Friday, March 26, 2010

Busy Week Again!

Let me see where to begin...

Heather and Terri were here the first part of the week and I am very happy to report that Heather went back home with an ALL CLEAR! WooHoo! I got to meet up with them along with Michelle Dunford and Dr. Sara for lunch before they had to go home. Heather selected Outback Steak house and I must say she had excellent taste in her choice of restaurants. Our lunch was delicious. Michelle and her family had just returned from a trip to Texas for Spring Break. Her boys are busy boys, involved in running track and school. They keep her pretty busy. Dr. Sara, I don't think I have told this yet, but it is definitely not a secret anymore... found out that ONE of her Two babies she is carrying is a girl. Yes, she is going to have a baby... two babies in fact!!! One was not in a cooperating mood, so she was only able to find out that one is a girl and the other is keeping it a secret for now. She and her husband are so excited. I can't wait to meet the new twins, but we have to wait a while longer. Congratulations to Dr. Sara!

Little Trevor came in on Tuesday night, I was able to pick them up after they arrived and make a late trip to Chili's for dinner and fun with the Chili's gang. As always, that was a really fun time for Trevor. He had his treatment on Wednesday, it was late by the time they got started, so they had to stay over and go back on Thursday. He is doing great! Your prayers are working, so they ask that you keep them going up. He will be back in two weeks.

Jack got to spend a long extended weekend at home-home and returned to Memphis yesterday. He will go inpatient tomorrow for his last FINAL round of big chemo!!!! WooHoo, way to go Jack!!!! I know they are so excited to get to this point. He had a CT scan today and it was ALL CLEAR! He had a Pet Scan too, but those results are not back yet. Please be praying for that to be an ALL CLEAR as well. Please pray that his last round of chemo goes well with no major side effects.

Alex V will be coming in on Sunday for some test and check up. Check out her CB page, Joan explains what is going on right now. She can use our prayers, she is having quite a bit of pain and has been having some test run to try to determine the source of the pain. She will also be going to Shepards Center in Atlanta for some rehab. You can get the details on her page. I don't want to mis-quote. Please pray that she will begin to feel better and be able to make the trip to Memphis on Sunday.

Ariel and the Reynolds Clan will be coming in on Monday for Ariel's check up and appointments. She has not felt to good the past few days, hopefully she will be feeling better soon. She and Amber will be celebrating their 17th birthday on Monday, March 29th. Please go to Ariel's site and leave them a happy birthday message. We plan to go out for birthday dinner after they get here on Monday evening. Happy Birthday Ariel and Amber!!!

I just looked back up at what I have typed and realized how much eating is going on in this post!!!! And I am trying to lose some weight!!!! Oh well, it's great to be able to visit with everyone.

Thank you for your prayers and very kind words through text, calls and messages for Tyler. God is good, he is perfectly fine after his auto accident this past Saturday. While the body shop is telling us the car is a total, we have not yet heard the official word from the insurance company. Therefore, we are just waiting and most likely will have to spend the week next week shopping for a vehicle. Prayers of praise and thanksgiving for God protecting him and the other people involved in the accident.

That is about all I know for today. Thank you for checking in and keeping up with the St Jude kiddo's and their families. Please continue to keep the prayers and messages going.

I do want to say that (yesterday now) was the one year anniversary since sweet ^^Mary Kate^^ went to heaven. My heart has been so heavy all day today for Regina, Alyson and their family. ^^Mary Kate^^ is certainly missed and loved even more today that yesterday, Our prayers are with Regina and Alyson.

Enjoy your weekend. Spend some time in prayer :)

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Quick Update

This will be a busy week at St Jude for our families. Heather and Terri will be coming in tomorrow for Heather's check up. Prayers for a safe flight and a GREAT check up!

Little Trevor will be coming in on Tuesday for his treatment. He and his sister Morgan have both celebrated birthdays this past week! Happy Birthday to Trevor and Morgan!!!! Prayers for a safe flight for Trevor and Melinda.

