Week Five

Only seven more treatments to go. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We had a nice week with my mother in-law. We didn't do much since Allie is starting to get tired now. She still has a sinus infection but the ear infection has cleared up.

We went to her doctor here on Friday and he gave us some different medicine. I hope this works since her cough is terrible. She had some problems with her oxygen levels because of the sinus problems. She did well the last day though.

They gave her some special cream for her boo boo. It looks good but she was complaining about it so this will sooth it.

She is really comfortable at the Ronald house. She loves the office workers and is in there "helping out" quite a bit. I keep having to drag her out of there. All new guests are greeted by her. I think she is trying to take Ronald's job.

This week her Daddy gets to go with us. She misses him something awful when we are up there. I know he misses her too. She just hugs the heck right out of him when she first sees him. In fact she won't let him out of her sight this weekend. That's OK with me gives me a break.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. God Bless.

Week four

This was a tougher week. Allie has a sinus infection along with an ear infection. She still has the terrible cough. She is still going strong though unlike her mom. I had an abscessed tooth that knocked me out for a couple of days. She took good care of me though.

Eric and Dakota both had the flu and the people at Strong believe it may have been the H1N1 flu although they were not tested for it. They gave Allie the H1N1 shot just in case along with Tami flu to keep her from getting it.

The house gave us two twin beds this week and my mom was with us. I don't believe any of us got any sleep. Allie was up coughing and having a stuffy nose most of the night. I was up in pain most of the night. I believe the two of us kept Nanny up all night. I must say I was very happy to be home. I am not sure Eric was since I was useless most of the weekend.

Everybody is better and looking forward to the end. Allie has been such a trooper through all of this. She misses being home all week long and the feeling is felt all around. She has started saying prayer every time we eat which is a good thing. I truly believe Jesus has been holding her had through all of this.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. God Bless.

Half way point

This week my mother in law got the privilege of going with us. Allie still is going strong which is a blessing. She went to the museum of Science this week and loved it. The rest of the time we just laid low. It was a nice quiet week but a good one.

Everyone has there flu shots now. We had a scare because there was a case of H1N1 at Dakota's school. We are keeping our fingers crossed that no one gets this. Luckily Allie is only getting radiation so her immune system isn't compromised like with chemo. Still not something we need right now, nor does anyone else.

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping healthy. Thank you to all who came to Allie's benefit. It was a remarkable event. I am very humbled by all the support. A thank you just doesn't seem enough for all that has been done but that is all I have right now. I am moved beyond words for all the support we have received. Thank you all again and God Bless.

Week two down

This week Allie's Nanny came with us. This is my mom. She endured Allie and I for a whole 5 days. We can be kind of grumpy especially when we are tired. Good thing mom has patience. Her brothers also spent a night with us and she took them to the museum of play. She loves it there. I think her brothers enjoyed as well.

Allie is still doing good. The only side effect so far is she is a little itchy. They recommended hydrocortizine cream and that seems to work. She is still pretty spunky.

She is loving being home again. She starts talking about home around Wednesday. She knows that Friday is the day we go home.

We had a couple of problems with the machine so some late starting mornings. Allie was a trooper through it all. She is in her routine and knows what is happening and goes with it.

Hope everyone is doing well. God bless.

First week of Radiation

We survived our first week in Rochester. Allie did great this week except for a horrible cough. I kept asking about it and they kept asking what does her primary care physician say. Well he is 2 hours away and hasn't seen her. As you can tell I am a little fustrated about this. Now we are back home on a Friday and she is now running a small fever. It looks like we are going to Guthrie tomorrow.

The Ronald McDonald house is fabulous. I can't believe how nice it is. We had a nice room with our own bathroom. The bed left a lot to be desired so looking forward to my bed tonight. I think Allie is too.

She hasn't stopped playing with her toys since we got home. She was so happy to get home.

