Madey, Music, and Miracles

There are ups and downs to everything we do in life and the answers we seek are not always the answers we get. Sometimes we go into an experience with a certain well defined expectation both for ourselves and the Lord and come away with something not completely unfamiliar of what we had in mind. And yet there is still rejoicing for the all encompassing goodness of God.
Last Friday and Saturday Madey received her 11th Chemo treatment (only 3 more to go!) she also had an MRI, CT Scan, and Bone Density scan done to determine what is going on in this battle with cancer. Here is what we learned, Madey's pelvic bone and hip area where the cancer did the most damage is re-growing itself and the blood flow to that area has increased. The cancer continues to shrink and will shrink even more with the final 3 Chemo treatments. There is still an affected area in her pelvis, but due to the radiation and chemo that area is inactive. So what does that mean? It means that once Madey is done with these last 3 chemo sessions she is done (Yeah Baby!). Doctors will continue to monitor the affected area by doing scans every 3 months, but chances are the cancer will remain inactive but Madey will not! As soon as she gets clearance she would like to start training to get herself in shape to play softball and basketball.
Madey continues to have positive experiences and be a positive example to those around her. A week or so ago she attended her seminary class, inspite of her teacher (dad), and since it was early in the term students were asked to bring to class an item that helps define who they are. Madey chose to bring her guitar and sing for her class. It was quite an awesome site as this cute sophmore girl with no hair, unzipped her guitar case, introduced herself, and began playing a favorite Taylor Swift song for kids she hardly knew. There was quite the feeling of awe in the room, and the applause after was both genuine and heart felt. George has said several times since then, "I wish I'd had my video camera." The comments from the other students were awesome, one girl said, "I don't even like Taylor Swift, but you are amazing!"
We are well aware that there is still more to do for full healing and recovery, but we are grateful for how far Madey has come and encouraged as we run the last few miles of this mararthon. We are so thankful for all the love, support, and prayers of so many.

Four More - -

We seem to be in countdown mode, only four more chemo sessions for Madey! (can I get a whoot whoot!) Although there is still much for her to endure we feel like we are finally beginning to see the proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel'. Madey completed her 10th chemo treatment a week ago Friday. It was a long 5 day stay and her recovery time at home was short lived. She began feeling sick last week and by Wednesday evening was running a fever of about 103 degrees. Which meant we got to go to the emergency room. They kept Madey at Primary Children's until Saturday afternoon, she is now home resting and receiving 'mom care' which is the best care. We hope to get her feeling well enough to attend some school, in the meantime she will continue to do her assignments from home.
While Madey and Michelle were in the hospital, George and Landon went on a campout with the 11year old scouts. They left Friday about 3:30 pm and headed up Ogden canyon to spend the night. There were 3 leaders and 4 boys. Around 5:45 pm, the boys had just finished setting up their tents and George along with one of the other leaders (Mitch) were trying to string up a tarp to keep the rain off everyone, when Mitch hurt his ankle. After hobbling over to the picnic table and getting seated to rest his leg, the wind began to blow and one of the boys tents began to fly away, several of the boys who had been sitting next to Mitch ran after the tent, George went to help them. A micro burst of wind came whistling though the camp and George looked up as he heard a loud crack and saw the top of a cottonwood tree snap off and begin to fall, he yelled "look out" when the large portion of tree crashed down on Mitch's head and narrowly missed Landon. Part of the tree was full of bees which began stinging George, Mitch, and some of the boys, I think Landon was stung twice, while George received about 8 stings. The boys hurriedly climbed into one of the tents to wait out the storm, while George and the other leader Rob, lifted the tree off Mitch. They then put Mitch in the suburban and Rob drove him closer to Pineview where he was met by EMS from Ogden City and Weber county, they then transported Mitch to the hospital where he received 4 staples in his head. If you want to see pictures you can view Mitch's blog at the bottom of this post. After Rob left with Mitch, George went to check on the boys in their tent, when he asked them how they were doing they replied by telling him they had been sharing happy thoughts about Brother Dorius and taking turns offering prayers for him. Needless to say George had a hard time not crying because of the innocent and faithful gestures of these young scouts. Not only was the campout a small disaster, but the boys still need to meet their scout requirement for sleeping in a tent.
We hope for a less eventful week, but continue to be grateful for the many blessings we enjoy in our lives because of the Gospel of Christ and the many people that watch out for our family.
http://www.mitchandstacie.blogspot.com/

