November 6^th

Duffy blogging

When we ask for prayer warriors, man do y’all pull through! Chris and I are blown away by the amount of love and support people are showing our little girl (and us) through prayer! We heard stories this past week of Bible Study groups praying for K, mission groups in other countries praying for K, past next door neighbors praying for k, old friends from Elementary, middle school, and high school praying for K, and just mom and dads that have somehow felt a connection through Kaylee’s story that have felt the urge to pray…..and for that we are so incredibly thankful!

If you have been reading our blog, you know that K had a very high fever on Sunday night with 0 illness fighting white cells (ANC cells) to help her out. This is very scary to any parent that has a child fighting off cancer b/c even a small cold can become life-threatening rather quickly. We are still working through a few glitches (will discuss that in a min) but we are thankful that she has now been fever free for 24 hours and God willing, we will be discharged tomorrow afternoon!

Our biggest scare occurred when a nurse told me Kaylee was showing every symptom of having Cdiff (a resistant bacteria) and they needed to test her for that. Now, if you know my past, then you know I know about cdiff from working with elderly people. Not a fan of cdiff! Kaylee and I were put on isolation all day Tuesday waiting for the results. I learned that a positive test result would be putting us in isolation (stay in the room, no visitors) for 13 days straight! EEEEK!  I cannot describe the happiness that overwhelmed me when on Tuesday late afternoon the nurse said “Duffy, guess what?!” smiling as she peeled the large ISOLATION sticker off our hospital room door. I said “NEGATIVE????” she smiled and said yep! K’s test showed she is negative for Cdiff!” (Thank you LORD!)  I immediately took K outside to the wishing pond so we both could get some much needed fresh air! J

I met with Kaylee’s Dr this morning that also came in with good news….and bad news. She said “Kaylee’s ANC cells are still 0, but we should see those getting better soon. Her bacteria culture slide showed no growth, so what brought her here must have been a virus. She has been fever free so if all goes as planned we can send you home tomorrow with some antibiotics for her to continue. However, I have decided to stick to the plan and have K admitted next Thursday at the hospital for her 3-4 day chemo (Methotrexate drip)”  I was concerned and said “She has 0 ANC cells…y’all said she would need at least a ANC count of 750 for her to do the chemo drip….you think she will be that much better in a week, to be able to withstand the chemo?” the Dr said that she thinks Kaylee will be ready, but only labs will tell….  SO I have to take K to get a blood draw early next week.

Although we are happy to have seen quite a few smiles and a cute “Hiiiiiii!!” to everyone that passes by her, Kaylee has barely eaten. We have tried different options at every meal, and so far a handful of Doritos is what she wants. When I say a handful, I mean throughout the day, a handful of Doritos is all she is eating. She has been put on Periactin, as of last night which is supposed to make her hungry, but has not started working. The Dr told me today it could take a few days to work, so I am waiting for the magic of this medicine to take effect.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to my mom and stepdad coming in to town; ready and hyped up to get K to eat! (I think that is their goal of the trip.) We are so excited to go home tomorrow. Living in the hospital for even a short amount of time (no matter how nice of a hospital it is) makes you realize how much you take your own bed, shower and privacy for granted! Wayyyyyy too many people have seen this girl without makeup on this week!

So thank you, thank you, thank you, for all the prayers!! K is fever free and seems to be returning back to her sassy yet sweet self! God is so good!  We are praying for a healthy and happy upcoming wknd. We are praying she gains an appetite and puts on some weight & sleeps well.  No idea what her blood counts will be next week and certainly not ready to repack for another 3-4 day stay at the hospital, but God already knows the plan, so we will just follow along and be thankful for all the  good and pray about any of the ‘glitches’ that come about. He has heard your prayers, and we intend on returning the favor, so please let us know if we can pray for you as well!

Also, if you get a chance, please pray for Grant Terrell. He is just a little older than Kaylee, and we met Grant and his family at the Chemo clinic. Grant is fighting an even larger battle than Kaylee with a diagnosis of stage 4  Rhabdomyosarcoma, but you would never know it from his super cute smile! Grant was just rushed here to AFLAC cancer section last night with a fever, and we want him to get better soon! His mother is an awesome prayer warrior with a HUGE heart, and we want a prayer of healing ALL over this family! (you can also see updates on him on the facebook page; Pray for Grant Terrell)

I will update later this week on how our return home is going! Thank you for taking the time to read, pray for K, and thank you to those that have ordered a PRAY4K shirt this week! We love y’all!

#PRAY4K

 Jeremiah 29:11”For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

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