Thurs 1/31 1200

Sorry this is late, I was waiting for numbers to post. I only have some of the numbers. Her WBC are up to 1.7 Thank you Lord!! We don't have the ANC yet. Erin slept well, they disconnected her IV pump so we didn't have any beeping in the night. It was so quiet!! And she only had to get up once because she had less fluid going in. :-) She did need some pain med at 8 p.m. but they brought her some pills and they worked well, in fact so well that she fell asleep during Lost. Me too, i confess, hope we can stay up tonight to watch that crazy show. And Praise God that watching TV is again entertainment instead of just distraction. We are really looking forward to going home and getting Erin in her own bed again. Unfortunately we won't get to keep our dogs at home, my sister will be keeping them for a few months more. I think she can visit with them for short spells, she just can't live with them, you never know when one of them will kiss your face!! Yuck, dog germs!! Actually, we love dog germs, but Erin's body won't be able to fight them, so, JoJo gets to keep them, hope she doesn't spoil them too much!!! Thanks Chappy for Russia on the map. Everyone who comes in the room asks about the map and is amazed at the answer. A prayer map!! A great conversation starter!! Blessings on all of you for your faithfulness in prayer!! We couldn't do this without you!! hugs, janet

Update for Wed 4 p.m.

Well, YOU are mighty prayer warriors indeed!!And God is Almighty!! We just got a visit from the Dr and she said we are not going to do the bone marrow biopsy until Monday. She tells us this after Erin missed lunch and cried all morning waiting for it, but we are NOT complaining. She said that Erin's blasts are decreasing and it is probably a normal phenomenon that the marrow would spit out a few blasts as it revs up to produce normal cells. Also the biopsy wouldn't give us all the info we need because she is still neutropenic, meaning she needs her neutrophils (the infection fighting white cells) to come up to normal numbers in order to prove that the leukemia is in remission. Otherwise we would just have to do another bone marow biopsy in a week. So Erin was saved an extra biopsy!! YEAH!! Her ANC (absolute neutrophil count) is 22 and it needs to be 500+ to go home. God Bless you for your faithful prayer.

The full story is that the Nurse brought in all the equipment for the biopsy and the PA that was supposed to do it was not here. So they came in and told us they would have to find someone else to do it. Then they told us Michael, another PA, would do it but he had others in front of us, so it would be awhile. So you see God's hand was in it all along, because then the Dr had time to figure out she would rather postpone it!! He is in the details. WOW!!! Patience is not easy but it sure paid off today. LOVE TO ALL!! janet

wed 1/30 0930

Happy Wednesday Prayer Warriors, We are in need of a special prayer today, like always. Erin is having her second bone marrow biopsy today between 12-2. She is scared as usual, this time because she knows what to expect.

The Drs said they found some blasts in her blood and they didn't think the leukemia was back but they didn't really know what they were seeing because the markers looked a bit different. They hope it is just her normal cells starting to grow. Of course this uncertainty caused a sleepless night for us all. We should have some of the results by Thurs and the rest by Fri. Also, we found out yesterday evening that Laura and Amanda are not bone marrow matches for Erin. However there are 3500 potential matches in the bone marrow registry. That's a big number and we pray there will be many exact matches available close by. If you feel led to help Erin or anyone else with a child who has this terrible disease, please register to be on the bone marrow registry.

Erin didn't walk yesterday but we hope she will get some walking in this morning before she snoozes the afternoon away on versed. God has been so faithful to carry us each step of the way and He continues to hold us tight. Thanks for your continued prayers for healing and peace. Love you all so much, janet

Tues 1/29 10:15

Good morning! Erin is up and feeling o.k. after her initial bout of nausea and hot flashes. Her hands get as hot as fire every now and then. She has no temp but gets hot feeling all over. Anyone else flashing out there? Yesterday we were encouraged by a WBC count of 1.2 but today it is back down to 0.7. It is discouraging to watch it climb and dive like that. Yesterday was a beautiful day and we took Erin outside for 10 minutes to perk her up, you know, get out of the cave. Backfire!! She sat and cried and her nose was running behind the big mask she has to wear, so she couldn't blow it. We were trying to cheer her up but no. I think it just made her want out even more. Please pray for her spirits to lift. She needs to stay POSITIVE!! Thank you all for your continued positive comments and prayers. We are learning every day to give the day to God and trust in His plan for Erin. We don't see the big picture like God does. This faith walk is hard stuff!! Erin loves you all and we all pray you are as blessed by the lovely comments on the blog as we are. God is working in ways we can't even imagine!! To Him be the Glory! love, janet

1/28/08 11:30am

Good morning friends!

Bill here....a little late today due to network problems here at the hospital. All in all, Erin had a pretty good day yesterday and last night. She walked a full mile (21 laps), ate well, and received two units of blood. They reduced her pain meds and she is still feeling pretty good so that's a praise!! We watched Ocean's Eleven and numerous Friends episodes to while away the time yesterday afternoon.

By the way, thanks to Dr. Butz....I now know what the technical name is for the "visions" I have at night....it's called hypnogogia or hypnogogic hallucinations and now Cindy Collins, my brother Rick and daughter Amanda and I can start our own support group!! Erin can be an honorary member since she thought Amanda and Kyle were hiding presents under her bed the other night.

We have now been at Emory for a full month and are at day 24 of treatment. Please continue to pray for complete healing for Erin and for her strength and spirit as she continues to fight the fight! Thanks, as always, for your continued support, encouragement, and most of all for the unceasing prayers... you have been such a blessing to us!!

Thought I would close with this scripture that Amanda put on our white board: "God is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in trouble" - Psalm 46:1

Have a blessed day! - Bill

Sun 1/27 10:00

Good morning!! Thanks for the prayers, God has been faithful to answer. Erin's bone pain was gone yesterday. Unfortunately, her WBCs were down instead of up. They were 0.5 yesterday and 0.6 today. She will get more blood today as her HCT dropped below 25 again. She walked 5 laps yesterday with Monica cheering her on (with pom poms). She still has a chronic stomach ache but compared to all the other side effects it's o.k. We picked up South Korea thanks to Jenna, her brother Adam is stationed there. Thanks for the prayers Adam. The map is really filling up. Erin is getting excited about the possibility of getting to go home soon. We just wish we knew when, but that is part of our lesson in faith. God is teaching us to wait on Him in all things. "those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah40 We are hoping to walk some more today, by God's grace!! Love to you all, janet

1/26 09:45

Saturday morning is a good time to praise God, especially after the evening we had yesterday. Yikes!! The bone pain she had yesterday morning got progressively worse as the day wore on. Her pain scale was 9 out of 10. They doubled her pain med and then had to triple it to help her out. She also had a lot of nausea. She was in tears most of the late afternoon and evening. One of the other patients described it to me as shin splints all over your body. The Praise is that bone pain means her bone marrow is starting to produce her cells again and that is great!! It is a good sign of recovery!! I love the way the Lord only allows one "side effect"at a time. We hope this is the last of the side effects!!
Anyway, this morning is a new day and she feels good. She is sitting up and eating pancakes as we blog. We don't have her numbers yet, we'll let you know. Surely they are up. Thanks to all of our prayer warriors and our continued trip around the globe via friends in Christ. We love the testimony of faith you all provide!! Keep up the prayers!! love you, janet