Another new wig!

My newest wig came in the mail yesterday! It's straight and really dark brown/black. As soon as my sister gets home from school, I'll have her take some pictures!

By the way, today is my sister's first day back to school since she went into remission last July. Mom didn't want her to go back to school yet, but Elyssa really wanted to. She misses all her friends there. I miss my friends too. I hope I get to go back to school in August. I know I won't be able to go back before summer.

A surprise, a new wig, and pics galore!

Here are some pics Eli took of me and Elyssa playing outside. What do you think of my blonde wig? I think I like the red better! Mom says I can get a brown or black one to try out too. I'm having fun trying different wigs. Eli started calling me a chameleon.

Me and Elyssa with our new Playmobil set

Me and Elyssa on the driveway

Me

Elyssa

And, now, for the surprise I mentioned a couple days ago! Our puppy is here! We haven't picked out a name yet, but here are a few pictures!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I'm adding more pictures! Our friend Iliana came over to visit today!

Playing Dominoes

Playing Barrel of Monkeys

Hug

Elyssa, Me, Iliana

Usually, I don't like homework, but...

Today, mom let me do my homework on the balcony! Homework isn't so bad when you can do it outside with Girl Scout cookies and a frappuccino from Starbuck's! I'm so excited that it's spring and to see warm weather! Over the weekend, Eli took some pictures of me and Elyssa outside. We got a new Playmobil set and took it outside to play in the sun. I'll ask Eli to upload them when he gets home. He's at the doctor right now. They're scheduling his brain surgery today. I'd be scared, but Eli isn't. He says he'll be glad to get rid of the headaches and the dizziness.

Mom says we're having a family meeting when dad gets home from work. I'm a little worried. Usually, family meetings mean one of us is in trouble, either because we caused it or because of our LFS. Elyssa is being really nice and trying to distract me. We are going outside to play right now. I still have to rest a lot and take it easy, but we have a big swing in the yard. It's big enough for all three of us kids and mom and dad! Elyssa said she'll do all the swinging, so I can just relax. I'm probably going to start re-reading Rodrick Rules before I go see the movie. Elyssa's into a different book series right now, but mom says she's not supposed to be reading it. It's about vampires. She sneaks and reads them. She borrows them from her friend, who's 13. Mom says they're for high school kids and older though. Maybe that's why we're having the meeting. I bet mom found those books under Elyssa's mattress.

There's no place like home!

I am so glad to be home! Last night, the doctor said I could go home, but I didn't want to say anything just in case things changed. But, I can shout it from the roof top now! I am finally home! It feels so good to be settled into my own bed! Everyone is being nice and helpful because they're happy I'm home, but I know that won't last long. :P After mom helped me settle into bed, Elyssa brought me a snack, and Eli brought me a surprise. Tickets for me and him to go see the new Wimpy Kid movie when it comes out next week! It's the second movie based on the second book, Rodrick Rules, and it comes out March 25th! I can't wait to go see it! :D

There might be another surprise later today! Mom says I have to take a nap now, but I'll be back to share the surprise with everyone!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Hi, everyone! I'm feeling much, much better today! Still coughing a bit, but no fever! I'm still in the hospital, but the doctor says I might get to go home on Saturday. I'm kind of glad I'm still at the hospital today, though, because my entire breakfast was green in honor of St. Paddy's Day! I had green oatmeal, green scrambled eggs, and green juice. It tasted like apple juice, but it was lime green! It was the most fun breakfast I've had in awhile. I'm really glad they didn't serve green Jello. I hate green Jello! I wonder if my lunch will be green too...

I got to talk to Eli and Elyssa this morning. Elyssa baked green, shamrock shaped cookies for St. Paddy's Day. Mom is going to bring one in to me when she visits this afternoon, if Eli doesn't eat them all first. Eli said he helped, but Elyssa said he just kept eating the dough before she could cut it with the cookie cutter.

Oh! I almost forgot the good news! I got my cast off yesterday! I have to go to physical therapy now to try to build up some strength in my leg before surgery. My first day is supposed to be today, but it will be a short session because I still get tired very easy.

Luck o' the Irish be with you all!

Tay asked me to update

Hey, everyone, Elyssa here. Tay asked me to give her friends an update. She started running a fever again on Saturday. She has pneumonia from an infection that her body couldn't fight. I haven't been able to see her since Saturday morning, but mom says she's getting better. I talked to her on the phone, and she sounded weak, but she was her usual sunny self. Tay makes fun of Eli for milking the situation, but I think she does a good job of it too. (Who am I kidding, we are all good at it!) She asked me to bake her oatmeal raisin cookies! And, I probably will because I hate seeing my baby sister sick, even though I know she'll go right back to bugging me as soon as she's well.

