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.