Some cute pictures.

Marcus and Molly sharing race cars in Mama and Daddy's room.

Does this next picture look frightening?

Birthday Pie with Papa and, yes, we had our turkey hats on...

We were inspired by the movie Elf...

 

Tummy time...

This is how Molly likes to ride in the stroller, sitting up and looking around. I am always afraid she will fall out.

Bring on Round 6...

I took Molly to the doctor today to have some blood work done.  It was all good and she can receive her next treatment.  This will be round 6 and hopefully her last chemo.  We will continue to have exams to check the tumors for quite a while. She will also have an MRI sometime in January.  I can't wait till January is over.

Also, did anyone else have snow for Christmas?  We had a little. That was fun.  We got stuck in the drive way on Christmas Eve.  Matt had to dig out the car!  He finally got it in the garage and then we didn't get scooped out again, till 2 days later. 

My cutie pies...

I haven't put any pictures on here for a while, so here a couple from the other day!

On the mend from round 5...

Molly had more blood work today.  Her counts were all good and on thier way up since saturday!  She is basically ready to go for the next round.  Thank you to my neighbor for watching Marcus this morning. 

Funny Marcus...

Molly is doing good.   She had to recieve platelets over the weekend.  We go back tomorrow for more blood work.  Hopefully, she will be good to go. She is no longer nauseated.  She has been getting some tummy time in again. 
Marcus is so funny!  Today on Curious George, George had a cold.  George took a nap and had a dream he went into his own body to meet the germs and tell them to leave.  Marcus was freakin out.  He did not like that george went into his own body!  He was really wierd today!
Hope everyone is getting all their Christmas shopping done.  I went to the mall on the weekend, I promise I will never do that again!

Here goes...

Molly has been a bit nauseated.  She isn't eating very much.  She seems pretty happy though.  We will go in I think Thursday, to get blood work done. Hopefully, she won't be too low on anything. Otherwise, we are just hanging out, getting through all this.  Marcus is good.  When we got back from Philly, Marcus said he lost us.  He meant he missed us.  It was pretty cute.  As always, he had a great time at Lala and Papa's house.  A big thank you to them for taking such good care of my Marcus.  Sounds like Molly is done with her nap, gotta go...
-Kalee

Some pictures from grandma... and Round 5...

Here are some super cute pictures of Molly.  This is before chemo with all of her hair.  I forgot how much she had!

And then here is a picture from the other day, all happy!

Isn't she cute?

Molly had her EUA yesterday by Dr. Carol Shields.  They said she is doing great. Everything is going like it should.  The tumors didn't really shrink a whole lot more, but they are still calcifying.  We were told that with this kind of cancer, they watch it very closely after chemo is done, because there is a 10-15% chance the main tumors can come back and a 40-50% chance for a new tiny tumor to pop up. Dr. Shields said that small amounts of reoccurance are pretty typical, and aren't as big of a concern as other types of cancer.  They pretty much expect that something will pop up.  If and when it does, they will use cryotherapy and freeze it, and it's done.  So, they will watch her closely for 3 years.  She had chemo yesterday afternoon, and is having it now. Round 5 is almost complete! Then tomorrow back on the plane home.

We all SCREAM for Ice Cream

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream. Well Molly does too. Kalee gave her a taste of her mango flavored ice cream, and now there's no looking back. After that first taste, Molly became intently observant of the movement of Kalee's spoon. Too many trips with out stopping at the Molly Mouth Depot, and it was DEFCON 1... all forces go... let mom and dad know the mouth needs more.

We made it to Philadelphia without incident, albeit we had to get up at 3:45 AM, or the butt crack of dawn, you decide. Ronnie had room for us again so we're crashing at his place. Good thing he's gots lots of spare beds. Don't tell him I told you this, but he needs to buy some shoes at a different store... They keep selling him the same red pair that are like 20 sizes too big.

Back to dinner, we were tryin' tha New Deli Restaurant cross da corner. Dude at the table next to us was totaly pimpin. Wanted to tell him he gots mad skilz 'cept he had his fly on the DL.

Props out to Midwest Air for the free ride.

Peace I'm Audi.

christmas cookies...

If you ever went to my grandmas house you would have had the best Christmas cookies in the whole world. Here is a picture.  I know you are all jealous!!  If there are any left, I will bring some to Mom's house.

Here is Marcus eating up a cookie!

Pre and Post Thanksgiving...

