More blood, please.

As you know, Forester recieved a blood transfusion on Thursday.  I knew this wouldn't help too much because his white count hasn't bottomed out.  It's taken us a while to understand how all of this works but it generally takes 10-12 days for Forester's white blood cell count to hit rock bottom.  Until this happens, it continues to pull all of his other counts down with it.  So, even though Forester received blood on Thursday, his white cell count is still pulling that red cell count down.  Make sense?  It's not as low as it was on Thursday but it's still low. All that's to say is it's 4 days later and Forester will be getting another blood transfusion and also a platelet transfusion today.  Our hope is that his white cell count will bottom out soon and all his counts will start to recover.  Meanwhile,  we have to continue doing daily shots until his next appt (Thursday).  This is the first time we've had to do more than 10 days in a row of shots.  Blah.
I'm so ready for all of this to be over for Forester and our family.  Though I admit I can hardly imagine it!   Really.  It's so hard to picture a life without the hospital, chemo and shots, pills and analyzing blood counts and worry...but we'll get there. As we continue to run this marathon, we are all so weary and tired.   I have to remind myself daily, keep one foot in front of the other, just keep going......
The end is in sight.  Please keep praying for us.

Praying for all of you today who pray for us!
Whitney

Round 5, Week 2 Begins

This week has been pretty uneventful, thank God! Forester arrived home from treatment on Saturday night which was earlier than we thought.  He was thrilled!  So far he's only had one vomiting episode which is a big difference from last month.  He was still scared to eat for a couple of days but is now back to his hungry self.  He's still eating lots of pickles, cheese and popcorn!  He's been able to do school each day this week and keeping up pretty well. 

Micah came down with a croupy sounding cough on Monday night, so Pete took him to Muzzy & Pop's for the day to keep him away from Forester.  He never ran a fever but definitely has a cold.  Slade woke up with a really yucky nose and cough yesterday morning.  So far, Forester hasn't caught it. Pray he doesn't!! We're trying to keep the boys separated but it's hard to do these days.  They really enjoy playing together.  So, all day yesterday they wore masks just so they could play "Bionicles" and watch TV together!  Very sweet.

Today Forester is at the hospital with Muzzy getting Vincristine (chemo) and also a blood transfusion.  His hemoglobin is 5.9.  That's low! 11-16 is normal.  When he woke up yesterday he was so pale I just knew he needed blood.  He's also been extremely emotional, crying several times a day over small things.  I'm hoping maybe the blood will help with that too. So, it will be a long hospital day but he should feel much better by the end of today.  We're still waiting for his white blood cell count to bottom out before it starts to recover again.  I'm guessing it will bottom out on Monday.

Guess who is on the way here RIGHT NOW?  Aunt Katie (my sis) and Jack (my neph)!! We can't wait to see them!!  Forester just loves Aunt Katie and adores little Jack.  It will help the next week go by fast. :-) Thank you, Lord, for sisters that rock!

Please pray for safe travels for Katie, quick recovery for Micah and Slade, and no more illness in the house!  We are taking every precaution to protect Forester from the flu but I confess it still scares me.  BUT, God is protecting him and us...  I just need to TRUST Him.  Pray that I will trust God in all things concerning Forester's care.

Thanks for all of your prayers for us.  More soon.
Love,
Whitney

Round 5 starts off with a blow

April made it safely here on Tuesday morning, and we've had a great visit together.  She was able to go to Micah's soccer game with us and see Muzzy & Pop and Grand Do Do, as well as witness Micah scoring 3 goals!  Then Grandma Kathie was so kind to watch the kids so Ape and I could go out.  We had a wonderful dinner downtown at SNOB (Slightly North of Broad) and relaxed on the Vendue Inn Roof Top Bar.  The weather was perfect, and the company was even better!  I am so thankful to have her here and sad that she has to fly back home today.

