Running Up The Slide

Right about now I feel like this cat trying to run up the slide. 

 

So here's what has happened since the last update... Last week was exciting and rough all at once. I knew this was the week that I was going to be having baby #2. I was given a due date of no later than Thursday the 13th and long story short is we welcomed our precious baby boy on Wednesday December 12th, 12-12-12, how cool is that birthdate huh! Here is Sophia with her little brother Samuel, she is a tiny bit jealous but she mostly wants to hold him or help out with him, it's really cute. When she hears him cry on the monitor she'll say "let's go, let's go" while running to the room to get him, it's hilarious.

The week before last Sophia developed an infection internally that most patients going through chemo can get, it wasn't too bad but she had to go on a 10 day medication that required us to give her a dose every 6 hours so waking up in the middle of the night to give her meds wasn't fun but it had to be done. While hubby and I were at the hospital our Sophia stayed with her grandparents til we got home so they were able to take her to her doctors appointment for us which was nice but at the same time I wanted to be there with her, but I guess I can't be in two places at once. She had her EKG done, which I still don't know the results of but since they haven't called I'm guessing things are okay, and her blood levels came out good so she was good to go on her chemo treatments for the day. She has quite a few appointments coming up that involve another LP w/chemo and I believe she will be getting new meds. She is also going to go back on steroids :( ugh! Her having Leukemia is already horrible but her being on steroids is even more horrible. I know things could be way more worse and I am so thankful they aren't but the things she has gone through and has to go through are just too much for a little body. I can't wait for all this to be over with. 4 months down and approx. 20 more to go! Oh aaand on top of all this she came down with a cold. So between the chemo treatments and the cold she had a really hard time wanting to eat. Apparently she didn't want to eat much but since she's going through so much I don't expect much from her and if her doctor isn't worried then either am I, and since I'm not allowed to give her anything while she's sick all they say is to keep her hydrated which she always is. Sophia likes loves water, seems like she guzzles it down by the gallons and she'll drink sips of juice here and there but doesn't really like it, so I don't worry about her being hydrated.  

So between what's to come with everything Sophia will be going through and having a new baby in the house and learning his ways and learning how to be a family of four it feels a little overwhelming. I feel like we are that cat above trying to run up the slide. I know we will eventually get up the slide (even though the cat might not make it, we will) but right now we're not even half way there. Prayers for us are welcomed as we head into what may seem like yet another rough patch on this road to recovery. I'm praying it wont be too rough since we've gone down this road before and we know what to expect but we never know how Sophia will respond to treatment til she goes through it. Her next treatment will be on new years eve so until next post I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, I know we have a lot to celebrate this year and we cannot wait to start a new year!

Forever Greatful!

This past week was a busy and great week and it looks like this week is headed that way as well, but what week isn't right!

Besides having doctor appointments I decided to take Sophia to possibly her last mommy and me class, well at least at this place, we'll see what the future holds. Her 1st teacher is retiring :( and I'm a little sad she won't get to experience this teacher til she goes to kindergarden but I'm so glad Sophia and I got to cross paths with this awesome teacher. She just so happens to have the same name as I, it's quite a beautiful name :) but Sophia has been with her since she was 5 months old. She has learned so much from her class and I will be forever greatful for this teacher and this class even though it was short lived, especially since we couldn't make it this semester due to Sophia's illness. Boo! Cancer Sucks! Anyways, we had no idea what we were in for this day. Before I say what went on I forgot to mention a couple weeks ago Sophia's awesome classmates apparently made shirts to wear or wore orange in support of her and we were supposed to visit but Sophia got sick so we couldn't make it, can I say again, Boo! Cancer Sucks!

SOPHIA'S WAY COOL CLASSMATES!

 

Okay, so we went to class and to our surprise the class had a surprise for Sophia and her, unborn, brother Samuel. They gave both a bucket full of stuff. One for Sophia's birthday in January and one for Samuel and his soon arrival. I was so shocked and greatful at all their support they have thrown Sophia's way. I didn't know what to say but Thank You! It's people like this that tells me our God is in control of every situation and knows which people to place in your life when you need them. Also another biggie, one of the ladies here, who takes her grandson to class, works for a cancer organization and they gave a nice check in honor of Sophia. How ridiculously cool is that. I wish Sophia knew just how much she is loved, thought of and cared for. This is exactly why I do this blog so that one day she will know all that was done to her and for her throughout treatment.

 

Clothes & Toys for my babes!

