Mary's Journey of Faith, Hope, & Love

2 Years!!

2011-12-07T11:02:00.005-06:00

My beautiful mom had her 2 YEAR stem-cell transplant anniversary on December 1st! Praise the Lord :)

We were told before the transplant that that is an amazing milestone to get to and to see it come is such a miracle. They said at 1 year she had such a better chance of not having a bad reaction to the transplant (with graphs vs host). At 2 years the risk of the cancer coming back goes down substantially. At 5 years they say she's "cured." We look forward to each celebration ahead, but we are SO happy to celebrate this milestone with her!

Picture from the end of Summer at our family reunion, mom on the right with her 3 girls. On the left is mom's sister, Sue and her 2 girls.

It still gives us a great feeling every time she goes in for a checkup (about once every 2 months or so) and gets results from her blood tests that everything looks great. Looking back on our journey through the sickness it almost seems like a bad dream that never really happened. We know it was very real, but it's good to see it as a faint memory rather than being in the midst of it. Mary feels well most of the time other than the small sicknesses/allergy problems that come and go. Her immune system is probably a little bit weaker since the cancer and treatments but it doesn't effect her on a daily basis. She still visits her mom about every other day in Ottawa. Grandma is always so happy to see her and Sue each day they visit.

Because God gave us this great miracle I'm blessed to live down the street from my mom as I raise my 16 month old daughter AND getting ready to welcome a new baby in April :) My mom is also expecting her 8th grandchild in June from my brother, Adam and his wife, Bre. She is and is going to be (even more) a busy grandma!

Thank you all for visiting our site to check in. We hope that your Christmas season is joyful and that Jesus is on the forefront of your mind. Thank God for sending His son Jesus to deliver us from our sins and for giving us hope through the trials of life.

Here's a music video that touched my heart. If your life has been impacted by cancer, you'll appreciate it...

Summer

2011-07-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

Things are still going great with Mary. I know it's been 5 months since the last update, but thankfully, we haven't had much to report. She was just up in Chicago to see her doctor yesterday and all her counts are great. Her next appointment isn't for 2 months. We are fast approaching the 2 year anniversary (December 1st) of her stem cell transplant and that is a HUGE milestone in her journey through this. God has continued to bless us and through Him, we hope to celebrate her 2nd birthday.

The picture you see is from our family vacation we just had last week up in Wisconsin. It was a great week spent catching up, relaxing on the beach and boating, and playing games with the kids.

Thank you for your continued support and for checking in.

February Update

2011-02-15T10:20:00.000-06:00

Hi there...thank you for checking in. We've continued to get great reports from the doctor at Mom's checkups each month in Chicago. Since her counts look so good Mom is now down to only ONE medicine! What a major accomplishment from where she started a little over a year ago.

Life is good and Mom continues to do everything she loves to do. She visits her Mom in Ottawa a few times a week, does projects around the house, and is very much looking forward to Spring!! Isn't everyone? All of us kids keep her busy as well. I'm living with Mom, Dad, and David as well and my husband and daughter until we finish fixing up our new house down the street. So as you can imagine, we keep her busy here. Amy is also around the house almost everyday with her 3 girls. Julie visits whenever she can get away from Chicago and Adam and his family are going to be coming to visit from Pennsylvania in March. We can't wait! Dad has been very busy with work lately, as the season of outages starts this week. He'll be working many 12+ hours over the next few months, but thankfully, he loves his job and feels blessed to have it.

We hope you're all doing well and getting through these last couple weeks of winter. God bless you!

1 Year Celebration

2010-12-09T13:18:00.000-06:00

Last week we celebrated my mom's 1 year anniversary since her stem cell transplant! Wow, it's been a YEAR! On her 1 year anniversary mom had a check-up appointment up at Northwestern. They did a bone marrow draw to see how everything looks, rather than just looking at her blood results. With this procedure (which she's had done a few times since her transplant) they draw bone marrow out of her hip bone. They send it to the lab and it takes about a week to receive the results.

We found out this week that the bone marrow came back perfectly clean! It's great to have confirmation that she's still cancer free! We were pretty confident that she was healthy because of how she feels and because her monthly blood results continue to show the doctor she's doing well, but the bone marrow confirms everything.

No matter what, we trust that our God is in control. He knows my mom better than the doctor and has healed her from disease. We continue to praise and thank Him everyday, and will no matter what the future brings for anyone in our family. We pray that each of your holidays will be filled with honoring Jesus and appreciation for the many blessings that He pours out on us everyday. Take some time this holiday season to share God's love with someone who needs hope in their life.

God bless!

Happy Fall

2010-10-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

Everything is still going great for my Mom. Her doctor is still extremely pleased with her blood results each time she has an appointment. Her counts continue to head in the right direction and they continue to decrease the amount of medicine she has to take.
We've come a long way from a year ago, been through many hard times and experienced many blessings. Now that we're nearing the 1 year anniversary of Mom's stem cell transplant we recognize how blessed we are to have our mother in our lives. Her doctor says that normally they do a bone marrow draw around 1 year after the transplant, but they may not choose to do it if her blood counts continue to be so positive. Mom was so happy to hear this. It's a relief to her each time the doctor tells her how well she's doing.

Mom is kept busy, just as she likes it, with babysitting her grand kids (Amy and I are coaching volleyball this fall), visiting her mother in Ottawa, and managing her house. David is still living with Adam and his family in Pennsylvania for the fall and is doing well, just a bit homesick now. He's used to my Mom taking care of him and I'm sure he misses her a lot. We were able to visit with him and Adam's family a couple weekends ago as Adam was inducted into the Millikin Athletic Hall of Fame. It was such a fun weekend with them and great to see them, as always. Cory, Tenley and I have kept my parents company, using the extra room we finished in their basement since we moved to town in the summer. We plan on finding a home here in Seneca, but are able to keep my Mom company as my Dad works his long hours with the outages going on.

Thanks for your continued prayers and love. We'll continue to give God all the glory and hope to bless others with the blessings we've received.

Good Reports for Mary, Sad News about Friend

2010-09-19T17:12:00.000-05:00

Mom had her 3 week checkup on Wednesday and all is well. Her levels are continuing to improve each month and they continue to reduce her medicine. She's feeling really well and enjoying the beautiful weather God has given us these past few weeks.

We're very sad to say that Mom's friend Chuck, who was also battling leukemia, passed away last week. Mom was able to talk with Chuck over the phone and offer support and encouragement as he faced many challenges in his fight against cancer. Please lift Chuck's family up in prayer...it's an incredibly hard time for everyone close with him. Mom is thankful she was able to know him the past few months but it's definitely been a hard week for her.

Thanks for checking in...God bless.

Blessings & Prayer Requests

2010-08-11T20:15:00.001-05:00

Mary & Greg welcomed a new grandchild on July 17! Tenley Grace is my (Suzanne's) and Cory's new baby girl and we are celebrating this new blessing in our lives. My mom is loving every minute of time she's spending with Tenley :)

Mom has kept busy this summer entertaining guests, having Amy's kids over to swim, and a visit from Adam, Bre, and their kids, Lane and Graysen. All of her counts have been good and because of God's blessings, she's been feeling great.

She asks that you would lift up 2 friends of hers in prayer. Chuck was diagnosed with AML a couple months ago and has had many battles since. He is currently in ICU after his stem cell transplant because he has become very sick. Please lift him and his family up to our God who is the Healer of all and the Hope we can trust in. Please also pray for mom's friend Meridith who mom met in the hospital while going through the same rounds of treatment. Meridith's AML has come back since her transplant and she's now taking medicine at home to battle the disease.

As always, thank you for all the love and support.

Summer time

2010-07-08T12:01:00.002-05:00

Mom is doing really well these days. She has lots of energy (to keep up with her kids and grand kids) and is over the worst of her cold and allergies. Mom's doctor had to prescribe some new medicine last week because her graph's v host is acting up a bit in her liver. The blood results this week show that the medicine is already helping. It's nothing that they weren't expecting and is very manageable.

Other than that she's really enjoying her summer. Amy's kids are over almost everyday to swim, Cory and I are staying at Mom and Dad's for a little while this summer, and David says he's never moving out :) Obviously all of this gives my mom plenty to do. Mom's trip to see Adam and Bre went great. They had a really fun and eventful long weekend. Mom also has been up to see Julie and Evan in Chicago many times over the past month. It works out well that Julie's living in the city now since mom's up there for her appointments once in a while. Any day now I'll be having my and Cory's first baby and that will just add to the excitement of my mom's busy summer. Do you think she realized her job as a mother would keep her this busy even after we're all adults??

Thanks for your continued prayers, as always. Mom feels the love from each of you. God bless!

Doing well

2010-06-23T21:18:00.001-05:00

Mom had an appointment again today in Chicago. Her doctor was very happy with all her results from this week and always makes my mom feel so confident and happy with everything. Her counts aren't exactly where normal levels should be, but it's normal in her situation since her body is still recuperating from everything. Also, the more they lower her medicine, the more her body has to fight to get back to normal. She's doing very well besides dealing with a head cold and allergies. She's starting some antibiotics to fight them off.

Mom and Dad are heading out to see Adam, Bre, Lane, and Graysen in Pennsylvania tomorrow morning! They're so excited to be heading out there and I know Adam and Bre love having them. It should be such a fun weekend for them!

Further Testing

2010-06-18T10:10:00.000-05:00

The hospital did further testing on mom's bone marrow and determined that she now has 100% of Joe's (the donor & Mary's brother) stem cells. I don't talk about this very often on here but this is a really good thing because my mom's cells are no longer combating Joe's. It always takes a while for this to happen, and we slowly saw the number come up, now all the way to 100%. Because of this, they don't have to do any stem cell treatment. We always like to hear that she doesn't have to go through additional procedures!

They also are happy with her platelet count this week. It jumped up a few more points and this was good for the doctor to see. It had been going down for a few weeks, the doctor believes due to graphs versus host because they are lowering her anti-rejection medication each week/month (if that's too specific, I'm sorry :). All that to say, they're happy with where she's at and hope to see it continue to go up.

Now Mary and Greg are off for a fun weekend with all of Mary's siblings. They try to do this once a year and always have a great time together! It's great my mom can do this with no worries! :)

Clean Marrow

2010-06-14T09:15:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,
Mom's results came back clean on the bone marrow from last week, praise the Lord! They see no signs of cancer and are still very happy with how she's doing. They're running more tests on her bone marrow this week to determine exactly what to do with her medicine, which we should hear more about later this week. They want to decrease her medicine as much as possible, as soon as possible, so that her imune system can build up to be strong enough to fight off disease in the future.

Waiting on Bone Marrow Results

2010-06-10T09:51:00.001-05:00

Mom had her appointment at Northwestern yesterday and had a bone marrow done. Her levels are all still looking good, they're just doing the bone marrow because it's been a while and they want to check things out at a closer view.

