Addie Bean

I thought rather than start off by saying what we are doing and where we are at with things, I would start by telling you all the WONDERFUL things about Addie Bean...

She is definitely our spunky, wild woman of the three Brenden Girls.  She has from day one had her own very distinct and independent personality. She is such a lover... I am told at least 30 times a day, "Momma, I love you so much!"  I don't think a mother can ever get tired of those words.  She then follows it by... all the way to the sky and reaches as high as she can.  She loves her sisters, SO MUCH.  I think her favorite thing in the world, next to her Mommy, are her sisters, she LOVES her Daddy too, we can't forget about him.  She loves to play and just be around her sisters.  This round of chemo her and I went on our own for the first two days, I didn't really see her eyes light up until her two sisters walked in the door Saturday morning.  She was like a new woman!!  She asked me probably 10x's per day when were Sissy, Daddy and Emma coming?!  

She is demanding... VERY demanding and incredibly particular.  She wants what she wants immediately and it had better be the way she wants it.  For instance, the other day she was demanding her milk and she said, "Mommy, no me like my milk cold, no me like my milk hot, me like my milk WARM!"  and you had better believe she will send that milk back until it is the exact temperature she requires.  AND she will only drink Hansen's milk, nothing else!

She is obsessed with her PACI and her blankie, they are with us at all times!! She understands that pacis are for babies but doesn't care, she likes it and it is here to stay! 

She gets obsessed with things, food, movies, activities, songs, and just about anything that you can obsess over!  Her current obsessions:

Food... fish sticks, applesauce, corn dogs, HuHot, roll-ups, eggo waffles and just the other day it was ONLY brownies and cheese crackers!  

Movies... naughty witch movies she calls them, Snow White, Mirror Mirror, Sleeping Beauty, she can't wait to watch Maleficient when it comes out on DVD.  Prior to this it was naughty monkey movies  :)

Activities... Playgrounds, being outside in general, and riding her bike.  Listening to her headphones and singing, VERY loudly.  

Songs... (no judgements please) WiggleWiggle, Sugar, Laurie Berkner, Kesha, Justin Bieber Baby and Beauty and a Beast (in her words) and those are just a few.  She has her own playlist :)

Every night she requests to sleep with me.  She says, "Daddy you sleep on couch, Sissy you sleep on couch, my sleep in Mommy's bed, Mommy sleep in her bed and Emma sleep in Mommy's bed."  The second we are in bed together she wants a story, not any story, a VERY specific story about... Three little girls, Gracie, Addie and Emma, CandyLand and naughty monkeys :)  I have told stories about these subjects at least 50 times, I have begged for different topics, but NO such luck!!

She is perfect!! I wouldn't change anything about our little Naughty Nancy other than her health of course!!  She is definitely our naughtiest but I suppose we have to cut her some slack considering what she is going through... We are definitely going to be in trouble when this is all over, yikes is she going to be WILD :)

Our little piglet... Up 2 pounds from her starting weight!! WOOT WOOT!! I let her eat when she wants and whatever she wants!

She requested HuHot the other day for lunch... she finished her plate and her sisters!

She loves her cousins!

This is what I have been seeing a lot of, her two favorite pass times... EATING and SINGING!  Mom and Dad, the headphones are a very popular item around here!

HOME is great... better than great, AMAZING!  She is doing wonderful.  As I have said previously, if it weren't for her haircut, you would have NO idea this little miss was sick!  I am so faithful that she will be HEALED and she will be a beautiful young woman someday.  I can't imagine or even allow myself to think of it going anyother way.  Our God is good and we have to trust in Him!!  I thank God everyday, multiple times a day for the life I am living right now and these three beautiful girls that He has given me!!  Praise Jesus!

And Hallelujah, Sammy saw another BUCK!! WOOT WOOT, I think we are up to three of them and that doesn't include the two that other people saw while with her!

