Late this afternoon, we were able to meet with one of Elena's nurse practitioners. She brought test result news.
Elena's MRI results were clear! Praise God! No signs of blood clots!
Also, no headaches today either! Another praise!
As for our HLA typing results, we found out that Liv is only a 50% match.
We are also only 50% matches. So, the bone marrow transplant team will now look at the national bone marrow donor lists to find a suitable match for Elena. The search will take about a week. Once potential donors are identified, other confirmatory tests will have to be run. That process takes about 4-6 weeks. That would keep us right on track for the transplant to take place some time in June.
We also talked about Elena's counts. Currently, they are more up and down, rather than on a steady rise. Elena's ANC has gone from 0 to 20 to 50 to 20 over the past four days. We were told that this is normal. This afternoon, Elena received her final dose of chemo for this treatment round. We now need a steady upward trend in count recovery. This may take another week. Elena's ANC will need to be in the hundreds before she can go home.
We also looked ahead to our next steps. Now that Elena has completed her first round of treatment, she will have another bone marrow test in the next week or two in order to determine if she is in remission. Also, in the next couple of weeks, we will meet the bone marrow transplant team at Egleston for the first time.
Thank you for continuing to be a part of this journey!
Please continue to pray:
for Elena's counts to show a strong steady recovery
for the right person to determine the right time for Elena to go home
for the perfect donor match for Elena
for peace and patience in the waiting
for joy and contentment to be found in each hour and in each day
for sadness and frustration to not take hold of our hearts
for worry and fear to not creep in
for Elena to be in remission and for complete healing!
In Him,
The Tates
" We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. " Psalm 33:20-22
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
A Long Ending to a Good Day
After a pleasant, but busy afternoon, Elena was not called down for her MRI until 5:50 tonight. She did a great job persevering through a headache caused by her ponytail! Ugh! We accidentally left in her ponytail! She has been wearing it up because her beautiful hair is falling out fast, quickly piling up on everything throughout the day. We forgot to take it out before she went in for her MRI. Mac and cheese from the cafeteria instantly cheered her up! : )
We do not know when we will hear the results from this evening's MRI. Hopefully in the morning when the doctors do their rounds.
Thank you for lifting us up in prayer today and every day!
We can feel them!
In Him,
The Tates
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:1
We do not know when we will hear the results from this evening's MRI. Hopefully in the morning when the doctors do their rounds.
Thank you for lifting us up in prayer today and every day!
We can feel them!
In Him,
The Tates
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:1
A Brighter Morning
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
We are thankful that today is indeed a brighter day!
Elena got plenty of rest last night, her counts are beginning to rise - praise God! and her MRI has been scheduled for 4pm today.
Our sadness, frustration, fear, and disappointment are gradually being replaced with peace.
Today is Elena's 22nd day in the hospital. It is easy to see why these emotions were being felt.
Once again, it is a busy day here at the hospital.
Physical therapy this morning
a meeting with the child life specialist at 1pm
school at 2pm
and
an MRI at 4pm
Please continue to pray for peace and joy to be felt by all of us.
Please pray for today's MRI and for clear results.
In Him,
The Tates
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
We are thankful that today is indeed a brighter day!
Elena got plenty of rest last night, her counts are beginning to rise - praise God! and her MRI has been scheduled for 4pm today.
Our sadness, frustration, fear, and disappointment are gradually being replaced with peace.
Today is Elena's 22nd day in the hospital. It is easy to see why these emotions were being felt.
Once again, it is a busy day here at the hospital.
Physical therapy this morning
a meeting with the child life specialist at 1pm
school at 2pm
and
an MRI at 4pm
Please continue to pray for peace and joy to be felt by all of us.
Please pray for today's MRI and for clear results.
In Him,
The Tates
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
MRI Not Happening Today
We just heard that Elena will not have an MRI today.
They can't make room for her to have it done today.
They will try again tomorrow.
Please continue to pray:
for peace in the waiting
for Elena's anxiety - it is diminishing
for clear MRI results
for there to be no blood clots in Elena's brain
for joy and contentment to replace our sadness, fear, disappointment, and frustration - this is slowly happening this afternoon - Praise God!
In Him,
The Tates
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
They can't make room for her to have it done today.
They will try again tomorrow.
