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.