"the culprit causing the infection in her blood stream is e-coli. It is present just about everywhere in the world and even in our digestive tracts. It does not usually get into the blood stream and most of of our bodies take care of it rather nicely. If you cannot fight infection however...then you find yourself in our situation."

November 12, 2006 at 06:22 PM EST TROUBLES CONTINUE

Ali is still with us -- we like that. But she is sedated so that she doesn't know what is happening and cannot talk. It is very difficult to see her like this.

Her oxygen level is actually okay and they have reduced the concentration of oxygen from 60% to 40%. Her kidneys still are hanging on and getting rid of lots of fluids. However, some specific levels are up. They seem convinced that the underlying issue is an infection in the blood stream. They do not know what that is yet. And Ali has no immune system to fight it.

Some very specific issues to pray about are:

No suffering!
Lungs hang in there!
Kidneys hang in there!
Identify infection quickly and have drugs to quickly overcome it!
Blood pressure needs to increase without all the drugs & fluids!
Fever needs to come down!

We never know what we're going to do next...pray, cry, or nap. Julie made it home for a few moments and said Megs is very upset -- understandably so. Kara is a little young to understand all this yet.

Time to go hold Ali's hand for a few more hours!

sda

November 12, 2006 at 09:09 AM EST BIG TROUBLE!

Ali was breathing funny late Saturday night. At one point she became unresponsive and stiff. We called 911. An ambulance took us to the Emergency Room at Spectrum Hospital/DeVos Children's Hospital.

A large team of folks was waiting for us. They were happy we got there quickly and thought she may have a blood infection called sepsis (We have no idea what people are talking about right now! Sorry for any incorrect terms.)

Once stabilized, they transferred us to PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.) Things got worse. Ali's breathing got worse and they had to sedate her and put her on a breathing machine. Her kidneys which were having a tough time seem to be working fairly well. The cardiologists are working with the intensivists. Her pulse is very high 140-160. Her blood pressure was very low and they have been able to bring that up with meds.

There is a possibility that she has a pneumonia but they're not sure since they have not sucked much from her lungs. The last term I heard as some sort of "distributive shock." The intensivist was hoping that we have hit the peak of the episode but was not sure. We are waiting on tons of labs.

Ali is sedated so that she doesn't feel all the tubes and lines running into her -- a couple new central lines. There are at least 6-7 pumps pumping in fluids and meds. There are monitors all over.

We are praying and begging for the life of Ali!

sda

PLEASE PRAY for my friend, Ali. She just turned 14 years old. She is one of my honored heroes when I do my Team in Training events. She received the news today that she has relapsed AGAIN. This will be her THIRD time in treatment for leukemia in 5-1/2 years. Her family is devastated, but the strongest family that I have ever met as well. Please keep them in your prayers. THANK YOU. Kim

October 31, 2006, Tuesday
The kids had a wonderful time trick-or-treating tonight. They loved their costumes too. Matthew was Darth Vader again (yay! no work!) and Lane was Obi Wan Kenobi this year. I started early in October and made Lane's costume. It was really fun to put together. I did buy a pattern from Wal-Mart and we waited until there was a good color of fabric for the costume on the $1/yard table. We never found a decent pair of boots that would work at the thrift stores so I made boot covers out of leather-looking fabric. They worked perfect and he was really happy with them. He got LOTS of compliments on his costume.

The weather was nice so they wanted to go and go. We went to a trunk-or-treat at our church and then hit some neighborhoods which we have never done before because usually it is freezing cold here. Also, Matthew has just never had the energy to go from house to house. It was wonderful to see him so full of energy that I couldn't contain him running down the sidewalk from house to house.

We hope everyone else had a fun and safe holiday!
Katrina
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October 24, 2006, Tuesday
Today, Matthew has been off treatment for ONE FULL YEAR!!!! Yay!!!!!! Hoorray!

Plans for tonight got kind of mixed up. We are just busy with this and that. We'll try to go out tomorrow night instead and Matthew was A-OK with it.

But Rebecca, Melanie's, mom came over this afternoon with a big bouqet of balloons for Matthew and the "Over the Hedge" DVD!!!!...and also some yummy donut holes. She is soooooooooooo wonderful!!! Matthew loved everything. That was such a nice surprise for all of us.

By the way, Melanie will be 3 years off treatment for AML in mid-November!!!! She's doing fantastic too! Way to go Matthew and Melanie!

Hugs those kiddos tight! :)
Katrina
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October 14, 2006, Saturday
Matthew had a checkup Thursday at PCMC . His counts and physical were perfect!!!!!!!! On the 24th of October we will celebrate 1 year off treatment! We plan on going out to dinner. Dr. B said Matthew doesn't have to have his blood work checked every 6 weeks anymore. Instead, he will have it checked every 3-4 months for 1 year.

Matthew started complaining about not being able to see things far away very well. Yep, he needed glasses and he likes them a lot. They are really comfortable and he wears them all the time like he is supposed to.

All is well here and we are very grateful for all our blessings.
Katrina
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August 24, 2006, Thursday
Everything has been going well. Lane completed and passed his hunter safety course with flying colors. Man! When this kid is interested in something watch out!! Matthew had another 6-week followup appointment last Monday (the 21st) and he also passed with flying colors. Yea! All counts normal and he's been doing great. The next 6-week appointment will be in October and that'll be his one year off treatment mark. So much to be grateful for...

The boys started school yesterday. Matthew was over-the-top excited about school starting. So much so that I thought he'd be let down about it when he came home. School is just school after all. But this kid hasn't got to go to much school for 1st and 2nd grade, so he was really excited and thrilled about it all. It was really nice this year to just be "normal again." I didn't have to write up a letter for the teacher explaining Matthew's situation and to please make sure the children and parents in your class cooperate with not coming to school sick, etc. etc. That was soooooo nice this year. Just go and have fun and no worries. Matthew really enjoyed his first day and likes his teacher a lot. There are a few kids in his class that he knows. He'll be fine making new friends.

