Stem Cells and Home

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!! That is the tune we were singing today leaving the hospital!! 

Our day started with hearing that Addie's counts went way up... Her ANC was over 1000, YAY!! We also heard that her stem cell collection would be today!  

I was definitely overwhelmed with the stem cell collection... keeping a very busy two year old in a bed for over three hours (not during nap time) would give any Mom anxiety and then I also get the stress of the actual procedure!

The procedure was very rocky the whole way through.  There were multiple points during her collection that we thought her lines were not going to work and that a catheter in her groin would be needed, but once again the Lord prevailed and prayers were answered!!  

We were taking a break for the second time after 2 1/2 hours of collecting to put what I refer to as Drain-O in her white lumen/line (Cath-flow or TPA is what I think it is technically called? It is a chemical that breaks up clots in her line and removes blockages).  Her white lumen tends to be a bit finicky and today was no exception.  It was clogging and causing the machine to shut off.  It was also causing the machine to collect at a very slow rate.  We were told that if the Cath-flow didn't work this time we would have to put the additional catheter into Addie's groin to finish the collection, a surgery that would have added risks and also added pain.  

There is a maximum amount of blood that can be removed during a stem cell harvest.  Addie's collection was going very slow and because of this we were going to exceed that maximum amount before we reached our targeted amount of stem cells.  It definitely isn't beneficial for a little lady who is already struggling to maintain her hemoglobin and platelet levels to have excess blood removed.  

Just as we placed the Cath-flow the nurses received a call from the doctor stating that Addie's blood test had come back and her stem cell circulation was through the roof!! It was so high in fact that the amount we had already struggled to collect (far less than what was planned) was going to be more than enough!!! The amount they require is 20 and Addie had 197... Praise Jesus, what an awesome God we have!! 

So to sum up a very long and wordy story... Stem cell harvest was a success, more than a success, a VICTORY!! Hopefully the beginning of many victories along this road to defeat Naughty Randall!  

Please continue to pray that Addie's scans on Friday show profound improvements and that her bone marrow biopsy shows no circulating cancer cells!! Also pray that she would have minimal pain following the biopsy and that she would feel good for her birthday and the few days she has at home!!

Overwhelmed

I am so overwhelmed right now with thankfulness!!! My heart overflows ❤️ With thankfulness and love for all of YOU, for my amazing family, and for our Heavenly Father!

I can't begin to tell you all how much I appreciate everything that everyone has been doing for us!!! It is unbelievable how much love and support Addie and our family has received!! The word thank you just isn't enough... I wish there was a way I could hug each and everyone of you and tell you in person how much all of your support means to me!!

Thank you, thank you!! We are truly blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing and giving people!! Thank you Lord for these kind and caring souls you have placed in our lives, you continue to shower us with Your blessings and make Your love for us known!  

Go Team Addie ❤️

Fever Free

Addie has been fever free for 48 hours and feeling good!! She had to have a blood and platelet transfusion, which are both par for the course.  We are waiting for her counts to come up and each day brings us closer to that magic number of 500!!   Her stem cell harvest will likely be today or tomorrow and then she has her scans on Friday!! We will basically be in Iowa City all week either inpatient or outpatient.
Yesterday was a great day!! Grandma Carol and Gracie came to stay and the girls got to play all day together!! I feel so much peace when we are all together as a family, whether it be at home or here!! The hardest times for me are when we are separated!  Who would have thought two months ago that the bulk of our summer would be spent in a hospital room!  Life can still be good and happy... It is all about what we make of it and choose to focus on!!
Please pray that her stem cell harvest will go as planned and that her scans show vast improvement... Most importantly pray that Addie is someday free of all of this and can grow up a healthy child and live a long and happy life!!!
Thank you everyone for all your love and support!!

The girls found some hats and wore them all afternoon while riding their bikes.

Pink Cheeks

Addie is doing good!! She is in very high spirits and riding her bike around the halls.  She has had to share "her" bike this time which has been interesting.  She had a blood transfusion (all expected following chemo) last night and is feeling like a million bucks this morning, she even has some pink in her cheeks :) 

We will likely be here for at least a few more days waiting for her white count to rise!! So far there has been no reason for the fever other than her counts being low... Praise Jesus!!  

Fever City

Well the fever is here! We got one extra day at home which we are very thankful!!  Addie started running a low grade fever around 8:10 last night and we were in Iowa City being admitted by 11:00.  She is feeling good, other than the fever.  Her spirits are good and she doesn't act or appear sick, praise Jesus!  Praying it is nothing and solely due to the fact her counts are low!
Please pray that she doesn't have any infections and that we will be out of here in three days!  That is the minimum amount of time for a fever!  To be discharged she will need to be fever free for 24 hours and have an ANC above 500, otherwise it will be a five or seven day stay! We need her healthy for her stem cell harvest this coming week !!
Prayers and lots of them please!!

Does this cutie pie look sick to you?! 

HOME

God is good, so good!! We are still home... yesterday was the day last round that Addie started running a fever and had to go back to the hospital, but here we are today still at home!! Praise Jesus!!

Her counts are very low, uncomfortably low but she is still very active, happy and NOT running a fever.  I thank Jesus for everyday we get to be home with Addie and up to this point we have had a lot of them!! 

Life has been really good here, so good matter of fact that we have to remind ourselves that this is actually happening.  I still get scared daily of what is to come and what the final outcome will be but I pray and I pray and I TRUST that God will heal my little baby!!  I TRUST that I will get to watch her grow up and she will live a LONG and very happy life!  

Thanks to everyone for all your support and prayers... Please continue to pray for COMPLETE healing!! Also pray for LOTS and LOTS of good days at home, where Addie can be a "normal" kid and enjoy time with her sisters, family and friends!  Please continue to pray that her scans will show PROFOUND improvements and that she will stay healthy in between rounds of chemotherapy.  

LOTS of LOVE from us here at the Brenden house!!

Please feel free to share our site, the more people we have praying for our Addie Bean the better!!!

Round 2 Complete

We are HOME again!! It is amazing how much you appreciate being home when you have been away and also how much you appreciate FAMILY time when you haven't been all together!!! Honestly, going through this we appreciate everything so much more than we ever did or would have!! Praise Jesus for all the "normal" moments we have!!!  It is the small things that we find so much joy in!

Round two went good... We had a little fever scare but luckily it went away as fast as it came!  We almost had to stay an extra few days due to Addie's white count being low but miraculously it came up... 200 points!! The nurse and Dr. both were not expecting that and were pleasantly surprised!! The Lord knew that we all needed to be a family again... Even if it is only for a few days, we needed to be home, ALL together!

Addie is doing amazing and and she did amazing the whole week!! She has been in great spirits and has been feeling really good!! Her appetite definitely decreased this round but this morning 
it already seems to be coming back.  She enjoyed cheese crackers and a popsicle for breakfast... No judgements, if she will eat it, I give it to her :). We have so much to be thankful for, so much!!! 

Addie has a lot coming up in the next two weeks... Stem cell harvest, scans and a third birthday :) please pray all goes well for Addie over the next few weeks and that she stays healthy and happy!! Big prayers that her harvest goes well and she doesn't require an additional catheter to get them and also that her scans are encouraging, better yet... record breaking!!!! Also that we could be home for her birthday on the 29th!! 

Thank you everyone!! For everything!! We love you and appreciate you all!! Please keep praying for our little sweetheart and that someday she will be cancer free and cancer free FOREVER!!