Hello Friends,
I have some very exciting and happy news! Lauren took her LAST dose of oral chemo and officially ended her treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Lauren still has her port and we have a consultation with the surgeon in a week to discuss and schedule port removal. Lauren will need to go in for bloodwork once a month for the next year to make sure all her numbers are where they should be. She has been feeling good and is excited to start kindergarten next month. It’s been a long 2 ½ years with some bumps along the way but we are so thankful to be where we are now.
We wanted to thank everyone who supported us throughout this journey, especially in the beginning when we needed it the most. Your thoughts, prayers, dinners, donations, kind words, gifts for the kids, bracelet buying - It is all so much appreciated and made us feel so blessed and loved. Thank you all so much for everything. We are very grateful to be moving forward in this next chapter of life after cancer.
Xoxo,
Shawna
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McKinley is doing really great. She's loving school, LOVING dance & enjoying being off chemo meds. It really is amazing how much she's grown, how much she's developed & how much more personality she has since she's stopped chemo. All things are looking great which is wonderful news. We've been very busy with advocating & promoting childhood cancer awareness month & attending a lot of events. We did have one scare at this months appointment but all was confirmed negative with an ultrasound. Myself, a few other "cancer moms" & McKinleys oncologist were all concerned about a vein by where her port was placed especially since she had a clot in the past. But all was confirmed ok with a quick ultrasound (Thank God). I'm not sure I'll ever be able to take a deep breath but I do try too. We are praying for a Halloween at home this year (last year we spent 8 days in the hospital fighting a nasty virus over Halloween). And although the nurses & staff came by her hospital room to trick or treat, I'm actually looking forward to sweating & fighting bugs on Halloween night this year. It's the little things 😉 Thank You as always for keeping McKinley in your thoughts & prayers.
xoxox,
Karen
LAUREN'S CORNER