Cecilia’s Story

Site created on December 6, 2018


Hey fam, welcome to Cecilia's Caring Bridge page.  As you know, Cecilia was diagnosed with leukemia on Monday, just a few days after celebrating her seventh birthday.  It's sad and lame, but Cecilia is choosing to  be strong and have fun and be silly anyway, so we're matching suit.  She has a good prognosis (more on the science from mom in a journal entry to come), and she is in the very best hands at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, so there is much cause for optimism.  There will be a lot of strikes and gutters in the months and years to come, but we're just going to keep on bowling.   


A quick note on donations: 


We are an extremely fortunate family, both in terms of a massive and gifted support network (in the past day and a half Cecilia has been visited by our friend Stephanie, a pediatric oncologist who works here, nurse Katie who stood up in my cousin Mallory Meiklejohn's wedding, cousin Mallory, who volunteers here, and Jesse Golfis, a hugely talented artist who came bearing an unbelievable  and dedicated work of art, just to name a few), and in terms of our financial resources.  We have health insurance, and while we will have to pony up for a portion of the bills, we will not starve.  If the spirit moves you to make a cash donation, we are grateful.  If you have other gifts  or time to share, we are very grateful for that, too.  So long as the insurance company doesn't bone us too hard, we hope to pay forward your generosity by making a donation to Children's Hospital after we win this war. 

Anyhoo, the homebase for the mealtrain (is Real Chili mail-able?) and donations is https://mealtrain.com/94o2gv.   (https://mealtrain.com/94o2gv.  )


Thanks all.  We love you all. 

Newest Update

Journal entry by Jamey Connor

Happy Friday everyone. 

Today was a big day for Cecilia because she got her port surgically removed. A port is like a medical device like a button that sits just under the skin and has a tube accessing an artery.  It allows the care team to access her bloodstream with one little poke instead of having to poke around looking for a vein at each clinic visit. 

Ceci didn't like when her port was touched and she guarded it, but she was glad to not have the hundreds of IV pokes that the port replaced.   If her cancer does come back the port will be easier to put back in, but we're not trying to think about that right now.  Not when we are too busy being excited for .....


BISCUIT SCRUFFLES!!

Ceci is a huge animal lover, and dogs are her favorite.  When she was a baby she would kick and flap her her arms and yell out in joy whenever she saw a dog.  That love endured, including through some very difficult hospital days that were saved by therapy dog visits.  It would be a massive understatement to say that she is excited about having a pup of her own. 

She picked out the name from a short list, and Biscuit seems a perfect fit for the little mini golden doodle Lolyann was lucky enough to claim.  Evelyn, the middle child, was bestowed with the honor of picking the middle name, and I'd say she knocked it out of the park.  Biscuit Scruffles Connor is coming home tomorrow!

Lolyann is dog nesting, working her butt off getting everything we need ready for the little fella.  Special thanks to my sister Cara for driving from Wisconsin to bring us some necessities including a play pen, crate, and in typical Cara fashion, a million other awesome but unrelated and random goodies for everyone.  My new Millennium Falcon phone charger has made a fine addition to my collection.  

Looking ahead, Cecilia still has to take pills every day until about the fourth of July when she will finally be given the all clear.  So while she hasn't crossed the finish line yet, today she cleared the final hurdle and is coasting on to the finish line with a big smile and a little pup.  

 
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