Chemo day and trick-or-treating

We started the Halloween eve with trick or treating around the hospital. There were a lot of kids who joined the event,  in-patient,  out-patient and other patients just visiting for the Halloween.  Good thing Olivia had scheduled chemo so it was hitting two birds with one stone!  All the kids had fun!  We went around the entire hospital and got a lot of goodies! When we got to the pediatric ward where Olivia stays when admitted, It made me sad seeing all the patients that had to be there. One of them was Olivia's friend who usually would be in the hospital too everytime Olivia had to be admitted. It reminded me of the days when we spent most of our time in the hospital and how I wished we were home for events like this. On the other hand,  it made me smile that all the hospital staff from doctors, to nurses,  child life specialists and volunteers did their best to make the kids happy on halloween!

                    

                    

When it was chemo time,  Olivia held on to her Reese's chocolate with her candy bag on her side while getting her port accessed. She cried a little but was happy again as soon as she ate her Reese's!

After the hospital,  we visited her old school to see all her friends in costume!  It made her happy to see them and her teachers again!

Today on halloween,  she gets to pick a different outfit for more trick-or-treating fun! Happy Halloween!

1 year down; 1 1/2 years of treatment to go!

Today marks the first year since Olivia's diagnosis. I still can't believe it's been a year! Leading up to this day, my husband and I had nightmares about Olivia's condition and we think that it's because of all the anxiety remembering what we went through last year at this time. It traumatized us, but looking back we know that God had been preparing all of us for this for a long time in so many ways.

Olivia is doing great and she is scheduled for her chemo this Friday. There's trick or treating at the hospital that she might join when she's done with chemo. Last year she missed all that because of her surgery and she basically just slept all day after surgery on halloween. She didn't even get to wear her halloween costume at the hospital.  This year she will have the best time ever!

It was also a nice surprise to get the letter from Make A Wish foundation this week letting Olivia know that her wish is granted! We are so looking forward for this trip. Wishes really do come true!

Fever Update

Happy to report that Olivia is feeling better! Though she still has a slight cold, her fever only lasted for a night. I'm so happy that her body is healthy enough to fight the viral infection!

Today she had the chance to see her regular pediatrician again after a year for her flu shot. She will continue to see her oncologist for other matters as long as she is under chemo treatment. I was actually surprised that she is able to receive flu shot even under chemo. Her oncologist explained that it is the only vaccine she is allowed to take for now. They advised that she will need to take the flu shot 2 weeks before she will start another cycle of dexamethasone.When she's done with treatment (approx. 1 year and 2 more months), she will be evaluated to find out what vaccines she needs to take / re-take.

As we were walking towards the doctor's office, I got so anxious with the thought of getting her exposed to sick kids in the doctor's office. Good thing there was probably only 1 or 2 other kids in the waiting room. We had the "well kids" room all to ourselves =). One happy germaphobe mama!

First fever since April'15

It's been 5 months since Olivia's last fever. Today Olivia developed a fever of 101.1. We notified her doctor right away. If in the past we have to rush her to the hospital, this time because she is in maintenance, and her most recent blood counts were good, we were allowed to give her Tylenol and monitor her symptoms at home. I have a strong feeling this is just a viral infection.

I'm praying the fever goes away quickly and no bacterial infection develops. Other than that, we are looking forward for Halloween! Last year Olivia missed out on a lot of fun because she was already feeling sick then and we just didn't have a clue on what's going on with her. She also had surgery during Halloween last year for her port.

Maintenance cycle 2 begins

Olivia's procedure from Friday last week wasn't so bad at all. She didn't even cry when her port was accessed! Still, she was anxious and complaining she was really hungry. She couldn't eat until after her spinal tap was done. Eventually she got tired and fell asleep even before she was given anesthesia. That's why the anesthesiologist didn't give her too much of the "white medicine". She was sleeping more than an hour after the procedure and if the nurse had not tried to wake her up, she probably would be sleeping longer! She woke up in a good mood too. The anesthesia must have worn off completely already at that time. 

Here she is enjoying her pretzels after her procedure.

This time last year, she had the first symptoms of leukemia. It was when her fever started. 2 days before the fever, she wasn't herself at school. The teacher told us that she would wake up screaming and crying. 

This video was taken the night before the fever started.

https://youtu.be/jPywGZeem7g

A couple days later, she began to look pale.

I can't believe it's been that long already! Though it has been tough, it has also been a very humbling experience. Everyday we consider ourselves, especially Olivia, blessed. There is so much to be thankful for. A lot of other people has it worse than this, and they are in our prayers everyday. We always try to look at the good things in every situation. That's what got us here.