My Fundraising Page

My Fundraising Page
click on the link to read, join our team, and donate :)
Be somebody's HeRo!

"Back to Life" vacation with the Brown family & friends! Celebrating Liz & Joel's good health thru the maintenance phase of their treatment

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

Welcome to our Team's Homepage
click on the link to donate to our team Blazin With <3 (love)

My Fundraising Page

My Fundraising Page

Click on My Fundraising Page to go to Lizzy's page and join and/or donate ;)

We are also voting on what to put on the new t-shirts. Cast your vote:

A) STILL FIGHTING STILL WINNING

B) FINISHING STRONG

C) FINISH STRONG

Quick update on Jimmy. We had his appointment with Dr. Putnum on Monday. Good news is that he is not on a liquid diet and the steroid is working on the inflammation. He can eat without a hitch and loves it. Jim's esophagus is less than 8mm; a person his size should have about 20mm. Doctor Putnum believes he will be able to stretch it between 10 and 12 mm when his esophagus is pliable enough to do this. Jim's next surgery is Sept. 13.
Bad news is. . . because his esophagus is so diseased, at this point, they can not do testing. Dr. Putnum feels it is not in Jim's best interest to test at this time because Jim would have to come off of the steroid and all the strides they have made thus far would be undone.
I understand a bit more about this disease after our consultation. This disease, Eosinopilic Esophagitus, is non-curable. It can be corrected if caught soon enough, meaning before strictures (scare tissues). However, you can never go off treatment, this disease will come back. You can keep it under control with diet and medication.
Dr. Putnum did say that Jim will remain on this steroid for the rest of his life. The only long term effect has been yeast infections of the esophagus and mouth and is easily treated with medication.
Please pray that they will be able to stretch his esophagus more on Sept. 13.
Pray that he will be lucky and never have to do any of the diets and that the steroids will do all it needs to do.
Pray that this disease does not progress.

Onto Elizabeth. She is doing great! Liz is taking Advanced Geometry this summer. Her dad is her teacher and they are loving every minute of it. She is playing sand volleyball every Thurs. night at Sports Express and taking private lessons from Greg Ulland once a week and loves it. She is enjoying being as normal as she can be while still taking chemo daily. Liz is getting ready to go to Cancer Camp July 11 - 16 and then onto Hilton Head July 16 - 23. The Brown family (Joel's family) will be going with us. Liz and Joel each are bringing two friends each. It is a welcome back to living vacation!
Please pray for minimal side effects of her chemo's.
Pray for her complete cure.
Pray for her friend, Critter. He had a bone marrow aspirate today and are waiting for the results. Pray that God had touched his marrow and healed him.
Pray for all the children on A5 South and North.

Blessings ~ Christine

Lizzy's blog but new pray request

Well, as most of you know by now, there is never a dull moment within the Lothrop home. I just wish going to the doctors for something routine would stay that way, routine!

Our son, Jim, has always been a choker and very slow eater. We use to tease him about being European because he ate so slow. We would all be finished and would wait another 45 minutes to an hour on Jimmy to finish his food. We thought he really loooved his food. About a year ago this coking issue became more prevalent and I kept saying "as soon as Liz is in Maintenance I will get you to the doctor for your throat" that time came two weeks ago.

We met with Dr. Cotton for a consult and were instructed to have a barium swallow. A barium swallow is a medical imaging procedure used to examine the upper GI (gastrointestinal) tract, which includes the esophagus and, to a lesser extent, the stomach. They used barium sulfate, a type of contrast medium that is visible to x-rays. As the patient swallows the barium suspension, it coats the esophagus with a thin layer of the barium. This enables the hollow structure to be imaged. Upon examination of the xrays, Dr. Cotton found what is called a congenial web across his esophagus, which was constricting his esophagus and not allowing him to swallow, plus his esophagus is considerably smaller than that of an adult.

Fast forward to today. Jim and I trudge on down to Children's for the stretching of his esophagus, a one time deal, right?! 15 minutes into the surgery I was called to the desk where I was instructed to pick up the phone when it rang, Dr. Cotton wanted to speak with me. I immediately new something was not right. The surgery was to take an hour and we were only 15 minutes into it. He proceeded to tell me that so far everything on his end was fine but when he went to scope, he noticed some "abnormalities" in Jimmy's esophagus and was calling in a specialist to look while Jimmy was under. Fast forward another hour, both doctors came to speak with me. Dr. Cotton said "my job is done, here is your new doctor, Dr. Putnum, world renowned doctor for what your son has. Jimmy has a disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

First of all, I have to learn to pronounce this disease. We all know what an esophagus is but what is eosinophils? Eosinophils (ee-oh-sin-oh-fillz) are a type of white blood cell (WBC). Eosinophils are the least common of the white blood cells and comprise approximately 1-4% of the blood’s cellular make-up. Eosinophils are an important part of the immune system, helping us fight off certain types of infections, such as parasites. Many different problems can cause high numbers of eosinophils in the blood including allergies (food and environmental), certain infections (caused by parasites), eosinophil associated gastrointestinal disorders, leukemia, and other problems. When eosinophils occur in higher than normal numbers in the body, without a known cause, an eosinophilic disorder may be present.

