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.

Not much extra time!

I can't write too much right now, I am trying to get ready for another long week of Radiation treatments for Caitlin down at the Huntsman Cancer Center. Last week's two treatments went pretty good, hopefully this week will go just as smoothly. I will try to write a lot more next weekend.

Allie's Birthday

Yesterday was Allie's Birthday, she turned six years old. Ah! That means I am getting old! I took cupcakes to her class and did a spotlight on her, which was scary. I hate standing up and talking in front of people even Kindergartners. But I think it went really well. One funny story, this little boy ate his cupcake in about ten seconds, and then the teacher ask him to clean up and throw away his cupcake wrapper and napkin. But all he had was his napkin, so the teacher ask if he ate the paper, he just looked at her. Then he asked if I had taken off the paper I said I didn't, he got this funny look on his face. I tried very hard not to start laughing. I know that I shouldn't laugh but if you would of seen the look on his face, you would of too. Of well, I am sure paper isn't very bad next to eating glue. After Allie got out of school, we went to McDonald's to eat and so Allie could play on the slide. Caitlin really wanting to go and play too, but she is still too little and there was too many germs. Then my family and us came back to our house for cake, presents, and root beer floats. I think she had a fun Birthday, she kept telling me that this was the best Birthday ever. We gave Allie a Leapfrog Leapster to help her learning her letters, and a High school Musical DVD game. My family gave her a Troy and Gabriella doll, and some clothes.
Today was a different adventure, we had to wake up at 5am to drive down to Caitlin's doctor appointment at the Huntsman Cancer Center to make her mask so they can plan her radiation treatments. The Huntsman Center was really nice, and it really didn't take very long. Thank goodness, cause we were all really tired when we got home. The mask is a little bit different than I thought it would be, but with it they will be able to line up the laser in the correct position each day, and she only got one tattoo, which is really only a little dot on her chest, to help line up her body. We will have to start radiation treatments next Thursday, but we are hoping that everything will go smoothly.

The Next Step!

Well, on Tuesday we hit a little milestone, Caitlin finished the first round of her treatment. We will now be starting radiation treatment in about a week, which is the next phase of treatment. Clinic was at 10:30 for Vincristine, and then we had an MRI at 1 pm, poor Caitlin couldn't eat anything until after the MRI. We talked the doctors into doing a lumbar puncture, just to check that cancer cells hadn't traveled down the spine. After the MRI we went back to clinic for Caitlin to receive a blood transfusion. Before we left we were able to find out the results of the MRI, and it was awesome news. The MRI showed no regrowth or new growth and the lumbar puncture was clear. Which is so awesome, this means that the chemotherapy treatment is doing its job. She will still need more treatment, just to be certain that we kill all of the cancer cells. But with this good news, it just means that the end of this is a lot closer. As horrible as this has been to get through some days, we have been really blessed. Hopefully radiation really go well, and Caitlin can continue to get better. She has been such a trooper and has done really well through all these treatments. She is starting to try to stand up on her own, which is really cool. I am sure it won't be very long before I will be chasing after her. Next Thursday we will be going down to the Huntsman Cancer Center for a meeting with the Radiation therapists, and to make Caitlin a mask for treatments that ensure that her head stays still so the radiation will only hit the area where the tumor was located. Also from now on, it may be longer between posts since I will be spending Monday thru Friday at the Huntsman center for Caitlin's radiation treatments. Again thanks for all the support and help all our friends and family have given us, so far.

Chemo Treatment

Well we finally made it down to Primary Children's for our next chemo treatment. We were suppose to go down on Tuesday, but since the flu and RSV is going around they didn't have any open rooms. But we were able to go down on Thursday, also we were able to get our other appointments taken care of which was nice. We went to see the eye doctor, which said that Caitlin's eyes are looking a lot better, she doesn't seem to be crossing them anymore, so we don't have to put on an eye patch every day for an hour anymore. Then we went to the Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor to check if Caitlin needed tubes in her ears, and again more good news. She just needed the wax cleaned out of her ears. Then we went back upstairs to start chemo, this time was a little rougher for Caitlin since she was really constipated. But we have medicine to help with that and hopefully her diaper rash will clear up soon too.
On Friday we had the Radiation techs come talk to us, since she will be starting radiation treatment about mid March. This hit me hard because its has some pretty bad side effects, most of them are long term not short term ones. The side effects are a learning disability, and it may cause her to be sterile. I just hate that she has to go through this now, and then have to deal with side effects 25 years later. But we later find out that she will only get radiation on the spot where the tumor was, instead of the whole brain and spine. Which will hopefully limit the side effects. Usually they try not to treat kids under 3 years old, and Caitlin will barely be turning 2 on April 2nd. This is the treatment that they have found works the best, so that's what we will be doing. I just hope and pray that radiation treatment will do more good than harm to her little growing body. Unfortunately she will probably have a treatment on her birthday. But we will try to make it a fun day for her anyway.
Anyway we will just keep on trucking, thanks for all the warm thoughts and support. You have helped our family greatly.

