END OF CHEMO PARTY!

Can you all believe that she is done with chemo!? WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Jason has dibs on writting the final entry on this blog, so don't think this is it). I am just posting pics from her celebration! Love you all, the party was a blast!!!

RELAY!

Can you guess who this glowing couple is?
This was our litle table of Pirate loot for sale.

And we're off! Team lap/kick-off.
Green Gracie and Stripey Baylor
"Cheeto"
De-buggin

The Relay For Life was a blast! Thanks to all of you who donated and walked and hung out with us all night. Our team raised almost $500. It was a really long night and the first literal "up all night" night for some. We hope those who missed it will join us next year. The Pics are out of order, but you get the gist. THANK YOU!!!!

A mom's crazy promise...

...pink hair.

Life after Disney...

Well things are quiet for the moment here. Indie had an LP last week and it went really good. She's still going down once a month until October. It's hard to believe 20 months have gone by since this all began. We feel so blessed that things have gone as well as they have. She is doing really great heath wise, the academics and social aspects are in the works. I'll get some pics of her on here real soon, you won't believe your eyes! We'd love to hear how YOU are all doing, if anyone out there still checks in. We have the internet again so we'll do better to keep this updated.

DISNEY WORLD!

Gingerbread House Resturaunt
(we ate breakfast and dinner here often)





Icecream Palace (all the free icecream concoctions a kid can dream up, we ate here often too! )


Castle of Miracles (left and below) Those are stars on the ceiling and beams. They each have the name of a wish child that has been there.








Mayor Clayton, Mayor of GKTW (Give Kids the World) Village in the Gingerbread House Eatery.

EPCOT

Hangin' out at the Denver airport.

Carousel at GKTW
Lunch at Planet Hollywood

OOOOH the excitement! Shuttle from the parking lot to the airport in Salt Lake.

First airplane ride!

Jasons favorite, Cinderellas Castle. ;) Taking a rest at EPCOT
"Captain Jack Sparrow" performing just out side the ride.
It really is a small world after all (this was a favorite of all of us)

We had a BLAST in Florida it was really hard to come home to the cold and the grey and brown landscape. What a great wish program, not only did Indie get the royal treatment, but all of us. We are so grateful to have had this opportunity! Thanks Make-a-wish and thanks Indie!

Make-A-Wish

WOW! Sorry to all of you who check in regularly, life is crazy busy! Things are going well. Indie had a little surgery last Monday. Her Port-A-Cath, that we thought would be so great, wasn't all that. Because of its positioning, it was extremly difficult and painful to access. This also created alot of ainxiety for Indie, so at the doc's advice she had it removed and will now receive the remaining 8 treatments via an IV in her hand. Yes, only 8 more treatments and 2 back pokes! The surgery went well and she is healing very nicely. She is looking better than ever, like the "old" Indie, only older and much wiser and having fun with her fast growing, thick and wavy hair. Also (if you haven't heard already) after much thought and worry over making just the right choice, Indies Make-A-Wish to go to Disney World (and see as much 'Pirates of the Carribean' stuff) is going to come true! We leave for Orlando (Florida, not Bloom! ;) ) on March 20th for an all expense paid week long vacation of a life time!! She, and all of us are beyond excited for this adventure. It will be so great to get away and just play and have fun. (Any volunteers to dog sit? $$$) As always, thank you for your love and prayers. Our prayers are with you too!

p.s. I know there are a lot of spelling errors, but the spell check wont work! :)

Pre-Holidays.

The latest news is that chemo went well last time except for the port access which makes Indie shake with fear. The needle is about three inches long with a slight hook on one end. The only nurse that has EVER successfully hit the port with this is Andrea. Last time at primary's she was paged up and down the hospital. Well it went in well and that was over. The next issue was the dreaded flue shot. You see, when the rest of the family got ours it was a small needle and there was no pain. Heidi and I spent about three hours talking her into it and in the end I just held her and she relented. The nurse came out with what appeared to be a knitting needle on top of a turkey baster which made me nervous. They then injected what seemed like 3 to 4 gallons of liquid into her arm at which time I had to sit...or fall. She did not speak to Heidi or myself for the rest of that day. I don't blame her. The usual week for us is to have Heidi get the kids to school including Indie IF she is not throwing up. There are days that are bad and then there are the days about which we don't talk about. When she takes the steroid treatments she can't sleep so she'll get about three hours of sleep.
She missed 29 days of school last quarter and the home work pile is HUGE. She has a tutor to help her for two hours a week and I spend more than that with her yet making assignments up is an arduous task. I had less homework in college. What the heck!
I thought for a while about what to say or write on this blog. I have been thinking about how this challenge has hijacked all of our lives. I don't know where this trial will deposit us when we we are done.
We have our lights up for Christmas quite early on purpose and we plan to celebrate this one very joyously and as we look forward to being all together for Christmas day, (the first since 2005) we feel that this day will be special.

