Addie is in REMISSION!

Hi Everyone!  Its been a little before I have updated as we have been settling in at home and trying to find our new "way".  I updated on my Instagram (@Michelebell21) when we came home, so hopefully you can follow me there, as sometimes its easier and faster for me to post updates.  Addie is doing so great at home!  The only time she is upset or crabby is when she has to stop eating, LOL.  Seriously though - steroids are NO JOKE!  They have turned my picky eater into a ravenous little girl who just wants to eat all.day.long.  She wakes up in the middle of the night to go potty a lot (she is drinking a ton of water - which is awesome!) and always asks what we are having for dinner and tells me what she wants for breakfast and what she wants me to get at the store.  I'm always half asleep at 3am and laughing hysterically at our food conversations in the middle of the night!  Thankfully she took her last dose of steroids last night, but it will be a few days before they are out of her system. The doctors also warned me that coming off of them may cause her to be moody.  The steroids have also made her legs pretty weak and she is having trouble going up and down stairs, which is heart-breaking.  I think seeing her struggle with the steps has to be the hardest for me yet.  The steroids have also made her face all puffy and belly crazy big.  The doctors have assured us that this is all normal and will all go away and she will return to her normal self after the steroids are gone-thank God.  I know they are necessary for her treatment, but I hate them even more than chemo.  So far (knock on wood) she has been handling the chemo like a champ!  Her hair is starting to thin in places and come out in strands when we brush or wash it and I have been dreading this the most.  I tried having a little talk with her about it last night and the nurses even gave her a barbie named Ella who is bald and comes with different wigs.  I don't know if she has grasped it yet nor do I know if she will completely lose it or if it will just thin out and get patchy.  Her hair will grow back and if that is the worse thing that happens, I'll take it.  My fear as her Mom is just how she will be perceived or treated by her friends and other little ones who can't quite understand or are use to seeing their friend without any hair =(.  I just don't want it to effect Addie, though the nurses have assured us that most kids her age aren't usually phased by it.  Her hair is so long and she's never had it cut, so we are starting to talk about it more and even hinting at the possibility of cutting it a little shorter so it is a little easier to manage.  Thankfully she hasn't had any other side-effects from the chemo, so we are counting our blessings about that.  Day by day, one conversation at a time, one step at a time.  Thats how we will make it through.

Today is Day 29 - the BIG day that we have been waiting for since we were given her diagnosis.  She had her spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy yesterday and did so great!  They also gave her another Intrathecal dose of chemo.  Funny sidenote- I actually woke her up at 1:30am the night before to let her eat some pasta because she wasn't allowed to eat or drink past 2am.  Her procedure wasn't until 10:30am and needless to say my child was the definition of HANGRY all morning!  Her doctor called me tonight to share that - wait for it....ADDIE IS IN REMISSION!!  Her bone marrow came back showing 0 leukemia cells!!  We won't know the results of her MRD results until Monday or Tuesday when we will also be given her next 28 day treatment plan for the consolidation phase - based on her risk, determined by the MRD test.

Thank you for all of your prayers, I am so happy to share that they have been answered!  Please keep praying for my little girl and I will keep fighting this battle alongside her and keeping you all updated along the way!

With Love,