Special Mid-Week Update

Hi Guys and Girls....Bill here,

Thought I would break the rules and post a mid-week update. All is well here. Erin returned from Hilton Head yesterday. She had a great time hanging out, eating seafood, and just basically relaxing. We went for her clinic visit today and her counts are definitely on the rise. If you've been keeping score, her platelets were 138 (up from 30 last week, normal is 150 - 400), WBC was 2.4 (up from .8 last week, normal is 3.6 - 11.1), ANC was 1128 (up from 176, normal ~1500), H&H was 24.7 (normal is 33.3 - 41.4). So her marrow system is definitely producing cells and is almost back to full strength. Based on the H&H they went ahead and gave her a transfusion of 2 units of blood. The awesome news is that immediately after her transfusion, they removed her central line!! That was probably more of an emotional milestone than anything and I think Erin finally really feels like she is done with treatments. She is so excited to be done with all the meds and having to keep the line clean and flushed. In a day or two she can shower without having to worry about keeping the line dry and she can even go swimming (a favorite summer activity). The last scheduled activity to finish the chemo protocol is her bone marrow biopsy which is scheduled for next Thursday afternoon. We pray that the biopsy will be clean (and painless) and then she just goes to the clinic once a month for labwork/checkup to ensure all is well. Another prayer is for Erin as she starts back to work teaching at PRHS next week. She is soooooo looking forward to getting back to work and we just pray for her energy levels to hold up.

I decided to sneak this post in because I was having withdrawal symptoms and was afraid if I waited that Janet would go ahead and post before I could :)) Thanks for checking in with us and for all the wonderful prayer support!! You have been a huge blessing in our lives and have helped make this journey bearable!!

Blessings......Bill

Fri 7/25

Hello all, Yes we miss you too!! Really!! Erin has had a good week. Praise the Lord! She had an appt wed and her numbers were still low but not low enough to get anything. Her white count was 0.7 which is double what it was on Sunday. Her Platelets were 30 and her ANC was 176. Today we had another appt and the numbers hadn't moved much. Her white count was 0.8, platelets 46 and ANC 320. So slowly they are creeping up. Unfortunately they are not high enough to go to campmeeting so we will just look doubly forward to next year. She was really disappointed about it but we are so close to the end, we don't want to risk a setback. On a happy note, she is getting away with her girlfriend to Hilton Head this weekend for some R&R. No sun, no crowds, but lots of fun. We are getting our dogs back from my sister this weekend too!! Can't tell you how excited we are. All you dog lovers will appreciate how we feel! So, slowly, normalcy is returning. Thank you for the prayers. We could not have made this journey without your support. Our hearts are full to overflowing with the love of Christ poured out on us by all of you. Still, every day I am tempted to give into self pity but I am reminded of how merciful God has been to Erin and I know that I have to choose Praise over Pity. Praise gives me the positive attitude I need to take the next breath, the next step. Pity would only give me puffy eyes and a sour face. Who wants that? You see, faith is full of daily choices! Sometimes hourly! Please join us in continuing to pray for energy and increased numbers. Erin will hopefully get her line out next Wed. and she is scheduled for her bone marrow biopsy on the 7th. Maybe then she will feel closer to normal again. Our love to you all. We are blessed! Praise Him with us! janet

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:33-36

Sunday 7/20

Hello prayer warriors, thank you for keeping the vigil. Erin is still in need of prayer. We spent the last week at the lake and had a great time except for the fact that Erin couldn't get wet. She was a good sport and sat on the dock to talk to us, drove the boat and played all the corny family games we love so much. She never complained that her vacation was not what she hoped for. Unfortunately we had to return to Emory 3 times over the week. She needed platelets Monday and Today and she needed blood on Wednesday. So the vacation was pretty broken up because going to Emory takes all day. We tried to go to the little local hospital in Clayton but the Drs at Emory didn't want her to get transfused anywhere except Emory, so it didn't save us any time. She has several large bruises on her from "whatever", they were probably minor bumps that grew large due to the lack of platelets. All in all she feels well, just very tired. The big bummer right now is that she can't go to Campmeeting, unless her numbers skyrocket. And school is only a couple of weeks away and she needs to be recovered by then. So please pray for numbers and energy. Thank you again for your continued perseverance on Erin's behalf. She is so blessed to have such a fantastic team of believers rooting for her. We all are grateful for all of you!! love, janet

