In an hour and a half, the month of May will officially be over for 2009! That basically means Eden is 4 months closer to being done with treatment, and has about 23 months left. The roughest 40 days of treatment is just around the corner, but Selena and I know Eden will plow through it and be that much closer to being completely "healed".
This weekend has been a good one, as always, we spent a good deal of time outdoors. Eden was pleased when she got her first sandbox, which she LOVES! Tonight, as we walked down the street to visit our our good friend and neighbor Eva, we stopped off to check on the famous cat in the tree. After the three of us stood staring up into the tree calling "kitty kitty kitty" with no response, we decided the cat was either hiding somewhere up in the tree, on the ground getting a much needed drink, or in cat heaven. Eden didn't really seem to care where the cat was.....she was more interested in getting down to see Eva.
Tonight, mom crawled into bed with Eden to help her get to sleep, stayed for about 15 minutes, and got up hoping the little girl would stay asleep. No dice. By Eden's continuous loud verbal expressions, we figured she was not impressed that her mother got up so soon. After about 10 minutes of expressing her dis-satisfaction, mom went back in to console her some. Later, mom came out laughing, she said as soon as she crawled into bed, fully expecting to have to explain why she'd left in the first place, Eden looks over and very calmly said "it's comfy up here, mommy" (she's right, her bed is pretty comfy!!)
This week we're praying that Eden's white blood counts are high enough so that she can get chemo treatment on Wednesday, and that side affects stay away.
Please know that Selena and I are extremely thankful for the support and prayers we have and continue to receive!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day Weekend
This past Friday was a busy day at the clinic and Eden enjoyed meeting new friends. My usual fear of germs was minimized with the great lab results she had on Thursday. Most of her time was spent looking for any new books that may have been added to the bookcase and practicing her artistic talents on the chalkboard. After a wait to see our Dr. I, volunteered all the necessary information he needed in order for them to make the decision to proceed with Eden's chemo . . . "no fever, no vomiting, no mouth sores, etc." Maybe I shouldn't have shared how well Eden is doing as Dr. Tannous informed us they would be increasing her chemo, since she was doing so well, to the point she cannot tolerate any more. The thought that they will be pushing her little body gives Kurt and I mixed feelings. We enjoy the fact that she is doing amazingly well and we notice minimal side effects with the reduced chemo but, then we say "bring it on" as we know the side effects are part of treating our daughter with cancer.
Our weekend was filled with spending time with friends and family, and as always, spending many short stints of time outside. That crazy cat is still up the neighbors tree, and Eden continues to tell us "that cat HAS to come out of the tree to eat". "Silly kitty".
We feel blessed that Eden's been doing so well over the past couple of weeks. We try really hard to continually stay positive! Thanks for all the prayers and support!
Our weekend was filled with spending time with friends and family, and as always, spending many short stints of time outside. That crazy cat is still up the neighbors tree, and Eden continues to tell us "that cat HAS to come out of the tree to eat". "Silly kitty".
We feel blessed that Eden's been doing so well over the past couple of weeks. We try really hard to continually stay positive! Thanks for all the prayers and support!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Friday
Sorry we haven't updated since last week. We've been busy checking on the apparently stray cat that's refused to come out of the neighbors tree for three weeks! After hearing me tell Selena and Eden "there's no way that cat doesn't come down at night to eat", Eden continually says, "there's no way that cat comes down to eat". It must be one tough cat, as its endured several heavy rain showers, a few pretty cool nights, and some hot days. By now, most of the neighbors know of this cat, and no one has seen it come down to eat or drink.....but yet Eden says "there's no way that cat comes down to eat". (get this - a neighbor and I have both pulled the cat out of the tree, and the silly thing goes right back up. i think the crazy thing had kittens up in the hole in the tree!!!)
I am very pleased to inform you that Eden's been doing extremely well. She's been outside so much, she's worn a path through the grass out to the swing set. Selena took her over to the hospital here in Washington today to get her counts checked, and we were floored when we received the results. Her white count has climbed up to 7.8 and her nuetraphil count is up to 5700 (both of these are well within the normal range)!!! So tomorrow, the two girls will be heading to Iowa City for Eden's chemo treatment at the clinic. Eden will be excited to see Mary Lou and/or Carolynn. Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers!!! We'll try to do a better job of updating.
I am very pleased to inform you that Eden's been doing extremely well. She's been outside so much, she's worn a path through the grass out to the swing set. Selena took her over to the hospital here in Washington today to get her counts checked, and we were floored when we received the results. Her white count has climbed up to 7.8 and her nuetraphil count is up to 5700 (both of these are well within the normal range)!!! So tomorrow, the two girls will be heading to Iowa City for Eden's chemo treatment at the clinic. Eden will be excited to see Mary Lou and/or Carolynn. Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers!!! We'll try to do a better job of updating.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Thursday
Wednesday's treatment went very well, according to Selena. She said Eden did pretty well, although for some reason she wasn't quite as bubbly as she normally is. Hey, we all have our down days once in a while right. Eden didn't end up having to have the LP (shot of chemo in her spinal column). Side effects to the chemo haven't seemed to show up yet, and we're praying they don't!
