I'm sitting at work today doing some paperwork. My cell phone rings and it is MD Anderson hospital. A million things begin to go through my mind as I answer the phone. It's one of Kendall's PA's(physician assistants)calling to tell me some news about Kendall. She says that Kendall no longer needs to have anymore lumbar punctures or chemotherapy. Kendall is 100% tumor free and she has 0% leukemic cells. Speechless! All of Kendall's test results from last week were very good. At this point, I don't seem to hear anything else. The last 7 1/2 months flash before my eyes. Is it really over. Can Kendall come home to stay this time? I didn't know what to say. I hang up the phone and almost instantly get a phone call from Kendall. I will never forget the excitement in her voice as she begins to tell me what the doctor told her today. I tried so hard to reach through the phone and hug her. This is almost over and we can make that final journey back home. Then I talked to Tammy and the excitement continued. Tammy was crying so much I could barely hold mine back.
After several hours of the news sinking in...it was such a relief to finally just say out loud that Kendall's cancer is gone. Can she now resume her life before it was so abruptly changed?
Dylan and myself are going out to Houston this weekend for one last visit. Then Dylan and Tammy will come home while I finish out Kendall's journey in Houston for the next couple of weeks. It will be so great to load up the apartment and head for home.
I can't wait!!!!!!
John 16:32
But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Official Last Round of Chemo
Once again, I take Kendall and Tammy to the airport for their final journey back to Houston for Kendall's last round of chemotherapy. I dropped them off this even and gave each of them a long hug and kiss and told them that I loved them. Letting go still remains hard for me to do as I know the day nears when Kendall is off to college again. That is already storing a supply of tears to fall. Kendall has been so anxious this last two weeks and is also so confident about getting started. They made it back about 7pm and safely entered the cozy surroundings of the "apartment". I am so looking forward to packing it up and moving back home.
Kendall will be at the doctor early this morning to get things started. I pulled up her schedule and the next 30 days is filling up quick with things to do. I will make sure over the next couple of days to post the last reports of her doctors visits and procedures as they happen. God has performed such a miracle already and I want to make sure that to God be the glory. He has been with my family extremely close over the last 7 months and we all have been truly blessed and touched by his power.
I always meet someone around Gardendale that asks about Kendall or the family and it is another blessing that we have received from all of you and your prayers and thoughts. I mean it when I say that you have meant a great deal to Kendall and my family as well and I hope to be able to personally thank and hug each of you and touch you as you have touched my heart.
Well as you can see by the time stamped post, its past 3:30am and I can't sleep. Anxious, nervous and praying that this goes well one more time. Good night.
Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Kendall will be at the doctor early this morning to get things started. I pulled up her schedule and the next 30 days is filling up quick with things to do. I will make sure over the next couple of days to post the last reports of her doctors visits and procedures as they happen. God has performed such a miracle already and I want to make sure that to God be the glory. He has been with my family extremely close over the last 7 months and we all have been truly blessed and touched by his power.
I always meet someone around Gardendale that asks about Kendall or the family and it is another blessing that we have received from all of you and your prayers and thoughts. I mean it when I say that you have meant a great deal to Kendall and my family as well and I hope to be able to personally thank and hug each of you and touch you as you have touched my heart.
Well as you can see by the time stamped post, its past 3:30am and I can't sleep. Anxious, nervous and praying that this goes well one more time. Good night.
Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Catching Up To Do
In just over a short week, so much has happened in the way of Kendall's schedule, I wasn't sure what I needed to write because things changed so fast.
On that Friday, February 26, Kendall did have to have platelets again that morning at the hospital. But we did manage to make the late afternoon flight to come home. Wasn't sure we were even going to get to come home. Kendall has had several more infections come up and that has caused her blood counts to really be out of line. But we did come home. Kendall was still really tired and she didn't do much while we she was home. The only thing she really wanted to go and do was to see her team play softball on that Friday. They were playing at 1:00pm, nut we were late coming in. So I wanted to tell Coach we're sorry we couldn't make it but maybe we can catch one soon.
Kendall and Tammy flew out on Tuesday afternoon headed back to Houston. Kendall has to have another lumbar puncture with chemo in her spine and also have a bone marrow aspiration. I especially couldn't wait to get the results of the bone marrow aspiration. This test was going to assure us that Kendall was still in remission. Her last test showed that she had around 3% blasts cells (leukemic cells) in her body. They want that number to of course be at zero(0). But anything under 5% and she is still in remission. Even a lower number than the previous will shoe=w that her treatment is still working. That test was giving on the March 3rd and she had to meet with her doctor on March 4th to get the news.
