"It's Christmas, Mary's Coming Home! It's Gonna Be a Merry Christmas!"

Merry Christmas Eve to All!

We are happy to say.....MARY IS COMING HOME TODAY!!  David is on his way to Chicago to pick Mary & Greg up and bring them home. We are all so happy and thankful! We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and hope you cherish the time that you have with your loved ones this season! We appreciate all those that have made "Mary coming home" their Christmas wish this year and all glory goes to the one who is the reason for the season..Jesus!

And in the words of The Oak Ridge Boy's (a Provance Family Favorite Christmas Album):

"It's Christmas, Mary's coming home! 
It's Christmas, Mary's coming home
She is the only thing I want
Another year has come and gone
It's Christmas, Mary's coming home
I've been sitting by the phone, waiting for her call
One short ring and I'll be gone to get my baby doll
We're gonna rock around the clock down at the Legion hall
I can't wait to hear her say, "Merry Christmas, merry away"
It's Christmas, Mary's coming home
She is the only thing I want
Another year has come and gone

It's Christmas, Mary's coming home
I wrote a letter to Santa Claus, just like I was a little child
And all I need is a little love, all wrapped up in her smile
I've been good but I've been better, just a little while
Must have read between the lines, it won't be long, you'll still be mine
It's gonna be a merry Christmas
It's gonna be a merry Christmas"

Merry Christmas

Hi there.  Mom is doing well today but is still in the hospital.  You can imagine how frustrating it would be to be stuck up there feeling okay, especially this time of year.  Doctors say she can probably go home tomorrow.  Her counts are slowly improving so they say as long as her counts don't go down tomorrow, she'll be able to go home.

All of Mary & Greg's kids and grandkids were able to visit her yesterday for Christmas.  We reserved a room on Mom's floor and spent about 3 hours enjoying time together.  It wasn't ideal for them to have that time in the hospital, but it was still good to all be together.

We'll update again soon but wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday to Mary

It's Mom's birthday today!  What great news she received yesterday to set her up for a great birthday and a wonderful Christmas.  Mom has to stay in the hospital until her counts go up more, but Adam, Amy, and their families will be visiting her today.  My Dad and Sue will also be there with her, and I'm trading my daughter for one of Amy's daughters, and I'm staying back with a couple runny noses.  I haven't heard for sure but I bet Julie and Evan will be joining the party too.

Mom's counts didn't change today, so we're still unsure of when she'll be able to head home.  Adam told her that after she sees everyone today her numbers are going to shoot straight up! :)

Mom's main doctor, Jessica, called last night to talk more about the biopsy.  She was thrilled when she looked at Mom's slides with the head pathologist.  She said her cells look very healthy and that this new (clinical trial) drug/chemo seems to be working wonderfully for Mom.  Jessica has some things in mind for chemo in the near future to try to make the cancer stay away for good.  Mom will be heading back in after the new year to talk with Jessica about a plan.

For now we wait on Mom's counts and thank God for her health.  Hope you're all feeling just as blessed this Christmas season.

Good News

Preliminary results show that there is no cancer!!!!  We are thrilled to hear this!  The team of doctors came in this morning saying that what the slides show so far is good.  They still have to confirm what they see, but the initial results look positive.  They were even talking about Mom coming home this weekend.  Her counts even came up a bit from yesterday.

We believe the doctors wouldn't tell us good news if they weren't confident enough.  They talked about doing more chemo in the near future to make sure the cancer doesn't come back, but we are just thrilled she can come home for Christmas!

Thanks for all your love and support!   Praise God!

Still No News

We still haven't heard from the doctors yet.  We thought it would be by tonight but obviously they're keeping us in suspense til the morning.  Thank you for all your prayers today.  Mom is doing well and has felt a lot of peace in this waiting period.  Her bone marrow biopsy procedure yesterday went as well as it could've gone.  She said it may be the least painful one she's ever had.  I will update the blog tomorrow when we hear more.

Love you all.

Biopsy Tomorrow

Hi...I hope you're all doing well this Sunday night.  Mom is feeling well.  She hasn't had a fever in a couple days.  We are hopeful that her counts are on the rise because her white count went up a couple points today.  Her counts need to go up before she can go home so that she has the ability to fight off germs and other things that could cause sickness.  We're definitely happy to see the numbers begin to move!

Tomorrow around 9 or 10 am they will do a bone marrow biopsy.  This is similar to a blood draw where they evaluate her numbers but it is looking in the place where blood is actually developed.  This gives them the best look to know whether she is in remission or if they still see cancer cells being formed.  We are praying so hard, and ask for prayer from you all, that Mom is cancer FREE!  We should hear from the doctor by Tuesday evening or Wednesday.

It's obviously a more stressful time for Mom and all of us.  These are the days that she feels fine and is feeling ready to get out of here and go home for Christmas, but she has to wait on the results of the test this week.

WE WILL BE DOING ANOTHER FAST DAY ON TUESDAY.  We are so thankful for all our family and friends who joined us last week as we prayed for Mom's health to improve.  This week we ask for prayer that she is in remission and that her counts continue to go up.  She also needs prayer for peace.  I said something about this when she first got in the hospital a few weeks ago, but we are trying to focus on counting our blessings and praise God for all He has done for us, rather than letting the fear of the unknown take over.  We are so blessed.

Much love to you all.

Another Prayer Request

Mom is doing fine today.  She is asking for prayers because her team of doctors came in this morning and said they think there is still a bacteria in her that they have yet to take care of.  Over the last 24 hours, she still has had fevers that they are concerned about, although they're not nearly as high as the beginning of the week.  Mom said that she is feeling fine today and doesn't really notice the fevers, but it's not good on her body to continue to have them.  They are adding another antibiotic and are going to see if that takes away the fevers.  If she still has fevers, then they will do a MRI tomorrow to try to locate the source of infection.

