|
||||||||||||
Click here to go back to the main page.
Friday, January 25, 2008 9:03 AM CST
i listened to something this morning that
im sure my Father wanted me to hear
it is something to be shared
my sister amy called me yesterday and
insisted that i listen to a testimony given
by a father at his two year old sons funeral
this man is a well known radio host in
alabama where she lives and i myself am familiar
with him
his little boy drowned in their swimming pool
a few days ago
amy said to me on the phone--i know you search
every day for answers --i know you are desperate
for any hope------- i know you need to hear this
she was right
this morning i received both answers and hope
go to www.rickandbubba.com
the message is divided into 3 parts
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 1:16 AM CST
before i go to sleep tonight, i just want
to say that every thing--- great and small
that you did for me, joe, harrison, and hallie
helped us get to this very day.
i am overwhelmed when i try and think of the
words that could somehow let you know what a
necessary role you have played in our journey.
every kind word--every kind act
for all of it we are forever grateful.
this is probably the last update that we will
write.
our new journey has begun and i pray for it
to someday be better than it is right now.
please continue to pray for our family
beth ann
__________
Some say today Hallie earned her angel wings,
But all in Heaven know,
That God had placed on that fragile body,
Those wings many years ago.
For when she came into the world,
She had an inner glow,
But it was not very long that everyone knew,
Our Angel was destined to go.
But God in his infinite wisdom,
Knew she had a mission here on Earth,
He left her here to fulfill His plan,
Which began on the day of her birth.
For what she taught so many of us,
That hope is never gone,
As Hallie always seemed to know,
That she was never walking alone.
So as we mortals were saying, “Jesus why”,
And thinking life is not fair,
We did not realize how this child of God,
Had gotten thousands on their knees in prayer.
So as we grieve and reflect upon her life,
Hallie’s purpose on Earth becomes clear,
She was given to us to show that in life or death,
We really have nothing to fear.
So, Hallie as you skip through Heaven’s gate,
To a world where all suffering ends,
Two proud Grandfathers happily stand and await,
As do your St. Jude’s little circle of friends.
Sweet Hallie, keep singing your favorite melodies,
And those who love you know who it will be,
When in the bright sunshine or in the still of the night,
We hear a sweet voice singing, “Yes, Jesus Loves Me”.
Hallie, we love you and you will be in our hearts forever.
Aunt Dixie Cureington (11-11-07)
Winnsboro, Louisiana
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 5:55 PM CST
Some say today Hallie earned her angel wings,
But all in Heaven know,
That God had placed on that fragile body,
Those wings many years ago.
For when she came into the world,
She had an inner glow,
But it was not very long that everyone knew,
Our Angel was destined to go.
But God in his infinite wisdom,
Knew she had a mission here on Earth,
He left her here to fulfill His plan,
Which began on the day of her birth.
For what she taught so many of us,
That hope is never gone,
As Hallie always seemed to know,
That she was never walking alone.
So as we mortals were saying, “Jesus why”,
And thinking life is not fair,
We did not realize how this child of God,
Had gotten thousands on their knees in prayer.
So as we grieve and reflect upon her life,
Hallie’s purpose on Earth becomes clear,
She was given to us to show that in life or death,
We really have nothing to fear.
So, Hallie as you skip through Heaven’s gate,
To a world where all suffering ends,
Two proud Grandfathers happily stand and await,
As do your St. Jude’s little circle of friends.
Sweet Hallie, keep singing your favorite melodies,
And those who love you know who it will be,
When in the bright sunshine or in the still of the night,
We hear a sweet voice singing, “Yes, Jesus Loves Me”.
Hallie, we love you and you will be in our hearts forever.
Dixie Cureington
Winnsboro, Louisiana
Sunday, November 11, 2007 3:47 PM CST
Update: 11/12/2007
Hallie's services are as follows:
Visitation: Wednesday 11/14 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Funeral: Thursday 11/15 10:00 a.m.
Visitation and funeral to he held at the First United Methodist Church in Winnsboro, Louisiana
Online obituary at:
www.gillfirstnational.com
---------------------------------------
In loving memory of our precious child who danced into heaven this morning with the very same grace and courage she lived her life with. We love you Hallie. You will forever remain in our heart and on our mind.
For my mommy and daddy, family and friends:
Our lives have touched, your love I knew,
please know, you had mine too.
I’m sorry that I could not stay,
you seemed so right in every way.
But our plans were changed, I had to leave,
and now I’ve left you there to grieve.
My time with you went all too fast,
it simply wasn’t meant to last.
Your hopes and dreams and all your plans,
were taken from your loving hands.
Life’s larger plan includes us all,
I just was first to get my call.
Don’t grieve too long, and don’t despair
when you are finished, I’ll be there.
Until that time, you simply must
love and laugh and hope and trust.
The place I live may not be yours,
but all my love for you endures.
Hallie Beth Gravelle
February 9, 2002 - November 11, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:45 AM CST
Hello everyone from Room 2066 at St. Jude.
Hallie's pain is improving. She is resting much better. She is sleeping the majority of the time. She managed to awake this morning about 4:30 and color for a little while. She also enjoyed some apple jacks before dozing back to sleep about 6:00. Last night Aunt Karen, Sully, and Sage arrived and Hallie was happy to see them. This morning when Sage came to the room Hallie awoke and they had a make-up party. (See photo page)
Today we are expecting Harrison, Aunt Debbie, Heather, Carolyn, and Lauren. Hallie has said she wants her "bubba". That is Harrison for those who don't know. Beth Ann and I got some sleep last night because Hallie was able to rest comfortably.
We really do not know what the next day or days will bring. Our only prayer for Hallie now is to remain free of pain and be able to enjoy waking up and interacting with all of us. We sincerely appreciate all of the kinds words written to us in the guestbook. We read it all the time. Our community and beyond is so supportive of our family and Hallie and we can feel that compassion and support. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Please continue to pray for the presence of the Lord to be with Hallie and that He bless her with his grace and mercy in the days ahead.
Joe and Beth Ann
Friday, November 9, 2007 5:36 PM CST
Hallie is back in her room on the second floor after receiving the equivalent of one weeks worth of radiation in one dose. She may get more next week.
The MRI revealed tumor in her spinal column growing in towards a nerve. According to Dr. Furman and Dr. Crazen this is very painful but treatable. This could also be causing pain to radiate down into Hallie's legs. The massive dose of radiation caused Hallie to vomit when she got back to the room; but since she has no more nausea. She is sleeping very soundly and peacefully and is getting some oxygen to comfort her breathing.
The "pain team" here at St. Jude is now involved and has started her on gabopentin. That is a drug to treat nerve related pain. Some of you may remember that when Hallie relapsed in 2005 the tumor was in her spine. This is a repeat of that episode only more tumor is involved.
The plan is to watch her pain over the weekend hoping and praying for it to improve. If it does not, then Dr. Furman will insert a nerve block to eliminate the pain. This is a last resort of course.
Thank God for St. Jude. We wish all of you could experience the professionalism and compassion of this place. It is remarkable and very uncommon. Hallie has had a long day today but her sweet gentle spirit still shines through with an occasional laugh and smile. We love you Hallie - hang in there.
Can't wait to see Harrison on Saturday!!!!!!!!!
Joe and Beth Ann
Friday, November 9, 2007 1:24 PM CST
Hallie is now receiving a radiation treatment for her back pain. Dr. Furman and Dr. Crazen have looked at a MRI done about an hour ago. They are attempting to give Hallie some pain relief. We are not giving up. We are determined to try and relieve Hallie's pain without having to sedate her. It is a real balancing act. Beth Ann and I have prayed for guidance from above about all of this and we hope we are doing what is best for our family.
We are also starting a new drug for nerve pain as well as increasing the toradol she started yesterday. We are trying to stay ahead of the pain by steadily, but safely increasing the fentanyl. That is a balancing act too.
On a happy note, last night Sandy and Nicole from D clinic treated us all to a bar-b-q supper from The Commissary in Germantown. It really hit the spot. Thank ya'll very much. They brought the meal to us and we all sat together in Hallie's room and visited. True friends are hard to come by.
Please continue to lift up Hallie and ask to comfort her pain.
Joe and Beth Ann
Friday, November 9, 2007 8:34 AM CST
Hallie's situation has become worse overnight. Her bone pain has become essentially uncontrollable. Given that, Dr. Furman is working with anesthesia to see if a nerve block is something to consider in her case. Their is also an experimental drug for bone pain that he is looking into.
We are expecting him any moment and will try and update later today.
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, November 8, 2007 5:58 PM CST
Here is a synopsis of our day today which included two updates.
First, Hallie had an molasses and milk enema this morning. It worked to say the least. We then battled some persistent bone pain throughout the day.
About an hour ago she had another molasses and milk enema. It worked as well. We are trying to help Hallie along with the extreme discomfort from the full stomach and gas pockets that were evident in the X-Ray from yesterday. We think we are making some progress on this front.
Now, we are trying to combat the bone pain some more with different meds. Dr. Furman has just administered Toradol to see if we get any benefit from this - he thinks we might.
Hallie has had a couple of periods today when she sat up and laughed and talked to us. When she is not hurting, she still has the gentle spirit and sweet smile that everyone knows. Her courage and will is remarkable.
Keep praying for no pain and time to color.
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, November 8, 2007 12:44 AM CST
Hallie sure feels better after her successful enema. The pain in her legs and pelvis are still persistent. We are going to watch this closely today. If it does not improve we will probable see the "pain-team" tomorrow. Their group specializes in pain control.
Hallie is sitting on the couch right now trying to color and play with her Hello Kitty stuff.
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, November 8, 2007 11:02 AM CST
SUCCESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We had a BM equivalent to a space shuttle launch. Thank God for molasses and milk enemas. Hallie feels 100% better.
More later, because right now we are going to the gift shop and watching Barney.
We'll have photos later.
Thursday, November 8, 2007 9:36 AM CST
We are still wrestiling with extreme constipation and gas. Last night Hallie was given an enema. It worked some but not completely. She did not rest well at all last night. We are about to try a tried and true remedy in the form of a milk and molasses enema.
We are hoping that it works and according to most of the staff - it does. Hallie has tugged at her side and stomach long enough. The pain meds only complicate the matter; but she has to have them for the cancer pain. What a dilema we have. We are just taking things one minute, one hour, and one day at a time.
Her hemoglobin has dropped some and she got a transfusion of platelets last night.
Please pray for comfort for Hallie.
Joe and Beth Ann
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 2:30 PM CST
Hallie is struggling with severe constipation and gas pains today as a result of all the pain meds. She has not had a real good day. But she is about to get a suppository and hopefully that will get some things moving. An X-Ray showed a lot of stuff in her stomach that is causing the discomfort. Please pray for this situation to improve. Her blood counts are holding steady today.
Joe and Beth
Tuesday, November 6, 2007 12:27 AM CST
Hallie is having a restful day so far today. We thank God for rest and pain-free time. She got up this morning and colored a picture and then ate a full bowl of cereal. She is sleeping peacefully now and all her vitals are good.
NEW PHOTOS ARE ON THE SITE!!!
Monday, November 5, 2007 5:00 PM CST
Just have time for quick update.
Hallie has had a pretty good day. She got some sleep last night. Today she has been awake some and colored and put on lipstick. We have had to ramp up the pain meds and anti-anxiety meds a little to soothe her. Right now she is coloring in the bed.
She has begun to complain with pain in her jaw area just below her bottom lip. Dr. Furman is aware of this and he may decide to look at some imaging in an effort to determine if radiation would be warranted to alleviate the acute pain in this spot. We'll know more later.
Right now we just simple need everyone to pray that Hallie continues to have some fun time with her family and as little pain as possible.
We have decided that returning home at this point is just not advisable, so we anticipate staying here with our St. Jude family. We feel that is best for Hallie.
Joe and Beth Ann
Sunday, November 4, 2007 4:23 PM CST
Hello from St. Jude.
Hallie had another bad night last night; but today has brought some relief for her. After altering the anti-anxiety meds some we are hoping we have found a good combination. Today Hallie has sat up in bed and eaten lots of different things, colored, and talked with all of us. She seems to be more calm and collected that she has been. Her pain is minimal and its duration short. Her nurse this weekend is Mary Beth who Hallie knows because Mary Beth has been to our camp at Lake Bruin for a weekend visit with some other nurses from St. Jude. Hallie loves Mary Beth and we are glad she is taking such good care of Hallie.
Grangy, Nana, Aunt Karen, Aunt Debbie, and Heather are either here are on their way to see Hallie. She was glad to see Grangy and Nana; but she is now sleeping quietly in her room.
We know lots of you are praying for our little girl right now and we appreciate it very much. Our community rallies around people in times of need. That is part of what makes it "home". Whether or not we will ever be able to bring Hallie back closer to you still remains to be seen. We would love to be able to bring here back home and she has said she would like to go home. Only time will tell.
Right now we desperately need pain-free days and peace for Hallie. That is what we are praying for and we ask you to do the same.
Joe and Beth Ann
Friday, November 2, 2007 9:14 PM CDT
Here is the latest from St. Jude.
Her pain management is marginally better. She has moments of pain and agitation brought on by the pain meds. The nurses are ramping up the pain meds as needed - no questions asked.
On a happy note, Hallie just ate nearly a full bowl of corn pops. This is the first thing she has eaten in at least a day. She is not thirsty because she is getting hydration via the IV pump. She giggled a little bit for us a while ago and that was so good to see.
Dr. Furman spent thirty minutes with Beth Ann and I late this afternoon. At 5:30p.m. on Friday when most folks are glad to be getting home after a long work week he found time to come and sit with us and just talk. He wasn't there as a doctor; he was there as a friend. Thank you Dr. Furman. We talked about the first day we saw and met him and the long journey that has brought us together with him tonight. His words of praise for Beth Ann and I meant a lot to us. We are certain we have done all the right things and all that we could have done for her. Unfortunately, her disease is a vicious killer of children that no researcher has been able to unravel. Only God can do that right now. We thanked him and his team for all their efforts for the past nearly five years and encouraged them to keep on fighting for a cure. Without them and St. Jude, Hallie would certainly not have enjoyed so many wonderful and happy days.
We are unsure of our plans in the next few days at this point.
We only hope that Hallie can find a comfortable place where she can rest and be free from the horror of neuroblastoma. We ask this in Jesus name. WE LOVE YOU HALLIE.
Mom, Dad, and Harrison
Friday, November 2, 2007 9:32 AM CDT
Good morning everyone.
Hallie has been admitted to the hospital for acute and severe pain. We had to take her to the medicine room last night about 7:30. After about and hour it became apparent she needed to be admitted and monitored. The pain is localized in her right pelvis area. She is pretty comfortable right now.
We have just finished meeting with Dr. Furman. He is going to radiate the area twice. He is certain the radiation will eliminate the pain. The first radiation treatment will happen at 10:30.
Her blood counts this morning were good. We will try and update later today. We anticipate being discharged sometime tomorrow.
Hallie has endured and long a painful twelve hours. It breaks our heart to see her suffer; but we are keeping faith that God is going to take care of her in the coming days. We are also ever grateful to this wonderful place we are in right now. Thank God for St. Jude. Please pray for Hallie.
Gravelles
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 9:09 PM CDT
Tomorrow morning Harrison and I will be driving to Memphis to be with Beth Ann and Hallie.
Hallie had a great time today at St. Jude. She really enjoyed trick-or-treating at the hospital. For about five hours she felt really good and had lots of energy.
She tired quickly however and now she is back at the Grizzly House sound asleep. Tomorrow morning she will get more blood and platelets. Harrison and I should get there about 5:00 pm. We are really looking forward to seeing Hallie and BA. We know Hallie and BA are looking forward to seeing us.
Beth Ann and I talked a long time tonight and we really feel like two people walking down a dark, lonely road. We don't know what might jump out at us or what to expect. All we do know is that it is a really lonesome road.
For nearly five years our lives have centered around getting the best treatment known to man for Hallie. We have done our very best to give Hallie every chance known to mankind to beat this disease. Any parent would do the same. We believe in St. Jude and the people who give their time and efforts to find cures for so many childhood diseases. If ultimately we fail to beat this disease, we will be able to look back and find comfort in knowing we have done our best. Sometimes your best is all you can do, even if it's not good enough. Hallie is a child of God and she will be with God for eternity. It will be our mission in life to make sure we find our way to the place she might find. We are more fortunate than some to have a community of friends and family to offer support in so many ways during Hallie's journey.
We ask that all of who love Hallie pray for her comfort in the coming days. God knows she deserves it.
Joe
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 11:16 AM CDT
Just spoke with Beth Ann in Memphis. The doctors are continuing to monitor the calcium level following the zometa infusion. They expect her levels to fall in the next day or so. This probably means she will not come home tomorrow. We just don't know and the doctors don't either.
She is stuggling with constant itching as a result of the pain medicine. They are beginning benadryl around the clock to try and stop that. Later today they will check counts again to see where the platelets and RBC are.
Right now they are getting ready to trick-or-treat everyone at the hospital. Hallie seemed pretty excited about that !! Beth Ann's college roomate from Alabama is there with her today at St. Jude. For those you who don't know, Beth Ann has just a littly crimson in her blood. She was attending the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa when she and I met. I know Beth Ann was glad the Sandra Ann came to see her.
Harrison is doing fine. He wore his Blues Brothers outfit to school today. He is Elwood from the movie. Harrison is very aware of Hallie's situation. Child services talked to Beth Ann today about him and told her she and I have done and said all the right things to Harrison from the onset of Hallie's disease. He loves his little sister beyond words and understands her situation.
Please continue to pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Joe
Monday, October 29, 2007 9:00 PM CDT
Hallie is settled into her room at the Grizzly House after a long day at the hospital. She got her IV pain medicine first. Then she needed another platelet transfusion. She had a mild reaction to the transfusion which took some time to get under control.
Harrison and I both spoke to her on the phone and she sounded tired but OK. We hope they all sleep well tonight and get some rest. They have to be at the clinic early tomorrow for labs and to see D clinic.
Please continue to pray for Hallie. Her spirit and courage is unbelievable!
Joe and Harrison
Monday, October 29, 2007 1:09 PM CDT
Hey everybody !
Hallie had a great weekend. The photos on the site right now were taken over the past day or so. On Saturday we went to the walking trail for the walk-a-thon in Hallie's honor. The event raised over $1,500.00 for St. Jude. The organizers of the event are to be commended for their extraordinary efforts. Christie Fenn, Brooke Fenn, and Charlotte White in particular put in lots of time and energy to make the event happen. They have sold over 400 t-shirts. If you want one call Christie at 318-355-0929. She can still order for you. Thanks guys!!
Saturday night Aunt Karen, Sage, and Brent, Aunt Amy and Uncle Tom, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Charles, and many others came over to the house and we built a fire outside. We roasted marshmallows, grilled kabobs, and hot dogs. We have a fun time together.
Sunday we all went to our church's homecoming celebration. It was a nice service with a great meal for lunch. Then we took Hallie, Harrison, and Sage trick-r-treating together at a few houses on our street. Our neighbors very graciously welcomed Harrison and Hallie to their homes. It was really good to see them get to trick-r-treat together.
Then everyone rested up before Hallie insisted on pizza for supper.
Beth Ann, Aunt Amy, and Hallie have arrived at St. Jude and are probably getting started with the infusion of bone pain medicine. If all goes well, they should be able to return home on Thursday. It won't be a moment to soon.
We love you Hallie.
Dad and Harrison
Friday, October 26, 2007 10:26 AM CDT
This will not be an easy update for us to make.
We arrived at St. Jude yesterday to find that Hallie's blood counts had dropped dangerously low once again. This was after she was transfused in Shreveport on Saturday. Of course this is very alarming and not a good indicator of the state of the disease.
We met with our St. Jude family and decided that more chemo at this point would not be beneficial for Hallie. The bloodwork indicates the presence of tumor in Hallie's bone marrow. Dr. Furman recommended and we agreed to move Hallie into a hospice program. It will be our hope to keep Hallie at home as much as we possibly can.
Beth Ann, Aunt Amy, and Hallie are going back to SJ on Monday to receive an IV infusion of a drug that controls bone pain. She will have to stay for several days following the infusion to monitor possible side effects. If all goes well, they should be home on Friday or Saturday of next week at the latest. This drug is given in conjunction with the daily pain meds she already is receiving.
We want everyone to pray for Hallie to be free of pain and that God grant all of us as much time as possible to love and cherish her.
Gravelles
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 2:00 PM CDT
Tomorrow morning we are all going to St. Jude for Hallie's checkup. We will see Dr. Furman at some point and Hallie will go to the medicine room where she will get a pain medication specifically for bone pain. The drug is given IV and lasts for about 30 days. We will need to stay for 24 hours more or less after the infusion to make sure that Hallie has no ill effect from the drug.
Hallie is feeling good and enjoying time with all of us at home. She has a remarkable spirit and courage. She has become extremely loving and kind to all of us (more than usual) of late. She will walk over to my chair for no reason other than to tell me she loves me. Then it is back to the coloring book. Her pain seems to be under control and for that we are greatful.
We do not know what to expect from Dr. Furman about the IV chemo idea. We will just have to wait and see.
We are thankful for all of the prayers and support from our friends and the community. Hallie is very loved and we know that beyond any doubt.
Joe and Beth Ann
Sunday, October 21, 2007 9:51 AM CDT
Hallie went to LSU-S on Saturday morning to get a blood and platelet transfusion. When she awoke on Saturday she was noticably pale and tired. We had her counts checked at the hospital and her hemoglobin was 5 and her platelets where at 12,000.
After talking with Dr. Baker at St. Jude and Dr. Jeroudi in Shreveport Beth Ann and her sister Debbie took Hallie on over to LSU for the transfusion. They returned to Debbie's house in Monroe last night. The radiation that Hallie has had has something, but probably not everything, to do with this episode of low counts.
Hallie danced at the FA pep rally on Friday and did very well. She has been going to school for several hours each day. Her spirit is incredible.
Tomorrow is Beth Ann's birthday. I would never tell you how young she will be. However, I will tell you she is a wonderful friend, mother, and wife and I love her very much. Happy Birthday Beth Ann!!!!
Joe
PS: How bout' those LSU TIGERS !!!
LSU 30 Auburn 24
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 3:34 PM CDT
Hello everyone.
Hallie is doing fine. She is really enjoying time at home with us. She has not been back to school yet; but we are hoping that she can go for a little while later this week. She is blessed to have so many friends who have come by with various goodies for her (and Harrison). Thank you for being so thoughtful.
Hallie is experiencing some discomfort in her right hip that we are treating with pain meds. The meds seem to be working and relieving the pain. She is sleeping and eating reasonable well. She really enjoys coloring, painting, and doing various crafts.
Our church is in revival right now and on Monday night BA and Hallie attended the service and were very moved by the evangelist. They entire church prayed especially for a healing miracle for Hallie. Our church family has been wonderful throughout Hallie's journey and we can never say enough "thank you's" or repay them. Just keep praying.
Our next appointment at SJ is October 25th. At that time we will discuss the IV chemo with Dr. Furman and see if Hallie might benefit from the treatment. In the meantime we are going to stay close to home and enjoy our every moment with Hallie and Harrison.
JSG
Friday, October 12, 2007 1:19 PM CDT
Hallie is on her way back home!!! They should be back late today. As soon as they get home they are all heading over to the lake for a couple of days. Aunt Karen, Sully, and Sage are coming in today as well. Hallie is feeling pretty good except for some discomfort in her chest as a result of the surgery for the line. Harrison and I are ready to see her and Mom.
We don't anticipate going back to SJ until 10/25. We will talk to Dr. Furman then about the IV chemo.
Joe
Thursday, October 11, 2007 10:07 AM CDT
Hallie is back at the Grizzly House resting after the surgery to reinsert the Hickman line in her chest. She did very well during the procedure and is sleeping off the anesthesia. The rest of the day will be a quiet day in Memphis. Tomorrow BA will meet with the line nurse to refresh her memory on changing the dressing on the line. Following that meeting they should be returning to Winnsboro for at least the weekend. I can't wait to see Hallie and BA. Harrison and I miss them very much. Harrison is doing good at school and "baching" with Dad. We will update after everybody makes it home.
Joe
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 8:33 AM CDT
Things are going OK in Memphis. Hallie will get the final radiation treatment of her eyes and right knee today. She is adjusting to the new pain med. It seems to be controlling the pain very well. She is walking more since the radiation to her knee. She has been running a constant low-grade fever that is best characterized as "tumor-fever" by Dr. Furman. Yesterday it seemed to break and BA said Hallie really perked up and felt good.
Tomorrow Hallie will have the double-lumen Hickman line reinserted in her chest. This is necessary in order to avoid all the sticks needed to monitor her bloodwork and to give meds without the need for an IV each time. The procedure is pretty routine as surgeries go. If all goes well they should return to Winnsboro on Friday.
We are willing to try some IV chemo when and if Dr. Furman tells us he thinks Hallie is ready. This would involve going into the hospital to get the dose and then staying in Memphis for a little while to see how she tolerates the treatment. This could start as early as next week depending on her bloodwork and other issues.
Keeping the faith ...........
Gravelles
Tuesday, October 9, 2007 8:40 AM CDT
Not much to report on Hallie today. She remains in Memphis with BA and Aunt Amy. She did have a radiaton treatment on her right knee and it seems to have already had a positive effect. Hallie appeared to walk a little better following the treatment.
On the pain front, Dr. Furman changed the pain med from morphine to oxycontin-CR. Hallie will get two pills daily for pain and we will see how this works. Dr. Crazen, the radiaion oncologist, does not want to radiate Hallie's back right now. BA meets with him today to find out more.
She will get more radiation on her knee today. Dr. Furman has scheduled surgery on Thursday to insert the Hickman line so that Hallie will not have to be "stuck" so many times from now on. This is a pretty simple procedure and Hallie will do very well.
We continue to BELIEVE and hold out hope for a miracle for Hallie. We know lots of people are praying for Hallie. Hallie should be able to return to Winnsboro for the weekend.
Joe
Sunday, October 7, 2007 6:32 PM CDT
Hallie is doing pretty good right now. She stayed with Dad on Saturday while BA went to Mom & Me with Harrison. She was very lethargic on Saturday. Her platelets are somewhat low and that along with the tumor is probably causing this. She has complained frequently with back and leg pain. We have given morphine as needed. She also has a low grade fever that we give tylenol for.
At this moment she just finished her bath. She is playing with her new Nintendo DS that Aunt Amy bought her today. She really loves it! She seems to be more energetic and responsive today.
Aunt Amy, BA, and Hallie are getting ready to leave for Memphis tonight. Dad is staying behind for Harrison so he can get back to school. We really do not know what to expect this week. We think that radiation to Hallie's knee is a given. We are concerned about the back pain and intend to ask for a MRI to see if the docs see anything they can radiate to relieve the acute pain. Dr. Furman also intends to put the central line back in Hallie at some point soon.
All we really want right now is for Hallie to feel good. That is what we ask everyone to pray for.
Gravelles
Friday, October 5, 2007 7:48 AM CDT
Sorry for not updating before we left Memphis yesterday; but it was a long morning and we had to check out of Grizzly House. Hope you understand.
The news from the MIBG and Dr. Furman was not what we had wanted or prayed for. The tumor is spreading to other parts of Hallie's body including the pelvis, legs, and spine. Given this information Beth Ann and I have to decide what to do next. Dr. Furman stated in no uncertain terms that science can offer no cure for her. We still believe in miracles and know that God could intervene and save her.
We return to Memphis on Monday for three more radiation treatments on her eyes and knee. Then we will be back home for several days before we take the next step. We will most likely try a scaled-down version of some IV chemo that Hallie has already undergone. Dr. Furman will try and dose the treatment so as to minimize the bad side effects, but slow the progress of the disease. We will know very soon if this route is feasible by monitoring the side effects and the rate at which her blood counts recover. The question is whether the blood counts recover faster than the tumor grows. Only time will tell the answer to that question.
Hallie is feeling fine right now. Harrison had a wonderful birthday yesterday. D clinic sang Happy Birthday to him yesterday morning. Friends and family greeted him when he returned home last night with many presents. Happy 11 Harrison !!!!!
As for us, we have a peace about Hallie and her situation. We are heartbroken and our hearts are very heavy right now. But we know that whatever fate awaits Hallie is truly God's will. That is what gets us through each day. We continue to pray that He provide her with pain-free days, happy times with friends and family, and a miracle of healing. We ask all of you to pray the same.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 7:14 PM CDT
Hello from the Grizzly House!
Before the update please make special note on the home page below of the web address for Hallie's Hope. This is a group of people who love Hallie and want to honor her by making the trip to Memphis for the annual marathon. A team is running in her honor. The details of how to help or participate in the event can be found by going to the website. Thanks to Brooke Fenn for helping put this idea into reality. Go Brooke!!!
We are anxiously awaiting a meeting with Dr. Furman in the morning to discuss the results of the MIBG which was done this afternoon. Sandy phoned late today and said that no results were available. Hallie has radiation at 8:00 a.m. and then we will see Dr. Furman. After that it is back to Winnsboro for the weekend. We will update before we leave Memphis about the test result and what it means for Hallie's treatment from here on.
Hallie feels great and we pray God bless her and hold her close in the days and weeks ahead.
Gravelles
Tuesday, October 2, 2007 5:05 PM CDT
We finished up at St. Jude just a little bit ago. Hallie had her nuclear injection for the MIBG tomorrow. She also had radiation and an MRI of both knees. Dr. Crazen sees spots on both knees. Most of the areas are mild in nature and he is not even sure what is necrosis and what might be active tumor. The MIBG will tell the story. We had to give morphine last night for her right knee which is the one she has complained with of late.
Tomorrow we will have a CT for the simulation of the radiation treatments for the knee(s) next week. Then, another radiation treatment followed by the MIBG.
We don't anticipate knowing anything about the MIBG until we visit with Dr. Furman on Thursday at noon. After we see him on Thursday at noon we will be coming home for the weekend. Please continue to lift up Hallie in your prayers as she fights this awful disease.
Joe
Tuesday, October 2, 2007 8:41 AM CDT
Hello from the Grizzly House !
We are all heading to St. Jude for Hallie's radiation treatment. She will then get the injection for the MIBG scan.
Hallie slept very good last night and went down for muffins and apple juice with Dad at 8:00 a.m. Harrison is working hard on Boy Scout stuff and trying to keep up with his school work. We appreciate all of the prayers that everyone is sending to us and Hallie.
We know that God works in wonderful ways and have faith that He will hold Hallie close to Him.
Joe and Beth Ann
Monday, October 1, 2007 3:54 PM CDT
Well we made it to Memphis safely and have settled in our room at the Grizzly House. Hallie had a radiation treatment and we visited with Dr. Furman for a while this afternoon.
Last night we had to give Hallie morphine for the pain in her right knee. She went to sleep and slept good and has not complained any more with it today. Dr. Furman suspects disease there as well. We will try to radiate the area before we leave. We are returning to Winnsboro on Thursday night instead of Friday. We will come back on Sunday for radiation treatments on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week.
As far as the plan for right now we are going to finish this course of radiation first. Oral topotecan is an option as well as more of the ICE that Hallie has already had. Neither option holds any real promise of destroying the tumor. Dr. Furman said that science can offer no cure at this point in Hallie's journey. Only God can do that. Our decisions now must be based on quality of life for Hallie.
The MIBG scan on Wednesday will tell us more. It will tell us if we are dealing with a few hotspots or if the tumor has already spread to many other areas. That will help guide our decisions from this point. It may also give us a idea of time in relation to the disease.
Over the past four years, Hallie has inspired many people including her family and you can all rest assured that she continues to amaze us with her spirit and grace.
God doesn't promise any of us tomorrow. Hallie lives every day like it was her last. Maybe we all should.
Joe, Beth Ann, and Harrison
Thursday, September 27, 2007 4:20 PM CDT
We did not get good news today from Hallie's tests.
Hallie has disease (tumor) around the orbits of both eyes and in the optic nerve of both eyes. Her eyesight has not been affected at this point. She will get two radiation treatments tomorrow and more next week. Dr. Crazen is confident the radiation will contain the tumor in and around the eyes. The larger issue is that the tumor is most probably elsewhere. A MIBG next week will tell us more.
Dr. Furman is not going to give Hallie any more of the oral chemo since it has not kept the disease at bay. After a long discussion with him and taking into account many things, we feel the best thing for Hallie right now is to treat these isolated problem areas. Our options are few and limited at this point. Most of the options for getting her back in remission are experimental in nature and really offer no hope of a cure. Any of those treatments will deprive her of the kind of wonderful days she is having right now and land her in the hospital a very sick little girl.
Hallie will return home this weekend before returning to St. Jude on Monday for treatments. In the meantime we ask for everyone to pray especially hard for Hallie. Pray for quality time and comfort as she continues her courageous fight against her cancer.
Joe, Beth Ann, and Harrison
Thursday, September 27, 2007 12:53 AM CDT
Hallie was taken to MRI at 11:00 a.m. today. We will try and update as soon as we have spoken with both Dr. Furman and Dr. Wilson (eye doctor).
