July 24, 2008

chemo 101...

We are enjoying our time back at home but I wanted to back-track a little and give you a peek into the whole hospital/chemo experience.  It's a little different each time, but these pictures from Meghan's last round will give you the general idea. (Remember you can click on the pictures to see them larger.)

On this day (last week Thursday) we were expected at the hospital at 11:00 am.  Our morning began much earlier than that with saying goodbye to Dad as he headed off to work, last minute laundry, house stuff, packing our bags, and bringing Rileigh and Aidan to Grandpa and Grandma Tasker's house in Grandville. 
Drop_off  Goodbye  Woody_says_goodbye_too
1)  At Grandpa & Grandma's house  2)  Goodbye Meghan & Mama  3)  Woody says goodbye too!
Starbux_2 

Emla_2  

On this particular day we stopped for a special treat - Starbucks (Meghan's beverage of choice - white mocha with whipped cream - something she is not allowed to have very often!).  While we are in the parking lot Meghan puts her Emla cream over her port and covers it over with a tegaderm bandage.  This will ensure that the skin covering her port is numb by the time we get to the hospital and they need to access it.

Highway  Medical_mile  Heart_center  Past_emergency  Patientparking
Highway driving, off at College St. exit, approaching "Medical Mile" (Michigan street), Turning onto Barclay (Meijer Heart Center on corner), past the emergency entrance, and into the patient parking ramp

Meghan is convinced that the smell of the hospital makes her nauseated so as we pull into our parking spot she is doing her new routine - anti-nausea pill, cinnamon chewing gum, scented lipgloss, and a face mask - now we are ready to go in :)
Hospital_entrance  7south  Doubledoors
The doors into the hospital from the parking ramp, through the halls, to the elevator, up to 7 south, down the hall, and through the double doors into the Hematology/Oncology Unit.  (When we are only coming in for clinic and not an admit we've been going to the lab on the first floor for her lab draw - they do a peripheral draw from her arm instead of using her port.  If she doesn't need any blood products her port doesn't get accessed which means she can still shower and swim.  When the port is accessed she has to wait 24 hours after de-access to get wet.)

We check in at the front desk and then take a seat in the waiting room.  Soon (hopefully) John will come and get Meghan to take her vitals (the "official" check-in).
Weight  Height  Bptemppulse
Every single visit to the clinic begins with these things - weight, height, blood pressure, pulse, and temperature.  After these are completed, it's back to the waiting room.
Waiting_room  Waiting_room_essentials
We do A LOT of waiting in the waiting room!  Meghan's waiting room "essentials" - her starbucks, some good books (a recent gift of "The Girls' Book - How to be the best at everything" from one of her chemo angels has been favorite), and her ipod.  There is also a playroom where she can go and do arts & crafts, video games, etc.. but it is often crowded with the littler kids.

Next her nurse Mary will come to the waiting room and review all Meghan's meds with mom and ask general questions about how Meghan has been doing.  Then she will take Meghan to the port room to get her port accessed and do the blood draws for her lab work. 
Port_access_supplies  Clean  Access_1  Blood_draw1
1)  Sterile supplies  2)  After removing Meghan's tegaderm and wiping the emla cream off, Mary cleans the area over the port  3)  Access #1 (Meghan has a double-lumen port and for chemo both ports will be accessed)  4)  Blood draw for lab work

Blood_draw  Access_2  Done_2  Huberneedle_2
1) Blood draw  2)  Access #2 - Ouch!  That one hurt!  3)  Both are accessed and taped down; next the whole area will be covered with a tegaderm  4)  Close-up of a huber needle (these are the special needles inserted into the port - notice the 90 degree curve)

Here is a little more information on ports:

Ports_2 Implantable Vascular Access Devices (Port-A-Cath; PAS Port)       
Implantable Ports are catheters which are inserted completely under the skin. The distal end of the catheter is formed by a small metal "drum" or reservoir, which has on one side a membrane for needle access. This drum is surgically placed under the skin, just below the clavicle, with the membrane immediately below the skin. The catheter runs from the drum into the subclavian vein. Access is always with a special needle that is pushed through the skin and the membrane into the reservoir inside the drum. Such ports come in different sizes, and can have either one or two lumens. Since the entire catheter is under the skin, the risk of infection is smaller than with external catheter  


*From left to right: Single Lumen Port; PAS Port;
Duel Lumen Port; Quarter; Duel Lumen Port


Mary  John

Two of Meghan's favorite people - her clinic nurse Mary and direct care technician John (a.k.a. the check-in guy)

After her port is accessed it is back to the waiting room.  We have to wait for the lab to run her CBC (complete blood count) to verify that her counts are acceptable for starting chemo.

