Our Weekend Get Away

We are off to celebrate the first weekend of summer. Grandma, Graypa, the kids, Dave and myself. We are so excited. The kids have packed and packed and packed. The things they think they will be needing make us laugh. In just moments we will be on our way to Hope, Arkansas.

Graypa has gotten the RV bug and decided to test one out this weekend. The Tarheels are playing in Arkansas so why not load it up and take a little drive. The board games have been loaded and now they are placing our little pickle inside. What a weekend we have planned.

This morning we spoke with our transplant coordinators out of Omaha about Ash's lab numbers again. I think everyone is in agreement that most if not all of her trouble has been caused by her course of chemotherapy. Her liver elevation is the only kink in that theory. This is the first time her liver enzymes have really acted up since transplant. It could be a number of different things, but for now we are just watching them. Our prayer is that they stabilize by Monday mornings labs. The first question out of our coordinator's mouth this morning was, "How much longer does she have left in her chemo cycle?" Everyone is ready for her to be finished, but I assure you they are no more ready then we are. We are anxious to see what post transplant life will be like outside of chemotherapy drugs and their effects. Just a normal post transplant life is what we are hoping for. Good days followed by more good days that begin to lead her into great days. This is our prayer for our little gherkin. We are planning a trip to Omaha the first week of July to scan Ash's lungs and see if the chemo was able to rid her of those ugly tumors. If so then we will be cancer free and begin our life as "just" a transplant patient.

I have packed our computer and I hope to pick a signal somewhere once we arrive so that we can update you on Ash this weekend. I hope to post a few pics of her enjoying the RV and all the comforts of home it can bring. I think Graypa is shocked at just how much "junk" it takes for us to travel with our gherkin. You have to prepare for anything and everything because you just never no what Ash has in store for you. Besides all of her necessary "junk" a girl has to look like a princess with matching hair bows, shoes and blankets(not to mention the toys she thinks she needs). I managed to pack 4 of us in 1 bag, but our pickle required 3 bags, a stroller, and one very LARGE box of supplies. Oh, well I am sure they will manage to squeeze it all in somewhere.

It is now 5:00 p.m and we are behind schedule. I suppose I should wrap it up and go jump in the RV for our weekend adventure. Thanks for praying for our sweet Ashley Kate today. Your making a difference in the life of one tiny pickle and she will never be the same because of all the time you have spent in prayer over her life. Thank you again. Take care. Trish