It's Been Awhile....

It really  has been awhile since I posted last.  Chronic Neutropenia  is Katie's official diagnosis.  She is getting shots twice a week right now.  Yes I'm giving them to her here at home.....no I don't like it!!!  Monday's shot has been relegated to Daddy!  We are in the process of getting the right amount of meds.  Her numbers are still dangerously low, but you would never know it! 


God made this little lamb a fighter and she is doing great!  This week she was given  her "Beads of Courage" at the Oncology office.  Each bead stands for something that has been done to her.  The more yucky the treatment the cooler the bead!  She is getting quite the necklace.  It's so funny to see a little gal walking around telling people about her beads of courage.  I'm teaching her Joshua 1:9 .  She is strong and the Lord is with her!  I'm so glad!

These days have been a lot about just surviving through the emotional turmoil of this whole thing and then I look back and realize "WE ARE FINE".  We've been through a battle, but it's okay.  Yesterday we went to the Dr. for another blood test and her ANC (absolute neutrophil count) had dropped another 100 points!  She should be at about 1500 and instead she is 110! 

Isn't it amazing that she is doing so good with such a low count?!  I'm so thankful.  The Dr. is just shocked that she is so healthy!  He has started calling her little sicknesses "bothersome".  We are so thankful that they are not life-threatening.  Many children with numbers this low are in the hospital behind double locked doors! She still has some of the marker issues like bumps on her face and bottom.  She has some eye issues, but we have just about gotten that healed up too!  Isn't God good?

When I get down, I think about all the other families at Texas Oncology and know that they would give their eye teeth to trade diagnosis with us!  We don't have ports, or chemo, or little hats with big flowers on them to cover a sweet little bald head!  When you walk through those doors and see that, there is no reason not to be grateful for your life! 

It would be ridiculous to even blink at our situation, when you see all those other families.  And you know what?  They have a smile on their face and they are playing with their little ones and they are doing everything they can to survive!  That's walking with grace!  I so want to walk through this murky water season with grace.  I want Katie to not feel like she's the "sicky special child".  She's not a victim or invalid and I so don't want her to have that mentality.  It's hard not to, when we are giving her shots, giving her immune supplements, making sure she doesn't have another fever, etc....

I just continue to tell her we are so thankful that Jesus is healing her body, He is healing her bone marrow and He is making her white blood cells healthy.  I have begun to pray that her neutrohils would live and not die!!!  Katie's bone marrow biopsy showed that her neutrophils die at just about the time they would be mature.  They just don't quite make it.  Our God is bigger!  He has kept her and we continue to believe that she will be completely healed!

I say all this for several reasons.  One so that y'all know what's going on with our girl.  Two so that if there are bothersome issues in your life, look up, it could be worse!  We all have issues and trials, but God is there for to walk with us with His Grace and Mercy.  Blessings to you all and I hope that I can get back on to more regularly blogging.  There are still meals to be prepared, laundry to be taken care of, floors to be swept, school to be taught and lots and lots of  hugs and kisses mixed in!

 Life goes on and the sun still shines!
Blessings from the Hilltop!
Sheri