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Chugging Along
Chugging along. This is what we say when we are asked how we are doing nowadays. Our updates are becoming further apart as time goes on. This doesn’t mean nothing is happening in the world of cancer with Aspen, it just means we’re focusing on enjoying life at the moment, and not taking many breaks. …
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In the meantime
The last couple of months have been nothing short of interesting around here; there’s never a dull moment. By way of recollection, a few weeks prior to Aspen’s Wish Trip to Disney Ashley underwent back surgery to correct a herniated disc. Upon returning from the trip, Aspen had a biopsy (MRD negative) and Troy tested…
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Biopsy Update
Aspen made it to Disney! And, a full update will be forthcoming, but for reasons explained below, a brief one for now. The week in Florida was truly magical. Aspen made it to Legoland, Animal Kingdom, and, most importantly, Magic Kingdom. She sat out Universal Studios and Hollywood Studios. Actually, only Elliott and Troy made…
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Wish Upon a Star
Since the last update, Aspen completed her fourth round of outpatient chemo and Ashley has gone through back surgery (disectomy), we are looking forward to some time away. Life with a medically complex child is unpredictable and rarely easy. Add into that mix, a caregiver recovering from surgery, and well, we are grateful for family…
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The party must go on.
Aspen spent the last two weeks of March in and out of the hospital. Her first stint lasted three-days, having spiked a fever causing an automatic admission. While Aspen did test positive for norovirus and rhinovirus, there was no detectable source of the fever. After two nights and no growth on the blood culture, Aspen…
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Trust Issues.
We have trust issues. We don’t trust Aspen’s cancer, not a bit. Any time Aspen spikes a fever, we get to relive the trauma of when she was first diagnosed. Leading up to diagnosis, Aspen had a fever for 10-days, which continued for another 20-days while in the hospital for her first round of chemo.…
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Negative MRD* emphasis on asterisks
Hey y’all! We’re all still here, doing our thing. We haven’t posted about Aspen’s relapse in awhile because, frankly, it’s been a whirlwind. We have had to readjust our whole world again to relapse life, including our mindsets. The doctors sat us down, again, to remind us that no one has survived this, there are…
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The Relapse. The Plan.
Relapse high-risk AML is a wild world, much different than the initial diagnosis for many reasons. When Aspen was first diagnosed she was critically ill, warranting an immediate response with treatment without much time to really think about the “right” option. At that time Aspen’s disease burden was extremely high, flowing through her peripheral blood;…
Aspen Mary 