Update for week of April 27

This week we are going to have several things going on. Monday and Thursday are blood draws and on Tuesday we have Alyssa is having her Vincristine administered. This is the one that makes her hurt so bad but thankfully we know what helps her feel better so we will take her Oxycodone with us on Tuesday. It will be so nice to be done with all of this. Alyssa says she is getting a metallic taste in her mouth now from the treatment. Most food doesn't taste good to her. It is soooo hard to get her to eat because so many things taste funny.
Today was Nik's birthday and her is saving all his birthday cash for a Nintendo DSi.
We celebrated at home so as not to overdo Alyssa's energy levels. Poor Nik wanted to go to Red Robin and to a movie! But we will put that off. Thankfully with the icky stuff (blood draws, chemo treatments, CT scans etc.) there are some good stuff scattered in - we just found out the Make a Wish Foundation is coming over on Wed to talk to Alyssa about her WISH. Then on the 16th of May there is a foundation that pays for the UNM peds Oncology kids to go to Cliff's Amusement Park. That will be so much fun.
Well, I guess I will sign off for now - please pray for the Vincristine appt to go smoothly and for the blood draws to go well (no TPA appts etc.!!!)
Nothing new on the goat front except I shaved the buck - I'll do that as a separate post.

HOME again!

After a little more that 48 hours in the hospital we are home again. It was pretty much like the last two times. They began the chemo - several hours after finishing she got sick and then once the anti nausea drugs kicked in she was out like a light - I'm not used to that much quiet for that long - it was almost un- nerving but I ended up reading and beading. It was nice. Once she started to wake up she was back on the chemo drugs. She slept thru the night and was pretty bright eyed this morning. Dr. Heideman thought she looked well enough to go home and as soon as everything was loaded in the car it was off to home for us. We've been home for about 4 hours now. Feels so good to be here. I had to cry because the realization that this was probably our last hospitalization for chemo is beginning to set in. It all kind of seems like a bad dream (bad enough to make me really have a bad dream our first night in the hospital that all 3 of my kids had Lymphoma - that is a nightmare!!!!!) I am exhausted tired from lack of sleep tuesday night but i'm going to bed way early tonight. This weekend is my son's birthday and I'd like to at least not be cranky and tired for that!!!! LOL. As usual we have been well taken care of thanks to the amazing organization skills of Linda and the kindness of our friends and family.
I heard too that two more of Storm's kids have been born (if this is a repeat - forgive - sometimes I forget that I've already posted something) , doe/buck twins. I cannot wait to go out to Camino Allegre and take pics for our progeny page that we are planning for the website and the herdbook.
Well, that's about all I have tonight. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Thank you Martins again for the wonderful tacos, The Valentino's for the wonderful pasta and salad. and Kim and Joe for the Pot Pie and canteloup - YUMMY!!!! Also the Goldsmith's for the ice cream. you all are just awesome!

Postponed.

Yep, the nasty cold bit us in the heiny. WE are rescheduled for Tues-Thursday. UGH. I am actually feeling better but poor Alyssa is at the beginning stages of the nasty cold. She got it yesterday. This one is really nasty and we know a lot of folks who have it including my mother in law and sister in law. It's probably good we are postponed - taking the other kids over there today and having them watch the kids would have worn them out - this is about the most not fun cold I've had in a long time and makes your head hurt and your chest/throat feel like they are on fire! Your head is so congested you can't keep your eyes open. Hubby has it too and is home from work. It's a nice cold day - I am beginning to wonder if we will see real spring or if we are going to wake up in May to blazing hot weather!!!! Summer will be here - we will have skipped spring!!! (oh wait - I think we had a week or two of it earlier in March - I forgot!!!)

Maybe back to the Hospital

If all goes according to plan - we will be back to the hospital tomorrow. Of course you know how plans are - I came down with this nasty cold on Monday morning and Alyssa complained of a sore throat this morning. I've been giving her EmergenC and Zicam. Trying to hedge off this thing. I've been Cloroxing the house and being on the kids about hand sanitizer, not sharing cups and stuff - IT isn't working! How frustrating. I have a call into the clinic to see what they want to do about this so I don't know if we will be going in or not. I know Alyssa doesn't want to go but we both want to just get the last treatment (we hope) over with!!!! We already have a follow up CT scan and a follow up chest Xray scheduled for the week of May 4th. WE did have our blood draw this morning so I expect the clinic will wait to have those results before they make a decision regarding her treatment. Please pray that this cold never really takes hold for her and that she can just go get this over with. I know it would be horrible to have this cold and go into the hospital and have to deal with a cold AND all the chemo side effects. Plus I guess they'll keep us in isolation too to make sure no one else gets exposed to this nasty thing. For those of you praying for my Ultrasound results - I still haven't heard back from Dr Spafford about the results. (NO news is good news??????)
On a positive note - my buck had two more kids yesterday - twin blue eyed doelings out of Camino Alegre's Tinker Bell who is also out of our lines (CBF Entei X CBF Serendipidy's Laikla).
The family who had the babies is excited and they have 3 more does due to Storm - could have a whole slew of blue eyed doelings since that seems to be what Storm is throwing this year!!!! I know Camino Allegre is considering selling some of these babies so if you want some blue eyed does out of good milking lines - here's your chance!!! I promise I will get pictures when I can and post them - I should do a whole page of Storm's offspring so folks can see them!!! He sure is a producer of does! I am very happy with this little buck. He will remain her for at least one more year if not much longer. He and some of our does will be showing at the May show (May 2 &3) at the Expo NM Livestock Pavillion.

