Aunt Cindy and William helping Sally with standing.

Sally’s mood began to improve mid week.

Hi all – Nicole and I are about to try and head out to a local party in a bit. With adults only. A concept very foreign to us and is much needed after last weekend of hospital trips and a crazy week ahead. I just wanted to post a quick update as we haven’t in almost a week.

Sally had an OK week that improved each day. Nicole did a great job keeping her hydrated (barely) despite Sally throwing up a lot and having the runs. We feel this was mostly due to the antibiotics she was on for her ear infection, the antibiotics she got during each hospital visit, and the mucositis (AKA mouth sores that may have been in her digestive track as well). Sally received OT/PT this week and saw some improvement in her motor skills, including being able to move her legs independently while sitting to get around and reach for things.

Taking a nap before heading into MSK for PT/OT.

Oh, is it time to go work out?

This is actually the first week in awhile that Sally didn’t receive any chemo. On Thursday she just went in for blood counts, which looked good. They also informed us that she still has an ear infection. Nicole decided not to give her another antibiotic as her stomach needed a break. She also figured out that Sally needs something thicker in her stomach to help with her indigestion, so we’re now giving her formula mixed with some cereal every couple hours through her feeding tube to provide a ‘base’. It appears Sally’s sores have begun to heal since yesterday and today she was able to eat a saltine cracker. Have I ever said how amazing Nicole is at being Nurse Mommy?

Eating a saltine!

This coming week starts Hell Week 2, and the completion of this current cycle. Sally will receive very intense chemo on Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday. It’s a lot, in fact they will allow Sally two full weeks to recover from it before starting the next cycle of treatment. We can expect the following week to have challenges as Sally’s counts will drop. On top of that, we have her OT/PT and evaluations for our oldest son Thomas over the next two weeks. We’ve been on a wait list for three months to get this evaluation for him, figures it would fall during Hell Week 2.

Thomas asked Mommy to read about different cancers to him from his childhood cancer book.

Walked into this craziness after work the other night, Thomas giving Mommy a massage with Sally/William enjoying the show.

We also received this letter from a mother, her 4 year old son and his friend set up a lemonade stand to raise money for Sally:

What great kids, and parents.

So the next two weeks are going to be  really busy and rough. Thursday is also Halloween, a huge deal at MSK for the children. I took off from work so I could spend the day there with Sally which would allow Nicole to go to the first appointment for Thomas, and then run home and take the boys trick or treating after school.

Until then, just going to take it easy and enjoy the calm before the storm. Please keep Sally in your thoughts and prayers.

Matt