Not Much Going on

Well sorry it has been so long since I have updated, but unfortunately and thankfully not much is going on right now. Unfortunately because I am usually pretty bored. Thankfully because Caitlin is doing so well, that we have a nice break from Primary Children's. She has another hearing test and MRI scan on the 26Th of this month, and then maintenance chemotherapy after that, if the scans look good. I don't know if being a stay at home Mom is a right fit for me, I love my girls but sometimes they are also a bit much and I think I have watched enough Hannah Montana and Suite life of Zack and Cody to last me a lifetime. I also miss my friends from work. Maybe if I had a bun in the oven, then at least I would feel more productive. No that is not a confession, more wishful thinking! I just feel like after cleaning the house, and taking care of the girls, I have nothing to do. I know I need to find a hobby. I just feel bad when Jake leaves for work everyday, I wish I could help take some of the financial load off his shoulders. I am so proud of him, instead of coming home when he is offered no works, he stays and works hard to earn money for our family, which we definitely need. Also I am pretty sure Jake would freak out if we would have another girl, (he is the only boy in his family) truthfully I don't know if I could handle another drama queen either. Another reason I am still being a stay at home Mom, is that we were approved for Medicaid which is a blessing come true, unless you have been through this, you have no idea how expensive going through chemotherapy and radiation is. Our insurance is pretty good, but it does not cover everything. Anyway I am not quite sure if any of this makes sense. I have kind of had a lot on my mind lately, just trying to decide what our plans are for the future.

Week 4 and 5

Sorry is has been so long since I last wrote an update, but there hasn't really been a lot of extra time for me when I was near a computer. Radiation has been going pretty good, Caitlin is such a trooper. Good news though, Monday is the last day of radiation treatments and then we have a month break before we restart chemotherapy. Yeah, no more long trips down to Salt Lake, my wallet and my car are almost excited as I am. Caitlin's hair is also starting to grow back, I know its weird but I am hoping that it grows back the same color as Jake's hair. More exciting news, Caitlin is starting to stand up by herself. She started doing it on the bed, which was different, since you would need more balance to stand up on the bed, but maybe she feels safer since when she does fall down she has a softer landing. We are very excited about this, hopefully soon she will be running around. I know I am crazy, what parent wants her child to be able to run, but with everything she has gone through I would gladly welcome that challenge.

Week Three

Well week three wasn't as exciting as week two in a good way and a bad way. Monday treatment went fine except I had taken Allie down with me, because it was her school's spring break this week. She is not one for being quiet or sitting still, but she was okay. Jake had some bad luck on Monday, he accidentally locked his keys in the car, and I took the other set with me. So we had to make a trip back, but that was okay, since Allie had changed her mind that she didn't want to stay with me. She thought it was too boring, so she stayed with my mother for the rest of the week. Thanks Mom and I am sorry! So Monday we got to spend some time together which was nice. But I had to get up at 5:30 am the next morning to get down to Huntsman on time. The rest of the week went by pretty fast. Caitlin and I just finished up the Easter shopping and I caught up on Lost the TV series. I usually don't watch it on Wednesday because I like to watch Criminal minds, and there are both on at the same time. I am really glad to be able to be home for Easter, and spend time with Jake and Allie. One great thing about this week, on Wednesday we were halfway through radiation treatments. Which is totally awesome.

Week Two

Well week two was a little more exciting then week one in good ways and bad ways. Monday, things went just fine at radiation, but Tuesday was a little different. We had an appointment at Primary Children's because Caitlin hasn't had a messy diaper in about 12 days. I waited to take her because I was giving her all the medicines they gave me to help keep her regular. I figure she would just go, and also she was doing just fine she was still eating, and wasn't vomiting. Anyway at Primarys they sent us downstairs for an X-ray to make sure there wasn't any blockage. They found that she was totally backed up, then they had to decide how to clean her out. They really don't like to do suppositories with cancer patients because of low blood counts. So they decided to put a feeding tube down Caitlin's nose to give her some medicine called Go-lite. They had someone come in and explain to me what that procedure meant, and then they tried to explain it to Caitlin. I know they were just doing their job, but you can explain something until you are blue in the face to a two year old, they are just not really going to understand it. Sometimes you just have to do it, after they got it in, poor Caitlin was just exhausted and she fell asleep in my arms. Again we had to get another x-ray to make sure the tube was in the right spot. After they put us in a room to stay for the night, finally they decided that her blood counts were high enough that they could give her a suppository to help get things started. If I had one complain about Primarys it is this, they offer room service to the child in the room, but they do not offer it to parents. Since Caitlin also had radiation that morning we both had not ate any breakfast, and we didn't have a chance to eat anything until 3 pm. I had some treats in the diaper bag but I wasn't sure if I could give her anything until they decided what to do. Since Caitlin is so little I can't leave her in the room by herself and she screams bloody-murder if I leave her with one of the nurses. So I had to have my mom come down to Salt Lake to sit with Caitlin while I ran to grab me something to eat and my stuff to stay overnight at the hospital which I hadn't planned on doing. Anyway thankfully the medicines worked and about a pound less the next day we were able to leave the hospital. Thank goodness because Thursday was Caitlin's Second Birthday. Which we had a lot of fun. Jake and Allie drove down so we could spend the day together, so after Caitlin's radiation treatment, we went to lunch at Applebees, and then we went to the Hogle Zoo, this was Jake and Caitlin's first time going there. The Zoo was pretty fun, it would of be nicer if the weather would of been warmer, but most of the animals were in the buildings anyway since it was too cold outside for them too. We are planning to go again in the summer time so we can enjoy it more. After that we took the girls to build-a-bear, which is exactly how it sounds. You go in and choose which kind of animal you would like and then you get to help put the stuffing inside of them. You also get to give your animal a heart and make a wish. Since it was Caitlin's birthday we all got to give her animal a heart and make a wish, I know it seems a little silly, but of course I wished that Caitlin would get all better soon. Both girls picked out Bunny's instead of bears, and then we had fun picking out clothes and other things for them. So all in all I think it was a pretty fun day. I know everyone was worn out by the end of the day, but at least we had fun.

Week One

Well week one of radiation treatments went by pretty smoothly. If you have ever been up to the Huntsman Cancer Center you know how nice it is. Caitlin does really well with treatments, they let me walk her back to the treatment room and stay with her until she falls asleep. The medicine they give her works really fast they put it in the line and in about ten seconds she is asleep, then I go back to the exam room, where they bring her back to me about 20 to 30 minutes later. She then slowly wakes up, we have to stay there for about 30 minutes afterward so they can watch her after the sleeping medicine. So far it has been going really well, Caitlin has not had any of the side effects yet, which is awesome. The spot where she is receiving the radiation is usually a little red after she comes back from treatment but that usually goes away before we leave. After Caitlin's treatments, my mom and I did a little shopping in the big city since Caitlin's counts have been so low she has really been able to go anywhere, but radiation doesn't affect her counts like chemotherapy does, so it was fun to get out and go to different places. On Thursday we went shopping at Toys R Us, to pick out birthday gifts for Caitlin since she will be turning two next Thursday. Then we went to Babies R Us to pick out some clothes and buy a much needed new stroller. Its pink, and durable and will be well used on our upcoming radiation treatment trips. We then stopped at the mall for some food and to check out the Build-a-Bear store which we are taking our girls to next Thursday for Caitlin birthday, weather pending we are also hoping to go to the Hogle Zoo. Thanks for all your support and help with everything. Hopefully week two will go as fast and as well as week one. I forgot to take my camera with me this time, I will try to remember to take it next week.