Avocados

As we prepared for our current trip back to the hospital, we thought two avocados would surely be sufficient for Eden's latest snack craving. Boy, were we wrong. We discovered that one of the avocados we brought wasn't ripe and so we found ourselves dependent on food service. Well, they have plenty of guacamole; but, no avocados. So a trip to the grocery later, we have one happy, sleepy toddler.

As we had guessed, they did put Eden in an isolated room because of her RSV. She has been tired from the virus so it isn't bad that she cannot leave her room. Tonight she ran a slightly elevated temperature and the rules indicate that a fever = hospital stay. We are praying that the mild teperature increase was the result of cuddling Daddy, and not due to the virus.

As you pray, please include that her little body can remain "fever-free".

Back at the Hospital

Eden was ready for her Friday trip to the clinic . . . when I told her we were going to see Miss Donna (Child Life Specialist) she responded by saying "I ready!" Chemo went well. Eden's numbers were good, especially white blood cells.

Unfortunately, Eden has acquired a cough and as we watched the hours slip by last night, we made a call this morning. Dr. Nacos to the rescue . . . after testing and lung x-rays, all signs pointed to RSV. As promised, we have been sent back up to University. We think that she will be in isolation or at least on some restrictions while we are there because it is RSV. The great news is she is still her happy self and NO FEVER!!!!

We truly believe God has her inpatient again for a reason. We feel blessed that the RSV was found before other symptoms set in.

We promise to post more as we find out what we might expect from this stay. . .

2 "Pokes" . . .

2 "pokes" . . . but not for Eden! Kurt and I were advised to get flu shots, so today we toughened up and received our "pokes". If any of you know Kurt's philosophy on the flu shot, this was only done for Eden. Eden will often tell us "no pokes today" or "zero pokes" we were glad today it was us instead of her! We only wish that we could take all of her pokes.


Tomorrow we are back at the clinic and due to our good results last Friday we will only be there for labs and chemo via her port. No spinal or bone marrow! So much to be thankful for.


Kurt found himself making mashed potatoes for breakfast! Eden had discovered a new love for mashed potatoes after our dear friend Eva had made them for us earlier in the week. So her breakfast consisted of avocados and mashed potatoes. These are some sort of cravings.


As you pray:

-Please pray for Jenna, who is back in the hospital with a fever
-Pray that Eden continues to respond well to treatment with minimal side effects
-Praise God for all the blessing he has given us. We continue to see Gods grace and protection.

Thanks to all that have been supporting us in so many different ways!
Love you all

What next????

Eden's food cravings are changing daily and what she liked two days ago is no more . . . last week it was cottage cheese by the container, Monday and Tuesday it was avocados and today she was requesting pizza. It is funny to hear her request even at 4 am. We have given up trying to guess what she will want next.

Eden had a great day! Much more like our little E. She actually seemed interested in playing which is the first since last week and she hasn't stopped talking. She just makes us laugh with all the things she comes up with.

Friday is our next day at the clinic. We are unsure of all the procedures they will do at that time due to her awesome results last Friday. We are hoping that they do not have to do another bone marrow but are anxious to have hear that she has 0% remaining. We are glad we are not in control.

Day 11

Today marked day 11 of treatment for curing Eden's Leukemia. Eden had a good, not great, day today. Eden continues to be quite content being held, watching movies or sitting reading books. That may seem normal to outsiders, but for Eden, sitting in one place for very long is not normal. Her play kitchen has not seen much activity lately, but she constantly is requesting to "go to kitchen". Dad asks, "why, are you hungry AGAIN?" To which she replies "no, help mommy". "Mommy coffee". Dad asks, "is mommy making coffee?" Eden says "yes, coffee hot". The cancer sure hasn't taken any spirit away from the little girl, that's for sure!

Even though last Friday's test results were encouraging, we ask that you continue to pray for Eden, as this treatment protocol is going to continue for a minimum of two years. We also ask that you pray for us as we make decisions and adjust to our new "normal".

We very much appreciate everyone keeping Eden in your prayers! There is power in prayers.

Cottage Cheese

Eden has graduated from requesting "cheese", and now wants "cottage cheese" (one in the same). Speaking of cottage cheese, the dairy industry has to be pleased with our commitment to keep their doors open during this economic downturn, as she also ate half a quart of yogurt this afternoon along with her usual cottage cheese . . . gotta love the "roids."

