August 18

Madelyn had her monthly appointment at Seattle Children's Monday.


Please re-read the most important line of that last sentence.  Her MONTHLY appointment.  Send us some big "oh ya's!", "you go girls!" and celebration dances our way. MONTHLY!!! We are a family again, living our life in ANACORTES (not Seattle) and returning to a somewhat normal routine.


She will have monthly appointments for CBC's, doctor visits and chemo in Seattle. We will give her chemo every night orally.  Then, there will be in-between CBCs (complete blood counts... to see how her immune system is doing) at Island Hospital here in Anacortes. All usually occurring on Mondays.  


So Monday she had her Vincristine infusion (chemo) and started her Dexamethazone (steroid).  So this is our hard week.  Pains, crankiness, emotional ups and downs and trouble sleeping.  But I will take it for the three weeks of absolute Madelyn bliss we have experience the other three weeks.  She is feeling good.  Not just good, but better than we have seen her in a year and a half.  Energy.  Happiness.  No tantrums.  She is so fun. 


At her appointment her Hematicrit and platletes were normal.  WBC and ANC a little low, but still within range of what our doctor wants to see.  WBC was 1.3 and ANC 928.  No changes to her chemo.  No increase in the weekly Methotrexate chemo dosing.


She said goodbye to the apartment on Monday too.  We are all a little sad to see it go, but I hope we will never ever, ever... EVER... need an apartment in the city again. It was our mini-home with lots of wonderful memories.  We loved the location (right next to Magnuson Park and the Burke Gilman Trail), the feeling of it, the memories (bad and good) we had there.  When we were released from being inpatient at the hospital - we went there.  We had Christmas during Induction (the first hard month) there.  I will never forget what that felt like.


She is in low-dose chemo mode now though.  So EVERY little thing makes me worry about relapse.  Every pain, every bruise.  I guess this will be my mental state for the next five or so years though.  Get used to it, right? Ugh.


Madelyn starts Kindergarten in just a few weeks.  Hard to believe ... Kindergarten.  I am filled with such angst about the return to school in the fall.  It is Madelyn's natural environment... people, kids, activity, talking, learning, opinions and sharing... but it will also be filled with germs and all those winter time flu's and cold's.  Hopefully, NOT filled with any major diseases that could be very, very hazardous for MJ... like chicken pox, whooping cough, etc.  Her immune system will still be suppressed so she won't be working on a full germ-fighting tank.  It's inevitable, I know, but I'm not looking forward to that worry and rushes to the ER.  I'm sure they will occur though...


Ok, now for something fun... more images from Switzerland!!

swimming at Lake Zurich

on the bus with Grandma and Grandpa

strutting her stuff after her purchase at Franz Karl Weber (big toy store in Zurich) thanks to Grandma and Grandpa

horsing around at the chocolate store

lots of these were consumed by all, but especially Phia loves her Bratwurst!

Sleeping, very uncomfortably, in the stroller after a long, hot day in the city.

evening dinner at cousin Bettina's

We stayed at Bettina's home for the first week of our trip.  

Sophia watching the elephants at the Zurich Zoo.

MJ heading down a slide with Thierry.

Napping during lunch at the Zoo.

Wiped out after the Zoo.  It was hot that day.

at the beach with Bettina

Nastenka and Tiziana

During the family reunion everyone went to visit their Uncle's beautiful old home.

The family walking to their Uncle's old house.

Walking to lunch with Peter's cousin Christian's family.

Playing games with the cousin's.

Beautiful Sara.

Peter's cousin Christian.  We stayed with their family during the second week of our trip.

The cousins taking a break from a long day in the sun and swimming pool.  Pingu is the best cartoon for kids who don't speak the same language.

The girls sitting in the gondola looking out over the valley.  They loved the gondola ride.  They said they felt like they were going into space.  This was in the Vallis where we rented an apartment during the third week of our trip.

Swings at the top of the gondola.  Then we had lunch.  The girls made me sit at a different table during lunch though.  They said my Swiss dish with lots of cheese was too stinky and Phia started gagging.

On a little hike...

Peter playing with the girls at the Haupbahnhopf (the big main train station in Zurich).

Our new cousin... baby Nico.