Pics and Thoughts from Mel

Hello Everyone! I am doing okay. Luckily I am not as sick as I was the first time around. I believe Heavenly Father works his miracles in amazing ways! I will post more about my thoughts and feelings later. For now, here is a little picture update from me.

 Greg, Charise, and Makayla heading home after a visit

 My dear friend Diana

A great source of pain and discomfort. I am glad it is looking and feeling so much better.

 My first blood transfusion. I had another one on Valentine's Day. I called it my special Valentine's Day juice. It is odd watching the blood move through the line and into my body. I have so much appreciation for those who donate blood. I was always too wimpy to donate, and now I can't. If you are an eligible donor, I strongly encourage you to donate your blood as often as possible.

 

 I have been very luck to have Kami Hodges Fischer as my night nurse. We went to high school together (she was a year younger). It's always nice to see a familiar face.

 My dear friends Rex and Angie Christensen. They are wonderful! Kaden has been friends with their son Wyatt since kindergarten. It was a great treat to see them.

 I had a horrible rash from my chemo for a few days. One night was particularly painful and itchy. I filled my pants with ice bags, which brought comfort and a lot of laughs! Good thing I have been wearing the largest size pants (waaayyy too big) so that my skin can breather a little easier . . . and I can fill them with ice bags. Luckily the rash is barely visible now.

 Hanging with my Kaden. I love it when he plops in my bed.  I miss him during the week, but know he is well taken care of in my absence.

 Kaden's birthday party was a lot of fun. I loved seeing my nieces and nephews.

 They (the kids) love taking pictures and making funny photos.

 A dear friend from my growing-up-days, Alicia Ray Cole, and her son, Adam, came to the hospital and gave me a nice hair cut.

 Thank you so much Alicia!!! You are so gorgeous!!!!!

My new "do" and Valentine's Day picture. My V-Day blanket was in the wash, so the pillow will have to suffice.

That's all I have in me now. Thank you so much for your love, prayers, cards, e-mails, and treats. I feel surrounded by love!

Much love,

Mel

Now a quick update from Angie.  Today was tumor board.  Dr. Peterson is on a cruise, so they can't say anything is in stone until he gets back.  However, they do have a plan.  Melanie's insurance approved the transplant, so Ladee will start the donor search.  There were a few matches last time.  Hopefully they are still willing and able.  They will wait for Melanie's counts to come back up from the chemo.  The time amount for this depends on her body.  After they get to a certain point and she doesn't need transfusions, she could possibly leave the hospital.  She would have to stay in the Salt Lake area though.  Once they reach the optimal point, she will have daily radiation for two weeks.  This radiation will be focused on the area in her breast where the lump was.  They will probably scan to make sure it is gone after that.  Following that radiation, she will have one day of full body radiation.  This will be a low dose compared to last time.  The next step is a dose of a medicine that I can't remember the name of, but she had it last time.  It is not a chemo, but it wipes her levels in preparation for the transplant.  She may have some Methatrexate as well.  They need her body to be in a low state to accept the donor.  The final step is the transplant.  This transplant is not as big as the last one.  The last transplant needed to graft and kill the leukemia in her body.  This transplant just needs to graft, so if any leukemia comes, the donor cells can wipe it out.  There is a greater risk for graft vs. host disease this time around.  It would show up 2-3 months after the transplant, and be more chronic problems (eyes, skin thickening,to name a few).

So, this plan could change tomorrow, but this is what we are going with today.  That is the one aspect of cancer we have all learned.  It is just a day to day thing.

Love to you all!

In the Low

Melanie's counts are up and down, and vary day to day.  Today her platelets were low, so she was given some platelets.  My mom said tomorrow she will probably get a blood transfusion again.  This is the lovely post chemo game.  She still has her rash, but they gave her some medicine that has helped it.  Hopefully, it will go away in a few days.

Melanie loves getting emails and cards.  Everyone has such great words of encouragement.  My mom was telling me about a book our aunt Heidi made Melanie.  I will have to take some pictures next time I am there.  It sounded so neat.  Thanks, Heidi!  Melanie and my mom thought it was so cute, and it made their day.

