Natalie's Journey

Hello all,

Natalie’s rash is clearing up little by little. I’m not sure if it’s because she is back on immune suppression or that she is taking a steroid; maybe both. Tomorrow is clinic day and we should find out the results of her skin biopsy. Keep them in prayer as it can be chaotic being in a large room full of other cancer kids and nurses running around. For the most part Natalie had a good day. She actually got a little bit of dancing in. Sorry, I didn’t catch it on video. Maybe next time.

We just got back from the clinic. It was kinda hectic today at the clinic with the abundance of patients. Natalie got her own room today because she wasn’t feeling good. She is still dealing with the GVH. It has been getting worse over the last few days and because of that the doctor put her back on the immune suppressant meds and added a steroid to control the rash. The rash doesn’t hurt or itch most of the times, but it looks pretty bad. Her eyes look like she has pink eye, but it’s not. Part of all this also includes some swelling to her face. As a parent, it hurts to see her like this. She hasn’t been her bubbly self either for the last few days. Pray that God will help her through this.

Please pray for Natalie as she is dealing with the full body rash that is getting itchy. She also has been at a low-grade fever most of the day so Natalie hasn’t been her bubbly self. Pray that God will touch her body and bring comfort to her. As for us, wisdom to know what to do and keep on top of things such as meds, etc..

Team Natalie, We are going home today! Her blood cultures and swabs have been coming back negative. Praise God! She is still dealing with the rashes and it appears to be GVH. Doctors are not 100% sure and so they will be doing a skin biopsy on Friday at the clinic. We are just waiting for the nurse to instruct us on some new equipment needed to administer antibiotics to her at home.

She is back to 3 clinic visits per week to keep an close eye on her progress. In two weeks, they will be performing another bone marrow biopsy. We definately prefer the gas cost to have her home than to live at the hospital. She is excited to go home after a week and a day of the hospital life. Pray that she stays infection free & especially leukemia free. Today is day 78 out of 100. Almost there!

Good morning all! Natalie had a rough night as her cough kept her from falling asleep. The nurse noticed early in the AM that her lips were swelling, so she gave her some Benidryl which caused her to sleep in late this morning. She was MPO (can’t eat) this morning because they were expecting to perform the skin biopsy, but after the doctor examined her rash, he determined that it wasn’t needed. Natalie’s next question for me was “can you get me mini-pancakes from Jack in the box?”.

The doctor also stated that a culture taken yesterday from her port came back possitive for a virus. They will be monitoring her closely. On the upside, she has had no fevers. Keep her in prayer and pray for a speedy recovery.

Team Natalie,
Natalie’s blood cultures (samples) have come back clear now. The virus and bacteria she had is gone and she is feeling much better. So, as you might have guessed, our next question was “When can we go home?” Unfortunately, Natalie has been dealing with a mean rash that spreads throughout her body. The severity goes up and down and they have rulled out GVH, which leaves the cause to be a alergic reaction. To what? The doctors have not figure it out. They have been making adjustments to her meds in effort to narrow down the possiblities. They will be possibly be doing another skin biopsy in which will push our discharge date to Monday. Of all weekends, it had to be our wedding aniversary/mother’s day weekend. Oh well. God has a reason for everything.

Pray for Natalie’s rash and cough as it is keeping her up at night. It’s day 71, I believe, of her journey to day 100 after transplant. Keep her in your prayers. Thank you to all who have been faithfull to the challange of praying daily during these 100 days. God is good!

Also pray for a boy down the hallway that has been given the “nothing we can do” talk. Our God is bigger than “we”. It’s crazy to think that Natalie has spent time with this boy in the playroom a few months ago.

Good Morning! We slept alot better last night. Natalie has been coughing a lot ,but is feeling better today. Another culture came back positive from one of her lumins yesterday. They have her on two antibiotics, so pray they take affect soon. Thank God Natalie is just rollin with the flow and has not complained about being in the hospital. The nurse’s have been great and a lot of the staff have come by to visit even her favorite volunteer from the playroom. Thank you all for your prayers.