Jack went home to visit family over the weekend, he will be back to continue his treatment. Prayers for a good week for him!

Ariel is doing well. She is planning to go back to school this next week. Mom and Dad will both be returning to work as well. Pray that they will have a smooth transition back into their normal routines. Ariel has done very well with her at home chemo. She is such a trooper and an amazing young lady. Prayers for each of the Reynolds Clan.

Spring Break is winding down for our area and many of our friends and families are traveling back home. Keep each one in your prayers for their safe travel. I hope that each of you have had a great weekend and are ready to face a new week.

Brenda has had her first round of chemo and she has done very well with it. She was not sick, but very tired for a couple of days. Pray for her to continue to do well with her remaining treatments and for this to rid her body of the cancer forever!! I believe she has 6 more treatments to go.

I will post more as the week progresses and let you know how the check ups are going for our kiddo's!

Pray for our country. Pray that the people will not forget that GOD IS IN CONTROL. Pray for wisdom for each of us to know what is best.

Have a blessed week!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!!!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Starting The New Week in Prayer, What A Great Way To Start It!

This past week brought a really awesome experience for a group of young athletes and a precious little boy.

As most of you know, my family is a baseball family. Our youngest son, Garrett, is a member of the Bolton High School baseball team. A little while back, his coach came to me and talked to me about taking the team down to St Jude for a tour. I was delighted to set this up for him. This past Thursday we were able to take that tour. The guys all dressed in their game jerseys and loaded up at the school and off to St Jude we went. They divided into 2 groups and went on their way to tour the remarkable hospital. While they were touring, I went upstairs to visit with Jack as he is back inpatient. After the guys returned to the lobby from their tour, after clearing with the nurses, Jack, Katie and Ma came down to the lobby for a visit with the team. The team members and coaches had each signed a baseball and presented it to Jack. Sweet little Jack was so proud of his baseball. The guys were so touched by getting to meet Jack and make pictures with him. Katie sent me a text and told me later that Jack had gone back upstairs and had shown his new ball to all of the nurses. That just made my day to know those guys had brought a smile to that little guy. Seeing him and his smile just made the day of each of those big old manly baseball players. After our visit and picture session with Jack, the guys all loaded back into the cars to go back to the school. It was a very somber and realistic ride home. The first words spoken by one of the juniors riding with me went something like this.... " I will never complain about baseball practice ever again" I knew this group of young scraping athletes lives had been touched.
When we arrived back at the school the players and coaches went into the locker room for a meeting. When they came out, coach came over to me and told me that when they "broke huddle" instead of saying... "one, two, three, GO WILDCATS" they said "one, two, three, GO JACK" Chills and tears!!!!! What can I say. Then the players came out and ask me if I could get one of the team pictures with Jack blown up to a poster for them to hang in their locker room. More chills and more tears!!!! Not only were they touched by this little boy, they saw a need and have the desire to do what they can to raise money for St Jude. So they have decided to challenge the girls softball team to see which team can raise the most money for St Jude during their 2010 season!!! The softball coach accepted and the challenge IS ON!!! The coaches will determine the "reward" for the winning team. Each team will have a donation jar at the concession stand at each home game during the season, and each person making a donation will get a ticket. A winning ticket will be drawn at the end of the 5th inning and the winner will receive a free hamburger and a drink from the concession stand. Our season begins tomorrow.... may the best team win!! St Jude is the real winner here!!!

Ariel got to go home before they got to do the tour, but they also signed a game ball for her. She and her family were able to come out to a pre-season scrimmage game the day before they left to go home. Hopefully it will work out for her to come to more games as she comes back for checkups. The team does plan to have a St Jude night and have some of the kids come out to the game. We will be working on that to make it a special event for some of the kids.


