Tuesday, June 30, 2009

out of the hospital

Karly has one more cycle behind her. She did have to have a blood transfusion today because her hemoglobin levels were low and had been since Thursday. Her white blood cell count is over the top, which causes her to have bone pain. The doctors are going to delay the start of her injections to see if that can prevent the sharp rise in her white blood cells. Her counts need to be high but hers shoot up too high and it causes her discomfort.

We are now going to try and get some real sleep. :)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Cycle #5

After spending most of the day waiting for lab results, then waiting for a room cycle #5 is in progress. We are getting used to waiting. We talked with a man and his daughters from Philadelphia today and he said, "you spend so much time waiting here, but it is definitely worth it." We couldn't agree more!

Karly's hemoglobin levels are still low so after chemo she will receive two units of blood. She is not crazy about the idea since she is still squeamish at the sight or even the thought of blood.

Tonight was BINGO night! woohoo All the kids, the little ones and the older ones always have fun. Karly's room is next door to her friend Keaton's so they have been able to hang out.

I will post tomorrow and let everyone know how Karly made it through the night and this cycle of chemo.

I want to say HELLO to my two adorable great nephews, Christopher & Kade! We love you and miss you! Christopher, I hear you did GREAT on your TAKS test, tell your daddy I said to bring you down here and we will go to the beach to celebrate. :)

Friday, June 26, 2009

Its Friday :)

I have almost let a week go by without updating, oops!

Sunday, Father's Day, we drove about 30 minutes south and picked up Karly's friend Sam. Sam is at her grandparents' for the summer so she was able to come stay with us for a little bit. Monday morning Karly had to go in for blood work. She gave Sam the grand tour of the hospital. That afternoon we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

It has been very hot here in Houston! I think I heard that a new record was set here yesterday! We got a big box of craft things from Cynthia Clack and her group in Odessa yesterday and we will be using it to keep us entertained inside, out of the heat!

Karly went back in yesterday for more blood work. Her levels were low, white blood cells were low so I will continue to give her injections and her hemoglobin was low. Because Karly feels well and has plenty of energy the doctor decided against the blood transfusion today! Thank God!

Karly's 5th cycle of chemo is scheduled for Monday. Of course, it will depend on her blood results Monday morning. The plan is after cycle 5 to re image and see what progress has been made.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Fathers Day!

Karly's birthday was on Friday and if you have to be in the hospital on your birthday I guess the Children's Hospital at MD Anderson is the place to be. The nurses sang to her, she got balloons, a cake, a card and a Target gift card from the hospital. Lexie and I had decorated the apartment for her, I think Lexie enjoyed the decorations the most!:) The 3 of us enjoyed pizza, cake and Karly opened all her cards and gifts from everyone. Then we went to SLEEP!

Karly is doing good. We are so thankful that this round was easier than the last round of 5 days. Yesterday, she even felt like going out for Mexican food at one of our new favorite places.

We both would like to ask all of you amazing prayer warriors to add our friends Keaton and his mom, Karen to your prayers. Keaton had testing done this past weeks and the results were not what we had hoped for. Keaton is a very strong young man and we know he will continue to beat the odds! Keaton and Karen have been here since September of 2007 and we look to them often for advice and information. They have become great friends to us. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/keatonlee

Thank you so much for all the cards, calls, text messages, flowers, and gifts for Karly's birthday. She really did have a good birthday even though she was not at home!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Happy Birthday Karly!

Today is Karly's 15th birthday! :)

Karly started her 5th day of chemo at 1am and was finished by about 3am. We are all very ready to get out of the hospital and head back to our home away from home. We hope she will be discharged shortly after noon.

I will update later today. Have a great Friday!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Day 3 of Cycle 4

Day 4 will begin soon. Every day they move it up 4 hours so they will begin day 4 at 3 am. Karly is glad because she will (hopefully) be out of the hospital Friday afternoon, which is her birthday.

Tuesday Lexie got a break from the hospital. Kelli Clanton Cataline came and got Lexie and kept her for the day. Lexie had a great time playing with Kelli's two girls, Audrey and Sarah. Lexie will be going back to Kelli's again tomorrow. I can't thank Kelli enough for entertaining Lexie.

