COOKIE's Body Takes Over! 7-21-06

Dearest Friends and Family,
Well, as you can see from the title, COOKIE's body is taking over! Literally, it's taking control of it's platelets, hemoglobin, hematocrit, EVERYTHING NECESSARY to PROVE a successful bond marrow transplant!!! Let me show you how really GOOD This news is.....Normal range for "normal" folks for platelets is 150,000-450,000. They transfuse at 20,000. COOKIE was at 27,000 last Friday, and that's after receiving platelets every week since she's been home. On Monday, 7/17, platelets were 36,000. Yesterday, Thursday, 7/20, they were at 40,000 ON THEIR OWN!!!!!!! BIG TIME NEWS!!!!!! AND, if that isn't enough, she doesn't need red blood cells either!! We're absolutely THRILLED as I know you all will be when you read this!

They adjust her meds regularly and take blood tests of her "anti" levels regularly to guard against her suffering with too much graph vs. host disease. She does have a little more showing up because they've actually decreased the dosage on this one particular drug but they monitor it all the time. It's crucial that she doesn't take too much as it can cause seizures and too little opens the door for the graph vs. host disease so it's a critical teeter totter.

Our girl is getting stronger every single day. She's actually able to walk around the block now, slowly, but it's wonderful for her! She is absolutely the most perfect speciman on this planet. She constantly puts one foot in front of the other and does whatever it takes to go forward. She withstands the side effects of all of the medication she's taking with the knowledge that this is a temporary condition and she WILL prevail! I marvel at her quiet strength and unwaivering faith and confidence in herself.

The rest of us are plugging along, trying to stay cool and keep ourselves occupied. We went to Aunt Shannon's in Palm Desert last weekend. It was only 119 in the shade! Of course, COOKIE stayed in the house with Aunt Shannon and cleaned out closets and drawers. They had a blast listening to music and talking. The rest of us went outside to the pool and bobbed around avoiding Parker and his squirting pool toys! LOTS o' sunscreen later, we went inside to watch movies on their big screen tv and play some pool! It was really good to have a change of atmosphere! On Sunday, we went to see "Pirates of the Carribean"!!!!!! COOKIE got her one wish from the hospital. She wanted us to ALL see it together! We took up one whole row, which didn't matter because their beautiful theatres out there aren't crowded at all so we could sit anywhere. COOKIE has to wear a mask, which proves a little bothersome for the popcorn, but she LOVED the movie and BEING in a theatre after all this time!

We're trying to get all of our "ducks" in a row in preparation for Parker to start Kindergarten this year. It's going to be a HUGE culture shock for this little boy that's been so protected and never out of our sight. What am I saying? It's going to be a shock for all of us! He's facing a 5 hour day away! Holy Cow. We still don't know what school he's going to be in either! We're still working on that too! He has to go see his Pediatrician for some immunization updates too. Oh Parker, Parker. New things are comin your way, young man! Be strong!!! (I say this for our sake as well. Can you spell o-v-e-r-p-r-o-t-e-c-t-i-v-e? So can I but it doesn't help.)

Shoot! I raised 4 kids and just did what had to be done! Of course, I was the mom and dad and breadwinner too so who had time for particulars? This family is "special" in SO many ways and everything is a worry. Wish us luck. I think Park is going to be just fine but Mommy, COOKIE and I are going to be basket cases! ha ha ha!

COOKIE is going to be homeschooled through the school district. They'll send a tutor out to the house for her 5th grade year. She won't be able to attend school until the following year. She's really looking forward to that because she'll be going to the same middle school as many of her friends!

Well, as always, we're sending you our gratitude for being there throughout this entire experience. We're far from done but the news is all good at this juncture and we're so grateful for every day that we spend together. Wishing you all sunshine and smooth sailing! I'll write again soon! There's always something to write about!
With love,
Cookie, The Grandma and the Entire Family