Not much else to report on.  Ladee is still working on transplant, and Melanie's body is working on getting all her blood counts back up.  Crossing our fingers that they come back fast.  Melanie is ready for some out of hospital time!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Last Night of Chemo

That's right...tonight Mel will receive her last dose of chemo for this induction period. We are so proud of you Mel!! It's been tough and you've been so strong. Mel's rash could last for a couple of more weeks, and she will more than likely start losing her hair this week. The plan for now is to allow her counts to come up. The doctor said it could take three weeks. She'll remain in the hospital until her counts are at a certain level, then she may be able to go to Greg's house. Let's pray for that!

They may do a body scan to see if the breast lump is completely gone. For now, we focus on Mel regaining her strength.

Kaden woke up this morning with a really sore throat, so Dad and Kaden's visit was cut short. My mom said they said goodbye at the elevator this morning. 

We'll keep you all update. Love to everyone who follows this blog!

Birthday Party

My dad and Kaden made their drive down for the weekend.  This evening we had a birthday party for Kaden at the hospital!  Chase, Brooke, and Austin were all healthy, so they were able to celebrate and see aunt Melanie.  Greg and Makayla came as well.

We had a fun evening!  We filled up Melanie's room.

Grandpa and Makayla

Melanie was sad that she wasn't able to be with Kaden on his actual birthday.  I told Kaden he was lucky this year, because he got two birthday parties.

Austin, Grandma, Makayla, Brooke, Chase, and Greg

We had some yummy cupcakes.  I forgot matches, so Kaden had to pretend he was blowing out the candle.  I love his face!  Our birthday song sounded great, and I know all the neighbors enjoyed it.  Happy Birthday, Kaden!

Melanie trying to get Makayla to smile.

Melanie's hat and Makayla's sweater make for a great picture!

Austin was very curious about everything.  Melanie explained all about shithead and her central line.  Grandma let him have a few crackers out of her "kitchen".

Melanie and Kaden had a good laugh about the card Melanie gave him.   I am not even sure what the inside joke was, but I thought it was a fun picture.

They have a few of these white boards in the hall.  You can write messages for the patients.  They erase it every week.  Brooke and Austin wanted to add a message for Melanie, to go along with grandma's.  Melanie was able to read the messages when we went on a walk.

We were quite the crew walking the halls.  My mom had gone to help Greg to his car when we started our walk.  We saw her come out of the elevator when she returned, but she didn't see us.  So, Melanie had a good idea to hide from her. 

We were hiding behind some walls that line the hall.  My mom saw that we were not in the room, so she came looking.  When she looked down the hall, she couldn't see us.  We could hear her talking to another patient, who was walking.  She was telling him and his daughter that she lost her family!  She finally walked down the hall, with some help from the patients daughter (darn her).  We all had a good laugh.  My mom said it made her day!

After our walk, we left Melanie for a quick dinner break in the hospital cafeteria.  We wished that she could have joined us!

Hopefully, it will be a birthday party that Kaden will always remember!

Melanie was feeling good today.  Her rash is still there, but was not acting up like last night.  I guess she was pretty miserable last night!  She has tonight and tomorrow night for chemo treatments.  After that, the rash should go away.  We still are not sure what the next step is after tomorrow.  We should know more on Monday...hopefully.

We love you, Melanie and Kaden!

Melanie is still fighting and hanging in there. She has three more days of chemo for the induction period. It's taking a toll on her body. She has a rash all over her body, except for her hands and the bottoms of her feet (thank goodness). She has been running a low grade fever every night. It hasn't gone high enough to warrant a culture yet. Her blood levels are still down, that won't change anytime soon. It means the chemo is working. 

Her are some positive things happening...Mel's red count was up today due to the blood transfusion she had, I think, yesterday. My mom said her lips have a little color to them. :) The lump she had in her breast is gone (another sign that the chemo is working). Mel's kidney and liver function look good! She survived the nasty chemo she had for five days. We celebrate every accomplishment and love any good news about her condition.