After her counts come back, one of the Physician Assistants, Krista, will come and get Meghan and bring her to an exam room for a quick check-up.

Ears  Mouth  Lungsheart
We review meds again and answer an array of questions (some of which are embarrassing for Meghan but she is getting used to these).  Krista checks her ears, mouth, throat, lungs, heart, belly, etc..

And then... you guessed it... back to the waiting room.

Fluids_hookedup_2

We wait

     and wait

            and wait


Meghan's counts are a little low, but after consulting the doctors they decide she can go ahead and start chemo.  After awhile Mary comes and hooks Meghan up to an IV pole with fluids - she will start hydrating her heavily to prepare her body for chemo.  (We also get another exam from a PA student - pretty much all repeat information.)


Late in the afternoon we are finally brought over to the inpatient unit and given a room - our "home away from home" for the next few days.

Room

First order of business...       
FebrezeAnother "trick" we've learned -
using Febreze plug-ins in our room
are wonderful for helping Meghan
with the nauseous feeling she gets
from the "hospital smell."

Momsbed  Momsessentials
1)  Mom's sleeping accomodations  2)  Mom's hospital essentials - Bible, Macbook, books (currently reading "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron), camera, phone, sketchbook

While we are in our room we try to stay occupied with reading, playing card and board games, watching tv and movies (this round we watched the movie, "August Rush," and a bunch of old "I Love Lucy" episodes), and using the laptop.  (For her last round, the inpatient child life specialist, Rhys, brought her a Playstation 2 to use in her room.)  Visitors are always a welcome distraction and Meghan especially appreciates food from "the outside" :)   And of course there is the purpose for our being here....

Hanging_chemo  Chemo_bags
1)  Meghan's nurse, Jessie, hangs her chemo  2)  Chemo bags hanging on the IV pole

Depending on what combination of drugs she is getting, they are all given a little differently.  With this particular round she got 2 - four hour infusions of Cisplatin and 2 infusions of Doxorubicin/Adriamycin, along with some supportive meds and antiemetics (anti-nausea drugs).  She is heavily hydrated for the entire stay which means many, many trips to the bathroom (even during the night she is up at least once an hour).  The nurses are also in a lot checking her vitals.  One extra thing we've had the last two rounds is inpatient physical therapy which Meghan really enjoys.

As I've mentioned before, she also does A LOT of this...
Sleep1_2  Sleeping2

When I compare these more recent rounds to the ones at the beginning of her treatment it literally brings tears to my eyes.  It doesn't seem all that long ago when she was getting so very sick from the chemo and spending much of her time throwing up and feeling miserable.  Now I tell her, "Tired and bored is good - it could be much worse!" 

Early each morning we get vitals and weight taken, later one of the inpatient P.A.s (Nicole or Aaron) comes in and does a quick exam and then mid-morning we get a room full of people doing rounds with whatever oncologist is on rotation.  This time it was Meghan's primary oncologist, Dr. Deanna Mitchell, who we absolutely love.

Morning_rounds  Dr_mitchell

We also love the wonderful nurses on the floor.  Here are just a few of them...

Amyjessica  Annieholly  Jessie
1)  Amy & Jessica  2)  Annie & Holly (a childhood cancer survivor herself)  3)  Jessie

We also have a couple of visits from the discharge nurse, Joyce, to make sure everything is in order to leave when it's time.  She makes sure we have all our prescriptions filled up and she orders our home IV supplies and arranges their delivery (Meghan always goes home on 3 days of IV fluids). 

