PRAISE REPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW! What an incredible move of God this week! So, we have been praying in agreement with so many of you that Samuel's blood counts would recover absolutely so that his treatment plan would not suffer ANY delay today... well, PRAISE GOD because Samuel's ANC this morning had gone from 250 last week to 2300!!!!!!!!!! It would be totally unbelievable except that we've seen God show His awesomeness so many times now that it is amazing to be able to believe + expect this kind of Goodness. Wow, we're still so very excited!

 
The huge jump in ANC meant Samuel was able to receive drugs on schedule, which means ONLY 5 MORE WEEKS OF CHEMO!!!!!!!!!! Whoooohooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

 Getting ready to access

Our sweet girl

 And those silly boys

 Ohhh, Trinity, if you only knew......haha

 Hanging out during Zofram drip

Note the "puke tray" - had a little gagging incident while trying to eat lunch, fortunately it remained empty :)

  ---

The other update is related to the other drug. Vincristine's most common "concerning" side effect is nerve damage to the extremities. For the past several months, Samuel has been experiencing a significant weakening of his "pinch grip" - the strength of index finger + thumb grasping. The weakness has led to difficulty with opening things + writing/drawing. He has had some pain in his feet and has taken to walking very heavy-footed; however he is maintaining pretty good foot strength overall. Because the hand weakness has increased consistently + is now reasonably affecting his normal daily activities, Samuel's doctors made the call to entirely omit Vincristine from today's treatment. Moreover, they've decided to reduce all remaining Vincristine doses (all 5 weeks) by 50%. We are also starting physical therapy to make sure that NONE of the weakness becomes permanent.

All in all, a GREAT Monday at clinic! Samuel did so remarkably well with both access + de-access. He's such a trooper. He sat on Dad's lap + held Mom's hands while Nurse Annie inserted his IV needle; then sat snuggly next to his BFF sister + held Mom's hands while Nurse Eileen did a fantastic job removing bandages, etc + getting that needle out. We were all so proud of him - and he was duly rewarded with home baked cookies before bed! :) Only the best for the very best of children... xo.

Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now

This morning's very standard clinic visit took a turn for the "interesting" when we discovered that Samuel's "ANC" (absolute neutrophil count) was dangerously low. The normal range for an ANC is around 2,500-6,000. This morning, Samuel's ANC measured at 390, then 250 within 30 minutes. Needless to say, that put a stop to his receiving Actinomycin for the week - although we were so blessed + excited to learn that Samuel would still get Vincristine (and we'll simply do the Actinomycin at next week's visit). The reason we are so excited despite the seemingly "bad" news is because Samuel's treatment schedule didn't suffer from an entire week's delay - ie. we're still on target to be DONE in 6 more weeks... PRAISE GOD.

Rather than trying to explain all the medical science behind neutropenia + the blood count deal, I'm attaching a couple links that give a decently clear understanding of how it all comes together. Suffice it to say that we are obviously on HIGH ALERT mode with regard to Samuel's exposure to ANYthing that could even remotely cause any kind of infection right now since his immune system tested as being pretty seriously compromised. We have NO DOUBT whatsoever that he is completely covered + protected from any hurt, harm or injury; and we are simply walking out this week in wisdom as his caretakers - making sure his environment is as clean + germ-free as possible. Anyone want to rent a 4 year-old girl? HAHA! :) Trinity is always kept totally abreast of the situations, so she knows that we are all working together this week to make sure that Samuel stays 100% healthy, and his counts improve dramatically by next week.

For those of you kind enough to include us in your prayers, please be in agreement with us that Samuel's blood is healthy, producing all the proper components in good measure; that he is healthy, free of any infection of any kind; and that his treatment will successfully continue as scheduled because his body is manifesting that healing which will then be seen in any lab results.

Some helpful info on "ANC levels", "Neutropenia", etc:

http://www.curesearch.org/for_parents_and_families/intreatment/medical

http://www.chemocare.com/managing/low_blood_counts.asp

 What a great lil' smile...

 Vitals...games...cartoons...oh yeah

 A weeee little bit pooped out today (common side effect w/ low hemoglobin levels)

...fell asleep in Mommy's arms for a brief "rest" he said he needed

...sang him Christmas carols to sleep (hehe)

 

Couldn't pass up the "tv watching faces" - ie, precisely why they don't get to watch a lot of tv... 

...ZONED OUT

Fun Times - Birthdays + Zoo!

