PRETTY FEET

Today Mom's sister, Linda, came over and spent the afternoon with Mom. They had lunch and then went out for a while. But the best part is Mom now has pretty feet! :) Linda gave her a full pedicure which Mom really enjoyed. Thanks Linda!

STILL IN STEP DOWN

Shantel is still in step down and on continuous albuterol. They have to get her steroids down in order for them to safely be able to do the transplant. What this means is that the steroids help keep her airways open and without them she moves less air through her lungs...........translation - hard to breath. Rx: continuous albuterol. This means she is confined to her room and she gets very bored. Luckily they have great child life people that keep her entertained with crafts and projects. She's into Webkins so that keeps her busy. She also has homework and loves movies and we try to come up with new stuff to keep her occupied.
We continue to pray that the transplant will be soon.

FUN DAY

Mom and I spent the day together and had a great day. We had breakfast together, then I took her out for lunch followed by a little shopping and coffee break. Mom is feeling much better. She just gets extremely tired and fatigued. Her infection at the drain site is healing and her color looks good.
Now she just has to decide what we can do tomorrow!! :)

GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD

GOOD.......Mom is feeling much better today. She had an appointment with Dr. Uronis and the CT scan revealed nothing new. The Dr. added another antibiotic and Mom doesn't have to go back to Duke till next week. Her apatite is returning and her color is better.
NOT SO GOOD.......Shantel was admitted to step down today. She is on continuous heli-ox (combo of helium and oxygen) and albuterol. Her lungs are very inflamed thanks in large part to this crazy weather. She's only been home for 8 days and was very upset she had to go back in the hospital........well she was mostly upset to leave her dog Molly!

BETTER DAY

Mom is feeling somewhat better today. This morning her temperature was 102 and she hadn't slept much during the night. By mid afternoon the Cipro, Tylenol and pain killers started kicking in and she was up walking around. She isn't experiencing sever pain now just a lot of soreness around the drain sight and she's slept on and off all day. We're hoping tonight will be a night of restful sleep.

WHAT A DAY

This has been a very looooong day. It started at 6am and we just returned home from Duke...10:25pm. Last night Mom started having pain in her side where her drain tube is. By this morning she was in intense pain and running a fever. The Dr. was called and they went in to find out what was going on. By noon they were on their way home with a diagnosis of at the drain sight and a CT scan scheduled for 7pm. Shantel had a transplant clinic visit at 9:30am which means we are up at 6am for treatments. We didn't get home until 4:45 and then we left for the CT scan and just returned home. Like I said.......loooooong day!
Mom was put on cipro, a strong antibiotic, and is feeling slightly better this evening. She is exhausted and has a Dr. appointment Monday for the CT results.
Shantel is doing very well. Her pulmonary function tests were up and they didn't hear any crackling in her lungs. They told us they have had a couple lungs available but they refused them because they weren't to their standards. I'm impressed with how picky they are.
Keep praying for them both!

SO SO

Yesterday Mom had her second follow up visit since she ended chemo and radiation. The results aren't as good as we had hoped and prayed. Her blood work was all fine, a little anemic but otherwise good. The blood test that shows her cancer markers was on the high side again. Which all means that the chemo and radiation did what it was designed to do but she'll need to start another round of chemo here soon. Dr. Uronis has scheduled another blood test and visit with her for March 26th. At that time the next course of treatment will be decided.
Please pray for both Dad and Mom. Mom is a little discouraged tonight and Dad is trying to put on a "happy face". I think they will be going to Nathan and Heather's this weekend. Seeing the grandkids always lifts their spirits!

OUR LITTLE SUPERSTAR

check out the superstar of the family! :)

YouTube - Harlem Globetrotters Visit Duke Children'

FOLLOW UP VISIT #2

Monday morning Mom has her second follow up visit at Duke since ending chemo and radiation. She feels great and we have been praying that this visit will give the same positive results as her first follow up. They will do blood work to check her cancer markers and then a visit with her oncologist, Dr. Uronis for next steps. I'll update you after the visit.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers Monday.

BREAKING THE SCALES!

Can you believe this little girl now weighs in at a whopping 100 lbs??!! (thank you steroids!!)
This is all great news! The more weight she puts on now the better she'll be post transplant when she'll need the weight for the recovery process and rehab.

FUN IN FLORIDA

Here are some pictures of Dad and Mom having a good time in Florida this winter


Nathan, Heather, Rachael and Madeline at Disney
with Dad and Mom

Dad and Mom at the Strawberry festival

Mom's a Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordan fan.....

she looks like she got caught trading teams!!!