Sibs
Michael and I have been trying to alternate staying overnight with Meghan (he does nights when he doesn't have work the next day).  This gives me a chance to have some good sleep at home and a little more time with Rileigh and Aidan.  We try to have Rileigh and Aidan come up in the evenings to have dinner together and hang out for awhile.   But no moment is ever better than this...

Leaving_1  Elevator  Patient_discharge_parking
1)  Leaving!  (Nice that Meghan is walking this time instead of needing the wheelchair!)  2)  Waiting for the elevator (Aidan cracks me up!)  3)  Yea!

Home_iv_fluids  Meg721  Arm721
1)  Tucked into Dad & Mom's bed with IV fluids  2)  I may be biased, but this kid looks AMAZING for someone who has just finished her 10th round of chemo!  3)  Just because I haven't posted a pic of her arm recently - it really has healed beautifully.

And for those of you who actually made it to the end of this monster post, thank you for taking the time to check in with us and read the blog and most especially for your continued prayers.  They are being answered in abundance! 
                                         PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

July 21, 2008

home again...

So sorry for the lack of posting here!  We are actually home now and Meghan is doing well.  She is on IV fluids for 3 days and she is sleeping a lot.  I am hoping that I'll have some time later tonight to put up some pictures.  In the mean time...

Neupogen Just something you may find interesting...  I've mentioned before that Meghan gets injections of Neupogen (explanation here) daily following chemo rounds.  We get all of Meghan's prescriptions filled at the hospital pharmacy but this particular one our insurance will only cover through a specific pharmacy (Diplomat Pharmacy downtown).  Anyway, the last time I got it filled I asked the pharmacist what the total cost was because I was curious and also pretty sure that it must be a high cost if the insurance company was being so picky about who had to fill it.  Well, I was quite shocked to discover that a box of 10 injections costs $2,500.00 - yes, that's not a typo - I give my daughter a sub-q injection in the belly every night that costs $250.00!  We all know that medical costs are astounding, but it really hits home with things like this.  Once again, we are very grateful for our medical insurance!  And I think if Meghan ever does anything reckless or stupid later in life we will have a lot of leverage (a.k.a. guilt) to use on her (Do you realize how hard those doctors worked to save your life?  Do you realize how much money was spent getting you better?)

July 18, 2008

another round of chemo...

We are currently in room #7263 at De Vos Children's Hospital for round #10 of chemo.  We checked in yesterday morning and we {{hope}} to be out sometime on Sunday.  I am working on a picture-heavy post detailing the step-by-step experience of coming in for chemo (well, Meghan has requested a few steps not be posted on the internet :) so I will honor that and still try to give you an accurate peek into a day in her life!)

P.S.  Some other exciting news here!
 

July 16, 2008

results...

CT Thorax without IV Contrast
          Findings:  Central venous catheter extends into the right atrium. 
          Tiny pericardial effusion is present.  No mediastinal mass or adenopathy is seen. 
          There are a few streaky subpleural opacities almost certainly atelectasis
          No pulmonary nodule or calcification is seen to suggest metastatic disease. 
          There are changes related to limb salvage procedure of the right humerus. 
          Otherwise no gross abnormality of the chest wall. 
          Impression:  1.  Tiny pericardial effusion   2.  No evidence of pulmonary metastatic disease.

Humerus Right X-Ray
            Findings:  Images reveal the patient has undergone resection of the shaft of the humerus
            which has been replaced with a long bone graft which is fixed to the humeral head and
            distal humeral metaphysis with plates and screws and there is also an intramedullary rod
            in place.  Alignment is well maintained.  There is no evidence of bony union at the junction
            of the graft with the native bone at this time.
            Impression:  Postsurgical changes as described.

Nuclear Medicine Total Body Bone Scan
            Findings:  There are changes related to limb salvage resection of right humerus osteosarcoma.
            Minimal photodensity is seen related to the left first toe, likely posttraumatic.  Otherwise
            the biodistribution of the radiopharmaceutical is normal.

