Celebrate the Season.....

Hi all.   As I stated on Friday, Hannah is out of the hospital, and both she and Sharon are home!!!  I made it home from San Antonio on Saturday, so the entire Cobley clan is gearing up for Christmas.

Hannah had to go back to the clinic today for a spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration.  Along the way they injected chemo into her spine again, and then she had the first of 3 chemo infusions this week.  She has oral meds for the next two weeks, and then we are done.  If at that time her blood work comes back the same as it is now, she will be declared in remission and begin a 2 year maintenance program that will consist of monthly checkups and oral medication. 

While we are not at the finish line yet, we are close.

The last 5 plus months has been a myriad of of tubes, tests, tears, laughter, hugs, prayers and blessings.  As a family we have been touched by so many that we do not even know how to begin to say thank you.  In fact I do not think it is possible.  There are people that we do not even know that prayed, prepared meals, and helped in some way or another.

While we may not be able to thank everyone with words, I do know that as a family we will be dedicated to thanking you and helping others by paying it forward to help others that get this dreaded disease.  Our lives have been forever changed, for the better, for having gone through this, with your help.

As you gather with friends and family this Christmas season, please stop and take the time to appreciate all that you have, and realize that the material things are not what is important.  It is those that are in our lives daily for which we should be truly grateful.

Also, please take the time to thank God for this gift of His Son.  The most precious gift of all.

Merry Christmas



Eucaristia

Homecoming!!!!

Short and sweet and to the point.  Hannah is coming home today!!

God is good.

Eucaristia

Rebound..

Hi all, it was a rough weekend, as Hannah hit rock bottom on Friday, and stayed there through Sunday.  Saturday afternoon she had a bad reaction to a blood transfusion. She had received 2 bags of blood and did fine with the first one but at the very end of the second bag she reacted - this is quite common - we were very lucky the last time around and only had a slight reaction to some platelets. She started to get really wheezy and as she was getting a breathing treatment she started to develop an itchy rash all over her body. It cleared up on it's own and was completely gone by morning.

Sunday was a day of rest after the battle Saturday night.  She slept virtually all day.

Monday, the start of a new week, her immune system move off zero and began to climb.  Today brought about higher numbers, so she is getting stronger!! She has been fever free or low fever for 2 days so hopefully they will back off the antibiotics over the next couple of days. She is still pretty congested from a cold and has developed some sores down her throat making it hard to swallow and causing extra mucus (gross). Morphine is wonderful and they have started to administer some to help the throat pain.

As I sit here typing she is pulling out her hair - literally pulling it out. It has started to fall out and once you start pulling it, just like picking s scab you can't stop. Yesterday we had fun with tape and put it on her head and pulled it off, you do weird things when you're bored.

We had good news this morning, her counts (hemoglobin and platelets) are all doing what they're supposed to be doing, rising on their own. This means we MAY be home on Monday the 19th. She has a lumbar puncture on Monday morning and then home after that.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

 Eucaristia

Well it happened.....

A fever finally happened, we thought maybe we were going to avoid it this time but no such luck. Her counts are way down so this is very good however I guess it was just a matter of time before she started to run a fever. Her nose started to run last evening and this morning a headache all day and then the dreaded fever. Now after blood cultures have been drawn she has a lovely assortment of antibiotics hanging from her I.V. pole. So for the time being we will limit visitors, feel free to text and send notes to her on Facebook.

We continue to be forever grateful for the continued prayers and many words of encouragement.

Eucaristia

The Bunko Ladies

Hi all,  time for an update.

Lets start with Hannah's health.  She is doing well.  The chemo is done, and now we are just waiting for her immune system to zero out.  Over the last few days, her system has dropped over 3000 points, and is now in the hundreds.  She will hit rock bottom in the next day or two, so please text Sharon if you would like to visit.

Overall she is doing very well, as of now she is not having the really bad side effects that she had last time.  We believe that this is a result of prayer, and the fact that she went into the hospital healthy and we were able to "pre treat" before we went in.

If things keep going the way they are, there is a very good chance that she will be home for Christmas.

So last night the Bunko ladies visited.  A very supportive group that has delivered a tree for her room, a basket of Advent presents and meals.  Last night however took the cake.  The ladies showed up Santa hats, red noses and all. I think the pictures say it better than any words I have.