Lane is in 6th grade this year and so he has to go to the middle school where "I have to have a LOCKER and 7 DIFFERENT TEACHERS," he moaned over and over again last week. He was quite stressed about it all, especially since his locker wasn't working until the day before school started. We finally got that sorted out (they gave us the wrong combination) and I bought him a few magnets and he made some of his own magnets from cool cards of his own (he has a few Guinness World Record cards), so he felt better about it. He did great yesterday and when he came home he said, "It didn't even feel like school at all since I was going to different classes all day." (Ha! Little does he know!) But he did well and was okay to have different teachers and different kids in each class. He'll do fine!

It was interesting this morning (around 10:30) when I was just getting ready to update the web site when Lane calls me and says that there was a chemical spill at the school and I need to come pick him up. I asked him where I need to meet him and he told me. I called Kirk on the way to the school and he wanted me to stop by and get him. When I got there, the buses were there to take kids home as well. Lane was over with the group of kids whose parents pick them up every day. In Kirk's job, he works with police officers and detectives a lot, so he is friends with them. He went to talk to one while I got Lane. The police officer said that HAZMAT units were called to come from Salt Lake and Denver and that the spill was outside the building on the west end. The fire department was there and the whole place was taped off with police tape. Kirk also told me that it was mercury and that "kids had been playing in it and tracked it into the cafeteria (which is on that end of the building) and they have no idea how it got there." SCARY! "Kids playing in it/no idea how it got there." SCARY! We'll have to listen to the radio tonight and watch Salt Lake City news to see if there will be school tomorrow or not. I'm betting not. I'm glad that once it was found, that they immediately set off the fire alarm and got the kids out of there in an orderly manner. Lane said that all the kids were good mannered and everything. When we got home, there was a message on the machine explaining about it. I guess they had the secretaries call every student's parents. But Lane was THRILLED to be getting out of school the 2nd day with unknown plans as to when they'd be going back!
Katrina
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August 5, 2006, Saturday

• New photos up finally. I really NEED a digital camera so it doesn't take so long to get pictures on here.

We went camping again with Kirk's sister and her family at the end of July. It was a lot of fun. This time we camped by a small river...I called it a creek. Rivers in my mind are huge! But the boys had a lot of fun swimming in it. At first they were supposed to be wading, but Matthew lost his balance and ended up soaked, so why not just get all wet and not worry? They had a great time.

On the last day, we went hiking and got caught in a bad mountain thunderstorm complete with pouring rain, dropping temperatures, hail, and lightning! We were huddled together holding the two backpacks we had over the kids. That hail hurt BAD!! We were all praying that we'd make it to the truck safely. Thankfully we did. Lightning in the mountain really scares me but I tried not to let it show. At least we made it down into the thick pine trees before the lightning hit and weren't in the open by the reservoir where we had been. Next time though, we'll always have our ponchos!! We had forgot to bring them. We'll learn...

Lane has had a lot of unexplained pain in his bones around his ankle for the past 5 weeks. I took him to the doc about that. X-rays look normal and the doc said it must not be in the bone, but rather the muscle. If it still hurts him in another 3 weeks, he should come back and they'll take another look. This was a P.A. we saw. Our regular pediatrician is out of town for 2 weeks.

Lane is also taking hunter's safety now and enjoying it a lot. There is a LOT of information to know!! Matthew wrapped up his summer piano lessons and the teacher said he was the her first student she's ever had who learned the bass notes in the first 3 months of taking lessons. Way to go Matthew! He has a 2-week break, then will start again.

Matthew is really excited to start 3rd grade. Registration is Monday and Tuesday. Lane is NOT excited to start 6th grade. Here, the 6th graders switch classrooms for every subject and are in Middle School. The 8th and 9th graders here are Junior High. At least he'll only have 6th and 7th graders in his building. There will be an orientation for 6th graders the 17th.

Summer just goes too fast! I wish school didn't start until halfway through Sept. or Oct.! I'm all for letting the kids stay home, stay up late, sleep in, work when asked by mom or dad, watch TV, read a little, do just whatever, go swimming, have fun for a long time, then go to school when the weather really starts getting colder.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures. Either go to the scrapbook and scroll down to choose what you want or click on the links just under "Recent Updates." I finally got a few from our Tennessee vacation on too. See!... That was back in May! I NEED a digital camera!!

Katrina
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July 11, 2006, Tuesday
We had a great time camping in the Uinta Mountains last Thursday through Saturday. We went with Kirk's sister, her husband, and two boys. They are the same ages as Lane and Matthew. They had a tent and we used a camp trailer, which we borrowed from a friend. We all had a good time sitting around the campfire, hiking, fishing, watching the deer come VERY close to camp, playing games in the camp trailer when it poured rain for 4 hours, eating GREAT Dutch Oven cooking, and we would have enjoyed canoeing, but Kirk forgot the paddles!!! That was soooo funny. He NEVER does stuff like that either. He was insisting on driving clear back down the mountain and getting the paddles, but we all would not let him. The boys also had fun shooting their BB guns at pop cans in the tree and riding their bikes all over the place. We were the only ones up there too and so it was really nice. We just pulled into an area off the road which was designated for camping. It already had a fire pit made with a ring of rocks. We were glad that it didn't get toooo cold at night..only down to 50! Shew! And the high was 70 but we wore jackets most of the time because of a cool breeze.

We all did get to enjoy the canoe on Saturday. We packed up everything right after breakfast and drove home, unhooked the trailer, got some more hot dogs/ buns/drinks, got the PADDLES, and went back up the mountain to a closer lake for the evening. It was a lot of fun and the boys did get to enjoy fishing in the canoe after all. And they caught lots of fish too.

Yesterday (Monday), Matthew had a 6-week followup appointment at PCMC . He's almost 9 months off treatment now! Dr. B said Matthew's throat is looking good and of course we'll finish up the antibiotics for both boys' Strep. His WBCs are kind of high right now, which is probably due to the Strep and it's a good sign too in that his bone marrow can produce lots of white cells to fight off stuff. His ANC was 6400! Dr. B also said that this school year Matthew should have a baseline neuro-pysch evaluation done. He said it's a very good idea to do this because all the chemo he's had over 6 years could cause long-term side effects which include learning problems, attention deficits, and processing problems. It's best to know where he's at now and we can refer to the baseline in years/months to come if needed. And the principal/teachers need to be aware of this and to watch for any changes in him in regard to all this.

