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.

Wishes Come True...

It has been a busy couple of weeks! One of Madey's wishes was to be able to attend the last week of school and be a part of all the fun

that happens when 9th grade is over. It took some convincing, but Michelle was very adamant that Madey be able to go. So we postponed chemo for a week, and what a week we had. From fishing with Grandpa, to a movie with her cousin Riely and her sister Hillary, to the 9th grade dance, to the closing assembly to the signing of yearbooks, and to top it off a party with friends, that included, volleyball, the trampoline, smores, and an outdoor movie. Madey thought that her week would be complete with all of these events, but there was one big surprise for her mixed in. A few months ago we met with the Make a Wish Foundation and Madey wished for a family trip to Florida. As part of the closing assembly, in front of all of her classmates, Prince Charming, pictured above, sought out "princess" Madeline with her missing slipper. With the help of the students at Fairfield Jr., they announced that "princess" Madey's wish had been granted. It was a really tender moment as her classmates gave her a standing ovation and honored her courage and bravery in this fight against cancer with their applause. It was definitely one of those moments that seemed frozen in time and the emotion of it all tugged on the strings of our hearts. All we can say is Thank You 'Make-a-Wish' and Thank You Fairfield Jr. High.
After all the fun died down late Friday night, reality began to set back in. Madey checked into the hospital early Saturday morning to begin her next session of Chemo, but the good memories of the last week seemed to carry her through and her spirit and attitude appeared to be unaffected. Now that this round of chemo is finished, Madey began the next phase of the battle today at the Huntsman Cancer Institute: radiation therapy. She is feeling tired, and starting to miss her friends, but she said the procedure was a piece of cake. She will continue with radiation for the next 6 weeks, with additional chemo treatments dispersed throughout. We know we still have a ways to go in our battle, but we are confident that through faith and prayer Madey will make a full recovery.

Movie, Church, and a High Five.

It has been a couple of weeks since the blog has been updated, sorry, no excuses I just forgot. This week Madey has been feeling pretty good, she was able to attend the sports recognition night at Fairfield Jr. High, where she was honored as the "Most Inspirational" member of her team, it was fun to see her honored along with teammates she has played with for the last three years, congratulations to Megan, Cheyne, and Shelby for their accomplishments this year and thank you to all the girls for including Madey in spite of everything. Madey also got to go to the Movies Saturday night with her sisters and some friends, they had a blast. It was also a blessing for her to be able to attend the whole three hour block of church on Sunday as well, thanks to our Bishop and Aaronic Priesthood Young men for taking care of the sacrament for her. Its a blessing to have days when she can feel like a 'normal' kid again. We are now waiting for her blood counts to get better so she can do her next chemo treatment. After that we will work on a speedy recovery so that she can attend the last week of school and participate in assemblies, yearbook signing, and all of the other stuff that is monumentally important to a 14 year old girl. When that has concluded she will start radiation treatments at Huntsman for about 6 weeks, chemotherapy will run in conjunction with radiation. There will be lots of trips to Salt Lake, I think our car can find its way there on its own by now. We continue to be blessed and try to do our best to enjoy all that life has sent our way.
Michelle and also got the opportunity to get up extra early on Friday morning to be part of a KSL "High Five" for Staci Hardy along with the committee members that sponsored and organized the 5K FunRun MilesforMadey. Staci had been nominated by her mom and we wholeheartedly supported that nomination. She and her committee have been a tremendous blessing in our lives and it was a small gesture of gratitude on our part for being the beneficiaries of so much love and support. We have learned in so many ways that it is the little things that count, whether it be having dinner together, smiling, laughing, attending church, or watching your kids race each other on the go carts at Boondocks. The little things matter!

Courage to Continue Chemo

We are still battling cancer and Madey still doesn't like being in the hospital. Friday her Oncologist met with us and told us that since her chemotherapy is having such a positive impact on the cancer cells in her hip, he recommends that she continue with her chemotherapy, in addition Madey will start receiving radiation treatments in conjunction with her chemo. The feeling is that the two together will be the best treatment for eradicating the tumor from Madey's hip. He also informed us that it appears from the scans that the bone in her hip has already begun to repair itself. We are thrilled with Madey's progress, but are a little discouraged knowing that we are still not quite half way done with her treatments. Madey knows it will be a long journey, but hopes that as she continues to improve she may be able to begin to participate in 'normal' activities again, like attending school or maybe going to girls camp.
Lindy is done with school for now and still working at America First Credit Union, she is a huge help when Mom and Dad are traveling back and forth to the hospital. Hillary has one more AP test to take and then she hopes to breath a little before starting a six week 8 credit chemistry course at the University of Utah this summer. Landon has been busy playing baseball (watching from the right field) his Red Sox team is 2 - 0 so far, he is also in the school musical this week, he plays President Roosevelt in the musical Annie. We look forward to watching his performance.
We definately feel blessed, the Lord is taking good care of us and we are continually surrounded by people that want to make a difference for Madey and our family. Thank you.