Busy, busy, busy...

Things are getting so busy these days, I sometimes forget to update on Greta's progress! We had Greta's monthly clinic last week and everything checked out great. She'll go back again mid-January at which point she'll be about one year post transplant. What a great milestone! I can't believe it's already here. Last year at this time we were all anxious and apprehensive about the transplant and here we are already a year gone by! Unfortunately for Greta that means she'll be ready to start getting her vaccinations again. But it also means that her clinic visits could be 3 months apart rather than every month. Amazing!

Greta is also very busy, busy, busy! She does not ever stop going and she does not ever seem to stop smiling. She takes joy in every little thing she does. It's a trait I hope to learn to pick up myself. She and Gavin are very excited for the upcoming Christmas celebration. They are counting down the days until Santa comes to visit!

We hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed and safe Christmas holiday and New Year!
Love, The Betz Family

And the Results are Good!

Greta's scans came back and she is still cancer free. So we are worry free for 3 more months until the next tests. Thanks so much for all the positive thoughts and the prayers!

We hope everyone enjoys Thanksgiving, we sure will!

Scan Day

Today was Greta's 3 month CT and bone scan. Once again it was a long day at the hospital, started at 8:30 and home at 3:30. Greta did great though and is probably the best 3 year old at entertaining herself in a small closet sized room that I know! Now it's the waiting game for results. Which means anxious days at the Betz house.

In other news, Greta celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday. What a great milestone for all of us. It was over 18 months ago that Greta started treatment. In those days I sometimes questioned whether this was a birthday we'd ever get to celebrate. I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind as quickly as they came in. They mostly came in moments when I'd be shopping and pick out something for Greta for the next season, or the next size up and wonder if I should even buy something she may never wear. But I shook those thoughts and filled her closet with clothes for the next year or two in advance.

We had two celebrations, a family party on Friday and on her birthday we took Aunt Kari and Aidan to Chuck E Cheese, something she wasn't allowed to do while she was under going treatment. She had a great time and I'm sure we'll hear the pleas to go back a lot!

We are thankful for the prayers for good test results and we'll report back as soon as we get them.

Love,
The Betz Family

She's 3!!!

Happy Birthday, Greta Girl!!!!

XOXOXO Aunt Kari :)

9 Months and Counting...

It's already been 9 months since Greta's transplant and time has flown by. The summer was so fast without spending every other week in the hospital. Greta has been doing amazingly well, in fact she's probably been the healthiest person in our house so far.


Greta had her monthly check up Tuesday and she is still doing fantastic. She was cleared to get her flu and pneumonia vaccines, so she also got those on Tuesday. Now the rest of the family needs to get theirs so we can try to limit Greta's contact as much as possible. Next month will be time for her quarterly scans. Another day of anticipation and worry for her dad and I, I'm afraid. But we are confident that the scans will be great as always.

We're asking for some continued prayers for two of our family members that are undergoing chemo currently. Please keep Greta's grandma Kim and great aunt Lynda in your prayers. Both are extremely strong woman and we are hoping for the best!

Love,
The Betz Family

Another Routine Visit!

It's good to know that "routine" is now quick in and out visits. Greta had her now monthly visit to clinic. She had her blood drawn which she only whimpered for the moment of the poke and that was all. No crying! She is quite amazing. Her results were perfect and so we were home before we knew it.

We also got the chance this year to go to the P.O.R.T. (Pediatric Oncology Resource Team) picnic Saturday and although a little chilly we had a great time. The kids really liked the inflatable slide and watching the staff get dunked in the dunk tank. They also got to go inside an Aeromed helicopter and a firetruck. It was also nice to get to see other patients and hospital staff outside of the hospital.

We're having a great summer and are thrilled to be able to spend it out of a hospital room this year. We're counting our blessings every day!

The Betz Family

The Results are in...

and Greta is cancer free! The scan reports show no sign of disease in either scan. We are elated! We were pretty sure the results would be good, but we're relieved that she is holding strong. How amazing she is! Greta will now be rewarded with a whole month without any blood draws, all things remaining the same. What a nice break for her.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for Greta and her family and for all the support!
The Betz Family

Now We Wait...

Greta had her scans today, it was a very long day. We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 and Greta had her IV started and her injection for her bone scan and then we had 3 hours to wait until her scans. So we went up to the 7th floor to visit all of the doctors and nurses and got to show them how great Greta looks. Greta did great considering she'd had nothing to eat since the night before. We were on our way home by 3pm. Now we have to wait a couple days to hear the results.

We are asking that you pray for Rosie's family, as we are saddened to hear that Rosie's long battle ended last night. Greta and Rosie used to do laps together around the halls, Rosie in her wagon and Greta on her IV pole. Our hearts are breaking for her family.

Love,
The Betz Family

Scans This Week

Greta had another check up on Friday at the clinic. Her counts are still staying nice and high. She had had an ear infection a few weeks prior and the fact that she was able to keep her platelets high even after an infection was a good sign.

Wednesday Greta has her CT and Bone Scans. We are a little anxious for the scans. This will be the first scans since she reached her 100 day mark and it will be almost 7 months since her last chemo treatment. So we are a praying that the results continue to show no signs of any cancer. We're asking you too to pray for Greta this week!

We had a great time at the cottage last week. Greta absolutely is a water baby. She could spend the whole time playing in the water, the sand box, or throwing rocks into the lake. One day she wanted to be in the water so badly we stripped her down to her birthday suit! It was a wonderful time for our family and we really enjoyed our time together.

We're hoping to get scan results by Friday so we'll be hopefully able to post the good news right away!

With love,
The Betz Family

Holding Steady!

Greta had another lab draw today and her platelets are still staying up, up, up! Such great news. She'll go back the end of July to see her oncologist again and then she'll have a CT Scan and a Bone Scan the first week of August. So keep those prayers going and those fingers crossed for good results!

In other health news, we're fighting some infections at our house. Gavin had some inflammation in his chest causing some coughing, runny nose and a week of fevers, then Greta took a turn with the running nose and cough which turned out to be an ear infection. We're just happy to have those all taken care of and get them outta here in time for our trip to the Cottage.

Hope everyone is having an amazing summer!
The Betz Family

Thank You

I just wanted to send out a quick thank you to Liz and Sam Gordy. Liz is the sister-in-law of Randy's sister Tammy and she and her husband Sam shared with us that they were involved in Relay for Life and had made a luminary in Greta's honor (please see the posted pictures). We are so touched that Liz and Sam honored Greta and so appreciate all the work they do for Relay for Life.

