T+417 Big Sister

Torie is going to be a big sister!  Here she is, holding the 1st pictures of her brother, Ryker Quinn.  He is 20 weeks today, and she is very excited to see him.  She knows that "Mommy has baby in her tummy," and every night when Lexie gets off work Torie asks if the baby is at home.  "I hug him.  I so excited see him!"  His birthday will most likely be August 8th, so she still has quite a wait.  You know how I've said that sometimes Torie just knows things?  Sometime in December, before Christmas any way, she told Mom and I "Mommy have a baby."  At the time she was totally enthralled (and still is!) with Baby Sydney and Baby Bella.  We really didn't pay much attention to it.  I guess she was right.  Again.  Lexie and Greg are at least as excited as Torie.  I'm scared.  I know it's irrational.  But after all we've been through with Torie, I'm scared.  And I don't know what to do with a boy except duck!  But this does give Tom and I three of each.  It evens up things nicely...3 boys, 3 girls.  Like Torie, Ryker will have the 4 greatest "Duzins" ever - Chase, Makinley, Brielle, and Cooper.  And I know Torie will tell him about the cousins right away....she talks about them every day.  "Mama-Cheryl, I go swimming with my duzins.  I push 'em in a water!  I yike duzins!"  I am happy for Torie; I know better than anyone that a little brother is one of the greatest blessings in the world.  And this baby will have the most supportive, loving family in the world.  I know, because they're always there for me!

Torie went down on Prednisone to 10 mg last Thursday.  And her labs today were great!  Hemoglobin came up to 11.9, platelets to 228, and WBC's to 5.6.  Chemistries are still all normal.  If she continues this way, she'll be off steroids in 5 weeks!  Imagine.  She could be off ALL her meds in about 4 months.  She is spunky, happy, and doing SO well.  And we owe so much to you...All your happy thoughts and prayers have gotten her to where she is.  We never could have done without your help.  Thank you, thank you! 

And as a quick last thought, Tom was the Facebook Friend of the Week of Ronald McDonald House Twin Cities.  We can never thank them enough either for being our home and family for so many months.  We think of all of them every day and we miss everyone there so much.  Please send your happy thoughts and prayers with ours to all of them there!     

T+411 "I'm 4!"

 Happy Birthday, Torie!  Today is the real birthday, and I've found myself thinking back to 4 years ago today, but also to a year ago today.  Even after celebrating every day that we've had her with us after this long year, today is still a milestone.  And after all of it, she is still so sweet and funny and charming.  In typical Torie fashion, today she asked if she could get a Happy Meal for her birthday.  Like I've ever been able to say no to her!  Especially today.

Her labs were a little low yesterday...hemoglobin went from 13.3 to 11.7.  She seems a little pale today, and a little puny.  But I'm not even guessing anymore - she always surprises me.  Today was (hopefully) her last 15mg dose of steroids.  Thursday she'll go down to 10mg.  Please send those happy thoughts and prayers that work so well that she tolerates this lower dose...you are appreciated!

T+409 Birthday Party!

 Uncle Shaun came over from Ft. Collins to celebrate Torie's birthday.  She had a great time, and we put fire on the candles and sang 4 times!  It's good we've all gotten used to the wax...

This was the first time our family has all been together since Thanksgiving 2009.  Just one more reason to celebrate our Vic-Torie!

T+407 "I Like Cousins!"

It's been ages since I posted, but you know that no news is good news.  Last Saturday the Bower's and the Beckerman's arrived to spend a few days with us.  And we had a blast!  Torie loved seeing everyone and especially loved swimming with them.  She had so much fun swimming and splashing and playing.  This was the first time she's been able to play with kids since we left Minneapolis and our friends at the Ronald McDonald House.  She had a smile on her face and laughed the whole time we were with them.  I was taking her home to Lexie's and she said, "Mama, I like cousins!"

Unfortunately, all good things must end, and they all went home to Arizona Wednesday.  Torie has been talking about Chase, Makinley, Brielle, Cooper, Auntie Heather, Auntie Erin, and Uncle Jason non-stop.  Uncle Colby wasn't able to join the tour, and we can't wait to see him next time.

Torie is down to 15mg of Prednisone every other day, and she's doing great with it.  Her last hemoglobin was 13.3, and her weight is down to 17.6...that's more than 2 pounds less than she was.  She is full of energy and she runs all day.  And we couldn't be more pleased with this Vic-Torie!  

T+398 Still Settling In...

It's hard to believe we've been home for almost 3 weeks.  We're still unpacking boxes and finding stuff we forgot we even had!  Torie is doing great!  Last week we dropped her steroid dose down to 15mg, and this week her hemoglobin actually went up a tiny bit.  Her weight is coming down a little with the decreased steroids; 18.0 kg this week.  She is running, and climbing, and smiling all the time.  It was just over a year ago, March 4th, that Torie was discharged from the hospital from transplant.  It's so nice to see pink cheeks again!

Tom and I spent last weekend in Moab, Utah in the RV.  We went to Arches National Park with our friends Stacey and Matt.  It was great to just be out again.  Before we left last week, I said something about "RV's" to Torie.  She asked, "What a RV is?"  I told her an RV is what our trailer is.  She said, "Mama, I go camping with you."  I replied, "You want to go camping?"  And she told me, "Mama, I have to.  I have to go camping!"  So we can't wait until we can take her.

Thanks again for keeping up with us, and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.  Please keep our Minnesota friends there too!