I am quite emotional about this but glad that Dr. B brought it up. I never would have, because to me, Matthew's gift through all this has been his ability to pick up on reading and math quickly despite the chemo, and I always thought that he'd just always have that. To think that he could get learning problems from chemo just breaks my heart. I hope he never does! I feel so badly for children and their parents who do have these side effects from all their chemo. We do have an educational worry with Lane because he has dyslexia. Dealing with his needs and the school is a big worry. So far, the school has been really good accommodating for Lane, so I'm sure they'll be good for Matthew too and keep a good eye on him.

Matthew's piano lessons have been going well. He's really enjoying them. His piano teacher invited all her students to a party at the Waterslide Pool in town. It's a really fun place for the kids to go and when it's reserved, like she's doing, it's even more fun! Matthew gets to invite his brother too. That will be Friday.

Katrina
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July 5, 2006, Wednesday
The boys felt WORSE yesterday so I checked their throats and yep...full of gross stuff in the back. So I called Deegan's mom yesterday and told her we better not get together for fireworks with them since my boys might have strep. It's a good thing because I got them in to see their pediatrician this morning and both were positive for strep! The doc said they could not have gotten it from the lake and it has to be person/person contact. Oh well. At least Deegan wasn't exposed to it and they'll feel better MUCH quicker now with antibiotics on board. So all is good to go for camping and they'll feel great for hiking, canoeing, fishing, etc., up on the mountain.

But we did go as a family to watch our town fireworks last night and they were really good...lasted about 25 minutes even. So we hope everyone else had a good Fourth of July.

Take care
Katrina
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July 3, 2006, Monday

Happy 4th of July!

We've been doing really well. The boys loved swimming in the lake the other day, but the next day they both felt sick...hmmm.?? Even though they both showered when we got home. They are feeling better now, but maybe we won't be swimming there anymore.

We've been listening to books on tape lately too. We get them from the library. Right now we're listening to one that I picked out: The Hobbit y J.R.R. Tolkien and narrated by Rob Inglis. Mr. Inglis does a GREAT job with the different voices. It's a fun book and not over their heads at all.

Tomorrow we'll join up with Deegan's family and watch the fireworks our town does. They've been really good the past few years.

Also, during the day tomorrow we're getting ready for camping later this week. We're borrowing a friend's trailer so if it pours rain in the mountains, we'll be able to be nice and dry and play card games in the trailer. Kirk's sister, her husband, and two boys will be camping with us. We plan on canoeing, fishing, hiking, riding bikes, eating good food, soaking in the scenery and enjoying time with family.

Have a wonderful 4th of July!
Katrina
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June 24, 2006, Saturday

I was excited to see Matthew yesterday at Camp Hobe. He didn't see me at first. He was sitting under a tree with one of his counselors while all the other kids sat in the hot sun watching the closing ceremony which consisted of all the cabins performing their skits they each made up. Matthew looked like he was watching for me to come up from the parking lot. I got the counselor's attention and made a gesture for him to get Matthew's attention. He did and I was standing there waving at him when he saw me. He came running over to me so fast. He got a little trembly chin when he hugged me and so did I. It was a hard thing for both of us this week, but I believe it was good for both of us too. Independence for him was good and to really let loose and be a kid was good also; and for me it was good to know that he'd be okay without me fussing over him.

His camp skit with his cabin buds was cute as were the other cabins' skits. His cabin's name was Super Chipmunks because they were the only cabin that had a family of chipmunks living under it! Their cabin song went like this:
Super Duper chipmunk power,
We will prank you in the shower.
Careful when you walk at night,
Cause we will give you quite a fright.
We're the guys at Camp Hobe,
Hear our calls throughout the trees!
(then they smack their lips and teeth like chipmunks).



In talking about stuff he did at camp, it sounds like he had a riot at times and at other times he was quite sad. I tried to focus on the crazy stuff he did...such as dress up like Captain Underpants' Sidekick!!! ....complete with underwear over his shorts and underwear (hopefully clean) on his head as his mask!!! hahahaha! The theme was Super Heroes of Camp Hobe.

During the sad times, his counselor (Paul) who was a 5 yr. veteran of Camp Hobe, really helped him stick it out and not come home like he was begging to do. Paul was VERY nice and helpful and understanding with Matthew. Matthew was pretty dang sad that first night and my heart just broke when he told me how hard he cried. Mainly he was only sad at night when it was time for bed.

Well he did talk about LOTS of stuff he did and he LOVES all the camp songs he learned, the skits, and the swimming. He didn't participate in field games again after that first day because it was just too hot for him. He gets lightheaded pretty easy in the hot sun. They had a carnival one day though and he loved that and there were different animals one day...large gerbils, a large boa constrictor that he got to touch, a variety of dogs, and a miniature horse.

Matthew has also talked a lot about archery. He loved getting to shoot bow and arrows. He also loved the nature hikes and GEO-CACHING! He was soooooo excited that they got to use a real GPS when they went geo-caching around the camp boundaries.

They tie dyed shirts and created super hero costumes. I guess Matthew was the riot of dinnertime one night in his Captain Underpants Sidekick costume!!! See...one of the cooks was Captain Underpants, so Matthew was the sidekick. All the kids created super hero costumes he said.

And on Thursday evening, they had a ball!!! (a dancing ball!!!) Matthew was mortified he said to have to dance with girls and he said he was holding onto a tree outside the lodge. The girl counselors were begging him to come in and dance. Finally they asked, "What can we get you so you'll come in?" and he said, "A piece of paper!" lol So they got him a scrap of some paper off a candy wrapper or something and he finally went in and he said he danced with 5 girl counselors and 2 camper girls. He said he was dancing crazy.

All the kids in his cabin were his age and first year campers, He did like all the kids in his cabin especially his assigned buddy for the week. As of right now, he said that he'd go next year.

Here's some pictures that he took with his disposable camera and I took to 1-hour photo today. Click on the stick boy to see them!


Matthew also said someone was taking lots of pics for the Camp Hobe web site and that they'd send us a copy of the cd in the mail. COOL! Hope they got one of him with the whitie tighties on his head!!!

