Sat after the snow

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Knew you all would want to see the infamous tent Erin has spent the last 4 days in. Laura gave her Valentine's stickers to decorate it with. We got home from the hospital last night around 7 p.m. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. So beautiful! Erin is a little bummed that she can't go sledding in it this year. We are big sledders in the Blonshine family! Amanda and Kyle went this morning and Amanda went last night too. You are never too old to go sledding. Bill and I would have been out there if Erin could have gone. Erin had a good night sleeping in her own bed and is enjoying the snow through the windows today. She has big coughing fits occassionally but otherwise feels fine. They gave her an inhaler to help with it. We are so grateful for God's grace through this ordeal. I will update you guys on Wed after her biopsy. Please pray it goes smoothly and of course that it is negative. Hope you are enjoying the Olympics. GO USA! Blessings, janet

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

Happy Birthday Erin

Hello Prayer Warriors,
This is Day 4 of RSV treatment and praise God we get to go home today. Erin's CT was clear and they have just started her last treatment. The snow is falling outside and it is so pretty. Of course I can say that since we are only supposed to get an inch or two. Erin is so happy to get out of here and sleep in her own bed. They are going to swab her nose on the way out so they can decide if she needs to be in isolation when she comes back into the clinic next week. We had a pretty restful night, no interruptions. We did have a fun surprise though, Lauren, one of the nurses Erin made friends with during her transplant, brought her rasberry cupcakes for her birthday. Wasn't that sweet? Of course she may have been trying to make up for teasing Erin mercilessly about her wild nights on Dilaudid. She was the nurse that had to talk Erin out of leaving in the middle of the night for "jury duty". Erin has made a lot of friends here....being a Rockstar helps! Thanks for the prayers. God is faithful as always to surround us with your love. Blessings, janet

Psalm 119:90:
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

Don't you just love the word abideth? It's like comfort food to the soul.

Day 3 of RSV

Blessings Prayer Warriors,

Thanks for the prayers. Erin is doing fine. She just started the second half of today's treatment. The Dr said last night that if her CT is clear we may be able to go home tomorrow. We are just waiting on the results. We are super excited about that and ask for prayers for a clear CT. With the snow scheduled to come in tomorrow, it would be nice to be home in our own beds, especially since it is her birthday. Erin's IgG level is low, so while she is here they are going to go ahead and give her IVIG, which is a 6 hour infusion. She has never had that before but it will help boost her immune system. She is scheduled next Wed for her bone marrow biopsy and hopefully will get started on some of her immunizations for the more common things like flu, tetanus, pneumonia etc. So, as you can see, she has a very busy schedule. She has been filling her 3 hour tent times with TV since they don't recommend getting the medicine on books or computers. Today she watched 3 hours of "Chuck". This afternoon it is food network. She isn't stir crazy yet and for that we are thankful. The Dr even commented on how well she is taking this treatment. She said most people really come unglued. They must not have the same glue Erin has... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, fathfulness, and self control. Praise God for His gifts that see us through these trying times!! Thanks again for the prayers. love, janet

The Message Galatians 5:22-23 "But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. "

Day 2 of RSV

Hello Prayer Warriors, Thanks for the prayers. Erin is doing fine. Her treatment last night went fine. She finished a little early, around 12:30a.m. She says it leaves her covered in crystals, so she looks like Santa until she showers it off. She is in good spirits and is now in the middle of her second half of today's treatment. She still has a nasty cough but no fever. They are being very careful with this infection so she doesn't infect anyone else. Thanks so much for the prayers. We obviously feel God's presence here keeping us calm and well cared for. The 8E Olympics are getting geared up and they were hoping Erin could carry the "torch" around the halls for them, but with this infection, she may have to let someone else do it. We submitted lots of "event" ideas to the staff and are hoping to get to see some of them but it just depends on her virus. They are going to do a CT of her chest this evening and see if there is anything else going on. Please pray it is all clear so we can just do the 5 days in the tent and go home. Erin has named her tent Camp Misty Mountain after the Girl Scout camp she went to a long time ago. Anyway, she keeps the staff laughing and that's a good thing. Blessings, janet

