October & November clinic appointments

We've had a lot going on since Haylee's September appointment.  We had Family Camp at the end of September, a procedure at the beginning of October, family time at a pumpkin patch, a few festivals, Halloween, and November's clinic appointment. 

October's clinic appointment was the first bone marrow procedure since Haylee started maintenance.  The build up and anticipation was stressful for both her and I.  I was told she would have to have a lot of labs and I should prepare her for having an arm stick...it didn't go over so well with her but Adam talked with her and she did OK with the news.  The morning of, we put EMLA on every part of her arms where she had good veins...the bends of her arms, the tops of her hands, and the inside of each arm.  Needless to say, her forearms were numb!  We prepared for the IV insertion the best we could (I do say 'we' because it's both of us).  Lily, one of the procedure nurses, went for the stick on the top of her hand and her vein blew out :(  LaShawn, one of the clinic nurses, was able to get it perfectly the 2nd try.  Haylee did pretty good with the 2nd try but the first try was stressful.  She was crying and I was crying during the 1st attempt.  She did awesome with the 2nd try.  I just don't do well with the Haylee-needle combination.  She gets so upset and scared that I'm feeling the stress and anxiety she's feeling and all of that put together into 2 emotional females....it's just a hot mess!!  I just wish I could bounce back as fast as she does.  The procedure went off without a hitch and we were out the door by 12pm.  It took 2 weeks for the BMA results to come back so naturally, I was on pins and needles.  Dr. Abdella finally called me to let me know the results of leukemia in her bone marrow was NEGATIVE!!  She's still in remission and still going strong!!

We spent some time at Jaemor Farm in October.  We go up there every year in the Fall and pick pumpkins, buy really good fresh fruits and vegetables, and enjoy the other farm activities.  A few pictures are below:

They did!

Sliding down the dark slide

Racing rubber ducks

Shooting apples at a bus...she loved this!

Mason shooting too

So sweet!!



Our Fall Festival was at my center the end of October and Haylee and Mason enjoyed playing and 'trick or treating' there too.  They each won something from the Cake Walk, threw pies at Ms. Ivy, and many other fun activities!  Halloween was fun, too.  They were 'Batgirl and Robin' for Halloween this year (they humored me!).  They went trick or treating with a friend of Haylee's, his dad, and Adam.  They got tons of candy! 

Batgirl and Robin

Haylee's November clinic appointment was today.  It went good, just an exam and lab work.  Her counts are good...too good still.  The doctor increased her Methotrexate by 3 more pills (a total of 17 pills on Tuesdays).  Turns out with the 6-MP she takes everyday...she's been taking it with milk which is a big no-no and is probably hindering the absorption process of that chemo pill.  We'll get this stuff straight eventually...starting tonight! 

It's been almost a year since Haylee was first diagnosed with leukemia and December 28 will be a year in remission.  What a crazy year it's been.  We've been through so much and so far, have conquered it all.  We are truly blessed for all the love and support we've received over the past year.  God has been on our side and is continuing to bless Haylee and our family :)