Let's just put it right out there, there is no "cure" for EE (Eosinophilic Esophagitis), but treatment can help alleviate symptoms and prevent further damage to the esophagus/gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Treatment of eosinophilic disorders will vary based on the location of the eosinophils, severity of symptoms, and other medical problems that Jimmy has. In most cases, dietary measures and medications can significantly improve problems related to the underlying eosinophilic disease.

Jimmy's prognosis for EE does not appear to limit life expectancy and there is currently no strong data suggesting EE causes cancer of the esophagus. In some patients, EE is complicated by the development of esophageal narrowing (strictures) which Jimmy does have and does cause his food to lodge in his esophagus (impaction). It is not clear how long EE has to exist before strictures form. However, since the natural history of EE is only emerging, careful monitoring and long-term follow-up is advised. The initial diagnosis of EE can be overwhelming and often affects the entire family. A positive attitude and a focus on non-food activities go a long way in learning to live with EE. With proper treatment, Jimmy can lead a normal life.

We are in the process of setting up a consult with Dr. Putnum for the course of treatment Jim will take. Being 18, he will have the final say in what he will do. The first thing that needs to be done is the clearing of the eosinophils in the esophagus, which is done through a strict diet and steroid use. There are several diets which Dr. Putnum will go over with us during our consultation and not one of them will be easy or fun but is necessary. This is a life long disease. Jimmy is not a stranger to medical adversity in his life. He will handle this with the grace and dignity that I have seen him do in all his situations.

Please pray that we start on this journey soon and Jim will eventually find the relief he is looking for.
Pray that he has the discernment that he needs to make correct and important decisions concerning his medical treatment.
As always, continue to pray for Elizabeth. She had her BIG chemo on Tuesday and has been down and feeling very puny since.
Continue to pray for my entire family. We have been through so very much in the past three years and need more prayers than we have a right to ask for. Life can really stink at time but what really matters is that we have each other, you included!

Blessings,
Christine

Way North Sports and Golf Enthusiasts

Elizabeth and her cousin, Sean Westhoven, at their cousin's wedding this past weekend!

Way North Sports is an organisation that allows adults to have fun playing sports. They are registering for summer leagues now. Check them out!

Way North Sports at http://www.waynorthsports.com is hosting their first charitable event and it just happens to be for none other than our Team Blazin <3 at http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/ButlerCo10/BlazinWith3. If you are interested in getting a team together, meet some pretty awesome people, and support a great cause, copy and paste on the registration site below.

Liz has heavy chemo on Tuesday. We will head down to Children's by 5:45, her procedure will be around 10:00. She will be put to sleep and the doctor will then inject Methotrexate into her spine. Methotrexate is one of the chemo's that just lays her out. Please pray that her nausea is minimal to none, that would be nice, and her bone pain, sensitivity to light, and debilitating headaches are minimaul to none also. As she receives these two chemo's, every 29 days for Vincristine and 90 days for Methotrexate, I am praying that the drug residual in her system is less and therefore her side effects will be less.
She was with her second cousin, who is five, this weekend and she, Haley, was diagnosed with pneumonia today. Please pray for Haley and keep Elizabeth in your prayers as well that she should not get sick too and move forward on Tuesday without delay.

Always praying and being blessed by all of you ~ Christine


Come join us for the First Annual Mulligan Cup at http://www.waynorthsports.com, on July 16th as we support TEAM BLAZIN' WITH <3 (love) in their efforts to wipe out blood cancers.

For more info about the day of golf or TEAM Blazin' with <3 click the links above!!!

http://www.waynorthsports.com/register

If interested in Sponsoring at the event.....please contact Way North Sports Crew directly.

Way North Sports Crew
513.907.3366 (office)
waynorthsports@gmail.com
www.waynorthsports.com

FYI

As of today, Liz is down to NINE months left in her treatment. Wow, how time flies . . . even when you're not having fun.
Blessings,
Christine

Doing good ")

We are into Lizzy's fifth week of her freshman year. She is loving it and she only has about 20 more days till the end of the year. Boy, don't you wish all of your school years would have gone that quick!!!

I believe Lizzy has finally hit her stride in Maintenance. She is holding her own with the daily chemo, every 29 days Vincristine, and 90 days of IT Methotrexate. She is still at 50% dosing for her daily chemo but it may be increase to 75% next month. It will all depend on her CBC (complete blood count).

Last Thursday we were invited, along with Joel Brown and his family, to speak at the Hoxworth High School Luncheon Award Banquet. Both Liz and Joel spoke about their diagnosis and how incredibly important the donation of blood products are. The area high schools raised 13% of the total yearly donations needed for the greater Cincinnati area. They raise over 11,000 units! Like I told the students at the luncheon "blood donations were the first defense in saving Elizabeth's life. She received nonstop unites of whole blood and platelets from the minute she was diagnose and it continued pretty much for the 33 days she was in the hospital." "Liz received blood and platelets for 4.5 days before she was even treated for the cancer." "She would have never made it to see her first treatment without the blood donations." It was an honor for Liz, Joel, and our families to be a part of this wonderful event.

