Small set backs...

Jeff and his "Rocky" t-shirt

Surprise Ipod from Santa

Surprise iHome from Santa

Girls wanted long jammies

Been feeling so good the last few months. I repainted our bedroom, finished off Christmas, organized some drawers and cabinets that needed it and basically getting things off my "to-do" list. I have recently been getting tired more often and with my weekly doctor visits noticed that some of my numbers were going down. (White, red and platelet numbers to be exact.)

Saturday afternoon spent 6 hours getting platelets and 2 pints of blood. (blood pressure 86/60) Feeling lot less tired now that I have oxygen in my blood. HA! Enjoyed Christmas weekend and was glad I could participate. Another long day at clinic today for more blood to check. Tapering down TACRO and losing some drugs. So far I am doing better but not hitting “normal levels”. Had to do the bone marrow biopsy today but asked for some drugs to relax me. (Yes, they helped and I am tired.) Don’t have to go back until next week so hopefully all stays regular. Let's hope we hear good results.

Hoping you all had a Merry Christmas. Lets bring in 2012 with a BANG.....cuz 2011 has sucked!! :)

One year ago....

As I type this I am reminded that this Saturday will be my one year date of being diagnosed with (AML) leukemia. It seems at times like the year has been the longest of my life…..then again it has flown by so quickly too. I never in a million years would have thought that I would ever have had to deal with cancer in my 40’s.

This month has been a little tough for me. I’ve met a few people that were in the hospital the same time as me that didn’t get better and pasted away. They made it past transplant but the recovery was just too much. It is so hard not to get connected to those that you know were fighting just as hard as you, meeting their families and hearing their stories. My heart aches for their loved ones.

Just this week we have a very good friend in for chemo and he got his own stem cells transplant today. (He was diagnosed a month after me.) Another good friend had her mother in law admitted Monday for AML as well. I visit them both when I am at clinic and try hard to give positive vibes and hopeful words. It just seems like cancer is everywhere.

This month has also been very inspiring. My case worker called me a few weeks before Thanksgiving and asked me to talk to a lady getting ready to have her stem cell transplant. She had the same leukemia as me and wanted to know what to expect. WOW! She was great to talk to and we’ve now become great friends. She said I was her inspiration and after seeing how well I was doing she knew she would be fine. That put a smile on my face and made me feel great. (I’ve been asked to visit other patients in the New Year.) Maybe I found my new calling? She is doing well and was discharged last week. We still keep in contact and we promise to stay in touch.

My numbers are still looking good. Seems like I am always giving blood at one time or another. HA! My INR and TACRO are right where they need to be. I am starting to taper off some drugs but got another one today to help with infections. As we all know the flu, RSV, colds and other germs are out there and can be deadly to us without our entire immune system. (I just hate that person at the store coughing their lungs out with no respect for those around them. So rude to the rest of us.)

As the holidays approach I am reminded how lucky I am to be around for another Christmas. I hope you all got your Christmas cards with our words of appreciation and gratitude for the help this year. I can’t imagine what we would have done without you.

Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season and a Healthy 2012. May this next year be better than the last!!

HAPPY GOBBLE DAY!!!!

“There is always something to thankful for!” I have this sign out each year to remind me that no matter the situation it is true.

My birthday came on 11-11-11. I wanted to get out of town and asked Jeff to take me to Wendover. We had so much fun….and I knew we’d win big. (ha) I learned how to play roulette and even got the hang of craps (even though I made Jeff stand next to me when I got confused). We had a nice lunch, gambled some more and had fun. We haven’t been anywhere since I got sick so it was nice to enjoy ourselves. Of course we didn’t win any money…but it was awesome anyway.

The doctors told me they are very impressed with how well I am doing. I have exceeded their expectations! Tuesday I had another PET (full body) scan and a CT (chest) scan. The doctors said they were great scans just not “perfect”. The test showed some spots on my hips. We could do biopsies on them, but the doctors don’t think it is necessary since the treatment would be the same regardless of what they could be. I have a clinic visit this Monday and the plan is to start decreasing my tacro (immune suppressive drug) and get my stem cells to start working harder and kill anything still there. Usually this works and we’ll rescan me again in January to see if they are gone.