Karly got to spend sometime on Tuesday with her step-brother Layne before his surgery today. I don't know much about his surgery, the last I heard he was in recovery. Please keep him in your prayers, he will be here in Houston at Shriner's for several weeks.

Today went well. Karly was finished with chemo by 9am and spent most of the day asleep. She has only has small bouts of nausea which have easily been taken care of with anti-nausea meds. We are so thankful that this round is going better.

Monday, June 15, 2009

So Far, So Good

Day 1 of 5 days of chemo is over with! :)

We were in a room shortly before noon today, which is a record for us. Karly was finished with chemo by 6pm tonight, just in time for bingo. These 2 drugs really make her tired so she sleeps alot, which is good because there isn't much else to do. Dr. Herzog changed her anti-nausea medicines for this round because the last round of five days was very rough. So far, so good!

Kenneth is here until Wednesday and we got to see Linda Nichols this morning. Linda was here with a cousin, it sure was great seeing a face from home.

I am slowly getting more comfortable with the hospital scene, which I never thought possible! Today I went through all Karly's lab results on the computer screen while we were waiting on the doctor, and by now I now which ones to look for and what numbers are good/bad. Karly was just rolling her eyes. During chemo, her blood pressure must be taken every 15 minutes while one if the drugs in being administered. Well, Lexie and I had gone to the playroom, (no I didn't leave Karly alone, Kenneth was here) and when I got back the last recorded BP was very low. I manually started the machine, while Karly is telling me to leave things alone, and had it check her blood pressure again. It was much better. I KNOW I am probably turning into a nurses worst nightmare, but I told the nurse when she came in why there was an extra reading on the machine. :) Karly just shakes her head!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Karly went in today for blood work and her counts were good. So, the plan is to start 5 days of chemo on Monday. Karly's birthday is on Friday the 19th so she will be in the hospital during her birthday, she is pretty bummed about that!

We are all pretty excited that we will be kitten-sitting for Keaton this weekend. Him and his mom are going to Florida for a family weekend and needed someone to watch their new kitten. We sure need some animal time, the 3 of us are animal people and are missing all of ours very much.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Monday's update

We had a great day Friday. First at the sibling party and then Dream Night at the Houston Zoo. Both girls really enjoyed themselves. I was completely exhausted by the time we got home. :)

Karly is doing well and went today for blood work. Her levels are just ok, so she will continue receiving injections until at least Thursday.

Karly's step-brother, Layne, will be here in Houston for surgery next week. We hate that he is going to have surgery but we are excited to get to see Jaquetta, Kenneth and Layne.

Miss Lexie is keeping us busy and already making friends with the kids at the clinic.

I want to thank everyone for your continued support. All the prayers, cards, gifts, emails, and phone calls are wonderful. They make the days much easier.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

it rains here, without hail.....

The past 2 days have been calm here in Houston. Karly has been resting, eating, and playing her xBox, of course! Wednesday evening we went to a pond near here and we enjoyed getting to feed the ducks, fish, turtles, and birds. Today was uneventful, which is good. Lexie and I went to the library and she signed up for the summer reading program, I will being reading books nonstop! We have a fun day planned for tomorrow. The girls have a party at the hospital for patients and their siblings at lunch time. Then tomorrow evening we are going to Dream Night at the Houston Zoo for patients and their families.

Karly has a buddy here in Houston, Keaton. He is an ol' pro at this. He has been here since 2007, so we ask him and his mom, Karen, tons of questions. Please add him to your prayers.

Mom is still in the hospital and will have more test tomorrow, so we should know more after that.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

one more cycle down

One more cycle of chemo is now behind Karly. She finally got in a room yesterday around 4 and chemo began about 9pm. They had to wait for Karly & Lexie to whip everyone in bingo before they started Karly's chemo! :) Lexie stayed the night at the hospital with us, we hadn't been in the room 15 minutes and she had the nurses bringing her ice cream.

Karly is doing ok, she is tired and is resting. Hopefully tomorrow she will have some energy and a little bit of an appetite back.

My mom is back in the hospital in Seminole for dehydration. If you will please include her in your prayers.