Update fron Elaine

Dear Friends and family,

We recieved confirmation late this afternoon, that Kate will be admitted tomorrow. Tuesday Oct. 31st at 9:00 for her first chemo treatment. Children's has been full and we were in a waiting mode for the availability of a bed.

The first hours of our stay will be spent making sure Kate is well hydrated by administering IV fluids. When she reaches the appropriate level of hydration, the Cytocin chemo therapy will be administered via IV over 6 hours. Cytoxin is highly toxic to the bladder, so Kate will be woken up every 2 hours to go to the bathroom. This does not allow for a very good night's rest but is essential to protect the bladder. Wednesday a similar schedule will be repeated with another 6hr IV dose of the Cytoxin. Kate will be discharged sometime on Thursday, give that she is taking in plenty of fluids and at the same time is voiding plenty of fluids.

REQUESTS:

~Please ask the the effects of the chemo will be maximum and the side effects will be minimum.
~Please ask that the 2 1/2 ady stay at the hospital pass quickly- these days can seem incredibly long, despite trying to distract ourselves by reading, doing homework, or watching DVD's
~Please ask for Maggie's heart as Kate and I are apart from her. She and out puppy Grace will be staying with my Mom and Dad.
~Please continue to pray with us for a miracle. Please ask that Kate will be in the 0-1o% of recurring medullos that are cured.
~Please ask that in the days following treatment when Kate's WBC's drop that she will be protected from infection and that her body will respond to the daily shots of Nupogen to increase her WBC's count.
~Please ask in advance for the stem cell harvest that will occur sometime the week before Thanksgiving. Ask that Kate's body be responsive and that the stem cells can be collected in a short amount of time.

THANKFUL THOUGHTS:

~Praise for a wonderful weekend of joy and fun with friends. Thursday evening and Friday morning our hearts were very heavy. God lifted us up out of our depair and helped us begin to walk forward again.
~Praise that the prayers of friends and family around the world are literally covering us 24/7.
My heart was truly touched when I recieved an e-mail Saturday morning from a friend who said she was woken at 5:22 am with an intense need to pray for Kate. She prayed and had peace to return to sleep at 6:30.
Another friend called Sunday evening to tell me she had set aside 8:00am to pray for Kate and our family. She asked if she might ask others to join her in praying for Kate on the 8's. What an incredible encouragement it is to know we are being uplifted in prayer throughout the day and night and particularly the united front of prayer at 8am and 8pm.
~Praise for our friend Lisa, a nurse who will help us by giving Kate her daily shot of nupogen. The first time Kate was sick Kate's doctor said they could teach me to do that, but Kate emphatically said "No, I want someone who is qualified." :) This time Kate more gently told the doctor "Mom, is the hand holder, she can't be the shot giver."

So we step into the next phase of this journey confident that God's grace and the prayers of family, friends, and many people that we do not even know have joined the prayer forces for Kate will be carring us through these days of treatment and through every day ahead. Thank you for the countless words of encouragement and expressions of love and for so faithfully lifting us up.

clinging to grace,
Elaine