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.