Haven't Posted in a While...

Abbey has been feeling great.  We have been busy doing normal things around here, which has been so wonderful.  Abbey got a lot of new things (from many of you) while we were in the hospital and many packages of goodies since we have been home so we have spent much of these days looking at pictures that were made for her, playing with new toys, coloring in her new coloring books, playing new games, reading new books and snuggling on the couch while watching cartoons and videos.  

This past Friday was our clinic day and she was supposed to start the next phase of treatment.  During the next month, she will get two doses of chemo every Friday (one through her port via IV and the other by spinal tap) and she will be on a new oral medication everyday.  When we went on Friday, after checking her blood counts, they found that her neutrophils (it is the infection fighting part of our white blood cells) was too low to continue on with the next phase.  They said it was normal and not a big deal, so she got another break this week.  In the long scheme of things, it puts us back a week, but it is nice to see her get this break while she is feeling so good.  Next Friday when we go back, they will again check her blood and they are anticipating her numbers being higher so they can continue on in the treatment.  Although this break for her body is nice, please pray that her numbers come back by next Friday because if this would go on too long, they would have to do some additional testing (maybe another bone marrow biopsy) to see what is going on.  Everything has been going so smoothly so please pray that this wouldn't turn into a bump in the road.  We feel pretty confident that next month will be easier than this past month and that there are less side effects to her new oral medication.  Amazingly, she is handling the chemo really well.  We saw many more side effects from the steroids then from the chemo this past month.

Abbey's strength is slowly, but surely coming back.  She is walking better and able to get on and off the couch by herself.  She can't stand up from a squatting position or sitting position from the floor, but she calls for us when she's stuck and usually laughs as we help her up.  Her hair is very thin at this point, but she is still hanging on to some of it.  When Abbey was a baby we always thought she had the most perfectly round, beautiful head.  She had hardly any hair until 18 months and then she got this full head of beautiful, blonde hair.  Every time some of her hair comes out, we think 'God knows exactly how many strands are on her head now' and we are thankful that He knows our Abbey that intimately.  She is beautiful inside and out, and we know someday her beautiful hair will grow back.  Until then, we will just enjoy no distractions from her big eyes and joyful smile.    

We haven't talked much about the boys...  Jacob is doing well.  We have kept him home from preschool since she was diagnosed, but are thinking we may put him back in school soon.  I talked to the director of the preschool yesterday and she is going to send a letter home to his class asking parents be mindful of sickness by trying to keep their kids home if they are not feeling well.  There are 8 kids in his class so it is small and they are very diligent in hand washing and wiping things down.  We don't want Jacob to start feeling like he is being punished by this and we want some sort of normalcy back in his life right now. He loves school and has told us several times that he misses his teachers and friends. He has been amazing through this whole thing though and we are amazed at his gentleness and kindness toward Abbey.  He is quiet when he needs to be and very accepting of these changes.  We know God is using this in his life too as He is in all of our lives.  None of this will go to waste.  Micah is getting big.  He is crawling and getting around really good these days.  He is a very happy, 'go with the flow' baby who smiles a lot.  He's a joy to be around.  Jacob and Abbey continually entertain him and he too makes them smile with his contagious laugh.

Jim and I are holding up pretty well.  The other night I had a small break down.  I checked on Abbey around 11:00p.m. and noticed her head was wet with sweat (night sweats) and that was one of the things that started happening soon before she was diagnosed.  I had taken her to the doctor 3 times and kept saying "something is wrong... I know something more is wrong than a cold or virus".  At first they said it was just a virus, then a sinus infection (and that the night sweats were from that) and finally, the third time I took her in, they did blood work and found that something in her blood was wrong.  Well, when I saw the sweating the other night I physically got sick (that was the same way I felt each night when I would go in her room before we knew what it was).  After her numbers had not come up on Friday and I saw the night sweats my first thought was that the leukemia cells were coming back.  I immediately had the doctor paged and he assured us that this can be a normal sign of her body coming off the steroids.  He was not concerned and he talked us through it and calmed our nerves.  

After getting off the phone with the doctor, we went up to bed and Jim read Isaiah 40. It was so comforting to us.  The whole chapter is so good, but verse 28 says 'The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.'  Verse 29 'He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.'  Verse 31 talks about people who hope in the Lord will have renewed strength and they will soar on wings like eagles.  Jim and I then prayed together, cried together and felt God's presence in a powerful way that night in our room.  We were strengthened by His word and by spending that time with Him.  I love my husband so much and feel so blessed that when we are overwhelmed and worried, he immediately takes us to the only place where there's power and hope. Please continue to pray for all of us.  That we would look to Him through these ups and downs and that He would continue to carry us.    

