1st Pic: Taken April 16, 2011 2nd Picture: Taken May 21, 2011
*AMAZING- How things can change in just 1 short month. One month ago today, is when we were told the news at Primary Children Hospital that Avery had Leukemia. That first picture was taken just 5 days before we would hear the news. I remember that day I took her picture very well. She was getting paler, still had no energy & was taking naps everyday. She went to a wedding with me, but really just wanted to go home. That day she wasn't in a lot of pain compared with what we have had to deal with, but her Aunt that hadn't seen her in a while called and said she looks so pale. We had a family fast for her that the blood work we had done on April 15th, would come back good & we could get some answers on if there was something else going on with her besides the bowel problem we had been dealing with. Five short days after I snapped that cute picture, we would learn that she had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
*AMAZING- What our 5 year old has had to endure in such a short amount of time. Looking back, I know how awful it was for us to hear the news & can imagine how scared she must have been. I hope she felt some comfort that day. We were given very little time, until we were checked into the ICU to even explain to her what was going on. The IV team was there before we could really sit down with her & try to help her understand. What a brave girl to already have gone through so much in a month: getting a IV in her hand, getting her port installed under her skin, 2 bone marrow procedures, 3 spinal tabs (lumbar puncture), 3 rounds of chemo in her back, 5 rounds of chemo in her port, taking steroids for a month. Dealing with the severe abdominal pain, the swelling, puffiness, weight gain, discomfort, misery of steroids. And just trying to understand all this. We are ecstatic that she finished up her last steroids yesterday. The purpose of the steroids were to work with the Chemo & kill cancer cells. She will have to be on them again, but not for this long. Yip-pee! Let's Celebrate!
*AMAZING- all the people that have been so great with our family. So many have provided such service for us, so generous with us & care so much. So thank you for that!
*With all that's going on I have a hard time updating this, I will try to do another post about our day at the Hospital yesterday.
5 comments:
She is so brave! I just keeping thinking at what an amazing women she is going to grow up to be and what an inspiration she will be and is already to so many people because of this!!! It just breaks my heart to see how swollen and miserable she is, but she still is one of the most beautiful five year olds that I have ever laid eyes on! Becky
Oh Ambs that picture breaks my heart... She is still so perfect though! Keep staying tough she is gonna be just as tough as you when she grows up!
It was good to see Avery today Happy and enjoying herself for over an hour. That is the best I have seen her and it was good to see her cracking jokes. Usually it seams like it only last five minutes and then the pain comes back.. I hope this week is much better for her.
Shane
I'm finally catching up on the blog. And it breaks my heart to see what you all have been going through. We love you all.
Yeah...NO MORE STEROIDS! at least not for now. I thought about making a sign with balloons to celebrate. I should have! It was good to come over and have Avery tease me like she use to. I wanted to stay and enjoy the teasing.
Post a Comment