Long overdue

Oh my, it's been too long.  I apologize for not keeping up with Maggie's blog the way I did in the past.  It's a good thing though.  It means things are "normal."

So what is new?  Maggie turned 7 in October.  Seven!  It's hard to believe.  She started 1st grade this fall and loves it.  She loves her teacher, school, but of course her favorite thing about school is recess.  She spends all of her time on the monkey bars.  This summer her goal was to cross them.  She is still working on it (we find that her strength and gross motor skills are a bit behind the rest of her peers, but what can you expect when you started walking at 3?)  She is very determined to the point that she came home from school with different pants on from the nurse's office because she fell so many times that she skinned her knees and was completely muddy.

Maggie enjoys to read and write.  She has said that she would like to be an author and illustrator when she grows up.  She wants to work in a library so she can sell her books.  She can be seen in bed or at her table at night writing story after story (when she should be sleeping).

This fall for Maggie's 6 month check-up, rather than driving to Dayton, we transitioned to the children's hospital in Akron.  Dr. French, who will always be my hero, moved to South Carolina and we thought it would be a good time to make the move as well.  Appointments were always a very long day with travel time being up to 6 hours.

We had a very good appointment, receiving good counts and meeting Maggie's new oncologist, Dr. Savelli.  She was warm and optimistic.  Dr. Savelli wants to move Maggie to the survivor clinic.  She believes that the likelihood of Maggie's leukemia coming back is very low.  She wants to focus more on long-term studies and effects.  The survivor clinic consists of Maggie meeting with many different specialists; oncology, physical therapy, psychology, a tutor, cardiology, and others that I am forgetting.  They track the patient and watch for side effects from chemotherapy.

This February will be Maggie's 5 year anniversary off of treatment.  It will be a celebratory time- a big moment in this journey!

We had family pictures taken again this summer by Summer Kellogg.  She does a wonderful job!  If you would like to see how our family has grown, please stop over to her blog. http://summerkphotography.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-b-family.html

I can't thank you enough for continuing to follow along with us in this journey.  Though updates are few, we still are very aware of where we've been and hope never to go back.  I pray daily for Maggie to remain healthy and free from cancer and hope you might too.

Blessings to you as we approach this holiday season!

4 YEARS

Today marks 4 years off chemotherapy.  Four years ago yesterday, we gave Maggie her last dose of chemo, but we didn't know it at the time.  We have followed other families who have gone through cancer journeys and have read about their "No more chemo" celebrations.  We, however, have not had these celebrations because Maggie still doesn't know what happened.  We have chosen to wait to tell her, but there are times that she will ask questions.  Just the other day she saw the scars on her chest and asked what they were from.  After giving her a simple explanation, that was enough for her.  Going to Dr. French's office periodically is something she assumes probably everyone does.

So, rather than a loud celebration, Andy and I reflected on those memories 4 years ago quietly within our own minds.  To be honest, I didn't even know when her last day of chemo was and had to look back on the blog to find it.  When on there, I started reading through some of the experiences we had leading up to ICU and then just the beginning of ICU.  I couldn't read on.  It was too difficult.  Four years isn't enough time and who knows if we'll ever be able to read it.

Maggie is doing very well.  She is enjoying kindergarten and has decided when she grows up she wants to be a teacher and artist.  She plays teacher at home all the time with us being her pupils.  She continues to show us how incredibly sweet, gentle and kind she is.  There isn't another little girl that is so tender-hearted as Maggie.

On Monday, we head to Dayton for what will likely be the last time.  We received word that Dr. French will be moving down to North Carolina to continue his practice.  We moved up our appointment so that we could see him one last time.  Maggie will receive an echocardiogram and EKG, along with a full panel blood workup.  I expect it to be a bit difficult saying goodbye (most likely for me).  Dr. French has been with us since day 1 and has seen Maggie progress from an 8 1/2 month old baby into a beautiful six year old girl.  With him leaving, we have decided this would probably be a good time to transition to Akron Children's hospital's hematology/oncology department.  It is a very long trip going to Dayton (though as long as everything goes well, we move to check-ups every 6 months).  It will be much more convenient to go to Akron for appointments.  We will plan on saying goodbye to our doctors and nurses that have been with us from the beginning and we will most likely say goodbye to our old "Maggie house" and Dayton.  I don't expect we will go back for a very long time.

We continue our journey, though we are much quieter on this space than before.  We appreciate your continuing to follow with us and for the prayers that might be said for Maggie.  I pray every night that the disease will never return.  This will be my prayer always.