Caitlin_Update03

12/07/01 - Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I've been having problems getting connected to geocities to update the page. Anyway...Caitlin has been doing pretty well. She did have a fever and hospital stay in early November and another fever and no hospital stay in late November. We were really worried that she might be relapsing. Her last visit was this past Monday, December 3rd. She had a spinal tap and everything was fine there. Her ANC was 3066, which is a little high so they adjusted her dosage again. Hopefully things will settle down before Christmas. We're officially under 60 days of treatment now as she is scheduled to go off treatment January 31st. We're really looking forward to this being behind. That's about all for now. Hope this finds everybody healthy and happy. Merry Christmas to all of you.

01/11/02 - Since my last update, we celebrated Christmas twice, once at home and again in Florida. It was our first Christmas in Florida in 4 years, so it was really nice having the whole family together again at Christmas time. Caitlin had a checkup 12/31/01 and everything was almost perfect. Her ANC dipped again to 135, so we stopped her medication again for a week. The good news though is that she received her last dose of chemotherapy that day. She also finished her last week of prednisone, which is blessing all on it's own. All she has left is a bone marrow aspiration on January 28th followed up by 4 more days of home chemotherapy. Only 20 more days to go until her treatment ends. Look for another update on February 1st.

02/05/02 - This is the update that you've been waiting to read and that we've been waiting to write. Caitlin is now off treatment and in full time remission. She had a checkup 1/28/02 which included a bone marrow test which showed she no longer had any leukemia cells in her body. She will be in remission for the next 5 years with regular checkups to check her counts. If nothing shows back up over the next 5 years, she'll be considered cured. We were very excited about the results of her test and will now pray every day that she doesn't relapse. Again we would like to thank everybody who has visited our site, sent cards, prayers and everything else. We could not have made it these past 2 years without all of you. We are forever greatful. Keep checking back for updates as I will update the site after every clinic visit.

02/28/02 - Caitlin had her first post treatment checkup Monday (2/25/02) and everything was normal. Her ANC was 1764 and is slowly working it's way back to a normal level. It's believed that her system should be back to normal in 3-6 months, then she can stop taking her antibiotics on the weekends. That's about all for now. These updates will hopefully become boring and routine as that will mean that everything is going along smoothly. Check back soon as I promise to put up another up date and some new pictures real soon.

04/14/02 - Again I apologize for the long delay between updates. I've been experiencing technical difficulties with my web hosting service but hopefully we're beyond that now. Anyway, Caitlin has been doing great. Her ANC from her last visit was 2600, so she's slowly getting back to where she needs to be. She has a visit this Friday and then it's off to Florida for a week on the Disney Cruise (her Make-A-Wish trip) then a week at my parents house in Melbourne. We're all really excited about the cruise and can't wait for it to get here. I'll post some pictures when I get back. For those of you who don't know, I've been training the past 4 month for my first ever triathlon. I'll be competing as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training Program. I have to swim 1/2 mile, bike 15 miles and finish up wtih a 3 mile run. It's been tough but I think I'm just about ready. The date of the event is June 16th, so keep me in your prayers. That's all for now. I'll update again when we get back from Florida.

06/19/02 - Caitlin had another checkup June 17th. The appointment went very well as she is doing great. She will continue taking antibiotics on the weekend for one more month, then she'll be completely medication free. Since my last update, Caitlin's Make-A-Wish trip was granted. We spent 7 days sailing on the Disney Magic. It was the most wonderful time we've had in quite a while. Caitlin got to see all of her favorite characters, including Cinderella. We had port visits in St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Disney's Castaway Cay. The whole trip was better than anything that we could have ever hoped for. After the cruise, we spent a week at my parents home in Florida. We didn't do a whole lot while we were there, but it's always nice to go home again and spend time with my parents and all of our friends. On June 16th, Father's Day, Tim competed in his first ever triathlon as a member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program. He finished in 2:16:58. Not great but not bad either. He raised over $3100.00 for the fight against blood related cancers and his team raised an amazing $115,000.00. The whole team that started the event, finished the event. It was a great day for everybosy involved. That's all for now. I'll be posting vacation and triathlon pictures soon.