Rex and Angie Christensen visited today. They brought her some yummy treats, kind words and smiles. It really boosted Mel's spirits.

My mom said Mel got a "really cute" card from a former student. Mel loved it! It is hanging on her wall. Thanks so much.

Mel still has her hair! Last time around, she decided to shave it all off before it started falling out. We found out that was not a good idea because she ended up with tiny hairs all over her pillow. This time, she plans to get a really short hair cut and let it fall out in clumps. This time, losing her hair isn't a new thing. It stinks, but she knows that she looks beautiful bald. She just has one of those faces...

My mom told me a funny story. The CNA weighed Melanie today and wrote down the wrong weight, so the nurse saw it and thought Mel had gained 14 lbs in a day (which can happen in water weight). The nurse started pumping Mel full of lasix, which makes you pee a a lot. When the new nurse came on shift, she was asking Mel if she'd noticed her ankles or feet swelling and Mel told her she had not. Mel asked the nurse what weight the CNA had written down for the day, and Mel told the nurse that it was wrong. Mel had not gained any weight. I guess she got a good flush to her system :)

Look who turned 15 yesterday!!

He is such a stud! Happy Birthday Kaden! Mel and him will have a fun celebration this weekend.

Love you so much Mel!!

Tape Trouble

I just got off the phone with my mom and received the scoop for today.  Melanie is having a really hard time with her central line right now.  It is not so much the line itself, but the tape they have been using to keep it covered and in place.  She has super sensitive skin, and it is raw and painful from the tape.  They are trying to figure out the best thing to do for her.  The shields they used last time are not made anymore!  They are putting gauze on it and letting it air out and heal for now.  Hopefully, they figure out what will work good.

Last night and tonight, Melanie has had a low grade fever.  Nothing alarming at the moment.  If the fever gets too high, they will try to culture and see what is causing it.  They are just watching it for now.  She also has a rash on her legs and torso.  This could be a side effect from the chemo, but they are not sure.  My mom said it looks like a heat rash. 

Melanie was awake most of the morning getting some personal things taken care of.  She had a great walk and then got a good nap in the afternoon.  Tonight will be her 10th day of chemo.  She will have 4 more days to go.  We are not sure what the plan is after that.  Ladee is still getting approval from insurance for the transplant. We are hoping a donor is found quickly.

Thank you for your continued prayers! 

Induction Day 9

I was able to go to the hospital today and visit my mom and Melanie for a bit.  Melanie was feeling great today.  She has been able to eat well, which the doctors love.  She has started to get a red throat, which is a side effect of the chemo.  She is hoping that it ends there and she doesn't get a ton of mouth sores.  They moved some of her medications to oral instead of IV.  That is always a good thing when she can take her medication orally.  They will wait and see how she does with the developing soreness in her throat.

This is the closet in Melanie's room.  I love to see the sayings that my mom writes on it.  It is metallic, so there was a lot of glare!

"...have miracles ceased?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of man."  Moroni 7:29

Melanie took a few minutes to look on the Internet.  She has received quite a few emails via the hospital.  It is fun to read all the words of encouragement and love!  Keep them coming!!  Melanie also visited with her first transplant donor today.  It was two years ago yesterday that she had that transplant.  Thank you to Jordan for his act of kindness that gave her two wonderful years!

My mom and I went on a little outing, while Melanie tried to take a rest.  It is always nice for my mom to get out of the hospital for a bit.  We went to Smith's and did some shopping for Melanie.  Kaden's birthday is Thursday, and Valentine's is coming up!  While we were there, we got a few things to spruce up the room a bit.

We added a few Valentine decorations to her door...

and grabbed a nice heart to put by her picture.  It adds a little color to the drab white walls.  I think we need to get some more decorations! 

We had a yummy lunch from Kneader's, and then took a walk.  All the nurses and doctors are proud of Melanie and her walking.  She can move a lot faster than the last time she was here!

This is the long hall that she walks down, after making the circle around the nurses and doctors area.  She made it four times around today.  Good job, Melanie!  We have to get a walk after lunch, before she takes her synthetic marijuana.  That is the drug that makes her sleepy.  I always tell her,  "Good dreams and hallucinations."