Jack and your 2010 Bolton Wildcat Baseball Team


Jack and the guys showing everyone exactly who is #1


Katie, Jack and Garrett
Keep praying for Jack, he is in a lot of pain, but is such a tough little cookie! Pray for his burns from radiation to heal and him to be fever free. Did you notice his cute little doctor pj's and the tight grip he has on his baseball?

I finally got a chance to download some pictures from a few weeks ago. I think I told you about the outing for Ariel and her mom to go get their hair done. I wanted to share a few of the pictures from this day with you.


Ariel with her new hair cut. Beautiful girl!


Ariel showing off her purple streak in the underneath back part of her hair. She was so proud of it.


Ariel and Mom.... mom is still in process but she looked very beautiful sporting her new much shorter hairdo when she finished. Two new women!!!

Please keep praying for Ariel and her family. I am not going to go into alot of details but I just ask you to read the post left today on her Caringbridge site. Just go to her name listed on the left of this page under the category "Our Friends". Click on her name and it will take you directly to her page. This is such an outpouring of emotions that gives you such a real view of what each of these families face and go through. There is nothing I can say, she says it all and you will see the prayer needs that they have. Please read and keep them in your prayers.

The following is a poem that Ariels twin sister Amber wrote during the first days of their stay at St Jude. What insight this young 16 year old girl has. She is just as amazing as her twin. I did not ask for permission to reprint it for you, so I figure I will ask for forgiveness rather than permission.... I do not feel that they will mind one bit at all or I would not have copied it. I just wanted to have it here for you in case you did not go to her page and read her journal entry today. Pray for The Reynolds Family.



TITLED: COLORS
Everywhere I look I see people...kids.
Here everyone has the same problem;there is someone sick,
someone grieving, someone emotional and someone scared.
All these people are red, yellow ,black and white.
All here for the same thing; all having the same problem,
and all different colors.
You look here, and there, and everywhere, and all you see is colors...
The people, the walls, the buildings and halls.
The walls they're red,blue,white...
they have seasons, and tell stories about life and fun times.
Here, there are so many colors...
inside as there is out.
People here, people there, people everywhere.
Things things things.....
Hopes and dreams.
You soar, you fly, you scream and cry.
People look, people stare, and most don't even care.
You don't care because you aren't scared anymore
you have friends and family, and best of all God.
He knows your life and death
he is your beginning and end
he is alpha and omega.
You are never in this alone
whether you're a patient, parent or a sibling
or even just a friend
you will always have someone there for you.
It's always a fight to survive
but you can never lose,
it does not matter whether you live or die
you win from how many people you save
by being a friend
or having a good attitude
you can always win by that
so be colorful and shine bright
in this even more colorful world.


written by Amber Reynolds

Prayers for a great week for everyone. Prayers for all of those traveling during the spring breaks that so many of our school kids are on during this time of year. Prayers for all of the families missing their angel everyday. God, we pray for a cure to be found to wipe out this beast! In Christ Name, Amen

Have a great week!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

MAKE IT A WONDERFUL DAY FOR SOMEONE ELSE

Good Morning! Well today is not the best weather wise, but it is a GREAT day! Things have been rather busy around our household. Baseball season is in full swing for the high school, so you know I am on the ball field and loving every minute of it. Ariel, Amber and their parents were able to come out Monday afternoon for a game. It was a beautiful and almost hot day to enjoy being outside. The baseball team had all autographed a game ball for Ariel. They are a great group of guys and the signed ball brought a big smile to a sweet face. Speaking of the guys, the team.... they will be going down to St Jude tomorrow for a tour of the hospital. They will be taking a few surprises along with them for a few of our friends. I am so thankful that the coach wanted to do this tour with the team, I think they will be amazed at what they see. Hopefully this will bring on some new fundraising for them too :)