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:13

Prayers Needed/update

Hey all, We need prayers again, Erin has what we thought was a cold. We took her in yesterday and they swabbed her nose. The results just came back RSV. Many of you know that is a respiratory virus most commonly found in young children. Well, Erin's immune system is like a 6 month old and she has it. They just called to tell us to come in and be admitted for 4 days, so they can treat it. She will be in isolation and have a tent over her bed to help treat it. She will also get antiviral meds etc. Unfortunately that means she will be spending her birthday in the hospital. We are so bummed, but as usual, we know God is in control and so we just have to go with the flow. Please pray for Erin! Thanks, janet

Update... Erin is in E708 but cannot have visitors. She is in isolation. They started her first treatment about 6:15 tonight. It is a 6 hour treatment under the tent. Apparently the riboviron is very toxic, so they don't allow anyone in the room while she is receiving the treatment, not even the nurses. Tomorrow they will be able to break the treatment up into 2 three hour treatments. The treatment doesn't hurt or make people nauseous so she should be fine. She just has to watch TV for 6 hours or sleep. No phone or computer or books. They cover everything in the room so the residue doesn't contaminate anyone that comes in later. Thanks for the prayers and please keep them coming. love, janet

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46:10-11

Wednesday update

Blessings Prayer Warriors,
Thanks for the prayers. Erin has been doing well. She is sleeping better now that the steroids are down by half. She is eating more normally and still walks in the mall with Grandmommy. She claims she has less rage, too. :) Good news for the family! Praise God for His faithfulness through this journey! We didn't have a clinic appt this week so we don't have any numbers to report. This is harder for me than you might think. Erin feels good though and that is all I need to know. She doesn't seem to have any GVH symptoms that we can see. Again, another praise. We are just praying her liver enzymes are calming down so she can continue to get off of some of these meds in the coming weeks and months.
Erin is coming up on her 25th birthday and I can't think of a better gift than to be completely healed! We serve a God of love, mercy and healing and I am praying He is wrapping that gift up with a Big Bow right now!
Again we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for all your support. love, janet

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

Today's info

Blessings Prayer Warriors,
Thanks for your prayers! We just got back from the clinic. Erin got a good report. Two of her liver enzymes are down a smidge and one was exactly the same. To be exact, her alkaline phosphatase is 225 ( normal is 32-91) and last week it was 225 also. Alanine aminotransferase is 237 ( normal is < 34) and last week it was 316. And her aspartate aminotransferase is 92 (normal is 15-41) and last week it was 95. Her magnesium is still low so she gets to keep taking 6 of those pills a day. Joy!! Too much info again, but details for those of you in the field. They were happy enough with those numbers to reduce her steroids by half. She is very excited about that because she couldn't go to sleep until 3 a.m. last night. So maybe with a lower dose, she will get more sleep. Her skin looks good, no rashes. She has lots of energy but that may be steroid driven. I guess we will find out as the steroids are reduced. She gets 2 weeks off for good behavior, so we don't go back to the clinic until Feb 10th. They will then schedule her next bone marrow biopsy. Also at the time they plan on starting her immunizations. She will get 6 or 7 shots that need to be repeated a month or so later and a few months after that again. They are anxious to get her immunizations started since she is planning on going back to teach in the fall. Praise God for that!! We are so thankful for a faithful God who has carried us through all this. I just can't describe how lovely it is to see Erin feeling good. We almost feel normal around here. Thank you for rejoicing with us as we take one day at a time. Please pray for her GVH (Graft vs. Host) to GO AWAY AND STAY AWAY!! And please pray for her next biopsy to be clear and easy. Love to you all, janet

"Help me, O Lord my God; save me in accordance with your love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you , O Lord, have done it... With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save his life from those who condemn him." Psalm 109: 26-27,30-31