Carli got home this afternoon (well, she went to Jeremy's...) and fell asleep for 2 hours! She said that being at school is exhausting because everyone wants to see her and talk to her! She was a good big sister last night and took Kelsie out to dinner, and then they went to "Battle of the Bands" at GCC. Carli said that it was a really fun time.

Tonight she is working on a scrapbook of her summertime adventures at Camp Friedenswald. She has always enjoyed scrapbooking and they always turn out great. It is good for her to have something to pass the time.

Some photos from this weekend.....

Carli was able to drink most of the contrast, and her CT and echocardiogram went well. She felt pretty nauseated afterward, but she was able to eat some breakfast. She went to bed as soon as we got home. Neither of us felt very good...I think that my body has sympathy nausea sometimes!!

I asked her if she wanted to make an appt. with Dr. Stallings sometime this week or next to find out the results. She prefers to "enjoy my 2 good weeks" and said that "even if the results aren't good, it won't change anything right now". So, I am going to be patient and let her find out on her own terms. We are both optimistic and believing that her results will be good, which still means 2 more months of treatments...

She is not going to have chemo next week d/t the wedding that she is in on November 3. She really wants to enjoy being with her friends and doesn't want to be so tired and sick. She is excited to spend time with her friend from GCC, Emily. She also went to high school with the groom-to-be, Rob. So, it should be a lot of fun. I really appreciate the fact that Rob and Emily don't mind having a girl with VERY short hair in their wedding! They are very good friends and have been so supportive of her. They would accept Carli no matter what.

She went to class tonight and then is watching a movie with Jeremy. Ted is at school board...I am enjoying some quiet time!

I felt bad that I had to coax Carli to drink her CT cocktail as soon as she got home today. Yuck. It looks terrible, I can only imagine how it tastes! She has to drink more starting at 7:15 tomorrow morning. Her CT is scheduled for 8:45am, then she has an echo at 10. She did manage to choke down the 10 oz. of contrast tonight. We'll see how it goes in the morning, too.

She said that she is trying to make this easier on herself because she will have to have many CTs until this is all over. She is now standing over my shoulder making fun of me! I am glad that she can keep her sense of humor!

We had a great time at Buck Creek and the weather was perfect. It was hard to see Kelsie go off to school again, the time went by so quickly.

Please pray for good CT results!!!

Ted, Kelsie and I are off to Buck Creek State Park. Carli is still not feeling up to par, so she and Jeremy are coming out tomorrow. Hopefully she will start feeling better with another night's sleep in her own bed.

It will be good to have the whole family together. THat doesn't happen as often as I would like anymore! It should be a beautiful weekend to be outside, and Buck Creek has a beautiful lake, too. What more could we ask?

I attended a conference today on Childhood Cancers, and the return to school, and dealing with grief. Very good, but very hard to take at times. They had 2 panels, one with adults affected by cancer, and one with kids affected by cancer. Boy could I relate! It was good to have many of my feelings and emotions validated by what they said. It would almost be better if Carli was a little younger, they have so many programs and counseling options for pediatric patients. I got a lot of information today, so maybe some resources will become useful for me, not only as a school nurse, but as mom going through this with a child. And, hopefully some for Carli to deal with issues as she starts to look ahead to life in a "new normal" state.

Another miserable day. She was sick during the night and just felt absolutely horrible today. She is puffy all over and hurts if you even touch her. Makes it hard to give her hugs! Wednesday and Thursday post chemo are usually the worst, so hopefully better days are ahead.

We are planning a family outing this weekend to a State Park we used to go to when the girls were little. Kelsie came home tonight (fall break), so we will meet Todd and Tara there and enjoy a family weekend. Kelsie was wound up when she got home (not surprising if you know Kelsie) and it was hard for Carli to handle. She does better when things are nice and quiet.

It was nice to be at church tonight with my kids' choirs...they lift my spirits by just being themselves! At times I long for the days when the girls were little and it seems like life was easy...even though I know better! I just have to remember God's promise to never leave us...He holds the future...not just when things are going well, but when things seem too rough to handle.

