Difficult days but also very blessed in so many ways...

So this week has been extremely busy and difficult week.  I took Ellie to Children’s for Chemo on Wednesday but she was unable to get Chemo this week.  Her counts dropped dramatically, which means that we have to be beyond careful because she
cannot fight any kind of bacteria. Even the bacteria that her own body produces. I think the most difficult thing was telling her she couldn’t go to her School Christmas Party.  She could not stop crying, I felt terrible. Luckily she has an amazing teacher that told
me we can works something out when she is feeling better. Because she was so lethargic the doctors ran some other tests to see if she would have to get a shunt put in.  She had an MRV, blood work, urine analyses, and Optomologist test to see if there was any pressure behind her eyes.  In the Optomologist test they found that her peripheral vision had been affected.  It was so difficult waiting for the results of the MRV. When we were sitting in the waiting room I overheard the doctor say we are waiting for Dr. Tamita.  Which is the brain sergeant; at that point I nearly lost it. I was for sure thinking she was going to have surgery. 
Luckily Dr. Tamita came in and just said we are going to keep an eye on her.  I know of so many kids that have had shunts that malfunction all the time.  I really don’t want this for Ellie.  It was one of the longest days at the hospital ever.  We started our day at 6am and we finished at 6pm.  Needless to say it emotionally and physically wore me out. Getting ready for Christmas this week has been difficult because I had to stay in with Ellie. 

  This morning my Mom and Dave took Ellie to the hospital to recheck her counts.  The great news is that they have slightly come up. This is amazing news because this means that by next week she hopefully will have her counts high enough to get Chemotherapy.  
 
Ellie is home and life is good.  Ellie’s friends at school recorded some video of songs and messages for Ellie.  She was so excited.  I cannot tell you how blessed we feel to live in such an amazing community like Lemont. We have had so much support from, friends, teachers, and people from the community.  Speaking of this we also received fantastic news I received a phone call from a local Lemont resident who nominated our family for a fundraiser for the Ellie Fund.  They were choosing from 6 families and he contacted me yesterday to tell me that we were chosen.  Like I said we feel so blessed.  The name
of the event is a Cocktail Party, it will be held in April and I am hoping to have tons of support from everyone for this event. 
I would love to prove to this foundation that they have chosen the right family.  The website is www.oneforthekids.org it will be updated soon with Ellie’s information.  I hope that we can blow them away and show them how much Ellie is loved.  The proceeds from the event will go to the EllieFund to help with her medical bills. All and all it has been a great week and we are looking forward to a nice and peaceful Christmas.   I wanted to share with you the note that Ellie’s friend from school wrote
about her in the play at the church.  It is so sweet and cute.



“My church school teacher taught me about giving back to other
people What God has given to me. I have a friend in my class that I
learned needed help. I want to tell you about her. My friend is Ellie and she
is 7 years old. She is nice and always happy. Her favorite color is
hot pink.  Ellie had a big thing on her brain. It's like having a huge
ouchie and it gave her lots of headaches. Ellie had to have her head opened
so doctors could make her brain better. She only comes to school in
the morning and leaves at lunch. She has to have lots of special
medicine that makes her tired and sick to her stomach. She can't play gym
 anymore, but she gets to do computers instead. I like Ellie because
she is nice and funny.”


This brings tears to my eyes to know that the kids in her class love her so much.  It is hard not to love her
she is a wonderful and strong little girl.  I wanted to wish Ellie’s Friends, Family, and Fans a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Hold your children close and enjoy every moment of the next few days. I know that Christmas morning
will be a special morning for me personally.