Sunday, October 26, 2008

Our Weekend

Friday was our clinic day.  Abbey was a trooper and did a really good job getting her port accessed.  Her blood looked good so she didn't need any blood or platelets.  Her platelets were on the low end of normal.  They haven't been that high since she was diagnosed so we know her bone marrow is starting to produce healthier blood on its own.  She had her chemo and seemed o.k. with it while we were there. Jim ran into another family that was on the floor in the hospital when we were there and they have a three year old little girl named Leah who was diagnosed with ALL one week before Abbey was.  Jim saw Leah and he said she is very swollen and sick like Abbey is.  Her mom said one thing to Jim.  She said "we just want our little girl back."  It's so hard to see how sick these medications make them, but we need to continually remind ourselves that being this sick will eventually make them well again.  Please pray for Leah and her family too as they are on their own difficult journey with leukemia.  

 When we got home Abbey started complaining of stomach pain.  She would fall asleep for a while and then wake up crying of stomach pain.  This went on for a few hours.  We were concerned so I called the doctor and he said it can be normal to have stomach pain after having that kind of chemo.  At around midnight she woke up and started throwing up.  We both got really nervous so Jim called the doctor again. He told us to take her to the ER so my mom came over to be with the boys and we headed to the hospital.  By the time we got there, she was o.k. Very tired, but not throwing up anymore.  After monitoring her for a while, they sent us home.  We didn't get home until after 3a.m. so we were exhausted.  We're not really sure what caused her to get so sick.  It could have been the chemo, but she's had that chemo four times before and never had that reaction.  They thought she might of had some sort of infection, but she had no other signs of infection since then so we are just thankful that she's feeling better.

Saturday and Sunday were both good days with her.  She is feeling pretty good.  She was coloring today and more interested in toys and activities that we would bring her on the couch.  She will be on the steroids until Friday and then on Friday she will have another bone marrow biopsy, and two doses of chemo, one by IV and one injected into her spine.  It will be a hard day, but after Friday, she has a one week break from all medications.  We are really looking forward to that!  On Friday they want the leukemia cells in her marrow to be less than 0.1%.  She was close to that at the last one, so we feel pretty confident that she will be where they want her to be that day.  Please pray that it is below 0.1% so they can stay on the normal schedule of treatment and not have to increase her chemo and medication.  So far everything has gone as planned (except for our one trip to the ER) so we are thankful for no big bumps in the road thus far.

Tonight Jim was reading a book to Jacob in his bedroom.  Abbey was laying on the couch just about to fall asleep and I was sitting next to her watching the baseball game (we could hear Jim reading). All of a sudden she got off the couch by herself and starting trying to walk into Jacob's room.  I helped her in there and we sat and listened to the story.  It is so hard to see her like this, but so encouraging when we see those little signs that it's still our Abbey in there.  Jim had a big smile on his face as he read the story and we all sat in Jacob's room together.  It was a few minutes of "normal" and it was good.  The nurse told us that once Abbey is off the steroids, we will see our Abbey come back.  We are very much looking forward to her feeling more herself.  

Thank you for all your encouraging words as we struggled to get through last week. Each one lifted us up and we so appreciate you all.  Some of  you are our closest friends and others we've never met, but you're all dear friends to us.  We were reminded by a book that we just started reading that our God is God of the mountaintops and Lord of the valleys.  Thanks for going through this valley with us and helping us keep our eyes up.  


12 comments:

JudyB said...

We love you and thank you for allowing us to be a part of this journey with you, Jim, Jacob, Abby and Micah.

It is our privelege to pray for all of you !

We continue to lift you all up in prayer.

Here's to a good week and a good Friday !!!

Anonymous said...

I'm thankful to God that everything turned out to be ok with Abbey Friday...
Though I hate to admit that I shed tears, even though I’m such a stud, and have bigger muscles then Jim, I teared up reading the part about Abbey going into Jacobs Room to read books.... I think because it was very heartwarming to read… you've herd me try to explain other things before, it ant pretty, that’s the best I could do...lol.

Love, falvi

Anonymous said...

We will be praying for a better week for all of you. I'm so happy that God gave you a glimpse that *the real abbey* is still in there. I hope you see more and more of that this week! We'll be praying for a super low number for friday (like 0%!) :o)
Love, keith and beka

Unknown said...

We'll be adding Leah to our prayers as well. We could make a list of things that we have learned just through following your journey this month. Your family is being used in mighty ways to show everyone how great our God is. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
Love, The Rosses--Steve, Amy, Hayley, and Abby

The Kobb Family said...

I am praying for you guys and reading your blog every day. Thank you for taking time to keep doing updates. My heart goes out to you as Aden is the same age as Abby, and I just can't imagine how difficult it is to go through this with her. Your faith has already been such a testimony to me of how faithful and good God is even during the most painful times. I'm sure this is a testimony to many others as well, and God will ultimately use all of this for good and His glory.

Love,
Lisa Kobb

Anonymous said...

Hey Colberts,
I am praying for you guys. I prayed for you with my niece and nephew the other night and hope everything is going as well as possible.
pwm

Anonymous said...

Just wanted you guys to know how proud we are of you, and how you're handling this most difficult trial. You are truly shining for Jesus!! He is faithful, and we rejoice with you for the answered prayer!

Thanks for taking the time to update, it helps so much when we pray. We love you guys, and will continue to lift you to Jesus in prayer.

Expect miracles!!

love, The Moriarty's

Papa Louie said...

A friend emailed your letter of Abby's condition. May the Lord grant the doctors wisdom in helping her and may the Lord bless Abby with mercy and grace.
I would like to share a verse I recently read which says, "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives". Psalm 37:23
He delights in every detail...

Anonymous said...

Shelly:
You dont know me (yet).

Me and my hubby also reside here in Bedford, with our 3yr old daughter and 1yr old son.

Ive begun attending Grace for the mNm's group, as well as the book study and actually found your site through a friends blog.

I look foward to meeting you hopefully someday soon...but in the mean time we are praying daily for You and Jim as you are on this horrific journey!

If theres anything you need please dont be afraid to ask...we live super close!!!

Praying for you guys!!
Melissa Gabler
dmcg144@yahoo.com

(We are also on facebook too...didnt know if you guys are on there or not?)!

Prayer Pals 4 Orphans said...

We continue to pray for Abbey and we will be praying for Leah and her family as well. It is so wonderful that you can be an encouragement to others as they are going through this too.

Sara said...

Shelley,
I was so touched with all you have going on to get a little thank you note on my blog from you. It's such an amazing thing being a Christian, isn't it? We can so instantly feel close to those we've never met.

I just wanted to share this hymn with you. The words have brought great comfort and perspective. The thread through it all is trust. May He be your portion each day whatever the trials may be.

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose Name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As your days, your strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Your promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

divine intervention said...

Dear Shelly and Family-
My heart goes out to you! Please know I am here cheering you on and beliving in miracles for your sweet Abigail! I am praying for you all .........God is in Control.
Hang in there. Thank you so very much for signing my guest book and for your prayers for me too. It means so much (as you know) Thank you for your blog and sharing your story I will be reading it from the start and following now too. When Kelly told me on Sat. I had to fight back the tears. I know its not easy. I can't imagine how it feels to watch your lil' girl have to go through all this. I am so happy to see you say its all in HIS hands. and we KNOW it is! Thank you for the songs you have on your blog and thankyou for the bible verses in (kids version) Both have touched my heart as I visited you here. You are a blesssing to me. To see your Faith here. Thank you. xoxox
peace.love.heal.
Divine