Thank God for Grandparents

Maddy had another good week. She is tolerating her chemo treatments and still has lots of energy. She lost her second tooth on Saturday and we were thankful that the Tooth Fairy didn't have to visit her in the hospital this time. Maddy goes back to the clinic on Friday (2/5) for her next treatment.

It is hard to believe that it is February already. After much thought and prayers, Russ has decided to go back to school starting tomorrow. Our goal is to make it to Spring Break and then reevaluate the situation depending on how Maddy is doing and what the next phase of treatment holds. We are so thankful that Maddy has wonderful RETIRED grandparents who are willing to help take care of her. They are going to take turns spending every other week at our house. Russ gave the grandmothers a lesson on how to Skype. We are hoping all will work out well! A few extra prayers may be needed.

Monday Update

Today was a good day! Maddy's treatment went well today. Her counts were all good, so everything went as scheduled. She didn't cry at all this time when the nurse accessed her port. She seems to be handling the medication without any nauseousness so far. (She'll be ready for that Ho-Ho cake on Friday Mrs. Warner!) We also got an email from our friend, Christi Ranzau. This past weekend, the Ranzau family went to the Rascal Flatts concert in Toledo. Brodie, their son, won a back stage pass before the concert and he so thoughtfully gave the band one of Maddy's lime green bracelets. If you look closely at the pictures below, you can see that the guitarist, Joe Don Rooney, wore her bracelet during the concert. When we showed Maddy the pictures, she was amazed and thought that it was pretty cool!

Hi- It's Maddy. I just wanted to let everyone who has been thinking of me and praying for me know that I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!! I can't wait to see all of my classmates and Miss Heckel tomorrow on Skype. I missed you all today!

Make A Wish

Maddy has had another good week. She has a little cold and has been having trouble sleeping at night, but during the day she has been doing great. She is now Skyping most of the day with her class and she is even Skyping in Art and Music.

We had an exciting visit with Deb and Joe from Make-A-Wish this evening. They talked to Maddy about granting her a wish and made her feel very special. What a wonderful organization!!! They will be working on Maddy's wish to take a trip and swim with dolphins. (Her friend Mason swam with dolphins and told her that they have belly buttons. She wants to check it out for herself). This has given her something to look forward to.

Maddy goes back on Monday for another chemo treatment as long as her counts are good.

Interim Maintenance

Phase three of Maddy's treatment started today. We went to the clinic. They said Maddy looked great and her counts were good. She received her first round of chemo drugs. Maddy did well. This phase will last around two months. She has to go back to the clinic every 10 days for chemo and she has one spinal tap during this phase. Unfortunately, the dosage of chemo increases each time she goes back and will most likely cause her immune system to crash again. Therefore, before each treatment, they will check her counts and if they are low the treatment will be postponed for 4 days. This may cause this phase to be extended based on how Maddy's body responds. Starting from today, we only have two years of treatment to go! Remember, there will be a party!

Right now, Russ is still off of work until the end of January. We are trying to figure out what to do then. It is hard when you don't know what each day will bring, but hopefully God will steer us in the right direction.

We hope everyone has a great weekend.

Grateful Journal

It was Sunday evening and I was sitting around deciding whether or not I had anything important to post on the blog. This past week was pretty uneventful. It was almost normal. I really did not think I had anything important to tell and then I remembered a letter I had received back in November when we began our journey from my friend and colleague, Joyce. She prayed that we would experience God's presence every day and reminded us to look for Him in the little things that just happen to work for the good. She said she records those things she is grateful for as a reminder of how good God is and how He is constantly taking care of her and making His presence known. God has certainly made His presence known to us these last couple of months and so I thought I would record a few of the things we are grateful for this week.

Maddy still can't go to school, but with Miss Heckel's help, she Skyped a majority of each day this week. We are grateful that Maddy is able to continue to be a part of her first grade class. Maddy still does not have any hair, but she does not even let it phase her. Last Sunday, Maddy announced that she was going to show her classmates her head since they hadn't seen it yet. So, all week, Maddy Skyped without a hat on her head. We are grateful that Maddy is self-confident and courageous. Maddy's strength is what has gotten her Dad and me through these last couple of months. (Pretty impressive for a six year old!) Maddy is handling the current medication she is taking with minimal side effects. We are grateful that God has given the researchers and doctors the knowledge they need to fight this cancer. Since Maddy's counts were still good this week, our family went out to eat supper along with Miss Heckel on Friday. We saw her classmate, Mason leaving the restaurant. He gave her a big hug. We are grateful for the time we were able to spend together with Miss Heckel and for the continued unconditional love of her friends. Maddy had fun going sledding this weekend. We are grateful for the beautiful snow and sunny skies this weekend. Maddy and Julia picked on each other a lot this week. We are grateful that they have each other to pick on. Finally, Maddy continued to receive gifts, cards, thoughts and prayers this week. We are truly grateful for all the support and love we have received since this journey began.

My prayer is that everyone is able to experience God's presence every day and that everyone is able to take the time to be grateful.

Happy New Year

Wow- 2010! So far, this year has started out well. Maddy is feeling good and has been able to enjoy a few outings. She had her third spinal tap in three weeks on New Year's Eve. She did such a great job. With a little bribing of Zhu Zhu pet accessories, she didn't scream or kick around when the nurse accessed her port. Now if we could only find the accessories in stock!

(Maddy has decided to name her port "Po-po". She says it is her new imaginary friend.)

Maddy gets this week off- no spinal taps- just her oral chemo pills. Next week, she will be finishing up with the Consolidation phase of treatment and will be moving into the next phase of treatment called Interim Maintenance. This phase lasts two months and involves getting 2 different IV chemo drugs in increasing doses every ten days if her counts stay good. She will also have another spinal tap. This schedule could be altered based on how Maddy's body responds.

We want to again thank everyone for all the continued support and prayers. We appreciate EVERYTHING everyone has done for us!!!