30 Mar 2009, 8:30pm EST
Kara has been doing great. Her appetite has been really good. Today, it's slowed down some, but she weighed in on the scales, and it said 40 lbs. I hope this is pretty accurate for her sake! She's even had to show me her belly after she eats, filling out. Thursday, we went Easter shoe shopping for the twins, and had lunch together with Tony, too. He was off, and able to go with us. One day last week a bunch of guys from church went to the gym to play basketball, and Tony let the kids tag along to play with the other kids there. This is always something they enjoy.

Her chemo should be arriving tomorrow. She was supposed to start today, but for some reason the chemo didn't get shipped out. It is coming tomorrow, so we will start it as soon as it comes (begin on 31st and end on April 11th). Please pray for a smooth round, and that GOD'S WILL IS DONE when we return in April. I know I keep mentioning that, but it will be here soon, and I don't know for sure what the next step is. I know there are other treatments available, too, but I am SO much hoping that this is the end of it all. God has been so faithful to work everything out so far, I know He doesn't fail.

I do have good news about Nathanael Pruitt - He received a good report from St. Jude's last week. He goes every 6 mos. now. We are so glad to hear this! Praise the Lord! Please pray for our friend's mom who has cancer. Remember Princess Brooklyn Durham's family still. They recently found out that Brooklyn's Grandpa has stage IV lung cancer. Pray for him, too. He recently started his treatments.

I want to say thank you for continuing to pray for Kara, and also for checking in. A lot of times, I just don't have a lot that I need to say. When things are routine, it would make for some boring reading to update a whole lot. I'm sure you understand! Pray that this round goes a lot better than last round - We don't want any repeats of that one! : ) I'll keep checking in as needed. Thanks, and have a wonderful week!

Megan

23 Mar 2009, 7:40pm EST
Hello All! Spring break has ended, and the kids are back to school now. Well, Erica was out today. She started running a fever yesterday, complaining of her head, throat, and ears hurting. She was crying and miserable. Well, after a nap, & tylenol, she felt better, but was ready for bed at 8:30 last night. We started her on an antibiotic, and I let her have the day off today, because this a.m. she hurt somewhat still, but now she seems fine. So, she will be back tomorrow for sure. She is a lot better now. (Thank you, Mom, for keeping her today!)

Kara had clinic today, and my niece from Indiana was able to go with us. Kara's labs were all good. Her platelets were 173,000, Hemoglobin was 12.2, and her ANC was over 2000! Way to go, Kara! Her chemistries were pretty good. She still has 1 liver enzyme slightly raised, but nothing significant. It's been decided that she will start her 3rd round (same chemo - lower dosage wasn't even mentioned today) next Monday, 30th. Then, she will end on Good Friday, April 10th. This delay was decided because she did have some trouble last round, and yes, they said it still could have been from a virus, but this way she's not off of chemo too long before her evaluation at the end of April. So, that's the plan..... Oh, and Kara has gained back all the weight she lost while she was so sick...Praise the Lord! She's been playing, eating good, looks good, etc. This is such a blessing in itself when she is doing so well...I will be so glad for the day she is completely off of treatment! Pray it won't be long, especially with school coming up this year. Well, I will run for now.

Thanks for checking in on Kara!
Meg

17 Mar 2009, 12:39am EST

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY, ERICA !!! WE LOVE YOU !!!

We kept Kara inside about all weekend. To me, she didn't look the best over the weekend, but she's improving everyday. The kid's spring break is officially here. We went out tonight with both sets of Grandparents, and 3 of our nieces and nephews and ate together. We made last minute plans to do something together, but they got cut short. One place we wanted to go to, had 300 Santa Clauses scheduled to show up, which I thought was comical. 300 Santa Clauses in March ??? Who would've guessed ? Oh well. I think Kara enjoyed getting out of the house for a while anyway. On the way home, the twins rode in Mamaw & Papaw Lee's car with their cousin, while we had the 3 boys, my parents, and Erica riding in our car. We got to laughing on the way home. The kids wanted to play the game "Telephone", where you whisper something in the person's ear that's sitting next to you, and it continues, until the last person has to repeat what the 1st person originally said. Well, I think maybe 1 time we got it right! We also fit in some time to exercise tonight - (at around 11 o'clock!) The kids and I worked on it, while Tony thought it would be a good idea to pull out the camera .... ha ha.... You know Kara's getting better when she wants to exercise. She would say, "I can feel it!" : )

So you can tell, so far we've had a laid-back few days. Tony happens to be off for the majority of this week, too, which works out great! It's supposed to be warming up, too. It's been cool and wet here the past few days.

