A very early morning and a good day

Lauren's mom bought Emery this "First Valentine's Day" outfit. Emery says "Happy Valentine's Day" to everyone.

Today we were up at 4:45 AM and out of the house by 5:30. We were so proud of ourselves for arriving at the Clinic at 5:50 for Emery's 6 AM appointment. Unfortunately, the elevator would not take us to the assigned floor. The women at the desk informed us that it is locked till 6 AM, when a timer unlocks it, so we might as well have a seat and wait till then. Darn, we could have slept for 10 more minutes!

Today was CT scan day; sorry for the misinformation earlier in the previous post. We got our procedures and days mixed up somehow and were thinking it was time for Emery's MRI, but that's tomorrow. When we got checked in for the CT scan, the technician told us that Emery would have to drink three 2 ounce bottles of Pedialite with contrast solution in them. She had an hour and a half to drink one every thirty minutes. Bonnie and I just looked at each other because we knew there was no way this little girl would drink that much! We told the guy we weren't sure about that but he wanted us to try. Emery drank the first one in about 30 minutes and was fairly hungry since she hadn't eaten since 2 AM. She then went to sleep and was not interested in any more. Later, Bonnie tried again and she drank a tiny bit of bottle #2. The whole hour and a half went by without any more success. We called the tech and told him the situation. He came back in and said the doctor really wanted her to have all of the solution. Bonnie asked if he could just put the rest of it into the second bottle because we didn't think there was any way she'd take all three. He agreed and said we could have another hour if we needed it. Emery did wake up and finish off the second one eventually and we finally went in for the CT at maybe 9:30.

Not interested!

Emery did great for the CT scan. She was not asleep but didn't fuss or squirm at all. They swaddled her and had Bonnie hold her arms and talk to her while they sent her into the machine. They also projected some sort of psychedelic swirling outer-space themed light show onto the scanner to catch her interest. Some of the images were a little freaky. We figured an older baby might be scared but she was quite enthralled with the display. After the long prep period, the actual scan took no time at all. While Bonnie and I had to wear protective aprons and Bonnie was nearly leaning into the machine herself, the nurse counted down, "3, 2, 1!" and sprinted out of the room before the scan started. Kinda made us think about what we might be exposing ourselves to!

Then up to the Oncology Clinic for lab work. We were very excited that all of Emery's levels were very good and she was recovering nicely from the last chemo. In fact, good enough to be ready for the next chemo. Since she'd had trouble with her platelets for the last two weeks, we were very happy.

Oh, yeah, she also gained some more weight! She was weighed before the CT scan, so it was on a different scale and she had her clothes on, but even allowing for that, we think she gained about 5 more ounces! Yay, Emery!

Tomorrow morning, we will be up at the same time again and off for her MRI. We think we will have results for both CT and MRI sometime tomorrow.

Sunday Night Quick Update and Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi everyone,

We've had a pretty quiet weekend, which was great! David and his brother Jonathan drove to Dallas on Friday night, stayed with Sarah and Miles (who were without electricity due to the snowstorm and were actually camping out at Miles' parents' house) and then on to Katy on Saturday. We were happy to see them and David was very happy to see his girls! David, Dan and Jonathan shopped for food and cooked a fabulous dinner for Lauren, Bonnie and me--very nice, guys! They also bought the biggest batch of candy we've ever seen! Oh, my gosh. We are on sugar overload but oh, what fun!

Emery has been happy and alert and interested in everything around her. She is a cutie pie and we are thrilled to see her growing and changing daily! Today Jonathan left early to fly back to Amarillo and David left this evening. We took him to the airport and then came back over to Becky and Sean's place in Houston. They just live a few minutes from the hospital and were gracious enough to have us come and stay with them for a few days since we have to be in at 6 AM the next two mornings. Dreading it!! I should be in bed right now, as a matter of fact.

