Another Hospital Day

Another long day at the hospital today for Forester. When they drew his labs this morning his potassium is still very low so he has to get a bolus of that before leaving. It takes 2 hours to drip. Also, even though he just had a blood transfusion his level only went up from 7 to 8. Anything under 11 is low. So, I fully expect him to have to get another blood transfusion on Monday. His platelets are going down too so he may need those too by the time Monday gets here. His white count is still in the 2,000's which means it will probably tank over the weekend or by Monday. So, no going out and no visitors this weekend. At least there's football. :-)

Prayer request: Over the last week Forester has really struggled to take his pills. It's understandable. He has so many to take I wouldn't want to do it either! When we break up the large potassium & magnesium & septra into smaller pieces it ends up to be about 20 pills, 3 times a day. We were doing most of them in applesauce which has been fine until recently. It seems to be a mental struggle and he's so afraid of vomiting. Please pray for him! He has to take these pills. And starting Tuesday we add 4 accutane a day into his regimen. It has become quite stressful for me - pressure from the doctors to get them down him - trying to force him to take them...trying every different way possible...and without success. Poor guy. I wish I didn't have to make him do this. So, if you would, just pray about the pills. Also pray for my general attitude. I think I have become very weary in this marathon. I'm so tired of my baby being sick. More of the things that we have been used to as the new normal have started to upset me all over again. I need to regain my balance & keep focused on the finish line. *sigh*

A quick reminder about the motorcycle ride for Forester on Sunday - ANYONE is welcome with any kind of transportation. I wish Forester could be there & so does he!! A Bradburn will be out there to represent though!

Love,

Whitney

HOME

It was a long day but we arrived home at 10pm and I was able to get all three kids in bed and asleep by 11:00. I am completely exhausted but have so much to be thankful for. Slade was an angel all day and even took a pretty good nap in the stroller. Forester was able to get blood & chemo, potassium & zofran. All of which will help his little body tremendously. Though it was a taxing day, I am thankful we have the resources that Forester needs available to us and such a wonderful hospital in the town we live in. So many families have hours to drive home after treatment. We have 20 minutes! God is good! And, on top of all that precious Lauren Fortney watched Micah for me all day and night in addition to her own two (and pregnant!). Thank you, Lauren! And thank you , Rebeccah for bringing me some food and a hug today. It was a great pick me up. I am blessed!...and sleepy. Thank you for your prayers! Goodnight...or I guess it is now morning...whew.

Praising Him,

Whitney

It's going to be a long day.

We came to clinic this morning to get Forester's blood labs & Vincristine chemo done with hopes that we would be back home in time for school at 1:00. No such luck. The first sign that this day wasn't going to go how we had hoped is that Forester was very winded after getting in the car. Then, he did not want to walk to clinic and we had to request a wheelchair escort. This type of tiredness we have come to learn is directly related to his hemoglobin/red blood cell count. And, as I suspected his red count is low and he needs a blood transfusion today. This transfusion takes 3 hours to complete. Forester's Potassium and Magnesium (electrolytes) are also low which can cause the same type of symptoms of fatigue & issues with heart and kidney function. As I type, Forester is currently getting a bolus of Potassium which takes 2 hours, then he'll get his chemo which takes about 15 minutes. We will then go over to the hospital (because the clinic closes @ 5:30) and he will get his blood. So we will probably be here until 9pm tonight. Please pray for me & Slade & Forester and that this long day will go smoothly. Also pray for Micah and my sweet friends who are passing him around today. I'll keep you posted. Thanks. ~Whitney

Ride For Forester - Fundraiser!

Attention Carolina Bikers! Biker fans! Or, just fans of Forester and fundraisers! Please join us on Sunday (this Sunday) at 11am!!

It is late for me to be posting about this (so sorry Molly) but my trainer and friend, Molly Meekins, has put together a fundraiser for Forester happening THIS Sunday. It is a motorcycle poker ride! If you don't know what that is (I didn't), you pay a registration fee, then all bikes start at one location and travel to 4 more stops, ending at the 5th. At each stop you receive a playing card, but there will also be other fun things happening at each stop. At the final and 5th stop you show your "poker hand". Prizes will be given to the best hand and the worst. There will also be tons of stuff being raffled off as well as a band playing, a fish fry, and some dude who does cool tricks on his bike! CARS are also welcome! You don't have to have a bike to join the fun. All proceeds will go to help pay Forester's medical bills!! Hopefully Forester will be feeling good enough to be there for all the fun, too.

It's hard to see the details on the flyer above so here are the details I have:

Sep 20: Ride for Forester!

Registration @ 11am @ Clydes Place (5245 Dorchester Rd, N. Charleston),

$15/Bike $5/Passenger.

Last Bike Out: 12:30pm.

Last Bike In: 4:30pm. @ Checkered Flag (2366 Ashley River Rd. W. Ashley)

Live Band (Numb909) starts @ 4pm. 50/50, Raffles!!

Reminder...

Please take less than a minute to log in and vote 10x for MUSC Children's hospital to get the Xbox upgrade! THANKS!

So far so good today. Forester is having a little snack & watching a disney movie.

http://xbox.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/default.aspx

Feeling better!

Forester returned home with a smile and a request for steak. What a difference an ER visit can make! He's been giggling and generally in great spirits which is a huge contrast from the weepy, tired, sick, little boy he was this afternoon. We had to say no on the steak..maybe not the best choice for tonight. But, he's having some Gatorade and some crackers and watching a little TV. Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray that this will be the beginning of managing his symptoms and that tomorrow will be a good day. Pete leaves before sunrise. Forester is always sad when daddy isn't here so please also pray for his little heart and that I can be the comfort he needs while Pete is away. Oh yeah, and pray for my sanity. :-) Love to you all & goodnight!

~Whitney

Still at the ER

Forester and Pete are still at the ER. Forester is getting some color back thanks to the bags of fluid, and is getting ready to try some pretzels. We're praying those go down ok. Tests are being run to make sure he isn't fighting anything else and we're still waiting on results. I'm hoping they'll be home in the next hour or so. Keep praying & thanks so much for doing so! ~Whitney

Headed to the ER...again.

Forester has been home since early Friday evening. Round 4 went ok. He had some vomiting in the hospital but otherwise things went fine. In the last several months we've been able to manage the vomiting pretty well with all of the drugs he's on. For some reason, this month the meds don't seem to be doing the job. Forester has been unable to keep much down since he got home & today he cannot even tolerate a small amount of liquid. This is a vicious cycle because his nausea medicines aren't staying down either... So, per doctor's request we'll be heading to the ER when Forester awakes from a nap. He'll get some fluids via his port and hopefully this will help the dehydration and in general help his body to return to "normal". Please pray for him! He is scared to eat or drink anything now...so tired of being sick. I just feel so bad for him.

Pete is leaving town for the week on business. He was supposed to leave tonight but was able to change his flight to tomorrow morning. Please pray for all of us as the timing of this trip is not great. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your prayers!

Whitney