December... Already?

I can not believe we are right into December and on our way to Christmas. It has gone by so fast. Everyone has been asking for the updates. I have gotten really lazy and just have not had time. We are thrilled to say that Makenzie received her Make a Wish on November 13th. We had a great time. For those of you that do not know about her wish here goes. She asked to meet the Author of the chapter series Junie B. Jones, by Barbra Park. Barbra is dedicating her new book to Makenzie. It is called "Dumb Bunny" and will be out in February. For Makenzie's wish we were picked up in a limo and driven to Girly Girlz. There her and two of her great friends were given the royal treatment and became rock starz. We were then taken to the Phoenician for lunch with Barbra. It was nice to visit with her and get to know her a little bit. She gave Makenzie all of her books and signed them. She got lots of little presents and just had a great time. From there we went to the hospital and Kenzie was able to donate some signed copies of Junie B. books to the hospital. Makenzie really had a great day. Other than that we have just been doing one day at a time. Makenzie's treatments are going pretty well. Our kids can not wait until Santa visits. We hope everyone is doing well and enjoing the Christmas season. We are so greatful to everyone who has taken such good care of our family. We are greatful for your service. Here is a fun pictures from her make a wish at Girly Girlz.

Kenzie Speaks at a News Conference

Makenzie recently spoke at a news conference announcing the expansion of Phoenix Children's Hospital. She spoke along with a nurse who used to be a patient, a young man who is a former patient, Mayor Phil Gordon, Congressman Ed Pastor, and the CEO of the hospital. She did a great job and even made it on the evening news. By the year 2030 (I think) the hospital will nearly double in size.

Youngs Farm

Kenzie ended up w/ treatment on Friday. She has done great this time around. She has felt pretty good. She felt good enough to go to Youngs Farm in Prescott. All the kids had a great time. We met the Phelan's there. They just moved up there and it was great to see them. We took a picnic lunch and rode a few rides. The kids liked riding the horses. It was really crowded towards lunch time. I am really glad we got there early.
The kids had their primary program today and I am so proud they did so good and really CUTE. Both sets of grandparents came and then came over for lunch after church. The kids love their grandparents. Brayden is saying quite a few things. New words are: gotcha, dog sound, cow sound, Kenzie, bubba, dada, mama, money, breakfast, want more, up. I know there is more I just can not think of them.

Kenzie wanted to write: hi how is everyone doing i am doing fine i do not like treament but i am happy that it is going to zap the tomer it is nice to have such a big family and so much care. i get
mail so much just about every day but some days i dont get anything and brayden got a buzz cut. Look at the picture above: isn't he cute! Love Kenzie and family :)

Finally these pictures will post. I have tried and tried. I do not know why today it is working , just happy it is. enjoy :)
THANKS oliva, rachel and nanci

A Princess Room

I have so much to update you on I hope I can remember everything. I am way behind with everything. First of all, Thanks to everyone for meals, helping me clean and taking good care of our family. :) Makenzie had her Wednesday treatment. Everything went well. She is goofy and happy. We LOVE to see that.She was in the ER on Friday night. She had a fever. We can not take chances because of her port and shunt. She hates going there. The only nice thing is you say Tumor and Chemo. They rush you into the back so she is not exposed to the other sick kids. We get check out right away. Thank goodness.Kenzie's most excited these days about her room. A very special friend did a room makeover for her (Olivia Montez). Let me start off by saying: "BEAUTIFUL" It turned out so awesome. I love just going in there to look. I was quite proud of myself because Olivia liked the color we had painted her room. It is a bright pottery barn pink. She got a new bed spread that went w/ the room better than the one I had. They had the furniture sprayed white. Rachel Despain made curtains, round pillow and a chair cover. They hung shelves (David Despain) and a beaded chandelier (SP?). She is so excited to have a canopy at the head of the bed. She thinks it is cool to have different shaped pillows. Nanci Jarman helped them w/ the set up and made a really cute box for organization. To finish it off Olivia gave her the most beautiful hand held mirror. Makenzie shows everyone the mirror first thing. Thanks to everyone who help lift the spirtit of our whole family. Much appreciated.Our fiend Kelli Barkley lives around the corner from us. She has had a brain tumor removed twice. We are walking with her for the National Brain Tumor foundation. Here is a link to donate : http://www.firstgiving.com/kellikbarkleyThe walk will be held on October 14th, 2006.The rest of the family is doing well. Brayden has learned to open our doors this last week. Now the bathrooms are locked and we are trying our best to keep him out of things. Carson dropped a metal stake on his toe and cut it open. We thought we would have to take him to the ER and get a stitch but we took him to a friend dr. and he looked at it. He could have used a stitch but he butterflied it and who cares if he has a scar on his toe. Thank you so much for doing that. We really appreciate it. He probably saved us $500.Today is a half day at school so Makenzie home for the day. Her and Carson have been playing really good together. They play stuffed animals. I have no idea what that is all about or how to play but they have a great time. This still does not totally catch us up but it will have to do for now. :) It will not let me post pictures of her room. I will try tomorrow. :)

