62 Days

I heard of this idea early on in Ellie's treatment and knew it would be great for the girls. A visual way for them to understand the length of Ellie's treatment. The only problem was, I never got around to actually doing the project with them. At first, the idea was to make links for each hospital treatment left, but that never happened. Then, I thought I would do it for the last 100 days of treatment, but I never got around to it then either, mainly because of our Houston trip. I kept waiting for the "right" time to do it, and it turns out that was today. Finally, I was motivated, the girls were engaged, and the project is now complete! We now have a visual reminder of how many days are left of Ellie's treatment. The magic number that we happened to pick: 62!

There's nothing special about this number. But, you know what? The project is finished and the girls could not be more excited! They are giddy at the thought of watching this chemo chain dwindle away. We all are. Nora's exact words were, "I'm so excited for Ellie!"

Update: While in bed last night I realized that yesterday was indeed significant. It was April 9th, which is exactly two months until Ellie's end of treatment. God was honoring my number/order-loving self, even though I didn't realize it immediately.

Two Years

It has been two years since we found out Ellie had Leukemia.

Two years of hard questions and even harder decisions.

Two years of fear and despair.

Two years of hope and love.

Two years of wondering if things will ever be "normal" again, yet at the same time knowing that our family is forever changed.

I saw this picture for the first time this week. It was taken at the very end of March 2016 while, unbeknownst to us, cancer was ravaging Ellie's body. 

Then, a year later, when everything still felt so fresh, we put the anniversary out of our minds and headed to Orlando for a family vacation.

Now, two years after this life changing news, we are nearing the end of treatment. 

As of March 2nd,  Ellie had 100 days left of treatment. That means we are well into double digit days. Ellie goes into the hospital next week for her port chemo, of which there are only 3 left. Only 3 steroid weeks left. She only has one lumbar puncture left. The big milestones are coming fast and we couldn't be more relieved. 

We wish Ellie were stronger at this point. It's frustrating to end with her looking and feeling worse than she did a year ago. Still, the hardest times seem to be behind her and she can only get stronger once treatment is over.

I heard a quote the other day that really resonated with me: "I realize now that it was not a test of Faith, but rather of Strength." 

Thank you for continuing to follow Ellie's treatment and the prayers for her and our entire family. If you are so inclined, we have set up a meal train for the remaining weeks of treatment.