By Carly’s MiMi We were congratulating ourselves. Patting ourselves on the back. Six months off treatment and our little 5 year old was doing just fine. Kindergarten would start in a few weeks and with only a few minor glitches during the summer we were looking good. We were still going for check-ups on a regular basis. It was decided we would have the 7 year old sibling visit the after care psychologist. Her usual sunny, sweet nature was showing cracks. Moody, emotional outbursts and most troubling of all…separation anxiety. Once a happy school girl she was now balking. She wouldn’t let her mother out of sight…… but we thought this was just a minor problem. The first few sessions the psychologist had little to say. After the fourth visit she had a anecdote to tell us. She had a large doll house in her office with various dolls used to represent family members. She asked our 7 year old to set up the house to look like her family at home. She placed the mommy, daddy and 5 year old dolls on the first floor together in the family room. She placed herself with her grandmother on the third floor….looking down on the family. Childhood cancer is a misnomer….it should be called family cancer. We now have the whole family in counseling and we have come to realize that nothing will ever be the same again. But we go forward with hope….that one day all the family members will be on the same floor.