Updates

Makenzie is doing well right now. She's been off the steroids for over a month. She is walking better, getter stronger, and has more energy. She's got her sparkle back. And she's talking as much as ever. She's even back in dance lessons. Mom goes with her to help her out. She's doing well in school and staying all day most days. She seems to be tolerating this new chemo they have her on well. She did go to the ER a few Fridays ago for a fever. You have to be really careful with fevers when kids are on chemo and have shunts. But it turned out to be nothing more than an upper respiratory virus along with some congestion and coughing.

Alex and Kenzie delivered the toys they collected to the Phoenix Children's Hospital a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to the work of these girls and the generosity of the Lake Pleasant Ward, the Pleasant Valley Ward, and many others they donated several thousand dollars worth of toys, clothes, and gift cards that will be given to kids at the hospital.

We continue to receive all kinds of support from so many amazing people. We are grateful... more than you can know. Things would be far more difficult for us right now if it were not for so many people helping us in so many ways. Please, keep praying for Makenzie to be healed, for her miracle.

On a lighter note

I took the boys over on Tuesday to a friends house to visit their puppies. (NO! I am not buying a puppy)! Since I deprive my children of having animals I thought they would like to go and visit. Carson has asked if we can bring home a puppy. He just asked me, as I am typing this, if he could have a puppy for his birthday next month. He said, "you can wrap him up so I can open him. It makes me feel bad because the kids really do want one. I feel like having a dog is like having another child. We had a blast and I really did want to take one home. They are so cute when they are little. Brayden was a little unsure but Carson held them like a baby. He LOVED the puppies. It is funny how they get attached to a certain one and that is all they want. He liked Jack. Here are a few pictures I took.

note to Grandma's and Grandpa's : SAY NO TO PUPPIES, SAY NO TO PUPPIES!!!!! :)

Back to School, End of Break, MRI, New Chemo

Makenzie has been in school now in 2nd grade for over 2 weeks and is doing well. She is making it all day and has only missed days for and MRI and a treatment. She likes her teacher, Mrs. Guevara. Makenzie has enjoyed her 4 week break from chemo. It has helped her feel quite a bit better. She is also off of the steroids so that should also help her feel better. Her appetite is not so out of control and she should start slimming back down and gaining strength. The results of her MRI last Friday were mixed... the swelling around the tumor has gone down, and there were some cysts in the tumor that are smaller. But there has been no shrinkage and there is an area of the tumor that has progressed ever so slightly, less than the tip of a pinky finger. But that was enough for the doctor to decide her current chemo regimen was not as effective as he would like and to change from carboplatin/vincristine to vinblastine. So she will get vinblastine weekly for a year, without breaks, unless future MRIs show that to not be effective. One good thing is that her appointment times will go from over 3 hours to about an hour since Vinblastine does not have to dripped in slowly through an IV. Please, continue to pray for Makenzie to be blessed with miracles, that she will be healed and she will feel as well as she can.

Toy Drive

You should see my living room!!!! WOW!!! We have had so many generous donations for Phoenix Children's Hospital. I love just looking at all of this stuff and thinking about what a difference this will make. It will make their stay a little more bearable. We have not taken the donations to the hospital yet. It is not too late to donate. If you would like to donate please remember it has to be new. I just found a list of items that are needed. Here is a link: https://www.phoenixchildrenshospital.com/support/specialwaystogive/wishlist.html

A big Thank You to Alex Peugnet for doing this wonderful project. Makenzie is so excited go with Alex to deliver the donations. Thanks to everyone who has donated. I will post pictures soon of everything we have received.

Camp Rainbow/Toy Drive Update

Makenzie and her family are enjoying the four week break from chemo. Makenzie is feeling a bit better. She'll get another MRI on the 25th and if all is still going well she'll continue chemo on the 30th. Dad and Makenzie went to Camp Rainbow in Prescott on Friday. We got on a bus at 8:00 in the morning and rode to camp. At camp Kenzie did arts and crafts, went down to the lake where they canoe and fish, did a scavenger hunt, ate lunch, had a sing-a-long, took a wagon ride with two mules named Dixie and Liz, and got to help paint Dr. Etzl, her doctor at the clinic. We headed home at 3:30 and had a little nap on the way home. Alex and Makenzie have collected truckloads of toys and collected over $1000 in donations that they are working on spending. It is still not too late to help... either by donating toys or money. They'll be delivering the toys to the hospital probably sometime this week.

