Monday's MRI

Makenzie had her latest MRI this last Monday, April 9. Good news... there has still been no growth in the tumor. We would love to see it shrinking but no growth is still good news. So she will continue on her current chemotherapy once a week until mid-summer when she will have another MRI. Keep praying for her. Here is a message from Makenzie:

HI everybody, What's up? Isin't it just great to hear that there is no growth in the tumor? Is every body having a good year so far. Is anyone going on vacashion this year?If you are i would like to heear all about it. I have had a great year so far. I am thinking about going to a camp . It is called camp rainbow . It is once a year . The camp is for a week. I want to go but i don't because i will miss my mom. Ihave to go bye. p.s. Makenzie

Busy Week

Makenzie has been busy lately. On April 3rd, Makenzie delivered 22o Easter bags filled with age appropriate goodies to Phoenix Children's Hospital to give to the kids who are patients there. The items that filled the bags were donated by students and families from Makenzie's school. Her classmates all helped fill and decorate the bags. 12 news covered the story. Click here to see the video...

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/upfront/

Scroll down and find the video about the Easter giving spirit of a 2nd grader. It should be up for another few days or so.

On Thursday Makenzie and her family went to Disney: Monster's Inc on ice through the Starlight Children's foundation. They make sure kids who are dealing with serious health issues still get to have plenty on fun. All the kids had fun, even Brayden!

On Saturday, Makenzie spent the day at Lake Pleasant for C.A.S.T (Catch a Special Thrill) Day. The C.A.S.T organization provides fishing opportunites for kids with health issues where they get to fish with tournament bass fisherman out of their bass boats. She got a fishing pole and tackle box to keep. And she got to fish with a super nice couple, Leonard and Pam, out of their nearly new bass boat that I am sure cost more than mom's and dad's cars combined. They made sure her tackle box got stocked with pretty pink plastic worms. She even got to drive the boat. She did not catch a fish but she still had a load of fun. After fishing, all the kids got a barbecue lunch, trophies, and plaques for participating.

Tomorrow, Monday, Kenzie gets another MRI. We should know the results on Tuesday. Hopefully we have good news to report.

Makenzie's Baptism

Makenzie was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints last Saturday, March 24, 2007. She had a lot of family and friends there to make the day extra special. She wore a pretty new white dress and got a brand new set of nice scriptures. Her baptism was followed by a lunch at Makenzie's house. She is soooo excited.

Happy Birthday Makenzie!

Makenzie turned 8 years old on Friday, March 2nd. She spend her 7th birthday in the hospital. This one was much better. She celebrated that night at Peter Piper Pizza with her family, Grandma and Grandpa Redmond, and Aunt Amber and Mike. She ate pizza and played games. She got a personal best 213 tickets and hit the 10,000 hole on Ski Ball several times. She had a fairy party on Saturday and invited a bunch of friends and Grandma Alice. They all played games, ate cupcakes and had a lot of fun. I think she wound up with $100 cash/gift cards to spend. Lucky! She is looking forward to getting baptized the end of March when her out-of-town family can be here.