I still feel great and have a positive outcome. I am still having the body aches but my energy is increasing each week. The doctor gave me the go ahead to start doing more (vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, yard work etc.) and as pathetic as that sounds….I was thrilled to know I wasn’t so limited at home. I am helping Callie’s teacher by grading papers at home and the librarian has asked me to help her recover the books in the library. The boredom isn’t as bad as it once was. (For a month there I thought I was going to lose my mind!!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Today I am very thankful for the year of outpouring of support and love we received. Stuff yourselves silly and enjoy the day! “There is always something to thankful for!”

Fun October!

Lester and McCall as 80's workout girls! "Feel the Burn"

We all know that October (and Halloween) is my favorite time of year. Here are just a few pictures I thought I'd share. It is nice to get out a do the things that I can. My blood pressure is low (88/60) which explains why I am always cold...but nothing the doctors are too concerned about. It does go up occasionally and better to be low than high, right?

Still going to clinic every other week which is nice. They will reduce my tacro (immunized suppressed drug) this month and see how my body handles it. So far I've had no reactions to the last reductions. :) Things are going well and I am trying to recover correctly.

Callie as a Zombie! Yiiiiiiiikes!

The kids first Haunted house.

Callie's "Spooktacular Gymnastics Meet". So proud of her!
(yes, I am finally getting some hair!!!!) :)

Learning more patiences....

Nothing really new to report. My blood results are coming back "normal" each week and my kidneys are back to functioning better. I only have to go to clinic every other week (still have to give blood every week though) so that is nice. I am not sleeping as much during the day, but some days I do get tired and have to lay down. I am still careful with large crowds and miss my old life. I am learning patience while I heal but it is hard that I still miss out on so much.

I am getting more hair and since I went platinum blond I've gotten lots of positive comments on it. (Some people think it is my natural color. ha) It is nice not being bald anymore.

Girls are busy with soccer and gymnastics. Seems like every day we have something going on. The days fly by once the kids get home from school. I am excited for Halloween (my FAVORITE HOLIDAY) and have about 80% of my decorations up. Going to try and get the outside decorations up this week.

Hope everyone is well. My love to all of you!! :)

Port is gone!!

My port got infected again so off the blood thinners for a few days and an oral antibiotic. Finally my INR (the rate in which your blood clots) was low enough I was able to get the port taken out. Yipeeeee!!!! I've had it in almost 9 months and was getting pretty tired of taking care of it. Now we wait to see if my infection is in my blood stream (then a new port ...YUCK) or just a temporary pick-line for antibiotics. I'll have another chest CT next week and we'll see where we stand with that.

Still feel good and healthy and have had some pretty good days. A busy weekend with the girls sports and the UTAH/BYU game. GO UTES!!!

Light The Night Walk-Sept 24th

For those of you who don't get my emails or aren't on facebook I'm raising money for an a very important cause through The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Walk. Finding better treatments and cures for blood cancers so patients can live better, longer lives. I'm asking you to help by making a tax-deductible contribution! Please use the link to donate online quickly and securely. You will receive an email confirmation of your donation as it is made. I thank you in advance for your support which will make the difference in lives of thousands of patients battling blood cancers.

http://pages.lightthenight.org/dm/saltlake11/CHennessy

Thank you for your generosity!

Carla Hennessy

Life comes at you fast...

...like a Sonic Burger commercial. (just because it was funny)



Before I lose track of all the events that have been going on I better capture them. It seems just like last week that our doctors said “Your leukemia is in remission, but...” That “but” has sure been a pain in Carla’s buttocks. Let’s break these “buts” into 3 “but” groups; Blood Clot in Lung, Infection in Lungs, Infection in Ports.

