Emily’s November “happenings”
I am finally on the computer! I think it has been exactly 1 month since the last update. Sorry for taking so long, now that we are back at home there is alot to catch up on. We are glad to be back together with Trey and having our whole family together. 
This is what has been happing this past month:
First part of the month we moved completely out of the apartment in Durham. Emily is so happy to be Homie Home! 
She started her oral chemo along with many other meds her first week back home. Some days she was taking 11 pills a day 
which included her nausea meds and appetite med. We have been to Wilmington for blood draws during the week, early in the mornings, then they call or fax results to Duke then they call me with results and if needed we travel to Duke for the day. Emily has been back to Duke for transfusions and check-ups.
Over the Thanksgiving holidays we visited our family in Kenly, N.C. and had a great time . Trey went hunting with uncle Jack and cousin Richard and took his first fox!!! 
Emily worked on her scrapbook and relaxed on the sofa watching her movies.
From Kenly we went to Duke for labs and platelets, and Dr. appt. Then that afternoon we drove to Rock Hill, SC to see family. It has been 2 years since we have been to their home and the kids had a great time! Emily enjoyed relaxing in Uncle Randy’s chair 
playing againist Trey on the game cube. It was perfect weather and Emily enjoyed riding in her chair through the paths in the woods. 
Uncle Randy had bridges built through the woods and Aunt Dawn pushed her all around. Emily loved being outdoors and she had a bag of colorful leaves to make her next project. Katelin and Miranda set a desk up for Emily to make her crafts on and Emily had alot of fun making necklaces with Katelin, and watching movies with Miranda. 
Emily made leaf books and turkeys, and Trey rode bikes on the paths through the woods. We had a cookout one night and Trey and Miranda built a fire to keep warm. Aunt Dawn cooked a great meal for Thanksgiving and Emily ate more than she had eaten in 3 weeks. Between Aunt Wanda and Aunt Dawn’s houses we all gained a few pounds that week. 
Emily is on her break from her chemo and her counts continue to drop and are very low at this time. She is given shots for three days to boost her white count. Tomorrow we go to Wilmington for blood draws and wait to hear from Duke what she may need next. Emily mainly relaxes on the sofa and does a few crafts or colors, then she will rest. Her hemoglobin was 8.1 last visit and she becomes tired very easily. Sometimes she will ride on her John Deere outside but doesn’t feel like walking much. She helped in decorating the Christmas tree and is excited about Christmas. She will start her next chemo on 12/7 and follow the same schedule. Her next MRI will be on January 7th.
Emily is so brave with all the pokies and her many bandaids. Her hair has fallen out again. 
I know this is bothering her more this time, she was so glad to have her hair back. She liked her dark hair, and almost could wear a little barette. She would brush it all the time. I told her it may come back blonde like she use to be. I asked her if she would like a Hannah Montana wig, but she said she wants red hair this time.
I also wanted everyone to know we are still not up on our wireless and I have not been able to read & respond to emails since we moved from the Apartment (just in case someone has sent one that needed a response). I still am receiving calls and people I see out telling me how much they are praying for Emily and she is on their prayer lists at their churches. We are so blessed to have so many by our side.
Love, Dawn
“God never makes a mistake. Be Thankful for all that He has given you.” — Lindsay Oberst
