A day of good news.....

I am smiling ear to ear as I type this update! Today has been a day of great news!

Karly had an easy day. She saw Dr. Mahajan for her weekly radiation visit, had her radiation treatment and then received a pint of blood. We first thought she would just be receiving platelets today but she ended up receiving full blood. She is scheduled for chemo on Thursday.

While Karly was receiving her blood Lexie and I went down to get a snack. While we were sitting in the lobby eating we saw Shaunie and Donny about to leave. We were so EXCITED to hear that Donny had received an EXCELLENT report. He is doing great! Thank you God!

And then tonight Karly walks in and says, "Keaton is back!" WooHoo! It was not an easy journey for them to get back to Houston. When they first tried to leave the Philippines a typhoon (Ketsana) hit! But they are now back and we can't wait to see them tomorrow and give them both a big hug!

Sorry for the delay in updating. We have had a busy week.

Karly completed 5 radiation treatments this past week and now only has 26 more to go. She say it is easy and it only takes about 20 minutes. We met with Dr. Mahajan on Tuesday and she said any side effects that Karly might have probably would not start for 3 or 4 weeks.

Thursday, Karly went in for lab work and her doctor's visit. After the lab results came back we thought she might be getting platelets on Friday. Friday's lab results showed that her platelets had not increase or decreased but she did not have to receive any platelets. Her white count was very low (1,000) so I had to start giving her injections again in hopes that her counts will be up so she can begin chemo cycle #11 on Monday.

Friday was an exciting day at MDACC we got to witness a little boy(maybe 3) ring the bell in the pedi clinic. While in radiation we got to see 3 people do the same thing. The ringing of the bell is the sign of the end of treatment.

Something new

Radiation for the first time......

Karly's first radiation treatment went just fine today. We got there a little before 5pm and she was finished about 5:45. This 1st time took longer than the rest of the treatments will take. They had to do a few scans and draw all over her with a red Sharpie :) before they began. She said it was super easy and the technicians were very nice. They told her she could bring a CD of her own music to listen to if she wanted to help pass the time.

My little nephew Kade is pretty sick, please keep him in your prayers.

Karly has finished with chemo cycle #10. She did this cycle outpatient and it was much easier on her. She enjoyed sleeping in her bed, playing her xBox and she ate MUCH better than normal. Monday through Friday she went to the clinic and received the pre-meds and 1 of the 2 chemo drugs while there; then they sent her home with a backpack containing the 2nd chemo drug, fluids and the bladder cleanser. The backpack contained a bag holding 3100mL at once, it was the biggest bag I had ever seen. I had to have a mini lesson in IV pumps before we were able to leave with it on Monday, and of course the only time I had to do anything to the pump was in the wee hours of the morning. Friday was a long day at the clinic because Karly needed 2 units of blood and each unit takes about 3 hours to transfuse. Lexie got to go with a group a kids from the hospital Friday morning to watch "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". She loved it and it made it easier on all of us since we were at the clinic all day. Karly went to the ATC(ambulatory treatment center) Saturday to have her bag changed. I will have to admit that the pedi clinic has spoiled us! The other areas of the hospital are not as wonderful as they are in pediatrics. This morning we headed back to the ATC and she got to get rid of her backpack. I am not sure if her next chemo cycle will be this coming Thursday or a week from tomorrow (Monday).

Karly will being radiation on Monday. That is the main reason she had to receive blood Friday. Radiation will also cause her counts to drop so they basically need to be perfect since she will be doing both chemo and radiation. She is scheduled to have 31 radiation treatments. This will be done every day, Monday-Friday.

Once again I want to say THANK YOU for all the prayers, cards, gifts, calls and messages. We have the greatest friends and family in the world!

A ray of sunshine.....

It is with a heavy heart that I write tonight. Karly is doing just fine with her current chemo cycle, but is mourning the loss of a friend here at MDACC. Beautiful Zoe lost her battle with Leukemia and passed on from this world. Karly met Zoe at the hospital school. The day before Zoe went in ICU, Zoe and Karly were asking all the nurses who their celebrity crush was. Both girls received a blood transfusion that day, they were across the hall from each other and waved at each other from their beds every time the doors opened. Zoe was definitely "a ray of sunshine." She had been here 2 years, had 2 failed bone marrow transplants and was waiting on a donor. The clinic Monday had a solemn mood, she had touched so many lives.

September is childhood Cancer Awareness month.

Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children between infancy and age 15.The impact of childhood cancer on our nation is staggering:

*1 child out of 5 who is diagnosed with cancer dies;

*3 out of 5 children suffer from long-term or late side effects;

*Every school day, 46 young people, or two classrooms of students, are diagnosed with cancer in this country;

*There are now more than 270,000 childhood cancer survivors in the United States, and this number is growing rapidly.