Cancer sucks, but God is cool!

For you non-Facebook folks, below are two of Whitney's status updates from the last 24 hours:

11:32pm Thursday - I think it's horribly painful to have a child with cancer. Ugh. It sucks.

2:27pm Friday - I just got back from a power walk with Slade. It's a beautiful day. I listened to Bill Johnson while walking, and I was encouraged as he talked of Jehovah "Sneaky" and all the cool little things God does for us.

As of this minute, Forester has eaten fairly well today and has not gotten sick. Praise the Lord for that! Please continue to pray for a strong appetite and a settled tummy for him. As a side effect of the chemo, food overall does not sound appealing to him, and if something does taste good today, it most likely will be disgusting tomorrow. Whitney said she can so relate because of her 1st trimester pregnancy experiences. Please pray that he has an appetite for something even if it's just one thing. Whether or not Forester is hungry, and whether or not Forester is nauseous, he needs to eat. He needs calories! This is a constant pressure for all of them, and the nausea & vomiting makes the whole situation more stressful. It would appear that more days of chemo = more nausea & vomiting. Please pray against this compounding effect! Although the doctors considered putting Forester on an appetite stimulant yesterday, they have not yet done so, as he is maintaining his current weight.

There continue to be some communication issues regarding Forester's medications and when, why and how often to give them. For example, Forester was prescribed Zofran every 8 hours for nausea, but his nausea returns well before the 8 hour mark. After they asked about it, Pete & Whitney discovered they could actually give him the Zofran every 6 hours. Great, BUT why had no one offered this information to them?!? (I could go on...) Please continue to pray for clear communication between all of those involved in Forester's care and the Bradburns! As you can imagine, this is quite frustrating!

Forester's blood counts were low again this morning. He had a shot of Neupogen today (to increase his white blood cell count) and will have shots tomorrow & Sunday too. Also, he will receive a blood transfusion on Monday to boost his red blood cell & platelet counts. Because the transfusion will take about 2 hours, Forester and the Bradburns will have an extra long Monday. (Mondays are longer anyway because those are the days Forester receives 2 chemo drugs.) Please pray for extra peace and grace for Monday and that Forester has no adverse reactions from the transfusion!

Finally, please pray for wisdom and discernment for Pete & Whitney in determining how much to let Forester do. He is a 7 year old boy after all, and when he feels well enough, he wants to play. Even though he has more energy and a greater desire to play some days, he can overdo it. Germs are a constant consideration too. How hard this must be for all of them. :o( Yes, cancer sucks!

Praise God, though, for His love and constant care and grace and peace, etc, etc, etc. He is cool and very, very good! :o)

Good night,
April