Life as usual

Sorry that I have not written for a while but the internet at home does not always work. On Wednesday Katie had a blood transfusion in Bryan. It wasn't really that bad...just VERY time consuming. She has been feeling a lot better the past couple of days. She is back to her old chatter box self. It is so good to hear her 'rattle' 24/7. So things are going along pretty good...fast and furious but okay. Thank you for all of your prayers. We will go back to Texas Children's on Tuesday August 4th.

Another Day of Waiting

Yesterday, Katie had a platelet count of 7. Normal for platelets is 130 to 400. Because of this critical value, Katie required a platelet transfusion. We were able to do it in Bryan BUT even though William got Katie to Bryan a little after lunch time she did not receive a transfusion until about 9 last night and did not get home until about 11 at night. William was VERY frustrated and was I. But the good thing is that she got to spend some time with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa. Thank you for all of your prayers.

HOME

We made it home about 1 this afternoon. Katie is in a great mood and is eating better than I have seen her eat in weeks. We are so glad to be home. We have begun to notice that Katie's hair is falling out by the handfuls. She doesn't seemed bothered by it though. I cut out a lock of her hair to keep and you can't even tell it is gone. LOL... I think the hair loss is hitting me harder than it is her. We should be home for 10 more days. Thank you again for everything.

Going Home

The doctor came in this morning and said that nothing has grown on the cultures that they took. And since she has not had a fever since she was in the ER, she can go home today. They are completing the discharge paperwork now and hopefully we will be out of here by noon. Thank you for all your prayers.

Looking Up

Katie did not have a fever during the night. She let me hold onto her some this morning and give her hugs. She is in a much better mood. Better than I have seen her in several weeks. She is smiling and laughing while watching Dora. Thank you all for your prayers. Please pray we get to get out of this place SOON!!! =)

More of the same..

We have been admitted to room 910. If you would like to call us the number is 832-826-0910. Right now we are being told that we will be here until Katie does not have a fever of 100.4 or higher for 24 hours and does not have anything show up on her cultures. It looks like we will be here probably at least until Saturday. Thank you for your prayers. Please keep praying for Katie...she is having a very rough emotional time of it.

Here We Go AGAIN !!!!

We will be admitted to the hospital today. Katie's ANC is 0 which means she has no immune system/way to fight off infection. Please pray for us. We just told Katie yesterday that she had 13 more days until we had to go back to the hospital...little did we know she would get a fever not 24 hours later. Please pray for Katie's emotional state...and our's too...AND that we get a room soon! Thanks.

Bad News/Good News...Now another trip

Yesterday we got the call that Katie's bone marrow is not clear yet. That is bad news because there is still cancer in her bone marrow. That is good news because we no longer have to give her shots AND we get to be home for 13 more days! However that changed this morning. As I write this we are in the ER because Katie had a fever. Please keep us in your prayers today...Katie is really scared this time but we are trying to keep her spirits up. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

Happy Birthday Laura Beth!

It is amazing to me that my little girl is a year old today! I remember the first thing I thought when they put Laura Beth in my arms was "are you sure this is my kid? She has so MUCH hair!" (I was knocked out while they did the C-section after all! It stinks when the spinal does NOT work!) So much has happened during this past year. Our girls are such good friends and love each other so much. I can not imagine having two more loving little girls. Laura Beth LOVES to dance and pretend to talk on the phone. She can say 'hello' better than she can 'mama'! So much for reminiscing...

Katie had a really good day today. She played all day with Ashlyn and enjoyed every minute of it. They made cookies for Laura Beth's birthday, watched t.v. and played all sorts of games. When William got home, he took Katie to the store and she bought Laura Beth a rattle and pop toy. It was so cute to watch them opening the presents 'together'. Katie would pull the paper off some and then hand it to Laura Beth. Then Laura Beth would shake the present and hand it back to Katie....AND Katie ate some spaghetti O's and kept them down! I was so excited! Things are looking up...

**She had bilateral (both hips) bone marrow biopsies and aspirations on Monday (July 20th). We will not know the results till Friday or next week some time. For now we are just enjoying the time at home with each other.

Thank you for all of your prayers. You have prayed for us even when we did not have the strength to pray for ourselves...thank you...it means a lot to us.

Better Days

Katie had a MUCH better day today. She ate a little and even kept most of it down. She had a good morning playing with her cousin, Ashlyn. Then after a good nap she went fishing with her daddy and me. She hooked 3 fish and caught 1. She had a good time but is now tired. Thank you for all of your prayers...today was better because of them.

Getting ready to fish...

Fishing...

The BIG fish Katie caught..

Free At Last! Thank God...Free at LAST

We came home yesterday!!! Katie slept most of the way home and has laid around the house since getting here...but she is feeling some better. She still refuses to eat (though we have been able to get some bread, a popsicle, and some cereal down her in the past 24 hours). She has thrown up twice since coming home. She was not fond of the shot she had to get yesterday but we made it through it. (She has to get a shot every day to increase the good cells in her bone marrow in hopes that her bone marrow will be free of disease after this last round of chemo and can be harvested). Thank you for all of your prayers and kind words. You have helped more than you know. Please keep our family in your prayers. To be honest, William and I are at our breaking point and are not sure we can take much more. And Katie is a depressed little girl lately. And Laura Beth is just happy to have us all home in the same place. She (Laura Beth) seems to be the only happy one in the bunch...we are all just happy to be home...