Eden had a okay day today overall. Obvious negative side effects are not yet noticeable, however, she is somewhat lethargic during the day - we watched Letter Factory several times today (aka "frogs"). "Rella" didn't even make it into the DVD player once today!!!

We had some special visitors today at our house, one of them brought Eden a squirrel feeder that spins when they climb aboard to eat some corn. Eden will be thrilled to watch the spinning squirrels as they eat. Another visitor was her friend, Molly the only one not asked to Germ-X before entering. Molly is Jake, Becca, & Ethan's dog. Eden loves it when Molly can come over and play and we are thankful that Jake & Becca are so gracious to allow Molly to spend time with Eden.

Selena asked Eden last night which jammies she wanted, pink or green, her response-----CY! Just goes to show, it takes more than a few rides in a Hawkeye wagon to convert a true Cyclone Fan!

Thanks for the prayers . . . please don't stop praying.

Awesome News

Thank you for your prayers!

Eden had her first outpatient chemo today and all went well. The wonderful, amazing news includes her test results. We were shooting for less than 5% cancer cells remaining by next week. Well, after waiting and praying and praying and waiting for the results, we were informed that she is at 3%!!!!!!! This is a huge praise for us as it shows us the chemo is working. We really believe that this is God's grace! Also, her spinal fluid tested cancer-free still! While this is the news we have been praying for, it does not change the course of treatment. She will continue to receive her "pokes", oral, and IV chemo.


We were not quite sure how Eden would react to our return trip to the hospital today. She was not allowed to eat anything until she was finished; but, she worked the crowd. Anyone who came within reach, she requested "cheese" from. She did eventually polish off nearly a tub! In her usual style she was not only quite chipper but also had a memory like a steel trap. When she saw beloved Donna (developmental specialist from our last clinic visit) Eden's eyes lit up and she immediately requested "toys". Eden has seen many of you over the past week (thanks for the visits and care); she remembers and has had a positive experience overall.

Good to be Home

It is so good to be home. Eden enjoyed her "big girl" bed so much that she slept until 8:45, usually she wakes her dad at 6:30. Kurt enjoyed the extra sleep but feared that Eden had gotten up by herself to watch "Rella." She was just laying in bed talking about one of the many balloons she accumulated during her first hospital stay.

She continues to do remarkably well with all of her treatments and most would not know she was sick. Of course anyone who enters our home is greeted with a bottle of Germ X. Some probably think it is just that I am crazy but if it keeps Eden healthy I don't care.

Home

We are HOME. It was just a week ago today that we are devastated by the news of Eden's diagnosis and tonight she is sleeping in her big girl bed (by herself). It is all very surreal to me and very hard to comprehend. Eden is doing great and she seems happy to be home. However less than a mile from the hospital she was requesting a visit to "Laur Laur" house (Lauren).

I am looking forward to tomorrow . . . a full day with my girl before we have to go back in for treatment on Friday.

Thanks for the prayers . . .
K & S

Tuesday- Day 5

Eden continues to do well with her treatment and she shows no side effects from the treatment she is going through. She finally showed interest in walking and we spent the morning walking the halls . . . she did not even want to stop for music class. All morning I heard "going" which means lets walk. It is different when Dad's there then we hear "hold it" which means hold me. He complies with any of her desires and our evening walk she was carried.

We are very excited that we should be able to go home on Wed the 21st. This is a day earlier than her original 7 days we thought we would be here due to the fever she had last week. We are thankful that we will be able to be home on Thursday before our clinic day on Friday. It will just be nice that she can be unhooked from the IV to play, even if it is only for the day.

Please continue to pray
- for Ava she was not able to return to her room after surgery and spent the night in ICU
-that her bone marrow comes back with less than 5% on Friday
-Kurt and I are able to adjust to this new normal

love
k & s

Cheese please

Eden's request for the day was "cheese please, cheese, CHEESE" at about 6 tonight Eden was asking for cottage cheese . . . one of her favorite foods. The unfortunate part of this was that she had to wait 45 mins for the "cheese" to be delivered. I ordered extra so that I would be prepared for tomorrow but she ate both bowls and I will be ordering more at breakfast. We are thankful that she is hungry and finally showing an interest in eating.

The "pokes" of chemo have not shown any signs of immediate side effects. We are so thankful for that. The pokes were hard for Eden and Dad and Mom but she did earn some stickers that she wore all day and is still wearing.

"Going Home" as Eden would say. We are still not sure if we will be able to go home or not until later in the week. We pray that the Drs will make the right decision and we will be comfortable with their decision.