Chemo Week #12

Hard day today. Carli was more negative than she's been, and I think that it's because she wanted to be done by now. She had 6 months stuck in her brain, and now that she's not done yet, it is real disappointing. She is still concerned about long-term effects of the chemo.

She has a CT and Echocardiogram scheduled for the 23rd. Then they will know how much more treatment she needs. If the CT looks good, she will need 2 more "rounds" or 4 treatments. Then she would be done before Christmas--what a great gift that would be!

Tonight she feels worse than usual, and her appetite is nonexistent. She usually can eat a little for dinner, and tonight she couldn't. She just now took some Vicodin and Phenergan and is hoping to get some sleep. She said that it is hard to sleep because her abdomen is bloated and sore, she can't sleep on her back, and she can't stay on her side for long. Makes for restless sleeping. That is my prayer tonight, that she can at least get some restful sleep.

It's amazing what twenty-somethings can do for entertainment! Carli was very proud of her sorority jack-o-lantern! They do look pretty cool when the candles are lit. It is nice to hear her laugh and giggle again!

She made it to both of her classes this week. She wrote a paper on Tuesday, and I think that it made her feel good to do work again. And, she actually cleaned her room today--it was a disaster, so that she could tackle that was a good sign! I feel bad when things like her room drive me nuts, but the mom in me is still there, even though I don't want to dwell on things that seem so petty. But, I still expect common courtesy when she is feeling OK. When she goes back to school and I miss her, I will look back on these things and wish that I could have her drive me nuts again!

Non-chemo week...yea!

Non chemo Mondays are so much better than chemo Mondays! Carli did not go with us to Grove City over the weekend...last week was a rough one. She says today that she still feels "chemical" and is very tired. She just showed me how to use Facebook...I am so technologically savvy that I can hardly stand it! Ha. Anyone that knows me knows better !

I am trying to talk her into going outside with me since this is probably our last summer-like day in a very long time. We'll see...she is attached to the couch these days. Although she did make it to a church picnic last evening...it was fun and the weather couldn't have been better, except that the hot dog roast was a little too hot!

Hopefully she will have a great week this week, and can re-energize again.

Carli and Jeremy drove to Pittsburgh for "Light the Night". She called around 9pm, said that girls from her sorority, from her floor last year (she was a RA), and Kelsie and her roommate came down for it. It was fun, lots of people, and she said that she is now designated a "patient hero". She was going to go back to Grove City with friends, but said that she is too exhausted and is coming home. She was really miserable this week with lots of swelling and pain.

She will try to rest tomorrow, and will go back with us to Grove City tomorrow night. It is Homecoming weekend and she really wants to be there. We are going to Jane's son's football game Friday night and then Saturday to Kelsie's rugby game. And we thought we were busy when they were in high school...now we just have to drive farther!

What would we do without our friends and family? Our AWESOME Sunday School class brought homemade frozen meals to us tonight. That will be so nice on chemo days and days of total exhaustion. I know that they are all great cooks, so I am looking forward to yummy meals. My Dad will probably not want me to start cooking again! The Dari-Ette closes on Sunday, so my "I don't feel like cooking" days will be over for a while.

One more treatment then another CT scan....God knows the desires of our hearts...

11 down, 5 to go

Eleven down, five to go, is what she said as we were waiting at the office today. After having some wonderful time off last week, it was almost more difficult to go in today. She still got really sick. She was asleep, and as soon as they started giving her the "red devil", she immediately woke up and started vomiting. She even took extra meds today before the treatment. Tonight she said that she feels more "flu-like" than she usually does. Five to go.........we pray. The next scans will be after her next treatment, and then we should know for sure how much longer until she is DONE. She discussed some concerns that she has about her future and possible drug side effects, so I know that is on her mind. Please pray for peace of mind this week.....and a quick recovery!

She will be going to Pittsburgh for "Light the Night" on Thursday evening, which she is really looking forward to. Someone from the LLS called her today about the fund-raising, and this woman had no idea that she actually has lymphoma. Carli said that they talked for about 30 minutes, and that it was a good conversation. It seems like a wonderful organization.