 

Also at the end of class there was a surprise party for Sophia's teacher, the turnout was great and it showed just how much she is loved and is going to be greatly missed.

 





Mrs. Priscilla & Sophia!



Fast forward to today, Sophia had another LP w/Chemo (LP = Lumbar Puncture) and it went pretty well. Her blood counts came out great this time so everything was a Go! My dad usually goes with us to these appointments but this time my mom was able to go since I will be a little occupied pretty soon. She got to learn the routine, all 8 hours of fun! going to this room and that room and just waiting. This time around Sophia also got 3 doses of chemo (a dose of methotrexate in her spine and picc line and a dose of vincristine in her picc line) and so far she's had no negative effects to it. Her doctor said if she were to start getting mouth sores it would be within 4 days of today since they did up her dose again but he also said only about 20% of kids get these sores, so we're praying she's not one of those 20%. She is almost done with this phase of treatment and will be entering a new one which requires her to get an echocardiogram done to make sure her heart is good to go. Sounds so scray that they have to take a precaution such as this for this next phase; chemo is already is big deal. More to come on the next phase. We just pray she's continues doing well and responding well. I'm so proud of my little Big girl, she let's the nurses and doctor do what they have to do and doesn't cry anymore. She already knows the route to the hospital because as we are driving up she says "I want sticker" she knows that she's going to get a pass, that's a sticker, and a sticker from the nurses so she associates the two and puts them together, it's too funny. The Lord is doing great things inside and out of her little body and we are so thankful! Sophia likes to play with items that are used on her, such as this blue glove in the picture below, she put it on because that's what the nurses do and I do at home, and she fell asleep. I'm glad I am able to keep her comfy in her stroller asleep as she received her chemo through her picc line. Until next time (hopefully I'll have had our little boy by next time) . . .

Nice and Comfy, sound asleep!



Just Because...

Our Beautiful Little Fighter!

Giving Thanks!

Over the past several days it's been nice reading and hearing what people are thankful for and today (and every day) I am thankful for many things but specifically my little family.
God has blessed me with a husband that is so Loving and Giving to me and his daughter. He never really complains about anything except maybe Lakers but they don't count in my book :) He is so hard working at everything he does, there is nothing lazy about him.
God has also blessed both hubby and I with with the most precious little jewel, our daughter Sophia. We are especially thankful for her and all that she is. She has gone through so much in just a little bit of time. I am thankful for Life, her life and that God is allowing her body to respond so well to all the treatment. She hasn't complained much about what she is going through unless something makes her feel different like those yucky steroids but that wasn't her fault. She is quite the trooper!
I am also thankful for our other little blessing that God is allowing us to care for, our son Samuel. He didn't have to give us another baby but He did and I am thankful for his little life that he's been living so far in my womb. Sam isn't even born yet and he already means so much to our family. Having a boy is going to change things up a bit in our house but in a good way. I know Sophia is just going to love him and be a little jealous too I'm sure, but rightfully so :)

Hospital Routine

Just a little update on how Sophia's Chemo appointment went on Wednesday and a little of what we go through and why an appointment can take up to 5hrs or more.
We got to the hospital at 1pm and I got Sophia all checked in at registration. We usually have to wait about 20 minutes before she gets called to go to triage where they take her vitals, height and weight but since she didn't have an appointment to see her doctor they sent her right away to get that all done. We did have to wait about 15 minutes before triage was ready for her but that's pretty normal. Once she was all done at triage we were sent down the hall to where she would get her chemo but we had to check in there first. We then waited about half hour for them to call Sophia in a room where they drew blood from her picc line and once that was done we then had to wait about an hour for them to get results and get the order ready for her to get the chemo. So for that hour we can go wherever in the hospital, which there's plenty to do there, and once the nurses are ready for her they call my cell phone and we head back to the nurses station. So Sophia and I went to have lunch and after we walked to the garden to watch them decorate for Christmas. It's looking so cute out there and I cant wait til its done so Sophia could see it all and we could do a walk through. Sometimes they have this lady who volunteers her time and she reads books, and gives books away, and does crafts for the kids and Sophia seems to like that but she wasn't there that day. Anyways, the nurse finally called me and said Sophia's counts looked great and she would be receiving both chemos (last visit her blood levels were lower than they wanted so she only received one chemo) so we headed back upstairs to the nurses station and waited about another 20 min for the order to be ready so we killed time in a waiting room till they called her in. Finally they called her in a room where they give her the chemo. One of the chemo is a push through, meaning they push it through themselves into her picc line and the other is hooked onto a machine that feeds it slowly into her picc line. After each chemo is done they do a saline flush to clear her line so total it's about an hour to receive both chemos. Once this was done we then waited about 10 min for them to call us into a different room were they would do her dressing change to her picc line which takes about 10-15 minutes depending who does it, this time it took about 20 min because they were teaching a nurse how to do it. I usually don't mind but I really just wanted to be home already. Overall she did well receiving the chemos and with her dressing change. They even gave her a cute pink beanie which she loved and wore it proudly walking out and as we met hubby/daddy (he took the train from work to meet us there) she got to show it off to him :) So in the end we were there about 5 hours and this wasn't including seeing her doctor, actually we usually see a resident first then her doctor which makes it for an even longer visit at the hospital. Hubby, Sophia and I finally hit the road and we got all that lovely holiday traffic but it was nice because Sophia go to nap before we headed over to my moms to celebrate my niece's birthday and hubby and I got to talk the whole way :)
This is just a typical appointment at the hospital that doesn't include the doctor visit and doesn't include any procedures.
Phew! Writing that got me just as tired as going through it. Everyone's prayers are much appreciated as we continue through this "sick season" It really sets Sophia off with treatment when she gets sick which in the end it prolongs the ending of this all.