Mom always gets a bit nervous to have the bone marrow done but it went very smooth and my dad was with to support her. Now we await the results but probably won't hear until Monday.

Please pray for my mom that she can trust in God's plan above her own, that she feels peace about her upcoming results, and that she remains healthy. There will always be a part of her that's nervous to get these test results but I was reminding her last night of how good she feels and how great her results have been lately. We will continue to trust in the Lord for our every need.

Who wants to hear more good news?

2010-06-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

Mom had her appointment at Northwestern on Wednesday and found out her red count is now at 12.5!! That's in the normal range (11-14)!!! The doctor was very pleased about this and all is looking well :) It must have taken a few weeks for the red cell treatment to kick in gear.

Also many of Mom's medications are consistently being lowered in dosage. She's down to almost nothing with her anti-rejection medicine so the doctor is confident that Joe's stem cells have now taken over mostly, if not all of mom's blood. They're going to do a bone marrow next week to take a closer look at everything since it's been a couple months. We're confident about it this time with her blood results coming back so positive.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

On a sad note, mom's hospital friend, Meridith, learned a couple weeks ago that her leukemia is back and she's now in the hospital going through treatment again. This was extremely hard for my mom to hear but she was able to stop by and see Meridith after her appointment this week. The reminder of the reality of cancer will always be around each of us, but we know our Lord has a plan for each person we know. Please lift Meridith up today in your prayers and remember to live each day to the fullest as we don't know how many we have ahead of us.

In Florida!

2010-05-20T10:07:00.000-05:00

Mom's count stayed up again this week at 9.6, woohoo! So Mom and Dad left for Florida yesterday and will be there for a little over a week. They were so excited to go and I know they'll have a great time!

Good blood count

2010-05-13T09:54:00.002-05:00

Mom's blood count maintained this week at 9.5...good stuff!

Set to go on vacation!

2010-05-05T16:07:00.000-05:00

My mom and dad went up for mom's appointment today to have a checkup with the doctor. They've planned a vacation to Florida for about 10 days at the end of this month and my mom has been a little nervous about her levels and not being able to go. Today the doctor said everything was looking great. Mom's blood count was at 9.6 (up .5 from Monday) and the doctor was happy with all of the other counts as well. Mom will continue her weekly appointments at Ottawa hospital for blood work, but doesn't have to go back up to Northwestern until June 2nd! They'll continue to watch the results but it looks like they'll be able to head off to Florida as scheduled! What great news! Both of my parents deserve a vacation since my dad's been working all over the state for the past few months and they haven't been able to relax together for a while. Praise God for this gift :)

Up & Down

2010-04-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

My mom had her doctor's appointment yesterday at Northwestern. She was low on blood again this week so she had to stay to get a transfusion. They're not exactly sure why her blood is still fluctuating but this week it held off longer than ever...she hadn't had a transfusion in 3 weeks. We're still hoping the red cell treatment will work (they said it can take about 6 weeks to take full effect) but they are also talking with mom about alternatives if her levels keep going down. The next thing they'd try is a pill drug which has some side effects (not sure what they all are yet) but my mom's doctor wants to talk with the head doctor first. Her other levels (platelets and everything else) seem to be doing fine. Mom was a bit bummed about her blood level, but the doctor reassured her that there could be WAY worse things to be dealing with at this point and that mom is doing great.

Please continue to pray for her to get healthier and healthier. We continue to put all of our trust in our God who loves us.

Update

2010-04-21T08:56:00.000-05:00

Mom doesn't have an appointment this week but still had her normal blood draw on Monday. She checked on the results and they were great! Her red cells are hanging right where they were last week and her platelet count was up again. Lots to be thankful for :)

We'll continue to praise God for the healing we've witnessed and also for offering each one of us salvation that we can choose to accept. I pray that you would know your Creator on a deeper level today.

Great Appointment Today

2010-04-14T18:27:00.001-05:00

My mom had her weekly appointment today with her doctor at Northwestern. Last week we were wondering about her platelet level but this week it went back up 10 points! We were so happy to hear that :) Her doctor said that the drop could have been caused by the red blood cell treatment she was getting. Mom's red cell count is hanging in there, too. It went down a tiny bit from last week but that's still expected at this point and is at a fine level where she doesn't need a transfusion.

Another good thing is that her appointments are now going to be every 2 weeks instead of weekly. She'll still have her blood taken each week at Ottawa Hospital but she won't need to drive to Chicago as often.

Many blessings to report once again! No matter what, God is truly in control and we will trust in Him through every step of this journey. Mary (and all of us) thanks you all so much for your prayers and love.

I heard this song today and thought I'd share...

Platelet Prayers Needed

2010-04-07T16:22:00.002-05:00

Mom had her weekly Northwestern appointment today and finished getting her red blood cell treatment. They are pleased with her red cell count since it raised slightly from Monday to today. Hopefully it will continue going in the right direction from now on!

They look at a few different things in my Mom's blood each week, one being her red cell count (I talked about above) and one being her platelet count. Now they're saying that her platelet count has gone down a bit over the past 3 weeks. My Mom's main doctor was out today so we'll have to wait and see what she thinks, but they may order another bone marrow test to be done next week to make sure everything is okay. The doctor's assistant, who met with Mom today, asked another head doctor about this and he said not to order the bone marrow test for now, and this made my Mom feel better. We never like to hear that levels are going in the wrong direction, but there's not much we can figure out when they give us bits of information like this. We just have to trust that they know what to do and that God is in complete control. Other than that, she has a little bit of a chest cold so they prescribed an antibiotic today to knock it out.

We'll keep you all updated on this. But the good news is Mom is feeling great. She has more and more energy all the time and is doing everything she wants to do. We had a family celebration party for her this past Saturday. It was a great time and a double celebration for the resurrection of our Savior. We're so thankful for everything God has blessed us with, but most of all for His Son. We hope you had a great Easter weekend celebrating as well!

Please pray for my Mom's platelet count to start going back up and that her good health continues.

Spring

2010-04-01T16:08:00.000-05:00

Hi all! My Mom is still doing great. She had her 3rd red blood cell treatment yesterday and went back to get a transfusion today. Everything is checking out fine and we're hoping her red cells catch up soon!

She's been as busy as ever lately. Yesterday after her appointment she went with Amy and her 3 girls to the zoo in Chicago. They had a beautiful day to do it! This weekend her sister and sister in laws are having a celebration party for her along with lots of Easter festivities and Adam, Bre, and the kids in town. It's going to be a great weekend!

Update from yesterday

2010-03-19T11:27:00.000-05:00

If you haven't read the previous post yet, my mom got her red blood cell treatment done yesterday. The treatment was done to help her red blood cells start producing normal. Over the past few weeks mom has still had to get blood transfusions to keep her level up. They're hoping after a few sessions of this treatment she won't have to get the transfusions anymore. The treatment went great with no side effects and the doctor was really happy with everything. We probably won't see direct results from mom's blood level right away.

Since the treatment took 6 hours to complete, they didn't have time to give mom the blood transfusion she needed. Since they still wanted to get this done mom had to stay in the hospital last night. She wasn't trilled about doing this but she knew it was necessary and had a really good attitude about it.

Mom text me this morning saying she was out of the hospital and having a meal with Sue, Jim, and David. Everything went great but my mom will be glad to be back in her own bed tonight :)

Thanks for checking in!

Getting a treatment done today

2010-03-18T10:27:00.000-05:00

My mom is heading up to Northwestern today to get the red blood cell treatment done. For the past couple weeks her count has still been fluctuating and they're confident this treatment will help speed up the process of her red cells getting back to normal. We didn't know she was going to have to have this treatment for sure, but they just let mom know a couple days ago.

She'll have about 6 hours of the red cell treatment at the doctor's office, then head over to the hospital where she has to spend the night in order to get a blood transfusion. Her level is down to a 7.6 again and they don't have enough time to do the treatment and transfusion all at the doctor's office in one day. She's not thrilled about having to stay in the hospital tonight but she knows that this could be a great turning point to having everything on track and have less doctor's visits!

Her spirits are great and she continues to count on the Lord to give her strength. It's been great having her healthy again, able to do all the things she loves. She visits her mom in Ottawa many times throughout the week, she babysits her grandkids, she tries to keep David (her youngest) on track, and anything else she feels like doing. We're truly blessed.

Please pray that today goes well and that the treatment is successful. Also, Mary's 2 boys (David and Adam) are heading to Haiti along with their cousin (Mark Aubry), uncle (Jim Aubry), and an Eastview Christian Church team for a missions trip tomorrow and could use your prayers for a safe trip and one that produces fruit.

100th Day!!!

2010-03-10T09:35:00.003-06:00

(From Mary)
Hi Everyone,

Just to let you know that Today is my 100th day........

Lets celebrate all together for Our God to allow this day to not only happen but the way I'm doing is so amazing because of Him. Just want to again thank everyone for your daily prayers and Thank the Lord for His Mercy and Grace that He has sent my way. God willing this is just the beginning of how wonderful I feel and that He keep the Blessing Happening.........I Love you all,

Mary

Surprise - Good News at Appointment Today

2010-03-04T14:55:00.000-06:00

Mom and Sue went up to Mom's appointment today at Northwestern. My Mom was told they actually wouldn't be doing the 6 hour treatment today like they thought because it hadn't been ordered by the lab yet. But when she went up there and had her normal blood work done along with her normal doctor's appointment they found some great results. Mom's red blood count went up a bunch since last time, higher than it's been since this whole thing started last summer! They also determined that Joe's stem cells have now taken over 99% of the blood (which the doctor said may as well be 100%)! This means that Mom might never have to get the treatment they were talking about.

This is such great news and the doctor was thrilled! Mom doesn't even have an appointment scheduled for next Thursday now since her counts were so great today. It sounds like they're pretty confident Mom's blood finally started normal production and should continue on this way. Home health care will continue coming to take blood on Mondays and from that they will be able to tell from that if Mom needs any care. Yay! Prayers have been answered time and time again :)

Bone Marrow 2 Results

2010-03-01T10:03:00.002-06:00

I just received a text from my Mom. She said that she just got off the phone with Dr. Jessica and that there are NO signs of cancer from her bone marrow test last Thursday!! Woohoo, praise God (again and again and again)! The reason Mom's losing blood is still because Mom's old blood type is still fighting Joe's (the donor's) blood type. The doctor says there's a treatment to jump start the cells to start working correctly. She'll start that on Thursday when she goes back up to Northwestern. The doctor said this condition is rare but they can fix it.

We couldn't really ask for a better report!

Update

2010-02-25T13:51:00.002-06:00

Our Mom is still doing well. On Tuesday Sue went with her up to Northwestern because Mom needed to get another blood transfusion. They're not exactly sure why she's still losing blood but like I've explained in previous posts, they have a couple options of what it could be and both of them can be helped/fixed.

