Amanda

Welcome to Miss Amandas Web Page. It has been provided to keep friends and family updated about her battle with, and eventual cure of leukemia. Click on History for a brief overview and previous journal entries.

Journal

Friday, November 19, 2004 8:51 AM CST

Yes this entry is long overdue...as I said no promises can be made. School has started without a hitch, and we find ourselves now knee deep in the kaos of 3 children in school. Between the spelling tests for 4th grade and the spelling tests for 2nd grade, and the Boy Scouts, soccer, piano, CCD need I go on? We have 2 calenders, a dry erase board and each child has a bin on the wall just to keep it all straight...I know we're nuts right?
Trev has piano, trumpet, Boy Scouts, CCD, and way too much homework. Ry Guy has soccer and Cub Scouts, (and he is making his first Reconcilation in Dec...somehow I became the teacher for this event????) Miss Important Pants is taking gymnastics on Wednesdays and Swims on Sundays...good exersize for her lagging gait and lower body weakness.

Halloween was great, we went camping/trick or treating. Then we did our neighborhood on Halloween night with Dylan and Sierra. Trevor was a pirate, Ryan was a Native American and Amanda was a fairy... quite the variety. We all had a great time and the weather was the best it's been in years! The kids were able to wear their costumes without a winter coat over the top.

Finally just to give everyone a chuckle. (Our pediatricians office certainly found it amusing) A couple of weeks ago I looked out my window to check on the kids playing outside, and what did I see??? My three children playing tarzan on poison ivy vines on a tree in our yard!! Like a lunatic I went running out into the yard yelling for them to get in the house and into the shower because that was POISON IVY!!!! The boys innocently told me "but Mom there were no leaves on it?" Being that Ryan has had multiple poison ivy experiences he is well aware of what the leaves look like. So after the showers/scrub downs the boys were settling into bed they asked me, "Mom does that mean we can never ever swing on those vines again??? It was so much fun!" Well their feelings about those vines changed when they awoke the next morning...Ryan had one eye swollen shut, and Trev had a spot on his cheek. By noon we were at the pediatricians office, both boys were covered, neck, arms hands, groin you name it they were covered. So on the steroids we went, and what a week it was, the aloe, hydrocortisone, benadryl, oatmeal baths!!! Every night one of them would wake up, and stand at my bedside with tears in their eyes tapping me "I'm itchy mom". As our week progressed and the steroids were weaning down, I noticed both the boys were breaking out again. Ryans hands swelled to twice their size and Trev broke out in spots he didnt have it before. So yes a second week of steroids was prescribed!! I guess they were swinging on those vines long before I caught them, and boy did they suffer for it!
Luckily Miss Amanda remained unscathed, and was all too happy to remind her brothers of that! Just ot even the score though, it just so happens that Ry and Manda were playing leap frog jumping over one another. Ryan jumped over Amanda first, missed, with his shoes on and happened to land his sister with a huge shiner to the right eye. So let me tell you it certainly was not the time for a family portrait... the boys with the creeping crud everywhere, and their sister with the nicest multi colored shiner I've seen in a while! Picture that! People in stores were steering clear of us when they saw us coming! I would post some pictures but the boys absolutely forbid it so, I'll leave that picture to your imagination.
Other than that we are doing well, heading into the rapidly approaching holidays with great anticipation. We are going to head to NY for Thanksgiving this year, we think, to be with Bills side of the family. Thanksgiving with my side of the family will be the weekend after, it seems that we will all be able to be together that weekend, and Jim and Rosana will be able to fly in from CO.

Just FYI we visited clinic on 11/15, and Dr H graduated us to bloodwork every two months, instead of once a month. I took a deep breath and accepted this as progress, stressful progress. Things are looking good, knock, knock. On November 5th it was Amanda's completion of one year chemo free. So onward we move. :)

Thank you so much for proding me into an update, and for checking in on us. We are forever grateful for your thoughts and prayers. God Bless & much love for a happy healthy holiday season!
Cathy, Bill, Trev, Ry, and Manda

Look at past journal entries

Hospital Information:

Patient Room: Home, ever so sweet home.

Connecticut Childrens Medical Center
282 Washington ST.
Hartford, CT 06106
860-545-9000

Email address  : Tatezoo@aol.com

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