Good Morning,
One year ago today, I took Jordan to th ER at 4:30 in the morning because she woke up with severe back pain and the tops of her legs were numb.
Little did we know that we would become experts in the realm of childhood Cancer, even though an actual diagnosis was still 6 weeks away (Feb 6).
It's true that time waits for no one. It just keeps marching on no matter what you're dealing with.
It's hard to believe that we've been survivors for a year already.
Much love to you all,
Katherine
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Feeling better
Hello Friends,
Thanks for the extra prayers for Jordan....they worked. She is feeling much, much better. She did test positive for the Flu virus, but I wasn't home to receive the call so I didn't get a chance to ask Dr. Petrovic if this has any relationship to her just receiving the flu shot almost two weeks ago. I'll ask her when she calls Jordans lab results in to us. As of now, Jordan is scheduled to receive IVIG on Friday afternoon. It's so nice to be able to have this done in the comfort of our own home.
We have a couple of dear caring bridge friends, whom we've never met, but who are in desperate need of your prayers. Please stop by and visit Mark and Kate and say some prayers for their earthly healing.
www.caringbridge.org/fl/mark
www.caringbridge.org/visit/katehrischuk
Have a safe and Happy New Year.
Lots of love,
Katherine
Thanks for the extra prayers for Jordan....they worked. She is feeling much, much better. She did test positive for the Flu virus, but I wasn't home to receive the call so I didn't get a chance to ask Dr. Petrovic if this has any relationship to her just receiving the flu shot almost two weeks ago. I'll ask her when she calls Jordans lab results in to us. As of now, Jordan is scheduled to receive IVIG on Friday afternoon. It's so nice to be able to have this done in the comfort of our own home.
We have a couple of dear caring bridge friends, whom we've never met, but who are in desperate need of your prayers. Please stop by and visit Mark and Kate and say some prayers for their earthly healing.
www.caringbridge.org/fl/mark
www.caringbridge.org/visit/katehrischuk
Have a safe and Happy New Year.
Lots of love,
Katherine
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Trip to ER
Good morning,
Well to not take any chances, I called Dr. Petrovic yesterday and told her that Jordan had a bad cough and runny nose and I was worried about her getting sick, since everyone but Roger had been sick the last week.
She had us bring Jordan to the ER at ACH to run some labs and tests. She is a very good doctor and never takes chances, she wants to rule it out fast before it worsens. We are very lucky to have her and Dr. Nieder.
So, they did a chest X-ray, a sinus CT Scan and a nasal fluid test, plus drew all her normal labs and a few extra to check for potential virsuses. Since they drew all her normal labs, we now don't have to go to clinic on Tuesday, unless Jordan becomes worse.
Chest X-ray was all clear, the CT Scan showed some mucus in her sinus, but not very much and we didn't get the results of the nasal fluid.
The nasal fluid test is not a fun one, they squirt this fluid up your nose and then it all comes back out along with any stuff that was in your nose. The first time Jordan had this done (prior to BMT), they stuck this tube slimed up with vaseline (or something) in her nose. I kid you not, it was about 4 inches long and they shoved it in her nose and since it was attached to a syringe, they pushed all the fluid in. It happens very quickly, but is quite tramatic. The second time (several months later), she protested so they devised an alternative method and used a baby syringe. This worked much better and so when the nurse showed up yesterday with the slimed up tube, we immediately said 'no', use a baby syringe and she did.
Dr. P gave us a prescription for antibiotic and sent us home. She thinks Jordan will be fine and didn't prescribe anything for the dreaded cough. She says she doesn't like to suppress it too much because it's the bodies natural way of clearing out the lungs.
So, I took the prescription to CVS and told them I'd be back in an hour or so. I went back at 6:15 only to find out the pharmacy was closed for the night. WHAT!!!???