At Mom's appointment today they did another bone marrow draw to look further into the issue. Hopefully they'll be able to pinpoint it this time and solve it! My Dad said the appointment went well today but they won't know anything for a few days.

Thanks for continuing to pray!

Thursday Appointment

2010-02-18T14:04:00.002-06:00

Mom just text me after her appointment at Northwestern:

Appointment went great, did drop in blood a little but no transfusion. All other numbers are up which she (the doctor) liked.

Things are continuing to get better and better each week. We're so thankful. Mom, Amy, and Amy's girls came to Bloomington last weekend and we had a really great time together. It's so great to see my mom doing things she used to, and enjoying them again.

We love good news

2010-02-11T14:27:00.003-06:00

My mom is doing SO well these past few weeks :) She's getting around much more, is feeling better each day, and they keep decreasing her meds. Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

She had her weekly doctor's appointment at Northwestern and her doctor was very pleased. Last week they decreased her anti-rejection meds (immune suppression meds) in half in order to determine why her blood count has continued to go down slowly. At this point they're pretty sure it's because of Joe's (the donor) blood type being different than my mom's. This causes them to fight a bit to take over, which Joe's will fully take over at some point. Since my mom checked out well again today they are now deciding whether to decrease the anti-rejection meds again or to stop them completely. This means she's doing really well. My mom said the doctor seemed really happy that her platelet count keeps going up, so this must be an important factor that we don't fully understand.

Mom did get more blood today, and may have to again in the future, but things are looking great. Mom is also excited about making the journey with Amy and kids down to Bloomington tomorrow to visit me and Julie :) Our mom hasn't been down to Bloomington since last summer! It's been way too long and we're so glad she's up for a day with the girls!! It was even her idea!

Thanks for your continued prayers. We also pray that you're all doing well and enjoying God's many blessings.

Doing well

2010-02-05T14:56:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone...

Everything is still going well with our mom. She's getting stronger each week and feeling more like herself. This week she was able to start driving again, so that's been nice and has given her some freedom. She's still taking it easy, but it's nice to have the option to visit her grandkids or run to the store if she needs to.

Her doctor's appointment yesterday went well. They cut her immune suppression medicine in half again this week to try and determine what's causing her blood level to slowly drop. They're not sure if it's the different blood types or if it's the graphs v host. Either way, it's treatable and they're not worried. They've told us from the beginning that seeing a little graphs v host isn't a bad thing, as long as it doesn't get too strong.

Thanks for checking in!

Text

2010-01-27T09:09:00.002-06:00

I received a text from my mom yesterday with an update:

"Ok everyone, my anti rejection meds are cut in half, that's good news...and my blood count went up .6 from 9 (last thursday) to 9.6. And Joe's stem cells are now 94.6% active in me now. I just talked to the assistant, and they like that they're not seeing any cancer cells. Praise our Lord."

It was great to get that news yesterday and I thought we should share it. The goal is that she can be off of the anti rejection meds in about 100 days from the transplant, and it looks like we're heading that way. Since her blood count went up a bit that means she's producing her own red blood cells again, which was a cause for concern last week.

Great News Today

2010-01-21T18:00:00.002-06:00

The past few weeks Mom's red blood cell count has been going down as well as her platelet count. It was low enough this week that Mom needed to get a blood transfusion. Sue took Mom up to Northwestern yesterday to get this done, and they also ended up taking a bone marrow sample to see exactly what is going on and why the levels are going down.

The doctor said the blood levels can go down when 2 different blood types are combating (my Mom's against her donors). The doctor also said that she does see this happen with other patients.

My Dad took my Mom back up to Northwestern today to get the results of the bone marrow and to have the weekly checkup. They said they don't see anything abnormal (cancer) in the sample, praise God, and that they have to study the sample further to see more of what's going on. We were so glad to hear that she is still cancer free!

The doctor said they may start decreasing her immune suppression medicine that she's been taking ever since the transplant. We expected this would happen soon and hopefully it will help her continue to gain strength, have less nausea, and feel better all around!

We're so thankful that the cancer is still gone and that things are on track. We trust, no matter what, that God is in control and that He has a perfect plan for each of our lives. We ask that you continue to pray for our Mom. She specifically would like prayer for her blood counts to continue going up so the questions and confusion aren't there anymore. We'll update the blog again when we get more information. Thanks for checking in!

Update

2010-01-14T14:55:00.002-06:00

Mom is on her way home from her weekly appointment at Northwestern. She feels about the same as last week, still dealing with an upset stomach everyday. The doctor gave her a new prescription to try that may help her nausea. The doctors and nurses have always been very helpful to try different things if Mom's not completely comfortable.

Also, Mom's blood count and platelets have gone down a bit over the last couple weeks. The doctor said this is because Mom and Joe (her stem cell donor) have different blood types and they are battling a little. This is completely normal and should turn around about 3 months after the transplant and will not continue to be a problem. The doctor said that if Mom's blood count is still a bit low next week then they will give her a transfusion at her appointment. Again, there's nothing that we're worried about with this.

I guess that's all for now! Let me know in the comments section if you have any specific questions or give my Mom a call or a visit if you can :)

Happy New Year

2010-01-09T23:12:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since we've updated you! Our mom is doing very well these days. She's feeling better little by little and all of her counts are going up as they should be. The doctor is very happy with her progress. Mom spends most of her days at home still working on gaining her strength and energy back but she enjoys lots of visitors and just the fact that she can now be at home. She's still on a lot of medication that upsets her stomach, but overall, everything is going as best as we could hope for. Please continue to pray that these critical days go smooth.

Here's a picture we took at our family Christmas...

And a picture of the grandkids...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-24T12:55:00.002-06:00

We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season. Mom is doing great........enjoying every minute of being home! Thank you for all your continued prayers! God is so good...........

God has proven himself as a faithful father. Now it falls to us to be trusting children. Let God give you what your family doesn't. Let him fill the void others have left. Rely upon him for your affirmation and encouragement. Look at Paul's words: "you are God's child, and God will give you the blessing he promised, because you are his child" (Gal. 4:7)

Have a wonderful Christmas All......

With Love,
Greg and Mary, Amy and Brian, Adam and Bre, Julie and Evan, Suzanne and Cory, David, and all the grandkids........

Home for the holiday's

2009-12-20T21:48:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know.........my mom made it home last night. December 19th!

God is amazing.......we are celebrating every minute!

Friday & Saturday

2009-12-19T11:36:00.002-06:00

We're in the final days of mom's stay at Northwestern. Yesterday her counts went up and were at levels good enough to go home. They plan on her leaving today or tomorrow! Unfortunately she had a slight fever through the night last night, so they are currently doing another blood test to determine if she can leave today or if they want to keep her there one more night and have her go home tomorrow. Our mom and dad are both at the hospital waiting around for the doctors to make their decision.

Either way, she's really doing great. Her throat has healed for the most part and her voice sounds much better. She's still getting used to taking the medications in pill form (rather than through her picc line) so that's giving her an upset stomach. But all in all she's doing well. We'll let you all know when we get any new info!

Wednesday & Thursday

2009-12-17T08:47:00.003-06:00

The days are getting better as we all wait patiently. Mom's throat continues to improve a little everyday. She hasn't had fevers yesterday or today, and her counts are still slowly coming up. We saw a good jump in the numbers yesterday and today they are the same. The doctors told us they will fluctuate some, but they're hopeful she'll be going home within the week.

I enjoyed my day with mom yesterday. She's still sleeping throughout the day off and on because of the medications, but she's much more awake than she was a week ago because they're removing more meds everyday. Yesterday we also took walks and went to a class they had on nutrition for those with stem cell transplants. Mom is supposed to go to 4 classes before she leaves, her last one will be tomorrow.

Sue's there with her today and I just received her text update. She said "Good morning! The team of doctors were just in (like every morning). Mary's numbers are about the same as yesterday but the doctor could hear her voice and throat are better, which is a good indicator. All going well. Doctor is calling Walgreens to prepare for going home meds!"

We're encouraged everyday by mom's strength. We really hope she'll be able to be home for her birthday on Sunday, but we also know the most important thing is that she's healthy first! God's timing is perfect and we'll continue to trust Him for that.

Sue also added: ~Phil 4:6
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

We hope you're all having a blessed holiday season and remembering to love those around you most of all, which God said is loving Him.

Tuesday Update

2009-12-15T20:26:00.002-06:00

Hi there, I just arrived here to be with my mom a couple hours ago and she's doing just fine. Her throat is still sore and she's still battling some fevers here and there, but nothing she can't handle! She's really doing great through all this.

Also, I am 9 weeks pregnant and had my first ultrasound today, so I was able to bring pictures to share with my mom...that was fun!

We thank God for all He has done in my mom and all that He is going to do. As always, please continue to pray for her health to improve and for her counts to start going up.

Monday Day 13

2009-12-14T15:34:00.003-06:00

Mom is doing fair today. Mouth is still sore...........explains it (like) strep throat. Medicine helps, and she is still trying to eat. Most of the food she is eating is soft and cold.

Dr.'s came in this morning and said that they think her counts are starting to come back up. Her WBC count has been at .4 for days, today she is at .5. Her platelets went from 7 to 34. So things might be going in the right direction. She had a slight fever today 100.4, which means they had to run a few tests to see if any infections are causing these fevers. She had blood drawn and a chest x-ray.......all came back good. Praise God

We attended a class at 1:00 today: Activities and Care Following Discharge. She is required to attend 4 classes before going home. The Dr. that did the class said that her fever today could be from engraftment of the stem cells.............
Spirits are good!

God, please help mom to get home by her birthday.......December 20th!

Friday

2009-12-11T17:06:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone, quiet day/night here at the hospital. Mom is still doing fine although she's battling a sore throat and fevers. These are the 2 symptoms they told us she'll have for sure. All in all she's doing much better than we expected and we are thanking God for seeing her through this week.

Her doctor was in this afternoon and agreed that she's doing well. She said we can expect mom to have a few more days feeling like this. Once we get through Monday they expect that she'll start feeling better and her counts will be going up. We won't know when she'll be heading home until they start seeing good numbers.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement these past few days! We'll write again soon!

Snow and Christmas Trees!

2009-12-09T21:51:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone, it's Bre again. We had another quiet day today filled with lots of sleep. Mary is feeling good. She has slight pain in her mouth and throat, but the meds are working. Keep those prayers coming!

It has been very snowy here in Chicago. Patti (mary's sister-in-law) made it up to be with us. She and I ventured outside for a moment. It was WAY to cold for this girl, but I made it. While we walked back to the hospital, I couldn't help but think how beautiful the snow looked falling all around in giant flakes. Christmas is near. You can feel it in the air. You see the lights, you feel the cold, and see people walking the streets with shopping bags. This year has a different ring for me and I am sure the rest of the Provance family.

