27 Feb 2009, 12:43pm EST
Well, Kara's chemo didn't get to us in time to start on Tuesday. But, one way to look at it, is the more she's delayed in starting it, the more time her body has to multiply those blood cells in order to have a good starting 'stockpile' before they're knocked back down. She started chemo on Thursday. I am feeling much more confident with the medicine schedule, and what to expect with her bloodcount trends, and what to watch for in side effects this round. With the change in her chemo start dates, I rescheduled next week's appt. It's Thursday morning.

We had 3 days of Dr. visits, and a total of 5 Dr. appointments in 5 days this past week. I had some other things that I needed to take care of too, here at the house, and when you're on the go, well, that takes up time that could be spent doing something else! But, a lot got accomplished this week, and for that I am glad! Yesterday, the weather was really nice, and the kids got to play a lot! I mentioned that Kara looked pale yesterday, and Tony said 'well, she didn't stop all day' .... : ) She had a lot of fun just playing. I hope she feels good throughout this round.

Thank you for praying for Judy. Please remember praying for a few little ones and their families fighting a huge battle:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/marykaterushing
www.caringbridge.org/visit/littlecaleb
www.caringbridge.org/visit/davidmoore

Kara is due to return for scans at the end of April. We head out April 28th. I am looking forward to this hopefully being the official 'END OF TREATMENT!'

Happy ??? Birthday Becky (Sorry it's belated!)and Happy 1st Birthday, Garrett !!! We love you guys !!

Please also remember our Pastor's Mom, Martha. She was having surgery this a.m. THANK YOU !!

We love you guys, and have a great weekend !!!

23 Feb 2009, 2:31pm EST
Woo Hoo! I love Dr. visits that are like today's! Kara's counts have gone up quickly - Praise the Lord! She is feeling GREAT! She has giggled a lot today, and is so happy ....
She looks AWESOME!

Her hemoglobin (red blood cells) are normal, her platelets are normal, and her white blood cells (defense) isn't normal, but her ANC is up above 1000. Remember on the 13th, at her last clinic visit they were at 600, and she still had one more day of chemo to make them drop even more. Another good thing, her stool culture came back fine - no problems were found. Although, Dr. Malik mentioned to us that she still could have had "something" to cause the diarrhea, since there's so much stuff that's going around. But, the chemo can also cause diarrhea right away, and also cause it to be delayed. We have orders if the diarrhea starts up again, to use the immodium. Her chemistries were all normal, except in one area, a liver enzyme. But it was only a tad higher than where it should be. Her weight is up a bit - but is still considered "stable". That is good considering how last week was. I am so glad for today's results. But, also know all this is bound to change this week, as chemo is due to start tomorrow. We will check back in with Dr. Malik in a week, for labs.

Tomorrow, Brent has a crown that needs replaced, and Lauren is due for a cleaning at the Dentist. Then, Thursday it's my turn at the Dentist. Whew! We have definitely had our share of Dr. visits, and we're not through yet. I was talking with Tony this a.m. about what's up for the next few months. Erica & Lauren are due for vaccinations again. Erica's ready to veto the shots, and poor Lauren, she's terrified of having a splinter removed .... I think I'll make their appts. on the same day! I am really hoping April marks the "End of Treatment" for Kara, so we can get her caught up on her vaccinations, and dental exams, and have things all the way normal again. Kara's nurse asked us today if we've been looking at Easter dresses. I told her we don't get Kara out a lot. Mom and I were talking about this last night. Her life right now pretty much consists of: Going to Church, my Parent's and Tony's parents' homes, clinic, and riding in the car. But, like Mom said, she really doesn't act like it bothers her. She really adapts so well to "whatever" it is that's going on. She's a trooper!

Well, pray for us the next couple of weeks, and pray we get through another round with NO FEVERS! Thank the Lord for last round being fever-free. I was ready for that!

Take care and have a great week - I'll update if our lives aren't too boring!