Thanks so much!
Randy and Kristi

Greta's Checkup

Greta met with her oncologist on Tuesday. He was very pleased with Greta's response to her treatment for her ITP earlier last month. Once again her platelet count was nice and high. Although there is the potential for them to drop again so we're still on guard for any signs of bruising and bleeding. Her weight also took a big jump since her last appointment, she's packed on almost 2 1/2 lbs this month. The other great improvement has been to her bowel movements. They used to be so painful for her that she would hold her breath and then cry out in pain during them. Now we aren't even aware when they're happening.

The great news is we don't need to go back for two more weeks for her labs and then she'll be scheduled for a CT scan and a bone scan in early August.

We hope everyone is having as great a summer as we are!
The Betz Family

Another Quick Trip

Greta had another blood draw today and the results came back great again. She'll go back on Tuesday to the hospital to be seen by her Doctor for her monthly check up. I'm expecting we'll also find out about her next CT Scan too since we're coming up on 3 months since her last one.
We took Gavin, Greta and their cousin Aidan to Craig's Cruisers this week to celebrate Gavin's 6th birthday. I have a cute video of Greta dancing on the DDR video game, if I can ever figure out how to post a video, I will add it. She and Gavin also loved play mini golf. Greta's technique is to hit the ball, pick it up and drop it about a foot away from the hole and then knock it in. Gavin and Aidan like the go-carts best.

We also were able to get out on the lake in the boat this past weekend. Greta is definitely a water baby. She loved riding in the boat and playing in the water. We're hoping to get out again this weekend.

We hope everyone is enjoying the summer as much as we are!
Love,The Betz Family

Still Good!

Greta had another blood draw today and after a few tears, she was back to smiling and saying bye-bye to the nurses as we left. The good news came a couple hours later when the results came back that her platelets still remain at a nice healthy level. We'll be back next week for another check.

We're hoping for nice weather this weekend so we can take Greta and Gavin on their first boat ride in almost 2 years. We think that would be a nice Father's Day gift to Daddy.

Happy Fathers Day to all you dad's and grandpas!

Love,
The Betz Family

Good Results

I am happy to share with you that Greta's platelets were still very good yesterday, they continue to stay high and for that we are very grateful! So we headed off to Grammy and Opa's for the weekend. Greta not only is doing well, but she looks great. She finally got her appetite back and it's starting to show. Her face has filled out as well as her belly!

Side Effects

Greta came home from the hospital last Wednesday night after having her IVIG treatment. She was given a drug to help counteract the migraine like headaches and nausea the IVIG can cause. Sunday evening about 24 hours after her last dose of medicine, Greta started complaining that she had a boo boo and was holding her head. She started trying to cover her head with her blankie and kept laying down. Moments later she started vomiting. After an hour or so and 3-4 occasions of vomiting, we called the hospital.

The doctor put Greta back on her medication, the tough part was keeping it down for it to start working. We think she stopped after about the 12-15th episode or so. She slowly started to act like herself again and by 10:30 she seemed to be feeling better and went to bed. As always any time anything out of the ordinary happens, we start thinking the worst. It's hard to watch her in so much pain and feeling helpless to stop it. Tomorrow Greta has her blood draw again to check her levels. Hopefully her platelets continue to hold steady after the IVIG treatments. We'll keep you posted tomorrow on her results.

Thanks again for taking this journey with us and supporting us as we experience this new and uncertain world of childhood cancer. Please continue to pray that Greta stays healthy!

Love,
The Betz Family

Good News!

Greta had her counts checked today and the good news is her platelets are UP! So we are breathing a little sigh of relief. She'll go back on Thursday to be rechecked, but we are hopeful that she'll be able to keep them up this time.

Greta is doing so great, she looks good again, her bruises are starting to clear up and she skips everywhere she goes. She is having a great time at her day care (although we're told she sits in time out quite a bit for throwing toys at the other kids). We're hoping that being back around the other kids will get her used to sharing again. Gavin had his last day of school today and we got a great report back on his progress this year. He's excited for the summer and spending his days at day care with Greta and his cousin.

Thanks for checking up on us. We hope to be able to have good news again after her labs are checked on Thursday.

Love,
The Betz Family

We're Back In and Out Again

Greta had clinic again Tuesday. She unexpectedly had low platelets again. So she was admitted back into the hospital again Tuesday night. Her doctor decided to give her two more doses of the IVIG to help fight off the virus. They hope that the extra dose will get her body to stop fighting off her platelets. She received the first dose Tuesday night and then another one Wednesday evening. Unfortunately her IV failed again in between the two doses so she had to have another IV started. Once again her veins were collapsing as soon as they got started. So after 4 tries and some mild sedatives, Greta was back in business. Unfortunately the 2nd round started much later than hoped so the Betz family had a late night at the hospital and we were finally freed around 11:30 Wednesday night. Needless to say we're a sleepy bunch today.

Greta goes to get her labs drawn again tomorrow (yet another poke) and hopefully her platelet count will have rebounded. The concern is if this doesn't work, the other options for treatment aren't ideal for a post transplant patient as they could reduce her immunity or her red blood cell count. So the doctors are working on other options at the moment. We are praying though that a plan B won't be necessary and that Greta will be on the mend soon.

Please keep her in your prayers as we continue down this road. We also ask that you continue to pray for our little friend Rosie who was sent home a couple weeks ago and has been given a couple months if not weeks as there is nothing more her doctors can do for her. Our hearts are breaking for her family.

Thank you,
The Betz Family

Back Home Again

Luckily it was a short visit, less than 24 hours! It started out to look like a longer stay. Greta had to start her treatment called IVIG which is to run over 10 hours and she has to be hooked up to a blood pressure cuff the whole time. So it was a good thing that it didn't start until 10 pm so she slept through most of it. Unfortunately the IV that was started while we were in clinic wasn't functioning so they had to start another one. After 5 tries, one finally took. Poor Greta had 8 pokes in the last 24 hours! She was exhausted by the time the IV was in and her transfusion began.

Greta had a bone marrow biopsy this morning to rule out any problems there. Those results came back and everything looks good there. Her platelets have improved although still not desirable, but we got to go home as long as we promised to keep her from doing any stunts or acrobatics. The hard part will be keeping her off of Gavin.

Greta will be going back to clinic twice a week again to keep an eye on her platelet level. The official diagnosis is ITP which is an unknown virus that attacks the platelets. Apparently it has been quite common this year with the kids at the hospital. We're just breathing easy that it was something easily treated.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to keep us in your prayers. This is just a reminder to us to keep vigilant. We are thankful for all the blessings we have had so far in Greta's treatment and we pray for her continues to be healing.