TRANSLATION:  Scans are clear - Praise the Lord! 
That bit about the toe from the bone scan is not an indication of re-occurence of the cancer in her toe -
it simply is a reflection of the fact that she stubbed her toe recently :)  We will be talking with the doctor tomorrow about the "pericardial effusion" and "atelectasis" indicated in the CT results (pretty sure it's nothing to worry about though).

held...

Pastor Dale had a great sermon Sunday morning entitled, "The Benefit of Believing."  (It will eventually be available on our church's website.)  In the sermon he mentioned a song by Natalie Grant called "Held."  I think far too often we equate God's love and goodness with having a trial or affliction taken away from us but that's not the promise.  The promise is that "when everything falls, we will be held."  Here are the lyrics:

Two months is too little.
They let him go.
They had no sudden healing.
To think that providence would
Take a child from his mother while she prays
Is appalling.
 
Who told us we'd be rescued?
What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
We're asking why this happens
To us who have died to live?
It's unfair.
 
(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.
 
This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred numb our sorrow.
The wise hand opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow.
 
(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.
 
Bridge:
If hope is born of suffering.
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?
 
(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was

When everything fell we'd be held.

July 14, 2008

saturday scans...

Meghan spent most of Saturday at the hospital for scans.  Please join us in praying for good results so that she can finish out the 3 scheduled rounds of chemo and be declared cancer-free!

The morning began with an injection of the radioactive tracer needed for her full-body bone scan.
Radioactive_tracer_injection_for_bo  Injection_closeup
Because the tracer needs several hours to work its way throughout the body, a CT scan and x-ray were done next...
Ct_scan
The above photo is the CT machine - for more information go here.
Xray    Goofydad
Here we have Meghan getting her x-ray and Dad acting goofy in his protective apron.

By the afternoon Meghan was ready for the full body bone scan (more information here).
Bonescan    Bonescan2

Bonescan3    Bonescanimage
The bone scan is fascinating because there is a screen in the room where you can see the scan appearing as it is taken.  Lovely skeleton, don't you think?

We should receive results next week - stay tuned!

July 13, 2008

re-cap of week...

I didn't mean to leave you all hanging after the last post from Monday when Meghan was feeling so miserable but life gets busy and I get side-tracked easily.  The rest of the week went well for Meghan (and the rest of the family).  On Tuesday we got a few things done around the house and Wednesday evening we enjoyed a fun potluck / swimming party with our small group from church.  Meghan returned to clinic on Thursday and needed to stay for a platelet transfusion.  She also had an audiogram (hearing test).  Her next round of chemo is the drugs that can damage her hearing and heart function so she always has an echocardiogram and an audiogram before the chemo drugs are administered.  Her latest echocardiogram results were still in the "normal cardiac function" range and this last audiogram showed no hearing loss.  We are really thankful for these results - praise the Lord!  It is actual pretty incredible because most kids usually lose some of their hearing at least in the high range; others end up coming off treatment needing hearing aids.  Please keep praying that the drugs will not have these effects on Meghan!
Audiogram1  Audiogram2  Audiogram3
These are photos from the audiogram.  Meghan is put into a sound-proof booth with earphones and a button that she has to press when she hears certain sounds.  She also has to repeat words at different sound levels.  Her audiologist said her hearing is still perfect - she can literally hear a pin drop. 

Thursday night was an especially fun night for Meghan.  12 kids, including Meghan, from the Heme/Onc department at De Vos Children's Hospital got to go out to Lake Michigan for a special evening aboard a yaht, The Hourglass.  (I'm waiting for photos from the child life specialists that chaperoned the event.)  They had a great pizza dinner and took a cruise around Lake Macatawa and down the shore of Lake Michigan.  Very special thanks to the Miller family for hosting this awesome evening for the kids!

Moms_70th_birthday_lunch_3 Friday was my mother's 70th birthday (I know -
she totally does not look that old!).  My two sisters, dad, mom, and I went downtown for a fancy lunch at Leo's.  Meghan and her cousin Melanie got to exercise their recently acquired American Red Cross Babysitter Certifications by watching the younger siblings/cousins.

Yum_2

I tried something I've never had before - a fabulous chilled gazpacho soup - anyone have a good recipe for this?

Email me please!