Mom asks for prayers that the fevers disappear and the infections in her body are gone.  Thanks for your prayers.

Update

I just wanted to share that Mom is feeling better today than she has felt in the past 3 days.  Her very high fevers have subsided.  She will still battle some fevers over the next day or so, but thankfully not as high.  They have pinpointed the bacteria and are giving her the antibiotic she needs.  They are going to continue this antibiotic until her counts come back up in the next couple weeks.  Mom is feeling well enough to go on short walks, eat her meals, and talk with her visitors (thanks for staying last night, Patti!).  She's still been sleepy today since they have lots of medicine in her, and probably will continue to feel this way for some time.

Thank you for all your prayers and support throughout the hard days we've just seen.  I've heard from a handful of people about their day of fasting and it seems to have brought us all a bit closer to God as we talk to Him throughout our day.  Mom absolutely feels God's presence and love and it is carrying her through.  Please continue to pray for Mom, as she still needs strength for now and a healing from the cancer forever.  We praise God for His blessings.

Julie also just shared a post today, so please read below...

A friend of mine shared this with me this morning and I wanted to share it with everyone reading this blog :) It's called "Take Heart" by Hillsong United..

All our troubles
And all our tears
God our Hope
He has overcome

All our failures
And all our fear
God our love 
He has overcome
All our heartache
And all our pain
God our Healer
He has overcome

All our burdens
And all our shame
God our Freedom
He has overcome

All our troubles
And all our tears
God our Hope
He has OVERCOME

God our justice
God our grace
God our freedom
He has OVERCOME

God our refuge
God our strength
God is with us
He has OVERCOME

Prayer needed

Mom is still battling some high fevers last night into this morning.  The doctors say this is normal when you have an infection in her state.  She is neutropenic, which means the chemo has destroyed everything in her blood, good and bad.  This is how they get her in remission, but it also weakens her system and she has no ability to fight off infection on her own.  Like I said before, they are giving her antibiotics to combat this infection.  Sometimes it takes a couple days to alleviate the fevers and other problems associated with the infection. 

We ask for prayers today that she comes out of this state and feels strong once again.  Last night she was feeling pretty down emotionally (when she could stay awake which was not long at all). 

Also, today is the day we are fasting together.  If you haven't read about that it is in one of the previous posts.  You can join us now if you'd like.  Thank you so much for all your support!

Harder days

Today has been a continuation of what was happening yesterday, as Adam talked about in the last post.  Mom battled some high fevers through the night so the doctors and nurses helped her deal with those as best as they could.  She slept well between the times they were checking on her or doing something for her.  That's an improvement from the night before when her chills kept her awake.  The fevers and the medicine have made her very tired so she has still been sleeping most of the day today.  Her team of doctors came in this morning and said they do see she has a bacterial infection which is causing her fevers.  They are now giving her antibiotics to treat the infection and expect her to feel better within 24 hours. 

When she is awake, which is rare, her attitude is positive and she seems happy.  I am impressed with her strength once again.  God is absolutely hearing our prayers and bringing her through this difficult time.  He's sent His peace that passes all understanding.

Mom has a hope greater than anything on earth can promise us.  She trusts in her Savior who we are celebrating this Christmastime.  John Piper wrote:  This omnipotent, effective, protecting love does not spare us from calamities in this life, but brings us safe to everlasting joy with God.  

May He continue to give Mom joy despite her trials, and all of her friends and family as well.

Sunday Update

Hello Everyone,

It's Adam (Mary's son) and I'm sitting here next to Mom while she is getting some rest after a pretty tough night.  Julie, Dad, David and myself were here all day yesterday and Mom had an awesome day.  It wasn't until last night about 11:00 that she started to spike a fever that continued throughout the night.  When we all arrived here this morning Mom still had a fever of about 103 but since then it has dropped to closer to 100 and she's starting to rest much more comfortably. 

Today she's got some more visitors besides Dad and I...Amy, Brian and their three girls are here;  Joe (my Mom's brother who was her stem cell donor and may be called upon again) and his wife Cheryl, daughter Sarah and her husband Adam (II).  Mom's happy to have people in the room even though she is napping pretty good now and catching up on some rest from what she missed last night. 

It's been a very nice weekend with Mom...I arrived on Friday morning and spent the day here with her, Amy and her daughter Emma "Lou-do-poo-poo".  It's been fun to watch Emma bring laughter and smiles to Grammy's face, she's up here often with Amy and I know Mom really enjoys having her here.  Earlier in the week I mentioned something to Suzanne and Amy about seeing if we could get some home videos up here with a VCR and they had it ready to go on Friday.  After getting things set up on the flatscreen we started watching some of the old classics!  One of the videos was from 1975 - 1980, no sound but we got to see Mom's and Dad's wedding, several Christmas Eve celebrations, and a few videos from when Amy and I were little and she was feeding us.  For several hours each day on Friday and Saturday she got "lost in time" and the days went by fas,t which was our main goal.  There are plenty more tapes up here and when she starts feeling better then hopefully she can enjoy more of those. 

I'll be taking off in a little while to head back to Pittsburgh but Bre and the kids and I will be coming back for Christmas on the 18th.  We are truly praying that Mom will be home to celebrate her upcoming birthday (20th) and Christmas with the entire family.  She's showing great signs of making that become a reality but we'll know a lot more over the next few days or so.  What a blessing it would be to have her home to celebrate Jesus' birth in her own home with the entire family around.  She tells us that she's NOT going to celebrate Christmas in the hospital so we'll be ready to have that time as a family no matter when she comes home. 

Thank you for the continued prayers and support from all of you.  Please write Mom a message when you get a chance, she's checking in on the blog and always loves hearing from her family and friends.  Love to you all, off to the Burgh!