Love,
The Betz Family

Unexpected Stay

Soooo, Greta's doctor visit turned into a stay at the hospital. They drew labs and her platelet count came back way low. So we were sent to clinic where they rechecked her labs and as expected they were low enough that we needed to stay. We'll have tests run tomorrow, but the expectation is that she has a virus that has caused her body to fight off her platelets. If that is the case, she'll be getting medication that will hopefully prevent that from happening and allow her body to build her platelets back up. Platelets are what helps the blood clot and Greta is showing signs that hers is very low. Lots of bruises and lots of little red dots on her face and limbs.


She'll have her bone marrow checked tomorrow to make sure that there isn't an issue there, but we're told that if there were a problem there, it would be likely her other counts would fall too and those are all at normal levels. We're not sure how long our stay is this time, but it could be a few days until her counts start showing improvements.


It's been over 3 months since our last overnight stay here so we're hoping Greta is able to sleep okay here. So far she's been in good spirits and doesn't seem to be upset about where we are so that helps.

Thanks for your continued prayers!
The Betz Family

Going to the Doctors

Greta has a cold and it's gone on long enough so she'll be going to her Pediatrician tomorrow. It's the first time she'll be back to her family doctor in over a year. It's a nice treat to only have to run up to the doctor office rather than the hospital!

I just realized that it'd been two weeks since posting anything on Greta's status so I thought maybe I'd give a little update. Greta is doing great at home. She is starting to get into the swing of going to daycare and then home to play in the evenings. She loves playing outside in her swim suit. She is always trying to get someone to put it on her so she can go and play in the water. Poor little thing has no body fat and she starts shivering and her lips turn blue after a few minutes of playing.

In a few weeks the kids and I will be going to Clarkston for the weekend (Randy is getting away for a golf weekend). It will be the first time since the transplant that Greta gets to go to my childhood church to visit some more of our many friends that prayed for us and supported us this past year.

We're also hoping to get our boat out in a couple weeks if the weather stays nice and warm. Greta hasn't been boating since she was about 9 months old so it should be interesting to see how she likes it. I think her Dad is anxious to see his toy too.

We hope you are all enjoying the spring weather and had a great Memorial Day weekend!
The Betz Family

What a Fabulous Weekend!

We had an amazing time this weekend at Great Wolf Lodge. Gavin was so surprised and had the time of his life. When we drove up to the hotel he said "this is the biggest hotel I've ever seen, look they have slides, look they have a McDonalds right next to it!"

Greta ran right for the water and it was the first thing she asked for after waking up the next morning. She played so hard on Saturday she nearly fell asleep at the table while we were eating lunch. It was so great to get to go swimming and to spend the time with our family. Now we have to put up with Gavin asking hourly, when we can go back to the water park.

We are enjoying every little "new" thing we get to experience now that Greta is better. Tonight Gavin and Greta took their first bath together with water that was deeper than a couple inches. And we didn't have to hold a cloth up to Greta's Broviac site to keep it dry. So much more freedom!

A Great Visit

We had Greta's clinic visit today and it went great. Except for maybe the poke she had to endure for her blood draw. She was not so enthusiastic for that. But all her labs came out looking great. We also met with her oncologist today and he said he was very happy with her progress and reassured us that her last CT Scan was great and there was no need for concern. She'll now only be seen once a month with scans every 3 months. I'm not sure what we'll do with having such long breaks between clinic visits. It's wonderful!

We're getting ready for our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We cannot wait to see Gavin's face when he realizes where we are. He'll be so excited!

I know some of you were a little concerned when you saw Greta's picture while she was sedated. Just to assure you that she doesn't look that sickly normally, I'm posting pictures of her minutes before the procedure!

With love,
The Betz Family

Enjoying our Freedom

Greta's Broviac removal on Thursday went very smoothly. It took about 15 minutes and then after about 20 minutes to get her awake from the sedation we were on our way home. The first thing Greta said when I woke her up to bring her in from the car was "fries". So Randy ran out to McDonalds and got her a burger and fries for her lunch.

We had her neighborhood friends over Friday night for an ice cream party to celebrate her 100 days being over. She loved having all her friends come play in her house. Something we haven't been really able to do for the past year. My favorite part of the weekend was last night when we went to give her a bath and she looked down to put her line over her shoulder and realized it wasn't there. It took her a few seconds of looking before she just shrugged it off and got in the tub. She doesn't have quite complete freedom in the tub as we have to keep the site dry for another few days, but it's coming!

Next week Greta will start going to day care with Gavin. I'm sure she'll have no problem with the change. I know she'll love having the kids to play with. And she definitely can use the experience of learning to share with other kids again. She's been a little spoiled at home lately!

Thanks again for your continued support and prayers. It's been a great week for us, a year in the making!

Love,
The Betz Family

Day 98...

and still cancer free! Greta's scans came back and there is still no signs of the tumor returning. We are so relieved! We finally have day 100 within reach.

I had a chance to reflect on Sunday, which was the day that a year ago we took Greta into the ER. It's hard to believe that it's already been a whole year since that awful day. We're so blessed that we caught it in time and so so very thankful that Greta is so strong and such a fighter. We are grateful for the doctors and nurses that cared for Greta this past year. They are amazing, special people to fight cancer and support all these kids day and night. Thank you doesn't quite seem nearly enough.

Again we are so grateful to all of our friends and family and all the support and prayers for the last year. I wish I had the words to express how incredibly blessed we feel and how thankful we are for each and every one of you.

Thank you!
The Betz Family

Day 97, 3 To Go!

Today was Greta's CT Scans and all went well, we're hoping to hear back on the results either later today or tomorrow. She also went to clinic today, our last as a transplant patient. Everything looked great for her and we got the okay to plan our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. It's a surprise for Gavin and I can't wait to see his reaction when he finds out where we're gong.

On Thursday, aka Day 100, we go back in to have Greta's line removed and then we're back in next week to visit with Greta's oncologist and find out what the plans are for the rest of Greta's treatment.

It's a very exciting week for us. Greta is off all her meds for the first time in a year. She'll be able to take a bath next week without flipping her line over her shoulder before climbing in. No more dressing changes for her Broviac. No more worry about the line getting clogged. We are so thankful and blessed!

Love,
The Betz Family

Counting down the last 10 days!

Today is day 89! We can't believe we are almost to the finish line. Greta is doing very well. She had clinics on Wednesday and all was great. We have next week off from clinics, a whole week without making a trip to the hospital! She'll have her scan on the 27th and then her line removed on the 30th, which is also day 100.