Friday night was Calvin's night at the Whitecaps so Michael took the kids.  We are very blessed to have two wonderful neighbor girls, Machaela & Olivia, who have become good friends with Meghan and Rileigh.  They went along to the game and then stayed at our house for a sleepover.

Girlssleepover1    Girlssleepover2

Meghanmachaela  Girlssleepover3  Oliviarileigh
You have to pack in the fun stuff whenever you can and this was definitely a fun night for the girls (not so much for Aidan though - he was very quick to remind me that he is overdue for a sleepover with his best buddy, Noah!) 

Next post - Saturday scans! 

July 07, 2008

monday...

SleepymeghanThe photo on the left is to illustrate how we spent the majority of the day today (Monday).  We started out at the hospital around 9:00 am for a physical therapy session which went really well.  We then went to the lab for a blood draw, stopped in the pharmacy for prescription refills, and headed up to clinic.  As soon as we got up there Meghan started throwing up.  Her lab tests came back and her counts were low so they had her stay for a blood transfusion.  She threw up a few more times and they gave her some anti-nausea meds which totally wiped her out so she slept on the couch in the infusion room for the afternoon while receiving the transfusion.  We will have to go back on Thursday morning as well and she will likely need a platelet transfusion at that point.  I do think that the blood helped her to feel a little better and she was doing ok by this evening.  Thankfully I had arranged for RIleigh and Aidan to go to Grandpa & Grandma's house this morning instead of tagging along to clinic with us.  They do fine at clinic if it's a shorter visit but the day-long appointments are a bit much for them to handle.   There is nothing too terribly exciting in this post but it is a good example of how life is right now for us - very difficult to plan or schedule anything and always needing to just adjust expectations and "go with the flow" of what is needed at any given moment.  I know Meghan was pretty bummed to spend all day at the hospital feeling lousy - not what she had anticipated for the day.  We are, however, still amazed at all the things we have to be grateful for - grandparents who live close and are always willing to help, a great staff at De Vos who are providing excellent care for Meghan, progress being made in PT, insurance and supplemental help that covers all the outrageous prescription costs, a still-wonderfully incredible (and reliable) vehicle to get us around to all these appointments, caring people who bring over meals (what a blessing especially on days like today!), encouraging notes and emails, PRAYER,.... the list could keep going.  I am trying to remember to focus on those blessings on days like today!  I pray that in the midst of whatever trials you may be facing, that God gives you the vision to see the blessings as well.

One of my favorite scripture passages is Philippians 4:4-9.  We tend to favor the ESV translation of the Bible (great new study edition coming this fall) around here lately but tonight I looked these verses up in The Message Remix and found them to be a refreshing encouragement for the day.

Celebrate God all day, every day.  I mean, revel in him!  Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them.  Help them see that the Master is about to arrive.  He could show up any minute!  Don't fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray.  Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.  Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.  Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized.  Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.      
                                                           Philippians 4:4-9 (The Message Remix)

July 06, 2008

a picture is worth a thousand words...

Meghan was released from the hospital this past Tuesday evening and has been recovering nicely from this round - just in time to enjoy a fun holiday weekend! 

Whitecaps  Ymca
Rhys, the child life specialist at De Vos, passed along some Whitecaps tickets from a generous donor so Mik and the kids got to go to the game Thursday night.  The seats were right behind the dug-out so the kids got pulled up to do the "YMCA" and Aidan got a ball from one of the players.
Kids_at_parade  Aidanstarwars
Friday morning we headed over to Grandville for their annual 4th of July parade.  The kids LOVE this (and all the candy they get from it!).  Aidan's favorite part this year - the Star Wars characters that walked in the parade (a couple of them stopped afterward for a photo with him).
My5kids  Mr_incredible
The parade was followed by lunch/picnic at Grandma & Grandpa Tasker's house.  On the left is my 5 fabulous kids (4 original + one in-law).  And on the right - why, yes, that IS Mr. Incredible!
Goggledkids  My
Lunch was followed by swimming (the Taskers have a very kind and generous neighbor that has given our kids a "swim anytime" status - thanks Scott and Kim!).  Aidan is always referring to himself and Mik as the "mens of the family" so I had to take a picture of "my mens." :)
Aidanpool1 Aidanpool2 Aidanpool3 Aidanpool4 Aidanpool5
In the evening we headed over to East Grand Rapids for icecream and fireworks.

