Prayer update

See "Prayer Request" from my entry September 15...

And today from my friend, I received this update:

"This is the latest entry in their online journal. Prayers answered...it sounds like it will be a long haul but she is going in the right direction. Keep em' coming." - SD


Thursday, September 23, 2004 10:16 PM CDT
Wed. Sept. 22: This week of chemo is winding down. She had a bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap in the morning. They are going to biopsy the bone and marrow, plus give the chemo into the spinal fluid. This makes her 7th spinal tap since Sept. 9 and she's hanging in there. The bone marrow procedure was tough, but she made it and doesn't have as many of them on her schedule. She is starting to show signs of the mouth and throat sores (early signs), so eating and swallowing are getting harder. Not good when all of her meds are now oral. They are talking about going home tomorrow. We are working through our anxiety (sort of). It's hard to explain how you can be so eager to leave someplace, but reluctant at the same time. The security of having a nurse in your room at the touch of a button is what's gotten us through so far. Can we do it alone? I practiced flushing her hickman line (IV) at 4:00 AM and Hannah gave me an A! It's amazing how awake you are at 4:00 in the morning when you're in the hospital. And we're reluctant to leave?

Thurs. Sept. 23: Dismissal Day! Hannah is feeling the full side effects of her chemotherapy. She can barely swallow, nauseaus, and her hair is starting to fall out. The nurses kept saying that one morning you'd wake up with hair on your pillow and sure enough there it was this morning. She says her head is tender and everytime I unconsiously go to run my fingers through those brown curls when she's feeling sick, she flinches. I'm really going to miss her hair. We finally got the room packed up and Bob took several wagon loads out to the Tahoe. Hannah is still too weak to walk too far so she rode in a wheelchair to go down to the car. When she left the oncology floor she had to put on her mask because her ANC (white blood count plus some other stuff) is 0. Her goal is 3,000. She got a shot before we left that should help her bone marrow recover and start producing more white blood cells. We were going to have to give her a shot at home every day, but they approved her for this big, one time every 28 days shot instead. Celebrate!We got home to a decorated house at 3:00! The outside, inside and her room were decorated! Good welcome home. We unloaded and dumped the contents of the hospital room in the eating area and I'm not sure how long it's going to take before we get to it. Bob went to the pharmacy and got the 12 prescriptions filled while I tried to make out a schedule for dispensing them. This is why I liked the hospital. It does feel great to home though. Hannah went straight for the couch. After a rest she literally had to crawl up the stairs to get to her room. All she's been saying that she wanted to do was to sleep in her own bed. We've already made our after hours call to the nurse. She has vomitted all of the medicines since she got home. We know this will pass, but the fact that it is happening and she has to wait still stinks. We're working on a liquid med right now (1/2 tsp at a time). It's 11:00 PM and we still have an oral steroid that she has to keep down tonight. We're suppossed to stay calm and play it down, give her stomach a break and casually get her to nibble a cracker and take 2 more pills. Okay, this is getting me down! I'm trying to stay positive, but I'm tired, Bob's tired, Hannah's sick AND tired (Jacob is in bed, but he was exhausted: school, football practice until 5:00 and weightlifting until 8:00, then homework) I can't wait until tomorrow night because that will mean today is the past. Every hour that passes is another hour away from chemo and an hour closer to feeling better.

He does not ignore those who cry to him for help. Psalm 9:12

Keep those prayers coming and we'll see a miracle soon!