13th & 14th Treatment/Toy Drive

Kenzie got her 13th and 14th treatment. Everything is still going about the same. We get a 3 week break now. She won't have to get another treatment until August 23rd. Hopefully the break will let her recover from the chemo a bit and help her begin feeling better. We will probably get an MRI during the break just to see what's going on with the tumor. We are hopefully just about done with the nasty steroids... maybe another week or so.

Alex and Kenzie are still collecting toys for the Phoenix Children's Hospital through August 7th. They've got quite a collection so far. Anyone wanting to help can buy toys and drop them off at Makenzie's or just donate money and Makenzie can buy the toys. Email wcmtlmaz@yahoo.com for an address to send checks or drop off toys. The toys do have to be new and suitable for kids ages 0 - 17. Thank you to all who have helped so far.

12th Treatment, D-Backs Game & Toy Drive

12th Treatment

Makenzie got her 12th treatment this last Wednesday. She is doing about the same... nothing really new to report. We are still tapering the steroids. We found out she will definitely get a 3 week break (that is skipping two appointments) from chemo after the 14th treatment.

Baseball Game

Last night Makenzie and family (minus Brayden, he went to Grandma Betty's) went to a Diamondback's game at Chase Field with tickets donated by the Phyllis Foundation and Phoenix Children's Hospital. We got pretty decent seats in the Diamond level. They even threw in food money so everyone got to stuff their face with yummy expensive food. You can see from the pictures that Kenzie and Carson enjoyed their pizza. Everyone had a great time and the DBacks even won the game 5-2. Brandon Webb pitched a great game. It was fun to see him pitch.

Toy Drive

Makenzie's friend from church, Alex Peugnet, and Makenzie are collecting toys for Phoenix Children's Hospital as a service project. Alex is doing this service project as one of her projects for her young women's group. These toys are given to children who are patients at the hospital to make their stays a little more enjoyable. Anyone interested in donating toys email wcmtlmaz@yahoo.com and we'll let you know how. The toys do have to be new but they don't need to be expensive. We've found stuff at the dollar store. Many kids enjoy crayons, coloring books, art supplies, etc. as a way to pass their time in the hospital. And many of those items are on cheap right now if you watch the back to school sales.

11th Treatment

Kenzie got her 11th treatment last Wednesday. She did not get a two-week break from the chemo. She will probably get one after the 14th treatment. She is doing about the same. She's been keeping busy making cards and coloring pictures for her family, the doctors, nurses, and others at the clinic. We are still tapering her off of the steroids. So far so good. Thank you to all of you who have been helping our family with meals, cleaning, baby sitting, prayers, and other support. We appreciate it more than you know and it makes things easier for us right now.

Touching

I saw this video clip on another blog. Without fail I cried. It is a beautiful story. I heard they were on Oprah. I know I have heard their story other places. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPrL3n63yg

Trip to the Circus

Makenzie and Carons went to the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Baily Circus last Friday with other kids from Phoenix Children's Hospital. Kenzie got to get a clown face, learn clown tricks, play games, meet the mayor of Phoenix, and she got a gift bag from the circus. Kenzie and mom actually got to go out on the floor during the show and sit on the circus train. Carson was fascinated by the elephants, zebra/donkeys, and all the other animals. All of us managed to get front row seats. Kenzie and dad had tickets for the front row and it just happened that the two seats next to us were empy. Everyone had a blast.

10th Treatment

Makenzie got her 10th treatment yesterday. The doctor said her blood counts are doing well enough that she will not need a two-week break before continuing treatment. The purpose of the two-week break is usually to let blood counts build back up and her counts are good enough right now (due to the steroids she is on) that she does not need the break. We were looking forward to the break but we suppose it is good that she will be able to continue treatment. We are still tapering the steroid dosage hoping to get her off of them soon. They are nasty drugs. They increase her appetite and they make you gain weight in the face and tummy and lose strength in the limbs. Please, pray with us that she will be able to get off of them and still be able to feel well. Kenzie had a fun fourth of July. We went over to our friends the Hunt's for a barbecue and swimming. Kenzie saw fireworks twice this year. Saturday night at Lake Pleasant and Tuesday night at the Peoria Sports Complex. Tomorrow, Kenzie and Carson are going to the Ringling Brothers Circus at US Airways Arena. Kenzie will get front row seats and get made up as her favorite circus character. She will probably even get in on the act.

