Torch Lake & the Wave Runner

 We love Torch Lake!

Elizabeth's first time on a wave runner.  She even took over steering for a little while.  She loved it!

Early Morning Fishing

This morning E and I were out early fishing on the shores of Torch Lake while we waited for her to be able eat her traditional meal of this trip (Chili and tortilla chips, I think she is averaging about 2 cans of chili per day). She has to wait about an hour after chemo each morning to eat, so we set out to catch some fish. E did a "magic trick" with a stick in the water to wake the fish up, then she practiced her casting. Walking back up the hill holding hands, E said to me "Daddy, will you be my boyfriend? I love you!" She is so cute!

I Love Camping!

Tonight E and I were walking down the hill to the campfire and she said to me "I love camping!"

At the campfire E had a great time roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

Goodbye 'Animal Zoo'

We got to take Papa Holly on our last visit to the 'Animal Zoo' while living in Michigan.  We had a wonderful time seeing running here and there seeing all of our favorite animal friends.  We even got to groom some goats.  We were so glad that we could share one of our favorite places with Papa Holly.

After having such a fun morning at the zoo, we found ourselves on the road up to another favorite Michigan place. TORCH LAKE!!!

Maintenance Phase [Final & Finally]

We are so excited! After many months of treatment, and some delays, Elizabeth has finally reached a great milestone in her treatment. Today was her first day of Maintenance Phase.

We began is day early in the morning. POPS (Pediatric Outpatient Surgery) in the hospital at 6:30am (though we did get there a little late). We got to hang out for a couple hours and order what food Elizabeth wanted after she woke up from the sedation.  About 8:30am it was time for the LP. This was a big day for me (Mommy) since it was the first time I stayed for the procedure.

After the IV and IT chemo, and antibiotic were all done, we went to say some goodbyes.  We went up to PEDS, over to the clinic and infusion center, and then picked up prescriptions as we headed out to the car to go home. We are going to miss our many friends that have cared for us these many months since Elizabeth was diagnosed with leukemia.

Maintenance Phase is the final phase of treatment for leukemia.  This phase started today and will continue until February 19th, 2015.  To kick off the beginning of Maintenance Elizabeth got IV chemotherapy, an LP (Lumbar Puncture) for ITT (Intrathecal) chemotherapy in the hospital this morning.  Elizabeth will also receive a chemotherapy pill every day; steroids twice a day for five days, every four weeks; and another chemotherapy pill once a week (minus the weeks she has an LP).  All of this will continue for the rest of her treatment.

Playing in the Sunshine at Fenner

Helping Daddy load the POD

E was a great helper today with loading up our POD for going to California. She enjoyed our fishing trip a lot tonight and was excited to see a large turtle too. The second picture is from a meadow nearby where we went fishing--E built a small "fire" of sticks and found a groundhog burrow.

47 Months | 3 Years 11 Months

height | 37.6 inches

weight | 31.4 pounds

cheese hot dog on a bun with mustard, pickles, & sauerkraut | cheetos | three hospital admittance | two fevers | multiple blood & platelet transfusion | treatment delays | frankenmuth | 'animal zoo' | see mommy get a poke | daddy gets ready for move in california | ann arbor art fair | watch fireworks from the bridge at the hospital | help cut mommy's hair off | finish delayed intensification | get ready for maintenance | hamburger without the burger

Frankenmuth Girls Date

Twins

"You (Mommy) don't match me, we are twins."

"Tell her (girl at the swimming pool), 'Elizabeth and me (Mommy) are twins.'"

Update 7.8.2013

Last Monday Elizabeth got a fever so she was admitted to the hospital. That night they missed her port so they had to poke her again. They also found her blood sugar to be really low when she came in, and needed another check in the middle if the night. So, she got a finger poke (like her uncles Jakobe and Jacob get).




Elizabeth's ANC stayed below 50 the entire visit.

Elizabeth received a few transfusions last week while she was in the hospital. she got a platelet transfusion on Tuesday, blood on Friday, and then platelets again on Saturday.

The low ANC and need for transfusions is all because her bone marrow hadn't recovered from chemotherapy yet. It's been hit with chemotherapy for over 8 months and this last phase was intensive.

Elizabeth was given her last dose of chemotherapy for the phase Delayed Intensification, last Wednesday. She is scheduled to start Maintenance on Wednesday, or when her blood counts are high enough.

Elizabeth only had a fever last Monday, and Tuesday (after getting platelets).




Elizabeth was released Sunday morning even with a low ANC because of no further fevers, she was acting normal, blood cultures were negative, and the doctor was confident that I would watch her and let them know if anything came up.




So, Elizabeth and I went home and had Uncle Kyle pamper us, slept in our own beds, and had a nice morning together. Then Elizabeth woke up from her nap this afternoon, and shortly after wanted to go back to sleep. I checked her temp and it was only slightly up. I decided to wait to make sure it wasn't just a glip. When I checked again it was 102.7.

So I called her doc and packed for the hospital while I waited for the doctor to return my call. And as I guessed we were told to go into the hospital.

Elizabeth got some Tylenol, but her temperature wasn't coming down. Her doctor then gave the go ahead for her to receive Ibuprofen (we have to be careful because of platelet issues). The doc gave the okay, and Elizabeth's fever is just starting to come down. She has perked up enough to ask me to read to her.