We went to my parents house this last weekend to celebrate thanksgiving.  It was a quick trip, but always exciting. Marcus absolutely LOVES his cousins and all the running around at grandma and grandpas house. Molly was a little scared of being out of her element.  She warmed up after a bit.  She was really scared of the dog.  Even if she was being held and the dog would walk by, she was in tears with her bottom lip sticking out.  This week we will do thanksgiving at Matt's parents house.  Hopefully I can get my Christmas stuff up.
-Kalee

I tried to sew some stuff...

A new sleep sack for Molly...

So, my mother in law bought me a sewing machine a couple years ago. I have never had the time to figure it out. About a month ago, Sheila came over and we made a blanket together and she kind of gave me the run down on how to sew. I have been playing around, making some poor quality items such as these. I will never be a great seamstress, but it is kind of fun to try new things.



Some hats I made...


The blanket Sheila and I made...

-Kalee

I am making some curtains for Molly's room, stay tuned for pictures (it will be a while)!

Molly is 6 Months Old...

You like my big red bow?


This is how Marcus eats a gumball.


Sitting up like a big girl,


Isn't she cute?

-Kalee

Tuesday Afternoon,

I'm just beginning to see, now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me, chasing the clouds away.

The weather here has been great. Sunny, high in the seventies on Sunday. Strange for November. I think Kalee's mentioned it but Molly's platelet counts have been going up and down. Today she made a dramatic increase (like 50% more) from yesterday, so no need for infusions. That's pretty good news. Hopefully everything will be A-OK ++ for our next trip out to Philadelphia.

Something, calls to me,
The trees are drawing me near, I've got to find out why.
Those gentle voices I hear, explain it all with a sigh.

I'm looking at myself reflections of my mind,
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind.
So gently swaying through the fairyland of love,
If you'll just come with me you'll see the beauty of

Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon.

-- The Moody Blues

ON the mend...

So Molly had to receive platelets last week.  Matt took her in for more lab work on Thursday, and her platelets were the same as a couple days before so that means she is making her own now.  Hopefully she is on the mend.  We go back again next week for more lab work just to be sure.

On a lighter note, Matt gave me my Christmas present early! A new little, bitty laptop! This is so much better than the old one I had. It is so tiny and cute.  It doesn't sound like it is going to lift off, when I go to Thomas and Friends web site for Marcus.  How exciting.  Have a great weekend.  Kalee.

Halloween Pictures 2009...

Marcus and Molly were both bumble bees, but never in costume at the same time! Matt was a very cool werewolf.  It is funny, I have never typed werewolf before.

Molly had her chemo last week.  She ended up having to get platelets today.  We will go back later this week for more lab work to see if she needs more.  She is doing really good though.  Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

October 31, 2009...

Happy Halloween....Pictures to follow.

Today in our interesting lives, Matt was telling me how a bird pooped on his windshield in his car.  The next thing I know, Marcus was opening the baby wipes to get one out, telling me, "I need this".  I said ok, what for.  He told me," to clean the poop off the window outside".  I thought, how appropriate to use a baby wipe! what a smart kid! haha.  Hope you all had a great Halloween.  We did.  Marcus was fun.  Molly pooped in her pants that go under her costume, so she stayed home.  I didn't have anywhere to take her, so that was fine.

As far as chemo goes, Molly has been a little nauseated that last couple days.  I swear it is the neupogen shots, but n/v is not listed as a side effect anywhere for that.  My mom always told me that you would do anything for your kid.  Not that I didn't believe her, but until I had my own, I didn't understand how true that was. I love you, Mom and Dad.
-kalee

Round 4...

We went in yesterday to check Molly's blood and it was good.  She had chemo yesterday and today.  Round 4 is complete.  Now she needs to recover.  She seemed nauseated last night already and that is sooner than it has been in the past.  I think she doesn't feel good, but she is still a pretty happy girl. 

I also cut her hair, finally.  It was so thin it kind of looked like a comb over.  She has new little hairs coming in, so I made it all about the same.  This is a picture post hair cut!

My Big Girl...

Molly got to try some baby food today.  I think she still prefers her thumb.

My pink garden gnome.

Postponed Chemo round 4...

I took Molly in to get round 4 today. They drew blood like always and decided not to give it till next week (hopefully) because her ANC's (part of your WBC) were too low. Last week they were good, so they think she probably has a virus, hopefully not the same one as Marcus. They put her on tamiflu again, as a precaution. The best part is, this now throws our November and December round of chemo into the holiday weeks! Looks like we will be spending thanksgiving and Christmas in Philadelphia! Unless, her next one is bad too or something like that. Who knows? Everyday I don't know what we are doing! Please pray that Molly stays healthy and can stay on track for her chemo treatments. I hope she doesn't' have what Marcus has. He spent this early morning throwing up in bed. He had not thrown up before. He was kind of freaked out. Poor kid. He is now quarantined at Grandma's house until he is better.