Gravelles
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 8:45 AM CDT
We are taking Hallie to see Dr. Furman on Thursday. I the past few weeks we have become increasingly concerned about some discoloration and swelling around her right eye. This is the same eye that has considerable disease on the orbits in 2003. Although the discoloration is not near as pronounced right now, we fear that the tumor may be presenting itself. We expect Dr. Furman to see Hallie and order a MRI of her orbits to determine exactly what we are dealing with. At that point we will get a plan together to deal with the problem. Radiation is a real possibility.
The eye situation is the only problem we have right now. Hallie feels great and is really enjoying school and life.
We will update as soon as we know more.
Gravelles
Monday, September 10, 2007 5:54 PM CDT
In loving memory of Joe Morse Gravelle (Poppy), March 12, 1931 - September 10, 2007.
Please see the online obituary at www.gillfirstnational.com
We love you Poppy and may God give you everlasting comfort and peace.
The Gravelle Family
Friday, September 7, 2007 10:38 AM CDT
Hey everybody -- we're finally back!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hallie is on her way back from St. Jude today. She went up yesterday with BA and Janice Smith. Dr. Furman saw her and agreed to continue the plan of care for now consisting of the oral irinotecan and temozolomide. We are scheduled to return in November for more bloodwork.
Hallie is feeling very good and he sees no need to interupt her life at this point for any additional therapy. We agree.
Beth Ann and I ask everyone to pray especially hard for Hallie and Poppy. Poppy is suffering from stage 4 terminal glioblastoma. He is under hospice care at his home in Winnsboro. He is struggling with life at this point and we ask God to embrace this remarkable man with peace and comfort. We love you Poppy.
Joe and Beth Ann
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 1:17 PM CDT
Nothing would make Hallie happier than to share her space with someone she loves. So today she is sharing her journal space with one of her favorite people - Poppy.
The home page photo of her journal this week is a photo taken of Poppy and Grangy along with Kent Roussel of Chevron Corp. on October 12, 2006. Grangy and Poppy are shown here accepting a 75 year award from Chevron Corporation. Joe M. Gravelle was born March 12, 1931 in Winnsboro, LA only one block from his home today. He was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblasoma-multiforma in June of 2006. After a successful surgery and several radiation treatments he has done remarkably well for the past year of so.
In the past week he has fallen on very difficult times. The family, and Hallie especially, would like everyone who follows her caringbridge site to pray a special prayer for Poppy. He needs comfort, peace, and prayer during this phase of his life and his disease. Poppy and Grangy were a great help to Hallie during her two stays in Memphis.
We pray for God to keep this extraordinary man close to Him during this most trying time in his life journey.
The Gravelle family
Friday, July 27, 2007 10:18 PM CDT
We are back in Mobile.
New photos are posted. We'll have more later!
Gravelles
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 3:27 PM CDT
The picture that appears on the home page right now was taken today. Hallie is holding a little surprise she received in the mail today from the home offices of AFLAC.
Our family has been blessed since Hallie was diagnosed to be fortunate to have some supplemental insurance coverage with AFLAC. This coverage and the benefits it paid to us made it possible to relocate to Memphis during both of Hallie's long stays. We are forever grateful to this company for what they have done and are doing for our family.
They have given Hallie very special consideration as is demonstrated by this nice gift she received a few days ago. Cheryl Gilbert and Pat Leaman have been lifesavers for us in handling Hallie's numerous claims. Thanks to everyone at AFLAC.
Hallie is doing fantastic! She looks and feels great and is enjoying life. Next week we are heading to Gulf Shores and Wakkula Springs, FL for vacation. Harrison and Hallie are excited and can't wait.
Joe and Beth Gravelle
Thursday, July 12, 2007 7:57 AM CDT
Just a quick update for everyone. Nothing really different with Hallie. After three doses of chemo, Hallie still is feeling very good and has no side effects. She could not feel any better. Harrison is doing great with math camp so far. We are planning to go to Wakkula Springs, Florida week after next and join Anut Karen, Brent, Sully, and Sage for a few days. We are looking forward to seeing them. We just pray that God is lifting Hallie up and we hope all of you do the same.
Gravelles
Monday, July 9, 2007 7:48 PM CDT
Beth Ann and I watched in amazement last evening as Hallie played tee-ball in the yard. She ran the bases with no limp at all. She was at full stride. Thanks St. Jude.
She took her new chemo today with very little difficulty. She has nine more days and then she gets a nine day break. We are hoping she continues to have no problem with the new drugs.
Harrison started math camp today in Monroe. He really enjoyed it and said it was more fun than school. He is starting the first of two weeks of camp in Monroe. Good luck Harrison.
Dr. Furman is back in Memphis. He called today to check on Hallie. It was a kind and thoughtful gesture that we really appreciated.
Please pray for Hallie.
Friday, July 6, 2007 8:53 AM CDT
We are at St. Jude today. Hallie had her fourth radiaton treatment yesterday afternoon. Following the treatment, Dr. Crazen had a MRI done. He asked us to sit down with him and look at it compared to the ones done immediately prior to the treatments. It is evident even to an untrained eye that the amount of disease in her pelvis is smaller. He says that it should shrink even more in the coming days and weeks. Hallie has had no side effects fromt the radiation. Today we get the final radiation dose and start the antibiotic which Hallie will have to take in order to begin the new chemotherapy. The chemo will start on Monday. It is a combination of temozolomide and irinotecan. Both will be taken orally. We pray for it to be effective.
Hallie had a great 4th. We had lots of family and friends at the lake. She and Harrison had fun together in the lake. She really enjoyed Sage staying with her for several days. Gotta head over to the hospital now.
Will update after chemo starts with more.
Gravelles
Saturday, June 30, 2007 9:15 AM CDT
Hallie is back home in Winnsboro and doing fine.
Beth Ann and I want to use this space today to thank our friends at St. Jude. Having said that, we realize they do not do anything for us that they don't do for others. But they really made our last two days as easy as they could possibly be.
When we arrived on Wednesday the staff in D clinic were waiting for Hallie. Nicole and Julie grabbed Hallie from AT and did the IV insertion themselves. MRI was waiting on us next. Dr. Crazen in radiation oncology immediately read the MRI and told us what he saw and what his plan was. He radiated the spot causing the pain on Wednesday evening which gave her instant relief. He showed Beth Ann and I the CT and MRI images so that we could see for ourselves the extent of the diseased area. Dr. MacGregor, who is filling in for Dr. Furman, explained very precisely to us what she thought we should do at this point and recommended the new drug therapy we are going to use.
Words cannot describe Sandy. She is Dr. Furman's CNP. They don't pay her enough.
Hallie is in the best place in the world for her situation. It is a fact that nowhere else could Hallie have received this kind of care. What I have described happens every day at St. Jude and it is why everyone who reads this should consider supporting this great hospital in some way.
We are going to enjoy a couple of home days before returning the Memphis either late Sunday or early Monday. She has another radiation treatment at 1:30 Monday. She will have one one Tuesday morning at 8:00am. Then we are coming back home for the holiday. She will then get two more treatments on Thursday and Friday. Dr. Crazen believes that is all that is necessary to remedy this acute problem.
We are so grateful for our friends at St. Jude, our family, and our friends at home who support us during these times of crisis. Thanks a million and keep praying for Hallie.
Gravelles
Thursday, June 28, 2007 7:05 PM CDT
UPDATE: Friday 6/29 Noon
Hallie has had her first radiation treatment and all went well. She vomited again early this morning. As a precaution, St. Jude will do a CT scan of her brain at 2:00pm today to rule out tumor in her brain causing the vomiting. They do not think this is the case; but they want to be sure. Her final radiation treatment of the day is at 4:45. We are leaving for home right after the treatment. We should arrive at 10:30 or so.
We arrived at SJ today at 12:30PM. Hallie had a really bad night on Wednesday. She was in severe pain and discomfort with her left pelvic area. We gave her morphine twice; but it was not very successful. Since 12:30 this afternoon we have had bloodwork, a MRI, X-Ray, and CT Scan. We know all the results. A tumor is very visible on the MRI in and around Hallie's left pelvis. It is on one of her pelvic bones. Tomorrow she will receive two large radiation doses - one at 9:00 am and another in the afternoon. Dr. Crazen is very confident that the treatments tomorrow will relieve the pain and discomfort. These are the same areas that were found on the MIBG a month ago; but it appears they have increased in size somewhat. We are going to stop the current chemo (VP-16) and begin a new combination drug therapy using Temozolomide and Irinotecan in combination. This is a very new approach that has shown good success in about 50 f recurrent high-risk neuroblastoma cases. It is oral chemo just like what Hallie is taking now. This will begin in about a week and a half. We will be returning home tomorrow (Friday) after the afternoon radiation dose. Hallie will be back at St. Jude on Sunday for more radiation on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. This should take care of the acute problem in her pelvis. She will be home on July 4th. She just has to help Harrison and Dad pop fireworks!!!!
Hallie has not had very much pain today. She is resting in the room at the Grizzly House eating pizza and watching Nick and Nite. Thank God for St. Jude.
Please pray for Hallie and all the little troopers here at St. Jude.
Joe, Beth Ann, and Harrison
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 8:34 AM CDT
Hallie returned from a check-up at St. Jude last night. She had labs done along with a visit with Dr. Furman. He refilled her oral chemo prescription and gave her the OK to proceed with the next round. Her bloodwork looked good.
Hallie's hair is thinning considerably and we anticipate it falling out completely soon. Halllie is of course disappointed; but her spirit is something. She has accepted that her hair is going to fall out and said to us the other day that she liked "being bald". We are in the market for wigs and doo-rags as we speak.
On the ride home from Memphis she began to complain with leg pain. It is too early to tell if this will persist or go away. Please pray for her leg to stop bothering her.
Her cousin Sage is here all week to play with Hallie and she is very exited.
The Gravelles
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 9:04 PM CDT
Hallie is doing pretty good so far with the oral VP-16 or etoposide. She has complained some with stomach discomfort; but nothing serious. St. Jude sent us some ondansatron to give her if she needs it for the tummy ache.
We had a great Memorial Day weekend at the lake. Hallie loves the lake and she loves to swim. In fact, you have to really watch her because will literally start swimming to the neighbors pier of across the lake. She and I rode the jet ski several times and she really like that too. She kept saying "go fast". I granted her wish as we topped out at 40 mph. The ski will go 70mph; but I'll save that for calm morning - just kidding Beth Ann!!! She is a true waterbug. She has been to Glenn and Jo Alice Jones house to swim as well as Jason and Charlyn Emfinger. She has one more teeball game left and the season will be over. She has done great. We are very proud of her.
Harrison is so glad school is out he does not know what to do. He has been helping out with some yard work and spending some nights with Grangy, Poppy, and Nana.
Please remember Hallie in your every prayer.
Joe
Friday, May 25, 2007 2:04 PM CDT
Hallie, Mom, and Grangy returned safely from Memphis last night. Today we received the first round of chemo for Hallie to begin. Dr. Furman decided to give Hallie Etoposide of VP-16. She has had this before, but not orally. We will probably start in tomorrow morning. We are headed to the lake for the weekend. Hallie and Harrison want to fish, ride the boats, and shoot fireworks. We hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.
Gravelles
Monday, May 21, 2007 11:47 AM CDT
Hello everyone!
First, Beth Ann and I are very grateful to everyone who has phoned us or spoken with us personally about Hallie since we got the bad news last Thursday. We appreciate all of out friends very much and appreciate their care and concern of Hallie.
Hallie was wonderful at her dance recital on Saturday evening. She was great. We are so pround of her for accomplishing so much with her dancing. Dad gave her a boquet of flowers following the show and she is still raving about them.
Harrison and Hallie both really enjoyed having there cousins from Alabama, Sully and Sage, in town this weekend. They played so hard that Hallie just could not make it to school today; but she will be at her second tee-ball game tonight at 6:00PM.
Dr. Furman will see Hallie on Thursday this week. He will write a prescription of chemo to be given orally. It will either be etoposide, toptecan, or irinotecan. We would like to give this to Hallie through the summer months for a couple of reasons. First, she will not need to have another Hickman line or port inserted. Secondly, the side effects from the oral chemo is hopefully minimal. She can swim and play and enjoy her summer. God willing the drug will keep the tumor in check or destroy it. We will schedule another MIBG and bone marrow biopsy in about three months and check the status of the neuroblastoma. That is the plan.
Please pray for Hallie and come by and see her. She loves company.
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, May 17, 2007 10:37 PM CDT
Today was one of those emotional and sad days at St. Jude for us. Dr. Furman told us that the tumor had returned once again in our precious little Hallie. The MIBG showed three spots on her left pelvis and one spot on the left knee. He said if there was any good news it was that the disease was small and the bone marrow was negative, at least in the sample he took. Beth Ann and I are both very saddened by the news. Hallie was in the exam room when Dr. Furman reported the test results to us. When we finally left today and were walking to the car she asked only if her hair would fall out. She didn't ask if anything would hurt, if she would have to move back to Memphis, or if she would have to go back in the hospital. Her spirit is undaunted and her courage unequalled. We love her so much.
It was a long ride home tonight. We found ourselves just riding and listening to Hallie sing many songs including "Jesus Loves Me", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Silent Night". The ride was not silent at all because she laughed and sang the whole way home.
On the treatment side of things we have some shots left to fire. Thanks to St. Jude we have lots of options. Some are agressive and some or more supportive care. In the coming days Beth Ann and I will talk more about the choices we have and decide what we think is in Hallie's best interest at this stage in her journey with this dreaded disease. We ask everyone to pray for us and Hallie as we have to make these difficult choices.
Beth Ann and I want to especially thank all of our friends at St Jude for being with us this week and today as the news unfolded. It is comforting to see familier faces. We remain committed to St. Jude and all of the great doctors, nurses, and staff at this great institution. I can tell you for certain that Hallie loves St. Jude and everything about it. It is like a second home for her.
We will be updating again early next week and letting everyone know our decision about a course of treatment. In the meantime, please take a moment right now to pray for Hallie and all the other children at St. Jude.
Joe and Beth Ann Gravelle
Thursday, May 17, 2007 7:41 AM CDT
good morning
well, we have been in Memphis since sunday nite and
still have little to report.
hallie has been through many many scans, tests, blood
draws, and other things---- but we have only seen dr. furman once and that was monday around noon. so, the only thing that i could ask him about at that point was her blood and "tee tee."
He laughed at me and said her "tee tee" report wasn't back yet and then replied----- "and you know beth ann, i like to wait until thursday ( the last day of testing) to look at everything together so that i can talk with you about the "whole" result.
i told him "yes, yes, i know ----but i will be looking for you again tomorrow"
he just smiled and said he was not sure how it must feel
to just hold your breath for days waiting to hear news about your child.
then he did something he has NEVER done in the four and a half years that we have known him----- he offered me
a few days worth of Xanax.
joe and i had overslept that morning, and i told joe that i must have really looked worse than i thought.
i declined the medicine, but told him i would take
any gift certificates he had for margaritas!
but, it's thursday now and our wait will be over soon.
hallie was put to sleep a few minutes ago for the MRI
of her brain and orbits.
the iv that she has had in her arm since monday blew, so they let her breathe some "bubble gum" air before starting a new one. i was so glad about that.
we are scheduled to see dr. furman around two oclock.
i may not be able to have access to a computer but will be calling home with the report as soon as we get it.
we are missing harrison terribly and cant wait to give him good news about hallie and tell him we are headed home.
thank you for continuing to pray for us.
beth ann and joe
Wednesday, May 9, 2007 8:53 AM CDT
It's Memphis time again. We are asking everyone to say extra prayers for Hallie. We head to Memphis on Sunday for a week of tests. She is doing great and we are hoping for good results. She is really looking forward to dinner with her favorite nurses on Monday night! We have added a new photo taken at the relay for life event in Winnsboro last Friday evening. Hallie was again the youngest survivor and Poppy is edging his way towards the oldest survivor award. We wish both of them many more cancer free years.
We will update of test results next week. PRAY FOR HALLIE!
Joe and Beth Ann
Monday, March 12, 2007 9:18 AM CDT
No updates are a good thing. We are sorry for not updating more often; but when things are good for Hallie there is not a whole lot to say. However, today she is in Memphis to see Johnnie Bass, the audiologist to be fitted for new ear molds for her hearing aids. She's growing up and so are her ears! Beth Ann left yesterday and will return this evening. The new molds will be shipped to us a couple of weeks.
Hallie is doing extremely well. She has a sweet personality except when she doesn't get her way which is not often. She loves Harrison and everything he does - she wants to do. I guess that is normal. I have to share this story with everyone at the risk of divorce. Beth Ann was issued a traffic violation (ie: speeding ticket) by the LSP a week or so ago while her and Hallie were returning from Monroe. From now on we will not get ask for cruise control on her vehicle since she does not use it! Anyway, Hallie sat patiently as the officer wrote her ticket (72 in a 55) and handed it to her and told her to "have a good day". Why do they always say that when they know they have ruined your day?? Here is the rest of the story. Beth Ann did not tell many people about this event in her life since it was the second ticket she has gotten in the last couple of years. So, Grangy, Poppy, and Hallie were eating a Jesse's recently and the waitress approached the table to hand Poppy the "ticket" for dinner. Right on cue Hallie said, "That looks just like to ticket the policeman gave my mommy the other day on the way home from Monroe". That Hallie doesn't forget much.
Please continue to pray for Hallie.
Thursday, February 8, 2007 10:36 AM CST
OK - Here is the long overdue update.
Beth Ann and I just returned from our cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. The kids stayed behind with Beth Ann's sisters Amy and Debbie. They did fine being away from us for so long; but Hallie will never let us go anywhere again without her! She told them she wished those "other people" would not have asked her Mommy and Daddy to go on that boat. Anyway, we had a great time with our Texas friends - Sam and Beth Branco, Jerry and Julie Lightfoot, and Trey and Kim Brown.
As for now it seems most of us are sick. Harrison has the flu. Hallie has the remnants of RSV and BA is fighting a chest cold. We are trying to get everyone well. Hallie is doing very good and we do not go back to St. Jude until May 14 for another checkup. Please continue to pray for her.
Finally, we want to thank the people in Monroe who organized the bone marrow drive in Hallie's honor. Sue Ellen Cascio and the Allums family did a super job and thanks to their efforts over 4,500 persons were entered into the NBMD registry. A life will surely be saved.
That's all for now!
Gravelles
Friday, January 12, 2007 8:49 PM CST
Hallie's tests indicate no disease. We will have more later.
Monday, January 8, 2007 10:48 AM CST
Everyone had a great holiday season and we are trying to get back in the routine of school. Hallie loves her new elecric powered Jeep and Harrison is enjoying his Nintendo DS and pogo stick. We had to return his electric "chopper" but we should get the new one soon.
We leave tomorrow for Memphis for Hallie's checkup. We should be back on Thursday evening. Please say an extra prayer for good results.
Joe and Beth Ann
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 2:32 PM CST
OK
We are sorry for no updates and we know it is time. We are getting ready for Christmas at our house. The tree is up. The stockings are hung. Beth Ann did a great job with the house both inside and out. The kids are about to get out of school for Chrismas vacation. They have actually been out for the past week due to viruses going around. As you can imagine, they are very excited about Santa Claus coming although we sense that Harrison suspects the truth about Santa? Anyway he is looking forward to presents and seeing his cousin Sully. Hallie is doing wonderful. Her being there on Christmas morning will be our best gift. Thank you St. Jude and Dr. Furman. Most of all, thank you God for Hallie and Harrison.
Today marks our 14th wedding anniversary. That just proves anything is possible. Happy anniversary Beth Ann! I Love You. The best news in quite some time arrived moments ago when my Dad got an excellent report from his neurosurgeon in Monroe. He told Dad the tumor site looks great and that the disease appears to be contained and not growing. He is very excited as we all are. What a blessing. I am taking Dad to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 3rd. We are planning on eating at one of his favorite spots - Pascal Manale's. We wil then watch LSU defeat Notre Dame. We will be taking lots of photos over Christmas and we will post some on this site very soon. Merry Christmas to all. We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year!
Gravelles
Thursday, November 16, 2006 1:08 PM CST
NEW PHOTOS ADDED FROM HALLOWEEN !!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, November 6, 2006 7:57 AM CST
OK. We are sorry we have not updated in a while. When my Aunt Chloe from Bossier City saw us yesterday and called me out I knew it was overdue.
There is just not much to say- really. Hallie is doing very good. She did catch a fever last night. She is enjoying pre-school at Temple Baptist. She seems to get along with all of the kids. She calls all of them her best friends. She is busy with make-up and cheerleader routines. There is no doubt she is 100% girl! Harrison is doing good as well. He and Hallie get along for the most part except when he has a buddy over and she insists on getting in the middle of all of the activities. This includes football, cowboys and indians, and army. Hallie has started sleeping upstairs either in her bed or with Harrison. Hallie is scheduled to return to Memphis in January for another round of tests to check the disease. We are all looking forward to a great holiday season at home with everyone including Dad who is doing very good at this time. He and I went to Monroe last week and saw "Flags of Our Fathers" and ate some great raw oysters! He liked that. Please continue to pray for Hallie and my Dad.
Monday, October 2, 2006 12:55 AM CDT
Hallie is doing fine. She is continuing to enjoy school. Last weekend she attended cousin Sage's house in Mobile for a birthday party. From all accounts she had a blast. Harrison enjoyed seeing Sully and getting lots of play time as well. We are blessed that Hallie is doing good and feels good. We are scheduled to return for another checkup in Memphis in January. God willing we won't have to go until then.
My Dad is having some difficulties with his cancer. Apparently the tumor has reemerged in the original site. He is seeing the neurosurgeon tommorrow and hopes to find out something definitive about his situation.
We would everyone to remember Dad and Hallie in prayer.
Joe
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 8:14 PM CDT
Tonight we have very mixed emotions. We were all on a high today as Hallie phoned to tell us that her Hickman line had been removed. She had put it in a bag and was on her way home. She said at the time that it did not hurt; but later told us it "hurt a little". Anyway she is home and doing great. We have pictures of the line removal and will try to get them on this site tomorrow sometime!!
We are saddened tonight as we learned of the passing of yet another St. Jude friend. We met Ben Bratton and his family early in our stay in Memphis. Ben was from Tupelo, Mississippi, and like Hallie had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma. After a long and courageous struggle Ben passed away around 5:00 PM in Memphis. Ben was a trooper and will me missed by all who knew him.
We hope and pray that his family finds peace in the days and months ahead.
Monday, September 18, 2006 8:27 AM CDT
This morning Hallie is at St. Jude so that one more bone marrow aspiration can be performed. This time the specimen will be sent to Dr. Seeger at U.C.L.A. for further analysis to see if he can find any microscopic disease in the marrow. We need lots of prayers that he has no luck at all !!!!
Her Hickman line that was placed in her on February 27, 2003 by Dr. Davidoff will be removed. This will allow Hallie to swim anywhere she can stand it. Our life will be different since we have had to change the dressing on the line every other day for the last four years. We won't miss it though.
Hallie will probably return to Winnsboro late tonight from Memphis and we let everyone know the results from UCLA in about two weeks.
Gravelles
Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:17 PM CDT
Our prayers have been answered.
Today we arrived back in Winnsboro around 4:00 pm. We had called Sandy at St. Jude along the way and all she would say was the Dr. Furman would call in a little while. The suspense was almost overwhelming; but we have been there before. At almost 5:00 pm Dr. Furman phoned us at home to tell us that the lab had indeed gotten slides mixed up yesterday and the slide that indicated some tumor was not Hallie's specimen. Just goes to show you that even the best hospitals in the world can make mistakes. Anyway he told us he is sure that the results are that Hallie is free of disease based on all the test results he has today. He wants Hallie to come back on Monday for a bone marrow aspiration that he will send to Dr. Seeger's lab at UCLA for further testing to see if any microscopic NB cells are present. We feel very blessed tonight that Hallie remains cancer free and we treasure each time we can go to Memphis and return with good news. We want everyone to remember the sobering reality of neuroblastoma. It ususally recurs. We would like everyone to pray especially hard for Hallie as time goes on because we truly need them now as much as we ever did before.
St. Jude remains special to our family. It is such an uplifting place. We really feel at home there and enjoy seeing all of the familiar faces. Last evening we had dinner with three nurses from 2nd floor who all have a special spot in their hearts for Hallie. It was a fun time and we look forward to seeing you guys real soon !!!
Hallie and Beth Ann will leave for SJ on Sunday and return on Monday or Tuesday.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 2:50 PM CDT
UPDATE #2 for Wednesday
The results of the bone marrow tests are, well inconclusive right now. Dr. Furman received a report indicating a small amount of tumor in one slide of marrow. However, the pathologist called him later and said that there was possibly a mistake made and he wanted to retest. Dr. Furman told Beth Ann and I that he indeed believes there is a good chance the result could change. Problem for us is that we won't know until tomorrow or Friday. How is that for suspense?? PRAY FOR HALLIE.
UPDATE
Hallie is finished with the MIBG. Sandy told us that the bone marrow biopsy was sent for special stains. This means they are looking for microscopic disease. This is good news! Dr. Furman is going to try and see the MIBG and CT scan images later today and tell us the results. Stay tuned but so far - so good.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 7:27 PM CDT
Hello from the Grizzly House !!
We arrived Sunday afternoon in Memphis and checked into the Grizzly House. We walked over to SJ to Assessment/Triage and had Hallie's bloodwork done so we would not have to get up quite so early on Monday. We went to Mud Island for pizza at our favorite ole pizza place before turning in for the night. Hallie was called back to see Dr. Furman about 8:30 on Monday morning and all he could say was how great she looked. We talked about a few things with him briefly including Hallie's line which has been in for almost four years. He is inclined to remove it if all of her tests indicate no disease!!!!! Hey Hallie. He warned of the subsequent visits to SJ and the "sticks"; but offered a numbing cream to ease the pain a bit. Then, it was off to day surgery and the bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. We spoke to Sandy late this evening and she had no results yet. Today we had the injection for the MIBG scan tomorrow and an audiology appointment. Her hearing is basically unchanged from one year ago. Good news. We went up to second floor and met with lots of nurses who took good care of Hallie when she was here. In fact, we are meeting some of them tomorrow night for Mexican food. Should be a fun time. We have MIBG scan tomorrow and then on Thursday we should know all results. If all is well, they will pull Hallie's line late that morning. That's right, she will not be asleep and they will literally "pull" the line from her chest!! We are anxiously waiting and hoping she does OK. Please pray for good test results. We will update when we know something more.
Joe and Beth Ann
Monday, August 28, 2006 3:19 PM CDT
Hallie and Harrison are doing great so far in school.
Harrison seems to be enjoying school thus far. He is playing football this year and needs the exercise. He will probably play second string center on offense and defensive end. He really was hoping to play receiver or tight end. Harrison catches the ball really well; but his size lends itself to line play at this point.
Hallie loves school!!!!!! She has gone each day and stayed without hesitation til the end. She even is in the Josiah program and stays until five o'clock some days. She loves her friends and seems to be adjusting extremely well and much better than we thought.
We are leaving on September 10 for Memphis. Hallie has a full week of tests scheduled. Please pray for her to have a great checkup and remain cancer-free.
Joe and Beth Ann
Sunday, August 13, 2006 7:59 PM CDT
We thought we would finally update everyone on the summer. We had a great summer!! Beth Ann and I have so enjoyed just having both Harrison and Hallie around close with us all summer long. Harrison did not play baseball so he was at home with Mom most everday -- all day. Hallie was too, of course. She want stray far from that Mom. We enjoyed our vacation to Seaworld and spent several great weekends at Lake Bruin at the camp. Harrison is slowly warming up to watersports and maybe next summer we can get him to try some skis and kneeboard. Hallie is a waterbug. As soon as she can convince Dr. Furman to remove the Hickman line, she will insist we find a lake or swimming pool. She loves it!!
As the end of summer draws near, we just thank God for allowing us to have such a great time all together. Hallie and Harrison are our blessings from God and they make each day purposeful and fulfilling.
Harrison starts school on Wednesday. He will be a fourth grader at Franklin Academy. We have not decided on football yet. Hallie starts pre-school at Temple Baptist week after next. She will do fine.
Can you believe we are talking about Hallie's first day of school.
Thank you God.
Thank you St. Jude.
Joe and Beth Ann Gravelle
Saturday, August 5, 2006 12:38 AM CDT
SEAWORLD PHOTOS ARE HERE !
Sunday, July 9, 2006 5:30 PM CDT
Here is quick Hallie update.
Hallie is really enjoying her summer. We have been at the lake for the past month on just about every weekend and she loves water. She can't wait to get her line out at some point. She plays in the slip-n-slide and sprinkler until she wears out !!
We are all preparing for out vacation to SeaWorld/San Antonio this coming Friday. We will drive to Houston and stay with the Branco's for two nights and then drive to San Antonio on Sunday. We have reservations for dinner with Shamu on Sunday eventing. We will return to Winnsboro late Wednesday. We will of course post lots of photos so stay tuned .
Please pray for continued remission with Hallie and comfort and remission for Poppy. Poppy begins radiation later this week.
Gravelles
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 2:14 PM CDT
Hallie and Harrison are doing great! They are enjoying the summer at home. They had a visitor from Alabama recently for a whole week. Hudson Harris who is a neighbor of Aunt Amy came with her to Winnsboro. Harrison enjoyed playing with him. Hallie is all girl!! She gets out the makeup every morning and has Beth Ann put it on her. She is getting more independent with this though and she does most of it herself. We all spent the weekend at Lake Bruin a couple of weeks ago with the Branco's from Texas. We had a blast as the kids really enjoyed the lake. Harrison and I went to see R.V. at the movies last night and we laughed the whole time - it is funny. We are planning a trip to SeaWorld on July 14-19. We are hoping to stay in Houston a couple of nights before heading on to San Antonio. We are scheduled to dine with Shamu and feed some dolphins while we are there. I'm sure Beth Ann will take lots of pics for everyone.
We would like to ask everyone to continue to pray for Hallie and Poppy. Poppy is doing very well following his surgery and will begin radiation in week or so.
Joe
Monday, June 12, 2006 10:23 AM CDT
Hallie is doing very good. She was glad to get home and to go see Poppy in the hospital. She thinks his bald head is pretty funny. We have no plans for chemo and look forward to Hallie feeling good all the time as a result.
Harrison and Hallie start bible school this week at FUMC in Winnsboro.
Dad is doing remarkably well following his surgery. We should know much more about his prognosis in the coming days. Please pray for him and Hallie.
Joe
Thursday, June 8, 2006 8:45 PM CDT
Great news from Memphis!!!
Dr. Furman met with Beth Ann today and had good things to report. All tests done so far indicate no tumor. The MRI will be tomorrow at 10:00. Dr. Furman talked to Beth Ann in depth about the state of Hallie's disease. He is at a loss for words about really what is the best thing to do at this point. Nobody really knows. The consensus of thought at St. Jude is to stop the oral chemo. Hallie has had eight rounds of topotecan and he thinks that is probably enough. Hopefully it has done its job. A patient cannot stay on chemo forever. The topo has negative effects on the kidneys and other organs as well. So we will stop the chemo. He wants to reassess Hallie every three months. He indicated that if she is clean in six months he would entertain removing her Hickman line. She would be able to swim at that time. Stopping the chemo is like letting go of a crutch. However, we feel it is time and we know that Hallie's destiny is in God's hands. Please pray for her.
By the time some of you read this update, Poppy will have undergone an operation to remove a mass from the left rear of his brain. The surgery will begin about 9:00 am and last around four hours. He is a courageous man.
Please pray for God deliver him back to us safely from the surgery.
Joe
Wednesday, June 7, 2006 9:14 PM CDT
We have "preliminary good news" from Memphis. Sandy, Dr. Furman's CNP, told Beth Ann this afternoon that the bone marrow biopsy and the MIBG were both negative. Dr. Furman has not read the report himself; but she was able to get some information from someone who told her the good news. Thanks Sandy!! We love you! The only other test for Hallie is a MRI of her brain and eye orbits. No tumor in the bone marrow and a clean MIBG are excellent and the chances of the MRI showing anything are slim. We are so grateful for the results and it just confirms that God is in control on Hallie's disease and that prayers are working.
My Dad will undergo a crainiotomy on Friday morning. Dr. Bernie McHugh will perform the procedure and remove a mass about the size of a silver dollar. First, he will biopsy the tumor. Then, if the tumor is malignant he will remove as much as he can before placing Gliadel wafers in his brain. These wafers release chemotherapy agents over a few weeks and attempt to kill any residual disease. My Dad is in good spirits and ready for the surgery. He is in excellent physical condition. Please pray for him. We love you Dad.
Joe
Monday, June 5, 2006 9:13 AM CDT
Hallie is at SJCRH this morning for a bone marrow biopsy. This is a scheduled biopsy as part of her routine checkup. Please pray especially hard for Hallie this week as she undergoes many exams to determine the state of her disease. We will certainly let everyone know results as soon as they become available.
It seems that cancer has touched another member of our family. Hallie's grandfather, "Poppy", is in the hospital with what appears to be a tumor in the left rear of his brain. Testing is underway to determine the nature and extent of disease. Please pray for Dad during this difficult time for him.
Joe Gravelle
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 10:59 AM CDT
UPDATE !
Hallie has been discharged from the hospital and is back home. She seems to be fine and has been eating and drinking all day today.
WELCOME HOME HALLIE !!
