Port is out, she's recovering...

First off thank you for all of your prayers. Katherine had a successful surgery for port removal on Thursday morning. Everything went as smoothly as can be expected, I guess. I say that because we did hit some bumps along the way, but the actual surgery and recovery were without much incident. The surgery was scheduled at 8am, and she was to be at the hospital checked in by 6am that morning. So, daddy and Katherine were out the door by 5:55 to get there on time; which they did. The boys and I arrived promptly at 7:45am to see her off to surgery. Well, at 8:37am we were still sitting in the same little room; the boys getting ansy (mostly Oliver). I needed a little break and walked out to the nurses station to find out what the delay was. To make a long story short, I was told that Katherine was not actually on their schedule until 9am, and that due to a short case in front of her, it would probably be 9:30 before they'd take her back. So, plans changed and I took the boys to church for mornings for mom, came back and waited. I planned to see her off to surgery, go to my new OB appointment and be back in time for her to be coming out of anesthesia. Well, as they say NOTHING goes as planned. First we were delayed for the actual surgery, 2 hours and a half, and then I was stuck at the OB's waiting room for about an hour before I actually saw the doctor. Why didn't I reschedule you ask?? Well, it was a "new patient" appointment. I had already gone about 6 weeks since my last checkup and I was afraid that if I called to reschedule, not being an establish patient with the dr would push me out to mid may!! I should have known better. When I finally told the dr that I had a daughter in surgery at St. Francis he proceeded to attend to me more quickly. Nonetheless, I did NOT make it back in time to be there when Katherine woke up. It was 1pm, my appt was scheduled for 11:20 that morning!! So, I headed over to pick up the boys, and just met up with daddy and Katherine at home.

Katherine has done extremely well in her recovery. She has pain every once in a while, but a little tylenol usually keeps it under control. She went to school on Friday and was excited to take her port in a baggie for show and tell. I asked the teachers to call me if she complained of pain. I picked her up at 1:30 that afternoon, and found her in good spirits. I asked how her day had gone, and if she had shared with her friends about the port. She said "yes mommy, the boys all said 'holy cow', and the girls said 'wow!'"

Here are just a few pics of the morning prior to surgery....

Sorry for the delayed update, after surgery my body must have felt some relief and the freedom to come down with a major cold. I have been in bed feeling crummy since yesterday afternoon!!

Surgery is scheduled

So, a quick update to say that surgery is scheduled for 8am tomorrow morning, Thurs 4/14. Please be praying that all goes well. I will update when we are home from the hospital. This should be an outpatient procedure, so we should be home in the afternoon. Also be praying for my first OB appointment with the new doctor. It's tomorrow morning as well...we are still figuring out logistics...but it will all work out, I know.

thank you!

After 3 years the port is coming out...

Life has been busy. It's been a LONG time since the last update, but not due to lack of activity in this household, rather lack of time!! In fact, this year is busy!! Katherine started school!! Granted, she's only in Pre-K, it's been an adjustment for the entire family--well, I should say more for me than for the kids. They accommodate to whatever routine I throw at them, it's ME that has to adjust!! :)

Katherine celebrated her 5th birthday in November of last year, and is such a big girl. She's happy, joyful, creative, smart, and full of life! Praise the Lord!! She loves to sing, she loves to read, she loves to play, she loves to help, she loves to love, especially on her baby "sister" on the way (she's convinced it's a girl, even though we have no idea yet, and haven't decided if we will find out or not). Yes, we are pregnant and expecting baby #4 in early september. Katherine is the most ecstatic about baby coming, and she's crossing her fingers for a baby sister, so she can show her all the ropes, but most importantly so she has someone to share her room with.

As noted in previous entries, Katherine finished chemo treatment in April of 2010. And now, it is time for the port to come out. After 3 years, she is scheduled to have "port removal" surgery on Thursday of this week!! Yes, in TWO days. We are excited to cross this milestone, and yet I'm a little nervous about our subsequent checkups with the ONC. You see, in the beginning of treatment the nurses and doctors assured us that Katherine would get used to her "push pushes" (or the accessing of her port). However, that has NOT been the case. She's never been "okay" with going into clinic and getting a poke to draw blood. It's a fight every time. You can imagine how much stronger she has grown since the diagnosis! So much so, that I can't hold her on my own sometimes. So, I don't know what to expect once the port is out, and blood has to be drawn from her little arm. I imagine it may be tough, but I know we'll get through it, just like we have so far. Though the port is being removed, she will continue to have check ups in the clinic every 2 months this next year. The following year, the appts will space out even more, and on down the road until we hit the 5th year post end of treatment. So, we still have a long road ahead, but this road is easier to maneuver seeing how well Katherine is doing and knowing that she is in remission. So, please do continue praying for our little girl and our family when we come to mind! :)

Wish Trip Photos and Sage Culinary Party Photos

I've FINALLY uploaded the photos from our Wish Trip to Disney. You can view a slideshow of them here PHOTOS

Also, this weekend was SUPER busy. However, in the midst of chaos we were able to celebrate Katherine with a fun "COOKING" party, courtesy of some wonderful ladies in town and their business who put it together. Katherine, Joshua and their friends got to have a fun hour and half of cooking! We went to the Sage Culinary School and they made spaghetti pies, and decorated cupcakes. All this while the parents got to chat and fellowship in the schools smoothie and coffee cafe! I'm downloading pics right now. Will post a slide show of these later today! Again, thank you ALL of you who have consistently been in prayer for our little girl.





