Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

We definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year. We are very thankful that we are able to spend some time back at home for the first time in 8 months.

Karly went in Tuesday morning and had lab work done. All of her counts were at good levels so we were able to leave Houston about noon to head home. Dr. Herzog only allowed us to leave if we had a doctor here that would agree to check Karly's blood counts and take care of her in case of an emergency. Dr. Parkey and Jessica agreed without any hesitation and Jessica has already gone out of her way to help us out.

We enjoyed an amazing Welcome Home dinner Wednesday night at Bub & Nona's. Everyone at that house can cook! Yum! We loved getting to spend time with our close family and friends.

Today we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Mom and Dad's. Kary was exhausted after all the festivities this afternoon. She was happy about the Cowboys and the Longhorns winning! :)

Karly will be staying in and away from people. She would love to make the rounds and see everyone that she has missed so much, but we cannot take any chances on her getting sick. I do hope everyone understands that we are in no way trying to be rude, but a runny nose is no big deal to most people but it can lead to a life threatening situation with Karly.

Thank you so much for all the prayers. Please continue to pray for Karly, Keaton Lee and Daniel Porras.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

FINALLY!!! Chemo cycle #13 is done.

On Friday Karly was finally able to get one more cycle of chemo behind her. Her platelets had gone up, but her white blood count had dropped. Her ANC level(which is a combination of the blood counts) was NOT where it normally should be for chemo therapy, but the doctor did not want to delay chemo any longer. Karly goes back in to the clinic on Tuesday for lab work.

The BEST nurse in the clinic moved to another position in the hospital. Heather, Dr. Herzog's nurse, is awesome! Karly basically refused to let anyone but Heather access her port. We went and tracked Heather down Wednesday, we were already missing her and it had only been 3 days since she left the clinic! :) I guess we understand that better hours and better money are hard to pass up. We sure would like to be selfish and keep her at the clinic for US!

Karly and I have already watched the new Twilight movie, New Moon, twice and it just came out on Friday. We went to the midnight showing on Thursday night and then went again on Friday with Carmen from the clinic. I think we may be a little cazy!

Monday, November 16, 2009

OK, Karly's platelets are being VERY stubborn this time around. They did go up some more, but still not where they need to be. We will try for chemo on Wednesday.

The school issue is worked out for the moment. Not because the school has seen the error of their ways, but because Aunt LaLa contacted the District Attorney. The DA basically said it was all a bunch of bull and Karly and I had more important things to worry about.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Just as we thought...no chemo today! Karly's hemoglobin and white blood cells are now at good levels, but her platelets are still not where they need to be. Her platelets did increase which is great, just not enough. The doctor is not sure that she will even be ready on Thursday, if not we will try for Monday, Nov. 16.

We are still trying to work out the issue with the school! I plan on making the homebound teacher tomorrow leave me a copy of the paper I sign every time he comes.

Thank you so much for the prayers for our friend Daniel Porras. When they met with the doctor yesterday the news from last week had been replaced with much better news.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I just wanted to updated even though there really is not much to update. Karly is feeling fine and she does not go back to the clinic until Tuesday. IF her blood results come back good she will start chemo on Tuesday but if not we will try for Thursday.

For those of you that did not get to see the Seminole Sentinel, Karly was on the front page. The SHS chapter of the National Honor Society, conducted a "servant auction" as a fundraiser for Karly. Twenty-six SHS students and 6 faculty members participated in the auction. We are so blessed to be a part of such a great community! Thank you to all of you who participated in some way, whether it was putting it together, working, buying or being auctioned.