Her hair is starting to come in nicely. Looks like its coming in a little darker than before she started chemo. She's so used to wearing her winter hat, that we're having a hard time convincing her she can go outside with a baseball cap instead. She is very cute playing outside in the 60+ degree weather wearing a t-shirt and pink winter hat.

As we approach the one year anniversary, we are so thankful for all the blessings we have received this past year. It's been an amazing year and we are so thankful that Greta is going to be able to enjoy being a little girl this summer!

Day 80!

Greta had another clinic visit Wednesday and again she is doing great. She'll be back next Wednesday for her monthly IV medication and another lab check and then we're off until the 27th when she'll have a CT Scan and if all is well her Broviac removed. We're so excited to have that finally gone. We could have had it removed next week, but leaving it in for her CT scan will save her from having to get poked for her IV. After the last week in April, Greta's care will be transitioned back to her Oncologist and hopefully we'll learn what the next steps (if any) are.

We're off tomorrow to spend Easter with my family in Clarkston. It's Greta's first trip away from home since Christmas. We're all excited to get out of the house for the weekend. And some of us are very excited about a visit from the Easter Bunny.

We're only 3 weeks away from her 100 day anniversary. 3 weeks doesn't seem all that far off now! Once Greta has her line removed and healed, we are taking both Gavin and Greta to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate her being able to swim and to reward Gavin for being such a good big brother these past 12 months.

Happy Easter!
Love,
The Betz Family

Day 70

We're only 1 month away from that magic day 100. Which will also mark about 1 year since Greta's diagnosis. It's still amazing to me that it's been a whole year already!

Greta had another clinic visit yesterday and as we have come to expect, everything is going fantastic. We met with her doctor and he told us it was time to start thinking about taking her line out. That's something we are trying to make a decision about as we don't want to put Greta through any more pokes than necessary, but with one side being clogged it would ease any worry that it become infected.

As always, Greta is amazing us. She is so bright. She has figured out how to operate my Nintendo DS (as seen in the pictures) and knows exactly how to set up the games. And she also lets you know when she does and especially when she does not want your help! She also is getting very good with her speaking and catches us by surprise when she says a whole sentence when we're still expecting one word answers. This is definitely a fun time for us.

We have another clinic visit next week and then we start going every other week. Later this month she'll have another CT scan, which will be sure to cause her father some worries.

Thanks for all your continued support and interest in little Greta's journey. We surely feel the love.

The Betz Family

Hi from Aunt Kari

Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I contributed anything to Greta's blog, so I thought I'd jump on here this evening and just do a quick update. Greta had her clinics today and her red blood cell count went up again, and all her indicators are still headed the right way - once again, no transfusions, no other action needed. In short - awesome, as usual :)

Aidan and I spent some time at the Betz home this weekend and enjoyed watching all three kids play together outside, it looks like a lot of our summer might be spent watching them roll golf balls down the slide! It is pretty cool to start seeing a little peach fuzz on Greta's little noggin, and the beginnings of new eyelashes coming in. She is very energetic and active most of the time, and you probably never met any child who goes to bed easier than this little girl. When she's ready, she's READY. Blankie? Check! Baby? Check! Night-night? Check! See y'all in about 12 hours!

Grammy and Opa were in Florida for the past week, so we're looking forward to seeing them in "3 sleeps". I would bet that Mommy and Daddy have big basketball plans for the weekend ;)

Love to all - thanks for the notes and prayers!
Kari
XO

Smooth Sailing

Greta had another clinic visit today to have her labs checked and to receive an IV medication she gets monthly. All her counts are still holding steady, her red blood count dropped slightly, but still not low enough that she needed a transfusion. She's off her appetite stimulant and so now we're down to only two oral medications. Physically, Greta is doing amazingly well, even with the low red blood cell count she is still active. She loves the warm weather and she usually heads straight for the play set in the back yard. Her attitude is also amazing (with the occasional two year old struggles with wanting to be independent)!

We've posted a picture of our family friend Mike who shaved his head this past weekend for St. Baldricks, an event to raise funds for children's cancer research. Thanks Mike for sacrificing your hair and for helping raise awareness!

Day 50 - Half way there

Tomorrow is day 50 since Greta's stem cell transplant took place. She had a quick clinic visit today and the good news is everything looks great. Her counts are still holding and her white blood cell counts went up on their own. So we were sent home and will be back again next Monday for Greta's next check up.

We're excited to be at the half way mark! Now we're just looking forward to the next 50 and all the exciting things that will come with it, including Greta getting her Broviac removed, her restrictions being lifted and of course the coming warm Spring days to play outside in!

Thanks again for the prayers and the support!
love,
The Betz Family

Good News!

We got the good news today that the CT scans Greta had yesterday were again clear of any signs of cancer. We are breathing a little easier today. Unfortunately, Gavin came home from school today with a 103.6 fever and a headache. So we quickly got him checked out and found he has strep throat again. So now we're trying our best to keep the kids separated. Which at this age is like trying to keep two magnets apart. So far Gavin has been a very responsible big brother and keeping to himself.

We're back in clinic on Tuesday for another count check. But so far everything seems to be going very well. Thanks for keeping Greta in your thoughts and prayers these last couple days!

Also I wanted to mention a fundraiser a family friend is participating in to help raise money to children's cancer research. The event is called St. Baldricks and you can help by visiting the website http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/shavee_info.php?ParticipantKey=2009-58101#

Thanks Mike for your dedication to this cause!

Love
The Betz Family

Scans Tomorrow

Please keep Greta in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow. She is having her first post transplant CT Scan. We're hopeful that they will be as routine as the last few have been.

Love,
The Betz Family

Line is Good

Greta's line test went fine on Wednesday. There was no evidence that the line was clogged so that means that we can continue to keep the line in and she won't need to get peripheral blood draws each week. That's good news for Greta and for us, I don't think she would appreciate the pokes every week. Our next clinic visit is Wednesday at which time she'll also have another CT Scan her first of many scans post transplant.

Greta continues to do amazingly well and we couldn't be happier!
The Betz Family

Holding Steady

Greta had another clinic visit today. They weren't able to pull any blood off her Broviac so she had to have a drug inserted in her line to clear it up. That worked and an hour and a half later she was able to get her blood drawn for labs. Her doctor is concerned that maybe this could be an on going thing so she's going back tomorrow to have a dye test. This will show if there is any other blockages in the line or blood clots. If there are any blockages, we may be talking about removing her line sooner than later. Otherwise her clinic visit went great. Her counts are still holding steady so she didn't need any transfusions.

