Good News

Morgan had her scans yesterday and around 3:00 pm we received the news that they were clean--no cancer.  RELIEF immediately swept over Morgan's face (and mine). 

For those of you who stormed the throne room of God with prayers for Morgan I say  "THANK YOU".  We are so blessed to have such sweet prayer warriors for friends. 

Next on Morgan's agenda is dog sitting, baby sitting, and going back to school on the 25th.  Oh yeah,  she gets her braces off on the 24th.  She is mega excited about that.  I can't wait to see how beautiful her teeth are now. 

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Summer in full swing

Summer is in full swing and Morgan couldn't be busier.  She has been baby-sitting for several families on our street.  She is great with kids and they seem to enjoy her company.  She is feeling great.  She has lost about 10 pounds and looks absolutely adorable.  You might be wondering why the weight loss?   Well, during the chemo last year she did gain about 10 lbs. because of the medications.  But, she was determined to loose the weight and she looks great. 

We just returned from vacation on the 8th.  Morgan thought San Francisco would be a great place to vacation so off we went.  We had a wonderful time.  The weather couldn't have been better.  I personally loved the chill in the air.  Alcatraz was one of our favorite parts of the trip.  The view of San Francisco from Alcatraz is so pretty.  We ate some very good food.  There certainly is no shortage of things to do.  Chinatown was interesting.  The stores there were filled with some beautiful things.  I would definitely go back if ever I get the chance.

Next on the agenda for Morgan is PET & CT scans on Aug. 3.  Needless to say, I am dreading it.  I am praying that she is cancer free and will begin school with her brother on Aug. 25.  Until then,  God bless!!

Enjoying Summer

Happy Summer. I know it isn't officially here but with the humidity we are having here in Cincinnati it sure feels like summer.

Morgan is doing well despite a stubborn bout with poison ivy. As of today, she is starting week three with it so I took her to the doctor. He decided that a steroid might just give her the boost she needs to rid herself of the menacing stuff. She is also recovering from stepping on a nail----a large nail. And, I should add, recovering from a fall outside on the pavement that bummed up her left knee. So needless to say, Morgan is looking a little beat-up right now. A friend suggested to me today that maybe I should lock her in her room . Actually, I have thought about it :-)

A couple of weeks ago, Morgan & the rest of the crew (Kevin, David, Jonathan & myself) participated in the Walk-for-Wishes. It's a walk that raises money for MAKE-A-WISH. We had a wonderful time. It felt great to give a little something back to the organization that granted Morgan's wish to Hawaii last year.

The plan right now is for Morgan to have her scans again on Aug. 3. God willing, they will be clean and she can begin her Sophomore year of high school. We still ask that you continue to pray for Morgan. Also, please pray for our neighbors down the street who have a 2 year old daughter with a rare form of leukodystrophy----there is no cure. Like I've said before, there is enough heartache to go around for all of us. I don't know about you, but I look forward to a day when there is no disease, pain or heartache. When we are in the presence of the Savior and His glory is shining all around us...................."When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing

that will be! When we all see Jesus, We'll sing and

shout the victory."

Clean scan results :-)

We received the good news yesterday afternoon that Morgan's PET scan and CT scan were clean-----Praise God!!!

The relief that we felt when Dr. Wagner gave us the news is indescribable. Joy unspeakable. As we were leaving the hospital, Morgan told Kevin & I " For the first time in two years, I will not be spending my summer at Children's Hospital getting chemo!!."

We are looking forward to spending the summer together and watching Morgan do all the summertime activities that she has missed out on for the past two summers. Thank you for your prayers. We could not get through the difficult valleys without the prayers and support of our dear friends. God has placed some beautiful, generous, caring people in our lives---may we forever be grateful.

Blessed!!

Morgan has had a wonderful month. She began April with a sinus infection but it was cleared up with antibiotic and she never missed a step. Overall, her health has been great. It is so wonderful to see her out and about living life like any other teenager. She is planning to participate in Walk For Wishes on May 15. It is part of Make-A-Wish and helps raise money to grant the wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. Our entire family will be walking and donating money. Make-A-Wish gave Morgan the royal treatment last year when they flew us out to Maui. It is a fantastic organization.