A Holy Fast

My aunt Sue asked me to let everyone know that we are going to do a fast day, each Tuesday, so we can pray for Mary particularly that day.  If you'd like to participate, fasting can be done in many ways.  It involves giving up something (food or anything that would be a sacrifice) for that day and when you miss that thing you've given up, you say a prayer for Mary.

Joel 1:14 says:
Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly.  Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

***************

Mom is still doing fine.  She has an upset stomach and doesn't feel right, but hasn't had pain or any major problems.  Her blood pressure has been on the low side, so they've been giving her fluid to help it go up.   We anticipate her hardest days being over this weekend but the doctors can never tell us how things will go for sure.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support!  We love you all.

Sunday

Hi everyone.  I'm sitting up here with mom tonight after a nice slow weekend.  Mom is still feeling well aside from fatigue (from her blood levels dropping and the medicine they give her) and some nausea.  She's DONE with her chemo as of last night, so that's definitely exciting.  The chemo hasn't taken full effect, and probably won't have moved through her system fully until a couple weeks from now.  For now we just wait and keep her company as the medicine does its work.  It gets hard for her being closed into a hospital room for weeks at a time, but she knows she has to fight this sickness and get home as soon as she can.

Today is day 6 on Mom's schedule.  Day 1 was when she started chemo and Day 21 (which is December 17th) they will do a bone marrow biopsy.  We're unsure of when she'll be able to go home.  It depends on lots of things such as how she's feeling, how her counts are coming back, and if her doctor wants her to stay here til they get the results of the biopsy back.  We'll keep you updated as we get more information but so much of it is up in the air at this point.

Mom is asking for prayer for patience in this waiting period.  Also that she gets through this tougher week well.  And finally that this new chemo gets rid of her cancer for good!  We also pray for each of you, our family and friends, that you trust in the Lord through any trials you may have going on in your lives today.  He is the One who will get us through!

Mom's address:
Prentice Women's Hospital
250 E. Superior
Room 1570
Chicago, IL 60611

Wednesday

Mom has now had 2 full days of chemo.  She's doing great and a few of us are up visiting her tonight.  She looks great and doesn't feel any of the effects of the chemo yet.  Her blood count has gone down some, so in addition to the chemo, she's also getting blood tonight.  That is very common and they expect that she'll need it throughout her stay.  She usually starts to feel the effects of the medicine after day 10 so we are enjoying these days and just keeping her company.  I have some Christmas music going here in the hospital room, we can see some Christmas trees lit outside her window, and nurses file in and out checking different things here and there. 

It's been nice for Mom to see some of the nurses here on the 15th floor.  She was on this floor 3 years ago when she first was diagnosed and developed good friendships with some of the women who took care of her for those months.  One nurse specifically, Peggy, was very dear to Mom's heart and she caught up with her yesterday.  Although they don't want to see each other (because that means Mom is sick), it's good to have familiar faces around.

Thanks for reading.  We'll write again in the next couple days.

We have been CHOSEN!

Mary feels God working already..feeling good and at peace.  
The PIC line is in and all went well.
Dental result came back good, with no infections (because you cannot start chemo with any infections) as well as the in the scan of her sinus cavity. 
So, because of everything going SO well today, chemo was started this evening at 7 pm.  The good news with this..is that the sooner the chemo starts, the sooner Mary will go home :)

Also, we got word that Mary has been chosen to participate in the Clinical Trial with Elacytarabine chemotherapy..

This Nationwide Clinical Study (that has been going on for 2 1/2 years) was presented to us as the best option for Mary's (new) treatment plan.
They have followed roughly 150 people with this trial and have found tremendous results!  
Last Wednesday, there were 12 spots left in the Clinical Study, and as of today, there are only 7 spots left in the nation...and Mary has been, in her words...BLESSED..to be qualified & chosen to participate in this clinical trial. 
It is being given to patients whose AML keeps coming back..and as Dr. Altman's 1st choice of treatment plans, my family is so very thankful for the opportunity to try a new route since the last "tries" have not been successful in preventing the AML's return.  We have been successful in getting it into remission, but this will hopefully keep it from coming back..for good!
This Clinical Trial is nearing the end of its "trial" phase and we are exited to be part of the research to help other patients in the future! 

From the book, Jesus Calling, wanted to share what we just read..it's fitting:
"THIS IS THE DAY THAT I HAVE MADE! As you rejoice in this day of life, it will yield up to you precious gifts and beneficial training. Walk with Me along the high road of thanksgiving, and you will find all the delights I have made ready for you.

To protect your thankfulness, you must remember that you reside in a fallen world, where blessings and sorrows intermingle freely. A constant focus on adversity defeats many Christians. They walk through a day that is brimming with beauty and brightness, seeing only the grayness of their thoughts. Neglecting the practice of giving thanks has darkened their minds. How precious are My children who remember to thank Me at all times. They can walk through the darkest days with Joy in their hearts because they know that the Light of My Presence is still shining on them. Rejoice in this day that I have made, for I am your steadfast Companion."

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
-Psalm 118:24

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.

-Psalm116:17

We rejoice today!

We'll keep you posted as the week goes on. As always, thank you for your ongoing prayers..Mary feels them!

Sunday Check In

Hi there.  Thanks for checking in on our Mom today.  Mom is now up in Chicago at Northwestern Memorial Hospital as of 7 o'clock tonight.  She and my Dad are settling in tonight for a busy day tomorrow.  They will put Mom through the ringer with all sorts of tests, check ups, and getting her pic line put in.  In order to start a chemo regimen like she is about to have (and has had in the past), her body has to be thoroughly checked to make sure she's strong and will have no problems outside of the effects of the medicine.  It's going to be a tiring and frustrating day for her, but we're thankful they take all the precautions they do in order to keep her safe.  Thankfully in the past her body has checked out well, and we're praying that it's as strong as ever now.  

