We had a wonderful weekend! Katelyn is recovering remarkably. She has had a rash for about a month now, that seems to be spreading so we will take her to the doctor this week, hopefully we will see the Dermatology Specialists. I don't think it is anything to be concerned about.
Yesterday we drove up to Orange County to support my cousin Cassidy at the Cystic Fibrosis Walk. Cassidy is 5 years old and has CF. She has done really well for the last 3 years, and we know it is because of the prayers. Say a prayer for Cassidy whenever you can, she and her family will appreciate it! The walk was wonderful! It was a 5K around the park and pond and through a neighborhood. The kids ride their bikes and skateboards, a lot of people have dogs, and of course there are a ton of strollers. Kate & Kiera took turns in the stroller as we haven't been able to pick up a double stroller yet. It was a nice day. I love to see my family! All the kids are amazing, and my cousins, Aunt & Uncle are such wonderful people. After the walk was a birthday party for both Cassidy & Trenton (Cassidy's little brother). Ashley, Jeanette, Brooke & Kai went but the girls, Todd & I headed up to Julian for a wedding. We went to the Noble wedding at Menghini Winery and it was beautiful. The weather was perfect, the company was amazing and it was an all around good time! Jeremy & Jessica are such a wonderful couple! They are both such nice, kind people. We couldn't be happier for them. Jessica had the most fabulous dress! I couldn't help but gawk at her every time I saw here, she was the most beautiful bride! We had a wonderful time! My Mom watched Kate & Kiera while we were at the wedding. Kate keeps telling me she had fun with Namma (Grandma)! My Mom had a good time too! I think I made her a little nervous but she handled the girls like a champ, and I know Kate will love to stay with her again!
This morning we all made our way to church at Calvary Chapel Julian. My Mom organized a little lunch & dessert afterward to celebrate Kate & thank all of the people who so diligently prayed for Katelyn. We are so very thankful for all the prayers and thoughts through the last seven months. We know in our hearts how important those prayers were, Katelyn is here and healthy because of the prayers. Thank you to everyone who prayed for her! We had a good time at the service, we got to see a lot of old Julian friends & teachers, it was nice to play catch up with everyone. I hope we can find a church near us that we really like. I would really like to get Katelyn involved & re-aquaint myself.
Today Katelyn will have her first bath in seven months! Yay! I can't wait to get home and put her in the tub. She will absolultely LOVE it! Bubbles, toys, water... those are her three favorite things! I'll let you all know about our tub adventures!
Thank You & Love,
Krystal
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Big Girl Potty
I forgot to tell everyone that Katelyn is working on using the big girl potty! We put her on the potty every once in awhile in hopes that she'll go. She's been going pee on the potty a couple times a day, and we always make a big deal and celebrate in hopes that she'll be excited too. Yesterday she went pee on the potty and was really excited. I told her if she went poop on the potty she would get a suprise! During her snack around 10am she said she had to go poop so we ran to the potty and sat there.... and sat there.... and finally went back to eating (after we flushed and washed our hands, of course). A few minutes after returning to our snack she told me again that she had to poop, so we ran to the potty... this time we only had to sit there for a minute and she pooped! YAY! I was so excited! She kept saying "I hear it Mommy, I hear it!". It was so cute! When she was all done I let her see it, she was very interested in looking at it. She flushed the toilet and then freaked out because the poop was gone! "I see it again Mommy!" with tears running down her face, she did not want it to go bye bye. After she calmed down she looked back in the toilet and waved and said "bye bye poop!". Today we tried to go poop on the potty again, but she didn't get it out. We will try again tomorrow! What a joyous event!!!
All Clear!
Katelyn had her bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, as well as a spinal tap to check for any last signs of abnormal cells. Our primary Doctor called us on Friday morning to let us know that it was ALL CLEAR! YAY! We expected it to be all clear, as it has been for a few months, but it is so amazing to hear it at the end of treatment! We are so excited! Our amazing Angel fought long and hard and beat Cancer! Wow. She is such an amazing child!
