Half Way

This post is #95 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

August 25, 2008

Six months.  Half a year.  That's how much time had passed since Hannah's brain surgery.  It had been a trying six months, to be sure ... but by this point cancer had subtly slipped into the background of our daily lives.  After the initial flurry of radiation treatments and clinic visits, things had settled into a surprisingly comfortable routine.  It's still amazing to me how quickly we had adjusted to the lifestyle, the vocabulary, and the ongoing monitoring of the cancer experience.

We had been told that she would be receiving chemotherapy treatments for a year, so it was a good feeling to know that we were at the half-way point.

We didn't know at the time that we actually were at the half-way point of Hannah's journey ... just in a different way than we thought.

My email from ten years ago today ...

Today marks six months since Hannah had surgery to remove a malignant tumor from her brain. In some ways, it seems like it was just yesterday, and in some ways, it feels like it was a lifetime ago. Since that date, Hannah has undergone six weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy, three additional 5-day rounds of chemotherapy, three MRIs, monthly visits to the oncology clinic at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and weekly blood draws. There is no doubt that our entire family has been changed forever from this experience. We have all had our faith strengthened and have been amazed at the outpouring of love, support, and prayer we have received from our friends, family, and total strangers. It is incredible to me how many people read these emails and pray for our family…many people we don’t even know. We can never, ever thank you enough for what you’ve meant to our family.

Hannah started her junior year of high school this past week, taking her chemo medication on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We are so thankful to report that the side effects were much less problematic for her this time. Her nausea was much better controlled by medication, and her only real problem was fatigue. She was able to go to school without much difficulty (only needing to leave early one day), and was able to use the weekend to rest up. It’s so encouraging to know that the chemo should not interfere too much with school, because she has seven more months of these 5-day rounds to go. It looks like our biggest concern will be with her immune system, which will be compromised as long as she is on the chemo. We’ll just have to try to minimize her exposure to illnesses and bugs that will be going around this fall and winter.

We went today for her weekly bloodwork, and all of her counts, though a little below normal, were good. She is still a little bit tired from this past week, but overall is feeling great. She will enjoy the next three weeks she has off before beginning chemo again around September 15th. Again, thank you so much for your prayers and support!

God is good, all the time!
Jill and Brad

President ... And Vice President

This post is #94 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

August 18, 2008

I wish I had a "first day of school" picture for this, the beginning of Hannah's junior year and Bethany's eighth-grade year.  But at this point in her cancer treatments, Hannah really did not like having her picture taken.  Her hair was still thin from the radiation rays and she was a little self-conscious about that.  I respected that and did not take one.  In fact, we have only a handful of photographs of her from that entire year of her battle.

In Hannah's small high school, class elections were held on the first day of the school year.  She came home that day a little bit bummed ... not because she didn't win her election, but because she didn't win two elections!  She was voted student council president ... but was "just" the vice president of the junior class.  Other than that minor disappointment, she was very pleased with her schedule, her classes, and her teachers.  We really couldn't predict the impact her treatments might have on her day-to-day schedule, but she was ready to tackle whatever lay ahead.  School year 2008-2009 was underway!

My email from the first day of school 2008 ...

After a great first day of school, we went to our doctor’s office at Hot Springs and got Hannah’s blood work done. Her platelets were at 102, which is well above the magic number of 75. So…she will be starting her chemo drug tomorrow night, and will take it for five consecutive days. That way, she’ll only have to be in school for three days while taking it, and the last two days will be over the weekend. She’s been feeling so good lately, it’s hard to make her start back on the Temodar, but it will get her that much closer to finishing these treatments. Please pray that she will not feel too bad while taking it, and that it won’t interfere with school too much. This week should give us a good idea of how the school year is going to go.

Your prayers for our family have meant so much to us over the last few months….God has truly used all of you to bless our family! He is good, all the time!

Jill and Brad

School Supplies

This post is #93 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

August 11, 2008

I've always loved school supplies. There's something about brand new, never-written-in notebooks, clean loose-leaf paper wrapped in plastic, binders with tabbed dividers, "bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils" (one of my favorite lines from "You've Got Mail"), and neat stacks of pristine pocket folders that I just like.  Every new school year is a blank slate; a fresh start.