I love visiting and seeing how well she is doing.  I talked with her a bit about how she is feeling.  She said, even though she is tired and has a few annoying side effects, she feels so much better than last time she was here.  She would love to be in a place where she can just get up and walk around.  I know she would be visiting every patient in the wing.  However, anytime she leaves her room, she has to put on the gown, gloves, and that darn mask.  It is just too uncomfortable and hot!  So, she sticks to her room, except for her daily walks around her loop.  Melanie is getting a little stir crazy!

This evening Diana Hatfield came and visited with Melanie.  She worked with Melanie at Providence.  Her dad was in the hospital for surgery, so she stopped in to say hello.  My mom said it was a nice visit.  When I talked with my mom last, Melanie was not feeling very good.  Her counts are just going to continue to go down.  This is a good thing, because it means the chemo is working.  It just makes it hard on Melanie.

Sleep tight, mom and Melanie.  Thank you for the fun day!

Not much has changed since yesterday. I talked with my mom tonight and she said Mel is hanging in there. She's very tired. Her counts have dropped even further today. Her immune system is really weak, so we need to be careful. The plan for her care seems to change a lot. The doctor told my mom that they will probably do more chemo after this round and will do one day of low dose, full body radiation. Ladee is working on approval from Mel's insurance to do the stem cell transplant. Once they get the green light, the search for the donor will intensify. 

Melanie got some cards today and they cheered her up. Thanks so much!

Keep those prayers and good thoughts coming! We love you all!

A Weekend Of Visitors

I was lucky enough to go to Salt Lake this weekend with my dad and Kaden. It felt so good to see Mel and give her a hug. Her presence is really missed here at home. She continues to fight! She is doing whatever the doctors ask her to do and has her eye on the prize of getting home and being with Kaden. There aren't as many unknowns this time around. Mel is familiar with the treatment and the feelings that she's having. It's still scary and the treatment seems counter productive, but Mel has faith in her doctors and in her Savior.

Mel was given her last dose of the super powerful chemo on Friday night. She continues to get chemo every night, but it isn't as nasty as that other stuff. Mel's blood counts are beginning to drop. They dropped quite significantly from Saturday to this morning. She has been so, so tired, and is starting to lose her rosy red cheeks and pink lips. She is more pale.

Shi-thead. This pole is Mel's constant companion, it delivers her life saving fluids, as well as chemo. So, it is kind of a love- hate relationship.

Dad and Mom.

 Mel had some visitors on Saturday. Her bishop came first and they had a nice visit. She also had a visit from some neighbors. Mel has such a knack for making friends and they bless her life. Her neighbors went over and cleaned her town home and have been so good to her. They had a great visit. They brought her a heart blanket and some other stuff. They also went and got her a sandwich at Jimmy John's...a welcome break from the hospital menu. These visits gave Mel a good boost to her spirits. Thank you!

I need to give a shout our to our parents. They are quite the team! They are great examples to us. They are willing to do whatever is needed to help Mel and Kaden. They have sacrificed so much and never complain or feel sorry for themselves. They are the rocks of our family. Love you two!!

 Today, mom, dad, Kaden, Ethan, and myself went to the hospital branch. It was a short, but powerful meeting. It was nice to feel the spirit. I know it gives my mom the spirit food she needs each week. What a blessing to have a branch there. Mel was given the Sacrament earlier in the day. She stayed behind and had a nap. She spent a lot of time sleeping today. As her counts continue to drop, she will be more fatigued. The medicines she takes also cause her to be sleepy. I find it peaceful to be there while she's sleeping. I couldn't help but wonder what the battle going on in her body looks like. Her body is fighting so hard!

 

Kaden and Ethan.

After Mel's nap, she went on a walk. Let me tell you, she books it down those halls. She wants to keep her lungs working and her circulation going.

Mom, Dad, Kaden (look how tall he is!!), Mel, Cami, Ethan.