There's No Place Like Home

It's that time of year where everywhere we look people are sick, yucky coughs, runny noses and sneezes and our little Sophia was one of them. Three weeks ago she came down with a cold and we were scared she would also come down with a fever, which we feared because then we'd have to take her into the hospital. She did pretty well with her cold and had no fever but she had a runny nose and a slight cough that didn't want to go away but as long as she had no fever and we kept her hydrated she was doing well. On the third week of getting over her cold she ended up developing a fever at the end of that week, last week on thursday evening, and by the evening I mean late at night, 10:30pm. I ended up calling the docotor on call to see what I should do because they don't allow her to take any meds like tylenol while going through her chemo treatment, so he advised me what to do and I did and by 1:00am we had to take her to the E.R. at Children's because her fever ended up going too high. So the nice thing about her having Leukemia (because believe it or not we have to look at positive things during this ugly time) is we don't ever have to wait to be seen. They were already waiting for her and took her in right away and started what they had to do. She ended up having an ear infection, we had no idea she had this because she showed no signs of it bothering her at all. They told us she would need to be admitted and they couldn't say when she would stay til, so the plan was to keep her there so they can keep an eye on her and administer more antibiotics throughout the day. We ended up staying 9 hours in the E.R. due to them running tests and running antibiotics in her and boy were we tired. She stayed awake til about 8:00am and finally knocked out for about 4 hours. They took us to her room where she and I slept for about 2 hours and finally the on call doctor came in and said she was being discharged that day because we could just give her the antibiotics at home. We were so happy because there's no place like home :) She's been getting better since then and her cough and runny nose have been disappearing. I forgot to mention that the same day she was admitted she was suppose to have her doctor's appointment/chemo treatment so that ended up getting cancelled because her counts were too low. We were fine with that because Sophia needs to recover and that might have made things worse. We watched her over the weekend because they said she could still get fevers, which she didn't, so she rested up because on Monday (November, 12, 2012) we had to take her back so they could do her chemo treatment. We went to her appointment where she was going to get her picc line dressing change and her 2 chemo treatments. She did really well with her dressing change, no crying at all, but her counts were too low so she only got one of the chemo treatments. Her doctoer didn't want to give her that second dose of chemo since she's still recovering, on top of her conts being low. So her next appointment will be for the day before thanksgiving. She is a little off track with her treatments so hopefully she will be able to get back on the next time we take her. Your prayers are much appreciated while we go through these holiday seasons and people around us are sick. We pray that Sophia doesn't get sick again for a while . . . or ever :)

Appointments and Chemo and PICC lines! Oh My!

So today was a pretty busy day, as every other day seems to be lately. Not only did Sophia have her appointment at the hospital but so did I for baby #2, almost back to back appointments. I am one tired momma right about now!