I did talk to Sandy, Kara's N. Pract. today. She said for Kara to get blood counts on Monday, 23rd. So, I will be rescheduling Kara's clinic appointment for then. She said they won't be doing anything until Monday anyways. So, I don't know exactly what is going on yet. After today's conversation, it makes me think maybe chemo will continue. I didn't ask about chemo resuming. I figured I'll know more on Monday after they find out what Kara's counts are. I will let you know when I find out for sure.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day !!
Meg

12 Mar 2009, 11:55pm EST
Well, I guess Dad was partly right about the naps - the girls were in a perky mood at bedtime last night, laughing and wanting to play - Who needs sleep, anyways - right?! You could tell a difference in Kara yesterday afternoon. Today she woke up a little nauseated, but she has drank well, and her diarrhea is definitely slowing down. The strict med schedule isn't like it was, either. She was up this morning at 5:30 eating peanut butter and in a talking mood with Tony before he headed out for work. (Luckily, she went back to sleep!) I spoke with Sandy, Kara's N. Pract. from SJ this morning. I think it's safe to say that Kara probably won't have anymore chemo before we head back to Memphis at the end of April. When we were at SJ for her last tests, we signed paperwork for 2 rounds of chemo, which she just finished Tuesday, and Sandy told me today that Kara isn't due for anything for a while. After Sandy heard how sick she's been, she said something's going to change, whether it's her dosage or what we're not exactly sure of yet, because her Oncologist is at a National Oncology meeting. She will talk with him on Monday, and then we'll touch base with each other again. She mentioned that it sounds like Dr. Malik's taking good care of her, and I agreed, and told her we're happy. Kara is over the worst now. Kara came to me just a little while ago asking for cheerios. She isn't eating a lot, but she is eating again. Well, I just wanted to give you all the good news that Kara's getting better, and that she may not have to have anymore chemo before we head out to Memphis. That would be a blessing for sure! What would really be wonderful is if this was IT! When I find out more I will let you know. Have a wonderful weekend and GOD BLESS!

Meg

11 Mar 2009, 7:23pm EST
I am so relieved! Kara's labs really looked pretty good today, despite her vomiting twice again today and also having diarrhea. Her white blood count was showing up on the low side, but actually, for Kara it was a good count. Dr. Malik was concerned what her chemistries would look like, and when she started getting sick, he wanted to hook her up to i.v. fluids and also give her i.v. anti-nausea medicine. Her chemistries didn't show that she was dehydrated - they were really pretty good, too. I was so glad for this. She ended up getting 2 boluses of fluid. This way, it may keep her out of the E.R., and it will give her a reserve, until she gets over this. I feel so much better, and you could tell she was feeling better, too. She had lost almost 2 lbs. in 6 days. But, when you aren't eating hardly anything, and you're sick on top of that, that's what to expect. They got a stool sample to test, also. She and Lauren both fell asleep on the way home from clinic today, and they're still sleeping. They're going on a 2 1/2 hour nap now. Dad said they won't sleep tonight! The girls came home from clinic with another gift. They each got a collectible state quarter stuffed animal. When I got back home, there was a message from Kara's N. Practitioner from SJ checking in on Kara. I haven't talked to her yet, but Dr. Malik was telling us he thinks she'll be alright, and there isn't a need to hospitalize her right now. I really think she'll be fine, and thank goodness she's finished this round of chemo. He did listen to her chest, and it sounded good, too. So, we will return to clinic next Wednesday, 18th for more labs. Thanks for praying and checking in on Kara. God is a good God. He continues to be all we ever need, and more! We have so much to be thankful for. Tony talked to his brother, Gary today, and Judy is still doing good.

Please be praying for Carrie Maniscalco. She is in ICU now, and needs prayer. www.caringbridge.org/visit/carriemaniscalco. Please don't forget little Alexa Maynard, and our friend's Mom who has cancer. Thank you!

