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THANKS AND UPDATES

UPDATES!

Avery on her kindergarten trip to the Pumpkin Patch! October 2004
March 11, 2005 Avery goes back to the doctor on March 15th. She is not getting a MRI. I am not happy about this, but what can I do? Having that MRI just makes us feel safer. But she is considered cured......so..... She also will only go to the Doc every year now. Anyway, she is getting a hearing test that day also. She is having trouble hearing her teacher at school. The chemo she had causes hearing loss, so we will see if it is that or if she just isn't listening. She complains that she cannot hear but that her ears hurt when anything is loud at all. I don't understand it. Anyway, I will try to update next week. May 12, 2004 Avery finally went back for her MRI. She had it April 27th. Everything came back good. No signs of cancer. I posted some pictures up on her Relay for Life page from last year. I know, I am a little slow. And here I am adding some pictures of her getting her MRI.

January 12, 2004 HAPPY BIRTHDAY,AVERY! Avery is 5 today! She is so excited! She gets to have a party at her "school". We are so blessed to have her here and every year she gets closer to hitting that 5 year mark and being considered "cured". Her scans are still clear and she doesn't have any more until March 9th. Thanks to everyone who remembered her b-day and signed her guestbook. She looked at it this morning and she was beaming! July 6, 2003 Once again it is coming up on time for Avery's scans. She goes July 29th. She has been running a fever since the 3rd so we are kind of worried. Those fevers for no apparent reason always get us worried. So keep us in your prayers this month. February 19, 2003 Sorry it has taken so long to update. Avery's scans were all clear and everything is going great. We are now working on the Relay for Life. It will be held on May 9th. Check out that page to keep up with how we are doing! January 26, 2003 Happy Birthday, Avery! Avery turned four on January 12th. And of course we had ANOTHER Barbie birthday. She loves Barbie. But I am kind of tired of it! But we had lots of fun. Avery goes back to see Dr. Becton Tuesday, January 28th. Yuck. I dread it. It is such a tiring day. We have to be there at 6:30 which means we have to leave here around 4:30. And we usually do not get out til 2:00 or after and have to hold our breath til the results come in. Anyway, not much else going on here. I have lots of new pictures and I am going to try to change Avery's site around and get them all in. So come back soon for her MRI results and new pics!

December 15, 2002 Happy Holidays to everyone! Avery is doing great. Her next MRI is in January. I have already started having the nightmares again. I have a really bad feeling about this appointment, but then again I always have a bad feeling before each of her scans. I was on another webpage and read a poem about scans that pretty much describes what we go through before every MRI. If you would like to read it, go to Katelynn's page and scroll down til you find it. Great poem. Also on another webpage a mother had written about what it is like to be a cancer parent. Stop by and read it at Gooch's page. It has been almost three years since Avery finished up her chemo and we still feel like a death sentence is hovering over us. Long after everyone has forgotten Avery was ever sick, it is still worrying us. About a month before her scans I start having bad dreams and worrying constantly. And for that month, cancer is on the brain. Little things start me wondering if the cancer has come back. Seems crazy and maybe it is but I can't seem to stop. I wonder if this cycle will ever end? I doubt it. Cancer has changed our lives forever. I don't think we will ever be the same. We go on like a normal family as best we can but that worry is never too far away. Anyway, I will update when we get her MRI done and let you know what is going on.

September 2, 2002 Avery had another check up. Everything was all clear. Although she about gave the radiologist a heart attack. She has a cyst on her liver that we(her parents and oncologist) all knew about, but he didn't and he thought that it was a tumor. Poor guy. Some lovely ladies are making Avery a virtual quilt. It should be done soon. I can't wait to see it. They take pictures of family and friends and things Avery likes and stitches her a quilt together! She will love it. They also write each child a poem. I am so excited. The website is www.smilequilts.com. Then just look around til you find Avery's name. I think she is on page three. What a great bunch of people!

