Hello fellow leapers!! Well, we have leapt into this round with a bang. Erin started her chemo last night at 11 p.m. This morning, after virtually no sleep, Erin woke up with a ton of nausea. They gave her Zofran twice to no avail and then had to hit her with some Ativan. So she has slept the whole day away. We are waiting to do the spinal tap this afternoon but we don't know what time. It is probably better that she is sleeping because the anxiety of knowing she has to go through the procedure is worse than the procedure itself. On a positive note, it has been nice to see all the friendly faces of the nurses here that we came to know and love. If you are wondering about the boxing theme, our friend Cindy sent Erin some boxing gloves with scripture written all over them. They are already hung on the wall in preparation for the FIGHT!! Get thee behind us Leukemia!! Thanks for the prayers, let's all pray for a "knock out" in this round!!
love you all, janet
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday 2/28/08 LATE UPDATE
DING.....DING.....DING.....DING.....LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PRAYER WARRIORS EVERYWHERE......LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLE!!! ROUND 2 STARTS TONIGHT!
We moved Erin into room E615 late this afternoon. That room is just 3 doors down from her previous room and shares virtually the same view of the Candler campus and the Atlanta skyline. God paints some pretty magnificent sunsets that are visible from there so that's a definite praise! While we know that God is in control and His timing is perfect it is with mixed emotions that we enter this new phase. We feel blessed for the time we have had at home with Erin but it sort of felt like we weren't actively fighting the disease. So we are at once thankful to get on with it so we feel like we are back in the fight but we are a little apprehensive about how hard this round will be on Erin. We have been encouraged by others that have been through this who have told us that subsequent rounds tend to be easier with less side affects. So our prayer is that in addition to complete healing and total remission that this will be an easier round for Erin without major side affects.
The plan for this round is 8 days of chemo followed by 3 weeks of recovery! We can't say it enough....we feel so blessed to have you with us on this journey and thank you for your continued support and prayers!!
- Bill
We moved Erin into room E615 late this afternoon. That room is just 3 doors down from her previous room and shares virtually the same view of the Candler campus and the Atlanta skyline. God paints some pretty magnificent sunsets that are visible from there so that's a definite praise! While we know that God is in control and His timing is perfect it is with mixed emotions that we enter this new phase. We feel blessed for the time we have had at home with Erin but it sort of felt like we weren't actively fighting the disease. So we are at once thankful to get on with it so we feel like we are back in the fight but we are a little apprehensive about how hard this round will be on Erin. We have been encouraged by others that have been through this who have told us that subsequent rounds tend to be easier with less side affects. So our prayer is that in addition to complete healing and total remission that this will be an easier round for Erin without major side affects.
The plan for this round is 8 days of chemo followed by 3 weeks of recovery! We can't say it enough....we feel so blessed to have you with us on this journey and thank you for your continued support and prayers!!
- Bill
Thurs 2/28
Well the Hospital just called to say they are gonna get us a room today. They will call when it is ready. So we have our bags packed again and are ready to go. Don't know which room yet but we hope it has a view. Thanks for the prayers and love, they are helping us tremendously to take each day as it comes. May the Lord bless you for your faithfulness. janet
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wed 2/27
Well. we just got home from another trip to Emory. Good news is that her labs are up. WBC 2.2 and ANC 1166. Bad news is they have no rooms. So they said they would call in the next day or 2 to get us in to start round 2. We praise God for the numbers and for the room He will provide. It gives us peace of mind to know she is now ready. We will just sit and wait for the phone to ring. So thanks for the prayers that have gotten us this far. Please keep them up, we ask for decreased side effects, complete remission and inner strength. We love you all for your faithfulness. God is so good to give you to us!! hugs, janet
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tues 2/26
Hello, today has been a glorious day. The storm this morning was so wonderful, even more so because we didn't have to go anywhere today. Hopefully, Lake Lanier got a boost. Erin is feeling fine. Today Jo, Jim and I went to Erin's classroom and brought home some of her stuff. They have hired a lovely new teacher to finish the year for Erin and we needed to get the desk cleared out for her. We left all the Georgia Bulldog stuff up since she is a UGA fan. Erin is still counting on going back in the fall. Tomorrow we go for more labs. Jim said we shouldn't even take a toothbrush, then they will surely keep us. God only knows. Please pray for God's will in this situation and peace for us to accept it. Of course our wish would be to stay and get this second round started, but after 3 tries, we are tired of getting pumped up for it. So we will just go, probably with our toothbrush in hand, and see what happens. Thanks as always for talking to God about Erin and loving us in the process. hugs, janet
