Lizzy swimming under the water in gma and gpa's pool!

It has been a bit so I thought I would let you know what we are up to.

We had the OK to travel so we did! Probably a bit further then they meant for us to go.

We left Dec 26th at 4:40 am for Fort Myers and arrived 18 hours later. We have had a great time and are enjoying having some wonderful family time. First time on vacation for over 15 months.

Today we spent the day at the beach. I believe every other person on the planet did the same thing, but that did not stop us from having fun. Liz and Randy did some passing and bumping of the volleyball on the beach, getting ready for the day she steps back on the courts.

We will be leaving for home on Fri. morning and getting ready to begin school and the real world again.

Please continue to pray for:
Liz to stay in remission
minimal side effects from her chemo
her strength to return
for the families on A5 South
The doctors and nurses that continually take care of these children and their families.

Happy New Year and blessings,
Christine

Merry Christmas and God's blessings upon you in the new year!

First day of Maintenance

Dr. Jen and Liz signing her Maintenance papers.

We have finally made it to MAINTENANCE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elizabeth has 433 days behind her now of very hard chemos and treatment plan.

Elizabeth has 427 days left in her maintenance phase.

Elizabeth's five year remission will occur in 2016.

Elizabeth's cure will come in the year 2021, when she is 27 years old.

Elizabeth's faith remains strong, if not stronger, in the Lord.

Be faithful unto the Lord, always.

Blessings,

Christine

ORANGE!

Jim's basketball team busts out the orange uni's in support of Liz!

Wahoooooooo!

We are home. We came home yesterday around 11:00 am and could not be more thrilled, her ANC is 290. It is good to sleep in your own bed but better to know that your daughter's body is producing the new bone marrow.

Thank you to all how have been faithful to us during this difficult time. Upward and onward to a brighter future.

Blessings,
Christine

We're moving on up

Jam 5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord.

Lizzy's lab came back and her ANC is 180 WAHOOOOOOOOO! They need to be over 200 and consistently rising before we can go home. This is the highest her ANC has been in close to a month.

Liz was allowed out of her room yesterday with a mask. We were so excited! The weekends are awesome around here because no one is around down stairs. We went downstairs and low and behold, there was Brittany and Cindy Dodson waiting to see Liz (wink wink) It was a wonderful moral booster for Liz to see her best friend and feel slightly normal.

Maybe, just maybe we will get to go home by Mon. Please keep the prayers coming.

Blessings,

Christine

Yuck

Well, it got worse. Her ANC dropped to zero. I guess we should have been happy with the 20. I asked the doctors if there was anything I needed to be concerned or worried about and they said "no." Dr. Burns said it is not typical but she has seen kids do this before and Liz has never had a direct up with her ANC's. She is a little bit like a yo yo with them and is going to do this typical "Liz style."

Please continue to pray that she gets out soon and is able to begin Maintenance. I want her to be a normal kid. She should be going to Christmas in Mason with all of her friends, not battling a war.

Continued prayers ~ Christine

Please Pray

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)


Lizzy's counts have all dropped from yesterday. Docs have ordered a new CBC to be done. Please pray that for some reason her first results were a mistake. Please pray that there is nothing wrong with Elizabeth and if they did truly drop it is normal and not due to anything going wrong within her.

This has been a blow to her mental state; mine too. Please pray for us and all the children and families on A5 South.

Blessings ~ Christine

Simple Truths

Still here

Believe has been Lizzy's mantra from the day she was diagnosed.

Quick up-date. Liz is doing well but we are still here. Her ANC is still at zero and all indications point to her remaining here until next week maybe being released mid-week. Her spirits remain high; thank you for all the prayers and cards being sent to her.

Once her counts reach 750 for an ANC and 75k for platelets we will begin maintenance. As far as Liz and I are concerned we are in maintenance. No more 57 day phases of hard chemo.

Liz is keeping herself occupied with movies, games, and magazines. I am really proud of her because not only is she in the hospital without visitors, due to the hospital restrictions, she is also in isolation and not allowed to leave her room. These walls can become very small after 13 days. We may hit 3 weeks in here, almost as long as the Induction Phase when she was diagnosed and we stayed for 33 days.

Please pray that Elizabeth's counts come in sooner than what the blood work shows. Miracles happen :-]


"Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help. You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."
Psalm 30:10-12

Blessings and continued prayers,

Christine