February 3,2002
Avery's MRI came back all clear! Still going strong. She was really good at this appointment. I was really impressed. Usually she won't let anyone touch her but she let everyone do what they needed to. The only time she cried was when they were sedating her and the had trouble getting the IV started. She keep crying "Please, let me up, Please! I just wanna go home." It was so sad. Like she thought since she asked them nicely they would let her up. By the third spot they tried, she was just saying,"No, please, No, please." She's a super little girl. We are so proud of her even if she is a little spoiled!!
Almost forgot, Avery got her hair cut! It was so long and her daddy didn't want me to get it cut but she wanted to go to the beauty shop like her brothers. So we got about an inch and a half cut off. And I think it upset me more after it was done than Daddy. It looks so short now(It is still way past her shoulders).And to think, only two years ago, she was completely bald! She is amazing!

January 12,2002
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Avery turned three years old today. She is so excited about her party! We have it planned for tomorrow. She cannot wait. Everything is Barbie. She loves Barbie. I will try to post some pictures up on this page when I get them.
Her mole is fine. It is going to have to be removed but right now it is okay. She goes back to the oncologist at the end of this month.
We are now celebrating two years off treatment. She got her last in hospital chemo early December of 1999 and her last dose at home at the end of December! Two years. That's a good sign!

November 14, 2001
I know, I am getting really lazy about the updates. But not much is happening around here. Avery had her check up in September and everything looked good. The only thing was, we didn't get to see Dr. Becton, her oncologist. That kind of worries me. She hasn't seen him since around April. I took her in to her family doctor, Dr. J. and showed him a mole that looks kind of large and odd shaped. We are going to have it looked at by a dermatologist at Children's on November 29th. I am sure it is fine but I am a little paranoid. Go figure. I have been a little down lately. I am not so sure the internet is such a good thing. I surf and look at other cancer kid's homepages and usually they cheer me up but I came across one that I check up on often for updates and found out that her cancer had returned. It had been three years from her last chemo. It is always sad to here and I always start to wonder when/if Avery's will return. I know I probably shouldn't think of it, but it is always there. The fear that it has come back. All I can do is place her in God's hands and pray his will be done. I will try to update after her appointment with the dermatologist at the end of this month so keep checking in!

August 15, 2001
Just thought I would write and let everyone know that Avery is doing great. I put a new pic up on her Cancer page. Boy, she sure is growing. The Relay for Life is a week from this Friday. I hope it is as much fun as last year. I am sure it will be. We are getting "Avery's Avengers" shirts made up. They are really cute. They say "Celebrating two years Cancer free!" Yeah Avery!

Avery's first trip to the beach!
July 11, 2001
It has been so long since I have updated. I am sorry. We have been so busy lately. We just got back from vacation and have working on our upcoming Relay 4 Life. I am excited about it. We had a great time last year and I hope this year's event turns out the same.

Avery's last scan was clear. Good news! She is doing wonderfully. She is a very happy VERY active little two year old. We go back for our next scan in September. I will try to update with pictures from the relay after it is over(August 24th).

April 5,2001
Just thought I would leave a new update. I have been having nightmares for a few weeks now about Avery falling and me not being able to get her or her just not being present in my dreams and I knew that she was dead. They are about to drive me crazy. I know it is just because she has a scan coming up and she hasn't had one in so long. I really dread it. I wish she could have an MRI every day. Well, maybe every month. She is getting so big. That time of Cancer and chemo has been so long ago but the effects are still fresh. Keep us in your prayers. We go back on the 16th of April!

March 9,2001

Just thought I would share this new picture. This her after her first haircut since chemo. She is doing so good! She loves to sing songs that her friend, Mrs. Laura(her teacher) has taught her. She sings constantly! She is dancing and jumping off furniture and doing all the things any two year old would be. She is an amazing little girl. We are so proud of her! Once again, we will not be going back to the hospital for a MRI until April. So until then, assume all is well!

January 19,2001
Another Good report!
We went back to the hospital right before Christmas for yet another MRI and the results came back all clear! Yeah, Avery! We do not go back until April. That is good, I guess. She also gets to resume her immunizations which she didn't get to finish when she was diagnosed. That is bad news, at least for her! We lost another little boy who lived in our area to cancer on Christmas Eve. It was also his B-day. So send your prayers for his family. He was a sweet little boy. Anyway, there may not be an update for a while now. Just assume no news is good news!