Glad & relieved,
Meg

10 Mar 2009, 11:43pm EST
I am hoping that this evening was a hint that things are going to be going in the right direction from here on out. Yesterday and today it seems I have pushed and prodded for Kara to drink, etc. I had a goal set for Kara and it was reached before bedtime, in which I am thankful. I was concerned that maybe she was starting to get a little dehydrated, but those concerns are lifted somewhat tonight. She also found somewhat of an interest in eating whale crackers, doritos, and half of a hamburger patty today. Yesterday it was tuna fish. Sounds like she's needing sodium. But, she is drinking sweet drinks. She even drank part of a vanilla milkshake this evening. I hope she regains some strength and weight. Yesterday she was standing up and said, "My legs won't quick moving." She was trembling I guess from weakness. But, like I said, she has her times where she is playing and feeling good. She had a good nap today. She even went over to Aunt Dina's for a few hours to play with her cousins. It was really nice out today. Dina wanted to let all the kids play together while it was nice before the weather here turns on us. I did call and move Kara's Dr. appt. up from Thursday, to Wednesday. I am anxious to see what her labs look like. She does seem to be maintaining some fluids. Her diarrhea may have slowed down some today, too. You'd think it should, she is taking immodium every 3 hours during the day, and sometimes even through the night she takes it. She only had her cough med once today. So, I will update tomorrow after the Dr. visit to let you know where she stands on her bloodwork and all. Tony gets off of work early tomorrow, so he is meeting us at Clinic, which will be a nice change for us. The girls look forward to always taking a lunch box full of snacks with them, and then playing with the toys from the playroom. Thanks for praying for Kara....keep them going up. Hopefully things will keep getting better. Tony & I are ready for a longer break before the next round of chemo begins. I would like to see Kara recover really well after this virus, esp. if some of the symptoms she's been having are medicine/chemo related. Her body's been busy the past few days. Well, I've rambled enough. I will post more tomorrow.

Meg

10 Mar 2009, 11:09am EST
I ask that you please be praying for Kara. She was better Friday night, and was eating, etc. Saturday, no fever, and she was playing, but Saturday night I noticed she was acting tired, and irritable. Through the night she coughed a lot. We headed on out to Church Sunday a.m., had dinner with Gary, Judy, & Candace before they left to go back home, and by 4:30 she was on the couch, and her fever had spiked again. Tony called the Dr. and he said it was a tough call. He knew her counts were good on Friday, but didn't know what they were right then. He also figured her immune system was probably suppressed somewhat by now. He said to give her tylenol, and if she acts good, then we could continue the tylenol every 4 hrs. Tony gave her tylenol, and so far, she hasn't ran a fever since then. She even ate a little bit, and was playing that evening.

She was nauseated yesterday when she first woke up, and is still vomitting every now and then, and not eating much. She has diarrhea all day long, & still has a little bit of a cough. I told Mom that she has 2 things against her right now. Not only this virus, but the chemo. Today is her last dose of chemo for this round- it can't come soon enough! Yesterday, I had to hold off on her chemo until the evening, because even certain foods wanted to make her gag and she doesn't like the taste of her chemo. She is on so much medicine right now, and when she isn't eating much, you know that has to upset her stomach. Yesterday her stomach would just rumble and roll. I just hope she can keep up her fluid intake to compensate for the diarrhea she is having. I know this will pass. She stepped on the scales Sunday night, and had dropped a pound. Don't get me wrong, she does play, and has times when she's smiling, and sweet and feeling good. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. It's just a worry when your child is ran down, and not taking much in, and is still losing fluids. I'm trying to keep track of things, to keep an eye on how hydrated she stays. Please pray that things get better for her fast. I figure the diarrhea is mostly caused from the chemo. We were warned about that! Tony and I were figuring up on the calendar that she still has time to get 2 more rounds of chemo in before we head out for scans and tests at the end of April.

Thank you for your prayers for Judy. Gary preached (and it was great, too!) Sunday a.m., and he was telling us all that the past week was the best Judy has felt in a while. Praise the Lord for this. I'd like for you to remember the Parson family in your prayers, little Caleb is in Heaven now. Also, a friend of ours, found out that his mom has cancer. Please pray that the Lord would move for them, too!

Thank you!
Megan

06 Mar 2009, 11:45am EST
Thought I'd let you know how things have gone today. Kara's ran a fever most of today. She woke up around noon, and ended up throwing up 4 x's in 2 hours. She wasn't keeping much of anything down. I've talked to Children's and SJ. I was concerned about how she would get her chemo since she has to take it by mouth. Well, since about 3 o'clock, she has kept her drinks down, and has even ate a little bit. She seems better now, but we are holding off on her chemo until tomorrow - if she is still doing good. Dr. Malik said she definitely has a viral infection. So, we will just have to wait this out. Thankfully, it's not looking like it's a line/blood infection!

