Last Treatment of Interim Maintenance

Today was a pretty important day in Karlee’s treatment, but before we get to that we should let you know what else has been happening.

It was a pretty quiet week around here.  Karlee can’t go to preschool until April due to her exposure to chicken pox.  We found out today that she is quarantined for 21 days after getting the shot to prevent the chicken pox from being too severe.  She has also been fighting a cold and using Kleenex like it is going out of style.  She seems to be starting to feel better now and if definitely coughing and sneezing less.

Friday afternoon we dropped Karlee off at Grandma’s and took Ryley to see a movie.  We went to the cheap theatre and saw Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Ryley loved the movie and he seems to really like to get to spend a little time alone with Mom and Dad.  It is really nice to go to see a movie and get food for 3 for under $25.

Saturday morning we headed to the zoo as a family for the first time in a year.  Last summer was a little bit of a mess with Karlee having her episodes and the being diagnosed so we didn’t make it there a all, and then we didn’t get around to renewing the passes over the winter.  Karlee had been dying to go back to the zoo since sometime around October and has been bugging us fairly regularly.  We did get there for Zoo Lights at Christmas, but that isn’t the same as you don’t get to see the animals.  We were there about 9:20, but it took a while to get our new passes.  We met Uncle Randy and Cousins Everett and Oliver and the 4 of them had a great time running from exhibit to exhibit.  We saw almost everything except the Canadian Wilds before Uncle Randy and the boys left.  Once we say them to the exit we headed over the see the elephants where they were also doing face painting.  Ryley ended up being a tiger and Karlee got flowers all over her face.  They also had a great interpretative area with people able to answer questions about tigers and let them touch skins, skulls and teeth.  After lunch we headed home.

Sunday morning Dad took the kids to the wave pool for a swim.  They both had a great time and got some exercise.  Karlee is getting much more independent in the pool, but she still wears a life jacket.  Hopefully she will lose that soon and start to swim on her own.
 
Monday (today) was clinic day again.  It was the last day of treatment for the interim maintenance phase of treatment.  Technically this phase isn’t over until April 11th, but all that is left is a few CBCs (Complete Blood Count) at the local lab.  Starting April 12th she will be in the maintenance phase.  Today they were stuck in an isolation room, but thankfully it was a short day and they were done just after 11:30.  Dr. Singh is back, but it looked like he was on the unit today instead of being in the clinic.  We got a little more information on what to expect in the maintenance phase.  Karlee will not get a bed unless she is having a procedure, but the visits should be shorter.  We will do the CBC the day before and the visit should only involve being accessed, seeing the doctor, getting some chemo and then going home.  Basically it is everything we do now, just with the blood work done the day before and hopefully everything moving a little quicker.
 
This past week both Mom and Dad read the book Letters To God.  The book was a great story about faith and the journey through cancer.  It was an incredible book that we would encourage everyone to read.  We also watched the movie, and while it was a good movie, it was not as moving as the book.  If you want to borrow the book or the movie let us know and we will get it to you.