Next week Dakota is going with us for a night. Allie wants to take him to the museum of play. We spent four hours there. I recommend it highly. My hats off to Wegmans by the way. There is a little shopping store that kids can shop at and ring themselves out. It is just like the real wegmans. Allie spent a lot of time there.

Speaking of Wegmans, I was not aware how much Wegmans donates. Every time I turn around at the McDonalds house it seems Wegmans has helped contribute to it. I was totally amazed by all they do. I even found at the Radiation place a game system donated by Wegmans and another company.

Next week my mom gets the honor of going with us. I have warned her that she has here work cut out for her. Eric and I finally got the routine down.

Oh by the way the GPS was a God send. I could find anything I needed. This allowed us to go do things and get out of the house.

Keep Allie in your thoughts and prayers this is just the beginning.

First trip to Rochester for Radiation

Well we are all packed and the reservations are confirmed for the Ronald McDonald house. This trip is the first of many to start radiation. It seems like only yesterday when Allie had her surgery. Now this is to make sure it doesn't come back. Of course with anything in life there are no guarantees but this betters her chances.

She is doing so good. She got out of bed on her own and knocked on our bedroom door yelling let me in. It was great!!! She had a great birthday party and had fun playing with her cousins. Many of you know how much she cried for pizza well she has had many pieces since then. She also got her Barbie cake. I think she really enjoyed her day.

We have a GPS now so should be easier to maneuver around Rochester. We hope to take her to some cool places and just have some fun. Thanks to all for your support and prayers. Keep the prayers going since there is still a long road ahead of her.

super star

She had her first check up after the surgery with the neurosurgeon and she is doing great. She has even been a little nicer to her brothers. She is looking forward to staying at the Ronald McDonald house. I think she thinks we are going to be eating McDonald's food. I keep telling her that it is just a house and we have to cook our own food.

Speaking of cooking, she is turning into quite the little chef. We made a recipe from Rachel Ray's cook book and she had a blast. We went shopping for the ingredients and she pushed her own cart. It was a very fun day. I think Rachel Ray better watch out Allie has the looks and the good cooking ability. I think we may have our next food network star.

Hope everyone is doing great. God bless.

Another trip to Strong

I have to say the drive does seem to get easier the more you do it. We had to go to Strong today to have Allie's Picc line looked at. There was a leak and so they had to fix it. All is well and we got to go home after 4 hours.

She has been doing great lately and is showing us some of the old Allie. She is still on a steroid because she started running a fever when we were taking her off it. There is a name for this but must say I can't remember it. Hopefully this time will be the charm.

Hope all is well with our friends and family who are reading this. God Bless.

Picc line inserted

Allie had her preliminary radiation treatment on Thursday. What this means is they made her mask which keeps her head in the same exact place each time she receives radiation. They also inserted a picc line, this is a permanent iv so they don't have to start an iv each time. There is some maintenance involved which we have a nurse that comes in and checks it and I flush it once a day. I am becoming quite the nurse.

She is doing pretty good and is getting better everyday. She starts radiation on October 5.

She loves going for rides but doesn't like to visit anyone. She still loves to shop just for shorter periods of time.

Recent trip to strong

We just spent another 2 nights at Strong. She was running a high fever and her headache wouldn't go away. They thought she had meningitis due to the surgery but all tests so far have come back negative. They figure it was a reaction to being taken of the steroids. It is called chemical meningitis and acts like the other. They put her back on the steroids and she is fine except for a headache.

So they are going to tapper her off a little slower now. She is scheduled for a spinal tap on Tuesday but she already had one so have to find out if we still need to go. Love holiday weekends all the offices are closed and her appointment is first thing in the morning.

new post to update on allison

Well most people know we are home and doing well. We are still waiting to see when the spinal tap is going to be scheduled.

For those of you who don't know what is going on Allie was diagnosed with a level II ependymoma, in plain terms she had a brain tumor. She had the tumor removed and is recovering from surgery.

This a picture of her making cookies to thank people for the generosity. We still have a lot of cookies to make.