9th Treatment

Kenzie got her 9th treatment last Wednesday. Everything looked good and she seemed to be doing a bit better than the previous week so the doctor saw no reason to change anything. We are starting to taper off the steroid dosage. Hopefully we will able to get her off of those. Wednesday is her 10th treatment as long as her blood counts are good, then a welcome two-week break from chemo. After the 10th treatment she will get 2 weeks off after every 4 treatments or so and hopefully she will do better with more breaks from treatment. Here is a note from Makenzie:

we just got back from san diego last week we had a lot of fun it was so cool we went to sea world and the beach and the san diego zoo it was awesome at the beach my grandma got me a hot choclate at star bucks

Summer Vacation & 8th Treatment

Makenzie, her family, Grandpa and Grandma Moore, Aunt Shelley and her cousins Raleigh, Tyler, and Sidney spent 4 days in San Diego. We went to the beach a couple of times, Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo. Kenzie did good. She had fun. She got to rent a wheel chair and get driven around Sea World and the zoo. Her blood counts were good last Wednesday so she did get her 8th treatment. Dr. Etzl is still watching her close and keeping the idea of switching her chemo drugs in the back of his mind. He is concerned about the swelling in the tumor and the symptoms it is causing her. One cause of swelling could be the chemo affecting the tumor. Another cause could be a shift in the position of the tumor or tumor progression. MRI's have not shown any shift or progression. So for now, we think, the plan is to keep up the current chemo and watch her closely, repeating MRIs to monitor the tumor.

7th Treatment

Makenzie's blood counts bounced back nicely and she was able to get her 7th treatment. Dr. Etzl is concerned about her not feeling well all the time and having difficulty swallowing. He talked about maybe changing the chemo medication she is on. He was concerned that tumor growth or shift may be causing her problems and we might need to get more aggressive with the treatments. We doubt there will be any change though. He's been in Japan for a week at a brain tumor conference and had not spoken to her neurosurgeon or her neurologist. He also had not reviewed her latest MRI for himself. The neurosurgeon already reviewed her MRI from when she was in the hospital and said he did not see any growth or shift. We think it is just swelling in and around the tumor. Anyway, we'll find out for sure at her next appointment. She has been doing better the past week or so. She's eating better, got some weight back on. The steroids have increased her appetite. Her voice is sounding better and she's got some color back also. The vincristine is affecting the nerves that go quadriceps... that makes her legs a little sore and stiff and she walks like a penguin.

No Treatment This Week

Makenzie's white blood cell counts were too low so no chemo this week. Her hemoglobin and platelets were good though, so no blood transfusion. We're hoping a week off will help her feel a little better. They will try again next Wednesday.

Stuffington Bear Factory and Channel 3

Makenzie, Carson, and Brayden got to go down to the Stuffington Bear Factory this morning from 6:00 - 9:00 along with other patients and their siblings from Phoenix Children's Hospital and be a part of the Good Morning Arizona show with Brad Perry on channel 3. All the kids got to stuff their own bears. We had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning! Kenzie did not feel too well and spent a lot of time laying down on a big bear but she had fun. She met a new friend, Natalie, who also had a brain tumor. She also got to see Cathy from the clinic. She really likes Cathy. Carson spent at least a 1/2 hour just combing and washing his bear. He spent some more time biting everyone, including Brad's camera man, with a stuffed snake. Brayden got tripped by the extension cords from the TV truck so him and Brad went to find the camera man and demand a dollar. The kids had fun. Tomorrow is the next treatment. If her blood counts are too low she may not get a treatment. She may get a blood transfusion and take a week off of chemo.

Another Hospital Trip

Makenzie had her 6th treatment on Wednesday. She was not feeling well and on the way home she threw up. Then she threw up again at home. Then we found that she was having trouble swallowing water. She would gag herself and choke each time she swallowed. So we called the doctor and he sent us back to the ER and they admitted her to the hospital. They checked her shunt and it was working fine. They also did a detailed MRI to check for a cause of her nausea, headache, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing. They were concerned the tumor may have grown. The MRI showed nothing bad that we didn't already know about. Her ventricles were the same size, the tumor has not grown and is 2 inches from the part of the brain stem that controls nausea and vomiting. They did see some swelling around the tumor which hopefully is a sign the chemo is killing some tumor cells. Cells swell as they are damaged and die. The swelling can cause some of the symptoms she has been experiencing. But they were not able to say for sure what is causing her complications. She still is not feeling well but she is swallowing better. She spent two days in the hospital and came home Friday night. We think the combination of the tumor, the chemo, and the stress of the whole situation is just getting to her. Keep praying for her. Thank you to all who have helped us and continue to help us.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school. Makenzie really wanted to go. I was really proud of her. It is the day after her treatment and she is doing ok. I will post a few more pictures of our week another day. This is Makenzie with our friend Paris. Thanks for all your help driving Makenzie to school. Paris takes such good care of her so I have no worries sending her to school. :) We are so excited about summer starting. We are going to enjoy it.

