Camryn's Journey: November 2014

October 20th - November 2nd

Much has occurred within the last few weeks and some of that I will share, but some of it will just have to wait, not long, but a few more weeks. Recently, Camryn decided that she was tired of taking her pills, so she began faking taking them, again. Remember, she did this a few months ago which which altered her blood levels a little, which resulted in MORE pills to take. The kid is clever. Dropping them down her shirt, or her long sleeves, or slipping them into her pockets. She unloaded a bunch of pills upstairs in her bedroom where Lee Ann found them. Right now, Camryn only has three pills to take, twice a day. That is about one fourth of what she used to take. She takes two magnesium pills and one antiviral pill. She also takes liquid prograf, the anti rejection medicine. Lee Ann and I can appreciate the "pill" fatigue that she is experiencing, however, she must take the magnesium because the prograf depletes her body of magnesium, and the antiviral is absolutely necessary for at least another year while her immune system gains strength. Lee Ann and I did what was absolutely necessary to do to motivate her to take her meds...we took away her iPod. Camryn has now been "iPodless"for over a week. Also, she has had a "pill proctor" for each dosing session. Can you guess what the results have been?? How about full compliance in taking her meds. Maybe the proctoring had more impact, but the removal of the iPod has been more motivating. Today, she was given her iPod to use since her Sunday school class and Young Women's group Face Time her during their church meetings. However, just to ensure her newly found religion of taking her pills is genuine, we will keep her iPod for another week. Aren't we just the meanest parents in the world?

With Halloween approaching, and Camryn becoming even more stir crazy due to house confinement, we asked for and was given permission by her doctors for Camryn o trick-or-treat. Because she was doing so well in her recovery, except for the recent pill taking debacle, and since the activity was outside, they agreed. I don't know if I have ever seen anyone of our children so excited to go trick-or-treating. Truly, this was going to be Camyn's first opportunity, post transplant, of being a "normal"kid again, if there is such a thing. We had her all set up with antibacterial liquid, wipes, gloves, etc. She may have well been in a contained bubble walking around. Nevertheless, she had a great time, and cherished being "out" and collecting plenty of candy, most of which she gave away. You see, this Halloween, for Camryn was never about the candy, but rather about the opportunity of returning to the life she had five months ago, minus the warts. Mission accomplished.

Now for the fun stuff. We have plenty of "before and after" pictures to share with you regarding Camryn's warts. The pictures you will see of her warts were taken right after Camryn was admitted to the hospital, but prior to beginning her chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. The after pictures were taken this week. What you will be seeing are the results only four months post transplant. The results, to us and to the doctors, are stunning. Especially considering Camryn has battled these warts, caused from her immune deficiency, for nearly nine years. Remember, she also had warts on her face, lips, ears, and inside of her mouth. Also, the soles of her feet also were covered with warts, completely covered. All those warts are now gone, ALL of them...