One Week From Today

A week from today Ethan will be having his surgery. I am nervous about how he is going to be after the surgery. I have a feeling that it is not going to be a happy stay at the hospital. He has been very whiny lately. I know that it is part of him being three now. Hannah was the same way. I have a feeling that it will just be intensified after the surgery.

He has three different shots that he has to get that he did not get in China. I know that chicken pox and hep A are two of them. He has an appointment to get those tomorrow. I told Greg to ask if they can just do the hep A tomorrow and wait on the others until after his surgery. I do not want to take a chance at him having a negative reaction to the chicken pox vaccine. If he does and has not recovered by Wednesday they would probably reschedule the surgery. That would probably mean he would not have it done until June. He cannot wait that long. He should have already had this surgery done.

That makes me wonder. Why does China not go ahead and do the palate repairs while the children are over there. I mean come on the are a communist country that provides healthcare for their citizens don't they. Our plastic surgeon said that the surgery is usually done by the time they turn one year old here in the states. They don't want their speech to be affected. This makes me wish that I was able to have gone to med school and become a surgeon. then I would have been able to go over and do the surgeries for free. I have talked with Greg about donating to Operation Smiles so we can help some other children.

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

UPDATE ON LITTLE ISAAC

thank you to all of you who prayed for him.

16 February 23, 2008 at 08:37 PM CST
Raise your hand if you're in remission! Dale and I heard back from the doctors late yesterday afternoon. The results from Isaac's bone marrow draw showed no Leukemia Cells. The doctor was hesitant to call it a complete remission because there were some abnormal cells present, but there were no leukemic cells...so he has to call it a remission. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! Isaac will still go back into Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Monday morning for surgery and to begin his second round of chemo. Proceeding with his chemotherapy is essential in keeping Isaac in remission and getting his body ready for a transplant. Dale and I have many questions to ask the doctors on Monday, but for now we are rejoicing with our friends and family in this miracle! When the doctors diagnosed Isaac with AML M7, they told us he would never leave the hospital and remission wasn't likely. They also told us the chemo could potentially kill him. Well...so far they have been wrong about everything! We believe in the power of prayer! We believe that through Christ ALL things are possible! We are trusting God to take care of Isaac! Thank you so much for your prayers and support! Our family has been lavished with your love!!!!!! Take a look at Isaac's picture to the right of this update...Dale asked Isaac, "raise your hand if you're in remission" and he did! He's such a smart kid!

Update on Isaac

This is from Isaac's caring page.

February 19, 2008 at 03:25 PM CST
I talked to Mysty yesterday and Isaac is home! I know everyone is SO happy to have him there! He goes back tomorrow for another bone marrow test to see if the chemo worked. They'll have the results on Friday. On Monday he'll be re-admitted to the hospital. The doctors think the first round of chemo probably didn't put him into remission. So when he goes back on Monday they'll start another round. But we know that GOD has the final word on this one! So everyone is waiting until Friday to see if the first round worked. Mysty shaved Isaac's head yesterday. This was extremely hard for her. I haven't seen him yet but I'm sure he's SO cute bald!! We'll have to keep the girls away!! I'm watching God use this family in SO many ways; more than they will ever know. Please continue to pray for Isaac's healing and strength and peace for the whole family. Don't forget to use the prayer pager 615-816-0112, 7777#.

Recent storm and Ethan's 3rd Birthday Party

We recently had a bad storm come through our small town on Tuesday night. There were several homes that were completely destroyed and several lives lost. God had His angels surronding us. The tonado touched down about two miles from our home. We did not know this until the next morning. Hannah and Ethan feel asleep on the couch. When we got the warning we put them in the bathroom floor in case we had to take cover. I have a picture of this. Also, about 5 miles from our house a natural gas plant exploded. That is what two of the pictures are of. the night sky was glowing from the fire. I thought our neighbors back field was on fire.

We celebrated Chinese New Year and Ethan's 3rd birthday today. My sister, Barbara, and I made Chinese food. We had pork dumplings and sliced mushrooms and chicken. It turned out pretty well. Greg found this lady in a town near us that makes custom cakes. She made this Chinese dragon cake for us. We had seen one of her cakes that she made for a little boy's birthday on her website. It was a regular dragon on top of a sheet cake. We thought that our was going to be like that. We were very pleased after we picked it up. It was really great in looks and taste. We will be using her again.

Update on Isaac and video

Isaac is doing better. The doctors say that the chemo seems to be working. They will not know until closer to the end of the month. here is a video of him at the hospital. I wanted you all to be able to put a face with the prayers that you are sending up.
Isaac

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Our Meeting at Supper Tonight

We went to O'Charley's for supper tonight. There was an elderly couple that was sitting beside us. They watched us all during our supper. Greg was in his uniform since we had just come from work. When the couple got up they came over to the table to thank Greg for his service. The gentleman was a WWII vet, 86 years old. He had served with Gen. Patton. He was a gunner in a tank. He was also wounded in France. While we were talking with them he mentioned that he was at the inaugral of the USS Ronald Reagan. They then told us that he was a cousin of President Reagan's. Their mothers were sisters. I thought that was so neat. As a kid I admired President Reagan. To meet his cousin was special.

His wife was telling me that they have I believe grandchildren that are trying to adopt from the Ukranine. They have been in the process for two years. They told us that they admire us for adopting Hannah and Ethan. They gave us a business card with their names and email address and told us to stay in touch. they were a very sweet couple.