Please pray for Elizabeth's continued success with her "maintenance phase"
minimal side effects from all the chemo and narcotics that Elizabeth takes and has taken
Please pray for all the children on A5 South and their families

Blessings ~ Christine

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

It is that time of the year that I am gearing up for the fundraising event, Light The Night. Please visit the team page of "Team Blazin with <3". Once again the Lothrop and Brown family are teaming up to raise funds to help find a cure for Blood Cancers. Will you please prayerfully consider donating to our cause and fight this year on behalf of Liz and Joel.

Blessings,
Christine

Beautiful Baby Girl!

Four weeks of school is just too much for Liz :) Batman was just happy to be with her.
Life is priceless!
Blessings ~ Christine

Relay for Life 2010

For best view, double click on picture and watch on youtube. Part of picture is cut off here.

Prayers for tonight's event and update ")

Good morning -
Tonight is Catherine's Relay for Life at University of Cincinnati. She works so hard on this event all school year and enjoys being part of it. Please pray that at least the thunder storms stay away. I don't know if you know how this event works, but these college kids stay out and up all through the night, with the event ending Sat. morning. I am not worry about her safety because security is everywhere. Catherine is in charge of the slide show of survivors and those who have lost the battle. If you have pictures of people that you would like to honor please send them to Catherine at: catherineclothrop@gmail.com the pictures will not make it into the video this year but they will for next year. The video is shown during the time of silence and continues to run silently during the rest of the event. It is a beautiful tribute.
Please pray for Randy too. He is speaking at the event about Elizabeth, her diagnoses, prognoses, and our life over the last 19 months. Pray that he is strong and can make it through our story by glorifying God at all times.

Life seems to be resuming for Liz. She has been in school for two weeks now with only a few tardies due to treatment or fatigue. We are down to having her blood drawn once a month, Vincristine every 29 days, Interthecal Methotrexate every 90 days, Mercaptopurine every night, Methotrexate pills every seven days, Prednisone, and Fluconazole. She has an arsenol of other meds on hand for pain and nausea which she uses around every 29 days. Instead of living every minute trying to deal with the side effects, we are now at least living day by day. I remember so clearly Liz having her Methotrexate, vomiting within seconds of it hitting her system, and then continuing to battle the horrible side effects for the next five to six days. There would be days that our curtains were never opened because of the debilitating headaches, nausea, and bone pain Liz would have with all the chemo. Her eyes were extremely sensitive and her bones would ache due to the Vincristine chemo.

Our God is an awesome God. I know you hear this a lot from people and it seems so cliche but it is true. Some people know the awesomeness of God with out tragedy and some learn of God's great love, grace, peace, and mercy through journeys. However you come to know the Lord the point is that you did. May God always be a part of your life, good and bad. He is the one constant.

"But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever" (Psalm 52:8).


Blessings,
Christine

WOW! look at what chemo can do......Elizabeth does not recommend it ")

Elizabeth actually made it to school all week. She was late on Monday due to a big chemo day, late on Thursday just because she was exhausted and her body is not use to moving that much, but all in all she had a wonderful week ")

It is now day seven of the Vincristine and the side effects have hit. She has been in bed all day on a pain killer called Oxycodone and an anti nausea drug, Ativan. The combination of these two drugs wipe her out.

Kayla McDowell came over after church and lifted her spirits, even though she fell asleep on her, Dawn and Logan Ficorelli came by in the afternoon with a smoothie, and Connor McVey came over late afternoon and had dinner with her. Thanks guys! You lifted her spirits a great deal.

We are down to 305, GOD WILLING, days left until she is finished with her treatment. It has been a long, hard, and rough 440 days of treatment. We have had some wonderful mom and daughter times through this journey and for that I am eternally grateful.

It is that time of the year that I begin to gear up for Light The Night Walk. This is a wonderful evening sponsored by Hoxworth Blood Center and put on by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. All the proceeds will go directly to this incredible and live saving organization. LTN walk takes place Sept. 16, at the Mason Sports Park. Please consider coming out, joining, and donating to our team again. Please go to our team page at: http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/ButlerCo10/BlazinWith3 where you can join and donate to our team and cause.

Thank you for being such wonderful, prayerful, and faithful followers. Your prayers and support have helped us see the silver lining in this hurricane.

Please pray for the side effects of Vincristine; extreme joint and bone pain to go away soon and she can stop using the Oxycodone.

Blessings,
Christine

It has been a while

Brittany, Liz, and Jim at Lakes Park, Florida.

Liz is doing great! She had a wonderful spring break, only two trips to the hospital for blood draws while we were there. She has started back on her daily chemo but only at 50% dosing. The docs will try 75% in a month or two and then up to 100% dosing. If her body will hold her counts at 100%; that is the ultimate goal. Her blood counts, like the ANC and platelets need to remain at the magical numbers of 750 and 75k.

Please continue to pray for all the kids on A5 South,
the staff that takes such good care of them,
Liz remains in remission,
minimal side effects of all her chemo and drugs she still takes.

Blessings and enjoy this God given day.

Christine