October 26, 2009


It has been short of a week since we received the results of Natalee’s scans. Though I wanted to do this sooner my emotions would not allow me. I have learned to take the information and put it on the shelf (so to speak) instead of internalizing it. But this time I took what was given and stored it in my heart and for that reason my heart has been heavy. The results we've received so far are from the CT Scan on the tumors in her lungs. We were told her tumors did not shrink. We were disappointed beyond all description.  The Doctor emphasized that the purpose of this chemo was to halt the growth and this is great news! So good news is that they have not grown. It is our hope, and through much prayer that her tumors will be at bay until God's design can take place.

I know He who created all things and gave us our lives, is our architect. He has a grand design for each of us, if we seek for His help; it is just that I want what seems to be right to be done now. The truth is perfection takes time, and for Natalee to be healed and someday have a cure for this cancer is going to take time.

This coming Wednesday we will get the result from her MRI, which are the scans of her abdomen, back and pelvic area. Last time there was growth, so I will be thrilled to hear that they haven’t grown.

Natalee is on day 5 of this round. She seems to have a pattern where the first 3 days she does fine and then day 4 it hits her, which is the case. We decided to time our Girl Scouts Planning Party around her. Luck had it, on day 3 we made pizza, did some planning and watched a movie. She loved every moment of it, especially having her friends over. The next day, Sunday, Natalee woke up feeling nauseas, dizzy and very weak. It is reminding me of her first round though she said it is not as bad.

We believe in the power of prayer and ask that you continue to ask God to: #1 Inspire and direct those who are researching to find a cure for this type of Kidney Cancer. That the Spirit will help them be able to see with a clearer mind that which needs to be opened to their understanding. #2 That her doctors will take the right course of action, even if it means that she is sent to a specialty hospital for research. God is a God of miracles, and prayer is a big part of that process.

We love your visits and welcome your calls, our number is 503-590-4922.

Day 142 - Would love more prayers

This is Natalee’s 3rd week on chemo and it is where her body starts taking a toll on her. The flip side, she has one week left and then she will be on her 2 week break - yay! This last visit to the doctor wasn’t too promising. Her platelet counts are very low, an average platelet count should be between 140 – 440; Natalee is at 42 units. The concerns are that she can bruise easily and bleed excessively. The doctors told us that if she starts to bleed out of her mouth or have blood in her stool, she needs to get in asap as this is a sign that she might be hemorrhaging internally. She needs to be careful because they don’t want her to get bumped or hit in the head. Natalee has several bruises on her arm and around her eyes and nose where she keeps rubbing, so if her count gets much lower they will do a platelet transfusion.

They are also concerned about her liver as all her readings were very high and that is a first for her. Her LDH is 481, usually her numbers are around 250 – 300 (the normal range is 100-275). If you can say a special prayer asking that her liver will not be affected we would be grateful. It is the liver that helps the tumors to respond to the chemo. Just one more week and then we can give her poor body a rest and give her blood cells time to rebuild.

The doctor asked Natalee how school was going and she had to say that she has only gone five times in the first four weeks. The doctor’s response was that she wasn’t expecting her to go that much since this specific chemo really makes the patient very tired. That was a relief to both Natalee and myself. It has been so hard for her because she really wants to go to school. Some days after she gets ready she is so exhausted that she can’t make it, but most of the time she is not feeling well. Most days her home tutor is able to come and teach her for one hour. Natalee is able to read a lot, she has read (the 7th grade reading) “The Lightning Thief” plus the other four books in that series. This summer she has also read a lot of books. There were several kids from school that gave her books to read, thank you; they have helped her through this time.

-Sherri