I know this family photo is NOT complete, but Oliver was peacefully sleeping in his carseat!!

and if you want to see ALL the photos from the party, click HERE

Katherine's wish...

The time has come when we can travel and fulfill Katherine's wish. It has been quite a couple of years for us, and she is more than deserving of all the magic in the world. So, we are in Disney for the week.

DAY 1: Wednesday morning we had an early departure. We headed to the airport to catch our 8:30am plane, but not before stopping at the hospital to meet our newest little friend James Allen :). We made good time, and actually had to wait to board the aircraft. Joshua and Katherine were so excited to see airplanes, and even more so to ride in one. Our flight from Tulsa to St. Louis was uneventful, the kids did great, and the time flew. When we arrived in St. Louis, grandma Hambone was waiting at the terminal for us--I don't know how she managed that one, but we were able to spend a few mins with her before boarding our flight into Orlando. After 2.5 hrs on the plane, the kids were ready to be at our destination. No naps, and no meltdowns quite yet, not until we were at the car rental place, and trying to get carseats installed. They were able to nap from the airport to the village. We are staying at the Give the Kids the World Village Wow, what an amazing place, and a resort in itself. We are looking forward to exploring every bit of this cool place, and venturing out to many of the parks in Disney. The last three days have been so much fun--exnhausting, but lots of fun. The kids have really had their share of sun, heat, and sweat amidst laughs, huge smiles, and excitement.

DAY 2: Thursday morning we headed to the Magic Kingdom, and spent the day at the park. We walked, and walked, and walked. We ate ice cream, rode some of the rides that are most appropriate for little ones, and just enjoyed being out. Fun in the sun does not equate to happy kids all the time, though. We had our meltdowns, did we ever! No naps for us, means crabby kids, and we had them after 3pm. But we managed to last til about 5:30 when we headed back home. We have many many photos, but I'll have to upload those later as I have not downloaded a single photo off the camera. I do have to add that our best behaved little monkey thus far, is little Oliver. We borrowed a baby bjorn before we left Tulsa, and it has been a life saver. I really don't know what we would be doing if we didn't have that little pouch. Poor baby is going to think he's a little joey when we get through with the trip. He absolutely loves being in it, facing out. He loves to people watch, and is so calm. He has not minded the heat, or the sun and is content as can be. When he gets exhausted, he simply falls asleep without much fuss!

DAY 3: Friday morning, after having a healthy breakfast, we headed to Sea World where we enjoyed most of the shows, got to feed dolphins, and stingrays, and we also saw sharks. We started our day with the Shamu Believe show, and ended with the dolphins. The kids asked lots of questions, and were intrigued by all that they saw. The clouds started rolling in late afternoon, and we decided to call it a day just in time for the storm. We barely made it home before it started downpouring. The kids were exhausted. They fell asleep on the ride home, and transferred well to their beds. They were asleep for the night at 5:00pm, and didn't get up until about 6am this morning....

DAY 4: We decided that after a couple of busy and exhausting days, today should be a day of relaxation and staying in. So, we've had a slow day. Saturday mornings are quiet here, and on our stroll to get breakfast this morning we found the ponies. So, the kids enjoyed a pony ride before breakfast, which they both seemed to enjoy. After breakfast, Dan and the older two kiddos headed out to do an air boat ride. When they got back from their outing, I was informed that Joshua enjoyed the outing a LOT, and he apparently did not want to get off the boat after the ride. Katherine had a different opinion though, she simply said "no, I didn't like it..." but what was most funny was the response she had given Dan right after ride. You have to know, that we had to convince her to go this morning. She was wanting to stay with Oliver and I, and not have anything to do with a boat ride. But we said it would be fun, and she reluctantly agreed to go with the boys. When they were done, Dan asked her if she had had fun...her response, "no, I didn't, but you did daddy!"....smart girl or what?? :) That made me laugh! We had lunch, ate ice cream, rode the mechanical car endless times, drove remote control boats on the water, played with the train station buttons a lot, and are now on our way to visit our friends, and see the beach. It's kinda stormy here, which is nice in that the day has cooled off, but that may mean we only SEE the beach and not actually get to play...we'll see.