As I was packing to come here, I couldn't help but want to bring a little Christmas to Mary. For the past three weeks or so my family has been decorating the outside and inside of our house with lights. Lane is filled with pure joy and excitement at the thought of Santa coming. Graysen just loves all of the lights and Christmas music (any chance to shake her booty). I have also been blessed to be part of Lane's sunday school class for the last few weeks and have been teaching about the birth of Jesus and his birthday celebration, Christmas. However, even with all of that pure innocent joy, it isn't far from my mind that Mary is here fighting for her life. So, I decided last week that I wanted to bring her a special present in my suitcase, a small Christmas tree to brighten her room. I also found a few ornaments, one says Hope and one Grace. I couldn't seem to find "Do Work" or "Overcome". :)

When I came across Grace I honestly wasn't even thinking about God's grace but instead the Grace that Mary has shown during this journey. To be here with her and watch her just fight the fight is amazing. She has taken her assignment from God and has stood tall and done her duty. She is a servant, a beautiful servant. I struggle at times with how God wants me to serve, but sometimes I think that the way that he wants us to serve or is asking us to serve is not always what we have in mind. What happened if we all opened our hearts, closed our minds, and just served no matter what the request?

We are off to sleep... with the glow of our Christmas tree filling the room. XOXO

Day of Prayer

2009-12-08T17:45:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone, it's Bre! I am grateful to be back with Mary again. It is a blessing.

Today has been a fairly uneventful day. When Mary woke up this morning, her mouth was swollen and sore due to a side affect of the chemo called mucositis. The team was quick to get pain mediciation in her PICC line, which gave her immediate relief. They also got a pump installed so that she could push the button to initiate any additional meds herself. Due to the meds, she slept most of the day, the swelling has gone down, and no sores as of yet. Praise God! We were even able to take a walk this afternoon and I am hoping to get her to eat a little here this evening. Please pray as we want to stop the side affects in their tracks. Thank you! Until tomorrow...

Still doing good.......

2009-12-06T20:37:00.003-06:00

Besides a little boredom, Mom is doing good! No side effects yet. She is on Day 5.........and the goal is to be going home by Day 14-20. Hopefully only a week and a half to two weeks left.....

Continue to pray for no side effects, and for the stem cells to engraft in the bone marrow without mom's body putting up to much of a fight........

Thanks for the prayers...........love ya all!

Prayer Requests!

2009-12-04T10:35:00.004-06:00

Everything is still pretty quiet around the hospital for now. My mom is still feeling okay, taking walks, eating her delicious (okay, maybe not) hospital meals, and enjoying her visitors. Jenni, Mary's niece, stayed with her last night and is there now. Jenni text me saying that they had a good night with the exception of beeping machines. She said this morning mom was chatting with the lady in the next room over who's going through the same thing. The lady is a few days ahead of my mom and is having some really rough days now. The nurse told my mom it'll feel like she was hit by a semi in the next few days.

Jenni asked me to call all of our prayer warriors! Mom needs God's strength to get through the days ahead and to conquer this thing once and for all! Please be praying for my mom over the next week! We'll keep you updated on specific needs as the days go on.

Stem Cell Transplant

2009-12-01T18:45:00.002-06:00

Good evening everyone!

The transplant was a success! They started everything at 4 o'clock today and finished a little before 5. Her official "time of birth" (when the stem cells started going into her blood stream) was 4:18. The medicine made mom pretty sleepy, so she rested for a while after it was done. I just called and talked with her and she sounds like she's doing well. She feels the same as she did before the transplant, just has some nausea, but fine otherwise. She said she just ate a sandwich for dinner and is talking with her visitors. David (Mary's son) stayed the night last night and was there all day today through the transplant. Our dad was also there for everything along with Sue (Mary's sister), Joe (Mary's brother/the donor), and Eddie (Mary's brother).

Mom said the phones have been ringing all evening. This is obviously a huge day for mom and all of us who love her! We've come so far since the beginning of this journey!

I'd love to say we're all done, but we still have the recovery to go. Mom will probably be in the hospital for a couple more weeks. The nurse told her today that the next 5 days should be pretty normal for her, then the 5 days after that will get a bit harder. This is when she'll feel the affects of everything that's going on inside of her.

We're in the home stretch! Please continue your encouraging words and prayers. We love you all!

Big Day Tomorrow

2009-11-30T17:04:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow is the big day...the stem cell transplant. Mom is doing well so far. Her stomach is upset from the chemo in her system, but so far no side effects that are really hard on her. Usually those come about a week after the chemo, so maybe over the weekend...please be praying for those.

Most importantly, please be praying for the transplant that will happen tomorrow at 4. The doctors will give mom medicine that will allow her body to relax, and she may not even remember the transplant. The transplant consists of Joe's (Mary's brother) stem cells being put into our mom's blood stream via her picc line. She had her new picc line successfully inserted into her left arm this afternoon. The stem cell transplant will take about a half hour to an hour. Once that's done and the medicine wears off a bit, mom should be up walking around that night.

Like Adam said, we've seen many people in the hospital who have gone through the same transplant. We feel like God has us in the right hospital with the right doctors, and that He loves our mom more than all of us put together. We believe this is her way to a better, healthy life, and we're trusting God every step along the way.

Thank you so much for your prayers over the next 24 hours for our mom. We love you all.

All Quiet On The "Southern" Front

2009-11-27T13:12:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone, just wanted to give you all an update in regards to Mom's last couple days. It's "all quiet" for the most part, Mom has been resting very well since arriving here a few days ago. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and relieved Amy, and it was a pretty uneventful day. We watched a few chick-flicks and spent most of the night catching up. She's been getting chemo the last three days as well as several other antibiotics/fluids, and up until today she had not been feeling any side effects.

Thanksgiving Day was very quiet as well, it was just Dad and I with her all day. We spent the morning watching the Macy's parade, which is the one and only time I hope to do experience that, but Mom enjoyed it so that's all that mattered! She did get to eat a turkey dinner (hospital-style) but was so full that she could not get excited about the pumpkin pie!! (And no, I didn't eat it!) We've been consistent with taking walks a few times a day and Mom still feels very strong both mentally and physically. There is a lady next door to her that has the same diagnosis as Mom and just completed her stem cell transplant, so they are starting to get to know each other and it's been good for her to talk to someone else going through a very similar process. It definitely wasn't a "typical" Thanksgiving Day, but she knows that everyday she's here is one day closer to getting out of here, so she didn't complain or get upset one time.

Suzanne, Amy, and Dad arrived this morning to spend the day up here. Mom is a lot sleepier today and she's just now starting to feel some of the side effects of the chemo. Her stomach is upset and the nausea is starting to kick in a little bit, but the staff is so amazing here and they are dealing with her issues as well as possible. Doctor Altman was here this morning to check in, and they are still calling Mom the "low maintenance" patient because she's still doing so well. Please keep her in your prayers, mainly that these side effects stay at bay and she can continue to rest comfortably.

It's tough seeing Mom back in the hospital after such a nice time at home, but we know that she'll be home very soon and back to a "normal" life again"!! Thanks again for all your prayers and calls, keep em coming!! Love you all,

Adam

Back at Northwestern

2009-11-24T19:48:00.003-06:00

Well, were back in Chicago..............Same hospital new room........#1587.

Arrived at Northwestern at 8 this morning. Had only one procedure today. Spinal tap was performed to check spinal fluid for any abnormal leukemic cells. A couple hours later the Dr. called from the pathology lab and said that her spinal fluid was clean. They saw no abnormal cells. Praise God! Now she is clear to start Chemo tomorrow morning.

Spent the day resting and walking.

Now we ask for continued prayer as she starts the chemo. Pray for strength, peace, and minimal side effects.

We know that Jesus will be with her every step of this journey!

Thanks,
Amy

Praise!

2009-11-19T09:50:00.002-06:00

We are praising God for some great news we received yesterday. The doctor called my mom yesterday and told her that she no longer has FLT3!!

I'm not sure if we talked about this in previous posts, but when my mom was admitted to Northwestern at the beginning of all this they told us that my mom's bone marrow showed that she had a couple extra chromosomes, aka FLT3. This was really bad news because they told us it would be harder for her to get into remission and more likely for the leukemia to come back after she was in remission. It also caused the doctors to be more aggressive with mom's case and was a big cause for concern all around.

We didn't know what to expect with the FLT3 besides that we were trusting God with it, and He sure took care of it for us! I said in the last post that my mom was pretty nervous/anxious after our family appointment on Tuesday because they talk about all of the negative things that could happen with the transplant...well then mom received the call yesterday that the FLT3 was gone. She said it was just another confirmation that God's in control!! Praise Him!

Stem-Cell Time

2009-11-18T10:32:00.002-06:00

Hi all! As you know, we met with the doctors yesterday. It's difficult to be told all the negative things that could happen during mom's upcoming stem-cell transplant. This is a serious procedure and there are a lot of things our mom needs prayer for over the next few weeks. Please pray more than ever for God's guidance, strength, and healing for Mary though this next round.

She will be admitted to Northwestern on Tuesday, the 24th. She'll start chemo the next day (Day -6) and continue receiving chemo for 4 days total (through Day -2). Then she'll have 2 days of rest. Finally, on Day 0, she'll receive Joe's stem cell transplant (which the doctors call her birthday). The chemo will clear out all of mom's bone marrow, and when Joe's stem cells are transplanted, they will make up her new bone marrow. Obviously that makes it sound much simpler than it really is, but that's the main purpose of the procedure.

They expect her to be in the hospital for about 3-5 weeks...which may get her home for her birthday (Dec 20th) or maybe for Christmas. Regardless of when they release her once her levels are back to normal, we'll celebrate when she's finished!!

Please please be praying for her. She's nervous to go through the pain again, for the extra challenges that this (more intense) chemo will bring, and also nervous because of the complicated stem-cell transplant procedure. We will continue to trust in our Lord during this time and remember that our lives are for His glory. No matter what the doctors say, we know we have Jesus to believe in...

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Message from Mary's sister, Sue:

Good morning to all! God is good - He is good ALL the time!

After reading all the comments (from the previous post) this morning, I'm weeping and overwhelmed by how God's love is being felt through friends and family, old and new. May I take this space to tell you I'm so thankful for the body of Christ and the encouraging words and prayers you send for my sister. Keep pressing in for this portion of the battle; fear and doubt try to enter in and we want no part of it! God is faithful and we want our eyes fixed upon Him!

"Yet will He bring darkness to light; yet will He bring day from night....."!

Blessings to you,Love, Sue

Great News

2009-11-16T13:30:00.002-06:00

We received great news we today...my mom's bone marrow is still clean!! They did the bone marrow test on Thursday and just received the results about a half hour ago. Amy called to tell me and I could hear my mom in the background talking/crying to my dad about how happy she is! Praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing!

And now onto the last phase...

