Today was a pretty good day...

Written by Val:


Today was pretty good for the most part. Bella has been sleeping like crazy! She slept in until 10:30am! Bella's normal internal clock generally wakes her up around 7:15am. I figured it was from her round of chemo in the hospital last week. After waking up, we had a great time doing home school! We covered math, spelling, and started reading (reading is a bit more challenging when you can't see very well). She actually ate food for the first time since last Tuesday. After doing an hour of school after her lunch, Bella had to take a quick shower so we could pick up her brother and head to her chemo appointment. She took a very short shower and was completely worn out and felt sick. Up came all of her lunch and more! Poor kid. :( We rushed off to pick up Liam and get to OPI (Out Patient Infusion Center). Bella's oncologist immediately wanted to put her on a 2 hour hydration drip, then her chemo. At the end of her hydration, her blood results came back that her hemoglobin is too low. This was almost exciting news to me because that explains why she has been so sleepy and lethargic. It made me realize how strong this chemo is as well. In the fall, Bella probably had done approximately 20 sessions of chemo and radiation before needing a blood transfusion. This time, the very first week wiped her out. A bit scary!! She has lost 3 pounds since last Tuesday. :( She is a whopping 52 pounds. :( In September she was a very athletic 66 pounds.

Bella is in good spirits. The Childs-Life representative - Kristy, gave her a cool new polar bear hat, play-do to play with and an arts and craft project. We had lots of fun together today! Tonight Bella is starving! Daddy made her pancakes. She had two plates full of pancakes!! :)

Today I stepped out of OPI for a moment and ran into another courageous kid named Cade!! Back in the fall this little 5 year old came to our room in OPI dressed up in a superhero outfit just to introduce himself! What an amazing little guy! I was excited to meet another courageous kid and his mom! We look forward to seeing each other at the NEGU Gala in a few weeks!

Tomorrow we get our favorite nurse -Kristy (There are many people named Kristy at CHOC)!

Thanks for all your prayers and support!! Through all this, it's been a great day!