Sunday was an exciting adventure when Mawmaw, Papa Don, Uncle Marcus, Aunt Kate, Kate's Mom Josie, Cousin Kyleigh + Cousin Azariah all came up to play at the Columbus ZOO w/ Samuel + Trinity! We celebrated Azariah + Trinity's birthdays (hence the cupcakes!), and the kiddos had an incredibly fun time checking out all the cool animals + attractions at the Zoo. The polar bears were a huge hit because there's a portion of the exhibit that is underground, so the bears actually swim around right above your heads. Tigers, surprisingly enough, were a let down since they just slept - not fun for toddlers. Haha :) Thanks so much to Aunt Kake for orchestrating the whole thing! She's the best, xo.

Trinity devouring a somewhat melted cupcake - with focus. haha

Mom's just plain old devouring it :)

Mmmm....chocolate....mmm

(What's that they say about a picture being worth a thousand words?)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AZARIAH!

Happy Mommies :)

Ky...I don't even know where to begin :) Coolest big sister/cuz kid -err, young lady- ever!

...and her yummy zoo sucker thing

Trinity's Birthday Celebration!

A morning filled with excitement! The kiddos woke up to the traditional bedroom filled with balloons - and came out to find cake, presents, streamers + more balloons awaiting them!

 She's a teeny bit excited :)

 About to sing Happy Birthday!

 Cheesin', but all any of 'em want is the CAKE! (notice how there's mysteriously some missing already) haha

 Trinity's face is priceless... take the stinkin' picture already so we can EAT!

 Mmm...sprinkle cake

 Presents!

 Yay!

 They've had too much fun playing this at the clinic, so we needed one for home :)

 Cool new board game, THANK YOU NONNA!

 LOL

 "Spinnies" and new puzzle!

 Aww, thanks Aunt Sharyn :) xo

 Puzzle completion

 Awesome girlie puzzle, THANKS again Nonna!

Workin' hard... they do these almost every day now :)

Of course, since Trinity's birthday was on Monday, we had to do cake + ice cream quickly because we had to leave for the Children's place by 8 am! The sugar rush made for an exceptionally fun day at the clinic :) 

Week 8 (Counting Down!)

With only 7 weeks of drug treatment left, we're challenging ourselves to make every time THAT MUCH MORE fun! Don't know if the clinic will be left standing by the end... we're certainly not making any promises, lol.

Getting ready to access...distractions in progress!

Can you tell by his face that he's not quite buying into the distractions?

The masks probably give it away...ha

 Infusing drugs - try to have snacks or drinks for this bc of yucky drug taste + salt water taste of the flush

  Trinity may well deplete the entire store of chocolate milk in the next 2 months :)

Twins...Farm Style

Young Stud

As we approach the first "end" of this journey, we just want to take a moment and give honor to the young man who has inspired + motivated us for the past 10 months with his incredibly positive, faithful attitude. Samuel McKinley Godsey will forever be a hero in our lives because he has faced a litany of procedures + treatments ranging from the annoyingly uncomfortable to the outright painful, and all the while... all the while, this boy smiles.

He is one of the most loving, compassionate, sensitive, bold + confident people we've ever known. He teaches us so much every day about overcoming. He has been very afraid. He has been very angry. He has been very anxious + confused. He has hated all of us at one point or another for "doing this to him". He has cried + screamed + kicked + withdrawn. And, all the while... all the while, this boy loves.

He has kicked his nurses and felt so terrible afterward that he hugs them + reassures them he was sorry + that he loves them. He has yelled at us + pulled away and always comes back to say he's sorry + that he loves us. He knows God loves him. He knows God won't let him be hurt for no reason. His faith is already blossoming to understand that there is + has been Purpose in everything he has been through.

We are so honored to be Samuel's parents. It is a gift from God to have stewardship over such a remarkable person. It is a privilege for us to help him learn + grow + develop into all that our Heavenly Father created him to be. And, there is no doubt that Samuel was created for greatness - not for his own edification - but that the grace, goodness, mercy + love of God be glorified in his prosperity + strength. We look forward to seeing his life unfold, embracing all the lessons this part of the journey has taught us, and moving ahead with renewed faith, revived joy, and an unwavering commitment to LIVE EACH DAY TO ITS ABSOLUTE FULLEST.

Thank you, yet again, for all your continued prayers + support + encouragement. We sincerely hope Samuel's victories remind all of us to treasure every moment, love everyone around us, reach out to others with compassion + caring, and to excitedly serve the loving Father who has nothing but Victory for ALL of us... if only we receive it.

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU + GOD BLESS YOU MIGHTILY! xo