
 Malloy's Fine Spirits in Glen Ellyn were the facilitators of the wine tasting event and it seems like everyone had a really good time and learned a lot.  Guests also got to indulge in some of
Aunt Kristi's delicious desserts (that were paired with the wines of course). My Mom and Dad had an amazing time and a lot of money (over $2000.00!) was raised for the leukemia society.  A good time for a good cause.  The kindness of people never ceases to amaze me…..
 

 

 

 

Jacob has cancer…..and so does Chloe

Ms. Beth (from clinic) came to talk to my kindergarten class about what was going on with me…medically that is.  She read a great book called, "Jacob has cancer" and it was all about how this little boy has cancer and his friends want to help him feel better and make life easier and some ways they can do that.  She told my class that they can't catch leukemia (like a cold) and told them a little about the medicines I am on and how they make me feel icky sometimes.  And how about my hair or lack thereof?  That is what they have been most curious about so she talked to them about that, too.
I loved having her in the classroom and I got to sit with her the whole time she was there. Oh, and did I mention that my Mom was the parent helper for the day so she was there, too?
 I kind of felt like a super star :)
 

 

tea party with Alice

The first show of our Emerald City season was a lot of fun and Claire and I even got to make tea cups before the show and meet Alice herself after the show. And how about that cool caterpillar?

 

 

 

 

 

 

road less traveled

"It is better to travel well then to arrive."
~Buddha
I am not really sure what that means but my Mom assures me it means something good.  So, onto the next roadstop on my roadmap, which is…..Maintenance!  This is sort of the time in treatment that most all leukemia patients look forward to for lots of reasons.  I will give you a few.  Clinic visits are fewer and farther between (every two weeks) and I only get chemo at clinic one of those times so that means only once a month.  Vincristine is the drug of choice for most of my time on maintenance and that has been a decent chemo drug for me (not many side effects).  The other time is a quick visit just to check blood counts and have the doc tell me I look good.  Most leukemia patients feel pretty darn good on maintenance and their hair starts coming back.  That is kind of cool.  I will take chemo pills at home every day (my Mom isn't too thrilled about that) and I will also have spinal taps every three months (instead of every month).
Dr. Salvi changed my roadmap a bit, though, and moved up my start of maintenance to October 18th.  That is a week earlier than we had thought.  Maybe it was because my ANC was over 2000 when I had my chemo yesterday!  That was a shocker but kind of a good one.
See you on the next stop…...
 

countdown to maintenance!

Guess what?  Not only is today my last chemo treatment before I start maintenance (yipee!) but I also get a two week break with NO….yes, I mean…NO…chemo.  Super yipee!
Countdown to maintenance….20 days…...
more on that later~
 

yoga...think pink....and yum!

"Consciousness is the ability to be present in your life in every moment, without judgement of you or anyone else. It is the ability to receive everything, reject nothing, and create everything you desire in life -- greater than what you currently have, and more than what you can imagine."



This quote is from one of my Mom's favorite yoga teachers. Pretty neat, huh?  But her very favorite yoga teacher and good friend, Lesley, is pretty in pink and teaching me some fun new yoga poses.  I love doing yoga (not quite as much as my Mom) but I do really, really enjoy it and it does make you feel good, especially when the medicines aren't making you feel so hot.  Lesley and I have something in common.  Can you guess what it might be?  Yes, we both have cancer and October is breast cancer awareness month and that is exactly the type of cancer that Lesley has been fighting for several years now. She has always been an important part of my life (she met me the day I was born) and has shown me how important it is to stay positive and look at the bright side of things. 
And who wouldn't try to do tree pose in a tree?  That was fun but not as easy as you might think.
And my Aunt Kristi made the cookies for a little celebration my Mom had in one of her classes (how awesome are those??) 
Namaste~