"OT"

I just realized that my end of treatment post did not post or save! I bet you all thought that I gave up on updating the blog.  Sorry, it is going to be a long update to get caught up from the last one.  OT (off treatment) life has been busy....

Brianne ended her treatment on June 29th.  She had a few friends spend the night and keep her awake so we could celebrate her last chemo at 11:30 p.m.  We could not have been more excited.
795 days of treatment DONE

Ringing the gong  to signify end of treatment



















Over the summer Brianne was able to go to Connecticut for eight days with Camp Soaring Eagle.  She had an amazing time.  She still is telling us stories about camp to this day.  What an amazing opportunity for her to be able to go away.  One of her favorite nurses was on the trip which made her more comfortable to leave us for a week.  She has made some amazing friends at camp and cannot wait to go back.



In July we celebrated Brianne's No More Chemo Party and her 9th Birthday.  The toy drive was such a success.  We were able to fill the clinic toy closet and leave three bins full of toys to refill it when it got low.  She was so excited to FINALLY be able to go to Sunsplash and ride all the water slides (something she has been looking forward to since the beginning of treatment).   Brianne's first day of 4th Grade was also her birthday.  She was so excited to get back to school and loves her teacher, Ms. McIntosh.  Ms. McIntosh is also a cancer survivor and they seem to share a special bond.  
















Unfortunately, the beginning of the school year came with lots of germs.  It may take up to a year for Brianne's immune system to be that of a "normal" kid.  She managed to get Scarlet Fever twice and strep throat within the first four weeks of school.  She had several visits to the emergency room for fevers and a bunch of tummy troubles from all of the antibiotics she had to take.  During this time I started back to school for Surgical Technology.  It was too hard for me to be away full time on the opposite side of town when Brianne was feeling so crummy, so I withdrew from my program.  I have since enrolled in an online Bachelor's Degree program through the University of Phoenix.  This will allow me to be around when Brianne needs me.

Brianne has continued to do well.  She is learning to play the piano and is taking ballet classes several times a week.  She is very excited to be in The Nutcracker this year.  Physical therapy and orthotics have helped with her walking some.  She is working hard on her stretching to help make standing flat footed more comfortable.  

Last Saturday Brianne developed a fever in the middle of the night.  We still have to go to the ER because of her port.  She had her antibiotics and blood work and she was discharged at 3:30 a.m.  She felt fine and was only worried about missing her baptism in the morning.  She woke up feeling great and was baptized in the morning.  She is so blessed to have so many friends and family that came to support her.  Sunday night the fever came back and we found ourselves in the ER again.  It was terrible.  It took three pokes and a lot of digging around to get her port accessed.  She had antibiotics and was discharged again.  She woke up Monday morning feeling great....until the hives started.  We headed to the clinic where they determined that she is probably allergic to Rocephin now.  She was a rockstar when they had to do a blood draw from her arm for pre-op labs.  We are so excited that she will be getting her port out a little early to avoid her needing IV antibiotics.  She will be "deported" on Tuesday, November 4th!!  

We are so excited to be teaming up with Jette's Journey Foundation to redecorate clinic room 1.  All of the rooms are very boring right now, except for the two that have been redecorated.  Brianne has come up with an amazingly girly idea for room 1.  Redecorating comes with a hefty price tag so we will be fundraising throughout the next few months.  Here is one of the rooms that has been finished already.  If you would like more information about the upcoming fundraisers visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1480271725595213/


As always, we appreciate all of your love, prayers, and support.