Update

Isabel is still at the hospital. She can't come home until she goes 24 hours with out a fever. She had to get a platelet transfusion. Hopefully that will help her get rid of the fever, so she can come home before the next treatment.

Too good to be true

As happy as we were that Isabel's treatment seemed to be an easier one this week, it was too good to be true. Jen checked her temp. and she has a fever of 102. She was admitted to Primary's earlier today. She will be in until her fever goes down, which could be 24-48 hours. Only to be admitted again on Tuesday for treatment.  If she is not well enough for her treatment, she will be checked daily until she is well enough, so that the treatment goes on as planned. This does not mean Jen will be running her down every day to be checked, she will have a home health nurse come by to check her counts & make she her body can handle another treatment.

Treatment 2 of 22

Week 2 treatment has come and gone. So far it didn't seem to make Isabel as sick as the first time. They tested her for anemia and checked her white blood cell count. Both are okay. She has started a shot to help boost the white blood cell count. If her red blood cell count gets too low (anemia) they will have to do a transfusion.  During her treatment next week (5 day treatment) they are going to watch her food intake. If it is anything like the last admission they will put her on an appetite stimulant. She hasn't been eating well, but mashed potato's have been the food she has requested most.

We have the child care and hospital stays all set up for the upcoming treatment. If you weren't asked to help, don't worry, there will be plenty of chances.

Nate & Jen would like to thank everyone. The books and shirts are very appreciated, Isabel is very happy as well! Ü

On a lighter note, if you haven't already heard, Tyler & Stephanie had their baby. He was so close to being a Christmas baby. Trey Roland Hadley was born December 26th. 8lbs 8 oz and 21 inches long. Both are doing great!

As I was going through my pictures so I could post Isabel's hair cut, I passed some of these old ones.  I got a little emotional to think that for the second time in 5 years, she is having to go through it all again. She is such an amazing girl. She is so strong and so determined.

Why not

Getting psyched!

That was just a fraction of the hair.

Knowing that she was going to loose her hair anyway- She decided to get a little crazy. She got a cute sporty new cut and then dyed it purple. Not wanting to be the only one with purple hair, Cassidy got a few purple streaks in her hair.

Isabel's Birthday

Yesterday Isabel turned 10. We went over for some cake and ice cream. Jen told me that she slept in until 11, which for Isabel is very unusual. Jen went & woke her up to eat, and Isabel couldn't believe she had slept so long.  At her birthday party, she was in very good spirits. Running around playing tag with the kids, eating pizza, cake and ice cream.

Treatment 1 of 22

 Isabel has completed her first treatment. She got home about 9:30 last night.  She was very sick the majority of the treatment. Anyone wanting to sign up for a meal for the first week of January, please E-mail me. This will be the first 5 day treatment. We will be doing meals:
Tuesday January 3
Wednesday January 4
Thursday January 5
Friday January 6
Saturday January 7
We will also need help taking hospital shifts and watching children.  Nate will be going down with Isabel Tuesday day. That is as far as we have gotten. Please E-mail with any times you are able to help.

Treatment Week 1

Isabel is having her first treatment today. It is a 36 hour treatment. They are using some different chemicals for this type.  She & Jen will also have a little class going over the different types of treatment they are using, what the side effects are & what to watch for.

Isabel had an EKG today to make sure her heart was strong enough to handle the chemicals. Her EKG came out fine, they also got the bone marrow biopsy results, all good, no cancer in her bones.

I talked with Jen over the weekend- Anyone wondering what to so or how you can help; here are some ideas:

With the type of port Isabel has, they prefer her to wear a zipper, button, or snap shirt, one that can be undone at the top, so she doesn't have to change into a gown & still be comfortable. Anyone that has some hand-me-downs in a size 10 for girls- it would be much appreciated. This can be an every day shirt, or pajamas.

Also, Isabel loves to read. Anyone wanting to donate a book, magazine (or magazine subscription), activity book- Something that will help keep Isabel occupied during those long 5 day stays.

Meals- I have a calendar made up of when Jen will need meals. Next week, we are going to see how the IV push goes. If it is a quick shot & out the door, no meals will be needed. If it is an IV drip that will take a few hours, we will be scheduling meals for those treatment weeks as well.

Time- As independent as Isabel is, Jen would feel much more comfortable if on her 5 day stays & 36 hour stays, if someone was with her at all time, or as close as we can get. If you would like to take a shift at the hospital, or watch kids, so that Jen can be with Isabel, let me know.

If you need Nate & Jen's address, want to sign up for a meal, or have any other thoughts ideas or questions, E-mail me.
Amber_hadley@hotmail.com

Results are in

Isabel has what is called Ewings Sarcoma. This is a newer form of cancer and is not recurrent. Her cure rate with this type of cancer if 80%. Had it been Rhabdo, it would have been 50-70%. This form of cancer only has a 22 week treatment plan, not the 40 originally thought. The Oncologist said this type of cancer is extremely rare, but a better type of cancer.