We are so blessed

Eucaristia

Tis the season

As Craig said in the update on Monday a lot of Christmas happened in a very short amount of time last weekend. I thought it would be fun to share some pictures with you all.

First a quick update from PCH, Hannah is doing great! Sleeping ALOT but that is a good thing, the medicine they give her for nausea makes her very very sleepy. Her last dose of "smurf blue" chemo will be tonight then we just wait for her counts to drop and build back up. If everything goes according to plan we will be home for Christmas.

As you can see from the pictures there was a tree to buy and decorate, lights to put up, cookies to bake, gingerbread houses to decorate and friends to laugh with.

Checking into PCH

Hi all, we have checked back into PCH.   Our room is 7113, just three doors down from the previous suite.  And guess what??? We have already gotten in trouble, no plug in Christmas lights, I guess they just don't understand how we Cobley's do Christmas.  

The days leading up to Hannah checking back in have been filled with laughter and joy.  Once arsenic was done, we were straight onto the holiday season. 

I am Scrooge, and WILL NOT decorate the house before the first weekend in December.  Well... Once we found out that Hannah was going back to PCH right after Thanksgiving, I was informed that all Christmas decor would be up before the end of Thanksgiving weekend.  I put my foot down for all of 30 seconds, and then got after decorating.  Lights hanging, tree up, traditional items in their proper place, Christmas is here.  The entire family welcomed in the holiday season with our traditional movies, White Christmas, and Christmas Vacation.

It all was put on hold this morning as we woke up at 6am for our PCH check in.  

The day started with blood work, a bone marrow aspiration, and a spinal tap.  And oh did i mention that they injected Chemo into her spine during the spinal tap procedure.  No rest for the weary, Chemo starts tonight.

The good part is that we know what is coming, the bad part is that we know what is coming.  

Hannah will receive Chemo through Friday then fight to get her strength back.  Right now, she is good and should be til the end of the week, as her immune system becomes compromised.  

I continue to be amazed at how Hannah handles this with strength and grace.  We are sooooo lucky.

Eucaristia.

Gearing Up....

We are getting ready to gear up for December - it's gonna be a rough one. Craig and Hannah saw Dr. B today and she decided that Hannah would be admitted on Monday, November 28th instead of the original planned date of Wednesday, November 30th. Here is how it will play out...appointment for blood work at the clinic in the morning, head over to the hospital for bone marrow aspiration and spinal tap, a bite of sack lunch, head to admitting where Hannah will stand in the corner with a mask on (lots of germs in admitting) to sign herself in. Then we start 4 days of intense chemo. Most likely she will start Tuesday morning with 3 days of one drug (I don't know the name) so day 1,2,3 one drug then day 3, and 4 "smurf blue" chemo. There will be an overlap on day 3 with both - ugh. I have to say Hannah is glad that we are just getting after it. A few weeks ago she wondered why we couldn't just start on 11/28 why did she have to go to get her Bone Marrow and Spinal Tap done then go home and go back a day later, it just seemed to prolong the inevitable. Let's just get it done. Dr. B says it will take 30 days to knock her down and bring her back up but if all goes well she will be home for Christmas. Although, Dr. B did say if you have to be in the hospital for Christmas PCH is not a bad place to be.

Leading up to November 28th - especially the week of Thanksgiving we/she will have to be very careful about people contact. So we will be laying low for the most part, no movies or shopping etc... We have been very lucky that she has been pretty healthy during this time, one small cold that was very short lived. 

The other crummy news is that we are not allowed to have a live Christmas tree, I guess there is a lot of bacteria and icky stuff growing in the water - who knew?  We will be decorating for Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend, which, according to Craig is just wrong (he got over that idea real fast). We had a plan to get the biggest tree we could find, think National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation tree. But really for Hannah it isn't about the day it is about the season, the shopping for the special gift, the wrapping, the music (she already has her Christmas playlist), the ugly Christmas Sweater party, the baking, the cards, adopting a family - this year we have a family from PCH. You get the idea, the good news (i guess) is that she will not remember some of it and we will have a celebration when she is home. Some wonderful friends have already put a tree in her bedroom so she can enjoy it now and some more friends have taken on the decorating of her hospital room - we have the most wonderful friends and family. Sometimes I look at the families in the clinic when I go with her and wonder if they are surrounded by the love and caring that we are.