We had a fun weekend! We went to Sea World with our friends from the hospital. Katelyn and Zara are little BFF's! Katelyn was so excited to "Pet Shampoo" and watch the Shamu Show. During the show she was mesmerized and watched almost the entire thing. She was lauging and clapping and so excited to see the whales do their tricks. She wasn't even following the crowd's laughter, she had her own little take on things and kept wanting Mommy & Daddy to watch Shamu. She waved and was so excited about the splashing! Days later she is still telling us that Shamu waved with his tail, Shamu got everybody wet.... She has a wonderful little memory. Although Kate & Zara were too small to do the tricks with Shamu & the trainer during the show, we were very blessed at the end. One of the Show managers was able to get some special Shamu time for the girls. After the stadium cleared out, a few of the trainers came out and brought all 5 whales over! Katelyn and Zara got to climb up to the top of the glass and pet the whales! They got to take some exclusive pictures with all the whales! It was such a wonderful experience! We were thrilled and felt very blessed that the trainers took the time to come fulfill our little one's wishes. Kate has been excited to "Pet Shampoo" for months! I am so glad she got to! We got passes to Sea World, so we are looking forward to going all year long! I love Sea World, and Kate will have so much fun!
We have a meeting with Katelyn's primary Oncologist tomorrow morning. We will go over everything we need to know post treatment. We went to a Families Supporting Families meeting last week and it was all about the After Affects of Cancer Treatments. The Doctor who gave the information hit on a lot of things that I had forgotton. When you start all this stuff there are handouts and brief conversations about the possible side effects, but the most important thing is treating the cancer, so you go with it. Now that the cancer is treated and gone, the side effects aren't. There are a lot of things that we have to watch out for and take care of. It is very important for Katelyn to lead a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise will make a huge difference in her overall health, for the rest of her life. Although we want Kate to be a typical kid all over again, and she can be, she is still special in that she is not a typical kid. She is healthy and can be active and have fun, but she'll have to forever take care of herself. I am thankful for that. Todd and I will do our best to lead by example and give her every opportunity to do so. One of the major things that the Doctor hit on was smoking. Smoking is the worst thing Katelyn could ever do to herself. Bringing her around second hand smoke (including the nasty residue that it leaves on peoples skin, hair, etc) is the worst thing that Todd and I could do to her. For as much as I dispise smoking, I now have another excuse to steer clear. Unfortunately, a lot of people smoke, a lot of our friends smoke, so it will limit the things that we can do, and the places that we can bring Katelyn. I hope that people will respect my daughter and not smoke around her.
Her line comes out on Wednesday! Yay! She'll have stitches for awhile, but as soon as they are out Kate will finally be able to get wet! Baths, beach, pool.... here we come! I cannot wait!
Sunday, May 31st my Mom organized a little Celebrate Kate luncheon after her church service. Church is at Calvary Chapel Julian, in the Cafeteria at JHS. Service is at 10am, and a light lunch and cake will be served afterwards. We will be there!
Katelyn's Second Birthday Bash will be on July 11th at Ramona Oaks Park! (The same place her first Birthday was). I'll post more info as I have it but everyone who wants to be there is invited!
Thank You for all of your support!
Love,
Krystal
We had a fun weekend! We went to Sea World with our friends from the hospital. Katelyn and Zara are little BFF's! Katelyn was so excited to "Pet Shampoo" and watch the Shamu Show. During the show she was mesmerized and watched almost the entire thing. She was lauging and clapping and so excited to see the whales do their tricks. She wasn't even following the crowd's laughter, she had her own little take on things and kept wanting Mommy & Daddy to watch Shamu. She waved and was so excited about the splashing! Days later she is still telling us that Shamu waved with his tail, Shamu got everybody wet.... She has a wonderful little memory. Although Kate & Zara were too small to do the tricks with Shamu & the trainer during the show, we were very blessed at the end. One of the Show managers was able to get some special Shamu time for the girls. After the stadium cleared out, a few of the trainers came out and brought all 5 whales over! Katelyn and Zara got to climb up to the top of the glass and pet the whales! They got to take some exclusive pictures with all the whales! It was such a wonderful experience! We were thrilled and felt very blessed that the trainers took the time to come fulfill our little one's wishes. Kate has been excited to "Pet Shampoo" for months! I am so glad she got to! We got passes to Sea World, so we are looking forward to going all year long! I love Sea World, and Kate will have so much fun!
