No chemo today. She was pretty miserable, cough, congestion, just feeling very sick. Dx: URI, so Dr. Stallings started her on an antibiotic and we'll see how she is by Thursday. If she is feeling better, she can get her chemo then. She is hoping to get it then so that she can go to camp one last time for the inner city kids camp. Her blood counts were good, so that is something to be thankful for.

The mind is a powerful thing. I was nauseated all morning just thinking of taking her for chemo. This afternoon I was better. It is amazing how you would think that things would improve with time...some just do not. It is getting harder and harder to take her to Dr. Stallings office when I know how bad she'll feel during and after.

Friends of ours who live in PA lost their nephew to cancer on Saturday. He was 18. I cannot imagine the grief...please pray for their family...Kirk, Tine, Leanna and Luke.

Carli is not feeling well at all. It seems as if she either has a terrible cold or sinus infection. We'll have to see what Dr. Stallings says in the morning. Right now she is miserable!

We went out to dinner for her "celebration". She didn't feel like doing anything else. My dad went along and we had a good time.

Pray that she can get some sleep tonight, and that she can get her chemo in the morning.

OOPS...lost my touch!!

I hit enter instead of tab....I've lost my touch with technology!!

Another chemo week. Funny how our lives are defined by that now. Carli and Kelsie returned home at midnight and were bubbly and had a great week at family camp. Family camp is not as demanding as kids camps, so they both actually had some down time. Kelsie read the entire new Harry Potter book! Carli has one more week that she will go back to camp, and it is a camp for inner city kids. That one will be challenging!

Chemo is late morning tomorrow, so we will not get home until late afternoon. At least I hope that we are home before evening! Sometime the end of August they will do a CT and see what progress she has made with the chemo. She is really dreading this as you have to drink some really terrible stuff that she could hardly choke down in April when she was being diagnosed. I am praying that maybe I can talk them into maybe sedating her and using a nasogastric tube to give her the contrast. She says that just the thought of tasting that stuff makes her so nauseated and she doesn't think that she can drink it without throwing up.

Tara is not feeling very good, but I think that most of it is a result of anesthesia. They gave her IV Zofran (which is what they give Carli for nausea) and she felt fairly good after that. But, she doesn't have that at home!! She is very achey and tired. Her head isn't feeling too bad...considering that is where the surgery was!!! She isn't going to class today, but has to go to clinicals tomorrow. She is on a pediatric respiratory floor at Children's Hospital...hope she is feeling good enough to go. It was hard for mom to leave and put her in Todd's hands, but he did a good job! It is just going to take time for her to heal.

Today Carli wants to do something to celebrate being half-way through treatments. I'm not sure what we are doing as I'm leaving that up to her and she is still sleeping! Sometime this week she said that she is having her hair taken care of...she really doesn't have much left. This past week she said that she lost a lot of it-she is very matter-of-fact about it and is just wearing bandanas and scarves. She said that she doesn't think that she will use her wigs. She went to a wedding on Saturday and had a black scarf to match her black dress. She said that people probably thought that she was conservative Mennonite...until they looked at her dress!!

I thank God for air-conditioning-this week is going to be HOT and Carli will be sick. At least a cool house will keep her comfortable.

Another chemo week

They all left Monday morning for Michigan and were excited for their last week of camp. It is family camp this week with LOTS of little kids. Kelsie will be volunteering and probably doing whatever the others don't want to do :)

Carli finally admitted that it is usually about Tuesday or Wednesday of the week following her chemo week until she really feels normal. So, today and the rest of the week should be good for her. She is in the process of deciding what courses to try at Wayne College and to see if Grove City will accept them.

Another prayer request...I will be going to Columbus this week and Tara is having sinus surgery on Friday. Please pray that she has a quick recovery as she has to be back in class on Monday morning!

So, will probably not be blogging until Carli and Kelsie return this weekend. Thanks again to all of our faithful readers!!

Great weekend with the camp staff! Carli didn't do any water activities, but she was able to be with everyone all day! These kids are great, and Ted and I thoroughly enjoyed having them in our home. Now we can see why Carli loves to be at camp. They all came to church with us and even helped with our church youth group here tonight.

In the morning they are leaving for camp, and Kelsie is going, too. She can be my spy...ha!! She can let me know how Carli really feels...would be nice, but Carli is still an actress!!

Great day today-although she is still feeling "chemical". She mainly sat around and visited and rode in the boat. We have, I think, 17 in all. What a great group of kids. I could tell that Carli really likes them and feels at ease, and can really be herself. That is so nice when she isn't really feeling 100%.

Tonight is at a concert with another friend from GCC that drove here today from Connecticut! This was planned before the camp gang decided to come, and they knew she would be leaving...so they are just hanging out here and at Putt 'N Stuff. She was tired when she left, so I hope that she doesn't over-do. I still can't help being a mom :)

Hopefully she will be able to go to church in the morning and relax with her friends. Then she and Kelsie are going to Friedenswald on Monday morning. She wants to give her sister a taste of camp life as a worker...