Greta is scheduled for her first post-transplant CT scan next Wednesday. She'll be getting scans every 3 months and then at longer intervals for a while. We'll be crossing our fingers and saying our prayers that these scans continue to come back clean.

All in all, Greta is still continuing to amaze us all with her speedy recovery and her happy spirit. We are so blessed!

The Betz Family

Continuing to Amaze

Greta had her ENT visit yesterday and clinic visit today. Both went as well as we could have hoped. The ENT said Greta looked good and she shouldn't need to come back in unless she started showing signs of Sinusitis again. Her clinic visit was great. Both her platelets and her white blood counts went up again on their own. She'll now only need to be seen once a week. We are thrilled with her progress! She looks better now then she has since all this began!

A very happy Betz Family!

Doing Great

Greta had her fourth clinic visit Monday and she is still doing wonderfully. She didn't need to have the neupogen after all, her ANC had gone up slightly so we're holding off to see how she does on her own this week. All her other counts are either holding steady or improving so she went the whole first week without any transfusions. We're also going down to only 2 clinic visits this week and cutting out a couple doses of some of her meds. She'll go back to her ENT on Wednesday to see if her Sinusitis is clearing up and then clinic on Thursday again. We are thrilled with how well she is doing at home and couldn't be happier.

Please say a prayer for Greta's friend Rosie. She didn't get good news on her MRI last week and is being sent to St. Jude for treatment soon.

Love,
The Betz Family

One Week Already...

We've been home with Greta for a whole week today. She is still doing very well. She had another clinic visit on Friday and her white blood count and her ANC went down (indicating her ability to fight off infection). She'll be going back in on Monday and will probably get her neupogen dose then which will help bring that back up. Her hemoglobin and her platelet counts were still pretty good so hopefully she won't need a transfusion tomorrow.

We had a surprise this weekend. My sister Kari sold her home and bought a new one in Caledonia. She managed to sell her house and move without our parents or Randy and I knowing about it. Gavin and Aidan are very excited as now they live only a mile apart. Congrats Aidan and Kari on your new home!

I'll be heading back to work this week (in between clinic visits). Greta will have her baby sitter Jessica back watching her again so I'll be able to get back to work and hopefully a little more normal schedule.

We've gotten through the first 25 of 100 days already! Couldn't have done it without the support of our friends and family. We are so thankful for all of you.

The Betz Family

Good to be Home

Everything is going wonderfully for us. Greta has had two clinic visits since returning home on Sunday. The first was a quick one and her counts were all great so we were sent home. Today's clinic visit was a little longer as she was due for one of her IV medications, but still her counts were great. She'll be back again to check on Friday morning.

Greta has adjusted to being home very well. She's back to ruling the family and driving Gavin crazy. We were able to enjoy some time outdoors yesterday which was fabulous. She took a little walk around our neighborhood and then played a little kick ball with mom. (Not too vigorous, those platelets are still a little low!) All in all things are going better than we could have hoped.

With love,
A very happy Betz Family

We are Home!!!!!

We waited this time to be sure we were out the door and home before posting the good news. Greta was cleared to go home around 11:00 am today and we were walking in the door at about 12:30 pm. When we arrived her Welcome Home sign from her first return home visit in May was out front along with a bunch of red heart balloons courtesy of Aunt Kari. Gavin was anxiously awaiting his baby sister's return as well.

Once she got inside Greta and Gavin got right to playing and soon all the toys were back out. She also enjoyed running around on the new floors. It sure is nice to have everyone home again. And what a nice day to be home. We certainly are happy to see the blue sky and sunshine again.

We return tomorrow to clinic visits. She'll be closely monitored the next few weeks to make sure she's getting enough nutrition and hydration while we're home. She'll also be getting more platelet transfusions until her platelets engraft. Those take a little longer than the white blood cells. In about three weeks when we shouldn't need as many transfusions, she'll be getting her Broviac removed. We are excited for that change.

We're almost at day 20 of the first 100. We hope the next 80 go smoothly! Hopefully the next few weeks, months and years there will be little to update on!

Thank you all again for your love and support. We cannot tell you how blessed we feel. This is a real eye opening experience and honestly it's one I'm glad we were able to have. We will forever be changed by it.
With love,
The Betz Family

Still Waiting for Greta

We're still waiting for Greta to start eating.  She's had a couple short periods of success but they aren't enough to get her discharged.  We'll be staying through the weekend now and if she isn't eating and drinking enough by Monday she'll probably be getting a feeding tube placed.  Her doctor is concerned that she isn't getting enough nutrition now.  The ENT has decided to try and treat Greta's Sinusitis with antibiotics rather than surgery.  So all we need is a good eating weekend and we are free to go.  (Assuming no more fevers or other setbacks!) If only she were allowed to have McDonald's french fries, we'd be home free.  We'll let you know how she does! 

Not so Fast...

Well we had a slight change in plans. Greta's ENT decided that he would like to get another CT scan of Greta's sinuses before we left, so it was scheduled for Thursday morning. That along with Greta's doctor being a little concerned at Greta's lack of eating and drinking means we are in for another day.

Greta had a pretty low key day. We weren't able to get her to eat more than a few bites of breakfast and she drank a few ounces of milk this afternoon. Otherwise her appetite was not as we had hoped. She spent most of the afternoon and evening unhooked from her IV so she was able to enjoy a little freedom. Mostly though she sat on mommy's lap. Earlier this evening she spiked a fever. This means cultures on her blood and antibiotics. It could also mean an extended stay until maybe Friday now.

We have learned from all of these hospital stays this past year to expect the unexpected and that all plans are subject to change. So it's just a small extended stay and hopefully Greta will be feeling better soon and able to return home in time for the weekend. We have plenty of time to celebrate later.

Love,
The Betz Family

Home Tomorrow!

We got the good news today that Greta is on schedule to go home tomorrow!  

She'll get on more transfusion of platelets tomorrow and then she'll be able to go home.  We are so excited!  She won't be able to have visitors right away, but hopefully within the next 70 - 90 days we'll be able to get things back to normal again.  

We can't thank everyone enough.  We are so thankful for the doctors, nurses and staff at Helen Devos Children's Hospital that have helped Greta get to this point.  We are thankful for all of the new friends we have made on the Hem/Onc floor and we continue to keep those friends in our prayers.  We are thankful for our amazing friends and family and all the support we have gotten over the past 10 months.  We are thankful for all the churches that have had Greta and our family on their prayer lists during this time.  We are thankful for our employers that have been supportive and flexible with us while we are taking care of our daughter.  We are thankful for our neighbors who have kept our yard mowed and our driveway clear of snow when we were unable to do it ourselves.  And for all the people I am failing to mention now.  Thank you, thank you, thank you! We have been certainly blessed by having you all in our lives.

