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