Katrina
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June 22, 2006, Thursday

First Time Camp Mom's Feelings...
Well Matthew is HOPEFULLY enjoying his time at Camp Hobe so much that he's not even thinking about getting homesick. So far no call from them, so that is good news to me that he is doing well. I'm praying that he's doing fine.

Monday Camp Hobe started out in Tooele, UT.
Mindy's son Deegan went to the Day Camp of Camp Hobe Monday while Matthew started his week-long adventure. We got to go to his cabin and put his stuff in there and pick his bunk...he picked a top one. He was the first one there. Two other boys came and Matthew asked the counselor what they'd be doing. His reply was LOTS of stuff. First they had to think of a camp name for their cabin and then later they would work on a skit. Matthew was excited about both. So Mindy and I left and would have to go back at 3:00 to pick up Deegan. We went and hung out in Tooele all day.

Matthew did fine separating from me. Not me!!!! I didn't cry until I walked out of the cabin and was down the path a little ways. It's still hard today, but not as hard as Monday and Tuesday. Mindy and I had to hang around the town all day until we went to pick up Deegan. Every now and then I'd just start getting all choked up. Mindy was so sweet and nice about it. So it was really hard to go BACK to the camp to pick Deegan up. I didn't want to go and see him or have him see me. But I had no choice because we drove out together. Well I could have stayed hidden because he was involved in playing field games and so I was watching them from a distance and he didn't have his hat on! ...and he was wearing sandals... and these sandals hurt his feet if he doesn't wear socks with them! If he just wears them straight to the pool then he's fine, but to run around in the field without socks with those blasted sandals... anyway...I saw him flop on the grass and the look on his face when he flopped ...oh boy I know that look... the look of "I am WORN out and NEED to move on to something else NOW or else get to the shade".... but i didn't go rushing over though. I watched and finally I saw a counselor talking to him, then helping him up, and heading to the infirmary. So that's when I decided I better go have a talk with him. He didn't cry when he saw me. He was tough! He said to me that he was just too hot and I asked "where is your hat?" In the cabin, Where are your socks? Cabin. Where's your water bottle? cabin....... So I had a talk with him about those things and he said that after field games they were swimming, but I said to wear socks! wear hat! At all times. He agreed and I also told him that if he can't handle being in the sun, ask to go to the shade.... no... tell them you need to go to the shade. He said he would. I haven't heard one word from camp so I just hope and pray he's doing fine. THIS HAS BEEN SO HARD ON ME. He hasn't been away from me in 6 years and the one time for our anniversary when he was off treatment in 2003 (before his relapse), the boys stayed with the grandparents, not strangers. And it was only for one night. I kept saying to Mindy, "what did I do to myself? why did I let him go to this?" ugh! Well after I helped him get his hat, socks, and water bottle (they let me go to the cabin and get the stuff for him), talked to the counselor about Matthew being really sensitive to the heat (and boy it is HOT this week here!!!), then I left with Mindy and Deegan. ugh......on the way back to the car I started crying again. Anyway... I'm doing a lot better today though. Really I am. I have been praying really hard that I won't worry and that I'll have peace that he's doing fine. And I'm doing a lot better. But if I'd known it was going to be this hard on me, I don't know that I'd have let him go....

I've been doing some fun things with Lane and it's been nice to spoil him some. On Tuesday night Kirk had a carpet job so Lane and I went to get an shake at Polar King. We drove around and then we noticed that the Rec Department has put in a new bike park next to the skate park. So Wed. morning early we packed up his bike in the Yukon and went down there. He was happy to have the place to himself for an hour before he wore himself out. He had Scouts Wed. night and they're planning for their first overnighter which is on Friday. Kirk will be going too. So Lane and Kirk can't go with me to pick up Matthew. Wish they could!

Thankfully in less than 24 hours I get to see him again!!
Katrina
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June 17, 2006, Saturday
Matthew is all packed up and ready to go to Camp Hobe!! It starts Monday and he is really excited to make new friends at this camp for cancer kids and their sibs. I'll go pick him up Friday. Kirk and Lane have a Scout overnighter (Lane's first one) on Friday night or else they'd go with me to pick him up. Mom is nervous ...ok, VERY nervous to send him off for 5 days. I've got a few surprises packed in his suitcase that I hope he likes. I just really, really hope that he doesn't get overly homesick.

Piano lessons are going great for Matthew and Lane has finished his two weeks of level 4 swim lessons. He passed all the swim strokes except the butterfly. So he says he is done with swimming lessons. He did wonderful sticking with it. We were proud of him and he was the best one out of the 4 kids.

I'll update again when Matthew comes home.

Katrina
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June 7, 2006, Wednesday
We've been really busy and there has been a lot happening!! Including our trip to Tennessee May 24 (Wed.) to June 1st (Thurs.)!

May 2 (Tues.)--My little brother flew to Brazil to go on a mission for our church there. He'll be gone for 2 years.

May 3 (Wed.)--My dad called to say that mom was having a CT scan of her abdomen because he felt a lump/mass/something in her lower right quadrant. (He's a general surgeon so he'd know how to assess someone.) Mom has been pretty sick lately she said, but she's not let anyone know about it. She's hidden it because she didn't want my brother to change his mind about going on his mission. Dad also said that the mass wasn't tender enough to be appendicitis, so his MAIN fear obviously was that it was ovarian cancer. So thus began the tears and prayers for mom. May 4th she was admitted to a hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee and her care was given to a gynecological oncologist. He wanted her to have IV antibiotics for 24 to 48 hours before doing surgery.

May 5 (Fri.)--Dad called my brother and told him what was going on with mom and to just please pray for her. My brother handled it really well. I was proud of him.

May 6 (Sat.)--Mom had surgery and a nurse came right out to say that it was not cancer but an infection!!! Our prayers were answered. An ovarian cyst had abscessed and filled her abdomen with infection. I called mom Sunday morning and her first words were, "I guess everyone is doing cartwheels and back handsprings and kicking field goals, huh?" With emotion in my voice I said that we most definitely were. We were all so grateful that she didn't have cancer.