I have never seen a CVS pharmacy close before 9pm, how did we luck out? This is a new pharmacy location to us because we moved into our new home in November and it's right on the corner, very close. It never entered my mind that they would close at 6pm on a Saturday.
It's a good thing Jordan isn't running a fever and really needed the antibiotic right away. So I'll be off to CVS as soon as they open this morning to pick it up.
She is still sleeping so I don't know if anything has worsened, but as of last night at 11pm she seemed pretty good, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she wakes up that way too.
Thanks for all the extra prayers to keep her from getting really sick and needing to spend Christmas in the hospital.
I hope Santa is good to you all. You have been a blessing to us this year and deserve a nice treat.
Merry Christmas!
Lots of love,
Katherine
Well to not take any chances, I called Dr. Petrovic yesterday and told her that Jordan had a bad cough and runny nose and I was worried about her getting sick, since everyone but Roger had been sick the last week.
She had us bring Jordan to the ER at ACH to run some labs and tests. She is a very good doctor and never takes chances, she wants to rule it out fast before it worsens. We are very lucky to have her and Dr. Nieder.
So, they did a chest X-ray, a sinus CT Scan and a nasal fluid test, plus drew all her normal labs and a few extra to check for potential virsuses. Since they drew all her normal labs, we now don't have to go to clinic on Tuesday, unless Jordan becomes worse.
Chest X-ray was all clear, the CT Scan showed some mucus in her sinus, but not very much and we didn't get the results of the nasal fluid.
The nasal fluid test is not a fun one, they squirt this fluid up your nose and then it all comes back out along with any stuff that was in your nose. The first time Jordan had this done (prior to BMT), they stuck this tube slimed up with vaseline (or something) in her nose. I kid you not, it was about 4 inches long and they shoved it in her nose and since it was attached to a syringe, they pushed all the fluid in. It happens very quickly, but is quite tramatic. The second time (several months later), she protested so they devised an alternative method and used a baby syringe. This worked much better and so when the nurse showed up yesterday with the slimed up tube, we immediately said 'no', use a baby syringe and she did.
Dr. P gave us a prescription for antibiotic and sent us home. She thinks Jordan will be fine and didn't prescribe anything for the dreaded cough. She says she doesn't like to suppress it too much because it's the bodies natural way of clearing out the lungs.
So, I took the prescription to CVS and told them I'd be back in an hour or so. I went back at 6:15 only to find out the pharmacy was closed for the night. WHAT!!!???
I have never seen a CVS pharmacy close before 9pm, how did we luck out? This is a new pharmacy location to us because we moved into our new home in November and it's right on the corner, very close. It never entered my mind that they would close at 6pm on a Saturday.
It's a good thing Jordan isn't running a fever and really needed the antibiotic right away. So I'll be off to CVS as soon as they open this morning to pick it up.
She is still sleeping so I don't know if anything has worsened, but as of last night at 11pm she seemed pretty good, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she wakes up that way too.
Thanks for all the extra prayers to keep her from getting really sick and needing to spend Christmas in the hospital.
I hope Santa is good to you all. You have been a blessing to us this year and deserve a nice treat.
Merry Christmas!
Lots of love,
Katherine
Friday, December 22, 2006
Cold symptoms
Hello dear friends,
Jordan has been doing well, but has come down with a cough and runny nose. So far, no sign of fever, thank God. This is very scary to us and we hope she can fend it off without it getting worse.
We have all been sick in the house (except Roger - he has luckily escaped it) so I'm worried Jordan might be catching what we have all had.
Please pray that she does not and that her body will stay strong and fight this off. We don't want her to get sick, she's done amazingly well since transplant and this is the first sign of any illness.
Plus she doesn't want to spend Christmas in the hospital.
Keep the prayers coming, she really needs them right now.
Love to you all,
Katherine
Jordan has been doing well, but has come down with a cough and runny nose. So far, no sign of fever, thank God. This is very scary to us and we hope she can fend it off without it getting worse.