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." 2 Cor 2:14

Sat 7/12

Dear Friends, Thank you for your prayers this week. It has been a busy clinic week for Erin and Bill. We are continually amazed at God's presence in our lives. I ran into a nurse yesterday who said she had been praying for Erin all along. She and I rarely see each other at work because she is in the float pool. It is so encouraging the way God places people in your path at just the moment you need a lift. We are very blessed. One of the Drs I work with even took the time out of his busy day yesterday to call and encourage Erin. Each step of the way the Lord gives us just what we need. So today we start the weekly blog. If we can survive without you!! Please continue to pray for Erin's numbers. She still is anxious to get her central line out. Also she needs energy. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with us through this ordeal. It has been a tremendous support, more than I can even express. May God bless you for loving us. You have been great Disciples, obedient to His word. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And Love your nieghbor as yourself." Blessings on you and your family. janet

Another Long Day At The Clinic

Hi Guys....Mr. Bill here,

The clinic is starting to feel like home....except for having none of the comforts...because we have been spending so much time here this week! Erin is fine except for the boredom. We got here at 10:30 this morning and I am writing this at 6:00 pm...and we have 30 minutes to go on her transfusion. She had her labs done and her WBC is still <.3, platelets were at 30, H&H was at 23.8, so she definitely needed a couple units of blood. We finally got blood at 4:15 which is administered over 2 hours! How do you spell FUN?!?!?! The good news is no allergic reaction today. We must have made an impression yesterday, because the nurses we had today were well aware of yesterday's complications. :)

I did manage to scrape out a Skip-Bo** victory to reclaim a little self-respect and Erin has been watching back-to-back-to-back episodes of Monk on the little one-person TV next to her chair in the transfusion center. Forgive me if I'm getting a little stir-crazy here. We saw the doctor and he said we needed to wait on getting the central line out (sorry Ken...I know how much you wanted to put another notch in your doctor kit).
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** Erin here - Dad "conveniently" forgot to mention my 3 game streak over him (2 of which I won yesterday during my "hive spell" while I had 100mg of Benadryl - that's a TON of Benadryl - normal dose = 25mg - needless to say, it did not impair my card skills). So, I think I am still champion of Skip-Bo (he's got us all beat in Backgammon). :)
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Okay...so much for getting a little self-respect back....well must close for now as it looks like Erin is just about topped off. Thanks for checking in with us. You all have truly been a blessing to us and the journey would have been so much harder without all the wonderful support you have provided. God is good...All the time!

Bill

Thursday Update

Hello Friends....Bill again,

Today was a pretty long day. We went in to get platelets and about halfway through, Erin started breaking out in hives and feeling itchy all over. Normally she will get one and only one hive and then she is fine. So, they stopped the transfusion and gave her additional benedryl to try to get the hives to go away. After about an hour and a half the hives were still present and the PA prescibed a Hydrocortisone steroid via IV to see if that would settle the reaction down. After being there 4 hours, it was decided just to forego doing any more platelets and they let us go home. It wasn't a total loss...Erin beat me at Skip-Bo twice while we were sitting in the transfusion center.

Erin has also been having some headache pain and feeling a little dizzy if she stands up too fast which is usually a sign that she needs blood. So we inquired about that before the reaction to the platelets. The bottom line is that we are headed back to the clinic in the morning to get labs again and see if she needs blood and possibly additional platelets. Our prayer is that they will give her the blood products tomorrow that will make her feel better and that her WBCs will start to recover.

I forgot to mention that when we were in the clinic yesterday, we had asked about Erin's eye pain and the PA told us that it was a typical side affect of the Cytarabine and that while it was uncomforable it was not anything that would harm her eyes or vision. He said to just keep taking the eye drops which should keep the pain to a minimum until the chemo affects subside. So that is a praise!

Well that's about it for now. As always, thanks for all the continued prayer support.