May 12 (Fri.)--Mom was released from the hospital. Her pancreas pretty much shut down due to all the stress, so now she's insulin-dependent diabetic which made her incision even more slow healing. Dad and my sister who was living with them for a little while (her hubby is working in North Carolina now and they've been in limbo in finding a place to live because of all this with mom) were her home care nurses and did all her dressing changes. Getting her insulin and sugar adjusted was tricky and she had a really scary episode and dad had to call the ambulance to get an IV sugar drip going for her. Thankfully that helped!! MOM WE LOVE YOU!!!!

May 16 (Tues.)--Matthew had an AWESOME 6-week checkup!!! Great counts and great everything. He had a tough time letting the lab techs draw blood out of his arm. Hopefully he'll get used to it. They did a great job and he actually said it didn't even hurt. Maybe next time he'll remember he said that.

May 18 (Thurs.)--HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANE!! He turned 11 years old and at 5'2'' already...he'll be taller than his mom by the time he's 13!!! We surprised him with a new bike and he was really excited to get it. He's such a wonderful son and big brother. We love him very, very much!

May 23 (Tues.)--Matthew took 2nd place in the 2nd Grade Spelling Bee!!! Way to go Matthew!!!!!!!

May 24 (Wed.) to June 1st (Thurs.)--Flew to Tennessee where I was raised to visit. This has been planned ever since Matthew finished treatment last October and we bought plane tickets back in February. We have not visited TN since I was pregnant with Matthew...it's been WAY TOO LONG! We were happy that we could also use this time to help mom with her recovery process. She was still pretty weak and was using a walker to get around. I was so happy to see her!!! She starting visiting out in the front room more often and sat in the kitchen more often while we were cooking, so her strength started returning. By the time we left on June 1st (Thurs.), she was getting around without her walker!! Way to go mom!!! She was also doing really, really well with her insulin. Although she's still scared of needles, she's doing better at giving herself the shot when needed. I'm proud of you mom!

Because my sister was there too, Kirk, the boys and I were able to go to Chattanooga to visit my grandparents over Fri. and Sat. of Memorial Day weekend. My dear grandma is so frail. It was really hard to see her like that. She and grandpa were thrilled to meet the boys finally. We visited for quite awhile and then went to our hotel. We did some little touristy things like drive up on top of Lookout Mountain and go to Point Park which is where major Civil War battles took place. There are INCREDIBLE views at Point Park for 3/4 the price of the other, more publicized touristy things on the mountain. We walked down by the Tennessee Aquarium that evening and down by the Tennessee River as well. On Sat. we visited with my grandparents again and said goodbye. On the way back home we went to the Lost Sea in Sweetwater, TN. It was a neat touristy thing to do. Back home in Oneida we just helped out more and got mom and dad caught up on cleaning. Kirk helped my dad paint a basement apartment that they need to rent out and Lane mowed their lawn on the RIDING LAWNMOWER!! He thought that was a blast but now he's begging us to buy one! Ha! Won't happen kiddo...our lawn isn't nearly as big as grandpa's! The boys liked where I grew up and thought it was really neat. They didn't like all the curvy roads though because they get car sick easy. But they really enjoyed catching lightnin' bugs one evening and watching all the thunderstorms that roll through to keep the country beautiful and green without water sprinklers!

We had a great trip and were so happy when we left that mom was doing so well. During the week we were there, my sister was able to meet her hubby in North Carolina and find a place for their family to live. Then my sister who also lives in Utah arrived to help out too. Her hubby drives his own truck for a living so he'll do loads out of Tennessee so she can stay and help out longer than any of us. Thank you Teresa!! I'm so glad you can do this and thank you Micki for being able to change your work location for a time.

June 2 (Fri.)--Well we got home late at night on Thursday, June 1st, and the very next night was our local Relay for Life. Matthew and Lane always love the Relay because they can run around and play all the games that the campsites provide and just have fun. This year it was really nice that right after the Survivor Lap, there was a Survivor's dinner catered by Golden Corral. Only survivor's and their immediate family could eat and they had set up a big tent to shade us from the hot sun. It was all really nice. Matthew had about 10 luminarias for him, there were 16 for Lexie which I picked up for her the next day because she was not able to attend due to being admitted to the hospital again, and about 30 for Deegan! That was cool he had so many.

Now this week the boys have started some fun summer stuff. Matthew had been teaching himself how to play the piano so he's taking lessons now so he learns correctly. I'm sure he'll pick up on it fast. Lane is taking advanced swimming lessons and not sure at the moment if he likes working that hard while swimming. I'm sure he'll stick it out though and learn a lot.

Matthew is counting down the days until he gets to stay a whole week at Camp Hobe, but Lane decided once and for all that camp is not for him and backed out. It's all about fun and if he's just too scared, then Kirk and I weren't about to force him to go.

Woohooo.....Camp Hobe starts June 19th!!

Katrina
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April 17, 2006, Monday

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Happy Easter!!
We had a very nice and enjoyable Easter yesterday. We hope all of you did as well.

Last week the boys had the whole week off for Spring Break. On Tuesday we went to Provo and stayed with my sister's family. The boys had fun playing with their cousins. We visited with my brother as well. He's attending Brigham Young University, and he is leaving on a mission to Brazil on May 1, so we were able to say good-bye to him. He'll be gone for two years.

On Wednesday evening, we all (my sister in Provo, brother, and all the kids) went to Payson (small town south of Provo) to visit with another sister and her kids. Her husband just got a job and actually started work on Wednesday in NORTH CAROLINA, so we visited with them for a while too before we all went out to dinner. She'll be driving four kids and a dog across the country NEXT WEEK to meet up with her husband in North Carolina. So we had to say good-bye to them too!!!

On Thursday, Matthew had a followup appointment at PCMC . He's doing great and his counts were A -OK too. The physical therapist saw him as well. Matthew has been spraining his ankles quite frequently and this is causing him much anguish. She wants him to have regular physical therapy out here in Vernal to address his ankle weakness and balance (proprioception). She wrote a prescription for physical therapy for him, and I have an evaluation appointment set up for this Friday to get started on strengthening his ankles. My sister, who lives in Texas, is a physical therapist and she sent me an article she read about children who have been in treatment for ALL and the relationship that their chemotherapy has on their balance. You can see this article at this link: http://www.ptjournal. org/PTJournal/Aug2005/v85n8p782.cfm. It's quite technical but there is some language that I could understand and it totally fits Matthew's case. Maybe it will help another child in the future, so that's why I'm adding the link to it.

