Sun 5/25

Happy Sunday, Erin is feeling better today. Yesterday she was just down because she was missing another important event, her friend's wedding. I tried to figure out how to sneak her out but it just wasn't to be. It is hard to be sick and watch the rest of the world go on with life and you be the one stuck on the sidelines. But I praise God she is able to be patient for His timing. Anyway, the cloud passed and she feels better today. They did an x-ray last evening to rule out any sources of infection. They still don't think she has one but they have to check all possibilities. We are still hoping to go home tomorrow evening after her last dose of chemo. Please pray that we can go home, it's just easier to rest at home. Thanks for your prayers for the nausea, whatever combo of pills and prayers she is on is working! God has been so faithful to Erin during this whole process and we are grateful to be witness to the stream of miracles He is providing!

"Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Psalms 77:13-14

Yes, He performs miracles every day! We just have to watch and believe! love, janet

Sat 5/24

Hello and Happy Wedding Day to Andrew and Kristin,
Erin had a really rough day yesterday. She was miserable all day until they started some steroids. They also gave her a new drug called Emend for the nausea and one or the other or the combination of the two worked and she felt well enough to eat some cheerios for dinner. Then she spiked a fever of 101 around 8:30. We were scared but after some tears and fears, the nurse came in and said they decided it was just the 2 chemos reacting together and they didn't consider it an infection yet. Of course they did blood cultures but her fever went away so it was probably nothing big. What a rollercoaster of emotions we ride. We are halfway through this round though and that is a praise. We have a list on the white board and celebrate crossing off each day!

On another subject, Aunt Debbie has committed to ride her bicycle 100 miles for the Leukemia/Lymphoma society in October. To do that she has to raise $2000. If you would like to check it out, she has a web site where you can get the details.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sun/waterway08/dsolanes
Erin is so blessed to be her honorary teammate and we are proud of her for undertaking such a big task! It is quite a testiment to her love of the Lord and Erin to tackle this ride. I hope you all can help us support this fundraiser which also helps others now and in the future who are struggling with this disease.

May your day be blessed. Thanks for the prayers! love, janet

Round 4: 2 Days Down - 4 days to Go

Good morning dear friends....Bill here,


Erin has been experiencing bouts of pain and nausea that come and go. The meds seem to work for a couple hours and then wear off before the next scheduled dose. I have learned that each round of chemo is different in terms of side effects and effective meds and there is an art to finding the right combination of meds, dosages, and intervals to try to keep Erin somewhat comfortable. The med that seems to alleviate the discomfort the best right now also makes her sleepy...but at this point sleepy seems to be an acceptable alternative to pain. Erin was able to get a mile in yesterday so that is a praise!


This round of chemo is comprised of hi-dose Cytarabine administered over a 2 hour period every 12 hours on days 1-4. Erin has had this in prior rounds. A new chemical, Mitoxantrone, that she has not had before is administered once a day on days 3-6. Our prayer today is that there will be no additional severe reactions or side effects with the introduction of this new chemical, for clean results from the spinal tap, and for Erin's complete healing. We praise God that he is a God of love, grace, mercy, miracles, and healing.

Blessings,

Bill


".... but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing." - Luke 9:10

Thurs 5/22

Hello bloggers, Erin is doing o.k. She just completed her mile for today. Yesterday she did her mile before any chemo and actually skipped a whole lap with Amanda. The Drs were standing there with their chins on the floor in amazement. She has had some nausea already and her back is sore from the spinal tap, but other than that, so far so good. We are hoping she doesn't get the bad rash again like last time. Thanks for your prayers. Knowing you are out there praying is so comforting to us all.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:18

Blessings on you! love, janet

5/21

Hello, Erin is finally getting started after a few delays. We came in last night but they didn't start anything because they wanted her to have an echocardiogram before they started and that couldn't be done until today. So she had her echo today and it was fine. She just finished her last spinal tap!! Big praise!! They will start her chemo at 6 p.m. tonight. We had hoped to go home after 4 days and do the last 2 days outpatient but it turns out the clinic is closed on Memorial Day so we will have to stay here the full 6 days. Another big praise is that her bone marrow results from last friday are all clear. We are very excited to get great results! Please pray for minimal side effects and a quick recovery. Thanks again for being a vital part of Erin's team!

"I will say to the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." Psalm 91:2,4

love, janet

Round 4 begins

Hey all, We just got in our room, E618. It was a long day waiting on the phone call to come in. Uncle Jim made Erin a poster of her skiing on Lake Burton and it is inspiring her to be done so she can get back to the things she loves. We praise God for bringing us this far and continuing to guide us through this journey. It may take us a while to actually explore the depths of what we have been learning. The details are so overwhelming right now it is difficult to see the whole picture, but we know God is and will continue to use this to grow us all in our faith. Thank you all for your continued prayers for Erin. Please pray for minimal side effects and a quick recovery. She will be on a new medicine this round and we pray that it will be gentle on her body while still effectively doing it's job against any rebel cells. Our God is mighty to save! love to all, janet

Waiting for a Room

Hello Friends....Bill here,

Well, the hospital called and told us that they are still waiting for a room to open up for Erin and it would probably be tomorrow. The good news is that Erin is feeling good and can still get out and about, but we are all anxious to get on with this so we can be done. So, instead of going to the hospital today, Erin, Janet, Laura, Amanda, and JoJo took the dogs and bikes to Mulberry Park and played outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Erin and Amanda rode bikes while Janet, JoJo and Laura walked the dogs. Erin has been able to get a good dose of freedom over the past week and see so many of her friends, which has been great for her morale!

I know it has been a while since I posted the update but I don't want you to think that I have not been keeping up with the blog and I just want you all to know that it has been such a blessing for all of us! It's hard to believe that we have been on this journey with all of you for almost 5 months and we praise God for your faithfulness to be with us every step of the way to cover us in prayer, and to constantly lift our spirits!

Thank you and we pray God's richest blessings on each of you.

Bill

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." - Proverbs 3:3