Going Home...Maybe...

Katie has not thrown up since about 9:30 this morning. The plan right now is to go home tomorrow. Katie has an appointment on Monday morning at 8 to have another bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. If her marrow is clear and cancer free then they will put a central line in at her hip, take out the stem cells, and then take out the central line. We have to give her a shot every day to help boost the stem cell count in her marrow. They give these stem cells back to Katie after her 6th round of chemotherapy (which is particularly difficult). William is coming here to spend the night with us and then help us get all packed in the car. (Uncle Ricky is bringing him into Houston since he is having to go to work). Thank you for all of your prayers and kinds words.

????

Katie is still having problems with her digestive system. She continues to throw up and have diarrhea. She has not eaten anything since surgery. And she has drank very little since surgery. The physicians are trying to figure out why she is throwing up. Please pray that they figure this out so that we can go home soon. Thank you.

Another Update

The urinalysis came back that the blood is not in her urine. They will be taking samples of her next three bowel movements to see if there is blood in her stool. The nurse is now beginning her chemotherapy. So we will NOT be leaving UNTIL Friday at the earliest. Thank you for all of your prayers. Continue to pray for Katie's little body...she is still throwing up, she hurts all over, and just wants to go home. **She has only thrown up 3 times as opposed to yesterday she threw up 10 times** Thank you for all of the prayers.

Another Delay...Please Pray

Katie is having difficulty urinating without also having a bowel movement. In the last sample they took, there was blood in it. They have now put a little bag on her to catch the urine separate from the bowel movement. The chemo that she is currently receiving causes bleeding in the bladder. Please pray that this is not the case. Of course we also do not want her bowels to be bleeding either. Please pray for her health. Thanks.

Home at Last

We will be leaving the hospital at 10 p.m. tomorrow night. I hate having to leave so late BUT I am not staying here one more night than I have to! Starbucks and God will keep me awake to drive home! Katie is still throwing up this morning despite the several different medications that they have given her. Katie says she hurts all over today and feels sick. Hopefully some of that will subside after we get home. She misses her daddy so much and so do I...and her little sister too. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you to everyone.

THANK YOU

The gates of heaven have opened and your prayers and mine have been answered! Katie FINALLY urinated and they were able to get the test done that they desired. The test came back with the right results and they decided to go ahead with the chemo TODAY. Right now Katie is getting some nausea medicine (zofran) mixed with steroids to ease her nausea. Once that is finished they will begin the chemotherapy medication. She is resting right now. She hasn't thrown up for about 2 hours. Thank you to everyone who prayed. It came in just in time because the doctors had already decided that they were going to wait till tomorrow to start chemotherapy but changed their minds when the urine results came back. THANK YOU again for all of your prayers and thoughts.

PRAY

The nurse states that they are going to start chemo at about 2 this afternoon. However she can NOT begin chemo until she goes tee-tee and it can be tested. Well Katie says that she doesn't need to go to the bathroom and even after sitting on the toilet for several minutes she has not produced any urine. She has however thrown up again (that makes 5 or 6 times today). Please pray that she begins to feel better and is able to urinate so we can get this whole mess started. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Recovery Day # 8

Katie has had an upset stomach for the past couple of days. This morning she has thrown up 3 times. They have given her 2 separate medications for nausea but it has not seemed to help. She is eating some ice chips now and I am trying to get her to eat some goldfish in hopes of sucking up some of that stomach acid she is throwing up. I am becoming VERY frustrated because the chemo STILL has NOT started. Can you tell by my large letters that I am yelling on the inside?!?! I am trying my best to be nice but it is getting very hard...and to tell the truth nice doesn't get anything done! Please pray that things begin to roll and we do not have any more delays...as it stands right now we will not be going home until Thursday....please keep me in your prayers as well because I am starting to feel some what sick to my stomach as well...YEAH

9th Floor

Katie was transferred to a room on the cancer floor (9th) about 5 this afternoon. They will begin her 3rd round of chemotherapy tomorrow. Please pray for Katie. She has been acting strange this afternoon. I can not put my finger on it but something is not right. Hopefully she is just tired. She did state that she was scared though she wasn't sure what she was scared of. Please pray for peace for her.

Update on Layla (the 18 month old with stage 4 neuroblastoma who had surgery on Thursday) . She is still in PICU. She has been intubated since surgery but is suppose to get the breathing tube out tomorrow. Although she is on numerous strong medications to sedate her, she has pulled out her breathing tube, her catheter, and her central line. Of course all had to be put back in. Her blood pressure has been pretty low (50/30). Her mother looked extremely worried when I talked to her this evening. Please keep Layla and her family in your prayers as well.