After Matthew's appointment, we went to Chuck E Cheese, which we've NEVER been to before!!! We had the pleasure of meeting Devin, his sister Kara, and mom Alisa. Devin is a survivor of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), and he was treated at PCMC as well. It was really nice to meet them, and now Lane isn't as nervous about going to Camp Hobe in June. He said that he would like it if I could request that he and Devin be in the same cabin. Before meeting Devin, Lane would not even consider going to Camp Hobe. So thanks Devin for helping Lane change his mind! The kids all had a great time at Chuck E Cheese and now Matthew-especially-- is begging to go back again.
Hug your kiddos tight!!
Katrina

GUESTBOOK
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March 16, 2006, Thursday
Today Kirk took Lane out of school at 11:00 to go with him to the Doug Miller Outdoor Expo in Salt Lake City. They had a great day and didn't get home until midnight!

So I let Matthew have a "mental health" day from school too. He built a blanket fort in the living room and played with all his Star Wars Lego sets. I told him I would take him on a 'date' at dinnertime. He chose to eat at Burger King. Then we went to see Shaggy Dog. It was a cute movie. Matthew was laughing the whole time.

On the way home, he told me how much fun our 'date' was and that he was very thankful that I let him have a fun day today. Well it hit me right then that he and I have NEVER been on a 'date' or done anything fun like that--just he and I. In the past 6 years while Matthew was on treatment, I took Lane on several 'dates' because he and I needed to spend one-on-one time together once in a while. Well I did spend PLENTY of one-on-one time with Matthew the past 6 years---but not doing anything FUN! So, yes, it was VERY nice to finally spend some quality one-on-one time with Matthew doing something fun, instead of going to chemo appointments. I never thought to take him on a fun 'date' during that time when his counts were good enough to do anything. Whenever they were high enough, we'd all go together as a family. So Matthew and mom's 'date' today was fun and long overdo.

Hug your kiddos tight!!!!
Katrina
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March 2, 2006, Thursday
Well Matthew's last checkup was on February 20th here in Vernal. I bumped it up one day because he got a case of "pink eye" and needed to be seen a day earlier. That went away quickly with antibiotic eye drops.

Dr. P was really glad to see Matthew doing so well. His counts looked great too. His ANC was way high, which was probably caused by the little "pink eye" infection. His hematocrit was nice and high too--highest it has been in a long, long time--a whopping 41!! Platelets were a nice number too at 240.

So all is well here. Another checkup down. Next checkup will be at Primary Children's Medical Center on April 6th.
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February 1, 2006, Wednesday
It is so nice to have good updates about Matthew. He's been going to school regularly and going to friends' houses to play. It's been a long time since he's been able to do either of these things. I was looking at him this morning and a feeling of just happiness came over me. I am so thankful that he is doing well and can be a kid again.

His next followup is February 21st here in Vernal.

Thank you for your prayers for Lexie. She was released from PCMC on January 27th after being inpatient for 3 weeks.
Katrina
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January 18, 2006, Wednesday
Matthew is doing fabulous! We went sledding on Monday and it was bitter cold but Matthew and Lane hung in their for a whopping 15 minutes. I wouldn't even get out of the truck it was so cold. But it was nice to FINALLY get some snow here!

Take care,
Katrina
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January 14, 2005, Saturday
Scrapbook updated today with:
Three cancer kids from Vernal in June 2005
Matthew's 8th Birthday in Nov. 2005
Christmas 2005


6-Week Followup on January 13th (Friday!):
It was a good luck Friday according to Matthew because his check up was great. He was VERY, VERY nervous about the blood draw with no Port to access. The lab tech at PCMC was really good and cool. He just said, "Ok bub, which do you want? The finger or the arm?" And Matthew says, "Finger." The tech warmed his fingers up and did a great job squeezing that blood out into the little tube. Matthew was very brave and didn't even flinch. It was funny while squeezing his blood out, a little stream of blood went shooting across the room and almost hit me! It splattered the tech's scrubs. The tech said that he's never seen a finger poke do that before!

Dr. B checked Matthew out and said he is looking fabulous and his counts were good. His ANC is 2500; PLTS 225; HCT 39. So the next followup will be here in Vernal in 6 weeks. Dr. B wants to rotate between the two to save us trips out there.

Please keep our sweet friend Lexie in your prayers. She is having a tough time right now with an infection and her parents just learned she has AVN ( avascular necrosis) in her knees.

Katrina
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January 3, 2006, Tuesday
We had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. We are so thankful for all our blessings. The boys were happy with everything they received. Matthew received MORE Star Wars Lego sets from Santa which he loved and was very excited about. He got the Wookie Catamaran set and a Rebel Snowspeeder set. And now with his Christmas money from grandparents, he wants to buy ANOTHER set, but they are all going out of stock everywhere--even at Lego.com. So to eBay we go I guess because I've searched everywhere else and can't find anymore sets that are at a reasonable price. We'll see what we can get from eBay I guess. Matthew also got a cool game called 20-Q which is a little electronic ball-shaped game. It is played like the classic 20 Question game except all you do is think of something and then answer yes, no, sometimes, or unknown to the game's questions. It is so cool that this little computer toy actually guesses EXACTLY what you are thinking about 95% of the time! Or else it is pretty close! It's a fun take-along-in-the-car game too.

Lane was thrilled with his new BB gun. It is a CO2 pistol BB gun and he loves to go out in the field in or in the creek and shoot it. He sets up targets everywhere and just has fun with it.

My sister sent us the Harry Potter Scene It game since she had my name this year. It is a lot of fun to play. I didn't think Kirk would like it much, but once I got him to play it, he really liked it. He and Lane beat Matthew and I twice! Lane was the one answering all the questions from the clips for he and Kirk. Good job kiddo!!

Kirk's parents gave us two 72-hour kits which we were very grateful for. After my namesake hit Louisiana and Alabama, we knew it was time to GET PREPARED!! You never know when you will need to rely on yourselves and what you have available at that very moment for 2 or 3 days. I feel so relieved to have finally got them started. We'll add more water and dehydrated food to them too.

