Round 5 Complete

Avery finished round 5 with flying colors - of course. We don't expect any different from this absolutely amazing girl. She lost the rest of her hair this week and looks really different - surprising how a little fuzz in the front can make it seem like there is more there. Now I know how bald men feel. She seems to be feeling fine and ready to rock. She had a little bout with a UTI - but rather than give her more antibiotics and start the C Diff cycle again, we opted to wait it out as her bacteria wasn't as high as they normally would see and treat. Hopefully it clears itself up in the next few days.

We were very excited to have been invited to speak at the TKE convention this weekend on behalf of St Jude. We were asked to attend and represent the St Jude Family Community as the men of TKE are large supporters of the hospital. It was fun to see a huge group of the greek system all together like that - it has been a long time since Jeremy or I have been a part of that type of gathering. The men of TKE at Iowa State were there and we were able to connect with them and take some pictures. It was such an honor to be able to represent the families of St Jude and also give back in some small way to the place that has done amazing things for our family. We only hope that opportunities such as this will continue to be presented to us so we can help even more.

We start our new rehab this week and we are really excited. We decided since she seemed to have so much energy it was about time we got a little more aggressive with her walking progress. We will be taking her to a rehab center 2-3 times a week where they will work with her for an hour on strength building and walking exercises. Her new glasses arrived this week - still blue and round, but a little larger and a better fit for her growing face.

We were able to go to church today, which was great for all of us. We miss not being able to go when her counts are down and were happy that we were able to attend this week even though we won't be able to for the next few. Avery struggles in the kid room a bit -- wants to be held and whines a bit. It's been a long time since she was in a daycare setting and I think she has some anxiety about it now. We'll keep working on that one though because sharing toys and socializing is huge in a 2 year olds development - and boy we don't need that problem on top of all the others we have!

Jersey is finally back home today and we sure missed her for the last 2 weeks. It's amazing how much Avery loves that dog. Poor Jersey just wanted to cuddle up and sleep and Avery has been chasing her around all day. Just now I found chocolate in her hair...evidence of that the Cookie Monster managed to capture her at some point.

We will be on lockdown this week as she drops and tries to climb back up in counts. She hasn't had any transfusions this round as of yet, but we'll surely see at least one of each by the end of the week. Both Jeremy and I are back at work this week so Miss Sharon will be here playing with Avery, which just tickles them both.

We scheduled our Port placement for the 23rd of the month and will be admitted immediately following the surgery for her 6th and final round of the ICE Chemo regimen. After 3 weeks of recovery time we will then return to St Jude for more tests and to discuss our options moving forward. Our trip to St Jude is scheduled for the week of March 21.

Well we hope everyone enjoyed the game and the more importantly the commercials...Jeremy ordered some wings and plopped himself in his chair....as did Avery in hers. It's amazing how much like him she is...well minus the love of dolls, clothes, and books. Course now that I say that he is helping her put the dress back on the doll - scratch the doll.

Jenn