06 Mar 2009, 10:42am EST
Mom & Dad were watching Kara, Lauren, & Brent last night while Erica & I were grocery shopping. When I went to pick them up, Kara was asleep on the couch, and felt warm. I bathed her, and she was chilling, so I took her temp and she had spiked a fever. I talked with the On-Call Dr., and he said it's better to play it safe than sorry, and told me to bring her in the e.r. They drew labs, and blood to culture, and did an exam. She acts like she may have some sort of upper respiratory infection. When they went to draw blood cultures, she had a blood clot in each end cap on both of her lines. That was unusual for us that both end caps wouldn't allow any medicine in or any blood out of her lines. So, they just removed the caps, and everything worked like it was supposed to! We are playing the waiting game, to see if anything grows on her cultures. Her counts were pretty good, but a couple liver enzymes were slightly elevated - nothing too significant. (This can be a side effect of her chemo). Her ANC had went up to almost 2000, (from about 1300 yesterday a.m.) instead of down like I thought it would, which is good. Tony & I are assuming it means her body is just trying to fight this off. She did throw up right after we left the e.r. last night, but she slept all night, with no problems, and she is still sleeping.

This a.m., I took her temp, and she didn't have a fever. I just took it again, and it has spiked. I talked to the nurse in clinic, and as long as Kara's acting and feeling good, not symptomatic, I don't have to treat every fever with tylenol. But, definitely if she's symptomatic, and not feeling well by Monday, I need to call them again. If anything grows on her blood cultures, they will call me. This is probably just another virus we're dealing with. She is eating, playing, etc. during the day. So, we'll see how things go. If anything changes for the worse, I'll let you know. Thanks for checking in on Kara, and praying. Have a blessed weekend!

Megan

05 Mar 2009, 3:19pm EST
Hello! Kara's counts were good in clinic today. Her red blood cells were normal (12), platelets good (150,000). Her chemistries were all normal - no "our-of-whack" liver enzymes this time! Her white blood cells were down some, and her ANC is about 1300 right now. Which is GOOD! I know this won't last forever, as this number will trend downwards daily, I suppose. Tony tells me, "She'll be alright." He reminded me that they came up pretty quick after chemo last round. Monday will finish this cycle of chemo. Dr. Malik said we could come in next Thursday/Friday to check her counts again.

Last night I was concerned with her, 'cause her temp was elevated, but it never spiked, and it's normal today. Please keep praying for no fevers / illnesses!

We have been busy here at home this week. Kara has said a couple funny things this week, but then I forget later what it is, or it doesn't seem as funny later when I think I'll update about it. Sometimes it's one of those "you'd have to have been there" because trying to tell you through typing doesn't always seem to do it justice.

Gary, Judy, & Candace are coming in this weekend to visit. I hear Judy's been checking the weather in TN! I hope it's as nice as I hear it's suppose to be - 70's. That sounds good to me! Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend....I'll update again later.

Megan

02 Mar 2009, 12:25am EST
Well, Kara's chemo didn't get to us in time to start last 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 last 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 changed her Dr. appt. from Monday, 2nd to Thursday, 5th. On Monday, 2nd, Kara will finish one of her chemo drugs for this round. She won't take any chemo on Tues., or Wed. Then, on Thursday, chemo will resume for another 5 days. (Please be praying for another round without incident while her blood counts are down!)

As far as Kara's side effects go, her bowels changed on day #1 of chemo. So, she is on immodium, too. Overall, she seems to still be doing okay....She keeps wanting to weigh herself to see if she's gaining. I would consider her stable, though.

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, so I guess you could say a lot got accomplished! Then, this past weekend, Mom kept the kids overnight on Friday, while Tony and I went out for a couple of hours. Then, Saturday, Brent, Erica, & I were able to head out to Sevierville for a little while. We really had a good time together. I needed that time with just the 2 of them. I think they enjoyed theirselves, too! Saturday night, Mamaw & Papaw Lee came over and played red light/green light & Mother May I with the kids for a little bit. The kids always enjoy that game. We had a cold, wet & windy weekend, but it turned out to be fun....

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

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marykaterushing
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/littlecaleb
http://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!' Please pray that this is it!

Happy ??? Belated Birthday Becky !!
Happy 1st Birthday, Garrett !!! We love you guys !!

Have a great week...I will update Thursday after clinic and let you know how Kara's doing.

God bless,
Megan