Day 70 - Isaac loves the song "Let it Be"

I have gone to a lot of doctors in the last two weeks, but for once most of the doctors were not for me! I took Lizzie to a dermatologist last Monday to see what was still wrong with her skin. She still had a rash that she would scratch every night on her head. She gave me a sample of a cleanser instead of shampoo and it has worked pretty well. It is called Cera-ve. She also gave me a prescription for a really expensive eczema cream. So far it seems like the Cera-ve is kicking bottom.

The second doctor was for Lizzie's eye. Since she was born she has had a clogged tear duct. So since she is now a year the pediatrician recommended that we take her to an optometrist. He did a routine eye test on Monday and yesterday she had surgery to unclog the duct. It only took 15 minutes, and she was so good she didn't cry at all before, during or after. Her eye was red and bloody for the first 5 minutes but then she was just fine and I haven't seen the normal tear since.

The last doctor was for me, but it was just a check up with Dr. Kanard. She thinks that I am doing very well. We have an appointment scheduled with Dr. McSweeny for next month to determine when we are going to get the next PET scan.

Day 55 - Great day to be alive

Sorry there aren't that many things that you can rhyme with five. I am starting to look like Sinead O'Conner or a peach that's fuzzy again. Derek went to Kansas City last week for 3 days and came back amazed at how fast it grew while he was gone. My eye brows and eye lashes are growing back too just not as fast as the top of my head.

Derek and I were reminiscing about what happened these past few days a year ago. A year ago yesterday I had the biopsy in my chest so the scar in my throat is over a year old now. A year ago today I was getting radiation to shrink the 13cm mass and Dr. Kanard and Dr. Klish were beside themselves with the size of it and the worry that I wouldn't be able to breath soon if it grew anymore. It's hard to think that if I had been born in a earlier decade I wouldn't be alive today.

Day 51 - I feel almost done

My port is officially out. My left shoulder and arm hurt a lot but at least it's gone. I had the poor thing under my skin for almost a year so I think there were a lot of muscles that grew to it that he had cut. Hopefully it will start to feel better soon. We do have the souvenir port for future show and tells.

Speaking of show and tells the boys went to preschool for the first time this year. They had a lot of fun. I asked Lisa, Dr. Kanard's assistant, if I could get a CBC after the surgery yesterday. The results were good; WBC was at 4.0 and platelets were 172. I let the boys have a choice about whether they wanted to wait until Monday or go today and they got their new clothes and shoes on and asked if it was time to go to school yet.

Day 41- I just Love the SON

I was able to go to all of church today for the first time in almost 3 months. It was great to be able to feel of the spirit there; even though Lizzie is at the age where she doesn't want to stay still or sleep.

I was also able to wear my fake eye lashes. I'm actually getting a little better at putting them on. I wore them on Thursday and I didn't do such a great job of putting the eye liner on first, I never really used eye liner before now. I felt a little bit more myself with the fake eye lashes on and stuff on my eye brows; since when I look in the mirror now I have to do a double take each time since I look so different. I think my whole family is more use to the way I look right now then I am. That's okay since I can see a little bit of hair growing on my head. Right now it seems a little light, hopefully it will be red or brown and not grey.

Day 36 - An x-ray just for kicks

Today I had to go in to get a chest x-ray because I got the cold that the kids had. It went to my chest and I have been coughing for the last couple of days so yesterday I called the transplant nurses and they told me I needed to come in to Fort Collins or Denver today to get a x-ray and see the doctor just in case. So it was off to Fort Collins.

My chest was clear and my white blood cell count was up to 3.4, almost normal range. My platelets were up to 126. Dr. Kanard said that since my count was up I can try to wear fake eye lashes since I only have a few of my own left. I feel much better since I got some sleep last night.

I have a date set to get my first and last port out (Sept. 9th) and another meeting with Dr. Kanard scheduled. I am very excited to get the port out because at the beginning Lisa, Dr. Kanard's assistant said it was the final stage. I was suppose to get it out in March before we got the news about the Hodgkin's. So let's hope it's coming out this time.

Day 35 - Not a easy day to strive

Day 35 wasn't such a good day. Our cute little dog Dee Dee was having problems for the past 2 months or so. Sunday night she was having more problems then normal. When we were going to bed Derek went to look for her and she was in the basement against the wall struggling to breath. He brought her upstairs and she was not doing to well so he took her to an emergency vet. They did an x-ray of her chest and found a lot of small tumors in her chest. Derek brought her home at 2:30 a.m. The next morning we had to put her down. It was heartbreaking seeing Derek and her looking at each other. He had her for 9 years, if not longer. She was a wonderful pet.

Day 33 - Without Drugs, where would I be?

I'm sorry that I haven't written in a week, . It's been eventful and then again it hasn't. All of the kids got colds after Sunday; so Thursday my throat started hurting and I started sneezing and coughing. So now I have an achy cold; hopefully it won't last long. It seems like the rest of them are getting over it quickly. I went to the boys preschool to meet their new teacher and she seems fine with them starting in the middle of September.