4th Treatment

Makenzie had her 4th treatment yesterday. She is such a trooper. She has not felt well the last week. Her tummy is upset all the time. They are adding medicine to see if that will help the nausea. She does not throw up but she still does not feel like doing anything. A BIG Thank you to Team Jaydie who visited us this week. They brought Makenzie a stuffed animal and a new blanket. She loves it. Thanks to Nanci Jarman who came and visited with Makenzie for her last treatment (#3). They played and read stories. Makenzie had a lot of fun. We love all of you. Please keep Makenzie in your prayers and ask that she will feel good and that her nausea will go away. We appreciate all of the help we have received. We have been blessed beyond measure. Here is a picture from yesterday having a snack and talking to Grandma Betty on the phone.

Message from Makenzie

hi how is every one doing? i have seen nanny mc phee it is soooooooooooooooo funny at the end they throw cake at each other. i got a chemo angel she is sending me gifts and cards every other day bye love Makenzie and her family bye bye

3rd Treatment

Kenzie got her 3rd treatment today. All is still going well. Her blood counts still look good and she is having minimal side effects. She got a little constipated (that's a common side effect of Vincristine... one of her chemo drugs) and missed a few days of school during the past week, we know TMI. A little Glycolax solved that problem. She hasn't lost a hair yet. She prays every night that her hair won't fall out. She got to go fishing at Ventanna Lakes Monday night with her friend Tommy Simon. She caught 4 fish and had a great time.

2nd Treatment

Makenzie had her second treatment today. She did great as usual. She got to meet up with her old friend Sierra and play catch. PCH has healing dogs. They come and visit the kids in the hospital. Her counts all look good today. We would like to thank our friends in Australia for the warm wishes. Makenzie thought that was so cool that you are from another country. :) Thanks again for the help sanitizing the house and the meals. We really appreciate it. Here are a few pictures from today with Sierra.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of Makenzie before surgery and after her first treatment. She did great and she has not had any nausea so far. She is such an amazing little girl.

Starting Chemo

Makenzie has a short surgery this morning to have a portcath placed. It is sort of a permanent IV in her side where the doctors can take blood and give chemo drugs. Because of that she will not have to have a new IV every week. She also got her first chemo treatment today. So far, so good, only tiredness from lack of sleep and anasthesia. She'll get it once a week for 10 weeks and then go on a maintenance program where some weeks she receives a treatment and other weeks she doesn't. The total treatment should last about a year. Please, please continue to pray for her... that her shunt will keep working, that her tumor will be healed from the chemo drugs, and that she will have minimal side effects from the drugs. She has been blessed so much already as a result of prayers, having her name on the temple rolls, and from Priesthood blessings. We appreciate so much all the continuing prayers and support and help from everyone.

Kenzie is Doing Great!

Kenzie has been doing great the past couple of weeks. Her headaches have pretty much gone away... the odd one here or there but most days she does not get one now. They now seem to coinside with low-pressure storm systems which her neurosurgeon said is not uncommon. She has been going full days to school now. She went on a field trip to the Wildlife World Zoo on Friday and did lots of walking and having fun and did great. We had a little scare with the shunt earlier this week. She was building up fluid under her scalp around the shunt valve. We were worried this meant the shunt was blocked somewhere... but she had an MRI and everything was fine. The neurosurgeon said the hole around the catheter tube that leads through the brain down to the ventricle has not totally closed around the tube... probably because the high pressure she had in her head when first diagnosed enlarged the hole around the bubble reservoir tube she had inserted during her first surgery larger than the doctor would've liked... and he put the shunt tube in the same hole he originally made for the bubble reservoir. So some fluid did get out around the tube instead of through the tube and built up under her scalp. But the shunt was working fine and the fluid build up quickly went away. And the hole should eventually close around the tube completely. The MRI also showed that the tumor has not grown at all, despite no treatment so far. So that is great news and we are in no rush to start chemo yet since the goal of chemo is only to keep the tumor from growing to buy time so they don't have to use radiation until she is older to avoid or lessen the chance of developmental problems.

Princess on Ice

i had lots of fun last night they did my finger nails and did my hair and got lots of cool stuf and i rode in a limo and saw cindarela and bell and then saw princeess on ice and my friend came with me too.

Makenzie went to the Disney Princesses on Ice with the oncology department at Phoenix children. There were 30 girls. She had so much fun. The show was really good. Carson ended up being sick so he could not go. Kenzie has been doing really good. She is still getting headaches in the afternoon. She has been back at school this week. She has made it 1/2 days because of headaches. We are going to try to get her to stay all day next week. We still don't know what kind of treatment she will be receiving. We should be finding out shortly. This is Makenzie and Belle. They had a room set up so the girls could see Cinderella and Belle and eat cupcakes. This was such a great night for Makenzie (and me). We also saw her on channel 10 news. Someone else saw her on channel 3 I think.