We have a meeting with Katelyn's primary Oncologist tomorrow morning. We will go over everything we need to know post treatment. We went to a Families Supporting Families meeting last week and it was all about the After Affects of Cancer Treatments. The Doctor who gave the information hit on a lot of things that I had forgotton. When you start all this stuff there are handouts and brief conversations about the possible side effects, but the most important thing is treating the cancer, so you go with it. Now that the cancer is treated and gone, the side effects aren't. There are a lot of things that we have to watch out for and take care of. It is very important for Katelyn to lead a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise will make a huge difference in her overall health, for the rest of her life. Although we want Kate to be a typical kid all over again, and she can be, she is still special in that she is not a typical kid. She is healthy and can be active and have fun, but she'll have to forever take care of herself. I am thankful for that. Todd and I will do our best to lead by example and give her every opportunity to do so. One of the major things that the Doctor hit on was smoking. Smoking is the worst thing Katelyn could ever do to herself. Bringing her around second hand smoke (including the nasty residue that it leaves on peoples skin, hair, etc) is the worst thing that Todd and I could do to her. For as much as I dispise smoking, I now have another excuse to steer clear. Unfortunately, a lot of people smoke, a lot of our friends smoke, so it will limit the things that we can do, and the places that we can bring Katelyn. I hope that people will respect my daughter and not smoke around her.
Her line comes out on Wednesday! Yay! She'll have stitches for awhile, but as soon as they are out Kate will finally be able to get wet! Baths, beach, pool.... here we come! I cannot wait!
Sunday, May 31st my Mom organized a little Celebrate Kate luncheon after her church service. Church is at Calvary Chapel Julian, in the Cafeteria at JHS. Service is at 10am, and a light lunch and cake will be served afterwards. We will be there!
Katelyn's Second Birthday Bash will be on July 11th at Ramona Oaks Park! (The same place her first Birthday was). I'll post more info as I have it but everyone who wants to be there is invited!
Thank You for all of your support!
Love,
Krystal
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Our Champion is Home!
We were able to bring our little Hero home on Tuesday, May 12th. What a wonderful day. We spent most of our time laying low and just enjoying out little Angels at home. It has been wonderful! Kate is very happy, and is getting plenty of stimulation! She is sleeping in her big girl bed and sleeping all night, except for the occasional glass of water. We are so proud of her! She is so happy and energetic, and such an inspiration to us. The two times that we left the hospital during her treatment, she was kind of a terror. It was understandable because she hadn't had any stimulation outside the hospital in months. She would flip out when we left the store, she wouldn't sit in the cart at the store, throw fits if we couldn't go outside... etc. Now, I think she understands that we're home for good! She is much more patient and understanding. She'll sit in the cart at the store, and wait until we're ready to go outside, etc. She is coming around and starting to realize that she'll have a lot of chances to do the things she wants. She is eating much better now than she was in the hospital! I can't wait for her to start putting on some weight!