Mom had a good Thanksgiving week at home.  She was completely surrounded by family and friends who love her more than words can say.  I believe it was a bittersweet week for her because she loves having us all with her but was also mentally preparing herself for her stay in the hospital.  There's no question, though, that that was just how she wanted it.  We hope you all felt blessed by family and friends during your Thanksgiving, too!  

Please pray for Mom's strength- both for her body and for her spirit. 

Also, feel free to post a comment below and we'll make sure Mom reads it!

The Plan

Mom had her doctor's appointment this afternoon with her wonderful doctor, Jessica, and great assistant, Donna.  My Dad and brother, Adam, joined Mom to hear the plan.  Mom will be heading into Northwestern on Sunday evening to check in and start the process of treatment.  On Monday they will run her routine tests and get her set up.  On Tuesday they will start the chemo. 

It's hard to be starting over with this horrible disease, but Jessica says it is possible to get Mom into remission again.  They're trying new chemo and a new plan to try to get the leukemia to stay away...for good. 

So this weekend we are going to enjoy some quality family time and build Mom up to prepare for battle.  Her counts are still good and she's feeling normal, so she's going to do all of our normal Thanksgiving festivities.  She's even talking about getting her Christmas shopping done on Saturday! 

Please pray with us.  We still believe God can do a miracle in my Mom and we are praying that she goes into remission and the cancer stays away forever. 

No Fear

I see from the stats on this website that our friends and family have already been checking in on my mom this week.  You all are so wonderfully supportive!  I'm sorry it took so long for an update.

As many of you know, Mom received a call on Wednesday from her doctor after a bone marrow biopsy was done on Tuesday.  The news wasn't good.  Doctor Jessica let us know that they see AML (leukemia) in her blood once again.  We were all very scared and sad to hear this news.  This is the 3rd time she's been given this diagnosis and we don't want to see her go into the hospital for treatment again.  The doctor said she could come in to start things the next day or she could wait til after Thanksgiving if she wanted to.  Mom has been feeling so good and had no signs that this was going on.  We were thankful that her doctor caught it so early this time, although an AML diagnosis is never something you want to hear your doctor say. 

About 30 years ago when my Mom was pregnant with Julie, Mom was watching the 700 Club on tv.  She had a miscarriage about 6 months prior to that, and had begun seeing the same symptoms in her new pregnancy.  Pat Robertson, who is one of the hosts of the show, was leading prayer and prayed for "Mary" who was bleeding.  He let my Mom know during that prayer that God was healing her adhesions and that the baby would be fine.  Obviously my Mom was amazed at witnessing this miracle!  She stopped bleeding soon after and Julie is doing great today.  Praise God!

On Thursday Mom was watching the 700 Club again (Amy, Julie, and I were with her).  Pat Roberston was praying for a few people and last prayed for someone with Leukemia.  Mom claimed that healing prayer and is believing that God will bring her through this the same way He has brought her through all the other trials in her life.

Her counts are still good and she's home living normally.  We're all spending a lot of time with her, aside from my Dad who is in the midst of an outage at work (where he works long hours for a few week period of time).  He will take off work if he needs to be in the hospital with her.  Today we (mostly Mom :) made Thanksgiving dinner and are enjoying family time.  We are so blessed!

Still no further news from Mom's doctor in terms of what's next.  They need to get more results from last week's biopsy in order to determine what they will do.  In the meantime we are believing in God's healing power as we've witnessed before.  We will not be afraid of the trials that await any of us in this life because we have a hope of something greater through Jesus Christ.

Here is an encouragement written by Jack Kelly from www.gracethrufaith.com.  If you are going through a fearful time in your life, find encouragement by counting your blessings and trusting in our Creator...


For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)

The Lord’s will is that you no longer be afraid but trust in Him to protect you. Therefore the fear you feel is from the devil. Resist him and he’ll flee from you (James 4:7) You have been given the authority to take your fearful thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Instead of crying yourself to sleep, stand up and rebuke these fears in the name of Jesus. Get into the Word and learn the promises the Lord has made to you. One of my favorites is Phil. 4:4-7 When I feel fearful or uncertain, I begin thanking God for all the blessings He’s given me. Before I’m finished, I’m at peace.

The enemy has persuaded you to reduce your thoughts to their lowest level. In Phil 4:8-9 Paul tells you to elevate them to their highest level. You have the right to choose the thoughts that will occupy your mind, and only need to exercise it. But you can’t just deny the fear, you have to replace it with thoughts of protection and blessing from Bible verses and your own experience, proving to yourself that your fear is unfounded. Since God has protected you in the past, it stands to reason that he’ll do so in the future. He is faithful after all. As you convince yourself, your fears will go away and the enemy will flee.

Vacation

Mom is still doing great.  She's in Missouri this week near Branson for vacation with Dad, Amy, and Amy's girls.  Cory, the kids, and I were also there with them for a few days early this week.  Mom's feeling great and having so much fun with the kids.  She tries to stay out of the sun but is still able to do her favorite summer activity...sit by the pool and watch the kids.  We've had great weather and have done lots of fun things.  If you're ever in Branson we all recommend you see the Pierce Arrow show - a mix of comedy and singing.  It was such a wholesome, fun activity for everyone Tenley's age (almost 2) up to Dad's age (he was crying he was laughing so hard)!

We hope everyone else is enjoying the summer weather and fun activities!

Wednesday Appointment Update

We have more great news from Mom's appointment today up at Northwestern.  They received the full results from the bone marrow biopsy and Joe's male cells were 200 out of the 200 cells they counted.  This is great because they wanted to see that his cells took over the bone marrow once again.  Now we can know that good healthy cells will be able to fight off anything that tries to attack Mom's body.  They are not going to do any stem cell infusions at this time because they're not needed!

Mom's numbers continue to climb in the right direction and Doctor Jessica is VERY happy with all that she sees.  Mom will continue her weekly appointments for now.

