A New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (late)!  We hope all of you have enjoyed happy times with relatives and rejoiced as we have in celebrating the birth of our Savior.  As we reflect on this past year, we are very grateful for the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which has carried us through our challenges.  We thoroughly enjoyed time with family during the holidays.

Lydia has handled the chemo treatments really well.  She hasn't had seemed to have nausea or any other rough side effects for which we are so grateful.  Her has has thinned and become quite coarse and lost the curl.  Janene cut it because it was sparse and getting so matted, but happily she still has quite a bit.  We started out going to Primary's twice a week, then after a couple of months it went down to once a week.  Now, at her last visit, they said she only needs to go down once every 21 days.  Yeah!!   

However, we don't get such a break from the hospital quite yet because yesterday Lydia broke her arm that has the picc-line in it.  She fell off of the rocking chair and landed on that arm.  She broke both the Ulna and Radius bones about an inch below the picc site.  Gratefully the breaks were clean and they didn't have to set them.  The orthopedic said they would heal well.  They put a brace on it for now then we will go back in a week and a half to get a cast on it.  We are not sure yet if the picc can stay there in that arm.  The orthopedic said they can cut a hole in the cast to access the line, but  because of needing to change the dressing weekly, it may need to be moved.  Lydia was again a very good sport.  She cried hard when it first happened then it subsided to only when her arm was moved.  She is such a toughy.  Alyssa cried for her and was worried for her.  She is very caring and empathetic. 

 

















 All in all, Lydia is a happy child.  She is so different from what she used to be.  She seems to really enjoy and appreciate life when she's feeling good.  She loves her brothers and sister, and they love her.  They are able to play with each other well.  She still prefers Janene and me to change her diapers.  That’s too bad.  Hopefully one day she will let the others help in that messy chore(hee, hee).

Lydia finally decided that she could walk (before she broke her arm; now her bandage is too heavy).  She was walking alot during the past month.  She had been taking a few steps here and there before that but then she was almost always walking.  Two weeks ago she watched her cousin go up and down the stairs on her belly.  The next day she decided that she could do that also and mastered it fast.  She helped herself right down the stairs to the toys. We feel like we missed the stage where you have to put a gate at the top of the stairs.  She also has decided to really eat.  She still has the NG tube.  We use that for medicines and for the extra fluids that she isn’t consuming yet.  She is consuming more and more food and liquids daily.  We hope that we can pull the tube someday soon. 

We moved back into our home on Dec 10.  The remodeling project was more than we expected.  When do they ever turn out otherwise!  We have been blessed greatly by our families and so many others in helping us get our remodel done.  It is so nice to go into a house and have it feel clean and new.  That is important to our sanity because of the need to have a clean area for an immuno- suppressed child.  It has been wonderful to be back in our home and enjoy more time together as a family.