Thursday, March 31, 2011

Spring Break (Day #8)

God is good ALL the time, ALL the time God is good!
Today was a GOOD day...

Maddy was finally able to open her eyes today and keep them open without pain. They are still watering, but we can handle that. An eye doctor is going to come tomorrow just to check her out, but hopefully she is on the road to recovery.

Maddy was due for a dressing change so she took a nice long shower today. (A reminder that we often take the little things in life for granted until they are taken away.)

Maddy's blood pressure has been holding steady so they have decided to back off of the medication to see how she does on her own.


Dad and Julia, armed with hand sanitizer and masks, came to visit this evening. It was so good to see Maddy and Julia together. They were huddled around the iPad playing games together. (Thanks to everyone who made this possible!)



Thanks to everyone for continued thoughts and prayers! They truly do help us get through each day.

P.S.- Maddy wanted me to let Mrs. Hurst know that Dad did share the cookies. Also, she wanted to let Megan know that the monkey has slept with her every night since we got to the hospital.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Spring Break (Day #7)

Besides her eyes still hurting, Maddy had a fairly good day. She actually woke up and was hungry. Of course she wanted her left-over Spicy Italian sub for breakfast! Our old Maddy coming through... She also ate a little lunch and supper- the first time she has eaten all three meals since we got here.

She continues to worry about her shot every day. She pointed out today that the doctors lied to her about it being a "small" shot that would't hurt. She also noticed that her white blood cell count has not gone up at all yet, so she has concluded that the shots aren't working. The doctor tried to explain the process to her, but she later told me she didn't listen to him! :)

We are hoping each day continues to get a little better for Maddy. Now if she could just keep her eyes open for more than a minute without watering and pain. That's the goal for tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Spring Break (Day #6)

We are definitely going to need a vacation after this "vacation". We are getting very tired! Maddy is counting the days. She asked me what day it was this morning. I told her it was Tuesday (after double checking). A while later, she informed me that if she had to be in the hospital for 10 days, she only had 4 days left. She told me, "I figured it out!". I guess her second grade education is paying off!

Maddy's eyes are still bothering her. She was up all night with pain. The doctors still think it is a side affect of the chemo. We are continuing with eye drops. Maddy layed around all day with her eyes closed again. It makes trips to the bathroom very interesting- IV pole, tubes, and "no eyes"!


Still looking for the pool...

Monday, March 28, 2011

Spring Break (Day #5)

Today had it's ups and downs! I think I will start with the ups:

With the help of the blood pressure medicine, Maddy's blood pressure came down. She had a good night of sleep. She woke up and had her ultra-sound of her kidneys. (I didn't realize how nervous I was until I was in the room with her watching the screen as the technician did the test. I instantly got sick to my stomach just thinking about the idea that there could be something wrong with Maddy's kidneys). Fortunately, we did not have to wait long to find out that her kidneys are functioning properly. They are attributing her high blood pressure to the variety of other "stuff" going on with her and they feel that it will eventually correct itself. Until then, they will control it with medication.

Another up- My friends Deb and Cindy rescued me for a couple of hours and took me to lunch. It was good to get out of the hospital for a little while. Thanks Deb and Cindy! I did have strict instructions from Maddy to come back though. Her dad took a little offense to this... : )

The sun was also shining today. It just makes me feel better to have the sun out even if it is still cold.

Now for the downs:

Maddy woke up saying her eyes hurt when she tried to open them. As a result, Maddy basically kept her eyes closed ALL day- most of the time sleeping with her blankets pulled up over her head. Every once in awhile, she would wake up and scream that her eyes hurt and we would put a wet wash cloth over them. We haven't figured out what is going on. If it is not better tomorrow, I will be a little more persistent to figure it out.

Maddy also got her daily shot and again was not happy about it. She worried all morning until she got the shot and then worried all day about getting another one tomorrow! (They did use a much smaller needle today though, but Maddy still said it hurt.)

Julia has a cold so can't come visit her sister. I think they miss each other. I will remind them of how much they really do love each other the next time they start fighting! : )


That's about it for today. Maddy just woke up screaming for the washcloth for her eyes...

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Spring Break (Day #4)

Today was a better day. The worst part for Maddy was "the shot". The needle the nurse used was quite a bit larger than what the doctor had told us it would be. Mom made sure that the next time, the right needle would be used. Hopefully, this will help. Other than that, Maddy is just tired. Her blood pressure has been running really high so they are trying to figure out what is causing this. They have reduced the IV fluids they are giving her, running some tests, giving her two different blood pressure medicines, and they are going to do an ultrasound of her kidneys tomorrow. They want to make sure her kidneys are functioning properly- kidney issues can cause high blood pressure.