Quick Update

Abbey had a great day today.  Her best in a long time.  She was smiling pretty much from the time she woke up and laughed at little things all day long.  We think she was making up for not smiling or laughing for a couple weeks because she had a lot in there that came out today.  That sparkle in her eyes was back.  It was a gift.  We will never take that smile or sparkle for granted again.

The nurse called around 4:30 to let us know that at that point they didn't see any signs of infection in her blood, but she explained to us that they will allow the blood to be in this container thing again overnight to see if anything grows by tomorrow.  I guess the earliest they look is after 24 hours, but it is better to wait longer (does that make sense?).  She has had no fevers today so we feel pretty confident that she is o.k. We're not sure what that on and off fever was for a couple days, but we are just thankful that it's gone.  The nurse will call us again tomorrow.

Abbey wanted to play today.  It is the first time that she wanted to get off the couch and go into other rooms.  She is very weak and having a really hard time walking.  She was walking a little in the morning (while holding my hands), but after a few minutes her knees starting getting weak and she would fall to her knees then bottom.  She wanted so badly to get around that at one point she was crawling.  It was sad to see her so weak, but encouraging that she was determined to play today and get off the couch.  Some of the side effects from the chemo is muscle weakness and joint pain.  She also hasn't walked at all in weeks so her muscles have just really weakened from no use. The nurse gave me some exercises to do with her legs to help strengthen them.  We did some tonight and she thought they were pretty cool.

Tonight is also the first night that she has wanted to sleep in her beautiful, new bedroom.  Jim and I have been sleeping in the living room on an air mattress and she has been on the couch, but earlier today she said she wanted to sleep in her bed tonight.  She is sound asleep in her princess bed now and we think it's pretty fitting since she's our little princess :).  We'll see if she makes it all night in there alone (or if I make it all night not being right by her side).

Thank you again for following our journey and for praying with us. We feel blessed beyond words by you.  We have been covered in prayer and very well taken care of by our family and friends and we couldn't be doing this without all of you.  We have seen God at work in many lives through our little Abbey's story.  She is going to have an amazing testimony to share one day.......  

Bye for now... we're off to sleep in our bed...

Abbey's Back

It has been a few days since we've posted anything so I'm going to spend some time putting my thoughts in writing and let you all know what has been going on here.  I have been looking forward to a quiet house so I can write about Abbey's amazing progress along with a couple small bumps in the road.

Friday we posted our awesome results from Abbey's bone marrow biopsy.  We still are flying high with that wonderful news.  It took her body a few days to start showing some relief from the steroids.  Friday night she was up 9 times through the night going potty (but whose counting). She had so much swelling and water retention from being on the steroids that once we stopped them there was a lot of fluid coming out of her little body.  She was pretty miserable Saturday and Sunday and her body seemed to be having a hard time adjusting.  Sunday evening I took her temperature because she felt warm.  Her temp was 100.0 and it had never been that high so I got nervous.  If it reaches 100.4 we have to call the doctor.  To make a long story short her temp was hovering around 100.  She also started acting sicker and sicker as the night went on.  She couldn't pick her head off her pillow and every time she had to go potty she would cry the whole time because she wanted to lay back down.  I called the doctor to let him know what was going on.  He told us to watch her closely through the night and if it went up to 100.4 we would have to take her in.  The night was rough.  I laid by her, pretty much looking at her all night and taking her temp often.  Jim had to go back to work Monday so he slept upstairs for the first time and Abbey and I were in the living room.  We made it through the night and first thing Monday morning we went to the clinic.  We were scheduled to go in Monday for a blood check anyways, so we just went a little earlier to address her low grade fever.  

She woke up feeling better.  We had to leave for the clinic soon after she was up.  Our day at the clinic was long, but good.  Since Jim went back to work, my sister Stacey came with us and Jacob came today too.  He started to get upset today when we were leaving to go and he told me that all he wanted to do was sit on my lap on the couch all day, so I asked him if he wanted to come and he was very excited.  It was good for him and Abbey.  My mom stayed home with Micah.  We got there at 9:30 a.m. and didn't leave until after 5 p.m.  They checked her blood right when we got there (she has been so brave with her port accessing) and saw that she needed red blood cells.  She was in such good spirits.  She was smiling and wanting to go in the play closet on the floor to bring toys and games back to our room.  She even walked the hall a little. We were amazed and thrilled at how good she was feeling.  