Tomorrow Emery will have her CT scan (correction from earlier version of this post--we were confused!) so we are really hoping and praying that the tumor will be greatly diminished. After her scan, she will have more lab work done to make sure her blood levels are okay. Tuesday, we go back in at 6 AM for her MRI. Wednesday, Emery will be readmitted to the hospital to begin three more days of chemotherapy. It's going to be a busy week and we are optimistic that we will receive positive reports on all fronts.

Happy Valentine's Day to all--there's never enough love in the world so spread as much as you can. Wouldn't it be such a better place if we treated each other lovingly every day? Love, love, love to Rich, Sarah, Miles, Elle, Bonnie, David, Emery, Susan, Corey, Aidan and Ally...and the rest of my huge family...and all of my fabulous friends near and far who show their care and concern in so many ways. I feel very lucky and blessed. xoxoxo

More good news

We love seeing these big smiles!

"I love my Mommy!"

"Don't bug me--I'm sleeping!"

Holding that head up pretty well these days.

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Miles bought this play gym for Emery for Christmas. She was checking out all the sounds and lights today.

We got up early (for us!) to take Emery for her audiological evaluation today. One was started in the hospital but they weren't able to get it finished because Emery was moving around too much. Today she cooperated nicely and slept through the whole thing. We were excited to find out that her hearing is compeletely normal. The audiologist who did the first test was telling us that Emery might have a hearing loss in the high pitch range. We were not too happy about that so were quite pleased that the results today were completely fine. One of the side effects of chemotherapy can be a hearing loss so it's important to have regular checkups.

Sleeping away

Bonnie and I each had a banana on the way to the appointment. We were starving by the time we left and pulled into a "Steak and Shake" place to grab some lunch. We then realized it was only 10:45 AM! Obviously we are not used to being up early any more. Well, that's not completely true--Bonnie is up early feeding Emery but they often go back to sleep for awhile after. Anyway, we walked in and were offered breakfast or lunch menus so we took both just in case we still felt like having breakfast. But, no, the burgers, fries and chocolate shakes were calling our names. Does it count that we had healthy salads yesterday?!

This afternoon, we had excursions to Target and HEB before coming home and making taco salad for dinner. We are watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics right now. I loved the fiddlers! Rich and I have traveled to British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia, plus driving the Al-Can Highway, and have loved every single place we've visited.

So I think we will have a quiet weekend and that's good! David and his brother are driving in and leaving Bonnie's car for her; they are spending tonight with Sarah and Miles in Dallas and will arrive here tomorrow. I know Bonnie and Emery are anxious to see him and he is anxious to see them!

Back in Unalaska, it's the second night of the annual Channel 8 fundraising auction. I am sorry not to be there to help my coworkers and to bid on some of the cool stuff we had donated. If you are in Unalaska, be sure to watch the show, pledge your membership, and bid HIGH! This is the biggest fundraiser of the year for our little TV station. Even if you don't live in Unalaska, you can still become a member and support local community broadcasting by clicking here. Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Elle!

Today is Elle's 2nd birthday. I talked with her this morning, though she would rather play than get on the phone right now. Here are a couple of photos that I did not get posted before I left Dallas--this is the train set that Rich and I gave her for her bday. She loved it and has had fun playing with all the accessories. The train was Sarah's idea--I never would have thought of it!

Elle's first two years have been so much fun for us, whether here for visits or hearing her stories from afar. She is smart, funny, and cute as can be. See her mom's blog for more photos and more about Elle! Happy birthday, sweet girl! We love you lots!

Drum Roll, Please!

In this corner, Miss Emery Jane Williams, weighing in at 9 pounds even! We were so excited to see the scale at Emery's clinic visit today!

I made it back to Houston last night. Bonnie and Emery picked me up at the airport and it was a funny ride back to Katy, with Bonnie and I both whispering and asking each other to repeat what was just said. Unfortunately, Emery has a little bit of the same crud and has been quite congested. She was very stuffy last night and had trouble nursing and sleeping because she couldn't breathe very easily. Poor baby.

