Spring Break Came and Went!

Melissa enjoyed her chemo free spring break! She went to step class at the gym, ran outside (when weather permitted), and socialized with friends. Melissa also spent time in her classroom organizing projects for the month of May.

On Easter Sunday, Steve, Melissa and I went to Mass at Boys Town. We thank God for the many blessings He has given us during this difficult time. Following Mass, some of the aunts, uncles and cousins came over for our traditional Bloody Mary's and Easter brunch! Melissa was a great help to me in the kitchen on Saturday! She helped with the cooking, baking, and setting the tables.

Family

Spring break is over....school resumes tomorrow. Melissa is going back relaxed, refreshed and ready to work. Hopefully her kindergartners feel the same way!

Friday will be chemo treatment #7. We plan to watch the royal wedding while we are at UNMC. History is being made as we continue on this Hodgkins Lymphoma journey with Melissa. Prayers are good! Thank You!

6 Down...6 To Go...

Friday (4-15) was Melissa's 6th chemo treatment. She continues to handle the treatments well. Dr. Bierman, her oncologist, walked into the room and said her lab work was marvelous! We are so thrilled to hear that Melissa's body is managing all the medication that the UNMC staff gives her! Melissa keeps smiling and staying so positive! All she thinks about is beating this cancer.

The weekend was fairly calm due to it being a  "chemo weekend". On these particular weekends, Melissa knows her body needs more rest and her stomach usually feels queasy. She takes life a little slower than usual. We attended the mass at Marian in honor of St. Peregrine, the patron saint of cancer, on Saturday. Melissa hung out with friends that evening. Sunday she went for a walk and then later had dinner with another friend. All in all, resting is the main ingredient for her to get well.

Please continue with your prayers! We are so appreciative of your support!

Kindergarten Quotes:

• A student made Melissa a card. It said, " Miss Maher, I hope you get detter soon!". Kindergarteners always confuse the  lower case letters: b/d.
• A co-worker came up to Melissa asking her if she lost her wig. Melissa said "No I didn't wear it today". The co-worker proceeded to tell Melissa, " There is a wig on the curb and the students want to know if it's yours?"

Life Is Good

This week has been a good one for Melissa! She taught school, attended grad. class, and also worked out during a step class at the gym! As busy as she is, Melissa knows how important her daily naps are. It is a part of her scheduled routine.....school, exercise, and rest!

Some of Melissa's Pledge Class

As I have mentioned in past posts, Melissa was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority while in college. Last Thursday, April 7th, was the sorority's philanthropy with all of the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society in honor of Melissa! Wow! She and some of her sorority sisters attended this event. The Kappa Kappa Gamma girls had t-shirts made with Melissa's name on each shirt. She had so much fun! Melissa was so excited and appreciative of what these UNL KKG girls did in her honor!

Melissa and Kristen

Melissa's pledge class with the present members!

On Saturday, Melissa and I had a "sleepover" with Steve's sisters, (Melissa's aunts) Sally and Nancy. Aunt Sally lives in Tabor, Iowa, and Aunt Nancy lives in Springfield, Missouri. We had fun shopping, going out to dinner, and just "hanging out". On Sunday, Sally, Nancy, nieces, cousins, friends, and I participated in the ALS walk in Virginia Maher's memory (Melissa's grandmother). It was a beautiful day for the walk at Chalco Hills.

Aunt Nancy, Melissa, Maggie, Aunt Sally

Nancy, Alex, Sally, Jake, Maggie

The whole group!

Thank you for your prayers! We will have round 6 of chemo this Friday. Melissa will have a total of 12 treatments before her next set of scans. We are looking forward to saying: "6 down, 6 to go!"

Round 5 Completed!

Dr. Bierman confirmed the good news! The scans from last Friday were clear! The chemo treatments are working! Melissa will have 8 more sessions of chemotherapy. Hopefully, all treatments will be done by mid-July. The protocol with Hodgkin's Lymphoma is another set of scans 6 to 8 weeks after the final treatment. So.....early September could be her "rainbow" at the end of this storm!

Melissa & Maggie

Melissa was much more relaxed today during treatment. She had the calendar out trying to schedule summer school grad. classes, possible days she could work at the Market Basket, and basically....striving to get her life back to normal!

Life is Good! God is Great! Family and Friends are Fabulous!

Our US Bank Friends in Support of Melissa!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support as our journey with Melissa continues!

Kindergarten Quotes:

• One little boy tells everyone in the hall, "Miss  Maher's medicine is working!"
• Steve and I went to visit Melissa in her classroom. As we walked in, one little boy said, "Miss Maher, you're Grandma and Grandpa are here!"