“But” 1- Although small, the blood clot is serious stuff. Carla had been taking Coumadin and Lovenox shots (anticoagulants) in the belly for about 2 week to get to a treatment level. After being at a blood clotting INR factor of 1.1, she finally reached 2.8 which will help dissolve the clot and no more shots. BUT, on Monday the next level check was a 6.8, which is seriously too high, so docs said “stop Coumadin”. We thought “cool”, less meds are good, don’t bump into anything and bruise yourself. Then checked this Tuesday afternoon at our home, rose to 8! Nurse was a bit concerned, we called clinic and left message. This was serious enough that a nurse came back 90 minutes later to confirm that it was a correct reading. Still hadn’t heard back from clinic, so I called the nurses desk and Jodi said we will call you back right away. Within a few minutes, Whitney (PA) called us back and said “So Carla being Carla again.” Referring to how Carla seems to be very atypical with reactions to medications and scenic routes she takes with her treatment plan. (I tell Carla that she doesn’t need to try ALL the machines at the hospital.  ) Anyways, she prescribes an antidote to the Coumadin to bring the INR down to normal therapeutic levels. At such high levels, people are susceptible to strokes, heavy bleeding, hematomas, and a bunch of other big words. Vitamin K is the antidote. You think you could go GNC or the vitamin aisle in Smith’s. Hell no, its prescription, and Smith’s doesn’t have it and LDS Hospital Pharmacy is closed. Smith’s understood our situation and made the phone calls to other close pharmacies, called my cell when they found one and sent me to Walgreens in Sugarhouse. By the time I got her the antidote it was about 8:30pm. I still had to go back to Smith’s that night to get McCall a bag for school. In the morning at the hospital the INR level was checked and was at 2.8, relief, disaster avoided. Yes, that is one big “but”.

“But” 2 and “But” 3 – After the docs said we need to watch those spots in the lungs on the CT, they scheduled another CT the following week to see if there would be any change in size of the spots. Sure enough, they doubled in size and new ones appeared, although not symptomatic. Without an actual biopsy of the spot in her lung to determine the specific bacteria or fungus they decided to add anti-fungal meds and take some blood cultures of her 3 lines used for IV medications for bacterial. Before leaving, they gave Carla an IV “loading dose” of anti-fungal then oral stuff for later. Based on the CT, it appeared to be fungal on how it looked. Well…that evening the phone rings at 10pm. “Hi Jeff, this is Shar…uh…” She received notification that the line cultures were growing bacteria, and that Carla needed to come to the hospital for an IV dose of Tigecycline, a heavy antibiotic, to avoid a major staph infection, and what could be causing the lung infection. So…off to the hospital for a “pee” yellow drug, got home at midnight. They followed up the drug with a different antibiotic, Vancomycin, which is some hardcore stuff that fights the type of staph detected in her lines. It really put her down this past weekend. Once again, it’s not the leukemia or the infection that is making her feel like crap…it’s the cure that’s kicking her butt. Because she was reacting so much to the Vanco, fever, red rashes, itchy, headaches, nausea, they reduced the dose and then switched her to the “pee” medication. Tuesday they took another CT, third in the last month, and said that the infection areas had remarkable improvement and should be on the path to clearing up. On Monday, lines cultures were drawn, and have not grown any bacteria since. Appears that these two “buts” have been licked. Did I just type that?!

Keep in mind that these issues have been running at the same time, I just broke them up for your entertainment value.

Kids have started school. Still recovering from her Vanco ordeal, I drove Carla with Callie in the car for the first day of school, and also drove McCall and Leslie for their first day of school as well. Life waits for no one.

Good friends AREN'T hard to find

My good friend Jay battled cancer in his life and has been an excellent friend to talk to though the whole process. I realized we had the same haircut.

Who's looks better?

Caution: Detours Ahead

Another CT scan on Monday shows another nodule in my lungs (still small but another), suspecting its fungal. After lots of blood was taken to see what infection it could be we infused me with an antifungal for 2 hours to start fighting off infection. Had an EKG and so far the news is that my heart is strong and healthy. All my numbers look great and all major organs are doing well.

Then last night at 10:30pm we got a call from the BMT clinic. Seems that all 3 of my port lines have some sort of infection. They aren’t sure if it is fugal or some kind of bacteria. Either way we headed up to the clinic for another infusion of a different antibiotic just to get started. (Thanks to Patti our neighbor for sitting with the kids at last minute notice!!)

This morning we got the call that I’ll be starting an in home infusion of antibiotics every 12 hours for all three ports. If the infection does not clear up we’ll remove the port and/or put in a fresh one. This means I’ll be doing 6 hours of infusions (including my daily magnesium) everyday until we figure out what infection it is. I still feel healthy and glad I’m not sick or have to be admitted back into the hospital. I’d rather lie in my own bed and infuse that sit in the hospital bed and do it there.

Two steps forward and one step back is how I feel today. I am cancer free and happy about that…however dealing with the lingering effects of all the cancer fighting drugs gets a lot frustrating. This is curable and easily fixed! I just need to do it.

