We began the day yesterday bright and early, Karly had to be in clinic at 7am for lab work. We saw the doctor by 8am, and she said the plan is to do 3 more cycles of chemo, now just 2, and then begin radiation. Karly will continue on with chemo while she goes through radiation. Another PET scan will be done before we begin radiation to compare with the one she had last week. That was the 1st PET scan she had so it will serve as a baseline. We were all very happy that some "funny" spots that had showed up in her lungs on the most recent lung CT did not show up on the PET scan. GREAT NEWS!

We spent the day waiting for a room and around 5:00 we made it in a room.

About 8:45pm, Lexie tumbled off the hospital bed. Lexie usually is quite dramatic when she gets a booboo, but last night she was not being her usual dramatic self and that worried me. :) Her left arm was really hurting her and the charge nurse suggested I take her to the ER. They were nice enough to let me take her to the ER her at MDA. Well I say nice, we spent almost 4 hours in the ER. But after seeing the doctor and having 6 xrays, I was so thankful that Lexie had not broken her arm. I would call the nurses station and check on Karly during the 4 hours we were in the ER and she stayed asleep the whole time. :) She missed all the action.

Lexie's arm is still very sore today and has slowed her down a bit. She is not crazy about all the attention it caused. I was talked to the school teacher about what happened earlier and Lexie said, "come on its over, that's enough."

Karly is done with one more round of chemo. Her hemoglobin levels were low yesterday and chemo didn't do them any favors. She is receiving a blood transfusion right now. Once she is finished receiving blood we will get to leave. Her sweet nurse today was from Midland. Small world!

These people here have there work cut out for them in the next few hours. Half of the pedi floor(9th) is moving up to the 12th floor so a new call light system can be installed. That means ALL the patients and all there stuff has to be moved within the next few hours. We are so glad we are leaving. I am sure the nurses are glad too, that makes one less patient to worry about. After, they finish this half they will do the same thing to the other side of the floor. yuck!

I apologize for the delay in posting but there hasn't been much to post. We had a nice, restful weekend. Friday night, we had a girls' night out. We went and saw G-Force. It was a super cute movie. We then had dinner at Red Robin, which was a first for all 3 for us. We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing.

This morning, Karly went in for routine blood work. Her counts were not great but they weren't bad either. I gave her the last injection she will receive before Thursday. Say a prayer that her counts will be right where they need to be so she can get one more round of chemo behind her on Thursday. We are scheduled to be at the clinic at 7am Thursday morning for labs and the cycle 7, this will just be a 1 day cycle.

Thank you all for the continued prayers. Your love and support helps us get through each day.

Karly was able to take her last 2 doses of Mesna by mouth yesterday so we got out of the hospital around 4pm. The Mesna is given at 1, 3, 5, 8 and 11 hrs following chemo to protect the bladder. Karly did not experience any vomiting yesterday and besides being tired she felt pretty good. She had to follow a specific diet last night and this morning to prepare for the PET scan. Last night for a snack she could have cheese and salami slices. HAHA If any of you have ever been around Karly when she eats, you can only imagine the look I got when I said salami.

Karly had her PET scan today and she slept right through it. We got to visit with Daniel and his mom, Laura today at the hospital. They will be heading home(Sudan) Friday or Saturday and will be back here in September. We are so glad they are getting to go home but we will miss our West Texas buddies! :)

We are finished at the hospital for the week.

Day 4 of Cycle 6

Today was day 4 of 5 days of chemo. The first 3 days of chemo were nice and smooth. Today got off to a good start. Karly got up had breakfast, a shower and a nice visit from Victoria and her dad, John. Chemo started around 10am and was done about 2 hours later. Karly has been having body aches and today they have been really bad. They gave her pain meds a couple times and then the vomiting kicked in. But, they don't let her vomit or even feel nauseous with out trying to find a way to fix it. Right now she is up and eating chicken strips from Sonic.

We hope to be out of here tomorrow around 5pm. Karly will have a PET scan on Wednesday.

I want to Thank everyone for Lexie's birthday cards and gifts. She had a great birthday last week!

Karly finally got in a room at about 7:30 last night. She started chemo at 10:30pm and is doing well. She sleeps most of the time due to the anti-nausea meds and one of the chemo drugs. We will be here through Tuesday evening.

Before coming to the hospital last night, we got to spend some time with Donny and Shaunie. Karly and Donny compared stories and battle wounds. Donny is doing great and looks wonderful!

Mom and Dad have been here since Tuesday and been helping entertain Lexie. Dad is heading home this evening, but Mom is staying until Wednesday or Thursday.

Wednesday morning we met with the surgeon, Dr. Lewis. After visiting with her about how aggressive the surgery would be we decided to only use surgery as a last resort. This morning we saw both Dr. Herzog and her intern and they both agreed with our decision. Karly will go through more chemo and then begin radiation. Dr. Herzog and Dr. Mahajan will work out the best plan on how to handle the schedule with chemo and radiation. Dr. Herzog does want a PET scan performed after this cycle of chemo, so that will be done one day next week. Dr. Herzog showed us what she called "centralized necrosis" in the mass on the MRI image. Basically, that means dying cells, which is good news.

Karly was scheduled to be admitted for chemo cycle #6 today but she was not because there were no open beds. We were not the only ones sent home, there we several kids who had to go home. The plan is for the nurse to call us when they have a room for Karly.

