Jane Roper's Blog, page 21
March 15, 2013
But on the bright side…
I was feeling pretty upset when I wrote my last post, about Clio’s blood clot. Upset and frightened and angry. These feelings come with the territory when you have a child with cancer. But there are a whole host of other feelings—welcome ones— that I’ve been pleasantly surprised, and grateful, to find are also a part of... Read the Rest »
March 5, 2013
Really, Cancer? REALLY??
It was bad enough that you had to come along and pick on a beautiful, five-year-old girl — make her feel awful, put her in the hospital, cause her to miss out on going to camp and starting kindergarten and playing soccer and all the other stuff she was looking forward to. That was all... Read the Rest »
February 23, 2013
How is she doing?
Multiple times a week, people who know about Clio’s cancer ask me how she’s doing. And I truly appreciate their asking. I’m just never quite sure how to answer. I mean, I know what words to say. (Me writer! Me know how use words!) I say she’s doing well, chugging along through her treatments. Or... Read the Rest »
February 17, 2013
The Story of my Hair is the Story of my Life
Three months after my 5-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, I cut off my hair. It’s not what you think; I wasn’t shaving it in solidarity with her hair loss. In fact, she didn’t start losing her hair in earnest until a couple months later. And while I did donate my eight-inch ponytail to Beautiful... Read the Rest »
February 13, 2013
Our Little Cancer Foodie
One of the (many) unexpected challenges of having a child with cancer: Feeding her. Clio has always been a picky eater. Despite our persistent efforts to get her to eat a more diverse diet, the only things we’ve ever been able to get her to eat with any regularity are pasta, white rice, rye bread,... Read the Rest »
February 3, 2013
Mama Grizzly
First, let’s get this straight: I am not a fan of Sarah Palin. In fact, I disagree with pretty much everything that comes out of her mouth. And I scorn her garbled syntax! But on Thursday, as I escorted a tired Clio from the Jimmy Fund Clinic out through the halls of Dana-Farber and down... Read the Rest »
January 29, 2013
Let Us Now Praise Dana Farber
I know that a few weeks ago I gently lamented the excess of toys and other goodies that came our way from the good folks at the Jimmy Fund Clinic in December. But I want to take a few moments now to praise the awesomeness of Dana Farber / the Jimmy Fund Clinic / Children’s... Read the Rest »
January 15, 2013
The Only Way Out is Through
Well, it’s been a crappy week here in our little corner of Cancerland. Nothing dire, no hospitalization, no emergencies. Clio has just felt really, really sick on account of the many poisons being put into her body. (Feel free to skim the next few paragraphs of chemo jargon if you like. Summary: lots and lots... Read the Rest »
January 5, 2013
Our Bear with No Hair
Gosh, I just realized I never actually wrote (except a brief Facebook post) about Clio’s hair / lack thereof. Nurses and doctors (and we!) have been amazed all along that Clio wasn’t losing more of her hair, more quickly. It was thinning for sure, but until recently she had enough that we could manage a... Read the Rest »
January 3, 2013
(Just a tiny bit) too much of a good thing
Hope everybody had happy and relaxing holidays. We definitely did, in spite of the fact that I felt a little bit haunted by the events of Newtown in quiet moments, and in spite of the fact that Clio felt pretty lousy on Christmas and the day or two afterward on account of the “pulse” of... Read the Rest »
