Happy 7th

6/22/04

On Saturday, Erin had a splendid 7th birthday party with many friends, great weather, loads of lake swimming, and an unending supply of corn dogs. Aunt Katherine with Austin and Morgan and Aunt Elisabeth with Annabelle came for the weekend, which really means we had a three-day party. Aunt Jan and Uncle Hank dropped in Sunday evening to help Erin celebrate her real birthday, so except for Aunt Quin and Uncle Steve who we will see next month at their house in Southern California, Erin got the full dose of aunts and uncles.

Somehow we managed to fit father's day in there, too. Erin had made several gifts for Walter: three painted rocks, a cross chimes, and a wire sculpture. She also wrote out a card that said:

Erin loves her dady.
My dady is spechall.
I will love my parint the rest of my life.
I love you, Erin

The sentiment is mutual, I assure you.

For those of you on an Erin health watch: she continues to appear fit in every way. She is very energetic, growing well, eating well, and into everything. We will, of course, continue to watch for signs and symptoms of recurrence, but we are trying to keep those worries out of the forefront of our mind. Erin makes it easy. She is such an enthusiast about everything she encounters that you just get swept along with it and forget to worry. Last week it was art camp. This week is music camp and rehearsals for next Sunday's musical.

Walter and I discussed other testing options extensively with Dr. Russell. In the end, we agreed that a urine test half way between her last scan and the one scheduled in August would help us keep track of what was going on with Erin without dampening her summer fun. We will do that when we go to Houston on July 12 for her post-treatment neuropsyche tests. These test are part of her protocol and standard practice for children who have received such intense treatment. I'm not sure what they entail, but I think they will be similar to, but more extensive than the tests administered to Erin when she qualified for the school district's Gifted and Talented program. In theory, they could also turn up any weaknesses in her cognitive abilities from the chemo/radiation/ etc. that she received. We don't expect that, given how quickly she catches on to any and everything!