We are so blessed this season that Sarah is home from Seattle and has just landed a fabulous job as the store manager of Splendid in Kierland commons you should check it out, that Jessie is having a great year teaching 3rd grade in the Roosevelt school district, and that while Hannah has had a hiccup in her life she is doing well and is as funny as ever. We are truly blessed. Stay tuned for more updates.

Thankful

Hi all.  It has been quite awhile since I have updated, so I thought that it was time to bring you all up to speed.

Hannah is doing well, and life is moving along.  She has a few more weeks of daily clinic visits to receive her arsenic, and then will be admitted to the hospital the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.  Obviously we are not looking  forward to that, but I can see Hannah preparing herself for what she will be going through.

Tomorrow night there will be a gathering at Casa de Cobley that will be an early Thanksgiving.  We will use this time as an opportunity to step off the merry-go-round and give thanks to God and so many of our friends that have been with us every step of the way. 

God has used all of you to bless us and to experience His love through your help and caring.  There are no words that can express the gratitude that we have.  Since there are no words, we will give thanks the only way we Cobley's know how to, with good food, laughter and fellowship.

Thank you all for allowing God to use you to help us through this time.

Eucaristia.

A Prescott Get- Away!

Hello everyone, Hannah here! I am at the end of my two week break from the dreaded Arsenic and boy am I not wanting to go back to the clinic on Monday. This week us Cobley girls ventured up to Prescott with two of the Outcalt girls! It was a fun, quick trip that I desperately needed. We did some shopping, some walking, and a lot of eating. On the downside though, Mary and I both got some pretty bad colds. Last night when we got back I had a very sore throat and low fever. I am not allowed to take any cold medicine or anything because it's a bad combination with the arsenic and could cause heart irregularities. So I just need plenty of rest, cough drops, and my mom is at the store right now getting supplies to make chicken noodle soup!

Here are some pictures from our trip!

 Sarah made a friend!

 Bethanne's delicious apple pie!

Mary and Jessie

We met up with Sarah's friend Danielle and this is her ADORABLE Henry! 

Check out her blog here.

Hanz Made.

Sarah here! I got into town on Saturday and we've had a heck of a time crafting over here. Hannah is in the second week of her break from Arsenic therapy and we're taking a little road trip to Prescott on Wednesday with the Outcalt girls to enjoy a little fresh air and real Fall weather. Hannah's feeling good and is tolerating the Arsenic really well. She's quite the popular gal at the clinic and the nurses miss her when she's not there, even though it's not her favorite place to be. Now for some fun news...

We've opened up shop over here at the Cobley house! Hanz Made, an Etsy shop showcasing vintage inspired hair pins and other fun accessories. Everything is handmade and one of a kind! Since Hannah is unable to work, a little e-commerce shop is keeping her busy and is a great creative outlet. So follow the link and get to shoppin'! 

Click to shop!

Grateful.

Hello all! It's me, Hannah! I decided it was finally time for me to do a post. Let me just start off by saying that I am truly overwhelmed and humbled by all the love and support my family and I have received over these past few months. I don't know how I would get through all of this with out all of you. I started going through the literally hundreds of cards I received while in the hospital and can't even begin to express how grateful I am to have all of this love and support. I also cannot express my gratitude toward my family enough. My parents have given me everything and I don't know how to thank them.

Growing up in a home like mine, I have learned to trust in myself, live faithfully, equip myself to serve not only myself but those around me, and reflect good graces on one person at a time. But none of us knew how to handle this. I thought that this stuff doesn't happen to us, it's only things we hear about. We learned take it one day at a time, some days easier than others. Everything happened so fast, I still don't think it has really hit me yet that my life is forever changed because of this cancer.

I am in the middle of my fifth week of arsenic and after Friday I get two weeks off! After those two weeks, I start another five weeks of arsenic. We found out last week that I will not be home for Christmas, which I am very upset about because Christmas at the Cobley house is quite the ordeal! I go back in the hospital the Wednesday after Thanksgiving and am there for another 30 days. Sarah is also coming home for November, December, and half of January which I am very excited about because I will have BOTH my sisters here! Woo hoo!

I will write again soon about the very interesting and entertaining things one sees at the clinic every day. Boy do I have some stories :)

Here is a link to a video that Sarah's good friend Jared sent me. While I do not have the same type of leukemia the man in the video has, it sort of put things in perspective.

Day 61...a soap box..