We'll see what tomorrow will bring...

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Spring Break (Day #3)

What a day... Russ started getting a scratchy throat last night, so he left the hospital last night to get away from Maddy.  He made a doctor's appointment today to make sure he didn't have strep or something.  (He doesn't have strep, but probably has a little virus which still isn't good when your child has no immune system.)

Maddy finished up her last dose of chemo early in the morning.  She woke up with a belly ache and was worrying about the shot she was going to have to have.  After all the worrying-  a little numbing cream, a little ice, and a very loud scream later and it was done.  Maddy was brave as usual.   We just wish she didn't have so much to worry about.  It is so hard not knowing what to say to her or how to make her feel better.  As parents, we feel so helpless!

Maddy felt a little better after her shot was over.  We were able to do some crafts and her mean mom made her do some math homework.  She then started to get tired, so she got snuggled in bed.  I put the call button by her so I could step out to get a drink from the lounge down the hall.  One minute later, when I got back to the room, Maddy was laying in bed covered in puke.  She just looked at me and said, "I couldn't get to the call button."  After a little chaos, the nurse cleaned up the bed while I cleaned up Maddy.  The only good thing about the whole ordeal was that Maddy got to take a nice warm shower since we were going to have to change her dressing anyway.  (We then bagged up her "chunky" clothes and blankets for Dad to take care of when he got to the hospital : )

The doctor then stopped in to see Maddy right after the puking episode.  She told us that Maddy's platelets were so low that she needed a platelet transfusion.  She then reminded us that she would need to stay in the hospital until her counts rebounded- about 14 days!  What happened to 10 days??????  The number keeps going up!

The rest of the day was a little better.  Maddy was finally able to take a nap.  Dad and Julia made it to the hospital and did a load of clothes and blankets.  Maddy woke up and played a little with her sister and ate a little supper.  Maddy then started to get a little anxious and uncomfortable, so the nurse gave her a little "happy juice" and she is now sleeping peacefully.

P.S.- I forgot to tell you the topper of the day. Our friends made us a pie. Russ brought it to the hospital for us to eat and put it in the refrigerator in the Family Lounge along with some of our pop and other food labeled with our name and room number. A couple of hours later, I went to get the pie to have it with supper and it was gone along with our pop! Someone took our pie! : ( No pie for us!!!! A perfect ending to a perfect day!


 

 

Friday, March 25, 2011

Spring Break (Day #2)

Maddy had a pretty good day today. She slept a lot of the morning. Her blood counts are so low that she does not have a lot of stamina. She received another blood transfusion this afternoon and it seemed to give her a little energy- she was able to do a little school work, read, and paint a picture frame from the playroom. The chemo is starting to affect her eyes (dark red circles around them)- she might need to borrow some of Mom's concealer! Maddy is getting a little stir crazy already. It's hard to not get bored being stuck in a 10x15 room. Her third chemo treatment is just about done. One more to go and then Maddy has to get a deep muscle shot followed by daily shots to beef up her white blood cells. Maddy is not looking forward to the shots- we may need some more of that "happy medicine". Then we just have to wait for her counts to recover so we can come home. We are praying for no fevers or infections during this time!

P.S. We didn't find the pool today, but we will keep looking!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Spring Break at St. V's (Day #1)

Maddy and Mom arrived at our Spring Break destination at 10 AM today.  After getting "checked in" to our room at the St. Vincent's Resort, we waited and waited for blood work to come back.  Maddy slept most of the day with only the occasional outburst.  Finally, around 5 PM, the nurse started her chemo treatment.  Maddy continued to sleep most of the time (must be the jet lag), but would wake up very unhappy and would let us know it.  Dad and Julia arrived in time to witness this.   At one point, we had two residents at our door peaking in to see if everything was okay.  They looked scared!!!  : )  With a little help from what we will call her "happy medicine",  Maddy is now resting peacefully and isn't quite so agitated.  We have one out of four treatments done!  Maddy's immune system is way low and getting lower.  As a result, we have a lovely 3 ft. tall Heppa Filter system in our room (we had to pay extra for that) to clean the air and a "Protective Isolation" sign on the door (St. V's version of "Do Not Disturb").

That's it for today.  We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow-  maybe lay out by the pool!

Monday, March 21, 2011

She's Home

Maddy was able to come home this evening.  Her temperature stayed around 99 without Tylenol this afternoon.  Maddy's persuasion along with the promise that we would return to the hospital immediately if her temperature went up again was enough to convince the doctor to let her come home.  Hopefully she will be able to get some much needed rest to get ready for her next treatment on Thursday!

