Recent pictures of Madalyn

Mommy and I cruising the halls. I love cruising.

Madalyn and Eli playing a duet

Eating some of Mom's Birthday Cake. Ummmm Good!

Me and Ry hanging out. I really like his hair cut.

Me and Daddy Coming back for my 3rd round of Chemo.

Me and Karleen, She is my special buddy!

These are my good friends: Toba, Kate and Angie

How do I look?

back for a little while

Madalyn was able to come home late last Saturday. She was in good spirits and very excited to be home (I will post some of the pictures when I get them from Trish). She arrived in typical Madalyn fashion, blowing kisses and waving her pageant wave. Her brothers enjoyed her for the next 4 days and Madalyn really enjoyed being back home. Some family came while she was home and got to enjoy Madalyn's fun personality. She has such a sweet heart that just draws people to her. It is so fun to see the change in her from how she was before discovering the tumor to now. You can really see how happy she is and even though she has the discomfort that comes with chemo, you can see her true personality coming out.
Unfortunately T & T were misinformed about when Madalyn's next round of chemo would start and Madalyn had to be taken back seven days earlier than planned. It was fun while it lasted. The boys loved having their little sister back and Madalyn loved being back with them. We will be posting some of those pictures soon!

Madalyn Update

As some of you may have heard, Madalyn did come home last Wednesday night. It was bittersweet. It was exciting having her home but it was a bit overwhelming for T&T. Besides having a whole pharmacy of drugs to give her, they were instructed to take her to the ER at any sign of fever or illness. Madalyn's white blood cell count was extremely low making her very susceptible to illness. Madalyn's brothers were excited to have her home and were heartbroken when they had to say goodbye late Thursday night. Madalyn couldn't keep anything down which meant that she wasn't getting any of her meds. She also started to get a low grade fever and so late Thursday night Terrell took Madalyn back to Primary Children's. She has been there ever since.
Today one of Madalyn's favorite doctor/surgeon is going to shave her head. Trish was prepared and said that Madalyn had started loosing quite a bit and that there wasn't much left to shave. The nurses and the family life specialist brought Madalyn some hats and bows for her to have yesterday. Trish said that there was a blue one that she loved and kept putting on her head and looking in the mirror. She was also given a doll that she got to color on. They were going to let "M" cut her hair today, right before they cut hers.
She seems to be in good spirits. Every day brings challenges but she is being a little trooper. She will be moved to the fourth floor tomorrow (the cancer unit). We continue to be so grateful for all the prayers and wishes in Madalyn's behalf.

Pictures!!

This three weeks before the entering the hospital

Big smiles with mom!

Suzy, Nicole and Kate

Kylie and Colonel the dog

Suzy teaching music

Angie taught Madalyn to blow kisses

Hi Dave

She's such a cutie!

Loves from daddy

Chemo update and some highlights

Madalyn started her first round of chemo therapy on Wednesday. They gave it to her at two different times. The first one didn't phase her. She continued to play and eat as normal. The second time was a little bit harder. It ran for seven hours and it did make her start to get nauseous. She threw up 10 times in a two hour period. She was given some Benadryl to take care of the nausea and slept throughout the night without throwing up any more.
One of the times Madalyn was throwing up her NG tube came out (the tube that has been putting sodium back in and helping to stabilize the levels enough so that she doesn't have any more seizures). The nurses decided to keep it out and just watch to see how her sodium levels did. We are excited to say that her levels have stabilized and have even risen the last two times they checked!
Yesterday was a little lighter of a dose, only having to run for 2 hours. They are still giving Madalyn the Benadryl to help with nausea though. Instead of making her drowsy like it does most people, Madalyn has decided to fight her exhaustion and play, play play! I think Terrell is more worn out than Madalyn!
The doctors told Trish & Terrell that she will most likely start loosing her hair any day. Terrell cut some of her little curls to save. We will miss her cute brown curls but know that she is beautiful even without them (she was bald when she was a baby). We now just have a good excuse to go buy all those cute little beanies and get some good use out of them!
Saturday will be her last day of chemo for this month. Sunday she will be given meds. to boost her immune system and her blood count. After that they will watch to see how she does for a couple days.
Madalyns amazing Neuro Surgeon, Dr. Walker comes in to check on Madalyn everyday and she blows him kisses. He is already talking to T&T about when they will need to bring her back once she is out of the hospital. Trish was joking that they are unnecessary appointments, he just wants to see "his Madalyn"again! Madalyn has also made some friends with several of the nurses taking care of her. There are many who just love to see Madalyn totting down the hall waving and blowing kisses.
One highlight for Madalyn last week was a visit from a golden retriever named Colonel. It is a dog they bring in to the hospital to help cheer up kids who are staying for longer periods of time. Madalyn loved it!
We are so grateful for the wonderful doctors working on Madalyn and the great care that has been given to her, physically and in thought and prayer. Thank you!

Maybe if we all try

Madalyn will start her first round of chemo therapy on Tuesday. She is being prepped for the procedure on Monday. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers throughout the week.

Trish told a story about a friend of hers who has also been going through chemo therapy. She has been battling the nausea almost constantly. One day, she noticed she did not have any nausea and was feeling unusually good. Later that day she talked to her husband who asked how she was feeling. The friend commented on how unusually well she felt. The husband told her how he had prayed that day to be able to take something from her that day, to be able to help her any way he could. He told her that he had been feeling nauseous all day!
This story reminds me of how modern miracles happen everyday, big and little.

Maybe if we all pray that we can take some small part of Madalyn's discomfort for her, a miracle will occur and she will be able to make it through these treatments and not even feel the slightest bit of discomfort or nausea. It's worth a try.

Many thanks!

Trish and Terrell would like to give a huge thanks to all who have fasted and prayed in Madalyn's behalf. An outpouring of love has been given from family, friends and even complete strangers who have heard about Madalyn's condition. They truly appreciate the love that has been shown to their family.Thank you.
They also want everyone to please understand that while this situation is still a very new and very sensitive part of their lives, it isn't always easy to talk about, especially to everyone that is wanting to know. This is the reason for this blog. For you to be able to check up on Madalyn and her progress and to leave your comments for the family.
We appreciate your continuing fasting and prayers on Madalyn's behalf.