7 Month Off Treatment Check-Up

Well, we have made it to the 7 month mark...very exciting. Catherine continues to do well. She is getting stronger each day: today she told me that she ran faster than 3 of her classmates at gym, usually she is the slowest; she has grown so much in the last few months that the nurse actually did a second check of her height today; and her teacher told me that her fine motor skills have improved tremendously since September. All good stuff to say the least yet it is always amazing how these trips to Guilford simply drain me. I am just tired to the bone right now. I know it is hard for people to understand having not been through what we have, but her being off treatment is so much harder than when she was on. The weekly trips to Guilford were nothing compared to these monthly trips. Of course, back then, if any of her counts were low, you could just blame it on the chemo. Now when a number is below normal you wonder, is she sick? is the cancer making its way back? You just don't know and sure enough those damn platelets of hers have fallen below normal again (137,000). I knew they would be low...she has a weird bruise on her foot from her shoes. Dr. Joe's only explanation is that she is just one of those kids whose platelets stay abnormally low. It's just frustrating for me as unusual bruising was the first sign of her cancer and she received more platelet transfusions than anything else during treatment. Leave it to me though to focus on that number versus the awesome ANC (3300) and hemoglobin (13.5). If those numbers weren't good I would really be freaking out.
I also took Catherine to the dermatologist recently and sure enough she needs a mole removed (either that or we get it checked every 6 months). I tell you, something really went wrong when she was in the womb (and you know deep down I blame the 9/11 terrorists who made me breathe in all that bad air when I was pregnant). Ironically, the dermatologist recommended the doctor at Yale who did both of Catherine's port-a-cath surgeries. I will call him soon and get that scheduled...who wants to go to the dermatologist every 6 months? Not me.
Other than that we have had a busy and fun month, as usual, with all the kids' activities and all the volunteer stuff I do. I can't believe we are already getting ready for Christmas. Catherine has a long list of gifts, which she adds to every time she sees something on television that she wants (she actually pauses the TV and gets her list). Alex... I'm just on my own with him. He doesn't know what he wants. At the kids' insistence, the Christmas decorations are out of the attic...not up, but out of the attic which is half the battle. We will work on decorating all week. With that I think I will close now as I really am very tired and can't really think straight, so until next month!