Thanks for your continuing prayers...those who helped with food for this weekend...God doesn't intend for us to go through the valleys alone!

Not a great day again today. She did manage to go to Wayne College and find out that they are more than willing to work with her this fall. The counselor said that most of the professors work very well 1:1 and that she could even miss class with some of them who do all powerpoint and she could access the material over the internet. She is going to check with Grove City and make sure that the classes that she wants to take will transfer. Wayne has quite a few Saturday classes, which would work out real well for her. She usually feels pretty good by Saturday.

She was on the couch most of the day, and she and Kelsie rented some movies and watched one tonight. She isn't nauseated, though, but says that she is very "chemical" today.

We are having camp staff here this weekend...not sure how many will actually come, but it could be as many as 20!! Should be a busy weekend! Carli is very excited to have everyone here. It will be nice to meet the kids that she talks about. I think that Kelsie is going to try to go back with her and work at camp next week. Should be good for both of them.

Not such a great day, but we are learning to roll with it! Carli was very achey, sore and bloated today. At one point she said "mommy, make me better!" What I wouldn't do to be able to make her better! Some times it is even hard to pray, as I think that God should know my heart by now. She still ate fairly well today, and she hasn't lost weight through all of this, which is really good. She doesn't see it that way because she liked her weight loss...even though it was because she was ill...she was working out and trying to eat well...so she thought it was a good thing.

God is good...our church is amazing. It is hard for me to accept all of the help that we have been given, but it is sure appreciated. This weekend at least 10 "kids" (I should say young adults) from camp are coming to our home. Our pastor was here today and volunteered to help make some food for the gang...or at least he will line up some others to help :) Our friends are going to help make some baked goods and finger foods...what an amazing group of people! Couldn't have gotten through this without all of you...even those who just read the blog...it is so inspiring and humbling.....a big thank you to everyone!

Yea! Good Day

A relatively good day, compared to last time! She is taking her oral meds, but refused the IV fluids and other meds that they usually give her on day 2. She was feeling fairly decent, and just the thought of having her port manipulated and flushed made her nauseous. So, she asked to just get her shot today and the doc said OK. She was so excited to not have to be poked so many times! She must've looked better because Debbie, one of the nurses, was so happy she had tears in her eyes! I think that they see Carli a little differently because she is so young, the youngest patient that they have.

Tonight she is feeling yucky, but not terribly nauseated. The Neulasta makes her very achey and bloated. So, that is the same this time. But, she isn't hanging over a bucket. Yea!

She is still very upbeat, and believing that with this treatment she is half-way through. These 3 months have gone by very quickly...but Carli says not quickly enough! She said that she will be glad when it is winter...and she hates winter! But, that will mean the end of treatments.

She is going to meet with a counselor at Wayne College (branch of Akron Univ) on Thursday to see what she can work out. She would like to take some electives so that she won't be so far behind and will only need to take an extra semester. Pray that this will work out...she needs some normalcy to her life. She only has 2 more times to go to camp, and then she will need something else to make her feel productive.

here we go again

Here we go again! Today started by leaving at 9am so that we could first go to the pharmacy and pick up her meds. Then we waited at the office for over an hour. Bummer. She hates to be there in the first place, and then the waiting is terrible! Thank goodness she had also taken a Phenergan (for nausea) and it made her sleepy. As soon as they cleaned off her port and were drawing her blood, she got sick and vomited. It was no fun from then on! Her chemo was given without a hitch, she slept through a lot of it. It is so weird, though, how she can taste her meds and the stuff that they flush the port with. She immediately woke up when they were flushing it just from the terrible taste in her mouth! She has tried candies, mints, food, but nothing helps.

Tonight the nausea and bloating are making her miserable. She did have some minutes of feeling not quite so bad, but then it hits her again. Her hair is really thin, but she still has just enough that some shows outside of her bandana. She still looks cute!

She is already dreading going tomorrow for her meds and shot. She said that she knows that it is a mental thing, she tries to pray, listen to music, talk...but nothing helps. But, the good thing is...this is hopefully half-way through her treatments!!!!!!!!!!

Carli is back at camp...it is really hot in Michigan, too! She called on Monday and said that she isn't bouncing back as good this time. Having some strange chest discomfort...hard for me to know what to say when I'm 5 hours away! She emailed today and said that she is feeling better. She is trying to do mostly office work during the day so that she can be in the air conditioning. Smart girl!

Wes's memorial service was such a witness. I will have to think of him and his quiet faith when I feel the need to complain.........

Feeling better today, although didn't venture far from the couch. We had lots of activity here today with family and friends, she just goes to her room when it is too much. She is still planning on going to camp in the morning-usually she is feeling much better by the time the weekend rolls around. She would like to see some of the kids that were at camp this week, so she will try to leave early to get there before they leave.

She is going to have to be more careful with her thinning hair...she burned her scalp last week and now it is peeling! She had her hair parted and the part got burned...the kids at camp teased her that she should part it different every day and have a striped scalp! Wouldn't that just be creative?