Sophia has happily completed 2 phases of treatment and is well on her way to recovery. Our prayers are still for no complications along the way as this will set her back and prolong treatment. So far she's responded really well to everything. She began her last phase of treatment today and Lord willing that everything goes well she should finish in 2 years, approx. 22 months left. This last phase is broken down into several phases and right now she started intermaintenance phase 1 which consists of her only going to the hospital every 11 days for 2 months. I'm really happy we don't have to be going every week. So every 11 days we'll be at the hospital where she'll be receiving chemo. The difference this time is the chemo she use to get in the spinal tap (methotrexate) will now be given to her through her picc line, this may cause her to get mouth sores where getting it through the spinal tap wouldn't do that to her and it may also not happen, so we are praying this doesn't happen as I am sure it is pretty painful but every 11 days her chemo dosage will go up making the chances of her getting those sores greater. I believe once this phase is over (2 months) she should get her picc line out and then start her next phase which she would only be going in once a month and getting chemo through an IV line. This will hapen if all goes well with her picc line, or else she'd have to get a port which is an internal catheter. Her doctor likes to work with picc lines and I am glad becasue that means for a port to go internally she'd have to have a surgery to place it in and a seperate surgery for it to come out which would leave her with a scar but if it has to happen then it happens but I really dont mind the picc line and she doesn't either. She helps me clean it everyday and flush it. She's got this whole routine down and is becoming an expert at it :) I am also happy that she will not be on any new meds as of now so that makes the daily routine seem less then it used to be. I can't believe how far we've come, it seems forever right about now but we still got lots to go through. So for now we're on an 11 day hospital cycle and anxiously awaiting baby #2! God is so good, so good!

 

 Love Love Love her sweet little big smile here!

 

 

The New Normal

The new normal is all about our life with Sophia and how things are going back to normal; a new normal. I finally feel like this new routine we have for Sophia of doctor visits, clinic visits, procedures, chemo, picc line flushes, medicine taking, unplanned ER visit, and hair loss shock is all starting to feel like this is how life has always been. I can't forget to mention all the doctor visits I have of my own for baby #2, you should see my calander; can you say Bbuussyy. It's a little overwhelming if you think about it as a whole but once broken down into times, days, and help from family it's not that bad, it's a lot to deal with at times especially when a doctors visit that's suppose to be 5 hours turns into 10 hours :( ugh 5 hours is already a lot but overall it's not that bad. We feel like her hair is coming back little by little and the weight is shedding off pretty fast too although we are now practically begging her to eat instead of trying to not let her eat so much. What a difference a week makes and new meds. She is now walking on her own again, she's still not all running around but she sure tries. She went from not walking for 3 weeks to army crawling around the house to holding onto someone to walk and now little miss independant is all on her own again. She is one determined little girl. It's so cute to see her with her cousin, who motivate her so much, running around the house as she tries to catch up, she loves them and I love that they have such a big part in her life. I feel like I'm getting my little girl back and then some. I feel like she's even more silly then before and her talking has gotten so much clearer. Her words sound like my words and everything her dad and I say shes gotta repeat it too. Before cancer life was always changing and we were always adjusting to whatever life threw our way, the good and the bad, so when cancer was thrown our way I thought we would never adjust but God is proving Himself more and more to us that things are going to be okay and He has put a peace in our hearts where we are comfortable with life and everthing it has to offer for now. We are adjusted to this new life He has laid before us. Now when baby #2 comes that might be a new story but I'm sure with time we will have an all new normal, a new life with 4, and a new road to go down. As always we will continue to trust God every step of the way and We are still so thankful for the continued prayers and support from all over :)

My sleeping Beauty!

 

Trying to ride her cousins bike. 

 

A sweet smile :)

 and off she goes!