On Thursday, March 4th, we received the results for the aspiration and it showed around 1% blasts cells. Which was GREAT news! It could still go a little lower and maybe when the next treatment is over it will be lower. But around 1% is just what we all needed to hear. Kendall could have left the doctor's office that day and everything would have been a great day. But then she received some other news about her blood counts, The doctor said her blood counts were too low to start the next round of chemo. She said the blood was working on its on now but that they were just not recovering enough to go through the next round. Tammy said Kendall's face turned red as they told her it would need to be post poned for a week. Then I think Kendall had steam coming from her head as the doctor told her that she needs a two week break instead and told her to go back home to rest. I knew Kendall was furious as she was so ready to start the next round to get through. Tammy called me to tell me all of this news and and I felt like I was back on the roller coaster, up and down up and down.
I booked Kendall and Tammy a flight home for Friday, March 5th and anxiously awaited their return. I spoke to Kendall later on that day and she was a little better. She was still upset and disappointed that she couldn't start chemo but was instead dealing more with being sick from the lumbar puncture. So we had a reunion on Friday only though Kendall was gone for just a few days but we still celebrated the results from the blast cells. Kendall is still in remission.
Over the next few days, we will look over her schedule on exactly what day Kendall and Tammy will be going back out. But for now I will enjoy my family all together for a short week or so. And Tammy wasn't even mad that I had not done anything on my "to do list" that she gave me because they weren't gone long enough for anything other than me to read it. I of course was working on a game plan to tackle the lists. But now that list is gone as Tammy has already revised it for a newer one.
On that Friday, February 26, Kendall did have to have platelets again that morning at the hospital. But we did manage to make the late afternoon flight to come home. Wasn't sure we were even going to get to come home. Kendall has had several more infections come up and that has caused her blood counts to really be out of line. But we did come home. Kendall was still really tired and she didn't do much while we she was home. The only thing she really wanted to go and do was to see her team play softball on that Friday. They were playing at 1:00pm, nut we were late coming in. So I wanted to tell Coach we're sorry we couldn't make it but maybe we can catch one soon.
Kendall and Tammy flew out on Tuesday afternoon headed back to Houston. Kendall has to have another lumbar puncture with chemo in her spine and also have a bone marrow aspiration. I especially couldn't wait to get the results of the bone marrow aspiration. This test was going to assure us that Kendall was still in remission. Her last test showed that she had around 3% blasts cells (leukemic cells) in her body. They want that number to of course be at zero(0). But anything under 5% and she is still in remission. Even a lower number than the previous will shoe=w that her treatment is still working. That test was giving on the March 3rd and she had to meet with her doctor on March 4th to get the news.
On Thursday, March 4th, we received the results for the aspiration and it showed around 1% blasts cells. Which was GREAT news! It could still go a little lower and maybe when the next treatment is over it will be lower. But around 1% is just what we all needed to hear. Kendall could have left the doctor's office that day and everything would have been a great day. But then she received some other news about her blood counts, The doctor said her blood counts were too low to start the next round of chemo. She said the blood was working on its on now but that they were just not recovering enough to go through the next round. Tammy said Kendall's face turned red as they told her it would need to be post poned for a week. Then I think Kendall had steam coming from her head as the doctor told her that she needs a two week break instead and told her to go back home to rest. I knew Kendall was furious as she was so ready to start the next round to get through. Tammy called me to tell me all of this news and and I felt like I was back on the roller coaster, up and down up and down.
I booked Kendall and Tammy a flight home for Friday, March 5th and anxiously awaited their return. I spoke to Kendall later on that day and she was a little better. She was still upset and disappointed that she couldn't start chemo but was instead dealing more with being sick from the lumbar puncture. So we had a reunion on Friday only though Kendall was gone for just a few days but we still celebrated the results from the blast cells. Kendall is still in remission.