Blessings...... Bill

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18

Wednesday - Reposted

Hi Guys....Bill here,

Sorry for not posting yesterday....I was supposed to do the update and I forgot! Erin is still doing very well. We are on day 16 (from the start of this round of chemo) which is well into the normal stage where she starts feeling bad and no signs of the usual side affects! Hallelujah!! We went to the clinic to get labs and see the PA this afternoon. For your scorecards, her WBC is still <0.3, platelets are 19, H&H is 29.5%, and Neutrophil is 16%. In other words her immune system is still bottomed out. The PA went ahead and scheduled Erin for a bone marrow biopsy on July 23rd which will be the last one that is part of the chemo protocol. Not positive what the routine will be after that but we think it will start out with monthly clinic visits to get labs drawn and if all goes well gradually taper down to quarterly visits.

Well, other than that, we have been playing a lot of "Skip-Bo" this week for entertainment. Laura and Erin have been playing non-stop marathon rounds dragging in anyone and everyone they can along the way.

Hope you all are having a blessed week and thanks for hanging with us! We count you all in our blessings every day!!

Bill

"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. " - Psalms 84:12

Wednesday

Hi Guys....Bill here,

Sorry for not posting yesterday....I was supposed to do the update and I forgot! Erin is still doing very well. We are on day 16 (from the start of this round of chemo) which is well into the normal stage where she starts feeling bad and no signs of the usual side affects! Hallelujah!! We went to the clinic to get labs and see the PA this afternoon. For your scorecards, her WBC is still <0.3,>. Not positive what the routine will be after that but we think it will start out with monthly clinic visits to get labs drawn and if all goes well gradually taper down to quarterly visits.

Well, other than that, we have been playing a lot of "Skip-Bo" this week for entertainment. Laura and Erin have been playing non-stop marathon rounds dragging in anyone and everyone they can along the way.

Hope you all are having a blessed week and thanks for hanging with us! We count you all in our blessings every day!!

Bill

"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. " - Psalms 84:12

Tues 7/8

Dear bloggers, Thanks for all your sweet comments. Erin is doing well today. She says her eyes feel better than they have in days. Praise God once again for His tender care. And thank you for your prayers concerning her eyes. Please keep her platelets and other numbers in your prayers for tomorrow. We are so happy to report that Erin hasn't suffered from her low numbers like she has in the past. No significant bone pain, no nausea, no hives, no stomach pain or mouth sores. She does have fatigue but not as bad as previous rounds. That is a long list of praises!! So clearly God is working overtime to pave the way to recovery. Isn't he something? Thanks again for interceding on Erin's behalf. One day at a time Sweet Jesus! love, janet

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thankgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Mon 7/7

Hello prayer warriors, Thanks for your support. I was beginning to sense a mutiny about cutting back on the blog, but we need to wean ourselves, so starting sat we will go to once a week. You all have been so wonderful to love Erin enough to even want to read all the blogs we have written. Erin had another good day. Her eyes are still a concern. She says they feel like she just got out of a clorine pool, sorta stinging and hurting. They have kept her on steroid drops during each chemo session, probably to prevent this side effect. So we made an eye Dr appt for friday. Please pray that her eyes clear up soon. Also please keep praying for outstanding numbers for wed so she can get her line out. She is so anxious to be done with that line. We are grateful for all your prayers. Your love has lifted our hearts and kept us focused on God. Thank you all , janet

"Love...always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Cor 13:7

Sun 7/6

Blessings bloggers, We are exhausted after watching the Wimbledon men's finals. Wow, what a match. Erin is feeling fine. Her eyes are a little hazy today. Don't know what that means but please pray that it clears up. We have been debating how long to keep up the blog. I guess we will keep it up a while longer, maybe go to once a week after this week. Is that o.k.? I can't tell you what a wonderful support this blog has been to us and what a great tool to keep everyone informed. It has been a ministry to us to receive your loving encouragement and to share our miracles and blessings as well. Thank you all for all the prayers. Please keep it up until we get the all clear from Emory. They will do a final bone marrow biopsy in a month. Then we only have 5 years until they say she's cured!! :-) I guess the relapse rate declines each year until the 5th year. Then it is the same as the average person. Maybe we can take a deep breath then, in 2013. Crazy isn't it? Actually my heart has been sure of her healing since the end of March. Now we just have to sit back and see what God has planned for Erin to do with this experience. hugs, janet

