Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Great News!!!
Today, Katie got the best phone call of her life!! Julie called at 2:40pm and said,"Katie, I get to come home tomorrow. I'm going to be home for Christmas!!!" Julie is so excited! She told us that she is going to start packing up her stuff immediately. The doctors said that they have never seen someones numbers go from around 1.26 to a perfect 10 so fast!!! God is GREAT!!! Julie will be coming home tomorrow, after her arsenic treatment. She will get to be home Christmas Eve & Christmas Day!! This is the best Christmas present anyone could ask for. The only thing is that Julie will have to go back to the hospital 12/29 and stay until 1/2, but then after that, she will be at home for good, and only have to go in everyday as an outpatient for her treatment. Please continue praying for Julie and her family.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Update 12/17
I have some sad news today...I found out yesterday that Julie will not be going home for Christmas. Apparently something happened and Julie has gotten really sick. At this point I don't have a lot of information, but as soon as I do I will post it. Please pray for Julie and her family as they are having a hard time with this.
Friday, December 12, 2008
I went by Joyce's today to drop off a card and some money that was collected by a Sunday School class at my church and I got sokids me new information...
The Great News is that Julie's counts were high enough that ALL of the kids got to see her. Joe surprised her by having them in the cafeteria (Ethan still can't go on her floor, but she can see him in the cafeteria if her counts are high) when she went down for dinner. She was really happy to see them, but Ethan and Amber had a really hard time leaving.
For the bad news...they found out that Julie will not be able to do the treatments as outpatient, so she will have to be in the hospital for 5 days and then if her counts are high enough, she will be able to go home for 2 weeks, then back to the hospital for 5 days and so forth.
Finishing up this post with some good news, the doctor told them that he is very hopeful for Julie! He said that even if she doesn't make it home for this Christmas (which is still a likely possibility), she needs to think about the many more Christmas' she will get to spend with the family. He said that she just needs to let him get this knocked out before she can go home so that she can look forward to the future!
Please continue to pray for Julie and their entire family. As you know, they all have a lot of issues going on right now!
The Great News is that Julie's counts were high enough that ALL of the kids got to see her. Joe surprised her by having them in the cafeteria (Ethan still can't go on her floor, but she can see him in the cafeteria if her counts are high) when she went down for dinner. She was really happy to see them, but Ethan and Amber had a really hard time leaving.
For the bad news...they found out that Julie will not be able to do the treatments as outpatient, so she will have to be in the hospital for 5 days and then if her counts are high enough, she will be able to go home for 2 weeks, then back to the hospital for 5 days and so forth.
Finishing up this post with some good news, the doctor told them that he is very hopeful for Julie! He said that even if she doesn't make it home for this Christmas (which is still a likely possibility), she needs to think about the many more Christmas' she will get to spend with the family. He said that she just needs to let him get this knocked out before she can go home so that she can look forward to the future!
Please continue to pray for Julie and their entire family. As you know, they all have a lot of issues going on right now!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
12/11/08
Sent via e-mail from Sonia:
I just got off the phone with Joyce - Julie's mom - and her first arsenic treatment went well. It was supposed to be started yesterday, but they couldn't get her potassium levels up until late evening.
Julie met and talked with other people on her floor today, which will hopefully give her some company when she's lonely...she's expected to be home for Christmas day, but will likely go right back into the hospital the next morning. More importantly, she was encouraged to meet a woman a few doors down who had received the arsenic treatment and had "great success." She relayed a message through a nurse for Julie that it didn't make her feel bad [like chemo is known to do]. That "she felt the same when she went in for treatment, as when she came out." Julie is only the 3rd person in the US to receive this treatment and it's only been done in Atlanta.
They are in such need of our prayers. Joyce is a diabetic who had a double masectomy a couple of years ago after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Katie [13] has a condition called IH [intracranial hypertension] which is like a brain tumor and also suffers from pretty severe acid reflux [and a nervous stomach]. Julie & Joe also have Amber [6] and Ethan [3].
Just Want to give you an update.
I just got off the phone with Joyce - Julie's mom - and her first arsenic treatment went well. It was supposed to be started yesterday, but they couldn't get her potassium levels up until late evening.
Julie met and talked with other people on her floor today, which will hopefully give her some company when she's lonely...she's expected to be home for Christmas day, but will likely go right back into the hospital the next morning. More importantly, she was encouraged to meet a woman a few doors down who had received the arsenic treatment and had "great success." She relayed a message through a nurse for Julie that it didn't make her feel bad [like chemo is known to do]. That "she felt the same when she went in for treatment, as when she came out." Julie is only the 3rd person in the US to receive this treatment and it's only been done in Atlanta.