I am very excited to tell you that Ariel finished up the first part of her treatment protocol. She is done with the everyday chemo. A big WOOHOO for that!!! She did so absolutely amazing. This is one very tough young lady with a wonderful and tough family behind her. I admire them all so much. While the completion of the first part of this journey is over, the second part has now begun. Ariel and family will be waking up this morning in their own beds at home HOME. The finished up in the clinic yesterday and were released to pack up and go home!!! I miss them already. This is the "not so good" part of this for me, I get attached, then they get to go home. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful that she is doing great and back home. They will be back about once a month for the next few months for check ups and to monitor her progress with the chemo she will be taking from home. She will be giving herself a shot once a week for the next 47 weeks at home. She went in yesterday before going home for a lesson on how to mix and give herself the injection. She did great! She was very proud of herself and so she should be. Mom said she did not even get an orange to practice on... just mixed it and shot it right into her own leg. She is an amazing young lady. I have to say, like our other set of St Jude twins we have all come to know and love, Ariel has the most amazing and supportive twin, Amber. Amber has been such a trooper and a huge part of the support system for Ariel during this journey. I guess there is nothing closer than the bond between twins. This set of twins, also like the other set, has some of the best and most supportive parents. This entire family stopped everything and came to Memphis to go through this journey together as a family. Very touching! I wish them the best now that they are back home. I know they will be back into the swing of things soon. Pray for Ariel to do as well on this second phase of treatment as she has during the first part. Pray for her to be CANCER FREE for many many long years to come. I know that God has a great plan for her. Visit her CB site and let them know your praying for them. While they are back home, it is also a bit scary to be away from St Jude. There is comfort in knowing you are right there if anything needs to be checked out. Pray for mom and dad and for their peace and comfort during this new phase of treatment.





Ariel and Amber have had the opportunity to become friends with big Trevor during their time here. Trevor was in town for his check up last Friday. I had picked up the girls for girls afternoon and evening at the movies, out to eat and then their favorite Sheridian's Frozen Custard. Their mom and dad had a wonderful date night out. On my way back to drop the girls off at the Ron Mac house, they wanted to go by the hospital and catch up with Trevor in the Med room. He was getting his treatments so he was stuck there for a few hours. From the picture, you can see how that visit went!! Yes, that is a rubber surgical glove on Trevor's head!! He is such a clown. You just have to love him. He is doing great. He does have some damage to some of his bones from the treatment he received to save his life from the leukemia and will have surgery the first part of May to repair as much of the damage as they can. Keep him in your prayers, he is in pain at times with this problem. Pray for this surgery to be easy on him and to take care of the problem. Pray for a speedy recovery. It's hard to keep Trevor down for long.

Friday was a fun day around the Jude, Ariel and Amber also got to meet Morgan and her mom that day. Morgan was up for her check up and I am very happy to say that she is doing fantastic and all of her counts were the best they have been. What a great blessing to be able to sing God's praises for His healing power over Morgan. Pray that special prayer of praise for Morgan. She just looked adorable as always and is so full of life again. Pray a prayer of praise for St Jude too!




Jack, all smiles with his John Deere handmade quilt from my friends that make the quilts for all of our kiddo's.

Thank You Lord for the end of the radiation for Jack!!!! Bless his heart, he is such a trooper! He has now finished up the everyday radiation that he has been going through. One step closer to being finished up with his treatment. He has some burns and skin breakdown that is painful for him, please pray for this to heal quickly and for him to be pain free. He is just such the cutie. His mom and Ma have been such a wonderful example to others. They always greet you with a huge smile and they have certainly kept Jack as happy as you can possibly keep a little guy going through what he is going through. Please keep them in your prayers. Pray that when his treatment is complete, that all of his test will show him CANCER FREE. One thing I just totally love about this precious kid.... when you see him, you just have to smile. You can't help but smile!!!

Go check out the other kiddo's CB sites and offer up your prayers for each one of them. Prayers for all of our families! My heart rejoices with the good news from some, but the pain from the loss of some of our sweet angels is still very real. Please do not let up on your prayers for these precious families. Each day is another day of emotions to work through. Pray for them.