Sitting up like a big girl! Molly still loves her dolly!

You can't tell from the picture how much fun she has bouncing in this thing. She loves it, and she really gets to jumping!

Vala's Pumpkin Patch 2009

Marcus riding the pony!




Marcus and I went to Vala's this weekend. It was a bit cold, but we had lots of fun. Marcus was very excited to ride a pony! I didn't think he would do it. He is scarred of goats!

Sicko's...

I know it has been a while since we have posted anything on here, but we have been busy.  I don't know what we have been up to, but I am sure it was important! haha.  Molly is doing very well.  She is being treated for an ear infection, but she seems just fine.  Marcus and Matt are a bit under the weather.  I think they have H1N1, if you ask me.  Cough, fever and just worn out.  Molly and I are pretty much healthy.  We are hanging out at the in laws today to avoid the sicko's at our house! Molly gets chemo the next 2 days, so we want to keep her healthy.  We will probably try and stay away as much as possible the next couple weeks while Molly is recovering.

I have some really fun pictures of Marcus from the pumpkin patch this last weekend.  That was fun!  I will put them up eventually.  Sorry for the delay of information.  Hope to keep you more posted this time. 

-Kalee.

Good Counts!

I took Molly back on Wednesday to have her blood drawn again, her counts are on their way up now.  That is good news.  She did not need to recieve platelets at this time or anything else.  Yeah! Like I have said before, Molly is great and you would never know she is "sick".   That is all, have a great weekend... even though they are predicting snow!

Low Blood Counts...

Well, on Monday,  Molly's blood counts were not so great.  We have to go back in on Wednesday for more.  Hopefully she is on the mend and not still on the way down. 

Molly is 5 Months Old!

I would say Molly is feeling 100% better. She is off her n/v meds and eating full force! My little cutie pie and also my little piggy!  And she is now 5 months old.

Some Pictures from the last Couple Weeks!

 So they re programed how you put your pictures on here and I can't figure out how to write under each picture now!   I am such a computer whiz!  Anyway,  the top pic is Molly and cousin Sammy hanging out in Philly at the Ronald McDonald House.  Matt's sister and her husband have come down to visit us each time we have gone to Philadelphia. 

Then there is Molly in her new sweater, Marcus eating Oreo's, and Miss Molly in pink sticking out her tongue!

Molly had her lab drawn on Thursday last week and so far her counts were pretty good.  We go back for more blood work on Monday to check them again.  Molly did really well this time and didn't seem to feel too bad.  She is always so happy!  And so darn cute! 

-Kalee

Now & Then

Then Now

There's definitely been a change. The top image is of Molly's retina's in July, a week after she was first diagnosed with Retinoblastoma. It shows the white tumor masses and some of the veinus activity supplying blood to the tumors. The bottom image was taken seven (7) days ago.

I think it's a pretty dramatic change. The ophthalmologists explained that the rough texture in the September pictures is due to the calcification, and is casually referred to as "cottage cheese." To me the optic nerve "disk" seems the same size in both the top and bottom, so the relative sizes between the pictures are pretty good.

So, there's the evidence the doctors were giving for why they are saying things are looking good, and that Molly's progressing nicely. Molly had her third round of chemotherapy last week, and as always that comes with a down week of nausea, followed by drops in blood cell components. Last time Molly needed platelets, this time we don't know yet. Today was her first blood test after the chemo treatment. They say that the recovery time from the chemo is longer after every treatment. So we'll wait and see and keep her healthy.

Back Home

So we made it back home. This time there wasn't any delays, cancellations, or other snafus.

Philadelphia is an interesting city. The new is interspersed with the old without a lot of rhyme or reason. Although there seems to be a lot of commercial construction that dates to the '20's to '40's. Mix that in with a good number of houses and commercial buildings from the 1880's. And new construction starting in the '70's and it looks like Philly has had more of set of spurts of large construction efforts instead of a steady stream. Well at least in the areas we are visiting, and that's really only a 3 mile strip along Chestnut and Walnut.

So we got good news from the oncologists and ophthalmologists. On Friday, we visited the eye surgeon's office again for a retina-cam, which is a special digital camera that can take photographs of the retina. The comparison between the two was pretty dramatic in my mind. Where the original photos showed balloon like structures with crisscross blood vessels, there were two shriveled white stones, that looked a lot like coral. Apparently this is what the doctors were looking for in anticipation of success. Turns out these calcifications or "stones" are what are left of the tumors when they die. I'm assuming that like other fluid-filled areas these calcifications are what happens after some damage, like kidney stones or gal bladder stones.