God bless,
Megan

***** Please remember Little Alexa Maynard, who is being treated for Leukemia. She isn't at Cincinnati Hospital anymore. She is back in her home state of Florida. Please remember her and her family in your prayers! She has 2 older sisters, too. ********

21 Feb 2009, 7:15pm EST
I would like to say that things are on the mend, but I don't know what is causing Kara's symptoms, so I really don't know. We're taking it a day at a time, and today she had a good day as far as her symptoms go. She has had a good appetite, too. She stepped on the scales last night, and the numbers are going up, and in the right direction. Her little belly is starting to pooch out some again.

Kara came to me today wanting to know if she could put her Build-A-Bear's hot pink hairbows on Simba. Well, that's where they ended up. Erica found her a pink bandana that says, "Perfect Princess". The kids are really enjoying her. They were quick to check on her right away this a.m.

I heard Judy had a better day today, please keep praying. Please remember Kara this week, I hope to know a lot more on Monday after her clinic visit.

Megan

20 Feb 2009, 8:11pm EST
Kara's loose stools have increased quite a bit this past week. We had orders if this happened, to turn in a sample to have tested. So, we are waiting right now for the results from the clinic or the lab, whether a bacteria or virus grows. So far, no word. It's been almost 2 days now. I really thought she had something going on that probably wasn't chemo related. But, this is new stuff, so we'll have to wait and see.
I'm not treating her with immodium, in case this is a bacteria or virus.

We've had an eventful day.... Kara got a puppy today! We've been looking for a St. Bernard, and Tony got a call last night from a man who had 3 females left in his litter. We drove a little out of the way to get her, and the girls both got sick - we think it was just car sickness - (they are fine now), but the kids love her. Brent was disappointed last night when he found out there weren't any boys, but he told me today he likes her. He's been smiles today. The kids picked out her name last night. All 4 kids agreed unanimously, so I didn't argue with them. Her name is Simba Grace Nicole - They added Grace Nicole today. We had one dog before named Simba, and Grace Nicole is for the twins' middle names. We didn't let the girls pet her until she had a bath, and later on Brent & Kara even sprayed 'Strawberries -n-Cream' body spray on her! : )
She'll be 8 weeks tomorrow, and her B-day is Dec. 21st, the day before the twins' birthday. I asked Kara what she thought of the dog, and she said, "It's terrific!" She has been cute with her. She got a book off the shelf, and pretended to read her the story of Jonah and the Whale, and was telling her about Jesus on the cross. She thinks she got her to eat her dog food for the first time. They tell her to eat, or drink, and then point to her dog bowl. I think in a few months, I'll need to have the girls train Simba to slow down on her eating! : ) She is a big puppy!

Well, that's about it for tonight....thank for praying and checking in on Kara. So far, we haven't had to deal with a fever. Please pray she doesn't get one at least through April! Also, please remember Judy, my Sister-in-law, too. She had some tests done yesterday. I know she appreciates the prayers!

Good night, and have a wonderful weekend!
Megan

19 Feb 2009, 9:25am EST
Well, just when I thought Kara was probably getting over whatever she had, it started back up - and she's having more than before, and she's complained that her belly hurts, too. (while she's off of chemo) .....I'm thinking this is probably a bacteria causing the loose stools. The lab will be testing it soon, and so the waiting begins. I suspect C-diff - a bacteria she's had before. When her loose stools started, before chemo even began, a N. Practitioner told me that sometimes you can get C-diff from (or while) being on an antibiotic. The antibiotic she's on is supposed to prevent the diarrhea that's chemo related. I hope to know something in a couple of days. If it is C-diff, I suppose they'll add a different antibiotic called Flagyl, since this is what they used before. We'll see what happens. Her regular Dr. appt. is on Monday. This will be to check her labwork, and see if she gets clearance for her chemo to start all over again.

Kara still looks pale, and thin. But, she stepped on the scales yesterday, and it didn't show too much of a loss. She was on a tuna-fish kick yesterday. We'll see what today holds.

There's not too much more to update about. Lauren had a frightening experience last night. The girls had stationary/office stuff out playing with it, and she came to me in hysterics. She had stapled her index finger.... I got it the staple out right away, and ran cold water over it, and put a band-aid on it. She calmed down quickly. I can imagine how that must have hurt, though. Please still pray for my Sister-in-law, Judy. She's having some tests done today.