Next on her treatment plan will be the CT Scan of her lungs, PET Scan of entire body, blood work and see oncologist on May 4. It will be an all day process and we are praying for clean scans. I pray for God's continued grace and mercy upon Morgan. In many ways she has been extremely blessed.

Thank you for praying. We appreciate each of you.

Reena

Happy Spring

Spring is finally here and I for one am soooo glad.

Morgan is doing very well. She still enjoys school just not the homework . On Thursday she has a block day which means she has a 1 1/2 hour PE class. This takes a toll on her. She usually comes home on those days wiped out. But other than that she is enjoying being back at school and reconnecting with all her friends. As of yesterday, she isn't wearing the wig. It was her first day going to school without the wig. So many of her friends commented on how cute she looked. That really made her feel good. I know it took a great deal of courage for her to go without the wig. I am very proud of her.

As I have mentioned before, I enjoy ready medical information regarding cancer and cures/meds for cancer. If you ever come across anything that you feel is of interest, please email it to me at naymcdonald@gmail.com I would love to read it. One thing that I received from my dear friend Nancy Overholt was a link to a YouTube video regarding the benefits of taking Vitamin D. If you would like to see it, go to YouTube and type in THE REAL STORY ON VITAMIN D.

Happy Spring to all of you.

Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it own. Matthew 6:34

Did someone say snow?!

I learned this morning that this winter has been the snowiest winter on record for the Cincinnati area. So far this year, we have had 36 inches of snow. This is about 36 inches more than I would like .

Morgan is continuing to do well. She does have some bone and joint discomfort occasionaly which I'm sure is a result of the chemotherapy. She pushes herself much to hard in PE at school and then pays the price for it a couple of days later. She is having to get adjusted to waking up early and going to bed at a reasonable time. Being in and out of the hospital for so long got her sleep/wake cycle off balance but she is recovering.

Her hair is coming in nicely. I can't resist rubbing her head. She is thinking that in about 1 month she will stop wearing the wig. The wig is cute on her but her natural hair, even though it is very short, is much prettier.

Morgan's next oncology appointment is May 4. She will have PET scan, lung CT scan, X-ray and blood work. I pray that these scans remain unchanged.

I had the privilege of driving all three kids to school this morning. It reminded me of the days when I drove them every morning. What a joy it was to hear them laughing at one another and being silly at 6:45 am. I thank God for moments like that. They are just ordinary times but oh so special.

Thank you for your continued prayers. love,

Reena & family

Yesterday's Scans

Morgan had her PET & CT scans yesterday as planned. She saw her oncologist afterwards to go over the results but the results were not in. So he gave us the option of coming home and he would call with results. Well, we finally got the call this morning and he told us her scans were good!!!!!!!! No changes since her last scans back in November. Needless to say Kevin & I were so thrilled to hear this good news. Morgan is at school so I sent her a text to give her the news so hopefully by now she knows. I can't wait to see the smile on her face when she walks through the door today after school.

I took this photo of Morgan just a few days before her birthday last month. This is the wig that she wears to school. She looks absolutely adorable in it.

Thank you for praying and thank you for reading the blog :-)

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.

Wow, it has been a month since my last post. That would be a wonderful indication that Morgan is doing well. She started back to school 2 weeks ago and she couldn't be happier. She has her eyelashes and eyebrows back and her hair is coming in. She is looking as cute as ever. She is so happy to be doing "normal" things again. This has been a long time coming for her. It is my prayer that it stays this way.

It has been more than a year now since I started this blog. I never imagined that I would still be writing it one year later. But, as we have learned first-hand no one knows what lies around the corner. Morgan has certainly endured more than her share of heartaches. But through it all she has maintained a balanced sense of who she is and what she must do. I wish that I were as strong and stable as she is. She has been my source of strength.

She will have her first set of routine scans (PET & CT lung) next Tuesday. Please pray that nothing suspicious shows up on these scans.

A cancer free life for Morgan is all I want.