And the beat goes on...

So we're nearing the end of January and we're back at GUH again for scheduled chemo. Since New Years, we been idling along, still trying to catch up from 2006. Sophie has good blood counts which has helped a bit by allowing her to go to day care a few days a week. The last I posted, we were preparing for Zach's colonoscopy. The two-day prep was a bit tedious, but Zach did wonderfully, taking it better than most adults might!! The procedure took a mere 20 minutes and they found the expected single polyp and removed it. The polyp was sent for biopsy, and thankfully returned with positive news of a negative finding!!!

As unnerving as the year has begun, we have only good news and hopeful outcomes coming our way. As I write this, Sophie has just completed the seventh of eight Chemo cycles. We will return in three weeks for the eighth and final treatment. Woo Hoo!!! This round is really taking a toll on her little body. Between the chemo and surgery, she's lost about 4 lbs since we started treatment in June. That doesn't sound like much, but it's about 15% of her total body weight. she seems to be rebounding a bit thought with spoonfuls of peanut butter, calamata olives, and hummos among her favorite foods right now. She's also much more tired than usual, quite ready for naps and bedtime - but still full of energy and difficult to catch all other times!!! She's a tricky one from doing chin-ups in her hospital crib to running circles around her IV pole, she's basically unstoppable! At night we had difficulties keeping her in her crib. She would climb out repeatedly after being put to bed. Not only was this annoying, but dangerous, so we lowered her crib to a toddler bed - her big girl bed! Go Sophie, growing up now!

Well that's the medical update. Now for the fun stuff...
This past Friday Zach attended his first school dance, the Stonegate Kids Ball. Mike attended as his chaperon and reported that they had a blast! Saturday, they both headed for more fun at a special event sponsored by Georgetown University through the Hoya Dreams program. They attended at Hoyas basketball game at the Verizon center with other families of sick children and a slew of Hoya athletes. Again Mike reports that they had too much fun! The pics are still in the camera, but we'll include them in the next post.

Our next big event is Zach's 6th birthday, which is a mere 10 days away. We are scheduled to gather at Chuck e. Cheese for cake, pizza and games on February 4th and then home that afternoon for a family lunch and then the Superbowl later that evening. It is sure to be a fun, but exhausting day!!!

Stay tuned for pics and updates soon! Until then, Live, Love, and don't forget to Laugh!!!

Happy New Year...

We are sending wished for a wonderful New Year to all of our family and friends! May 2007 be healthful and prosperous for you all!

Today we are waiting for discahrge from GUH after a night's stay in C53 for Sophie's sisth cycle of chemo. Everything is going fine, and we hope to be on our way in an hour or so. Sophie hadled everything great as usual, but had a little nausea and vomiting early this morning. After going back to sleep for a few hours, she woke up asking to eat and threw back a banana and some cereal, so the tummy is much better now.

So far so good for the new year, Zach is back to school, and we're hoping that Sophie will be able to go back to daycare net Monday, even if only for a few days. We all need a break from each other following the holidays.

Santa was very good to our little munchkins. Zach got an acoustic guitar which he has decided he already knows how to play, so he won't need lessons of course. Sophie got a Disney Princess kitchen and tea set which is keeping us all busy keeping it put away. Zach has decided he is The Handsom Prince (not price Charming - as he was mean in Shrek 2 - Zach logic!), Sophie is Cinderella (of Course), Mom is princess Aurora (it's a blond thing I guess) and Dad is the King (or the Prince's Dad as he calls him). Sophie and Zach bake us cookies and serve tea on a regular basis now. Luckily there are no calories!

Zach's teacher had a baby boy last week, so he has a new teacher for the rest of the school year. He seems to like her very much and is very excited about school.

Well, we've been dedicating a bunch of our time and effort to Sophie's health for some time. Now, it's Zach's turn. He has had some blood in his stool for a couple of months which a pediatric gastrointerologist tells us is probably what is called a juvenile polyp. We've scheduled a colonoscopy for January 18. They will Check things out and remove the polyp. The doctor doesn't think that this will be a long-term issue for Zach - just another inconvenience. Lucky for Zach he is familiar with the environment here at GUH, so he doesn't have anxiety about the procedure. The major part ofr him will be the preparations - a liquid diet for two days prior (Can you make a chicken nugget and freich fry smoothie?) That same week, we are seeing a specialist to do an ADD/ADHD assessment. We've been putting this off hoping that he would 'grow out of it', but his impule issues are starting to affect his schoolwork so we want to get things on track while the school demands are still low in kindergarten.

So that's an update for the beginning of our 2007. Everything is actually moving in a very positive direction - although it seems to have some bumps in the road. We are all in great spirits and ready to take on whatever life throws at us. Our family is stronger now than a year ago!

Wishing you all well - those near and far. Youare always in our thoughts and in our hearts!

p.s. - a special shout out to our nurse friends You know who you are! - those that are returning from travels soon - we can't wait to see you; and one who is leaving us for a new adventure - all the best and thank you!