Thankfully Mom now gets to live her life as she's hoped...
She's planned a visit to Pennsylvania in about a week to help Adam and Bre (and Lane and Graysen!) welcome their new baby girl sometime around June 10th!  She's so excited to be out there to meet the new baby and help out however she can.  We're SO HAPPY she feels good enough to do this!!

Mom also has a trip to Branson planned with Dad, Amy and her girls, and me and my family at the end of June.  We will definitely be celebrating that we can all do that together!

As always, we praise God for this amazing gift He's given us.  I hope that you're all counting the blessings in your life as well!

Mom is Cancer Free!!!

About an hour ago Mom found out that she is officially....

CANCER FREE!!!!

Dr. Jessica called about 5:00 to let my mom know that her bone marrow "looked wonderful!"  Mom is elated and could not contain her excitement.  Amy happened to be with her at the time and Dad and David were both home as well, needless to say there was just a "little" yelling, crying and happiness that there were answers to our prayers!  I talked to her shortly thereafter and she was at Suzanne's house yelling and sounding so amazing...hugging on all the grandkids if I had to guess. 

Thank you to everyone...family, friends and every single person who was/is praying for Mom, we are all feeling very blessed today.  There is still more tests that the hospital is running and that will determine the next steps for Mom.  That could range from doing nothing more than just monitoring her or possibly infusing more stem cells from her brother Joe (what a blessing Joe has been in so many ways throughout this entire battle, we are very thankful for his willingness to do whatever is asked of him...even mowing the grass and taking out the garbage over the last 2 months, We Love You Uncle Joe!!)

I can't hold back the tears and I'm sure I can speak for everyone reading this, I just wish I was there to give her a big hug and a kiss!  Mom, we love you so much, thank you for fighting and being so courageous in your battle...and most of all thank you for trusting the Lord above, he must still have big plans for you!!!  We will continue to update you as we hear more, stay tuned and remember to write on the blog, I'm sure Mom will be checking it often over the next few days. 

Much love from the Burgh,

Adam

Tuesday appointment

Mom is still doing well and feeling stronger each day.  She had her appointment on Tuesday this week and had a bone marrow biopsy done.  We won't get the results of that until tomorrow or early next week.  On Tuesday her blood counts were still climbing well and the doctor was still very happy with everything she was seeing.  We're hopeful that the biopsy will come back with good news.  Until then, we continue to pray and thank God for the mighty work that He's already done in her.  Praise Him!

Mom & Cartlan (now 7 weeks old) visiting Grandma Emily

Great Appointment

Mom just finished up with her appointment at Northwestern today and had great reports!  Her levels have continued to climb steadily since she checked out of the hospital and Doctor Jessica couldn't be happier with how everything looks.  Jessica is so pleased that home health care (who has been coming every other day to do blood work for Mom) doesn't have to come for this next week.

Mom will go back up to Northwestern to have a bone marrow biopsy on Tuesday.  This will give the doctors a closer look at what Mom's cells are doing - although the doctors are expecting to see good things.  Jessica's assistant, Donna, will be doing the procedure for the biopsy and Mom is very happy with that.  She's had a few done that were very painful but Donna has always done a good job.

Besides her wonderful appointment today Mom has been doing great.  We all enjoyed having her home on Mother's Day and enjoyed the beautiful weather sitting outside watching the kids play.  Mom has been walking, has made a couple small trips out of her house...to mine and Amy's houses, to Joe's house next door, and even was able to visit her Mom (Grandma Kaufmann) at the nursing home in Ottawa yesterday.  Mostly she's been resting and relaxing to let her body heal.  We're so thankful that that's what she will continue to do at home. 

Praise God for the great report today.  We continue to pray for Mom's recovery and ask that you do too.  Thank you for all the love.

Mom is home and doing well.  She's loving having her grand kids stop by to see her, sleeping in her own bed, and just being in her own environment.

Mom will have a nurse come to her house every other day to draw blood to send up to Northwestern.  She will also have weekly Wednesday appointments with her doctor at Northwestern in Chicago.  She has not had a bone marrow biopsy done because they have seen good numbers come from her blood draw counts, so they're going to give her body a couple weeks to heal more before they do it.

We are encouraged by what the doctors are telling us and also by seeing Mom grow stronger every day.  We don't know if she's in remission at this time, but all the signs are telling us good things.  We still ask for your prayers as Mom heals.

Thank you SO much for all the love.

Mom gets to come home tomorrow!

Just heard the word from the Dr.'s this morning that mom will get to come home tomorrow! Best news we have heard in a while. They are happy with her progress over the past few days! My dad will be bringing her home tomorrow sometime! They will do a bone marrow biopsy sometime in the near future. Thank you for the prayers. Love, Amy

Good News From 1486

Good Morning Everyone -

This is Mary's son Adam, it's Sunday morning about 11:00 and the room is full of smiles to start the day!  The team of doctors was in about 9:00 and told us that her numbers are improving, and I'm going to do my best in trying to explain what her numbers mean. 

When I got to her room on Thursday night after my flight from Pittsburgh her WBC (White Blood Cell) count was a .4, and it was building slowly the 4 or 5 days leading up to that.  Mom was frustrated when I sat down with her that night, and to be frank she broke down to me because she was so worried that the numbers were not going to come back up.  She also expressed to me how different things felt this time around, she wasn't feeling as confident about being able to eliminate the leukemia this time... I could tell she was very scared.  We shared lots of tears and emotions that night, but I also knew that it was my time to build her confidence up and thankfully over the next few days the numbers have given me some ammunition!!! 