Wednesday night we had a birthday party with Nanny and Pa for Lexie. We had a GREAT time!

MRI results

This morning we met with Dr. Mahajan for the 2nd time, we absolutely love her! She is the radiation doctor. She shared the results of Karly's scans with us.

The is no considerable decrease in the size of the mass but there appears to be change on the inside of the mass. What that means is, it appears the tumor(cancer) cells are dying. Karly has not had anymore pain, which is another sign that the chemo is working. We were kinda expecting these results. We were told from the beginning that this is a slow growing tumor and that meant it would be slow to respond to treatment. We were very happy to learn that the mass had not grown and there were no other signs of tumors anywhere else. We have been here long enough to know that is VERY important!

We will see the surgeon, Dr. Lewis, tomorrow morning. Dr. Lewis, Dr. Mahajan & Dr. Herzog will all meet tomorrow afternoon and discuss the next step. We will meet with Dr. Herzog Thursday morning before Karly starts the 6th cycle of chemo. No matter when or if surgery is done Karly will have to go through 14 cycles of chemo.

Mom and Dad will be here this evening! We are going to celebrate Lexie's birthday and they will be here to help with the 5 days of chemo.

Thank you for all you continue to do for us!

Karly finished up with all her scans yesterday. We will know the results some time next week. She is scheduled for chemo cycle 6 on Thursday, July 16 and no matter what the results of the scans are she will go ahead with that cycle. Karly's blood is still giving her a little bit of trouble so we are taking things very easy. Her platelets had increased more yesterday, but still not where they should be and her hemoglobin level was low.

Please stay a prayer for our dear friend Keaton and his mom, Karen. Keaton has had a rough week this past week and is in the hospital.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/keatonlee

Yesterday, Karly received platelets because of a low platelet level, however her white blood cells count was on the rise so no more injections for a few days. Karly was having some pain yesterday, this pain is not the same as what she had before we came. This pain is related to the high level of white blood cells.

This morning we hit the floor running, literally, we were supposed to be in the clinic at 7:15am and that is when we woke up! oops Today, Karly had chest and pelvic xrays, a CT scan, a bone scan and blood work (almost an everyday thing). Good news from the blood work, her platelet level had tripled. Karly joked that she got Nic Latta's platelets. "Maybe I got Nic's and will be strong like him."

Nic had recently donated blood and platelets at a blood drive in Seminole. We know that some one benefited greatly from it. If you can, please donate.

The first part of last week we met Daniel and his mom, Laura. They are from Sudan and it was great talking with people from 'home'. Ok, so Sudan isn't Seminole but close enough, only 100 miles away. Daniel's sisters noticed Karly's State Band t-shirt and that it said Seminole. We got to send some time with them again today while Karly was waiting for her bone scan.

In between scans we went to see Donny Selman and were so excited to find his room empty. A nurse told us he had been discharged. I don't think we have ever been so happy to miss someone! :) Karly has already said she wants to take Donny to her favorite Mexican food place (Lupe's) to eat, so we all plan to go as soon as Donny feels up to it!

Karly is scheduled for an MRI and lab work tomorrow.

2 busy weeks ahead

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. We made it to Kemah, after 2 hours in traffic, to watch amazing fireworks. Karly has really enjoyed having Sam and Marcus here. She misses home, but having them here has made it easier for her.

These next 2 weeks are going to be busy for Karly. Today she had lab work done. We were not planning on going back until Thursday, but plans are always changing, and Karly will go back Wednesday at 11am. Her platelet level is low and if it is not up Wednesday morning she will receive platelets there in the pedi clinic. Thursday she is scheduled for chest xrays, a CT scan and a bone scan. Friday she will have another MRI, she HATES having MRIs. I completely understand why, that is the loudest thing!

Next week is full of clinic visits for blood work and doctor appointments. We will have follow up visits with Dr. Lewis, the orthopaedic surgeon, and Dr. Mahajan, the radiation doctor. On Thursday, July 16th (Lexie's 5th birthday), Karly will be admitted for cycle 6 of chemo.

After Karly's lab work this morning, we went and sat with Shaunie Selman and her family. Donny had brain surgery at MD Anderson today. The surgery went well and Donny was awake and talking when I left at 6:30 this evening. Please keep them in your prayers.

Thank you all for your continued support. We love you!

the security breaching brisket

For those of you that have spent any amount of time with Karly you know how picky of an eater she is! Well, one of her very FAVORITE things is brisket, but not just any brisket will do. She LOVES the brisket that the Seminole firemen cook. But, who doesn't?!? She had asked in May if there was any way they could mail her one. The guys recently cooked briskets and Karly received hers via UPS this morning.

However, the brisket did not make it here without causing some problems. The package was supposed to arrive by 9am and when it wasn't here by 10am my mom started having a fit. Amanda checked the status of the package online and it had been "delayed by government security official beyond UPS's control." Mom, Donna and Amanda all start calling around to any UPS office/supervisor they could get in touch with and none of them have ever seen this message before.

Makes you wonder?? Was it something used when marinating the brisket, that "secret sauce"? Or was it the two women that packed it up? Those 2 women would be my mom & Glenda Bass, so you never know! haha
Anyhow, we got the brisket, still frozen and we will enjoy it this 4th of July.

Karly had a good night. Her 2 best buddies, Samantha & Marcus, are here.