The Good News

This past weekend a lot went on so bare with me as I may repeat myself :) We had a hair cutting event in support of Sophia that I called Making The Cut. It was two days of hair cutting, family, friends, fellowship, and food! We had a total of 15 people who cut their hair and a total of 4 who donated between 8-13in of hair, and one of those hair cutters was a friend of my sister in law, who lives in San Diego, and cut her hair all the way over there :) It was nice to see everyone there to support our little girl, it means so much to her dad and I. Sophia was having a great time too with all her cousins over, she has slowly returned to her old young self since getting off of the steroids. For about 3 weeks now she hasn't wanted to walk due to her joint pain and weight gain but she has now started to try standing and crawling again. It's so hard to go from passing all these stages with her to going backwards and now forwards and possibly backwards again in the future. What a roller coaster we've all been on, sheesh. I can't forget to mention that there was also a friend of a friend, who lives in Paris, who did a run in honor of Sophia, all the way over there, how awesome was that of her to do. We are blown away at all the support she is getting from all over the world. God is so good to place such people in our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All weekend long my mind was full of appreciation and concern. Appreciation for everyone that helped us out that weekend, which included 2 hairstylist that donated their skill and time, and appreciation to everyone who came over to support Sophia but my concern was for what was to come on Monday, today. Today started out early again, 4:30 a.m. early. We arrived at Children's, checked her in, waited for her to be called and she got prepped for her procedure (LB w/Chemo) then her blood counts came back and her ANC count (Absolute neutrophil count) was low so they had to reschedule her procedure. Hubby and I were kind of bummed but at least she gets another week to recuperate and allow her blood levels to go back up. Since we had to reschedule everything our meeting with the doctor was canceled which we were also bummed about but since we still had to go to clinic to get her picc line dressing changed we asked if we could just get the results from her bone marrow aspiration; the one and only thing I was thinking about all week, the reason why I thought we had to go today besides her procedure, the reason why I was concerned. When the nurse was all done with Sophia she went and spoke with the doctor and got our results for us. She came back with the good news, Sophia's cancer is in remission! So this means as long as she keeps doing well she should be on her way to recovery, Lord willing. We couldn't be more relieved about anything. Remission is a great word to hear since learning the cancer word. We have faith in God that He will heal Sophia completely. So far He has answered every prayer of ours and everyone around us and everyone far far away from us so we have no doubt that He will continue answering everyone's prayers for our little girl.

A.M.T.F.H. and Life So Far

      A.M.T.F.H. is my acronym for appointments, medications, tantrums, food, and hair. This is what our life consist of with Sophia so far.
  Appointments. Her first outpatient appointment went pretty well, super long, but pretty well. It was almost 5 hours long, not including the traffic we hit heading home. She didn’t cry as much as I thought she would, with the dressing change, but maybe the more we go the more she will cry or the opposite, less crying, we’ll see. The floor that her appointment was on was full of patients with the same kind of cancer along with other kinds of cancers so it was nice to be around people that are going through something similar. I got to see a lot of patients from babies to teens that are bald, due to hair loss, and I noticed a difference between the ages. I noticed that the younger patients cared less what they looked like and the older patients looked liked they cared more about what they looked like. The younger patients walked around bald, as if they didn't know they were bald or didn't care, and the older patients walked around with wigs, hats, or some kind of cover up. I know the older we all get the more self conscious we get about the way we may look or the way we think people see us and for all of this I am thankful that Sophia is going through this (because she has no choice) at the age she is going through it. My hopes for her are that none of what she has to go through effects her as she gets a little older and still has to be going through it.
  Medication. Everyday, morning and night, Sophia has to be on medication. She is taking 5 different meds along with flushes as a part of her treatment and at the beginning it was a fight to give her meds but now, 3 weeks later, she seems to be getting used to taking them. Every time I give her the meds I say “almost done” so she knows it wont be too long until it’s all done and I think at the beginning she thought I said Elmo’s Song because every time now she says “Elmo’s Song” and starts singing it, it’s so cute, and that’s what’s been getting her through taking her meds without a fight.
      Tantrums & Food. Sophia having tantrums is not new but they are new in the way of how often she has them and why she has them. It usually goes hand in hand with food. If she can’t have what she wants to eat then she throws a tantrum. It’s definitely hard to not give your child what they want when they want it but when it comes to food its even harder to have to say no. The doctors and nurses told us that her appetite would increase and so well we were aware of it we didn't know just how much it would increase. Big time, it increased big time. I never knew a little girl could eat or want to eat so much all day. Of course we don't always feed her but she's starting to look like we do. She is gaining a lot of weight but it’s just her face and stomach that are bloated, due to steroids. It’s tough to see my little girl this way, she never was really chubby, just a little as a baby but now she has real chub. I hope it all goes away after she is done with steroids. The chemo and steroids are making her not want to walk as much, they did say that her joints could be weak so putting that and her weight gain, in her stomach, in to consideration it all makes sense. It makes me a little sad because Sophia has always been an over achiever at everything since the day she was born, really she was, and to see her kind of digress in certain areas really sucks. She just wants to eat all day, lay around all day and not really walk or play but I know this is just for a season and I am looking forward to when this season is over. I just keep praying that all this be over soon and when it’s over for it to never ever come back.
      Hair. Sophia’s hair has officially started falling out. I didn't think it would be this fast. The doctors and nurses told us that it would take two weeks to fall out and two weeks went by and nothing. I was relieved and I even asked the doctor if it was possible that her hair wouldn't fall out. He said that there are rare patients where that doesn't happen to them but for the most part all patients lose some to all of their body hair. I started noticing strands of hair but nothing that alarmed me like yesterday, Saturday the 8th of September, it really started falling out. I noticed a bunch of hair on her shirt and I wasn't sure if it was coming from her so I decided to pull on her hair and, yup, a bunch of hair came out in my hand. I kind of freaked out but I didn't want to alarm her. So I asked hubby if he knew it was falling out and he said that he had noticed it. By the end of the day her hair was getting everywhere. If she leaned on you it was all over your shirt or in the bath it just fell out with the water and just every movement she made it seemed to come out. She also has a big knot in the back of her head but I refuse to try and take it out because I know the more I mess with it the more I’m pulling her hair out. I shed a few tears and am emotional about it but I’m trying not to let it get to me especially since I noticed she is noticing it everywhere and I don't want to make her feel like something is wrong. I still cant believe all this is happening to my baby girl. I don't question it at all I just cant believe it. It sucks. I wish it were me and not her or not even me just nobody at all.
      Life So Far. Our life so far has definitely been a change for forever and is definitely an eye opener. The things I used to be lazy about I feel like I  no longer am and the time I used to spend with Sophia I took for granted and I no longer do. All of this has definitely brought my hubby, Sophia, and I closer. I didn't think we could get any closer but we did, it is possible, especially when you let life get in the way and all the daily task that consumes your world and your thoughts. None of those things seem important anymore. The Lord is teaching me new things and I’m sure many new things to come. I was always a futuristic person, a person that only worried about tomorrow and what may come and planning planning planning and I never really slept good because my mind was just going over things that I needed to do, I worried about it too much but now I am taking things day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. Life already goes by so fast but when all you think about is tomorrow and the day after and the day after that it goes even faster. I am so thankful that throughout all of this I am learning to slow down and to “stop and smell the roses” not only for my sake but for my daughter, my unborn son, my future children, and just life over all.

