Fourth of July

Happy day, all!

We had a good day at Fletcher Allen yesterday. Katie was crabby, of course, but she was also in great spirits on the way home. As toxic as her new meds probably are, Katie appears to be handling them well.

I watched the lumbar puncture yesterday, and that really was interesting. It's amazing what doctors are capable of doing. Dr. Bradeen is friendly and warm, but she is also a pro--the whole thing was pretty impressive. The anesthesiologist was also really good at explaining what Katie was experiencing, so that was helpful, too. I ducked out to get lunch for the kids while Katie slept, but Rick got to witness the echocardiogram. All the components of Katie's heart look good. Aside from this little leukemia glitch (!), she is healthy as a horse. She woke up hungry, but we were ready for her. She had a banana in one hand and a bagel in the other; she took breaks for popcorn. It was a pretty impressive bit of carbo loading. There is a marathon runner in this little body just trying to get out.

While she was sick this morning, she took her meds like a champ and recovered quickly. She ran at least a few miles in great big circles around Joshua's room this morning, shaking her booty and shrieking with pleasure. There were dedicated costume laps (she is a fan of his cowboy hat), and she made me skip the slow song on the album (the Commitments soundtrack) because she just couldn't tolerate the poky pace. She looked pretty darned good.

We are planning to take advantage of her health today. Joshua is in the Barton parade with his t-ball team, and then we will venture out to Gerry and Cindy's camp on Seymour for a party, a swim and some fishing. The kids are very excited about going to the beach, and we're looking forward to having some quiet time with friends. Life is good.

I hope you'll enjoy the day, too. Happy Fourth!