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