Mommy & Sophia being silly

Sophia's Face & Stomach bloat

This You Tube clip seems appropriate for my little one. She would watch this clip everyday on the You Tube channel at the hospital and now that she's just been not wanting to do much I want her to keep trying even though it may seem hard to do. Playtime will come soon little one!

I'm Free

As of yesterday around 7pm-ish Sophia was discharged from the Hospital!!!

What a long week and day it had been. Sophia, Hubby, and I were all going crazy by the end of the week, especially since they told us we would leave on a Saturday, then a Monday and then a Friday, sheesh. God knew that we needed to be home cause it was starting to get difficult in there with Sophia's new tantrums, due to the steroids she is on, and her not being able to go wherever she wanted to but now that we're home those tantrums don't seem as bad, for now. Friday couldn't have came soon enough but it came and we were all packed and ready to go the night before. We were told she should be discharged by noon so I had high hopes to not only go home but to be able to leave early to beat the traffic. We waited for the doctors to make their rounds and before they came in the nurse informed us that Sophia would need to get more blood before she went home to boost her immune system and blood levels. I was okay with that until I found out just how long that would take. The nurse said the longest part would be waiting on the blood to get there, because I asked how long it would take, but before that she would need to take blood to make sure her blood levels were still the same and not worse and then she would receive the blood. I thought okay not bad but then she came in and said once they get the blood they need to run it for 4 hours. I wanted to scream, I just wanted to take my baby home, not even home, I just wanted to leave and I didn't care that I would have to sit in traffic. At this point I would have loved to sit in traffic, anything to just leave, but I just held in my emotions and said okay. The blood came and they ran it for the four hours. We killed time by going to the play room, coloring, decorating crafts, watching movies and drawing. Finally, the blood was done, yes yes yes I thought but then no no no, now the nurse had to run a sailine drip to clean out the blood which didn't take too long but since I was already antsy to leave, it seemed forever. When everything was done and signed Sophia was finally discharged, woohoo!!! I couldn't have felt more relieved about anything in my life, I know 2 weeks is nothing but for never having to be in the hospital with my baby these past 2 weeks were pretty much brutal on everyone, not just Sophia. As we were walking out the doors to the elevators my dad, who had been with us all day, said I'm free to Sophia so she was walking out saying I'm Free, I'm Free, it was so cute and hilarious. I dont think she knew what free meant but I'm sure she felt free. Free from pain (for the moment), free from iv's (for the moment), free from medication (for the moment), free from hospital clothes (for the moment) and free from all the nurses poking her (for the moment). As we walked to our car and driving home and getting home, Sophia had this look of being confused and overwhelmed. She was quiet and didn't say much but I know she was happy to be gone. What a 2 weeks we all had there and what an experience we will never forget. The doctors and nurses there are amazing. They were so loving and caring for our little girl that it brought a peace to our hearts after it was broken into a million pieces. Of course Sophia had her favorites, especially the ones who took her to play with them at their desk and sang to her, but this momma was happy with everyone all around. Our family is so thankful to all who have been praying our little Sophia through this and all the gifts she has received. There are not enough thank you's in this world to say but from the bottom of our hearts to yours we truely Thank everyone!

