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Ally woke up very early this morning.  She had a bit of a restless night.  I gave her a bath…she was not very happy about that…usually she loves a bath.   After I showered, we went downstairs.  I couldn’t get Allyson interested in eating or drinking anything.  She wanted to go lay on the couch right next to me, so we did.  She fell asleep for over an hour.  I had to wake her up to take her to the doctor’s appointment.

She was OK when we got there, but a little “off”.  She did ask for some yogurt and thankfully, did eat a whole container of it.  She was very good for Nurse Heather today.  Just a little fussing, but that was all.  - She fell asleep on the way home, but as soon as we got in the house, she woke up and wanted to watch a show.  We played a few games, but by 1:45, she was tired.  She crawled up into my lap and slept for another two and a half hours.  Again, I had to wake her up, but this time it was to get Benjamin.

Benjamin was a little crabby today.  We all think it is because he’s cutting more teeth.  He was very good when we got home though.  He ate like a champ (no big shocker there), and then played until Brad got home.  His new favorite toy is the baseball bat and baseball.  If you’ve seen the movies on our website, you know the toy.  He loves to hit the ball and then cheer for himself…it is very cute!

Ally was out of sorts when Benjamin ate his dinner.  I could hear her wimper a bit and call for me.  When I checked on her, she seemed warm to me.  Unfortunately, when I checked her temp, she had a fever of 100.  She sustained the fever for more than thirty minutes, so I had to call the exchange.  Dr. Bob called right back.   He seemed to think Ally would be ok until tomorrow (we go back into the doc for another chemo visit) as long as she didn’t get worse and begin to have more symptoms.   He said the ER has been absolutely swamped the last two nights with something and he doesn’t want to expose Allyson to whatever is there.  She is safer here at home unless she gets worse.  - Lets hope she has a good night. -  See, the big problem is that her counts are in a downward spiral right now.  We have to be very careful because it is difficult for her body to fight infection.   Please keep the prayers coming and the fingers crossed that the fever goes away…

Ally’s procedure went well yesterday.  She was a little nervous at first…she fussed and complained as the nurses were getting everything ready to go.  Once they were finished, she calmed down.  The art therapist came in and Allyson got to work with glue while we waited - she LOVES glue!  The therapist, I believe her name was Jennifer, brought several piece of construction paper, some “jewels”, and some pom pons to glue onto the paper.  Ally loved it.  She finished just in time for Dr. Bob (not sure where Dr. Rob was) to come in and do the procedure.

Benjamin was fussy at Tita’s today.  When I picked him up, she asked me if he was getting more teeth.  (He’s CRABBY when he gets teeth.)  Indeed, he is getting more teeth.  One on the bottom poked through and there’s one on the top working it’s way out as well.  I wish they’d all come in so we could be done with it!  I’m not looking forward to the two year molars…

Today, Ally had a chemo appointment at 10:00.  Ally did just fine.  Her counts are good for now…a few have gone down some, but we’re not near transfusion time just yet.  We’re only eight days into it…Dr. Rob said counts would probably drop in 10-14, so we’re waiting…I imagine at the beginning of next week, we’ll need to go in for a transfusion of some sort.

Tomorrow, we’re back to the doctor for more chemo.

Be sure to check out the new pictures and movies…

Other than a doctors appointment on Saturday it was a very quite weekend for us. We get one more day off before Allyson has to get another LP and chemo on Tuesday. Dr. Rob said that we have to be very careful with Allyson for the next 2 weeks and we have to let him know if she has and fevers or bruises. This is all due to the chemo that is knocking her counts down, so it will be a stressful 2 weeks for Lisa and I. Benjamin is doing very well and continues to say more words and sentences everyday. His new word is thank you and any time he hears it he repeats it (be sure to see the video)

Until Tuesday….

Allyson had a good day today. We went to the doc a little early today to meet a friend of mine from work. (Her daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer around the same time Allyson was diagnosed with leukemia.) Jill gets her treatment upstairs from where Allyson gets hers. Actually, Jill had cancer several years ago, and Dr. Bob, Dr. Rob’s partner, was Jill’s doc. Small world, huh?

Ally did fine with her treatment. She fussed and complained some, but do you blame her? Nurse Heather was very fast today, so we were out in no time. Ally fell asleep on the way home, just like yesterday. She has not had much of an appetite at all. She might eat a small bowl of spaghetti and have some crackers for a snack, but that is about it - quite the change from a few weeks ago when she was on Dex (the steroid) for three weeks. We couldn’t get her to stop eating. — Some of the excess weight from the steroid is starting to come off too, thankfully.

It looks like Benjamin could be cutting more teeth. His nose is runny and he’s drooling something fierce! We went out on the swings this evening. When I pushed him, drool would fall out of his mouth and fly away in the wind. Gross, yes, I know. He was grumpy again tonight after dinner. This is his M.O. when he’s cutting teeth. Oh! Another verbal milestone…He’s been saying lots of words now, but today he said another two word “sentence”. He said, “More cookie!” (He also signed the word “cookie”.) Little Mr. Smarty Pants!

I forgot to put this in my post last night…I was in the family room putting things away. I turned around and guess who was sitting on the end table, happy as a clam? Gee, do you need a hint? We call him Monkey Man for a good reason…Benjamin, that little turkey, was sitting on the end table, legs crossed, all pleased with himself. I knew once he could get up on the couch/chairs we’d be in trouble! He knew I wasn’t happy…I explained it was dangerous…yeah, as best you can to a sixteen month old…I am sure that is not the last I’ve seen of that!

Yesterday was a long day at the hospital.  We arrived at the doc’s office at 8:30 so Ally could be accessed, and then we were off to the PICU.  Allyson had a lumbar puncture (I love that fancy term for spinal tap) and two doses of chemo, one in her spine and one through her port.  The procedure went well…It usually takes a bit for Ally to wake up from the anesthesia…she decided to take a nice nap yesterday and slept for about an hour.  When she woke up, she wanted to eat.  We needed her to tinkle so they could make sure she was well hydrated.  Well, you can only go when you have to…let’s just say it took some coaxing and a bit of tickling to get her to go to the bathroom.  Once we were given the OK, they could infuse the last dose of chemo.  By the time we were finished, it was 3:00 in the afternoon.  - Thankfully, we brought our Wii with us.  Allyson was very entertained (as were the nurses and doctors).

We headed back in today for another dose of chemo.  That went smoothly and pretty quickly.  She fell asleep on the way home, but wouldn’t stay down for a nap.  Hey, she might miss something, right?!

Dr. Rob said it would take about 10-14 days, but Ally’s counts will most likely go down.  It is possible that they all could go down…Basically, Allyson will probably need transfusions in the coming weeks.