We'll be up at Northwestern tomorrow for the family stem cell meeting. They're going to walk us through what it involves and answer any questions we have. Then, mom will go into the hospital later this week to do the stem cell transplant. We think she'll be in there for about 3-5 weeks if everything goes according to plan.

Please pray for this next battle that our mom is about to take on! Love you all.

Hospital Appointment

2009-11-13T09:15:00.004-06:00

Everything went well at the appointment yesterday. Mom had lots of tests done to make sure she's still healthy for the stem cell transplant, along with a bone marrow test to make sure the cancer is still gone.

The doctor said that if everything checks out right then mom could head back to the hospital for her transplant towards the end of next week. We probably won't know for sure until the beginning of next week.

On Tuesday we're having a family meeting at Northwestern to talk about the transplant and for us to ask any questions.

Other than those things, our mom is still doing well. Her blood tests are coming back with great results, she's gaining strength and energy, and she's getting out of the house more while still being smart about staying healthy.

She loves you all and thanks you for all your posts and love.

Update

2009-11-10T15:45:00.002-06:00

Hello again...
Our mom is still doing well. We had a great weekend with all of my siblings home. We had Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday since everyone was around and it was a great time. We definitely kept my mom busy and probably wore her out, just like the doctor ordered!

Joe (Mary's youngest brother) had his appointment yesterday at Northwestern to get his stem cells taken. He was there for most of the day and gave more than enough! Adam told me how honored Joe felt to be able to do that for his sister. We're so thankful for his bravery and love for our mom. Thanks Joe!

Mom has another appointment on Thursday to get a bone marrow sample taken. They need to check to see if there is any cancer coming back. If there is then they will have to do another round of outpatient chemo. If not, then they move on to the stem cell transplant. Once we receive the results of the bone marrow, we'll know more of what her schedule will look like.

Thanks for your continued prayers <3

Good Week

2009-11-05T15:49:00.003-06:00

Hello again! I just got off the phone with my mom. She had an appointment with her new doctor today up at Northwestern. Her original doctor, Olga, had a baby a couple weeks ago and is now on maternity leave. Mom's new doctor, Jessica Altman, will be with my mom for the rest of this year. Mom was so pleasantly surprised with Dr. Altman. She said she was delightful, caring, and just as intense as Olga!

The doctor said that everything in mom's blood is looking good. If you remember, they took a bone marrow last Friday to see if there was anything wrong to try and determine why mom's white blood cell count wasn't coming up (but then it came up on Saturday). Well, the results of that bone marrow were inconclusive. The doctor said that they shouldn't have done the bone marrow at that time because of a shot mom had received a few days before (which was supposed to increase white blood cell production). The bone marrow may have shown signs of immature cells (not good), but this could be because of the shot. That's why they have to wait another week and test the bone marrow again. So please be praying that the bone marrow test next Thursday comes back clean, and we have the green light to schedule the stem cell transplant!

Mom has been feeling good this week. She's enjoying (VERY MUCH) being home! The doctor told her to be as active as she can over the next week. They want this period at home to make my mom strong, ready to fight the next battle.

Adam, Bre and their kids will in from Pennsylvania this weekend along with Cory and I, Julie, David (of course since he lives in mom's basement), and Amy and Brian are always around with their kids! We'll definitely keep her and dad busy!

As always, please continue to pray. We can't thank you enough for your love and support :)

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Mary's Home! :)

2009-11-01T17:19:00.002-06:00

Mom was discharged from the hospital in the afternoon today and arrived home around 3:30! She said she loved her first breath of fresh air (after 7 weeks)! We had the house all ready for her and she's enjoying being home very much. Her counts are all great today and there's a nurse stopping by tonight to check on her.

She can have visitors but we can't stress enough that you must be perfectly healthy to see her. We don't want to take any chances on her getting sick while she's home. It's good that her white count is up, which fights infection, but she still is weaker than normal. If you'd like to come see her sometime please call Amy to make sure mom is up for visitors. Amy's number is 815-343-5977. And if you do get a chance to stop by, we ask that you keep your visits short and sweet since mom is still not 100%.

Thank you all SO much for your support, for your prayers, and for all the love you've shown us these past few months. As you know, we're not through it yet, but we've put our trust in the Lord and know He will see us through. We love you all.

White count is on the Move.......

2009-10-31T09:36:00.002-05:00

Just found out this morning that her white count went from .3 to .7! That means 300 to 700.......and she needs to be at 1000 to come home! Great news........Praise the Lord!

Still don't know when she will come home, will keep you updated when we know more!

Thanks for the prayers,
Amy

No White Count Yet

2009-10-30T11:32:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone,

My dad is up at the hospital with my mom today and they just talked with the doctors. There's still no white blood cell count unfortunately. We were all really hoping mom could come home this weekend, but that might not happen. The doctors said that her counts should be starting to come up by now, but it's possible it could take longer. They took a bone marrow sample to make sure everything checks out normal. They don't expect to see any cancer cells in there, but they want to check for that and for other abnormalities. We're not really sure what to expect. It's possible that she could start producing good white blood cells today, we just don't know.

The doctors said they might know some preliminary readings from the marrow tonight, but they may not know exactly what's going on til Monday. We're all a bit anxious and sad to hear the news, but we trust in God who's bigger than all of this.

Philippians 4:6 reminds us...
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Please continue to pray for my mom!

Amy also wanted me to let you all know that mom is feeling well. It would be great if anyone has a chance to visit her this weekend if she doesn't get to go home...she could use the encouragement. If you do want to visit, please give Amy a call at 815-343-5977 just to let her know. Thanks!

Anxiously Waiting........

2009-10-28T20:50:00.002-05:00

The white counts haven't yet moved but Mary got a nice little shot to give her white bloods cells the boost that they need. It just may take a couple of days for it to kick in, and we know it's in God's timing - so let's all just ask, "God..we really, really, really want it to so Mary can go home!" It's so close - we can almost feel it! And what a great feeling it is :)

Good Weekend!

2009-10-25T20:19:00.004-05:00

Wanted to give everyone a quick update.........

Things are going good! I just got up here today around 5:00, and I am amazed to see how great mom is doing. Last time I was here was 4 nights ago......what a wonderful difference a few days make. She looks awesome! We are enjoying our night together, and catching up on weekend activities.
(My v-ball team got 2ND in conference........out of 12 teams. So proud of them)

Still receiving transfusion occasionally, but not near as often. Still neutropenic (which means that counts are still very low). Mom will stay in the hospital until all of her counts start coming back up. We are on day 21, and numbers normally start coming back on days 21-25. The Doctor told my mom this morning that he wants to see her out of here by this weekend.
How exciting would that be...............

Please be praying for this to happen!

Adam, Suzanne and Cory, Brian and Amy, and David were at the hospital and the house over the weekend. Did a lot of work at mom's house preparing for the soon homecoming!
God bless you all,
Amy

Slowly but surely...

2009-10-22T09:05:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all the comments. It's so fun for us to read through them all and celebrate with you via a blog :)

I just wanted to let you all know that my mom continues to feel better each day. This morning Sue is with my mom and texted me that they had a good sleep besides the nurse coming in the room. Her platelets were up to 24 last night (which is great), but then fell back this morning to 8 (not bad, but not where we want them). Her levels will continue to be low and they will continue giving her platelets, blood, and whatever else she needs until she's producing them all on her own...enough to go home. Sue also said that mom is sounding stronger and more upbeat. Her blood pressure has been high, so please be praying for that. But overall mom said she's feeling good this morning!

It looks like she could be heading home in about a week to 2 weeks. She'll probably be home for about 3 weeks, then head back to the hospital for the stem cell transplant. Joe, Mary's brother, is going to be her stem cell donor. He's a "perfect match" which mom's doctor was hoping for since Joe is Mary's youngest brother (praise the Lord). Joe will go up to the hospital sometime soon to donate.

Please continue to pray!

REMISSION!!!!!

2009-10-20T18:32:00.002-05:00

We have a wonderful amazing announcement...my mom is in complete REMISSION!! The doctors just came in and told us (with big smiles on their faces) that her blood is clean...so clean that they don't even need to run any other tests on the bone marrow sample! Praise the Lord!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and love you've shared throughout the past couple months. You have no idea how much you've encouraged mom along the way! You are the best family and friends anyone could ever have (even the nurses and doctors noticed)!

Our mom is still experiencing some pain and nausea. She is celebrating inside but she's not able to express it too much because she's uncomfortable. Please continue to pray for her throughout the upcoming weeks as she recovers and prepares for the stem cell transplant.

We praise God above all and owe all the glory and honor to Him. He's in complete control of each of our lives and we give him all our praise!!

Monday, Oct. 19th

2009-10-19T22:12:00.007-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Mom is doing OK! She has had a little easier day than yesterday, but still has a lot going on. She did have the Bone Marrow biopsy today around 11:00 A.M. Which means that we are now waiting for the results............we should know tomorrow or Wednesday! We will keep you updated with the results once we know what is going on.
She has been getting more platelets and blood throughout the day. Mom has been resting a lot, which is much needed. Her mouth is still really sore, gums are bleeding, and uvula is still enlarged. As far as the small bowel obstruction, surgeons are just keeping a eye on it, but aren't too concerned at this point. Things are still moving down there, and it still feels soft in her abdomen area.
Thanks again for all the prayers and we know that God is in control! Everyone, please..........
Keep Looking UP!
Love,
Amy
Sue spent the night last night and has been there all day. Suzanne has taken over tonight's shift, and I will be heading up tomorrow around 5.

Sunday Day 14

2009-10-18T17:08:00.005-05:00

Mary is having another rough day. Day 14 of chemo is usually the hardest! She is still having major nausea issues and stomach pains. They took her earlier to a CT scan of her abdomen. Just received results that she has a small bowel obstruction in her small intestines. They called in the surgical team for precaution. We talked to them and they think that this is something that will pass. She is not allowed to eat or drink for a couple days in hopes that she passes this on her own. With her low platelet counts, we don't want this to worsen. We are going to pray that this subsides on its own.
Another issue today is that she has a blood pocket/clot on her uvula. This is making her have difficulty swallowing adding to her discomfort.
Please continue to pray for her to pass the bowel obstruction and for the uvula to heal. We don't need any excess bleeding due to her low platelet count. Also, tomorrow is the bone marrow test. We need to pray for no pain during the procedure and for good results. We won't know the results for a couple days. Lastly, pray for a good nights rest. Her sister Sue will be here with her tonight. Dad, David, Madi and I are getting ready to go home soon.
Thanks,
Amy

:)

2009-10-16T15:50:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to update everyone real quick:

Mary had a really good night last night! She did not experience any nausea at all and slept really well. We are so thankful for that.

Everthing is looking good today and the weekend should be a relaxing time with some family.

We are awaiting the bone marrow biopsy on Monday. Pray it up! ;)

Attention All Prayer Warriors!

