The Plan

After two hours and forty-two pages later, we walked out of the clinic tonight with "the plan" for Maddy's treatment. There are parts of the plan that we do not even want to think about at this time. The doctors go after the cancer cells with a vengeance when there is a relapse since these cells obviously are resistant to the standard treatment. Unfortunately, this means that there are a lot more side effects and risks associated with the treatment. Russ and I are trying not to think too far ahead and just need to take each day as it comes. Thinking ahead hurts too much! Maddy had to come tonight so the doctor could explain to her what was going to take place (this is a requirement of their protocol). As usual, Maddy was very quiet and did not ask any questions. She seems to just take it all in and we aren't exactly sure what she is thinking, but she continues to be strong and brave.

Maddy will start the first of a three month induction cycle on Thursday. The first month will consist of weekly chemotheray through her port and into her spinal fluid along with a few other drugs including steroids. The second and third months are even more intense and will have us spending more time in the hospital.

Julia will also have blood work done on Thursday to see if she is a match for a bone marrow transplant. We found out today that there is about a 25% chance that Julia will be a match. If she isn't, it looks like a transplant will most likely not be an option and intense chemotherapy over two years will be the plan.

We are thankful again for everyone's thoughts and prayers! While we thought we were nearing the end of this journey, it appears that we now have yet another mountain to climb. We could not do this without the continued support from all of you.

Call from the Doctor

We just received a call from Maddy's doctor. Her bone marrow was clear!!! Russ and I will be going to the clinic on Monday to go over Maddy's treatment plan and sign paperwork. Maddy will now start treatment on Thursday- they figured out that they have to wait seven days from her last treatment.

Relapse

Yesterday, February 3, 2011, Maddy went for her monthly chemo treatment and a spinal tap. Upon testing, the doctors found leukemia cells in Maddy's spinal fluid. We went back to the hospital today for further tests of her bone marrow. They are thinking right now that Maddy has an “Isolated Relapse of the Central Nervous System”- leukemia cells in her spinal fluid. The first look at Maddy’s bone marrow was good, but they are still running further tests to see if there are cancer cells in her marrow. Either way, we are looking at three, one month chemotherapy blocks. The first being similar to what she has done in the past, the last two being extremely intense. From there, we have decisions to make whether to continue chemo and radiation or do a bone marrow transplant. This decision is influenced by whether her big sis,Julia, is a match or not. Julia will be tested next week.

We start treatment on Wednesday of next week, so we are headed home for now. We are going to try to have a "normal" weekend and hopefully get Maddy in to see her classmates one more time before she starts treatment. It is like we are starting all over again! Two more years of treatment, no school, no hair... our hearts are breaking!

100%

Just a quick update. Maddy had blood work done yesterday and her counts have come back up, so she is able to take 100% of her medication again. We are glad to be back on track! Fortunately, Maddy has not picked up any of the bugs that have been going around at school lately. She is due for another treatment and a spinal on February 3rd.

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We enjoyed our time with family and friends and were able to spend some time together as a family. We hope everyone was able to do the same.

Unfortunately, Maddy's counts dropped over the holidays and we had to stop her chemo pills for a week. Fortunately for Maddy, this meant that she could eat at all hours of the day during the holiday festivities! : ) We went to Toledo this past Wednesday to have her blood work done again and her counts had come up. She is now back on 50% of her medication and we hope she is able to tolerate it and slowly build back up to 100%. She goes back to the clinic this Wednesday for a treatment so we will be able to check her counts again.

We are looking forward to another year and pray for continued strength!

Post from Maddy

Hi, it's Maddy. I am very happy to get back to school. My teacher is very nice and my class is too.

Love,

Maddy

The Journey Continues- One Year Later

This past Friday, November 12th, marked the one year anniversary of Maddy's leukemia diagnosis. It is hard to believe that ONE whole year has gone by. Looking back, it is also hard to believe all that our family has experienced in just one year. Obviously, we had many lows but we can honestly say that this past year has also been filled with much joy, hope, faith, kindness, and compassion! Maddy continues to do well with her treatments and we keep getting closer to that day when she will hopefully be able to put all of this behind her and never look back!

Our gratitude goes out to all of our family and friends who continue to support us throughout this journey...