With love,

Randy and Kristi

Happy Engraftment Day!

Today was a very very good day. It was Greta's engraftment day which means her stem cells are doing their thing and Greta's white blood cell count is up. She is off most of her IV drugs except for her nutrition IV. She'll be weaned off that starting tomorrow. Once she is able to eat, drink and poop on her own, she'll be cleared to return home, maybe even as early as Wednesday!

The other good news is that I got the go ahead to visit Greta today with a mask. I was greeted with a great big smile and a hug, but then she immediately got upset that I had a mask on. She got over it pretty quickly and I got to spend the next 5 hours holding her. I am not allowed to sleep over just yet, but I know once we get the all clear for that, I'll be back in the line up. Thanks goes to Opa who has spent the last two nights with Greta.

The only bad news we had was Greta's new Broviac has a line that won't clear so it only has one functioning line. Instead of putting her through another surgery they have decided to leave the line as is. The only risk is that she could develop an infection in the line as we aren't able to flush it with antibiotics. This may mean that she'll have the Broviac removed sooner than planned. That will be nice so she can take baths without worrying about getting her site wet. But it means that she'll have to get poked for blood draws or for any scans she'll receive in the future.

We'd like to thank both Grammy and Opa who have given their time to help us out with Greta the last 3 weeks. I know they wouldn't have had it any other way, but it was nice to have them available when I was out of commission. Thank you also to my sister Kari for arranging the cleaning of our home last week. It is so nice to have one last thing to worry about when Greta returns home.

Thanks again for all the support we couldn't have gotten through these last 3 weeks without it! Now it's time to celebrate!

Love,
The Betz Family

Day 11

Day 10 was a little more up and down than we would have liked. Her counts continued to go up yesterday, however her Broviac was still not operational. So the doctors decided to remove her line and place a new one. This was a little concerning to all of us as she was just getting her counts up. It meant leaving her isolation room to go into a procedure room and also of concern, her platelet counts were still quite low. Low platelets means the blood doesn't clot as well which isn't idea for a surgical procedure. The doctor assured us that they would transfuse platelets before the procedure and the risks of placing a new line were lower now that her counts were improving. She also needed a functioning line to give her both the meds and antibiotics that she needs while also providing her with her nutrients.

Everything went well with the procedure. However her blood pressure was lower than they would like so they had an x-ray of her chest taken and found that she had some sort of virus. They were able to rule out the flu so now we're testing for various other viruses she may have. The low blood pressure could also be a result of the use of anesthetics they used during her procedure.

Another problem now is that only one of her two new lines are functioning. We're hoping to get that one cleaned out and running today to avoid putting her through another IV insertion in her arm. The good news is that through all of this she is up, she is talking her daddy's ear off and watching her movies.

I met with the infectious disease doctor yesterday to go over my cold sores and exposure to Gavin's flu. She recommended that I could return to Greta's room with a mask as early as Sunday afternoon. That still has to pass Greta's transplant doctors authorization and he was thinking more like Wednesday. We're hoping for a happy medium. I was able to get a peek at Greta Friday after her procedure while Randy carried her past me on the way back to her room. It wasn't as much as I would like but it will have to do for now.

We're praying for a much calmer day today!
With Love,
The Betz Family

10 Days Down, 90 To Go

Greta's white blood count went up today! We're very very thrilled about that. We were told about 10 days for the stem cells to do their thing so she's right on schedule. The bad news is overnight her Broviac sprung a leak, so she has to have an IV put in her arm until the glue dries on her Broviac. She seems to be feeling better. Yesterday she spent most of the day still sitting on Grammy's lap watching her movies. But everyone who has seen her the last two days has noticed how much happier and upbeat she is.

We're dealing with our own disease control at home. Gavin's fevers continued Wednesday so we went back to the doctor and they tested him for influenza. The test came back positive so now the hospital is working on getting the rest of us some drugs to hopefully prevent the rest of us getting the flu as well. Since I've been exposed to Gavin the last four days, we're not sure when I'll be allowed back to visit. It has been a week since I last saw Greta. It's been quite hard to hear all the discomfort she's been going through and not being able to be the one to hold her. Meanwhile I've been trailing Gavin throughout the house and sanitizing everything he's touching.

We're all hanging in there, it's a long battle but well worth it. It could be just 90 days (or less)until Greta can return to normal activity. I can't imagine what it will be like to have quick hospital visits and to have Greta's Broviac removed. Spring has always been my favorite time of year, this year more than ever!


Thanks again to everyone who donated to help us have our house cleaned from top to bottom. It's a relief not to have to worry about that when Greta gets home. We are truly blessed with wonderful friends!

With love,
Kristi

Day 8 - Cleaning Day Part II

Today Guarantee Systems is going to be cleaning and hepa-vacumming all of the walls and window treatments, as well as disinfecting all hard surfaces at Greta's house. Tomorrow, Stanley Steemer will thoroughly clean out the furnace and all of the ductwork, and then steam clean all of the upholstery and carpet. We are so grateful to Greg at Stanley Steemer in Byron Center, and to Mark at Guarantee System in Grand Rapids for their generous contributions toward getting the house ready for Greta to come home.

Much thanks is due, as well, to Cornerstone Church in Caledonia, where the Betz family has been attending and who made a very generous donation to the house cleaning project. All of the help we are receiving is such a blessing during such a stressful time. I know that Greta and her entire family and circle of friends is immeasureably grateful to everyone who is giving of their time and resources.

Gavin has been battling an off-and-on headache and fever for a few days. Mommy is still banned from the hospital, so she has been on Gavin detail while Daddy, Grammy and Opa take turns staying with Greta. Greta has been much more low-key these past few days, prefering to sit quietly in their laps and watch DVDs more than anything else. Still not interested in eating or drinking, she's on an IV for nutrition and fluids, and mild pain meds for stomach cramping. She's been spiking a fever now and then, so as a precautionary measure she's constantly monitored by her doctors. Xrays and nasal swabs are testing clear for infections, so it may just be her normal response to chemo (she had fevers after her last few rounds prior to this most recent stay), but the doctors need to be extra vigilant to be sure. We're told she's reacting pretty much as they would expect.

She's still such a trooper, rarely complaining, just being her sweet self, though more quiet than usual. Any day now, she should start to bounce back, and we can't wait to see that sparkle again!