Hi all, been a little over a week since my last update, so time to bring you up to speed. Hannah is doing well. Two weeks of arsenic done, 3 more to go, then 2 weeks off, followed by another 5 week cycle. Hannah is venturing out more, even went to a talent show over the weekend to watch friends preform.

She has grown bored with Netflix and DVD's so she has decided to start some craft projects for the church boutique.

Over the last several months, I have watched Hannah go from a lifetime high point (high school graduation, a staring roll in a show that she loves, getting ready to go to college) to seemingly having the rug pulled out from under her with a diagnosis of leukemia. While physically she my not have faced death because of the type of cancer she has, she has faced death mentally. I feel secure in saying that the vast majority have never faced death, so we really have no idea of knowing where she has been. I know where she is going though. On with her life. She has told death to get out of her way.

She chooses to get up daily go to clinic and have poison pumped into her, knowing full well that she has to go back into the hospital in two more months to hit rock bottom again. I do not know if I could do that. Fortunately at this time of my life, I do not have to make those choices.

I am also continually amazed at how she does not seem to care about going out in public with a bald head, and a mask. People do stare, but it does not seem to bother her.

How does she do it? I have an idea, her faith, the strength and support from Sharon, Jessie and Sarah, our entire family, and you her friends and support group.

That being said, it is my turn....

Those of you that know me, know that I very rarely get on my soap box. Why you ask? I have very few opinions about anything, and do not like to speak my mind (serious sarcasm)

While I do not think that this blog is the proper medium to climb up on on a soapbox, I will indulge myself.

We live in a society where it has become very easy to whine, complain or quit. We see it everyday. Someone is blaming someone else for their condition. People whine about not having material things. A few that I see everyday, "my son did not get a scholarship because the coach did not like him", or "coach did not give me a chance so I quit."

As a society we no longer seem to take responsibilty for our own actions, it is someone else's fault. It is sad, but also dangerous for us as a society.

There are a few things that I have always believed;
Our perception becomes our reality
We can not choose what happens to us, we can only choose how we react to it.

I know that I am in many ways preaching to the choir here, but maybe, just maybe we should all take a lesson from an 18 year old young lady, and stop complaining and just get on with life.

At the risk of being knocked off this soap box, I will now step down, thank you for allowing me this rant.

Eucaristia

Day 53....life moves along

Hi all....Life is moving right along. It has been a week since the last update, and it does not seem like a week has gone by. We have really gotten the normal routine of life with cancer. Daily trips to the clinic for treatments, and life in between.

As I sat down to blog tonight, Hannah looked over at me from the sofa and said "if I hold my nose up like this, to I look like Voldemort? I think I will be Voldemort for Halloween because I'm bald."

As you might have gathered, she is doing great. She has finished one week of arsenic, and really has not had too many side affects. A couple of headaches and nausea at the beginning of the week, but that has been managed. She is now enjoying the second of three days away from the clinic do to the holiday weekend.

She also had a few outings this week, dinner party at Jessie's house, Old Navy, and she even made it to Church today.

Thank you for your continued support and prayer, it is greatly appreciated.

Eucaristia

P.S. Hannah has been watching "Bridesmaids" while I have been blogging. Highly inappropriate.

Day 46...the little things

Today's picture is wishful thinking. It is brutally hot here in Arizona, and we are tired of it. What I wouldn't give for nice cool days, in the 90's.

Hannah is great, she went to a jewlery party with Sharon and then even to the mall (mask and all) for a bit yesterday with 2 friends. She is ready for the arsenic starting tomorrow.

Now for a little personal reflection.

To say that this experience has been life changing would be an understatement. In many ways, it has been polar opposites. The fastest and slowest 46 days of my life at the same time. The most heart wrenching and joyful period of my life. The blessings and tears have been too many to count.

The motto of the the coaching staff that I work with is "do the little things" If you do the little things right, the big things will take care of themselves. So many times we as people take the little things for granted. The mundane, the things that we have to do. The things that I really don't want to do, but need to do.

Over the last 46 days, I have come to enjoy the little things. They can mean so much. A smile, a knowing touch, laughter, the wink of an eye. Little things that we do everyday that we do not think about, now affect me greatly and mean a great deal to me.

Now looking back at my 52 years, I feel that I have missed a lot of the little things. I think maybe that I was trained or conditioned to go for the big things. The mountain top experiences, the destination. I don't know, maybe it is a "guy thing"

The journey is filled with the little things.

