January 11, 2022

On Friday the 31st Rory called me in the morning from the ER…Aurelia was running a fever and if this happens we are under strict instruction to get her to urgencies immediately. Her blood work showed she had a bit of an infection and she was admitted to the oncology floor. Eston and I quickly packed our stuff in Girona and drove down to the hospital. I stayed with Aurelia and Rory took Eston back to the beach apartment. Aurelia was in the hospital for five days. She was feeling totally fine, but her blood work showed she needed antibiotics and observation. She also had a blood transfusion to give her a little more strength. 

Aurelia came back to the beach apartment just in time to celebrate King’s Day! Kids here don’t get their presents on Christmas…the three kings (three wisemen) bring them on January 6, so Aurelia was determined not to be in the hospital. 

We opened presents on the morning of the 6th and played on the beach in the glorious sunshine. 

We returned to the hospital a few days later for treatment, but her levels were not strong enough for treatment, so Aurelia had a chemo hold over the weekend. 

Though her levels were a little low, Aurelia had plenty of energy. There is a great little cafe near the marina and we like to walk/ride down there and have a drink or cup of tea in the sun. Aurelia also likes to ride next to me while I run. I did one of my fastest 10k training times the other day—mainly because she rode next to me yelling, “Come on, girl! You’ve got this!” 

Aurelia and I returned to the hospital early this morning and her bloods were good, so we are now upstairs on the oncology floor for treatment. We have to spend the night tonight as this chemo requires some observation. Aurelia is thrilled because we are in one of the new suites. She was less thrilled when I pulled out her schoolwork, but she is now doing her math work and listening to her audio book.

Rory and Eston have been at home in Girona as Eston returned to school yesterday (Aurelia returned to homeschool as well). Rory and I will switch places tomorrow morning. If all goes well we should all be back in Girona sometime around the 25th of January. 

I brought all of the Christmas cards we received to the hospital so aurelia could see them. She loves them, but I think our mail person loves them more. We have the best mailman. He knows everything about everyone in the neighborhood. He rings the bell when he is delivering mail because he just likes to have a chat and catch up. He loves December because we receive holiday cards and he finds this to be such an interesting tradition. I often open them and show him the cards. Paul and Merritt—you’re card usually arrives first and he was thrilled to ring our bell and let me know the first card of the year had arrived. Hilarious.

Thank you all again so much for the love and support. Aurelia experienced a challenging few days last week, but her energy has returned and we have enjoyed bike rides, dance parties and lots of laughter. Each day brings something new and we are doing our best to navigate through it. We are just about through with “frontline” treatment and Aurelia will move to long-term maintenance soon. Her treatment will continue for another 1.5-2 years, so we still have a long road ahead of us, but we know she will make it through with all of this support.