Forester's round 5  began yesterday.  As always, he had a hearing test first.  The results this time were not what we hoped.  Forester has had significant high frequency hearing loss as a direct result of the crucial chemotherapy drug, Cisplatin. As I have mentioned in previous posts, this loss is permanent - not temporary.  As you can imagine, we were devastated by this news.  If we have to make a choice between returning cancer or hearing loss, of course we would choose hearing loss.  But who wants to "choose" either one at all?? Who doesn't want their child to be completely whole?  He's been through so much already, he's endured so much already....not this too.  I think I am particularly heartbroken over this because I have prayed constantly that God would protect him from this.  I have asked all of you to pray, and I constantly remind my closest friends to pray about his hearing.  We had several people pray over him at church specifically asking God to protect him from this.  These sad results are common, but I truly believe that God is bigger than that.  I do!  So, why didn't He do it?  Why didn't He answer my prayer and protect him from this?  My sweet boy, who feels music in his bones, who loves to sing and dance, who wants to play the piano and drums.  Hearing is important to us all but especially so for this musical family and this musical boy.  I know that God's ways are higher than our ways.  I know we cannot understand the mind of God, but to be honest, I feel heartbroken by Him.  I feel like I put myself out there, believing wholeheartedly in His protection, and He broke my heart. I truly believed this wouldn't happen.  I feel the fool.   Do I love my Jesus any less?  No.  Do I believe that God IS who He says He is? Yes.  Do I still trust Him? Yes.  Do I believe that God can restore Forester's hearing?  Absolutely. But, am I hurting? Yes. Do I understand it all?  Never.

Forester's Cisplatin dose was reduced by 25% in hopes of preventing any more damage to his hearing.  We asked about the ramifications of stopping Cisplatin altogether, but we were told by his doctors it is crucial for treating Medulloblastomas and especially crucial in Forester's case since his tumor was anaplastic.  I will continue to beg you for your prayers.  That this 25% reduction will keep him from having any more hearing loss.  Pray that the amount that he has lost will be restored.  That he won't need hearing aids. Pray for my broken heart and for the strength to continue to watch my child endure this horror for the next 2 months.

Due to Forester's specific gravity in his urine (too concentrated) they had to have him on fluids all day yesterday and chemo didn't start until midnight.  This means an additional 12 hours or so in the hospital.  This made Forester very sad as he is always anxious to get home as soon as possible.  We hope he will be discharged by Sunday night.  Please pray for Forester's spirits and that the time will go by fast for him.  Pray that he won't have severe vomiting like he did last month.   Ugh.  Just pray.

Thankful for another day in spite of my tears,
Whitney

(pictures from yesterday)

Prayer Request

First of all I shouldn't be writing this after taking Ambien so forgive me.
But, I am so excited that April  is coming for a short visit next Tuesday-Thursday!!  (Forester enters treatment on Wed)  Please pray that everyone in April's household will remain COMPLETELY HEALTHY.  Since March, that poor family has been one giant walking germ.  Seriously! 3 kids under 5 and the oldest started Kindergarten this year = illness.  Plus you know about April's Spinal Meningitis!  It's been a trying year for them too.  We both could use some time together.   I haven't seen April since Forester's brain surgery back in Feb.!!  So please pray that nothing interferes and that God will continue to put a hedge of protection around us to keep us from anything that could compromise Forester's treatment.
THANK YOU!
Forester had a great day today.  He has some laughing gas at the dentist while getting some preventative sealants put on his teeth.  It wasn't a problem at all. Smooth and easy.  Then came home and has a short school lesson with Mrs. Weston.  They were unable to get to Bible today due to time so Forester stayed at the table and read and explained his Bible stories to Micah.  It was a precious moment.  He loves Bible time! 


Hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead.  It's going to be a tough game for our Georgia Bulldogs playing LSU.  GO DAWGS!
Love - Whitney

Doing Well

Sorry that it's been a few days since my last update.