We had a very eventful Memorial Day weekend. Many of Beth Ann's family including Karen, Sully, Sage, Debbie, Heather, Carolyn, Lauren, and others decided to spend the weekend at the camp on Lake Bruin. We had a great time. Hallie played very hard all day Saturday and Sunday. She even had a great ride on the innertube with Beth Ann and Sage. During the ride we hit some rather large waves and the three of them went airborne! Hallie loved it and wanted more. She also played on the "slip-n-slide". She also demonstrated her breakdance moves Saturday night for everyone. All in all she had a great weekend and I hope everyone else did too. Harrison and Sully swam, fished, and played lots of ping pong and video games. The adults cleaned up after the kids, ate, and visited.
The drama came early Monday morning when Hallie woke up. She was nauseated and very non-responsive. We could see her eyes begin roll back in her head and we immediately set out for the ER in Winnsboro. We feared her hemoglobin had plunged; but the problem turned out to be low glucose and potassium. She is still at Franklin Medical Center in room 323 and appears to be doing good. We are not sure what the root cause of this is but we suspect a combination of chemo and her excessive activity may have contributed to the problem. I am waiting on a call from Dr. Furman now to inform him of this and get his input. We are going the Memphis on Sunday for a week of tests and scans.
We ask everyone to pray for good results for Hallie and please pray for Jake Raborn of West Monroe. He is struggling right now and needs much prayer for him and his family.
Gravelles
Thursday, May 18, 2006 7:44 AM CDT
So far as we know Hallie is doing great. She looks and feels very good. Harrison finished school yesterday with all A's in all subjects. We are very pround of him. He is looking forward to summer.
St. Jude phoned yesterday with our appointment for Hallie's big week of tests. We will head to Memphis on June 4. She will have lots of tests the week of the 5th.
Please pray that the tests show no sign of tumor.
Gravelles
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 1:59 PM CDT
Hallie will begin more chemo tomorrow. She is feeling really great. She had lots of fun at a birthday party for Mary Beth Gravelle yesterday. Today she attended the awards ceremony for Franklin Academy where Harrison received awards for all A's in every subject. We are very proud of Harrison.
Please pray for minimal side effects with the chemo.
Gravelles
Tuesday, May 9, 2006 10:43 AM CDT
On Monday afternoon Hallie informed us that she had decided to get rid of her pacifiers. OK. We quickly rounded up all known pacifiers. We then got a shovel, dug a hole and Hallie placed all of her paci's in this hole. We covered them up and waited. It rained shortly thereafter which was good. Dad happened to ride by the house on Tuesday morning and low and behold there were lollipops growing from the place where Hallie buried her paci's !!! See photo on photo page! There could be more lollipops to come - we just aren't sure. Hallie was very excited when she looked out the window and saw the lollipops. Wish us luck ! She could decide that since she has plenty of lollipops now she would like her paci's back.
Monday, May 8, 2006 10:31 AM CDT
Hallie is doing just fine after her blood and platelets ! She has had some diahhrea and a cold but otherwise she is fine. Harrison has a new pet turtle. When he is in his container he is great. Problem is that Harrison wants to hold him and show him off. We are hoping he agrees to release him back into the land of turtles soon ! It is the last week of school for Harrison and we are starting to think about some weekend to see Aunt Amy and Aunt Karen.
Charlotte we promise we will bring Hallie to see you very soon.
Monday, May 1, 2006 11:05 AM CDT
Hallie is on her way to Shreveport. Her counts dropped over the weekend and she needs blood and platelets. She finished chemo on Friday. She feels pretty good except for being a litte fatigued from the low hemoglobin count.
Harrison is down to the final two weeks of school!! He is pretty excited. We got his basketball goal up and he is really taking a liking to basketball - just like Dad. I am going to attempt to teach him to ski this summer. He has a little fear of the water; but we will work at it.
Harrison is adjusting to his room slowly but surely. He is sleeping much better through the night. Hallie is still sleeping with us and when we mention her new bed she reminds us how much she likes our bed ?
We hope everyone is doing fine and thanks for stopping by Hallie's website.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006 10:04 AM CDT
OK
Beth Ann informed me this morning that she is reliquishing her updating duties to -- guess who ! Although I would prefer she continue on, I know lots of folks want to know about Hallie and what we are doing.
Hallie is still taking oral chemo on two week rotations. Thus far, she has had minimal side effects from the topotecan. We are so thankful for this. She is four years old now and we think she probably skipped the infamous "terrrible twos" and is making that up with the "terrible fours". She has an attitude! I wonder why? As difficult as it is, we are beginning to really clamp down on her behavior and habits and she does not seem to understand, care, or indicate a willingness to change. We will keep working at it thought. We anticipate another trip to Memphis in a few weeks to get her pentamidine. This in an antibiotic she receives IV once every thirty days. It replaced the Septra she was on orally. Harrison is not playing ball this year, but he is doing good. He enjoys the lake and throwing football. He is still getting accustomed to his new room upstairs. School is going great and he continues to do very well. School will be out for summer in about three more weeks.
We find ourselves everyday just watching Hallie and thinking how lucky we are to have her to enjoy. No matter what the plan for her ultimately is, our family has been blessed to have her and Harrison to love. May God continue to bless both on them.
Gravelles
Friday, April 7, 2006 8:16 AM CDT
It's Joe updating for Beth Ann once again. Hallie's bloodwork looked very good at St. Jude. But more importantly her HMA amd VMA markers in her urine were normal. These markers indicate the presence of catacolimines in the urine. This enzyme is secreted by neuroblastoma cells. Her test results tend to indicate to Dr. Furman that no suspicious NB activity is occuring in Hallie's cells. He only saw Hallie briefly and commented on how great she looked. He plans to start the oral chemo in a few days. We get up each day and thank God for the blessing we have in both Hallie and Harrison. Thanks for your prayers for both of them. Things are finally settling down at the new house and maybe life will return to normal soon!
Monday, April 3, 2006 8:11 AM CDT
Sorry it has been so long. We have finally gotten moved into the new house and it has been very hectic to say the least. We still do not have the internet set up at the house and Beth Ann has not been able to update. Anyway she asked me to tell everyone that Hallie is in Memphis today for routine bloodwork. They should be returning late this evening. As soon as we get the internet hooked up (maybe today) Beth Ann will tell everybody what the plan is from here. Hallie and Harrison are doing well. Harrison has got to get used to his new bedroom upstairs. Hallie could not look or feel any better. We have got to start getting her ready for pre-school at Temple Baptist Church. She claims she is ready !!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:44 PM CST
The two weeks OFF of chemo surely do seem to go by quickly. We kind of like it when we don't have to keep that "chemo schedule"---- it's like every two weeks we go on a mini vacation---- and then it's back to the meds.
This week we start back on. We should have had the first dose yesterday (Monday), but St. Jude is changing something about the computers, and it delayed our order a bit. Hallie said that it was ok.
The other night she told me her leg was hurting so I was rubbing it. She raised up and looked at me and said----
"I think dat dat chemo is making my leg hurt."
I assured her that the chemo was her friend, and that jumping off of the front porch of our new house thirty times in one day might have a little to do with it.
She is really funny. Today at my mom's she was playing with a big porcelain doll and some how her long blond hair
(the doll's, not Hallie's ) just fell to the floor----glue and all. Hallie came running outside where I was and yelled out the door--------"Mommy, look, I tink she had some chemo."
Now, a few years ago I would not have laughed at anything that even rhymed with chemo, but today that was very funny to me.
Laughter has always been a part of my family.
Sometimes we have even laughed when it hasn't been appropriate, but it was only because we couldn't help it.
My mom has always said I laugh and giggle when I get nervous. I remember on my wedding day she must have told me four or five times-" now, Beth Ann, I mean it, don't you get up there in front of all those people and start giggling."
I didn't.
But laughter has followed a lot of tears over the past few years, and I think it's very important.
Harrison, Joe, and Hallie are all doing well. Me too. We have been busy busy with the new house and school, and everything is coming along quite well.
I think that I am going to start cleaning the house this weekend, so that we can get to moving.
My sister Amy and her husband Tom are coming in to visit and help. Once again my sisters are coming to my rescue.
Hallie's counts did really well with the last round of chemo so we are hopeful that this round will do well too.
The wind was blowing a good bit the other day and she said -------- "Look, my hair is in my face." There was a little piece right near her eye and she was SSOOOO
EXCITED!!!!! She has asked me every day since----"hey Mommy, is my hair in my face?" It really is the little things that mean so much.
Hallie will return to St. Jude on April 2 for blood tests and urine tests. It can be an overnight trip, and God willing it will be just that.
She had dark circles under her eyes several days ago---not bad, just kind of subtle. I asked everyone who came around if they could see it. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but inside I worried. And after I had wasted about half of the day worrying, I remembered that I didn't have to worry anymore. Because my Lord tapped me on the shoulder and said as he does so often-----
" give it to me."
I haven't seen those circles since.
Harrison and his class will be taking their standardized tests next week, so it will be exausting for them I'm sure. Please remember them in your prayers.
Thank you for checking on us and lifting us up.
Beth Ann
Monday, March 6, 2006 8:37 PM CST
Sorry for the problem on the page. Hallie's typing skills are not there yet !! She is doing fantastic. Ready for more chemo soon. Keep praying for us.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 10:13 PM CST
gnbjbnjnjtngtmlyhylhkllmjmnmkjmhjhkjhjkjtjy6jk5otjkkjyjkljkjkjhkyjhkyjhjjykjhkjhjkjy6kij6jyjjjjyjyijh yjihjyihtjjgthbtjghhyjhkjihyhoyhoyhoijyihjiyjhiyjhiyjhiyohythiijhhijyjhijhjhiijhhijnitoyhjoyjhohjotyihjtyihjiykhjioyyyyyyyjijhijhngjtkjgntkyjhnkhkyjhkyjhlk ykjhk yjhk yj h kyjhkjyhjhjkhjyjhkjhohyljhuyljkulykjlukyjlkyt;jky;ukykjyhkyjhkyjhkmhkjmukjukjukjujjmkjlkujklukj;puoooooingjkghjjkithjjhjrthnjtjhhhkjthjkhjtolhyjhjyhjyjkyjkjyhjkjkjjhythktyhythrltijyjhjhkjhnjhhjhnklhjltyjhluyklhty.ophyihpoyjolyjhyhpoygesssaqskgjhjuhijitgjtoigjmltjholyjhlyhoinhjnkhknhmkghnjlhlnfknkgflnkflgjlfklkfhjkfljkfkjjhjkhjkhjjnjknjkknjnjmkjhhhhhhhhgn8jnkbnkfgnkbfmgkblgfjbhjkghbtgjmlhjykjhyhjky,hlyk;hjylhjykgjhkyjghrtktuigutigjitkjgktjhjjtgtigjtijgtkkykhjhyjjybnnnnnnhkbmhtylkhjmktyhjmklymjhklymlhkylthkylhkmylhmymhkmykhmykmhkmjkkjlytmhlymlhylhkljklukjkmjlkyltjkkjkyjklujklulkjkuj.ylkjyghnmljkukjmklukj;luk;oytljkyjkiyhorwetgtj g ht jt ghkthkyjhhj jh jy
Hallie is sitting in my lap and begged to type you all a little note. I asked her what it said and she said----
"it tells all the people hello and I didn' suck my paci
very much today."
She is doing really great. She finished her two weeks of chemo Friday, so we will be off this week and next week.
Hallie's counts have dropped, but we are hoping that they will stay above transfusion level this round.
I checked her labs Monday morning, and I will check them again tomorrow morning.
The birthday party was "berry berry" fun!
Strawberry Shortcake was everywhere.
It was, however, a bit cold that day------15 degree windchills.
My sisters always go all out to help me with birthday parties-------- they're the greatest.
Be sure and check out the new photos.
Harrison is doing well. He has really been helping Joe a lot around the new house. We are hoping that it won't seem so "new" to Harrison and Hallie since they have been in and out of it for weeks.
Harrison's floor has been bare for a while because he is getting new carpet. The other day he stuck his finger in one of the paint cans and wrote H.G. on the boards.
He said that when that house is really old----- his initials will still be under there. I think it actually
made him feel good about his new room.
He had a big smile on his face today when I picked him up because he had won 1st place on a Mardi Gras float that we made. He got a medal and a 10$ gift card to Wal-Mart---life was good.
The house is coming along and we will be moving before long.
Hallie is scheduled to return to St. Jude on April 2
for blood and urine tests only.
Her hair is really growing. Every time she starts to eat something she asks----"will dis make my hair grow?"
I catch her 'tucking' her hair behind her ears.
It is so cute.
Thank you all for continuing to pray for my family.
Each day is another day that we've been blessed.
Beth Ann
Thursday, February 9, 2006 9:05 AM CST
HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY, HALLIE !!!!!!!!
We are all still thanking God for the good reports that Hallie received during her checkup.
She was not able to start her chemo Monday because she developed a bladder infection.
She is on antibiotics for that, and the plan is to begin the chemo next Monday.
She is sooooooo excited about having a birthday.
Her party will be on Sunday, Feb. 19 so that her cousins and aunts and uncles can come. We would love to have you too! Call me (435-9670), and I can give you the details.
TCS --- Team Cancer Sucks sent a huge box of goodies to Hallie for her birthday. This is a group of people who have joined together to do things for children with cancer.
They all have lived through similar situations and created TCS to add a smile to many little faces.
Thank you TCS!!!!!
Harrison has been having better nights, and for that
we are thankful.
We are still working on our new house and will be moving in a few weeks.
I hope that you are all doing well, and thank you again for continued prayers for our family.
Beth Ann
Thursday, February 2, 2006 9:18 PM CST
This is Joe updating tonight for Beth Ann. We are all pretty tired and she is hitting the sack early. We met with Dr. Furman around 2:00PM on Thursday afternoon. He reaffirmed the good news about the bone marrow being clean. He said the MRI of her spine was as expected. They can see where the tumor was located; but can see nothing to indicate any activity in this site. Hallie's MIBG was normal. Then he said the person who reads the scan noted a "subtle" spot on her head and some "subtle" spots around the orbits of her eyes. Having noted this he still referred the report to Dr. Furman as normal. When we asked what this meant, Dr. Furman sort of brushed the matter aside and indicated he wanted to take a wait and see approach since the MIBG did not indicate a definitive tumor. His demeanor was one of not much concern. Although that was reassuring, we still left with some concern.
For those who do not understand how the MIBG works I will make a crude effort to explain. Neuroblastoma cells contain certain proteins. The injection of radioactive isotope that Hallie receives prior to the MIGB scan attaches itself to these proteins in the NB cells in the body and under the scan the cells "light up" or "glow" and the doctors can see areas of tumor or hotspots as they call them. In a nutshell - that is how it works.
Dr. Furman told us that the doctor who read Hallie's MIBG films this afternoon is one the best in the business. He said the doctor noted these subtle spots so that he could revisit them in the next MIBG in about three months. He wants to see Hallie the first week of April for blood and urine tests. He wants to continue the oral chemo she is taking and he is very encouraged by her progress at this point. Her ability to continue to take the Topotecan without significant side effects is excellent given the fact the Topotecan is a proven winner against neuroblastoma.
We really enjoyed seeing our other family at St. Jude. The hospital always reminds us of those less fortunate. We also have lots of memories of our long days at St. Jude. The nurses and staff in D Clinic are just fantastic. Dr. Furman really cares not only about Hallie; but he is always so kind and asks about Harrison, Beth Ann, and me. Sandy and Nicole are the best, always taking that extra moment or two just because they want to. They are at St. Jude because they love kids and want to see them beat cancer. It shows. Thanks to everyone who prays for Hallie and please pray that the subtle spots are just shadows and that Hallie continues to grow and get that red hair she wants so bad !!
Wednesday, February 1, 2006 3:00 PM CST
Just in --
Good news !!!!
Hallie's bone marrow shows "no evidence of disease". We have not heard the results of the MRI of the spine. The MIBG is tomorrow. Please pray for Hallie as we await these other test results.
Monday, January 30, 2006 11:19 PM CST
Hallie's feet hit the floor jumping at 7am this morning, and she was grinning from ear to ear----- "is it time for me to get my milk medicine?" She was stumbling because she wasn't fully awake, but she was alert enough to ask for anesthesia. (smile)
Joe, Harrison, and I of course all supported Hallie and skipped breakfast since she was NPO until after she recovered from the bone marrow procedure.
So, at 8am we caught the shuttle bus outside the Grizzly House and headed for the hospital.
It was wonderful to see our friends and "family" as soon as we walked in. Hallie's hair got a workout within the first hour because HAIR is a big deal at the Jude, and people just can't resist rubbing on it. Hallie didn't mind at all though, because she was about to get her milk medicine, and she was happy to do whatever anyone wanted.
Harrison went straight to D Clinic and found the computer station and picked up where he had left off two months ago. I looked up one time, and two little baldheaded boys had climbed up in the chair with him. He was doing his best to keep his good score and also balance the three of them in that one chair. He never misses a beat with the kids here at the hospital. It's as if they are all just like him. Sometimes I wonder if he even notices the tubes, the bald heads, the big scars.......
Mrs. Nicole and Mrs. Sandy called for Hallie and started prepping her for the biopsy. In no time she was in the procedure room, fluids hooked up, red light on her finger, blood pressure cuff on, warm blanket------- now we just needed to get sedated. Things were a little backed up as can happen on Mondays, so Hallie and I turned out the lights and napped a little while Dad and Harrison waited in the waiting room.
When the staff came in, we were all so busy catching up that I didn't realize the anesthesiologist had started pushing the medicine into Hallie's line. Within seconds she just fell right over into my lap sound asleep.
Everything went well and she was in recovery after about an hour.
I heard someone say--- "Mom." with a shaky little voice and I turned around and Harrison was standing there with a very familiar look on his face.
I yelled for a trash can right then he began throwing up.
Nurses were running everywhere to get him washcloths and papertowels.
They were holding on to Hallie so she wouldn't fall off the bed and helping Harrison, and Joe and I were just kind of looking at each other like---- WHAT IN THE WORLD!!
But we all gathered ourselves, and in no time everybody was back to functioning. I bet they talk about us when we leave every time. (smile)
Harrison had been saying his stomach didn't feel just right, but he has felt much better thank goodness.
He and Joe went to a Grizzlies game tonight and they had a really good time.
Hallie and I got in bed and watched tv.
Her little back has bothered from the procedure today, so she turned in pretty early.
We didn't get any news today, and won't see Dr. Furman Tuesday, so we are expecting to hear something Wednesday.
Thank you for all of your prayers.
We will be so glad when we can share our good news with you.
Beth Ann, Joe, Harrison, and Hallie
Sunday, January 29, 2006 10:34 AM CST
We are off to church this morning and then will leave for Memphis. Please pray for good reports on all of Hallie's tests. We will be updating daily from Memphis.
Joe, Beth Ann, Harrison, and Hallie
Sunday, January 22, 2006 11:20 PM CST
Hallie finished her two weeks of oral chemo for this month, and things have gone pretty smoothly. I find it amusing that she will take chemo by mouth, if I simply drop a little Coke in first, and not complain one bit. But, I can try and give her Tylenol or Robitussin, (mixed with every beverage in the house), and it is simply a defeat on my part every time.
I have tasted just about everything that they have ever given Hallie since 2003, but certainly not the chemo.
It just seems to me that since the oral chemo is simply taken from the bag of chemo and put into syringes, that the taste would be horrible. But---maybe not.
Hallie's counts began dropping during the week, and on Friday afternoon it looked like she was going to need a blood transfusion. We were somewhat surprised and disappointed because she has avoided transfusions the last few rounds of chemo. St. Jude told us to check counts again Sat. morning because Hallie seemed to be feeling good. We did, and her hemoglobin was up just a bit. I will take her tomorrow to check them again, and hopefully they will be making the turn toward recovery. Her platelets are quite low, so we have been trying to discourage ROUGH play. I asked my mom this weekend if she thought that Hallie was more WILD when her platelets were low--- because it sure seems that way to me.
I jump every time I think I see an accident about to happen, and I end up causing more damage than the possible accident itself.
All in all, we have managed to hang in there and avoid anything too serious.
I want to thank all of you who have asked about Harrison, and who have been keeping him in your prayers. He continues to struggle some when bedtime approaches, but
we do a lot of talking, and that helps. He is such a sweet brother to Hallie, and I can't imagine how difficult it must be for a 9 year old to take all of this in.
A week ago, when Hallie's fever spiked, we went ahead and took Harrison to church and told him that he would ride home with his Grangy and Poppy. We explained that Hallie needed to go to the hospital and do the "routine" blood cultures from her Hickman line and make sure that the fever wasn't coming from any infection there.
This is something that we have done hundreds of times, so Joe dropped him off at church and then took us to the hospital. My mother-in-law (Grangy) told me that afternoon when we returned to pick Harrison up, that when the service was about to start, she looked at Harrison and tears were rolling down his face. When she asked him what was the matter he simply said--"Hallie had to go to the hospital."
I told Joe that day, that no matter how "routine" or minor
something was, that I would continue to explain it to Harrison as we had in the beginning.
Lately, I've prayed a lot for me to have the wisdom to say things in a way that will help Harrison and Hallie. I want what comes from my mouth to be comforting and helpful to them. My mama tells me that I do a good job with my kids, but she is my mama, and I know that she has to say that. (smile) So, I pray anyway ---just in case.
Please remember us as we head to St. Jude on Sun. the 29.
We will be there most of the week as Dr. Furman does lots of tests.
He once told me and Joe that the second remission doesn't usually last as long as the first. That makes my throat close just trying to type it, and I know that what he said is true. But, I will always go back to what I have said since we started on this journey---- God is leading this journey, He is driving this car, and He is taking us down the path that He needs us to travel. So I will do this for him because, as gut wrenching as it is everytime we go for her checkup, I know he knows what He is doing.
I hope you all have a good week this week. Hallie is getting a little cavity filled at the dentist in the morning. The dentist told me that he will give her a little sip of something to make her relax. All I could think is that he might have to give her a little more than normal considering what all she has had. I hope he is bringing a jug with him. (smile)
Please remember our friends Jake, Corbin, and Madelyn who are also at St. Jude and needing your prayers.
Also, the Taylor family who lost their daughter Ashley after a long battle.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, January 10, 2006 8:23 AM CST
Not much to report concerning Hallie. We did have a visit the the ER in Winnsboro on Sunday morning due to a fever spike. They drew blood for cultures to check for an infection in the Hickman line. The doctor on call evaluated her and after talking the St. Jude administered IV antibiotic to cover any possible line infection. We gave her tylenol and went back home. By mid-afternoon, Hallie's fever broke and she has felt very good since. Dr. Furman called us yesterday to see how she was doing. We are scheduled to return to Memphis on January 29. Hallie will undergo a full regimen on diagnostic tests including a bone marrow biopsy, CT scan, MRI of spine and brain, and another MIBG test. We continue to give her the oral chemo (topotecan) which she is tolerating very well with minimal side effects. Harrison had another excellent report card at school and is counting down the days until summer! We would ask everyone to continue to remember Hallie and Harrison in their prayers.
Friday, January 6, 2006 8:59 AM CST
Many of you have complimented the portraits of Harrison and Hallie that I gave Beth Ann for Christmas. These portraits were created from 3x5 photos and some digital pictures that I sent to Evelyn. They have never seen Harrison or Hallie in person.
For those who have asked about the artist here is the contact info:
Michael and Evelyn Brown
PO Box 347
Copperhill, Tennessee 37317
706-492-2179
www.moongallery.com
email to: art4joy@bellsouth.net
Monday, January 2, 2006 9:34 PM CST
Hello from the Gravelles.
I hope that everyone had a special Christmas, and that
2006 has gotten off to a nice start for you.
Joe and I had already had a meaningful Christmas on
December 1 when Dr. Furman walked in the room at St. Jude
and said that they couldn't find any disease on Hallie's scans. These past few weeks have only made it better.
We have had the best time with all of my sisters, in-laws,
nieces, nephews, grandparents, friends.......... I thank
God for all of these people in my life.
Dr. Furman DID give Hallie the next round of oral chemo
when we left St. Jude on Dec. 1. His words were---- "she is slow when it comes to recovering from the chemo, but
she does recover eventually." So we took that round
for two weeks, and she finished it in time to be off for the Christmas holidays!!! The side effects were very mild
this time. She did not have to wear a mask, and although
her blood and platelets dropped pretty low, they recovered
on their own. We were pleased to see that!!
Harrison and Hallie have had so much fun celebrating Christmas. We all have. The decorating---- we had to adjust the tree stand because Hallie insisted that ALL the ornaments go on the same three branches. The baking---- Grangy had the grandkids over one day to bake and decorate Christmas cookies. Hallie and cousin Mary Beth wrote
"girls rule" in pink icing on all of their gingerbread men and Christmas tree cookies; and the boys ended up wrestling on the living room floor the entire time and never doing their part. Christmas Eve---- oh, it was full
of excitement. We sprinkled reindeer food out in the front yard so the reindeer could eat while Santa was busy inside. We left Santa some milk and cookies (he didn't mind the 'girls rule' part one bit). The next morning Harrison's first words were---- "Mom, we must of been really good."
From that morning on we have been shooting bows and arrows, baking and cooking with pretend food, playing football on PlayStation, changing doll clothes, and having a really great time.
Harrison said something really special to me the week before Christmas and I'd like to share it with you.
I was about to explain to him that as you get older, the things you like tend to get more expensive. As I began my
next sentence, Harrison interrupted and said---- "I know what you're going to say Mom. I don't expect Santa to bring me a lot of things because I know that a Play Station
costs a lot and he needs to get other kids stuff too.
And, Mom, Christmas isn't about the gifts really. It's about us thinking about Jesus." That conversation ended right there, and I had the best feeling in my heart.
Sometimes you wonder if your children ever listen to any thing that you say, but we can rest easy now because that day was proof that they do.
Joe gave me one of the most precious gifts that I could ever receive for Christmas this year. He surprised me with
two painted portraits------ one of Harrison and one of Hallie. They are beautiful. Everyone who has seen them
has had tears in their eyes. They are that beautiful.
He began a search for someone to do this back in March after Hallie relapsed in February. He kept this secret all this time, and I was truly speechless.
A few hours after he had given me the portraits, and things had settled down, it dawned on me that all I had gotten him was a pair of pajama pants. I had not even gotten him a top to go with them. He didn't mind at all though when he opened them. He really liked them.
We finally bought the house I was telling you about in earlier updates, and we will be doing some painting, etc.
in the next month before moving in. We are excited about it.
Hallie returns to St. Jude January 30 for several tests.
Dr. Furman has ordered bone marrow biopsies, cat scan of the spine (where the tumor was in Feb.), MIBG bone scan of entire body (same one he just did in Dec.)
It crosses my mind from time to time----- what if it's this time? But He helps me just set the thought aside and keep going. We are not alone in this.
Tonight I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Harrison. He has been having a hard time lately, mostly
at night. Please pray that he can relax and not be worried by the things that fill his little mind. Pray for him to have peace over things big as well as small.
Take care.
Beth Ann
Saturday, December 17, 2005 12:39 AM CST
This is something my babysitter Brooke sent me. I thought
that you might like to read it too.---- Beth Ann
I was reading Angel Stanton's website(www.caringbridge.org/la/stanton) and i came across this story.
The Brave Little Soul
By John Alessi
Not too long ago in Heaven there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. He especially enjoyed the love he saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day however the little soul was sad, for on this day he seen suffering in the world. He approached God and sadly asked, “Why do bad things happen; why is there suffering in the world?”
God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in people’s hearts.” The little soul was confused. “What do you mean,” he asked.” God replied, “Have you not noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences and show their love and compassion for those who suffer. All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone.”
The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued, “The suffering soul unlocks the love in people’s hearts much like the sun and the rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely, because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this - it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer - to unlock this love – to create this miracle - for the good of all humanity."
Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain himself. With his wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied, "I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into the world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people’s hearts! I want to create that miracle!"
God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this, and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however, they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. They have already chosen a name for you.”
God and the brave little soul shared a smile, and then embraced. In parting, God said, “Do not forget little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed.”
Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through his suffering and God’s strength, he unlocked the goodness and love in people’s hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love. Priorities became properly aligned. People gave from their hearts. Those that were always too busy found time. Many began new spiritual journeys – some regained lost faith – many came back to God. Parents hugged their children tighter. Friends and family grew closer. Old friends got together and new friendships were made. Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives changed forever. It was good. The world was a better place. The miracle had happened. God was pleased.
-----------------------
I couldn't help but think of all the cancer patients who go through so much without ever complaining. It finally dawned on me that they all have God's strength. It is so sad to have to watch a child suffer with any illness, but isn't it amazing how God can always bring something positive out of a terrible situation. I have seen with my own eyes how after Hallie was diagnosed with neuroblastoma how much our community has come together to pray and support their family. My prayer for you is that we will show this compassion 24/7 instead of just when a family is going through a hard time.
Love-Brooke
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 1:50 PM CST
Hallie's has had 7 of 10 doses of the chemo so far and her bloodwork is OK. This is good news; but her counts will most likely fall some in the coming days. She is really enjoying the Christmas season with Harrison. Harrison gets out of school on Friday for the holiday. Hallie will finish her chemo on Friday and will not have to begin again for at least two weeks. After the next round, we will return to Memphis for bone marrow biopsies to check the status of disease. Please pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Tuesday, December 6, 2005 8:02 AM CST
Hallie has begun her third course of oral topotecan. She is taking the smaller dose that Dr. Furman prescribed following the first round. The initial dose was very harsh to her system requiring several infusions of blood and platelets. She tolerated the smaller dose pretty good. It is crucial for Hallie to continue to be able to take this oral topotecan. Although the last MIBG was clear, NB is notorious for "hiding out" in the body and reappearing when you least expect it. The topotecan is a proven winner against the tumor if it should appear.
Hallie and Harrison are getting excited about Christmas. They have finished the tree and are counting down the days. Harrison is counting the days until Christmas break. It is a fun time of the year.
Please continue to pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:32 PM CST
Hallie's MIBG is completely normal !
With those words, Dr. Furman entered the exam room this afternoon in D Clinic and gave our family the best Christmas present we could hope for.
I am sure Beth Ann will update more on Friday. We got in late and everybody is ready to crash; but we knew everyone would want to know the results. They could not be better. She will begin more oral chemo on Monday and the plan is to take two rounds and return to St. Jude in about two months for another check-up.
We thank God for this blessing and pray that He grants us many more.
Joe
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 12:14 AM CST
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
We are having such a great time here in Tuscaloosa,
Alabama with Aunt Amy and Uncle Tom.
I left Winnsboro last Saturday with Harrison, Hallie,
Nana, our sweet babysitter Brooke, and lots of
luggage! We wished that Joe could have come with us,
but he had to be at the office.
When we pulled out of the driveway Hallie yelled from
the backseat---- "We 'sorgot' Dad!"
I reminded her that we had not forgotten him, but that
he had to work.
It was funny because her next response was---- "ok, can
I watch a movie?" Harrison then said--- "Mom, it's
really a good thing that Dad couldn't come cause we
don't have anywhere for him to sit, huh?"
Kids say the funniest things. (smile)
WE MISS YOU DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He has called us every day--- several times a day.
He is missing us too.
Last week, beginning on Monday, Hallie and I went to
Dr. Coughran's office to check her counts and see
what effect the second round of oral chemo was having.
Her platelets and hemoglobin had dropped significantly.
The platelets went from 170 to 27.
The hemoglobin went from 10 to 8.
She was barely above the transfusion mark.
We checked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and we
were thankful that the numbers held and then began
to climb.
We talked to Sandy and Dr. Furman at St. Jude after
each lab check. Dr. Furman was pretty frank when he
said that Hallie would NOT receive the 3rd round of
chemo which was to begin Thanksgiving Day.
Joe and I already knew that this would be the case.
The first round of chemo was so harsh on Hallie's
little body that Dr. Furman had backed down considerably
on round 2.
It appears that even small doses are a lot for her
to handle, so we will have to wait.
Dr. Furman's words were--- "I am going to have to
rethink all of this."
So, we got the ok to travel to Aunt Amy's, and my
focus was simply on having a wonderful THANKSGIVING.
And giving thanks is just what we are doing this
week.
Thank you, Lord.
I pray that you all enjoy your holiday.
Please remember Hallie and our family on our return
to St. Jude Nov.29-Dec.1.
Our prayer is for completely clear scans.
Beth Ann
Friday, November 18, 2005 12:57 AM CST
At the urging of several friends I have elected to update Hallie's page since BA has dropped the ball for the past seven days. I am somewhat remiss to do this because I know that she does a better job than I do !! Anyway here is what is happening with our little trooper. Hallie could not feel much better. She is enjoying life to the fullest. Tomorrow she leaves with Harrison and BA on the annual Christmas shopping trip to Tuscaloosa at Aunt Amy' house. The Mastercard folks could not be happier. Harrison attended the sports banquet a few nights ago and received a trophy for his participation in pee-wee football. He is out of school for about eleven days. He is really sad about this and is looking for a local school he can attend in the meantime. Just kidding of course and Harrison is doing very well in school. Hallie is scheduled for a MIBG scan on November 30th. She will begin another round of chemo until after the scan and Dr. Furman has a chance to reevaluate her disease. In the meantime, please pray the God continue to bless our family and give Hallie and Harrison many happy day together.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Gravelles !!