The hardest part about our visit was saying good-bye. It is always tender. Melanie loves her son so much and being away from him is harder than any of the treatments. Kaden is her reason for fighting so hard. He is one lucky boy to have a momma who loves him so completely.

The plan going forward is to continue the chemo she is currently on for 9 day total (7 days left). After that, they will let her counts come back up while they search for the donor. She may have some spot radiation. Once they find the donor, they will have to take her the brink of death once again and then infuse her with the donor's cells. That's my understanding. It's hard to keep everything straight.

We'll be sure to keep you all informed. 

Continue to send emails and cards. It means so much! We hang up all of the cards she gets. Prayers on Mel's behalf are awesome too. We appreciated all of the well wishes, thoughts, and prayers. It's hard to put into words just how grateful we are. 

You are LOVED Mel!!

Induction Day 4

Today was another good day for Melanie.  She is still doing pretty good with her nausea.  I talked with my mom this evening at the tail end of her first chemo treatment for the day, and Melanie was feeling a bit sick, but she never lost it.  She gets a yucky taste in her mouth, when the first dose of chemo is going in slowly through her central line.  They give this over a one hour period.  The second dose, she can feel in her jaw.  They push this through her central line slowly, via a syringe.  Melanie feels zapped after the treatments.  Her counts are starting to drop, which makes her feel tired and sick.  The flushed face is still there and bothersome. 

Today my mom and Melanie were able to have a nice visit from my mom's cousin Janice Downs.  She lives in South Jordan, and was able to stay for awhile.  It was nice for my mom to visit and eat some lunch with her.  Visitors are always a welcomed distraction from hospital life.  Usually my mom is good to take a picture, but she forgot today!  Thank you for the visit, Janice! 

Melanie has  received a few cards and some emails that the hospital volunteer has delivered.  She loves to get them.  We hang the cards on her wall, so she can be reminded of the great support she has out there.

Tomorrow is the last day for the chemo regimen she has been doing this week.  They will see how her body has responded.  The mass in her breast has already softened, so that is a good sign.  We will have to see how low her counts go.  If they are too low, she will have to stay in the hospital.  Dr. Ford said that they would decide Monday what the next step will be.  She may be having the stem cell transplant sooner rather than later.  We are still waiting for word from Ladee about a donor.

Kaden and my dad will be coming down on Saturday, so Melanie has something good to look forward to!

A Better Day

Today was a much better day for Melanie.  All her nausea medicine seems to be working!  When I arrived this morning to visit, Melanie was sitting in the chair visiting with the physical therapist.  She had just gotten back from a morning walk.  Melanie has a goal to get up and walk three times a day.  The physical therapist actually released her today from their services.  They gave her some exercises to do every day, and feel she does not need their daily visits.  She is starting out a lot stronger this time.  The goal is to keep it up!

Melanie was able to even take a shower.  She was enjoying being able to wrap her hair up in a towel.  Something she won't be able to do soon.

One of the side effects and complaints that Melanie has from the chemo is her flushed face.  She also felt like her face was a bit swollen.  I asked her how she felt during the chemo treatment, besides nauseous.  She said it feels a lot like when she was doing radiation.  The more chemo she gets in her system, the more side effects she is going to start experiencing. 

After my mom and Melanie were showered and ready for the day, my mom and I ventured out to get us all some lunch.  They needed a break from hospital food.  Melanie had an appetite, and was excited for her Jimmy John's sandwich.  She would have liked it even more, if she could have had veggies on it.

I captured a great shot of Melanie playing with her "long" hair.  She is enjoying it while she can, she said.

After lunch, we took walk number two.  We enjoyed saying hi to all the staff and reading the Valentine's jokes they had on the walls.  Melanie was feeling good and able to go around 4 times!

We never got a picture of Dr. Ford the last time.  He was here when Melanie was first in the hospital.  He actually went on a mission and retired shortly after she arrived.  After his mission, they asked him to come back.  He is a great doctor!

