Well here I am again. I'm sorry it's taken me two months to get everyone caught up to date on Andra. I'm very happy to say that she is doing GREAT!!!!
First, we went to Camp Sunshine in Maine. Her Aunt Sondra, myself and Andra went the last weekend in July. Andi couldn't get the time off of work. Andra had a blast. She met some really great councilors there and had such a fun time. They had her going from morning until night. We were there the same time as her friend Amanda. They get treated together at Stony Brook. Well, they were inseparable!! They did all their activities together and dressed alike (switching shoes and clothes to make an opposite pair) and they even performed in the talent show together. They were fantastic!
Then Andra had her 7th birthday. We had a party here at the house with her friends and family. It was an American Idol Karaoke/Pool Party. Can you just imagine the fun? She is so happy when her friends come over and play with her. We had beautiful weather and a great time.
Then Andra went to Camp Adventure on Shelter Island. There she went all by herself with the American Cancer Society. She was gone from Sunday through Saturday. She was gone for 7 days and six nights. I can tell you that I was a puddle on the couch missing her, but she had such a great time. She never called me once. She had that much fun. She did say that she was missing me one night but they couldn't get her to the phones. I'm sure it was not any sort of emergency and they were able to calm her down. I know that they discourage calls to home, especially at night, to aviod home sickness. She came home with great stories, new friends and lots of new presents. She came back a more grown up girl.
And then on September 7, she began second grade. She began in Mrs. Giacobbe calss and has since been switched into Mrs. Amendola's class. Both are wonderful teachers and Andra is lucky to have either one. She was off to a rocky start with school but she has since been doing better. You see, the reason she was off to such a difficult start was that she got her LAST doses of Vincristine and took her LAST pulse of steroids!!!! I don't know if you heard me correctly, "LAST"!! How cool is that??? So, we are totally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Only about 5 more months of chemo to go and then no more!!! So if you happen to see me through my windows, you'll see me doing the happy dance. I haven't been able to stop.
Andra is also doing very well with cheerleading. She is enjoying it more every week now that the steroids are leaving her system. And as the weeks go by, she'll feel even better. I tell her, "Today when you are having a good day and feeling great, this is how you will feel next year on your worst day!" That is how good she will feel next year when all these ugly medicines work their way out of her precious little body.
Thank you for taking the time to check in on Andra. Please drop her a little note in her journal. It really makes her happy to read them.
Love,
Mary