100 Day (July 29, 2011) Post Bone Marrow Transplant Test results!

There has been much anxiety over the past few weeks as Carla has been undergoing tests to evaluate her post bone marrow transplant procedure. These results are compared to pre-transplant tests.

Here is the news: Our doctors say her leukemia is in REMISSION. This is really great news! They do not detect any new tumors related to leukemia, but… “always a but”.

Following her CT and PET Scan tests last week, the hospital called the same evening to tell us there was a blood clot in her right lung, and some small nodules detected. Obviously, this news concerned us, and we learned that I had to give her a shot twice daily in her stomach area starting that night. I guess it paid off watching the nurses give her this shot many times over the course of her hospital stays. Although blood clots in the lungs (Pulmonary Embolism – PE for short…go figure) can be life threatening, Carla did not show any symptoms of the PE which is good. This is being treated with anti-coagulants over the next 6 months, and hopefully the shots can stop within the next 7 days.

The nodules seen on the CT did not “light up” on the PET scan so the doctors were not concerned, but would look at them in a few weeks when the PE is checked with a CT.

Other info: Carla now has all donor blood, A+. No longer O-. Bone marrow biopsy test results were good. She will continue to be on immune suppression medication for at least 9 months, but has started the tapering.

There was so much information discussed today and we wanted to relay as much of the important stuff to all of you. We’ve been so fortunate to have the people in our lives to help our family through these challenges.

I added my name to the Marrow Donor list and submitted my DNA to the “Be the Match” program (http://www.marrow.org) so that maybe I can give the gift of life to someone in need. Its so easy, please consider doing the same.

Learning as I go.

Half my tests are over….nothing too bad until the bone marrow biopsy had to be done again. (A medium size needle is used to numb all layers of the skin in the lower hip…then blood is removed from the bone) OUCH!!!! This was my third one so I knew what to expect…..pain. One of the doctors recommended conscience sedation to relax me so I thought I’d give it a try.

Here is what I learned: I am never doing conscience sedation for my biopsy again. I was still awake, could feel everything and all it did was make me sleepy and nauseated. Guess I learned my lesson. :{

Had my eyes checked and got a 100% perfect rating (in fact the doctor said of all the BMT patients he has seen I was one of his top 3. yeah!!) Did my pulmonary tests and even though my numbers were lower than before the transplant I got a A+ . I’ve completed a chest x-ray and gave more blood. Thursday I will do the full body PET scan. It is very easy to do but just takes hours to complete. (This will determine if the tumors are gone or not.)

Today I meet with the stomach specialist to report how much better I am at eating. What a difference it makes to be able to make a meal, eat it and enjoy it. I still have to continue with the weekly port cleanings and seeing the doctors to go over CBC issues and check my overall health.

Thanks again for the cards, calls and yummy food that has been delivered. We've got the best family, neighbors and friends that anyone could ask for.

Random stuff....

Random photos that I wanted to share:

Baby Ryan Kelly born July 16th. Most of you know how much I love new babies. He is precious and I hope to watch him grow up.
At this years RMI Reunion a new addition: Victoria Shaw
(3 weeks old) I was in heaven with her.

The best husband in the world.
He has made this experience bearable and I love him soooooo much.

One of my best friends Allison from Seattle stopped by to see me. She is such a good friend and I am so lucky to have her in my life.
________________________________________________
I hit my 100 day mark from the transplant this Friday...yeah! :) I will be starting all the "retests" next week. They are the same tests I took before the transplant so the doctors can compare from before and now. We meet with the doctors on the 16th to discuss the test results. Everyone send out good vibes and get me a good outcome.

I am still feeling well and strong. I am trying to do more but some days I do get more tired than others. I can't wait to have my energy back and stop shaking (a side effect from some drugs which is so frustrating). Feel free to contact me or come see me (no colds, coughs or sickness).

The "UP" House

Took the girls to the "UP" house that was build in Herriman. It looks so real that it is amazing. You can not get inside, but the house will be open during the Parade of Homes. On the weekends they will have balloons tied to the top. (might have to go back out and see that).

Where do I start....Carla, Kids, boating?