The little things may not bring the memories, but in many ways they fulfill us. Sharon posted a Facebook status this week of "I have wonderful beautiful friends, my heart is full"

Sharon understands the little things.

I am learning to.

Eucaristia

Day 42... Back at the Clinic

Been a few days since the last update, so I thought that it was time to bring you up to speed. Hannah has been home since Sunday, and things are getting back to normal. Sharon and I are both back to work, and Hannah is hanging out during the day getting healthy.

She had not been to the clinic since last Friday, but today she had to go in to have a bone marrow aspiration. Loads of fun. Since she is being treated at PCH, they actually put her out with general anesthesia. If she was being treated as an "adult" at another hospital, she would be awake for the procedure, but as PCH it is nighty night.

She did great and is back home tonight. Her test results are good! Blood work came back strong, and the marrow tests were good as well! So back home for a few more days until she starts going to clinic Monday through Friday for 12 straight weeks.

Monday starts the second phase of the protocol, which will feature the drug ARSENIC. Yes, boys and girls you heard me correctly she will be treated with Rat poison. Sharon and I considered going to Home Depot to pick up some DCon because it would be cheaper, but thought better of it. We can thank the Chinese for this part of the protocol, they came up with it.

When we asked about side affects, we were told that there are very few, and this better tolerated than the nuclear stuff they pumped into her last month.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support. Again, words cannot express how thankful and blessed we are.

As a side note, I will probably get in trouble for using the picture that I choose for this update, but I really don't care. I like it.

Eucaristia.

Day 39.... Home...

Hi all, after the emergency room, PCH, and the staycation at Chez Fitch, Hannah is home!!

Her room is done, as you can see by the photos!!

Her room is the nicest room in the house, by far! I wanna have it, except it is a little to "girly" for me.

The "thank you's" to the people that made this room happen do not seem sufficient. There were so many that I KNOW of, and yet I know that there were others that I do not know of.

There are really no words....

Home.. I now remember what that means. For the last 39 days this building where I have been sleeping was not home. It was not filled with family. However today there was an incredible transformation. No longer was there the sound of hammers, the smell of paint, and the movement of workers.

Today this building was filled with the sound of music, laughter, and the smell of a home cooked meal.

Home..I truly understand the meaning of that now.

We are so very blessed.

Eucaristia.

Day 37.... the clinic....

Let me start of by saying this. Blogger is making me MAD. For some reason I cannot upload photos. Had a great one for tonight so all of you that know Hannah real well close your eyes. Picture her excited, and that is the picture at the top of the page. Darn blogger.

So Hannah and I went to the clinic today for her first blood work since she was discharged.

She had several good days at Dr Tom and Janis' house and we were ready. Strategy was discussed, and the game plan was in place. Here it is... Blood tests good, no transfusions, go home.

That being said she had a tuff night. Up for about an hour with really bad heartburn. I actually think that while Hannah did not enjoy the heartburn, Sharon enjoyed it as I was snoring and this was our first night in the same bed in 37 days.

As we drove to PCH not a lot happened, but when we got there, Hannah's attitude changed. It seemed to be a sad place. Something that we are not used to. As she sat there with her bald head, and not feeling great, she was commenting on how bad she felt for the other kids. One of the reasons that Hannah is loved so much is that she, like all of our girls always puts others before themselves. Sharon and I are very fortunate.

That being said, we go in, have tests, and guess what?? All the test show that she is doing great!!! Numbers up, no cancer.. As Sarah would say, Hannah is kicking cancers ace!!!

On the way home I was fortunate enough to see HannahPod (hPod). hPod is her version of an iPod on shuffle. Songs, songs and more songs along with dances in the seat next to me. I was glowing.

Hunger set in and Hannah wanted a California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza. One way to get it. Go to Safeway.

We were given the thumbs up for going to a public place, so as we stood outside the door, me getting the cart, and her putting on her mask she said she was nervous, I looked at her and said, "Why? We gotta do this some time." Her response, "You are right, lets go."

The pizza tasted great.

Eucaristia.

Day 35... What I know...

Hi all, I had a post last night, and blogger has somehow changed how pictures are uploaded, and I lost it. Tonight, for whatever reason, I am not able to upload pictures, so this update will be all words.

Hannah is out of the hospital. She is doing well. What I have come to realize is that this is now the grind. Not a lot happens from day to day. Hannah gets stronger, while we all wait for a miracle. The miracle is happening, it is happening with God's timing not ours.