We were blessed by a neighbor that we had yet to meet that brought her red raspberries today-we cannot believe how many people are thinking of her. I wouldn't trade this family and community right now for anything!

She still keeps her sense of humor...this morning when I asked how she was doing, she said "I've been chemo-ed" with a grin. Later she said that she felt like a big chemical. Today it was more the aches and bloating. She could eat, which makes me feel better. For some reason, if she can eat, I feel like not all is lost!! Must be a Mom thing! As long as she was on the couch, she was OK. She seems very chipper when someone comes to visit, and doesn't complain. The hard part for me is that when she is home, she doesn't feel well, and as soon as she feels better, she leaves for camp! I don't get to see her feeling well very often, even though I know that when she is not here she is OK. I am very thankful, however, that she can go to camp and have a great time.

She didn't feel like going out to dinner tonight, so we settled for going to the Dari-Ette for ice cream...that was a nice birthday gift. Kelsie was also able to text and call...all is well in Kentucky!

We didn't remember this, but Ted's ladies at the clinic did...today is 25 years since he started the Country Corner Animal Clinic. That time sure went by in a flash!

Please pray for Wes's family (Ted's second cousin and Carli's friend Amanda's dad)...he passed away yesterday (5th). We know that he is now with the Lord...but it is hard to see someone so young leave their family. It takes an untimely death to remind us how precious this life really is.

Not a very happy 4th of July, but she is eating (b/c of steroids yesterday) and being a couch potato. The nausea is subsiding a little, but she now is feeling the effects of the Neulasta shot (very, very achey) and is having heartburn. We just pray that each day gets a little better!

She was hoping to go for a "slow" walk with me tonight, but gets dizzy when she is upright. We'll just have to do that tomorrow! Her scalp hurts alot today, too, but her hair isn't coming out any faster than usual. She does have a few thin, bald spots, but if you don't look real close she still has hair! She is very thankful for that. Her spirits are still amazingly good, and she has been telling us camp stories every day. She hopes to go back again this weekend as next week is Music Camp.

Kelsie is in Harlan, KY on a mission trip, so things are very quiet here! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for Carli....

Another rough day

Carli had a rough time today. She was VERY apprehensive going to get her post chemo meds and fluids today. She was afraid that she was going to have another attack of chest pain and shortness of breath, so she was nervous during the whole visit. She got very sick after the meds (which are supposed to prevent nausea and vomiting). I really feel that they are trying everything that they can, she is just not responding well. They did go ahead and give her the Decadron today, and also Ativan for her anxiety, plus Zofran for the nausea, and some fluids.

She did eat a little, even though it was very weird stuff from the Dari-Ette. She wanted a bun with "the works" on it, no meat!! yuck! But, she ate it and it stayed down. She visited a little with Grandpa, and then went to bed.

I just hope that this evening goes better, and that she can enjoy the holiday tomorrow. We haven't made any plans, as she just wants to be a "couch potato". I will be happy if she feels good enough to be on the couch!

We left this morning at 9am and returned home about 3pm. Those are about the longest 6 hours that I have ever experienced. We saw Dr. Stallings who was pleased at how things are going except for how bad she feels after treatments. He did not give her the Decadron, hoping that maybe that was making her feel lousy and could have caused some of the pain and anxiety that landed her in the ER the last time. This afternoon she looks and feels about the worse that I have seen her. She isn't actively vomiting, though, so I guess that is something to be thankful for. Nothing sounds good to her, and she is having trouble even finding something to drink that will not make her sick. She goes back in tomorrow morning for fluids and Neulasta shot, maybe there will be something else that they can do for her then.She still has hair, but it is very thin and patchy. She is just happy that she has had it for this long...every extra day is a bonus! Her spirits are amazingly good, she is a trouper. I wish that I could say the same for her mother! I guess that I am having sympathy nausea this afternoon, it makes me feel so bad to watch her be so miserable. But, this was her 5th treatment...so we are making progress! Pray that the doctor can come up with something else tomorrow to help, and that she can sleep the evening and the night away....

Yuck-chemo day

We left this morning at 9am and returned home about 3pm. Those are about the longest 6 hours that I have ever experienced. We saw Dr. Stallings who was pleased at how things are going except for how bad she feels after treatments. He did not give her the Decadron, hoping that maybe that was making her feel lousy and could have caused some of the pain and anxiety that landed her in the ER the last time.

This afternoon she looks and feels about the worse that I have seen her. She isn't actively vomiting, though, so I guess that is something to be thankful for. Nothing sounds good to her, and she is having trouble even finding something to drink that will not make her sick. She goes back in tomorrow morning for fluids and Neulasta shot, maybe there will be something else that they can do for her then.

She still has hair, but it is very thin and patchy. She is just happy that she has had it for this long...every extra day is a bonus! Her spirits are amazingly good, she is a trouper. I wish that I could say the same for her mother! I guess that I am having sympathy nausea this afternoon, it makes me feel so bad to watch her be so miserable. But, this was her 5th treatment...so we are making progress!

Pray that the doctor can come up with something else tomorrow to help, and that she can sleep the evening and the night away....