This morning Bonnie noticed a rash around the site of Emery's central line so we called the clinic to report the rash and the congestion and to ask if we should come in early or just wait till the 1:55 PM appointment. The nurse told us to come on in so we had to hurry to get dressed and out the door. Arriving around 11, we waited a short time and then Emery was weighed, had vital signs taken, and blood was drawn for labs. Dr. Thompson came in and gave us the usual hard time. (He tells the rest of the staff that we are "the worst family" he's ever had to deal with and that we are lots of trouble. The other doctor today looked shocked that he would say such things right in front of us. I finally said, "He's just kidding--we are really not that bad!")

Emery's platelets were still low again today. Dr. Thompson was a little concerned about this, stating that it could be because she is sick and congested so her system is working hard to overcome all that's been thrown at it. Or it could be that her immune system is overreacting to the platelets and fighting them off instead of realizing that they are there to help. He decided to have us stay so Emery could get another transfusion of platelets (this was #4) but that they would also recheck her blood count after the transfusion to see if the platelet count was up immediately following the procedure. If so, that would mean that the platelets were doing what they were supposed to, but that she is just taking a while to get her counts back to where they need to be. If her platelet count was not good after the transfusion, that would mean that something was attacking them right off the bat and he would have to take another course of action to combat this situation.

Bonnie and I have become Pavlovian in our response to being at the hospital. We have conditioned ourselves to anticipate, crave and obtain a Chik-Fil-A meal every time we are there. I swear, we approach the driveway and I begin thinking about that darned chicken sandwich and fries. Not to mention the iced tea. It's crazy! We can't even remember how many Chik-Fil-A's we've had in the past month. So, yes, after getting all squared away and Emery prepared for another transfusion, we had to have our Chik-Fil-A lunch. I know I will never see another Chik-Fil-A without picturing Texas Children's Hospital and the Oncology Clinic. We should be their new spokesmodels.

Dr. Thompson and one of the nurses both looked at Emery's central line and felt that it was in good shape. The rash is most likely just a reaction to the tape that was used to hold everything down. Dr. Thompson also left Bonnie a message this evening that Emery's platelets did, indeed, improve with the transfusion so all's well and she just needs some time to get back up to a healthy level.

Emery did well with the transfusion and we finally finished up about 5:30 PM. Another long day, but at least it was not midnight or 1 AM before we got out of there. Coincidentally, one of Bonnie's elementary school friends from Abilene had notified her on Facebook (don't we all love Facebook and the way we can keep up with everyone and everything??!) that she would be in Houston this week. So before fighting the rush hour traffic back to Katy, we met Keleigh, her dad and a friend at a little cafe for a snack and lots of reminiscing. It was great to see them and to catch up on many years of family news. What a sweet young lady, now a mom of a cute little one year old girl herself. I know it's a cliche but I have no idea where all the years have gone since Bonnie and Keleigh played together as 8 year olds!

We have a very busy schedule coming up:
Tomorrow the home health nurse is coming to change Emery's dressing around her central line (but at least we don't have to leave the house).
Friday we have to take Emery to have her hearing evaluated at 9 AM. You might remember that they started a hearing test during her last hospital stay but were not able to get it completed.
Monday we have to be at the hospital at 6 AM (YES, 6 AM!!) for an MRI. Please feel sorry for us having to get up that early!
Tuesday, another 6 AM appointment, this time for a CT scan. Two days in a row!
Wednesday, Emery will be admitted back into the hospital to begin her 3rd round of chemo. She will have chemo on Wed., Thurs. and Fri. of next week.
Then we begin the post-chemo lab work once again. We are all getting a bit weary of the situation but know that we need to keep a positive attitude about Emery's care and all that she needs to get well. I am trying to figure out a good time to go back home and that is not clear to us yet. Bonnie and David will also need to make some decisions about how long to stay in Houston and when there might be a good time to transfer Emery's care to Amarillo so that they can get back to a more normal family life. We are hoping that all of this will become more evident after the MRI next week, when we know what the tumor looks like and when we will have a better idea of the next step in the treatment process.

