Jane Roper's Blog, page 21
April 14, 2013
Dispatch from the 6th Floor
Well, we’re still here at Children’s. It will be a week tomorrow (and we’ll almost definitely still be here tomorrow). Fortunately, Clio is feeling a lot better than she was initially. She’s coughing less, and hasn’t had a fever in 36 hours. Yesterday they let Alastair take her outside for a walk (in a wheelchair),... Read the Rest »
April 10, 2013
No Mercy from the Cancer Gods
I had a feeling this was going to happen. Really, it was only a matter of time: First Alastair got sick with a bad cold, about a week ago. Then Elsa caught it — with a fever — last Friday. Then it was my turn. Amazingly, somehow, Clio remained unscathed throughout, and when Monday rolled... Read the Rest »
April 2, 2013
Operation Paperback
So, the paperback of my memoir, Double Time, comes out just shy of a month from now. I’m quite excited about this. But I admit that I haven’t been as gung-ho about it as I probably would be if, you know, one of the stars of the book didn’t have cancer. Clio was diagnosed less... Read the Rest »
March 28, 2013
Helping Cancer Families and Knocking on Wood
I’m very pleased to have a post up today over at the Dana-Farber Insight blog about how to support families dealing with childhood cancer. Take a gander if you’d like. I’m also very pleased that so far things have gone really smoothly over the past week-and-a-half during this CNS cycle we’re in: 4 lumbar punctures... Read the Rest »
March 23, 2013
They Get It
1. Elsa Gets it I was so freakin’ proud of her last week. As you know if you follow my Facebook page (and if you don’t, you should! We have fun there!) we have a fabulous young woman, Katelin, who’s running the Boston Marathon in honor of Clio for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge. This... Read the Rest »
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 »