Ok, let's start with Carla. Recovery from the bone marrow transplant is a work in progress. Carla is doing well, except for one issue. She is unable to eat a normal size meal, gets a full feeling after a few bites. This has been going on for quite some time, so finally an endoscopy was schedule, and occurred yesterday. The doctor peeked into her stomach and could see some inflammation in her stomach and took some biopsies to see what is causing this. We should know the results next week and get this issue resolved and onto some normal meals and improved energy.

Please feel welcome to check in on her by calling, emailing, posting, mailing. I wish I could call each person and answer any and all questions about Carla and us.

Callie is doing so well in her new gymnastics level. So excited about learning a routine instead of just doing drills. She has spent some time with friends and swimming at grandma and grandpa. McCall had a week a soccer conditioning and will be at a soccer camp next week for Skyline. Then a few weeks of hardcore conditioning for high school tryouts. She has such good friends. I took the girls to the drive 2 weeks ago to see The Green Lantern and Thor. Well, they saw the first movie and slept thru the double feature. I took one of our boat tubes and they used as a couch to watch movie.

Boating....we are getting a late jump on that. Carla will not be able to get out this summer for a few reasons. Last weekend was our first attempt to get out boating and tubing. Heavy on the word "attempt". Me, McCall, Callie, Leslie and Debbie (Leslie's mom) took the boat out. We left wakeless and cruised across the lake to find a place to inflate the tube. We stopped and the motor died! The darn thing overheated. Apparently, the impeller shattered. Impellers pull water up and into the engine to cool it. Well, we had to call the marina for a tow and to help load the boat on the trailer and we were done. Since then, its been fixed and ready to try again soon. Dissappointment, but everyone was safe and it was uneventful.

Special thanks to people who have brought us meals and spent some time visiting, Carrie and Rick, Patti and Ruth, Jeff and Kami, Janet and Emma. At work, thank you to the many who ask how Carla is doing and offer all their love and support. We both worked at the same company, so we have many common friends.

School's out, Summer trying to arrive.

Summer has come and the kids are out of school. The pace hasn't seemed to slow down.

During the Memorial Day weekend McCall played a Soccer Tournament. She and the Red Devil team finally got the monkey off their back and came home Champions after playing in the finals 3 years in a row. Great job!

Callie tried out for Level 4 team gymnastics and made it! Now that she is in level 4 she will be training to compete at locations around the Wasatch front. Her season starts September and ends around Thanksgiving. Now she will start going to the gym 3 days a week for three and a half hours, thats ten and a half hours a week! If I was going to the gym that much each week I would be Mr. Universe!

During the last week of School McCall played in a 3v3 tournament for fun and to keep her active. Last week she had soccer camp at Skyline High where the second year coach Yamil Castillo instructed the athletes. Thursday through Saturday was the Utah Glory soccer tournament. McCall played quite well and her team finished undefeated and Champions of the U14 division.

For many of us watching this last soccer tournament, the best part was having Carla be there to watch two games, including the finals. Her recovery is moving in the right direction.

Last post I wrote about Carla having CMV and a blood transfusion. Since then, the CMV tests have come back negative and she only has to take medicine for that for another week or so, then she can get rid of that pill (She was on IV med for the CMV, but switched her to pill). Ever since the last blood transfusion her counts have been improving. The biggest bummer of all for her on that transfusion day was on the way home and driving by the U2 venue at the University of Utah where people were on their way to the concert. We had tickets to see them since last year when it got canceled. Our friends Sarah and Dave were kind of enough to buy the tickets from us. If I may quote Sarah, "I'm not trying to rub it in or anything, but, it was probably the best concert I've ever been too." No comment. :)

Daily progress is really hard to chart for recovery, but if you look at it weekly, we feel that Carla is making progress. If you count helping with laundry or other chores, which I do, then we have progress. The body takes a bit of time to heal and get used to its new blood. Her 100 day milestone is coming up in July where she gets evaluated and hopefully start the reduction of the immune suppression medication.

Yesterday the kids went swimming for the first time at grandma and grandpa's condo since they relocated last fall. They said the water was warm and the pool deep. We are sure this will be the first of many days at the pool.

Thank you Jensen's, Garn's, Steven's for dinner the past few weeks. Jenny, you have been such a great friend coordinating for us. Everyone is just amazing. We cannot express enough thanks and love to everyone. I continuously think how fortunate we are to have such incredible support. We love you all.

The Hennessy's

Update, ..yes a bit tardy.

