Good news , but still the start of a long road....

Grace got some great news at the doctor today. First of all, Grace's ANC count (white blood cell formula) was 3100, really high compared to when she left the hospital last week at 120. Since her ANC is high she is able to go out in public and start school if she is feeling well. She is also done, for a little bit, taking Dexamethasome, a drug that has made her appetite insatiable and her mood change rapidly. Both of these figures show how well her bone marrow is doing at creating new and healthy cells.

This being said, Gracie has been feeling very lethargic and tired. Short walks up the stairs and around the house tire her out tremendously. Her energetic, vivacious self can be seen in glimpses, but is short-lived. We are so happy about her good news, but we know from her that there is a long road before we get Gracie 100% well. Because of her long stay at the hospital and in her bed her muscles are weaker and her stamina has depleted. Hopefully, this break from the medicine and her body producing better cells will help in the future. Next week Grace will be getting a port and will have her PICC lines removed from her arms. This means that she will be able to shower, swim, and get wet since the Port will be under her skin and not prone to infection like her PICC line has been.

The road ahead is a couple of years of treatment starting with 3 more spinal taps to prevent cancer from appearing in her spinal column.

Tanner is doing great at soccer. His vocabulary words, I cannot spell or define, and his math is very challenging. He is really liking his new school and has already made a couple of friends. He has chosen spanish for his language and at this time is thinking of playing the trumpet for music.

Eva is constantly asking us to walk her, which means hold her hands and let her walk around. She also is in love with walking up and then down stairs, or walking up and then sliding down the slide.

Bone marrow test today

We're headed in today for Grace's next Bone Marrow test. She is being really brave about it this morning, though she doesn't want to do it. We go tomorrow for a consultation with her surgeon to fully understand how her porta catheter will work. She is getting surgery on the 16th to place a port near her heart through which her medicines/chemo/etc. will be administered. Though we wish she didn't have to go through that, it will be-in many ways-easier than her IV/Picc line for her. We'll let you know what we hear!

Latest happenings...

How exciting! We got a call from our principal yesterday saying Tanner did really well in his math placement testing. Congrats Tanner! Way to go! He's enjoying his new school and friends! He's also tearing up the fields in soccer lately. He's a joy to watch grow.

Eva is really trying to walk! She grabs our hands and shouts "WAAAAk WAAAAAAAAAK!" and then we know she wants a little walking support. She is hilarious. She's been funny lately, tickling people's toes and then laughing hysterically, growling like a little bear and saying "Oooooo" for "scary." She is also constantly kissing everyone. She's really growing up quickly and it is so fun to watch!

Grace is doing really well, all things considered. She's extremely tired, but she tries really hard to keep up with everything. Yesterday, she was up for a trip out of the house. Our options are limited, as she can't be in crowds, but she thought she'd like to go to the corner market for treats for her siblings. She was able to walk about 1/4 of a block-which is really wonderful-since it has been hard for her to even walk up the stairs at home. So, we were really proud of her efforts! She tries so VERY hard! (these pictures were taken at the zoo the day before she got so sick and went to Doernbecher's. Surprising, huh! You'd almost never know she was sick!)

OPERATION: Save T from boredom - Successful

Tonight Kim and Tanner went to back to school night and about 10 minutes into it I recieved a call from T to save him from boredom. I assembled the brave and battle weary troops (Eva and Grace), we ordered a pizza to pick up on the way home and got into the car. We named our operation Save T from boredom. First we would quietly pick T up from school without others knowing and then we would get the pizza and return home. Grace was the Captain and Eva the medic. We all agreed it was good nobody got injured, Eva simply chewed on her babies hand.

Grace's teacher has been amazing through this and has prepared her classmates for her arrival. Kim got some pics of her classroom for Grace to familiarize herself with and a pic of her desk which eagerly awaits her arrival.

We were excited Grace wanted to go in the car. She has been very tired lately. Earlier, she fell asleep in the fort she built under the built-in desk in our room.

Sometimes we wonder...

....Who are the parents and who are the children?

Tonight, while brushing her teeth, Gracie was very sad and worried that Tanner might get what she has and she did not want him to feel awful and go to the hospital. She knew that her Leukemia was not contagious, but worried that Tanner could get it like she did. She started to cry and said that she worries all the time that Tanner will get what she has and have to go live at the hospital. After explaining that we did not know how she got Leukemia, we explained that the odds were almost imposible that Tanner would have it as well. Then Tanner told Gracie that he wished he had it instead of her because he is so worried about her and does not want her to feel any more pain. Kim and I watched and learned from two very special kids that have an amazing relationship with eachother.

On a lighter note, Tanner is loving his new school and is loving Soccer. His first game is this Saturday and we will include some pics.

Gracie's appetite is still amazing. Two days ago Grace requested Taco Bell for lunch. She wanted a soft taco. She finished her taco, and then a bean burrito, and then another taco. Later that night I told her what a great idea Taco Bell was for lunch. She laughed and said, that wasn't lunch that was just a snack, can I have some shrimp and steak?