Lauren finished Round 6 without any major problems. She was happy that it was a short week with only four days of treatment. After antibodies on the last day she also received the next three vaccines on the revaccination schedule. To make it easier on Lauren, we had three nurses each with a syringe, count to three and give the shots at the same time. She was not a happy camper but thanks to all the pain meds already on board, she was upset for only a minute or two.
This last time in the city was a hard one for me. Not because of anything going on with Lauren but because of things with friends that we have made there. I found out over those two weeks that 4 of Lauren's friends, children that she has been doing antibodies with, have recently relapsed. They have all been started on new courses of treatment that I pray brings them back to NED status very soon. I was talking to one of the moms and saying that I was just getting more comfortable with our new level of normalcy and this is like a reality check reminding me that this fight is a long, long haul and will never *really* be over. While I will not live my life constantly awaiting a relapse... the fear of it is always there.
The Sunday before we headed back to the city Lauren and I went with Aunt Nean to a dog show at the local fair grounds. We got to see some of Aunt Nean's online friends again and Lauren got some big wet kisses from her old buddies. She was in a great mood and had a good time rooting for Bravo and Kayla. She also walked around and petted (always asking first) Great Danes, Boxers, Bull Mastiffs and of course lots of Labs. At one point Corey gave Lauren her "number" armband and Lauren announced that she was ready to show. She said..."I have a number...now I need a dog". She did get a chance to pretend show with a sweetheart lab named Leo. She stood him up for a "judge" to look him over then "ran" him up and back. It was so cute to watch and she such a blast doing it. When we left she asked Aunt Nean if she could "borrow" one of her dogs for a sleepover. LOL
Lauren started preschool this past Monday and is really enjoying it. I think I had a harder time leaving the first day than she did. She gets to take a little school bus home from school and loves it. When she got off the bus the first day she had a big smile on her face and said "Mom! I only missed you twice today!" She goes three days a week (Mon, Wed and Thurs) for 4 hours. Gee... I guess now I'll have no excuse for not cleaning my house!
Lauren started back at PT this week too, on Tuesdays and Fridays, so she really has a pretty busy week. This was evident at PT on Friday. She's not used to running around and doing so much that by Friday her muscles were pretty well spent. Her mind was still going strong and she wanted to do all the playthings at PT but her muscles were so fatigued that they just wouldn't/couldn't cooperate. This leads to some meltdowns and frustrations. It will take a little while but eventually she'll get stronger and be able to do all the things she wants.
We are awaiting news this week to see what's going on with our trip to Disney. After everything that has happened this past week we need to see if our airline will be up and flying by the time we're scheduled to go and if our flight is still scheduled at all. Will let you all know when we find out.
I hope this update finds you all well and safe.
As always, thanks for checking in with us. Your thoughts and prayers are always very much appreciated.
