Alice gets a Puppygram for Valentine’s Day.

Alice has had her last scheduled chemotherapy treatment, and has recovered from her most recent fever and hospital stay. She continues to have blood drawn regularly and we’re watching to see if she needs another transfusion. She’s still wiped out, very tired and not feeling great, but it’s clear that she’s feeling better daily.

She has “end of treatment” scans (PET, MRI) scheduled for March. Of course, we hope there will be no sign of cancer. She’ll continue to be monitored and have scans every three months for a few years.

I’m often asked if we’re relieved or excited. Honestly, no one is feeling any of these emotions yet. Ending chemo is a really scary thing, as odd as that sounds. We will be focusing on living and eating healthy and avoiding stress. Enjoying every day and playing with the dogs will be helpful as she continues to recover from this year. She hopes to return to Putney School after their March break.

As we move on, it’s helpful to me to reflect back to see how far she has come. Honestly, this kid is a rock star. Here are some numbers that demonstrate the enormity of her treatment:

  • 3 unplanned hospital admissions due to fever
  • 10 hours in surgery
  • 12 units of platelets
  • 28 units of red blood cells
  • 31 radiation treatments over the course of 50 days
  • 49 days of chemotherapy treatments over the course of nine months

wow.

I’m also reflecting on all the support and love we’ve received this year. It’s been overwhelming and beautiful. I’ll never be able to thank you all enough, I just hope I can pay it forward in some way. Thanks for being there for us.