Thursdays stink

Stella had her weekly bone marrow biopsy/ lumbar puncture/ intrathecal dose of chemo this morning, all while under sedation.  It went well, and they get it done quickly in a relatively comfortable setting, but that doesn't make it any less scary for a 7-year old.

She has been remarkably brave overall, and has made it clear to us that she wants to know the whole truth all of the time.  She is way too smart to deceive, even with good intentions.  She did not like waking up from the procedure with a big Band-Aid over the injection site on her lower back, and liked it ever less when it started to feel sore.  So lesson learned.  Better to deal with a little extra anxiety from her beforehand than resentment afterward.  We'll all get better at this particular routine, as it will be repeated over the next 6 weeks (then restarted 6 weeks after that).

Getting out of the apartment early in the morning was a challenge, too.  Lucky for us, my sister was able to come over at the crack of dawn and take care of getting Zoe--for whom we are working hard to give all the attention she needs--to preschool.  Thanks, Aunt Becca, for all the pinch-hitting.