Treatment plan:
Week 1- a 36 hour (overnight) stay
Week 2-  IV push (a few hours)
Week 3- a 5 Days (5 overnight) stay
Week 4-  IV push (a few hours)
-- Then start over.
The first treatment will start Monday, December 19
I will be making an excel spreadsheet this weekend & we will map out dates of when Jen would like to have dinners brought in.

Port

Isabel's port surgery went fine, they also did a bone marrow biopsy, so she is pretty soar.

Isabel

Isabel is having her port put in today. Her surgery was pushed back to 4:30, so no updates on how it went yet. They haven't heard back on the labs yet as to what type of cancer it is.

What the hell? Isabel??

Updates on Isabel:
As many of you have heard, Isabel went in for her routine 6 month scans last Monday. They found a spot that looked suspicious & Jen was told they would biopsy it with in the next week.  They met with Isabel's Doctor the next day. He scheduled a surgery for the following day (Wednesday). The spot was found in the pelvis, looking to be about an inch. She went in for a biopsy & because it was so small they took out all they could.  It turns out that the tumor was shaped like a lollipop. They were able to get the top off, but not the stem/stick looking part. She had a PET scan today, this test determines if the internal organs were affected by the cancer. Scans came out clean, so the cancer was spotted early and contained to one area. This is a sarcoma cancer. They are still waiting on tests to determine if it is rhabdomyo (same as last time) or if it is another type of sarcoma. The tests were sent across country to the leading physician specializing in sarcoma.
What the difference means-
If it is rabdo again, treatment will be similar to what it was last time. One treatment per week. 2 weeks of outpatient treatments & the third week will be an overnight treatment. Then start over.
If it is anything BUT rabdo, the treatment is quite a bit more involved. It would be 3 days of admitted treatment, 2-3 days off & then 5 days of admitted treatment, a few days off, then start over, which means she would pretty much live down at primarys.
Pray it is rabdo.
The Doctor has opted for a portacath instead of a central line. Anyone who remembers last time, Isabel had a little tube that came out of her chest, this was to hook up IVs for treatments. This time she will have a portacath. Which will be inserted under her skin on her chest. What the difference means- with a central line, she wasn't able to swim or bath, she had 1 shower a week to keep clean.  With a portacath she will be able to take family trips to Bear Lake, swim & bath/shower with out any worries.
She will be getting her portacath placed Monday or Tuesday of next week.
She will have one year of treatment regardless of which type of cancer it turns out to be. She will also have radiation done later on in the treatment.
Not sure when the first treatment will be as she has to have 7-10 days recovery time from the portacath surgery. The Doctor did state that he would take the holidays into consideration. That can mean many things, depending on the type of sarcoma it turns out to be.

For anyone asking "What can I do?"  Well, not much right now. We need to find out what type of Sarcoma it is before we make a game plan.  If it is rabdo, Jen has stated that 1 meal per week on the treatment day, 2 meals the week of an overnight treatment will work out for her family needs. 

I will keep this posted as I get the information.

LIttle League

Swimming Lessons

 

Hiking at Adams Canyon

 

Hockey

Stockton & Trent were out playing street hockey. Trent gave a good slap shot, which Stockton blocked, a little too well. Bad picture, but this is his thigh. He had layers of bruising.  

As I was in the house I hear SMACK.. (the puck) then a loud scream followed by silence, then a lot more screaming & Trent trying to tell Stockton to let me see it.  As I make my way outside, I see Trent pulling Stockton's pants down in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Stockton is fighting him & screaming.  

WOW, hope the neighbors weren't watching. 

Made the kids come in & reminded Trent his 8 years older than his brother.

Camera settings

 

So I was messing with my camera settings & found Sunset. to be used when taking pictures of sunsets, so I fooled around with it in a low light situation & took some pictures of my kids.  I had a better one of Stockton, but for some reason it wouldn't load & I didn't want to spend an hour trying to figure out why. My kids called them 80's pictures, because that seems old to them, I'd like to call them 60's pictures- you know, the ones that lost color as they got older... 80's isn't old.. Ü

Trent had a sunburn on his nose, so he looks a little red.

Tomato Cream Sauce recipe

1 28 oz can diced tomato's

(I had 2 15oz cans, one was Italian flavor, so there was already onion & garlic flavor added)

2 Med garlic cloves minced

3 TBSP butter

2 TBSP chopped basil leaves

Salt to taste

1 Cup heave cream

Press garlic into small bowl, stir in 1 tsp water. Heat 2 Tbsp butter & garlic in med. saute pan- about 2 mins. Stir in tomatoes, simmer 10 mins. Stir in basil 1/2 tsp salt & cream. Simmer until sauce thickens 2-3 mins, adjust seasonings to your liking.

-Reserve 1/4 Cup of cooking water from pasta. Mix with sauce and remaining 1TBSP butter. Cook together over med. heat for 1 min. Stirring constantly.

This recipe goes well with 1lb of cooked pasta.