They hooked her up for her blood transfusion and we spent hours playing Battleship, Chutes & Ladders, reading books, drawing and watching videos.  My sister and I were so happy.  We enjoyed seeing her like this and watching her and Jacob interact.  It was wonderful to see her smiling and playing.  It is amazing how resilient kids are.  She was so sick the night before and has been through so much this month, but she is recovering and looking good.  Words cannot describe the joy it brought me to watch her today.  At one point the nurse was doing an exam on her and Abbey was willingly doing each thing the nurse asked her while smiling.  My eyes filled with tears as I watched.  For the first time in a long time, I felt like she wasn't in pain, uncomfortable or miserable.  It is refreshing and encouraging to see.  She is a brave little fighter and even though she had to sit all day hooked up to an IV drip, she was happy and playful.  

Toward the end of her blood transfusion, her temperature was hovering around 100 again so they decided to give her an antibiotic and send her blood away for a culture. At one point they were talking about admitting us to the hospital, but it went down after the antibiotic was given so they sent us home.  They will call us tomorrow and let us know if they found any infection in her blood.  If so, they will admit us tomorrow to do more antibiotics and watch her for a couple days.  

Please pray that they would find no infection in her blood and that if this fever returns, that they would find the source of it quickly.  Although we have this little bump in the road (that's what our doctor calls anything that's not 'normal') we are so thankful that she is feeling better, smiling more and even laughing easily.  

We love this girl so much, it hurts sometimes.  We need to continually give her back to God.  Sometimes I see myself holding Abbey (actually all three of my kids) so tightly in my hands and I have to close my eyes and envision God prying my hands open and telling me "Trust me Shelley".  I then will picture my hands wide open with them all in my hands, holding them up to God.  God blessed us with these amazing little people, but He didn't intend for us to do this alone.  He is longing to guide us each step of the way.  He has taught us more this month then we've ever leaned in our Christian walk and we trust Him.  At times it's hard and scary, but we trust Him.      

Abbey is in Remission!

We just got off the phone with the doctor, and we are thankful to let you all know that there were 0% cancer cells found in Abbey's bone marrow today!  Abbey is exactly where the doctors want her to be at this point.  They explained to us that although she still has a long road ahead with treatments, chemo and medications, the cancer is under control (in remission) and she is responding exactly as planned to the treatments thus far.  God answered all our prayer requests for today... every one!  

The doctor let us stop the steroids today (which was a day earlier than we expected) and she will have a break this week from most of her oral medications.  They told us that she should start feeling more herself, sleeping better and eating more normal once the steroids start to come out of her body.  We can't wait to see her smile more, hear her laugh again, watch her play, and just be our Abbey. 

The next phase called 'Consolidation' will begin next Friday.  We will be back at the clinic on Monday to check her blood and see if she needs any transfusions and then Friday she will have two more doses of chemo.  This month will be a little easier than last month.  Although she will continue to have about the same amount of chemo, she will not be on the steroids at all so she will have less day to day side effects. 

Tonight we are thanking God for how far we've come in one month and are praying for God's strength as we continue on. There are no words for Jim and I to express what it feels like to see our little girl go from 95% cancer cells in her bone marrow, down to 0%.  Our hearts are slowly being pieced back together and we are not looking back, but looking forward to see how God is going to continue to work in her body and in our lives.    

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

Friday

This Friday is a big day for us.  Abbey will have her bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap. They want the cancer cells in her marrow to be less that 0.1%.  Her scheduled time for the procedures was set for 1 p.m. which is late since she can't eat until it's over so we talked to our nurse last week to see if she could try to move it up.  This morning I was praying that the time would be moved up to 11 a.m.  We have to be at the clinic two hours before the procedures for them to check her blood and for the doctors to do a complete physical on her so 11 was the best time we could have gotten since the clinic doesn't open until 9.  Well, this afternoon our nurse called and said that Abbey's procedure time was moved up to 11 a.m.  I thanked her and told her that I had been praying for that exact time.  That was one of those moments where we were comforted by how intimately involved God is in this situation.

Friday is her last day of this first phase of her treatment which is called 'Induction Therapy'.  Friday will also be her last day of the steroids so we are very much looking forward to her being off of those.  The nurse told us last week that Abbey will start to feel much better once she is off the steroids.  We are so excited for her to feel a little more like herself.  Saturday morning couldn't come soon enough.  The next phase of her treatment is called the 'Consolidation Therapy'.  We are so thankful that this first, most intensive phase is over.  The cancer cells in her body have been aggressively attacked and she has been through a lot.  It has been hard, but we are so thankful that her body has responded so well and that her cancer cells have gone down significantly (and hopefully they will find none in her marrow on Friday).  It's also been amazing that she has had no fevers or other serious issues up to this point.  We feel blessed.

