First and most importantly, Stella continues to do beautifully. She is still tolerating all the medicine very well and her blood counts are normal. Her doctors are extremely pleased. We are of course aware that after her treatment intensifies beginning in a couple of weeks Stella will likely have a bad day here and there, so we're not taking this great stretch for granted. But we really couldn't be happier with the way she's doing now.
Besides having a scheduled treatment for Stella yesterday, we also knew that there would be a photography studio set up at Hassenfeld, courtesy of a volunteer organization called Flashes of Hope. Knowing this would be a great opportunity to get some really wonderful pictures taken of the family, we gave Zoe a day off from school and brought her with us. The girls had a blast. Knowing how much they both love to play dress-up I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see them sitting primly in high stools, having lip gloss applied by a professional makeup artist. But still--it was a sight to behold.
They were ushered from the makeup room to the studio, where a photographer and her assistant went to work--adjusting bodies, lights and camera angles, the high-speed shutter clicking away the entire time. The girls loved every moment, playing the parts of models very convincingly (except for their reluctance to put down the blueberry muffins they were holding all morning).
Stella is resting today. It usually takes her a day or two to shake off the queasiness and fatigue that follow treatment, but she's looking forward to a friend's birthday party on Sunday, followed by a day or two of school visits next week.
