Ella had her annual oncology follow up in July.   All went well.      There are no signs of relapse.     She is doing extremely well.  Her oncologist featured her at a local speech showing how pediatric cancer survivors can thrive.    

Ella continues to meet with endocrinology quarterly.    She is on growth hormone.   At her appointment in August, she was 4' 11".        We are hoping for 5 feet; however, she is already taller than many gymnasts so we are good.   The opportunity for her to grow is probably another year but could be up to 2 years.   She will continue to be monitored closely.  When her growth plates close-growth hormone therapy will stop.

Ella has had some really great experiences over the past year.   First up, gymnastics.  She competed JO Level 8 last year.   She took second place in the state and first place at regionals (7 states).  She is a very talented and determined gymnast.     It will be interesting to see what this year holds for her this year.

Ella is volunteering her time to be on the youth board of TB1Fund.  This is a great opportunity for her to give back.    In addition, I know she will develop some leadership skills by observing her fellow youth board members and the many adults who support them.     A special thanks to Dan, Erin and Brax for giving her this opportunity.   Ella loved attending the Gopher Game in the TB1Fund suite.

Ella attended two gymnastics camps this summer.   The University of Minnesota Camp.  She loves the dorms and the team.      This year she attended with a former teammate, Grace.      She also attended Brown Girls Do Gymnastics Camp at North Carolina A&T this summer.    It was a great time for her to be surrounded by brown girls and brown coaches.      She met new friends, had fun practicing her skills and enjoyed NC (except for the cockroach).     Ella and her teammate, Chloe, both attended BGDC Camp.    I hope they have the opportunity to attend next year too.

Ella also attended Ethiopian Kids Community (EKC) Camp.  This is an opportunity for adoptive families to spend time together on beautiful Lake Koronis.   Now that the kids are older, they love to hang out, go swimming and have fierce battles in the gaga ball pit.

Lastly, she attended Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp aka Camp Wapo.   This has been an annual tradition for Ella and Kiara.      Ella and Kiara have been friends since kindergarten.     Thanks to the Johnson family for driving them up and Jamie for driving her home.      I love how she has so much fun while building her faith.

Ella also had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with friends this summer.    Thank you to everyone who brought her to a cabin for the weekend, had her over for a sleep over or just hung out with her for the day.   A special thanks to the families who helped with the TCT carpool all summer to get Ella home from practice when I had to go to the office.

Summer in coming to a close and Ella will be starting the 8th grade on Tuesday.      It is the last year of middle school in our district.   Ella is loving the social aspect of school: friends, football, etc.  Wishing all the kids, teachers and staff a fabulous school year

Lastly, we added a new family member in February.  Ziggy the Aussiedoodle.  Ella currently has a love/hate relationship with Ziggy.      Ziggy loves to steal shoes, clothing etc.  If Ella isn't careful-off Ziggy goes with her stuff.