Happy Friday the 13th

I wish I had better news.....but Ally is staying yet another day. It could always be worse, and we will just keep plugging through. Basically, the mouth sores have not healed enough yet. And she is not eating. And they can't let her go home until they improve some more. Of course, as a parent, I am just wanting to get the heck out of here, but really she is not ready to go...so OK. Her white blood cells are on the upward trend, which means her body can start healing itself and we all know from last time that these things can heal fast. They are going to try to wean her from the morphine, and then they can send her home with a morphine patch that emits painkillers for a few more days. I didn't even know they had such things for kids.

So since I wrote that last paragraph, she has eaten half a taco and also half a klondike bar. Woo hoo. She is begging me to go home and make her this chocolate chip cheese ball thing I make and also some mexican dip. But I can't leave her here and not sure I can challenge Jerad to such things either. (and he is trying to entertain the other two kids right now with a game of putt-putt....it is a beautiful day here and I am sure there are not too many left) The coffee cart closes at 2:30 (important stuff!) and I have missed it for the second day in a row. Can't do the cafeteria coffee. I have tried lots of times. It is funny how I know every in/out of this hospital and where everything is in what vending machine or what is in the gift shop. Or which day the cafeteria serves pasta. Or which day they polish the floors. aaaaacccccckkkkk....it is all too familiar.

Several of the kids got to go home today, so it is very quiet here now. No visitors today except for Ms. Vicki who wanted a manicure. She is VP of the hospital here and a long-time friend of ours. Ally quickly changed her sign to read kids, doctors, nurses.....and administrators! Whew, big word.

I keep close tabs on all of our fellow kids stricken by various cancers. Everybody has a blog. I think Ally thinks every kid in America just has a blog written by their Mom. Man, everyday lately it has just been bad news. More bad news. I don't know what is going on, but I hate it. We become close friends with most of these people. There is a kinship between us all and we all support each other. We all have lived the heartbreaking moment when we were brought to our knees by this terrible disease. And then we have all summoned the courage to fight with everything we have. Please pray for all the kids who are battling this terrible monster. And give your kids an extra hug no matter how old they are.

We will try to make some fun this Friday night in the hospital. I think this is the seventh Friday night we have been here out of the last eight or nine. So ready to be done and home......