Yesterday was the most incredible day ever. I truly don't think I have ever experienced anything that has touched me so deeply, or that I felt truly connected to. We went to the Celebration of Champions in Seaport Village. It was a huge Celebration with a "passing of the torch" for the kids, a carnival, lunch, and a lot of wonderful people. We brought an EZ-Up and set up a spot for any family & friends that came with us. At about 11:45 another Champion passed the torch to Katelyn in a relay sort of race... Katelyn held this torch, along with my and Todd's hands and walk/ran to the finish line! It was amazing! Katelyn was very shy in the beginning, holding the torch and looking down in embarassment as hundreds of people stood on the sidelines taking pictures, clapping, and chanting encouraging words & praises. By the end of the race, Katelyn was happy to run to the finish line with the torch in her hand and smile on her face! It was incredible. I have truly never felt anything so powerful. Before all the kids in treatment & off treatment did the relay race, the families of the children who have passed did a walk. Wow. I don't even know what to say. It was heartbreaking and inspiring to see these people there without their children. Heartbreaking because I can almost feel their pain when I think about being in their shoes, and inspiring because they find a way to live every day. I don't know how I could be as strong as they are. We knew multiple families that lost their child since Kate started treatment. They are the strongest people I have ever known, and I love each of them. Really, I don't know what to say... Each child walked with a sponsor and a celebrity. We were lucky enough to walk with Nick Hundley, from the Padres, during our relay! What a wonderful man! He was incredibly encouraging to Katelyn, and nice to each of us. He was wonderful. After the Celebration Todd & I took the girls home for a little break before we went to the Padre game! Bud Black donated 400 tickets to the Celebration for the Champions and their family. Before the game all the Champions went on the field for a little pre-game show. Todd took Katelyn out there while Kiera and I filmed from above the dugout. I look forward to putting all of these videos on disc for her to watch later in life. Although the last 7 months haven't been ideal, she has really experienced a lot of incredible things, and so have Todd and I.
I look forward to being apart of the Celebration of Champions and other events forever and ever. Although I never would have wished this upon my family, or any family, I want Katelyn to be apart of it forever and ever. This experience has changed us immensely, and I want Katelyn to know how important life is, and how important it is for her to be apart of these things. At only one year old she has inspired so many people and given strentgh to people who cant find it on their own. Imagine her story in 5, 10, 20 years. Imagine the strengh that she can give other children, and the hope that she can give to their parents. I am so proud of Katelyn, and I hope that one day she wants to help and inspire people all on her own. Maybe the reason God helped her through this is because he has big plans for her. Maybe those plans are to help kids and families that are dealing with childhood cancer. In time, we'll know.
It was wonderful to see all the kids and their families, as well as the nurses outside of the hospital. We have become good friends with a lot of families & I am so thankful to see most of them coming to the end and winning the battle with childhood cancer. We pray for each and every child every single night, and we'll never stop. Thank You all for your support during this time. Thank You for supporting Katelyn. I hope that we have made a positive impact on each of you, we couldn't be more grateful for the impact that each of you has had on us. Thank You, friends!
Love,
Krystal
Yesterday was the most incredible day ever. I truly don't think I have ever experienced anything that has touched me so deeply, or that I felt truly connected to. We went to the Celebration of Champions in Seaport Village. It was a huge Celebration with a "passing of the torch" for the kids, a carnival, lunch, and a lot of wonderful people. We brought an EZ-Up and set up a spot for any family & friends that came with us. At about 11:45 another Champion passed the torch to Katelyn in a relay sort of race... Katelyn held this torch, along with my and Todd's hands and walk/ran to the finish line! It was amazing! Katelyn was very shy in the beginning, holding the torch and looking down in embarassment as hundreds of people stood on the sidelines taking pictures, clapping, and chanting encouraging words & praises. By the end of the race, Katelyn was happy to run to the finish line with the torch in her hand and smile on her face! It was incredible. I have truly never felt anything so powerful. Before all the kids in treatment & off treatment did the relay race, the families of the children who have passed did a walk. Wow. I don't even know what to say. It was heartbreaking and inspiring to see these people there without their children. Heartbreaking because I can almost feel their pain when I think about being in their shoes, and inspiring because they find a way to live every day. I don't know how I could be as strong as they are. We knew multiple families that lost their child since Kate started treatment. They are the strongest people I have ever known, and I love each of them. Really, I don't know what to say... Each child walked with a sponsor and a celebrity. We were lucky enough to walk with Nick Hundley, from the Padres, during our relay! What a wonderful man! He was incredibly encouraging to Katelyn, and nice to each of us. He was wonderful. After the Celebration Todd & I took the girls home for a little break before we went to the Padre game! Bud Black donated 400 tickets to the Celebration for the Champions and their family. Before the game all the Champions went on the field for a little pre-game show. Todd took Katelyn out there while Kiera and I filmed from above the dugout. I look forward to putting all of these videos on disc for her to watch later in life. Although the last 7 months haven't been ideal, she has really experienced a lot of incredible things, and so have Todd and I.
