IT HAS BEEN A WHILE

My apologies for not updating sooner. All is going well right now and I am grateful. We have had some wonderful experiences with the Girl of the Year events, gone boating, got a job at Buffalo Wild Wings, art classes, crazy whiffle ball games, and more. I promise to post pictures soon!Kristin is currently on day 35 out of 57 days on the "delayed intensification" stage of her protocol. Thus far, she has had three doses of Vincristine, three doses of Doxorubicin ( both were via her broviac, given at Renown) and one of three intrathecal methotrexate through a lumbar puncture into the spinal fluid. She has also had 14 days total of Dex(dexamethasone) which is in pill form. Dex and Doxorubicin are steroids. She had some cousins of these meds in the very beginning and they were responsible for her "temporary diabetes." This time she had seven days on,seven off, then seven days on of the steroid Dexarubicin. I knew of the possible consequences, but things were going so well (they make her feel like she can climb Everest) that her blood sugar worries soon took a back seat in my mind as we got busy with everyday things. She seemed to be tolerating them just fine. Towards the end of the last seven days she began to not feel well and could not understand why. I took her labs on a Thursday and Oakland did not call about anything being wrong with her counts. So,I assumed all was well. (I should never assume anything anymore...) Friday night we had the the finale for the Man, Woman, Celebrity of the Year. She was feeling badly,and threw up in the bathroom. (I will write about this a bit later) So, we had to excuse ourselves and take her home. Monday rolls around and she was still not feeling too good, but this was to be the last day for the Dex. Connie Goes from Oakland called very alarmed at her labs because her blood sugars were way up! She needed insulin... Poor girl, no wonder she did not feel good. Luckily she was just finishing the very last dose so we were able monitored her blood sugar at home,stayed away from naughty carbs, and counted everything she ate. It took a few days to stabilize her blood sugar but she finally got it under control without nedding insulin. On July 7th we were due in Oakland for another lumbar puncture and over-night chemo. Since we had to be there early we left the day before and stayed overnight in Vacaville. It is always a gamble on whether or not we get a private room and this time we were dealt a good hand. We got the same room we have had on our last three visits. I am so grateful for this because it is so much more pleasant for her. Well, chemo is NEVER pleasant, but she deals with being there so much better. I have noticed that she is much more at peace with everything. So what goes on for the other twenty two days? One over night does of Cytoxan, eight iv pushes of AraC, fourteen days of Thioguanine (6TG) and two more lumbars with intrathecal Methorexate. Oops, how could I forget two more iv pushes of Vincristine and three whooping shots of Asparaginase? These last twenty two days make me a bit nervous as these meds will make her counts go down dramatically. The last time she had these meds, she contracted a fever and they flew us down to Oakland....... Hopefully things will not be so dramatic this time. I can handle a transfusion or two, but we can do without the drama!

It is Sunday. Our Young Woman's lesson was about facing adversity. I am grateful for the strength and knowledge that the gospel brings into my life. I have never lost a nights sleep to questions like "Why is this happening?" I have not worried about that as I cannot afford to waste precious time and energy on something that can never be answered! What I do know is that I have been acutely aware of the blessings in our lives as we have been richly blessed. I find comfort knowing that all of the prayers offered on Kristin's behalf are heard and that our Savior loves us and understands our trials perfectly. "Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall some hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings."

Thank you dear family and friends. You are some of the richest blessings we have been given.