Round 4

We are headed back to Iowa City tomorrow morning.  I can't believe we are already on round 4 of chemotherapy.  These past few months have flown by.  Addie is doing so well, I told her Dr. yesterday that I have to remind myself that this is still going on because of how fantastic she has been doing.  She has been packing on the pounds and those cheeks of hers are back in full force!  We have been enjoying being home and having a "normal" life.  This has been the longest we have all been under one roof in the past two months and it has been WONDERFUL.  There continues to be so many things to be thankful for, Praise God!

The next round of chemotherapy brings more scary side effects...
She will be on three drugs this time and instead of just having chemo for about 2 hours/day, she will have the infusion continuously for three days.  The main side effects are kidney damage (once again, her poor kidneys... please God protect them) and heart damage.  Please pray specifically that God would guard these organs and keep them untouched by the medicine.  The other short term side effects include blood in her urine and mouth sores, please pray that these will be avoided.  Please pray that her sweet little body continues to endure the treatments and that her attitude/spunk would stay strong and spirited.  Pray that she would feel good this round and that we would spend our time riding her bike around the halls.  Please pray that we would come home and she would stay healthy and happy.  Pray that every cancer cell is killed and that her primary tumor would NOT exist after five rounds of chemotherapy (this would be a miracle, we are planning on 6 rounds and radiation).
Please Heavenly Father protect my baby, keep her heart and organs strong and resilient against this awful treatment, please keep her happy and healthy despite all the torture we are putting her through.  Please HEAL HER COMPLETELY and let it never return.  Please let the side effects be minimal and let there be no long term damage.  Please Lord let us only remember the memories of this time and let it not be evident on our sweet Addie Bean or her body.
HEALING thoughts and prayers.  Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers.  Everyone continues to be amazing.  I am overwhelmed each day by the generosity of those around us.
 
GO TEAM ADDIE

Addie's counts were so good this past week, she got to enjoy the birth of her baby cousin and Grandpa Darwin's birthday party!! The fact that she was able to do both of these things is unbelievable, so blessed and so thankful!!! 

Still Home

I have been waiting to post because I didn't want to jinx anything... Is that okay to be a little superstitious?! :) 

We are still home and Addie has been doing amazing!! We had about five rough days, throwing up and no appetite! Thank goodness we had the IV fluids here!! She lost about two pounds!  Nothing tasted good... She wanted to eat but the second she got it in her mouth she would spit it right out!! Praise God for cosmic brownies, cheese crackers, and Hunts tomato sauce (gets that one from her Grandma Bernie)... All this Miss wants to eat!  

Her appetite all of a sudden just reappeared and it came back with a vengeance, she can't get enough to eat!! She has already regained the weight she lost, God is so good!

Her counts... platelets are low but her white count and hemoglobin are really good!! We hopefully will be able to stop the shots on Monday, can't wait to do that happy dance!! 

I am so thankful for all of this wonderful time at home, where we can just be a family!! It has been so nice being home with the girls everyday (thanks to Grandpa Darwin handling things at the office), Mommy time is the best time!! I am so thankful for Addie feeling good and for her favorable response to treatment!! I am so thankful for so many things... I am overwhelmed often at all the blessings this has brought to our family!!! God is so faithful!! Thank you again to everyone!! Thank you Jesus!!! 

Please continue to pray that Addie stays fever and infection free!! Please pray that her body is not affected by the chemotherapy that she has received, that only the cancer cells are being destroyed... All of them!!!

The Bike

Addie had an amazing surprise when she left the hospital after her last fever! Just as we were being discharged we were asked to come to the desk and here is what we found waiting for Addie...

A woman named, Danielle, who read our story online sent this to Addie!! We have no last name or return address just a name and a nice message!!

How amazing!! How thoughtful and giving!! We were so touched by this and appreciate this gift greatly!! Thank you Danielle, Addie couldn't have been happier!!

We have been touched by so many things!! All the prayers and kind words, the meals, gifts, money and gift cards, the bracelets... Everything!! Thank you all!!! Xoxoxo

Home

Round 3 was definitely more trying for our Addie Bean!! She still has zero appetitite and has been throwing up off and on but unbelievably still wants to play!! Nothing keeps my baby girl down!! 

They sent us home with a pump and fluids and I was able to hook her up through the night to keep her hydrated!! That was an absolute blessing that I was allowed to do that at home, if we hadn't she would have likely been hospitalized with dehydration. 