Over the next few days, we will look over her schedule on exactly what day Kendall and Tammy will be going back out. But for now I will enjoy my family all together for a short week or so. And Tammy wasn't even mad that I had not done anything on my "to do list" that she gave me because they weren't gone long enough for anything other than me to read it. I of course was working on a game plan to tackle the lists. But now that list is gone as Tammy has already revised it for a newer one.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sleep, Rest...we need it
I thought I would be writing this post from Gardendale tonight but Kendall and me are still in Houston. Kendall and myself spent 3 wonderful nights in the hospital with Kendall's fever. Running test and drawing blood. Well her fever broke but she still had a slight infection but we were able to go back to the apartment. Although she is having to take IV antibiotics for the next 13 days. Every 6 hours. Try sleeping with that routine. The medicine is refrigerated and had to be room temperature prior to giving it, then after running for an hour it has to be unhooked and the lines flushed so they won't clog. Midnight and 6am are the toughest but so far it has been ok. An hour of sleep here and an hour of sleep there. Not to mention that Kendall has all of her other medication that she is taking twice a day.
Back to being home. The lab showed that her platelets are not recovering very fast and she is having to have them transfused every other day. Some of it was due to the fever and infection. It leaves her really tired and doesn't have a lot of energy to do anything. She has also been bleeding more than normal from her mouth as the result of low platelets. They have been low before but not for this long. The doctor said Kendall needed to stay around close because of the way her platelets keep dropping so fast. She goes back Friday for another check and maybe by then we will be able to go home. They want to start the last round of treatment next week. So much has to happen before she can start again. For now, I make sure she is resting and eating some hoping that her body pulls itself together for this last cycle.
Back to being home. The lab showed that her platelets are not recovering very fast and she is having to have them transfused every other day. Some of it was due to the fever and infection. It leaves her really tired and doesn't have a lot of energy to do anything. She has also been bleeding more than normal from her mouth as the result of low platelets. They have been low before but not for this long. The doctor said Kendall needed to stay around close because of the way her platelets keep dropping so fast. She goes back Friday for another check and maybe by then we will be able to go home. They want to start the last round of treatment next week. So much has to happen before she can start again. For now, I make sure she is resting and eating some hoping that her body pulls itself together for this last cycle.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Fevers Means Larger Hospital Rooms
Back in the hospital for those long nights,no sleeping and general discomfort. Kendall ran a fever that could not be avoided so we made the trip to the Emergency Room. 3pm till 2am is not as bad as it seems. Really, we were able to sit in the er with lots of people that even somelooked to be in more pain that Kendall. I tried to be patient>The nurse told me that she was putting us in a wing that nobody is using. I said you will forget about us and we'll be here forever. She assured me that, that would not happen. Well it did, we didn't see a nurse for hours. Finally got in the roomabout 2am and Kendall slept a little but I could not. The nerses where in her room every 39 minutes now. So I stayed up and are now feeling the affects of no sleep.
Kendall hasreceived two units of blood and 6 units of platelets and on all the antiobiodics anyone could imagine. She's doing fine,just notreal social causeshe is tired so much. Won'tkeep you long just wanted to give the quick update.
Kendall hasreceived two units of blood and 6 units of platelets and on all the antiobiodics anyone could imagine. She's doing fine,just notreal social causeshe is tired so much. Won'tkeep you long just wanted to give the quick update.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Steady Is The Path
I don't know how this past week has slipped by me. It just seemed liked yesterday that Kendall was starting her chemo and we were getting settled in. Kendall has had, so far a good beginning. This past week, Kendall hasn't done a lot because she has been tired. She did give me a scare last night when she started to run a fever but it came down and we avoided a hospital trip. She told me that she was due a trip to the emergency room and had already packed an overnight bag to go. She is starting to become more comfortable with the realization that she has leukemia. She knows what she has do and has no problem in getting it done. I know she still gets upset about it, but I have begin to see how much she has grown through this experience. And she has handled it extremely well. I am very proud of her for the strength and courage she has shown throughout this.
Kendall's blood counts have been really low this week and haven't begun to recover yet. Hopefully by the end of the week they will start to recover. She has had to get platelets every other day. But even though she's recovering slower that usual, she has more upbeat days than down days.
We meet some new people this week at the hospital. We were laughing at how we can tell what people are new to MD Anderson and what people have been around for a long time. The new people we met are from Kentucky and have only been out here for a month. Kendall and me felt like regulars as they were asking how to get around the hospital and about things around Houston. As I carried on my conversation with them, I couldn't help but think how familiar I have really became with the hospital and even with the city of Houston. Then I began to think about how much I missed our home, our family and our neighbors. I began to get sad thinking about that so then I began to think about how close Kendall is to being through with her treatment and we can get back to all those things that we miss.
Psalm 68:13
Even while you sleep among the CAMPFIRES, the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold."
Kendall's blood counts have been really low this week and haven't begun to recover yet. Hopefully by the end of the week they will start to recover. She has had to get platelets every other day. But even though she's recovering slower that usual, she has more upbeat days than down days.
