Maintenance

YIPEE!!! Maddy's counts are up and she starts "Maintenance" tomorrow. During this phase, Maddy will have chemo every 4 weeks through her port, steroids 5 days each month, one oral chemo pill once a week, another oral chemo pill once a day, and spinal taps for chemo once every 12 weeks. Each maintenance cycle lasts 12 weeks and will be repeated until January 15, 2012. Again, mark your calendars for the PARTY!!! : )

Maddy's hair is starting to grow back. We are not sure we are going to have a blondie anymore- it is coming in dark. The doctors say she should keep her hair during maintenance. Hopefully, by the time school starts next year, Maddy will have a head of hair and be ready for school.

Looking back, it is hard to believe we have made it this far. We could not have done it without all the support we have received from family and friends. THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

It is always a relief to make it through another year of school, but this year even more so. We are looking forward to a little less hectic schedule this summer and some time to relax and recoup. A long nap sounds really good...

Maddy says "I love you!" to everyone.

Delayed

Just a quick update. Maddy's counts are too low to proceed with treatment tomorrow, so it has been delayed until next week. Her immune system is REALLY low (lower than last week), so we have to be really careful that she does not get any germs. So far we have been lucky. Everyone in the house has had a cold except Maddy. The doctors are hopeful that her counts will go up by next week.

Funny Stories

Maddy went to the clinic today. Her red blood count was VERY low, so she needed a pint of blood. Her Absolute Nuetrophil Count (her immune system) was also low. We are praying that it comes back up by next week so we can proceed with the next phase of treatment.

Maddy continues to be strong and never fails to make us laugh. A couple of days ago, she realized that next month is when we are going to try to take her Make-A-Wish trip. She thought she needed to pack, so upstairs she went. A little later, she had all her bags packed and they are sitting in her room ready to go! Talk about being prepared...

Today at the clinic, Maddy met a little girl with ALL who happened to be adopted. Maddy now thinks we need to adopt a little boy (since Make-A-Wish didn't grant her wish for mom to have another baby). She got on the computer and looked up "adoption in Ohio" tonight. When we told her that we would not be adopting, Maddy just kept saying, "You never know!" I guess she is right. We NEVER do know what life has in store from us. Another lesson learned from our six year old...

Time Flies (Even When You are NOT Having Fun)

Maddy now has all of her chemo treatments done and will be taking her last chemo pill of this phase tonight. She went to the clinic today for an exam and blood work. (Her counts are down a little, but we hope they are on the way back up.) For the next two weeks, we will monitor her blood counts and if all goes well, Maddy will start Phase 5 (Maintenance) on May 20th!

Sometimes it feels like it has been six years ago since Maddy was diagnosed instead of six months ago, but here we are almost in the home stretch. Recently, we received Maddy's yearbook from school. In it was a picture of Maddy dressed in her cowgirl outfit for Halloween taken at the end of October. Looking at her in this picture, you would have never guessed that two weeks later, she would be diagnosed with leukemia and her life would be forever changed. It was yet another reminder that we can't take anything for granted and that it is so important to make the most of each and every day!

We are grateful for the continuing support and prayers of family and friends. With it, we feel like we can make it until January of 2012!