The Final Round

On Tuesday, when Ania woke up, she told me she wanted to work on a painting of an angel. I reminded her we were going to the hospital for a few days for her final chemotherapy treatment. You would expect her to pout or be upset right? Nope! Her reply? "Ok, well bring my paints so I can work on it there- oh and bring all the wings that I like to give to other kids at the hospital." 

She is a true creative spirit and has a giving heart. 

We arrive and in Ania spirit, she flys through the halls. Her blood counts were finally where they needed to be so we were admitted. 

She put on her game face/mask and let the nurses and doctors assess her up and down and prepare her for her final treatments. 

About 3 hours after her first round of medicines, things get tough. Like clockwork, she starts to meltdown and become inconsolable. It's part of the process and it's incredibly painful to watch. There is nothing we can do but watch. Even trying to comfort her by caressing her back or face seems to irritate her. She cries to go home and says she is not brave. Even though we've watched her go through chemotherapy 10 times at this point, seeing this side of her does not get any easier. 

Luckily this side of her doesn't happen for long and ends with her falling asleep for a long nap- typically a few hours until she wakes. Unfortunately when she wakes, the nausea and vomiting takes it's turn. We repeated the staggered schedule of Zofran & Reglan to keep the sickness to a minimum. This time she was sick a few times until around 2:00am. 

She woke around 7:00am the next morning. She was back to herself thankfully. She asked to put on her ballet slippers and leotard and do a performance for her nurse, Mimi & I. 

She is such a performer... Before every dance I must "present" her by saying "Presenting ballerina Ania" and she enters her "stage" like a seasoned primaballerina :) 

We also painted our nails gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness 

Her final bag of chemotherapy drugs were started at 2:00pm. We were never so excited to see that green bag- the FINAL GREEN BAG of medicine. 

She responded with no complications to the final bag. A few hours later, the staff of Lutheran General hosted a party to celebrate completing treatment- it was "camping" themed since that is what has been what Ania has wanted to do all summer long. Several family members and friends were able to join in on the camping party as well! 

Her window drawing of a camp scene drawn earlier in the day

Telling campfire stories :)

She was so excited for this mock camping- imagine what her real camping trip in South Carolina that's coming up in a few short weeks is going to be like!! 

She did it. Ania is a Survivor and is Free to Fly!!!  This is what Freedom looks like!

We are going to enjoy the next few weeks as much as possible and hope she has no ill side effects from her last chemotherapy round. There will still be regular appointments, blood labs and neupogen shots in her future. She's not entirely done with cancer yet but through the worst of it!   She will have routine MRIs and exams under anesthesia over the next few years to be sure she is clear. She will have surgery to remove her chemotherapy port in a few months. Again, we are through the worse so hopefully all that comes is a peice of cake for Ania. 

"Her Dainty Warrior Wings" by Erica Moriarty

Ania has flown through her cancer. The 10 rounds of chemo and the loss of her eye is all behind her now. She will fly onto a bright future and has most definetly left an impact on those she has met along the way. She has hopefully left behind a path of light and hope for children and adults who must also travel down the path of cancer.

Thanks for following and we look forward to good times ahead! 

God Bless,

Erica