We meet some new people this week at the hospital. We were laughing at how we can tell what people are new to MD Anderson and what people have been around for a long time. The new people we met are from Kentucky and have only been out here for a month. Kendall and me felt like regulars as they were asking how to get around the hospital and about things around Houston. As I carried on my conversation with them, I couldn't help but think how familiar I have really became with the hospital and even with the city of Houston. Then I began to think about how much I missed our home, our family and our neighbors. I began to get sad thinking about that so then I began to think about how close Kendall is to being through with her treatment and we can get back to all those things that we miss.
Psalm 68:13
Even while you sleep among the CAMPFIRES, the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold."
Monday, February 8, 2010
Gods Miracle Opportunity
How many mornings do you wake up and realize that each day is a miracle. That every day you have an opportunity to shine in Gods eyes. I was reminded of that this morning when Dylan called me at 6:45am. I was laying in the bed thinking about all the reasons why I shouldn't get out of it. Dylan's voice was so full of life, excitement....opportunity! He was walking out to catch the school bus and wanted to call me not only to see what I was doing but also to specifically ask how was Kendall doing. His voice reminded me of some of the reasons why I should get out of bed.....
....so how is Kendall doing? She has had a rough weekend. Filled with not eating or drinking anything and not having the energy to move around. She didn't run a fever or anything but was just.....tired. I was worried because she wasn't eating or drinking and I would constantly be trying to give her something. She would politely smile at me and say...no thank you. I didn't find any new hobbies or interests, I just calmly sat in the living room listening out for her to call me. I started reading a couple of different books, but Tammy knows I never finish them, I just start them. Kendall did start to stir around a little bit on Sunday and began to eat a little....and it was very little.
Kendall had a doctors appointment this morning for labwork. Her energy level was better than Sunday and she was eating more and even drinking more. She is at day 6 of treatment and I didn't think she would need blood by the way she was feeling, but she is at day 6 which is usually time for a blood transfusion. But I was right, she didn't need any. Her white blood count was at 0.1, which is really low this early but Kendall was in good spirits. She even started wearing her mask without me even having to remind her. I'm beginning to think that she don't need me anymore because she's been through so much it's almost like routine to her. Kendall doesn't have to go back until Wednesday and I'm sure she will have to have blood and/or platelets by then.
I know some mornings when I get up it's like routine to me. I go through the motions day after day without taking time to do what's really important. To take the time to thank God for the opportunity. The opportunity to care....to laugh....to cry...and to love. I've often talked about things that refer to Gods plan for the future and how it will turn out...His way. But tonight I want to take the time....the opportunity to thank him for the things in my life today. For the opportunity to live each day pleasing God. I know that some days I probably don't please God as much as other days. But I thank him for the opportunity.
Colossians 4:5-6
Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
....so how is Kendall doing? She has had a rough weekend. Filled with not eating or drinking anything and not having the energy to move around. She didn't run a fever or anything but was just.....tired. I was worried because she wasn't eating or drinking and I would constantly be trying to give her something. She would politely smile at me and say...no thank you. I didn't find any new hobbies or interests, I just calmly sat in the living room listening out for her to call me. I started reading a couple of different books, but Tammy knows I never finish them, I just start them. Kendall did start to stir around a little bit on Sunday and began to eat a little....and it was very little.
Kendall had a doctors appointment this morning for labwork. Her energy level was better than Sunday and she was eating more and even drinking more. She is at day 6 of treatment and I didn't think she would need blood by the way she was feeling, but she is at day 6 which is usually time for a blood transfusion. But I was right, she didn't need any. Her white blood count was at 0.1, which is really low this early but Kendall was in good spirits. She even started wearing her mask without me even having to remind her. I'm beginning to think that she don't need me anymore because she's been through so much it's almost like routine to her. Kendall doesn't have to go back until Wednesday and I'm sure she will have to have blood and/or platelets by then.
I know some mornings when I get up it's like routine to me. I go through the motions day after day without taking time to do what's really important. To take the time to thank God for the opportunity. The opportunity to care....to laugh....to cry...and to love. I've often talked about things that refer to Gods plan for the future and how it will turn out...His way. But tonight I want to take the time....the opportunity to thank him for the things in my life today. For the opportunity to live each day pleasing God. I know that some days I probably don't please God as much as other days. But I thank him for the opportunity.
Colossians 4:5-6
Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
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