***RANDOM THOUGHTS***

(How Random? Well, at least as random as a leukemia diagnosis, right?)

Week #2 of LTM

***Aug 19 – One year ago today, Kendrie got sick. We had company visiting and during lunch at a local restaurant she lay down in our laps at the table and fell fast asleep. She wouldn’t interact with the company, either; not even her Grandma Betty who was also visiting from out of state, which seemed odd. I assumed she was a little tired, or being a little shy. Maybe just a virus or something?

***Thank you so very much to our family friend Bruce G. for donating blood – again! Every time Mr. G. donates he sends a note to Kendrie through the American Red Cross to tell her he is thinking about her. We appreciate the notes, and even more, appreciate the donation on behalf of cancer kids everywhere! Please consider donating if you able. With Labor Day and end-of-summer holidays/traveling coming up, the Red Cross will be short of donations (as usual.) (Mrs. G, thanks for the pictures of those handsome boys and the nice note!!!)

***Thank you to my friend Kelly E. for donating blood with me last week. It is much more fun to donate with a friend, and even better when we skip the Red Cross juice and cookie and go to dinner at a restaurant afterwards instead!

***Happy, happy (one-day early) birthday to Jonah and Benjamin!! We wish all the best to you, your parents and your grandparents, and can’t wait until we get a chance to see you both again. Where has this year gone??? I’m sorry your present is late but one of the things I ordered is on back-order, ugh! It will be there soon!

***Quote (paraphrased) of the week, from Wilson's Mom, Belinda: “Yeah, sure, leukemia is the ‘good’ kind of cancer with a cure rate of 85 percent. But if the survival rate for playing soccer was 85 percent, would you let your kid play?”

***Have I mentioned what a wonderful job Kendrie’s school, teachers, staff and administration is doing with her, and of humoring my paranoia’s? She did come home sick one day this week (naturally, the day I had a bazillion errands planned) but over all, I couldn’t be more pleased with how everything is being handled.

*** Wish us luck tonight as this will be the first night Kendrie has to take 7 pills in the evening. Most nights it is one or one and a half, which I can crush up and put in applesauce. But I’m not sure we can effectively hide the powder of 7 pills in one spoonful of applesauce. I’m annoyed with myself because I’ve had mini m&ms in the house for two months, intending to “practice” pill swallowing with Kendrie. Each time, though, the novelty wears off and the kids wind up just eating all the m&ms. (They got their lack of will power from me.) Thankfully, the mountain of medicine only takes place on Thursdays ….

***Please stop by Christopher's site and wish him well. Christopher had his bone marrow transplant this week with his very brave sister Sam as the donor. Christopher, we hope this is the beginning of a road to total recovery for you! And good job, Sam!

***Finally, months after “meeting” online, I finally met in person another Robins AFB cancer mom. (Good grief, I hope there are only two of us!) Jenny, mom to Jacob, it was nice to get to visit with you today! I look forward to spending more time with you, maybe even on that bowling league!

I think that’s it for now. I’m sure there are more random thoughts (most of my thoughts fall into that category, after all) but I’ll keep this journal entry short. A few of you have e-mailed me privately about the song on the site. I’d like to take credit for discovering it, but it’s actually off the Disney “Home on the Range” soundtrack, by Tim McGraw. I still think it fits our situation perfectly, although it’s not as peppy as usual, so I’ll be changing it out soon. I figure for a song to be a Caringbridge success, at least one person has to tell me they’ve turned off their speakers because of me!

Hope you are all having a great week,

Kristie
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KENDRIE’S PERSPECTIVE:

WORST PART ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: I thought my mom would let up on the obsessive-compulsive cleaning thing when I started school but I actually think she’s worse. Did you know that she attached about eleven-teen itty, bitty, teeny tiny bottles of Purell to my backpack and each night when I come home she actually looks at them to make sure the levels have gone down so she knows I am using it???? What a freak.

BEST PART ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: My mom told me that tomorrow at school a nice lady from the hospital is coming in to talk to my class about me. Well, not about ME, so much, as about leukemia, and ports, and being bald-headed. Wow, I’m pretty much famous, huh?