Dayton Children's Saturday

And so it goes....the Barnetts are back to spending our Saturday in the hospital. Ally just came out of her spinal....yes, the doctors keep on going. Chemo does not stop because it's the weekend. Dr Dole just did the spinal for us, right after he finished doing rounds on the other 14 (14!) kids that are up in the hemoc unit today. That doctor sure has a lot of work to do. Ally is doing her usual job of making me nervous....she seems a bit more sleepy afterwards today. The monitor that beeps when something is out of range keeps beeping. No one else seems to be bothered when it starts beeping...no they just silence it. But a mother's job is always to wonder why and worry about her offspring, and so that is what I am currently doing. I think I have earned a thousand badges of worry over the last 5 months. I wish I could just go back to worrying about simple illnesses that kids get....coughs, fever, I will even take some throwing up. Just take away the spinals and the chemo and the medicine cabinet I have in my kitchen now.

As we were walking down the hall earlier, wheeling our daughter to her procedure room in her hospital bed, for some reason I was thinking of my son Evan. At that moment, he was out on the soccer field playing his game, with his little sister and his grandparents watching. I hate missing his games, and I have missed a lot this season. With Jerad being the coach, he goes, and I stay with Ally. So anyway I was picturing him playing hard....having lots of energy like he does....and knowing that 60% of Beavercreek families were also at those soccer fields today. Again, wishing I was not entering a procedure room to get spinal fluid and intrethecal chemo deposited into her spine. After the procedure was done, we wheeled her back down the hall (having to go the long way to avoid the "really" sick kid area....great) and Jerad lifted her out of the gurney and into her normal hospital bed. Right then, Grandma called to tell us Evan had scored two goals. Wow...way to go buddy. I had a feeling......

Ally's 24 hour methotrexate chemo should start here soon (HOPING)...the sooner it gets started then the sooner it will finish and I just get really antsy waiting. We are hoping that they let her come home sometime Monday on fluids again. Guessing she will be hooked up to fluids at least through Tuesday. The doctor thinks she might need another blood transfusion too....her hemoglobin was close to low levels and she looks very pale. We are again passing our time here in the hospital in isolation. No visitors except maybe the grandparents. We did really try to enjoy the day off school yesterday....the kids got to go see the Where the Wild Things Are movie with their teachers. Ally did some schoolwork with Mrs Brower. We also had some friends over last night....needing to get to talk to some people before our quiet stay here. Ally played "Rock Band" with all of her friends...even through getting hooked up to her fluids right in the middle of it. She takes it all in stride and I am so grateful again that she is a laid back person.

I am sitting here with a big annoying knee brace on. I went and saw the orthopedic doctor and found out that basically my knee cap is grating against some bone in there. He could fix it with a "little surgery" but wanted to try this brace for a while to see if it helps. It is huge...like one that my friend Molly wore when she dislocated her knee. I will try it. If it is easier to do the surgery, I am thinking I should just do that. But I really don't have the time for that either.....that would never work for me now. I would like to get rid of the pain, however. It tends to grate on me over time.

Please pray that Ally tolerates this next round of chemo well. Please pray that she comes out of this spinal procedure feeling okay and that I get to see her smiling face again soon. Most importantly, that the leukemia is gone and never ever again appears in her body...