Chem #5 Complete!

Here are some pictures of Emily and Blake, and Emily and Lauren at a formal dance recently. Emily is wearing one of her cute wigs that you can straighten and curl. That is unusual for a wig! I think everyone looks great! She continues to get compliments on her cute hair from people that don't know she has cancer. That helps her to feel better about life right now!

Emily completed chemo #5 on the Wed. before Thanksgiving, and then we had a great weekend! Spent Thanksgiving with family and really appreciated our time off. She felt good, just a little tired, and then had a shot to boost her white blood count on Friday. That shot makes her bones hurt, but it doesn't stop her from doing much. We continue to be amazed at how God is giving her strength and a spirit of joy through this time of battling cancer. Once again, we give all the glory to God. Please keep her in your prayers these next two weeks for mental and physical strength. She is feeling the pressure of trying to make up all the work she missed while in ICU, plus just the normal class requirements. I remember how stressful both physically and mentally the last few weeks of a semester can be, and she will have chemo #6 on Wed. Dec. 9th, and then go back to school for finals on Thurs. and Friday. I think this is asking a lot of anyone, but she is insistent she can do it! She will be half way through her chemo. Her medical plan is 12 total chemo treatments. After that time, they will decide if she needs radiation in addition to the chemo. We are praying and believing for complete healing! We want you to know how much your prayers are lifting her and our family up. God bless you as we get into this busy holiday season!

God is Faithful!!

"Significant and marked improvement!" That is what the CT scan results showed today! The tumors are shrinking, and everything looked good! Thanks for the prayers! Emily completed her fourth chemo treatment today, and it went well. Every appointment they check her white blood count. Last chemo it was REALLY low. It has to be at 500 to receive chemo, and hers was at 400. They decided to go ahead and give her chemo last week, but then she received a shot to help with increasing white blood cells. Because her count was so low, we weren't sure it would bring it up to a good level for this week. Once again, God is faithful and her counts were better today than anyone expected. They were at 4800! This also makes her immune system stronger. So her mom feels better when she is at school being exposed to who knows what! The doctor was pleased with her progress, and the nurse told her she was amazingly strong for being in such a little package. God is answering our prayers, and we see his hand in our lives daily. We appreciate your continued prayers.

Hangin in there...

Emily DID get her H1N1 vaccine on Monday! Thank you for your prayers for that. She still has to be super careful when in public places due to a really low immune system, but I feel better. She is scheduled for her 2nd PET scan this Friday. They will look to see if the chemo is working, and if the masses are shrinking. So please pray for major decreases in the tumors. This is a routine scan to make sure we are on the right track. Then chemo #4 is scheduled for next Thurs. Hopefully we'll get the results of the PET scan at that time. Emily is working really hard at school to catch up on all she missed while in ICU, plus keep up with current class requirements. I think she is a little overwhelmed, although she won't admit it to us. Our family appreciates your prayers more than we can say. I'll keep you posted.