ER again

Everything has been going great until yesterday (Monday) Makenzie was not feeling so good. She was complaining of a headache and she was lying on the couch and fell asleep which is not like her. When she woke up she said she was feeling good so we went to Lowes and then she threw up in the store. All of these things are signs of a shunt malfunction. I was really worried so we took her to Phoenix Children’s and got there about 7:00pm. They took us right back and she got a CT scan and some X-Rays of the shunt line. Everything looked good so we were worried they would send us home. They did not the neurosurgeon had us go to the PICU for the night. It was around 1 am when we got in there and by the time they hooked her up to all the monitors it was almost 2. She woke up feeling great and had breakfast. She kept that down and he let her come home around 1:00 pm. We still need to watch her close and make sure she is feeling ok. They said if it was the shunt it could have been a couple of different things. The doctor can press on a valve on the top of her head and feel the fluid coming in it. He said it was filling up nicely. A lot of times shunts are high maintenance and can give lots of problems. Please pray that Makenzie's shunt will work properly and that she will not have problems with it.
On a lighter note it is spring break this week and we are painting the inside of our house. If anyone has a burning desire to paint come on over ;) We are moving furniture around and I am just nervous because I had to make a choice about what color to paint. How hard could it be to pick a tan color? There are a hundred different choices. Wish me luck. It was great to see everyone at church on Sunday. I have missed being around all of you. Hopefully we will not have to miss very often.

I can't believe it is already Saturday and it is raining. We have not had rain in over 100 days. I think this is the coldest it has been all winter long. Makenzie is really doing great. She can't believe sh has to stay at home for another 2 weeks. It is hard to keep a kid home that feels so good. We have been tring to get the house clean all day. We have it somewhat presentable. If anyone wants to come over better do it in the next few hours because I don't know how long it will stay that way ;) Kenzie's Grandma Betty came over today with Aunt Irene (my aunt from out of town) and had a great time visiting. Kenzie's friend Jenna came over to play yesterday. They had a great time. She is upset she can not go to church tomorrow but says hi to everyone. Here is a messeage from her:

hi i am doing good my aunt irene came over today and she brot some graps and my grandma came to we had grat time to on the 29th of march were going to eat cake with cinderella were going to ride on a limo to America West Arena were going to watch pricesses on ice in front row seats with 30 other girls i love you, bye bye

Treatment

We went and visited the oncologist yesterday to find out what kind of treatment Makenzie will be receiving. We thought they would use radiation but they said that they will probably start with chemo. The reason for not starting with radiation is that there have been cases where radiation was used and the tumor changed from slow to fast. We do not want that. We are not sure what kind of chemo they will use. Her doctor is going to a conference on the 20th and he is going to find out from other doctors if there has been anything new that has worked well for this type of tumor. After he goes, he will come back and explain everything that is going to be done. They are still saying slow growth astrocytoma. With this being a slow growth tumor they have time to try different treatments. We pray that it will work fast and that the tumor will respond to the treatments. She is such a brave little girl and I wish I had an ounce of her great attitude and bravery. We love her so much and know that our Father in Heaven has blessed our family day after day. Again, THANK YOU to everyone who has helped our family. We have such an awesome family, ward family, and friends. We love all of you.

Makenzie is home again!

She got to come home this afternoon. She is excited to be back home with her brothers and be able to play in her own room. She's a little disappointed because the Dr. said no school or church or dance or anything for 2 weeks... but she is glad to be home. Healthy visitors are welcome to stop by and see Makenzie. Just call us to make sure we're home. She'd love the company. Our initial meeting with the oncologist has been postponed until tomorrow.

Makenzie's 2nd Surgery

We got surprised this morning... her neurosurgeon decided to insert her shunt today at 3:00 instead of Monday as originally planned. She did great through this surgery as well. There is a possibility that she will get to come home tomorrow afternoon if there are no complications. As you keep Makenzie is your prayers... pray that her shunt does not become infected and operates as it should. Tomorrow we also meet with the oncologist and get information on her next treatments for the tumor. Thank you to all who fasted and prayed for Makenzie and to everyone for everything!

