Rock the Arts at Manor Park

All continues to be well and Mae is loving being back at school. On the mornings that I have dropped her off, she has joined her class with ease and excitement, full of smiles. Not at all the tearful girl that that left me each morning in the Fall. It warms my heart to see her so carefree and joyful. The main issue at drop off right now is the fact that Phoebe would like me to leave her at school also. Yesterday she cried and said "drop me off too" and then when I explained that she was too young for school, she cried for Mae ... all the way home. When we went to pick Mae up at the end of her day, the smiles and joy on Phoebe's face were palpable. She was excited to see her sister, but also to be back at the school.

Phoebe had her first round of chemo last week and all went well. She has had no side effects yet, and will have her blood tested on Friday to see what her counts look like. Our doctor has described this as "gentle chemo" and we are hoping this proves to be true and that we continue to see no side effects and that her immune system and counts will remain strong. This plan of maintenance chemo is for a year, but many of Phoebe's doctors worry that before the year is up we will be pursuing other options due to positive minimal residual disease. We will cross that bridge if it comes and I am hopeful it will not. I am, however, still trying to wrap my head around another year of therapy as at times to treat this cancer feels like running a marathon.

We are counting our blessings, as Phoebe has responded to and handled all of her treatment amazingly well. We continue to hold on to hope for more positive news and special moments.

Speaking of special moments, Manor Park Public School continues to be not only a wonderful place but also a great source of support for our family as we get back on our feet. This Thursday night at 6:30 in the school gym is a puppet show fundraiser. "Rock the Arts" will be putting on an Animal Adventure puppet show, it looks to be fantastic and lots of fun.