It's Been A Year

It was a year ago on Feb. 15 that Makenzie was diagnosed with a inoperable brain tumor in her brain stem... since we sat in a room in the ER and listened to the doctor tell us they had found a mass in her brain and she would need to stay in the hospital and have surgery. A lot has happened during that year. Kenzie has had 3 surgeries, spent a week in the hospital twice, been hospitalized several other times over night, had multiple trips to the ER for fevers, had many MRIs, X-rays, and CT scans. She's been on steroids that make her swell and give her an enourmous appetite. Shes been to the hospital once a week for checkups and chemo. Often she has not felt well, although lately she is doing better. She's lost a lot of hair and spent a birthday in the hospital. And through it all she keeps a happy, positive attitude like only a little child full of faith can. It is true that with great trials come great blessings. Makenzie and her family have had many fun times and special experiences. She got a Make-A-Wish to meet Barabara Park, author of the Junie B. Jones books, in November and have the newest book "Dumb Bunny" dedicated to her (it just came out February 13th). She's been to San Diego to Sea World, the zoo and the beach with her family, grandma and grandpa and her cousins. Through the hospital she's been to Camp Rainbow in Prescott, the horse races at Turf Paradise, Disney on Ice, Princesses on Ice, a Diamondbacks game, the circus, the Phoenix Zoo to meet Santa Clause, the Stuffington Bear factory on TV with Brad Perry. She spoke at a news conference with the mayor of Phoenix to announce the expansion of the children's hospital. She helped Alex Peugnet with a toy drive that collected thousands of dollars worth of toys for children in the hospital. She got an awesome princess room makeover thanks to Olivia Montez, Nancy Jarman, and the Despains. And she got to spend a white christmas in Logan, Utah and meet President Monson, receive a blessing from him, and be placed on the First Presidency's prayer roll and have them pray for her by name. And that is just the beginning of the blessings. She's met some amazing and caring doctors and nurses as well as other children facing similar medical trials. We have had so much help from family, friends, ward members and co-workers in the form of baby sitting, meals, help cleaning and sanitizing, covering my school classes so I can go to treatments, prayers, fasting, faith, financial help, and hospital visits. So many people have visited Makenzie, called her, and given her special gifts. We can't thank you enough. It is all truly appreciated and makes our lives so much easier right now. Kenzie has a long road ahead of her. She will be on chemo until at least August. But right now, she is doing well. She is strong, positive, happy, and has energy. She feels fairly well. She is handling the chemo as well as any kid could. Her tumor has pretty much stayed unchanged during the past year... only a tiny, tiny nodule of growth the size of the fraction of a finger tip. Other than one bout with the flu, she has avoided illness. Her shunt has not given her any problems. The chemo and the faith are doing the trick so far. We know the Lord is in charge and He has a plan. Please continue to keep Makenzie in your prayers and occasionally in your fasts. Thank you all again.

The Flu

Makenzie started running a fever last Sunday so we went to the ER. They took blood cultures to check for infection. The doctors are very cautious with fever and potential infection. Her portacath is very close to her heart and she has a shunt so they want to catch any infections very quickly. She also went back to the clinic on Monday and Tuesday because she continued to have a fever. On Tuesday they gave her a flu test (long q tips up your nose into your sinus, not fun) and did a CT scan of her sinuses. Turns out she had the flu. So no chemo on Tuesday. She also missed school all week. But she appears to be getting better. Hopefully she will be back in school and back on her treatment schedule this week.

On another note, Terri's sister Ginger, owner of Keepsake Trends scrapbooking store is doing a benefit crop to help with extra expenses that go along with Makenzie's treatments. They are selling raffle tickets for an opportunity to scrapbook with Becky Higgins. Visit the Keepsake Trends website for more details. http://keepsaketrends.com/default.aspx

The Latest MRI

Makenzie got another MRI on Thursday, January 4th. The last MRI was back on August 25th. The last one showed the tiniest bit of tumor progression... a fraction of the tip of a pinky finger. That caused the doctor to switch her chemo medicine from vincristine and carboplatin to vinblastine. The new chemo medicine seems to be doing what we want so far. The latest MRI showed no evidence of tumor progression. They told us not to really expect any shrinkage yet. Vinblastine is a slow acting medication. But, so far so good. Kenzie has felt so much better with this new medication that with the old. She has had more energy and strength and her counts have stayed higher and her immune system is doing well. Keep praying for her!

Makenzie's Christmas/Meeting Pres. Monson

We all went to Logan, Utah for a white Christmas this year. It was a lot of fun. We stayed with Makenzie's Aunt Shelley and her family and Grandma and Grandpa Moore. The kids had fun playing with each other, going on 4-wheeler rides, sledding, ice fishing, going to a Utah State basketball game, and wandering around Temple Square.

During our stay Makenzie got to meet Pres. Thomas S. Monson in Salt Lake City and receive a blessing from him. He spent an hour with Makenzie and her family... talking about the Gospel, telling stories, teaching her to play the first song he learned on the piano, and showing everyone around the board room where the First Presidency meets and his office. Makenzie gave him one of her home made cards and one of our ward's Christmas CDs. He gave Makenzie a signed picture and a box of yummy chocolates. Kenzie's name was also placed on the First Presidency prayer roll. They will pray for her by name each Thursday when they meet for about a month of so. It was an awesome visit.

Here's a message from Makenzie... pres. monson was so so cool . It was a wonderful experience for me . Then we went to look at temple lights. It was so cold i had one jacket, one hood, and one hat. well looks like i have to go. love makenzie.

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.