As you pray please pray for
-Eden's friend Ava that will be getting some answers tomorrow
-the Drs as they decide when we will be able to go home
-no side effects from the treatment

love you all
k & s

Going Home?

Well they are listening to Eden's request as we had the first Dr mention that we may be able to go home tomorrow. We are waiting to see what Eden's Dr has to say later today. Please pray that we will be able to go home for a couple of days.

We definitely see how fast toddlers learn as Eden is telling the nurse to "scan it" (her ID bracelet) and holds it up for them. When they ask about her port she pulls up her shirt. It is good to see her adjusting . . . but as parents, these are not things you want your child to have to learn.

It is time to play so we will update you later.





L

Slept like a . . .

toddler! Thanks for your prayers about this. We all had a glorious night's sleep last night as Eden slept until 8:15 this morning.

Eden continues to win the hearts of everyone on the floor. She has now decided that one of the fish in the aquarium is hers. We are not sure that Eden will be willing to leave the hospital without him. You can imagine how many trips we take to the tank daily. On that note, this place is amazingly well-equipped for little ones. It has really helped our transition. In addition to the play room, aquarium, and wagons, there are plenty of staff to provide information, adaptive games, and even MUSIC (Eden's favorite). There is much abuzz on the floor about the upcoming "Dance Marathon" at the university. The students raise money that funds many of the accoutrements that we are able to enjoy. Check it out if you get a chance: http://www.uiowa.edu/~dancemar/

Eden has been a Daddy's Girl today and it was very fitting as it was Kurt's B-day. If you know the unselfishness of Kurt you know that it did not phase him and he was just glad to have Eden with him.

The heartbreaking part of the day was experiencing the "steroid rages"-- tantrums that are only worsened by her age. We feel so helpless as parents. . . When she was crying, kicking, & screaming I asked her what is it that she wanted, and she said "home." We are looking forward to taking her home but a bit scared to as well.

We see the power of prayer as Eden completed her first set of vitals without tears. She even wanted Nurse Ashley to take her temp (a role that Kurt and I had assumed to ease her fear.)Eden continued oral chemo today. Tomorrow she will have her first shot of chemo that will be given to her in her leg. And, as you can imagine, that brings us to our prayer requests.

-Pray that she does not have any side effects from the new Chemo

-Her blood counts are good

-The effects of the steroids are minimized

-Nurse Ashley has a great couple days off . . .

Love you all

K & S

Plenty of Smiles

Eden was bright and cheery this morning (her usual disposition.) We were overjoyed by her laughter and enjoyment of the toy kitchen in the playroom, watching the fish, and reading books. She has taken a serious liking to the "cakes" as she was a good eater this morning for breakfast. She actually requested a second helping late morning (a peanut butter fold over did the trick-no "cakes" available.) After a couple of xrays, the port is confirmed to be in great condition. She had her second round of chemo today - some orally, some through the port. She is a champ at taking her oral meds. Her hemo count was down so we had our first blood transfusion. Overall we had the best day we could possibly have.




God has met our needs before we even requested or knew what they were . . . we were moved to a private room. We enjoyed getting to meet other families (we have had 2 different roommates) but the rest for the girls and the parents will be wonderful. SO OUR NEW PHONE NUMBER IS (319)353-9494. We did loose messages so if you called and we didn't return your call I apologize.


Thank you for all the prayers and visits. As you pray tonight and tomorrow please pray for:

-ease with procedures
-no "icky sicky" . . . so far she has not had any problems
- and thank him for all the wonderful staff that takes care of our Little E

Love

K & S

It didn't hurt Daddy

"It didn't hurt daddy" are the first words we heard ~4am this morning. We are so thankful that the port was successful and Eden will have very few pokes going forward. She slept great and decided she wanted to spend some quality time with Dad & Mom from 4-5:30. We saw smiles that made the short night seem like the best night sleep. She is resting now.

As you pray today please pray:

• That her fever will subside
• She will have NO "icky sicky" from the chemo
• our Dr has a great weekend with her family
  

Thank you for praying. The power of prayer is all that is getting us through.

Love,
K & S

What a sight

Kurt is not a small man! Picture him folded into an infant bed with a canopy on it. Eden is in his lap, devouring a pancake that has come for supper, continuously asking for "Cake!" That is what was happening this evening a little after 8:00 p.m. They are surrounded by friends. Selena has a chance to relax a little with more friends in the family lounge as they enjoy some pizza.