Please if you can donate blood

Get ready for the Relay for life 2008 be prepared to walk for a cure.

Beautiful!

September Update

Hello out there! I guess it's been a while. Summer was crazy and very busy. Indie has started 7th grade and I think she is enjoying it more that she thought she would. So if you ask her how she likes school she will most likely say, "ummm it's ok", but I think she secretly likes it. She loves her art class most of all. She has also just started taking watercolor lessons from Hellen Hepworth (a relative of Jasons) in Centerville.
Indie is doing great. She is still just doing once a month treatments. Her last treatment, which was last week was a back poke. She felt lousy for about five days or so, but she is doing fine now and went back to school today. She even went to try out for the volleyball team but I was late getting her there and the coach "barked" at her for being late so she left! I was very proud of her for even considering trying out!

Indie still loves hearing from you so don't hesitate to leave a comment. :) Thanks for your continuing prayers and support.
-Heidi

All Is Well

Well things are going really great right now. We got back Sunday evening from camping in Mantua for 4 days. It was a lot of fun, Avery and Jason dammed up the little creek that ran through our camp site and made about a 2 foot deep swimming hole. The kids blew up our big air mattress that they placed in the water just barely touching the steep bank, they then would run down and jump on to the air mattress and glide across the water. They had a blast for hours and hours.

Indie left for girls camp yesterday. She was really nervous but excited too. We can't wait to hear all about her experiences there.

We're still waiting for pictures from the Relay for Life in June. It was really cool and a lot of fun and we have many great ideas in store for OUR own team of family and friends for next year.

Port-a-cath

After a lot of thought and prayer, Indie decided last week to have her central line removed and have a port placed. This was done outpatient at Primary's. They put her under anesthesia and made a one inch incision and about a 3 inch incision and the port was placed completely under the skin. It will then be accessed for chemo and blood labs with a small needle after the skin is numbed up with a topical cream. It was totally her decision and though she has been quite sore she has been very strong and brave. Now she will be able to enjoy swimming in Bear Lake in July! Have a Great Summer everyone we will keep you posted of any major events, but were hoping and praying that she stays healthy and strong from here on out....LOVE YOU ALL

Sorry So Long!!!

Hi out there. Just a little update for ya... Indie was able to start maintenance on May 30 after 3 pints of blood on the 23rd to bring her counts up enough to get things started. Maintenance is done in 12 week courses for the next 18 months. Each course starts with a back poke and two types of IV chemo. She will also have to go to Primary's once a month for the usual check-up and a quick dose of IV chemo and she will be on two types of oral chemo daily. She is starting to get her strength, her glow and some hair back. :) She is looking forward to camping with the family and spending time outdoors. She will also be going to her first girls camp in July! Love and Many Thanks Again for all your help and support.
Heidi

Hello everyone. I thought it was about time to update and let you all know that we came home from the hospital on the 10th. Indie is doing well. Some nausea, but for the most part she is doing really well. She goes in on the 23rd to start maintenance!!!!! This is a GOOD thing! From what we hear this is smoother sailing than what she has been through. We love you all and could never thank you enough for all the love, prayers and support through all this. We couldn't have made it without you and the amazing love of our Heavenly Father answering all the many prayers.

Still Here!

Things are getting a little better each day. Indie had her last intense dose of chemo on Sunday, so the horrible side effects should pass soon so that she can come home. The pain Doc's took away her pain pump today, so they are starting to wean her off the Dilauted (sp?). I know this is Indies blog but I have to say something about Avery. He broke his metatarsals (toes/foot), three of them after a crash landing off his friends trampoline. He was sure they were broken cause he felt like he was going to pass out, so he jumped on his bike and rode home (just a couple of blocks :/). Our family Doc. x-rayed it, splint it and set us up an appointment the next day with an orthopedic specialist to see if he needed surgery, thus far he doesn't, they put a cast on it and sent him home on crutches. He's doing good, just really bummed about all the things he wont be able to do for the next 4 weeks.
*************************************************************************

Indie, Gwen and Heidi
we're all best friends now ;)

Gwens Harijuku girls (dancers).