2009-10-15T11:53:00.002-05:00

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

Mary experienced a pretty rough night last night. She is in the midst of the hardest days of round 2 of chemo..where her body is at it's weakest. As her body is being pumped full of meds, blood, and platelets - we ask for prayer! The side effects have kicked in - this time nausea (with severe abdominal pain) throughout the night and dehydration (she passed out in my arms on her way back from the bathroom). She is doing much better this morning - and we praise God for that. We do not want another night like this!

Let's storm Heaven on this one!!

Day 10, 2nd Round

2009-10-14T21:05:00.006-05:00

Mom has had a decent couple of days. She is still staying active everyday by taking her walks through the hallway. She is experiencing more nausea, but most of it can be controlled by medicine. Unfortunately, this is making it harder for her to eat, plus chemo has affected her taste buds, so food is just blah right now. She has lost some weight, but the doctors say that is normal.
Cousin Kim stayed with her on Monday night and Aunt Patti stayed Tuesday. It is so nice to have so many people willing to help. Thanks again! You are not only helping mom, but us! Today's visitors, Uncle Eddy (via train), and my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim. My mom told me tonight on the phone that she is so glad to have so many people around her, it makes the time go by faster. She sees so many others in the hospital going through the same thing as she is, and some have nobody! She can't imagine what that would feel like?
I also wanted to thank everyone for the comments on the blog. My mom gets cards daily and smiles with every one. We are so blessed to have all of you, thanks for the little things! All the little comments, letters, cards, gifts, visits, they mean so much!
Glad to say there isn't much else to write about. Days 10-16 were the hardest days for her the last round, so be on your knees praying that she gets through these days as easy as can be. Also that the chemo works so hard that it wipes out all the remaining cancer in her body. We want her in remission after this round..........The next few days are big.........please keep the prayers coming!

Monday

2009-10-12T20:45:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, thanks for checking in. My mom is still doing pretty well. She finished her 2nd round of chemo yesterday morning, so we're now in the midst of a week's rest. She's not feeling many side effects this round like she felt last time, she's just been pretty tired and has had some nausea. Her blood pressure and temperature have been great today. Amy stayed with her last night into today and Steve (Mary's brother) and Kathy visited her today as well as my dad.

The stem cell transplant coordinator came in to talk with my mom today about what's to come if/when she gets to that stage of the battle. First, we obviously need her to get into remission. This doctor came in to answer any questions and help us know what to expect with the stem cell transplant. We're learning more about it everyday and will post more info on here before my mom gets to that stage (the earliest this could come is in about a month).

For now we are going to focus on getting rid of the cancer. In 1 week (next Monday) they'll take another bone marrow sample to test and see if she's in remission. Does it go without saying that this test is a huge prayer request for her right now? Regardless of whether or not she's in remission at this time, she will be going home for a few weeks after her body recuperates from the chemo. If she is in remission this time, after a few weeks of rest at home, she'll head back to Northwestern for the stem cell transplant.

This battle isn't over. Please continue praying for Mary's strength, for her vitals, for her nausea, and for her to get into remission. Thank you so much for all your support!

Friday update written from the (724)

2009-10-10T00:07:00.005-05:00

It's Adam, I'm getting to update the blog tonight after being with Mom since yesterday evening. She had another good day overall today after being up some last night with a slight fever. She's still very tired and got a good bit of rest throughout the day. BP stayed relatively in check and many of the side effects from the chemo have stayed away so far during this second round. She's a bit less talkative right now due to the different things that are being put into her body, but we all fill that void by talking to her and catching her up on what's new in our lives. I read her another round of cards today, keep those coming as well as the posts, Mom is excited to have those read to her and is still amazed that the number of people who are expressing their love and support.

Had a fun day with some visitors...Barb Onken and Larry all the way from Alabama, as well as Doug Stuedemann, Amy and Emma (funny story to follow about her), Jack and Patti up from Bloomington after visiting their son at North Central, and of course Dad and myself. One of the best visitors was there again today as well, Dr. Olga, Mom sure does enjoy Olga. The confidence and peace that Mom feels when Olga is in the room was special to see, that was the first time both Amy and I were able to meet her and see her in action. The story about Emma goes like this...Olga was answering questions for us about the stem cell transplant and the next steps of the process, and Emma started making some noises. That led me to asking her when she was due with her baby (1 week) and what she was having (baby girl). I then said to her "Nothing against your baby or anything, but when do you think you will be back to take care of my Mom?" Just as I asked the question Emma decided to throw up on Amy's pants and Olga replied, "After watching that I'll hopefully be back to work sooner than I thought!" The good news is that Olga's team member, who is also a luekemia/lymphoma specialist, will be taking over and handling everything until Olga returns. We still have no doubts that Olga was the perfect doctor for Mom and that the Lords' timing was just right for her being in Olga's care!

We also wanted to tell everyone that Mom will be coming home in approximately 2-3 weeks no matter if the cancer is put into remission or not. Olga feels that Mom needs to be home after such a tough stay in the hospital, and also still feels very positive that she'll be coming home with the cancer in full remission! That's what we need prayers for as you probably all know. That will be the best case scenario and will catapult her on to the next step of doing the stem cell transplant. (Speaking of that, I've always loved you a lot Joe K., but more and more everyday knowing what a special role that you are about to play in my Mom's life!) There will be more to follow about the details to the stem cell transplant, but we do believe that if everything goes as planned that she will be starting it 3-4 weeks after her home recovery.

I want to stress one more thing...it's still very important to remember that if you are going to either the hospital, or the Mom and Dad's house to visit, that you DO NOT GO if you've been around any sniffles or sickness. Her immune system is at it's lowest point and will remain that way for some time, and it's vital that no one go near her if you've been exposed to any sickness. That may be tough for some but there is no choice in the matter, we have to be extra cautious with that situation.

The word of the night is.........Overcome, I sent Mom a shirt with that on it and it's hanging up in her room. Even as she goes through this pain and discomfort, God has a plan in place and she CAN OVERCOME!! I love you all, keep up the amazing effort that you have all put forth.

Good days

2009-10-07T21:54:00.003-05:00

Not too much to report tonight but we like that. Mom's doing well these past couple days, walking, feeling pretty good, and still having visitors everyday. She's been very tired because of all the medicine they're giving her but no bad side-effects from this round of chemo yet.

They're still trying to regulate her blood pressure better because it's very high at times but all the tests they've done have come back normal. Today they decided to stop giving her 1 of the steroids and they'll see if that helps at all.

Thank you all for your prayers! We believe God can heal and restore!

Day 1 (again)

2009-10-05T17:22:00.003-05:00

My mom started her next round of chemo today. We were ready to get it going so the end of it comes sooner! She's doing fine today, battling a bit of high blood pressure, but she still feels fine. They ended up not doing the lung procedure this morning because of her high blood pressure. Mom said she thinks it was a blessing so that she didn't have to go through it, and they were only 20% confident the procedure would've given them any information. They're obviously not worried about her lungs enough to hold off on the chemo, so that makes us feel like it's not a huge issue.

Please keep praying, especially for her blood pressure! God works in His timing and we trust in His plan. Thanks everyone!

Hurry Up and Wait.

2009-10-03T19:37:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!
Sorry it's been awhile since the last post...but we really weren't sure what the latest update was until now. So far..no chemo. Unfortunately :( But, soon! We're looking at Monday now. Yesterday there was a bit of frustration on our end because we had Doctors (Oncologists, Infectious Disease and Lung Specialist) in talking with us about results from the CATscan of the lungs. They have found some fluid that makes them worried about infection. They want to do a Bronchosapy to take a closer look and get a sample of the fluid so they can culture it and find out if there is a cause for concern. They weren't sure if they wanted to start the next round of chemotherapy in case this were to turn into something bigger upon treatment (when her body is the weakest). We are glad they are taking precautions, but all delays makes for more time here..and we would just like to get this over with as soon as possible. They understood our frustration! Mary woke up with a spiked fever on Thurs morning and they did not like that one bit - and that's why we've been through the mill! But, God has a plan! We know He is at work..after her bone marrow biopsy they looked at the results and thought she had 70% of the luekemia cells in her..but today they said they were wrong. There is only 25%! Thank the Lord!! We'll take that!

Mary's hair is pretty well gone now. We cut it off today pretty short...not quite ready for the buzz, but it's time for the hats and scarves. It wasn't the easiest thing to do - but Madi and Taylor sang songs and hugged her along the way :) It was good to have the girls here because they still showed the same love to her before and after the cut..it didn't bother them the least. Mary saw things through their eyes..and oh how wonderful childlike faith is!! Mary is still as beautiful as ever! But the cancer became more real..it was tough!

When I arrived on Wed., it was not one of Mary's best days..but yesterday and today have been good days! Praise the Lord!! Strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord. So we will wait upon Him and continue to trust in His ultimate plan. Please pray for the upcoming test and the 2nd round of chemo on Monday.

The "Big C" and "little c"

2009-10-01T19:54:00.002-05:00

It is the name of Jesus which, through faith in him, has brought back the strength of this one whom you see here...that has restored this one back to health. Acts 3:16

We want the "Big C" (Christ, that is) to conquer the "litte c" (cancer)...

Let us never refer to cancer as the "Big C" again!! Let these words cause an instant change to our perspective and serve as a lasting reminder of where the fullest healing power lies - in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Today has been a good day of rest! Mary spiked a fever early this morning that was a cause for concern for the rest of the day..and they decided that starting chemo might not be best until they know she is competely ready for it.

Since early this morning her temp has been fine, her blood pressure has been good, and her platelets are hanging around 15 (which is awesome because she had some tranfused in her this morning and they've lasted all day).

Pray that this fever is nothing to be worried about tonight so we can move forth tomorrow! God has the timing in His hands and we are waiting on Him!

Please be sure to call Amy (815)343-5977 if you are planning a visit. We have lots of visitors on the weekends and it may be a bit overwhelming if you all come at once..we just ask that you call and double check with how she's feeling and maybe plan on a short visit during this time so Mary can get all the rest her body needs!
She loves you all and is very grateful for all the support!

Round 2

2009-09-30T12:56:00.002-05:00

Mary's doctor just stopped in to let us know that she received the preliminary results of Monday's test and that the leukemia is still in my mom's bone marrow. The doctor was sad to report the news, but still encouraging at the same time. She let us know that she's going to be completely honest with us throughout this whole process. She said that she is confident that they will eventually get my mom into remission, it's just a matter of time.

The doctor also gave us a bit of good news. Joe, Mary's youngest brother, is another perfect match for the stem cell transplant! Thank God for these glimmers of hope through these hard few weeks. Ideally they like to use the youngest brother's stem cells for a transplant, so Joe being a match is great news.

Today we're just hanging out. My mom is feeling okay, but sad about having to do another round of chemo. The chemo will start again tomorrow morning and will be a 6-day heavier round. Again on day 14 they'll do the bone marrow test and we'll go from there.