I talked to my mom this evening, and Melanie had her first chemo at 6:00 pm.  This will be the time she has it every day now.  She did not puke again this evening, so that is a good sign!  She just gets tired and doesn't always feel like eating.  She will have her second chemo dose at around 11:00 pm.  Hopefully that will go well also.  There still may be a chance to get walk number three in there.

Here's to another good day tomorrow!

A Rough Start

Melanie had her first dose of chemo at 12:30 am, they had to make sure she was really hydrated, so it was an odd time. My mom said as soon as they started the chemo, Mel got sick and was for the rest of the night. Her central line was causing her lots of pain as well. It sounds like it was a long night with little sleep.

Today was better. She is on lots of medication! If I wrote everything down right... she is on 5 medicines for nausea, pain meds for her central line, a steroid, and synthetic marijuana (the last two meds are to boost her appetite). Mel was able to eat a bit today. She also took a walk, and got some sleep.

They started her chemo at 9pm tonight and Mel hadn't thrown up yet when I talked with our mom at 9:37 (to be exact).  :)

Our mom said that Mel is feeling really tired. She will want to do something, but her body just can't get the energy to do it. This time around is really different. Last time she was so sick before she went in, that she almost felt a bit better once her treatment started. This time, she was feeling great and is made to feel sick with all of this poison being pumped into her body.

Mel continues to have a great attitude about everything. She is so strong!

Greg found a link to the article about Mel that Angie posted about. Click HERE to read it. Her story is on page 10. Reading it brought tears to my eyes.

Remember Mel in your prayers tonight. :)

Hang in there Mel! We sure love you!

Induction Day 1

We finally have some answers after our pow wow with Dr. Asche today.  They had all of the test results in, except her bone marrow biopsy.  They did have the preliminary results.  Everything looks good!  There was no sign of cancer anywhere, except the spot on her breast.  This is not breast cancer, but leukemia.  Melanie really feels like it is a huge blessing that she got the lump, or she may not have had any signs that things were brewing otherwise.  They will still wait for the pathology on the bone marrow, but the preliminary results look clear. 

Dr. Asche made sure that we knew it was not a good thing that she was back, but it could be a lot worse.  She is healthy and it appears to be localized.  She mentioned that she doesn't like to throw out percentages and numbers as far as prognosis.  We were all on board with that.  Melanie can make her own percentage.

The battle plan is pretty much what we were expecting at this point.  Melanie signed the papers to give them permission to treat.  She will start her induction period tonight.  This will be 5 days of chemo, given to her for 1 hour every day.  After the five days, they will assess how she is handling the treatment.  If she is doing well, she could possibly leave the hospital and do the next 9 days outpatient.  She will have to stay in the Salt Lake area though (Greg's house).  It is not fun to read the possible side effects of the chemo.  The particular one they are giving her this week can do damage to the liver.  She may even go a little yellow.  Dr. Asche wanted us to have a good idea of what Mel is up against.  She informed us that they actually had a patient die of liver failure while doing the chemo.  Not that she is planning on that happening, but just wanted us to have a heads up.  The chemo can cause mouth sores and swollen, sore hands and feet (which Melanie had last time).  She will also lose her hair again.  Needless to say, it could be a tough week.

After her chemo regimen, they will wait for her counts to be right, and then they will do another stem cell transplant.  This should be in 4-6 weeks, if everything goes well.  We need to specify that Melanie's original donor was awesome!  He helped her so much, but Mel just needs a little tune up (as Dr. Asche put it).  They may do some localized radiation in this process as well, but that is yet to be determined.  Full body radiation like last time is out of the question!

Melanie is having such a positive attitude, which will go a long way.  She believes there is a higher power at work here.  She has amazing faith!  The hardest thing for her is to have to leave Kaden home.  He will be well taken care of by grandpa.

Melanie will be in room 806 this time.  The nurses call it room 6 with a view.  We will keep you updated on visitors at this time.  She is allowed HEALTHY visitors, but we will see how she is feeling after all the chemo.  Letters and notes are always welcome and would help her so much!  You can send a letter to:

LDS Hospital

8th Avenue and C street

Salt Lake City, Utah 84143

East 8th - 806

Cami also noticed that if you go on the hospital website (ldshospital.com), you can email a message, which a volunteer will deliver to Melanie's room.  Pretty cool!! 

