CT clear

Update for today. Thanks for the prayers. The CT results are clear which is a huge praise!! Now we are working on getting her pain and nausea under control. God is in control, we just have to be patient. Keep praying, hugs, janet

Roller Coaster

Hi guys.....Bill here,

Well, the last 24 hours have been up and down. Erin slept until noon yesterday after the long night in the ER. When she woke up, she was so brave to try to get her bucket of pills down and the dreaded yuckee Posi (anti-fungal) and shortly afterward threw it all up. By late afternoon they had gotten the nausea back under control and she ate a pretty good dinner and was able to keep it down. Last night she got up and got a little dizzy/light-headed and then got a bad headache. They gave her a second transfusion of platelets last night. On a lighter note, one of our favorite nurses from the sixth floor came up this morning to tell Erin that she had a room ready for her downstairs "where she could be with her friends". Our other favorite nurse who had moved up to the 7th floor was "fighting" over Erin to keep her on 7E. They have all been so good to us and I know Erin appreciates them so much!

This morning after the second transfusion, her platelets are up a bit from <4 to 25 but she is still having a slight nosebleed. The PA thinks the headache may be mostly a sinus type issue but the doctors ordered a CAT scan just to make sure there is no bleeding in her brain. They just took her down to radiology. Our prayer request this morning is for Erin's headache to subside, for clear CT results with no hemorrhaging in her brain, and for her to be able to recover comfortably at home. We are hoping that she will be able to go back home tomorrow if all goes well.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Thanks for continuing to hold Erin up in prayer and for your tremendous support!

Blessings.....Bill

Back in/Fever

Thanks for the prayers. We have a new one to add to the list. Erin came down with a fever last night. And when your counts are zero, fevers are serious. So we came to the ER last night about 1030 and got admitted, Unfortunately we had to stay in the ER for 4 hours because they said they didn't have a room for us. No matter how hard they try, ERs are full of germs!! Yikes! We finally got to a room at 3 a.m. Her platelets were less than 4. Way too low!! It figures since she was having some nosebleeds. We thought we could wait til our Sunday appt but it was a good thing we didn't have to. She got platelets last night and may need more tomorrow. We are in E701 but hopefully only for a couple of days. Her mucositis is kicking in and her stomach is really painful so it is hard for her to eat or take her bucket of pills. Please pray for reduced pain, ability to eat, encouragement to face more hospital time. It was so nice to be home for 2 days but it makes it that much more of a bummer to come back when she was just settling in to her own bed again. I praise God for the intricate body He has given us that can warn us when things aren't right. And for the knowledge He has given the Docs to treat the symptoms. Please pray that the Lord gives our Docs wisdom and our nurses skill and compassion. Blessings on your Sabbath and thanks again for the prayers! janet

“In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.”- Isaiah 12:4

4th of July

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments. They truly keep us lifted up. I think it was not a typo that Robin wrote Erin got a "God" nights sleep. We know He is blessing her rest. She slept well again last night. We are all taking turns sleeping on her floor next to her in case she needs something. I think it helps her rest better. She isn't feeling so great today yet. She has a nose bleed today that is worrying her. Her platelets were 59 on wed and 34 on thurs, so we figure they are very very low today. She is scheduled to go in tomorrow morning to the clinic so I know she'll need some platelets by then. A huge thank you to all of you who regularly give blood and platelets to the Red Cross. Erin is blessed by your generosity. Jesus said "It is more blessed to give than to receive." That is true, but Erin is very blessed to be receiving at this time!! You are literally saving lives by giving blood!! We are so grateful!

Please continue to pray for her remission. That is the next big step toward the transplant. She hasn't lost her hair yet but we know that is coming any day now, it took about 14 days last time from the first day of chemo. If you know Erin, you know she has really been measuring her hair growth and been very excited to finally see it grow. So it will be a devastating day when it falls out again. On the bright side, that means the chemo is doing it's work and that is what we need it to do. Please pray that her spirits stay high even on the low days. Thank you!! We hope you all have a blessed family day today. Huge praise, Kyle got a job yesterday. He will be the band director at Loganville Christian Academy!! WooHoo!! Love to you all, janet

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

Home Sweet Home

Thanking God for the 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep in her own bed. Erin woke with very little nausea and the energy to take a quick shower. Now she is facing the bucket of pills!! I made her a tent (Stephen can imagine) over her mattress in the family room so the sun doesn't bake her. Takes us back to when the girls made tents all over the house with sheets and chairs! Fun. Anyway, thanks for the continued prayers for reduced side effects, complete remission and encouragement for the long haul ahead. We depend on the grace and mercy of our sweet Lord. Happy 4th of July. We are praying for "independence" from cancer!!

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3-9

This refining by fire stuff is not for wimps!! Glory to God!! janet

Home!!!

Dear Prayer Warriors, Thanks for the prayers. We are home. The trip home seemed to last forever with the traffic and Erin's nausea. She is home being doted on by her sisters, laying on her bed in the middle of the family room. I have been running to a couple of pharmacies to find the unique meds they ordered for Erin. The dreaded "Posi" is hard to find! So we are just now settling in and ready to watch Dancing! Happy Birthday DL!! Happy 4th everyone! Praise the Lord with us for His unending mercy!! love to all, janet

Home today/Donor Found

Halleluia, we are supposed to go home today. Erin needs some blood first and we have to get all the ducks in a row as far as Rx and supplies. Thanks Jason and Jennifer for posting the sign on the Little Barn. That made me cry. Kim, thanks for the thought of getting more specific testing, but actually once you are on the registry they have all they need unless you come up on the computer search as a potential match, then they do further testing. However, yesterday afternoon the transplant coordinator called to say the donor they had picked out for her last time is still available. We didn't even know they narrowed it down to one donor last time. So we are set I guess. We don't know anything about the donor but that's the way they like it until you are a year out. So, Thank the Good Lord for his provision. Now we just have to get Erin into remission. They will do a bone marrow biopsy in a couple of weeks to check on that. Until then, the prayers are for no infections, no side effects, encouragement, and Remission. Thanks for taking the time to talk to God on Erin's behalf. It blesses us to know you are on our team petitioning the Great Physician for complete healing. We will post again later when we get out of this joint. hugs, janet

"Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people." For this is what the high and lofty One says-he who lives forever, whose name is holy: :I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the heart of the contrite....I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the Lord. "And I will heal them." Isaiah 57: 14-15, 18-19