Now....I have to rant a little bit!
After 2 weeks of fighting with Bellaire High School I finally had all the correct papers and was able to enroll Karly in school(at the beginning of the school yr). I was told then that it would probably take 6-8 weeks for them to get the home bound assignment set up, and get a teacher out to Karly. I talked to the school liaison at MDACC about this time period and she said that was normal. She also told me they are trying to get HISD to speed this process up because 6-8 weeks is too long before a child is provided services. I gave the school 4 weeks and then I started calling and emailing them. They finally sent a teacher out 8 weeks after school had started. Needless to say he brought TONS of work. Karly has been working her tail off trying to get it all done. I am talking about work from August until now! Then on Friday, I go to the mailbox and there was a letter from one of the Harris County Justice of the Peace requiring Karly and I to appear before him because Karly has been truant from school! I am so ANGRY! The school makes me jump through hoops, questions her doctors 2 times to make sure she is really sick and then takes 8 weeks to send a teacher out and then they report her TRUANT! Are they kidding me?!?
If they are sending a home bound teacher out don't they know she is not going to be present at the school campus?

Thursday, November 5, 2009

What a day...I have been meaning to update all evening but the shooting at Fort Hood was so heartbreaking and shocking I couldn't focus my mind on typing until now. Pray for all of the families involved. God bless our troops!

Karly's blood counts are very S-L-O-W-L-Y starting to go up. They are still low but she is out of the danger zone with her white blood count and her platelets are also increasing. Dr. Herzog did put her on a prescription to prevent infection just to be on the safe side. It is possible that she could do chemo on Tuesday, November 10 but it will probably be Thursday, November 12. Karly's poor veins need a rest from all the blood draws. She will have 4 full days off because we don't go back until Tuesday.

I know some of you read the story about Daniel Porras from Sudan, Tx that I posted the link to on my previous post. I am asking you to please pray for him and his family. Daniel received some devastating news today and needs prayers. I know we have the most amazing prayer warriors reading this and I ask you to lift him and his family up in prayer. We had an instant connection with Daniel and his family since we are all West Texans.

Please take the time to go donate blood. Not only will it help all these sick kids here but also all the injured at Fort Hood.

Monday, November 2, 2009

KARLY RANG THE BELL TODAY!

I am so excited to report that Karly rang the bell in radiation today to signify that she had completed all 31 treatment. I will post some pictures on her Caringbridge site.

Karly's lab work this morning show her counts were slowly going up, but it does not look like they will be good enough for her to do chemo tomorrow. Her platelet level would have to more than triple over night, I don't see that happening. Hopefully, she will be good to go on Thursday.

Our friends from Sudan were back today. Daniel Porras is the funniest kid! We sat and visited with him and his parents for 2 hours. He is good for the soul. An article about Daniel was published in one of MD Anderson's Publications. I will put the link at the bottom of this and I hope it works so you can go read his story. While we were all visiting the 5 of us were video for a fundraising video that will be used for MD Anderson. West Texas folks are the best, so of course they wanted to video us. :)

http://www.mdanderson.org/publications/conquest/issues/2009-fall/back-to-hamburgers-and-roping-steers-new-treatment-gives-teenager-hope.html

Sunday, November 1, 2009

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. Karly and I stayed at the apartment since her blood counts have been at dangerous levels. We did go treat little Sarah across the hall. Sarah was so excited to get a big bag of treats. Sarah is a sweet little 6 year old from Oklahoma who had a bone marrow transplant in May to fight off Leukemia. Her mom is back home with her 2 sisters and her dad is here with her. She is a doll!

Friday morning's lab results showed that all of Karly's blood counts had continued to drop even after receiving blood on Thursday. So, she received platelets Friday morning and I have to continue her shots through today. Her poor arms are solid bruises because of her low counts; she has bruises from blood draws, from shots and even from the dang band aids. It is very hard for me to keep giving her shot when her arms are so bruised.

Karly will have repeat lab work done in the morning before her LAST radiation treatment. Her 13th chemo cycle is schedule for Tuesday. Of course, this will all depend on what her blood counts do. This has been a worrisome few days since this is the lowest her levels have ever been.

Some of you have asked how you could donate blood and Karly receive credit for it. Her Aunt Terri donated on Friday and got some information for us for the United Blood Services in Lubbock. You can donate in Karly's name, it's called Credit To Patients. That way Karly gets the credits even though your blood types don't match hers. When you fill out the form check the box CTP and put Karly's name. A weekly report is sent out to all the hospitals, so every hospital knows which patient has credit.