Monday, October 20, 2008

We are Home!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting. We did make it home safely on Friday, and had a very nice relaxing weekend. Please pray for Christen as she works at returning to "normal" life now. Her energy level is still low since she has been through so much this year. It will probably take her at least 6 months to get back to normal levels of activity. Please also pray that her blood counts will continue to rise.

Thanks!
Steve & Debbie for the family

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Meetings at MD Anderson Complete

We had our last meeting with the Dr. here at MD Anderson regarding Christen's situation. Her PET CT scan was clear, and they also agreed that the spot on the chest CT is too small to make a clear determination of what it is, so he wants to keep a close eye on it. She will have another chest CT the first part of December. We are really breathing a sigh of relief right now, almost pinching ourselves that there are no major issues on the horizon. Can it be true? Now we wait...

We also had a film crew in the room while we were meeting with the Dr. filming a documentary on the whole process of dealing with childhood cancer. They were very nice and supportive folks, and Christen was able to meet a college student who is an osteosarcoma survivor.

We are very glad to have made the contact with the Dr. here. He is an expert in the field of osteosarcoma and will be keeping track of Christen's case as time goes on. He gave us a number of options to consider should she have a recurrence and wants to get the red tape out of the way in VA so that she could receive further treatment there should it be needed. The meeting was very educational. It was definitely worth the trip down here.

Please continue to pray that Christen's counts will improve, and that she will have no recurrence either in her leg or lungs. Pray also for renewed strength since she still tires quickly. It will take her some time to get back to her old self.

Praise be to God. We give Him all the thanks. He has answered your prayers.

Steve & Debbie for the family

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Counts On the Way Up

We received the results from yesterday's labs and are very grateful that Christen's counts have risen somewhat although still low. We are all rejoicing at this step up; she is sooo glad to be able to go out in public without a mask! This morning we went to The Galleria which Christen wanted to see as she said it is one of the largest malls in the U.S.

Late this afternoon, her PETCT was done. We will meet with the doctor Thursday morning after he has looked at the results. He will give us his thoughts then regarding what he believes to be the best course of action regarding further care. The PETCT will give a very good indication if there is any active cancer in her body at present. Statistically, she has a number of very big strikes against her for recurrence; however, we know that even this is under the control of a loving heavenly Father. It is not always easy to keep this in mind; but praise God, we do know it is true!

Tomorrow, we have "off." Pray for God's blessings on our time together and for wisdom for Dr. Anderson. Pray, too, for the scan results; and that in everything, God would be glorified. Christen remains her cheerful self inspite of all; and our other children seem to be hanging in there quite well.

Thanks to all for your prayers and support of our entire family!

Monday, October 13, 2008

First Meeting in Houston

We had our first meeting with the Dr. today. Christen also had x-rays taken, and will have a PET CT scan tomorrow afternoon. Once the Dr. has all the information in hand he will give us his opinion Thursday morning.

Thanks for the prayers and encouragements!

Steve & Debbie

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Safely in Houston

We had a good flight to Houston today. The only little difficulty we encountered was Christen setting off the scanner while going through security. She was able to get through after they pulled her aside for additional screening. We met a nice family on the plane who took the time to give us information about the area around the hospital. It is an amazing thing to experience such acts of kindness from complete strangers.

The three of us enjoyed a nice evening relaxing, laughing, and joking together. Thanks be to God for the little moments of joy that He has given us in the midst of the trial. :-)

Please be in prayer for our meeting tomorrow morning with the Dr.

It turns out we didn't get to stay at the Ronald McDonald house because it is still closed due to damage from the recent hurricane.

Thanks!
Steve & Debbie and Christen

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Off To Houston

We leave for the airport in the morning to fly to Houston for Christen's appointment with osteosarcoma specialist. Christens counts are still very low, so we are particularly concerned about her white cell count since she will be exposed to more germs in the airport and on the plane. An infection of any sort could be very dangerous for her.

After we return from Houston she is scheduled to receive a bone marrow aspiration. This will give the Dr. more information as he tries to determine what is causing her blood counts not to return to normal levels. Please pray that we will all have peace about this.

Steve & Debbie for the family

Friday, October 10, 2008

Blood Counts Still Low

We received the discouraging news today that Christen's blood counts are still low. She is still able to go to Houston this weekend, but she needs to be very careful about infection. She is really discouraged because it means she won't be able to do as much in Houston as she was hoping. :-( Please pray for God's peace to be upon her.

Steve & Debbie for the family

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

White Cell Count

Please pray that Christen's white cell count which has been unusually low since the the end of chemotherapy. The Dr. is not sure yet why it is still low. We are planning to travel to Houston on Sunday for our meeting, so pray her count will come up prior to the trip. If it doesn't come up she may have to wear a mask on the plane and be very careful about exposure to germs.

Thanks!
Steve & Debbie for the family

Monday, October 6, 2008

Back from CHOP

Christen had a very good appointment today with her surgeon in Philadelphia. He is very pleased with how she is progressing. Additionally she had a bone scan and chest CT this past Friday which we were worried about, but they both turned out to be clear. There were some unusual aspects of both scans that gave us some (well actually a lot of) concern. The CT scan report made mention of a small object in her lung. However they decided that it is most likely nothing of significance. We are so thankful beyond words for that. It is hard to describe how hard these tests are for us every time she has one. Thankfully Christen does a much better job with them than her parents do. :-)

Now we start getting ready for our trip to Houston this Sunday. Please pray for wisdom for all of us in this process.

Thanks!
Steve & Debbie for the family

Friday, October 3, 2008

Next Steps

The next phase of Christens treatment today is beginning today. She is at UVa today to get a chest CT, and a full body scan to see if there is any visible cancer activity anywhere in her body. Please pray that these tests would all come back negative. Also please pray that her blood counts would return to normal soon. They took an unexpected drop this week.

Christen returns to CHOP this coming Monday (10/6), and then we go to Houston October 12th for a consult with an osteosarcoma specialist about possible further treatment.

Thank you all so much for the continued prayer. We appreciate the prayers and encouragements which you regularly lift up our behalf. They mean so much to us.

Steve & Debbie for the family