October 5, 2000
AVERY IS STILL CANCER FREE!
We finally made our trip back to Children's hospital yesterday for a MRI. They had cancelled it several times because she had a cold and I wasn't sure she would get one yesterday because she still had a cold, but Dr. Becton insisted. It was a long, stressfull day! Our first appointment was at eleven. and we left the hospital at six thirty that night. And let's not forget that Avery had not eaten anything since MIDNIGHT! Anyway, we went to Oncology at eleven and they had to try and draw some blood, IV style since her brilliant parents decided to get her port removed! Believe me, I was really re-thinking that decision while she was screaming her head off and we where all trying to hold her down! Well, they got a little but she wasn't sure that it would be enough. Well, he brilliant mother stepped in at that point and suggested that they wait until she went downstairs to draw blood since thay were going to put her completely under. It would be much easier on everyone that way. Everyone agreed. Gee, if only I would have thought of that before everyone suffered through that thirty minute ordeal! And boy, do I mean everyone suffered! I have said before that Avery is a fighter, but I am not sure everyone understands this. She fights Cancer, yes, but she also fights anyone at that hospital that tries to touch her! I bet those poor nurses have never been kicked so hard in their life. She hates being held down and now that she is getting older and bigger (31 pounds!), it is getting nearly impossible to hold her. It wore me out! But I guess I should be thankful that she is healthy and strong! Next, we went to surgery. Since she had her port removed, she has to be put completely under. Go figure. They never used her port before. They always sedated her orally or rectally, but now that we have removed it, they seem to need it. I still don't understand that one. Anyway, she was given Goofy Juice to relax her and off we went to MRI. They put the mask on her and of course she did not like it. So, me and a couple of guys held her down until they finally got her out. It took forever. She kept fighting and they had to turn it up several times before she finally gave up. It was so sad. I almost started crying. She was fighting and all of a sudden she just went limp. I didn't care to much for that. Last time, I got to hold her in my lap until she finally went to sleep. There was no fighting, she went to sleep peacefully. I went to eat while she was having the MRI done. And then I went to surgery waiting to wait for the call for me to come back. They told me it would take about 45 minutes so after an hour and a half I was starting to panic. I instantly thought they had found something and that was why they were taking so long. They should really let parents know something! Anyway, about that time Dr. Becton's nurse came in and said that DR. Becton was going home and we would have to wait til the next day to find out the results. Just Wonderful! Another night of worry. But she did let me know That Avery was in recovery and she was still asleep. Finally they called and said I could come back but Avery was still sleeping. We spent the next hour trying to get her up. Her oxygen levels dropped so she was put on oxygen. The nurse finally decided to call the doctor because we could not get her awake. While she was on the phone, Avery snapped out of it and started pulling off monotiors. Finally we went home and this morning we called and found out she was all clear. I think they should put a little more effort in telling parents that. I mean. I worried for days for just two words. ALL CLEAR! It's such a weird feeling. Relief washes over you, and then the thought passes my mind about how we slipped by this time but what about next time? I am always worried about when/if it is going to come back. It is getting better. We go to the doctor every two months now. So for those two months we are pretty normal. But the week before she goes for a MRI, I cannot sleep. I think, eat, breathe Cancer. That is all I will talk about to anyone. I am sure my family is tired of hearing about it. But it is getting a little better every day. I just wonder what it will be like in five years. Will it all be just a bad memory or will I still worry because she is not getting checked out as often? I guess time will tell.

August 27,2000
This weekend was the Relay for Life in our county. It was a blast! We raised lots of money for the American Cancer Society and the kids has the best time. Shane spoke there and I think he did a great job. I wanted to speak so badly, but I didn't think I could hold it together. Maybe next year I will be able to. I thought it would be hard to go there and face all those people with cancer but it wasn't. I know last yaer I had a hard time being there. We just got out of the hospital at three that morning and went and walked the survivors lap and then left to go to the emergency room. But not this yaer. Avery is a survivor! She is doing great. Her hair is getting longer by the minute. You cannot tell now that she ever had anything wrong with her. Her next MRI is scheduled for September 12th. I'll let you know what the results are!