Eden is running a fever. The port is in place and she has had her first chemo treatments. Pray that the fever will go away. Each time a nurse comes to check Eden's vital signs, it is a small trauma for her. Pray that she will be able to distinguish between the "harmless" treatments and those that might cause some pain or discomfort.

The beginning of our Journey

We want to update everyone on how this journey began.

The day after Christmas, Kurt felt lumps behinds Eden's ear, and a couple on her neck. We were seen by our family Dr. the next day, and Dr's at the University Hospital in Iowa City. The Iowa City Dr's put her on antibiotics to treat some rare symptoms she had (sore legs and inflamed lymph node).

On Saturday, January 10th, Eden started running a fever. On January 13th, we took Eden back in to see our family Dr in Washington, Dr. Nacos. We thank Dr. Nacos, for knowing that something just wasn't right, as he scheduled an appointment for Eden to see Oncologist Dr. Staber the next morning.

On January 14th, at 8:40am, we met Dr. Staber and her team. Various tests were run, which all pointed to a virus, except one. Dr. Staber chose to continue testing by collecting a bone marrow biopsy. We waited 2 hours by eating lunch, and were planning the rest of the day (taking Eden to the Coralville Mall for a ride on the carousal). Dr. Staber and Dr. Rolla, met with us at 2:30. At that time, our life changed, as they explained that Eden had Leukemia.

We were immediately admitted to the hospital. Eden immediately won the hearts of all the nurses on our floor, and they have won our hearts as they care for our daughter.

Thursday at 4pm, we found out that she has Pre-B Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This was good news, because it's a type that IS curable. At this time, the Dr's were able to schedule our first 28 days of treatments accordingly. Eden has been very resilient. She enjoys wagon rides (in a yellow Hawkeye wagon), seeing the fish in the aquariums, and playing with the other children She was able to rest well Thursday night, generally with one of us curled up with her in her crib.

Friday has been the hardest day for Eden, as she had a port surgically placed in her chest, another bone marrow, fluid pulled from her spinal column, and chemo injected into the new port and around her spinal column. After returning from surgery, she started oral and IV chemo. This has been the hardest day on Eden's little body as she has spiked a high fever. She has had short intervals of being "our little Eden" which are usually filled with a request for "Rella" aka Cinderella. We were once again given good news as the test on spinal fluid did not show cancer cells.

As we type tonight, she's resting well. And just like every night at home we cannot wait for her to wake up. I am sure we will fight over who gets to curl up beside her. . .

Out of surgery

Selena called at 3:30 with a sentence update. "We are back in the room. Eden is feeling rough. We're looking for popsicles." Pray now for a good recovery for Eden, and especially, for Kurt and Selena as THEY recover! Updates to follow.

Meet the Family

Thanks to technology, many of you, literally around the world are praying for Eden, Kurt and Selena. Soo... many of you have not met any of them. Here they are, meet these dear friends and pray for strength & encouragement.

Today some time around noon, Eden will have the surgery to place a port for the chemo.

Our thanks again to Linda Drish for the picture of the family.

EDEN JOYCE

Our deepest THANKS to Linda Drish, a friend of the family and professional photographer for making these wonderful images of Eden available to share with you.

Eden's Condition

Kurt & Selena received the specific diagnosis for Eden this afternoon: Pre B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. It is one of the more common kinds, which is treatable. Eden will hopefully not have to be in the hospital for more than a week or eight days. She will come home but have to go back to the hospital for chemo a number of times in the next month.

Pic of Eden

First Post

Eden Levetzow, 21 months old, is being treated at the University of Iowa Hospital for leukemia. She was diagnosed, yesterday, Wednesday, January 14, 2009. Eden is a very special little girl who is loved by many people. Her parents, Kurt and Selena, have been thrust from their normal lives into an experience that no parent ever wants to have.

We are starting this blog so that Kurt and Selena can give regular updates, and be able to hear from all of you, as they begin this journey. Their pastor has said this will not be a sprint, but rather a marathon So many family and friends are praying, and it would be impossible for all of us to visit or call, and if we did, it would be overwhelming. We hope this tool will make it easier for everyone to stay in touch.

As well, there are many people who are now praying from every corner of the U.S. because Levetzow's friends have called "their" friends to pray for Eden, too. It will be a blessing for Kurt and Selena to read posts from all the prayer warriors, that they have never even met, who are bringing Eden before God's throne.

In John 14:27 it says, Peace I leave with you; MY peace I give you... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." We need not fear the future, because God is already there!