They are in such need of our prayers. Joyce is a diabetic who had a double masectomy a couple of years ago after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Katie [13] has a condition called IH [intracranial hypertension] which is like a brain tumor and also suffers from pretty severe acid reflux [and a nervous stomach]. Julie & Joe also have Amber [6] and Ethan [3].
Just Want to give you an update.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Update as of 12/6/08
I went to visit Julie on Saturday and her spirits were up!! She was laughing and smiling the entire time. Her husband and children brought her a small Christmas tree and decorated it for her room it was very pretty.
Julie did start Chemo last week and will continue this through today. She will then start the arsenic tomorrow morning they had to wait until it could be shipped from Russia. She also said that she will be only the 2nd patient in Georgia possibly even the US to ever have the arsenic therapy. This type of therapy is not FDA approved therefore not used in the US. She was approved for it only because her heart can not handle the Chemo. The doctors have told her that hopefully she can come home by Christmas eve but her mother and husband must first learn how to rethread her port in case it comes out (which has already happened once) She will have to continue the arsenic until at least April as out patient.
I also found out that she CAN have visitors but her 3 year old can not come visit because visitors must be 6 years and older. This must be really hard :-(
Keep up the prayers she can really use them!!
Julie did start Chemo last week and will continue this through today. She will then start the arsenic tomorrow morning they had to wait until it could be shipped from Russia. She also said that she will be only the 2nd patient in Georgia possibly even the US to ever have the arsenic therapy. This type of therapy is not FDA approved therefore not used in the US. She was approved for it only because her heart can not handle the Chemo. The doctors have told her that hopefully she can come home by Christmas eve but her mother and husband must first learn how to rethread her port in case it comes out (which has already happened once) She will have to continue the arsenic until at least April as out patient.
I also found out that she CAN have visitors but her 3 year old can not come visit because visitors must be 6 years and older. This must be really hard :-(
Keep up the prayers she can really use them!!
Friday, December 5, 2008
First post- Julie update
Julie was given a pill today 12/3/08 in the hospital, but it wasn't the arsenic therapy yet (I hate being vague, but honestly, this is all we know so far). I just talked to Shae and she said she is not doing well at all. My understanding is that she is crying hysterically and feeling horrible. She can't lift her head off the bed. Her mom, husband, and children have all been exposed or have the stomach flu therefore can't go see Julie. She is having to go through this seemingly all on her own. They are not sure if the pill is what made her sick or if she has the stomach bug as well, but either way she is really sick. I am asking that you all pray diligently for Julie and her family. Please forward this e-mail to as many prayer warriors as you know. I don't know what this family would do without Julie! Please read the bottom if you need the additional information...I'm asking that you all show Julie that you're praying for her. Below is additional information for those who may be receiving this email for the first time:
Julie (34) is my cousin and just found out the week of Thanksgiving that she has acute promyclocytic leukemia. They believe that it is further progressed than what they originally thought. Julie is a very strong person, but I don't know what else her heart can take. When she was born, her heart was on the wrong side and had a hole in it. She was also born with her stomach open and they had to do surgery and put it all back in and put mesh in her stomach to hold her stomach together. The doctors told her dad to let her die and she would be better off, but he wouldn't let that happen. And the Lord has blessed her She was later told that she would never have kids, but the Lord proved the doctors wrong again and she has 3 children (Katie, 13, Amber, 6, and Ethan, 3) Unfortunately, each time that she was blessed with a child, she lost about 10% of her hearts strength. Due to these medical conditions, Julie is unable to go through traditional chemotherapy and is instead having to try a newer therapy that has mostly been used in, I believe, Russia called arsenic therapy. We are not sure, but it looks like she's going to be in the hospital definitely up to the week of Christmas, but most likely through the end of the year.
Julie (34) is my cousin and just found out the week of Thanksgiving that she has acute promyclocytic leukemia. They believe that it is further progressed than what they originally thought. Julie is a very strong person, but I don't know what else her heart can take. When she was born, her heart was on the wrong side and had a hole in it. She was also born with her stomach open and they had to do surgery and put it all back in and put mesh in her stomach to hold her stomach together. The doctors told her dad to let her die and she would be better off, but he wouldn't let that happen. And the Lord has blessed her She was later told that she would never have kids, but the Lord proved the doctors wrong again and she has 3 children (Katie, 13, Amber, 6, and Ethan, 3) Unfortunately, each time that she was blessed with a child, she lost about 10% of her hearts strength. Due to these medical conditions, Julie is unable to go through traditional chemotherapy and is instead having to try a newer therapy that has mostly been used in, I believe, Russia called arsenic therapy. We are not sure, but it looks like she's going to be in the hospital definitely up to the week of Christmas, but most likely through the end of the year.
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