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19

Sat 7/5

Hello prayer warriors, Erin is doing o.k. today. She had labs done and her platelets were 7. Yes, just 7. So needless to say she got a unit of platelets. The nurse today told us they usually want her platelets up to 50 before they will consider taking out her line. So please pray for a huge jump in her numbers so she can get rid of this line. Other than that all is well. So again we wait on God's perfect timing and praise Him for his divine intervention on Erin's behalf. Each detail has been covered, each need taken care of before it is even known. What an awesome God we serve!! love to you, janet

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

Happy 4th of July

Dearest friends, Our hearts are full of praise as we celebrate Independence Day. Not just America's but Erin's. She has felt good today and we just had a lovely family get together. Bill grilled out and we played cards and joker. And did I mention Mom's apple pie? Fun. Our Lord is so awesome in His timing. We have a clinic appt tomorrow morning. Erin may need platelets, we have noticed a few bruises. Then her next appt is wed. She is really hoping to get her central line out soon so she can go swimming. Right now we are just listening to Amanda play guitar and sing. Wow! All is well in the Blonshine house. Hope your holiday was fun as well. Hallelujah!! Thanks for checking in. Your support has been a tremendous boost to us all. Love , janet

All Is Well

Hi Guys.....it's Bill,

Thanks for all the positive posts....it feels great to be home with the chemo behind us! Erin has been doing really well! She got a good night's sleep and has had a good appetite today. There have been no significant side affects thus far which is a huge praise!! We are on day 10 of this round and based on the previous rounds, the low point usually occurs somewhere around day 12 to 14. We go to the clinic Saturday to get labwork. With her counts headed down, it's possible she may need platelets while we are there. She also received 2 units of blood yesterday before we left the hospital.

Erin has been busy planning our family gathering for the 4th. I think somehow this Independence Day has greater significance for her than in the past!!

While we will be counting all our blessings tomorrow we certainly will be counting all of you among them! Thanks as always and God Bless You.... Bill

HOME AT LAST!!

Dear Friends, We are done! Erin had her last chemo this afternoon and we are now home Praising God for His faithfulness!! All the nurses hugged her and cried with her as she left today. They said she was their favorite patient. They may say that to all the patients, but I don't think so. They said they had been talking about her and said even when she was at her low points and crying, she was also smiling and being very sweet to all the staff. Oh what a long journey. Erin says she is not over it until she feels better. Blessings on you all for walking this long journey with us. We love you and are grateful for all of you and all the prayers you sent up for Erin. Have a happy 4th of July! Love, janet

Halfway Home

Hey Ya'll.....Bill again,

Well, we got started on the chemo about 9:45 pm last night. It was a looonnnnggggg night! Initially, Erin had a severe headache which I think subsided about 11:00 pm after some pain med. The chemo is administered over 3 hours during which they must periodically come in and check her vital signs. Then when the chemo finished at 1:00 am, they started her on two units of blood because her H&H (red cells) were low. So, that was another four hours to complete with periodic checks to make sure she was okay. When the transfusion was complete around 5:00 am, they had to stick her arm to draw blood for labs which she hates. After that things quieted down for a while and she slept pretty much until 8:30 when she had some breakfast before starting the next round of chemo at 9:00 am. As I am writing this she is sleeping soundly which is a good thing. All-in-all, other than constant interruptions through the night, she did pretty well. No nausea and no stomach pain so far! When she completes this morning's round, she will have two more to go spaced 12 hours apart followed by the triple shot L-Asparaginase on Wednesday afternoon. If all goes well, hopefully, we will be headed home around dinner time on Wednesday to recover!

For those of you keeping score, her WBC was .5 yesterday, HGB ws 7.6, and her HCT 22.0. Her plateletes were 82. This is essentially day 8 of 9 for this round. We believe her counts are heading towards the bottom and then it will be a matter of waiting for them to come back up. Since it is a split round, we're not sure what to expect as far as how quickly her numbers will start to bounce back. The doctor told us yesterday that it may take longer this round just because her system has been hit so hard by all the prior rounds. Our prayer is that her counts will recover quickly with minimal side affects during the low cycle so she will have a few relatively good weeks before starting back to work in August. She will also have to be careful not to overdo (which I think will be very hard for her) for several months to really let her system recover from the chemical warfare that has been waged against it for the past 7 months.

As always we thank the Lord that he has blessed us with such an awesome group of prayer warriors to help us make this journey! We have truly felt His presence and yours throughout this process.

Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation go out to all of you.....blessings, Bill

"In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. " - John 16:23-27