Thanks and have a great day!
Megan

16 Feb 2009, 9:10pm EST
Kara's had a better day.....in which I am thankful. Hopefully she is getting over whatever was working on her. Not a lot to say...Tony worked with my Dad today, while Erica played at her cousins' house, and Brent had his cousin over here. The twins went to my Mom's to play for a while. The weather is getting colder here. The boys played basketball for a while this afternoon, but I hated to let them be outside too long in the wind. They will be back to school tomorrow, and with that comes homework, etc. So, they are getting ready for bed now. I hope you all are having a wonderful week so far....Please keep praying for NO FEVERS AND GOOD BLOOD COUNTS!

15 Feb 2009, 9:29pm EST
Well, we've had a nice weekend overall. The girls had a good time over at my parents house Friday night. They slept in the basement, stayed up pretty late, and made valentine sugar cookies. I think Brent enjoyed having me & Tony to himself, too. I know we owe it to Erica to take some time out for just her one of these days, too. Tony worked a little bit on getting the block laid inside his garage yesterday. He's been working on the building off and on now for a couple of years. We live on a gravel road, so we don't have sidewalks to ride bikes on, etc. So, it's a great place for the kids to play. We've had cook-outs there last summer, and we were even able to have a couple marshmellow roasts out by it, too. It will be nice when Spring and Summer come! It won't be long and it will be here. I am hoping that we can make it to the end of April (re-evaluation and hopefully the end of chemo!) without many set-backs. I've been thinking, if she has chemo every 21 days, it doesn't allow much time for her counts to recover very much, before they're knocked back down again. So, if the counts don't come up real fast, then Kara will spend a lot of time with a low defense. I really don't care for that idea! I will be glad when we get past this stage in treatment. April will be 1 year since her transplant. She will need to have all her immunizations caught up starting then, if treatment allows for this. So, please be praying for Kara!

I think Kara may have a stomach virus, too. Her stools increased last night, and her stomach was hurting. Dr. Malik told me the diarrhea from chemo shouldn't hurt like it would if it was caused from a virus. This morning she woke up, and she was 'gaggy' so I gave her anti-nausea medicine - which she's been taking at least once a day since her new chemo started. Tony went to Morristown to pick her up some O'Charley potato soup that she said she'd eat, and she barely ate any of it. She just isn't eating a whole lot. She is pale. Please pray that she will be more like her old self soon. She plays and all, though. She finished her chemo yesterday morning. : )

The kids are off from School tomorrow, and it looks like it will be pretty busy over the next couple of days. Can everyone say an extra prayer for my Sister-in-law, Judy? She has had a rough couple of days caused from a health issue that we need the Lord to move in. I know she'd appreciate all the prayers, too. Thanks so much!

Megan

13 Feb 2009, 5:49pm EST
Okay....SO, Kara's ANC (defense against germs) was 600 .... : ( It was 1400 last Friday. I'm not surprised....One more day to go on this chemo and we get to wait for her counts to recover (or some-what recover) before starting round #2. I talked with Sandy in clinic at SJ and Kara can start each round every 21 OR 28 days. When each round begins - will all depend on Kara. If the diarrhea is gone, and she's feeling great, her platelets are at least 50,000 (they were 204,000 today- no problem there) AND her ANC is at least 750, her 2nd round of chemo could start as early as Feb. 24th.....Not much of a break, I know, 9 days off of chemo. So, I will try to schedule Kara to be seen on Monday, Feb. 23rd in clinic in Knoxville, and we'll see how well Kara's doing then. If everythings okay -chemo will resume and the downward spiral of her counts will begin again. I shouldn't complain, I know! So, we have Dr.'s orders, a fever of 100.4 - Call! She has lost about 1/2 pound in a week. She isn't eating too well. She is drinking, that's what they want us to watch - to make sure she keeps this up. Her stools were more frequent yesterday, but today nothing - that is good! Dr. Malik said that her liver enzymes were alright today. Remember last week they were 10 x's the normal high? He told me that she could have had a viral infection which could have caused that to happen, and maybe her loose stools were a result of an infection also. Who knows for sure - that was so odd. We have never seen her liver enzymes go that high. Thankfully, they're nothing like they were.