Fireworks1 Fireworks2 Fireworks3
Aidan:  "Whoa.. that was wicked cool!"  (Yes, we have a bit of an Incredibles obsession going on at the moment.)
(Edit:  Aidan has corrected me... it is "Whoa!...That was totally wicked!")

Mikgirls Mom_aidan_dad Momaidan_2

Rileighatfireworks Aidanatfireworks Meghanatfireworks Mylove
We hope you all had a safe and enjoyable holiday as well!  We appreciate all of your continued prayers and support - you will never truly know how much that has meant to us and sustained us through these last 7 months!  We ask for your continued vigilance on our behalf.  Meghan will go back in for another round of chemo on July 17.  The next round is her hardest combination of chemo drugs.  Between now and then we will be crazy busy with appointments as well.  Meghan is scheduled for physical therapy 3 times a week and clinic twice a week.  In addition her doctor has ordered a battery of tests and scans to be completed before the 17th including an audiogram, echocardiogram, full-body bone scan, plain-film x-ray, MRI, and CT scan (these are all separate appointments!).  Please pray for favorable results from these tests so that we can finish out the planned chemo rounds without needing to add more!

 

when Meghan is bored at the hospital...

...you get to watch a goofy movie she made...

 

June 30, 2008

a special visitor...

Meghan_spartyWe had a special visitor up on the floor today at the hospital... Sparty!

This photo is for Grandpa Tasker -
the biggest MSU fan we know!

(With apologies to all the Michigan fans we know!)

another poem...

Hope is the thing with feathers
                     by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

June 28, 2008

another round underway...

Clinic_ghost We went into clinic yesterday morning at 10:30 am and waited for Meghan's blood counts to come back to find out if she would be admitted for 5 days of chemo.  Her counts were good enough so late in the afternoon we "checked in" to our room and late last night they started started round #9 of chemo.  We don't usually talk about it much before hand - we just try to go about life as usual and then deal with it when the time comes.  On Thursday night Meghan had a little bit of a meltdown... "I don't want to go in again...  everytime I just start feeling better and back to normal and then it's time to go in again..."  (Yeah, we all feel that way...)  BUT on the positive side, one more round means we are that much closer to being done.  After this she only has 3 more scheduled rounds!  We are in room #7258 - feel free to stop by and visit!

The photo on the left is not the mysterious clinic ghost we've heard rumors of; it is Meghan sitting in the corner of clinic completely covered in a blanket watching a movie on her ipod.  And since she was being a little bit uncooperative with having her photo taken I thought I'd leave you with a photo from this past December when she was first diagnosed (along with a poem entitled, "LIFE," by Charlotte Bronte)...

LIFE

Life, believe, is not a dream

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day.

Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,

But these are transient all;

If the shower will make the roses bloom,

O why lament its fall?

Rapidly, merrily,

Life's sunny hours flit by,

Gratefully, cheerily

Enjoy them as they fly!

What though Death at times steps in,

And calls our Best away?

What though sorrow seems to win,

O'er hope, a heavy sway?

Yet Hope again elastic springs,

Unconquered, though she fell;

Still buoyant are her golden wings,

Still strong to bear us well.

Manfully, fearlessly,

The day of trial bear,

For gloriously, victoriously,

Can courage quell despair!

Meghan_december_07_3


We wait in hope for the LORD;

he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,

even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33:20-22

June 26, 2008

American Cancer Society RELAY FOR LIFE...

