Blood counts returned to normal :-)

Dear Friends & Family,

I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Ours was quiet and uneventful which was an answer to prayer. Morgan had her blood drawn on Friday and the results were good. Her white cell count, hemoglobin and ANC's had all recovered. Her platelets were still low but not critical. Platelets are always the last cell marker to recover.

Today Morgan had a CT scan of her lungs. If the scan is unchanged from the last scan, chemotherapy will be discontinued. Please pray that Morgan is finished with chemo and will remain cancer free for the rest of her precious life. I hope to have results from the scan by this evening. If not, we will get results tomorrow when we see her oncologist for a follow-up visit.

Morgan's spirits are good, she is singing as I type this---probably doesn't know that she has an audience---LOL.

The picture above was taken over Labor Day weekend. Morgan and her cousins had a fun time hanging out together. I am looking forward to seeing Morgan out and about and enjoying life once again. I know she has missed her friends tremendously. Never thought I would say this, but thank goodness for Facebook. It has been a wonderful tool for Morgan.

May God bless each of you!

Recovering at home

Morgan had blood drawn on Friday morning and just as suspected her blood counts were down to zero. When Morgan & I got home we began wiping everything down with antibacterial wipes. We tried to leave no stone unturned---refrigerator handles, remote controls, computers, door knobs and everything we could think of. So far, she has done well. We still have another 24 hrs. before she is totally out of the woods. I am planning to take her back for another blood draw in the morning. My prayer would be that her ANC (the part of the white blood cell that fights infection) is at least 300. It was 80 on Friday. Hopefully, she is on the up-swing.

I would love to post a current photo of Morgan but she will not let me. She is very self- conscious right now. Loosing her hair to chemotherapy also meant that she lost her eyelashes and eyebrows. I am hoping that as we get closer to Christmas I will have a recent photo of the most beautiful girl that I know. :-)

Finished!

It has been a long hard fight but Morgan just completed her sixth cycle of chemotherapy. When her pump beeped, Morgan looked at me and calmly said "my chemo is over".

My first thought was THANK YOU GOD. I am so thankful that she tolerated the drugs and kept a sweet spirit during the entire ordeal. I can not say thank you enough to all of you who have continued to lift Morgan up in prayer. I am thankful for my friends and family who are devoted prayer warriors. May God bless each of you.

Psalm 100:1 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.

Treatment no. 6

Morgan began treatment no. 6 today at 12:10. She will have a 5 hour treatment for the next 5 days and on day 6 she will have fluids. At the end of day 6, which will be Monday, she should be discharged.

I spoke with the oncologist this morning and he told Morgan & I that he felt like 6 treatments was a good stopping point. He said there is no conclusive evidence that doing more than 6 treatments has any benefits. At this time, there are no new growths and the very small nodule on her left lung is stable suggesting that it is not tumor. She will have another CT scan on Dec. 1.

Please pray that Morgan remains cancer free. To be honest, I am very nervous about being off treatment. Don't misunderstand, I am glad to see it come to an end. I just don't want to see cancer rear its ugly head again. Morgan has been through so much. She has been so brave. On days when most people would be in tears, she has kept fighting. Words can not express how proud I am of her.

During Morgan's last chemo treatment she spent her time searching for a dog to rescue. Her cousin Katie had recently rescued a dog so Morgan thought she should look around to find a buddy for Max. She began searching on PetFinder.com and that is where she came across Gracie. Gracie is a yorkie/bichon mix and is 9 weeks old. So Morgan will be busy not only with school but also training her new puppy. As far as being a buddy for Max, well...........Max is ignoring her. He seems a bit confused. If he could talk, he would probably say... "what were you people thinking!!".

Doing much better

Morgan is doing well now and her counts have recovered. She was discharged from the hospital on Tues. morning as planned. She is still taking oral antibiotics but overall she is doing great, no fever, no pain-----answer to prayer.

The plan now is to go back in for her last chemo treatment next Wed. We typically go in on Tuesdays but the place is full so she was bumped to the next day.

Morgan has been very busy this week, she has a new "project". I will post the details in the next day or two.............hint......it's furry and weights two pounds..................love and blessings to each of you for following Morgan's journey!!!!

Reena

Return to hospital

After a week at home, Morgan spiked a fever on Halloween night at 11:00 pm. She really didn't want to come back here, especially since it was after hours and she had to go through the ER. But, fevers are extremely dangerous for oncology patients. If she has an infection anywhere in her body, there is the potential for it to spread into the hardware in her arm. So the first thing they did when she got here was start her on three powerful antibiotics. It has been 18 hours now and she is already doing much better. She is currently receiving two units of blood and received platelets earlier today. If nothing grows in the blood cultures they drew last night, she might be discharged on Tuesday.
Pray that Morgan will make a full recovery before the next chemo starts on Nov. 10. Also pray for all the children and their families here on A 5 south at Children's Hospital Cincinnati.
love,
Reena
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.