I look forward to being apart of the Celebration of Champions and other events forever and ever. Although I never would have wished this upon my family, or any family, I want Katelyn to be apart of it forever and ever. This experience has changed us immensely, and I want Katelyn to know how important life is, and how important it is for her to be apart of these things. At only one year old she has inspired so many people and given strentgh to people who cant find it on their own. Imagine her story in 5, 10, 20 years. Imagine the strengh that she can give other children, and the hope that she can give to their parents. I am so proud of Katelyn, and I hope that one day she wants to help and inspire people all on her own. Maybe the reason God helped her through this is because he has big plans for her. Maybe those plans are to help kids and families that are dealing with childhood cancer. In time, we'll know.
It was wonderful to see all the kids and their families, as well as the nurses outside of the hospital. We have become good friends with a lot of families & I am so thankful to see most of them coming to the end and winning the battle with childhood cancer. We pray for each and every child every single night, and we'll never stop. Thank You all for your support during this time. Thank You for supporting Katelyn. I hope that we have made a positive impact on each of you, we couldn't be more grateful for the impact that each of you has had on us. Thank You, friends!
Love,
Krystal
Friday, May 8, 2009
Coming to an end...
We are so proud of our little Angels. Katelyn has grown and stood strong through so much, and we are so proud of her! Her fevers and symptoms are gone and she ends her antibiotics on Sunday. If all goes as planned and her counts continue to rise, we should be able to take her home on Monday! We are soooo excited! Katelyn is very excited to go home as well! She wants to "pet Shampu"(pet shamu)!!! We've been talking about Sea World for weeks and we are all very excited! As soon as her hickman is out we are running to Sea World to buy season passes so we can go all summer long! I can't wait! She's saying all kinds of things, and talking in short sentenses. "Oh, my goodness!" is one of her favorites! "I take a walk please", "I play with Zara please", and the list goes on and on. We are so proud and impressed by her. She's not even two and she has endured and learned so much in the last 6 months. We have a poster board with photos of Kate since the beginning of her stay, up until now, and it's incredible to see her change through our stay. Again, I can't say it enough, we are VERY proud of her! Kiera is incredible as well! She's also growing and changing every day. She is smiling all the time, and cooing and talking to us. She tracks me all over the room. It is amazing to see her change and learn as well. I know Kate and Kiera will be the best of friends as they grow up. Kate already wants Kiera to paint and eat with her. I can't wait (but, really, I can wait) to see them interact as they grow up together!
We will definitely be going to the Celebration of Champions on May 16th! Anyone who wants to join is more than welcome. We will also be planning a birthday party/ Celebate Kate party in July. Everyone is welcome to come celebrate with us then! I'll post more as I plan it!
We are so thankful for all of this to finally be coming to an end. We are SO thankful that our Katelyn has done so well and fought so hard through all of this. Our almost two year old beat cancer! WOW! Thank You God! Thank You Friends & Family for your support and prayers! Thank You Hem/Onc for taking AMAZING care of our Angel, and for keeping her happy and strong. We are forever endebted to you all!
THANK YOU!
Love,
Krystal
Friday, May 1, 2009
"I'll let them know."
Kate has an ANC! Yay! It's only 23, but it's exciting that she is building one! We're finally on our way up, and soon to be out of the hospital Yay! We are excited to see a positive change in her counts!
