One More Week, One More Week, One More Week

I keep repeating this to myself. Brooklyn has one more week left in the induction phase of her cancer treatment. Yesterday she received her last shot of Vincristine in-clinic. With any hope, next Friday I will be able to give her her last dose of steroids and I can reclaim my kid.

She's not herself. Aside from the mood swings and food obsession, she can't even stand up on her own anymore. Walking has become nearly impossible for her. Every time I try to make her walk she takes a few steps and then falls to the ground. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that she's gained nearly 25% of her own body weight in only two weeks. Of course, as with everything, the steroids are to blame. Needless to say I am counting down the hours until I can show them the door. This is not to say that we will be done with the Dexamethasone for good. But we will hopefully never have to do another 30 day stint again. More like a week here and a week there.

To date, I would have to say that this round of chemo has been the most difficult on her body. She's been complaining of back pain and mouth pain. The oncologist says this is typical and prescribed her Tylenol with codeine which seems to be helping a bit. The poor thing spends most of her days sitting in her chair watching cartoons on the iPad and eating snacks. I've at least managed to wean her off of the pizza for now and she's since moved on to the far more healthy brown rice and avocado sushi. At first I was buying premade sushi from our local Whole Foods but it became difficult for me to get out of the house to buy it and Whole Foods sushi just seems a tad too pricey for a two year old who can consume four avocado rolls in one sitting. So I've since learned to make them at home. Its actually kind of nice because I can make them ahead of time and I don't even have to turn on the oven.  So far my efforts to persuade her towards the healthier food appear to be paying off because on Friday her weight had not gone up from the previous weeks weigh in.

I must say, I miss that little girl. I'm very much looking forward to having her old self back and eagerly awaiting the end of this phase. It has been difficult, although it's been such an emotional whirlwind that I can barely remember any specific moments. That's probably a good thing.


Our sweet girl-