We have an ANC! It's just a step above 0, but we will take it. Woohoo! Claire has had a few more platelet infusions, and she finally needed red blood cells yesterday. Her mouth sores are starting to get a little bit better, and she and David have made it through four of the Star Wars movies. She had a visit from three of the members from the group The Lower Lights (They are amazing. You should YouTube them.) and an adorable therapy dog. Her Aunt Lori came from Washington to help for a few days and they had a nice visit. Claire is a warrior of the highest degree. She doesn't complain or cry, even though she has every reason to. She is pleasant with everyone who comes into her room, and everyone loves her. In fact, at The Lower Lights concert that Faith, Ella, and I went to, at their invitation, one of the musicians talked about meeting Claire. They were singing Silent Night, and I joined in with harmony. On the video you can see Claire nodding her head and moving her hand. She couldn't sing with her voice, but she was singing with her heart. The band member said from the stage that it was a moment he will never forget. We won't either. Claire touches people, and I think they can feel the love we all share when they come into her room. It is a sacred space.

Things are a little less sacred on the home front. That flood I mentioned in my last post was very damaging. We have had disaster relief here, and all of the carpets in our basement have been ripped up. There is a large, loud generator right outside of my bedroom window, plus at least twelve more fans running day and night to dry things out. We have a large, very ghetto pile of damaged stuff in our driveway. And this all needs to be fixed before Claire comes home. (It's covered by insurance, but the timing is ridiculous. Where is Ellen or those cute HGTV cousins who fix things when you need them?) And the dog ran away. Thanks to a large posse of neighbors, we found her. On top of all of that, I became very sick yesterday and was in bed with a fever, so I can't even go up to the hospital to be with Claire. A flu test came back negative, so hopefully it will pass soon. On the bright side, David is gaining lots of levels playing QuizUp. When it rains, it pours.

*Update: David just sent me a text saying that Claire had a little jello and a few nibbles of cheese! Woohoo!