I spent most of the day with Hannah yesterday, and several things were confirmed.

Good comedy is timeless...
We watched several episodes of SNL from first year to current, and funny is funny, good comedy stands up.

I make a better grilled cheese than PCH.

Hannah has a personality that is contagious.

Hannah gets tired fast. But she rebounds much faster than she did a week ago.

Hannah does not seem to care that she has no hair... she is VERY comfortable with who she is.

The biggest confirmation..

I love my family very much..


Eucaristia.

Day 30.... The God Bead

Hi all, it has been a few days since I have posted, but not by design, life has just happened.  Sharon has gone back to work (working half days), and of course last night I had to attend the Arena Bowl these are priorities to us, and heck, the kid is now 18, an adult, she can take care of herself.. Right?

Well, over the last few days, Hannah has rejoined the world.  Her numbers are great, she looks good, the sores are almost gone, and she is eating.  She is being weened off all of the drugs that she has been taking, all preparing her to come home.  We were expecting this to happen on about Wednesday.

Well today we were dropped a bombshell.  She is coming home on MONDAY!!! RED ALERT, RED ALERT!!!.  The house is not ready!! The carpet is not in!!  What shall we do?  The elves kicked it into high gear today, and we are basically waiting on the carpet at this point.  We are at the mercy of shipping and there is nothing that we can do about it.

So Monday, when Hannah gets discharged, she will be going to a "halfway house" of sorts.  She and Sharon will be staying at the house of Dr Tom and Janis.  What could be better, going from the cancer ward to the home of a cancer Dr, and former nurse.  Perfect!
 
On Friday, Hannah, Sharon and I were in the room when Chantelle came in to tell us about Beads of Courage www.beadsofcourage.org.

What we found out about this organization is that they help kids that are seriously ill deal with their illness by giving them beads to string together representing their journey.

Each color and style of bead has a different meaning.  For example the number of days that you have had Chemo is a specific colored bead and you get a bead for each treatment.

Other beads include:

One bead for each day in the hospital (this was a lot  for Hannah)
Number of times you had a poke.
Hair loss bead
Milestone bead.  etc.

As Chantelle counted out the days in hospital bead, and got to 30, Hannah was shocked.  She looked at Sharon and I and said "wow, that's a long time it doesn't even seem like two weeks"  Sharon and I then let her know that about two weeks of her stay was brutal.  What we came to find out is that she has very little recollection of that time - this is a good thing.

Personally I enjoyed learning about the beads.  Upon reflection I realized that the bead box was missing one bead.  The God Bead.  While it might be similar to the anchor bead, to me it would have much more meaning.

The God Bead would be a sign to me that the only reason that we have gotten through this is because of Him.  At the time of hurt, questioning and pain, it was the bead I needed most.

 I realized that the shape of the God Bead is that of a Cross.

 Eucaristia

Day 26... Things looking up........

So I have not updated (you or the blog)in a few days, family members have, and quite frankly not a lot has happened.  Well, today, I can honestly tell you that things have happened.  What has happened has been on many levels, Hannah's health, house progress, and God's grace. 

From a practical standpoint I will eliminate house progress.  I, in no way mean to take away credit, or take away the importance of this, however, I believe it will be better served in a later post.

So the other two areas of change are... Hannah's health, and accepting God's grace. 

So as to keep you all here, lets deal with God's grace first next, as that will keep most of you reading until you get to Hannah's health.

I am learning more with each passing moment.  I have never been one to stand on the sideline.  Put me in the game.  Well as of this moment, there are 8 people in our house preparing it for Hannah's return.  This is difficult for me, I am here blogging away, and they are working.   I am becoming ok with this but it is still difficult. 

God's grace is being displayed to me through these people. They will not let me help.  They want me to get rest.  They WANT me to blog.  So through God's grace I am learning that being an active participant does not mean that your fingernails need to get dirty.

So on to Hannah’s health.  Ok, here goes.  She has been fever free for 48 hours!!!!! She is eating!!!! They are going to start to wean her off the antibiotics starting tomorrow!!!!  They have scheduled her tests to compare against baseline for Monday!!!  What does this mean?  Well if all goes the way it should, she should be home this time next week!!!  At this time phase 2 of the battle will begin. 