Been Awhile.

I seem to be back to the catch up gang and that means other things suffer a bit. Including this blog. I just happen to have a moment while cooking dinner to update everyone. Last week was fairly uneventful except for Alyssa's side effects sending her up and down in the pain, headache, tiredness and lethargy departments. We were able to hedge the effects of the Vincristine on Friday with a prescription of Percocet (one is all it took and she only took Tylenol after that - she's like her mom - doesn't like the strong drugs and the wierd way they make you feel).
The friday appt wasn't as long as the last time and I feel like we are just getting the hang of it all.
To think - we figure things out and we are almost done and I hope I NEVER have to use my knowlege AGAIN!!!!! This week, despite dipping blood levels she seems to be on a much more even keel and we actually got quite a bit of homeschooling done (not everything but still!)
I got a phone call from a dear fiber buddy who has been praying for us since this all began and she said her 70 year old brother was diagnosed with the same thing - PLEASE pray for their family as well!!!!! I also need to catch up on some thank you's as well - To CH and family, SN and Family for the yummy meals you provided for us on Friday and Saturday - such a huge blessing to us to not have to worry about food for a few days! To DM and Family and SN and Family for the lovely flowers and gift card for Alyssa (PS - look at our website - link to right of this for cbfnigeriangoats and check out the upper right hand corner photo!!!!) To K,M and Family for the pizza night money!!!! Thank you so much!
WE are still on a high from the news that Aly is in remission - it is so nice to think everyday when giving shots, going thru blood draws, watching that date for the next treatment looming that really there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!!!
Thank you all again for your prayers, support, and blessings - we could NOT do this without All of you - LS - thank you again for coordinating EVERYTHING!!!!!!

Blessed Day.

Yesterday was awesome. It took a while but we finally came home.

Dr. Mathew told Alyssa to "walk with your head up and back strait - you're in remission now"

Those were the sweetest words this mother could hear going thru this ordeal. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. She really did take this round better than the first round and she appears stronger than when she was released last time. Seeing her smile (lots of big smiles) made me want to shout for joy. Aly still has to go thru one more round of Chemo but it appears we are off the hook for radiation (Halleluja!) but seeing this big, bright glaring light at the end of the tunnel makes it a little easier to take (for mom anyway - I'm sure it's not so easy for her).

This week we still have to take the Prednisone and she has the follow up Vincristine on Friday. That is the one that made her hurt so bad with back and jaw pain last time. But again, knowing she is clear of active cancer right now makes it seems just a little easier to take knowing the end is truly in sight. I know - because of my mom's breast cancer - you never really rest easy and every year you let out a big sigh of relief when they give you the all clear after your annual checkups. I know for her it will never truly be over as she will live with the knowlege in the back of her mind for the rest of her life that it could come back. Thank you P&P J for the precious lamb and Angel pin. Thank you JT, LS, LA and N & E for the yummy meals you provided for my family this weekend. I got some of the leftovers and everything was fantastic and yummy!!!

Also to LB for the gift card for Aly and to C,D,A &J for the gift for Aly. Sure brightened her homecoming to see how loved and supported she is. GOD is sooooo goood and we are so under HIS mercy and grace!

Please pray for K still - I found out he's been in for the past 3 weeks, he's not gotten to go home.

also for another young man going thru cancer, C, who apparently has been at this for 7 years. It does truly bring me to my knees Thanking God for how little we've had to endure compared to some of these other precious kids. You know folks keep asking me what they can do - WE are so taken care of but these other kids and families have to endure SO MUCH- here's a few ideas that you all can do for others and us: Donate money to Children's Cancer Fun of NM 112 14th St. SW ALBQ, NM 87102 - These folks provide vouchers for food, gas, and other needs for families who are spending a lot of time at the hospital. Also give blood - though we haven't needed a transfusion yet (we are praying HARD we don't) they need blood for these kiddos and lots of others who need transfusions - I think how selfish I am not donating blood when I know I am free of diseases and other issues - my blood could mean a big difference for one of these kids. I am going to start donating blood as soon as I can. IF you already do - Kudos to you!!!!! You are awesome!

