Friday, August 1, 2008

Back to Florida!


Tomorrow is the big day!  We are being picked up at 5:18 am to go to the airport.  Kelly's Make a Wish Trip is finally here.  We are all excited about the Disney cruise and being in Caribbean Water.  

Kelly relaxing on the trampoline teenage style.  Gotta have the laptop.  This has actually been a good way for her to stay in touch with her friends, especially when she is not in school with them.


Wednesday was Chemo Day.  Since it is summer Shannon comes with us.  She really enjoys the Infusion Center since there is a lot for the kids to do there.  She was really happy that it was a chemo day for Bailey too.  She spent the afternoon with Bailey and his little sister.  At the end of the day, she asked if we could come back the next day, like Bailey had to.  I explained that Kelly only came once every two weeks and all their treatments are different.  She really wanted to come back the next day.  I was really thankful we didn't have to, but Shannon felt so strongly that she wanted to be there the next day with Bailey and his family.  So she ended up going home with them, spending the night, then coming back to CHOC with them the next day.  I just picked her up when they were almost done.  The nurses are offering to put her on payroll.

Kelly did pretty well through the first half of her treatment.  It is so nice to have distractions to keep her busy at the infusion center.  She was very happy that her friend, Sarah, came to spend some time with her there.  Sarah was also on our trip to Lourdes, France last Spring.  Thanks for coming to see Kelly, Sarah.  She really was excited to see you, even though she started feeling pretty bad.  I don't know what makes these chemo days different from one another.  Last time, I really thought we had come up with a good plan for anti-nausea meds because she never got sick.  We did the same thing this time, and I can't count how many buckets she went through.  Even after we came home, she kept getting sick until she fell asleep at 10:00.    The good thing is, she is feeling good now and ready to go tomorrow!

Her Make a Wish Party was also earlier this week.  Her wish granters gave her a backpack with her Make a Wish shirt and some other goodies for the trip. She had a just a couple friends over (the wish party budget had just been cut!) but had a really nice night. Thanks to her wish granters, Marissa and Rachel, for making this trip special for her. This is her friend, Katie, who hopefully will be planning her own Make a Wish trip soon!  

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Kelly,
I'm so glad you are going on your Make A Wish Disney Cruise! I think Make A Wish is an amazing organization. You're an amazing person and deserve a fun and exciting vacation (so does your mom!). Is your dad home???? Are you sisters going too? You all deserve a break!
Have fun! I'll pray that Katie gets her Make A Wish soon!
Love to all,
Darla, Geoff, Sophie and Shawn (and Flavia too!)

Anonymous said...

Kelly, I'm sorry you had a multi-bucket day from your chemo:( I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better now and I hope it stays that way so you can fully enjoy your wish trip. A Disney Cruise sounds like the perfect vacation to me:)

Have a wonderful time, Laude Family! I hope every moment of your trip is a wish come true.

((Hugs)) from Fairy Candy

Tracy said...

Dear Laude Family,
Have a wonderful trip!!! I hope it's amazing from the moment Make A Wish picks you up to go to the airport! We want to see and hear all about it!
Kelly, I hope you were able to bounce right back to feeling good after such a rough chemo day, so you can enjoy every second of your trip!
Enjoy!
Love & Hugs,
Aunt Tracy

Tracy said...

Dear Laude Family,
Have a wonderful trip!!! I hope it's amazing from the moment Make A Wish picks you up to go to the airport! We want to see and hear all about it!
Kelly, I hope you were able to bounce right back to feeling good after such a rough chemo day, so you can enjoy every second of your trip!
Enjoy!
Love & Hugs,
Aunt Tracy

Anonymous said...

Yay!! Hope you all have a wonderful time!! It was great to see you all this week. I can't wait for Ashley to watch the Dana Point CSI...lol.
Love you all,
Karla & Fam

Anonymous said...

Dear Kelly,

You're already in the air, on your way to Florida, the Caribbean, and your great Make A Wish advenure. I hope you and your family enjoy every minute of it.

I see Bailey's back. Did he meet Paula Deen? I certainly hope so.

Hey, what's wrong with the bartenders at that joint? Did they substitute rot-gut for the good stuff, or do you think they slipped you a mickey? Cheap trick, if you ask me. You tell them you want the good stuff. That means No Barfing, or you'll take your custom elsewhere.