The doctors said that they will remain there, and be the source of Molly's ongoing leukocoria. I suppose they don't attempt to remove them because that can cause more damage than help. It wouldn't be good to have a left-over bit in there that becomes a "floater" and causes more problems in the future. Maybe in 20 years they will have some sort of therapy. It was just 20 years ago that most kids went completely blind from retinoblastoma. Until then, it looks like Molly will at least have peripheral vision in both eyes. We'll have to see how it all comes out. I hope that she'll be able to participate in school without special help.

Only time will tell. Until then, it's been a pretty nice fall so far. I'll have to post some pictures from around the yard. Enjoy the clock at 9th & Chestnut.

Sweet Liberty

So this is my third trip to Philadelphia, and first time seeing the Liberty Bell in person. We almost missed it by like 10 minutes. Apparently when John, Dan and I were here at 6 PM on a Sunday night it wasn't so crazy that everything was closed. So it seems that like other government enterprises, national monuments in downtown Philadelphia close promptly at 5 PM also. Well we got in, and were able to walk the building (basically a hallway with Liberty Bell kitsch) and see the bell too, crack and all.

Molly had her exam-under-anesthesia (EUA) today. We got some good news that both the tumors have shrunk, and that the "blister" area surrounding them, where the tumors had begun to lift the retina away from the back of the eye, were gone. The doctor performed some laser therapy, which is a means to coalesce/condense the tumor into a neat package. She also indicated that Molly doesn't have any new tumors, and every thing looks to be progressing nicely. One thing of note is that Molly will always have some leukocoria, white-eye shine, because when the tumors die, they become calcified, and they scars they leave behind won't have the reddish appearance of a normal retina.

Personally I've gotten to experience the Philly blue-line el-train/subway. We forgot some paperwork, so after we had taken a taxi to the Wills Eye Hospital, I had to hoof it back to our room at the Ronald McDonald house. We took the train yesterday to do some sight seeing too, so the round trip wasn't too bad. I think we'll take the train again tomorrow.

Philly Again

So today we traveled to Philadelphia again. It wasn't a very early start. Our flight out was at 8:55 AM. That is our flight was at 8:55 but was canceled, and so we had to catch the next one at 9:55. That gave us a 5 minute layover in Chicago. Fortunately, the gate attendants were helpful, and the two planes were literally next to each other.

We got a hold of the Ronald McDonald house while we were in Chicago. They had a room for us, so we're able to save a bunch of money there (over the cost of a hotel in down-town Philly).

Not to be undone, Seymour (our weirdo cactus thing) had to put in his efforts too. He decided to bloom for a second time this summer. Two blooms were open this morning, with a third that had just closed, or will open tonight. There's still two more that haven't opened yet. That makes a total of 7 flowers this year. I think you can tell from the picture the blooms are pretty incredible. They only open, one night each, so Seymour puts a lot of work into each one.

Well we have our examination with the eye surgeon tomorrow. Wish us luck!

If it's not one thing, it's another!

So last week, I had to take Marcus to the doctor. He has ear infection and is on antibiotics. Then Molly got a fever yesterday. I called the doctor and took her in, they did labs and stuff and said it was a virus and to call them in the morning. So we did. Then they said to come in for iv antibiotics, I think just in case. So we are doing that this week. I tell ya, if it's not one thing, it's another! We go to Philly next week! I am anxious to go. I also don't understand how you can meet your max out of pocket, and they still charge you $.80 for antibiotics! It's a love hate relationship with the insurance company right now!

-Kalee

On the Mend!

Kalee called me at work today from the doctor's office, and said that Molly's blood tests are on the up-curve and it doesn't look like Molly will need any more platelet or red-blood-cell infusions after this last round of chemo. That's great news, and means that she's coming closer to recovery from the last treatment.

Millard Days 2009...

Marcus riding the dragon...


Marcus driving a motorcycle, just like daddy's... Kinda!


This was the first ride Marcus went on. We were standing there watching and I asked him if he wanted to ride it and he answered yes and that he wanted to ride the ostrich (the rooster). It kinda looked like an ostrich though. As we were going around he looked at me and said "This is fun!". He was so excited. He also rode the train and a purple car and I don't know what else, but he didn't want to leave. Good times!

I love these guys!

My boys! Marcus had his hair mo hawked for a minute, you can kinda tell here!


This is after Marcus's eye appointment and they dilated his eyes. They gave him some cool shades to wear home!


Here is my Molly! This was just today. We had lots of big smiles today!