We're not exactly sure what the next month is going to look like for her.  The doctor told us last Friday that they would be able to tell us what medications she will be on and what her chemo will be like once the test results come back.  We feel pretty confident that she will be under 0.1% so if that's the case then next month looks easier than this month, but until we know for sure we are trying to not look too far ahead. Jim asked if we will know the test results Friday night or if we might have to wait again until Monday.  The doctor said that it is out of his control so we might know Friday night, but we may have to wait over the weekend.

Please pray with us for the following things...

*  For Abbey on Friday morning that she will be o.k. without eating before her procedures.

*  For her blood to look the best it's looked so far.

*  That the procedures would go perfectly smoothly and it would all be routine.

*  That she would come out of the sedation easily and feeling good.

*  That her bone marrow would have 0% cancer cells.

*  That we would get the results Friday.

*  That she would start feeling better on Saturday after stopping the steroids.

*  For a good week next week.  For her to feel good and have more energy and for her to be happy and comfortable.

Thank you guys for praying specifically for her and us this Friday and next week.  We feel so blessed to have so many of you asking for us to give you specific prayer requests.  We know you all are praying with us and God has been faithful and has answered (one of these days we are going to post a list of all the answered prayers so far :)  It's amazing!

Here is a verse that we have been reading often:

Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

We will post the results once we know...

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.  

The last couple days have been hard for us.  Although Abbey's numbers are good, she is getting sicker from all the medication that she is on.  The last two days it is rare for her to be off the couch or to see a smile on her face.  The medication that she is taking most is the steroid and there are many side effects.  They told us that children on this steroid have personality changes and it has been very hard for us to see our sweet, happy Abbey not be herself at all.  She is very swollen and having pain in her fingers and pressure in her eyes.  We are struggling as we watch her suffer.  Please pray as we get through one more week of the steroids.  She will be stopping that medication at the end of the month for the time being (she will be on and off it for the whole treatment), but will be starting another medication for the month of November and we are praying that it will be a little easier for her body to handle.  Her hair is also really starting to come out today.  We aren't sure exactly what our next step should be with this and are kind of just waiting until we have to take it off.  It's hard.  

We find ourselves talking about the past and longing for things to just be normal again.  We always have enjoyed going to fall festivals this time of year and bundling up on cold days to go out and play in the leaves.  Abbey had just started a tap class on Friday mornings a few weeks before she was diagnosed and it's hard on Fridays to be sitting in a clinic where she's hooked up to an I.V. instead of watching her jump around with her tap shoes on and be a three year old. We miss watching her and Jacob ride around in his jeep with big smiles on their faces.  We miss normal and it hurts. 

This is hard to write as I'm sure it's hard to read, but we need to be honest as we go through this journey and we're asking you to continue to pray for us and especially Abbey.  Our hearts are so heavy right now.    

Tomorrow is her treatment day so we will be at the Ireland Cancer Center at 10a.m. She will have her port accessed for them to draw blood to see if she needs platelets or blood and then she will get a dose of chemo.  The thought of more medication in her little body is hard to imagine right now.  Please pray for a peace for her and us as we go through our day tomorrow and strength for the remainder of this month.      

Abbey's Treatment

After our encouraging news yesterday from the doctor, we have had many questions from people concerning Abbey's treatment and why she would need to be on chemo for 2 1/2 years if the leukemia cells in her bone marrow are already down to 0.2%.  That is an excellent question and we had the same question.  We spent some time talking with the doctor about just that the other day.  The doctor explained to us that there are still cancer cells in her blood and body (and still in her marrow at this point even though it's way down) and from past experience and research they have found that this length of treatment is necessary to make sure each and every cancer cell is gone and that not one is left to quickly multiple and invade her body again.  He explained how cells are 'hiding' all over our bodies so although we are thrilled that the cancer cells in her marrow are down to 0.2%, we still have a long journey with chemo and treatments to make sure that down the road this is gone and never comes back.  She will continue to have intensive treatment for 6 months (although the medications will change and some new ones will be introduced and others will be stopped for the time being and then re-started at a later date) and then the next two years will be less intensive, but she will still continue to be on medications and have chemo at certain times.  Another interesting thing that they mentioned to us is that if Abbey was a boy the treatment would be 3 1/2 years because of the extra boy part.  That really put it into perspective for us.  They treat with chemo and medications for a whole extra year just for that small part on a boy to be sure there is not one cancer cell left.  So, we are thrilled that her bone marrow is looking so much better, but we know we still have a long road ahead of us before we can say she is cancer free.  We know we'll get there though and we see God working in miraculous ways.