Friday morning the WBC's went to .5, then by Friday night it was at .6, and finally to .7 on Saturday.  I got back last night after having dinner with Dad and we still didn't have an updates so we knew we had to wait until this morning.  So the team came in today and told us that her WBC's were at .8 (I kept telling her that I wanted them over 1 before I left on Sunday) and they also gave us an update on her Nuetrophils (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrophil_granulocyte) which is a key component of your immune system and it's ability to fight off infection.  Those numbers are between 250 and 300 right now and climbing quickly, and they have to be at 500 or above in order for Mom to GO HOME!!  I included a picture below that might look a bit ordinary....but this is a room down the hall from Mom that no one is currently occupying...I want this to be what room 1486 looks like in a few days!! 

So we are very thankful for the positive news today, Mom's spirits lifted immediately and all three of us shared some hugs and smiles, and even some happy tears!!  Things feel very different today than they did when I arrived on Thursday night.  Please continue to pray for Mom's numbers to improve so that she can go home with confidence knowing that she can allow her body to heal in the comfort of her own home and surroundings.  Also pray that her stomach can start feeling better...after she eats she is immediately does not feel well but so far there is no medication that is really helping with that. 

Just a few other updates from the weekend;  Julie turned the big 3-0 on Thursday, which is pretty hard to believe, and all 5 of us and some of our spouses were able to go out and celebrate with her on Friday night. 

Mom's brother Jack and his son Jonny were able to come and see her on Saturday afternoon.  Amy, Brian and the girls are coming up today to visit Grammy, it's been a few weeks since she has seen Amy's oldest two girls Madi and Tay so she is excited they are all coming up today.  I am heading out in a few hours to go back to PA, and hopefully will be visiting Mom at home the next time I come out!!  My family won't be able to see her for at least another 2 months or so because Bre is due with our baby girl on June 10, so next time we come out we'll have Grandkid #8 for Grammy to meet.  We also heard good news about Cartlan the other day from Suzanne, he gained 3 pounds from his last doctors appointment and continues to do very well! 

Someone will update you soon with more results from Mom's bloodwork, and we hear that Dr. Jessica will be talking with the team about what the next few days might look like for Mom in regards to when she can leave and what the next steps of treatment might be.  Love to you all, and I have one more favor to ask...if you are reading this blog please take some time to write Mom by posting a comment.  She loves checking in on the blog to see who has posted a response and I would really appreciate if everyone would send her some encouraging thoughts over the next few days. Talk to you soon,

Adam 





5/5/12

There is not a whole lot to update you all with since the last post on Thursday..it's a pretty low key weekend around here.  Mom is, what we like to call, "doing work" on her white blood cell count. Adam arrived here on Thursday evening, and he insists that by the time he leaves here tomorrow, her counts will be over 1.0..(they started at 0.2/0.3 upon his arrival).  They are steadily moving up (last at .7) and we are all happy about that!

We've had some positives:
No fevers.
White blood count steadily moving up.
Adam being here to visit.

Prayers for today would be for emotional strength (Mom is getting pretty bored around here and it's hard to not fear what's ahead so we pray for peace and joy), for the nausea to subside, and for God's provision! 
Hebrews 4:16 "Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help."

We are truly blessed by the love and support we are receiving and feel all of it!
Thank you!


  

Thursday

Hi there.  Thanks so much for checking in on our Mom.

I'm currently up in Chicago visiting Mom today.  Mom is rocking Cartlan to sleep right now :)  Julie is here, too, and is celebrating her 30th birthday! 

Mom's blood counts have shown a tiny bit of movement today and we're happy to hear that.  Her fevers are also getting less frequent and are lower grade.  Most often her temperature is normal range which helps her to feel much better throughout the day.  She feels okay right now, just doesn't have much of an appetite which makes her have less energy.  She looks good and is smiling as we catch up.  It's great to see her and always makes me feel better.

A doctor from the team came in this afternoon to talk with us about what's next.  They do not have a definite course of action at this point because they need her counts to come back stronger in order to tell what's going on in her blood.  He discussed a few options they may take once they can tell if the cancer is gone or is still present.  I won't go into the details of those plans because there's a lot to explain.  It's possible that Mom will be able to come home sometime next week once her counts come back up and she's healthy enough.

For now we ask that you would continue to pray for her blood counts to come back healthy and that she gets rid of the fevers for good.  We are trusting God in this journey and will praise Him for carrying each one of us through.

Dad shared his "verse of the day"...Romans 12:12-
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  We pray each one of you is encouraged today by this verse.

Update

Nothing new is going on yet this week.  We're still waiting on Mom's counts to come back up and she's still battling low-grade fevers.  We're thankful that the doctors figured out what is causing them and she's on a specific antibiotic to treat them.  She feels okay- not good and not miserable.

Mom doesn't spend much time alone.  Between Dad, her kids, her sister Sue, and other visitors, we have someone staying with her every night and other visitors during the day and weekends.  Having someone with her seems to help keep her spirits up and passes the time.

We're definitely missing Mom being home these days.  We pray that some day soon she'll be able to get out of the hospital, but we can't know when that will be, unfortunately.  For now we're thankful for visits with her and also for FaceTime (we video chat most days).

Please continue to pray for Mom's health to improve and for the cancer to be gone for good.

Prayer Request

Mom is asking for prayers today.  Over the last couple days she has had fevers on and off.  This is pretty normal when you're receiving heavy doses of chemo, but since she's already through her hardest days they're running tests to see what's causing the fevers.  They did a chest scan and they thinks she has a fungal infection so they're giving her antibiotics to treat it.  Please say a few extra prayers for our Mom today that the fevers would subside and that she starts feeling better.

Thanks so much!

Waiting

Hi everyone, this is Suzanne, Mary's youngest daughter.  Mom wanted me to let you know that she's been feeling better these last couple days.  She is currently on day 15 of her treatment.  For the first 6 days they administered the chemo, then she waited to feel the effects, and now her health is improving every day.  They had to take all of her blood levels (red blood cells, white blood cells, and her platelets) down to nothing in hopes that they will be replenished with good healthy cells.