She had a fever the other night, and unfortunately her blood cultures came back positive for another bacteria in her line. In my last post I explained the gram negative rod wrong. Kate doesn't have gram negative rod and e-coli... e-coli is the gram negative rod. The other bacteria she just tested positive for is gram positive cocci... and we don't know what exactly the bacteria is yet. Kate is now on three major antibiotics and we hope that these antibiotics will kill the bacteria so we can leave her hickman in for the rest of her treatment. If her cultures continue to come back positive then we will probably have to take her line out early. Although we can't wait to have the hickman out, we don't want to take it out early because she will have to get iv's to do labs and her future tests.
I have a funny story about Dr. Todd Devermann! He's so funny. He is, obviously, very concerned about Katelyn, and very in tune with her treatment. He does tons of research all the time on the different drugs she's getting and procedures she's having. He understands what is going on at all times and is very adament when he isn't comfortable with something. The nurses and doctors are often times impressed with his knowledge, and sometimes annoyed by it. He often corrects things and changes things to the way he feels is best for Kate. He asked the doctor today if we could do the blood cultures in the early morning when labs are drawn, instead of entering her lines later in the day. (It's best to enter the lines as little as possible in order to reduce the chances of infection.) Our doctor agreed that that was a good idea, and as she was walking out the door to write the order & let the nurses know, Dr. Devermann says "I'll let them know". The doctor laughed and so did I. Once she left I laughed some more & told him that he might want to let the doctor do her job... he honestly didn't realize that he was doing her job. After he thought about it, he started lauging and said that he should have waited to let her say that. That is just a small example of the way Todd works while we're here. It's pretty funny that he goes so far to make every decision in Kate's care! What they say is true, a parent knows his child best. In this case, Todd and I know Kate and her care best. Although, I tend to let the doctors and nurses do their jobs!
Love to all! Thank You for the continues prayers and support! It's looking like we will be out of here in time to participate at the Celebration of Champions! I'm really looking forward to it!
She had a fever the other night, and unfortunately her blood cultures came back positive for another bacteria in her line. In my last post I explained the gram negative rod wrong. Kate doesn't have gram negative rod and e-coli... e-coli is the gram negative rod. The other bacteria she just tested positive for is gram positive cocci... and we don't know what exactly the bacteria is yet. Kate is now on three major antibiotics and we hope that these antibiotics will kill the bacteria so we can leave her hickman in for the rest of her treatment. If her cultures continue to come back positive then we will probably have to take her line out early. Although we can't wait to have the hickman out, we don't want to take it out early because she will have to get iv's to do labs and her future tests.
I have a funny story about Dr. Todd Devermann! He's so funny. He is, obviously, very concerned about Katelyn, and very in tune with her treatment. He does tons of research all the time on the different drugs she's getting and procedures she's having. He understands what is going on at all times and is very adament when he isn't comfortable with something. The nurses and doctors are often times impressed with his knowledge, and sometimes annoyed by it. He often corrects things and changes things to the way he feels is best for Kate. He asked the doctor today if we could do the blood cultures in the early morning when labs are drawn, instead of entering her lines later in the day. (It's best to enter the lines as little as possible in order to reduce the chances of infection.) Our doctor agreed that that was a good idea, and as she was walking out the door to write the order & let the nurses know, Dr. Devermann says "I'll let them know". The doctor laughed and so did I. Once she left I laughed some more & told him that he might want to let the doctor do her job... he honestly didn't realize that he was doing her job. After he thought about it, he started lauging and said that he should have waited to let her say that. That is just a small example of the way Todd works while we're here. It's pretty funny that he goes so far to make every decision in Kate's care! What they say is true, a parent knows his child best. In this case, Todd and I know Kate and her care best. Although, I tend to let the doctors and nurses do their jobs!
Love to all! Thank You for the continues prayers and support! It's looking like we will be out of here in time to participate at the Celebration of Champions! I'm really looking forward to it!
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