Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer needed

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

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

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

Harder days

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

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

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

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

Sunday Update

Hello Everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

A Holy Fast

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

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

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

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

Sunday

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

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

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

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