Great news! One less day of steroids than we thought, so tomorrow is our last day!!! You have no idea what this will mean to us. Tanner is really not sleeping at all at night anymore. Maybe 1 hour at a time, which means everyone at the Page house is very tired, including her. She is able to nap some during the day, but not for long periods of time, so I think she is chronically tired. Add to that the strain of the incredible amount of water retention this has caused, the stomach cramps and mood swings and we are ready, ready, ready for these to go! Believe it or not, my skinny little Tanner has huge cheeks, like she has mumps, and has a giant, distended belly. Those of you who have been pregnant before can attest to the fact that this is not a comfortable predicament.

Tuesday also marks the last day of Induction, our first phase of treatment. It is a milestone, but also a hard day at clinic. A bone marrow biopsy, spinal tap with chemo injection into the spinal fluid, and an injection of vincristine (another chemo drug) into her port. She’ll be sedated for all of this, which is good, but means she can’t eat past midnight the night before… uh-oh. You do NOT want to be at our house tomorrow night.

Had a great day yesterday. We continue to be able to creep more normalcy into our lives. Tanner invited her friend over for a slumbover. That’s where you do all the stuff for a sleepover — pajamas, bath, dinner, playing and watching a movie — but then go home when it is bedtime. Tanner lasted for about and hour and a half, but that hour and a half was so normal. They played upstairs in the playroom on the Smartcycle (thanks Will!), dressed in identical nightgowns, ate tacos and watched “Princess Protection Program.” It seemed just like it always was and John and I were grateful to see Tanner interested in playing. Hopefully, when the steroids wear off, we’ll see even more interest in normal things.

We continue to be really worried about Tanner’s legs, especially her right leg. She has started falling some; that right legs just buckles beneath her. We’re going to push for physical therapy this week.

John and I had some normalcy this week as well. I went our with my good friend Celia for a movie Friday night. Just some good girl time. And, Aunt Kim came over last night so John and I could go out for a walk together by ourselves. Got home early so we could get in bed. It was John’s night to stay with Tanner and she didn’t sleep much. My turn tonight…

Count down the last two days of steroids with us. Just 3 more doses! Yay!

Love,
Beth