Wednesday, October 8, 2014

So far, so good....... :)

We are still crossing our fingers BUT we have seen a lot of improvement from the new infusion. Bella had a pain free day on Sunday and cheered the entire game!!!! That is a huge victory for Bella!! Overall, there has been a reduction in pain and an increase in mobility!! So we will take it and celebrate it. Now, let's hope it continues on this path long term. This week is a slow week for Bella, she only has 3 appointments(he he). We see her Rheumatologist this week and we will get to report our good news! I hope her exam shows great improvement too!!! Keep your fingers crossed for her!!!! Last week after Bella's routine blood work her counts were a little off but the doctor said it was likely due to the chemo and new infusion. They always keep a watchful eye on the kiddos on immune suppressant drugs to make sure they aren't too weak to continue treatment and to watch for infections. They did find blood in her urine and they did 2 rounds of tests which we are still waiting on the second round of results. Fingers crossed that it is nothing of concern. We head off next week to visit Hershey children's Hospital for another infusion. After this one we switch to monthly instead of bi-weekly. That will greatly reduce our travels out to the Sweetest Place on Earth and allow for a little bit more normalcy for Bella. Bella loves the nurses at the infusion center because they are so kind and helpful. They make our time there so comfortable and make the experience so much easier! We are truly lucky to live 25 minutes from one of the best children's hospitals and they have an amazing Pediatric Rheumatology team too!!! School this year has been quite a bumpy transition from elementary to middle school, but I think Bella finally got the swing of things. I am really proud of how dedicated she is to achieving high grades. Some times I think she is too hard on herself, but it surely does pay off in the end for her. As we reach our mid point of the first marking period, Bella has all A's and B's...not to shabby since she has already missed 8 days of school for appointments. This week at her football game they are doing a Cheer for Charity event in her honor. Parents get to sign up to cheer with their kids which is always so much fun to watch! They are collecting non-perishable food items for her food drive and donating any money collected to help find a cure for arthritis. We are pretty excited about this fun event. We are pretty lucky to have such an awesome organization for Bella to cheer for! Hope you all are having a great start to fall! Thanks for checking in!