Beauty from Ashes.

AS most of you know my day yesterday started out yuck (Ashes) but it certainly improved. I called the Dr. and he said the exposure was so minimal in his eyes that we didn't even need to come in (unless of course we see a strange rash - blisters) But he doubts that she was even actually exposed. PHEW!!!! After church (which was awesome we hadn't been in a while and it was soooo nice to see everyone!) my inlaws came down to visit - Alyssa was so happy to see her cousins (again - it's been at least 3 weeks). I went to my SWNDGC show planning meeting and got home around 5:45 to our friends from Texas whom we are so incredibly glad are here!!!! and 3 baby goats. This is Z4 - a doeling who looks like her older half sister Twinkle Lil Star (this one has a white spot on her belly and a frosted muzzle.)

This is Z3 - the little bucking who looks more like his mom than the other two. He is a chocolate Chamoisee - I will band and sell him as a pet.

This is Z5 - the last doeling and so pretty - Did not expect this color/pattern at all (Dad is black with a white band )

Here is the whole crew inspecting the baby hut with heat lamp - it is cold and windy here right now - should have known Joie would kid the minute the weather turned UGLY!!!! I stuck the other 2 mommas in waiting in a fenced off area of the kidding pen as Dixie was looking a little off last night - I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we had another set of babies VERY SOON!!!! She lost her mucus plug last night.

For everyone who called and commented - Thank you - Aly said I was blowing things out of proportion but seriously - who can blame a mom for not wanting to inflict more pain and stuff on her child who has already been thru so much - feelings are what they are - I had them - maybe I just needed a good cry!!!! So my day started out with a few ashes and were blown away by the beauty of a bunch of HUGS from our heavenly Father!

Prayer Requests - For our friends who are going thru cancer treatments themselves - LORD uphold them thru the treatments and the good days and the bad days - what a blessing to be able to see them and know that you are just strengthening them in their walk thru this disease.

Also for M&M B who lost their Grandmother to Lung Cancer this past week - Give them strength and your words to comfort their family this week during the funeral.

Praise Reports - The Joyce's got here safe and sound after a 10 hour drive (T only had 4 1/2 hours of sleep the night before so we are glad they are here and safe!!!) Their being here sure has put the biggest smile on Aly's face - just the "medicine" she needs. And of course the babies.

Thank Yous - I have to thank profusely the W family for blessing us yesterday - BEYOND MEASURE. You guys are so incredibly sweet for your gift and I am humbled!!!! Also Thank you to the SWNDGC - seeing you all yesterday and being a part of this group is truly a blessing.

YOU all made me cry with your generosity and caring! Aly appreciates it so much!!!

Sometimes you take the good with the bad

We've had 3 of the most awesome days in a row. Alyssa is feeling pretty good overall (no nausea, no bone pain, no headaches etc.) and her blood counts are up again so she is more or less back to living a normal life.....but just when you think you have a handle on things - WHAM! Surprise - another side effect bites you in the UM derrier!!!! She is beginning to notice a small amount of hair loss - again the reality of living with this disease is staring her right in the face. Granted - not much of the hair on her head is gone but she said she noticed "more hair than normal on her shirt today" and she noticed she hasn't had to Shave as much as normal. She now knows that we might be staring hair loss in the face. IT is not pretty. (I still say she's beautiful - hair or no hair but still I know from everyone I've talked to who has been thru it - this is the hardest part, even if you aren't a very vain person!!!!) It's just so OBVIOUS that you have cancer when you loose all your hair.
On the upside she felt good enough to attend her last Starbase La Luz Academy Science class on base today and it was a glorious spring day to be out and about. She also went with her friends the Sedillos to a book store and Target - she got to have fun and that was worth it all!
Now countdown to the Joyce's visit is first and formost in her mind!
Prayer Requests - They said it was possible that her hair could just thin - pray this would be the case but if it is not - just for the wisdom to make it as easy as possible on her (like her siblings NOT teasing her) . Also that the Lord would guard the Joyce's health so that they can come for the visit which would just make Alyssa's day!!!!
Praise Reports - For all the many blessings we've received - WE haven't had to ask for anything - God is just putting in folks hearts and things are being taken care of - it makes it so much easier to know we don't need to worry - we just need to go before HIM with our needs and He is such a loving God who pours out His grace and mercy on us.
Thank you's - to all the folks who send cards daily - they keep our spirits high!!!! Also to the P Family for the gas money - what a blessing!!!! We Thank God for that blessing as well as all of your prayers.