Friday, November 11, 2005 7:46 AM CST
Good Friday morning.
Hallie has finished her 2 weeks of chemo, so now
she gets 2 weeks off. Her diarrhea is the main side
effect still, but we are hoping it will be ending soon.
She has been nauseated some this round as well, so we
have taken something for that which seems to help.
Joe and I have both had some sort of stomach virus this
past week.
In and out of hospitals---- it was not much fun. Hallie
and Harrison were kind of confused by the condition of
BOTH of their parents. Hallie asked me when she called
me at the hospital--- "do you have a bed wike mine at
St. Jude?"
When I told her yes, she wanted to know if I was making
it go up and down. I told her that where I was wasn't
quite as much fun as St. Jude.
I forgot to tell you on my last update that Hallie's
refrigerator won 1st place in the town judging!!
Harrison said to his little friend Cole-------
"that refrigerator is getting all of the attention."
I laughed and told them that it wasn't really as 'cool'
as their costume, but it was just so different.
They were happy with that.
Life continues to be wonderful here in Winnsboro for
us. People are so good. Everyone is always checking
on us and willing to help if ever we need anything.
I don't know if I have ever mentioned it, but we are
living in a rent house and have been for over a year.
We had sold our house when Hallie was in remission,
and were planning to build a house.
Just before we started, Hallie relapsed, and here it is
a year later.
Joe and I decided that building a house was not
really what we wanted to do anymore.
So, we have found a house that we are going to buy.
It is in the same neighborhood that we are in now,
but now we will be right next to my mom and Joe's
parents.
The kids and I are thrilled!! Joe is nervous!!(smile)
We are planning to move after the first of the year.
I hope everything will go pretty smoothly.
Hallie is scheduled to return to St. Jude on Nov. 30.
Dr. Furman will do an MIBG (entire skeleton scan)
on this day.
Please begin praying now for wonderful news.
Joe and I are picking Harrison up at noon today from
school and going to Mobile, AL to see my sister
Karen and cousins Sully and Sage.
We haven't been in a while so we are very excited.
Hallie's counts were good Tuesday, so we decided we
would do something fun this weekend.
I hope you all have a nice one too.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, November 1, 2005 1:22 PM CST
Hey everyone. I hope this finds you all doing well.
Last week Hallie's WBC (white blood count) jumped up,
and Dr. Furman was ready to start the chemo.
They FED EXed it, and it arrived Thursday morning----
we gave her the first dose at 11:30am after it arrived.
She is to take the chemo once a day for 5 days, skip 2
days, take it again for 5 days, and then skip 2 weeks.
Yesterday was the 5th day of chemo, so today we are not
taking any.
It is a lower dose than the first oral round in hopes
that the side effects will be few.
She is already having some diarrhea, but it has not been
too bad.
Her mood goes up and down, but we are never sure if that
is just Hallie or the chemo.
Joe said it is just being a female.
I won't tell you what my response was to that. (smile)
Hallie and Harrison have both been doing really well.
Harrison still puts up a fight each morning as he
protests school, but once he's awake---- he's good to
go.
He had to write a paragraph for homework last night on
what he is thankful for.
I quote: I am most thankful that my little sister
Hallie is feeling good because she has had
cancer almost all of her life.
He, like all of us, are forever shaped by this whole
experience. I still try and find the good in our
journey, and when I see Harrison's compassion for
others I know where a lot of it came from.
I have to stop for now, but I will talk to you again
soon.
My prayer today is a thank you to God.
A thank you for one day at a time.
Beth Ann
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 11:34 AM CDT
Well, still NO chemo.
Hallie's white blood count moved from 1.6 to 1.7
making her ANC move a little but not much.
Dr. Furman's words to us were---- "I'll give her the
chemo if you insist, but I don't think we should. It
will make her very sick."
We certainly take his advice seriously.
I don't think that Joe and I have ever done anything
that Dr. Furman didn't back us on.
We will check labs again on Monday.
We have had a lot going on this past week.
School keeps Harrison pretty busy----he made all A's
on his report card!! YEY.
We won our pee wee football game Saturday!! All that
practice is paying off. I think we have 2 or 3 more
Saturdays of ball and then we are finished.
Harrison's birthday party went GREAT. He had his party
with his friend Kyle Sullivan who also turns 9 in
October. They really enjoyed themselves. After the
pizza party, a few of the boys had a sleepover at
Kyle's house.
Me and my sisters Debbie and Karen went over and helped
Dee (Kyle's mom) get things situated. We girls had
a good time visiting while the boys did their thing.
Hallie played with their 3 year old little girl
Mary Beth.
Everything was going well until Hallie started
complaining with her tummy. Shortly after that, she
started throwing up.
We went home, and she was sick for a while, but by the
next morning she was better.
She has been having tummy aches off and on for a
little while, and Joe and I have been watching her
closely to see if we can determine what's causing
it.
She hasn't mentioned it lately, and that makes me
feel relieved.
Our church has been having revival, and they have
put together a little bible study for the kids as
well.
Harrison and Hallie have really enjoyed being a part
of that.
Things are slowing down a little, so we are going to
try and get some much needed rest.
School mornings are not fun if the kids are worn
out. (smile)
I hope everyone is doing well, and I thank you for
the continuous prayers that you send up for our family.
Beth Ann
Monday, October 10, 2005 3:55 PM CDT
Hallie and I went to Dr. Coughran's office this morning
to do labwork. She jumps up and down when I tell her
that it's "labwork day".
It's not hard to figure out why--- those ladies working
there surely worked at St. Jude in a previous life.(smile)
Suckers, bracelets, candy, rings, stickers, purses,
notepads, fuzzy pens, lip gloss........... the kindness
never ends.
Her platelets were really good and high
as was her hemoglobin.
Her ANC was up to 800--- this is up enough to not
need the mask, but it still needs to go up more.
Dr. Furman said that he still does NOT want to give
her chemo.
He wants me to check labs again Thursday, so
maybe she will be able to get chemo by next week.
Her hair is growing so much! It's so soft and fuzzy,
that Joe, Harrison, and I can't stop rubbing it every
chance we get.
She realized for the first time Sunday morning that
it ISN'T red.
She said, "I tink it's bwack."
We taped a ponytail holder to her head the other day
because she really wanted to wear it.
She wore it all day.
Luckily the tape came out easily.
Harrison WON his ballgame this weekend 20-0.
We recruited a few bigger boys, and we were awesome.
It's fun, all of us being together on Saturday mornings
cheering Harrison on.
Hallie has even learned a cheer that she performs more
around the house than at the game.
Harrison is having his birthday party Friday after
school, so all of the Aunts, Uncles, and cousins are
coming to La.
We are hardly able to wait.
Hallie, Nana, and I went to a baby shower yesterday
after church.
Hallie told Poppy (her grandpa) that she had to go give
a baby a bath after church. I guess I didn't explain
that very well.
Yesterday at church Hallie wanted to leave the service
and go downstairs to the nursery.
I took her down and decided to just stay and not go back
up and disturb Bro. Bill's sermon.
Mrs. Kate ( the nursery lady ) and I were just a visiting
when I noticed Hallie was missing. I started looking
up and down the hall--- she was no where.
Then I looked up the stairs and thought---surely she
didn't go back up the stairs by herself. It's a huge
flight of stairs.
Well, she did.
She had gone back in the sanctuary and was just wandering
around. Bro. Bill just kept on preaching.
A lady from the choir came around to get her when she
headed back toward the door.
Everyone had come to the conclusion that I did not know
where Hallie was.
I peeked in the door and when I saw the lady from the
choir assisting Hallie---- well, I don't even know
what to tell you.
I grabbed her and just sat on the front pew.
The only thing that made all that better was that I had
tucked her long smocked dress in her bloomers when we went
in the nursery so that she could slide.
It was still tucked in when I found her.
I don't think they will want me keeping the nursery any
time soon. (smile)
They all were so sweet about it. They are our church family so they tolerate us.
Hallie and Harrison are both doing great and they
keep me and Joe busy busy.
They are both looking forward to Halloween.
Harrison can't get his S.W.A.T. team belt around his
belly, so he may have to do crunches until the 31st.
Hallie is still determined to be a refrigerator.
My friend Alex Wiggers called last night and told me and
Joe that she and her husband really wanted to make
Hallie a refrigerator costume.
We said sure.
They are so excited about doing it, and they've even
got me excited about Hallie being an appliance.
I will update again when we have some more news.
Please continue to pray for the disease to be gone.
Hallie asked me today if we had to go back to the
apartment. I stopped and just thought --- God willing
we will never go back again.
Please remember us and all of the St. Jude families.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 9:27 PM CDT
Hallie and I went to Dr. Coughran's office Monday
morning and checked her labs. Her platelets were
up to 70 which is pretty good, and her hemoglobin was
holding at 9 which is also good for her.
Her ANC is still low, making a mask necessary in
crowds.
When I talked to Dr. Furman and Sandy, I asked why they
thought her ANC was struggling to move up, but they
didn't have an answer.
Dr. Furman is hoping that since the other numbers are
on the rise that the ANC will soon follow.
He does not want Hallie to get chemo this week either.
He wants to wait one more week and see where things
stand then.
Joe and I don't know really what to think when this
situation occurs---------- should we be happy that
she isn't getting the chemo, or should
we be worried because there is nothing
fighting what might be inside?
Well, once again, I got in the backseat and let God
do the driving.
It's a really nice feeling.
Hallie has been feeling great. She gets up everyday
asking---" where we gone go today?"
She loves everything about her day.
It's inspiring.
She and Harrison have been picking out Halloween costumes.
Harrison is going to be dressed as a member of the
S.W.A.T. team. This costume calls for a machine gun,
but for the past three Halloweens, he has found some
character that requires a sword.
When I told him that this year he will need a gun, he
was so upset. "But I want a sword, Mom."
I don't know that I have ever seen a S.W.A.T. member
kick down a door and whip out his sword, but I told him
if it makes him happy ---it's a done deal.
He assures me that S.W. (special weapons) could certainly
include swords as well as machine guns. (smile)
Hallie, on the other hand, keeps saying that she is
going to be a REFRIGERATOR!
I think that she just tries to stress me out. (smile)
We have several costumes already--- none of which are
a refrigerator.
Her cousin Mary Beth (she's five) gave her this idea
Sunday, and Hallie worships her.
So, I'm just going to let things fall where they will.
It will work out I'm sure.
Harrison's birthday is today, and he is now nine years
old. He will have a party in a couple of weeks when
all of his cousins can be here.
He played in his first real pee wee football game
Saturday afternoon and "got killed!"--- as he says.
The score was 20-0.
I told him that we would get 'em next week.
We will check Hallie's counts again at the end
of the week.
Our prayer is that the fever will stay away even though
the ANC continues to be very low.
Please remember our friends who are still at St. Jude--
Corbin, Jake, and so many others.
Beth Ann
Thursday, September 29, 2005 8:53 PM CDT
Hello everyone. I hope that you are all doing well.
Joe, Harrison, Hallie, and I are doing great after one
full month at home.
Hallie said to me yesterday---- "I wuv our house...but
I don't wuv our 'partment'."
Sunday night around 9:00pm Grangy, Poppy, Hallie, and I
loaded the last box in the car and closed the door for
good to the apartment.
I don't think a one of us looked back as we drove out of
the gate.
We spent the night at the Grizzly House at St. Jude and
went for Hallie's appointments Monday morning.
It's amazing--- sad and sweet all at the same time--
I walk in the hospital after a month, and it's as if we
never left. Friends are everywhere. The doctors, nurses,
receptionists, janitors, cafeteria workers, the ladies in
the gift shops, shuttle bus drivers, sedation teams....
and the families, the families just like mine.
Some of them have happy news, praise God---- and some
of them have news that gives me that tightening in my
throat. It's just the way it is when you are a part
of this big family.
On the way home I was thinking how it feels when I walk
in the doors of St. Jude. It doesn't at all feel like
a hospital. It almost feels like coming home. I wonder
why they don't just put a bunch of hooks on the wall
so when we come in we can just hang our keys and such.
It's that much a part of our lives --and as strange as
it sounds, it's a wonderful part.
Hallie's oral chemo schedule was to be:
-take everyday for 2 weeks of the month
-be off the next 2 weeks of the month
Well, we got through the first two weeks, but the
side effects started. She has had to go to Shreveport
several times for blood and platelets, and her ANC has
dropped (causing her to need a mask).
Dr. Furman said Monday that she could not have any
more chemo for now.
Her little body has had so much of that, and it just
doesn't take much now to knock her down.
We will be checking her labs here at home, and when she
reaches the point that Dr. Furman is comfortable with,
he will overnight the chemo to us.
We checked labs today and the numbers had dropped even
more. Not drastically, but a little.
Our prayer for now is that she will start making
improvements here.
She has felt quite good despite the numbers--- so good
that she has had a few spankings and time outs.
Harrison is just as busy as ever and doing great as well.
He is such a wonderful son. I am truly blessed.
We have a schedule down now, and it mainly involves
homework, football, eating (he is growing so much),
Wednesday night church, and Survivor on Thursday night.
He will be turning 9 next Tuesday (Oct. 4), and we
are planning a party. He can hardly wait.
I will check Hallie's counts again next week.
I hope that you all have a good weekend.
Please keep our family in your prayers.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 2:22 PM CDT
Hello everybody !
Sorry that we haven't updated in some time; but we just never seem to have any time for anthing except kids. Hallie is doing pretty good. We have had to go to Shreveport twice since she completed the oral chemo. Last night we went for platelets. She had an allergic reaction and was give benadryl. It got the symptoms under control and she is doing fine today. Her recovery from the oral chemo indicates that her little body is very sensitive the chemo. The dosage will probably have to be reduced in order to avoid trips to Shreveport and possible infections from low counts. We are scheduled to leave for Memphis on Sunday. We would see Dr. Furman on Monday for a refill of the oral chemo if he feels she can have more. Hallie is starting to grow some of her hair back and she says it will be red and curly ?? She really enjoyed the weekend. On Friday we held the 2nd Annual SCOTT MOTORS "Scramble for St. Jude" golf tournament and raised between $12,000 and $13,000 for the hospital! Hallie rode in a golf cart all over the course and watched the golfers. On Friday evening her cousins from Alabama, Sully and Sage, came to Winnsboro. They had a blast playing together and on Sunday Hallie rode not one but two horses at Uncle Charles house in Monroe. Harrison is doing fine in school. He has his first football game on Saturday in Vidalia. He enjoyed his time with Sully over the weekend. Please pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Sunday, September 11, 2005 9:41 PM CDT
We went to Dr. Coughran's office Thursday and checked
Hallie's counts. Her ANC was low, but thankfully it
was just high enough not to have to wear a mask.
Her platelets had dropped to 40 and her hemoglobin
was down to 8.2.
This was a little discouraging because she was getting
close to the point where she would need transfusions.
We have been hoping that this chemo wouldn't drop her
counts.
So, after talking with Sandy and Dr. Furman, our plan
was to watch her and check labs again on Monday.
Harrison had a pee wee football game Saturday at school,
and we were all there to cheer him on. But Hallie
just wasn't her usual self. She had been practicing
the cheer that she was going to do for "Bubbie", but
all she wanted that afternoon was to be held.
Mrs. Leann (a nurse at Dr. Coughran's office) was also
at the game watching her son, so I asked her if we
might could go and check Hallie's counts and of course
she said yes. She was so kind about it--- willing to
do anything she could to help.
Sure enough-------- Hallie's platelets and hemoglobin
had dropped to 14 and 7.2------- transfusions are a
must at this point.
Also, Friday night, the diarrea started.
It has always amazed me-- my children have always
gotten sick or required medical attention on a
Friday night. Not a Monday or Thursday, but Friday.
But, fortunately St. Jude always has someone willing
and able to help with just about any problem that
comes your way.
So after talking to Dr. Baker, the on-call doc , we
were off to Shreveport for blood and platelets.
Harrison stayed with Nana, and it was a good thing that
he did, because we left at around 6:00 yesterday
evening and returned back to the house this morning
at 6:00.
Wow! that was a long day.
Today everyone around here was dragging as you might
imagine--- well Joe and I were.
Harrison and Hallie were running around like they
had never missed a beat.
I told everyone that Hallie must have gotten blood
from someone who worked at the circus because all
day she has been so silly.
Tomorrow we will check her counts again just to be
sure everything is fine, and we will be speaking
to Dr. Furman to see what he thinks about things.
Since she completed two full weeks of chemo, the
next two weeks she will be off. YEAAAAA!!!!
I hope that she will feel wonderful these next two
weeks.
She is getting hair and eyelashes, and she is tickled.
I hope everyone has a good week.
Please continue to pray for Hallie.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, September 6, 2005 9:49 PM CDT
Hallie is doing great at home.
We made it home to Winnsboro Saturday night and have
been doing lots of unpacking since then.
Our lease is up on the apartment September 30, so I crammed
as much as I could into my car---- when we realized I
had not left a spot for Nana, I had to leave one
bag behind. (smile)
We will be going back soon to move the rest of the
things home.
Hallie is finding it difficult to understand that we
are not going back to the apartment.
She will ask me every now and then--- "now, how many
more days can we stay at home? Dis many?(holding up
two fingers) Dis many?(holding up five fingers)"
I just smile and tell her A BUNCH!
Hallie and Harrison have both been congested the past
few days, but no fever, and we can deal with that.
We have enjoyed seeing lots of family and friends
since we've been home.
I have been trying to play catch-up with everything I
have missed with Harrison--- school, pee wee football,
hugs, etc.....
I scrubbed him from head to toe the other night and
he said, "That's enough Mom! Can't you just do it
like Dad. He doesn't even make me use a washcloth."
I scrubbed even harder after that. (smile)
I've been giving Joe a hard time about how he does things
on his weeks of being 'Mr. Mom', but the truth is that
he has really done a great job. He has cooked Harrison
supper on the grill, done homework, played,......
Harrison even made all 100's on his tests.
Hallie is on week two of the oral chemo and things
are still going well with that.
We will do bloodwork on Thursday just to be sure.
I continue to keep the hurricane victims close to
my heart. So many of the stories are tragic.
My mom (Nana) has a lady from the New Orleans area
living with her (Marie), as do my Aunt and Uncle have people living with them.
I have enjoyed visiting with them these past few days.
Marie is in her 70's, and she is just so independent
and full of energy. It is so hard for her to just
sit around. She told me that she never used to sit
at home.
They are so very grateful to be in Franklin Parish.
They have said so many times how wonderful everyone
here has been to them.
Sometimes it is so hard to understand why things happen
the way that they do, but to borrow my friend Heather's
quote:
You have to have the test, to have the TESTIMONY.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Saturday, September 3, 2005 8:30 AM CDT
Good morning.
Hallie has now had five days of oral chemo, and continues
to do pretty well.
We saw Dr. Furman, Mrs. Sandy, and Mrs. Nicole in clinic on Thursday, and discussed how things were going.
Dr. Furman feels like she is doing fine and wants to
leave everything as is.
He said our plan would be for us to live at home with
Hallie on the oral chemo and return to St. Jude every
fourth week for bloodwork.
We will be able to check her bloodwork at home at Dr. Coughran's office in between St. Jude visits.
We are praying that Hallie can take this chemo and still
feel good each day.
Also that her counts (immune system and blood and
platelets) hold their own.
If the chemo affects this on a regular basis, we wouldn't
be able to live at home and would have to return to
Memphis.
We are hopeful that all will be ok.
Yesterday we were planning to head home to Winnsboro,
but Hallie greeted me in the a.m. with congestion,
coughing, and an earache. "Dis ear huts but not dis
ear."
She was very clear on which ear was aching. She was not
clear, however, on telling me if she would be getting
a FEVER.
As you all know by now--- a fever means ...hospital.
We went to the hospital yesterday afternoon and did labwork, but it was too early for anything to really show.
She is just now waking up, and she sounds like she has a big frog in her throat---- but no fever in the night,
and I will be watching her today.
We are going to try and head home today around noon.
Hopefully this will just be a little cold and move
on.
We can't wait to see Dad and Harrison. They are
hoping that we will be able to come today.
I hope that everyone has a nice weekend.
Please pray for any cancer that may be hiding to
be killed, and for our family to be able to be
together.
Beth Ann
Please remember Jake Raborn and his family.
They have found a tumor on his lung and are planning
to do surgery on Tuesday to remove it.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 10:48 PM CDT
Hallie has had three days of oral chemo.
She takes it each morning around 10:30 with a Coke.
Harrison is eight and has never had a Coke before lunch,
and he has certainly made mention of this on several
occasions.
We have done a lot of things different with Hallie
than with Harrison---- most of these were out of desperation! But desperate or not, Harrison still says
it is sooooo not fair.
We've been in the cafeteria at St. Jude before, and I'll
be telling Harrison---"now, get a vegetable with those
chicken strips."
Hallie will have a bag of Skittles, a pack of crackers,
and Cheetos.
I have come up with some pretty clever explanations to get
through those meals.
Now that I have gotten Harrison to help me work at getting
Hallie to eat nutritious foods, he is more understanding.
He gets tired of the "games" and says--- "Mom, can we just give her what she wants?"
Tuesday, after Hallie's second dose of chemo, we noticed
that she became a little agitated, crying over things
that she wouldn't normally cry over.
As the day went on she improved.
Today, she became nauseated and asked me to hold her.
Her little head was so clammy, and you could just see that
she felt sick.
It took her a while, but she started feeling better and
this afternoon she was up and going.
We will see Dr. Furman in the morning and discuss how
it's going.
I talked to Joe and Harrison tonight. Harrison said that
he was doing great--- "if you don't count the fact that
Dad forgot to pick me up from school this afternoon, and
I had to wait with all the little kids at daycare." (smile)
"Guess what Dad and I did tonight, Mom?" he said in the
same breath.
"We fed a family who had evacuated from the hurricane.
We were eating at Chic-A-D's and they were in there."
So I decided that the good deed done by feeding the
family cancelled out the leaving my child at school,
and all was good.
Joe and I talked for a long time about what each of us
had seen of this hurricane devastation. I told him
that I had made out a check today to the Red Cross,
because I wanted to help in some way---- "I've already
sent one." he said. "I sent it the day the hurricane hit."
We just kept saying how sad it is, and how neither
of us could imagine what those people are going through.
I know all of you have had the same thoughts.
They are in need of our prayers.
Please continue to keep Hallie lifted in prayer.
Pray that any microscopic disease be killed by the chemo.
I hope that you are doing well also.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Monday, August 29, 2005 10:35 PM CDT
Hi again from Memphis.
The weekend in Winnsboro seemed like it passed so
quickly--- but not before we were able to see
family and friends.
Everyone was all smiles and praising our Lord for
the prayers that He had answered.
I have spent the last few days thanking Him for so
many blessings in our lives.
I made it home in time Friday afternoon to pick Harrison
up from school. He was surprised, and that was the best
hug I have had in a while.
Joe and Hallie waited at St. Jude while they prepared
her oral chemo, so they were night getting home.
ktjt5llkylhky;tly;.tly.l;yl;luuy;ulyl;ofigogotiogotttoitoyiotyioyitooytiyiotiyitiyiyitoyiyotiyotykotpyohiyohiyohiyouiuyoythiyothyio0iodsadfdwds
(Hallie typed this message for all of you. When
I asked her what it said, she said----
"I hope dey get well soon."
She is looking out for you. (smile)
Saturday, we spent the day with Aunt Debbie and Uncle
Charles at their house in Monroe. (my sister and brother in law)
Their horse (whose food had been cut back because she
seemed to be putting on too much weight) delivered a baby colt last week (smile), and Harrison and Hallie had a
ball running around with him and the other five horses.
We loved spending the day with them.
Sunday we went to church and enjoyed hearing Bro. Bill and visiting with everyone there. It was a great way to
start a new week.
Harrison and Joe are taking care of each other back in Winnsboro; and Nana, Heather, Hallie and I are back in
Memphis beginning the first week of Hallie's oral
chemo.
She took the first dose this morning and didn't mind
the taste too much. Dr. Furman also ordered nausea
medicine to be given with the chemo.
She seemed to feel good all day so I hope that this will
continue.
We spent the entire day today on the phone with my sister Karen (who lives in Mobile, Alabama) and my sister
Amy (who lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) --checking on
them during the hurricane.
Thankfully, they are all fine. Karen has been left with
a good bit of damage from what it sounds like.
We will continue to watch Hallie and see Dr. Furman
Thursday in clinic. If all goes well, we will return
home and come to St. Jude for scheduled visits.
Thank you again for all of the prayers that you send
up for our family.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Thursday, August 25, 2005 6:31 PM CDT
We have so much to be thankful for tonight.
Hallie is cancer free so far as any test can detect. Dr. Furman said everything looked very good for Hallie. The MIBG was negative and the special stains for the bone marrow were negative as well. Tomorrow we have a MRI and then everyone will be heading home to Winnsboro! Hallie will begin oral Topotecan on Monday. She will take one dose daily for five days, then skip two days, then take it again for five more days. She gets two weeks off and then starts the cycle again. Dr. Furman said he does not know how long she will take this particular chemo. Hopefully as long as it takes for it to kill every last microscopic cell of neuroblastoma in her little body. Everyone, including Dr. Furman, suspects they are there in hiding. It is just the cruel reality of this disease. I remember during Hallie's first year of treatment saying that Hallie's struggle with cancer would be a war with many battles. Tonight she has won another battle; but the war is not over. Through prayer and faith we believe she can defeat the enemy and win the war. Please continue to pray for Hallie.
Harrison is doing very well and we look forward seeing him very soon. WE MISS HIM!!!!!!!!
Mom and Dad
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 5:18 PM CDT
Someone has been listening to all of the prayers for our little Hallie. We got preliminary good news today!!!!
The preliminary report from the aspirates and biopsies indicate no disease. The slides have now gone to the process of "special stains" which can detect any microscopic disease in the bone marrow. The VMA and HMA markers in Hallie's urine indicate no neuroblastoma activity. In addition, the CT scan this morning was completely clear - no disease present. Tomorrow we have a dermatology visit and the MIBG scan. The dermatology visit is so we can check on a coulple of moles. The MIBG scan is a very important component of the battery of tests. It is essentially a scan of Hallie's entire body and will cause any NB cells to "light up". After Dr. Furman has this piece of the puzzle, he will probably have a game plan for us from this point forward. He plans to see us tomorrow around 1:00 after he has seen the MIBG pictures himself. He has also ordered a MRI of Hallie's spine on Friday. He wants to see the spot where Hallie's tumor manifested itself back in February-March when she relapsed.
After we have met with Dr. Furman tomorrow, we will tell everyone our plan. Keep up the prayers - they are working !!!!
Joe and Beth Ann
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 7:39 PM CDT
It has been a nice Tuesday here in Memphis.
This morning Joe, Grangy, Hallie, and I headed to Germantown to the Galleria and rode the.........you guessed it......carousel. We stood in line for a
moment to let all the moms and dads get their little
ones paid and thru the gate, and then there Hallie stood,
looking up at that sweet little lady and asking with
her eyes---"can I ride?"
"As many times as you'd like," the lady said kneeling
down to Hallie. "As many times as you'd like."
So we rode the big horse with short hair, then the small
horse with long hair, the pig, and the sparkly horse.
I rode beside Hallie while Dad and Grangy sat on a bench
grinning and waving everytime we passed. Hallie had
the best time.
After that we spent a lot of time at Super Target playing
and getting things we needed. We looked at everything
on every isle! Joe said that next time he would probably
get us to drop him off at the apartment before we went
to Target.(smile)
We talked to Nana and Harrison this evening and they
are doing just great together.
It is so hard for me to be away from him--- it reminds
me of our first year here at St. Jude when we were separated. That familiar ache in my stomach came back
last week when I would think of us leaving on Sunday
without him.
I once told Joe--- "I have one child in Louisiana and
one child in Tennessee, and I can't help either one of
them."
I've come to realize, as time has passed, that I can
help both of them; because I can pray for them. There is
nothing better that you can do for a person than pray
for them.
Our hopes are that our stay this time will be only for a short while, and that Hallie can go home.
We are expecting to find out the results of the bone
marrow biopsies tomorrow.
Most days there is an overwhelming peace within me that
I can hardly explain. I know it came when Joe and I
turned Hallie and her illness over to God. We know that
He can heal her.
For those days when I am afraid, I just look up.
I know He is there. I know He is with us. I know He
will take care of all of this.
Hallie is so excited because she gets to be put to sleep
tomorrow. Is that not the craziest thing you've ever heard? I don't think we see this much excitement over
Santa Claus.
She calls the anesthesia "milk medicine" because it looks
white and creamy just like milk when it is running
through the iv. She sits really still on the bed in the
sedation room watching the "milk" slowly creep up to the line in her chest.
With a grin she looks at us and says "It's comin."
Her little eyes will start getting heavy and we'll hold her head, but she will fight hard to stay awake.
Monday, when she was waiting to be sedated for the
biopsies, she was lying on the bed and looked over at
me and Joe and said----" I think I feel it." We cracked
up because she wasn't even hooked up to anything yet.
I asked her once what she feels like when she gets the
milk medicine and she said-- "it makes me warm and I go
in the sky." Enough said.
Tomorrow we start early with drinking contrast (yucky
stuff that lines her insides so they can do the CAT
scan. They are then going to do a hearing evaluation,
followed by sedation and the CAT scan of her chest and abdomen. The last thing will be getting her nuclear medicine injection ( this is a radioactive medicine injected into her line in preparation for Thursday's
MIBG bone scan. It makes any tumor present glow during the scan.)
We are expecting good things tomorrow.
Thank you for your prayers.
Corbin Gulde received a CLEAR SCAN report yesterday!
Thank God.
Keep him and his family in your prayers this week as
they await more results and surgery to remove the
tumor on Thursday.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Monday, August 22, 2005 6:56 PM CDT
Hallie had her bone marrow aspirate and biopsies this morning. It went very well. Dr. Furman performed the procedure himself. That was all we had to do today. All of Hallie's labwork looked excellent. Sandy told us that she will probably know the results of the biopsies sometime either Wednesday morning or afternoon. We are, to say the least, anticipating the results. We just believe that all is well. We have nothing to do at the hospital tomorrow. We return on Wednesday morning for CT scan and the MIBG injection.
Please pray specifically for a tumor-free pathology report and MIBG scan for Hallie.
Joe and Beth Ann
Sunday, August 21, 2005 10:56 PM CDT
Hello from Memphis.
I hope this update finds everyone doing well. It was
Monday that I last wrote, and I have missed "talking
to you."
When Hallie and I went to Dr. Coughran's office Monday,
her bloodwork showed that her hemoglobin was still not
holding.
After talking to Dr. Furman, off to Shreveport we went.
This experience was a little different in that we didn't
arrive there until about 3:00, and the clinic closes at
5:00. Blood takes 3-4 hours to drip, and that doesn't
count the hours prior, to type and match her with the
right donor's blood and all the pre-meds that she must
get.
So--- she was admitted into the hospital there and given
the blood. They were just as nice and helpful as could
be, and we were out and home by around 11:30 pm.
The rest of the week her labs have been good.
Hallie has gotten comfy with her little "Dr. Coughran
routine" and has started asking me daily---"are we going
to check my 'bwoodwork' today? 'Doze' ladies don't
mind if I get a bunch of 'dare' suckers."
They are always so glad to see Hallie, and she
certainly feels the same.
Harrison completed his first full week of 3rd grade.
Unfortunately, the teacher assigned to his class
isn't going to be able to teach, so a new teacher
will be taking her place starting tomorrow.
Several of us parents got together after school
Wednesday and cleaned and painted their classroom.
It was a lot of work, but actually pretty fun.
The room looks really great, and the kids were excited
when they arrived at school Thursday morning.
Harrison and his buddies have been busy with pee wee
football this week.
This is something to see.
He has his first practice wearing all of the pads,
helmet, etc..... tomorrow.
I have been worried that he won't know how to get it
all on, so I made Joe help him today with a "dress
rehearsal" before we left for Memphis.
Nana is even more worried than me, because she has
to wash it each day and then get all the pads put
back into place. She is taking care of Harrison
this week while Joe, Grangy, and I are with Hallie.
Poppy is providing the "transportation" because as
most of you know---Nana has no car. This would be
because she isn't very fond of driving. (smile)
So between all of us--- (and tons of friends)---
everything should work out ok.
God has blessed me with wonderful friends and family,
and I thank Him for that.
Here is how Hallie's week of test should go:
Monday-22nd (my late dad's birthday, so that gives
me a nice little feeling)
bone marrow biopsy
Wednesday-24th hearing evaluation
CAT scan involving chest/abdomen
Thursday-25th MIBG bone scan
Friday-26th MRI involving spine
Joe and I will update as we have information.
Hallie will have to be put to sleep every day for
these procedures. Although she is quite fond of
the "milk medicine" and how it makes her feel before
she falls asleep, it is always a little scary for
the rest of us; and I ask that you add this to your
prayer for her as well.
Please pray a specific prayer for Harrison-- that
he, in the midst of all of this, can feel safe and
secure.
And for me and Joe--- pray for wisdom, strength, and
peace as we make decisions from this point on.
