Mouth Sores Again

The steroids are wearing off and Katie was just starting to return to a normal emotional and behavioral level. However, she now has something else to deal with. Yesterday afternoon she began complaining that her teeth hurt and she blamed it on getting bumped in the mouth at day care. When she complained again this morning that her mouth still hurt I asked her to open up and say ahhhh while I looked in with a flash light. What I found was more mouth sores located on the roof of her mouth this time, right behind her teeth. They are small, but white and well defined. We immediately started using the magic mouth wash again, hoping to give her some relief from the pain and minimize the length of time that she has to suffer this time.

Steroid Challenges

For the past several treatments, Katie has behaved as if she hadn't even gotten any chemotherapy or taken a course of steroids. This time, however, is different. She went to Fletcher Allen last Friday for her standard dose of Vincristine and Pentamadine via her port, and Methotrexate via a lumbar puncture. She then came home and started her 5 day course of Dexamethazone. Saturday she felt pretty good until later that night and then she had a horrible night. She felt sick, her body hurt, and she couldn't sleep. She woke up Sunday feeling remarkably well. Her energy level dropped off quickly and she spent most of her day just feeling a little tired. However, by Monday, she was complaining of various pains and becoming emotionally unpredictable. The littlest thing has been setting her off ever since. A boo boo of any severity is cause for screams and uncontrolled sobbing. Any sort of reprimand, even a slight one, is cause for either inconsolable sobbing because "Daddy scolded me." or a kicking and screaming tantrum.
Today was the last day of Dex, and most of the other drugs effects should be waring off by now. I can't wait for Katie to return to normal again.

Going to the Prom

Normal people might think that Katie is too young to be going to a prom, but when your parents are both high school teachers, there is no such thing as too young.

Katie went to her first prom this year with our high school students. Her date was her mom. Once she found out that the girls got to dress up in very pretty dresses and dance for hours, she just had to go. We captured a few pictures before she left and then a couple more while she was there. She had a great time dancing and reveled in the attention paid to her by "the big kids." A few of the boys very kindly asked her to dance, but she turned them down. She would only slow dance with Amy. At one point she ran into the ladies room ahead of Amy, who was curious about what she would do when left to her own devices. Amy found her lounging on an old-fashioned fainting couch. When asked what she was doing, Katie said, "I'm just chatting with the girls." One of these things is not like the other, but Katie didn't appear to find it odd that she was much smaller (and younger, etc.) than the other girls. Our students were very good to her, and she enjoyed herself tremendously. You should have seen her shaking her booty.

In the event that you are wondering where Josh was, he DID have the opportunity to go along, but the prom didn't appeal to him. :) He continues to thrive. He is currently obsessed with Bakugan, and he is having fun with t-ball. The highlight of his weekend was a visit to a friend's house Sunday. Unfortunately, Katie insisted on tagging along. Fortunately, Josh has gotten used to her social butterfly ways, and he was gracious about her insistence upon joining his play date. She will go to school with all the kids she played with Sunday, so it's good for her to spend time with them. They were all surprisingly good about allowing her to tag along, and she was thrilled.

We are working on our plans for the summer. We're trying to figure out just how much fun we can cram into the time we have without driving ourselves crazy. We're thinking about a few weekend trips. Josh will go to a few different camps. We're getting chickens. We're starting a bigger garden than we have ever had. It all sounds so good that we are having trouble waiting for the school year to end. We are looking forward to some new adventures!

All is Well

Since our last unexpected trip to the ER with a fever, Katie has been great. She runs and plays all day long. She still has a cough, and she has had some mild pain in her legs (Vincristine?), but she doesn't let anything slow her down. She may cough, but she coughs while running laps around her proud parents.

We had a truly wonderful vacation. Rick and I decided to put the kids first, so the basement is still a catastrophe, but the kids had a very good time--as did we. Our week was full of kids. Cousin Kyler came to visit, as did some of Joshua's pals, and Joshua had his first friend sleep over. They are so grown up... Katie, of course, is desperate to keep up with the big kids. She is such a pesky little sister. Josh typically does a pretty good job of allowing her to share his friends, but Katie also had a play date of her own--her first real visit to a friend's house. She also loved swimming at Lyndon, where we explored the campus. (Both kids are now eager to go to college...yeesh...) We spent a lot of time with our horses, and the kids had opportunities to ride. We also worked on restoring the tipi originally constructed by the Stone Fort Gang on Burton Hill fifteen years ago. The second coming of the Stone Fort Gang only has three members at present, but as you can see, they are very proud of their progress. It was fun to show Uncle Mike pictures of their efforts.

We are all back to school now and trying to finish up the year. While Katie is content to be back at Jeanie's house, where she is truly loved, she is already asking for more "stay home days." It's hard to explain just how valuable those free days really are. Rick and I were so tired when we rolled back into Lake Region Monday, and we are still recuperating. It was a brief reprieve from a schedule that just gets crazier each time I turn around. Katie keeps up better than we do!

Tee-ball is our new adventure. Joshua is playing for the Barton Rays this year, and we had our first practice tonight. He is on a team with some of his best buddies, and he had fun tonight. He was asleep within minutes. Katie was ready to crash, too, as she took advantage of the playground equipment during Joshua's practice. She is increasingly brave and has been taking more physical risks of late. She is so much stronger now. When I remember the skinny little chicken legs she had when she was really sick a year ago, and I look at the muscular limbs she has now, I appreciate the progress she has made. She has come so far, and it is a joy to write that all is, indeed, well. I am so thankful for the opportunities we have to play.

Home Again

We were released from the hospital as planned last night at approximately 12:30 AM. She came home still running a fever of over 101 and she fell asleep instantly. We all slept a little later than usual this morning, and when she woke up her fever was gone. The one additional point of interest from last night's endeavor... She has a double ear infection that has developed since Thursday.

I Spoke To Soon

Earlier today I posted an April update in which I said everything was going well. As luck would have it, we are now in North Country Hospital because Katie is running a fever. It is 11pm, and we have been here since about 8:30. Her port has been accessed (first time being successful here) and blood has been drawn. We are still waiting for lab results to come back before they start flowing antibiotics. Her temperature at home peeked at 101.7 with no other indications that she wasn't feeling well. She is tired. She had a long day playing with Josh and Jack outside in the sun. But, because we are at the hospital, she is not interested in sleep. Antibiotics usually flow for about an hour, so it looks like it's going to be a late night. On the bright side, her ANC was 3800 as of Thursday. With numbers that high, Katie won't need to be admitted to the hospital. She will be treated and sent home.