Go Abbey Girl!

Friday was Abbey's clinic day and all went well. Her numbers were good and her visit was fine overall. Her normal nurse and nurse practitioner were both on vacation and the doctor that we deal with the most was not in clinic while we were there so we dealt with all different people, which was kind of weird. They are all very knowledgeable and they all know what they're doing, but it's amazing how much we have gotten to be so comfortable with our "regulars". It's usually like going to a good friends house when we go to clinic because we catch up on life with them and there's something very comforting about being with people who have been there since day 1 with us and who know every single thing that has happened medically over these past 22 months with Abbey. Our nurse Kathy knows me so well and no matter what my concerns are (and no matter how small they seem), she takes her time and talks me through everything. I can't tell you the number of times that she's been a shoulder to cry on for me and she can tell in my eyes when I'm worrying about something or needing more information. So, needless to say, it's easier when our normal medical team is there. Abbey breezed through the day though like a champ. She never once complained about not being able to eat (and she wasn't awake from sedation till after 2:00) and she just went with the flow through her chemo, exam and sedation for her lp. I am always so happy when she opens her big brown eyes after it's over and I get to take her home :)!

Wanna know something super cool?? This week Abbey learned how to swallow her pills whole with water instead of them needing to be crushed up and put into bites of food. A while back we had talked to her nurse about little kids swallowing pills and she said sometimes they can learn to do it. We never did ask Abbey if she wanted to try it because we really felt like she was too young to even attempt it. There is one week per month where she has to take three pills each day for a five day period (her steroids 2 times a day plus her oral chemo). Well the other night out of the blue (apparently this has been in the back of her brain since she heard us talking about it at clinic a couple months ago) she asked me if she could try to swallow the pill whole instead of me crushing it up. Of course I said sure and after three sips of water, the pill went down. Since then she has swallowed every pill that I have given her including her chemo (this one I have to cut in half because it's pretty big, but she gets both halves down without a problem :)! She is sooo proud of herself and we are sooo stinkin proud of her too! I think I was about 13 before I learned to swallow pills and I still don't like the feeling, but like with everything else this girl has amazed us with her courage and strength through this journey. Go Abbey Girl :)!