Friday, April 22, 2011

Avery right before Surgery!
Today we knew it would be another hard day. Last night, I hardly slept, re-thinking over the day's events and what was in store for us tomorrow and especially thinking about little Avery. Last night, they went over what would be happening today. She received a blood transfusion in the night to bring her blood counts back up. Her Homoglobin (Iron) was at 7 and they like it between 11 & 13, her WBC & RBC (white & red blood count) were low and they needed them to be up for her big day. Her platelets were low and low enough that before surgery they had to give her another transfusion. She's having surgery today and can't eat/drink after 6:00 a.m. so at 5:30, I woke her up to give her something to eat and drink. During surgery, they took some of her bone marrow to test to better understand what kind of treatment she'll need and to check the chromosomes. Also, they did a spinal tab to get a sample of cerebrospinal fluid that is around the brain and spinal chord. They examine this under the microscope to see if their are any cancer cells there. Because this is a hard place for the Chemo to reach, they inserted a syringe here with her first bit of Chemo. After the test come back, they will know if they need to continue doing a spinal tab to treat this area during treatments. Finally, they needed to implant her port or central line which is the hardest for Avery to understand. This is a tube they place in her vein in the upper chest and it goes underneath her skin. She has struggled with having to constantly have an IV and trying to explain this to a 5 year old has been difficult. I knew she would be a little crazy about something going underneath her skin that she couldn't get out. She cried a lot about not wanting that "thing" in her. Were they going to cut her open? We tried to explaine as simplify as we could, so she wouldn't be too freaked out after surgery. Surgery wasn't until 1:30 and she was thirsty and hungry. She was scared for surgery and we tried to hide how scared we were too. Johnny & I were anxious to get this part over with. They gave her medicine to relax her which seemed to help. I promised that I would be there when she woke up. They wheeled Avery one way to surgery and we went the other to the waiting room. This was the hardest part, I didn't want to leave her alone. I prayed that this hour would go by fast. I knew she would be in good hands and would be put to sleep soon. The surgery was a success and took closer to 2 hours. Avery was very agitated and mad at those doctors for doing that to her. It hurt and she wanted it out. It broke my heart, but I knew we had no choice. They gave her pain medicine and something to relax her. Kyle did wonders for Avery. She went from being so mad, to being so silly. He would ask her questions and she kept telling him funny answers. We were so relieved that this part was over. Only 24 hours since we first found out Avery had Leukemia and it feels like so much longer.

Shouldn't Avery be having thumb's down & Kelsi thumb's up?


After Surgery, Kyle making Avery happy!

What a Shocker!

I've been so inspired by a few of my college friends, whose parent is battling cancer or whose children has a severe medical condition. They have always amazed me with how courageous they are. But no, I never thought that our family would be going through a similar experience. Or No, while walking for two groups in the Relay for Life against Cancer did I think just a short week later, we would start our own fight against cancer. On April 21, 2011 we found out that our sweet Avery has leukemia. What a shocker! I couldn't even say the word cancer without bawling that first day..... well I still bawl if I say it. Our whole day changed! Our hearts were crushed and we were scared for what she would have to endure, along with all the other worries. Avery has been having back, abdominal and leg pain and on Feb. 27th I took her to the ER to figure out what was going on with her. For those that know me well, we don't visit doctors much especially not the ER. We have never been to the ER before. After lots of x-ray, cat-scan, IV, blood work, etc.. they found some major bowel blockage. She was also slightly anemic and her C reactive Protein (CRP)was high at 37, which means she had inflammation. We kept struggling with the bowels and I kept calling her Dr. to try to figure out why she was still having such pain. We did more blood work on April 8th and tested the CRP again and also tested something called ESR (Sedimentation Rate). After a few days and no response from her DR. I called and got the results from the hospital myself and looked up what the results meant. The CRP had went down, but was still high and ESR level should have been between 0-10, but was 110. I know something else had to be going on besides her bowels having issues. I had looked into it enough to know what some of the results could mean, but tried not to think of the worst. Her Dr. decided to send us up to Primary Children's Hospital to see a Rheumatologist Doctor for additional blood work to try & figure out what was going on with her. Her color had been so pale and I was concerned about lots of bruising that started showing up on her legs. When the doctor introduce the social worker to us I became more concerned. The Dr. had her labs back and said that her white blood cells were low and they had found abnormal cells in her blood. "As she got tears in her eyes, she said I'm sorry to say, but your daughter has cancer". I was in shock and my heart was crushed". No way, were they sure? Yes, they found something called Blast in her blood and knew it was Leukemia, but wasn't sure what kind. We were devastated and my heart ache for what Avery would have to go through! The rest is somewhat of a blurr...the arthritis doctor went with us to admit us to the hospital, then up to the cancer clinic on the 4th floor to talk to a cancer doctor (Oncologist...I didn't even know what a cancer doctor was called until now) and discussed what was next for us, social workers showed up for us and Avery. Then IV team showed up to give Avery another IV which was traumatic (she already had one at the ER), and then we were off to ICU )(Immune Compromised Unit to get our room. Room number #4113. They would have a team of Doctors that would decide her treatment plan. We tried to keep somewhat of our composure around Avery, but she just wanted to go home. After a few hours, we finally had the chance to call and tell our family the news.

We just found out what our baby is today..... Boy or Girl! Can you tell?

The Baby's Foot!

I Love these Girls!

Salt & Pepper, Brownie & Whitey, Brown eyes, Blue eyes, Dark hair, Light hair, Curly hair, Straight hair, Dark skin, Light skin. I love these two girls and all their differences. It amazes me!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

SOME HAPPENINGS IN SEPTEMBER.....

Kelsi went to her 3 week appointment and weighed 7 lbs 9 oz. This week she goes for another check-up, so we'll see how much she has gained now!

Kelsi just chillin with her cousins! We're waiting for cousin Whitney to come visit so we can get a picture of all 4 girls.

Once again Parowan had its annual Iron County Fair. First, we headed to the little buck-a-roo rodeo where Avery, with the help of her dad, rode a sheep and also did the barrel racing. Of course, we had to go on a few rides at the carnival. My SIL was nice and took Avery on the Ferris Wheel and Johnny went on the Sizzler with her. I think it made him more sick then Avery. Then she hit some rides with her cousins. On Labor Day, we headed to the Parade. Avery's Great-Grandpa Alma was the Grand Marshal and she even let him ride Blacky.






One more trip in the mountains staying in our trailer, before it gets too cold! Cousins Ty & Sophia also joined us.



OH... so fresh and so clean, clean!!

Avery's already getting ready for Halloween! She wants me to lift her in the air while she rides with her broom.

Playing with her baby sis again!!

Avery went herding cows with her Dad! She loves riding horses and insists this is her horse Blacky, but really it's her Great-Grandpa Alma's!

SO SWEET!!

Avery just loves her baby sister!! She loves to hold her, kiss her, touch her nose, checks, head and even on occasion lick her cheek. Now that's the one I don't understand.

There's just something so sweet about a sleeping baby!!



Rachelle even gave me a little lesson on how to update my own blog and I still struggle to find the time or should I say make it a priority to get it updated. So playing catch up, Rachelle had her baby unexpectedly 3 weeks early on August 27th. So that makes Kelsi & Whitney exactly 2 weeks apart. How sweet....these two cousins already want to be next to each other and Big Brother Bridger and Big Sister Avery are tickled to have them.