We know that this journey is just a short period in her and our lives, it's tough, but we can get through it. Please continue to pray for my mom's health, for this next round of chemo to have less side effects, and for her continued strength.

2009-09-29T22:45:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! Thanks for checking in. As you read in the last post, we're still waiting on the results of the bone marrow test to come in. They said we'll know late tomorrow afternoon. I'm here with my mom tonight enjoying her company. She's doing pretty good...feeling better today. She's still hooked up to lots of different medicine and is still getting transfusions but they're expecting her body to start producing things normally again within the next couple weeks (assuming no more chemo).

My mom wants you to know that she reads each and every post you write on this blog every day! She said they all mean so much to her, even the simplest words. Knowing that you all are praying for her is so comforting...she said the prayers are probably going on ALL day :) She wanted me to let you know that some things she's gone through she's had to be calm and focused, but God has given her peace in these moments, and we know He's hearing all of our prayers. She's still trusting in the Lord for a miracle!

Thank you all so much for your love and support. We'll definitely let you know when we hear from the doctors tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight!

Still Waiting...

2009-09-29T16:08:00.002-05:00

This afternoon Amy told me that we won't know the results of the test til tomorrow. Just wanted to let everyone know so you're not wondering...we trust in His perfect timing.

I'll write more later tonight when I get up to the hospital, but Amy said our mom is doing very well today.

Mon. Sept. 28th

2009-09-28T20:27:00.002-05:00

Day 14 pm Mary is amazing! Today, I arrived a about 10:30, Amy stayed here till about noon. Greg arrived around 2:00, and David and "Shoe" were here visiting.
She has been up and down and tested and retested today. Cancer sucks! No way around it, but we are fighting!! Platelets were up and platelets were down. She had to have an ultra sound on her right arm today because she had a shooting pain run down it when they tried to take her blood pressure. There is still a small blood clot there, but they are not to worried about it and seem to be sure it will dissolve, it is in a small vain and not a big concern.

We still need to pray that the platelets will stay! And that she will hold on to her blood!

Mary also had a bone marrow draw today. We will be receiving the results of that test tomorrow afternoon sometime. We are not sure when. What this test will tell us is if the leukemia has been put into remission. If in remission, then Mary will be here in the hospital for 2 more weeks to regain her strength and get healthy. Then she can go home for about 3 weeks. After that time she will return to the hospital and receive the stem cell transplant (or bone marrow transplant). Which is not as scary as that sounds, it is all done like a blood transfusion. And she will have about 4-6 weeks hospital time.

The nurses keep commenting how her room looks so nice, and how cheery it looks in here. Mei(may), Mary's nurse today was saying today, what a nice family she has and how they have not let her be alone. Our presence as friends and family is noticeable and I know God sees and hears that too!

I saw this in one of the books that Mary has here in her room, and it was the first page I happened to open to, it read," Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen! "

Day 14

2009-09-28T10:46:00.002-05:00

This is Amy. Thanks for the prayers everyone.......please keep them coming. Doctor were in this morning. They plan on doing the bone marrow biopsy today at 2:00. Please pray for this to go well! Pray for the results to be positive!

Mom had a little difficulty this morning, blood pressure was up, had a little fever and chill. Now things are looking better. She is getting platelets now. She will recieve 2-3 bags of platelets and some more blood today.

Mom still has a very positive attitude! She is amazing! God is truely working through her.

Day 13.

2009-09-27T14:30:00.002-05:00

We are in the midst of some pretty tough days...they say Day 13 and 14 are the worst of them all. Mary is handling herself very well (Docs are trying different meds to control blood pressure and to prevent the destruction of platelets, fluids to keep the kidneys flushed and she is getting pumped full of platelets and blood). She is just tired and is really using her Sunday as "a day of rest."

We found out that she is getting all of the platelets because 1)they tend to die off after 8 hours (and her body is not producing them like she should be). 2)She is having a bone marrow biopsy tomorrow morning and her level needs to be at 20 so she won't have a horrible bruise from the procedure.

Good news is that the platelets are being accepted better by her body and all that is going on with her right now..is "normal" in these days of treatment.

Please be praying for rest and her body's preparation for the bone marrow biopsy tomorrow - they are working hard to get her ready for that :) The results of this test determine the next step. If there are no leukemia cells found, she will stay in the hospital and be supported until her counts come up. She will then be able to go home for a couple of weeks before she comes back for the stem cell transplant (in which we are still waiting on the rest of her sibling's results). If leukemia cells are found in the test, she will need to stay here a little longer and go through another round of chemo. Obviously, we are gonna pray hard for the first! And that is what we will do!!

Julie

Weekend

2009-09-26T15:02:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone,
My mom is doing well today. Her platelet count is back up above where they need her to be, at 16. They're very happy with that! She feels fine and looks good. Julie's cutting her hair right now. She hasn't lost any of her hair yet, but since she's sitting in the hospital bed all day, she thought it would be easier to have it shorter.

I guess this is normal when you're going through treatment, but it seems like she's always battling either a fever or high blood pressure. The good thing is they have medicine for everything and can always get them back to normal.

My dad's here for the weekend, like always, and Amy and Brian came to visit last night. Carl (Mary's brother) and Dottie also visited last night. Mom said the day went by so fast! Now Cory and I (Suzanne) are here to hang out for the day and Julie is here til tomorrow. We're also expecting a visit today from Bonnie & Larry (my parents' friends), and Joe (Mary's brother), Cheryl, and Sarah.

We ask for you to pray for restful sleep at night, for no infections, and for good news from the test on Monday. Thank you all so much. My mom appreciates all your notes, cards, and most of all, your prayers!

Calling All Prayer Warriors!!

2009-09-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

Hi all, Mary's favorite daughter-in-law again and her favorite sister-in-law (Patti). :)

We need all prayers on platelets this morning. Mary's platelets are extremely low and the transfusions are not working. Also, the side affects to the transfusions are unpleasant. Please pray that the blood work to find out what the issue is comes back quickly and that until then, Mary's body starts to accept the platelets they are trying to give her. With all of the blood draws that they are doing, it is important that her blood be able to clot and without the platelets it does not.

Thank you all... keep you posted.

Bittersweet...

2009-09-24T20:43:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, it is Bre again. It is my last night to update the blog. I am sad to leave as I love being here, helping Mary, and getting all of the scoop first-hand, but I am so missing my babies (all three) and excited to see their faces.

Today has been another great day. Mary ate great, we walked, and she even got to shower. Ed and Patti came by this morning and stayed with us all day. Ed left around 3pm, but Patti is staying the night. Greg was here again this evening. It is quite a party when all are in the room.

We did receive a slight set back today and need everyone's prayers. For some reason, Mary's body is not accepting the platelets that are going into her every day. The platelets help her blood to clot, so are very important. They are currently testing bloodwork to see if she has any platelet antibodies, which would be causing the rejection. We should have the results in the next 3-5 days. If Mary does have the antibodies, they can order more specifically-matched platelets. Mary does not feel any negative affects from this, but it is important to have them for her own safety.

So, as I sign off, I want to leave you with this. I receive daily devotions in my email and this came across my desk last week... WOW!

As I have grown in my faith, I have learned that prayer does indeed "change things," but it is not God who changes. It is me. There is a wonderful old phrase that gets to the root of what I am saying, "Prayer does not give us what we want, but prayer helps us want what we need." How true that is. You see, prayer is not designed to change or persuade God; it is designed by God to change us!... Peter Annet once said that those who pray persistently are like sailors who have cast anchor on a rock. As they pull on the anchor, they think they are pulling the rock to themselves, but they are really pulling themselves to the rock. This is what persistent prayer does. It pulls us closer to The Rock, God Almighty. And as we move closer to God in prayer, we find that we do not get what we want from God. We get something better. We get what we need. We get what God wants. We find that as we move closer to our Rock, we begin to desire what God desires, so that what we ask for, knock for, and seek after becomes what God so desperately wants to give us.

Lots of love!

An Uplifting Day!!

2009-09-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

Hi all... Bre again. Today was such a great day. Mary was up here and there last night, but with little pain due to the numbing medication they gave her for her mouth. She ate great all day. She had Platelets this morning and two units of blood throughout the day, which always helps boost her energy. The doctors also visited early in the morning and said that all looks good. They did offer her a pump for her mouth numbing meds. So, instead of an injection, she could push a button to give herself the meds. We said YES and ever since that has been hooked up (around 1pm), she has been doing great.

We had a lot of visitors today. David came up this morning and stayed with us until about 3pm. Greg came around 5pm and then Jeff and Dee Berg and Mike and Teresa Musser came later on this evening. It was a great day of fellowship, prayer, and fun. Yes, Amy, we even walked!

Please pray for restful nights and also no fevers as Mary has been battling a few throughout the day. This causes more blood draws and tests. The fevers are usually more prevalent in the night, so please pray.

From Mary: I greatly appreciate all of my prayer warriors and am not sure what I would do without you. Thank you!

Goodnight all!

Chemo is Gone!

2009-09-22T21:06:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, it's Bre. I just arrived in Chicago and will be here with Mary through Friday. It was so great to walk into Mary's room and see her face. She looks great and is in good spirits.

Sue and Amy spent the day here with her. As I was walking in, the final bag of Chemo was being taken out of the room!! What a great sight. They say that it should take 3-4 days for all of the Chemo to get through her system. We pray that some of the side affects will leave right along with it.

We pray that Mary can start to rest better and that she gets stronger and stronger throughout the next week. I am grateful to be here. We are off to bed and will update everyone in the morning. Nite!

Good News!

2009-09-21T12:20:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! We received some good news today...

The stem cell transplant department of the hospital just called to talk to my mom and told her that her sister, Sue, and her brother, Ed, are both perfect matches for a stem cell transplant!! Praise the Lord!! They are the only siblings that have been tested so far, out of 7, so we are 2 for 2!

That is such great news to us because, assuming all things go according to plan, that will speed up the healing process. Mom is currently in her 6th day of chemo out of 7. After these 7 days she will rest in the hospital for 7 days. After that they will decide whether she needs to do another round of chemo before the stem cell transplant.

Mom's doing okay today. She's battling a bit of a fever so that makes it kind of uncomfortable. She also has sores in her mouth, which she was told to expect. She's eating some lunch right now and we plan on going on a walk after.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Weekend Update

2009-09-20T11:29:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy weekend for Mary and the entire family, and we apologize for not updating everyone sooner. Friday was a good day overall, David relieved Jenni Giertz during the day and Greg and Adam arrived about 5:00. Mary was active with her walking and was still feeling very little side effects from the chemo. She was very excited to have the majority of her family here, including Amy, Brian and the girls! Initially we were told by one of the doctors on the team that they didn't want any small kids here in the room with Mary, but that was quickly overruled by her head Dr. (Ogla), she said that as long as they were not sick that she WANTS them in here! It made Mary's night to have three of her grandkids in here to see her. The kids took her for some walks, and just their activity in the room was bringing her a lot of joy.