Happy Birthday

It was Makenzie's Birthday on Thursday. She is now 7. We had a great party for her with presents doughnuts and cupcakes. The girls wore our PJ's and had a great time. Thanks to everyone who wished her a Happy Birthday. It made her day. She got lots of fun things: books, toys, dolls, clothes, candy gram, flowers, balloons, princess crown, barbie nightgown, slippers, visits, etc... We appreciate all of you. She also got to ride a buggy pulled by a horse around the hospital parking lot. She had a blast. They have healing dogs at the hospital and she got to play with one at her party. She also played with one today. Many of you know that Makenzie has had a great fear of dogs for a long time. She is doing much better with that and loved tossing the ball for the dog to chase.
Makenzie looks in the morror every now and again and always gets a weird look on her face. She is not quite sure what to think of her missing hair. Since the fluid is building up it has left what looks like a giant goose egg. It looks a little painful but she says it does not hurt. The only time it seems to hurt is when they have to drain it.
She has taught us so much in the short amount of time all of this has taken place. She continually amazes us.
Today we had a fun day because there is lots to do. We went to the toy room and made a craft and played junior Monopoly. Later we had lunch, watched a movie and then went to school. They have a room called 1 darn cool school. She says she likes the hospital because she can eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed. :) Her teacher Mrs. Cavender and secretary Mrs. Jani came to bring cards from her class and presents. She was so excited to have them come. We had a preacher and his wife from another faith come to visit us today. There are people praying for Makenzie that don't even know us and from other faiths. We really appreciate all of those prayers that are being made in our behalf from everyone.

Makenzie is back in the hospital.

Tuesday afternoon she started leaking fluid from her surgical incision. We went to the ER at Thunderbird. They said it was a localized infection and gave her antibiotics. But Wednesday morning her neurosurgeon said the fluid was cerebrospinal fluid and that her third ventriculoscopy surgery was not working. They used the bubble reservoir under her scalp to drain off excess fluid. Now they are checking for signs of infection. She is probably going to have surgery Monday to get a shunt since the first surgery appears not to be working. She is still doing great and acting like nothing is wrong. She's mad that she will be in the hospital for another week and that she will have to spend her birthday in there. But she is looking forward to a great birthday party when she gets home again. She is in no major immediate danger. If the pressure in her head builds up they simply tap the bubble reservoir to drain some. And the shunt surgery is not nearly the risk that the third ventriculoscopy surgery was.

To those of you in our ward... this Sunday is fast Sunday. Our family would greatly appreciate all who would be willing to fast and pray that Makenzie's second surgery goes smoothly and that her tumor will be healed. As always, we appreciate all the help and support from everywhere.

ER

Well tonight was quite eventful. Makenzie's incission was oozing and it was getting worse. Me, I think the worst and so Chris took her to the ER at Thunderbird and they talked w/ her Surgeon and they said it is a localized infection in the skin where her incision is. They gave her a topical and oral antibiotics. If it gets worse tonight we are supposed to take her to PCH. As of right now she is asleep and we will be watching it thru the night. We have an appointment with her surgeon @ 10:00 a.m. Her only worry is that she can't go back to school tomorrow like she was supposed to. Hopefully this will only be a small setback.

Trip to the School

today i went to my school to eat lunch with my class then i went to recess then we red a storee recess was fun then i went home. :)

Makenzie is doing great right now. She is happy and is going to eat us out of house and home. The steroids she took while she was in the hospital make her hungry and likely will for the next two weeks. She is done taking them but the nurse said we will still see side effects for about that long. Sunday we went to church and Makenzie was thrilled to be back in her primary class. She missed her favorite teacher Brother Oliver (DCTL) and her friends.
She will be able to return to school on Wednesday and she can't wait to be with her class again. Makenzie's birthday is on Thursday, March 2nd. She is thrilled to be turning 7.
We won't know how they are going to treat the tumor until next week. She sees the oncologist on Monday and they will tell us their plan for treating her. Wednesday she will go in to get another MRI and they will check to see if her procedure is working correctly. Thusday we will see the surgeon for a follow-up appointment so that he can go over her MRI and see how she is progressing. I know we keep saying it but THANK YOU to everyone. We know Makenzie is in your prayers and we are so grateful.

Message From Makenzie

thank you for all my toys and gifts thank you for being rill nice to me i miss you very much love makenzie

Makenzie wanted to write to everyone and I think she did a great job. She has been feeling good and just getting back into the routine. She went to dance on Wednesday and had a great time. Today we met my sister Amber for lunch and then she did my hair. Kenzie went with her daddy shopping (thank you Susan Allen for helping Chris at the store :). Tonight we played go fish, read out of Junie B. Jones, read scriptures said our prayers and the kids are now down for the night. We haven't been too busy and hope to stay that way for a few days. We will keep updating everyone as we find out more information. Thanks for all the messages left. Makenzie looks foward to reading them. Please let your kids write to her. She would love that. We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives. Thanks for all the of the meals, cards, presents, etc... that have been brought over. We really appreciate it.

Makenzie is home!

