December 30 - 6:30 am

We had a slow and quiet day on the 28th as Kenzie packed to leave and Michellie spent quiet time reading and watching TV.  It was the calm before the storm.  After a toss and turn night we awoke at 5:30 am on the 29th to take MacKenzie to the airport.  He headed off in anticipation of home, and New Year's plans, and hopefully a job prospect too.  He was kinda sad to leave us, but he needed to get back to living and doing what teens do.  We headed back to the apartment after a quick Timmy's breakfast at the airport thinking that we would be on the road home by noon.  We arrived at the hospital for our 9 am clinic appointment.  Michellie was trying hard to be awake, but she had kinda got used to the freedom of sleeping in, and she really comes to life around 10 pm actually.  The pharmacy was very busy, so she waited a few hours for her chemo.  During the wait she did manage to eat a muffin and drink some water, but not a lot.  Within an hour of the chemo going in, Michellie became extremely hyper and "chatty Cathy" (for those of you who had one of those dear dolls).  Then her head became extremely itchy, and she broke out in hives all over her scalp and neck.  They quickly gave her Benadryl to calm the reaction, and that completely knocked her out.  For the next 4 hours she came in and out of consciousness with nausea and an intense headache.  By 4 pm we were trying to get her to a wheel chair, as she could not stay in the clinic as it was closing.  Before we could wheel her to face the door she was violently ill.  Our poor dear girl was rehooked up to intravenous and they found her a bed on the 7th floor for the night.  She was wheeled by bed to the ward, and then her blood pressure took a dive to extreme lows.  With more fluids and meds, she managed to climb through this incredible blast closer to midnight.  For the rest of the night, she slept relatively well, and was up to eat a few crackers and toast periodically.  This morning she is resting and is tired, and remembers only snippets of yesterday (thank God)!.

Thinking we were going to be heading home, we had packed up the apartment, handed back keys and parking passes, changed bedding etc.  The cars were loaded and ready.  At 4 pm, with resignation and fatigue and worry we were devastated.  Our social worker was called in, and she quickly found us a room at the Delta Hotel where they have a special program for Christmas called "Home for the Holidays".  We could have gone back to the apartment, but we also just needed to crash.  David took the first shift of caring for Michellie and Michelle went for a shower, food and a good nights sleep.  The hotel was incredibly helpful, and they took care of little details for us.  So, after a solid 6 hours, Michelle is back at the hospital and David has headed for his turn of pampering.  He didn't get supper, so breakfast was sounding very good to him, as well as a big bed all to himself!

We are not sure what today will bring, but we are just so happy to see Michellie's eyes open and aware.  They are truly the most incredible brown eyes!  We know the road is a long one, and that there will be lots of hills and valleys, but it never truly prepares you for the anguish of watching your daughter fight for her life.  We thank you all for continuing to keep us in your prayers and it really does lift us up to know that we have so many family and friends helping us through this.  We can feel your love and we are comforted by how it feels through these tough times.  We are also encouraged by all those who have walked this path before us who are supporting us from their triumphant paths in life - this gives us great hope.  Thank you for your advice and for your experiences to share.  We do look forward to when Michellie is well enough to make it home to her own bed, and in the meantime, we are so grateful for the incredible team at the IWK who are helping her through this.  I hope my next blog to you will be from home and include some antic about our kitties that we are missing so much.  They will be an incredible distraction for us and a huge source of comfort for Michellie when she can hold them again. Thank you everyone and God Bless.