December 2, 2021

The serious update first then the fun stuff. Lucy is doing pretty well as she recovers from round 4 of chemo. She is having some stomach pain, more than she has had with the other rounds. She has had some trouble with mouth sores as well, which aren't necessarily expected at this stage. She is also still fighting a low level cold we all picked up weeks ago. We will be going down for our third doctor's appointment for this break tomorrow morning. The appointment is at 8:30 so we will have a very early morning. David will be babysat up here so he doesn't have to do the 5-6 hour drive. We are hoping for her numbers to be on the way up. On Tuesday, her platelets were 3 and her immune system was very low. We are praying that her numbers will be good enough for us to go to church on Sunday. But every round takes longer to recover from so we'll see. We expect to start round 5 on Wednesday if her numbers are good enough. We have a psychologist appointment Tuesday so we'll be heading to Phoenix then. This round will be a little lighter because it is the beginning of maintenance chemo. It does unfortunately include a lumbar puncture and steroids. But hopefully it won't cause her numbers to drop as much. Lucy has still been struggling with anxiety in regards to getting her port accessed. For a day or two before every doctor's appointment she starts talking about how she is scared. Then before and after each access she has a really hard time and has to resist fighting us. The access itself is painful for her but then her port always hurts as well for a couple hours afterwards, as long as the needle is in it. It's just so much pain for a little girl to face. She does so bravely and I'm so proud of her controlling her fear and making it possible for the doctors to do what they need to do. But it takes it's toll. I don't know if the psychologist will help much but I'm hoping they can give us some insight and some tools that might help Lucy. Prayer needs: - For a safe drive and good appointment tomorrow. - For comfort and courage for Lucy as she deals with her anxiety. - For her numbers to be recovering well. - For all of us to know how to help her best through this process - For the strength and patience needed for our last two chemo sessions in the hospital. - For us to be good witnesses to all we interact with - For all of us to come out the other side of this experience with a stronger faith and more love for each other and others - For our puppy to get house trained quickly and to be a blessing to Lucy We got a puppy! Lucy has been asking for a dog for at least two years, but JD has always said no. About a month and a half ago, Lucy was having a really hard day in the hospital. JD was trying everything he could think of to help her, but she was being contrary. "Would you like a pillow?" "No!" "Would you like some juice?" "No!" "Would you like a snack?" "No!" JD figured that Lucy was just saying no to everything, so he figured he would check if she was really listening. "Would you like a puppy?" Her demeanor changed completely and she immediately said, "Yes!" And so his fate was sealed. Last Friday, right after Thanksgiving, Lucy and I were at the doctor's and we asked him when would be a good time to get the puppy, whether we needed to wait for chemo to end, etc. To our surprise he said we should get one immediately, saying it would be good for Lucy. So on doctor's orders, we drove straight from the hospital in Phoenix to the humane society here in Flagstaff and adopted our little girl that day. Lucy named her Ember. She is black with a few white markings. She seems to be a lab mix of some kind. She is about 9 weeks old. Keren-ha has graciously volunteered to train her and she is doing an amazing job! Ember is surprisingly quick to pick up on things. Even though it is adding some logistical stress to our lives, I think having the puppy is good for Lucy's heart. She is still struggling with a lot of anxiety and I am hoping the puppy can help her with that. We just have to pray we can all survive potty training! (And that the puppy misses the parvo epidemic here.)