Kara was treated today in clinic to a Build-A-Bear and a bouquet of white, pink, and milk chocolate roses. She usually gets something everytime she goes there. The first thing she said when we were leaving clinic was that she'd share with Lauren. (She's kept her word!) While we were gone, Erica & Lauren & Tony had been to Wal-Mart. They bought the twins a puppy dog stuffed animal, and me a dozen pink roses. The kids had a card for me, too. What a treat! I had planned on getting all the kids something tonight, but Tony's already taken care of it. Tony's brother also brought over Pizza King pizza from Indiana - yum! yum! We always try to get some when we're back home for a visit. It's so good! The girls are spending the night with my parents tonight. I guess they want to now, since Brent got to last night...So, tonight, Tony, Brent, and I will head out to the grocery and have an evening out for a little while.

Have a great weekend and have a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! We love you guys!
Megan

12 Feb 2009, 5:28pm EST
Well, you'll never guess what I did today......thankfully so far our day hasn't gone on like this! I have been doing laundry, like I do just about everyday, and went in the laundry room to transfer loads, and realized that I had ran the washing machine, which was just finishing up, and I forgot to put the towels in.....BUT, I did NOT forget the laundry detergent, and did NOT forget to shut the lid! HA! Wouldn't ya know I would also have it on the "high" water level, and the "hot" water setting!

Erica & Brent are out of school tomorrow and Monday, hoping Kara's counts are good enough that it's not a hinderance - not that we have anything special "planned" other than Church, but Tony's off from work, too, and it would be nice to feel like we were at least able to go somewhere without concern of Kara having a greater risk of catching something if we felt like getting out for a while. Kara goes to clinic tomorrow for labs. I remember when we were taught at SJ about Kara's bloodcounts, and how to give her her shots. The nurse told us that our lives would revolve around her bloodcounts. Boy, have we learned SO MUCH...and to think that growing up I never had much of a desire to become a nurse! That goes for Tony, too! But, I am thankful that we have learned a lot, and we are able to care for Kara's daily needs ourselves, and we don't have to rely on someone all the time for this.

Kara is doing good. She hasn't had a whole lot of problems with her bowels since we started back on the chemo again Tuesday. I am thankful for this! I am also glad that Saturday will end this round of chemo. I'm not sure what her counts are at this point since these drugs are still new for her. I sure hope they are at least decent when she goes to clinic tomorrow. She was tired after church last night, but Dad mentioned Lauren even acted tired too. So, hopefully it didn't reflect her bloodcounts. Today, she is acting fine - happy, playing, smiling, her color looks pretty good, too. She's been easily aggravated this week. She had a 2 day break from her chemo, and is only on 1 chemo this week. I've been feeling of her skin - checking for a fever. So far, none. Please pray that we can get through these next couple of months on treatment without a fever or extra illness rearing it's head at us! If her counts are too low while she has a fever we will be having a sleepover at the Hospital.....So, please keep praying....and when you pray for Kara, please remember our friends' grandma, Sis. Pyle. She recently had stroke-like symptoms, and we got an email asking for prayer for her. Also, our Uncle Ronnie has had a stroke, and our Aunt Wanda has had a heart-attack. One more request - my cousin is in need of prayer - I won't go into detail because of privacy reasons, but he's struggling right now, and needs some help. I know God wants to help him - pray that he reaches out to God!

Thank you - I'll update tomorrow sometime after clinic....
Megan

08 Feb 2009, 3:43pm EST
Well, we went from having the kids out of school because of snow, to 64* today! I am ready for this kind of weather to hang around a while longer!

We went to the Banquet last night and we laughed so much......I was still smiling this afternoon thinking about some of the funny things that happened. We all had so much fun.....It was held in our Fellowship Hall, and we had supper together, then played some games. A few people told some funny stories, and the visiting Preacher who is holding our revival gave a message about God's unconditional love. It was a great night all around.

Before the banquet, all the girls wanted me to put curlers in their hair - Can you believe I was able to fit 9 curlers in Kara's hair ?! - it had to be rolled so tight since her hair isn't very long and she couldn't stand to leave them in longer than about 5-10 minutes, so we took them out right away. I know she was proud just to be able to have them in her hair finally!