Love you, Tay! I can't wait until you're back home!

Earthquake and Tsunami

My heart goes out to all those affected by the disaster in Japan. I was so sad to see it on the news when I woke up this morning. I hope the people of Japan and other affected areas can heal from this quickly. I don't know anyone who lives in Japan, but Eli and Elyssa do. They have a friend who is from Tokyo but lives here in the States. She emailed Elyssa and said that all of her family members in Japan are safe, but that they did feel the quake. Elyssa's friend said it was really scary for her cousins who live just south of Tokyo.

Sweet and Sour

This is my new nickname for my sister. Sometimes she can be really, really sweet. And other times, REALLY sour. Mom says it's because she's becoming a teenager. Elyssa and Elijah will be 13 on April 10th. I don't think I'll act as crazy as she does when I become a teenager though. Last night, she spent an hour and a half in the bathroom washing and fixing her hair. There wasn't any hot water left for me! I asked her why she wanted to fix her hair before going to sleep, and she said it was just in case she met a cute boy in her dreams. *gag* Before she went all hair and boy crazy last night, she made brownies for me and Eli. She made a whole batch just for the two of us and another for mom and dad. They were really good! She also said she's giving up bread because of all the carbs. She didn't eat any of the brownies she made. Me and Eli have a bet on how long that will last though. Next time mom makes waffles, Elyssa will give in for sure. They're her favorite food. Eli says she'll give in before the weekend and eat a brownie, but I think she'll last a little longer than that, unless mom makes waffles.

Elyssa also had a really good suggestion to break up our on going Battle of the Breeds, as dad likes to call it. She said we should get a dog from the shelter because they need good homes. Me and Eli thought that was a great idea, so we all agreed to get our pet from the shelter. I hope we get to go soon, but mom said we probably can't go this weekend after all. I'm actually in the hospital. The fever came back late last night, and I did not feel well at all this morning. I didn't tell mom because she was already really worried about Eli's appointment with the neurosurgeon, but grandma noticed as soon as she got to our house. I hugged her, and she made me go lay down on the couch. When she took my temperature, it was 103 degrees! She called mom and dad and took me straight to the hospital. Elyssa was still sleeping. We kind of forgot to tell her, and she freaked out when she woke up. At the hospital, they did a blood count to see how many blood cells and platelets I have, and my white blood cell count was really low. Now I'm hooked up to an IV getting antibiotics. I guess now will be a good time to catch up on my homework! I think I'll start with math and work on that until dad and grandma come to visit. Dad said he will bring me some frozen yogurt! I asked him to get red velvet cake flavored yogurt and put some of Elyssa's brownies on top! Yummy!

Over all, my day has kind of been like my sister. Sweet and sour. Grandma brought my goodies to the hospital. She really does bring the best presents! I got a new dress for my American Girl Samantha doll, a box of fancy truffles, and a new hat that grandma made. Plus, dad and grandma are bringing frozen yogurt. All of that pretty much makes up for how much the fever sucks. It's down to 100 now though. I bet the frozen yogurt helps even more!

Updates!

We've had a very busy day today! First, mom took me and Eli to the doctor. I had a fever yesterday, but it went away. Mom still made me go get checked. The doc says I'm fine though. I don't have an infection, but she wants me to wear a mask any time I'm not at home. Then, it was Eli's turn. Usually, the doctor takes mom into a room without us to talk about test results, but Eli asked to hear everything. They tried to make me leave too, but I wanted to be brave like my brother. The first thing that happened was the doctor took us into a room with a big table. Mom sat in the middle, with one of us on each side. We all held hands. Then, the doctor started talking about a lot of stuff I didn't really understand. When mom started to cry, Eli put his arm around her shoulder. I couldn't help it, I started to cry too. Mom asked us if we wanted to leave, but Eli said he wanted to stay, so I stayed too. Eli stood behind mom and me so that he could hold us both. The doctor told us that Eli would have to have brain surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible and to test it to see what kind of tumor it is. She said he will have to get a full body scan to see if it spread anywhere else. When the doctor finished talking, Eli looked at her straight in the face and said, "Be honest with me. What are the chances that this has already spread somewhere else?" She said pretty high. Mom started crying more, but Eli squeezed our hands, cleared his throat and said with confidence, "We'll win this fight. Henleys always do." I was so proud of him! He gets the body scan and goes to meet the neurosurgeon tomorrow. Mom is taking Eli, and our grandma is coming to stay with me and Elyssa. We like it when grandma visits because she always brings us presents! I wonder what she'll bring tomorrow...

