vacation time

Last week was supposed to be a "clinic week" for me but guess what?????  I was too busy having a great time on vacation in Oregon so I also had a vacation from clinic.  I don't need to go back until the week after the 4th of July holiday, so we could just say I am on a little hiatus from hospital stuff right now.  And I am liking it…..
 

don't mess with me!

An awesome card that my Mom's dear friend sent her….

On the same week that I had my belt testing for tae kwon do….. 

and I broke a board with my hand....

and showed everyone how good I am at sparring.....

and how I can be tough when I need to be.....

 

and of course it was fun, too.......

and I earned my orange belt!  Woo Hoo!

smiles and silliness

I have so much fun when my friends from Make a Wish come over for a visit.  They are super nice, really funny, bring yummy pizza and look…they are kind of crazy just like me!  I always look forward to seeing them :)
 

crazy fun with Casey

I had to say goodbye to one of my favorite nurses today……Miss Casey!  We are hoping it is just for the summer while she gets some clinical hours done and school work out of the way….but boy was I sad to say goodbye.  She always puts up with my craziness and my Mom always tells me how patient she is with me.  I am not totally sure what that means but I sure do love her and she always holds my hand when they access my port.  She is the best at that.  And at being crazy with me!  Hope to see you soon my friend ;)
 

 

twinkle…oh twinkle!

I had memorized it….and practiced it at least 100 times….and now it was my turn to get up on stage in front of all of those people (I was a little nervous!) and show them what I have been learning these last few months at my guitar lessons.  I think I did a pretty good job and more importantly, I had fun and was proud of myself!
Make sure you take a peek at the video :)
 

 

 

 

 

Camp TLC

I had an AMAZING time at my very first time at Camp TLC.  This camp is put on by the Lombard Juniors group and allows a child with cancer  (like me!) and a sibling (like Claire!) to participate in a week long, active, fun, and super exciting camp.  Some of my favorite activities were going to an indoor water park, a visit from the fire dept, taking a trip to the Shedd Aquarium, tons of fun crafts and scrapbooking at the end of the week (yes, they had a full time photographer that took tons of fun pictures of each of us!!!), lots of good eats (and junk food) and just fooling around with the other girls in my group and all of the counselors (we each had one that was assigned to us!)
Let's just say I had so much fun that I cried our last night when I had to say goodbye to everyone and have told my Mom about 100 times that I can't wait to go back next summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

sending prayers

Our most wonderful and amazing music teacher and good friend, Miss Christy, lost her beloved husband to a rare and agressive form of cancer this week.  We are so sad and send all of our peaceful and healing wishes to her and the family.
Cancer just really...really stinks!!!
 

queen of ANC

I am happy to report that they told me at clinic on Thursday that my ANC is 2000.  WOW!  So, what does that mean you may ask?  Well, it means that my body is handling the new and improved regimene of daily oral chemo quite well.  I am now at 75% for both of my oral chemos….methotrexate and 6 MP, which is good.  The docs really want me to be at 100% for both so they told Mom they will watch me for the next 6 weeks or so to see if my ANC continues to be strong.  If it is, they will increase one of them to 100% and then eventually the other.  We are just hoping that my body continues to tolerate the meds well and who knows….I may be to 100% for both meds sooner rather than later.
Oh…and last week was my music recital and dance recital so it was an extra big week for me!  More to follow on those two fun and awesome events soon…..
 

new career calling

So, I think I may have a new calling.  I really wanted to be a mom who works in a doctor's office….or more recently, a singer….but how about an "appointment maker"?  This is my new job at clinic and Theresa lets me take over her job almost every time I am there.  Now, I am not really taking appointments but my friends there (especially Casey and Theresa) really let me pretend that I am an official "appointment maker".  And a lot of times they even get the docs in on the fun :)
 Hey, would this be the same as a mom who works in a doctor's office? Cool!
 

 

Call me crazy

I was just so happy that I have hair this time around for crazy hair day at school!  Mom had fun stylizing for us :)
 

got that blah kind of feeling

Well, last Thursday at clinic was a fun day in a lot of ways but not so fun in many other ways.  Mom and I both lost the bet on which doctor was going to be there and our long lost friend…Dr. Canner…who we NEVER get to see….surprised us and was the doc on rotation at CDH that day.  Yea!  He is what we like to call a "hoot" and honestly makes clinic feel like a really fun, crazy experience.  And Mom could sit and talk to him for hours about his foundation (Cure It!)….childhood cancer…..his family…..yoga….you name it.  He is just a really cool guy and a great doctor.
Now onto the "not so fun" part of my clinic day.  I had to have 4 different kind of chemos that day and also had to start my steroid burst.  YUCK!  So, needless to say, I have felt pretty yucky since then.  Everything in my body seems to hurt at one point or another and I am hungry all of the time and I get really emotional and kind of crazy.
So….I am hoping I will feel better as the week goes on and my guitar recital is right around the corner.  I have to be feeling more groovy for that!