Treatment Timeout

After completing 31 radiation treatments, and another session of chemotherapy we decided it was time for a break. We loaded up the suburban and took the family to Island Park, ID and spent some time fishing, floating the river, exploring Yellowstone National Park, and of course poking sticks in the campfire. It was a nice break and time seemed to stand still while we were there. Wildlife viewing was great, we saw about 7 Moose in Island Park, lots of Elk and Bison in Yellowstone, and a bald eagle fishing near us on the river. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids taking pictures and laughing in the car, it actually felt like we were normal again. George's nephew was a great tour guide and we are grateful to George's brother for the use of his cabin, I don't think we could have made the trip other wise. We also really enjoyed being with other family members while we were there. If you noticed and extra human in the pictures, that is Lindy's fiance Cameron, yes we are planning a wedding in the midst of all of this (As if it wasn't crazy enough already). All joking aside, he is a nice guy and we are very happy for the two of them.

When we got back it was time for a little reality check, Madey and Hillary went to the High School and picked up their class schedules and had yearbook pictures taken, there is definitely some nervous excitement on Madey's part about starting High School and still trying to finish cancer treatments. So far the school has been great to work with. George will meet with all of her teachers next week so they are aware of Madey's situation. With all of that taken care of Madey received a blood transfusion on Friday and will start her next round of Chemotherapy on Monday the 16th of August, it will most likely sideline her for first week of school, but we know with each passing treatment we are that much closer to finishing this fight and helping Madey become cancer free.

Still Fighting Forward,

After our fun adventure on the 4th of July to see Carrie Underwood and the Stadium of Fire we were reminded that we still have cancer and we are still undergoing treatment. With the combination of radiation and chemotherapy Madey began to get blisters and sores on her body, the chemo had made her skin more sensitive to the radiation. As a result of all this, her blood counts got pretty low and she began running a fever which meant we were once again being admitted to the hospital. It was a very difficult stay, not just for Madey but also her parents, and I think a few members of the hospital staff. There seemed to be one trial right after another and much of the trial came in the form of too many chiefs and not enough Indians. It seemed as if we were constantly at odds with some of our nurses and doctors about the best method of treatment for Madey during this 48 hour stay. Suffice it to say, there were some pretty amazing tender mercies that not only allowed Madey to get the care she needed, but also to provide her parents with the peace of mind they needed to continue to fight forward. The Lord knows who we are and what we are going through, but I am still amazed at how often he uses ordinary people to make miracles happen in our lives.
Madey is feeling much better now, she has been home for a week and has been able to continue her radiation treatments without difficulty. She even felt good enough this last Friday to go to the movie "Despicable Me" with the family. It was nice to get out again and do something normal. Madey only has 6 more radiation treatments after today and she is so excited...
Today is also Madey's Birthday! She was so excited last night to have her grandparents and other family members over to the house to celebrate and eat cake and ice cream. This morning she woke up to balloons, confetti, and streamers placed in the yard by friends over night, it is a sweet reminder of the many people that love and support her, Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Fun Fireworks & Carrie Underwood!

Well it has sure been a crazy couple of weeks. Madeline started radiation 3 weeks ago, the first two weeks were pretty uneventful. On the 3rd week, she underwent simultaneous chemotherapy and radiation for 5 days. The two together have made her nauseous and uncomfortable. But we still managed to pull off a short family outing to the Stadium of Fire, and not only see great fireworks, but also see Madey's favorite country singer and George's celebrity crush, Carrie Underwood. It was an amazing show, both Carrie and the fireworks, but mostly seeing Madey's
adorable smile. After the show, George got us all lost finding his way back to the hotel, but we soon found our way and had every one bedded down for a hotel slumber party. After returning home, Madey has spent most of her time recovering from our excursion and the continued side-effects of chemo and radiation. She only has 12 more days of radiation left...we can't wait! Michelle has been especially busy taking Madey on her daily drive to Huntsman for the procedure, she is an amazing example of Christ like love in our home.
Madey continues to get stronger, but we are still in need of your many prayers on her behalf. May God bless all of you especially as we celebrate the freedoms of our great nation.