The oncologist's nurse called yesterday. Keith's white blood cell count is lower than they would like. She told him to stop taking the chemo pills for now. Keith will continue to get blood work done in the meantime. When his counts go back up, they will let us know. Please pray that Keith's counts will improve over the weekend, so that he can begin taking the chemo pills once again. Also pray that God will guard Keith from any infection.

The Latest Side Effect

Keith's latest side effect is a rash. The doctor told him that he would probably get one. It is pretty much all over, and it itches pretty bad. He will probably also get blisters in some places. I think the doctor said that they usually occur on your hands and feet. Keith did get some medicine to relieve the itching, but like every other medicine, it causes drowsiness. He tries to take the medicine only at night.

Getting the blood work done in Greenville has turned out to be a hastle. No one seems to know what to do with us, which is very frustrating. They send us from place to place. This would be frustrating to anyone, but it is especially rough on Keith. Just walking around is a task these days. Please pray that the hospital staff will get things figured out.

Lincoln is doing good. He is smiling more and more these days. He managed to spit up on mom and dad today. He got mom so good that she had to change clothes because she was soaked. Dad didn't get hit quite as bad.

Keith has been feeling pretty good the past two days. I would say that he was the closest to "normal Keith" yesterday than I've seen in a long time. Two of his childhood friends and their wives came to spend time with us. Keith even felt up to going to a movie. There were times yesterday when it seemed like everything was back to normal. Days like yesterday are bittersweet. I love seeing Keith joke around and laugh. I love seeing him interact with Lincoln. At the same time, it makes me so sad because I realize how much I miss all of that.

If I could give you one piece of advice today, it would be to take the time to connect with your family. As I type this, I am listening to Lincoln cry. I am going to take my own advice and go hold my precious baby.

Keith has been very weak lately. He is worn out after completing the smallest task (ex. taking a shower). I'm hoping that will get a little better with time. His next chemo treatment won't be until July 11th, so hopefully his body can regain some strength between now and then.

He did blood work yesterday, and his counts looked good. The doctor wants him to have blood work done three times a week for a while. It looks like we will be able to get the blood work done here twice a week instead of driving into Dallas each time.

Keith's mom will be going home this weekend. Pray that she will have safe travels. Also pray for me. I am working on figuring out how to juggle everything around here. My current tast is figuring out Keith's "system" for the finances. I know it all makes perfect sense to him, but it's just a big mess to me. : )

The Weekend

I think Keith did fairly well this weekend considering all that he has been through this past week. He is very weak and tired. He commented yesterday that when he wakes up from a nap, he feels just as tired as when he went to sleep. He was able to go to church yesterday, so that was good.

Keith got a call from the lady that will determine whether or not he qualifies for disability this morning. She is working on his claim. Please pray that we will be approved. I can't even begin to contemplate what we will do if she denies the claim. All of these treatments are expensive. I have no idea what the gamma knife procedure or his chemo costs. I do know that his chemo pills cost $5600 for a one month supply. (We only had to pay $40. This is not a plea for money. We are fine now.) Please be in prayer about this. It is a huge burden on us right now, and it would be wonderful for it to be taken away.

An All Day Affair

Keith had his first dose of chemo today. Keith and his mom left the house around 6 am and they got back a little after 3. There were several snags today that hopefully won't be a problem in the future. First of all, they had a hard time putting in the IV. (Keith is probably going to have to get a port because it is hard to put an IV in his hand. ) They administered the chemo a little slower today since he had never had it before. (It should take about 3 hours. Today it took 4.) Then they had to track down the oncologist because we didn't know when Keith needed to start the chemo pills.

He seems to be feeling okay. He wanted to eat something after chemo, so that is a good sign. He is very tired, but he is tired most of the time now. I guess we will have to wait and see how he does. He came home with several pages of information on all the chemo drugs. The possible side effects aren't too fun. Pray that the side effects will me minimal.

We have been getting requests for more pictures. The boy really does have clothes-I promise. This was just too cute to pass up.

Gamma Knife Update

The gamma knife procedure went as well as can be expected. When they did a detailed MRI this morning they found two additional spots. The doctors really weren't too suprised to find more places. The one we knew about is 1.5 cm. The other two that they found are 3mm and 6mm. They went ahead and treated all the spots today. Keith will have another MRI in 2 months in order to see how the spots responded to the radiation.

Keith is feeling okay. He is pretty tired. His pain meds make him tired, and they gave him some more medicine today to help him relax. His head hurt where they attached the device to his head, but he seems to be doing better this evening. He is playing a new computer game as I type, so I would say he is doing pretty well.