Mom is staying up at Northwestern waiting for her counts to start coming back up.  We're hoping she'll be able to come home sometime next week, but it just depends on how fast her levels get back to normal.  They're not going to do a biopsy to see if the cancer is gone, instead they're going to rely on her blood tests (which they take everyday) to get an idea of what the chemo accomplished.  Once the doctors see what's going on in her blood, they'll figure out what Mom will do next.

Please keep praying.  Now is a critical time for her body to recover and start producing all good/normal cells.  We're thankful that she's through the hardest part of her round of treatment.  We know God was with her, carrying her through.

Day 12

Today is day 12 of Mom's fight!  Things are going as good as can be expected.  We are in the waiting period as well as the low period.  Her side affects from chemo have started to show up and will continue over this next week.  We're thankful that she hasn't had issues with fevers like she did last time she went through chemo.  Please pray extra hard this week for the chemo to rid her body of all the cancer once and for all.

As I, Amy, was driving up this afternoon to stay with my mom, I heard this song by Josh Wilson and wanted to share~

Encouragment

Blog update from Nicole Sniff, Mary's niece

I am sitting here overlooking the beautiful city lights, as Mary sleeps. Just another day of kicking some cancer tail has worn her out. Her numbers have been steady today, and things are moving a long as expected.

This is the first time I have been here and I feel God's presence. He is calling me to thank Him. Right here and now in the midst of the unknown. He is calling us to trust Him, and to remeber that His plan is better than our own.

The day I got the text message telling me that it was time to begin this next battle on cancer again, I was sitting and reading Psalm 20. Verses 1&2:"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May He send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion." Then verse 5:"May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all of your plans."
verse 7"...but we will trust in the name of our GOD"

It's quiet here in the hospital, but I want to encourage you to not be quiet! Approach His throne with boldness and let's TRUST Him to answer our prayers for healing.

I just want to encourage everyone who reads this to keep praying! Keep approaching His throne with boldness, and we can pray with confidence in a God who does miracles. This really is the day the Lord has made, so let's rejoice and be glad in it. Be glad and praise Him for all He is doing and about to do in and through my strong and awesome Aunt Mary!!! I know she feels stronger fighting this battle with an army fighting with her!

Sunday Update

Hi family and friends...thanks for checking in.  This is Suzanne, Mary's youngest daughter.  Mom is still doing well.  She doesn't feel any effects of the chemo yet, although they're giving it to her every afternoon from about 1 to 8 and then again for an hour at 11.  They give her medicine to help her with nausea which makes her a bit sleepy, but she is doing well with it all.

She had a busy week and weekend full of visitors.  Adam, Bre, Lane, and Graysen were able to spend a few days with her this week.  They live out in Pennsylvania so it was good timing for their Easter visit.  Julie and Evan are able to visit mom often since they live in the city.  Today was extra busy for mom and dad at the hospital.  My family visited, along with Amy's family.  Mom also had other family and friends come see her today - Joe and Cheryl, Kimmy, and Kathy and Dan  - I think she felt very loved.  She's always enjoyed having lots of people around!

If you'd like to write Mom, her address is:
Prentice Women's Hospital
250 E. Superior St.
Attn:  Room 1486 - Mary Provance
Chicago, IL 60611-2908

We don't know anything new in regards to her diagnosis.  We should know more by mid-week.  For now, her spirits are good and she's being well taken care of at Northwestern.  We have our tough moments trying to understand all that she has to go through and not wanting to see her in pain, but we know God's hand is on her and He is sovereign.  We will continue to lean on Him in order to have an eternal perspective and also to receive comfort through our weaker times.  Please keep praying for my mom to get rid of this cancer for good.  Thanks so much.  Mom appreciates each one of you checking in on her.

Grammy & Papa with Tenley & Baby Cartlan

Grammy with Amy's family

Hope

Lane, Graysen and I decided to give Grammy a chance to nap today, and we found this in front of the Hancock building, very fitting!  We went there to get her the strawberry cheesecake she was craving from the Cheesecake Factory!! 

Treatment Update

It's Adam again, I wanted to update you before the night ends.  Mom got a call from Dr. Jessica tonight, and it's official...they are going to start her treatment tomorrow.  They have decided to move forward with a higher-dose chemo regiment, mainly because they have to get the leukemia out of her body. 

Tomorrow morning Dr. Jessica will be coming in to meet with me and Mom and to go over the reasons as to why she chose this option.  We know there were a lot of factors that went into this form of treatment, so hopefully we will get some more clarification of that from her.

As you read before, today was quite a roller coaster of emotions...mainly coming from the FLT-3 surprise.  I wanted to let you know that there is positive news as well with the FLT-3 not being present in her genetic makeup.  A few years ago when she was being treated here at Northwestern, her doctors told her that because she has the FLT-3 situation that it will be harder to make the leukemia go away and it will also be more susceptible to it returning again like it has.  So we are taking it as a positive that the FLT-3 has not shown up on the tests, because it very well might be easier to get rid of the leukemia again and the chances are better that we will NEVER SEE IT AGAIN!!!  Pray for that, and pray for Mom's strength as she mentally prepares to take on this nasty chemo again.  The hard part is that she knows what it's like because she's been there and done that before...but this is what will make her better and she needs the strength to fight through it. 

I will post another update after Dr. Jessica leaves in the morning.  Dad was up here tonight and both Lane and Graysen Provance were able to see her again as well.  Grandkid visits might be over now because of her needing to be more isolated, but we are thankful that over the last few days she has been able to see every one of her grandkids, even the new arrival Cartlan!  By the way, Suzanne is doing very well and Cartlan's doctors appointment yesterday went smooth...Mom and baby BOY are doing great!! 

Side note...I will be going out to get Mom some cheesecake tomorrow because Bre and I went to dinner with the kids while Dad was here and we went to the Cheesecake Factory.  When I came back to her room and told her where we went she asked what kind of cheesecake did I bring her?  I know where I will be going after Dr. Jessica leaves her room!!!  Love you Mom, whatever you need I will get!!

