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Ally had a good day today.  She played games, stickers and babies all day.  Her appetite hasn’t been the best, but this particular chemo can decrease the appetite, so we’re not worried.  Tish, one of the IV nurses, came by about noon to take blood and change the fluid bag.  Allyson was great!  She played with her babies the entire time.  - We waited all afternoon for the results to come back, but they took forever!  Ally ended up crashing on the couch for about two hours.  Finally, Melinda, another nurse came by about 5:30 to take the needles out of Allyson’s port…she had indeed cleared enough chemo from her body to get rid of the IV backpack.  - I got another nursing lesson this evening.  Last night, I changed the medication bag on her pump and restarted it.  Tonight, I got to remove the needles from her port.  I wasn’t thrilled about having to do that, but I did it.  I guess now I’ll be able to pull the needles when she clears the chemo the next time so we won’t have to wait for the nurse to come and do it.

Benjamin had a good day today.  His molars are finally breaking through.  The bottom molars had his gums so incredibly swollen the last few weeks.  This evening, we noticed the bottom molar o the right side had finally broken the skin.  He’s cut so many teeth the last few weeks - and some tough ones too!  Poor kid.  That must be why he’s been a bit crabby lately. - He continues to say more and more each day.  He repeats so much of what he hears.  We’ll be talking, and all of the sudden, he’ll repeat the last word we said.

Today was opening day for the Cardinals - GO CARDS!  Ally likes to watch the games when they are on TV.   Of course, her favorite player is Albert Pujols.  She knows him when she sees him…she yells, “Go, Pujols!”  That’s my girl!  Benjamin has yet to be introduced to the game, but he’s already prepared with a new Cardinals baseball cap.

We all had a great day today. It rained almost all day, so we spent the day at home and inside. We were hoping Allyson would be able to get de-accessed, but no such luck. Her body wasn’t able to clear itself of the chemo fast enough, so she has to keep the IV backpack until tomorrow. A courier had to bring over another bag of IV fluid and another bag of medication this evening. Brad and I have to get up a little after midnight and change medication bags. We’ve never switched bags before, so the nurse is going to call us to talk us through it.

Benjamin has another molar that popped through. We’ve been waiting for the bottom ones to pop through. We had no idea the top one was even close to coming in. The bottom molars are so puffy though, so it is only a matter of time before they are in as well.

Benjamin woke up bright and early this morning (like before 6:30).  He must have heard Nana and Gramps getting ready to leave…he was standing up in his bed crying.  Brad went to get him, and Gramps was able to feed him one last time before going back to New Orleans.   Allyson slept well -until about 8:30 when she was woken up by daddy.

It was a day in for the Verdigets family.  We stayed home and played all day.  Allyson played stickers first thing this morning.  We played lots of games as well as the Wii.  This evening we even got out the Playdough for a while.

The IV nurse came right before noon to take out the chemo bag and swap it for just a bag of fluid.  Allyson is doing very well with the backpack.  I think she’s a little more tired this time (with the backpack).  It is a bigger dose of chemo, so maybe that has something to do with it.  - She’s doing a really good job of remembering we have to come get the backpack and carry it around when she wants to walk.  (Let me just say, it is very tricky to hold the backpack and keep her from tangling in all the tubing when she decides she wants to dance with Pablo.)  - She’s been on the backpack now over 48 hours.  Brad and I have to set the alarm and get up at 5:45 to begin a new pump that carries the chemo “antidote”.  Hopefully, she’ll quickly clear the chemo out of her body like she did last time so we can de-access her tomorrow night.  If not, she’ll have to continue with the backpack until Monday.

Oops we forgot to write a post yesterday. Aunt Jessica, Bella, and Ollie came over yesterday to play since Nana and Gramps are leaving on Saturday. Allyson and Benjamin had a great time playing with everyone. Last night the IV nurse came out to the house to access Allyson and get her fluids started for todays procedures.

We all got moving early this morning since we had to be at the hospital for 8:30. Nana came along with us for the trip and Allyson really liked that. Allyson’s procedure went very well and her blood work looked good today. Allyson got a good nap in after her procedure. Once she woke up they got her backpack ready with the chemo. After everything was all setup it was after 1pm and we headed home from the hospital.

This evening we had a nice dinner with Grandpaw Floyd, Miss Gerry and Miss Linda, and Nana and Gramps. Nana and Gramps leave tomorrow morning and I know that Benjamin will be missing his Gramps. Benjamin loves to follow Gramps around. Allyson will also be looking for Nana when she gets up in the morning.

Well we have a long weekend ahead of us. Lisa and I have to make sure Allyson’s backpack it taken care of and we have to make sure that Benjamin does not ‘attack’ it. He is very curious about the sounds  it makes and the tubes that come out of it.

Until tomorrow….

Short and sweet…Once again, Brad and I both went to work.  Allyson spent the day with Nana and Gramps.  Once everyone was up and moving, they took Bella home.  Allyson and Bella played all day.  Because it was nice in the early afternoon, they were able to go outside a bit and swing.  I think Nana said they were on the swings for about 40 minutes.  That does not surprise me at all.  Ally LOVES to swing and be outside.

Benjamin had a great day at Tita’s.  He even let Jessica pick him up and take him to her house - no crying.  He and Ollie are very cute together.  They jabber back and forth to each other…some sort of baby talk only they understand.

The IV nurse comes out tomorrow evening to hook the Pally up to the IV backpack to begin hydration.  The treatment and chemo will be on Friday.