Katherine's ALL Blog: Bated breath

We just had my two month post-treatment check up at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. We went with bated breath hoping for the best because earlier last week I had spots all over my body that looked just like the spots I had when I was first diagnosed with cancer. Could it already be back? This fast? After just two months off of chemo? Oh my!

Thankfully the answer was no. The cancer is still gone and my counts are good. The visit was a blast. I had a little dance party with my nurses, played a simple version of Simon says, without the Simon says part, got my pneumonia treatment meds because my immune system is still in the doghouse and got an immune boosting transfusion that lasted 4 hours but was otherwise uneventful.

Now on to bigger and better things, I hope. As the chemo fog lifts, my speech is booming and my cognition too. It may just be being 4, but my family thinks I'm really learning so much these days. I'm learning much like a typical kid, I guess, which is no big deal, but having Down Syndrome makes all learning on its own timeline, usually behind typical timelines. Then that cancer curveball came my way. My family wasn't certain what skills I'd be able to acquire, ever. Now that I'm off treatment, the sky is the limit. They're super proud. I've been working with my nanny during the days and my family at night on preschool type skills, like spelling my name and acquiring sight words. Next stop: math...
Well, actually, next stop is potty training...I'm still not a pro at that.
Everything in its own time. Each milestone is a celebration- even that.

What else is next on the horizon? Well, I still can't leave the house until flu season is over. My family is still going to Mass in shifts. But, we pray together at home. As of late, we've been praying not just that my cancer doesn't come back, or prayers of thanksgiving for my healing and my new academic skill acquisitions, but for a very special girl who was in a serious car accident and for her family.

Just like a cancer diagnosis can change your whole perspective on life, your plans and your hopes, your prayers to God, a tragic accident can do the same. It's not easy to stay faithful, that God has this all worked out, but it's even harder to give up faith and think that He doesn't. If you have prayed for me, thank you. I've been incredibly blessed. If you can, pray for this young lady too, that she is healed, pray for wisdom for her doctors, pray for continued strength for her family- unlike a cancer protocol that has a set number of days to the end of chemo, this family's road is uncertain and we pray that she'll soon be on what will likely will be a long road to recovery.

Thank you for praying. We pray as one.