A little too much intensity...

On Monday March 7th Tillie started her fourth phase of treatment, Delayed Intensification. Being aptly named, this phase includes multiple kinds of chemo as well as a return to steroids.  Yesterday alone she received 3 different types of chemo & goes back on Friday for another kind, in addition to 7 days on, 7 days off of steroids. It's tough to have our girl go back onto intense chemo during which she will have more side affects, but we realize it's temporary & necessary to ensuring her body is leukemia free.

We learned that after this there will be one more interim maintenance phase before heading into the 2-year maintenance. The final phase begins in May & is 8 weeks long -- every other week Tillie will be in the hospital for at least 3 days for high doses of methotrexate followed by a rescue to flush it out of her system (we're learning all kinds of new words & terms over here). This will be a particularly trying time because of the multiple-day hospital stays -- we will need help with funds so that Ray Bug can be in daycare allowing Emily to give Tillie her full care & attention. Anybody want to help me organize a fundraiser? I already have use of the Fremont Abby Arts Center for an event & possibly also the donated time of some talented artists! I know we could pull off a fun event & raise some much-needed money for the Maiers, but I need help.

The final blow of intensity came just this morning when Emily headed out to the car with the kids to visit their Mom's Group -- the car had been stolen right out of their apartment parking lot, in it all of the kids' car seats & strollers. Obviously, a new car is needed ASAP in order to get Tillie to & from her weekly treatments, not to mention grocery shopping & other errands. Tomorrow we will have a little outing to buy new car seats for the kids & I'm hopeful that the Komo4 Problem Solvers will help the Maiers get a new car (I just sent a letter to them today).

Stay tuned for photos & updates from our outing tomorrow.
In the meantime, no more intensity for the Maiers! We'd like things to be calm & boring please.

Update

At Tillie's appointment on January 10th, she was a bit anemic, but not enough to transfuse. Emily was told to keep an eye on her, to see if Tillie got more fatigued. At the Mom's group on the 18th, Tillie didn't want to play with the kids, she just wanted to sit and snuggle. That's not a normal Tillie response. Emily checked in with Tillie's doctor and was advised to bring her to the ER. Emily did so and Tillie's counts had gone down quite a bit and needed to be transfused. This resulted in a night in the hospital.

The funny part of this story is that Tillie got some of her tornado back and the ER staff really questioned Emily..Something like "she's fatigued?" They even called Tillie's doctor and he informed them she can be very active. That's our Tornado Tillie!

Tomorrow is Emily's birthday. We are so proud of our daughter in how she has handled this whole leukemia thing! She has been a rock for Tillie.

Happy Birthday Ems! We love you!!

Interim Maintenance Phase

On January 10th, Tillie started her third phase of treatment, Interim Maintenance. This is another 57 day phase. Her treatments have gone from 7 days a part to 10 days apart.

Here she is sporting one of her hats! I think she's having fun with all her hats.

Her first appointment on January 10th was a sedation appointment..Tillie HATES being sedated..because of the sedation, she needed to be there at 7:30AM. The weather was threatening snow and ice, so Emily, the kids and I checked into the Best Western near the Tacoma Dome the night before. The game room had a ping pong table and we had a lot of fun!

Working on making her a Seahawks fan....since neither of her parents are sports fans!

In our hotel room..

Ravis was having fun meeting the baby in the mirror..

Thanksgiving Thru Christmas

It's been awhile since our last post. As of today, Tillie has reached day 42 in her 2nd phase of treatment. In this Consolidation Phase she has had 2 planned overnight stays and each visit has had one or more different types of chemo. Tillie has had little side effects other than tiredness. Her hair is even growing back. It may still fall out as she has a lot more therapy to go through. At today's visit her numbers are down and will probably have a blood transfusion this Wednesday. Fortunately they were able to keep her port accessed for the 2 days..this is good as Tillie does NOT like having her port accessed.

Thanksgiving Day was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's. Saturday of that weekend, Tillie got to go on her first flight with Grandpa in his airplane. Emily and Ravis also got to go up in another plane and Grandma (me) went up on a 3rd. It was a short ride, but lots of fun!

Skip ahead to Christmas where Tillie, Emily, Eliza and I got together to bake cookies. We had a lot of fun! We shared them the next day at the Hearn Family Christmas party. That was fun...

The Hearn Family party was held at Auntie Melony's house in Seattle. We had great fun! The dress Tillie is wearing in the above photo was made by me for Emily in 1991 when she was 4. It's fun to see Tillie being able to wear it.

There are lots of pictures..click here to see the rest of the pictures.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for Tillie and supported the Maier Family by your donations and by your help. We appreciate all that's being done on their behalf. We wish you all a Happy New Year!

What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for Tillie and her fighting spirit as she battles leukemia.

So thankful that I'm asking for your help -- please support Tillie and donate to the Tillie Anne Maier Leukemia Fund.

Snow Adventure

On Monday we experienced our first winter adventure in getting Tillie to her outpatient chemo treatment.  The roads were fine in the morning on the way to Tacoma & Tillie was very excited about the falling snow.  Here she is all smiles waiting for the numbing cream to kick in before receiving the chemo intravenously through her chest port.

The nurse explained to Tillie & showed her on a doll how it all works.

Meanwhile, Ray joined me on a work conference call & we took walks around the Oncology Center. We watched the snow fall, me thinking about the drive home.

Understandably cranky & weak after treatment.

Much better after hot cocoa.

The view as we left Mary Bridge Outpatient Center -- we ate lunch in Tacoma, not knowing how long we would be stuck in the car on the way home.  It was tough when we first headed north, but we were home by 1:30pm -- not bad!

I can't quite bring myself to wish it doesn't snow (I love it & so does Tillie!) so here's hoping it still snows, just not on days when we need to get to the hospital.

You Can Support Tillie & Her Family!

Over the past two months many of you have asked how you can support Tillie -- we are finally settled and organized enough to tell you how!  The positive prognosis of a full recovery for Tillie comes only with the strict adherence to a two-year chemotherapy treatment plan.  While the majority of Tillie's medical costs are covered, the collateral expenses put additional strain on her young, struggling family.  Tillie belongs to a loving, single-income family with another child, Tillie's baby brother Ravis.  The day-to-day reality of groceries, rent, gas, diapers, car insurance and impending dental bills are piling up, increasing the burden during an already stressful time.  

The good news?  You can help!

• $10 pays for gas to and from the hospital where Tillie will be receiving weekly chemo treatments.

• $30 pays for one day of daycare for little brother so that Tillie can have her mother's full attention and care during hospital treatments.

• $50 pays for a babysitter so that Tillie's parents can have a much-needed evening out, providing them with the mental and emotional stores to respond with grace and patience during difficult times.

• $100 pays for a week of groceries, enabling the purchase of healthy foods important to Tillie's health and that of her family.

Just before undergoing surgery for a new port on 11/15/10.

Please click here or on the "Donate" button at the top right to help support Tillie and her family.  

We appreciate each and every dollar.