So proud of my Little Black Belt..

So here we are week three of the new Chemotherapy.  We have had a few set backs but nothing that we cant handle.  Ellie’s counts dropped a week after starting her chemotherapy and she had to go downtown and get a blood transfusion.  I must say that this was the first time in the new Day hospital and I was very impressed. I was even more impressed by Ellie. After having a 6 hour transfusion we drove to Taekwondo for Ellie to test for her black belt.  Lots of tears were shed when Ellie received her black belt.  She has been working toward this since she was three years old and her brain tumor set her back these past two years.  She got up and did everything and when it was time for her black belt my Mom (Ellie’s Grandma, owner of the taekwondo school) gave a speech about how tough and proud she was of her.  She sat in a hospital bed all day and came and got her black Belt.  Not many dry eyes in the audience.  It was a very special day for our family.  Just talking about brings tears to my eyes.  I included some pictures from the hospital and the testing from the same day.

I must say I am not so pleased with this new Chemotherapy.  Ellie is extremely cranky, tired, and not eating.  I guess it’s just hard when she just came off the last Chemotherapy and she was doing so well.  She is still going to school full days but a few alterations.  She has had to laydown a few times and rest in the middle of the school day.  But she loves having lunch with her friend’s everyday so I don’t have the heart to pull her out half days.  She comes home at the end of the day exhausted.  We have had to start doing homework in the morning before school because she is fresh and has some energy.  Third grade is going to be a struggle but I think with a few adjustments we can make it a little easier.

I say this all the time Ellie is one amazing little girl she battles through her chemotherapy to live a normal life.  It has become more evident to me this past week how strong she is.  I had to take my new MS meds this weekend and had the side effects that knocked me off my feet for a few days.  The whole time I kept on thinking how does she do it?  She is amazing and I couldn’t be prouder of her. 

I included some pictures from this past weekend when we went with Ellie’s Grandpa Apple Picking.