We have all been sick in the house (except Roger - he has luckily escaped it) so I'm worried Jordan might be catching what we have all had.
Please pray that she does not and that her body will stay strong and fight this off. We don't want her to get sick, she's done amazingly well since transplant and this is the first sign of any illness.
Plus she doesn't want to spend Christmas in the hospital.
Keep the prayers coming, she really needs them right now.
Love to you all,
Katherine
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Drive In Discovery
Hi Everyone,
Everything has been going well. Jordan doesn't have clinic tomorrow as she now only has to go every other week. It's a nice break in between.
We did something fun last night and went to the Drive In movies. I swear I had no idea there were any of them left. There are actually two of them fairly close to our house. What a wonderful surprise!
It was great because we now have a way for Jordan to enjoy the latest movies without the risk of being in an enclosed space with a hundred people that might possibly be carrying around any germs. Not that anyone would go to the movie theater with a cough or cold or not wash their hands. :-)
We are finishing up our Christmas shopping and still unpacking from the move. Little by little it's all getting done.
Madison and Noah are now offically on Christmas break. They are very excited to have two weeks off of school.
Noah's birthday will be here very soon too, so we also have to plan for a party. He will be six on Januray 7th.
We hope everyone has a great week. We are happy to report that lots of our caring bridge friends are doing better right now. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts.
Lots of love,
Katherine
Everything has been going well. Jordan doesn't have clinic tomorrow as she now only has to go every other week. It's a nice break in between.
We did something fun last night and went to the Drive In movies. I swear I had no idea there were any of them left. There are actually two of them fairly close to our house. What a wonderful surprise!
It was great because we now have a way for Jordan to enjoy the latest movies without the risk of being in an enclosed space with a hundred people that might possibly be carrying around any germs. Not that anyone would go to the movie theater with a cough or cold or not wash their hands. :-)
We are finishing up our Christmas shopping and still unpacking from the move. Little by little it's all getting done.
Madison and Noah are now offically on Christmas break. They are very excited to have two weeks off of school.
Noah's birthday will be here very soon too, so we also have to plan for a party. He will be six on Januray 7th.
We hope everyone has a great week. We are happy to report that lots of our caring bridge friends are doing better right now. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts.
Lots of love,
Katherine
Monday, December 11, 2006
Day + 180
Day +180
Hello friends,
Jordan had a clinic visit with Dr. Nieder today. Everything is still looking good.
Her labs were:
WBC = 4.09
RBC = 15.1
Platelets = 318
ANC = 2,900
A couple of weeks ago the doctors mentioned they were again going to wean down the Prednisone from 15mg a day to 10mg a day. Jordan changed her dose to 10mg and started having 'cluster' headaches. This went on for a few days and we called the doctors and they asked to have her brought back in to clinic to have her Cortisol level checked.
Apparently her Cortisol level was too low, so they put her back on 15mg of Prednisone and the headaches have disappeared. This will mean an even slower weaning off the dreaded steroids so her body can catch back up and produce it on it's own. She really isn't eating very much these days and has lost about 7 pounds. Dr. Nieder says this is typcial when the steroids are being decreased. All that weight she gained while on them, will slowly start to fall off.
Today, Dr. Nieder said she can stop taking the Acyclovir and she can decrease the Lasix from 25mg to 10mg. She also gets to decrease the Cellcept from 750mg to 500mg. He was still waiting on results for Magnesium and Potassium because those doses might also be decreased.
By decreasing the Cellcept we have to watch out for those dreaded GVHD symptoms. We will keep our fingers crossed and pray they don't rear their ugly heads.
Cellcept is one of the drugs used to fight GVHD, along with the FK506.
It's good news that they are starting to decrease the meds, but it also makes us a little nervous. The meds fighting GVHD are kind of a safety net of sorts.
Jordan also received a flu shot today, her first ever.