"Assumptions"

Remember what they say about assumptions...well, the assumptions that the team of doctors here at Northwestern were making about the bone marrow biopsy results have surprised them once again!  This is Adam, Mary's son, and I have been with her since last night anxiously awaiting the team of doctors' visit so they could tell us that they would be moving forward with her treatment plan. 

The team came in this morning about 8:00 and told us that they would probably start moving forward with a treatment option that would include a low-dose chemo and a new drug called Nexavar (Sorafenib), and they asked me if I had been able to talk with the pharmacy in regards to getting the Nexavar shipped to us.  I then spent some time getting that lined up, and started doing some research about the drug and what we could expect.  That is when the assumptions started to turn into frustration, because one of the doctors came back in about a half hour ago to tell us some surprising news.

The doctors have been aware for quite some time that Mom has a condition called FLT-3, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD135, and they were under the impression that when the results of the bone marrow biopsy came back, that they would find the FLT-3 present in her cells once again.  Well, they are completely shocked and somewhat baffled that they did not find the FLT-3 present, which completely changes the treatment plan that they had set up for her to possibly start today.  They are going to send another sample to test in order to see if the results might have been inaccurate. 

What they do know based on the bone marrow results, is that her Leukemia (AML) is officially back in her system, and that is what has caused her blood levels to be completely out of the ordinary.  Knowing that, they will need to start a chemo regiment, but because of the surprise of the FLT-3 not being present, they are still unsure as to what type of chemo she will be starting.  As you can tell, I'm trying my best to explain what the doctors have told us, but this is all very difficult for us to understand or comprehend, and that is to be expected when the doctors themselves were completely shocked by the results.  One thing that I am confident about, is that this team of doctors will do whatever it takes to find the answers, and we feel confident in Dr. Jessica and her team that they will put Mom on the correct treatment plan in order to rid her body of this cancer and get her into remission again.  Dr. Jessica has been on the phone with many other physicians around the country, and is looking at the data of some clinical trials to find out the next best steps to take.  She is the perfect fit for Mom, and we have no doubt that she will do everything possible to help Mom OVERCOME again!!!

Mom was initially upset by the news, because the treatment plan was set up and she thought her stay in the hospital would be shorter than what she experienced a few years ago.  Please pray for peace within her to know that we truly don't have any of those answers yet, and the length of stay has yet to be determined.  I am doing my best to let her know that only God truly knows the plan, and that no matter what, we have to rid her body of the Leukemia no matter how long that takes.  Just like before, Mom is strong, and she told me she is ready for the battle...and the doctors also told me this morning that her organs and body overall is very strong and can take anything that they decide to treat her with!  As they say in the movie Braveheart..."Are you ready for a war!!!"  Pray for Mom to be ready, no matter what the treatment plan, and no matter what other "surprises" are thrown her way!  I will try and send another update later today if we know more, but they told us it would probably be another day or so before they could give us more direction. 

Thank you all for your prayers!  And our whole family also wanted to say a special thanks to all of our family and friends who have made meals, dropped of gas cards, come up to stay with her or see her, and supported all of us and my Mom in so many different ways...you are amazing and your love does not go unnoticed....we love you back!  Just pray...then pray a little more,

Adam Provance

Happy Good Friday to you all,

We don't have much to update, but wanted to let everyone know what has been going on these past few days:

After being admitted to the hospital Wednesday, later that evening..Suzanne and Cory welcomed their first son, Cartlan Scott. He was a 6 lbs 9 oz, 20 in bundle of joy! Thanks to the technology of iPhones, Mary and Greg were able to FaceTime through the whole thing and witness the event :) It was definitely hard that they couldn't be there in person, but thankfully Suzanne had such a smooth and fast delivery, that by 10:30, we all got to meet and share in the joy together! It was a great lift of spirits!

Mary came into the hospital with such a spike in her white blood cell count..first thing they started doing was the fight to get them under control. The first night here, they pumped her full of platelets and blood and gave her oral chemo pills.

Yesterday, she underwent many tests and scans, had a pickline put in, and a bone marrow biopsy done. All these tests are what determine the plan of action that her doctor will take, but we won't know all the results until midweek. This is a prep weekend to collect all the data, do all the tests & scans, and strengthen her up for the fight to come!

We have complete faith in Jessica Altman, her amazing doctor. God has His hand in it and has blessed us by putting her doctor in our lives! She loves Mary as one of her own family and has a strong, positive outlook on getting Mary healed again.

Calling All Prayer Warriors

Hello all friends and family.  It is Bre, Adam's wife.  We do not have much information at this time, but were sure that the word would spread fast and wanted to at least let you know as much as possible.  Mary has been feeling sick for the last few weeks.  At first, she was told it was just her allergies and put on medication, which did help.  Then, this past week she was diagnosed with strep and began antibiotics to fight that.  This morning, she headed to Northwestern for her routine appointment.  They ran tests immediately as she was feeling so bad.  We are so sad to report that all tests completed so far show that Mary's cancer has returned.  She was immediately admitted to Northwestern this afternoon and has already started chemo and will get blood and platelets tonight in order to begin her fight.

As you can imagine, we are all trying to gather our thoughts and help Mary put her game face back on.  We need your prayers as our family walks this journey for a 2nd time.  We will again try to keep the blog as updated as possible.  We will also update you as Mary gets her permanent room at Northwestern in order for you to send notes / cards as this was something that meant so much to her the last time.

While you are praying for Mary, please also pray for Suzanne and Cory as they are at the Morris Hospital this evening preparing to welcome their 2nd bundle of joy into the world and make Tenley a big sister.

We are all filled with great joy and great hope and great peace knowing that God, once again in all things, is in complete control.

Until tomorrow...  Love, Bre