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, 2/25
Well another trip to get labs and another trip back home. The WBCs were 1.9 and the ANC was 779, so they are going up slightly but apparently not enough to start round 2 yet. We go back on Wed for more labs. Erin is bummed, we were all ready to get it started so we could be done sooner. However, she is feeling good and we are content to wait until God says "Go." No one seems unduly concerned at this slow pace, it is just frustrating to have to wait and not be able to do something about it. We will just sit back and count our blessings: a loving God, 100 new prayer warriors, family and friends to share our journey, no infections, no nausea, no mouth sores, no constant interuptions in the night, no hand blisters, no rash, no hospital food, our own beds... well, let's just say the list is very long. Our cup runneth over!! Thanks as usual for the constant prayers. Love to all, janet
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Post-Amazing Healing Service
My beautiful prayer warriors,
Thank you so much for an amazing service tonight! I cannot put into words what a wonderful experience it was. I sat in the balcony with my bodyguards for "germ safety," and I am so glad that I was up there, because it was so beautiful watching all of my friends commit to being lifelong prayer warriors for the Lord. I wanted SO badly to run down there and hug you all and pray with you at the altar - know that I was praying for you with all my heart from up in the box seating. It was amazing to get to see your lovely faces, complete with "warrior paint" (aka, sweet smelling oil). Not a day goes by that I don't think of and miss my church family. I love you guys with all my heart and I was so glad to get to see you tonight! :) Thank you for all your prayers and support - I believe that I got a glimpse of heaven tonight, and for that I feel so blessed. While God has been showing me how He is using this journey to strengthen me and my family (as well as many of you amazing bloggers - thank you for sharing with us!), tonight we were truly able to see how He is using this experience to teach others and grow them in their relationship with Him as prayer warriors. I feel blessed that God has chosen me for this journey because through it, He is allowing me to glimpse heaven. What an amazing feeling! Watching His children walk to meet Him at the altar so that they may speak intimately with Him - I couldn't stop my tears (which made my mask really wet, by the way). I am so grateful for tonight. Thank you for making it wonderful!
I didn't think I could even go to the service tonight, but we drafted our plans this afternoon (bodyguards, masks, sneaking upstairs, etc), and decided that I could go. I am now convinced that God was hanging on to my numbers so that I would be home long enough to go to the service tonight. What a blessing! Seeing all my beautiful friends tonight definitely lifted my spirits and gave me even more strength and determination to beat this thing so I can come back and play signs and rock paper crazy, and give everyone big hugs!
Thank you again for an amazing night! I feel blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group and amazing team of prayer warriors! I love you! - Erin
Thank you so much for an amazing service tonight! I cannot put into words what a wonderful experience it was. I sat in the balcony with my bodyguards for "germ safety," and I am so glad that I was up there, because it was so beautiful watching all of my friends commit to being lifelong prayer warriors for the Lord. I wanted SO badly to run down there and hug you all and pray with you at the altar - know that I was praying for you with all my heart from up in the box seating. It was amazing to get to see your lovely faces, complete with "warrior paint" (aka, sweet smelling oil). Not a day goes by that I don't think of and miss my church family. I love you guys with all my heart and I was so glad to get to see you tonight! :) Thank you for all your prayers and support - I believe that I got a glimpse of heaven tonight, and for that I feel so blessed. While God has been showing me how He is using this journey to strengthen me and my family (as well as many of you amazing bloggers - thank you for sharing with us!), tonight we were truly able to see how He is using this experience to teach others and grow them in their relationship with Him as prayer warriors. I feel blessed that God has chosen me for this journey because through it, He is allowing me to glimpse heaven. What an amazing feeling! Watching His children walk to meet Him at the altar so that they may speak intimately with Him - I couldn't stop my tears (which made my mask really wet, by the way). I am so grateful for tonight. Thank you for making it wonderful!
I didn't think I could even go to the service tonight, but we drafted our plans this afternoon (bodyguards, masks, sneaking upstairs, etc), and decided that I could go. I am now convinced that God was hanging on to my numbers so that I would be home long enough to go to the service tonight. What a blessing! Seeing all my beautiful friends tonight definitely lifted my spirits and gave me even more strength and determination to beat this thing so I can come back and play signs and rock paper crazy, and give everyone big hugs!
Thank you again for an amazing night! I feel blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group and amazing team of prayer warriors! I love you! - Erin