On a holiday note, we have finally put up our Christmas tree and some lights outside. It's beginning to actually feel like the holiday season now.
Madison and Noah are both very excited about Santa coming to visit.
It's hard to believe that all of this stuff with Jordan actually started last December. Where has the year gone? Time waits for no one.
Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. It's such a blessing to receive them all.
Please continue to prayer for Taylor. She's fighting hard.
Little Ellis lost his fight recently, please keep his mom and dad in your prayers too.
www.caringbridge.org/fl/taylor
www.caringbridge.org/mn/ellis
Lots of love,
Katherine
Hello friends,
Jordan had a clinic visit with Dr. Nieder today. Everything is still looking good.
Her labs were:
WBC = 4.09
RBC = 15.1
Platelets = 318
ANC = 2,900
A couple of weeks ago the doctors mentioned they were again going to wean down the Prednisone from 15mg a day to 10mg a day. Jordan changed her dose to 10mg and started having 'cluster' headaches. This went on for a few days and we called the doctors and they asked to have her brought back in to clinic to have her Cortisol level checked.
Apparently her Cortisol level was too low, so they put her back on 15mg of Prednisone and the headaches have disappeared. This will mean an even slower weaning off the dreaded steroids so her body can catch back up and produce it on it's own. She really isn't eating very much these days and has lost about 7 pounds. Dr. Nieder says this is typcial when the steroids are being decreased. All that weight she gained while on them, will slowly start to fall off.
Today, Dr. Nieder said she can stop taking the Acyclovir and she can decrease the Lasix from 25mg to 10mg. She also gets to decrease the Cellcept from 750mg to 500mg. He was still waiting on results for Magnesium and Potassium because those doses might also be decreased.
By decreasing the Cellcept we have to watch out for those dreaded GVHD symptoms. We will keep our fingers crossed and pray they don't rear their ugly heads.
Cellcept is one of the drugs used to fight GVHD, along with the FK506.
It's good news that they are starting to decrease the meds, but it also makes us a little nervous. The meds fighting GVHD are kind of a safety net of sorts.
Jordan also received a flu shot today, her first ever.
On a holiday note, we have finally put up our Christmas tree and some lights outside. It's beginning to actually feel like the holiday season now.
Madison and Noah are both very excited about Santa coming to visit.
It's hard to believe that all of this stuff with Jordan actually started last December. Where has the year gone? Time waits for no one.
Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. It's such a blessing to receive them all.
Please continue to prayer for Taylor. She's fighting hard.
Little Ellis lost his fight recently, please keep his mom and dad in your prayers too.
www.caringbridge.org/fl/taylor
www.caringbridge.org/mn/ellis
Lots of love,
Katherine
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Crap sandwich
Good Morning,
I ran across the following story on another website (www.caringbridge.org/visit/morganelizabeth) Morgan's mom posted it and it's actually written by someone else. She borrowed it and it touched me too so I wanted to share it on Jordan's site.
The Crap Sandwich -- By Kendrie's Mom
Imagine every year for Thanksgiving that you and your family go to a wonderful all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is always great and you look forward to getting the same delicious meal, year after year. So this year, you give your standard order to the waitress: an appetizer of “love”, a “caring” salad, the side dishes, “thoughtfulness” “compassion” and “laughter” and a big, juicy entrée of “good health and happiness for everyone”. The waitress brings you everything you asked for but the entrée. Instead, in front of you on the table, she places a big, fat crap sandwich. And the conversation goes a little something like this:
You: “excuse me, I didn’t order this crap sandwich”
Waitress: “house special. You got it without asking”
You: “but I don’t want a crap sandwich. I want good health and happiness for everyone.”
Waitress: “well, you got a crap sandwich.”
You (getting upset) “well take it back and give me what I asked for instead!”