Ups and Downs

Yesterday was another rough one. On top of our (they said 5-10 minutes!) so called short visit to the Dr., Alyssa had a rough reaction to the treatment. First we went to ABQ with Dad and had our appt at around 10:00am. We showed up and ended up waiting around 20 - 40 minutes just to be seen. Met a new Oncology Dr. - Dr. McKinnel (spelling?) and talked to him about a lot of issues etc. We finally made it up to the Infusion suite - It was cool!!!! They have snacks for the kids and individual TVs for each station (they can play XBox orPlaystation or watch movies of their choice) It is decorated Star Wars and has big picture windows looking out. When they came over to try to access her port (no this is not a thinly veiled reference to some Star Wars thing) they informed me I was supposed to have applied the Emla - ( this was our first time and no one told me I was supposed to do it!!!!) So we ended up waiting ANOTHER 4o minutes waiting for the Emla to work. Then, they finally got her port accessed, and it took WHOLE 10 minutes to do the treatment. SO, it took a whole 3 hours and 40 minutes for a 10 minute treatment. HMMMM.

We went to Grandma's and about an hour later she started hurting(in Alyssa's words this was disabling agony NOT just cramps or something!!!) Thank you Joyce's for the meal you had at our house because we would've eaten around 10pm with the way things were going if I had had to cook. She is doing better today thankfully.

PRAYER request - The little guy in the infusion chair next to us was another heart rending experience. I do not know what kind of cancer he has but it is not what Alyssa has. He is 3 years old and looks like he is about 18 mo. He has a double port thru his belly button and he was about as cute as they come. For a little fellow he took the whole thing pretty well. MOM was a trooper - she just cuddled with him - they were there probably for WAY longer than us (they'd already watched Shark's Tale when we got there and were popping on Cars and were settling in for a nap when we left. I am constantly reminded that God has really had mercy on us thru this ordeal and that we are blessed beyond measure. Please pray for little E and his family!!!!!

Thank yous - I think I am not only WAY behind but forgetting several folks - I am going to try to catch up here: Thank you J&J M for the check today - what a huge blessing that was It will really help out for all the copays etc. Also D&D for the money you sent Alyssa - I'm not sure what she's saving for but she's squirreling the money away for something special. Thank you T family for the books you gave Alyssa - she's read them both now and I just finished the Kathy Reichs book. Thank you TG for the fiber fix - can't wait to create! Thank you so much Aunt J for rescuing me yesterday - I would NOT have made it thru the whole day yesterday at the hospital with all three kids (Do you think I would learn my lesson by now - this happens everytime I go into UNMH!) Thank you B Family for the YUMMY looking dinner you brought tonight and AGAIN - thanks to all of you who keep us in your prayers and lifted up to HIM for strength and wisdom! Oh, and Aunt N. for the information today - we are going to look into it!!!!

Settling back in

Boy is it nice to be home. WE are trying to settle back in here at home which isn't easy - life doesn't take a break just because you are gone - laundry is still piling up while you are trying to unpack from the week at the hospital. And of course there is all the regularly scheduled life things - like Karate and 4H. I still am not 100%unpacked and we sat down and worked on getting some school done - didn't finish and Alyssa didn't do hardly anything - I think she's trying to play the "I can't do school - I have cancer" card which the Dr., nurses and social workers all said would happen. They said make her go back to normal as soon as possible. Guess what she'll be doing today. Our schedule was thrown off some by the blood draw (first time with the home health nurse). The first nurse came and had trouble accessing her port for the blood draw (tried twice - OUCH!) Then she called her supervisor who had to drive out from ABQ - we waited about 40 minutes for her. She tried twice and finally had success the second time. Boy am I glad I don't have to do that - though I probably could - if was aweful just watching Aly's face thru it all.
So after a full day - I took the younger two to Karate and got home and cooked dinner (after one week off you'd think I'd be spoiled but it kind of felt good to do it again) and when Aaron got home we had two meals - haha - we were generously given a meal from Aaron's work - Pot roast and veggies - so we had a feast!!!!
Trying to remember to give her meds when she is supposed to have them is a bit on the challenging side since my brain is still not functioning normally from all of this. But we are managing - Poor kid - while I was giving the Neupogen shot she just looked at me and said I'm SICK of all of this. Aaron is trying to get her to see the positive side of this and mommy is trying not to give in to "the face" you know - puppy dog eyes and quivering chin.
Prayer Requst - For the W Family and the C Family who are also going thru cancer - the husband has Leukemia in one Family and the wife in the other. Just pray for God's strength to be poured out on these families. And His peace to be on them as they walk thru this trial as families!!!! That we can get back to more or less normal soon.
Praise - Despite the drama getting the blood - her blood counts came back normal and high (which they said was from the Neupogen so it wasn't surprising - they said the counts will drop)
Thank you to the H family at Aaron's work for the yummy meal, the Joyce's for the awesome card which brought the biggest smile to Aly's face yesterday and for the two super nice nurses for finally getting the blood so we don't have to drive into the clinic twice this week!!!!!