Cancer Fears ME!

Pop and Slade wearing their "Cancer Fears ME" doo rags. Too cute!
My dad looks like he's about to hop on his Harley... (no, he doesn't have one).

Mom? Can I have a snack?

Yesterday, we were able to get some syrup from the pharmacy to mix into the HORRIBLE Megace that is supposed to stimulate Forester's appetite. Well, the grapey syrup helped and I mixed it in grape juice and he actually drank it! Normally it's hard to get Forester to drink more than 2 sips of anything much less a half a cup! Well, a couple hours later he ate an entire grilled cheese sandwich, Zaxby's chicken fingers and fries, and some chocolate milk!! WOOOOO-HOOO!!! He was hungry again a couple hours later but it caused a bit of stress for us because NOTHING sounded good to him but he was "starving". I have all of Publix in my fridge and pantry - no joke. It's ridiculous (and a weight watchers nightmare!). So...it was past 9pm, he needed to go to bed, didn't want anything I offered him and then Pete had to physically carry him to the bedroom with Forester fighting him the whole way. This moment passed quickly, he settled on applesauce, but it is still stressful. We are SO thankful that he's hungry!!! PRAISE GOD!! But, please pray that food sounds good to him...that specific things will pop into his head and that they will also taste good. I've been on many a food run for a specific thing and then when I return he has changed his mind.

This morning Forester woke at 6:45 asking for some cartoons and a snack! Get your praise on people!! He also took his Megace this morning in juice before leaving for the hospital. Yay! Hopefully he'll be hungry throughout the day. Pop took Forester to the hospital today. It will be a longer day. He is having a blood transfusion and already started GCSF shots because his white count is down. This is to be expected of course but it still shocks me every time it happens. Sometimes I can't believe the world we're living in these days. But God is faithful and holding us up. Your prayers are felt and are making a difference. Don't stop! If you know me, you know it's miraculous that I haven't had a nervous breakdown by now. That's your prayers, people! THANK YOU!!

Here is a few pictures of our sweet 4 month old, Slade. She is our sunshine!!

Videos to make you SMILE!

Forester just got his very own iPod Nano from The Crossover church (thank you sooo much!) and he LOVES it! He is currently listening to Group 1 Crew "Keys to the Kingdom" over and over and over. He also likes to sing along unaware that everyone else can hear him! I caught him singing the other night..pretty funny.

The other video is just some fun times we had today with Jack and Slade. No one was injured in this video!

(don't forget to scroll down to pause the music so you can hear the videos)

Hump Day

Forester had a lot of leg pain last night and it is now going down to his ankles. :o( This is a typical response to the Vincristine. There is a drug to treat the neuropathy called, Norontin, but he is already on so many medications that we are trying to wait on that. Forester will be on Vincristine for an additional 6 months so it's likely the neuropathy will get worse. Let's pray that doesn't happen!

In spite of the leg pain, he got a lot of sleep last night and was in a good mood this morning when he left for the hospital. Just Forester and Muzzy (my mom) today. Praying for a good one and a healthy appetite!! It's a blessing to have my sister, Katie, here this week. Today she is going to help me continue to organize things around here while we hang out with the babies. Just keeping track of meds is a challenge! We also hope to have the bracelets available on ebay by the end of this week. There have been some logistical kinks that we're still trying to work out.

Thanks for your love and prayers!

*An entertaining video of Forester to be uploaded later today!

Weariness

Please pray for our dear Bradburns. They are weary and stressed, and Forester has had a very rough day. He has yet to eat today. He has cried a lot. He is now crying because his legs and his back hurt. Yes, the back pain is new. :o( He doesn't want to take pain killers because he has to take 7 different medicines every day and some of those 2 or 3 times a day. Sometimes they make him vomit. Who would want to take something thinking it might make him vomit? He's just plain tired of it. Who could blame him? He's lost weight again and has no appetite, so the doctors prescribed Megace, an appetite stimulant, yesterday. Another medication. When Whitney gave it to him last night, he cried and begged to never take it again. She tasted it and said it tastes like a cross between crushed aspirin and bleach and something else. Awesome. And that's supposed to increase your appetite? There is a pill alternative, BUT he'd have to take it 5x a day. Maybe a pharmacist could add flavor but anything sweet makes him nauseous. Ugh! What to do??? He needs to eat. Whitney said his bones are sticking out because of the weight he's already lost.

PLEASE PRAY! Pray for something to give because this is just a cycle of stress. Pray for an end to this winter. Pray for spring to come for Forester and the family. Pray for some sunshine for them. Pray that the Lord's grace and peace and strength and love sustains them this minute and then the next minute, today and then tomorrow because He IS here, loving them, in this season, in the midst of all of this. They need all of our prayers.

Thank you again for your faithfulness!
April

(don't forget to scroll down & pause the audio player to hear the video)