Sorry so Long!

Well its been awhile since I last wrote, but not much has been happening. We have had a long break between chemo treatments this time, with the holidays and Caitlin's counts didn't recover as fast this time. Hopefully if they have a room open and the weather is good, we will be making the trip tomorrow. Don't get me wrong I am not excited about going for Caitlin's chemo, but I keeping telling myself the sooner we go, the sooner we will be done with all of this. Sorry to all my family and friends, for how moody I have been lately. The depression and anger from Caitlin's cancer has finally kicked in. With my personality I like to be in control of certain things, and this difficult time has just thrown me for a loop. So it I snap at you, please realize that it really isn't for you. I am just frustrated with the our situation. I hope soon my fog will lift and I can get back to working through. I think I am stressed about Caitlin's radiation treatment that is going to start soon, I am hoping that we can talk the doctors into letting Caitlin do her treatments at the new Cancer Center here in Logan, if not I will have to be away from my family for a week at a time for a whole month. That would be really hard on our family right now, but we will do what we have to do.
Anyway Valentine's Day was fun! Jake got me a pretty heart necklace. I got him cologne, and the week before we both got us some new shirts, which we really needed. We decided just to stay home and watch movies, we did get Wok on Wheels takeout for dinner. We knew that since it was Saturday and Valentine's day everywhere would be packed and we didn't have a babysitter. We hope to go out another weekend! On Sunday we went to Grandma Hugie's for dinner, which was very good, she is the best cook I know. Other than that, we have just been hanging out at home, Allie has been watching High school musical 3 non stop since it came out on Tuesday. I have been reading and trying to keep my house clean. Hopefully the next update will be more interesting. Caitlin seems to be doing pretty good, she has been more moody lately, but we think that might be the terrible twos kicking in, or she is cutting more teeth.

Husband Tag!

My friend Ashley had this on her blog, and I thought it would be really fun to do, also great timing since it is almost Valentine's Day.

1. Where did you meet your husband? Jake and I actually went to high school together but he was younger than me and I had a boyfriend then so we didn't really date then. He did have a crush on me, I do remember that. We re-met after my divorce at RR Donnelley a place where we both worked.

2. How long did you date before you got married? We dated for about seven months before we got married. Dating is kind of hard when you are working different shifts, going to school, and being a single mom.

3. How long have you been married? We have been married for two years, it will be three in October.

4. What does he do to surprise you? I have to have my house clean or it drives me nuts, he is very good about helping me keep the house clean and doing laundry. He is very OCD, so he usually organizes the cabinets and the fridge for me.

5. Your favorite feature of his? I really like Jake's eyes and hair. My favorite is probably his smile, he takes really good care of his teeth. I also like his muscles.

6. What is his best quality? He is really fun to be around, he is a real people person, if you are in a bad mood, he can put you in a good mood. He doesn't get mad really easy, and he doesn't yell.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Usually its babe, honey, or baby doll. My favorite is Eri-bear, its kind of silly but its different.

8. What is his favorite food? I know he loves peach cobbler. He isn't a picky eater, and eats almost everything that I cook. Which is saying alot since I am not a very good cook.

9. What is his favorite sport? He likes to play basketball, and has been bummed since he hasn't had a lot of time to play very often. He will watch any kind of sport of tv, so usually I have to keep my hands on the remote.

10. Where and when did you first kiss? In his car, I don't remember the date, but I am pretty sure I made the first move.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We like just being able to hang out together, snuggling on the couch watching a good movie, we also like to go bowling and miniature golfing.

12. Do you have any children? We have two beautiful girls, Allie is five ( mine from previous marriage, but for all that matters she is Jake's since he takes care of her like his own) and Caitlin who is almost 2 (April) We are hoping the next one will be a boy to even things out for Jake. But that we have to wait until we get Caitlin done with chemotherapy and life settles a little bit.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? I don't want to embarrass him but he does an awesome job painting my toenails and fingernails. Also he really gives good massages, but these talents are thankfully only enjoyed by me.

14. How old is he?
He is 25, a year younger than me. Hopefully that keeps me young right?

15. You said I love you first?
I don't really remember who said it first, but he is really good at saying it, he probably says it a lot more than I do, but I am usually trying to answer Allie's twenty questions.

16. What is his favorite music? Wow, this might be hard, they are too many to name, but a few are Hawthorne Heights, Nickelback, and Yellowcard.

17. What do you admire most about him? I think what I admire most is that he is a very good Dad, and he always treats me with respect. He usually does what I ask him to, which is great. He is a hard worker and always makes sure that his family is taken care of before his self.

18. What is his favorite color? I am pretty sure its blue, but I think he also likes green.

19. Will he read this? Probably not, he doesn't like to read.

20. I tag.....
Irene, Sharee, Amber, and anyone else who stalks my blog and would like to share more info about your husband.