How to Pass the Time on a Cold and Rainy Day

I hear there were blizzard conditions in Unalaska this morning so I should not complain about rain and cold in Dallas, but it was one of those days where you just don't want to go anywhere or do anything. We whiled away the hours keeping Elle occupied with lots of activities. Only a few are documented here! We made chocolate chip cookies and she was quite the helper.

Look at that face!
Wow, licking the beaters is one of my new favorite things!

Later we tried out Elle's new wagon from her Poppy and Grandma in Abilene. She loved riding through the house in it. Here she is jumping up and down, waving her arms and telling us "here I am!"

Some cute new animal stamps and an ink pad came in the mail today, perfect timing for an inside day.

We also played with the toy kitchen (making "meatballs" out of play-doh is one of her other favorite things), played with her new train set from Gigi and Grandpa Rich, dressed her dolls in Elle's clothes and shoes, watched a little "Dora, the Explorer," danced with Mommy, laughed and wrestled with Nash, and watched for Daddy out the window. Sarah made chili and I made cornbread for dinner--which hit the spot on a night like this.

Yes, I am still in Dallas instead of Houston. Saturday, I started losing my voice and thought it was just allergies. By Sunday it was worse and we thought I should probably see a doctor and make sure I was not contagious before being around Emery. We went to an urgent care place near Sarah's and I was diagnosed with a throat infection and laryngitis. The doctor asked me how much pain I was in, on a scale of 1 to 10, and I said "2." My throat really did not hurt much and I wouldn't have even gone to the doctor if it hadn't been for Emery's situation. After I said, "2," the doctor said she would prescribe me some pain pills! I told her (in my best Sarah Palin imitation) "Thanks, but no thanks." Seriously, pain pills? When I told Rich later, he asked, "if you'd said a '4' what would she have given you? Heroin?!"

While we were in the waiting room at the urgent care, Sarah called Bonnie and then started laughing because she said Bonnie sounded just like I did. Apparently, even with all our handwashing we managed to both come into contact with the same thing at the hospital. Since the dr. said I would be contagious for a couple of days, we decided I'd stay here and not double expose Emery. I changed my ticket to Tuesday, a little worried about Bonnie having to get up and get herself and Emery ready for a morning clinic appointment on Monday and an almost hour drive from Katy. Later we heard that David's flight home was cancelled due to weather in Amarillo so it all worked out and I am sure they were happy to have him stay a little longer.

Sarah heard from Bonnie earlier that Emery had a good check up in clinic today but needed more platelets so they had to stay for another transfusion. On the other hand, Bonnie doesn't have to give her the injections in her leg any more, so that was really good news. I didn't get to talk with her since neither of us has much of a voice, but it sounds like everything else is going fine.

Elle's 2nd Birthday party

We celebrated Elle's 2nd birthday this evening, though her actual bday is still a few days off. Sarah decorated the house and set up a variety of play stations such as soccer, bowling, puzzles, bubbles, and a slide for the kids' amusement. I think there were over 40 people here and it was crazy chaotic fun for a couple of hours! Happy, happy birthday, Elle!

Miles went to pick up the cake and there wasn't one. Apparently, the bakery had written down the wrong date. He said, "My daughter's birthday party is starting in 30 minutes!" They managed to whip this up in no time. It was VERY pink but cute.

We were happy that Susan, Aidan and Ally were able to come celebrate with us. Corey had to work and, of course, we missed Bonnie, David and Emery as well.

Our friends Kirk and Dana came, along with their precious boy Daniel.

The slide was a big hit with all the kids.

Sarah and Miles with some of their friends.

Aidan
Ally
Decorations
Elle
Elle opening presents
Aidan was the only one who would sit with me and pose.

The kids had fun chasing big bubbles.



Little Ally sitting on the big stairs.

Elle looking at one of her new books.