Updated: April 17, 2008

We are praising God that we are in the home stretch now with Kylie's treatments. She has eleven chemo treatments left--once a week, which should put us finishing up the first week of July if there are no delays. I've had to learn how to give Kylie shots with a small insulin-type needle, to administer a drug that helps keep her white blood cell count high enough for her body to fight infections. This has kept us out of the emergency room over the last month, for which we all are very grateful. Kylie most of all! She was beginning to dread those trips and started asking me every few minutes of every day if she was "OK"--meaning no fever and no trip to the ER.

She keeps her cheerful smile (a little toothless right now), her energy is high for the most part, and she eats like a horse, although I think it all goes into making her taller. She has maintained a steady weight throughout the treatments, but has not been able to gain any. She enjoys school and is earning good grades in spite of all the absences. Her last report card showed that she's been at school 80 out of 133 days. That's not too bad, I think, for what she's been through! We're continuing with weekly physical therapy to keep her muscles strong, and praying that the neuropathy in her hands and feet will completely disappear when she's done with the chemo.

The Make A Wish Foundation contacted us recently to grant Kylie a special wish. She asked for a hamster! I told her that when the size of our zoo decreases that I could provide the hamster, so the Make A Wish volunteer helped her come up with a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii where her dad spent some of his growing up years, and where Kylie's half-sister Ashley was born. Kylie wanted Ashley to get to go because she left when only a baby and has always wanted to see where she was born. Kylie hasn't seen Ashley in over two years, so it will be a joyful reunion. She also had a long list of about 30 people she wanted to go with her on the trip, mostly extended family, but especially including Dylan Steenberg! Understandably, the policy allows for immediate family only. What a wonderful gift from this organization! We're scheduled to leave on July 31 for six days in Kona, and we are so excited! It will be an incredible celebration as we complete a most difficult, and yet in many ways, amazing year. God has worked many miracles, the majority of them through His godly servants here on this earth who seek to do His will. We view many people as special guardian angels disguised as humans. We just can't say enough "thank yous" for the daily outpouring of love and support and especially for the knowledge that we are being prayed for. We love you all and wish we COULD take everyone to Hawaii with us!

Updated: March 04, 2008

February was a rough month health-wise for Kylie. She was hospitalized at Stanford for close to a week with dangerously low white cell and hemoglobin counts. Blood and urine cultures didn't pinpoint any specific bacterial infection, so her body must have been fighting a virus. Eddie stayed with Kylie in the hospital the whole time; I was home fighting a flu-like bug and the doctors didn't even want me to visit Kylie, which was very difficult for me, of course. I did get to spend one afternoon with her--wearing a mask and running into the bathroom every time I had to cough, and using tons of hand sanitizer.

I praise God for giving us a miracle last Wednesday, which I particularly needed after facing heavy trials beginning on Valentine's Day. (I won't enumerate them here. I felt sorely tested, though.) Kylie's hemoglobin count was at a "6" and the doctors had decided to draw blood at midnight and give her a blood transfusion if her counts had not improved. I stayed up late into the night in a private prayer vigil, asking God to be the One to give Kylie the blood transfusion and send her counts into a more normal range. Joe and Bette Mallinson and Lorraine Clarke also prayed with me for Kylie via the telephone. We are strengthened in the knowledge of so many prayers ascending daily on our behalf and are grateful if you're a prayer warrior. God hears and answers. Eddie called from the hospital the next morning with the news that in just a few hours, Kylie's hemoglobin count had risen from "6" to "7.8" and they had decided against the transfusion! Thank you to all of you who "shout for joy when you hear of our victory and raise a victory banner in the the name of our God." (From Psalm 20, which has sustained me often.)

Kylie is recovering at home now and my mom and dad are caring for her there to avoid all the germs going around. She has a cough and a runny nose, but no fever, and her energy level is improving daily. She will most likely return to school next week.

We are a week behind in the treatment protocol now, and I'm praying for no more delays--I long for it to be over. Again, thank you for continuing in prayer. Blessings on you . . .