SAM

Here are some of the cards Sophia has received from family and friends.

Everyday she gets a free book from the library upstairs. These are just a few along with other things people have gotten her. By now she has added several more books. She likes them.

A little blurry but this is a little doll that she loves from the playroom. She is allowed to check out certain toys but this is not one she is allowed to take.

I told my mom about her not being able to check that toy out so grandma came the next day with this surprise for her little princess. Sophia can walk around the halls for hours if she could. She loves it.

Sophia has learned so much from being in the Hospital. She wanted to play with this doctor kit they had in the playroom and here she is listening to her brother Sam. I haven't officially announced it yet but we are having a boy. Samuel! If you ask her what her brother's name is she will say SAM in the cutest little voice. I love my babies :)

The Road To Recovery

Monday August 20, 2012 was the day our daughter, Sophia, was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia)
This is long but it's the long story short. You can't even imagine unless you have gone through something similar what one goes through once finding out you have cancer. So much that's being told to you and little time to process it all.

The weeks prior to us finding out about our daughter having Leukemia was a little rough. She had been running fevers all week, not eating well, not sleeping well and not playing well, which is not like her at all and by the end of the week she was very pale. We also noticed she was bruising more on her legs but we just treated her symptoms like we did every other time she had a fever. We gave her tylenol and gave her a bath when she was running a temperature. By the end of the week she was not getting better, which she normally would have gotten better by then, so we decided to take her to the E.R. to see what was going on with her. Once she was called into a room they started her on an iv right away due to her looking so pale and they also drew blood. That whole needle poking thing is no fun to see your child go through especially when they can't get a good vein. A doctor came and talked to us and said based on her symptoms it looks like this and that could be happening, all I heard was "lskdlakjsdlkjfb" doctor talk can be so confusing, so I just nodded and smiled and said okay. I told my husband that we'll just wait for results and then they'll explain things better so we could understand. We then waited for results. Finally, after forever it seemed, the result were her blood levels were low, extremely low. I wasn't too alarmed after this news because I still didn't understand what all that meant. Then the doctor said she was going to need to be admitted but not there at that hospital. They were going to be admitting her at a childrens hospital. I still wasn't feeling too worried until we were waiting for an ambulence transport team and a nurse told us that the transport team should be arriving soon, they had a delay getting the blood. Our faces must've looked concerned because she asked if anyone told us about a blood transfusion. A blood transfusion? No. She said yeah because Sophia's blood levels were so low she needed a blood transfusion so the team was bringing blood with them. Okay I got a lottle more worried here but not too much because I thought okay her blood levels are low and she needs blood then we can go home. When the transport team arrived to pick us up they explained a little more about the blood levels and what is normal and where our daughter's numbers were, extremely low. Before the blood they started her with plateletts, then they had to wait for a reaction. Sophia did not have a reaction, thank God. They got her ready and strapped on a gourney and off we went. On the way to the new hospital they started with the blood transfusion once the plateletts were done. We finally arrived at Children's at 2:30am, tak about being tired and our baby girl was still awake. My poor baby was so thrown off. All the staff that was working that night was introduced to us. Everyone was super nice. We were also introduced to the doctor on call that night and he was super nice too. He talked to us for quite a while. He basically started off with saying, had anyone at the other hospital mention the word cancer to you and of course I said no. He said looking at all her symptoms and her blood levels being so low two things could be happening. One, she can have a really bad infection somehwhere in the body or Two, she can have a cancer called Leukemia. As he was saying these things to me can you believe I still wasn't worried too much. After all he said they wouldn't know for sure until they got blood work in. I never felt in my heart that she would have cancer, I thought for sure it was an infection. So basically over the weekend they just kept giving her blood, pulling blood, checking her vitals and what not. Monday came too fast, this was the day we were going to find out just what our daughter had. In order to find out what she had she needed to have a bone marrow aspiration done. They were going to be pulling bone marrow out from her hip in order to find out what was going on. I was alone with my little girl this day and as we were being transported in the wheelchair to another building for the procedure I was getting nervous, I was finally worrying. This was really happening. We finally arrived to our