I have noticed lately that this community has begun to adopt ICE CREAM as part of an ampuversary celebration. The specific references to Miss Cherry during these discussions not only cause me to smile but often result in laughter. As I mentioned a few times, there is more to this story.

It may be hard to believe, but Miss Cherry never knew ice cream until she became a TriPawd. Because of extreme health issues, our Allie (Princess Alexandra to Mom) was on a very strict diet. This was unfortunate because Allie loved to eat and could use the extra calories. However, since we would not give to one something that the other could not have, Cherry never knew ice cream as long as we had Allie.

Cherry suffered extreme loss of appetite during her chemotherapy protocol, which started just hours after her amputation. From mid November until mid February, I had to stuff her for approximately 85% of all her caloric intake. However, in addition so some biscuits that she would eat during our truck rides, one of the nearly constants was vanilla flavored soy milk. We used soy because it was much less likely to sour in the tummy than cow’s milk. Even much later when the appetite had sort of returned, Cherry’s morning would start with teeth brushing (to freshen the mouth and remove the chemotherapy taste), followed by soy milk and as often as not Cheerios. Yes, she had cereal for breakfast. It was only natural to start introducing small amounts of ice cream in the evening to help the calorie intake. We also started a tradition of going to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard every month. This accomplished two things – a ride and ice cream. We had never gone there before or since the loss of Miss Cherry.

Cherry developed a pallet for her favorite flavors. Vanilla – Yes, Mango – Yes, Strawberry – Yes, Coconut Pineapple – No. Many are familiar with our Three Day Celebration when as part of her one year ampuversary, Cherry went to Baskin and Robbins for a soft serve cone. I spooned the ice cream and cone into a dish for her to enjoy. Even the counter people had to come out and watch the fun. Even Cherry's avatar is a photo from that trip. This was close to Thanksgiving and the local stores started to stock Pumpkin Pie flavored ice cream. This became Miss Cherry’s very favorite.

We made our last trip to the Dairy Queen one week before Christmas. It was a wonderful trip and based upon the way she acted, one would think that we many more months before us. After that trip Cherry started to slip quickly. She still loved her daily truck trips, but was very inconsistent regarding the special biscuits. She would not take any of the food offered and by that time I had decided never again to stuff my little girl. However, to and including the very last afternoon, she always enjoyed her Pumpkin Pie ice cream.

So you see that ice cream means so very much to Miss Cherry’s TriPawd journey – extra calories, special trips to Dairy Queen, our greatest ampuversary celebration, and her last food of choice. I do not think that you will ever find this home without ice cream and all the great memories it generated.