Thursday proved to be another great day for Eden. She started the day off earlier than normal by getting dad up around 6am (yawwnnnn). For breakfast, we decided on french toast. "Eva bread" got the nod. So, out came the eggs and milk, which of course, Eden wanted to help mix the eggs AND remove the little white parts that are attached to the yoke (ever wonder what those little things do for the egg)? Once the mixture was completely mixed, I had to wet a paper towel to wipe the kitchen floor clean of the egg splattered from Eden's fork. Fast forward, french toast is cooked, and Eden decides she'd rather eat cereal! Hmmmmmmmm. Oh well, dad ended up with a full tummy of french toast, and Eden ate two bowls of Life cereal (yes, I am a push over).
Eden's next appointment at the clinic will be next Friday, so we're shooting for good blood counts by next Thursday.
Hope you're able to get outside and enjoy the weekend, we certainly will be!
Thursday proved to be another great day for Eden. She started the day off earlier than normal by getting dad up around 6am (yawwnnnn). For breakfast, we decided on french toast. "Eva bread" got the nod. So, out came the eggs and milk, which of course, Eden wanted to help mix the eggs AND remove the little white parts that are attached to the yoke (ever wonder what those little things do for the egg)? Once the mixture was completely mixed, I had to wet a paper towel to wipe the kitchen floor clean of the egg splattered from Eden's fork. Fast forward, french toast is cooked, and Eden decides she'd rather eat cereal! Hmmmmmmmm. Oh well, dad ended up with a full tummy of french toast, and Eden ate two bowls of Life cereal (yes, I am a push over).
Eden's next appointment at the clinic will be next Friday, so we're shooting for good blood counts by next Thursday.
Hope you're able to get outside and enjoy the weekend, we certainly will be!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Treatment On
We will be spending the day with our friends at the clinic today . . . . Eden's blood counts were amazing. Her WBC was 3.4 up from 1.0 last week and her neutraphil count was 1900 up from 40 last week. We are just amazed! The exciting part is that her little body is going to go into this next round stronger than ever.
Have a great Wednesday.
Have a great Wednesday.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Enjoying the Great Outdoors
Eden is doing wonderful. She made a huge turnaround last Thursday after 2 weeks of not being herself. We have been enjoying our time so much lately that we have forgotten to blog . . . our apologies. Eden has not received chemo since April 23rd due to her low blood counts and we are hope full that her counts tomorrow will have improved so that we may continue treatment on Wednesday. Her neutraphil count must be 750 for her to continue treatment and last week her count was 40.
Eden's appetite has definitely rebounded over the past week. She's regained her once love for asparagus and green beans, and she is even expanding her horizons and ate several bowls of pasta over the past couple days. With the nice weather we've had, we certainly have spent a good deal of time outdoors here at home, but we also made it out to her "grandpa Jim's" to visit the horses, cows and calves. So out at the farm, she not only got to see the animals and pet some of them, she convinced Grandpa Jim into letting her give an oat/corn snack to Dazzle (a very gentle 29 yr old horse). She also got to experience her first mushroom hunting adventure in the timber. She did real good, until we wandered near a creek with flowing water in it. She's definitely my daughter, as she has a love for the water. She wanted down into the creek in the worst way. Although we didn't find any morels, we had a good time stomping through the woods. On the way back up to the house, as we drove through the field in Jim's farm truck, Eden asked to see a turkey (don't really know what sparked that), so we all started looking for some, out of the clear blue sky, a big wild turkey came running right in front of us, then took to flight and down into the timber he went. Eden's eyes never left that bird, and she was quite happy to get to see it - I think we all were!
Obviously, we're hoping and praying that Eden will be able to get back on track for chemo this week! As I type, she's tucked comfortably in bed, with her new Curious George that she got from a Dance Marathon event. As always, thanks so much for your time following the blog and for keeping Eden in your prayers.
Eden's appetite has definitely rebounded over the past week. She's regained her once love for asparagus and green beans, and she is even expanding her horizons and ate several bowls of pasta over the past couple days. With the nice weather we've had, we certainly have spent a good deal of time outdoors here at home, but we also made it out to her "grandpa Jim's" to visit the horses, cows and calves. So out at the farm, she not only got to see the animals and pet some of them, she convinced Grandpa Jim into letting her give an oat/corn snack to Dazzle (a very gentle 29 yr old horse). She also got to experience her first mushroom hunting adventure in the timber. She did real good, until we wandered near a creek with flowing water in it. She's definitely my daughter, as she has a love for the water. She wanted down into the creek in the worst way. Although we didn't find any morels, we had a good time stomping through the woods. On the way back up to the house, as we drove through the field in Jim's farm truck, Eden asked to see a turkey (don't really know what sparked that), so we all started looking for some, out of the clear blue sky, a big wild turkey came running right in front of us, then took to flight and down into the timber he went. Eden's eyes never left that bird, and she was quite happy to get to see it - I think we all were!
