COOKIE, Mother's Day Edition 5-15-06

Dearest Friends and Family,
Two things to start......
The baseball bat...It was presented to ERIC GAGNE at some benefit that UCLA was involved in. He didn't visit the hospital. It was actually a gift for him and the Child Life representative chose COOKIE to do the honors. She came back and told COOKIE that he was thrilled with the bat and that COOKIE would be his guest at a ballgame once she's recovered from her transplant. Thank you to those of you who kindly filled me in on exactly who "whathisname" was! Ha!

Mother's Day wishes....From our family to all of yours, we hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!

On Saturday, Aunt Shannon, Parker and I took a little road trip up to Apple Valley to visit my two sisters. It was very warm, dry and windy up there and we were all blowing our noses a lot once we got back down to the familiar overcast dampness of South Bay. We did have a fun visit though. Parker was in heaven because he got to drive my sister's garden tractor all over the yard!

Once we got home we had to shift into high gear to get the family's laundry done and do the cooking for the Mother's Day breakfast we had planned. We were cooking up bacon and sausage and one of our favorite recipes, Corn Flake Potatoes! We got this recipe from Matt's mother and I think I've given this particular recipe out more than any other! Everyone loves it! We made everything except the eggs in advance. My next door neighbor came over for a cup of coffee and we put her to work too!

We left at 9:00am yesterday, swooped by the hospital entrance and picked Shelee up and took her to the motorhome. There, Mommy, Parker, Aunt Shannon and I enjoyed egg burritos, orange juice, potatoes, sausage, bacon and coffee. Matt had gotten Shelee some beautiful roses and a card and they were on the table in the motorhome when we walked in! Unfortunately, Daddy and Cookie were still at the hospital but even though everything we do these days is a little disjointed, we definitely work through it like a well oiled machine! (I AM really laughing out loud now!)
Honestly, though, it was really nice. We called Matt when we were ready to leave and he left COOKIE long enough to drive over to the motorhome. He and Parker planned to spend the next couple of hours walking through the Botannical Gardens at UCLA (which are spectacular!) and then going to the park.

We took a plate of food up to COOKIE who was patiently waiting for our return. I LOVE the part when I first enter the door of COOKIE's room and see her face. She melts my heart at first glance and my soul when I touch her beautiful face. She is doing the very best she could possibly do at this point. The graph vs. host disease is slowly beginning. Her skin is peeling and the tops of her hands are a little "rashy" and warm. They're watching her very closely. Her counts are still hovering at zero but they're going to move upward soon which means her body is doing all of the right things, welcoming it's newest bone marrow. Little by little, they're reducing the number of IV meds that COOKIE is taking because she is able to take them by mouth which is a very good thing and brings her closer to the "going home" stage. Her hands tremble and demeanor seems a little anxious but she's definitely doing well.

On this day, COOKIE is very sensitive and if she has a tear in her eye, even a happy on, or I should say ESPECIALLY a happy one, then we all have them in our eyes too. That's a given. I was so completely impressed with what she wrote in her mommy's card and when Shelee read it, we were all crying! She thanked Shelee for taking such good care of her and told her that she wouldn't change one thing about her mommy. Holy Cow. I can only hope my daughters feel the same way about me. I'm crying again. Hold on.

COOKIE began writing a journal, keeping track of the times she wakes up during the night to go potty to see if there's a "pattern". She cracks me up. She also began a "fun fact book" and she is so full of trivia that it makes my head spin. For every action she has a bit of trivia! She was licking an envelope and withdrew it to tell us that licking an envelope contains 1/2 calorie! Oh brother. Did you know that the Mona Lisa has no eyebrows? Did you know that if you chew gum when you're cutting onions, your eyes won't water? I have got to try this one! :o

COOKIE's little brain is working overtime. The steroids really stimulate her thinking and she is SO busy! I can't believe the amount of "stuff" she retains! And that brings me to the Mother's Day Yahtzee Open. Following my victory from the last visit, I was presented with "Yahtzee Queen" crown and I wore it proudly for the big playoff. All four of us played and I was absolutely NOT worthy of wearing such a beautiful crown by the end of the tournament. I relinquished my beautiful tiara to the unbeatable, unstoppable COOKIE. Mommy ran a close 2nd but still...come on...it was 2nd. With all of Aunt Shannon's moaning and groaning, she at least took 3rd and I graciously (huh!) came in last place.

I had a thoroughly wonderful Mother's Day with my daughters and COOKIE. It was time to leave. The big PUSH this week is button down all of the details of Parker's birthday party at the motorhome next Sunday. As luck would have it, Matt called to tell us that Parker had a full blown cold. We had hoped that his nose was bothering him, as ours was, from being in the high desert the day before, but apparently, he was getting a cold. We packed up our stuff and said our good byes and headed back to the motorhome to pick up our boy.

Daddy and Parker were waiting for us and relunctantly, Parker got in the car for the trek home, bumper to bumper 2/3 of the way South on our beloved 405 freeway. Parker was blowing his nose all the way home.

So, today, Monday, he's staying home from preschool and we MUST beat this cold or NONE of us will get to go anywhere near UCLA! COOKIE had put her order in for pasta and meatballs and spicy pork chops and white rice. Hopefully, I can drop the pasta off tomorrow but I won't get to see her. We can take no chances with her delicate state of well being at this point. She wants to see her brother so badly and we have a one hour window for that to happen next Sunday for his birthday. We're keeping positive, HEALTHY thoughts!

Of course, with all of our well planned adventures, everything always depends on how COOKIE is doing and every day there is something new. Can you believe it's been a month? Aunt Shannon is taking a couple of days to go home and take care of business. She actually left her position as a caretaker to "move in" with me to help with Parker. I'm so lucky to have her with me. We could never accomplish all that we do if we didn't have each other's help. We could never accomplish all that we do if we didn't have all of your help too. Thank you ALL for your generosity, for your love and for your support. It's a HUGE group effort and we will reach our goals....together.

FYI: Our wonderful neighbors are planning a Fundraiser Yard Sale, coming up within the next month. I'll keep you posted.

With much love and gratitude,
Cookie, The Grandma