Waitress points to a sign that says “Absolutely NO substitutions”
You say adamantly: “there is positively no way I am going to be able to choke down this crap sandwich and I think it’s really unfair for you to expect me to”
And the waitress replies “hey, look. You’ve still got love, caring, thoughtfulness, compassion and laughter, so try to appreciate those. Oh, I almost forgot, here’s your condiment tray for the crap sandwich. You also get big overflowing bowls of fear, worry, anger, guilt and resentment. Bon Appetit!”
And so you’re looking around the restaurant, feeling really grumpy about your crap sandwich, and you realize that there are a lot more people with crap sandwiches than you ever thought possible. And from the looks on their faces, none of them ordered them, either. Then you see a couple of tables with really, really big, Dagwood-sized crap sandwiches and you summon the waitress again. “Excuse me, why are their crap sandwiches so big?” And she explains that those people are facing situations even worse than yours. Their kids haven’t responded well to treatment, have had cancer relapses, or worse yet, died. And you start to think maybe your crap sandwich isn’t so bad after all. Maybe you should keep your big mouth shut, choke it down, and be glad when it’s all gone and everyone is well again. And then, right then, your waitress reminds you of one last thing: “Management reserves the right to serve you another, bigger crap sandwich, anytime they want”
What do you say when you realize that you can be delivered an even bigger crap sandwich at any time, without warning. Although Jordan has done remarkable throughout this entire storm, you never know if another dark cloud is lurking around the corner. You're afraid to look for it, you don't want to anticipate the rain, yet you move on each day, a fighter - against this evil beast. You do the best you can and you survive. Jordan is a true survivor, she amazes me daily with her strength and grace. Where did she get it from? How did she dig deep and find it? She never knew she was this strong until she had to fight for her life. She is a brave young lady with lots of plans. This is just a detour on her journey. I am so proud to call her mine.
Much love to you all. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and notes in the guestbook.
Please pray for our friends out there. Some of them we know personally, some we only know from Caring Bridge, or through other friends. They too have been dealt a crap sandwich, some bigger than others.
www.caringbridge.org/fl/taylor
www.caringbridge.org/mn/ellis
www.caringbridge.org/visit/carleevessel
www.caringbridge.org/visit/sierrakesler
www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickwills
www.caringbridge.org/fl/mark
www.caringbridge.org/visit/morganelizabeth
www.caringbridge.org/fl/katia_leukemiapage
www.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob
I ran across the following story on another website (www.caringbridge.org/visit/morganelizabeth) Morgan's mom posted it and it's actually written by someone else. She borrowed it and it touched me too so I wanted to share it on Jordan's site.
The Crap Sandwich -- By Kendrie's Mom
Imagine every year for Thanksgiving that you and your family go to a wonderful all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is always great and you look forward to getting the same delicious meal, year after year. So this year, you give your standard order to the waitress: an appetizer of “love”, a “caring” salad, the side dishes, “thoughtfulness” “compassion” and “laughter” and a big, juicy entrée of “good health and happiness for everyone”. The waitress brings you everything you asked for but the entrée. Instead, in front of you on the table, she places a big, fat crap sandwich. And the conversation goes a little something like this:
You: “excuse me, I didn’t order this crap sandwich”
Waitress: “house special. You got it without asking”
You: “but I don’t want a crap sandwich. I want good health and happiness for everyone.”
Waitress: “well, you got a crap sandwich.”
You (getting upset) “well take it back and give me what I asked for instead!”
Waitress points to a sign that says “Absolutely NO substitutions”
You say adamantly: “there is positively no way I am going to be able to choke down this crap sandwich and I think it’s really unfair for you to expect me to”
And the waitress replies “hey, look. You’ve still got love, caring, thoughtfulness, compassion and laughter, so try to appreciate those. Oh, I almost forgot, here’s your condiment tray for the crap sandwich. You also get big overflowing bowls of fear, worry, anger, guilt and resentment. Bon Appetit!”
