Monday Morning

Good morning everyone. Katie was in a cheerful mood all night long despite being woken up almost every hour last night. We had a couple of blocks of 2 hour stretches that were pretty nice. She woke up hungry this morning and immediately wanted pasta. She didn't want to wait for room service to bring her normal breakfast up so we dug in Grandma Kathy's cold spaghetti and meat sauce. She loved it and ate two bowls before room service brought up her English muffin, fruit, yogurt and juice.

She is due for two shots today as part of her chemotherapy. We are waiting until Amy returns from her parents house at noon before giving her the shots so that both parents can be there to comfort her.

Josh is currently out and about with his friend Jack King and family. Barb and Bill, Jack's parents, offered to take josh with them for a time this morning for some play time. He was really eager to go. Thank you Barb and Bill for helping to make this easier for Josh.

Kate is a little sluggish this morning with only small bursts of energy. She is currently sitting on my lap asking to go back to her room to lie down. We have only been out of the room for 10 minutes at this point.

The doctor told me again this morning that it is very likely she will be allowed to go home Wednesday. He said hers has been the perfect text book case so far. She and her leukemia are responding to the chemotherapy just as they should. She is still constipated, but with the sudden increased appetite, that should pose a problem for much longer. Then they begin weening her off of the IV and getting her ready to go home. Knock on wood. We may be out of here soon.

However, when we get home, don't come visiting right away. She is only allowed to see people who she has had frequent and regular contact with before coming to the hospital, and even those people need to wear masks. The theory is that she already has the germs and viruses in her body that those people are carrying. The doctors do not want her exposed to any new germs and viruses from any person she gets to see only every few months or so. As her immune system continues to get worse, her visitors will be restricted to just her parents, her Nana, and her brother. And since we all work in schools, bringing home lots of germs through the course of the year, we may all have to wear masks at home.