One final thing---
Corbin Gulde will be getting results tomorrow from
a bone marrow test that was done Friday. We want it
to be the best news ever. Also he is getting ready
to have surgery to remove the tumor that is located
around his ribs. Please pray for this family, for
they have been such prayer warriors for us.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Monday, August 15, 2005 7:40 AM CDT
Good Monday morning to you.
Harrison would not agree with that statement
for he is definitely not a morning person. I was
reminded of this when I woke him up for school
this morning.
He said that whoever invented school and started
it so early must really not like children.(smile)
But after that bowl of cereal----he is like
a changed man. He's happy, cheerful, and ready
to get the day started. Amazing!
I can't believe we have been home for over two
weeks already.
The kids are still zipping up and down the
street to Grangy and Poppy's house and then
on down to Nana's.
Hallie calls them on the phone and says--
"Can you come get me? I'm at my house."
She has called Grangy several times this week,
but one time I got tickled because after they
left our house----it wasn't five minutes, and they were
back. Hallie was carrying a ziploc bag full of
fruit roll-ups, crackers, and nutra-grain bars.
She came in and said---"I'm back. I got some snacks
from Grangy's cause we don't have any of 'dees'."
But Grangy didn't mind, and told her to call
back if she wanted to come visit again.
Last Wednesday night Hallie's line wouldn't flush
so we called St. Jude.
Thursday morning we headed to Shreveport, and
they dissolved the bloodclot that had formed in
the line.
They have been so helpful.
We all made it to church yesterday, and it was so
nice to hear Bro. Bill's voice and see all the
familiar, sweet faces.
Today, Hallie and I will go and check her bloodwork
at Dr. Coughran's office. Hallie loves all
of the ladies that work there.
They are doing their part to spoil her as well.
Thank you for your prayers. Everyone I run into
is praying for Hallie.
We will leave Sunday for a week of tests.
Pray for clean results.
Also, please remember Harrison.
He will stay in Winnsboro so that he can be
in school.
It seems like just when we get him into some
type of a routine, we change something.
He is however looking forward to a week with
Grandparents.
I hope everyone has a good day.
Beth Ann
Joe added a few new pictures.
Tuesday, August 9, 2005 10:21 PM CDT
"Just For Today "
Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh
when I feel like crying.
Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile
and say how perfect it is.
Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up
and take you to the park to play.
Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach
me how to put that puzzle of yours together.
Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer
off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.
Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.
Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you
grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.
Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand
over you trying to fix them.
Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a
Happy Meal so you can have both toys.
Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how
you were born and how much I love you.
Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.
Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch
and count all the stars.
Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite
TV shows.
Just for this evening, when I run my fingers through your hair as you pray, I will
simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.
I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing
children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead
of their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching
their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it
anymore.
And when I kiss you good night, I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer.
It is then that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more
day..."
~author unknown~
I came across this tonight and thought
it might mean as much to you as it did
to me.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Monday, August 8, 2005 10:49 PM CDT
We have all been enjoying home and staying
very busy.
Harrison went to all 3 nights of the Winnsboro
rodeo. He can quote Rudy the clown's skit
from memory.
For the past week, he has either spent the
night with a friend or had a friend stay at
our house. It's great to see him enjoying
home again.
Joe and I got a sitter the other night and
we went out on a date. Harrison told us that
he didn't think married people could go on dates.
(smile)
We had the best time.
Hallie has just played and played.
She loves her kitchen that Santa brought, her
Polly Pocket dolls, and anything that Harrison
is playing with!!!!
She is so happy to be at home.
We all went to church Sunday, and I can't tell
you how comforted I felt sitting on that pew.
There is no place like God's home.
We are going to let Harrison start to school at
Franklin Academy here in Winnsboro in hopes of
good scans and perhaps oral chemo that can
be taken at home.
We won't know a definite plan until all of
the tests are completed on the 25th of August.
We had Hallie's bloodwork done today, and she was
holding her own.
No transfusions---- Yipppeeee.
Her eyebrows, eyelashes, and her hair are starting
to grow back.
This probably sounds strange to some, but when
we were putting Hallie in the car for church
Sunday, the sun was shining on her; and I could
see all the hair that was starting to grow.
I told Joe, and we both stared at each other
in silence. It seems like it would be a
good thing for her to be getting her hair back,
but to us, our first thought is that there isn't
any chemo in her body to fight cancer ----and
if hair can grow, what else can?
But we continued on, knowing that Hallie is
in God's hands, and those are stronger than any
medicine.
We will wait a few days and check bloodwork
again. St. Jude called us today and said
everything looked good, and they would see
us on the 21st.
Harrison's first day of school is Friday, the 12th.
Things will really be picking up then.
Thank you for your prayers.
Goodnight.
Beth Ann
Friday, August 5, 2005 8:14 AM CDT
It's Beth Ann.
Joe didn't know that I updated last night, so this morning before leaving for work he did so.
My update is listed as Thursday, Aug.4.
Talk to you later.
Beth Ann
Friday, August 5, 2005 7:33 AM CDT
Sorry everybody but it's Joe again standing in for Beth Ann Shakespeare.
We made a quick trip to Shreveport yesterday for a platelet transfusion. Everything went well and we were back home at 7:00. Hallie strolled with BA to karate to see Harrison. He was with the Fenn crew at karate followed by the rodeo. We continue to hope that we get to stay here until August 21 when we are scheduled to return to Memphis for scans. After that we have no idea. That is our life - we don't know anything about tomorrow - only today.
Hope everyone is not too exhausted from reading this update!
Joe
Thursday, August 4, 2005 10:36 PM CDT
I have had several people ask me when we will know if there is a bone marrow match. When we met with the bone marrow team at St. Jude a while back, Joe and I asked that and were told about 2-3 weeks.
The good thing is that St. Jude is always doing a check to see if a match has been found. If there is one on the registry-- they will find it.
Talking about this makes me want to say once again ---
thank you everyone for everything that you have done.
When I read an article in the paper about the drive or see someone on the street and they ask about our family, it almost brings me to my knees. I wish I could tell you how I feel having the enormous amount of support that is so clearly there.
Yesterday was spent with us running up and down the street between my mom's house and my in-law's house.
It is great having us all close together. Harrison and Hallie love being able to see their grandparents at a moments notice.
Today started with a haircut for Harrison and bloodwork for Hallie at Dr. Coughran's office (our family doc and friend who has been so kind to help us with anything Hallie needs here in Winnsboro).
We didn't make it any further than that on our errand list
because Hallie's platelets were 10!! Way low!!
So we called Shreveport--- the St. Jude affiliate and off we went.
Everything went well there and we got home around 7:00.
Harrison went to the rodeo tonight with his friend Mason and decided to stay the night at their house.
Hallie got her last G-shot tonight and she, Dad, and I clapped and jumped up and down (because she told us to).
Then she painted 5 of my toes with her Hello Kitty fingernail polish. When she did the fifth toe she put the top on the bottle and said--" ok, dats all."
I didn't remind her of the other 5 toes because it was 10:00 already, and she was perfectly happy with the job she had done.
Have a good night.
Please continue to pray for our family and the other families at St. Jude.
Beth Ann
One more thing.
Hallie and I stopped by Franklin Academy this morning to check on some things and a lady stepped out of a big Fed Ex truck carrying some packages. She looked at us and we smiled and she said--" I know you (talking to Hallie). I have seen your face everywhere I go. There are pictures of you practically everywhere I stop. How was the bone marrow drive? I hope that everything goes well for you."
I tell you now that is amazing!!
People everywhere that you have never even seen before supporting one another.
Just another thing that I am grateful for and wanted to share it with you.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 11:27 PM CDT
WOW! the appointment in D clinic Monday was a huge shock to all of us. Joe had taken Hallie by himself so that I could get ready to meet my friend Sandra half way to Huntsville and pick up Harrison.
Hallie walked into the apartment and said--"We can go to my house....we can....Dr.Furman said my counts are up....I don't have to even wear my mask!!!"
Her little face was so lit up, and the prettiest smile you have ever seen was right before me.
I looked at Joe, and he was grinning too and nodding his head "yep".
PEOPLE----do you have any idea what this means?
This is the FIRST time since February 2003 that Hallie did NOT spike a fever after chemo!!!
It has always been:
go in the hospital
get chemo
get out of the hospital
counts drop
get a fever
go in the hospital
counts recover
get out of the hospital........ then start all over in about a week.
Thank you, Lord. I have always said, please let us have a chance to not get a fever, but I had really given up.
It just didn't look like it was ever going to happen--then it did.
Of course she didn't get nearly the chemo that she usually does, but her counts did drop, and fever is just waiting around the corner when no counts are in sight.
What a blessing.
I told Joe---"Well, we can't leave today. The laundry is piled up, we need to order medicine and supplies, and we don't have Harrison."
But Hallie was going nuts. She was running around saying-----"I'm ready, I'm ready."
A quick decision was made that Joe and Hallie would head out, and Heather, Harrison, and I would leave today.
Hallie grabbed a ziplock bag full of pacifiers and her purse. She had gone to the bathroom, and as she and Joe walked out of the apartment,I noticed her dress was caught in her little panties, and her panties were on backwards---making them look like little thongs.
I yelled for her to come back and told her why, and she yelled back--" I wike dem on backwards!"
She was going home!!!
Hallie stayed with Nana today while Joe was at the office, and the rest of us made it in this evening.
It's so nice to be home.
We will be checking bloodwork here often and faxing results to Dr. Furman.
Hallie will have lots of tests the week of August 22.
Please pray for us as we approach this important week.
Also, please pray for us as we make decisions regarding
Harrison's school.
I hope that all of you are doing well.
Goodnight,
Beth Ann
Monday, August 1, 2005 11:36 AM CDT
OK
This will be a short and to the point - Joe update.
For those of you who will be disappointed about this - Beth Ann will resume the updates tomorrow. Here it is. Hallie has an ANC of 500. We will be coming home to Winnsboro tomorrow unless something unexpected happens. We are scheduled to return to Memphis on August 21 for a few scans. Hope to see everyone tomorrow.
Joe
Sunday, July 31, 2005 9:47 PM CDT
Sorry for the abrupt ending Friday night, but Hallie suddenly got sick, and I am still not sure what it was. The chemo makes her nauseated some, but it has not caused her to actually vomit in months---and she was a week out of chemo, so I felt that it wasn't that.
An hour after she had first gotten sick, she vomited again---- I was worried, so I called the Dr. on call.
She had eaten a little hamburger from the Sonic for supper, and my worst fear was that she had food poisoning. The Dr. was comforting and talked to me about all the things it could be and any signs to watch for.
Thankfully, Hallie settled down a little later, and we slept the rest of the night.
Hallie is asking me right now if she can help me type, so here is her hello to you----
againbecausevxvxdcvvxdcvxvcvcccccccccccccccvcvxvxvcxxvdvxvvvvvvvbbdbvddgvcbdcbbcvcbvcdbvcdbvcvbcbvcbcbcbvcbcbcbcbdehbgdhbhhhhggdgghdgdgdggdgdgdgfdgddffffffftrkl 56cv55v65v76jm6758v4b5b75765c6c66565v6565v656645454c656c6ct
I mentioned my friend Sandra Ann being here Friday night.
She could only stay one night, so she headed back to Alabama Saturday afternoon. She went back with an extra passenger in the backseat---- Harrison.
She asked him if he wanted to go back with her, and before she even finished talking he was asking me if it would be ok. She has two little ones of her own (Lauren and Nathan), and Harrison loves it when we get to see them.
Sandra Ann and I met at The University of Alabama in a Spanish class back in 1990. She was in my wedding, and I was in hers; and in our 15 years we have lots of good stories.
I am going to meet her either tomorrow or Tuesday half way to get Harrison. I am going crazy missing him, but it sounds like he is having a terrific time.
Joe made it to Memphis this afternoon, and we were so happy to see him. Hallie screamed when she saw him.
I cooked a roast last night, and I was so excited that it was really good.
I haven't cooked anything like that in ages-- Hamburger Helper is what we have on a special night in our house.
Heather thinks that I really know what I am doing.
Did you notice that I said we cooked the roast last night, but we didn't eat it until today?
Well, I left it simmering and Hallie, Heather, and I ran to the hospital around 7:00 just to let me check her counts. We hadn't checked them since Thursday and didn't have another appt. until Monday, so I thought I would run up there and just get a quick check.
When we were in clinic Thursday, her ANC had dropped from 6500 to 200.
Her platelets and hemoglobin were down but still good.
So really last night I was just curious.
To my surprise the bloodwork showed that Hallie needed TWO transfusions! Platelets and Hemoglobin
I looked at the nurse and said ---- Can I go turn off my roast? She just laughed and of course said yes.
So we ran to the apartment, turned off the stove, gathered a few things, and headed back to St. Jude.
They got started about 9:30 with pre-meds and then the platelets. They take about an hour and then the blood comes next.
Hallie went sound asleep and I sent Heather back to the apartment to sleep and told her I would call when we were through.
I didn't call her to come get us until 5:30 this morning!!!!
Hallie had a bad reaction to the platelets right at the end and they had to stop them and call the Dr.
She had to get an iv dose of a steroid and then she was ready for the blood.
They had to discard the bag of blood that was ready for her due to the reaction, and send for a newly typed bag of blood.
All of this took a while, but Hallie just slept soundly.
The blood ran for about 3 1/2 hours and then we were done.
Heather picked us up and we crashed in the bed.
It was a busy night.
Before I close, I want to say a sincere thank you to Clint and Heather Gulde-- Lisa and Randy Cory-- and Tonja and Frederick Huenefeld.
They worked continuously on the "My Friend Hallie" drive which took place Saturday, and it was an awesome success.
Over 800 people were tested, and many others attempted.
Thank you God for such a wonderful event.
We want to thank so many others of you who worked hours on Saturday. We couldn't be there because Hallie's counts kept her here in Memphis, but we have heard how so many people came to help our little one.
Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about the drive, passed out flyers, advertised,.....EVERYONE!!!!
Donors...thank you-- we love you.
I have a dear friend in England, Lisa Rolfe, who by word of mouth has added around 200 people to the International Registry. She plans to organize something even larger.
I love you Rolfes!!!!
Please continue to pray for our family.
Please pray for Corbin to have a better ANC tomorrow at clinic.
Also, continue to pray for Jake Raborn
Goodnight
Beth Ann
Saturday, July 30, 2005 0:18 AM CDT
A friend of mine, Sandra Lasater, drove up to see me and the kids last night, and our girltalk lasted so late that I didn't get my update written.
Dr. Furman and I met yesterday, and I came away feeling as good as I could.
Joe and I have always bombarded him with questions (as a matter of fact, he came in clinic a couple of weeks ago and asked Joe to go ahead and pull out that legal pad so we could get started)---smile.
I'll try and give you the short of it.
During the week of Aug. 22, he will do tests to see where things stand with the cancer. If he sees something---I don't know what we will do because she has really had all the heavy chemo that she can tolerate. He and I really didn't discuss this at all. We know that seeing disease on the scans or biopsy would not be good, so I focused on the questions that come with receiving CLEAR scans.
He plans to give her some type of oral chemotherapy
that is known to be effective on tumor yet---hopefully doesn't have many side effects.
Does that mean it won't have bad side effects?
No, because every child responds differently.
We will have to see as we go.
Can we live at home? (Winnsboro) If the side effects are minimal then we should be able to.
If her counts drop often and transfusions are needed regularly and fever is an issue then we would have to be near St. Jude.
We will just have to see.
Beth Ann
Beth Ann will try to update again tomorrow. Hallie has been vomiting tonight and we're not sure why, so Beth Ann has gone to lay down with her.
Heather
Thursday, July 28, 2005 0:14 AM CDT
Today was good but not much to report.
I just enjoyed spending the day with my two little rugrats.
Hallie's eye is pretty sore, but it really hasn't slowed her done much.
Don't forget the bone marrow drive this weekend in West Monroe.
I will meet with Dr. Furman tomorrow and let you know what he has to say.
Please pray for our family.
Goodnight
Beth Ann
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:39 PM CDT
Let me start by saying that your journal entries are so very special to me.
I read them each night before I update and they fill me with some sort of uplifting fuel that I cannot put into words.
For those of you who read the updates but don't write in---I feel your prayers and support just the same. I know you are there.
We went to the hospital yesterday and Hallie's bloodwork was super great!!!!
Her ANC was 6500.
Her platelets and hemoglobin..... 111 and 11.2 Very nice to see.
It was like getting a really great report card.
Maybe I will start offering her 2 dollars for every "A"
that she gets on her lab report.
We return Thursday to check bloodwork again and expect to see a drop in numbers due to the last round of chemo.
Heather, Harrison, Hallie, and I went to the mall after clinic to ride the one and only "carousel"---
If you're bald and pale you get to ride for free---- as many times as you like.
Hallie and Harrison (who also gets to ride for free) like to ride each animal at least once---
Just kidding, but we do ride a lot.
The little lady who operates the carousel is a cancer survivor and she and I have gotten to be friends.
She is a precious lady.
Today we had the day off from clinic so we slept in and did things around the apartment---- until Hallie started dancing and fell and sliced her eyelid open on a chair.
This is a perfect example why you should not lounge around in your pajamas late into the day.
She was screaming and I was repeating "111" "111"
"Weren't her platelets 111?"
Heather held a cold rag to her eye while I threw on some clothes.
I got to St. Jude and ran to D clinic and everyone just hovered over the table to see Hallie. They love her so much.
They called a surgeon in to look at her, and he wanted to put her to sleep and do a few stitches.
The BIG question before sedation---- "Has she had anything to eat in the last 8 hours?"
Well it was 2:30 pm, and she had eaten more than me, Heather, and Harrison put together.
So sedation was not an option.
The surgeon didn't know it yet, but stitching her awake was also not an option.
He and the nurses decided cleaning it and steri-strips would probably hold it pretty well, so that's what they did.
She got to get 2 toys out of the Treasure Box, and she even got something for Brother.
The rest of the evening has been pretty uneventful.
Heather helped me hold Hallie while I gave her her shot, and she cried and told me it made her eye hurt.
I hope her counts hold fairly well, and maybe she won't have to get many more shots.
Please pray for me on Thursday when I meet with Dr. Furman to discuss our plans from this point on.
Goodnight
Beth Ann
Jake Raborn's website is---
www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen
Monday, July 25, 2005 0:01 AM CDT
Hallie was feeling pretty good when we got released from
St. Jude yesterday, so we all piled up in the apartment and played, ate, washed clothes, and watched the all day documentary of shark attacks on the Discovery Channel.
About 6:30 we got the idea to go bowling, so we headed out.
I am horrible at bowling. Joe came in first, Harrison second, and I was last.
Heather,(my 20 year old niece) is staying with me this week and helping me. She decided to just watch us and laugh. Hallie cheered us all on with high fives each time we went up to take our turn.
Today was a do nothing day for us. Joe left at about 11:00 this morning to head back to Winnsboro. Heather and I cooked a little, washed a lot (kids and clothes), helped Harrison with some summer writing required for school, and played lots of games.
We didn't even leave the apartment until 7:30 tonight when we discovered that we needed some milk.
We stopped by Blockbuster and rented a movie called
Are We There Yet?
When we got back, Hallie was getting tired so I gave her her meds and Heather helped me with her shot.
Everytime chemo ends it means the beginning of the G shots. They burn, and Hallie gets more and more anxious each time it seems.
I held her for about two minutes, and she fell off to sleep.
Harrison just finished the movie, and we are all about to go pile into bed.
We have clinic tomorrow to check bloodwork.
We are hoping that since the dose of chemo was cut drastically that she will recover better than usual.
Please remember the "My Friend Hallie" bone marrow drive that will be taking place this Saturday in West Monroe.
Complete information is at ----
www.caringbridge.org/visit/myfriendhallie
Endless work has gone into making this possible and successful.
Joe and I are forever grateful to Clint and Heather and many others who have given so much of their time in hopes of helping Hallie and others in need.
We love you all!!!!!!
Please pray a special prayer this week for the bone marrow drive.
Also-- Hallie will have all of the evaluation tests done on August 22. Our prayer is no cancer.
Dr. Furman will make decisions for milder treatment that Hallie can tolerate after these tests.
Pray for Harrison who misses his friends terribly. He talks about them daily.
One final prayer request before I close---
Jake Raborn, a precious little boy here at St. Jude, is facing difficult times.
His tumor markers are elevated, yet his little body cannot tolerate any more chemo.
Please lift up Jake and his family.
Goodnight
Beth Ann
Saturday, July 23, 2005 2:33 PM CDT
We are discharged!!!!!!!!
We just returned to the apartment with some fluids which we will give Hallie until 8:00 am tomorrow morning. The hospital is full and they decided she could go out today. She feels super ! We'll just be hanging out today and trying to entertain Harrison and Hallie.
Check out the new pictures on the PHOTO page.
BA and Joe
Friday, July 22, 2005 6:36 PM CDT
Hey everyone !
Just a quick update. Hallie is doing great. We will get a little more chemo tonight followed by 24 hours of post-hydration which will finish about midnight on Saturday. We will probably be discharged on Sunday morning early. Our plan is to go back to the apartment as we have an appointment Monday in D Clinic.
BA
Thursday, July 21, 2005 3:58 PM CDT
Here is s summary of our meeting with Dr. Furman this afternoon.
He will admit her tonight for one more round of chemo. However, he is going to cut way back on the amounts of the drugs he gives her. She will be in the hospital tonight, tomorrow, and she will be discharged on Saturday. When she recovers he will re-evaluate the status of her disease. Assuming he finds no tumor, he will prescribe something to be taken orally - probably topotecan or irenotecan.
He feels that Hallie is probably at a point of diminishing return with respect to the ICE treatments. If she is indeed tumor free - and we think she is - it is senseless to continue to give her chemo in extremely toxic amounts such as the ICE. The oral chemo is a proven tumor killer and is designed to keep the disease at bay with hopefully fewer side-effects. We have the option to stop treating her altogether; but feel we must not stop now given the nature of her disease.
Hallie's life is truly in God's hands. We ask all who love her and read this page to say a special prayer for her tonight. Pray for God to completely heal our precious little one as only He can.
Joe and Beth Ann
Tuesday, July 19, 2005 3:29 PM CDT
Hey everybody!
Sorry we haven't updated in a while. We have been in a kind of holding pattern in Winnsboro the last week or so. Hallie's counts are finally at a point where we can go back to Memphis and we are leaving tomorrow. We are scheduled to meet and talk with Dr. Furman on Thursday. Although we do not know exactly what he will say, we suspect he may tell us that the ICE treatments are no longer practical. It took Hallie a long time to recover from the last round and it she cannot keep to a strict schedule of doses then we are probably not getting the full benefit of the medicine. We certainly hope he gives us some other choices for ongoing therapy. Oral topotecan is a possibility. Less toxic IV chemo is another. We really don't know. We will have another update Thursday evening when we know more.
Hallie really enjoyed going to Lafayette on Friday/Saturday to the Gravelle family reunion. She got to see and play with all of her cousins and had a great time. She has enjoyed her time here in Winnsboro and has come to love riding in the golf cart with Harrison although she is pretty unsure about his driving abilities.
Please pray for Hallie.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005 7:35 PM CDT
We all made it back safely from Shreveport this evening. Hallie got her blood and things went smoothly as usual. Hallie's ANC was 3000 ! We were surprised to find that her platelets were up to 40k from 23K. That's great news and it means Dr. Furman may elect to proceed with some more ICE next week. All of her chemistries looked excellent. Her magnesium was just a little low. She has developed a little viral something causing a runny nose and cough. The doctor recommended Benadryl for this. We will go to Dr. Coughran's office on Thursday and check counts again. We will fax this to SJCRH and see when they want us to return. We guess it will be on Sunday.
On another matter I want to thank Mrs. Betty Cummins for helping me again this year with the SCOTT MOTORS "Scramble for St. Jude" golf tournament. SCOTT MOTORS is our title sponsor again this year ! The Scott family is truly a great friend to the children of SJ. The golf tournament is set for Friday, September 16 in Winnsboro. Tee-off is 1:30. The format is a two-person 18-hole scramble. Entry fee is $150/team. Lunch will be provided and prizes awarded to the winners of each flight. For those who would like to help SJ via this event, we have hole sponsorships available for $100 which includes a custom teebox sign with your name. If you or your business would like to be a hole sponsor, please call Joe at 318-547-7011 to make the arrangements. We are also accepting donations for St. Jude from anyone who reads these updates. You may mail a check, payable to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, for any amount to:
Joe Gravelle
c/o SCOTT MOTORS SCRAMBLE FOR ST. JUDE
PO Box 279
Winnsboro, LA 71295
All donations are tax deductible.
Immediately following the tournament a dance will be held to benefit SJCRH in the banquet room of the country club. Guy Smith Productions will spin your favorites from the 1950's - 1980's. Tickets are $10 each and will be available at the door. Hours for the dance are 8-10pm.
Make plans now to join us at the golf course on September 16, 2005 and help St. Jude!!!!
Monday, July 11, 2005 1:17 PM CDT
Hey everyone. Hallie had her bloodwork checked this morning and she is going to LSU-S in the morning at 8:00 for a blood transfusion. Her platelet count was holding steady at around 23K. Dr. Furman called and said that he does not want to start the ICE this week due to the fact that it has taken her this long to recover. He stated that we may be getting to a point of diminishing returns with the ICE since Hallie is not recovering quickly. He has not ruled out the ICE next week if she recovers this week. He will talk to us more in depth when we return to Memphis. He may elect to try and find something a little less harsh on the platelets; but he did say we should not stop treatment now. In any event, we will be in Winnsboro this week and that is good news. Cousin Sully stayed with Harrison and Karen and Sage returned to Mobile this morning. We think they escaped the hurricane. I know Brookie will be excited when she reads this and Hallie is looking forward to seeing you.
Sunday, July 10, 2005 11:14 AM CDT
Hello everyone. I've been missing you. Here's a quick update. It's been about a week since you've heard from me, and I couldn't begin to tell you all the fun we've squeezed into this week. We have been checking bloodwork daily to see when we have to go back to Memphis. Hallie's counts are a little low right now for chemo, so Dr. Furman has told us to keep checking in with him. Hallie will have her blood checked again tomorrow. If Dr. Furman likes the numbers, we'll head back to Memphis probably Tuesday to start round six of chemo. If not, we may get a few more days here in Winnsboro.
We are in Monroe right now at my sister Debbie's. We're watching the hurricane news with our Mobile cousins who are also here because they have had to evacuate.
Hallie has been enjoying the ranch life at Aunt Debbie's -- horses, dogs, and a swimming pool. Harrison is having a ball with cousins Sully and Sage too. (They haven't figured out that hurricanes are a bad thing. To them, hurricane season is "family reunion" time.)
I hope that everyone is having a good week. I'll keep you updated as often as I can. After round six of chemo, Dr. Furman's plans are to do an evaluation, including bone marrow biopsy, MIBG bone scan, CAT scans of abdomen and chest... and anything else that he thinks is needed. These tests will tell him if the ICE is continuing to hold back the cancer. Please pray that the ICE is working.
Beth Ann
Friday, July 8, 2005 8:28 AM CDT
Here is the latest on Hallie. Her platelets are not recovering on their own as of yet. Platelets have a "shelf life", if you will, of about ten days. After a transfusion if a persons count is not holding its own or rising, then another transfusion is necessary. This is the case until a person begins to produce the platelets themselves. The carboplatnum component of the "ICE" is very hard on platelets. Hallie's platelet count yesterday was 25K which was down some from the last lab check. Chemo is now out of the question on Monday. Platelets have to be holding their own for chemo. St. Jude wants us to call them on Monday with a count to see what to do next. We are checking them today as well. Hopefully we will not have to go to LSU-S for a transfusion. We are just waiting for the platelets to recover and enjoying being home together. Talk to you all soon! Have a great weekend and stay out of the hurricane!
Thursday, July 7, 2005 11:02 AM CDT
Well, it looks like we will be going back to Memphis on Sunday. Dr. Furman would like for Hallie to begin round number six of the "ICE" chemotherapy on Monday. This is assuming her bloodwork is holding up. We are taking Hallie to Dr. Coughran's office here in Winnsboro today for lab check which we then fax to St. Jude. They look the numbers over and tell us what to do. Hallie is feeling really good and is enjoying being home-home. She is such a delightful little girl with a great personality. Anytime something out of the ordinary happens she says in her sweet little voice, "it'll be OK". We love her and Harrison so much and appreciate and thank God for this time we all have together. Please remember to pray for Hallie and all of the children of St. Jude.
Wednesday, July 6, 2005 10:49 AM CDT
We will probably not update for several days because we all got to come home on July 3rd. We had fun at the lake on the fourth. We just enjoying being home and seeing everybody. Hallie and Harrison are doing fine. We don't know exactly how long we will be home. We will update again when we know more.
Please pray for Hallie.
Saturday, July 2, 2005 11:02 PM CDT
We went to the medicine room this morning and had Hallie's bloodwork done.
The hemoglobin had risen on its own to 10.1 -----that's really good to see.
The platelets had dropped from 25 to 19--- here was our dilemma.
The on call Dr. said that since it was under 20 she could have a transfusion----- this meant her platelets would then be good, her hemoglobin was already good, and her ANC has moved up to a nice 1300.
But I could see Dr. Furman's face in this bubble above my head going --"19 isn't really that low. Let's give it a chance to recover on its own before we transfuse. If it continues to drop then we will give her platelets."
This means we have to stay in Memphis and ride it out a little longer.
I told them that I didn't want the platelets today, and that we would check her counts again in the morning.
Letting Hallie's body try and recover on its own will be helpful to her down the road, and we know this.
So, tomorrow will probably be the day we can head home.
Either she will improve on her own, or they will need to give her the platelets---- then things should be pretty stable for a few days.
The guys are at the camp trying to kickstart the 4th of July.
They are awaiting our call tomorrow to see if we are coming their way.
Hallie cried a couple of times today wanting to go to
"my house".
I've learned something about Hallie lately.
Talking honestly and directly to her to try and reason with her doesn't seem to be very effective----
Twice this week she has demonstrated this.
Yesterday when I was trying desperately to get this new oral antibiotic down her (it had a smell so bad that I couldn't even describe) I told her that Dr. McGregor said we had to take the medicine or our bump on our knee wouldn't get well ----and if it doesn't get well, then it would hurt again .......and so on.
She just kept crying and looked at me and said---"I want to keep my bump on my knee--I want it to hut."
We now have a new antibiotic.
Today when I was explaining how we couldn't go home home because we didn't have very many platelets, and we needed to check on them tomorrow, her thought was----" I don't mind if I have little pwatelets."
When she learns that phrase-- Mom you worry too much--
I bet she is going to use it a lot.
Well, if we get to leave for La. tomorrow, I may not update for a while.
So, take care ---pray for my two little ones to feel well and have a great time.
God Bless
Beth Ann
Saturday, July 2, 2005 0:20 AM CDT
600 and we are out!!!!!
This is going to have to be brief tonight because it's really late---so late that I see it says Saturday already.
We were some kind of happy to hear that Hallie's ANC had improved.
Our platelets and hemoglobin are another story.
In short, we couldn't go home home because the blood levels are too close to needing to be transfused. It just makes me and Joe nervous to get away from SJCRH until Hallie is more stable where that is concerned.
It could be 1 day or several days---no way to really know.
We will be going to the medicine room daily to check her counts.
We basically spent the day trying to restock on meds and supplies and get the apartment in order somewhat.
When I snuggled up with Hallie tonight to get her to sleep, she and I were saying how comfy our bed felt.
She is so happy to be here ---she has put on her clothes, Harrison's clothes, my clothes, and even some of dad's.
The apartment is a wreck!!(smile) Nana and I can't tell what we've done.
Who cares????? If you could see how good she feels.
Dad and brother are still hanging in there---
These girls are missing those guys terribly.
I hope everyone has a fun, safe weekend.
Thank you for the entries--- you're a bigger part of this than you know.
Continue to pray.
Tonight I will say a prayer for all of you.
One little funny before I close---
When Hallie and I were getting in the bed she took out her paci and had this yuck look on her face. She handed it to me and said--- "it got a hair on it."
Sure enough this long brown hair was stuck to it (sick huh?)
Then she said "whose is it?" We looked at each other for just a second and then we both died out laughing---
I told her that I pretty much had it narrowed down to me.
I'm still wondering if she was laughing for the same reason I was? I honestly think she was.
Goodnight
Beth Ann
Thursday, June 30, 2005 11:00 PM CDT
Our ANC moved, but it wasn't enough to get us out of the hospital---- 300 was the number of the day.
Tonight my mind was just kind of going back and forth on a bunch of different things, and it dawned on me how much Joe and I rely on 'numbers' day to day.
ANC, platelet counts, hemoglobin counts, temperature, potassium -magnesium -phosphorus levels......
Some numbers make you happy, and some numbers make you worry.
I wasn't really surprised at all this morning when they said her ANC was only 300, but I wouldn't have been surprised if they had said it was 800--- what I mean is you get used to being ready for any and everything.
Hallie has felt good today.
She has played with nurse Lisa and nurse Sarah almost the entire day.
She even doctored on our social worker Mrs. Tracie when she stopped by.
We got permission from nurse Kelly tonight to ride the iv pole down to the first floor to the vending machines.
