Oh, sweet Livi...

When she's happy, she helps the nurses clean her I.V. lines before she's reconnected to her meds. They let her be pole free for some of her walks during the day.

Yes, sweet Livi, oh sweet Livi! She's getting better but definitely letting it be known that she is "NOT HAPPY WITH YOU!" The nurses tell us they'd rather see her yelling than not; because when Livi's not yelling, Livi's sick! Isn't that sad that they don't know the sweet little Livi that we all know and love! I'm grateful that Lachelle is there to help with her tantrums. (Lachelle is a CNA she had her first time in.) It is good to see the fight in her...I have NO IDEA WHERE SHE GETS THE ATTITUDE FROM! I, for one, was never like that!!! :) It must be from Bill. We all know how loud and stubborn he is!!! Hee Hee! If nothing else her tantrums are producing some pretty comical monologue. "Get me out", oh sorry,"GET ME OUT OF THIS FREAKING BED!" or "YOU'RE FIRED" to the nurse, or "YOU'RE THE WORST MOM AND DAD EVER!" at this one I told her that that meant that dad and I belonged together! Or, my favorite thus far, which definitely shows a possible future of being an attorney,(as we were "forcing" her to walk) "I'M GOING TO SLIP AND FALL AND CRACK MY HEAD OPEN!!!" The nurse and I looked at eachother and thought, "wow, that's quite the detailed accusation!" Can you say, lawsuit? We'll make it through. And we'll smile a little more because of it. Don't get me wrong, it definitely stirs up some raw emotions. She told Papa she didn't want to see him anymore and that made me tear up pretty significantly. We know it's her way of telling us how miserable she is. I cringe to think of how I would handle things if I were in her situation.

On a lighter note, while the tantrums seem to be intensifying, they also seem to be shortening and lessening which leaves space where she can actually enjoy herself. Yesterday, some friends from Sacramento stopped to visit on their way to St. George for a family get together. They actually arrived in time for my birthday, Friday night at 11:55pm! Talk about a great friend! Anyways, when they came in to Livi's room, she was having a tough time waking up , we'll say. She wasn't saying anything and just kept rubbing her eyes. Her little friend, Juliana was pretty disappointed, understandably so. Jennifer, the mom, my friend, and her oldest son Jeffrey started teasing Olivia saying, "Don't smile, better not smile. No smiling is allowed in this hospital." She ate it right up. The smiles kept on coming. Nothing more than that, she never spoke or willingly took a picture with her friend and their new matching hats, but she did smile A LOT and so, Jeff, Jen, Jeffrey, Jordan and Juliana, your trip was totally worth it. Jeffrey also did a great job at getting big smiles with his armpit farts! I'm thinking of blowing up the picture and hanging it at the end of her bed!

Today she had the first good time out of her room since she's been there. She exits her room at a minimum of once daily to do her walking, but is never happy about it. I pity the other patients and their families for having to listen to my daughter screech her way down the hallway. But today after her walk/screech-athon I held her in my arms in the hallway. A lot of the kids and parents were congregating in the halls and so we joined them. The general consensus was they all felt badly for her and were mad at the nurses for making her walk! Good people. Anyway, after she calmed down she said she wanted to go into Dusty's room. Dusty is a 17 year old boy with Leukemia. His head is shaved. (Lately I've been encouraging her to count the amount of people with shaved heads.) He is very sweet and has been joining Livi on her walks as she screams through the halls. I will be forever grateful to him. We spent some time in his room and then she wanted to go meet another little girl, who's 3, that has lung cancer. She's bald too. Livi smiled seeing this little girl in the same situation she's in. Having to take the same medicines and the same vital signs. It was a huge breakthrough. After the visits she wanted to have a tea party in the playroom, and then we played cribbage. (Bill was able to be with us today, he brought the tea sets from home.) Neither lasted very long. But we were thrilled with the progress. She also got to have a Popsicle today. After she ate half she said her stomach hurt. We just need to take things slow. Friday was the first time she got to drink water! I just remembered...I didn't post that she had gotten the NG tube out of her nose, FRIDAY! We're still a long way from eating but, baby steps will get us there.

One last thing...Friday morning Child Life services, an organization in the hospital that helps kids adjust to life there, came in with a large tub full of wrapped and unwrapped presents. They had heard that she was having a tough time exercising. Each time she exercises now, she gets to pick a present out of "Olivia's Treasure Box". She didn't want anything to do with it. After exercises on Friday she refused to pick a present. Yesterday she did and today she was excited to unwrap what she had guessed to be a Barbie. She was right!

Bill's with her tonight and tomorrow is a new day. She's supposed to start interthecal chemo (chemotherapy put into her spinal fluid through a spinal tap.) It will be the first of 4 over the next 4 Mondays. There is no concern about this chemo affecting the pancreas but another oral that she's supposed to take is still pending due to the fact that it can affect the pancreas. Dr. Bernstein is working things out carefully.

Thank you everyone for keeping updated and in touch. We love you all and continue to reap the blessings of your prayers!