Jim and I have had some conversations (one yesterday) about what it will be like once she completely beats this and it is over.  We have wondered if for the rest of our lives, we will always be thinking that this might come back and if at each blood test that they do on her, if we will be holding our breath in fear that it is going to come back in her body.  Last night, Jim got the mail and there was a photocopied paper from a dear friend of mine down the street with a page copied out of her devotional Bible for us.  It was a story about a girl who is now a teenager, but when she was three years old just like Abbey (she had a brother who was 5 and an infant sibling... just like Abbey) she had leukemia.  She fought leukemia for a few years, but she is now completely free of cancer and it said this exactly "she is at no higher risk than those who've never had it."  Those words were a gift from God last night to us.  How awesome that my dear friend just happened to be reading exactly that on the day that we needed to hear those words so badly.  God is speaking to us through His people and giving us hope as we are on this hard journey.  The end of the story talked about how this little girls whole community rallied to pray.  They had family and friends standing by them in every way they could.  God healed her and in the process many lives were changed.  We see that happening with our Abbey and are excited to see how God used this story in many lives when this is said and done.  Those are God moments for us.  We have had many and it is so awesome for us to remember how much God is with us each step of the way.  When we get scared or overwhelmed, we talk with each other about how He is giving us these things to remind us that He is in control of all things and cares for us so intimately...  We are so thankful for these reminders and we know they are from Him to give us the strength to persevere.  

 We heard amazing things about the Church service at our church on Sunday.  It was a time of celebration for changed lives and a time to learn about God's healing power.  It also was a time as a church body to be unified through caring for some of their own (us).  They watched the video from the head shaving night and committed to pray for Abbey by going to the front and getting a bracelet that says 'Praying For Abbey'.  After church my sister dropped some of the bracelets off at our house and we got some pictures of the boys with them.  We also shaved Jacob and Micah's heads the other night.  Jacob told us that he wanted to do his head to make Abbey feel better when she looses her hair.  We are expecting her hair to start falling out this week.  We have noticed a couple very small bunches coming out and both times that happened, our hearts stopped.  Please pray that God will help us through this next difficult time and that He will give Abbey and us a peace about it.  Also, please pray that God would continue to protect her from any infections in her body.  She was having some bleeding after going potty last night and the doctors are going to be watching it closely.  Please pray for healing for her bottom and no infections or complications as a result of it. 

Here's a couple pictures of her biggest fans... her brothers, Jacob and Micah.  Jacob is wearing his orange bracelet that says 'Praying for Abbey' and Micah is trying to eat his :)  They love her dearly and have been amazing as our world has been turned upside down.  Please continue to pray for them too.  We love you guys... thanks.

  

God Is So Good!

After a long weekend of waiting we just got the results from our doctor.

They wanted the leukemia cells to be less than 5%......  The cancer cells in her marrow are at 0.2%..... that's less than 1%!  He said that is fantastic and we couldn't have asked for anything better at this point.

Clap your hands, all you nations;

shout to God with cries of joy.

How awesome is the Lord Most High, 

the great King over all the earth!

Psalm 47:1&2 

Praise God, we are so thankful!!

The pictures are some of the posters that we've received with Bible verses and words of encouragement.  Thank you!

 

Update

We talked to the doctor a little while ago and unfortunately, we will not know the exact percentage until Monday.  When we left yesterday, we were told that we would know by last night.  The machine was really backed up yesterday and then today her marrow did go through the machine, but the pathologist that reads the results was gone and will not be back until Monday.  We were sitting on the edge of our seat all day, waiting for the phone to ring.  I finally called the doctor tonight and he explained what was going on. He did say that he looked at the results and although he is not a pathologist, he feels that she is where she should be at this point.  He would not give me a number (even though he hinted to one) and said that on Monday we will know that number for sure. He said that we should be celebrating at this point though since Abbey has had no bumps in the road.  She has not had one fever, seems to be handling all the medication/chemos like a champ and we know the leukemia cells are coming down. Our hearts are filled with praise as we are encouraged by our talk with him.  We of course will be very happy to know the exact number, but we were thankful for his report.  God is moving guys and healing our baby!!  We'll let you know as soon as we know :)

Still Waiting....

We haven't heard from the doctor yet today about the exact percentage of the leukemia cells in her bone marrow.  We are sitting close by our phone waiting....

