Praising the Lord for a beautiful morning and the opportunity to go home again. Erin just has to prove she can take her pills and hold them down. She walked 4 laps yesterday after the biopsy. She only did that because they told her she might get to go home last night if she walked. Well, as always the left hand and the right don't always have the same info. So, Erin had another long night in here. The transplant Doc came by last night and told us they are very happy with the donor selected. They can only tell us their gender, age and if they are local. Unfortunately, she didn't know that info last night but she did know that the person is A+ blood type, so Erin won't have to convert her type. And you know she is happy being A+ because she has always strived for A+s in school. She identifies with her blood type!! She also said there are 10 markers on the cell and this donor matches all 10 so that is awesome!! They hope to get the bone marrow biopsy results today and if all is neg, we will get the donor going with further testing, hoping to do the transplant in a month. Everything is up in the air until the donor is ready. Please pray that the donor is ready and willing and HEALTHY!! Praising God for people who are willing to give such an amazing gift!!
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10
Blessings on all of you for continuing to pray for Erin!! May your harvest be plentiful!! love, janet
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Yeah for Steroids!
Praising the Good Lord, We are so thankful Erin is feeling a lot better today. They started her steroids (always the last choice for nausea control) around 8 p.m. and by 10:30 she was hungry. She ate pears, peanut better and peas. She slept well and woke hungry again. No nausea today. Then the PA came in a said we have to have a bone marrow biopsy today. Bummer. The one day she feels better they want to do that!! We are hoping they can put it off because the first Dr said 21 days and now this one says 14 days. Who to believe?? Besides, tomorrow is 14 days, not today! Grrrr. Anyone else confused??
Another praise is that her blood cultures came back negative. Please pray that the bone marrow is easy and comes back negative. That will set the stage for the transplant. Thanks for the nausea prayers, God is faithful!! We are so grateful to have so many prayer warriors lifting Erin's name before the throne!! Blessings on you all, janet
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess...Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14,16
Another praise is that her blood cultures came back negative. Please pray that the bone marrow is easy and comes back negative. That will set the stage for the transplant. Thanks for the nausea prayers, God is faithful!! We are so grateful to have so many prayer warriors lifting Erin's name before the throne!! Blessings on you all, janet
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess...Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14,16
Monday, July 6, 2009
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
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
Sunday, July 5, 2009
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
“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
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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
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
Friday, July 3, 2009
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
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