Matthew has been doing so good. He's been having fun wetting his hair down, and then he takes his hands and rubs them all over his head to spike his hair up crazy. He's been enjoying school and just doing really well. (Can you believe that our school district went back to school on January 2nd!? What happened to the teachers, bus drivers, etc. getting a paid holiday for New Year's!? The kids were NOT happy about it at all.) Oh well! I do believe they get a longer spring break this year for a change though.

His next 6-week appointment at PCMC, is next week--Thursday, January 12th. His Steri-Strips came off the incision yesterday and his wound looks good.

One issue that he is having off treatment is that his skin is very, very dry. Mainly on his face -- between his eyebrows and on his nose. Also his head seems very flaky and dry -- kinda looks like I should use a dandruff shampoo for him. I'll ask about it at clinic next week, but wondered if any other kids who went off treatment had this dry skin problem. I've been dabbing vitamin E oil with a Q-tip onto his face and rubbing it in a some because lotion just doesn't seem to help one bit. The vitamin E oil seems to help for awhile, but then it just gets dry again later. Is this something he'll finally get over and it will just take time? Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Well I finally got a new "guestbook system" on here for Matthew. I hope it works better than the last one, which was not good because I could not control it well. It started getting "spammed" or whatever and I couldn't delete those stupid messages. But in the mean time, I was saving any e-mails sent and treated the e-mails as his guestbook. Now I am using a system from Haloscan.com where the reader has the option to leave a comment, which is like a guestbook entry, at the end of each update. I hope you find it easy to use! Leave Matthew a " comment" okay? He loves reading them.
Thank you for checking in on Matthew and for your thoughts and prayers for him.
Take care,
Katrina
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December 20, 2005, Tuesday

This was taken after Thanksgiving while we were
hiking around looking for the perfect Christmas tree.

Matthew had surgery to remove his Port-A-Cath yesterday.
He told the surgeon the only thing he was nervous about was the stupid pajamas they made him put on. He laughed and said he's been trying for 27 years to get boys his age footballs or baseball pj's instead of cute bears.

After the surgery, he did really well recovering from the anesthesia.

He's is in moderate pain today and so he stayed home. He's never had to deal with going to school after surgery and I'm not about to make him start. If he feels like going to his Christmas party on Thursday, then he can go...just no recess. And Thursday is their last day of school before Christmas break.


Graphic Garden

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
Love,
The Harris Family
Kirk, Katrina, Lane, Matthew
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November 23, 2005, Wednesday
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TOMORROW
We are grateful for all that we have and that we are all together.

Matthew was supposed to have surgery to remove his Port-A-Cath today at PCMC, but it was canceled because he got sick last week. He was diagnosed with pneumonia last Tuesday. This makes about four times he's had it ...maybe more...I'm losing track. So he started IV Rocephin and followed up with pediatrician yesterday. Doc said he could still hear crackles and the chest x-ray confirmed that the pneumonia hadn't resolved. So his doc called PCMC and talked with Matthew's oncologist. They believe he has a viral pneumonia called "walking" pneumonia. Not sure what that really means, but they stopped the Rocephin and started a Z-pack. They both agreed he should not have his surgery, and when the surgery department called for the pre-op questions I told them about everything and the nurse called the anesthesiologist. He said that Matthew has to be symptom free for 4 weeks before he should have surgery. So we'll have to schedule it for sometime in late December now.

Matthew has been doing really well though despite everything and has been feeling fine. So it's not a really bad case thankfully.

However, I had to change plans because we were going to spend Thanksgiving with Kirk's parents after the surgery and go to Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving!! Then we were going to try and see Harry Potter if Matthew felt up to it because the theaters in Provo are so much BETTER than the ones here. Oh well! We decided not to drive all the way out to Provo and do Thanksgiving here at home instead. I made up a shopping list this morning and went early before it was too crowded. I got everything I needed...yea! So I made pies and sweet potatoes today. Everything else can wait until tomorrow. The crust actually turned out this time!!! Yea! Maybe we'll try and go to see Harry Potter here tomorrow night or Friday. Then on Saturday we'll go up the mountain and find the perfect Christmas Tree.

Thanks for checking in on Matthew and us. He'll have another follow up for his pneumonia next week as well as his first 6 weeks off treatment check up. His oncologist wants him to have check ups every 6 weeks for a year.

Again, have a wonderful holiday. We have so very much to be grateful for and I am humbled with how much we have been blessed with.
Katrina
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November 8, 2005, Tuesday

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HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!!!!!!!

He's having a pirate party after school today. I've spent the whole morning finalizing it and getting everything ready. Most everything I made ahead of time, but some things I want to be a surprise...like the cake, the treasure, and the treasure hunt. I hope he has fun with his brother and his friends. He's been feeling wonderful.

We love you Matthew!
Mom, Dad, and Lane
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October 26, 2005, Wednesday
YEA!!! HOORAY!!! MATTHEW HAD HIS LAST CHEMO ON MONDAY THE 24TH OF OCTOBER !!!!!

He had ara-c, which is given at home (see list above) twice a day; so the last, official dose was at 8:00 p.m. Monday evening. The ara-c comes in a little ball-shaped device with tubing that attaches to his Port-A-Cath tubing. When it was finished, I asked him if he wanted to be the one to chuck it in the garbage this time. He picked it up and threw it across the room instead. Good for you Matthew!! I’d have done the same thing!

At his last chemo he got here in Vernal (adriamycin), his chemo nurse Tami, gave him a neat pillow with his picture on it. She did the edge of the pillow in gold because childhood cancer ribbons are gold. She also had a plain white pillowcase signed with congratulation notes from most all the workers in the hospital. She’s so awesome!!! We just love her!!

At his last chemo at PCMC on October 6th ( methotrexate and vincristine), the nurses sang “Happy Last Chemo at Primary Children’s To You…” It was neat, and they gave him a quilt and a little remote control jeep. At this visit, his oncologist told us that he’d like Matthew to come for follow up appointments every 6 weeks and he needs to do that for a year. We can rotate each 6-week appointment with his pediatrician in Vernal and PCMC oncologists. Dr. B also said that he’d schedule Matthew’s surgery to get his Port-A-Cath removed for the end of November. (He did get it scheduled for November 23rd.)

