Melt Your Heart... Scared America... New Demo... St. Jude 2nd Opinion & Abby

Abby crawls up in my lap tonight and snuggles in for a cat nap. She looks up at me and says "Daddy?"

"Yes, dear?"

"You're the best Daddy. I love you".

Does life get ANY BETTER than that????????



Scared America

Responding to some comments I heard, I got to thinking about how the entire mindset of America has changed in the past three decades. Slowly, day by day, thought by thought, generation after generation... there is a part of us that has completely transformed.

I (Brent) wrote about it over on my blog tonight. http://www.brentriggs.com/

New Demo Online

I love all the ideas I'm getting from folks about new demonstrations. Someone wants to know how I do those pictures that look like a head or foot or some object is coming OUT of the picture boundaries. Okay, find out on my demo's page.

http://www.brentriggs.com/online_demos/default.asp

~ Brent

From Michelle:

So many prayers have been answered today, it is hard to know where to start the update. Brent and I are very thankful so many people are praying for Abby. This journey has been hard, but we have been blessed by God every step of the way.

Abby's headaches are better today. It is wonderful to see her smile again.

Abby grew an inch in the last couple of weeks. Many children grow poorly when they are getting chemo. I love that Abby was able to grow and inch during the toughest phase of their treatment.
Last weekend we had three members of our family sick and Abby's immune system was very low because of the chemo. We had two people with the flu and one with an upper respiratory infection. All very sick and running fevers. Everyone has been well for over 48 hours and Abby has shown no signs of becoming sick. One of Abby's doctors told me there was no way she could avoid getting sick. Praise God, she is well.

Because Abby has some genetic markers that make her cancer much more difficult to treat, Brent and I wanted a couple of second opinions. The only hospital in America that is studying Abby's genetic marker is St Jude.

We were told by two doctors who did there residencies there it would be very hard to get a second opinion from them. Praise God they were willing to help Abby. St Jude said they do not believe Abby needs to repeat the last four months of treatment. This is GREAT news, because the last four months of treatment are/were brutal.

This great news, unfortunately followed something I didn't anticipate. They believe Abby has difficulty metabolizing and/or and increased risk of toxic side effects to all three of the chemotherapy medications she will be receiving for the next TWO YEARS. I knew two of the medications were a problem for her, and honestly I knew she appeared to have trouble with the third, but seeing in black and white that they thought Abby would continue to have problems with this medication made it more real.

The fact that Abby has trouble with all three chemos she will receive for the next 2 years will make finding the correct doses much more difficult. The goal of the next two years is to suppress her immune system just enough that the cancer is not detectable, but also allow her to have enough immune system, that she will be able to fight infections better than she can now. Because Abby's cancer is aggressive, we MUST correctly suppress her immune system (remember her cancer mimics white blood cells). Since she easily becomes toxic, too much chemo is dangerous. Abby's treatment remains an intricate dance.

We are still awaiting another opinion, but are very encouraged by the report from Saint Jude. St. Jude offered some very practical advice to help avoid toxicity. The third opinion may offer a few more hints about keeping Abby safe, but no one expects them to suggest repeating the toughest phases of chemo. This is a HUGE relief to Brent and I.

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouraging notes and fun gifts for Abby, Sami and Landis. You all help us more than we can ever express. You are one of our biggest blessings.