Monday, December 30, 2013

Two Memorable Conversations

Today, we took Andrew to an allergist for his stuffy nose.  During the drive, we were talking about doctors and my brother Michael who is a doctor, and how many years he was in school to become a doctor.  Evan decided he does NOT want to be a doctor when he grows up.  Way too much school.  He wants to be a scientist or an inventor or an astrologist.  Andrew agrees.  Sadie chimes in with, "I want to be a Mom!"   (Melt my heart.)  My response, "Best job EVER!''

Then tonight for Family Home Evening, we were talking about what they thought the world would be like when Christ comes again.  Andrew likes that the animals will be friendly.  Evan wants it to be constantly day time so he won't have to sleep.  Then Sadie blurts out, "And there'll be no Leukemia!"


Friday, November 8, 2013

Two Years

 It has been two years to the day since Sadie was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).  In her little life, she has been ON chemotherapy longer than she's been OFF.  I've always wanted to do this, and today seemed a fitting day to post.  So here's a photo timeline of Sadie's journey through chemotherapy.

 Halloween night 2011 (also the last time we remember Sadie being "healthy".)


 November 8, 2011. Diagnosed.


 November 16, 2011. 1 week into treaments.  She was sitting up again and didn't mind being held.  She was getting better, not worse!  Big sigh of relief.


 December 2011. (Steroids, blah.)


January 2012

 February 2012


 March 2012


Happy 2nd Birthday Sadie! (Spent it in the hospital hooked up to high-dose Methotrexate.)


 April 2012.  The first time she lost her hair.


 May 2012


 June 2012


 July 2012


 August 2012


 September 2012


October 2012.  The second time (and hopefully last time) Sadie lost her hair.


 November 2012


 December 2012


 January 2013.  The start of Maintenance!


 February 2013


 March 2013.  Happy 3rd Birthday Sadie!


 April 2013


 May 2013


 June 2013


 July 2013


 August 2013


 September 2013


October 2013


November 2013.  We walked in the Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. 
White lanterns for Survivors!


We love our Sadie!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

How does this happen?!

At 9 years old, Evan and I have the same size feet.


- Angela

Thursday, December 27, 2012

First Day of Maintenance

(Dave and Sadie, last year November 18, 2011)

Today was Sadie’s first day of Maintenance.  We spent the morning at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital where she received a lumbar puncture and Vincristine chemo thru her port.

Each night before a procedure like this, I pray that angels will surround Sadie and guide the doctors and nurses hands; that everything will go well.  Today as I wandered the halls pushing an empty stroller while I waited for Sadie to come out of the surgical room, I got a little emotional.  I was overwhelmed with the feeling that this is a place where miracles happen.  There are angels that wander these halls and fill the rooms; that surround the children and their families.  

As excited as I am to one day put all this behind me, I can honestly say that I will miss this place.  I will miss the feeling that is there, that words can’t describe.  It’s a place of miracles and angels and I am grateful to have felt their presence.  

Saturday, December 15, 2012

2012


More of the same…

Evan, continues to amaze with his artistic prowess.  He excels in school, and is friends with all.  He loves baseball, and can’t wait for the season to begin.  Andrew follows his brother (and his brother’s friends) everywhere in an attempt to grow up too fast.  He can often be seen climbing the hallway walls and doorways (literally), or bouncing off the furniture.  Andrew is our parkour champ in the making.  Sadie, she is loves books, and toys, and her brothers.  She demands the attention of all around her.  She is our princess, and has come to expect to be treated as such.  Angela remains the devoted mother, and plays the role of the wife of an entrepreneur well.  There are many nights it is certain she feels like a single mother of 3, but values and looks for the moments when the whole family is together.  As for Dave, very little has changed.  Work fills the lion’s share of the days and weeks, but Dave remains the forever optimist looking forward to brighter days yet to come where less time at work will be required.

A year of healing…

While 2011 ended with a tragedy when we learned of our precious Sadie’s leukemia diagnosis, 2012 has been a year of healing.  Sadie has endured indescribable treatments of all kinds.  She has demonstrated a level of perseverance to be envied by both young and old.  Our home, for the past year, has been adorned with Hand Sanitizer at every corner.  We have developed a new appreciation for hand washing, and have been able to, for the most part, stave off illness.  Generally we try to live a bit healthier, doing the little things and eating a bit better.  As for Sadie, while it was never in any doubt for any of us… the prognosis looks fantastic!  After a year of pretty intense treatment, the next year’s treatment will be extremely mild by comparison.  We look forward to restoring normalcy to our lives once again.