She got to come home Tuesday night. So far, all signs point to a low-grade, slow-growing tumor... which is the news we want. She'll be out of school until at least next Wednesday but she is a bundle of energy and except for a bald patch on her head you'd never know she had brain surgery just a few days ago. She goes back for another visit next Tuesday... this one should be a shorter one, just part of a day. We'll get official word and printouts of all the pathology results then and get all the details on her treatment. As always, we appreciate everything everyone has done for Makenzie and our family. The love and support has been overwhelming. There were kids there at the hospital who were alone most of the time, without any parents or other family there because their parents were only able to visit them occasionally because they had other children at home and did not have the family and church support that we did. The blessings of family and the Gospel are real. As always... please keep Makenzie in your prayers. She has a long road ahead of her, but if she handles it like she has the first 6 days... she will be amazing. She had two, 20 minute PET scans today. Most 6-year olds have to go under general anesthesia for those test because they can't hold still. Makenzie was awake and held still for both. The tech. said he can't remember another 6 year old ever doing that and she did better than most adults.

Coming Home ?

We thought we might be able to come home today but we found out we need to stay one more night. Makenzie is not happy about that but she is ok with it. She is staying with her daddy tonight. The boys are starting to have a hard time with mom, dad and Kenzie being gone. They are all troopers.
Makenzie has a PET scan in the morning at 11:30 so as long as everything looks good with her surgeon we will get to come home after that. I figure we will probablly make it home about dinner time. We got some of the pathology reports today and we will get the last one tomorrow. So far everything says slow growth which is what we want. That is the news we needed to hear. The neuro-oncologist said if he sees any signs of any faster growing cells we will start treatment right away. If there are no signs than he said we will wait a week or two. We appreciate all of the dinners, visits and prayers. We can not wait to get Makenzie home and back into her normal routine. Please continue to pray for our family. We love all of you and I hope I can get some pictures on this so you can see how great she is doing. Kenzie sends her love to everyone.

Sunday, February 19th

We had to change rooms last night (to my displeasure). The room we had was in the PICU, she was well taken care of, and had her own room. The new room she shares with a 19 month old and it is really tiny. After we got in here we really can't wait to get her home.
Today was a better day. Makenzie woke up in good spirits this morning. She was able to get up and walk around and after that they couldn't keep her down. For lunch she had chicken and mac & cheese and dinner she had a little bit of tater tots and pizza. I was able to come home for the first time since Wednesday and see the boys. I really did not want to leave her side but knew the boys needed to see me. I went back to see Kenzie around 4:00 and stayed until bed time(8:30). We are hoping Makenzie will get to come home tomorrow (Monday the 20th). She has passed two criterias and needs to pass one more. The doctor was gone over the weekend and should be back to look at her. They will check her inscision (SP?) and make sure it is healing properly. They also left what they call a bubble resevoir under the skin in the top of the head so they can tap into it if she gets into trouble with too much fluid. They will stick a needle in that tomorrow so they can check the pressure. That is one way they can tell if the new hole they drilled to drain the fluid is working. If that looks good then she will probablly get to come home. We should get the pathology report back by Monday or Tuesday and that should tell us what kind of tumor it is for sure. Please continue to pray for Makenzie and her health but also that she will have the courage to take on what lies ahead. We know our Heavenly Father has blessed our family with this special little girl. She is such an inspiration to all of us. We know that our prayers have been and will be answered. Thank you to everyone with your words of encouragment and especially your prayers. We appreciate our family friends. We love you. The Moore Family.
I just have to write one of mine and Makenzie's favorite songs that we sang before she went into her opperation:
I am a child of God, and He has sent me here, has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear, lead me guide me walk beside me, help me find the way, teach me all that I can do to live with him someday.

2/18 Update

Makenzie had brain surgery Friday morning. The neurosurgeon created a new hole near the bottom of her brain to drain the fluid that had built up and caused the pressure in her brain that was causing her symptoms. It was a high risk surgery because they were operating very close (1mm) to the optic nerves and the main artery that feeds the brain... but she did great through the surgery and has done fairly well as she has recovered, only some headaches and nausea which is to be expected as she adjusts to not having so much pressure in her head... plus she had brain surgery!

She does have what the doctors believe to be low grade, slow growing, benign tumor in her brain. They said it has been there a long time and she may have been born with it. The tumor is blocking the normal flow of fluid in her brain which is what caused the fluid build up. Hopefully, the fluid pressure situation is resolved and now we can focus on the tumor. The doctors believe it is inoperable, they would probably paralyze her if they tried to take it out. During surgery, they did take tissue samples. Next week, we should know the pathology results and get her a PET scan. Then the neuro-oncologists will then use this information to decide how to treat the tumor.

She's been upbeat and positive, a real trooper consider what she went through. We all appreciate, more than you know, the prayers, the visits, and all the help and support that this ward has been so far. Keep praying for her. We'll keep you updated.

Let Makenzie know how much you love her!

Sign your name and a special message in the comments to leave Makenzie a note

How is Makenzie Doing?

We are using this blog to post updates about how Makenzie is doing, and you can ask questions by using the comments. Thank you all for your support and love.

The Moore Family