Sunday, October 1, 2006
Claire is Back!! Claire is back... her white blood cells are on the rise, her energy level and strength renewed, her smile and silly jokes returned and most speical of them all she is back home today. It was a tough low period but Claire held on tight, never let go and conquered the horrendous storm. Her body was damaged from the first round and took almost 4-5 days longer this time to recuperate from the chemotherapy drugs, even absent of any bacterial infection. There was 3 days at the very bottom of the hole that she never even got out of bed or was able to finish coloring a single picture - it's like she is hollow inside and incredibly scary to view. Her deep brown eyes are her voice during her fight and you can clearly see her fear, frustration and fatigue when the fever starts to consume her frail body. I held her so tight and sang all her favorite songs softly in her ear until the medicine relieved her pain. And then there was light on Thursday... a little smile surfaced, a desire to open a birthday gift presented, and talk of holding Reese-ee upside down to watch her squeal with excitement filled the day...her body was coming back to us. We had a wonderful family night too, Reese on the new Dora scooter, Ryan dueling with the new dinasours, and our precious Claire on the bean bag surrounded by the new Dora House and Dora accessories. I can not tell you what a difference all the new toys and activities make in the playrooms - all the children and families on the 6th floor express their gratitude. There was a true feeling of "good" in the world, at a place sometimes dark and haunted by sadness and evil. By Saturday we didn't need her blood report to tell us her counts were positive for the first time in 9 days, it was all over her beautiful face and in her willingness to walk downstairs to the cafeteria for treats. We started our Oregon Duck football party waving her new and offiicial green and yellow cheerleader pom poms, a gift from cousin Leslie in Eugene who works for the Big Green Fighting Team, but had too much energy to be confined to her room, so after the first quarter we were off to join the arts and craft class. Although, she is still climbing back up from the hole and is not expected to be able to plant the flag on the very top peak until Tuesday or Wednesday, she was allowed to come home. We hope she drinks and eats enough to remain with us throughout the week, but learned last time there is no such thing as "worry-free" anymore. We are a little embarrased to ask, as the continued outcry of support and love has been overwhelming, but we need all the strong thoughts and prayers you can send on Tuesday, October 3rd, as Claire is scheduled for her next and very important MRI. We will be breathing slowly but with incredible HOPE until the results are received and determine Claire's next treatment plan and projected outcome. We believe in Claire and her perseverance to live and our family is complete only with her in it.