With all the chocolate that was stacked in that machine,
Hallie picked Lifesavers.
She ate every one except the ugly offwhite one (pineapple I think). She gave that one to me.
She is so precious. Everything that she does is just worth stopping and watching.
Which brings me to my other precious one. I talked to Harrison twice today. He and Dad had gotten fish for supper and rented a movie. He wanted to know when Hallie was going to get out so that we could come home.
I will be so glad to see that little face.
Please pray for Hallie's body to be healed.
I thank God tonight for how good she feels.
Please pray for my family.
Goodnight
Beth Ann
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 10:37 PM CDT
I have something very important to start out with tonight.
Heather has created a web site specifically for the bone marrow drive that is coming up in July in West Monroe.
They are calling the drive---- My Friend Hallie
Go to this site----the pictures of Corbin and Hallie are precious.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/myfriendhallie
Our morning started out with a blood transfusion. Hallie, however, never even knew she got one.
The doctors and nurses get so tickled at Hallie's ability to go through a complete exam each morning without ever opening her eyes, and then once they are finished, she rolls over and drops off to sleep.
Here is an example:
The nurse assistant comes in. She and I change and weigh Hallie's diaper. We pick Hallie up and stand her on the scales to check her weight. (I hold her arm because her eyes are basically closed.) Back in the bed she goes. Then the nurse assistant takes her temp.
I'll say--"Hallie, raise your arm so we can check your temperature." With her eyes closed, she raises one arm straight up into the air, and when she feels the thermometer she lowers her arm. When it beeps she raises her arm again and then puts it back down.
I am not kidding!! This is really how it goes each morning.
Next the lady says--- "Where do you want me to take your blood pressure, baby?"
And I kid you not--- lying there with her eyes still closed, Hallie will raise either her left arm or leg, and the lady will take her blood pressure.
Now the doctor takes a turn.
She looks in both ears, mashes her tummy, takes off the diaper and checks for any problems down there, and then the part that always blows us all away---- the doctor will say, "Hallie, can I check in your mouth to see if those sores are gone?"
Hallie reaches up and takes that pacifier out of her mouth, holds her mouth open WIDE while the dr. shines a bright light in it, and then puts the paci back in and rolls over and is out like a light.
You almost have to see it to believe it.
If it were not morning, I would video it.
The antibiotics are still pumping, and we have had another good day. No fever, but her ANC held at 100.
You really have to get to 500 or pretty close to get a
" get out of St. Jude free card ".
We are really hoping that the labwork in the morning gives us GOOD numbers.
Nana and I really need to wash some clothes.(smile)
Not to mention I am going to go crazy if she makes me watch another day of Fox News.
Oh, that reminds me. Hallie stayed awake all day today, so I knew she would go to sleep at a decent time. So I jumped in the car this evening and ran to a movie store and got me and Nana a movie.
We got Hallie bathed, fed, line changed, GCSF shot, mouth care, and teeth brushed.
She snuggled up in the bed and went right on to sleep.
MOVIE TIME!!!!
I got a dvd instead of a tape, and they don't have dvd players in the room.
So we're watching Fox News.
I talked to Joe tonight, and he and I were trying to guess what the ANC would be tomorrow.
We were hoping to spend 4th of July together, but it's looking "?"
We still have a chance though.
Harrison is spending tonight with Grangy and Poppy.
That means Poppy is in the guest bed tonight. Sorry Poppy.
I miss my little man, but I know he is enjoying being home.
Hallie strolled down the hall today to help the Child Life girls with some painting of 4th of July decorations.
She kept mixing the red and white paint together making pink. Some of the older patients who were also helping didn't necessarily want to use pink, so Mrs. Aggie (the volunteer today) gave Hallie her own palette.
She had a great time, and it helped to pass part of the afternoon.
Please pray for the bone marrow drive. It can mean so much for so many.
Thank you for all of your prayers.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 10:18 PM CDT
I wish you could see what I see right now.
Hallie is sitting in the bed propped up with about seven pillows, and she is reading a book to a half naked baby doll who is also propped up on those same pillows.
She keeps leaning over and looking at "her baby" saying--
"is dat too loud, baby? -- just let me know if dats too loud."
It is so sweet. Nana and I are both pretending to be doing something else, but we keep cracking up laughing.
Today Hallie's time has been shared equally with this new doll and old Charlie. One gets rocked and sung to, and the other gets a shot and cleaned with alcohol.
I was leaving the room today going to the cafeteria to grab Nana and me some lunch, when one of the sweet ladies who volunteers here regularly showed up to see if Hallie needed anything. When she heard where I was heading, she offered to stay and play with Hallie so that we could get out and take a break.
I didn't think that Hallie would ever let us both leave, but when Mrs. Suzanne pulled out that little baby from her cart Hallie's facial expression was basically saying-- "mama who"?
So Nana and I enjoyed a nice cafeteria lunch, and Hallie enjoyed being a mommy to her new baby.
When they did labwork this morning, Hallie's platelets were down again so by 9:00 she had already had a transfusion. Her hemoglobin was down also, but they are going to give her one more day to build on her own. If she doesn't then tomorrow she will get blood.
Our ANC moved to 100 this morning!!! Now that is still
basically 0 as far as having an immune system, but it is a step in a good direction.
Well---- we just had a little accident/scare.
Nana walked up to the bed to hand Hallie something and yelled for me (being in the same small room, I was only one step behind her, but she still YELLED---BETH!!!!)
I don't even remember putting down the laptop and jumping out of the chair, but I knew in one second why Mama was upset.
The tube that the nurse attached to Hallie's line to run the iv antibiotics had come undone and blood was backing out of the line.
There was this basketball size pool of blood right in the middle of the bed. I have seen this happen a time or two, and although still scary at first, I knew what it was and that it looked much worse than it was.
Nana, not feeling as secure as me at the moment, opted not to use the modern day "nurse button", but instead chose the old fashioned "open the door and scream" technique.
Nurse Kelly and several others came and took care of everything.
When I was putting new sheets on the bed I was thinking that getting blood tomorrow would probably be a sure thing.(smile)
I hope everyone has a good night.
Please pray for our family.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 10:18 PM CDT
I wish you could see what I see right now.
Hallie is sitting in the bed propped up with about seven pillows, and she is reading a book to a half naked baby doll who is also propped up on those same pillows.
She keeps leaning over and looking at "her baby" saying--
"is dat too loud, baby? -- just let me know if dats too loud."
It is so sweet. Nana and I are both pretending to be doing something else, but we keep cracking up laughing.
Today Hallie's time has been shared equally with this new doll and old Charlie. One gets rocked and sung to, and the other gets a shot and cleaned with alcohol.
I was leaving the room today going to the cafeteria to grab Nana and me some lunch, when one of the sweet ladies who volunteers here regularly showed up to see if Hallie needed anything. When she heard where I was heading, she offered to stay and play with Hallie so that we could get out and take a break.
I didn't think that Hallie would ever let us both leave, but when Mrs. Suzanne pulled out that little baby from her cart Hallie's facial expression was basically saying-- "mama who"?
So Nana and I enjoyed a nice cafeteria lunch, and Hallie enjoyed being a mommy to her new baby.
When they did labwork this morning, Hallie's platelets were down again so by 9:00 she had already had a transfusion. Her hemoglobin was down also, but they are going to give her one more day to build on her own. If she doesn't then tomorrow she will get blood.
Our ANC moved to 100 this morning!!! Now that is still
basically 0 as far as having an immune system, but it is a step in a good direction.
Well---- we just had a little accident/scare.
Nana walked up to the bed to hand Hallie something and yelled for me (being in the same small room, I was only one step behind her, but she still YELLED---BETH!!!!)
I don't even remember putting down the laptop and jumping out of the chair, but I knew in one second why Mama was upset.
The tube that the nurse attached to Hallie's line to run the iv antibiotics had come undone and blood was backing out of the line.
There was this basketball size pool of blood right in the middle of the bed. I have seen this happen a time or two, and although still scary at first, I knew what it was and that it looked much worse than it was.
Nana, not feeling as secure as me at the moment, opted not to use the modern day "nurse button", but instead chose the old fashioned "open the door and scream" technique.
Nurse Kelly and several others came and took care of everything.
When I was putting new sheets on the bed I was thinking that getting blood tomorrow would probably be a sure thing.(smile)
I hope everyone has a good night.
Please pray for our family.
Beth Ann
Monday, June 27, 2005 11:17 PM CDT
It's been a good day for Hallie.
She has had no fever today, and her silly sweet spirit has found its way back.
All meds are still the same, and basically all we can do is wait for her counts to improve.
Do you remember about a week ago I mentioned going down to the river to let Harrison cast his new fishing pole, and Hallie fell and scraped her knee?
Well, normally that would have healed and been done with, but a week later her counts dropped and infection was just looking for somewhere to hang out, so---- her little knee is red and puffy and sore.
I've been watching it for several days thinking that it looked like it was getting worse instead of better. The nurses and doctors have been keeping an eye on it, and giving me ointment to rub on it.
They are now wondering if that might be the cause of the initial fever this time.
When we are discharged, she will go out on an oral antibiotic if the doctors think it's necessary.
Corbin Gulde came by today to see Hallie and they looked so sweet sitting together on the bed playing---both wearing masks.
Heather snapped a few pictures that were precious.
Hallie is asking for Dad and Brother, so I can tell that I am not the only one missing them.
We talked to them tonight, and they are doing fine but missing us as well.
We did get out of our room today so that Hallie could walk and stretch her legs.
Once she had made a few laps around the floor, she decided to hop on the iv pole and ride for a while.
It's a cute thing to see, and if I ever learn how to put photos on this site I'll show you.
Please pray for Hallie to be cancer free.
Beth Ann
Sunday, June 26, 2005 10:17 PM CDT
Hello to everyone from the 2nd floor of SJCRH.
Last week when we were outpatient, we were driving in the car and passed St. Jude. Hallie pointed at the hospital and said---"dats where I sleep."
I just thought how funny it was that she said that with such GLEE, and there I was just remembering all that she has been through that landed her on the second floor of that big building.
Once again it speaks volumes about the people here.
Yesterday Hallie's fever spiked only a time or two, so we were thankful for that. The doctors added an additional iv antibiotic --Vancomycin. None of the previous cultures have grown anything which is great, but they wanted to cover anything else that might be causing the fever.
About 20 minutes after the medicine started, Hallie's face and top of her head turned blood red. We called for the nurse, and she stopped the pump. Hallie was having a reaction they call "red man". She started holding her head and saying it hurt, and then she got nauseated.
They started benadryl iv, and within 15 minutes she was feeling much better. The antibiotic was started back at a slower rate, and she finished it with no problem.
Now, every 8 hours she gets the benadryl first, and the Vancomycin much slower.
Today we had no fever, Yippeee!! Not much of an appetite either, but I know that will come when her ANC comes up.
Her biggest problem today has been sores in her mouth.
When she has no ANC(immune system) these blister like sores develop in her mouth. This is also the time that she cries when having a bowel movement. The doctors say that the blisters are not only in the mouth but they go down her little insides and continue to the rectum.
You can tell it is so painful.
But as soon as the ANC starts to recover, all of this starts to heal itself.
Dr. McGregor stuck her head in today before leaving and said--"Hallie, you grow some cells before I get back tomorrow."
So, we will just pray that those cells start growing soon, and Hallie will be feeling much better.
I talked to Joe and Harrison and they have been busy.
Harrison went to the All-Star ballgame last night with the Sullivans to watch Kyle and cousin Chas. It was a close game and he said it got pretty exciting. Our boys won and are advancing to more games next week in South Louisiana.
Joe loaded Kyle, Chas, and Harrison up today and took them to Lake Bruin for a day of boating and fishing. When I talked to them tonight, Harrison said they had so much fun.
We wished that we could have been there with them.
Hopefully it won't be too long, and we will be.
I talked to Heather Gulde tonight for a while, and she is really excited about this bone marrow drive. She and her friend Lisa Cory are working nonstop to make this a successful event.
They are calling the drive--- My Friend Hallie
We are trying to get Corbin(Heather's 3 year old little boy who is also a patient here at St. Jude) and Hallie together for a picture for some of the advertising.
This doesn't sound like it would be that difficult except both of them have an ANC of 0.
If one of them has even the smallest germ, the other one may pick it up.
So Heather and I laughed trying to figure out how we can pull this off.
Corbin's diagnosis thankfully does not require a bone marrow transplant.
Heather and her husband Clint came to me and Joe and said that they knew that it could have been Corbin who needed a transplant, and they felt moved to do this for Hallie.
I haven't even known these people for two months, but Heather and I were saying tonight that God knew when and where our paths would cross. We've been blessed already just getting to know them.
A good night to all--
Keep those prayers coming.
Beth Ann
Friday, June 24, 2005 10:27 PM CDT
Hallie didn't have the best day today. Her fever has been difficult to break since it began yesterday. It has been over 102 several times today, and when it did break, it never was for very long.
Her platelets dropped really low yesterday (to 5), so she got a transfusion.
At 4:00 am this morning they did more labs and found that her hemoglobin had dropped considerably as well (to 5 also), so she then got a transfusion for that.
If it were not for the fever, she would probably be swinging from the ceiling. (smile)
We have mainly spent the day bringing her food that she requests only to have her say ---- "I'm not hungree right now."
Nana said that she feels like she has gained 5 pounds since yesterday because she doesn't like to see food wasted.
Hallie did feel well enough at one point today to make her very first call to the nurses' station.
She pushed the red button and when the voice said--"may I help you?" she said in the sweetest little voice
"could somebody brwing me some cold ice wata?"
The nurses just had a fit and had to decide which one was going to get the honor of making the delivery.
Brother and Grangy headed back to Winnsboro when camp ended around noon today.
Harrison was really missing Dad and home, so he was tickled when it worked out for him to go.
They won't come back to Memphis until they hear from us to see what Dr. Furman has in mind for Hallie once her counts recover.
We are hoping that once she has recovered that maybe she will get a few days at "home home".
No matter what the day brings, I thank God for another day with my family and friends---
Please pray for Harrison to always be able to handle where his little eight year old life has taken him.
Please pray for Hallie to have good days and for the cancer to be gone forever.
I hope all of you are doing well.
Have a great weekend.
Beth Ann
Thursday, June 23, 2005 11:05 PM CDT
It's been a pretty long day here in Memphis.
Harrison got his wake up call at 7:30 for day four of camp, and shortly after he was out the door.
By the time he got back, Hallie had been admitted into
SJCRH with a fever.
Shortly after she woke up this morning, we took her temp. and started packing.
When Hallie and I got to D clinic and reported her fever, Mrs. Sandy came out and said----"I've been expecting you."
The nurses drew blood cultures from both of her lines, swabbed her throat, nose, (and other places),collected urine, and then came what we dread most about coming in for a fever----- the stick for a real blood draw!!!!
Everyone, including the staff, really dreads this part.
Especially when it is Hallie Gravelle. aka: impossible stick.
Hallie has 1 vein in her right arm that you can see.
Since Feb. 2003, only twice has anyone successfully
stuck her and gotten blood return.
It is a nightmare for everyone.
Hallie is older now, and she remembers more, which in this case does not help.
It is necessary because it may give answers to the cause of the fever, but hard to put her through non the less.
Nurse Penney must have said twenty times----"I don't want to do this."
Grangy helped me hold Hallie, but this time she really put up a fight. All four of us were crying, and when no one could stand any more, Mrs. Penney said that's it.
She never even actually got to place the needle in Hallie's arm because we couldn't get her still.
They will watch all of the other cultures this week to see if they see anything from those.
High doses of antibiotics are started immediately in case the fever is coming from an infection in the Hickman line itself. That is always a serious concern.
Hallie got to feeling better once that was over. Brother came in and offered lots of sweet affection and a new bouncy ball he had gotten for her in the gift shop.
Nana, Grangy, Harrison, and I took turns the rest of the evening entertaining her. She really just feels cruddy.
All the nurses on the second floor have come in to see her---- hallie even attracts the cleaning ladies, volunteers, and the sweet lady from the cafeteria who brings these kids any and everything they want. Everyone here is so wonderful. That's why when we were packing our bags to come up here Hallie smiled and said "I hope we pend de night."
I have got to get to bed but I almost forgot to tell you who we rode on the elevator with today---Marlo Thomas.
Now that might not mean a lot to most, but when you're child is at St. Jude and your shoulder is touching the lady whose father founded the very place that's trying to save her life---it's pretty nice.
One more thing-- Heather Gulde, the Mother of Hallie's new friend Corbin (his grandfather, Carl Gulde, is pastor of the First Baptist Church in Crowville) has asked Joe and me if they could do a bone marrow drive in Hallie's honor in West Monroe. She and the rest of her family are so precious. Here is their website if you would like to visit.
www.caringbridge.org/la/corbin
Dates and details are being worked out.
Please pray for Hallie and all of these children here at St. Jude.
Beth Ann
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 10:18 PM CDT
Hallie's day didn't start until 10:30 this morning-- she got a much needed 13 1/2 hours of sleep.
She hasn't had much energy today--- lots of book time in Grangy's and Nana's laps.
She loves working on Charlie ( this is a little cloth doll that St. Jude gives patients and siblings ---it comes with a Hickman line in its chest just like Hallie's and a big bag of medical supplies.)
So, anything that St. Jude might want to do to you, you can first practice on Charlie so that it won't seem as scary.
Hallie will sit for an hour and go through a pile of supplies just working Charlie over.
The other day I walked by the couch and she was cleaning the end of the line with alcohol. She mumbled something and I thought I heard her but I knew I must have misunderstood so I said "huh?"---and she said "he has cancer."
I never said anything, although now I think I probably should have.
I had never heard her say that.
But she worked on him with complete confidence just like I pray--- confident in a God that will take care of me and my family.
Harrison's team WON a game today at camp. He seems to be really enjoying this week, and I am so glad.
He got a haircut today,and when we got back to the apartment, he swam in the pool--- can you call that a bath if you swim until 6:30 pm?
We did.
He has summer work that Grace St. Luke's requires (math packet, reading, and keeping a journal).
He worked on some of that today also.
If you see him, don't ask about this particular part of his summer. (smile)
We didn't have an appointment today at the hospital, but we do tomorrow at 2:00.
We will find out if she needs any transfusions.
We are watching her closely for fever.
Please pray for Harrison and Hallie to have good days and for the cancer to be gone.
Beth Ann
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 10:16 PM CDT
"It's just a lump in the oatmeal"--- that is what Mama always says when something isn't going just so with me. She had to say that SEVERAL times to me last night!(smile)
And she was right. Today has been a wonderful day, and that little mishap with the computer last night has given us more laughs than I can even count.
I'm sorry it had been a few days since we updated. Joe has done such a wonderful job of keeping everyone informed since this all began in '03, but every now and then the day gets by without an update. So when I talked to him on the phone last night I said--- "instead of me calling you in Winnsboro and telling you what the kids did and what Dr. Furman said and then you writing the update, do you want me just to do it myself?"
He was so nice and just said--"yea, that would be great"
instead of saying what was probably really going through his mind---"hey Beth Ann, it has only taken you 2 1/2 years to catch on."
Well our weekend was really nice. Saturday- Joe, Harrison, Hallie, and I went to to the movie to see Madagascar. This was our Father's Day time together, and Joe didn't mind at all that it cost him $50.
We went in separate cars because after the movie he had to leave and head back to Winnsboro. The kids and I were pretty bummed after he drove off. I am always much more confident when he is around.
Sunday- Grangy made it to Memphis and she, Harrison, Hallie, and I walked down to the river to let Harrison cast his new fishing pole he and his dad had gotten Friday.
I kept thinking every time he reeled it in that if anything is hanging from that hook we are going to have a problem.
Hallie fell down and got a pretty bad scrape on her leg.
She cried because it hurt, but she really cried when she saw a spot of "bwood" on her little white sun hat.
I gave her some candy!
Monday- Harrison had to be at Grace St. Luke's at 8:45 for his first day of flag football camp. He loved it!
Hallie had to be at the hospital to see Dr. Furman at 10:00--St. Jude is so awesome, they will even work around flag football camp.
Her platelets were 39(a trans. is needed below 20)
Her hemoglobin was 9 (a trans. is needed below 8)
Her ANC was 0-- so part of her outfit this week will include a little blue mask. She doesn't like for us to put the elastic strap around her head so she just holds it to her face. She will do this for hours.
Her potassium is quite low so she is getting a good bit of supplements every day.
Her energy level isn't bad but you can tell that she is not 100% Hallie. She still does her best to keep up with big brother though.
Today, Harrison went to the second day of camp. He scored two touchdowns for his team!!!!! Oh, yea.
His team lost 3-6
He was really wanting to win.
I gave that famous Mother speech. The one about someone has to win and someone has to lose. He said--- in so many words---- that he hopes tomorrow the A team gets to represent the second part of that story.
He and I went out and did a few things together after camp.
We had so much fun.
We brought Hallie a pink Barbie "dress up" dress, some pink shoes, and lip gloss.
It was just what she wanted.
Please pray for Hallie to feel good.
Monday, June 20, 2005 11:34 PM CDT
ok-----without using any ugly words, let me vent!!!!!!
for the last hour and fifteen minutes i have been typing every detail of our lives since friday
as i was typing the last line this is what came up on the screen:
"page does not exist"
i want to hurt someone---- bad.
but mama is the only one still awake.
so here it is
Mamas fine
Grangys fine
Harrisons fine
Hallies pretty good except her potassium is really low
I will fix that this week
Joe sounded fine on the phone
I am not fine and i need anger management classes
better luck tomorrow
beth ann
Friday, June 17, 2005 8:20 AM CDT
Hallie was discharged yesterday afternoon and is back at the apartment. She is doing fine. She dined at Corky's last night; but she at a McDonalds hamburger from next door. She took her mineral supplements and g-shot last night without any problems. We are getting ready to go the hospital for lab check and D clinic visit. We will be around here most of the day today. Please pray for no fever and a quick recovery in the ANC.
Thursday, June 16, 2005 1:55 PM CDT
We are waiting for Hallie's fluids to finish running and then we will be heading back to the apartment. It should be around 4:30 - 5:00pm. Hallie seems to be tolerating the chemo good so far. She is indeed a very tough and brave little girl. As most of you know the next few days will see Hallie's ANC drop and she will probably need blood, platelets, and lots of magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. The ICE really works on these minerals and her platelets. Dr. Furman is not concerned with her kidney function. I spoke with him just a while ago and he said the kidneys are fine for additional chemo treatments. His goal now is to keep Hallie out of hospital as much as he can. We couldn't agree more !!
So we will go back to the apartment and pray for no fever and a quick platelet recovery from this round of ICE. And, of course, we will ask God to grant Hallie many fun and happy days - one day at a time. May God bless Hallie and all of the children of St. Jude.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 2:24 PM CDT
We decided to update this afternoon just for Sarah, one of our favorite nurses, who told us she likes reading the Hallie updates. When we were here in 2003, Sarah was Hallie's nurse a lot of the time and she even came to the apartment one evening and stayed with Hallie so Beth Ann and I could go out and eat. Hallie has had two doses of chemo and will get one more this round. We will probably be discharged tomorrow afternoon after she gets plenty of fluids. Hallie has tolerated this round of chemo pretty well so far. She has complained of nausea some; but it has not caused vomiting. Hallie has gone to the lobby with Harrison for some activities. Harrison is staying with Hallie in the hospital each night. He is looking forward to flag football camp at GSL next week. We want everyone to pray that this chemo Hallie is getting will somehow find and kill every tumor cell in Hallie's little body and that God will grant her a long and productive life.
Monday, June 13, 2005 7:26 PM CDT
Hallie is in Room 2063 at SJCRH. All of her counts looked really good this morning and she is already getting chemo. The amount of carboplatin she receives is being decreased. This is due to a test that indicated a loss in kidney volume output. The carbo is the ingredient in the "ICE" that can affect the kidneys. Dr. Furman is in service on the second floor this week so we will probably see him every day. When he came in today he said he plans on doing a reevaluation of Hallie's disease after the sixth round of chemo. The reevaluation will consist of a bone marrow biopsy and a MIBG scan. For now, Hallie is doing very well and taking this whole ordeal in her usual stride. Please continue to pray for no tumor and a match for a bone marrow transplant.
Sunday, June 12, 2005 8:17 AM CDT
The latest for us is all good. We had a great time at the lake this weekend with Hallie, Harrison, Sully, Sage, and all the family. Carolyn had a fun birthday complete with a guitar rendition of "Happy Birthday" by Sully Turner. Harrison and Sully caught lots of bream and even a couple of bass. But the big catch was a catfish that Dad had a ball getting off the hook.
Today we are going to church in Winnsboro and then gather our stuff and head back to Memphis. Beth Ann and I both said to each other yesterday that we hated to go back; but we know we have no other choice. We hope and pray that Hallie can continue to tolerate the "ICE" and that is somehow kills every single cancer cell in her body. We think Dr. Furman will admit her tomorrow if all of her bloodwork looks good to begin chemo round number five.
Please remember Hallie and all of the St. Jude children in your prayers.
Friday, June 10, 2005 7:47 AM CDT
Nothing new to report with Hallie. She is feeling very good and has gone back over to Lake Bruin with Beth Ann, Amy, Karen, Debbie, Carolyn, Sage, Sully, and Harrison. They are hanging out there until Saturday. Dad is going over today to cook for all of them tonight. We will be going back to Memphis on Sunday. Please pray for Hallie's complete recovery.
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 7:34 PM CDT
We had a good visit to LSU-Shreveport today. We got there at 8:00 am and Hallie starting getting blood at about 11:30. We finished up in three hours and got home about six o'clock. The staff at the clinic were very professional and courteous and Hallie slept through most of the transfusion. Her platelets were up to 40,000 and the rest of her chemistries looked good. We are planning on returning to Memphis on Sunday and starting chemo round #5 on Monday night. But for now, Hallie and Harrison are pretty excited about cousins Sage and Sully along with Aunt Karen coming to Winnsboro tomorrow for a few days!! They have not quit talking about it since they found out. They will really enjoy each others company for the next few days.
On a sadder note, it pains Beth Ann and I both to hear of yet another loss in the St. Jude family. Emma Grace Hampton passed away yesterday afternoon. She was a victim of neuroblastoma. The Hamptons were friends of ours and we are truly saddened by the loss of their daughter. If you wish to read her story, it can be found at www.caringbridge.org/ar/emmagrace . Please continue to pray for Hallie and all of the children of St. Jude. They are brave fighters in a difficult battle.
Monday, June 6, 2005 7:31 AM CDT
UPDATE: We are going to take Hallie to Shreveport in the morning to the St. Jude affiliate there for a blood transfusion. Dr. Furman said he will start chemo on Monday if her platelets will hold. They were actually up this morning! That means that we get to stay here for another week.
Yesterday Hallie and Harrison had a great time at Lake Bruin. Harrison and Hallie both fished and drove the boat for a while. Poppy and Grangy came over for a couple of hours. New photos are attached. Hallie will have her counts checked yet again this morning. We expect a trip to Shreveport is probably in the making. We will call Dr. Furman when we get the results and see what he wants us to do. He told us on Friday that since her platelets have not recovered quite as quickly and are not holding on their own that he would probably not start chemo until late in the week. Otherwise, Hallie is feeling good and enjoying her time at home-home with Harrison. Please continue to pray for no tumor and a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant.
Thursday, June 2, 2005 11:53 AM CDT
Hallie is really enjoying her stay in Winnsboro ! Today she went to the dentist with Harrison. We are so grateful for the time we have together with her at home-home. We just pray for no more tumor and a match for a transplant. Please remember Jake Rayburn and Emma Grace Hampton in you prayers. They are both experiencing very difficult days.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 7:26 PM CDT
Hallie, Beth Ann, and Nana all made it safely back to Winnsboro this afternoon. It is good to have everybody here for hopefully the rest of this week. Hallie is feeling good and playing with all of her toys. Harrison is really enjoying seeing all of his buddies from Winnsboro. We hope to see everyone while we are here!
Sunday, May 29, 2005 8:05 AM CDT
Hallie's ANC is now 300 and we hope it is a little higher today. We will go the clinic to check counts again later today. She is probably going to need platelets and/or blood either today or tomorrow. Before she comes home we have to get the platelet count to hold up. It is our plan to still come to Winnsboro on Tuesday unless the platelets are not holding up. Hallie spent the day Saturday with the girls (Beth Ann, Debbie, Heather, and Brooke) while Dad and Bryan went to the golf tournament. Hallie got some Dora shoes with lights. Please continue to pray for no tumor and a match for the bone marrow transplant.
Friday, May 27, 2005 12:40 AM CDT
We just returned from the clinic. Hallie's ANC is up to 100. We will be continuing the IV antibiotics for a few more days. Hallie is feeling good and right now is enjoying a bowl of Froot Loops with Brookie. We are expecting Debbie and Heather this afternoon. Dad's buddy Bryan is coming as well for the golf tournament this weekend. We will go the clinic tomorrow for lab check. We are scheduled to go to the clinic again Tuesday morning and assuming her counts and blood/platelet count is good Dr. Furman is going to give us a pass to come to Winnsboro for a week. Hallie will get round five of ICE the week for the sixth of June. Please continue to pray for good counts, no tumor, and a perfect match for a transplant.
We wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!
Thursday, May 26, 2005 11:53 AM CDT
Update: We just found out that we are getting released to the apartment. Even though Hallie's count is zero we are getting to leave. We will give her IV antibiotics at home and bring her to A/T to check counts for the next few days until they rise.
Hallie still does not have an ANC. She got platelets a little while ago. She is also had a plasma injection followed by blood draws throughout the day today to check her kidney function. This is routine. We do not suspect any problem. The platelets are needed due the carboplatin which is very tough on the platelets. Hopefully we get some count in the next day or so. Pray for that. With any luck at all, we are hoping to get a pass from Dr. Furman to come to Winnsboro for several days next week before the next round of chemo. Harrison left with Grangy this morning. He is also not feeling well with an ear infection. Meanwhile, just pray for some counts and the platelets to hold so we can come home a few days. Hallie really wants to drive Daddy's boat at the lake.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:39 PM CDT
Hallie is still inpatient and her ANC is still zero. Today she had a CT scan of her lower abdomen and her colon to try and see why bowel movements are very painful. The result is that the CT scan showed no abcess or other obvious problem. We suspect a ulcer or small tear in the anal area is the problem. She has had several bowel movements today and late yesterday and the problem seems to be improving. We will probably be here until we get some rise in Hallie's counts.
Harrison, Brooke, and Dad rode out to the TPC Southwinds golf course today for the pro-am event. We were guests of St. Jude and the Rivalto family who have an awesome home located on the 18th green. We had some lunch and then walked over to the 18th green and got to see some golfers come by and even got autographs from Hank Kuehne and Len Mattiace. Terry Bradshaw was at the hospital this morning and it was pretty cool to see him and shake his hand. He has some Winnsboro connections in the Jim Willis family.
I am pretty sure that Jim Willis was Bradshaw's center at LA TECH when he played there. I told him that the last time I saw him was at Johnny's Pizza in Winnsboro with JoJo Starbuck in about 1980 at a birthday party. That is true! He didn't remember the occasion; but he was very cordial and said to tell everyone in Winnsboro hello!
Hallie is feeling very good and hopefully we can get out of here before the weekend.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:58 AM CDT
Hallie had a restless night last night until midnight when she finally fell soundly asleep and slept until 9:00 this morning. When she awoke she had a visitor. PGA golfer Loren Roberts, a resident of Germantown, stopped by her room to say hello. Harrison did not go to school today and he got to go down to the lobby and practice his putting stroke with Loren. Loren Roberts is a very nice guy and it was great of him to take time out of his busy week schedule to come to the hospital. As some of you know the FEDEX/St. Jude Classic is being held at the TPC Southwinds this weekend and lots of good golfers are in town including David Toms, Loren Roberts, John Daly, and Davis Love III. We plan on going to the course during the event. Hallie is feeling very good this morning and we are still waiting on some counts and a BM. Please pray for both. New photos on the photo page!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 8:16 AM CDT
Hallie is still in the hospital today. She is still asleep right now and we have not gotten her counts back yet. She is still constipated and having some discomfort from that. Otherwise, she seemed to perk up a bit yesterday and played some, colored, sang some songs, and ordered everyone around. But that's OK. She is really looking forward to seeing Mom later today. She is also excited that Brooke is coming with her. Keep praying for good counts and for this constipation issue to ease.
Monday, May 23, 2005 11:32 AM CDT
Fever struck yesterday evening and Hallie is back in the hospital. She started antibiotics and got some blood and platelets last night. She slept well and had a good breakfast this morning. Her ANC is zero and we will probably be inpatient for several days until her ANC shows some movement. She is also having a constipation problem and we are giving her something for that. Please pray for counts to rise so we can get out of the room and back to the apartment.
Saturday, May 21, 2005 4:56 PM CDT
Dad and I took Harrison and Hallie to the Galleria today and ate lunch. We also rode the carousel for a while and took some photos. I have added one on the photo page.
Hallie is feeling pretty good and I am not going to mention fever!
Joe
Friday, May 20, 2005 9:27 PM CDT
It has been a quite day here today. Harrison enjoyed his swimming party very much. Beth Ann has arrived safely in Winnsboro. Poppy made it to Memphis this afternoon. Hallie has felt up and down all day today. I suspect her counts are still very low. She has had a little better appetite today it seems. She is already missing her Mom. We do not have to go to SJ until Sunday afternoon. Well, that's about it for today.