If you see Goofy on the cruise, say "hi." He's been a favorite of mine for years.

Have fun!
Henry

Gabby's Mom said...

Hi Kelly! I am sure y'all were glad to see your Dad today and the cruise sounds like a lot of fun!
You seem to be accruing an entire "wish list" from us of characters to greet. I don't know if you got my letter, but Jake would like to know what Tinkerbell is really like :) All he ever sees is that dot on the ceiling and he would like to know up close and personal if she is nice. He also wants to know if she really has sisters named Dinner Bell and Jingle Bell - sometimes the sun casts more than one reflection on the ceiling...luckily we have not gone past three because I am running out of "Bell" names!

And most importantly, did you get your book?

Have a great time! Hugs,

Pat

Anonymous said...

Hve a fabulous time on the Disney cruise and enjoy every minute of it! We can't wait to hear about Castaway Cay! Say hi to Mickey for us!
The Palmer's

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,
We hope you all have a fabulous time on your Disney Cruise! Hopefully the only "buckets" you'll have to deal with on this trip are sand buckets! That didn't sound like a very fun day at the hospital. Have a terrific time!
Silvestris

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly!

Wow! A Disney cruise...how cool! My mom and I wish you all a super fun trip. Forget about chemo, scans, IV's, etc. and just have FUN! I'm sure I will see you around CHOC sometime.
Love,
Jessie and Teresa (my mom))

Anonymous said...

Have fun on your trip!

Aunt Jenny & Uncle Bob, Kylie and Ryan ie & Ryan said...

Hi everyone!

We got to see the Laudes last night at their hotel and had dinner with them! Even went for a swim in the pool! They are on the ship now and have already been in the Mickey pool! Should be smooth sailing this week for them!

Kelly had a late night last night reading her new book, Breaking Dawn!

We can't wait to hear about their trip when they return!

Bon Voyage to the Laudes!

Love,
The Opificius'

Anonymous said...

Dear Kelly,

I will be praying that you have an absolutely wonderful, magical time on your cruise. I can't wait to read all about it.

My prayers continue for you..........

Laurie Martin said...

Hi to all!
Just got back from the cabin and were thinking of you. My brother came in from Chicago on Friday and he had never been to the cabin before. It's looking so good-new carpeting, paint, gutters, and a new deck that Mark put in all by himself.
Can't wait to hear all about your cruise. Glad you were feeling better, Kelly, before you left. Shannon, you're going to make a good "Momma" some day-you're a very caring young lady.
That was nice that the Opificius' gave us an update on how your trip was going. Take care!
Love,
Laurie and Mark

Anonymous said...

Kelly, just wanted to send you a little hello. I'm hoping that you'll have finished Breaking Dawn by the time your back, because we will have so much stuff to talk about! I just finished it and thought I would let you know... Can't wait to see you!

<3

Austin

Anonymous said...

Hi Laude Family,
Sorry, but my computer was not working for a few days, so I'm a little behind things! Anyway, I am sooo glad camp was such a great experience for all three of you! I was sorry to read that your chemo was so BAD on Wed. BUT, I was HAPPY to read that by now you guys are on your cruise!!! I wish you all wonderful memories! Have a FANTASTIC TIME!!! You are in my prayers....
Love,
Patty J.

Anonymous said...

Kelly,
I hope you have a great time on your cruise. I am totally jealous! I think I may steal your idea for your Make a wish but I am still trying to come up with something special for mine. Also, I had a ton of fun at Kelly's wish party. Thank you for inviting me. Hopefully sometime soon I can have mine. Haha
Katie

Aunt Jenny & Uncle Bob, Kylie and Ryan ie & Ryan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Aunt Jenny & Uncle Bob, Kylie and Ryan ie & Ryan said...

Hello Everyone!

The Laudes' are on their way back to California as I'm writing this! They all had a really nice time on their cruise--great weather, great food, great fun! We were lucky they had enough time before their flight to be able to see them again today! The Disney Cruise LIne bus dropped them off at the airport and we picked them up and spent some time at the local mall--Florida Mall---it's a big mall in Central Florida and very close to the airport!! We had a nice lunch together at Bucca Di Beppo and even did a little shopping!

Welcome back home to the Laudes'!!!

So glad we were able to spend time with you guys!

Love,
The Opificius'