August 3,2000
Avery is doing great. Growing up fast. Sometimes I wonder if she will even remember any of this. I doubt she remembers much but the smell of rubbing alcohol will probably always make her mad! We were so lucky in a way that she was only six months old. It was really hard for us and a lot of the people who helped us to see a baby suffer so much but at least she wasn't old enough to realize what was going on. It was hard because she wasn't old enough to tell us what was wrong with her. I found out later that a lot of the different chemos she was on caused a lot of bone/joint pain. That might explain a lot of the fussiness and if she was old enough to tell us she hurt, we could have done something for it. But at the hospital I would talk to parents whose children would say things like " I just want to die. I don't want to be sick anymore." Now, what do you say to that? I just hope I never have to come up with an answer for that. So, all in all, I think we were really lucky. The Relay for Life is coming up. I kind of dread it. It just makes me remember what things were like last year. We went last year and Avery was the youngest one there. We had just gotten home from the hospital(chemo) around one in the morning. We walked the survior's lap and then we left to go back to the hospital. Avery was running a fever. But, this year, she has hair and eyelashes and she can run her lap, if we can keep her on the track! Anyway, I will update later and let everyone know how it went!

July 24,2000
Just thought I would write and let everyone know how Avery is. She is doing great! She finally got to take a bath! The doc said no bath for seven days and for a messy little one year old that is a long time!!! Her scar is healing up great! It still looks like her port is in. She still has a knot where it was. I guess that is scar tissue. Who knows. I am just glad it is out. I have been meaning to write for a long time about how hard it is to live with cancer after treatments. That was why I started Avery's Cancer page to begin with. But then I was having so many people check out here page that I felt obligated to try and just finish it and it didn't turn out the way I had intended. Anyway, I just wanted to get this little bit off my chest. It is just as hard living with Cancer after the treatments as it is during. It really bugs me that people try to pretend our life is back to normal now that we are not in the hospital every other day. And now that Avery's hair is growing we should be okay. There is not a day goes by that we don't think or talk about cancer. It has never left us. Cancer is always present and at any moment it could come back and destroy life as we know it, again. Many people think we should enjoy our life and be happy. Believe me, we are. I am thrilled every morning when I wake up with Avery smothering me in kisses. We thank God that we have her here and we enjoy every minute we have with all our kids. But that doesn't take away our fears. With every MRI comes nausea. The wait for those results is almost unbearable. Every fever brings up the fear that the Cancer has returned. For me, it has been harder since we stopped treatments than during them. While we were doing chemo, we were so busy that we didn't have time to think, much less worry. Since they stopped, I have all the time in the world. And I feel like, since we are not constantly in the hospital, if I don't watch her carefully, we might not catch the cancer in time if it does return. Things are getting easier. With every month that passes, it is easier to relax a little more. I am trying hard to live in today and not a year from now. And with every passing day, our family heals a little more. But I just wanted to let people know that just because someone has finished chemo does not mean they are healed. If you know someone who has had Cancer, don't stop calling or writing just because chemo is finished. They may need you more afterward than they ever did during. So many people are there to help while you are being treated. For me, it has been the few who have hung around afterward that has meant the most!