Hannah's personality is coming back.  In a big way.  Here is today's example.  Dr. B was talking to Hannah about grandma's visit and how nice it must be to have your grandma live with you.  I mentioned to Dr B that she lives in a guest house, and Hannah said, "yeah, she lives outside in a shed"  Hannah is back.

Eucaristia.

Day 24... Mom's turn...

So I told Craig I would update the blog tonight, the evening got away from me. Dinner, shower, dressing change, nausea, it was a very full and eventful evening. So here it is 10:30 and I am pooped. I started back to work for a few hours today and it was good to be back at Desert Mountain and out of here for a few hours but at the same time I couldn't help thinking that the vary capable and caring doctors and nurses might mess up if I wasn't here. Of course they didn't. She slept the day away - her friend Amanda came and hung out with her and she slept the entire time, rude, I taught her better - it is not polite to fall asleep on guests. Anyway thanks so much Amanda for hanging out with sleeping beauty. Her numbers are still good this pesky fever needs to go away though I mean really, 2 weeks is quite enough. On. The up side of that the angry rash she had is going away.

I had lots of things to say but now can't put a thought together. Some elves came to my house today and straightened up and cleaned and organized. You know those pot shelves that we (I) put stuff on and then pretty much forget about until we look up say to no one in particular "I really should get up there and clean those off) well. I've been saying that for about 5 or 7
years - They Cleaned Them!!!! Oh my a true labor of love. So thank you, you know who you are, I don't, well I have an idea. And if you ever need your pot shelves cleaned I'm your girl.
..

That's all I've got. Too pooped to peep..

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Day 22... Dad is back..

So after a couple days off on Hannah's status, here goes. Over the last few days, her immune system has increased by 1000+ points!!! Huge gains.  Cancer is on the run.. No cancer cells being produced, and her blood levels are great.  (as confirmed by friend Dr Tom.)

That being said however, we are still days away from her coming home.  Her blood levels will allow it, however she is still fighting a slight fever,  Hannah is still not eating a lot which is a result of the sores in her mouth (that have gone down her throat).  When the fever and the eating gets resolved, she will be home.

So the race is on, what will she come home to?  Well if she was discharged today, she would not be coming home.  Friends and family have been working around the clock to get her room ready, but in some cases we are at the mercy of deliveries.

Today was an eventful day.  My sister flew in today to help.  Those of you that know my sister know that she is a very thoughtful person, and nurse, that wanted to be here and help.  Keep in mind that while my sister would do most anything for anyone, she is not one to get dirt under her fingernails.  Well guess what?  Project leader Allie had her sanding an end table with a power sander!  WOW.

Speaking of Allie, she and big sister Jessie left the house today covered in paint.

As I have said before, the outpouring of support is beyond belief.  I come home daily and see changes to our home that have one focus in mind.  Hannah's health.

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Day 21..Sarah's trip.

I would say that the Cobley family has been thrown the most serious curve ball of our lives, but after so many out reaches and get-wells, I'm realizing that we're not the only ones who have been completely phased by Hannah's health. I was in town for 5 short days to take a good look at my sister and make sure she was being well taken care of at PCH. I mean, that's what big sisters do, right? Right. We had two bad days, Thursday and Friday. She didn't respond much to me while I was with her, and I was praying for something more. It might sound selfish, but I couldn't dream of leaving Phoenix to go back to Seattle without something, anything that let me know we were going to get through this. As I was driving to the hospital on Saturday morning I get a text from my Mom that says "Hannah was just asking for you." I don't think I could have possibly driven fast enough. With a smile on my face and tears in my eyes I arrived at 20th and Thomas in record time (no, Mom, I wasn't speeding.). I come racing up to the 7th floor to find her sleeping. I was slightly disappointed but I waited. Within the hour she opened her eyes and took a look around her room. Her eyes rested at mine, she winked. And smiled. "There she is!" I thought as I came and sat at the edge of her bed. She scooted over to one side of her bed so I could fit next to her. We laid together and she laughed and kept her hand with mine. We watched a movie, sang along to the soundtrack and stuck our feet in the air to see who had a better toe point (we were watching a dancing movie.). Dad just wanted to watch Harry Potter, and in a very Cobley girl way, we both sat up at the same time, rolled our eyes, and went back to what we were doing.

 Just like that, it was time for me to get on a plane. She was tired again, so I grabbed her hand, gave her a big smooch and told her how much I loved her. What I wouldn't do to be back in that hospital bed with her again.

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