After the doctor appointments, mom took me and Eli out to lunch. Eli wanted to go to Fazoli's, but I still taste metal all the time, so I wasn't that hungry. At least, I wasn't until I discovered that Fazoli's breadsticks don't taste like metal! I think I ate about 10 of them! They were so so good! Eli got the sampler with lasagna, spaghetti, and alfredo. Plus he ate more breadsticks than me. He's such a pig. I got a kid's cheese pizza. I think mom was just really happy that I ate something that tasted normal. I'm going to ask her if we can go back for dinner.

We didn't get to go look at puppies yet because mom didn't want us to go out in the rain, but she just said we can go this weekend! I've had two more fights with Elyssa about what kind of puppy to get, so mom said Eli gets to be the tie breaker. Elyssa baked him cookies to try to bribe him to side with her. Eli keeps saying that if we fight one more time, he's going to get himself a hamster instead of a dog for the family. He's kidding though. I think... Maybe I should do his chores, just in case!

Uh oh. Mom is yelling at me. I haven't done any school work since Monday, and she threatened to take my computer away. I better go do my homework!

Some good news and some bad news

The good news first! Mom says we can get a puppy! :D I want a golden retriever, but my sister wants a chocolate lab. We have to decide soon. We're going to look at puppies tomorrow, and mom wants us to pick one then. Some of them aren't ready to leave their moms yet though, so we might not get our puppy tomorrow. We already agreed to get a girl puppy, but mom says we have to agree on the breed by tomorrow after we go see the puppies. I really want a golden retriever! I even have pajamas with a golden retriever on them! I'll ask Elyssa to take a pic of me wearing them later.

Now, for the bad news. My brother's cancer is probably back. He has a tumor in his brain and mom said the doctor told her his blood work was "abnormal". He has to go to the doctor on Wednesday for more tests, but he's not scared at all. Eli is so brave! He told me and Elyssa that he's been getting headaches and feeling dizzy for a few weeks, but he didn't want to worry mom because I have to have surgery soon. He had neuroblastoma when he was 2, lymphoma when he was 6 which caused him to get bone cancer when he was 7, and kidney failure when he was 10. He had to get a transplant! Our cousin was a perfect match, so she donated one of her kidneys to him. She's 16 now. Eli has always been really brave. When I was sick when I was little, he always held my hand. He taught me to read while I got chemo when I was 4. He's such a great big brother!

Interesting day today

I had to get chemo today and have an x-ray to make sure the tumor in my leg is shrinking. Mom let me get a new book to read while I waited. I decided to get the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, The Ugly Truth. I like it a lot so far. Greg Heffley does some of the dumbest things, and it always makes me laugh! He reminds me of my brother sometimes. My brother sometimes tries to trick me into doing things for him like Greg tries to trick his friend Rowley, but I'm not dumb. I don't fall for it like Rowley. Maybe I will watch the movie again tonight. I got it for Christmas, and I've watched it a million times, but I still love it!

Once I went back to the infusion room, the room where everyone sits while they get their medicine, Elijah waited with me while the doctor was talking to mom and Elyssa. He was kind of grumpy though because he had a headache. They called me back before mom and Elyssa were finished, so Eli went with me to have my port (where the chemo goes in) accessed. Then, the craziest thing happened! When they poked my port with the needle to check my line, Eli passed out! That's never happened before! Eli's had more chemo than me, and he never passed out because of a little needle prick before. It doesn't even hurt, and he knows that, but he still passed out! Elyssa laughed at him when she found out. I did too, after I knew he was okay, but mom was really upset. She made him go to the emergency room, even though there were a bunch of doctors right there that all said he didn't hit his head that hard. Trust me, his head can take a harder hit! It's really hard! I know Elyssa has hit him harder than the bump he got today. But, mom freaked out anyway. Turns out, it was a good thing that he passed out because of the needle. When they checked his head in the ER, they found a tiny tumor on his brain. Now, he has to go see our doctor to see if he has cancer again. I really hope he doesn't. Mine came back this winter and Elyssa has only been in remission since last July. Eli has been in remission for three years.

The good news is the tumor in my leg is shrinking. I might have to have surgery soon to take it out, but we have to wait until the bone heals more from when it broke a few weeks ago. I was rough housing with Eli and it just popped. Mom says the sarcoma made my leg weak. Now, Eli doesn't play rough because he knows it will hurt more if I hit him with my crutches.

Mom said me and Eli could have whatever we wanted for dinner tonight, but I didn't feel like eating. The cisplatin that I got through my port today makes everything taste like metal. Blechh. Eli always takes advantage when mom says we can have whatever we want. He ate Cool Ranch Doritos and about 30 mini powdered doughnuts. He eats so unhealthy when mom lets him pick what he wants. I'm kind of hungry now though. Maybe she will let me have an ice cream sandwich. Hey, at least I'm having some dairy, right? *evil grin*