The Move…

Hello, Danville, Goodbye Menlo Park.  This year we needed desperately to upgrade our accommodations.  We moved into a very comfortable home in Danville, CA, and we love our new community, the kid’s new school, our new neighbors, and our new church family members.  The kids (and their parents) LOVE the back yard, and have put it to full use.  However, we miss deeply our Menlo Park friends and neighbors.  To all of our Valparaiso ward members, we are so grateful for the out pouring of love and support given to our family.  We gained a sound understanding of what it meant for others to “mourn with those that mourn… and comfort those that stand in need of comfort”.  For those that gave so much, we will be forever grateful.  It is our sincerest desire that we will be able to repay to others the many kindnesses that we have been shown.

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

A Chemo Update

We have 7 out of 8 treatments done in Delayed Intensification 2!  Wahoo!  We are done with ARAC shots and have one treatment left until Sadie can start to recover and get ready for Maintenance.  I can hardly wait!

With all that I'm looking forward too, these next few weeks could be pretty scary   We're nearing the tail end of a really brutal phase and the chemo is doing it's job.  Tonight Sadie is going to sleep with an ANC of 700, Hemoglobin of 7.9 and platelets of 23.  It feels like I have a little porcelain doll sleeping in the other room.  Low platelets scare me the most.  Low red blood cells don't slow her down much: she sleeps a little more and yells a little more, but other than that...she's jumps, and runs, and climbs as usual.  But she's got bruises all over her body, and it took two bandaids and a big wad of gauze to stop her port from bleeding after de-accessing her.  Worst of all, a head bonk could send her to the ER.

I'm a little paranoid right now.

But we're getting there!  I actually had a conversation today with Sadie's oncologist about taking out her port during maintenance.  That's exciting!
 

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving Feast 2012
We have so much to be thankful for this year...every year really....but I feel especially grateful for where we are today compared to where we were last year.

2011 Dave and I spent Thanksgiving at Lucile Packard with Sadie.  I think of our room that became home, the hum of the machines and fans, the hourly vital signs, the smell, the voices and footsteps outside the door, the couch bed and crib.  I think of the wonderful friends who shared their feasts with us so we didn't have to eat hospital food.  I think of the wonderful doctors and nurses who care for Sadie and have completely earned our trust. I think of the other families who were our neighbors at the hospital during that time, and who were and are experiencing heartache for their child.  I think of the many generous friends and family who have shared their time, money and kind thoughts with us to ease our burdens.

I expect every Thanksgiving, I'll look back at November 2011 and realize how truly blessed our family is.

Andrew Turned 6

Andrew's my spider killer.  My peacemaker.  My cuddler.  He's definately the most patient, and observant.  The most giving and generous.  He loves to work and he loves to be silly.  He's the perfect middle child....a fantastic little brother and the best big brother.  He's a joy to have and watch and learn from.




(P.S.  Last year we celebrated Andrew's birthday in the hospital with Sadie newly diagnosed.  This year, he got two parties...one with family, and one with friends.)

Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Phone Conversation and A New Nurse

Today in the car, Sadie brought along her toy cell phone.  The conversation went something like this:
To Andrew:  "Shhhh.  Andrew, I'm on the phone."
To the pretend person on the phone:  "No, we're not going to the park because my numbers aren't up.  Ummm.  We're not going to Adele's house.  We're going to... 'where we going mom?'"

Also this morning, Sadie had labs drawn.  A nurse comes to our house once or twice a week to draw labs.  Right now we are adjusting to a new nurse. This is the fourth nurse we've had since we moved.  Blah.  We loved Marcy, our last nurse, (or "Nursey" as Sadie calls her.)  I'm sure we'll love Penny too after a while, but I really do hate changing nurses.  It takes a while to get used to each other.  I always feel the pressure of being Sadie's voice.  Telling them don't do that, reminding them to wash their hands and don't touch that stuff without your gloves on.  Eeek.  You'd think all this would come natural to them, but I guess not all nurses are used to neutropenia.  I'm so used to the hospital nurses who are ultra sterile so I expect the same from our in-home nurses.  Sigh.  Eventually we'll get used to each other.  Anyway, this morning this new nurse missed Sadie's port.  Of course it hurt Sadie and then because in the process and fluster of it all, things became unsterile so she had to do everything over again.  It's not the first time this has happened, but it's always a little tramatic for Sadie...and me....and the nurse.  I do like Penny, it just takes time to learn each other's ways.

On a happier note...we took Sadie to the park a while back to snap some photos.  Isn't she a doll?