We wanted to do a quick post though to invite you to our church tomorrow.  If you live in this area and don't have a home church we know you'll love Grace.  We have been going there for four years and our lives have been changed.  You got a little preview of the type of people that go there from the head shaving night and we feel so blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of people that love God and love each other.  Our church is called Grace Brethren and it is located in Macedonia at 1066 E. Aurora Road (which is Rt. 82).  Tomorrow is a special, combined service that will be at 10 a.m. (there are usually two services, one at 9:30a.m. and the other at 11:00a.m.) but tomorrow is a little different.  There have been some really awesome things going on in peoples lives lately and you will hear stories of changed lives and also there are some people getting baptized, which is always a really neat thing to experience.  We talked yesterday with our pastor (Jason Haymaker) and he also told us that they purchased 500 orange leukemia bracelets that say 'Praying For Abbey' and there will be a time at the end of the service where they will show the video of the head shaving night and also give bracelets to people who will commit to pray for Abbey.  We are so thankful that they are doing this for us and look forward to hearing about the awesome service tomorrow.  Click HERE if you want to see the church website.  We continue to be blessed by so many of  you keeping up with our story.  There were almost 400 hits again on our blog yesterday and your comments have been an encouragement to us.        

Update

The doctor called us at midnight to give us an update on the results from Abbey's bone marrow biopsy.  Earlier he explained to us that once they have her marrow, they will first look at it through a microscope with their human eye and see how much if any leukemia cells they see.  Then, the marrow goes through a machine and that machine is able to tell them the exact percentage of leukemia cells (there are microscopic cells that can't be seen with the human eye).  Well, the machine is backed up so her marrow has not yet gone through the machine.  He did look at her marrow in the microscope and did not see any leukemia cells at all!  That of course is very encouraging and the best news that we could've gotten from him just looking with his eye.  We are thankful and encouraged by this news!!!  He told us that he can't give a percentage number at this point though since the machine can see everything including the microscopic cells and that tomorrow her marrow should go through the machine so we should know the exact percentage.  We are so relieved right now and are just resting in this news. 

 

Abbey got a book called 'Psalms For Young Children' today (thanks LoRussos) and Jim and I have both been reading and meditating on the verses tonight while waiting for the news.  Psalm 4 (kids version) says

God, when I'm in my bed

at night, I think about you.

And then I'm not scared of

anything.  I can fall asleep

quietly and in peace.

Tonight as we go to sleep we are going to rest in the fact that the doctor saw NO leukemia cells in the microscope.  We are going to rest in the fact that when we think about and meditate on God, we won't be scared. We will fall asleep quietly and in peace tonight. 

One more verse...  Psalm 34 (kids version)

I will pray to God every day of my life.

I want others to know how great God is;

I want others to sing to God with me.

With God, I have everything that I need.

With God nothing is missing.

We could not go through this without our God!  We have everything that we need since we know and love Him.  

Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying so hard with us today!  We are thankful for this news and will let you know the exact percentage when we find out tomorrow :)  

 

We Are Encouraged

It is hard to believe that it has been two weeks since Abbey was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (A.L.L.).  It has been a whirlwind for us and we know for many of you too.  We have learned so much over these couple weeks.  We have learned so much about this disease that we are fighting.  We have seen how quickly it can invade a body and the long process to get it out.  We have learned how a sweet little girl can go through so much pain and uncertainty and still love, trust and smile at simple things. We have been reminded of what's really important in life.  How precious each day is.  We have seen strength in each other that we never knew was there.  We have watched our boys adjust in ways that we thought was impossible.  We have seen our family, friends and complete strangers do extraordinary things for us ordinary people. We have experienced our God in a whole new way..... on a whole new level.  We have been forever changed.  

We have been encouraged....  God is using our Abbey to touch lives.  Our lives have been blessed and we know many of yours have been too.  It isn't easy.  It's actually excruciating at times, but we are confident in our Savior's plan for us.  We know He has a plan and purpose for this and we are clinging to Him to see what that is.  And God has used so many of you to encourage us.  Last night at our Church, there was a 'shave your head to support Abbey night.'  People showed up to either shave their heads completely or cut their hair to donate it to "Locks of Love".  We attached some pictures from the night (we weren't there, but our friends sent us some pics) and we were encouraged by this event.  We can't believe the things that people are doing to support Abbey and us.  We have gotten countless cards and gifts from people across the country that we have never even met.  Packets of pictures from classrooms in other states.  We want you all to know that God is using you to help us get through each day.  Thank you.  We prayed specifically for all of you tonight, that God would bless you all for how you have blessed us.

Tomorrow (Friday) is a big day.  Abbey has another bone marrow biopsy and the doctors want the leukemia cells to be 5% or less.  We are going in at 10a.m. for her to have a platelet transfusion and to see how her blood looks.  Her procedure is at 2p.m.  Please pray for the following things...

*Abbey won't be able to eat after 6a.m.  This normally wouldn't be that big of a deal, but with the steroids, it is going to be very difficult for her.  She is almost always hungry so to go that long will be hard.  Pray that she is o.k. with not eating.

