Praise Him

Praise The Lord... The repair worked :) and I got a, "I love you so much, mom!" They put her on a morphine drip and she is feeling so much better!! She has been awake since we got here, and for the last few hours hasn't complained of her throat or her tongue, thank you Jesus!! She has also been fever free!  She still won't eat or drink, so please continue to pray for that!! 

I ran into our surgeon in the hall who is a Godsend!!  He asked right away how Addie was doing!  I asked him if he had a chance to see her scans after round 2 and he hadn't, he sat down with me in the clinic and reviewed them!  It was the first time I saw them, I have been too scared to see them because I was so overwhelmed by diagnosis week!!  They were incredible, the difference is unbelievable!! So wonderful to see that, especially with the rough few days we have had!  He also spoke with me a bit about N-MYC, I can't say that I felt better about what he said but I definitely felt more informed and it didn't make me more scared!!  I don't think I will ever feel warm and fuzzy about that piece of her diagnosis or any part of her diagnosis for that matter!! But what I do feel good about is her response to treatment!!  I pray that this continues!!  Our surgeon said he saw a girl once go through treatment and her tumor never shrank, it just continued to grow, thank you Jesus for Addie's positive response to treatment and for doctors and researchers who specialize in this!! Just a few years ago there really would have been little hope of Addie surviving!! We still have a long haul but there is definitely more hope for recovery!!!  We all just need to have FAITH, the single most important factor in Addie's healing!!! 

She is currently getting a platelet transfusion.  Thank God for blood donations... Thank you to anyone who has done that!! I have never appreciated or realized how important that was until all of this!! One of the many things I now appreciate so much more!! Donate, Donate, Donate... It really does save lives!! 

Okay counts... Let's rise!!! 

Go Team Addie!!

Ambulance Ride

Crazy Monday morning... Yikes!!  Addie's line broke this morning following labs... I am pretty sure my blood pressure was at least 200/100!! It was scary, fortunately I am a quick responder and we got it clamped and had no issues!! However, we did have to take an ambulance ride to Iowa City to have the line repaired.  Addie did wonderful for the ride, slept most of the way!  Myself on the other hand, not so good... So car sick, thanks for that Mom!!  

They repaired her line, love you Mary, she is so incredible!  She is the central line nurse, specialized in all things central line!! We have to wait four hours to use her line and at the point we will be able to see if the repair worked.  If the repair doesn't work we will have to do surgery and have an entire new catheter placed! We would love to avoid this, please pray that the repair works and Addie will not need surgery!! Also please pray that this is the last repair we will have with her lines... They have been a bit finicky for her!!

Addie is still really sick, her throat continues to bother her and she is still running a low grade fever!  She has not eaten anything or really drank anything since Friday.  She is also a bit swollen around her eyes!! Please pray that the swelling is nothing and has nothing to do with her kidney function!  Also please pray that she begins to feel better and resumes eating and drinking!!

We are here in Iowa City until she perks up!  I am definitely missing my girls and my husband but so thankful to be able to be here with Addie, taking care of her!! I have gotten quite a few dirty looks from her and haven't heard too many "I love you so much" but I know she does, it just hurts too bad to tell me... Poor baby!!! 

This too shall past!! And before too long I won't be able to get her to stop talking or eating :) 

Prayers please!!!

She can't suck on her paci because her mouth is so sore... But there is no chance she is letting it out of her sight!

Hospital

I had a feeling this was coming...
Addie started running a fever around 6 AM and here we are at Covenant.  She is absolutely miserable, her throat is so sore!
Praying for a speedy recovery and that all this pain will soon be gone!  Mucositis can be dangerous and increases your risk for some bad infections, so please pray that The Lord will shield her from these!  Also pray that her counts would rise quickly so her body could begin to repair and heal itself!

I can't be at the benefit today but I am wearing this great shirt!  Love it, thank you!

These are from the last time we were at Covenant... Just came across them while writing this post! Love that smile

Prayers Please

Little Miss has come down with some throat sores... A very common side effect of the chemotherapy that she received!! She started complaining today after nap and it has progressed from there!  It definitely is limiting what she can eat and also what she wants to do!!  When the pain hits, it is substantial and it puts her on the floor in tears!! Luckily, Tylenol helps and she was able to play outside for a bit and eat some very heathy Cheetohs.

It is both a blessing and a curse that she doesn't understand all of this... It is heartbreaking when she is suffering, any degree of pain for Addie makes this all so much more of a reality!!  

I understand that these mouth sores can get really severe and they usually last until her counts rise, which can take awhile!

Please pray that the sores will not worsen nor spread!  Also pray that the medicines would alleviate her pain!  Pray that this is in fact mucositis and nothing more severe!! And lastly, please pray that her counts would rise quickly so she can be free from this!!

I want to apologize in advance for not being able to attend the benefit that Pleasantiville is having!!  I was planning on driving down for a few hours tomorrow but with Addie not feeling good it just isn't in her best interest for Mommy to leave! I can't say how much I appreciate everything and everyone for what they have done for this benefit!! I also can't begin to tell you how much it means to me that everyone has been so supportive of Addie and her fight, and to my family in Pleasantville!  It makes my heart so happy that my hometown, whom I have unfortunately been quite detached from since I graduated, would all come together and do such amazing things for myself and my family!!! Thank you, thank you!!  I wish there was a way I could show you how much I truly appreciate everything you are doing!! I pray someday soon Addie and I can come to Pleasantville, cancer free, and thank all of you personally!!! We are truly blessed to be supported by those like you!!

Go Team Addie!

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!!!