Hi from KATE

Hey guies I`ve missed you all. School is great so far I`ve gotten good grades. I also got into chorus.

Sorry I'm Late!!!

Hey guys!!! I have been so busy since we got back from Florida. Spent part of one week in Philadelphia for the FHA Conference, then spent part of the next week in DC giving training to FBI and FDIC/OIG Agents in Mortgage Fraud. Last week I had to get as much sewing done as possible for my quilt club.

Did I ever mention I get distracted?

Anyway, I still don't have the pictures developed from Orlando. I get paid next week so I PROMISE to get them developed and post some of Kate. She is at school right now, but I will let her get on and say "hi" when she gets home.

Kate finished up three more badges for Girl Scouts and I already put them on her vest. She and her daddy had a really great time at the Father-Daughter campout the other weekend. She got to take apart owl pellets and find out how many voles the owl ate by looking for bones!!! She made a parachute for a water rocket made out of a 2-liter soda bottle and she made an owl house (it's a LOT bigger than a bird house). We are going to have to take that out to her grandparents house where they have a lot of trees and woods. If we get a owl to live in it we will let everyone know what kind!!!

Kate's brother William is home with a cold - not strep throat, thank heavens. And I am making chicken soup from scratch. Got a lot of rain yesterday from what was left of Ike but it cooled down a lot. Now it feels like fall.

Is everyone in Texas ok? I hope the worst part of the hurricane missed you.

I feel so sorry for Emily. That is really rough with current breakouts and bleeding. Kate does really well with her Enbrel shots. Since we got on those consistently she keeps getting better and better. Now she has only a few scabs on her knees and elbows. They are barely noticable.

For her body, try getting some of the AXE body wash. It has volcanic rock emulsion and soothes Kate when she gets ichy. The Touch and Pheonix scents are pretty nice for girls. I don't know what to tell you about the scalp. I have used Clobex on Kate's before. One or two drops on each open spot. It stings some. But then, her scalp really didn't start getting better until she was on the Enbrel. I know it is tough to go through this, but tell Emily that we have all been there. And Kate and I send her really big hugs!!!!

Gluten-free

Hi, Jake. I just read your post. If Emily was still awake I'd have her write something. We miss all of you guys.

We've been having a tough go of things lately. Emily went back on Cyclosporine a few weeks ago. This time it hasn't been helping at all, in fact the disease is progressing as rapidly as ever. Her scalp is almost always bleeding in one spot or another. We filled a new prescription (thinking maybe the one we were using was ineffective because it's a few months old). This time we got the generic brand. It's horrible. Even though the old brand was "yucky," Emily still took it without any trouble. Today she was in tears before I ever got the medicine ready. She says that this generic one burns her throat on the way down. Our doctor is out of the country right now. We hoped to be able to talk to him about other options.

I talked to his assistant about MTX. She assured me that there is a pill form. Can any of you tell me (if you know) any advantages/disadvantages to shots over pills?

And while I'm posting questions: Christine, you mentioned the gluten-free diet. Was that helpful at all? You also mentioned that Carly was showing signs of psoriatic arthritis. Do you know if the arthritis can cause permanent damage? Emily has been showing signs. I don't know how long I should wait to see if the medication is effective, or if we need to demand a more effective treatment option immediately.