*Pray for a peace for her as we go back to the hospital.

*Please pray that her platelets and blood look good and she needs no transfusions.  They told us she definitely would need platelets on Tuesday and she ended up not needing them.  They were surprised :)  thanks God!

*Pray for no side effects to her chemo tomorrow (she is getting a dose before her procedure through her IV)

*Pray for the doctors doing the procedure.  That they would do everything exactly right.

*Pray for the cancer cells in her bone marrow to be less than 5%.  

*Pray for her to wake up o.k. and not have much pain.

*Pray for us as we wait by the phone all night to get the results.  Pray for a peace for us.

We will be praying in the waiting room of the pediatric sedation unit.  Some people are going to be meeting there at 1:45 to pray with us while she is back for the procedure.  If you'd like to join us, that'd be great, otherwise, please be praying at 2 o'clock.  Thank you... we will know the results from her test at some point tomorrow evening.  We will post them when we know.  Love you guys :)

A Few More

These pictures were taken the week before she was diagnosed...

We're keeping our eyes on her maker :)

Old Pictures

Here are a few pictures of Abbey from this past summer.  We thought we'd add them so those of you who don't know her can see a little bit of her sweetness.

ICC

Today was Abbey's first day at the out-patient clinic.  We didn't tell her we were going until right before we left because we are learning that if we tell her too much in advance about anything unpleasant (we saw this in the hospital a lot) then she has too much time to think about it and ends up ruining more time.  So, we told her right as we were walking out the door and it seemed to be good because she was distracted by being on the move and didn't get too upset about going back to the doctor.  They gave us a cream that we can apply on her port site two hours before going and the cream numbs the area where the needle is put in.  

She did amazing today.  She fussed a little when they were getting the needle in, but it was much better then we expected.  The nurses and doctors were wonderful there and we totally feel like these people are holding our hands each step of the way.  Her counts looked really good... better than they expected.  She did not need blood or platelets today and the doctor was surprised.  

On Friday she has her bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap.  We will have to go in early that morning for platelets and they will again check her to see if she needs blood too.  We will find out her procedure time tomorrow and we are praying for a pretty early time slot.  She can't eat anything until after it's over and the steroids that she's on are making her EXTREMELY hungry. We've never seen anything like it before.  She is eating more each meal then she used to eat in a day.  The doctors said they've seen it a million times before... a little girl who used to eat like a bird (that was Abbey) gets put on these steroids and starts eating like a football player. Anyways, it will be very hard to hold her off eating too long so we are praying that she can get her platelets very early in the morning and then get her procedures done right after.  

The doctors explained to us what they want to see on Friday in her bone marrow.  They really want to see 5% or less of leukemia cells in her marrow on Friday.  If it is more then that, they will do a repeat test two weeks later and if it again isn't low enough (at that point they want to see less than 1%), then they will intensify her treatment.  Please pray for there to be 5% or less of cancer cells in her marrow this Friday.  When we were admitted the cancer cells in her marrow were 95%.  Last Friday they were 55%.  This is our biggest request yet, so please commit to praying for those cancer cells to be dying like crazy and flushing out of her body.  

Tonight she hasn't been feeling well.  She is having a lot of stomach pains and is overall very weak.  Earlier we were playing some Christian kids worship music and Jacob was doing motions and dancing around the living room.  She was laying on the couch and smiling under her paci.  It melted our hearts to see that smile peeking through even though she wasn't feeling well.  She is a trooper!!  We are so thankful that today went well.  God carried all three of us through it and we are thankful.  He is giving us a peace that could only come from Him and we saw that peace in Abbey today as we sat at the clinic.  

Thank you Lord for being so real to us and giving us only what we can handle each day.  

Tuesday

Today Abbey will be starting her out-patient treatment.  We will be going to a building connected to the hospital called the 'Ireland Cancer Center'.  We will be spending a lot of time there over the next couple of years and we will refer to it as the ICC.  She will be having a platelet transfusion today at 11:00 and possibly a blood transfusion, depending on where her numbers are when we get there.  Please pray for her as they will have to access her port with a needle for her IV treatments.  This will eventually be something that she gets used to (at least that's what they're telling us), but we know it will be hard for her to have to get stuck again.  

We will then go again on Friday for her chemo (they will again access her port) and another spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy (she will be under sedation for those) to see the number of cancer cells still in her marrow.  Please be praying now for her bone marrow to look clean of cancer cells.  If the doctors aren't satisfied with what they find on Friday, they will have to do stronger treatment for her.  Please commit to pray with us for good test results on Friday so she will be spared the stronger therapy. 

