April 30, 2010 Update

David and I left for Seattle on Tuesday for Evan's appointments on Wednesday. Evan's 1st appointment was a blood draw, which normally is not a big thing. They just have to access his port and draw the blood samples from there. But, for some reason, it wasn't an easy task this time. The nurse had a terrible time getting the needed blood to check everything they check each time. After several attempts, she was finally able to get the needed amount of blood. Evan was very upset by this time. This hasn't ever happened before and I pray that it doesn't happen again. It was hard on Evan and also hard on me.

Evan's next appointment was to have his eyes checked and, of course, they needed to dialate his eyes. Since the day didn't start out very well with the blood draw, I think Evan was a little easier agitated than he normally would have been. He has had his eyes dialated before and has never had that much problem with the procedure. The concluding prognosis was that Evan's vision has gotten worse in his left eye (his bad eye) and it looks like maybe his left eye is not as mobile and not tracking like it normally would; and maybe a bit worse in good eye, vision wise. The dr. looked at his optical nerve also and said that the nerve to the left eye doesn't show any color to it (as in pink meaning life and gray having no life or circulation). The optical nerve to his good eye showed some pink on the outside of the nerve but had gray lifeless color in the center.

The next appointment was with his oncologist. He looked at the lab work and said that everything looked good enough to start his 3rd round of Chemo. He checked him over and thought he looked good. Right after he left the room another dr. came into the room to look at Evan's shunt. In a nutshell, everything was a "green light" for us to begin his 3rd round of Chemo.

We headed to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription of oral Chemo. This was just not a quick trip to the pharmacy and then on our way home. We waited atleast 90 minutes for the prescription to be filled. By the time we were out to the car to head home, Evan was ready for a nap!

On our way home, Evan got sick and vomited in the car. This was not chemo related as he had not been given any yet. So, he must have gotten some flu bug. Anyway, he has been fine today and I started giving him his oral Chemo tonight. I would appreciate your prayers especially during the next few days for Evan and also for me. This part of the round of chemo is where vomiting takes place. I don't do vomit very well and it is a struggle for me to clean up, plus the chemo has to be given at 6 hr. intervals around the clock for 4 days.

God's peace, grace and strength continue to encompass us as we travel this journey. We are so thankful for wonderful family and friends that encourage, support and pray for us! It is priceless! May God be glorified mightily in all that we do, think and say!

Blessings,

David and Trena

(Here are some pictures of Evan living life. Please do not pay attention to the date on the pictures as they are not correct, at least the ones that say 2007 *smile*)

April 3, 2010 Update

We have had the cold/coughs in our home this past week or so. Evan was doing really well for not getting sick until Thursday. By Friday evening he had a rising temperature. In his "notebook" that we received from Children's Hospital, it gave specific special guidelines to what to do when your child has a fever. It is a lot different due to the fact that the child that is being given chemo cannot have a very high temp plus they don't want you to give any Tylenol or pain reliever. His temp kept rising yesterday evening so I made that phone call to the oncologist on call at Seattle Children's Hospital. We monitored it for a couple of hours and it was gradually rising. When I called the oncologist-on-call from Seattle, he told me to take him into Kadlec Hospital in Richland and get him checked out. So, I packed a suitcase (I didn't know if it would be a quick trip or if he would have to stay there) and we left the house around 9 p.m.

After many kinds of tests and x-rays, it was determined that Evan had pneumonia. The protocol was to put him on oral antibiotics and send him home. We got home just a few minutes before 4 a.m.

When I first called the oncologist over in Seattle, I started experiencing a spirit/feeling of being overwhelmed and just felt like crying and crying. I sent a quick text message to some people, and I know Evan and I were immediately lifted to God's Throne! It was absolutely amazing the peace and grace we experienced before we even left for the hospital! God is so good and so faithful! Evan was calm and so was I!

Monday, we still plan to go to Kadlec Hospital for his IV Chemotherapy, that is, unless they decide to hold off until he is completely well.

Thank you so much for your continued love, prayers, support, and encouragement! May God continue to use us for His Glory!

Blessings,

David, Trena
& family

March 20, 2010 Update

(This is late due to a tardy updater - namely, me...Blessings, Camille)

Ok........an update is overdue, once again! Lots going on and this is always a busy time of the year, especially with these nice days......makes one want to get outside and forget the inside chores and such.






Evan will go to Kadlec in Richland on Monday for an IV Chemo. I am thankful for the great staff that we have met there. Children's Hospital's extension to Richland has been a wonderful thing for us, so that we don't have to travel to Seattle quite so often.

Several people have asked me the chemo routine that Evan is on, so I will try to put it down here, in a nutshell, so to speak. Each 42 day cycle (6 weeks) is counted as a "Round". Below will be an example of a "Round" of chemo. Days 0-4 are oral chemo treatments 6 hrs apart around the clock........example - 6am....12pm....6pm....12am

Day 0 - 1st oral chemo at 6pm
Day 1 - Oral chemo at 12am.....6am....12noon....6pm

Day 2 - Oral chemo at 12am.....6am....12noon....6pm
Day 3 - Oral chemo at 12am.....6am....12noon....6pm
Anti-nausea meds taken 1 hour before each chemo dose 4x this day
Day 4 - Oral chemo at 12am
Anti-nausea meds taken 1 hour before this chemo, also.
Day 14 - IV chemo at Kadlec Hospital in Richland
Day 28 - IV chemo at Kadlec Hospital in Richland

We are currently in the 2nd Round of his chemo treatments, being on Day 14 as of Monday, the 22nd.

Evan has recently been accepted as a "Wishing Star Kid" through the Wishing Star Foundation. It is a small, local organization that does great things for families and children with serious and terminal illnesses. One week ago we had two volunteers come out and meet some of our family. They were really nice. You can learn more about this organization at www.wishingstar.org



God continues to provide us with grace, strength and His peace in all that we have done, are doing and, by faith, going to do! He has taken care of us in so many amazing ways and we are so thankful for His faithfulness, even in times of our unfaithfulness. Amongst the many blessings, God has provided us with many wonderful family members and friends, both old and new! Thank you so much for your encouragement, love, prayers, support and donations!!
We feel your prayers and love! May God continue to be glorified in and through our home in all that we do and say!



Blessings,

David, Trena
AND family