Things are moving VERY slowly

 Hey everyone!! 

Writing a little update! Not much new has happened since last time when it comes to treatment. However, we have had a couple of hiccups that were a little tough (nothing compared to before though). 

Since the last blog, I have only received 1 treatment, instead of 3 as planned. The reason is that few days after round 3, I got fever and had to go to the local hospital. While doing liquid sunshine, getting a fever is pretty serious and you have to be in the hospital within an hour. This is something we were told back in February when I started treatment. Anyway, so when I wasn't feeling great, we measured my temperature and realized that I had fever, so we called Lillehammer hospital. They told us to come in to the emergency room to do blood test and other check ups to figure out what was going on. I was admitted that night and the next day, I was told that I had pneumonia. This time it was a pretty minor infection, but enough that I had to start on antibiotics and my upcoming treatment was postponed. I ended up staying in the hospital for about 5 days before getting to go home. When you are on antibiotics, they usually don't want to give you liquid sunshine, so I had to wait until the following week to receive round 4 (a week later than planned). All this was pretty frustrating for me because I just want to get these rounds done! And not deal with this any longer! Of course, life isn't quite that simple, so I just have to keep fighting and be thankful that the hiccup wasn't too serious and I was able to bounce back pretty quickly :) 

After round 4, my immune system crashed completely! I got fever, again! and I was admitted to the hospital, again! This time they weren't able to find where my infection was, but most likely it was some kind of throat infection. I had to go on antibiotics, again! but this time not for as long and I bounced back quicker than after round 3! yay! However, again, my next treatment was postponed and I had to stay in the hospital for about 3.5 days. SO here we are, still haven't received round 5, but I am hoping to do so soon. As of right now, my neutrophils (part of my immune system) is very low and it has been stuck there for 1.5 weeks. Throughout the last months, my immune system has had dips between treatments, where it went very low, but went up again really quickly. Now it's not coming back up as fast! I am home from the hospital now and done on antibiotics, but due to my low immune system, I have had to be extremely careful around people and I haven't been able to go places. Yes, my parents even have to wear masks when they come visit us. Hopefully this won't have to be like this for much longer. I am taking regular blood tests and hoping to see an increase in my neutrophils soon so I can receive treatment. There is a limit on how low they can be before they will give me liquid sunshine. 

Anyway, Ryan and I have been able to do little fun things since last blog. However, most of our time has been inside the hospital and staying at home trying to avoid getting another round of fever. Ryan and I did get to go to Stockholm for a weekend to visit our very good and amazing friends Li and Erik. We Stayed with them and got to explore the city a little bit, but also just enjoyed quality time together. The trip as a whole was so wonderful and we loved every single minute of it. One of my best friends from Iceland, Freydis also came visit for 2 days and we rented a cabin in the mountains. It was so much needed little outing and we had so much fun! Just the perfect amount of hanging out, chit chatting and exploring the area around us. We can't wait to see Freydis again soon :) 

Then I turned 29 on June 29th!! We had planned a fun trip with my siblings, but unfortunately, I was admitted to the hospital 2 days prior to my birthday, so we had to cancel those plans. Hopefully we can retry another time. And yes, you calculated it right, I actually did end up spending my whole birthday in the hospital and didn't even leave my hospital room. A little sad I must say, buuuut! Ryan and my parents definitely made the most of it by visiting and they also brought me a brownie and presents. I also had so many lovely people sending me messages and calling me! It really meant the world to me! So thank you so so much! 

Tomorrow is July 7th!! It's our anniversary!! 2 years of being the Toneys :) We are so thankful for everything we have experienced together and we can't wait for more years to go! I love you so much Ryan and I am so extremely thankful for everything you have done for me! 

Ryan and I wanted to do something fun and special for our anniversary, but with everything going on and having to cancel so many trips already, we decided to not try to plan something. Because that's when things go wrong! haha! So tomorrow, after my blood tests, we are going to decide what we will do, depending on what the blood work says and how I am doing/feeling :) No matter what, we will make it a special day for us. 

I want to end this in best way possible! So here we gooooo. 

On my birthday!! I got the best possible birthday gift EVER!! My liver values, that have been sky high since December (but slowly going down), were within NORMAL range for the first time since I got sick!! How amazing is that?!! We were so so stoked and thankful!! And we are hoping that this is a good sign that the new drug/treatment that I am receiving is doing its job and my liver is getting better :) It's good to be hopeful and we are going to keep our hopes up as long as we can!! 

Lastly, here are some pictures from the last few weeks :) Hope you enjoyed the reading and the pictures! Ryan and I have some very exciting news to share will all of you soon, so stay tuned for that! 

Thanks again to everyone for the amazing support, prayers and good thoughts! We love you and are so incredibly thankful!

- Spread Smiles 

Maria 

Ryan and I got to have Caspian (my nephew) staying with us overnight! We loved having him and felt like it was a fun little practice for us as future parents :) He was obviously spoiled the whole time, like he should of course! 

At Lillehammer hospital receiving round 4 of liquid sunshine! 

Stoked to get to go home right after receiving the treatment! 4/8 DONE

I got to see Freydis right away, which was so amazing :) The same day we drove up to the mountains to stay at the cabin. Such a lovely time! 

This is Tiril, my niece. We always have a blast together!! I am also told that she is literally copy paste of who I was as a child! So there must be an extra connection there. haha! 

A little evening biking tour with Ryan! We love to get out and be active when I can :) 

The cute family of 4! We went "golfing" with my parents and Iris' family! Ryan and I (and the our furry babies), just walked along and were mental support! hah! 

The morning of my birthday! The nurses brought me those flags and wished me happy birthday! So sweet

Mom and dad brought brownie and presents! Always so much fun to have them visit!