Saturday started out with Greg and Adam spending time with Mary, she started to get fatigued because of her blood being low again. Throughout the day she received two pints of blood and that brought her energy levels back up quite a bit. She took a few naps throughout the morning and afternoon, and she was happy to get some rest knowing that she was going to get to watch Tiffany and Chris' wedding and reception on Skype. Chris and Tiff worked hard for her to be able to be part of their day and we are very happy they did! For those of you who are unaware of what Skype is, it's a internet based phone/video service that allows you to do videoconferencing through the computer. We've been so excited to use Skype because she's had the chance to talk "face to face" with family that could not be there with her in person. This also allowed her to watch the majority of the wedding reception, and everyone there got the chance to come over and talk to her and Greg as they were sitting in the hospital bed together. Although she could not be there for the wedding or reception, it sure brought her a lot of happiness to see all of her family and friends wishing her well and showing her how much they love her and are praying for her. Her friends Bonnie and Larry spent the afternoon and evening visiting her and Greg. Visitors have continued to show up in strong numbers, and we encourage people to come to the hospital anytime they are able.

Today (Sunday) Mary has started experiencing some of the true side effects of the chemo. She had a challenging night in regards to getting sleep and she's been starting to get some sores in her mouth that are causing her a great deal of discomfort. Please be praying for these side effects and that she can continue to have a positive attitude like we've seen her have since she arrived here in the hospital.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith." Hebrews 12:2
As Peter jumped out of the boat to walk on water toward Jesus...his eyes only needed to be focused on Jesus to stay afloat. The minute his eyes looked down or when he saw the wind...he began to fear. We pray for Mary's eyes to be fixed upon Jesus so no fear can creep in!

Thursday

2009-09-17T23:00:00.003-05:00

Not too much to report today. The time really went by fast and I (Jenni) had a nice day with Mary. Mary got her 2 miles in, had 8 visitors, and is feeling pretty good. Her counts are going down just like they should. Today her white blood cell count was down to under 1. They are trying to be very careful and keep her free from infections for the next 14 days. After the 14 days, if all goes as planned they will start prepping Mary for her stem cell transplant.

Today I learned the meaning of the phrase "peace that passes all understanding". Mary has that peace through Jesus! We don't understand why God allowed this horrible disease to come into Mary's body, and in this life we may never understand why bad things happen, or why we go through the struggles we go through. Even though we don't understand we know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! In that we can have peace.

Being with Mary today has been such a blessing. She is so strong and has given this whole situation over to God. Keep praying for her to continue to be strong, there will be some tough days ahead. Also, specifically pray for her to stay free from infection so she can continue with strength on this journey. God Bless!

Wednesday

2009-09-16T20:19:00.002-05:00

Today was a pretty uneventful day at the hospital. Amy's staying there tonight and called to let me know that our mom hasn't had any side effects since starting chemo 24 hours ago. Only 6 days left to go! Mary asks for prayer that there will be no set backs in these next few weeks...that she will stay free of infection, and that God will continue giving her strength.

Thanks everyone!

Tuesday News

2009-09-15T18:34:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone...

My mom's doing well tonight. A doctor stopped in a little while ago to let us know what's going on. She told us that they're going to start chemo today. I guess they don't have to specifically diagnose a type of AML, like we were expecting, but they do have a treatment schedule now. She will have 7 days of chemo, then 7 days of rest, then they'll do some tests to figure out what will come after all that. They hope to put the leukemia in remission after this 14 day period.

From there everything kind of depends on the step before, so we can't know exactly what will happen throughout this entire process. We'll definitely keep you all updated on what's going on here.

The doctor and nurses have been really great. They've told us that mom will live just as she is now, she'll continue walking her 2 miles a day to stay in shape, and can continue having visitors.

Please be praying for my mom to do well with the chemo, that the side effects are minimal, and for continued strength. Thank you for all your support! Praise God for giving my mom a great place to get treatment, great doctors, and lots of loved ones.

Monday

2009-09-14T21:39:00.002-05:00

Today was another day of waiting. We thought that we'd have some more news on the diagnosis and what treatment to expect, but the doctor is still waiting on 1 result to come in. They said they'll know everything tomorrow morning and will be able to tell us what to expect.

We all are anxious to figure out what's going on and get started with treatment so we can get it done, but my mom just reminded me that everything is happening in God's time and we need to trust that. It's amazing to think about God's provision throughout this journey already and we need to continue to trust Him through all this.

My mom got a new picc line put in today. She said this one went in even easier than the last one, so praise God for that. We're hoping and praying that this one stays healthy and can be used for the rest of her time here.

Thanks for all your prayers and notes, my mom loves hearing from you! Goodnight...

Prayer Request

2009-09-13T17:05:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, today my mom specifically asks that we pray for her picc line. This is the line they put in her arm to give her medicine, take blood, and do all sorts of testing. It goes from her arm almost all the way to her heart. It's supposed to stay in her for the entire time she's in treatment but today it started looking like there is a possible infection where it's taped onto her arm.

Please pray that this heals and that my mom doesn't have any infections while she's going through treatment. Also please continue to pray for good news tomorrow from the doctors. We'll know more about what stage the cancer is and how intense the treatment will be because of the stage. She is supposed to start the chemo tomorrow through her picc line, so this is the start to a tough week. We will continue to lean on God for strength and trust in Him throughout the week.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers!

Enjoy the weekend..

2009-09-12T09:37:00.002-05:00

We just saw the team of Doctors and they told us to rest easy for the weekend...we won't know any results until Monday.

Mary's blood count is down to 7.2 so she will be getting a couple pints this morning.

Other than that - they want her walking and biking! 2 miles per day :) keeping her exercise level up.

So today and tomorrow will be pretty uneventful days compared to yesterday..so keep praying for peace, comfort, and no fear to creep in.

Today..we ask God to be mighty in battle for her! Assist Mary in putting on her armor..come against the devil schemes by walking through Ephesians 6:10-18. Ask God to awaken Mary's desire to put on the armor of God. Then prayerfully dress her with the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness and the Shield of Faith "with which she can extinguish ALL the flaming arrows of the evil one."

9.11.09

2009-09-11T20:06:00.002-05:00

We are kind of in a waiting stage...still.
Because of the lack of information sent by Morris Hospital, we are a little behind in the complete diagnosis of the specific AML we are dealing with. Greg brought up more slides of samples this afternoon and hopefully they have all they need now! Dr. Frankfurt's Team came into Mary's room this morning and they explained to us all the tests that needed to be done prior to starting treatment on Monday. And then the tests began...
A MUGA test was done to check the condition of Mary's heart
A TB Test was done
The PICC line was placed :) which means the IV and the blood draws are done!
A Chest X-Ray was done to make sure the PICC line was placed right
A Dental Exam was done because they do not want any infections
Specialized blood tests were taken
Mary's white blood cell count was a little high (was up to 50,000) so they started giving her Chemo pills and medicine to prevent infection and after the first pill the blood count was down to 30,000 (which is really good news because she reacted to the medicine so quickly)
So we had a busy day today!!

We are so glad that we are with an AML Specialist because there are so many specifics that cannot be overlooked...knowing the exact type is a key factor in the type of treatment Mary will need. Hearing Dr. Frankfurt's knowledge in this matter reassures us that are blessed to be where we are at!!

Thanks for all prayers and thoughts...they are definitely felt! The peace and comfort Mary feels is amazing!

2009-09-11T12:09:00.002-05:00

Information for Visitors:

There are no restrictions for Visitors :)
**They just said that if you are sick...or if you are thinking about being sick then to please don't come until you are 100% better!

There are a few rules:
No Fresh Flowers or Plants (If anything, only balloons or silk flowers/plants)
You can bring food from the outside for her...but anything that enters her room cannot leave from her room from there (it has to be trashed) and if you bring anything to be stored it just has checked in at the nurses station (where it will be labeled and refrigerated).

We know that there are a lot of you out there...and it would be nice if you could call Amy (815)343-5977 and let her know if you are planning a visit. We just want to make sure we do not overtake the place...lol!

Mailing Address:
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Prentice
250 E Superior
Attn: Mary Provance
Rm 1562
Chicago, IL 60611

Wake up call...

2009-09-11T08:34:00.002-05:00

Pretty cool how God showed his glory to my mom from her bed this morning :)

1st Appointment

2009-09-10T17:43:00.002-05:00

Mary just got out of her 1st appointment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with her new doctor. The doctor didn't give any new information on Mary's diagnosis but gave an idea of what's to come.

Mary, Greg, and Julie were all extremely pleased with the new doctor. The doctor is personable, easy to relate to, genuine, wants to lay everything out and stay one step ahead, and even referred to Mary as her "love." Both Mary and Julie also described her as aggressive (in a good way!).

She's now going over with Greg and Julie to check into her hospital room. They don't plan on starting treatment til Monday but they would still like her to stay in the hospital starting today to prep her for the upcoming treatment. The doctor will continue reviewing my mom's paperwork and will get more information from Morris tomorrow. During the treatment and stay at the hospital the doctor wants mom walking everyday, biking, and staying in her normal routine.

The doctor was so happy that my mom has a lot of support. The doctor knows people do much better in treatment when they have family and friends who encourage them along the way.

Please keep the messages coming...we have definitely been sharing them with Mary!!

God's Love for Each of Us

2009-09-10T11:41:00.002-05:00

Jeremiah 1 tells us of God's love for us. He knew you before you were born. He wants to use you for greater things than you ever saw for yourself. And He promises to rescue you!!

God has a deep love for each of us and desires to know us personally. We believe, as shown in Jeremiah 1, that God's plan for Mary is bigger than the plans she had for herself. We praise the Lord in His promise to rescue her and we hope that each of you reading this have that same hope that can only come from the Lord.

Diagnosis

2009-09-09T12:22:00.006-05:00

Hi Everyone,

For those of you who do not know, Mary was diagnosed with AML, a form of Leukemia, yesterday. She has been sick off and on for a couple months, and went into Morris hospital last Wednesday for blood work. They did lots of tests and it's been quite a journey for her this past week.

Mary is trusting in God through each step of this. We believe God has a plan and find our hope in Him.

Tomorrow we are taking Mary up to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She has a 3 o'clock appointment with an AML specialist. They are going to review her tests and records to confirm what she has and then determine the best treatment for Mary. We were told to expect about 3-4 weeks in hospital treatment.

We'd like to ask for your prayers. Please pray for strength for Mary, for our family, and for complete healing. Mary probably won't be checking her email for the next few weeks but if you'd like us to give her a message, feel free to post on here or email: qsuz42@gmail.com. We will make sure she receives every message you have for her.