Please pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Thursday, May 19, 2005 8:58 PM CDT
Today we went to the clinic and as we suspected Hallie's ANC had dropped to almost zero. It was 100. She is feeling sort of lousy. It tends to come and go; but we can tell she is not 100%. We are all hoping we can avoid a fever and another visit to the hospital. Poppy is coming up tomorrow for the weekend and Grangy is coming Sunday for a week or so. Beth Ann is coming to Winnsboro sometime over the weekend. She has a doctor appointment in Monroe on Monday. She will return to Memphis on Tuesday. Harrison will finish his last week of school tomorrow and his virus seems to have run its course. He is looking forward to a swimming party tomorrow - weather permitting. He has done fantastic in school and we are all very proud of him. Nana is doing well also and she will stay here and help Dad over the weekend. Please continue to pray for a perfect match for Hallie's transplant and that Hallie enjoys every day God gives her.
Beth Ann and I would like everyone who reads this and prays for Hallie to please remember the Hampton and Gulde families during difficult times for them.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 10:45 PM CDT
Hello out there.
Joe, Nana, and Harrison are asleep and Hallie and I
have broken into the computer and decided to say hi
to everyone.
I don't know if the keyboard will last much longer
because Hallie just dumped an entire glass of Coke on
it----tomorrow, we will play very dumb----we're good at
that.
This is me by the way, Beth Ann.
The first thing I want to say to all of you is that
I love you and I could type all night and never come close
to telling you what you and your prayers have meant to me--to all of us.
Some nights I sit down and read the messages and cry --and you write about how strong we are --- so I go to bed and get up the next morning and give it everything that I have--because if I didn't then you would be in trouble for making false statements. (smile)
Thanks for all the times you've sent us those words of encouragement.
Today, Dr. Furman gave us the day off---no hospital, no doctors. Yippeeee.
So Harrison spiked a fever of 101.
Off to the Pediatric Clinic we go. They did bloodwork
and said he was battling a pretty good virus. He was
feeling better by the time he went to bed. He has a swimming party on Friday at the home of one of his friends
here at school and he said he feels certain that he will be fully recovered.
He has been so remarkable through this whole thing with Hallie's sickness. He's a good big brother.
Hallie stayed at the apartment with Nana today and she was glad to see us when we got back.
She feels ok but you can tell that the three days of ICE
have caught up with her. She doesn't want to eat much and she has not danced all day.
She does however still have that sweet sweet smile.
Well she and I are getting sleepy so we better go ---
Please continue to pray for Joe, me, Harrison, and Hallie.
Beth Ann
Monday, May 16, 2005 7:57 PM CDT
OK
First of all, I failed to mention in my update yesterday that I missed and was very glad, even overwhelmed to see Beth Ann when I returned to Memphis. I also enjoyed seeing my mother-in-law Carolyn as well. It's a guy thing and women don't understand. Sorry for the mind freeze!
Now, today we went to the clinic and checked Hallie's labs and visited with Dr. Furman. Hallie's bloodwork looks fine and tonight we start the G-shots again. We discussed with Dr. Furman all of the different aspects of the bone marrow transplant(s). Nothing really changed; but he did reassure us that he agreed with our plans at this time. We will continue the ICE for a few more treatments. He said from what he sees that Hallie is tolerating the ICE very well. In the coming week or so he plans to do a more in-depth check of Hallie's kidney function which will tell him more about her situation.
I have posted some new photos. One is from a raffle drawing that Hallie was asked to attend at ALSAC. Today we were invited to attend a gathering on Wednesday week at a home on the golf course that the FEDEX/ST. JUDE PGA Tour event will be held on the last week of this month. We will get to meet lots of pro golfers and Hallie and Harrison can get some photos and autographs. That should be really neat.
Please continue to pray for the chemo Hallie is taking to work on the tumor. Harrison missed school today due to a sore throat and stomach ache.
Sunday, May 15, 2005 6:14 PM CDT
Dad made it back to Memphis this afternoon and was very glad to see Harrison and Hallie. Hallie was discharged early this afternoon. She is feeling pretty good; but her counts will begin to drop in the coming days. We have to begin the G-shots tomorrow. We will go the hospital tomorrow to do lab work. She is still eating good. Harrison is getting ready for his final week of school and he is excited about that. Later tonight we are going to watch the video of his play at school.
Please pray for continued response to the chemo treatments and that we somehow can find a perfect match for her transplant.
Thursday, May 12, 2005 9:16 PM CDT
Sorry we havn't updated in a few days but there just has not been much change. Hallie has felt very good and Harrison has been busy with his school report and school play. He did great on both. We are very proud of him.
Hallie has been readmitted to St. Jude this evening for round four of ICE. She needed some blood as well and was getting it around 7:00pm. The ICE will start around midnight.
I will be unable to update over the weekend because I will not be near my computer. I will update again on Sunday and Hallie should be discharged sometime Sunday.
Joe
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 6:51 AM CDT
We have not posted the past several days because there is just not a whole lot to say. Hallie feels super! Dr. Furman is thinking the next round of chemo should start late this week or early next week. Harrison has to present his report on Louisiana today and is participating in the school play on Wednesday. He is a card shark.
Please continue to pray for good days for Hallie and no tumor.
Friday, May 6, 2005 3:41 PM CDT
We have had a quiet day today. No visits to the clinic or hospital. We just picked Harrison up from school. Hallie is still feeling really well and Harrison is of course glad it is Friday!
We want to let everybody know that Hallie and Harrison have their own email addresses now and we can access them from the apartment in Memphis. Here they are:
harrisongravelle@bellsouth.net
halliegravelle@bellsouth.net
Beth Ann's is:
bethgravelle@bellsouth.net
Hope everyone has a great weekend. Aunt Amy is coming tomorrow for a week and we all look forward to seeing her.
Thursday, May 5, 2005 5:06 PM CDT
Today we met with Dr. Greg Hale of the BMT team. He spent the better part of an hour and a half discussing the ins and outs of a bone marrow transplant for Hallie. We could not possibly relate to everyone who reads this all that was said, so here is the abridged version.
Since no matches were found in the NBMDB for Hallie, she would need a transplant from either Mom or Dad. Harrison is not a possible donor. It takes about two weeks for new donors who get typed (like the drive at FMC) to get into the system. St. Jude searches the bank at least every two-three weeks for new matches. Obviously if a perfect match was located our plans would change. A successful transplant from Mom or Dad would give Hallie around a 25% long-term disease free survival rate. The process is risky from an infection standpoint. Only two of these transplants have been done at SJ for neuroblastoma patients. Hallie would be number three and she would be the youngest. Approval from the FDA and the review board at SJ would be required for the transplant; but we feel that approval would be granted in a month or two. The most common side affect is graft vs. host disease (GVHD). Dr. Hale feels the GVH is manageable. What is not manageable is the extreme risk of bacterial infections and viral infections of all kinds any of which could take Hallie's life in a very short time.
We have asked SJ and Dr. Hale to consider another stem cell transplant similar to the one she underwent in 2003. The major difference would be that in this transplant the stem cells used to give back to Hallie would be harvested from the peripheral blood and not her bone marrow as it was in 2003. Dr. Hale said he has never had that request before; but that it made some sense and he would discuss it with Dr. Furman and the powers that be. If SJ gave us permission to do this sort of transplant now, we would strongly consider doing it now since the side affects are minimal.
Aside from this Beth Ann and I are both leaning toward continuing on with the ICE chemotherapy regimen for some period of time followed by oral topotecan. Our final decision will somewhat depend on our conversations with Dr. Furman in the next week or so. Hallie feels great and we just don't see the point in putting her life at considerable risk at this stage in her life. The transplant from either Mom or Dad would still be on the table later if Hallie's condition deteriorates and the disease begins to progress.
In the meantime we need to pray that the chemo she is receiving kills all of the tumor in her little body and a transplant is never needed. We also need to pray that the doctors let us try another autologus transplant using her peripheral blood as the harvest site. This would just be another gun to fire at the tumor because the allogenic transplant (the one from Mom or Dad) is the final gun to fire. After an allogenic transplant, we will have exhausted all medical options. And finally and most importantly we all should pray that God grants us and Hallie many more days of good health and that she continues to feel as good as she does today. Her counts are excellent and no more G-shots for now. Her ANC was 6,800!
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 2:25 PM CDT
Just got back from the medicine room at SJCRH. Hallie got some platelets. Her counts were all good except for the platelets. Her ANC was 1900 and her hemoglobin had increased again. She is feeling really good. She is eating a granola bar and watching me type this email. We are going to try and get some new photos out in the next day or so. We will go back to clinic tomorrow for another lab check and we have an appointment with the bone marrow transplant team.
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 4:25 PM CDT
We just returned from St. Jude and Hallie's counts continue to get better. Her ANC has climbed to 600. Her platelet count is low; but we will check it tomorrow and see if we need a transfusion. Dr. Furman wants to give them every chance to produce by themselves before he tranfuses. Hallie's hemoglobin increased overnight which is good and her chemistries all looked good. Sandy suggested that we give her potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium anyway because we know that the carboplatinum is pretty tough on those things. We will return to clinic sometime tomorrow to check counts again. We expect to begin the next course of ICE next week probably early-mid week if platelets look OK. We talked to Sandy a little about the dilema we face with the transplant for Hallie. We really trust her opinion and she simply told us that right now there is no right or wrong decision. We must do what we feel is best for Hallie after we talk to the transplant team. Please pray for continued good results with the chemo and good news from transplant.
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 8:18 AM CDT
Not much to report today. Hallie awoke this morning at about 7:30 and wanted to eat breakfast. Rice Krispies was her choice. She then took her medicines. She is taking two antibiotics and Prilosec. She will stop the antibiotics when her ANC reaches 500 - maybe today. We go to clinic at 1:00 to check her counts. We have an appointment Thursday with the transplant team to discuss Hallie's situation and our options.
Harrison is at school and counting the days until May 25. He is really doing well and we are very proud of him for making such a good effort at his new school. They have invited him back for next year if he is in Memphis.
Please continue to pray for good days and good news for Hallie.
Monday, May 2, 2005 11:47 AM CDT
Hallie is being discharged today !!!!!!!!
Her ANC is 100 this morning and as soon as the paperwork is done we will be heading back to the apartment. I know she is ready. She is feeling good and has just ordered two pancakes, two sausage links, and some juice from room service.
Please continue to pray for some good news concerning the transplant.
Sunday, May 1, 2005 9:21 AM CDT
Hello from from 2064 at St. Jude. Harrison, Hallie, and Dad (Joe S. for clarity sake) spent the night at the hospital Saturday night so Beth Ann and Carolyn could get a much deserved night off. We watched two movies before we nodded off around 11:00. Harrison is an early riser and he managed to wake Hallie up around 8:00. As soon as both of them were up - food was on their minds. Harrison had a bowl of cereal and a few strips of bacon. The human disposal (Hallie) had a bowl of Froot Loops, a link of sausage, and almost two pancakes with syrup. She has a very good appetite. Right now we are watching movies and waiting on Mom to return to the hospital. Harrison and I might try to catch the Redbird/Cub game this afternoon. ANC is still zero, otherwise all is OK.
Saturday, April 30, 2005 9:22 AM CDT
Just a quick note to let everyone know we are still in the hospital and Hallie's count is zero. Otherwise, she feels really good except for biting her tongue on pizza Friday night. It really hurt; but she kept on eating the pizza. If history is any indicator she will probably not begin to get any counts until sometime mid-late week.
We really need everyone to pray for something good to happen in terms of a transplant for Hallie. Dr. Furman feels that without a successful transplant Hallie's prognosis is poor. He feels that the only way to medically cure her bone marrow is through transplant. A lot of people are praying for Hallie and we just have to believe that miracles still happen. In the meantime, we hope and pray that Hallie feels good everyday.
Thursday, April 28, 2005 11:45 PM CDT
Fever struck again tonight. Hallie and I just settled into bed at SJCRH. We will probably be here until her ANC starts up. Who knows when; but hopefully soon.
We met with Dr. Furman this afternoon. As of today he said that no perfect match had been found for Hallie's transplant. To qualify for the protocol he wanted her in she would have to have a 6/6 match. That is hard to find. She might still be able to get a transplant from either me or Beth Ann; but as he put it the risks are much greater and we still have no guarantee of cure. So we will visit with the transplant team next week for sure and try to make some sense of the options we have.
Dr. Furman did say he was pleased at how well Hallie is doing at this point. God willing we can contain her disease with the ICE until we can determine if a transplant is a good direction for us to take if we don't find a perfect match. It will probably take some time for everyone who was typed in Winnsboro to get into the system. We will ask the transplant team to check back in the national bank again for new potential matches. If we should decide a transplant is not a good option for Hallie, sustained chemo (probably oral topetecan)with lots of prayers are our choices.
We ask everyone to pray that Hallie's disease remain at bay and somehow we can find that perfect match for a transplant.
Joe
Thursday, April 28, 2005 8:26 AM CDT
Yesterday was a slow day for us. We did have to go to the clinic; but we go today. Yesteday, Dad took Hallie to the Galleria so she could ride the carousel and pick up a copy of Charlotte's Web Part II. We also stopped by the Chocolate Chip Cookie Place and got some pretty good cookies to bring home.
Later, we all went to the Grizzly House and picked up Jennifer, Corby, and Gracie Campbell. Some of you may remember them. They used to live in Monroe; but recently moved to Illinois when Chip (Jennifer's husband) took a position with ALSAC in Peoria. We drove to the airport to pick up Chip who was flying in from Omaha. We all went to On The Border for dinner and really enjoyed getting to see and visit with the Campbells.
Harrison is still doing the school thing and he is doing very well. Currently he is finalizing his report on the state of Louisiana and getting ready for his role in an upcoming play.
We see Dr. Furman today and hope we can get some more information on transplant timetable. Please pray for Hallie's continued improvement and that a donor match is found.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 7:51 AM CDT
It is simply not possible to express in words what happened yesterday at the Franklin Medical Center. In what we all expected to be a small bone marrow drive for Hallie, more than 400 people gave blood to be typed to see if they matched Hallie's bone marrow tissue type. They came from Winnsboro, Franklin Parish, outlying parishes, and other states.
On behalf of Hallie Beth and the entire Gravelle family we would just like to say "Thank You" to everyone who came with compassion and made an effort to help us. For those who came and could not give for some reason, "Thank You" as well.
The staff at Franklin Medical Center should all be recognized by the community in some way for the effort they put forth yesterday. Winnsboro is very fortunate to have a quality community based hospital for so many reasons; but people are what make a hospital. Paula Walker, Katherine Brown and every employee of FMC who gave freely of their time for Hallie are extraordinary people and our community is better because they are part of it. From what Paula has told me the NBMDB was very impressed with our community and we should all be proud of the effort made yesterday. It really speaks to the kind of people we have in our parish.
You know, this drive for Hallie is an indication of what is possible when people in a community unite instead of fight. When everyone recogizes what is "the right thing to do" , and just "gets it done".
There are others to thank as well including KMAR radio who donated their time to get the event on the air. Someone posted flyers around town to get the word out about the event. The newspaper helped with advertising. There were others I am sure I missed. It was really a united community effort.
Once again, THANK YOU, and please pray that we find a good match for Hallie's transplant.
The Gravelle Family
Monday, April 25, 2005 11:57 AM CDT
No new developments to report. Hallie is feeling great. Her counts will probably begin to drop in the coming days and she may begin to feel a little worse - we hope not. Dad is heading back to Memphis tomorrow and can't wait to see everyone. Harrison is fighting an ear infection and "bookitis".
Please rememeber to the bone marrow drive tomorrow and pray a good match is found for Hallie.
Friday, April 22, 2005 0:06 AM CDT
Hallie was discharged on Thursday afternoon and is back at the apartment with Harrrison, Beth Ann, Grangy, and Carolyn. Hallie was feeling a little "chemoed out" (new word) this afternoon; but she seemed to bounce back a little when she got to leave the hospital. Her and Harrison when strolling down by the river late Thursday evening and saw some doctors and others from St. Jude who live on Mud Island. Hallie will see Dr. Furman tomorrow and have her counts checks. Her magnesium and potassium are low again as they were last time and she may require some food additives. The "ICE" is apparently pretty tough on certain things and we will just have to supplement her diet for a while until she can produce enough of it own her own. We have still not spoken to anyone from BMT (bone marrow transplant). We may learn something on this Friday. But for now just continue to pray that a good match for Hallie is found and that she continues to feel good with each day.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 9:56 AM CDT
Not much to report. Hallie is doing well. She seems to be tolerating the chemo pretty well with minimal side effects. She will get the final dose of this course tonight and should be discharged tomorrow sometime.
Harrison is back in school and wondering when the last day will be. He did get a good report card!! Way to go Harrison.
Remember the bone marrow drive for Hallie is April 26, 2005 from 7am - 7pm at the Franklin Medical Center in Winnsboro.
Please pray for Hallie.
Monday, April 18, 2005 10:44 PM CDT
Bone marrow bipsies are a science in and of themselves. A biopsy is taken and if nothing is seen readily under the microscope then "special stains" are ordered to determine if any microscopic disease is present in the sample.
Today we recieved another answered prayer. The special stains from Hallie's bone marrow biopsy showed no tumor!
This is but a small victory; but a victory none the less. It tends to show that Hallie is fighting this horrible disease and she is responding to the chemo she is receiving and that God is truly blessing our little angel. Without clean bone marrow, Hallie will not qualify for a transplant. So it is very important that she responds to the chemo that Dr. Furman is prescribing. So far - So good! It is worth noting that a biopsy is a random sample of the marrow and does not necesarily mean that Hallie's marrow is completely free of disease. We must assume that is not; therefore a transplant is a must.
Hallie enjoyed being with all of her family at church on Sunday. It was a joy to have everyone together at the service. She is truly an inspiration to many and has touched many lives. For this we are thankful and find meaning in her life struggles.
Hallie is inpatient now and is receiving another round of "ICE". Please pray for continued success with chemo and that a marrow donor be found,
Sunday, April 17, 2005 10:29 PM CDT
Beth Ann, Hallie, Harrison, Carolyn, and Grangy made it safely back to Memphis late this evening. We will see Dr. Furman tomorrow and hopefully proceed with chemo. We also hope to meet with the transplant team this week to learn if a possible donor has been found.
Please pray for Hallie to find a donor and be ready to accept the transplant.
Saturday, April 16, 2005 8:56 PM CDT
Hallie ann Harrison are doing fine and still enjoying being home. They will go back to Memphis tomorrow. Hallie is scheduled for chemo on Monday and Harrison has school on Monday. Below is a copy of a guestbook entry from our good friend Paula Walker concerning the bone marrow drive for Hallie. Please pray for a donor to be found for Hallie.
Hello to all. Just a note... flyers, posters, newspaper ads to follow, but...
The bone marrow donor drive for Hallie Beth is Tuesday, April 26 from 7:00am to 7:00pm in Franklin Medical Center's auditorium (back of the hospital). A few restrictions: only ages 18-60, height/weight, and health questions.... will be in the paper, on flyers, in the paper, etc.
This is a "simple blood test only". If you are a match to Hallie or someone else, you are not obligated if you are called, but this blood test will let us know if you are a match for Hallie Beth. THERE IS NOT COST TO YOU.
Thank you so much in advance for your compassion and caring...See you on the 26th, Tuesday week. Thank you.
I will continue to pray that God will keep Hallie Beth in his comforting hands.
Paula Walker
Friday, April 15, 2005 8:27 PM CDT
Not much to report today. Hallie just continues to feel good and is enjoying being home. Harrison is doing the same. We really enjoyed the evening with our good friends the Cloessners and others at the Cloessner home. We had hot dogs and homemade ice cream and it was really fun. Hallie had a ball on the swing set. Harrison had a blast in the electric car except his driving skills are not there yet. Thanks to Jimmy and Kristy for having us over.
Please pray for Hallies bone marrow biopsy results to be good and pray for a donor for Hallie. Remember the bone marrow donor drive is April 26 at Franklin Medical Center and there is no charge for the registration.
Thursday, April 14, 2005 3:42 PM CDT
Today brought some good news from St. Jude. Dr. Furman said that the report from Hallie's bone marrow aspiration showed no tumor cells. However, he is still waiting on the biopsy results. Some special stains are being done to try to see any microscopic disease. It is important to remember that a biopsy and aspiration are just a small sample of the persons complete bone marrow. It is good though that the tumor is not growing faster than Hallie's body, the chemo, and God can fight it. We pray that the biopsy results will be as favorable as the aspirate results. Barring a drop in her ANC, Hallie will return to SJCRH on Monday for round three of chemo. She is still feeling good and enjoying her time at home in Winnsboro.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 10:33 PM CDT
Hallie had another great day today. We just got back from the Mexican restaurant where we all ate a big meal. Hallie had lots of chips and cheese sauce. Harrison went to Franklin Academy at noon to see his classmates. They were very glad to see him. We still have not heard the results of the bone marrow biopsy of Monday. We will probably wait to talk to Dr. Furman next week and find out then if there is any change in the disease in the tumor.
Concerning the bone marrow donor drive, here is what we know. I urge everyone interested in becoming a potential bone marrow donor for Hallie or anyone else to go to the website for the National Bone Marrow Donor Bank (NBMDB) at www.marrow.org for more detailed information. What I can tell you is that in order to become a potential donor for Hallie you must participate in the National Bone Marrow Donor Bank program. All St. Jude patients who get a transplant that is not from a parent get them through a person registered with NBMDB. They do very detailed screening of all registrants to determine if they are a possible match for those in need of a transplant. I want everyone to understand that you cannot simply give blood to determine if you could be a match for Hallie - and only Hallie. As humbling as that expression is to our family, it is just not a possibility. You must register with the NBMDB. You then could be called to give bone marrow for Hallie or someone else other than Hallie. The final decision in the matter of the donation is yours and you could opt not to give marrow if circumstances prevented you from doing so. It is worth noting that Hallie is just one of many who are in need of a transplant. What greater satisfaction could a person have than the knowledge that they literally saved a human life.
The NBMDB will be at Franklin Medical Center in Winnsboro on April 26 from 7 am - 7 pm for those who would like to give blood and be tested. The procedure is a blood draw (two vials) similar to a regular blood test.
Beth Ann and I were very humbled today when we learned that my cousin Lynn in Bentonville, Arkansas had taken up the ball for Hallie with Walmart. Lynn works in the data processing division for Walmart in Bentonville. When her superior learned of and about Hallie, they decided to have a drive in Bentonville for Hallie at the corporate headquarters. They expect nearly 2000 people to be registered with the NBMDB!!!
Thanks you Lynn and thanks to all of the fine people at Walmart.
The Gravelle family
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 8:14 PM CDT
Hallie had another great day today. We just got back from the Mexican restaurant where we all ate a big meal. Hallie had lots of chips and cheese sauce. Harrison went to Franklin Academy at noon to see his classmates. They were very glad to see him. We still have not heard the results of the bone marrow biopsy of Monday. We will probably wait to talk to Dr. Furman next week and find out then if there is any change in the disease in the tumor.
Concerning the bone marrow donor drive, here is what we know. I urge everyone interested in becoming a potential bone marrow donor for Hallie or anyone else to go to the website for the National Bone Marrow Donor Bank (NBMDB) at www.marrow.org for more detailed information. What I can tell you is that in order to become a potential donor for Hallie you must participate in the National Bone Marrow Donor Bank program. All St. Jude patients who get a transplant that is not from a parent get them through a person registered with NBMDB. They do very detailed screening of all registrants to determine if they are a possible match for those in need of a transplant. I want everyone to understand that you cannot simply give blood to determine if you could be a match for Hallie - and only Hallie. As humbling as that expression is to our family, it is just not a possibility. You must register with the NBMDB. You then could be called to give bone marrow for Hallie or someone else other than Hallie. The final decision in the matter of the donation is yours and you could opt not to give marrow if circumstances prevented you from doing so. It is worth noting that Hallie is just one of many who are in need of a transplant. What greater satisfaction could a person have than the knowledge that they literally saved a human life.
The NBMDB will be at Franklin Medical Center in Winnsboro on April 23 from 7 am - 7 pm for those who would like to give blood and be tested. The procedure is a blood draw (two vials) similar to a regular blood test.
Beth Ann and I were very humbled today when we learned that my cousin Lynn in Bentonville, Arkansas had taken up the ball for Hallie with Walmart. Lynn works in the data processing division for Walmart in Bentonville. When her superior learned of and about Hallie, they decided to have a drive in Bentonville for Hallie at the corporate headquarters. They expect nearly 2000 people to be registered with the NBMDB!!!
Thanks you Lynn and thanks to all of the fine people at Walmart.
The Gravelle family
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 8:12 AM CDT
Harrison and Hallie are really enjoying their time at home this week. They are getting to see their old friends and having a ball. Hallie feels very good.
The bone marrow drive is scheduled for April 26 from 7-7 at the Franklin Medical Center in Winnsboro. More details will available soon! Thanks to Paula Walker and Katherine Brown for getting the drive organized.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 1:29 AM CDT
Funny how things work out !
We are all in Winnsboro. Dr. Furman decided to let us all come home for the rest of this week and return to St. Jude on Monday. Hallie will be admitted on Monday and she will start another round of chemo. She feels good and her ANC is 6500. She and Harrison are really looking forward to seeing their friends.
Sunday, April 10, 2005 5:40 PM CDT
Today we have been doing our best to entertain Hallie. Beth Ann and Harrison are at a birthday party for one of Harrison's buddies from school. Hallie is feeling really good. Tomorrow we go to the clinic. She has a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. We ask everyone to pray that the results of this test are favorable for Hallie. We anticipate that Hallie will be admitted to the hospital sometime next week for round three of "ICE".
Friday, April 8, 2005 8:15 PM CDT
We had a fun day today just staying around the apartment most of the day. Hallie helped Grangy make some cupcakes. Hallie feels really good. She has played all day long. Tonight we all loaded up and went to Corky's for some great bar-b-q. Harrison has gone with Grangy and Poppy to their hotel to spend the night. We'll all be around the apartment tomorrow. We are just enjoying being together and not having to go to the hospital.
Check out the new photos!!
Thursday, April 7, 2005 4:35 PM CDT
Hallie's MIBG scan was "normal"!
This essentially means the scan indicated no areas on neuroblastoma cells detectable by the scan anywhere on her body. This is great news given the fact that we know she had a sizable tumor on her spine that is no longer present. Dr. Furman sat down with us this afternoon to tell us this and he expects that the bone marrow biopsy will most likely be favorable as well given the MIBG results today. Now we have to keep the status quo and pray that we can find a really good donor match for Hallie. We are probably going to get another course of chemo sometime next week depending on platelet counts. We may get several more courses before we get to any transplant. We have requested and we expect to meet with a doctor from transplant next week to discuss the transplant process in depth. Hallie is feeling pretty good right now as she weans off of the sedation drugs she had this afternoon. We do not have to be back at the clinic until Monday so we have the weekend to rest.
We want to thank everyone who has prayed so hard for Hallie since we got back to Memphis. Most of all, we thank God for getting her to this point. We know that without Him, none of Hallie's victories in this battle would be possible.
Wednesday, April 6, 2005 4:40 PM CDT
Dad, Grangy, and Hallie went to the hospital today. First, we had blood drawn and then went to D Clinic. We saw Sandy who is Dr. Furman's nurse practitioner. She told us that the pathologists have all agreed that the lesion removed from Hallie's eye was not neuroblastoma or any other form of cancer! That's great news. Finally a definitive answer on the cancer question. Dr. Furman will tell us more about what he thinks it is tomorrow. Anyway, then we went to the medicine room and got some platelets.
Tomorrow is a big day for Hallie. She will be sedated and have a MIBG scan at 11:00. We should know some results sometime tomorrow. She is also scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy on Monday.
Please pray for a clear MIBG scan and clean bone marrow.
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 6:23 PM CDT
Hallie is out of the hospital!!!!!!!
Her ANC was at 100 and the doctors let us come back to the apartment. She is scheduled to go to the clinic tomorrow for bloodwork. She will get the radioisotope injection for a MIBG scan on Thursday. Also, we were told today that after some very lengthy deliberation the pathologists at SJ have concluded that the lesion removed from Hallie's eye was not neuroblastoma. That's the good news. The bad news is that they really do not know exactly what it was. They gave Dr. Furman a long list of possibilities. He will discuss this with us on Thursday. We feel that the liklihood that it was a malignant tumor is remote, although possible.
Hallie feels super and right now she is painting with water colors. So much for the deposit on the apartment!!
Hallie and Harrison really appreciate everyone at the FRANKLIN STATE BANK in Winnsboro for the "Build A Bears" and the Corky's gift card they received. You all should have seen the look on Hallie's face when she saw the easter bear. And you really should have seen the look on Joe's face when he saw the Corky's card!!! I will get a photo soon of them with the bears so you guys can see! They want all of the ladies at the bank to know that they love them and will make a point to come see all of them as soon as they get back to the 'Boro.
Please pray for more good news on the eye lesion and a clear MIBG scan.
Monday, April 4, 2005 7:58 PM CDT
Hallie is still in the hospital. She feels good and we are just waiting on the counts to rise so that we can be discharged. Hopefully soon!
Please keep us in your prayers.
Sunday, April 3, 2005 8:09 PM CDT
Hallie is still doing good as she awaits her counts to begin to rise. She has been very playful today. She wants to get out of the room a lot and asks when she can go home. Hospital rooms get pretty boring even at St. Jude. Hopefully her ANC will rise soon.
Harrison goes back to school tomorrow and he is getting ready to do a report on the state of Louisiana the the Louisiana Purchase at the end of the month. Never too soon to start.
Please remember Hallie in your every prayer.
Saturday, April 2, 2005 6:59 PM CST
Hallie had a much better day today after getting some platelets and fluids. She got up pretty early and ate breakfast. Harrison and Hallie played together in one of the play areas for some of the morning until Hallie needed a nap. We just have to wait for some movement in the ANC until we get discharged.
Please continue to pray for a match for the marrow transplant and that the tumor is destoyed in her bone marrow.
Saturday, April 2, 2005 9:09 AM CST
Well, our luck ran out last night as Hallie was readmitted to St. Jude for a low-grade fever. In addition her electrolytes were low and she has developed a few mouth sores. She is getting fluids, antibiotics, and anti-fungal medicines. All of these symptoms are consistent with chemo side effects and she should recover as her counts begin to rise in the next several days.
We would like to say a big THANK YOU to all who are praying for Hallie and Harrison. It is without a doubt the most important thing anyone can do for us at this time.
Thursday, March 31, 2005 11:49 PM CST
We had another quiet day today. Hallie got up early as usual and went to the hospital for labwork and physical therapy. Her ANC is still zero. She did great at PT! We then left and picked Harrison up from school. Around 5:30 we took everybody downtown and rode a horse-drawn carriage for a while through downtown. Hallie and Harrison had a great time. Hallie continues to feel very good in spite of low counts. Her eye is looking better every day as the swelling diminishes. Dr. Furman is in Los Angeles at an Oncologist Covention and will not return to Memphis until Tuesday. We hope things stay quiet until he returns.
The prayers for no fever are working -- keep it up!
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 1:38 PM CST
We just got back from St. Jude and Hallie's ANC is still zero. She needs a little phosphorus so we will try some sprinkles on her food and lots of Coke. Otherwise, she feels good today and just finished pizza for lunch.
New photos are available on the photo page.
Please continue for a fever free week and for the tumor to be gone from Hallie's bone marrow.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 6:53 PM CST
Today was a pretty quiet, uneventful day. Hallie went to the hospital and got some labs drawn. It was determined she needs to continue to get some fluids with some electrolytes. The chemo causes them to drop. We assume her ANC is still zero, although today she has felt good. Today is Doctor Appreciation Week and Hallie gave Dr. Furman some bread and cookies. We really hope he likes them. We go to the hospital tomorrow at 11:00 for more labwork. Her eye is still swollen; but it does not seem to bother her at all.
We just hope that Hallie contiues to feel good and stays free of fever. Harrison has a field trip tomorrow to the zoo. He did very well on his tests today.
Please pray for Hallie's eye to heal and for her to stay free of fever as her counts rise.
Monday, March 28, 2005 8:17 PM CST
We spent twelve hours at the hospital today. Hallie's surgery went very well this morning. Hallie did fine. I wish we could tell everyone a definitive answer as to exactly what was removed from her eyelid. We do know that the pathologist told Dr. Furman that it was not a sty or chelaxion. The nodule he removed was approximately 1-2 millimeters in size and had tumor-like properties. The lesion had evidentaly begun to differentiate which indicates some cancer cells are or were present. Dr. Furman stopped short of calling it neuroblastoma until he sees the actual slides of the lesion sometime tomorrow. It most likely was neuroblastoma; but Dr. Furman feels the tumor in Hallie's bone marrow is responding to the chemo. That's the good news.
Hallie's ANC is now zero and we are likely to be in the hospital soon. She also got a blood transfusion today. Her eye is very swollen and discolored from the surgery. The surgeon entered the outside of her eyelid to remove the lesion and it took four stitches to close the incision. So far, Hallie has not seem to be bothered by the eye and we hope this continues.