Thank you again for all your kind words and prayers.  Melanie has a fight ahead, and needs all the prayers and words of encouragement she can get!

GO, FIGHT, WIN!!

Melanie's Claim to Fame

On Friday, my mom was sitting in the bone marrow outpatient clinic looking at this magazine.  She was casually flipping through reading a heading here and there.  She turned a page, and saw a familiar face!

It is hard to see from this lovely picture, but that is Melanie!  My mom looked at the receptionist and said, "That's my daughter."  Awhile ago, one of the staff members had asked Melanie if it was alright to publish a bit of her story.  Melanie said that was fine, but then never heard anything else about it.  Well, they did publish a great article about Melanie's fight and her positive attitude.  It was written by Dr. Hoda.  My mom got a copy for each of the kids.  I will have to figure out a way to scan it and put it in a form that is actually readable. 

Tomorrow is the day that we will find out more information.  We have a meeting with the doctors in the afternoon.  They will have all her test results (preliminary results from bone marrow), and should know exactly where the cancer cells are in her body.  They are planning to put her central line in and start chemo after the meeting. 

I know Melanie is anxious to hear the results and know what she is dealing with.  It is nice this time around to have a better understanding of things to come, and it is  a great blessing that she is starting out a lot healthier.

I will get on and blog as soon as I can after the meeting.  Thank you all for your continued prayers.  It means a lot to Melanie, Kaden, and our entire family.

Here we go again...

As many of you already know, Melanie has relapsed. She found a lump in her breast and has been in the process of getting it checked out. In this process, we've learned that her leukemia has raised it's UGLY head again (the lump in her breast is primarily water that will dissolve over time). There have been so many different emotions felt by all of us upon first hearing this news...anger, despair, fear, sorrow, exhaustion, just to name a few. There were lots of tears shed. As the reality of this has settled in, we have also had feelings of hope, faith, and trust. Melanie is ready to do what she has to, in order to give leukemia a good old fashion kick in the butt!

Melanie spent the day in Salt Lake. She underwent a lumbar puncture (with chemo injected), a PET and CT scan, and a bone marrow biopsy. I spoke with my mom tonight and she said Mel's spirits are good, but she is really tired. Sleep will be a welcome friend tonight.

We will have more details on Mon. about what exactly we are facing. The doctors have yet to determine where her leukemia is. It hasn't manifested itself in her blood stream yet, but there are cells somewhere. The doctors will meet with Mel and our parents on Monday at 1:30. Mel will get a new central line that will be hooked back up to Shithead (her pet name for her IV pole). She will be admitted that day as well. She will begin induction next week. This is when she receives high doses of chemo. Mel will receive these treatments for 6 weeks, and will remain in either the hospital, or the Salt Lake area during this time. If she receives any radiation, it will be localized and not the full body radiation she had last time. The doctors are also looking for another stem cell donor. Her first donor has already said that he would be happy to donate again, in fact, there are still more cells of his at the hospital. The doctors told Mel that they will have to try a new donor's cells this time.

My mom will stay by Mel's side like last time. The plan is to have Kaden stay with our dad and visit Mel on the weekends.

When Angie and I talked today, we commented on how it feels like we were just barely here...updating the blog. I have to remind myself that Mel has had 2 awesome years of good health thanks to her first stem cell donor. We have had lots of fun times over these last two years. Blessings!

Melanie would like you to check the blog for information, Angie and I will update it as often as we can (hopefully daily). Visitors are allowed at the LDS Hospital as long as you are healthy :). Melanie loves to get cards and LOVES your prayers. Flowers are not allowed in the bone marrow unit.

Thanks for all of the concern and love for Mel. She is amazing to all of us. We as a family believe in miracles, and the power of prayer and fasting. We have faith in our savior, Jesus Christ. Whatever the outcome is, we believe it is part of our Heavenly Father's plan for Melanie.


GO, FIGHT, WIN Melly-elly!