Forester's body has recovered from the chemo and all of his counts are almost in the normal range. His platelet count is still really low but not low enough for another transfusion. We just have to be careful about bumps and falling (bleeding essentially). The last several days have been really great. Forester seems more like his old self and it's been a long time since we've seen that guy. He was kicking the soccer ball this weekend, going up and down the stairs without holding on and even jumping around a bit. All of these things are signs of great improvement in his legs. He even said "Mom, I'm getting my balance back! Yay!". So, your prayers are working! He's also been getting along very well with Micah and they have spent hours together building Bionicles and playing. This is unheard of! I mean, they're brothers!! It's been a precious gift to me to over hear my boys being nice to one another and enjoying each other's company. SO, in all things, God is good and has been giving us little gifts along the way.

Round 5 (We're reaching the homestretch!!) will begin on Wednesday, October 8th, 8 days from now. Thankfully we don't even have to go back to the hospital for a check up before then! Forester will have a hearing test at 8:30 on the 8th (PRAY) and then they will check his counts and get him admitted into a room. Once again it will be the same 4 chemo drugs and a 4 day stay in the hospital.

So... have any of you heard of this thing called the Swine Flu? Ha ha. Yeah, it's going around and it's everywhere! Pete and I talked about it the other night and though it may seem to be extreme we are going to take every precaution necessary to keep our family healthy and avoid any illness that could delay Forester's treatment. We REALLY want him to be done by December and maybe even have a little hair by Christmas! So, we're going to be hermits for the next couple of months. And please, keep praying for God's protection over us. I know it's His protection that has kept Forester from illness thus far. Thank you, Lord!

Thanks as always for thinking and praying for us. We thank God for you! We pray that this week will be full of uneventful, boring days in the Bradburn house before the next round starts back up.

Here are a few short videos for you to enjoy. Don't forget to pause the playlist at the bottom or if you received this by email you will have to go to the actual blog site to view the videos.

Love,

Whitney

Motorcycles, Pills, Transfusions & Cheese

First of all, thank you so much to Molly Meekins who worked so hard for MONTHS to organize an amazing fundraiser for us on Sunday. 50 or so bikers (these are Harley dudes, not cyclists) came out for the poker run and gave so generously to help us with our medical bills. THANK YOU to all who participated and volunteered for this event. Pete really wants a Harley now! :-)

Forester had another long day today. His platelet count was very low (3, normal is 140-440) so he had to get a transfusion of those. His hemoglobin count was low (7.5, normal is 11-15) so he had to get another blood transfusion. His white blood cell count is 27 (normal is 2,000-6000) so we need to continue neupogen shots. Unfortunately, I gave him the last one we had this morning. We were told today by hospital staff that more would be ordered & delivered. When I called to follow up on that this evening it had not been done. SO frustrating. It usually takes at least a day to receive a home shipment so we may have to go back to the hospital tomorrow just for a shot. Blech. It seems that Forester's little body is having a harder time recovering from the chemo than the first couple of months. He had 2 blood transfusions last month and this month as opposed to just one per month. He's had to get platelets the last 2 months where he has only needed platelets one other time in the last 8 months. His white cell count is taking longer to recover....it all really stinks. We're tired of our boy being sick and cannot wait for this to be behind us and see him healthy again. Keep praying for all of us.

The good news we received today is that Forester's weight is up from 61 lbs. to 66lbs., thanks to starting the Megace again. He is back to eating lots and lots of cheese cubes, pickles, and cheese quesadillas & cheese dip from the local Mexican restaurant. Something about the Megace and cheese...but we're thankful he's eating again. He's also been able to take his pills with a lot more ease. Prayers answered. It's amazing the amount of pills he takes a day. The picture posted is of one week's worth of pills. The horse pills we break up into 6-8 pieces. It makes for about 20 swallows of pills, 3x a day. He is a trooper.

I am sorry this is a disjointed post. I'm tired and have more chores before bed. Just wanted to keep you all updated. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Praising Him for another day,

Whitney

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