Update from Elaine
We were thankful when we received Kate's blood counts late on Monday afternoon. The platelets climbed from 60 last Tuesday to 114. With this count she is ready for her next admission. We received a call this evening (Tuesday) from the logistics coordinator for the stem cell program. He is scheduling Kate for admission to the hospital for her second stem cell rescue this coming Monday, February 19th. We are thankful for the timing of this admission, as the snow has been falling all day and a drive to Pittsburgh today would not have been our choice of fun activities:) The protocol is two days of high dose chemo, followed by a day of rest and then the stem cell transplant. We really have no idea how long our stay will be. The first time they predicted a minimum of two weeks and it ended up being three. We are hoping that with adjusting of the chemo levels that this second round may go a little smoother and our stay will not be quite so long.
PRAISE: We are happy the timing of this admission will allow Kate to see Maggie in the musical.
REQUEST: Please pray in advance that with the adjustment of the chemo levels that Kate will not experience the severity of sores in her mouth and throat. Please also ask for protection against infection and if infection does occur it can be treated quickly with no drug allergies this time.
This Friday, February 16th Kate will have a clinic appointment to do pre-transplant blood work. She will also have an audiogram and a kidney function test, as the carboplatin chemo is toxic to the kidneys and can cause hearing loss.
REQUEST: Please pray that Kate's hearing will be protected and that the kidneys also would not suffer damage.
Please know that you prayed this same request for Kate's chemo back in 2005 and God answered in that both Kate's hearing and kidneys remained un-touched and healthy!
With school canceled today and again tomorrow, we are enjoying extra time together with Maggie. We baked and decorated Valentine cookies, and much to Maggie's dismay, she and I shoveled snow twice, only to have it blow and drift over again:(
REQUEST: Please pray again for Maggie as we are apart from her. The long separation for January's transplant was hard for us all, but more so for Maggie.
PRAISE: Maggie and Grace are well loved and even get a bit spoiled during their stays with Grammie and Pappy.
I wanted to thank each of you once again for your constant prayers, words of encouragement and support sent via blog messages, emails, cards and phone calls. I was touched by the blog messages that were anxious for updates. I am amazed that people are following our journey so closely. Please do not be concerned when there are not updates on the blog. The saying "no news is good news" holds true in this case. In the event that there are urgent requests and I would be unable to write the update myself, I would phone Tracy, our keeper of the blog, and ask her to update accordingly. During the interims between treatments our time together as a family is a priority and something that we try to be very intentional about. Into that we mix keeping a normal schedule for Maggie with ballet, basketball and play practice; Kate's home bound tutoring schedule; my tutoring schedule and then Kate's health care routine with blood work, clinic visits, dressing changes and line flushing. Writing daily updates from the hospital is a luxury I have, with so much time on my hands there. Here at home, my schedule is not so lucrative and my heart's desire is to make the each day count with the time I spend with Kate and Maggie in one way or another. So, when things are quiet on the blog, know that it's a good sign, that things are going well and we are enjoying the "normalcy" of daily life and making every moment together count.
The next days will be busy with the play Thursday through Sunday, more snow shoveling:( , a trip to the clinic on Friday, and catching up with Kate's homebound and my tutoring schedule after the snow disrupted our normal schedule. My next update will probably come from Children's Hospital next week.
Again, we are grateful for your willingness to journey beside us.
Grace,
Elaine
PRAISE: We are happy the timing of this admission will allow Kate to see Maggie in the musical.
REQUEST: Please pray in advance that with the adjustment of the chemo levels that Kate will not experience the severity of sores in her mouth and throat. Please also ask for protection against infection and if infection does occur it can be treated quickly with no drug allergies this time.
This Friday, February 16th Kate will have a clinic appointment to do pre-transplant blood work. She will also have an audiogram and a kidney function test, as the carboplatin chemo is toxic to the kidneys and can cause hearing loss.
REQUEST: Please pray that Kate's hearing will be protected and that the kidneys also would not suffer damage.
Please know that you prayed this same request for Kate's chemo back in 2005 and God answered in that both Kate's hearing and kidneys remained un-touched and healthy!
With school canceled today and again tomorrow, we are enjoying extra time together with Maggie. We baked and decorated Valentine cookies, and much to Maggie's dismay, she and I shoveled snow twice, only to have it blow and drift over again:(
REQUEST: Please pray again for Maggie as we are apart from her. The long separation for January's transplant was hard for us all, but more so for Maggie.
PRAISE: Maggie and Grace are well loved and even get a bit spoiled during their stays with Grammie and Pappy.
I wanted to thank each of you once again for your constant prayers, words of encouragement and support sent via blog messages, emails, cards and phone calls. I was touched by the blog messages that were anxious for updates. I am amazed that people are following our journey so closely. Please do not be concerned when there are not updates on the blog. The saying "no news is good news" holds true in this case. In the event that there are urgent requests and I would be unable to write the update myself, I would phone Tracy, our keeper of the blog, and ask her to update accordingly. During the interims between treatments our time together as a family is a priority and something that we try to be very intentional about. Into that we mix keeping a normal schedule for Maggie with ballet, basketball and play practice; Kate's home bound tutoring schedule; my tutoring schedule and then Kate's health care routine with blood work, clinic visits, dressing changes and line flushing. Writing daily updates from the hospital is a luxury I have, with so much time on my hands there. Here at home, my schedule is not so lucrative and my heart's desire is to make the each day count with the time I spend with Kate and Maggie in one way or another. So, when things are quiet on the blog, know that it's a good sign, that things are going well and we are enjoying the "normalcy" of daily life and making every moment together count.
The next days will be busy with the play Thursday through Sunday, more snow shoveling:( , a trip to the clinic on Friday, and catching up with Kate's homebound and my tutoring schedule after the snow disrupted our normal schedule. My next update will probably come from Children's Hospital next week.
Again, we are grateful for your willingness to journey beside us.
Grace,
Elaine
posted by Tracy @ 8:07 AM
3 Comments:
At 10:35 PM,
Anonymous said…
Maggie, how did your play go tonight? I bet you were the star! I remember watching you perform at a ballet recital when you were so young--I can just imagine how you still shine on stage!
Kate and Elaine--you are always on my heart. We'll be praying that these next couple days at home would be fun and restful and that your next hospital stay would go perfectly. We love you! Gail N
At 1:57 PM,
Anonymous said…
We are a "drama" family at our house so we're anxious to hear about Maggie's play. So exciting!
So glad Kate gets to go. We're still praying! Susan
At 8:45 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hoping that your hospital stay will be short without and trouble or side effects. You are always in our prayers. We love you all. Maggie you did a great job in the musical.
Post a Comment
<< Home