May 11-17

She's had a great month. The lighter chemo was a nice break. The next two rounds the chemo gets more intense. She is doing great. Still has a great attitude. Round 3 starts May 19. It will last 2 months. 

BRINLEYS BIRTHDAY :) she is 4!!!

Fishing with the family!!!

May 4-10

She had her last spinal tap for this round. I think we get a 3 week break. Yay!! We even get Monday the 12th off. Shes happy because it's her birthday week. Great birthday present haha. She's turning 4 :) Just think, her 6th birthday should be the end of her treatment. 

Izzy is getting to be very good with Brin. She was just sitting in the swing and not trying to get away. Pretty cute!

Waiting for spinal tap.

After with her snacks.

Ready for school. Got a new bow from the clinic. 

At the park. It was windy and cold. We forgot to bring a jacket for Brin so Sterling went over to her, takes his jacket off and gave it to Brin. Such a sweet brother.

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 :)