I want to introduce a new patient to you today and ask for your prayers and encouragement for this new family. They have been at St Jude for about a week now. I was able to meet up with them and spend a little time visiting last Thursday evening. They are from my husbands home town and we are still trying to figure out if there is a family connection here. Their last name is Scallions and there are some Scallions on Charles' side of the family in the same town. We will get it figured out. They have a precious 2 year old daughter, just diagnosed with ALL. I will add her link to "Our Friends" list. For anyone new to this site, just click on a name on the left side of the page and it will take you directly to that person's Caringbridge site. Go check out Leah and leave them your words of comfort and encouragement. This is such a scary time for new families. Their world has just been turned upside down. Please pray for them and for Leah to be healed.

Find someone in need, and give them a helping hand today :)

Love to you all

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Prayers For The Davis Family

I am truly heartbroken to share with you that one of our very special prayer warriors Grannycad (Carol Davis) lost her battle to cancer last night. She and Poppy D have been such a steadfast part of our prayer warrior group until the recent months when her cancer began to take its toll on her. Our hearts and prayers go out to Poppy and the family. As you know, they are family to Garrett Hearn, one of the St Jude kiddo's that we have followed for several years now. You may remember that Garrett finished up his three years of treatment just recently. He is doing great. He and his mom will be traveling to Little Rock to be with the Davis family this weekend. Please keep all of them in your prayers.

RIP Grannycad, we will miss you and love you. Take care of all the sweet little St Jude angels in heaven for us.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

WELCOME, MR SUNSHINE

Good afternoon. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying hopefully some warmer weather and sunshine in your area. It has been beautiful here in Memphis today. The sun is shining and it is cool but not to bad. I just got home from St Jude and it was such a beautiful day to walk around the campus there today. I did not see Ariel, she had already finished up her treatment for the day and had gone back to the Ron Mac house for her afternoon nap. She will have a full day tomorrow, so I will see her then. I can not believe that she has been here, had surgery, began her chemo treatments and now is one week away from going home. It has gone by so fast! She will continue with some form of treatment for one year, but she will be doing it herself at home, coming back for check ups about every 3 to 4 weeks. She has done great! I will miss the family being around, but I am very happy that this part of her journey is almost over and the next phase will be starting. Prayers are with her and her family for a very long happy CANCER FREE life. If you have not had a chance to read up on her CB site, take the time and read her journal. This is an amazing family with such a sweet spirit and love for our Lord. They have really been a blessing to many patients around them. I just love the way this works out, families taking care of each other. In a short 5 weeks, they have touched so many people already. They will be missed around here!

I got to see Jack for just a bit. I took him his special John Deere handmade quilt, made by my sweet friends Mike and Pru. He was not smiling to much today, but he did manage to smile when he saw the quilt. Katie said he woke up in a "not so good" mood and the day had just continued on that status. It's like I told her, he is totally entitled to have days like that! Please pray for him to feel better and to have a really good evening and much better tomorrow. He did test negative for the RSV virus, so thank goodness he is now out of isolation. This is really a big thing for a little guy. Check his site, he only has about 8 or 9 radiation treatments left now!!! WooHoo for that!!!! Please pray for him and for the burn and pain involved with this radiation treatment.

Big Trevor will be coming in at the end of the week for his check up. Praying for excellent results on his labs and test.
Heather will be coming in toward the end of the month for her 3 month check up. Pray for safe travel for both Heather and Trevor and their mom's and for the ALL CLEAR for both of them.

Little Trevor's MRI showed no growth in his tumor!!! It is still stable. That is great news! He will continue with his treatments and pray that the next MRI will show that the tumor is actually shrinking or that it will be gone!

Spring Break will be coming up for all of the school kids in the next few weeks. I know several of the families have really nice trips planned. I hope that each of you will enjoy this time with your families whatever you end up doing. For us.... the time will be spent on the baseball field! The story of our life, but I LOVE it. I pray for safe travel and fun times for everyone.

Hugs your babies today, regardless of how young or how old they may be. God bless you, have a very blessed day!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~