He will go in for his first chemo treatment tomorrow morning at 7:30. The infusion is supposed to take about 3 hours. Keith will also be taking pills. I think he will take them every day, but I'm not certain about that. I'm sure they will tell Keith tomorrow.

Please pray that the treatment will go smoothly tomorrow. Pray that the cancer will respond to the treatment and that the side effects will be minimal. We are still waiting to hear whether Keith qualifies for short term disability. Pray that he will qualify and that that worry will be taken off of our shoulders. Pray that we will all get good rest. I am really worn out. Being a new mom and dealing with all of this is taking its toll.

Visit to the Oncologist

We saw Keith's oncologist today. He gave Keith some new meds to try. Hopefully the new pain medicine will work better. It is a patch, and it lasts for 3 days. Keith also got a new nausea medicine and a few other things.

The gamma knife procedure will be on Thursday. Keith will get his first dose of chemo on Friday. It will take 3 hours to administer the chemo, and he will go every other week. The doctor said that Keith will get two doses of chemo, and then he will have scans done again to see if the chemo is working.

Up until now, the doctor has been hesitant to give us a time frame. He said today that if Keith's tumors did not respond at all to treatment that he would probably have 6 months or less. I know that lots of people are praying for us. Please continue to pray. Pray that the tumors will respond to treatment. Pray that Keith will be in as little pain as possible. Pray that God will grant us all strength as we face this.

A Trade Off

Keith nausea seems to have gone away for now. As of the past two days, he has been in quite a bit of pain. He would prefer the pain to the nausea. He has been taking the pain medicine pretty much around the clock. It makes him a bit "loopy," which he doesn't like at all. Pray that the pain medicine will do its job. I hate to see him hurting.

A Hard Week

This week has been hard. Keith has been having trouble keeping down food. Keith hates throwing up more than just about anything. Pray that God will settle his stomach so that he can eat more than a few crackers at a time.

Keith is going to have another CT scan on the 13th. We will also meet with his oncologist that day. Sometimes we have to wait quite a while to see his oncologist. (We once waited 3 hours.) Please pray that we can get in quickly. It's no fun to wait, but it's really not fun to wait when you feel awful. Since I'm going to the appointment, I will have to leave my sweet boy at home. He will be in good hands, but it's still going to be hard to leave him behind.

Rescheduled Again

We just got a call and the gamma knife procedure has been rescheduled for the 15th. We are very frustrated! I talked to the oncologist's nurse, and she was concerned that the procedure has been pushed back again. The oncologist does not want to start chemo until after the gamma knife procedure is performed. Basically we are just wasting more time.

Please pray that the doctors can stick to this new date. Pray that it will not be pushed back again. Pray for God to grant us peace as we wait.

On a side note, Lincoln is back up to his birth weight plus a few pounds. We don't have to go to the doctor again until his 2 month check up. : )

The Gamma Knife Procedure

I thought I would take a moment and explain the gamma knife procedure. I did not go to the doctor with Keith, so I'm going by what Keith told me. We have to be at Baylor at 6:30 am on Monday. They will place a device on Keith's head and do a scan. Keith will be awake. I think they will give him a little something, but he won't be asleep. Once the scan is complete, Keith will go to a room and relax for several hours while the doctors map out the spot and set up the machine. I think Keith said that the doctor thought that the actual procedure would take about 30 minutes. The procedure is outpatient, so Keith will be able to go home. If he suffers any side effects, the doctor said that it would take about a week before they would show up.

Keith will get his first dose of chemo the next day. The doctors were hoping to wait a few days between the gamma knife procedure and chemo. The date for the procedure got pushed back, and the oncologist didn't want to wait any longer to start chemo.

Please pray for all the doctors who are working on Keith's case. Pray that God will bless them with knowledge, wisdom and precision. Pray that God will bless Keith with strength and courage. Next week is going to be rough. It is so hard to go back to the cancer center. I get teary eyed just thinking about it. Pray that God will grant me strength and energy. I've got two precious people to take care of right now. Pray that Lincoln will sleep well at night, so that I can get some sleep too.

My first smile on camera. Yeah, it's just gas, but it's still awfully cute!














I wish they would give me some clothes.

Lincoln's Doctor Visit

Lincoln got a good report. He is up to 7 pounds 11 ounces. He has already grown 2 inches. The doctor was very pleased with Lincoln's progress. We will go back next week, so that they can check his weight again.

Lincoln is enjoying his company. His cousin, Railey, is loving him to death. She is very sweet with him. She is two years old today, so we are going to have a little birthday celebration.