Hannah shared my affinity for school supplies. She always wanted to shop for them as early as possible for the best selection, and the second we got home with them, she would get busy. She'd separate them all by class, then painstakingly label each item with her name, her teacher's name, the class title, etc. The loose leaf paper would go into the binders, and dividers would be put into place. Then she'd place everything in a neat stack, largest items on the bottom, smallest on the top. She would have her schedule, locker number, and combination all memorized within five minutes of receiving it. The girl just loved school!

And just like every other school year, she was ready to get started.  She would be a junior this year, and was ready to get it behind her so she could graduate (as valedictorian, of course!) and go on to Ouachita Baptist University that next fall.  Brain cancer was just a blip on the screen of her life at this point.  She had so much to look forward to!

One more thought ... As we approach the eve of back-to-school week in Arkansas, I want to share a word of encouragement to those parents whose children are marking milestones ... starting kindergarten, beginning junior high, entering their senior year of high school, or maybe going off to college for the first time.  Let me encourage you to rejoice and celebrate each of these milestones with your children.  Please don't waste precious time being sad that your children are growing up ... That is what children are supposed to do!  Those are things to celebrate, not to mourn.  Allow me to gently and lovingly encourage you to be thankful that your children are healthy with bright futures ahead of them. Take time to savor every moment and celebrate every milestone!

My email update from ten years ago tonight ...

We had our monthly visit to Children’s Hospital today for routine bloodwork and Hannah’s antibiotic breathing treatment. Hannah’s blood counts were really good…almost all counts were in the normal range, except for white blood cells and platelets, which, of course, is to be expected. Her platelet count was exactly the same as it was last week (72,000), which was really good, because we really had expected it to drop lower this week. She was scheduled to start back on her chemo medicine (Temodar) this week, but her platelets have to be at 75,000 in order to start. So…we are glad she will get to enjoy her final week of summer, but it means that she will probably have to start the Temodar next week, which is the first week of school. At the same time, she will be glad to get yet another round of treatment completed…after that, she’ll only have seven more to go.

We are so thankful that Hannah has felt really good for the majority of the summer, and we’ve been able to enjoy time with family and friends over the last few weeks. We are also glad to be getting another school year underway, and to be getting closer every day to the completion of her treatments. God has truly been gracious to us, and we are so very thankful.

God is good, all the time!

Jill and Brad

Late Summer 2008

This post is #92 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

August 4, 2008

The beginning of August always brings a flurry of back-to-school activity, and late summer of 2008 was no different.  Scattered among the weekly trips to Children's Hospital were cheer practices, band practices, basketball practices, back-to-school haircuts, visits to the dog groomer, dentist appointments, and end-of-summer visits with the girls' grandparents.  And of course, there was the requisite back-to-school shopping!

Bethany would be starting eighth grade in a few weeks, and Hannah was looking forward to her junior year of high school.  We knew the school year would be somewhat challenging with Hannah's medical situation, but things were going so well, we really weren't too concerned.  By the end of the school year, she should be just about finished with her treatments, and would be good to go for her senior year.  Things were moving along just as they should be.

My email from ten years ago tonight ...

This will once again be a short update, because, thankfully, there’s not much to say. Hannah had her weekly blood work today, and her counts have dropped slightly, as expected at this point in her chemo cycle. They are probably a little higher than they were last month at this point in the cycle, so that is good.

She also went to see her ophthalmologist today, at the recommendation of her oncologist. As a result of her surgery, she has some remaining double vision and some difficulty with her upward eye gaze. Neither of these problems is too bothersome…she is able to read without difficulty, and the upward eye gaze is only a problem when she is in a seated position and has to look up at someone standing beside her. She is able to look up, but it requires some extra effort. We’ve been told that these problems may yet resolve themselves, and our visit to the ophthalmologist was just so he could get a baseline indication of where she is right now. Next Monday, we will go to Children’s for our monthly appointment.

Psalm 73:28 ... "But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God; that I may declare all Your works."

God is good, all the time!

Jill and Brad