JULY 14, 2000
We got home last night from the hospital. Everything went great! It was actually a really good day. Dr. Jackson, the doc who removed her tumor and put in her port, did the surgery. He is the best man! I was so happy when I found out he was doing her surgery. He is so down to earth and easy to talk to. If anyone has to have surgery at Arkansas Children's Hospital, I would insist on getting Dr. Jackson. He is so sweet and caring and I know Avery is in good hands when she is with him. He saved her port so we could take it home. Maybe I will put a picture of it on here so you can see what was in her. He talked about how much she had grown. He had not seen her in a year and I was surprised he remembered us. But, then again, I guess you would remember a six month old who was diagnosed with cancer. I would anyway. And Dr. Cole, the anesthesiologist, was wonderful. He let me hold her while he put her to sleep. It was so nice. He talked to her like she was his own child. It might have helped that he does have a child her age. He was great. Anyway, her sugery went perfectly. And all her scans were clean! Now we just have to wait two more months and do it all again! (The MRI, not the surgery)I have a new attitude now, thanks to one of my dearest internet friends. She wrote me, and it was waiting for me when I got home from the hospital. In her letter she told me a story about something her brother had told her. I had written to her when I was particularly upset. And she asked " Are you okay for today?" Those words really put things in perspective for me. I know they are simple and may not make since to anyone else but they really helped me. I seem to worry about the future and what if. And I have had a lot of people tell me to take it one day at a time but no one has ever phrased it that way before. Yes, I am alright for today. And I thank God that he has given me today. No one knows what tomorrow holds and if I spend all my time worrying about tomorrow, I will not be able to enjoy today. So far God has given me a year and a half with the prettiest girl(seriously, she is) in the whole wide world and I may not have next year or next week or even tomorrow with her but I do have today. And I am going to enjoy every moment I have with her. Thank you, Rose, for giving me that phrase. I will hold it dear to me. I have met several people on the internet that I hold responsible for keeping me together. And soon, when I get time, I will add them to the thank you list. But I wanted to mention one more. Rev. Dex D. Welch has always written to me, listened to me, prayed for me, whatever I needed. He has been such a blessing to me and my family. I just wanted to say thank you, for all the prayers and encouragement.

JULY 10, 2000
Avery is scheduled for surgery this Thursday to get her port removed! We are excited. She will also be getting another MRI to check and see if the cancer has returned. We always dread those. But so far things are going great and we will just keep praying that they stay that way. I will update this page as soon as possible(depending on how cranky she is after surgery). Thanks for all the prayers! Mommy Debbie

THANKS! There are so many people that have helped us through the last year. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. Your support helped get us through the hardest times and always came a just the right moment.All the cards and phone calls we recieved gave us the extra boosts we needed to get through the hard times. We will never forget how wonderful everyone has been.

My Family Words cannot begin to explain how wonderful my family has been through out this time. Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles,cousins all helped. You will never know how proud I am to claim you guys as my family. Boston Mountain Health Center
Thank you so much to Dr. Larry Jennings and all the staff at Boston Mnt. You guys have been the greatest. Thanks for making all(and there have been many!)those appointments go by so smoothly. You have always worked Avery in whenever she needed to be seen and treated her with such love and care! Dr. Jennings, you have done so much to help us. You have took our calls at home, started Avery's IV with such ease and care when no one else could.(those little viens are so hard to hit) You have listened to all our worries and eased all our fears. I don't know how to thank you enough. The staff.. Avery's toybox could not be bigger thanks to you guys. The teddybears and piggybanks really meant a lot to us. You are always asking about her and listening to our fears. It is nice to know our little girl is in such good hands.

Searcy County Home Health
Thank you for your endless visits. All your staff was wonderful. Thank you for checking up on Avery, even when you didn't have to. You hated sending us to the hospital at times, but I was happy that you were so careful with her. She is our only little girl and I would rather be safe than sorry. You guys did a great job!

Arkansas Children's Hospital
Words cannot say thank you enough. It is so amazing how well you guys do your job. You have such a special touch with children. All the staff, especially the nurses who work on 3gold, are spectacular. You have watched over my baby for over half her life. And I am so grateful for all the skill and patience you have shown with Avery. And believe me, it takes a lot of skill and patience to even get a temp from Avery!Gregg, who has been subjected to our hours of rambling about our concerns and got as much info as he could find for us, thank you! We were blessed with one of the best doctors in the world. Dr. Becton, you have always had time to answer every one of our questions even if we asked them thirty times before. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. I could not imagine a better place for Avery to be than ACH! I must add Dr. Jackson and Dr. Cole to this list. They both are wonderful. I wrote about them more in the updates, but I just wanted to tell them thanks for making surgery go so smoothly and making it a great (IF THAT'S POSSIBLE) experience. The way they handled their job yesterday with Avery's surgery was fantastic!