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)

A few Videos....

Goodbye Week 4!

The end of week 4 brings a welcome change to Forester's daily treatment. For the next 2 weeks, instead of receiving radiation to his entire brain and spine, Forester will only receive radiation to the area of his brain where the tumor was. This will cut the daily radiation to about 15 minutes. Yay!!! As a result of this, his nausea should also improve. Please pray that he notices a significant decrease in nausea!

Because his white blood cell count was down to 690 yesterday, he had the GCSF shot yesterday and will have it today and tomorrow too. He REALLY hates the shots. Please pray that they're not too traumatic for him.

At the end of 6 weeks, Forester and the family will have a much needed (major understatement) 6 week break from treatment before the next phase of treatment starts. Hopefully, the Make A Wish Foundation will grant his wish for a family trip to Disney World during this time. Yes, the Make A Wish Foundation visited the Bradburns at their home yesterday to hear Forester's wish. In a way, this is exciting, especially for Forester, and in a way, it's devastating. It's so hard to hear, know, comprehend that Forester qualifies for Make A Wish. I know Whitney is grieving about this. Please continue to pray for Pete & Whitney in this area too.

It seems like Forester has had some improvement in his appetite and vomiting this week. Please pray that he's hungry and that everything he eats stays down! Unfortunately, he's really having trouble settling down at night and sleeping because of leg pain. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Vincristine has triggered this pain, and unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse. Even with a STRONG prescription benadryl and pain killers, his sleep is being disrupted. Please pray for relief for Forester from this pain and sweet, deep sleep.

On Thursday, Forester cut Miss Michelle's hair off to donate to Locks of Love and at least several of his friends have shaved their heads to support him. Thank you all for showing love to Forester and the Bradburns in this way! :o)

I know the Bradburns have established an account at Wachovia for the Forester Fund to handle the donations they've received to date. This account will also be linked to paypal for bracelet purchases made on ebay. If you're interested, I'm sure you can make donations for medical expenses directly to the account. As soon as I have more info, I will let you know.

Please pray for another peaceful, drama-free weekend for the Bradburns.

Thank you!
April

Weight is up!

Forester weighed in at 59lbs today. GOOD NEWS. Be back with more about the last day or so. Just thought I would quickly share this PRAISE and answer to prayer. LOVE YOU ALL! ~ Whitney

*PS - Bracelets are almost ready to go up on ebay. We will post a link here and on Facebook as soon as we can!

Week 4, Day 1

Aunt Paris arrived last night to spend the week with the Bradburns and accompanied Forester, Whitney and Slade to the hospital today! Yay for family!

It was another long day, but they are on the way home now. Because Forester's blood counts are low again, he will have another transfusion tomorrow at 8am. He vomited twice yesterday but has not gotten sick today! He even ate a buttered biscuit and 4 Chick fil A nuggets! Please keep praying into his appetite and against nausea and vomiting. In the last 3 weeks, his weight has dropped from 68 lbs to 55 lbs. This is not good.

Last week I forgot to mention another chemo side effect with which Forester is struggling. The Vincristine (a chemo drug) can cause neuropathy, and that, along with electrolyte imbalances, has caused some serious leg pain for Forester. It seems to bother him most at night. Please pray against this side effect too!

Please pray for Whitney for deep, long sleep tonight! She only slept 3 hours Saturday night and 6 hours last night. She stayed up late learning a new song for Easter morning. (If you've never heard her sing, you're missing out. I still cry every time I hear her sing. BEAUTIFUL! Wish I could have been there Easter morning!)

Speaking of Easter... Thank you Lord for a drama-free weekend for the Bradburns! Thank you for the amazing ways you love us! Thank you for family and friends and strangers who love you and love Forester and the Bradburns even though they've never met. Thank you for the prayers being lifted up all over the world on behalf of this precious family! (We just received a subscription request from a pastor in Zurich. How cool is that?!?!) I know I've been blown away by all the Lord is doing through this incredibly painful trial. Thank you Lord for Jesus! I just had to post the following video. (Hope you don't mind Whit.) It's one of my favorite praise songs, and after we sang it at church yesterday, it has remained on my heart. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe!

April

(don't forget to scroll down to turn off the music so you can hear the video)