February 27th

Well, mom is still in the hospital. She feels fine and her appetite is much better, but they are still trying to get rid of the swelling in her legs. They are giving her some sort of shot each day to help, but it's just taking a really long time. Other than that, she's doing great.

Sorry so long between updates!

February 21st

Well they took mom off of IV fluids to try and alleviate some of the swelling and mom's reports that teh swelling is a little better today. Also, her white count has increased some, but she still has a way to go. She says she feels ok, which is better than lousy, but she still isn't feeling her best. Still, some improvement is better than nothing.

Unfortunately, Dr. Mccune wants to go through 3 more R-CHOP treatments, which means we will probably have to go through all of this 3 more times before we are done. But if it gets rid of the cancer, than I'm on board.

We aren't sure when she will be released but I will keep you posted.

~Lindsey

February 20th

Mom's still in the hospital with not much change in how she feels or her white cell count. It hasn't increased since she checked in in Thursday. She feels lousy all over and some pain in her shoulder has come back. They are giving her potassium to help and she is also getting IV fluids.

Her legs are swollen for some reason and we're not sure why. The swelling hasn't gone down either. Things are not getting better for her.

Please pray for the meds to start working and for her to start feeling better. Also, pray for her white cells to increase and climb back up to a normal level.

Thanks.

Lindsey

February 15th

Well, we had to put mom in Kennestone today because she went in for her week-after-chemo checkup and they ran tests on her blood and discovered that her white cell count is really really low. So to keep her from getting sick and not be able to fight it off, they are admitting her as a health precaution. Dr. Mccune says she should be there for 2-3 days and by then, they should have her white cells back at a reasonable level. They give her a shot of something called Neulasta and it helps kick her white cells into gear and gets them back up. That usually takes a few days so thats why she will be there until then.

Because she is so vulnerable to sickness and infection, we ask that you hold off on visiting her until she is back to normal white cell levels.

~Lindsey

February 9th

GREAT NEWS!!!!

I spoke with mom's oncologist, Dr. Mccune, yesterday about her "clear" test results from the spinal fluid sample they took last month and clear means that there are no detectable cancer cells in her spinal fluid!!!! Miracle of all miracles. Mom no longer has cancer in her spinal fluid! Isn't that wonderful? If that isn't a testament to the power of prayer, I don't know what is!

She still has some treatments left to complete so I will keep you updated on those. Also, Dr. Mccune feels that the pain mom has been experiencing in her shoulder/neck/arm is not cancer related. He says that cancer pain is a constant pain and the fact that mom's pain is in and out and related to how she is positioned, he feels that it might be a herniated disk or perhaps a pinched nerve. But the good news is that it's not the cancer. So, she will be seeing an orthopedist next week to see if we can get her straightened out.

I asked Dr. Mccune also about the primary tumor in her head that we were originally dealing with and he says that until mom gets her shoulder pain and everything under control, they can't do the MRI that they need to do because it hurts her too much to lay flat like that. So once she gets better, they will MRI her head again and see where we are with that tumor.

But for the most part, it was wonderful hearing that the chemo is working and mom is getting better!! She did really well with her chemo treatment yesterday and everything went fine there, too. Praise the Lord for working in mom's life and thank you to everyone who have been praying and continue to pray for her. Keep it up! It's because of prayer that mom is still with us.

~Lindsey

February 6th

Mom's MRI came back negative for any other tumors! Also, we found out that when mom had her 2nd port surgery to replace that piece in head, Dr. Javed took a sample of her spinal fluid and ran some tests on it and Dr. Mccune said that it was "clear". Now what clear means, we're not sure....we may have to get him to elaborate on that. But either way, it sounds like good news to me. Comtinue to pray for mom. It is evident that the only reason mom is still here is because she has friends and family praying for her daily. The power of prayer is a WONDERFUL thing and it is working in mom's life. Thank you for checking in on her.

Thursday we will get the R-CHOP chemo.

Mom's Special Account: Regions account under my name, last 4 digits:7812

February 5th

Mom was able to get a special kind of MRI where she could sit instead of lay down and they imaged her on Thursday. She also got another round of Depoctye on Thursday as well.

This past weekend was rough on her. She had a lot of pain and struggled with being able to keep any food down. She also didn't sleep too well so she basically felt off all weekend.

This morning, she is feeling better and has been eating alot and keeping it all down. She will go with me or Jason on Thursday to get the R-CHOP chemo. This is the more strenuous chemo that goes throughout her entire body and wears her out. So she probably won't be feeling too well this weekend.

Mom is now staying at Rob's house so that Memaw can care for Papa at her house. Robbie hired a nurse to come in and look after mom while he and Barbara are at work. Then me, Pat and Jason take turns caring for mom on the weekends.

People have asked how they can help and where they can send money. I just want to post again that mom has a special account set up at Regions Bank:

Lindsey Kirk or Sandra Pat Henderson for the benefit of Krista Cadenhead
Last 4 digits of acct number: 7812

It is easier to find for the teller if you have them look under my name and tell them its the one that ends in 7812.

Also, for those who use paypal, she has an account set up with them as well. Just use her email address to send it: kristacadenhead@yahoo.com

Again, thanks to everyone who has helped us financially and in other ways (helping watch mom, visiting, buying her new clothes). We are tuly blessed to have such a wonderful friend network and church family to help us through this difficult time. We can't thank all of you enough.

~Lindsey