Please continue to pray:
for peace in the waiting
for Elena's anxiety - it is diminishing
for clear MRI results
for there to be no blood clots in Elena's brain
for joy and contentment to replace our sadness, fear, disappointment, and frustration - this is slowly happening this afternoon - Praise God!
In Him,
The Tates
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Awaiting an Unexpected MRI
Another day - another unexpected event
Due to Elena's continued headaches, her medical team has ordered an MRI to be done today.
One of the chemo drugs that Elena has received twice in the last thirteen days can cause blood clots. The doctors want to make sure that this is not the cause of the headaches Elena has been having.
Please pray:
for peace in the waiting - we do not have a
scheduled time for the MRI yet
for Elena's anxiety about having an MRI to end
for clear MRI results
for there to be no blood clots in Elena's brain
for joy and contentment to replace our sadness, fear, disappointment, and frustration
In Him,
The Tates
Proverbs 16:9 – “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
Due to Elena's continued headaches, her medical team has ordered an MRI to be done today.
One of the chemo drugs that Elena has received twice in the last thirteen days can cause blood clots. The doctors want to make sure that this is not the cause of the headaches Elena has been having.
Please pray:
for peace in the waiting - we do not have a
scheduled time for the MRI yet
for Elena's anxiety about having an MRI to end
for clear MRI results
for there to be no blood clots in Elena's brain
for joy and contentment to replace our sadness, fear, disappointment, and frustration
In Him,
The Tates
Proverbs 16:9 – “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
Monday, April 2, 2012
A Happy - Sad Kind of Day
Happy - today is a new day
Sad - you woke up almost every hour last night
Happy - you don't have to get up
Sad - you are exhausted
Happy - you have one of your favorite nurses today
Sad - it's your 19th day in the hospital
Happy - watching Little Hospital on the Praire
Sad - it's time for physical therapy
Happy - your PT lets you exercise in bed
Sad - 10 medical or hospital staff personnel have come in and out of your room since 7am and it's only noon!
Happy - SO many people love you
Sad - your head hurts
Happy - friends come to visit
Sad - friends have to leave
Happy - being outside
Sad - your hair is falling out
Happy - you have new earrings to wear
Sad - why do you have to do this again
Happy - having one of your favorite night nurses
Sad - tired of being here
Happy - a fav nurse brings you yogurt with yummy toppings
becauase she heard it had been a rough day
Sad - confused and upset about everything
Happy - tomorrow is another day
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning,
great is your faithfulness. "
Lamentations 3:22-23
Sunday, April 1, 2012
April 1st Update - Day 19
After nearly 3 weeks of being cooped up in the hospital the stress seems to have finally gotten to Elena. She said that she just couldn't take it anymore and tried to make a break for it!
APRIL FOOL !!!!
While we didn't get to make it out of the parking garage, we did get to enjoy being outside and seeing all of the Lord's splendor! Elena commented on how green everything was and in seeing the beauty of "real" flowers growing on trees. It is amazing what you see when you just take the time to look. What started out as the beginning of a little April fool silliness turned out to be a pretty neat experience admiring God's handiwork.
Elena is almost done with day 4 of her second round of chemo and is doing very well. She is still experiencing some of the side effects of the chemo, but we are able to react in time and help ease her discomfort. Her counts are still low and her ANC remains at 0 which means we need to continue to monitor her potential exposure to germs.
Please pray for no fevers and for counts to rise so we may be released from this wonderful place as soon as possible following the completion of this round of therapy. Hopefully we can be home and reunited as a family by Easter! What a gift that would be!
In Him,
The Tates
APRIL FOOL !!!!
While we didn't get to make it out of the parking garage, we did get to enjoy being outside and seeing all of the Lord's splendor! Elena commented on how green everything was and in seeing the beauty of "real" flowers growing on trees. It is amazing what you see when you just take the time to look. What started out as the beginning of a little April fool silliness turned out to be a pretty neat experience admiring God's handiwork.
Elena is almost done with day 4 of her second round of chemo and is doing very well. She is still experiencing some of the side effects of the chemo, but we are able to react in time and help ease her discomfort. Her counts are still low and her ANC remains at 0 which means we need to continue to monitor her potential exposure to germs.
Please pray for no fevers and for counts to rise so we may be released from this wonderful place as soon as possible following the completion of this round of therapy. Hopefully we can be home and reunited as a family by Easter! What a gift that would be!
In Him,
The Tates
"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice."
Phil 4:4
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