Please forgive me for not updating the blog for 2 weeks!! Let me try to catch up on what is going on.

Carla has been home for 17 days. After the last post, Carla's recovery seemed to take a bit of a pause. One day she would feel well and then the next day quite fatigued and yucky. At the next doctor visit they reassured us that fatigue was quite normal for weeks following the transplant. However, along with her fatigue has been a constant feeling of nausea. This is not uncommon because of the medications and the healing of the body, but could be signs of other issues. Last week was a challenge for Carla to drink and eat.

On the day Carla was discharged, the home care nurse visited us to show us how to administer IV fluids and medicines into her trifusion port that is still part of her body. One of the medications causes the kidneys to excrete extra magnesium which needs to be replaced (electrolytes). Every day we must infuse 1 liter of fluids with magnesium thru her IV line. I guess spending all those hours at the hospital watching the nurses do their job is paying off (hmmm, second career?). The IV uses a pump which is held in a backpack with the IV fluids, so she can be mobile...no "Shelly" the IV pole at home.

At the beginning of this week (Sunday/Monday), Carla had been getting very fatigued and was still having a constant feeling of nausea. We have oral medications to help counter nausea, but it also makes you tired. Trying to battle one challenge makes the other difficult.

We had an appointment on Tuesday, which I thought was on Wednesday (should have written on the calendar, note to self DON'T ASSUME). So, after they called her to ask her where she was, she called me and let me know of the appointment and met Carla and her mom at the hospital. After drawing blood labs they said "No wonder you are tired, your red count is 22." Basically she was anemic and was needing 2 units of blood. The one hour visit turned into a 6+ hour visit. Carla's mom stayed with her while they got the blood ready and I went back to work. I was able to get back to her after the first unit was done and relieved her mom from "duty". They started the next unit and we waited. We finished up about 5:30, appointment started at 11.

While at the appointment, they changed a medication from oral to IV to be kinder on the liver function. The "med-van" came the next day to delivery more stuff. This IV med was new to us, self infusing ball. Just hook it up to the port and it goes in with no pump or gravity. You can put it in your pocket, walk around, go to the store, or whatever.

Because of Carla's symptoms of fatigue and nausea lasting so long, they had done some additional tests to check for other things on Tuesday. During her Thursday appointment, the told us she had tested positive for CMV (cytomegalovirus) and wanted to start treatment same day. CMV is not uncommon for people with suppressed immune systems and can cause nausea because it can grow in the stomach. Many of us have had it, but can be reactivated while on immune suppression drugs. "Beep-Beep", here comes the "med-van". Treatment for CMV is another IV med called Ganciclovir. When the test comes back negative two times she can stop the treatment, hopefully just a week. AND get rid of that nausea. She does four IV infusions a day at home, but sure beats being in the hospital!

Recap - For Carla, the previous week was not a great week. Since this Tuesday, she has felt better and more energy.

We appreciate all the "well-wishes" and continued support, whether it be through a card, visit, meals, offers, carpools, and your love. Thank you Nell, Emma, Grace, Jordan, Isabel for bringing over a plate of treats and seeing Carla this week. She has missed seeing you girls play. Thank you Vahl/Colleen and Anji/Wade for bringing us meals this past week, you kept us strong and healthy. Pam, Jason, Lisa, your flexibility and willingness to be with Carla and support me and the kids is very much appreciated.

We love you all.

Stayed tuned for update on McCall and Callie's activities.

Things are going well being home. Carla only took one nap today which was quite different from yesterday's restful day. We know this will be a gradual process to recovery and get back to normal daily activities.

This morning we went to the hospital to get a blood workup to see how things are going. While getting out out of the car we saw David, one of the PAs that Carla has a crush on, and Carla walked up to the clinic with men on both arms. After drawing "labs", they said things looked good, modified one medication and sent us on our way. We ran into our friend Jenny, a patient, walking the halls while we were there, and of course stopped by the nurses station to say hello. The people, patients and staff, are incredible people. We love them all.

Although Carla is recovering, she would love to hear from you, visit, email, text, card, call. Call me or Carla to plan a visit. Everyone has been so wonderful.

McCall has been so busy with soccer. She has 5 straight days of practice of games. Her last regular season game is tomorrow, then a few tournaments and summer prep for high school team tryouts. Yes, going to be a 9th grader in the fall, Freshman...YIKES!