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Lisa went into work today. So she and Benjamin were up early and out the door before Allyson and I got moving. Allyson slept until 8:45 today which was good. She really needed the sleep after all of the events yesterday. Overall Allyson had a great day. We watched the backyardigans, played go away monster, colored, played stickers, and did several puzzles.  I was also able to get a good amount of work done between our playing. Tonight is Allyson’s last dose of vancomycin, which makes Lisa and I very happy. After Fridays chemo Allyson gets to come home without being ‘accessed’. That means we can give her a real bath and she can be free to do almost anything.

Benjamin was allot of fun tonight. He is starting to say a few words. While he was having dinner he said ‘more’. Lisa and I have taught him the sign for more but it was neat to hear him say it. He is also waving allot more to Lisa and I.

Tomorrow I am heading into the office but we are expecting anywhere from 5 to 9 inches of snow. That should make for a fun commute.

Today was a busy day for us.  Benjamin woke up happy and smiley - he’s such a cutie pie!  We took him to Tita’s and were at St. John’s by 8:30 in the morning.  Allyson had several treatments today…bone marrow biopsy, spinal tap, blood transfusion, three chemo doses, and and her burn looked at by three different doctors.  We were there for a little over eight hours.  Again, she was soooo good.  She was knocked out for the invasive treatments.  When she woke up, she didn’t ask for her parents, no…that little squirt asked for meatballs (yes, meatballs with no milk or milk protein in them)!  She was starving because she hadn’t been allowed to eat since dinner the night before.  Unfortunately we only had chicken stew, so she settled for that.  Aunt Jecka saved the day though and brought us some meatballs a little later in the afternoon!

An update on her burn…Dr. Rob asked a plastic surgeon to come look at the burn on her foot just to check it out.  When Dr. Cohn looked at it, he said it looked good and that it was healing.  However, he thought she might end up needing a skin graft (which means surgery).  We thought, just as you probably are thinking right at this moment, “What!  You’ve got to be kidding me!” Dr. Cohn asked a burn specialist to come up and take a look at it as well.  Thankfully, he thought the burn was healing nicely and that she would not need a skin graft (what a relief).  We need to see him in a few weeks just to double check.

When we left the hospital, we went to go get “The Monkey Man” (that is Benjamin for those of you who don’t know).  Allyson was so excited to go get him.  She kept saying, “I get to see the Monkey Man!”  When we picked him up from Tita’s and put him in the car, he was all smiles and just as happy to see her.  They chatter back and forth…very sweet.  At one point, Benjamin was babbling on and on and Allyson said, “Benjamin, what is you saying?”  It was very cute!  (Ok, I have to share this…During the week Allyson was in the hospital, whenever I’d put Benjamin in the car, he’d look over at Allyson’s booster seat looking for her.  He’d do the same when we sat down to dinner…he’d look over at her chair and then look at me as if he was asking where his big sister was.  Isn’t that too cute?)

We’re waiting to see what tomorrow brings for Allyson.  With all she went through today, we’re hoping she has a restful day.

Today I headed into the office to try and catch up on work. Lisa stayed at home with Allyson and Benjamin was off to Tita’s. Lisa said Allyson had a very good day. They played stickers and watched the backyardigans. When I got home with Benjamin we all had dinner and played.

Tomorrow is a very big day for Allyson. She has to have two procedures done. We have to be at the hospital by 8:30 and we do not know how long we will be there. We will post an update tomorrow to let everyone know how it went.

Today we were all on our own because Nana and Gramps flew home. We all just sort of hung out. Benjamin was a busy boy today! He is into everything! His favorite thing to do is climb the stairs. This afternoon, we went and got ice cream. Benjamin had tastes of ours…he’s an ice cream lover! He cried when it was “all gone”. - He is also a drool monster! He drenches his bibs/clothes several times a day. I stuck my hand in his mouth (yes, I was brave). There is a huge molar just waiting to poke through the gum. Poor little guy…gotta be painful.

Allyson had a good day today. She actually got up and walked around without limping…a first since Christmas Day!!! Dr. Rob said as soon as the cancer started clearing out of her bone marrow, she’d start walking again. Well, he was right. Not only was she walking, but she was also moving both legs around freely without any hesitation and without pain. What a site to see - pure joy to see your child walk again without pain!!!

Allyson’s little face is swollen from the meds she is on. Granted, she always had marshmallow cheeks, but now they are really puffy. Her skin is a bit pale as well. She’s still got all of her hair at this time. We keep waiting for it to fall out (maybe it won’t!). Brad shaved his head so Allyson would not be afraid when her hair does start to fall out. He still looks handsome;-).

Not looking forward to Tuesday. Allyson goes back in for a bone marrow biopsy and a spinal tap to check both for cancer again. They’ll also inject chemo into her spine at that time as well. In fact, she’ll get a dose of each chemo that day. I am certain she’ll be down for the count Tuesday and probably Wednesday as well. Poor baby…Chemo is not the enemy, the cancer is…chemo is not the enemy…(my new mantra)…

We haven’t told you about the burn on her foot…the first dose of chemo was put into her IV (before she had the cath) and it leaked. The drug caused second degree burns on her foot…It looks horrible and it is painful for her when I have to change the dressing, twice a day. It actually looks like it is starting to heal though. The old stuff is beginning to heal, but the new blisters just popped. Hopefully soon that will heal so she doesn’t have to go through that anymore.

Thank you all for your support, kind words, and prayers. We absolutely couldn’t do this without you.

Today we had an 8:45 chemo appointment so we up early once again. Nana stayed at home with Benjamin and they played. Gramps Lisa Allyson and I headed to the cancer center and we were they until 11:00. Allyson did very well and once we were done Dr. Rob said it was ok to take Allyson out for a treat. We headed to Boarders and Gramps bought Allyson a Uniqua doll which made her day. We headed home from Boarders to have lunch. After lunch Allyson was doing very good, she walked around all by herself and played with Benjamin.

Tonight was the last night with Nana and Gramps, they are flying back to New Orleans tomorrow morning. We are very grateful that they were able to come here on such short notice. To see Allyson’s face on that Wednesday afternoon when they got in town was great, it was the first time in three days that she had truly smiled. I know that Allyson and Benjamin will miss their Nana and Gramps.

We have a few new pictures and three new movies so enjoy them.