Obviously, we're hoping and praying that Eden will be able to get back on track for chemo this week! As I type, she's tucked comfortably in bed, with her new Curious George that she got from a Dance Marathon event. As always, thanks so much for your time following the blog and for keeping Eden in your prayers.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
wednesday night
Well, it's Wednesday night, and I just realized we haven't blogged for several days. Sorry faithful blog readers! Eden has been doing ok over the past several days. Not great, not bad - just okay. She continues to tell us her hair is growing back, and she is correct, at least it seems to be coming back in, ever so slowly. We've been pleased lately with her improved appetite because over the past few weeks, it's been a real task to get her to eat much of anything.
Selena took Eden to get her blood counts ran on Tuesday, to see if she would be able to get chemo today (Wednesday). Unfortunately, her white count and nutralphil count were too low again to receive treatment. We would really like her to be able to continue treatment as she won't make up the chemo she misses - once her treatment is over, it's over. The Dr's said the study's have shown that making up the missed treatments doesn't improve the patients chances of a full recovery. So, we're hoping and praying for her white count to jump up so she can receive chemo next week.
Before I left for work this morning, Eden and I watered our freshly planted garden. It seems as though gardening will be something the little girl loves to do - okay, so she could probably could care less about gardening, she just loves being outside with her pops (and mom). This morning, Eden and I decided to take special care of a few sprouts of field corn that are going throughout the garden. Apparentlhy the squirrels forgot to go back out and dig up their stash. We'll post some photos later this summer of Eden and her "corn field". Other than gardening, we've spent a good deal of time swinging and doing unnerdogs. Selena and I both thoroughly enjoy our time outside with Eden!
Please continue to pray for all of our friends effected by cancer.
Selena took Eden to get her blood counts ran on Tuesday, to see if she would be able to get chemo today (Wednesday). Unfortunately, her white count and nutralphil count were too low again to receive treatment. We would really like her to be able to continue treatment as she won't make up the chemo she misses - once her treatment is over, it's over. The Dr's said the study's have shown that making up the missed treatments doesn't improve the patients chances of a full recovery. So, we're hoping and praying for her white count to jump up so she can receive chemo next week.
Before I left for work this morning, Eden and I watered our freshly planted garden. It seems as though gardening will be something the little girl loves to do - okay, so she could probably could care less about gardening, she just loves being outside with her pops (and mom). This morning, Eden and I decided to take special care of a few sprouts of field corn that are going throughout the garden. Apparentlhy the squirrels forgot to go back out and dig up their stash. We'll post some photos later this summer of Eden and her "corn field". Other than gardening, we've spent a good deal of time swinging and doing unnerdogs. Selena and I both thoroughly enjoy our time outside with Eden!
Please continue to pray for all of our friends effected by cancer.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Good weekend at home
It's sure been nice to be home, especially when the weather is so nice!
Today, Eden was reminding Selena and I that her "hair is coming back" as she dips her head toward us and running her right hand back and forth across her scalp. Like always, we replied by telling her "yes, and it is just beautiful". Selena asked Eden what color her hair is - Eden responded with "Pink". Pink is Eden's favorite color, but it's not currently her hair color.
Eden enjoyed getting to spend most of the weekend with her Aunt Kristi and cousin Brooke. A good deal of Brooke's time was spent in front of Eden's pink kitchen cooking eggs and making cookies - direct orders from the smallest person in the house of course. Until today, Brooke didn't realize that cookies are made (in Eden's kitchen) by mixing plastic tomatoes and slices of plastic cheese together in a really little metal pan using plastic forks.
Since it was such an incredibly nice day today (Sunday), Selena and I finally got our garden planted, Eden enjoyed some time swinging in the backyard, we found 3 morel mushrooms next to her swingset, and we made a trip out to Grandpa Jim's house (her adopted grandpa) to see and pet their horses, and watch the cows and calves. By the expression on her face, being up close and personal to the horses was the highlight of her day.
Selena's been doing an excellent job of administering the antibiotics from home. Eden gets three treatments per day, one at 4:30am, 12:30pm, and 8:30pm. Selena has to push a saline flush into Eden's port, then goes the antibiotic at an extremely slow rate, then another saline flush, and finally the heparin lock. Eden's been adjusting to doing this process 3 times a day, although Selena and I are already looking forward to this phase being over!
