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Well after much debate, Dr. Jasty won out and Maddy had her catheter removed today and a temporary PICC line put in to avoid any further complications due to the infection.  On top of that, she also got her flu shot.  Needless to say, Maddy was ready to leave the hospital.  Once we got all equipped with the portable IV pump and a week's worth of  IV antibiotic, we were able to leave.  It is good to be home even though our furnace is not working and it is only 61 degrees in our house...  BURRRRR!

How Quickly Things Change

It had been a while since I posted so I gave an update on how well things were going on Wednesday- I must have jinxed us!  On Thursday, Maddy ended up in the hospital and she is still in.  We had noticed a red mark on her neck a couple days prior.  We didn't think much about it at first-thought maybe she scratched it or something rubbed it.  It wasn't until Thursday morning when the redness was still there and it perfectly followed the path of the catheter cord in her neck that we got a little worried.  After talking to Nurse Yoder at school, I mentioned it to the nurse at the clinic on the phone...  Needless to say, we were told to report to the hospital.  The red line traveling along the cord was a sign of infection- the only sign Maddy had.  They thought at first the infection was just around the outside of the catheter in the track where the cord runs, but blood cultures showed signs of infection in both lumens as well. We are now playing the waiting game treating Maddy with high doses of antibiotics in hopes to clear up the infection so that her line does not have to be pulled.  This, however, puts all her chemo on hold.  Also, Maddy's oncologist is worried that the infection will continue to come back.  We will hopefully know a little more tomorrow and by Monday or Tuesday will possibly be able to make a final decision on what to do.  YUCK!

Conquer Childhood Cancer Now

It has been a while since I last posted, so I thought I would give a quick update.  Maddy continues to do well.  She is enjoying school and is getting reacquainted with all of her friends.  We are still working on   helping her deal with her anxiety and her "perfectionism"-  don't know where she gets that!  : )  Some days are better than others, but she is getting there.  We are 6 weeks into Maintenance and all is going well.  Starting next week, she will have weekly clinic visits for the next four weeks for IV chemo.  Then she will have one cycle done and four more to go!  Our goal now is for her hair to grow back. Due to the radiation, the little hair she had started to fall out.  Again, it was getting into everything, so it was time to shave the remains.  As she sat on the front porch and I started to shave her head yet again, Maddy said for the first time, "I am getting tired of this!"  That pretty much sums things up...

On another note-

September marked Childhood Cancer Awareness month.  Conquer Childhood Cancer Now (CCCN), a local organization that works to raise awareness about childhood cancer and provide resources to families, spent most of the month spreading the word and doing fundraisers for their cause.  Maddy was fortunate enough to be a part of their Awareness Day at the mall in Defiance this past Saturday.  The event consisted of a bake sale, vendor fair, live auction, and the "Queen" contest.  Maddy was given the privilege of crowning the "Queen".  The day was successful, and as usual, the generosity shown by the community was amazing!

End of Radiation Celebration!

Lately, we have looked for any reason to celebrate.  Today marked the end of radiation, so Maddy decided this was cause to celebrate!  To start this celebration, we went out for dinner- Chinese of course with her Chinese food buddies Miss Heckel and Mrs. Buehrer.  She will also be bringing donuts for her classmates and staff at the elementary tomorrow! It has been great to see Maddy at school and so happy lately!  We hope to continue to find more reasons to celebrate!

Radiation
(and Maddy got to bring the mask home-  great for Halloween!)

                                  When the doctor is away the patients will play- or atleast this patient!

P.S.

The 2012 Cure Search Walk in Toledo was a huge success raising over $30,000 for childhood cancer research.  Thanks to everyone who donated!

Welcome to Maintenance!

Maddy has officially started Maintenance!  She had a clinic visit and got all of her home meds today.    She then went for her first radiation treatment.  Mom cried, but Maddy did great!  We now have the "plan" for the next 50 weeks.  We are praying for no more set backs!

Maddy thrilled with her first evening dose of meds...  37 and 1/2 pills!

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words!

Heading off to school on the first day...

Start of a New Phase

While many kids are dreading the start of school and the end of summer vacation, there is rejoicing in the Lambert house!  We found out today that Maddy will officially be able to go to school tomorrow-  the first day of fourth grade!  Of course, it will be an adjustment-  she is used to staying in her PJs all day while "doing" school at home, but she is so excited!

Maddy completed the last chemo treatment in the Intensification II phase last Thursday.  Once her blood counts stabilize from this treatment, she will officially start the Maintenance phase for a second time.  Because she relapsed in February 2011 in her spinal fluid, she will be getting cranial radiation for 10 days at the start of the Maintenance phase.  This is tentatively scheduled to start next Monday-  she will be going to the clinic for bloodwork on Friday to determine where she is at.

We are just so glad to be back at this stage and hopefully will have no more set backs!



Again, just wanted to remind everyone that:

Coming up on September 8th is the second annual CureSearch Walk in Toledo.  All the money raised by CureSearch goes directly to children's cancer research and resources.  You can go to the link below to check it out and donate to this cause:

http://www.curesearchwalk.org/toledo/maddy

Did you know:

• Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with cancer.
• Children's cancer affects all ethnic, gender and socio-economic groups.
• The average age of children diagnosed is six.
• More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year.
•  Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children.

September is also Childhood Cancer Awareness Month-  wear your GOLD ribbons!