We only have a few more days here, and lots we want to do like...plane rides, visiting the animal kingdom, playing at the Sea World water park, riding the rides we forgot to do the first day at the Magic Kingdom, play in the pool, and play with our friends some more.


Photos to come later.

 Katherine is doing remarkably well. She continues on treatment, and will do so until the very last day of treatment per the protocol.  The countdown has started though.  Last day of chemo for her will be April 30, 2010.  On that day she will have completed two years, two months and eleven days of chemo treatment since the initial dose administered.  Thinking about it makes me excited, and at the same time a bit nostalgic over all that my poor little girl has endured over said time.  But I will reminisce on that in a later post, I'm sure as the day draws near I will be more and more sensitive to the subject.  She has definitely grown up so much since the day of diagnosis.  I have to dig up photos of her from 2 years ago, but for now here is my little princess now.  She's 4 1/2 years old, and she is the brightest, most beautiful little girl in my life.  She is curious, she is a thinker--a forward thinker at that--, she is a problem solver, she is a little mommy to her baby brother, she is my sunshine, she is...exactly the person made her to be.  And we know that God makes NO mistakes!! We look forward to being rid of all the chemo meds, and getting back to life without the daily worry of "did you have your meds today"?  Please rejoice with us, as we await the last day of her treatment, and look forward to the days, and years ahead. 

Our princess

Birthday Fun!!

It's another year...another birthday!! Today we celebrated Katherine's 4th birthday, and gave thanks and praise to our Lord and Savior for the blessing that she is in our lives. She's a wonderful little girl. So full of energy, giggles, laughs, sayings and just perkiness. There are those moments when she doesn't have a smile on her face, but even those moments somehow make me smile looking back! We have had such a wonderful year. She was a great 3 year old, so smart and despite all the meds and chemo, she's been really in good health. We look forward to seeing her develop and grow as the beautiful little 4 year old we put to bed tonight. I have to tell you that she was a bit disappointed this morning when she woke up and realized she could NOT touch the ceiling. She told me she was sad, because she wasn't BIG. She really thought she would wake up on her birthday morning and have grown super tall--her imagination is beyond me. She LOVED, absolutely LOVED that today was ALL about her and celebrating HER birthday! She LOVED every single birthday wish call that she received, and every single birthday wish that was communicated to her via FB or email. Thank you all for your kindness and thoughtfulness to call her and make her day even more special.

So, we started our day mighty early. The kids had slept pretty well during our drive back from Houston yesterday and through the night, that they were early birds this morning. Both kids were up at 6am!! So much for US waking the birthday girl up singing Happy Birthday. Anyway, both Dan and I were TOO exhausted to get up at 6, so the kids went and watched TV for an hour or so. About 7am we finally came in with the traditional chocolate cupcake in hand, and four lit candles atop the muffin! She was ecstatic, and with a huge grin on her face waited patiently to blow out the candles! Joshua on the other hand, was ansy to help blow out the candles, but we managed to get him to sing with us before he help his big sister with the task.

I spent the morning birthday shopping for my princess, while a dear friend watched the kids. Upon my return home, I asked Katherine what she wanted for her birthday lunch. She promptly said, "mommy I want ham and cheese, soup and a bagel from Panera"...so...off we went. We had lunch at Panera, followed by an hour or so at the park, and then it was time for a birthday cookie from Merritz (for those that are not in tulsa, Merritz is a bakery where they have some really yummy treats). Then it was back home for some late naps. The kids were beat, and slept about 2 1/2 hours each before daddy came home from work. We finished our day with dinner at Chick fil A, another choice made by the birthday girl, and the unveiling of her gifts. It was so much fun to watch her little face light up and ask "mommy, can I open this one now?" I have TONS of photos, but I'll have to post some tomorrow. I'm beat and need to get some rest tonight.

Thanks again for remembering our little girl's bday and calling her today!! You truly made her day! At one point she even said "Everyone is calling to sing Happy Birthday at me!! :)"

Home Already

What a relief. Out of the hospital and able to enjoy a bit of the sunshine this afternoon. Katherine seems to be feeling well, and we're happy to be home. Marleny had a photo shoot this afternoon- so she was relieved that we were going to be let out so quickly.

The weather is so amazing here, I was able to get out for a quick run while the sitter was still here with Joshua. Katherine enjoyed getting to play with Kinsey- one of her sitters from church.

Thanks for all of your prayers. Hoping you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

The Marshes.

Hospital Update

We just spoke with the Oncologist on call, and Kateli's counts are good and the Flu-test was negative. Her fever is gone, so it looks like we may be able to actually get out of here TODAY. That would be the fastest hospital trip yet!

Katherine and Joshua are currenty enjoying grape popsicles and living it up on this beautiful Sunday morning.

Please continue to pray that the remainder of the tests return negative, and that we actually get out of here today.

Thanks!