That's a Wrap!

Last day of 7th grade

Another school year has ended. Izzy and her homebound teacher read many books about fairy tale characters, magic, and royalty. And Izzy is working on writing her own version of these type of stories as well. 

The best news is that both Izzy and her brother are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of today!!!!!!!!!!!!! Izzy literally cried tears of joy with her first shot. And we found a bonus of needing lots of pain killers--no arm pain from the shots! Izzy is beyond excited to be reunited with family and get hugs. (Aunt Courtney, she's coming for you!)

See the tear in the corner of Izzy's eyes? The vaccine is so important.

I'd like to say that with all of us vaccinated, life is returning to normal. Unfortunately, nobody really knows how well the vaccines work for immune-compromised individuals, like Izzy. And some studies have shown the vaccines do not work as well for immune-compromised individuals. So, we still have to be cautious. Then again, we've always had to be cautious. Our normal probably looks like your pandemic normal. We are still homebound for the most part. Izzy remains in a bed or laying down the vast majority of the time. She wants to travel, but we will be lucky if we make it to The Henry Ford to see the Jim Henson Exhibition as we plan this summer. 45 minute trip one way in the car is hard on her body, but Izzy LOVES Jim Henson and all of the Muppets, so is willing to take the hit.

One normal thing that Izzy is going to do is get a phone. I think Izzy was in preschool when she first asked for a mobile phone. I told her then she had to be in 8th grade to get a phone. Well, earlier this week, when we were discussing the end of 7th grade, Izzy perked up and said: "That means Wednesday night I'll be an 8th grader and can finally get my phone!" So, Izzy will have a phone. If you'd like to text her, please send me a message at meloniestothers (at) gmail (dot) com with your number and I'll connect you with Izzy once we get her phone and number (assuming Izzy knows you and it is appropriate for her to be in direct contact). She is very excited, but not very good at responding to messages as you will know if you've ever emailed her or messaged her through messenger.

I'll pause on the verbal update for some pics.

Blue hair!

Anne of Green Gables dress made by Ma!

Trying out the new dog bed.

Izzy is very tired these days. She sleeps more. She played in a paddling pool for 10 minutes last weekend and needed a nap immediately after. 

Thankfully, Izzy's pain is fairly controlled. She does get stabbing chest pains a couple nights a week. She describes it as swords, daggers, and knives all at once. Thankfully, nitroglycerin seems to help more times than it doesn't. Through the magic of compression sleeves that come small enough for Izzy legs (unlike the compression socks which are ALL too huge), Izzy's legs are not in as much agony as a year ago.

That is where we are. Life is slow for Izzy. She loves visitors though. So, if you are fully vaccinated and have a couple hours to spare, please stop by. Don't expect games and a lot of movement. Izzy needs to keep her feet up, but she loves to talk or to have someone to watch movies with her (or the tv show "Once Upon a Time"). We now have a movie theater in our house, so feel free to call Izzy up and suggest a movie date. She would be beyond excited (well, as long as it is a movie she enjoys--all things Disney, magic, princess, romance, dogs, and she's learning to love Star Wars and Marvel movies). 

Izzy watching movies before the movie room was complete.

Izzy's favorite place to watch movies--from a swing!

Thanks for checking on our girl.

Mel

PS
If you were getting these updates emailed to you, they should still get emailed, but we had to find a new service due to the one we use disappearing. What that means to you is that the emails may end up in spam. Check your spam! The email will be from meloniestothers (at) gmail (dot) com. Apparently, to not get it sent to spam, I have to buy my own domain and not use my free gmail account. I'm not buying a domain, so please check your spam, mark me as not spam, and you should be set to get the updates in the future. If you'd like to start getting the emails, you need to look at the actual blog and on the right hand tool bar (in desktop mode) there is a handy dandy widget for you to put in your email address. Hopefully, it works. I think it does. You'll get a thank you email from me when you register if it does work. But, again, check your spam for me and mark me as safe.