And the world keeps spinning entry – #29
Choo Choo!!
We are just on this wild cancer train. We have had some amazing moments the past few weeks all padded by never ending cancer “pop ups”. Treatment on Fridays have trucked along keeping her counts low but had remained fever free. This past Tuesday was our third week in a row needing a blood transfusion. After her Friday treatment the doctors always want to check counts come Tuesday due to the high likelyhood of her becoming anemic, neutropenic and or becoming thrombocytopenic. We have hit all three needing transfusion each Tuesday then followed by another full day for treatment on Friday. Our days off have been good, playing within our home or out back thanks to the amazing weather we’ve been having. Olive and Quinn are running wild together and getting along most of the time(thank god!) Frozen sound track and elaborate dress up is on permanent repeat in our house. Its pretty amazing to see the two of them sing some of the lyrics together….Olive knowing a bit more than her little sis;)
As I was saying earlier, the cancer train rolls on. We had a 9 hour stent in the hospital this Monday for blood checks and then a transfusion to follow. All went well and we were home by 9pm. Olive and I had a wonderful day of fun and sun on Tuesday making forts outside. We proceeded to spend most of the day in that fort in the back yard reading books and doing activities in her fun highlight, and ladybug magazines. Luck strikes Wednesday morning when Olive mentioned her ear was hurting her. We visit the Dr. who confirms the ear infection sends us home with antibiotics. By 4pm that afternoon, fever strikes and we are once again checked into CPMC, our hospital, a.k.a. “The Big House”. Olive and Quinn quickly tare through our room and make it feel like home quickly. I have packed half our house up once again for what I know is just going to be more days then we would like.
Thursday, Olive is wiped really not wanting to do anything besides watch “Over the Hedge”, the movie of the admission, on repeat. Our saving grace of the day was our hour plus session on Facetime with her class. Olive sat in on a meeting with another class and they literally put her on the computer on a seat. It was like she was sitting right in the mix of everything…just amazing. To hear the chatter of the classroom fill our room was so lifting to all of our spirits. We were then visited by a dear friend and were able to play in the play room after it was all cleaned specially for her. These trips to the hospital are uprooting and quite secluding. Olive cannot interact with any other children because of her neutropenia so we make the best of our “private suit”. At the end of the day I am amazed at how fast the time goes by and real fun we do have together. Cozy and simple.
Friday we up graded to the best room on the floor, room 505, wouldn’t you know its “the ladybug room” with an actual lady bug next to the number outside the room. We are moving up to bigger and better places! A view of the ocean in the distance and the Presedio to our right. Olive was feeling better today but her counts remain low. With her counts not recovering we have been told that we can not go ahead with this weeks treatment until they meet a certain mark. BOO!!!!!!!! We knew this moment would happen. Last Friday Olive officially finished another road map. 56 days in total and she rocked it! No pauses in that course and she rose above and beyond each week after each transfusion, port access, lumbar tap, chemo treatment over and over that girl continued to kick cancers booty! Adam and I are in Awe of her stamenia and are so so proud of her.
This part is tough. We now have at least a week apart. Adam and I switching off so one of us is always with one girls. Luckily I am off and Quinn has preschool 4 days week. Olive understands and can reason with this separation. Quinn is another story. She loves all being together and thrives with her sister at her side. We had her come over again late this afternoon for a couple hours for a pizza party. It was all fun until it was time to say good bye. If she had it her way I know she would slap a name band on an IV in the vein and play patient with her sis so they could be together. With a tearful departure we divide and conquer. There is no other way.
We are so grateful for Olive continuing to remain almost always positive, happy, goofy, interested, and interactive and curious. The other day while I was making breakfast she asked out of nowhere “mom, if earth is a planet, and planets spin, why don’t I feel it spinning?” Keep thinking, believing and questioning girl. You will continue to spin and twirl more striking than any planet in the universe.