Verdigets.com

quick updates…Happy New Year everyone!

Well, we had a nice time in New Orleans.  Brad got to see his MaMaw and PaPaw again, and Benjamin got to meet more of Brad’s family.  Benjamin took right to PaPaw.  It was so cute.  They played and played.  Benjamin giggled and giggled!  MaMaw said that is the best PaPaw has been in quite some time.

Ally ended up getting sick on the way home and got worse the first day back.  New Year’s day she wouldn’t eat or drink anything.  We called Dr. Bob to see if keeping her home was the right thing to do (we had an appointment the next day).  He did not want her in the ER because of all the horrible stuff going around this city.  As long as she was urinating  and didn’t spike a fever, she was ok until the next day.  - Well, when we go to the office the next morning, she was dehydrated.  She got a five hour IV fluid drip.  Lucky us, we were also sent home with an IV backpack again (those of you that follow this blog will know this is NOT our favorite thing) for fluids.  THe doc wanted to make sure Ally didn’t dehydrate again.  - Back at the docs on Saturday morning.  She was OK to get chemo.

New news…During one of the routine tests they run on Ally, they found her body is not producing enough antibodies to fight infection.  To make a long story short, she needs to begin an IV treatment this Friday to help boost her antibodies.  This is a good thing, but unfortunately, this will be an on-going treatment every three to four weeks throughout her chemo treatment.  Chemo is scheduled to end August of 2010.  Since that is the beginning of flu season, the doc want to keep her on it through that winter season.  This means she’ll be on this IVIg treatment until spring of 2011.  (We know this is going to be the best thing for her health, but we did not want to hear we’d have to extend treatment…yuck!) - Anyway, this new infusion takes 6 hours, (yes, I said 6 hours) the first time.  They infuse slowly so they can monitor her reaction to it.  After this first infusion, the others should take something like 3 hours every time she gets it.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed for no reaction!

Both kids have coughs and runny noses.  Benjamin is fairing very well.  Ally always has a cough for quite some time when she gets one.

Brad and I are back to work this week.

Well, we arrived in New Orleans in true Verdigets style.  (Come on…you know there’s a story!)

We eneded up stopping in Memphis for the night.  Ally was just plain tired, so we thought it best to stop and get a hotel room.  We woke up in the morning, bright and early, and had breakfast.  The car was re-packed, and we were ready to go by 8:15 in the morning.  Brad turned the ignition, and the check engine light came on.  He read the manual…ok to keep going unless it starts to blink again.  If it stays on, that’s ok.  Don’t drive on it if it blinks…We moved maybe 50 feet, and it started to blink.  To make a long story short, Brad called the closest Mazda dealer (27 miles away) and a tow truck.  He left with the two truck, and I went back to to the hotel room with the kids - for 7 and 1/2 hours!  Thank GOD for the DVD and the few games I had brought with us.

Once the car was fixed, we were back on the road by 4:00 in the afternoon.  We made it to New Orleans about 9:30 at night.  The kids were so tired.  Benjamin freaked a bit.  He’d never been there…had just woken up because he’d fallen asleep…he’d never seen Brad’s brother and his family, ever - they were there…All in all, they were good.  Benjamin finally went to sleep between Brad and I.

What a difference a year makes!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Christmas morning was definitely different this year.  Benjamin was first down the stairs.  He was so excited to see Santa brought him a basketball hoop.  “I play basketball!”  he says…very cute.  Ally wasn’t 100% interested at first (she’s been on Dex, that steroid), but when Benjamin started in on his gifts, she perked up and opened hers.  It was cute to watch them both open their gifts.  They were genuinely excited about each one they opened.

We had breakfast and let the kids play with their stuff while I packed the car.  Brad and I decided to leave for New Orleans Christmas afternoon.  We thought we’d drive through to Memphis and see how the kids felt.  If they were really tired, we’d stop and push on the next day.  If we thought we could make it all the way, we’d keep going.

Left for New Orleans about 2:00 in the afternoon…

(One year ago Christmas day, Ally began limping on her left leg.  Little did we know at the time that leukemia had ravaged her body and that it was the cause of her limp. )