Love,
Aunt Kari

Day 6

We're getting into the days the doctor warned us about now. Greta is starting to get mouth sores and she's been getting some fevers too. They have given her some morphine now to help with any pain. It's a real small dose and it does seem to perk her up a little. She had gotten a platelet transfusion yesterday and will get another one tomorrow along with a blood transfusion. She still isn't interested in drinking or eating, but that is to be expected. The good news is that everyone tells us that Greta is doing as well as or better than most transplant patients do.

I am still fighting these cold sores and hope to get them healed up soon so I can get back into the rotation of day and night time visitors. Gavin spent the day home today with a small fever and some coughing so he is back on antibiotics and we're hoping the rest of us can avoid anything he may have. He asks about Greta every day and would love to have his little sister home to play with real soon. He has been a trooper through all of this too. We make sure to pray for her every night and if we forget, he reminds us to ask for good health for everyone!

Thank you for the continued prayers!

Love,
The Betz Family

Day 5

Hi everyone - thought I would take a quick moment to thank all of our volunteers who gave of their time and the their sanitizing wipes yesterday! With so many helpers it went really fast, now the house is almost ready for baby Greta to come home.

The floors should be finished tomorrow, and then on Wednesday and Thursday we have cleaning companies arranged to thoroughly clean Greta's house from top to bottom. This will give any remaining irritants a few days to settle before she comes home. Fingers crossed, that may be less than two weeks from now. She continues to amaze everyone with her sunny mood - who else would be this fun and silly after being cooped up for almost 2 weeks?

I've gotten to spend a lot of time with Gavin and my parents while they're here, and everyone is doing really well. It's a real bummer that Kristi has to stay away from the hospital, but of course we'll do what we need to if it keeps Greta healthy. Grammy and Opa have arranged to stay another day or two to help out while Kristi's benched. She can't wait to get back to her girl. Lucky Gavin gets to have some more time with Mommy, though :)

Thanks again to our helpers yesterday, and of course to all of you for your friendship & support.
She's a pretty big miracle for such a small girl :)

Love,
Kari

Day 4

Greta's counts have dropped very low today. So now we wait until they start to climb back up. I (Kristi) am not allowed to visit Greta right now. I came down with what appears to be cold sores which Greta is very susceptible to and can cause other infections. So until my labs come back to confirm what the sores are, I am to stay away. As you can imagine, it's the hardest thing to not be allowed to see Greta right now, especially during the days where she is at her lowest.

Greta is still doing great though. She is still playing, dancing and singing. The child life specialists have provided Greta with her own play kitchen and plates and dish set, so she is busy making dinner and pouring her guests drinks. Grammy is staying with Greta tonight so they will have their special sleep over party tonight. I'm sure there will be much spoiling!

Thanks to everyone who came over today to help sanitize all of our toys! It went so quickly with all the help. We really appreciate all the extra hands!

The Betz Family

Day 3

Greta's counts have gone down today. The doctor says the next few days may be her worst. So far, she's still doing pretty well. She doesn't have any mouth sores yet (which is a common concern). The sores can go down into the digestive tract, and they make eating more painful. Greta has pretty much stopped eating, but she's on IV nutrition so that isn't a concern right now. She'll have to get back to eating on her own before we'll be able to go home. All in all, the doctor seems pretty happy with where she is right now.

We've been in the hospital now for 11 days and it's going better than we had hoped. We all seem to be managing it pretty well. Gavin has asked about his sister every day, but he seems to be handling this all very well too. He seems to enjoy all the remodeling at home. He likes the jungle gym of furniture in the foyer and eating snacks on our bed as it is the only room with carpet and a TV right now. I am ready for the mess to be over with myself. I miss my washing machine most of all!

Thanks for all the support and the help, we couldn't do this without you.

Love,
The Betz Family

Day 1

Happy birthday Greta! This is Day 1 of Greta's road to recovery. They call it her second birthday. She did just as well today with her second infusion. She's still not eating a whole lot, so she's on IV nutrition to help keep her strength up.

The stem cells are kept in a preservative that make Greta (and the whole room) smell like cream corn. Kind of like a school lunch room. Fortunately it's starting to dissipate a little. So now we just wait until her counts drop and recover and try to keep her from getting any infections.

Greta has been amazing through all of this. I can't imagine many kids would put up with being isolated in a small hospital room for 9 days already. She rarely complains about much. We are so blessed that she is so content and accepting of the situation she has been put in. I think I could learn a few things from her!

Thank you again and again for all your prayers and all the support. We have been blessed with amazing friends and family. You'll never know how much it means to us.

love,
The Betz Family

Two Bags Done!

Greta had her first transplant and finished up a couple minutes ago. She'll get the last of the 3 bags tomorrow morning. Every thing went very well, she isn't have any reaction and actually slept through the whole thing. Praise God!

Day -1

Yesterday was a rest day for Greta. She is still in pretty good spirits, loves to dance to the Sponge Bob theme song. She now belts out the last "Square Pants" in the song. Love it! She didn't eat a whole lot, but she tends to slow down in that area during past chemo treatments so we aren't too worried just yet. Today she is resting watching more videos. Her red blood cell count is lower today so that may explain why she is a little more low key. She'll get a transfusion later tonight after her transplant.

The doctor informed us that he has decided to transplant 3 of the 4 bags of stem cells Greta had donated previously. We had only anticipated 1 bag being used, but he feels that using 3 will allow her to recover faster and that will leave us 1 bag if the transplant fails. We were a little apprehensive that we'd like to have all bags available in case of failure, but the doctor feels confident that the first will take and doesn't seem concerned in the least bit, so we are reassured with his knowledge and expertise. And having a faster recovery time appeals quite a bit. So she'll now get two infusions tomorrow and a 3rd infusion on Wednesday, which technically pushes her day zero back a day as well. In the scheme of 100 days, one more doesn't sound too terribly bad.

Greta's hair had started to grow back with the month off she had in December. She's got little fuzz all over the top of her head and her eyelashes were coming back too. It's so amazing to look at pictures of her when this all started 9 months ago. I hardly remember what she looked like with hair. So many changes.

On the home front, we have decided to take this opportunity while Greta is hospitalized to replace all the flooring in the kitchen and living room. This will take place on Wednesday, it's win/win I get all new hardwood floors and carpet and we have clean floors for Greta to play on when she returns. We'll also be hiring a cleaning company to clean the other carpets, furniture, window treatments, air ducts and pretty much everything so she'll be in a clean environment when she gets home.

