Jane Roper's Blog, page 19

Enter JoJo

In June of 2012, a little over a week before Clio was diagnosed with leukemia, our cat, Ella, died. Yeah. Depressing, right? Alastair and I adopted Ella from a shelter way back in 1998, after we first moved in together. She was a sweet little cat, who could hunt like a mofo: she once got... Read the Rest »

Keep Your Day Job

We just had a marvelous week at the family camp we go to at the end of August every year. Alastair has been going with his parents since he was four years old, and many of the same families come back year after year, the same week. So there’s a lot of socializing over meals,... Read the Rest »

Toothless Wonder

Clio is right on the brink of losing her first tooth. Bottom front left. I am unreasonably happy for her. She is extremely excited, too. Like any kid about to lose her first tooth. But, like me, I think she’s a little more excited than would typically be the case. See, chemo slows stuff down.... Read the Rest »

Sunshine and Clouds

Well, hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but everything is fine, no major dramas. (Some people have told me they get worried when I haven’t posted for a while.)  Mostly I’ve just been busy as all get-out with work, working at night and other unpleasantness, plus we were away all last week... Read the Rest »

Chemo, you wily bastard

After last week’s post in which I excoriate the purveyors of alternative cancer “cures,” I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the fact that chemo — while effective — really does blow. We just got back from a whirlwind trip to DC, where Alastair had several gigs, followed by the Jersey shore, (Ocean... Read the Rest »

Miracle Cures & Conspiracy Theories

Back in October, when one of the kinds of chemo Clio was taking caused her to have a seizure, I remember a conversation with our oncologist about what happened, and next steps. This is a guy who is one of the world’s foremost experts on childhood leukemia, who dedicates his professional life to researching better... Read the Rest »

What Will They Remember?

  The other day I was trying — really trying — to try to remember kindergarten. I didn’t come up with much: a vague sense of the layout of the kindergarten classroom (for some reason I’m pretty good at remembering spaces), the face of my kindergarten teacher Mrs. McCarthy, her giving us some stickers once... Read the Rest »

A Return to Normal

OK, that’s not exactly an accurate title for this post. We are nowhere near a return to the “normal” of our lives pre-cancer. But compared to where we were a year ago and even a few months ago, things are feeling a bit more like business as usual. Case(s) in point: 1. This year, both... Read the Rest »

Cancerversary

One year ago today, I brought Clio to the ER of our local hospital with a fever of 104.5. Several hours later, we found ourselves at a hospital in downtown Boston, being told that it was 99% certain she had leukemia. As I posted a few weeks ago, it’s been difficult looking back at this... Read the Rest »

Empowered & Helpless

1. Empowered For a long time, Clio has stated her desire and intention to be a professional musician, just like her dad. Actually, as far as she’s concerned, she is a professional musician. And she has always loved rocking out in the privacy of her own home. Observe:  (Taken a little over a year ago.... Read the Rest »