Tonight we had a great family night.  Abbey was feeling pretty good and although she wasn't very active, she still was playing, coloring and smiling.  We did family devotions together, sang songs together and prayed together.  I peeked at Abbey while Jim was praying and it encourages my heart to see her pray.  Her hands were clenched and her eyes were shut tight.  We know God is going to heal our baby and use her in great ways!  We are so thankful that she's ours :)    

Home

We got home today (Sunday) at around 1 o'clock.  It was so wonderful to leave the hospital with our Abbey, and walking into our home was heavenly.  We came home to a very clean, organized home with new carpet throughout and best of all, Abbey has a beautiful, new bedroom!  Very dear friends of ours came in the other day, painted her room pink, rearranged it and had a painter come in and turn her bedroom into a room fit for a princess (thanks so much Samua).  It is amazing!  We felt like we came home to 'bedroom extreme makeover' and words cannot express our appreciation for helping make Abbey feel so special  and loved.  Abbey loves her new room and it will be so nice to have such a special place for her as we will be spending a lot of time at home these days. We also came home to many packages with wonderful goodies.  Abbey has a lot to do to keep her busy.  You are all so thoughtful and creative!  We got some beautiful hand knit hats and soft silk scarves for Abbey to wear once she looses her hair.  We have been bathed with love and support and we are thankful to you all.

Although Abbey was happy to be home, she had a rough day today.  She is having some stomach pain and overall just doesn't seem to be feeling very good.  She has been through so much this week.  I gave her a bath tonight and she did not want me to wash her.  She has had so much done to her little body this week and she doesn't even want me to wash her because I think she is scared that something will hurt her.  It is so hard to see her like this.  It's hard at this young age for her to understand that all this pain is going to eventually make her well.  My heart was broken today as I watched her struggle to trust us, that all these meds and pokes are to help her.  Please continue to pray for us. Tonight has been one of the hardest nights for me so far and I think it's because now we are home from the hospital, so things should be so much better, but although our hospital stay is over, we still have a long way to go until this is over.  My heart is breaking as I watch her be uncomfortable and at times in pain and not be able to explain exactly what is happening to her. We will have a break until Tuesday, and on Tuesday she will have a platelet transfusion and possibly a blood transfusion before her bone marrow biopsy and spinal fluid tap which will happen again on Friday.  Please pray for us to be able to explain to her that we have to go back to the doctors on Tuesday and again on Friday (she will have to get a needle put back into her port those days).  Please pray for strength for her and for her spirit not to be crushed that it's not over.  Please pray as we are expecting her hair to start falling out soon.  We know that is going to be hard for all of us.  Please pray for God to carry us right now.  We feel weak and know we can't do this without Him.  Thank you guys.  We love you. 

One More Day???

This morning the doctors were doing their rounds.  I stepped out to listen in, as I usually try to do.  Our normal attending doctor was off and there was a new one.  He looked at Abbey's blood results and some other numbers and he felt that we need to stay here another night just to make sure that she's ok to go home.  We are frustrated because our usual attending doctor and many other residents and nurses all felt that we were going home today, but we're glad that the doctor's are being overly cautious so we can be confident that she can be ok at home.      

Home Sweet Home

What a week it has been.  In a way it seems like we have been going through this forever, but it also seems like the words "it's leukemia" are still ringing in our heads. Thinking about our first night here brings us back to the worst night of our lives, but also reminds us of how far we have already come.  The doctors are telling us that we may be able to go home tomorrow.  That brings many emotions.  We of course are so ready to be in our comfy, clean home, but we also are scared to take our little Abbey home without the 24/7 care of doctors & nurses.  Abbey had a good day today (even with two doses of chemo and two procedures), which is helping our confidence in feeling like she will be o.k. out of the hospital.  She will start her treatment on an out patient basis starting next Wednesday and we will be here again next Friday also.  She will still be on several medications everyday which we will give her at home and she will have her blood tests (to see if she needs blood transfusions/platelet transfusions) on Wednesday and then her chemo treatments on Fridays.   A fever or sickness would put us back in the hospital so we will be diligent in keeping her healthy.  We are one week into our new "normal" and although we have a long road ahead of us, we know she/we are going to beat this.  With our support system (you), our God and our love for our sweet Abigail, there is no other option. Thank you for all you guys have done for us.  We cannot begin to express our appreciation and love for you all.  Just a side note...     we have had over 400 hits on our blog today.  What an encouragement to us that that many people are following her story and praying for her.  God is working miracles and the body of Christ has come together to support us like we've never seen before.  Keep praying and we'll keep recording the miracles here for you all to see.  All for His glory!!