Lucky Number 13

Georgia's 13th day surgery went off without a hitch today - as did the rest of this week - and now she's off until Monday! She's tolerating the current medicines very well so far, and we hope that continues through next week, too. For now, she's going to rest, visit with her cousins, and look forward to the blood drive* on Sunday. We've also got some very special announcements coming up, so we'll spread the word once we have more information. Stay tuned, and thanks again for everything!

Ivy picked out a special "Last Day Surgery" present for her sis.

* We still have a few appointments available! Please follow the link in the sidebar if you'd like to donate. Thanks!

Ever Closer

Tomorrow, assuming Georgia's counts are good, she'll start a tough couple of weeks. She'll have one more day surgery and some heavy duty medicines, but with her amazing strength and attitude, we know she'll come through it with flying colors. Prayers, positive thoughts, and good vibrations from you lovely people are always welcome and would be especially appreciated these two weeks!

Thursday's day surgery went very well, as usual, and Georgia got extra special VIP treatment because the hospital docs and nurses had heard tell of (or even actually seen) her billboard, so there was much discussion about the celebrity in their midst. Her surprise message for Dr. Neff this week was, "Step on it. I'm HUNGRY!" and there would be a picture of it here if Mommy had remembered to put the memory card back in the camera. : )

Finally, a reminder about the blood drive in honor of Georgia - it's one week away! We're working hard to encourage regular blood donation and have a goal of 100 units before Georgia gets to maintenance. Sunday's drive was organized by our friend, Zel, as his mitzvah project, and both his family and ours would greatly appreciate any willing and able donors to join us for this life-saving cause! Please spread the word and make sure to sign up for a donation appointment by following the link in the sidebar. And, as always, if you can't make it to Georgia's drive, please please PLEASE consider donating at your local blood center. Thanks, y'all!

Here She Is!

We found out that Georgia's billboard went up right outside of town (exit 273 on 35S, to be exact), so we jumped in the car in search of it this morning. And when we found it, we screamed! It's adorable and awesome and HUGE! It will be in this location for about a month, then move into town for a while. Georgia was thrilled and just thinks this is the biggest honor ever (pun fully intended). Plus, she had a ball doing it.

Tomorrow, she has her next-to-last day surgery for this part of treatment, and then she can rest up for next week. We're trying to think of some more "notes" to leave on her back for Dr. Neff, so we'll let you know what we come up with. PLEASE keep Georgia on your mind tomorrow, and don't forget to sign up for the blood drive August 1st!!! Thanks, y'all!

Here are a few more shots of our girl:

Quick APB

We saw one of the new Dell Children's billboards up today! BUT it wasn't Georgia's, so if you see hers, let us know! Thanks!

Looking Good

Today's appointment was just to check Georgia's blood counts, and everything looked great - almost normal, said Dr. Neff. How about that?! Georgia is finishing up this round of steroids tonight, and then next Thursday, she'll go in for her second-to-last (for a while) day surgery. The following Tuesday, we'll start the two toughest weeks, but then we're really REALLY in the home stretch after that. Assuming her blood counts cooperate, and we don't have any other hold-ups, she should be finishing up this phase of treatment right at the end of August - just in time to get back to school! So, pretty much perfect timing, I'd say.

As always, we want to thank everyone for all the love and support, and I'd ask that you keep up the prayers and positive thinking all the way through maintenance. Leukemia is like that unwanted guest who just doesn't want to leave. Once we get rid of it, like we did by Day 29, the majority of treatment is focused on keeping it gone. That's why Georgia will continue to have, as the nurses say, "chemo lite" and day surgeries throughout maintenance - to keep her blood and spinal fluid free of even the most immature unwanted cells. This protocol is the standard method of treatment for this type of leukemia, and with the success Georgia's had so far, we'll be glad to follow it all the way through to the finish line. We hope you'll join us!

Also, we want to thank Kim in Florida and Beth in Missouri for donating blood! If you can, please sign up to donate at Zel's Bar Mitzvah Blood Drive on August 1st (click the icon in the sidebar), and if you donate elsewhere, let us know! Thanks, y'all!

And because my grandmother, the Puzzle Queen, has been here with us this week, there's been a lot of this going on:

I can't tell you the effort that went into that clubhouse ...

Rolling Up Our Sleeves - Again

If you look to the right, in the sidebar there, that little blood drop guy is there to remind you of Georgia's goal to get 100 units of blood donated before she goes into maintenance. We are close, but not quite there, so that's where YOU lovely people come in!

Our friend, Zel, is having his bar mitzvah next month, and as his mitzvah (good deed) project, he's organized a blood drive in Georgia's honor. If you gave at the last one, you're eligible to give again, and if haven't donated yet, NOW would be the perfect time! Zel's drive is August 1st from 9-2, and you can click on the "Life" icon in the sidebar to get signed up (enter "Georgiamoore" for the sponsor ID). If you can't make that date, please donate at your local blood center, and let us know so we can add you to the tally. Your gift can help save up to three lives, so roll up those sleeves, y'all! Thanks!

FYI: NCI and PDQ

We have been given copious amounts of reading material throughout this experience, and I believe I've read every last word. There is a lot of information out there about all aspects of treatment for just about any specific diagnosis, but I wanted to point out one site that I think would be helpful for anyone dealing with cancer.

The National Cancer Institute coordinates the National Cancer Program, which conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the continuing care of cancer patients and the families of cancer patients. NCI's website is a great starting point for gathering information and includes the Physician Data Query (PDQ), a comprehensive database that contains the latest information about cancer treatment, screening, prevention, genetics, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine, plus clinical trials. You name it, you can find it there. And while we've learned a lot from other diagnosis-specific sites, I think the NCI site is an invaluable tool for every journey through this maze.

In other news, Georgia has one more meeting with Lady Erwinia on Thursday, and then we won't see Lady E again until the Final Showdown in a few weeks! We're so in the countdown mode right now, Aunt Meghan sent Georgia a bag of 20 little presents, one to open for every appointment day - it's like a Maintenance Advent Calendar! She opened the first one today, and it was a tiny lime green cuckoo clock, which will help us mark the time until we're finished! Thank you, Meg, and thank all of YOU for everything!

TA-DA!