Now back to Monday, the 24th!!!
Some wonderful friends stopped by in the evening to wish Matthew congrats and give him gifts. We appreciate them so MUCH!!! Melanie’s mom and dad came by with a dozen helium balloons and the Robots movie. The Merrell's (good friends down the street) came by with balloons to blow up and throw all over the floor, which they did! So fun!! They also gave him a Dinosaur Lego set and a bag with goodies in it and a huge bottle of bubbles! They ALSO gave Lane some candy and some money too. Very nice! We enjoyed phone calls from friends and family…they mainly spoke to Matthew and e-mails too. My good, good friend from Connecticut, Heather, (Ty’s mom) ---we’ve been online/phone friends for 5-1/2 years now--- she sent BOTH boys a card with a Toys R Us gift card enclosed!!!! They LOVED that and are scheming on what to get now. Also, the boys' pediatrician's office had 2 dozen helium balloons delivered to Matthew!!! They are so fun!!! So thank you so much to everyone for your congratulation wishes for Matthew and us.

It was actually a bittersweet day for us Monday because Lane got extremely sick Sunday and was worse on Monday. So to have it be Matthew’s very last day of chemo and dealing with Lane who was in terrible, terrible pain (in his head), was very difficult for us. Lane’s head began hurting really bad Sunday during the night and none of the headache meds I had were working. By Monday morning, it was hurting so badly that he threw up twice. I took him to the doctor around 11:00 a.m. and everything was negative: meningitis, appendicitis, throat clear, no fever. He asked if migraines run in our family and they do; my dad, my sister, and Kirk’s mom all get migraines. He said it could be a migraine or an atypical flu case. He prescribed Toradol ( ketorolac). He said Lane could only take, at the most, 3 tablets in a 24-hour period. Well it didn’t work. After 2-1/2 to 3 hours, I called the clinic back and asked how long it was supposed to take to work and they said pretty much right away and to bring him back in. So I did, and the doctor wanted Lane to get a CT scan of his head. ****Talk about scaring me!**** I called Kirk and told him right away, and I added to my prayers (been praying all day for Lane’s pain to go away) that this would be normal. The doctor knew my worries but added that he wanted to see if Lane had a brain bleed or aneurysm as well. THANKFULLY IT WAS A NORMAL SCAN. I was so relieved. I called Kirk and he was very relieved too. Then he wanted Lane to get a lumbar puncture just to make sure it wasn’t viral meningitis, and he wanted to ADMIT Lane for 24 hours, because it was an invasive procedure and also to observe him and manage his pain. Well I said that I was sorry but I’d rather get him a stronger pain med than Toradol, and if he is still this bad tomorrow, then I’ll bring him back and do the LP and admit him. I was glad the doctor agreed with me. He prescribed Lortab this time and it worked. Thankfully, Lane was able to settle down and relax. Even though he was still moaning about his pain; he seemed to be in pain still but just not caring that he was in pain. His vomiting didn’t subside for another 7 hours though. However, he went long enough between puking that the pill was able to absorb. Finally at 2 a.m., he was able to sleep peacefully the rest of the night and slept good until 9:30 a.m. the next morning. He woke up yesterday a new kid. The doctor wanted to see him yesterday regardless of whether he was still sick or not, so when I took him in the doctor was so pleased to see Lane doing much better. He told me that he is not sure whether it was a migraine, an atypical flu, or even viral meningitis. He said that in rare cases, kids can have meningitis without neck stiffness or fever. I’m still holding out that it was not meningitis, but rather the other two possibilities. If anyone else in the family gets it, then it could be the flu or meningitis. If not, and Lane gets another bad headache like that down the road, we know it was a migraine. To end all this, we are so grateful for both our boys and for both of their healthy recoveries!!!!!! We just want to have healthy, happy kids. We love them so very, very much!

Matthew was very concerned about Lane and worried too. He wasn’t in the least bit upset that I didn’t have time to make his celebration cake or that we couldn’t go out to dinner as planned. He and Kirk went to get the three of us dinner at Arby’s and they brought it home. After dinner, we gave Matthew “hot and cold” directions to his MAJOR celebration gift from Kirk and I. He was thrilled to FINALLY get his Star Wars Lego TURBO TANK!!!!! 801 pieces later, he had it all put together without any help. He is happy, happy, happy to end his chemo and to get a gift that he’s longed for and which has helped motivate him to do a good job with his chemo treatments.

Kirk and I also had bought a Star Wars Lego set for Lane. He got to open it yesterday after Matthew got home from school. It was the Wookie Attack Lego set. Matthew is the one who picked it out for him because when the two of them had been drooling over Legos the last 8 months or so, Matthew said that Lane wanted that one. So Lane was really surprised to get it and happy as well. He’s been a GREAT big brother through all this. When Matthew was inpatient on Lane’s 10th birthday, he never complained one bit. He was very patient (as much as he could be anyway) whenever Matthew was on prednisone, and he was always very concerned about Matthew.

My sweet hubby surprised ME by buying me some roses and saying that I've been the best mom and nurse to Matthew, and how grateful he is for me. I thought that was soooooo sweet. **Thank you honey!**

Kirk and I are so happy that this 2 years is finally over, but as we end, we have our worries. As the years go by, and he remains in continued remission, our worries will subside. We’ll continue to have faith that we are all in God’s hands, and we’ll live with love and gratitude in our hearts for His blessings upon us.

1 Peter 1:7
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

I found this scripture 6 years ago when Matthew was first diagnosed. It has meant a lot to me. Our faith is tested through trials, and sometimes it seems as though our faith is "tried with fire,” meaning that our trials are extremely difficult. Of importance, is that our trials are more precious than gold in the eyes of our Savior, and when we endure them well, our faith will grow and be found praiseworthy when He comes again. That scripture has helped me through a lot of our ups and downs and will continue to lift me up and give me hope.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!
Take care and hug your kids tight!!
Love,
Katrina

Matthew getting his last chemo
while building his Lego Turbo Tank from Star Wars,
which he got today for being so brave through everything.

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