April 27-May 3

Written by Melinda: 

Yesterday's treatment went great. She was less ornery and stubborn. She was more teary and cuddly which is so much easier to deal with for me. 

Her chemo treatments are lighter than last month so she is feeling much better this month. She has a lot more energy. She really doesn't seem sick right now. It's so nice to see after our last month where she was barely walking around. And having just enough energy to go from one place to the next just to lay back down.  

Her numbers are up and shouldn't really drop this month because of the lighter chemo's. 

Waking up. Funny story. We go into recovery room and they tell us she's just really sleepy and isn't waking up. So I talk to her a little... Nothing. My friend (Chere) suggest we talk about food. So we ask her if she's ready for some food.... And instantly her eyes pop open. She has always been motivated by food. :) it was pretty funny. 

P.S. The bandage on her hand is just for fun. Before she went under she saw it and asked if she could have some. And since they give them EVERYTHING they want at primary's they wrapped her hand. It was pink. Need I say more? 

Getting her snacks. BTW this is not considered "food" to her. "Food" is a meal or in yesterday's case "taco's". She will get a little mad and say "it's not food" when you ask her if she wants more food (snacks) she is pretty funny. 

Always happy to eat ;)

So since her numbers are good we talked to the doctor about her going to school and because of the higher numbers and them not really dropping they said she could go back to school this month. She was so happy and excited to go. Jaxon was so excited too. When we got to school he took her by the hand and held it til they were in the classroom. He has always been so sweet with her and protects her. It is so sweet to watch. They have a special bond. 

PSS. 

For those of you worried about her being by other kids. She goes to a preschool in someone's home. There are only 8 kids in the class and the teacher has always been very big in washing hands (even before this) and I've talked to her and asked if anyone shows up sick to call me and I will pick her up. Her response "no I will send the sick kid home" I feel this is a pretty controlled environment and safe or I would not send her. 

Her counts:

HCT-32.7

HGB-10.6

PLTS-392

ANC-4100

April 20-26

Post from my mom:

We started round 2 on Monday (21st). We switched our chemo day to Monday. This round is also one month. She had chemo (vincristine) put in thru her port. She had a spinal tap and a different chemo (IT MTX)  put in her spinal fluid. These are the same ones as last month. The difference for this month is that this is her only dose of vincristine this round. She will have spinal taps every week for 3 weeks to put the chemo in. Yesterday was her first of those. Added for this round is an oral chemo (mercaptopurine). She takes that every night for 28 days. The trick to this one is it's taken at bedtime on an empty stomach. So we have to wait for 2 hours after she eats dinner and not eat anything else for the night. That's not easy for her. She likes food. Just ask her she will tell you. 😋. She can have liquids which is nice but no milk products or citrus for 2 hours before she takes it. She did well last night not eating after dinner. But it's hard if others are eating. Especially like popcorn, a family nighttime favorite. But they say it's healthier to not eat after dinner anyway right?  We might have to make it a new family thing. The main side effect this month is nausea. Another reason for taking it at bedtime. Hopefully she'll sleep through it. Her counts for yesterday were:

ANC-1200

WBC-5.9

HGB-11.3

HCT-35.4

PLTS-360

Brinleys new favorite hat. :) Thank you Sister Pearce!

Easter with the Ravens. :)

Easter egg hunts.

She LOVES corn on the cob!

Soooo cute. 

At the park with mom and dad. :)

Chuck E Cheese :)

Best friends!

Lone Peak pond. :)

Feeding the ducks!

Ice cream :) 

April 13-19

Great News!!!

We got Brinelys test results back this week and she has responded exactly the way they wanted her to. She is considered to be in "remission" which means no cancer cells were detected. But this does not change her treatment plan. The treatment lasts 2 years and 2 months no matter what. That will never be shortened. These test results mean she is responding to the chemotherapy which is awesome and answers to prayers. Prayers are heard and answered. We are so very grateful for your continued prayers in her behalf. She still has a long difficult road ahead but these results keep her cure rate in the 90%. Thank you so much. 

Brinley has a really hard time walking up the stairs. She never complains that it is hard, she just works harder. She is such an inspiration to watch as she goes through this. She might hate what she has to do and cry about it sometimes but she always does it. 90% of the time she has a smile on her face. We love her so much. She is so strong and amazing! The video of Brinley walking up the stairs is on my moms Facebook page (Melinda Thatcher Raven). Unfortunately I cannot upload videos to the blog. There are also two other videos on her page. 

Reading books with daddy!

Brinley got the coolest book ever from her sweet sister Ariel. She loves it. Thank you Ariel. :)

April 18th: JAXONS BIRTHDAY! :) He turned 5 years old! 

Making cupcakes for Jaxon. Licking the bowl...the best part! :)

The boys started soccer this week and they love it!! :)

Jaxons first game was today and he scored 2 goals!

Sterling had his first game on Wednesday and they won!! :)

At Sterling Game. :) photo credit: my mother (she should be in this photo)

Saturday 19: Sammy's Junior Year Prom. She looks absolutely stunning!! :)

Ring pop from her awesome brother-in-law Russ! :)

Making chocolate strawberries and chocolate pretzels!

She LOVES izzy!!

Playing baseball with Russ. :)

She is too cute!!!