Her ANC (immune system measure) is still above 500 which is nice, no shots yet and she can still be a "normal" kid for the most part! This weekend we will likely see that count drop which in the past has been when the fevers appear.  I have a strong feeling that when her counts bottom out she will get fevers.  We can handle fevers just praying it is never anything more than that!!!  If fevers strike this time we get to be at our local hospital... So much nicer for us to be together! 

Today we are at Covenant getting a transfusion!! We knew this was coming and I gave our pediatrician the heads up that it would likely occur today.  We left Iowa City at an 8.4 and anything under 8 is a transfusion!!  We are so thankful to our pediatrician, her partners, and also to Covenant's nursing staff for being so amazing and so incredibly helpful through all of this!!  Thank you Jesus for surrounding us by so many caring people... There is a lot of work done on their end to coordinate things and we are so incredibly thankful!

We have so much to be thankful for!! I am often time overwhelmed at how much love and support we are showered with daily!! 

Prayer requests:  

-Her appetite: pray that it would return and she would gain her weight back!! 

-Her tummy:  pray that it would feel better, no more throwing up

-Her immune system: pray that it would stay strong and that she wouldn't get any life threatening infections or viruses

-No fevers

-No kidney or hearing damage

-For our family, extended family and friends (grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles, etc) that they would stay strong in their faith and stay positive through all of this! Happiness, faith and Hope in Christ can cure all!

-Pray that after five rounds her primary tumor will be gone and no surgery or radiation will be needed! 

-And once again and forever... Pray that every cancer cell would be killed and never to return!! Pray that the cells would all be actively dividing so the chemotherapy can destroy them!!! 

Lots of Love 

Nausea

Nausea has struck little Addie Bean... I had a feeling it was coming because each day her appetite has decreased!  She has thrown up a few times this morning!  I have to fight to even get her to take a sip of water, let alone eat something!  Please pray that her appetitite would pick up and the nausea would go away!! 

It really is heartbreaking to see your children sick.  She is such a trooper through it all!! 

Round 3

Round three is going good!! She is still her normal self, riding her bike around the halls!  This round has been a bit more disruptive because she has to urinate every 2 hours around the clock! That has been tiring for all of us, probably the least for her... Kids are so amazing!! Her appetite has definitely slowed and she has complained off and on of her throat hurting, pretty normal for the medicines she is getting!  Please continue to pray that her side effects would be minimal and that her appetite would come back.  

We should be coming home on Monday as long as things go well!! Please pray that things at home will be good and that Addie will feel like herself and stay healthy... I can handle fevers and hospital stays but pray that she will stay infection free!! Please pray that all of our attitudes stay positive and that we continue to trust in Him!! Pray that He will heal our sweet Addie Bean!!  I would have never dreamed that things would be going as good as they have been, His blessings are endless!! Praise God!!!

Fireworks on the rooftop! Happy 4th of July!!

Results are in

We received amazing news today... God is so good!!! 

We were waiting on the results of Addie's bone marrow biopsy.  When I spoke with the Doctor yesterday she was surprised the results were not in and she said she would call as soon as she knew.  Today she called and these were her words, "Well now I know why her bone marrow took so long, cause they were looking and looking for tumor cells and couldn't find any!" Her bone marrow is cancer free, she no longer has the cancerous cells circulating through her system!!!

Praise Jesus! So many prayers are being said and they are being answered!! Thank you God!! And thank you to all of you praying for our little sweetheart!! 

Prayer request...

We start round 3 of chemo this Thursday and the drugs she will be receiving are different and much harsher to her system!  The main side effects are high frequency hearing loss and kidney damage.  The percentage of children that have hearing loss following this treatment is very high.  Please pray that The Lord would protect her kidneys and her hearing, pray that he would continue to keep her little body strong!  Pray that the therapy will be highly effective and no resistance will be met!! Also pray that she would continue to feel good and her side effects would be minimal, nausea and diarrhea are much more common after this treatment!! Thank you all!! 

Here we go round 3...