Thanks for all the prayers!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sunday Update from St. Vincent's

Maddy came to the hospital on Thursday for a bone marrow aspirate and to start the second month of induction treatments.  She was supposed to have 4 chemo treatments twelve hours apart and then come home.  However, she spiked a fever on Friday night so the doctors ordered cultures and antibiotics.  Maddy has also slept almost continuously and not eaten since Thursday, which is not like her at all.  Maddy is ready to go home, but the doctor was just in and said her counts have already started to drop.  Maddy needs a blood transfusion and we are going to try to get her to drink some Ensure or Boost to get her energy up.  She also still has a fever.  Most likely, we will be spending another night at the hospital.  Unfortunately, she also  has to do this all again on Thursday...

The sun shining through the window this morning reminds us though that there are better days to come.

Monday, March 14, 2011

St. Baldrick Event

The St. Baldrick event today was a huge success thanks to the outpouring of support.  Thanks to everyone who donated or took part in this event!

Our family was able to spend some time at the event.  Russ got his head shaved and as we were getting ready to leave, Julia said she wanted to do it.  Of course, Mom wasn't so sure but she was determined.  Julia wanted to shave her head last year and didn't, so Mom gave in.  Julia grinned from ear to ear as they cut off her pony tails to donate.  She still has not stopped smiling.  Not only did she want to do this for her sister, but she is pretty excited that she can now sleep in longer in the morning!  : )

Our hope is that one day we won't need events like this because a cure for childhood cancer will be found!

Friday, March 11, 2011

University of Michigan Visit

Today we had our appointment at the University of Michigan to meet the Bone Marrow Transplant doctor and discuss this treatment option compared to continued chemotherapy treatments for Maddy.  I can not even begin to describe what Russ and I are feeling right now-  the thought of having to make this decision is almost too much to bear.  PRAYING, PRAYING, PRAYING!!!!


On a more positive note, below are links to the Buckeye and Crescent News articles and pictures from the assembly at the high school on Wednesday.  Enjoy!

http://www.archboldbuckeye.com/news/2011-03-09/Front_Page/AHS_BOYS_BASKETBALL_PLAYERS_GET_THEIR_HAIR_SHAVED.html

http://www.crescent-news.com/news/article/4996681

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Power of Faith, Love, and Hope

We said we would get back to you with who had to buzz their hair at the High School... well, the pictures say it all!

In just three days, the high school raised close to $6000.00 in honor of Maddy. No one was safe from the clippers! Half of the money raised will be going to St. Baldrick's to help fund children's cancer research. The other half will be donated to other cancer organizations and charities of our choice.

It is hard to put into words how truly thankful our family is to be a part of the Archbold school district and community. While we have been through many trials this past 16 months, we have found ourselves continuously saying how lucky we are- lucky to be surrounded by such caring, generous people, lucky that any help we need is always just around the corner, and lucky to have a community praying for us. The events over the last few days have renewed our faith and once again, we find ourselves saying how lucky we are!

Today was a perfect example of what cancer CANNOT do:


Cancer is so limited... It cannot cripple Love. It cannot shatter Hope. It cannot corrode Faith. It cannot destroy Peace. It cannot kill Friendship. It cannot suppress Memories. It cannot silence Courage. It cannot invade the Soul. It cannot steal Eternal Life. It cannot conquer the Spirit!


From the Bottom of Our Hearts We Thank You!!!

The Lamberts



Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sunday Update

Maddy had a pretty good week. She was able to Skype most days with her class which was GREAT! The steroids are starting to really kick in. Maddy is hungry all the time and has lots of aches and pains. She is also tired. Getting up and "going to school" really wiped her out each day. Her treatment on Thursday was uneventful which we like. Her immune system has rebounded for the time being, so hopefully she can get "out" a little. She has another treatment this coming Thursday and then on Friday, we go to the University of Michigan to meet with the bone marrow transplant team (this was changed from Monday). We were told to expect a two hour meeting and we have to bring Maddy. We are just trying to mentally prepare for this meeting right now.

On a positive note, there is going to be a St. Baldrick's event in Archbold on March 14th. (http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/eventid/4276/eventyear/2011)

The ladies organizing the event are honoring Maddy. When the Archbold High School Boys' Basketball team heard about this, they decided they wanted to do something so they are going to have a pledge drive this Monday - Wednesday. On Wednesday, the team will be buzzing their heads. Depending on how much they raise, there may be a couple of other people who have to do the same. We'll let you know... : )