***This fabulous night out was made possible by a great organization called Rock Against Cancer.... check out the link to the right! Thanks again Lisa, you rock! ***

Why the Hospital?

So for those who wonder why Indie has been at the Hospital so much lately here is the answer. The chemo tears her body apart, the good and the bad. When her ability to fight basic germs and viruses is compromised then she can get very sick over something that you or I would never even know we had encountered. When she gets a fever, which is an indicator of something bad then we take her to Primary children's hospital to keep her from getting sicker. For instance, a few days ago she was feeling horrible and had a constant fever of 101. We called the hospital and they told us to bring her in. She had headaches and her arms hurt horribly from the chemo. They ran a myriad of tests, ( you see it's never the same ailment twice) and waited. She was admitted to the special area for children without any immune system or those who have compromised immune systems (ICS). She then became sicker. Today she had a fever of 103.9 and was having headaches so bad that the medicine that they gave her causes nausea, so the medicine they gave her for that caused her to hallucinate. She would not lay down and the medical staff had trouble communicating with her and having her comply with their requests. So when we say that she was in the hospital it is usually for this type of problem. She is an absolute trooper going through HELL and back. Yes she will live, yet there is no such thing as easy chemo and cancer treatment. My heart and respect goes out to those who have been there and have faced this battle. You don't know what it is like until you experience it first hand. I miss my daughter, I miss my wife, I miss my family being together and the normalcy of life. I pray that she will get better enough to come home. Also thanks to those who have brought us dinner on Chemo night as well as when Heidi and Indie have been at the hospital. You are angels. From Avery, Gracie, Ivy and Myself: Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
3/4 of the Dunlaps.

Indie gets to meet Gwen Steffani!!!!!

So Indie was getting chemo when they asked if she wanted to go to the Gwen Steffani concern and to go backstage and meet her and all the good stuff this up coming Monday!!!! She is SOOOOOO excited. A ray or miracle.
Good things can happen.

As things go...

Things go good then they take a turn for the worst. We dodged a bullet last night. She had a fever that was constant and she was about to go to Primary's when it dropped to normal. That was one of the best feelings in the world.

Last update.

Indie is finally at home and we are soo relieved. I cannot express in words how hard it is to have half of your family gone for that amount of time. It feels, let's say very unpleasant.
In the good news side Indie and Avery both received fishing poles for Easter . Indie's is purple with a touch of pink and Avery's is blue. They have a fishing class every Wednesday and they both love it!
I guess we kind of had it really easy during the last phase. It felt like normalcy or whatever normal used to be. We never mean to complain if it seems like that because we count our blessings every day. It just gets really hard even on the best days. Yes, she is young and there will be a complete recovery yet somehow it does not make it easier. I guess that this is a marathon and not a sprint yet we are only a little way in and we are all tired.
I think that sometimes tired is the best that you can hope for.

Thank you for the warm sun and the cool spring. The best part of life. We hope your Easter was all you wanted and needed.

Coming Home

Indie will be coming home this afternoon. She isn't too happy about it either, she knows that she won't get waited on hand and foot like at the hospital and that the food won't be the same. She seriously hesitated when the Dr. said, "so would you like to go home today?" She has missed her dad, sibs and puppy so at least she has something to look forward to! She would love visitors or even a phone call. She is feeling really good and her counts are normal although she is coming home on 6 prescriptions! Anyone got any great pill reminder ideas??? I have notes all over the house and the pills are in the middle of the island in the kitchen but we still forget!

Heidi

At the hospital again

Hello everyone! Indie is in the hospital again with an infection of some kind. She came down on Thursday with a fever (we automatically bring her when she runs a fever of 100 or higher) and mouth sores (from chemo) and they put her in the PICU because her heart rate was really low due to the infection. Her blood counts are good so we are grateful for that. She'll probably be here until Tuesday morning, the Dr.'s want to make sure her fever and the infection are under control and that her heart rate stays stable. She actually is feeling really good and keeping herself busy drawing, drawing, drawing and watching cartoon marathons on Cartoon Network. She's keeping the nurses on their toes asking for them to get her craft things and drinks every 5 minutes, which is definitely better than asking for pain killers every 5 minutes!