Time to hit the hay, 4:00am is coming up fast! (we have to get the antibiotic out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to go-time.
Thanks for spending your time following up on us! Hope you all had a good weekend.
Today, Eden was reminding Selena and I that her "hair is coming back" as she dips her head toward us and running her right hand back and forth across her scalp. Like always, we replied by telling her "yes, and it is just beautiful". Selena asked Eden what color her hair is - Eden responded with "Pink". Pink is Eden's favorite color, but it's not currently her hair color.
Eden enjoyed getting to spend most of the weekend with her Aunt Kristi and cousin Brooke. A good deal of Brooke's time was spent in front of Eden's pink kitchen cooking eggs and making cookies - direct orders from the smallest person in the house of course. Until today, Brooke didn't realize that cookies are made (in Eden's kitchen) by mixing plastic tomatoes and slices of plastic cheese together in a really little metal pan using plastic forks.
Since it was such an incredibly nice day today (Sunday), Selena and I finally got our garden planted, Eden enjoyed some time swinging in the backyard, we found 3 morel mushrooms next to her swingset, and we made a trip out to Grandpa Jim's house (her adopted grandpa) to see and pet their horses, and watch the cows and calves. By the expression on her face, being up close and personal to the horses was the highlight of her day.
Selena's been doing an excellent job of administering the antibiotics from home. Eden gets three treatments per day, one at 4:30am, 12:30pm, and 8:30pm. Selena has to push a saline flush into Eden's port, then goes the antibiotic at an extremely slow rate, then another saline flush, and finally the heparin lock. Eden's been adjusting to doing this process 3 times a day, although Selena and I are already looking forward to this phase being over!
Time to hit the hay, 4:00am is coming up fast! (we have to get the antibiotic out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to go-time.
Thanks for spending your time following up on us! Hope you all had a good weekend.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Our Reality
Friday morning. Eden is still asleep in her big girl bed and I am ready for her to wake up so we can share the day together. It will be a bit chaotic this morning but well worth the goal . . . HOME.
We have been in the hospital 8 days and this stay has forced us to recognize our reality of our daughter battling cancer. Eden has done amazingly well with her treatment. After the first month of steroids the last 2 1/2 months have been relatively normal. Yes, we spend one day a week in Iowa City at the clinic but at home we have adapted to our new normal. She has been sick a limited number of times and has only had only one other non-chemo hospitalization (RSV). This visit has reminded us the severity of cancer and the 2 1/2 year battle we will win.
Eden's next phase is interim maintenance. I haven't looked at it too much as the name itself does not sound to invasive. To start this phase her blood counts will have to rebound to a certain level (I was going to say normal, but the level is only half of normal). From yesterdays counts we will have a while before we will resume chemo. The interim maintenance is followed by delayed intensification. This is the phase of treatment I fear. This will be the most intense treatment she will receive. It is so hard to comprehend that she still had to endure more chemo at a greater intensity.
Counting our Blessings for the week
- we are so thankful that we were 3 blocks from the hospital when Eden became ill and in the clinic when her vitals were questionable.
- Kurt was with us on our trip to the clinic.
- Eden responded well to the antibiotics
- Amazing staff at UIHC. We love them all!
- Friends that packed our bags, mowed our lawn, brought us dinner and have continued to uphold Eden in prayer
- Employers that have been more than understanding of our situation.
- Blood donors - Eden received another blood transfusion yesterday
We are counting our blessing hope you can as well.
We have been in the hospital 8 days and this stay has forced us to recognize our reality of our daughter battling cancer. Eden has done amazingly well with her treatment. After the first month of steroids the last 2 1/2 months have been relatively normal. Yes, we spend one day a week in Iowa City at the clinic but at home we have adapted to our new normal. She has been sick a limited number of times and has only had only one other non-chemo hospitalization (RSV). This visit has reminded us the severity of cancer and the 2 1/2 year battle we will win.
Eden's next phase is interim maintenance. I haven't looked at it too much as the name itself does not sound to invasive. To start this phase her blood counts will have to rebound to a certain level (I was going to say normal, but the level is only half of normal). From yesterdays counts we will have a while before we will resume chemo. The interim maintenance is followed by delayed intensification. This is the phase of treatment I fear. This will be the most intense treatment she will receive. It is so hard to comprehend that she still had to endure more chemo at a greater intensity.
Counting our Blessings for the week
- we are so thankful that we were 3 blocks from the hospital when Eden became ill and in the clinic when her vitals were questionable.
- Kurt was with us on our trip to the clinic.
- Eden responded well to the antibiotics
- Amazing staff at UIHC. We love them all!
- Friends that packed our bags, mowed our lawn, brought us dinner and have continued to uphold Eden in prayer
- Employers that have been more than understanding of our situation.
- Blood donors - Eden received another blood transfusion yesterday
We are counting our blessing hope you can as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