Thanks for all the prayers today and all your notes of support!

Love,
The Betz Family

Day -3

Greta is all done with her first drug, she'll get one dose of her second drug today. Then we'll have 2 days off. She is still doing amazingly well. She's a little slowed down today, but we think that is because she got a Foley catheter put in this morning that seems to bother her a little bit. She'll have that for 24 hours. This is to make sure that her fluid input is the same as her fluid output.

We had a little disappointment yesterday. We had to move out of our big room into a much smaller room. The hem/onc floor that we were on had some moisture issues and wasn't up to the standard that is required for immune deficient kids, so everyone was moved to another floor with much smaller rooms. We still are in a "transplant" room so ours is a little bigger than others, but after living in what would be considered a spacious apartment in NYC, we're adjusting to a little less room. On the bright side, it's much easier to keep Greta close to her IV pole.

All in all, we're all doing very well. We're taking it day by day, knowing that soon we'll all be home together. Thanks for thinking of us and all the kind notes.

With Love
Greta and family.

Day -4

It's day -4 (minus) which means that Greta will getting 2 more days of chemo 2 days of rest and then Day 0 will will be her infusion day. Then the count up to day 100 begins.

So far we couldn't ask for things to go more smoothly. Greta is still as active as ever. She's been passing the days by watching Sponge Bob, jumping on anyone who will let her, playing with her doll house, coloring and her new favorite activity, washing her toys. Greta hasn't experienced any of the side affects so far. Her counts haven't gone down much yet, but her doctor assures us they will. He also anticipates that she will be slowing down in the next couple weeks.

We are fortunate enough to have one of the biggest rooms in the hospital. We have lots of space and a nice big window that spans one whole side of the room. It may be freezing outside, but our view is of a sunny blue sky.

Thank you for all the prayers and offers for help. Words alone cannot express how much we appreciate the amount of help we are receiving from our family and friends. The good Lord has truly blessed us.

Love,

The Betz Family

Day One

Greta's doing great so far, she slept well last night and so far only seems to be somewhat more tired than usual. Gavin and Mommy are heading up to the hospital this evening to spend time with Greta and Daddy before bed, it turns out Gavin will be able to visit her for a couple of more days yet.

Greta's getting chemo every 8 hours for 4 days, and then a different chemo drug for another day and then she gets a day off before the stem cell rescue process (IV infusion). She's being seen by various specialists during this time to get a baseline for various functions; hearing, vision, motor skills, cognitive and social development, nutritionist, etc. Kristi says people are coming and going all day long right now, which helps to make the day go a little more quickly.

Their room, this time, is large and bright with lots of room for all 4 of them to hang out together. Kristi and Randy are taking turns at 24-hr shifts, switching mid-afternoon to collect Gavin and spend some time all together while they can. A few of you have asked about visiting, but unfortunately no one is allowed to visit Greta at the hospital during this phase. Her immune system will essentially be eradicated, so she will remain isolated until it is safe to come home. You can, however, send email directly to Greta! DeVos Children's Hospital offers the opportunity to send email via their website, which is printed and hand-delivered personally to Greta and her family, http://www.devoschildrens.org/?s=3&hospID=36D00930453745378A180CE81B08FB00# offers a link on the far right side of the page where you can compose and send a personal message.

Thanks, as always, for your inquiries and emails. We will try to post an update each day.

Love,
Kari

Today's the day

We're heading in about an hour to admit Greta for her chemo and stem cell transplant. We're all a little nervous, apprehensive and anxious to get started. It was hard to see Gavin say goodbye to his sister this morning, knowing he probably won't get to see her for 3-5 weeks. He will surely ask about her every day.

Thank you again for all the offers to help. We will provide my sister Kari with any wish list items that we may need, so please keep in contact with her. kmupham@yahoo.com (Thanks Kari).

Please keep us in your prayers! We are entrusting our daughter's care in Gods hands and we have faith that he will take good care of her and heal her completely!

With love,
The Betz Family

Monday it is...

Greta does have an infection known as H Flu. It's something we're usually vaccinated for as kids, but because Greta's vaccinations were suspended, she's not immune. It is being treated with antibiotics and the ENT felt he had removed most of it during her surgery Monday so we have the go ahead to start her transplant this Monday.

We'll go in on Monday afternoon and she'll start her chemo on Tuesday. She'll receive the chemo for 6 days and then she'll get two days off and then they will infuse her stem cells on the following Wednesday. We are anxious to get this part of the treatment going!

Many people have asked what they can do to help out during this LONG part of Greta's treatment. We are so appreciative of that, we're just not sure right now what we'll need. When we do know, we'll be sure to ask.

Thanks so much,
The Betz Family

Wait and See

Greta had her surgery yesterday so now it's wait and see if anything grows on the cultures. The good news is the ENT didn't see anything to indicate there was anything "scary" (his words) as in a fungus growing so we're pleased with that news. For now we're just waiting for the results and to find out what the plan is for transplant.

For her part, Greta did great. She has had a little headache pain from the scope, but seems to get over it quickly with some Tylenol. She was pretty active last night, you would have never guessed she'd been sedated earlier in the day.

We'll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything!
The Betz Family

Slight Change of Plans

Tuesday Greta was in the clinic for her all day chemo test. She was given a small dose of the chemo drug that she will receive for her transplant and then had her blood drawn at various intervals to get a baseline. This will determine what her dosage should be when she gets the real deal next week. We were also told that due to the Sinusitis, Greta would require another CT Scan on Friday.

Wednesday we had a wonderful New Years Eve. Randy and I took Gavin bowling with the neighbors. Greta stayed home with her babysitter, we didn't think she was quite ready for bowling just yet. Afterwards we all celebrated together at the neighbors house. Greta had a great time playing with the balloons and dancing. New Years Day we all slept in and then went to the neighbors to watch the Michigan State bowl game. Wasn't quite the ending we had hoped for, but pretty much what was expected.

Today we went in for Greta's CT Scan. We got the call this afternoon that her Sinusitis isn't clearing up and that it actually has thickened even more on the right side. So we'll be seeing an ENT on Monday where Greta will undergo sedation and have her sinuses suctioned to determine if there is an infection present. This will likely push back her transplant, whether it's only a couple days or a week will depend on if there is infection.

We're all pretty anxious to get started on her transplant...(and a little nervous) so this isn't the news we had hoped for. But Greta needs to be at her best for the next step and we'll do what needs to be done to get her there.

We hope everyone had a safe and happy new years and here's to a healthy 2009 for all of us!

Love,
The Betz Family.