This past Friday night our family went downtown to Ah-Nab-Awen Park (in front of the Ford Museum on the river) for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.  Meghan participated in the survivors' lap and other activities.  (I really like the ACS's definition of survivor - you are a survivor from the day of diagnosis, not just after you are in remission or declared cancer-free.)  What made the event even more special for us is that Michael's mom and my mom walked the survivor lap with Meghan (they are both breast cancer survivors).  It was a beautiful evening!
Meghan_with_grandmas_2
               From left to right:  My mother (Elaine), Meghan, and Michael's mother (Roberta)

Meghan_walking_with_banner_3 Quite a few people showed up to participate in the survivor's lap.  They lined them up by date of diagnosis.  Those diagnosed within the last year (including Meghan) were up front and then lined up behind according to years.  Meghan got to be right up front holding the center of the banner.  Before they began walking, the announcer said to those up in front, "Turn around and look behind you at all the survivors."  That was very moving for me to watch Meghan do.  Each of the survivors carried two white roses.  Half-way through the lap they gave a rose to their caregiver/support person and then that person finished walking the lap with them.  Meghan was very sweet - she insisted on giving away both of her roses - one to me and one to Michael.  I finished walking with her while Michael took pictures and kept an eye on Rileigh and Aidan.

Ron_roberta  Marv_elaine
              Grandma & Grandpa Tasker                                   Grandpa and Grandma Monsma
        We have been so very blessed to have the support and love of both of these dear couples!!

Meghan_rileigh_aidan  Meghan_aidan  Meghan_aidans_head_3  
Rileigh_aidan_in_grass_3 The kids had a fabulous time.  They were rolling down the hill, blowing bubbles, playing games, dancing, eating lots of junk food - just really enjoying hanging out together!   (Aidan especially enjoyed sporting his new 'do complete with the special message for Meghan.)

Even after the grandparents left we stayed for the luminaria ceremony.  We decorated luminary bags "in honor of" Grandma Monsma and Grandma Tasker, as well as Meghan.  It was cool to see them all lit up and lined up on the walkways.  There were many bags "in honor of" and "in memory of" - so many loved ones whose lives have been affected by cancer! 

Luminary_bags   Luminaria_walkway

Mik_with_kids_2   Meghan's light burning brightly...

  Meghans_bag_2

June 20, 2008

shhh... it's a surprise for Meghan...

Aidan has been bugging me for the last six months to let him do something so today I helped him with this "surprise" for Meghan... (actually Aidan is not very good at keeping secrets so he let the cat out of the bag before we snuck up to the bathroom)...
Before1  Before2 Before3
Getting ready... what do you suppose he could be up to?...
Hairysink
hmmm... that looks familiar...
Shavingcream1_2  Shavingcream2  Shavingcream3
preliminary clippers shave is done... now for the close-up shave using Daddy's shaving cream...
Freshlybald
freshly shaved...
Baldie1  Baldie2  Baldie3
What can I say?  These Haan kids look GOOD bald!
Ilovemysistermeghan
A special message for Meghan on the back.... "I LOVE MY SISTER MEGHAN!"

June 19, 2008

i need a cup of...

Simpliciteasimplici.tea   n.  the appreciation of  life's little moments while drinking tea.

We are now (almost) 2 weeks into the summer and it is not going at all the way I had planned.  I thought with school done and things slowing down we would be re-grouping and catching up on everything that we are so far behind on.  Instead we have discovered how incredibly {{beyond belief}} exhausted we are.  As soon as things slowed down a little we just CRASHED.  So looking forward to the next 10 weeks before school starts again.... we need to get back on track with... well, LIFE.   I think my key words for the summer will be...

        DISCIPLINE

        MOTIVATION

        ORGANIZATION

        SIMPLIFICATION

Meghan update:  Meghan is doing well.  We were at clinic on Wednesday and she needed to stay for a platelet transfusion.  We go back to clinic Monday morning and her next round of chemo (5 days inpatient) is scheduled to start Friday, June 27.  Please pray that her counts will recover enough by then so that we can stay on track with the chemo schedule.  We are waiting to hear back about the physical therapy through Mary Free Bed.  Once that starts we will have PT three times a week, along with clinic once or twice a week. 

Ethan update:  Ethan was able to leave the hospital and go to camp (Camp Catch-A-Rainbow is a summer camp for kids with cancer) which was a huge answer to prayer.  He is being monitored very closely at camp but will hopefully be able to stay the whole week.  His parents, Jennifer and Joe, are meeting with the oncologist this a