Kara's loose stools are better, and she seems to be doing good - no fever, no jaundice. She won't have her bloodcounts checked again until Friday, 13th, unless something would come up before-hand. Right now she is outside playing with Lauren and enjoying the weather.

I don't have a lot more to update on...please keep praying about her bloodcounts and NO SICKNESS! THANKS !!!

Happy Sunday to you all,
Megan

06 Feb 2009, 1:51pm EST
Hello! I haven't had internet access for a few days, and it looks like I won't have it at home again until probably Monday. Our modem needed replaced. Sorry for the lack of updates....I'm over at Mom's right now borrowing hers....

We have had a pretty busy week. The kids were out of school for (I'm trying to remember exactly how long they were out!) I think 3 days due to the weather. We have also been in revival at Church this week. It's been really good for all of us. Also, Kara' s chemo came in the mail on Tuesday, so I had to get adjusted to a new schedule, and she got started on it right away....It seemed a little overwhelming at first for me, but it's alright now. It seemed like a lot of different meds (to me) that I needed to get used to.

We were prepared to face diarrhea as a side effect of chemo, and to get a hold on it right away, with immodium. Well, I noticed a change in her after we started the Suprax antibiotic. This medicine is started a couple of days before the chemo, TO PREVENT diarrhea. I am giving her immodium. It isn't causing a problem as far as dehydration goes. If it does, Kara will probably need to be given i.v. fluids. If she has loose stools more often, we will be checking Kara to rule out a "bug". So far, it seems what she is having is normal.

She had an appt. at the Dr. in Knoxville this morning to monitor her blood. The chemo has dropped all of her red and white blood cells, along with her platelets. She isn't at the "risky" level for fighting infections, but I look for her to reach that level next week. I was dreading that so much! She has already had 4 days worth of chemo. She takes it tomorrow, and then gets a 2-day break, then we start again Tuesday with only 1 chemo instead of 2, and she'll take that drug for only 5 days. 2 things will likely be the deciding factor of when she gets to start course #2 of chemo - her bloodcounts, and the severity of her diarrhea. This chemo usually cycles every 21 or 28 days. It all depends on how Kara responds. Since this is all new for her, she is being seen weekly in Knoxville. Her electrolytes and chemistries are good, except that her liver enzymes are elevated. This is a normal side effect of this chemo. But, they are HIGHLY elevated - 10 times the normal high. Her Dr.in Knoxville is calling Dr. Furman at SJ to see what is allowed on her treatment plan. He will let me know if we need to stop for now. As of right now, we are continuing the chemo as scheduled. On a good note, Kara gained almost a pound in 3 weeks. Way to go, Kara! Her little belly is starting to pooch out a little. She got to pick out a valentine stuffed animal today in clinic to bring home. They really are good to her in Knoxville. Dr. Malik is very kind, too. He did get me some information about the last bone marrow biopsy results. What he was told was that the bone marrow sample was "much less than 5%". (Kara's last test in March 2008 showed 5% Neuroblastoma cells in her bone marrow biopsy.) Praise the Lord for more good news!

Tomorrow, we are planning on going to a Valentine's Banquet. Erica is really looking forward to it. She was asking me if she could wear her hair "up" - of course! She wants it curled.... : ) She's growing up on me.... Brent really hasn't mentioned it - I don't think he's too interested right now. Now if it had to do with sports, that would suit him just fine!

Unfortunately, our neighbor, Margaret passed away Wednesday. Her viewing is tonight. Please be praying for her family. She had the best attitude about her. She will be missed! I wanted to thank you for praying for her.

Please remember Kara next week....please pray that she doesn't catch any "bugs", and NO FEVERS! If she develops a fever when her immunity defense is below a certain number she will go inpatient at the Hospital. The cut-off number is 500. Right now she is at 1400. I figured by next week she'll be around 300. Please be praying about this!!!!

Thank you all for checking in and praying....I'll post more next week when we have a new modem.

@ 2:16pm: Kara's oncologist, Dr Furman just called and he is also concerned about Kara's liver enzymes. He said that as long as the diarhea doesn't get any worse, she doesn't run a fever, an doesn't get jaundice....he wants to continue this chemo for another week before she is seen again at Children's Hospital in Knoxville.

Megan