destination and I got her checked in and the nurses introduced themselves to me and explained what was going to be happening and making sure I understood it all. I did. So for this procdure they were going to have to put her out for like half hour. I took her to a hallway where they had me hold her while they gave her the anesthesia and my baby was out in a second. Scarriest thing I ever saw, my baby knocked out so limp. I wanted to cry but I didn't. I promised myself I wouldn't cry unless they told me something was wrong with her, like cancer. That rest of the day was basically us waiting for the results, which we didnt get until the evening like around 5pm. Two ladies came to talk to us and basically said the results were Sophia has Leukemia. I cried, cried, and cried my eyes out and I had to stop myslef so I can hear the rest of what needed to be said. Thank God Sophia was sleeping because I didn't want her to see me crying. Just a side note, there's a big differnce between your daughter might have Leukemia and your daughter has leukemia. So, I managed to calm myself down and heard what she had to say. She explained the steps needed to be taken to see what kind of Leukemia she had. Before we went on I asked her if my daughter was going to be losing her hair, she said yes. I cried and cried some more. I know it's just hair but it's my baby girls hair, she has beautiful, somewhat curly, golden brown hair. She's never even had a real haircut. I just coudn't get over it. The lady continued on with what the next procedure was going to be which was going to happen the next day. Sophia was going to need to have a lumbar puncture done (spinal tap) to pull spinal fluid out and also get a little chemo in there. She was also going to have a picc line inserted into her arm so that she can have medications and blood drawn from there without having to poke her and because the blood closest to the heart is the best blood for them to be using. So the next day came and off we went to the same place as before to have this procedure done. The day was long and Sophia and I were really tired. Hubby got off work early because we were going to be having a meeting with a team of doctors to listen to what our plan for the road to recovery was going to look like and also get the results to what type of leukemia she has. We met with the team and we were told she has A.L.L. which is the good leukemia. They explained it like this: There's good leukemia and there's bad leukemia and within the good and bad leukemia there's also good and bad. So Sophia has the good leukemia and she also has the good side, meaning she's low risk. Thank you Jesus! I took a whole box of tissue because I thought for sure I was going to be balling my eyes out, but nope, once I heard this news it made me feel better and more confinfdent that she would overcome this new battle, her battle with leukemia. The days follwing all this new news and procedures seemed long, it still is long. I've spent most of the free days, free meaning no procedures, playing with her in the room and in a playroom they have here on our floor. So far she seems to be responding quite well with all the treatments she has gone through and medications she is taking. It's been nice meeting other moms and listening to what they went through and it's very encouraging. I thank God he brought us here and placed certain nurses in our life and allowing me to meet other moms. It makes this whole experience not seem so sad.

I want to add just how amazing my husband is. My husband is a super loving and caring dad. He would stay up with her most nights due to nurses coming in every hour and poking her and he would go to work the next day. I knew he loved and cared for our daughter but I never realized just how much he did. Seeing him break down for his baby girl was so sad yet touching. I really can't explain it well other then it's a sad and beautiful thing to see just how strong his love for his daughter is. Another thing I wanted to add is something that is so precious to me and something that I will never forget. The night it was confirmed Sophia had Leukemia I was alone with her for a couple of minutes and as I was holding her I just couldn't hold back my tears. I just couldn't get over that all this was happening to my baby. I also was trying not to cry in front of her because earlier I did and she noticed right away and she started crying for me so I said I wasn't going to cry in front of her again, but I did. I cried and cried and she looked at me and wiped away my tears from my cheek and I said I love you and she replied with I love you and she layed her head on my shoulders. Of course this made me cry more. Oh the bond of a mother and child is so unbelieveably strong, it's a crazy. I thank God he's allowing me to experience the kind of love that he has for me but for my own.

All this being said, here we have started Sophia's road to recovery. So far so good. Were are praying that she keeps staying a standard patient with the standard outcome with no relapses. We put all our trust and faith in God to get her and us through these next 2, 2 in a half years. We can't forget to mention just how overwhelmed we are with all the love and support we have been receiving not only from family but people we don't even know. All the prayers are being felt from all around. If Sophia only knew the depth of love and care she has out there she'd be so thankful and  happy I just know it. You guys are all a part of her/the Road To Recovery.