COOKIE - TWO YEARS LATER...04/16/08

Dearest Friends & Family,
Happy First Day of Spring, Happy Easter, April Fool's Day, and Passover! See how much life happens in the span of just one month? Not to mention the birthdays and anniversary's that have been celebrated. Speaking of which, April 26th, 2008 marks the two year anniversary of COOKIE's bone marrow transplant. In some ways it seems like just yesterday. On the other hand, we're getting so good at feeling "normal" that all of those hospital memories gets stored away in it's own little compartments and it seems so long ago.

What I find a little disturbing is that I'm so willing to allow those memories to fade. Then when a little hiccup occurs, everything comes rushing forward and I remember how it felt to be fearful and vulnerable.

COOKIE is doing really well. She's happy and maturing into such a beautiful young lady. She's got such a sense of who she is. COOKIE missed out on so much of her little girl life but one of my favorite things about her is that she allows herself to indulge in little girl dreams and fun. She's in no hurry to grow up and yet has a maturity level that allows you to have a real grown up conversation with her when necessary. A unique little human being all rolled into this sweet-faced, blue-eyed beauty with a laugh that tinkles and makes you smile very single time. Yes. I'm very biased and yes, anyone that knows her feels the exact same way about her. She's got charisma and charm and beauty and brains and a heart that she uses to share her love of life and babies and animals and books and collectibles, oh, and her brother. :)

Yesterday (Tuesday, 4/15) was her routine UCLA visit. The only thing that wasn't routine is that it had been 4 weeks since she was last seen. This was a first. COOKIE has been a little short on stamina and short of breath at the top of the stairs. Her pulse and blood pressure seemed to be elevated and they immediately sent her for an EKG and echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). Of course they drew labs as well. Dr. Dave called Shelee last night and said everything came back normal. This is the little hiccup I referred to earlier. You could hear all of us let out a sigh when we got the news. They ruled out all of the major problems and said it's possible it's just part of the recovery process. COOKIE is, as we all know, a turtle, and her little body is still recovering from ten years of chemotherapy and the shock of new dna! We can understand that, right?

So, forward we march, as always. Remodeling starts on Monday and COOKIE has to be out of the house when the demolition begins so Aunt Shannon is taking her home for a week or two. She's very excited. Aunt Shannon's house is our "vacation home" and COOKIE basks in the freedom. Parker does too. He just had his turn at Aunt Shannon's and her and Uncle Johnny took him up the Palm Springs Tram. They went hiking in the snow and had a picnic lunch then came home and went swimming! How cool is that?

THIS IS A SECRET.....To celebrate COOKIE's upcoming anniversary, for this family to be together and take a moment to hold hands and understand the depth of our appreciation for life and all it's given us, we're going to take COOKIE and Parker to Soak City Water Park in Palm Springs. They both LOVE this place and we're going to rent a cabana and just sit back and enjoy the water and the sun and each other. COOKIE and Parker don't know this yet. COOKIE will already be out at Aunt Shannon's and Saturday morning Shelee, Matt, Parker and Myself will drive out and meet them at the Water Park. Aunt Shannon is going to let COOKIE pack her stuff, thinking that they're coming home. She will be really surprised and so will Parker. It's one of their favorite things to do.

In the meantime, our house will be getting the first of it's makeover done. Shelee and Matt will be sleeping in the dining room for about 4-6 weeks as their new master bathroom is being built. Parker is getting HIS OWN ROOM! We never thought it could happen but here it is! Lots of topsy turvy for a short time but we've definitely been through worse. hahaha

COOKIE was elected "Artist of the Year" at UCLA. A Tennis Association sponsors the campaign and they chose COOKIE's drawing of a turtle and the caption said "Slow and steady for a cure." They will be putting it on a plate that will hang in the halls of the clinic. They're honoring her on May 05th at a luncheon for 500 people. Speech time!

Also coming up, Parker's 7th birthday! SEVEN!!!!

Stay tuned.

Love to all!
Cookie, The Grandma