And so you’re looking around the restaurant, feeling really grumpy about your crap sandwich, and you realize that there are a lot more people with crap sandwiches than you ever thought possible. And from the looks on their faces, none of them ordered them, either. Then you see a couple of tables with really, really big, Dagwood-sized crap sandwiches and you summon the waitress again. “Excuse me, why are their crap sandwiches so big?” And she explains that those people are facing situations even worse than yours. Their kids haven’t responded well to treatment, have had cancer relapses, or worse yet, died. And you start to think maybe your crap sandwich isn’t so bad after all. Maybe you should keep your big mouth shut, choke it down, and be glad when it’s all gone and everyone is well again. And then, right then, your waitress reminds you of one last thing: “Management reserves the right to serve you another, bigger crap sandwich, anytime they want”
What do you say when you realize that you can be delivered an even bigger crap sandwich at any time, without warning. Although Jordan has done remarkable throughout this entire storm, you never know if another dark cloud is lurking around the corner. You're afraid to look for it, you don't want to anticipate the rain, yet you move on each day, a fighter - against this evil beast. You do the best you can and you survive. Jordan is a true survivor, she amazes me daily with her strength and grace. Where did she get it from? How did she dig deep and find it? She never knew she was this strong until she had to fight for her life. She is a brave young lady with lots of plans. This is just a detour on her journey. I am so proud to call her mine.
Much love to you all. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and notes in the guestbook.
Please pray for our friends out there. Some of them we know personally, some we only know from Caring Bridge, or through other friends. They too have been dealt a crap sandwich, some bigger than others.
www.caringbridge.org/fl/taylor
www.caringbridge.org/mn/ellis
www.caringbridge.org/visit/carleevessel
www.caringbridge.org/visit/sierrakesler
www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickwills
www.caringbridge.org/fl/mark
www.caringbridge.org/visit/morganelizabeth
www.caringbridge.org/fl/katia_leukemiapage
www.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob
Friday, December 1, 2006
I'm a survivor
An inspritational message to those still fighting their fight:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I have cancer...
but cancer does not have me.
Cancer is not who I am,
it is only a bend in the road that is my life's journey,
an unexpected detour on my path.
It is a lesson in the cosmic schoolroom that is human existence.
So I will pause to rest...
and heal...
and study the lesson,
before I move onto my life without cancer.
I will not give into fear,
and I will not be discouraged by setbacks.
Setbacks are only opportunities to review the lesson.
I will not be ashamed of my scars.
Scars are the brushstrokes in the masterpiece that is my life.
I will be thankful for the many blessings cancer has brought into my life:
People I never would have known,
love that I had never been still or quite enough to witness,
humility I needed,
strength I thought I had lost,
courage I never knew I had.
I will remember that I can still have fun,
that it is okay -even healthy- to be silly.
I will remember that to find the joy in rainbows,
I must endure the rain.
And I will remember always that...
while I may have cancer,
cancer does not have me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(can also be found at www.thesurvivormovie.com as a movie)
Jordan
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I have cancer...
but cancer does not have me.
Cancer is not who I am,
it is only a bend in the road that is my life's journey,
an unexpected detour on my path.
It is a lesson in the cosmic schoolroom that is human existence.
So I will pause to rest...
and heal...
and study the lesson,
before I move onto my life without cancer.
I will not give into fear,
and I will not be discouraged by setbacks.
Setbacks are only opportunities to review the lesson.
I will not be ashamed of my scars.
Scars are the brushstrokes in the masterpiece that is my life.
I will be thankful for the many blessings cancer has brought into my life:
People I never would have known,
love that I had never been still or quite enough to witness,
humility I needed,
strength I thought I had lost,
courage I never knew I had.
I will remember that I can still have fun,
that it is okay -even healthy- to be silly.
I will remember that to find the joy in rainbows,
I must endure the rain.
And I will remember always that...
while I may have cancer,
cancer does not have me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(can also be found at www.thesurvivormovie.com as a movie)
Jordan
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