We're back on track...

Kateli's treatment is back on track. Her appointment on Wednesday went well. Her counts were back up, her numbers went from 200 to 858!! Thank you all for ALL of your prayers for our little girl. We have completed the Consolidation phase and have moved on to the next phase, which is Interim Maintenance. We are continuing the daily oral chemo medicine, she has to take the steroid again for 5 days at atime, and the doctor wrote a script for the new chemo med she'll be taking once a week. All the while, we continue to give her the antibiotic three times a week, and the pepcid to settle her belly after all these meds!

Please pray:

• That we can keep the med schedule straight, and that we are diligent about her medications.
• That she continue to tolerate all these meds as well as she has been. She is doing great. It is amazing to see her strength!
• For energy, strength and rest for all of us. We're going through a very difficult sleep phase with Kateli, that we're constantly worn out. She's having trouble, not only falling asleep, but staying asleep all through the night. She wakes up kicking, screaming and crying, with her eyes closed!! She's having night terrors, or nightmares. It's difficult to get her back to sleep. She is sleeping in our room now. We've pulled the crib mattress into our room and she will be sleeping on that, instead of our bed, but last night was rough. She wants no one but mommy to hold her foot all the time...I do, until she falls asleep, but I'm having trouble obliging in the middle of the night!! Please pray for me, that I would be understanding and know what to do.

Low Counts delay next phase

Katherine had low white blood count and low ANC (200) this week, so we have to delay the treatment until her counts increase. We will try again next Wednesday. The nurse informed Marleny that this is common when kids are going in between phases. Her ANC count has to be above 750 to resume the treatment, so for now we wait. Please pray for Katherine that she remains healthy during this time while she has low blood counts. Also pray that her counts would rise, so that we can continue with treatment next Wednesday.

No News has been really good news

We apologize for not updating the blog in over 2 weeks! The lack of news is because Katherine has been doing extraordinarily well. The last 2 weeks have been a blessing because Kateli has only had to take 1 Oral Chemo daily. Today marks the end of Consolidation, and tomorrow is the start of Interim Maintenance- the Calendar on the right side of the page shows the details of what is given when. If you double click on the medication name, I've put a little more information about what it is.

We had the pleasure of traveling to STL this weekend for Dan's cousin Jack's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding in a beautiful setting. Kateli had loads of fun with all of her cousins and 2nd Cousins. She was mobbed with affection- which was a nice break for mom and dad.

The only struggle we've been dealing with is sleepless nights, and possible night terrors on Katherine's part. Not really sure if that's what they are, but she's been screaming and kicking a lot in the middle of the night. Our little girl can hit pretty hard!

Pictures in the last few days

Thank you all for your continued prayers for our family and our little girl. This is going to be a short entry; I wanted to post some pictures taken recently so you could all see how your prayers are being answered. Kateli is AMAZING!! She does not cease to amaze us with her strength and her happy heart. In the midst of this trial, our little girl presses on smiling, giggling and being the silly girl that she's always been. Thank you Lord for the way that you made her...so strong, full of courage and with a smile that lights up a room. Enjoy!