We are scheduled to go to the clinic tomorrow and see Dr. Furman about noon.
Please pray for Hallie.
Sunday, March 27, 2005 8:28 PM CST
Easter Sunday came and went today but not without the Easter bunny coming to see Harrison and Hallie. They both got lots of goodies. Hallie decided to get up arount 5:30 for hers.
We went to the hospital today and Hallie's ANC is at 800.
It will probably drop more as the week goes on and we just hope she does not get a fever. Fever means instant admission into the hospital most of the time.
Aunt Karen is coming in tomorrow for several days. We are scheduled to be at surgery on third floor in the morning (Monday) at 7:30. Hallie's surgery is at 8:30. It will probably take no more than thirty minutes or an hour at the most. After that we don't know what we will do. We will probably see Dr. Furman at some point following recovery.
Harrison is out of school tomorrow.
Please pray for Hallie's surgery to be a success and pray that the lesion on her eylid proves to be non-cancer related.
Saturday, March 26, 2005 6:06 PM CST
We all had a day of fun today. Beth Ann, Hallie, and Nana stayed at the apartment and did Easter stuff, boiling eggs, etc. Hallie has felt great today! Harrison and Dad drove to the Naval Station in Millington, TN to see the famous WWII B-17 "Memphis Belle". It was awesome. The plane is being restored to its original condition. It was in a hanger and broken into several large pieces. Harrison was able to get inside the ball turrent and sit in the rear gunners seat. I wonder if he realizes what history he touched today. Because of the renovations, we were able to walk up to the plane and look inside, touch any parts we wanted to, and look through the actual Norden bomb sight used in the infamous bomber. We had a great time.
We are back at the apartment now and are just opening up some of the many Easter cards we received today. Thanks everybody. We are quite sure the Easter bunny will visit tomorrow. Hallie is very anxious and excited.
Yesterday, Sherry, Sarah, and Rachel Anders stopped by for a bit and brought several very nice gifts for Harrison and Hallie from the Methodist youth at our church. We really appreciate all of the youth for their generosity.
Many people have inquired about getting typed to see if they could be a match for Hallie's bone marrow transplant. In order to do this you must first register with the National Donor Bank and have blood drawn. A good friend of the family in Winnsboro is in the process of seeing if someone she knows in New Orleans with the donor bank will come to Winnsboro for a local drive. I will keep you posted. Meantime, if you want to explore the process yourself you can log onto the NBMDB website at:
www.marrow.org
We are all looking forward to a great Easter tomorrow. Please continue to remember Hallie in your prayers.
Friday, March 25, 2005 1:03 PM CST
Hallie feels better today than she has in a long while!
She got a good night sleep last night and woke up feeling refreshed. She ate some breakfast and laughed and played with all of us (Harrison in particular). She put on some Easter clothes including a hat that she just loves. We went to the hospital for labs and visit to D Clinic. Dr. Furman was not in the clinic today. We saw Mrs. Mindy in the clinic. She said Hallie's labs looked very good.
She had talked to Dr. Furman concerning the pontential bone marrow transplant. It turns out that out of six "markers" or criteria for a match with the bone marrow Harrison is only 1/6 and Beth Ann and I are 3/6 each. This means that a donor will have to be located in the national donor bank. Any person who wishes to be typed must register with the national bone marrow donor bank. We are not sure of this process; but will try to find out for anyone who might want to do this for Hallie or anyone in the future.
The weather here is very good today and we are going to get Hallie out today and let her enjoy being outside.
Check out the new photos on the photo page!!!
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, March 24, 2005 2:53 PM CST
The rollercoaster ride of cancer continued today.
We were discharged around noon. Hallie felt a little lethargic because she did not get a good sleep last night. When patients are getting chemo, it is necessary to check blood pressure and other vital signs during the time they get medicine. Since Hallie has been getting hers at night, she has to be aroused almost every hour or so. With the tremendous amount of fluids she receives while she gets the chemo it is also necessary to change diapers every hour or so. Anyway she did not get good sleep last night. In addition, the side effect of nausea begin to show itself today. She did eat a hamburger last night and some fries.
We thought the day was over until the appointment at 1:00 with the eye doctor. Some of you may remember that back in December we brought Hallie to Memphis because she had a sty-like bump on her left eyelid right on the eyelash line. Dr. Wilson looked at it then and called it a celasion. He wanted to see Hallie again in about three months to check on it. Well, today he did. To our complete surprise he told us it could (and we stress - could) be tumor. We were very taken back by this since Dr. Furman has seemed unconcerned about this area all along. Dr. Wilson told us he has never seen neuroblastoma present in this manner before. We are hoping Hallie is not the first; but he did tell us that it feels different today than it did three months ago and he suspects it is disease.
Hallie is scheduled for surgery on Monday morning to remove the lesion on her left eyelid. This probably doesn't change anything in terms of treatment. We just hope and pray that her eyesight is not comprimised in some way and at this point we have no reason to believe it will be.
We are all back at the apartment and Hallie is eating toast dipped in Sunny D. Please pray for Hallie's eye and the surgery she will undergo on Monday.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 3:29 PM CST
Hallie is doing pretty good today. We think she is starting to feel some of the side affects of the chemo. She has been a little irritable and she also complained once today with some leg/back pain. Otherwise, she smiles every now and then and sleeps a good bit. She will get the last chemo tonight and we will probably be discharged tomorrow morning. We have an eye appointment tomorrow morning to see about the celasion on her left eyelid. It is getting larger and beginning to droop into her eye itself. It most likely will have to be removed surgically at some point sooner rather than later.
Please continue to pray that the tumor cells in her bone marrow are destroyed and no new tumor appears on the next scan. We need this in order to proceed with the bone marrow transplant process.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005 10:08 AM CST
Hallie went to sleep last night at 8:00 and she woke up this morning at 9:00! The chemo was started at 11:00 pm. It takes only three hours to get the full dose of all three types of chemo. She will get the same dose tonight and Wednesday. Assuming we have no complications, she will probably be discharged Thursday. This morning she ate one-half of a pancake and she has just requested a pepperoni pizza from the cafeteria be delivered to her room!
The pain team came in this morning and discharged her from their service. They feel her pain is well under control and if her back should begin to hurt and continue to hurt we have liquid morphine to give her. Her back pain is infrequent and seemingly not very bad. We have not had to give her any liquid morphine at this point.
We really appreciate everyone who has prayed for Hallie's bone marrow to be clean and that no new hotspots of tumor appear on her body anywhere. Please remember Hallie in your every prayer.
Monday, March 21, 2005 4:22 PM CST
Hallie is now in the hospital and she will begin to receive round two of "ICE" later this evening. "ICE" is an acronym for three forms of chemotherapy drugs: Ifosfomide, Carboplatnum, and Etoposide (VP16). Following this round of chemo, Dr. Furman said he will do another bone marrow biopsy and MIBG scan in order to see what the disease is doing.
We would like everyone who reads this and prays for Hallie to pray for Hallie's bone marrow to be free of tumor and that no new hot spots appear on her body.
If we are successful with cleaning the disease up and getting her into another remission, we will hopefully find a donor for a bone marrow transplant in the weeks and months ahead. We should find out if any of us including Harrison are matches this week!
Please pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Sunday, March 20, 2005 9:09 PM CST
Harrison and I made it back to Memphis this afternoon. We survived the camping trip. Harrions had a great day and he really enjoyed seeing all of his buddies from Winnsboro. Harrison beat me on the obstacle course, survived the compass course, hit five bullseyes on the BB range and he did very well on archery as well. We did not spend the night however due to the weather forecast for early Sunday morning.
We found Hallie in pretty good spirits. She has an ear infection and she spikes a fever now and then. She is showing me all of her new candy that she has. I brought her two new Dora the Explorer movies and we are watching them as well. Hallie especially enjoyed seeing Mrs. Christie, Brooke, and Mrs. Dee this weekend.
Tomorrow, Harrison heads to school and we are going to D Clinic to see Dr. Furman at 1:00pm. We anticipate going back into the hospital either tomorrow or Tuesday for the next round of chemo.
Joe
Friday, March 18, 2005 5:56 PM CST
I have talked to Beth Ann only once today. She said Hallie was having a good day. She had taken her to physical therapy and she climbed some steps by herself and was walking better than the day before. This is small progress; but it is very good that she is doing better day to day.
On Monday we will see Dr. Furman and decide when to start the next course of chemo. We are guessing he will want to start sometime next week.
Harrison is on his way to Winnsboro with Grangy and he and I are going camping tomorrow night at Camp T. L. James. We are hoping for good weather; but rain is in the forecast. On Sunday we will return to Memphis. This weekend Hallie has welcomed a few visitors including Dee Sullivan, Christie Fenn, and Brooke Fenn. I am sure she will be delighted to see all of them, especially Brooke.
I will probably not have another update until Sunday night.
Joe
Thursday, March 17, 2005 6:34 PM CST
Hallie had an appointment this morning at SJ. She did not feel good when she awoke this morning. She was having difficulty standing, experiencing some back pain, and nauseated. She had fever off and on last night as well.
She had a thorough exam by several different doctors including a neurologist, Dr. Khan, who we really trust and admire. He is convinced based on tests he performed that Hallie's reflexes are fine, her strength is good, and she has no fundamental problem with her spinal column. The consensus is that the compression fractures are causing some dull pain. Only time will heal this. The nausea is probably due to the weaning of the pain meds.
As the day went on, she began to feel a little better. Everybody has to remember that she was bedridden for almost one full month. It is going to be a while before she is her old self.
Harrison is coming home tomorrow for his camping trip with HIS Dad, not Poppy. He is really excited about the trip and seeing all of his buddies.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:21 PM CST
We had a little scare today with Hallie. She spiked a fever of 102 this morning and we took her to D Clinic. She had some blood work done and a complete check-up. The doctors could not find any reason to keep her so they sent her back to the apartment. We should know something from the cultures tomorrow. However, late this evening she was doing fine and feeling pretty good.
Her walk is our real concern tonight. We just do not know at this point. It could be the radiation. It could be some nerve involvement with the residual tumor on the spine. We just don't know; but she does have a noticable limp when she walks. The doctors noticed this as well; but seem to discount it at this time. Dr. Furman is out of town and he will not return until next week. We really value his opinion and hope he can shed some light on this if it has not improved by the time he returns.
We ask everyone who reads this message to say a special prayer for Hallie. We hope and pray that some of this is due to the fact that she has been bedridden for almost a month and that in time she will walk normally again.
Harrison continues to enjoy his new school and he is doing fine.
Please pray for Hallie and Harrison
Tuesday, March 15, 2005 10:23 PM CST
Hallie was discharged from St. Jude late today and is now back at her apartment on Mud Island. She is having a little difficulty walking. This is mostly due to the fact that she does not have much strength in her legs. We hope this gets better in the next day or so as she moves around a little. Otherwise she feels very good and her appetite is getting better.
Harrison had another good day at school today. He is really looking forward to coming to Winnsboro this weekend and going camping with his buddies on Saturday night.
Please remember Harrison and Hallie in your prayers.
Monday, March 14, 2005 8:09 PM CST
Harrison really likes his new school. He had a good first day and the teacher said he did very well. He was assigned a report to do on the state of Louisiana. He has already got some new buddies and is actually excited about going back tomorrow. If any of you would like to look at the school the web address is:
www.gslschool.org
Hallie continued to improve today; but we are still in ICU. We will move tomorrow. Harrison came by the room after school and Hallie laughed and played with him a good bit. Dad has come back to Winnsboro for a few days. Tonight, Aunt Amy and Carolyn are staying with Hallie. This weekend Dad and Harrison are going camping with the cub scout pack. Hallie's ANC is 4800 today and she is feeling good. If all goes well, she will probably begin the next round of chemo a week from today.
Please continue to pray for God to lift Hallie up during this struggle.
Sunday, March 13, 2005 3:45 PM CST
Hallie is on the road to recovery. We are sure of it. Her ANC is up to 4800. She has been further weaned from the pain meds and versed. She has been more awake today and has even laughed out loud several times. I have posted two new photos taken today on the photo page. Please read the following excerpt from an entry in the guestbook - it really makes sense and gives some meaning to this journey that Hallie is enduring.
God has a plan for us all. The effects of Hallie's story and pain, on us, can soften the most hardened hearts, turn outward the most self involved,and bring humility to the "unfortunates" among us. Hallie is a worker for God. I'm sure you can write a book about how people have been changed or moved to compassion, by meeting or hearing about Hallie. Even in her short years of life; she may have accomplished more for humanity that an adult would do in a lifetime. God has a plan. My daughter fought, and won a battle with Leukemia from ages 5 to 10. People called her a victim soul: a soul who carried on the redemptive work begun by Jesus when on Earth, because her suffering was so great; there were so many invasive proceedures done to her. While in the hospital, she seemed to glow and enjoy being there (even with 3/4 month stays, and the toy room nearby). People were moved by being in her presense. Maybe the same is happening with Hallie. God has a plan for us all. Courage. Get and ask for help, even when you think you don't need it. This builds humility for you! The best to you all.
FRANCES CHAMBERLAIN
OAKTON, VIRGINIA
Saturday, March 12, 2005 9:55 PM CST
We are seeing further improvements in Hallie's condition today. Her ANC is now 2800. That's a big jump from Friday when it was only 360. Her pain episodes are continuing to decline and the doctors decided this afternoon to begin to wean her from both the Delaudid and the Versed. She had her final dose of steroid yesterday as well. Hallie has been more awake and alert this afternoon although she is still in a very drousy state. Her sleeping is improving. The best news today was that she had her first bowel movement in about 10 days. The combination of pain meds and low food intake has contributed to constipation over the past several days. We are going to remain in ICU over the weekend; but we feel if things continue as they are we will probably transfer us back to second floor on Monday. That would be great.
Our entire family was delighted to see Bill and Paula Walker this morning at the hospital. Bill and Paula are all too familiar with St. Jude. Their son, Ryan, is a neuroblastoma survivor and spent many days here some twenty years ago. Bill, Paula, Ryan, Hayli, and Amy have always been a great inspiration for our family. It was so kind of them to come see Hallie.
We hope and pray for Hallie's condition to improve in the days ahead and thank God for the good days we have enjoyed with her.
Friday, March 11, 2005 10:56 PM CST
Hallie's condition has improved today on two fronts. She is experiencing fewer pain episodes and they seem to be less severe. She is also a bit less agitated. However, so long as she is on the Dilaudid and Versed she will continue to be somewhat "out of it". Dr. Furman and I spoke this afternoon and he agreed with our opinion that the majority of Hallie's pain stems from the severe esophogitus. We have surely seen improvement today. We are grateful for this and we forever grateful for all of our friends who have offered kind words and prayers for us in the last few weeks. We hope we could be discharged back to second floor and out of ICU on Saturday morning. We are no longer in isolation since Hallie has now had three clear nasal cultures for flu. HEY! Hallie's ANC dropped some last night but that is not unusual. It should rise in the coming days. Dad and Carolyn are here tonight with Hallie and right now she is sleeping soundly in Nana's lap. I hope to have some new photos on the website tomorrow. Please remember Hallie in your prayers and ask God to continue to grant her peace in her life. She is a precious, brave, and determined little girl who wants nothing more than to beat this horrible disease. God Bless Her.
Thursday, March 10, 2005 9:54 PM CST
Where to begin?
I wrote several weeks ago about us learning of Hallie's relapse on 2/17/05. In that email I explained that Beth Ann and I decided to proceed with chemo to treat the recurrent tumor and the reasons why. Furthermore, in that email we stated that we and Dr. Furman agreed that Hallie should not suffer any unnecessary pain in this process. No one, including Dr. Furman, could possibly have imagined the course of events that would follow for our precious little girl.
She came her with mild back pain. Tumor was found on 2/17/05 in her bone marrow. In addition, a bone lesion (outward growing tumor) was dicovered on her spine for which radiation treatments were begun to the localized area. Then she began chemo and that chemo was a rather strong dose because of several reasons. She contracted the flu somewhere along the way. Her ANC dropped to zero as a result of the chemo. Her back pain has gotten worse and extremely high doses of pain meds for a person her size are now necessary to combat the pain. She suffered respiratory arrest as a result of our attempts to control the pain on 2/18/05. She is now in ICU so she can be monitored 24 hours a day.
On Wednesday night and into the early morning hours of Thursday it became very apparent to Beth Ann and I that Hallie was suffering too much and paying to high a price for possible benefit later. We called for some sort of meeting with Dr. Furman and others to discuss our options as parents. We expressed our view that at this point we wanted nothing but peace for Hallie by whatever means necessary. We would never give up on Hallie and her fight against this horrible cancer. However, when her pain and quality of life become an issue, then it is our responsibility to protect her interests. I can tell everyone this: Hallie is no where near giving up.
The meeting went very well. We expressed our thoughts and Dr. Furman and others expressed theirs. Tonight, we hope we may have some glimmer of hope that Hallie could turn the corner soon. Dr. Furman believes that Hallie's condition from a pain standpoint will get better. The chemo and radiation should shrink and/or kill the tumor in her body. Everything at this juncture indicates that is indeed happening. Her severe anxiety, sleeplessness, and agitated state of mind will improve as well with some adjustments and as she is weaned from various drugs given to combat the side-effects of the chemotherapy. As for her back pain, we believe the source could be severe esophagitus caused by the radiation and some nerve involvement in the area of the spine tumor. We have begun meds for this tonight as well.
To address our concerns for Hallie's condition, the doctors have begun giving her some new drugs regularly to help her rest peacefully during the day and night. It is our hope that this will give her little body time to fight back some on its own and heal from all it has endured the past few weeks. As of this writing the new drugs were doing just that - she was sleeping peacefully.
The next several days will be good for Hallie if she can catch up on some rest. Her ANC is now at 500 and should rise tomorrow. We think the flu has probably run its course. We believe that her back pain episodes are fewer and less severe. Her state of mind is our concern and we are going to work on that a lot with the help of the pain team at SJ and others.
We know some who read this might wonder why haven't the doctors at SJCRH been able to get to the bottom of all of this sooner? That would require a very complicated and lengthy answer. Let me reassure all who read this that not once have we ever questioned the dedication of St. Jude during Hallie's journey. They are in a class all by themselves.
May God continue to bless Hallie and all of the children of St. Jude.
Wednesday, March 9, 2005 1:15 PM CST
This will be a short message due to the time constraints we are under. Hallie is now in ICU where she can be monitored very closely around the clock. This was necessary due to the increases in pain meds necessary to manage her back pain. With a high degree of probability, the source of the pain is nerve involvement with tumor in the L3, L4 area of her back. She is now on neurontin and dilauded for pain control. The fentanyl has been stopped. Her white count has risen to 800. She is currently under sedation and having numerous X-Rays, CT Scans, and other procedures performed. We are hopeful that when her counts begin to rise, that the doctors may have more tools at their disposal to find the exact source of the pain and relieve it. Until that time, we are trying to keep Hallie in as little pain as possible knowing that we are now walking a fine line with her respiratory function. Please pray for Hallie and the doctors and others who are working very hard to help her through this extremely difficult period. It is clear to us that this hospital is dedicated to helping her through this ordeal and we thank God we are here. In these times it is very hard to understand why children must suffer. As parents it is our job to minimize this as best we and the doctors know how and keep looking ahead to better days.
Hallie is the bravest person we have ever known and ever will know.
Monday, March 7, 2005 7:54 PM CST
Hallie has had another tough day today. She has continued to be plagued by back pain. Another CT Scan this evening revealed nothing in the abdomen or kidneys that could be the cause of this pain. Late this evening we saw Dr. Furman and he believes that the pain is either due to one or two things. First, the pain could be bone pain associated with compression fractures in her spine. Second, the pain could involve some nerve roots in conjunction with tumor or residual tumor on the spine.
Then, after Dr. Furman saw us we tried a new drug called gabopentin. It is the same as neurontin. It is designed to control pain at the nerve endings. She received a high dose (50mg) at 7:00pm and will get another dose early tommorrow morning around 1:00 or 2:00am. We are praying that this drug works. If so, it would tend to indicate that the pain is associated with nerves. This would be very good news since bone pain is very difficult to manage.
I have received several emails concerning persons wanting to be typed for Hallie's bone marrow transplant. I am going to find out any information about this I can. My understanding is that SJCRH uses the nationwide donor bank and any persons wanting to donate for Hallie will have to be entered in the national register as a donor.
Please say a special prayer for Hallie and her doctors as they work to figure out the pain issue and find the fix.
Joe and Beth Ann
Sunday, March 6, 2005 7:26 PM CST
First, Harrison wants to say THANKS A LOT to all of his buddies who have sent him the cool items in the mail. He really enjoys all of the neat "happys" he has received and he wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone. I am sure Hallie would feel exactly the same; but she just has not felt like playing with anything lately. Hopefully that will change.
I wish I could tell everyone that Hallie was doing just fine. The truth is she feels pretty bad. Her ANC remains at zero, she is getting over a pretty bad strain of flu, and we still are struggling to control her back pains. As of this writing, she has begun taking Adavan. She may also try some sort of muscle relaxer later tonight. We are trying anything in an effort to give her some relief. The frustrating thing about this is that nobody really is sure what is causing the pain. It could be the compression fractures themselves, muscle pull/spasms, or something else. If you do not know what is causing the pain, it is hard to give her the proper drug. Her symptoms and behavior during the pain spells is indicative of someone who is suffering muscle spasms. It seems to be short, acute pain that subsides quickly and improves with repositioning.
She has lost a lot of hair. She will be completely bald again very soon. Her counts should improve this week. With any luck at all, we will get some improvement in the back situation this coming week.
Please pray for Hallie during this very difficult time in her life. I keep remembering a phrase I have heard many times: It will probably get worse before it gets better.
It sure hurts Beth Ann and I to see Hallie get worse; but we have faith better days lie ahead for our precious little girl.
Joe
Saturday, March 5, 2005 11:16 AM CST
Today has brought good and bad news. Hallie had a bad night last night. Around 11:00 this morning we got a pretty good explanation of the cause of back pain that is continuing to plague Hallie. Further detailed examination of the MRI from yesterday indicates two compression fractures on the L3 and L4 vertabrae in her spine. Dr. Spunt told Beth Ann and I that they see this sort of thing in NB patients. It is due to the weakening of the bones caused by tumor in the marrow. The subsequent killing of the tumor in the bone probably weakens the area even more. Treatment for the problem is limited at this time to rest, pain management, and a possible back brace to stabilize the area. This explanantion makes the most sense to us yet and the good news is that tumor pressing on the spinal cord is not the case at all. Dr. Spunt sees no real long-term problem; but admitted it may be some time before we see real progress with the back pain. We are putting Hallie on a continual dose of Fentanyl later today and reducing the steriod again since the situation does not lend itself to steroids. The steroid may even weaken the bones more. Time is the great healer in this case and we ask God to ease Halle's discomfort. This is a bump in the road that we did not count on; but God willing we will overcome this in time and move on towards fighting the cancer. Please pray for Hallie to be pain free in the hours and days ahead.
Joe and Beth Ann
Friday, March 4, 2005 6:10 PM CST
Preliminary results of the MRI - and they are preliminary - indicate that the original tumor on Hallie's spine has been destroyed by the radiation treatments. No further treatments to this site will be done. Thank GOD. We do not know if any other spots may have appeared on Hallie's spine since the last MRI; but we feel pretty good that none have. So we have no real idea what is causing the back pain at this time. Hallie had a real tough time today recovering from the anesthesia. She is just now beginning to feel better. Nana is reading Dr. Seuss - Cat in the Hat. Poppy made is here today and he and I are pulling the night shift with Hallie at the hospital. We noticed this afternoon that the first strands of Hallie's hair is starting to fall out. I sure hate to see her lose that pretty hair. We continue to pray for Hallie to feel better as her counts improve.
Joe
Friday, March 4, 2005 9:37 AM CST
Hallie slept very good last night.
After the doctors increased her steroid dose and began giving her a small dose of morphine every four hours or so, her back pain seemed to subside and she sat up in bed and ate some chicken nuggets and fries. She is scheduled for radiation later this morning followed by another MRI of her spine.
The MRI will tell us either good news or bad news. If the tumor is growing and not responding to radiation, that would be very bad news. On the other hand, if it seems to indicate that the pain is being caused by swelling in the area caused by other means, then that sort of problem is treatable. Our anxiety level is pretty high with regard to this. The MRI is at 12:30 and we hope to find out something late this afternoon or early tomorrow.
Please pray for Hallie.
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, March 3, 2005 8:37 PM CST
It has been a difficult day today for Hallie. For some reason and only God know why, Hallie's back pain seems to be becoming more frequent. This seems to coincide with the doctors deciding to wean her from the steroid she was taking for inflammation. It is not very severe, lasting pain; but she is complaining more and more about it being uncomfortable. This concerns us greatly. The pain is certainly being caused by the tumor on her back and we are praying that in the coming days the radiation treatments and chemo will begin to really shrink the tumor. Tonight the doctors have restarted the steroid she was taking in an effort to reduce any inflammation surrounding the nerves in and around the area in her back. Her flu symptoms persist and her counts are still zero. She is still running a fever and we give her tylenol to break the fever as needed. Many prayers are needed for Hallie at this time. We need this back issue to be resolved soon.
On a better note, Harrison attended his new school today. It is Grace St. Luke, an Episcopal school here in Midtown. He made some new friends and said he really likes the school since they start Spring Break - TOMORROW!
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, March 3, 2005 7:17 AM CST
Hallie is back in the hospital. She spiked a fever on Wednesday night around 10:00 pm. She was admitted and started on antibiotics since her ANC is zero. She has complained more often the past day or so about back pain. We are meeting with Dr. Crazen today to discuss this situation. He is the person who administers the radiation treatments for Hallie. We are hoping that the pain is due to the fact that she is being weaned from a steroid that was helping with inflamation of the tumor. We should know more on this later today. The pain does not seem to be severe; but it is much more frequent in the past day or so. Due to the fact that Hallie has an ANC of zero, we are in isolation.
Beth Ann is going to St. Lukes later today with Harrison to check out the school. It is a private school located near our apartment. They actually start spring break tomorrow.
Please continue to remember Hallie and Harrison in your prayers.
Joe
Tuesday, March 1, 2005 8:38 PM CST
Hallie has not a very good day since she left the hospital today. Her counts are zero and she may still could have a touch of the flu and she generally feels lousy. We hope and pray that with time as her counts begin to rise she will improve. The chemo she is taking has some pretty bad side effects and most of this is probably being caused by the chemo. Harrison has not felt well either today. His stomach has been bothering him some. We just hope that Hallie can avoid a fever and remain at the apartment.
Thanks for all who have provided their thoughts and prayers through the guestbook. We read them every day and it is nice to hear from all of you. We just wish we had the time to respond to all of you. Maybe someday we can. But for now, please think of Hallie and Harrison and pray for them often.
Joe and Beth Ann
Tuesday, March 1, 2005 12:56 AM CST
Hallie is going to be discharged this afternoon. The flu thing may have already run its course. She was tested for the flu on 2/21/05 and we just learned the results yesterday. Since the test was that long ago, she may have already recovered from the flu - we really don't know. She just returned to the room from her radiation treatment and she is sleeping off the anesthesia. As soon as she wakes up and feels OK - the nurses will discharge her. When I talk to Beth Ann later tonight, I will have another update.
Joe
Monday, February 28, 2005 7:23 PM CST
Hallie has the flu. Tests show she has developed a form of flu and she is taking a new antibiotic for this. Her kidney ultrasound revealed nothing to be concerned about.
She is still complaining about her back and Dr. Furman said today that it is reasonable to conclude that the tumor is still on her spine and it could be causing some uncomfortable moments for her especially when she gets in certain positions. She is continuing to receive radiation to this site.
She is eating very well and is gaining some small amounts of weight back. She is nauseated from time to time due to the chemo. Her ANC is now zero. If she gets out of hospital tomorrow, since her ANC is zero the chances are that she will be returning to the hospital very soon.
Harrison and Beth Ann are looking at several schools tomorrow to try and find a suitable school. Please pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Joe
Sunday, February 27, 2005 9:13 PM CST
Just to let everyone know - Check the photo album for some photos of Hallie and Harrison
Joe
Sunday, February 27, 2005 7:59 PM CST
It was a quiet day today. Hallie is still inpatient. Her counts are continuing to fall and she got a blood transfusion this afternoon. She will likely get some platelets tomorrow or the next day. This is not unexpected since she has just finished chemo. She is scheduled for an ultrasound tomorrow of her kidneys to see if they are funtioning properly. At this point, we have no reason to think they are not. She is getting antibiotic for the kidney infection. Beth Ann said that she ate well today and felt fine. She talked to me on the phone just a little while ago and informed me that she forgot to hug Tigger and Winnie the Pooh at Disneyworld and that I had to take her back.
Joe
Saturday, February 26, 2005 10:15 PM CST
Hallie was admitted back into SJCRH this afternoon. She seems to have developed a kidney infection which the doctors are giving her antibiotics for and her ANC was down to 400 this morning which indicates she is likely to spike a fever soon. Other than these issues, she is feeling pretty good. Carolyn, Debbie, and Heather made it safely to Memphis and are at the hospital with Beth Ann, Amy, Hallie, and Harrison. We do not know how long she will be in the hospital.
Joe
Friday, February 25, 2005 5:35 PM CST
********UPDATE**********
As always the doctors at SJCRH are working late even though it is Friday and nearly 6:00pm
We have just learned from Dr. Navid the MIBG results we thought we would not have until Monday. It is great news! The only neuroblastoma cells in Hallie's body are the ones they found in her bone marrow and the spot on her spine that we are currently treating with radiation and chemo. The chemo should work against the cells in the marrow as well.
Although this is a relapse, this confirms Dr. Furman's suspicion that we are dealing with minimal amount of recurrent disease. Thank God for this blessing.
Joe and Beth Ann
Friday, February 25, 2005 5:12 PM CST
We are getting ready to leave SJCRH and head over to Mud Island to our apartment. Hallie just returned to the room from recovery after her radiation and MIBG scan. Due to the test being done late in the day, we will not know any results from the MIBG until Monday morning when we see Dr. Furman. Hallie is still feeling fine. The cardiologist stopped by today and reported that Hallie's cardiac activiy is entirely normal.
Harrison is getting excited about the likelihood that he will be attending the remainder of this year's school year hear in Memphis. We are looking into some options and will try to get him started next week. He is in the second grade and has about 2 1/2 months remaining.
Poppy, Grangy, and Dad are going to Winnsboro tomorrow and Carolyn, Aunt Debbie, and Heather are coming to Memphis tomorrow.
Dr. Furman thinks that it is likely that Hallie's counts will begin to fall towards the end of next week. If this happens we could be readmitted to the hospital and Hallie would not be able to entertain any visitors. She will probably need blood transfusions and platelets on a daily basis. This is expected with the chemo she has been receiveing. Please check back at this site for updates concerning this situation.
May God continue the bless Hallie and Harrison each and every day. Thanks for all of your entries in the guestbook at Caringbridge. It really is good to read all of them and feel comforted by all of the support we know we have at home and around the world.
Joe and Beth Ann
Thursday, February 24, 2005 6:23 PM CST
Hallie has felt better today than she has since we arrived in Memphis a week ago.
She finished her chemo last night and this morning she got another radiation treatment. A MRI of her spine followed and we got good news from the MRI report. The doctors see no other spots on her spine other than the one that they are treating with radiation. She was injected today for the MIBG tomorrow. The MIBG will tell us for sure if the neuroblastoma has spread to other areas other than the ones we already know about. The MRI report did note some unusual areas on each scapula; but the MIBG will indicate if there is tumor at these spots. If the tumor is present here, it probably does not change anything in terms of treatment. God willing, the chemo and radiation will kill the tumor cells in her body no matter where they may be. To this end we also got some good news from her bloodwork today. Blood tests can measure the level of a certain enzyme in the body referred to as LDH. This enzyme gives the doctors an indication of the tumor activity in the body. Today, tests indicate that tumor cells are probably being killed by the chemotherapy. We should know more conclusively when we get another bone marrow aspirate and biopsy in a few weeks or so.
Harrison, Beth Ann, and I all had our blood drawn this morning to determine if we could be a match for a possible bone marrow donor for Hallie.
Tomorrow, Hallie will get another radiation treatment followed by the MIBG scan. Assuming she feels like she did today, we will be discharged from SJCRH. We will head to our apartment and come to the clinic each day for bloodwork and check-ups.
Our entire family would like to say a special "THANK YOU" to all of the nurses and staff at SJCRH who took care of us this past week. The names are too many to mention; but some of them we already knew and some were training or had never met us. But one thing is constant about everyone here at St. Jude, they all go the extra mile for the children of St. Jude. The doctors, nurses, and support staff here are truly FIRST CLASS! THANK YOU !
Joe and Beth Ann
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 8:58 PM CST
Today we did all sorts of stuff. The day started with Hallie going down to radiation for her treatment. This was day five of twelve. Next, while she was still sedated, she underwent a MRI of her brain. Prayers were indeed answered as the test showed no evidence that the tumor had surfaced in her brain. We all got back upstairs to the room and the girls left Dad in charge and they headed out to buy some things we need for the apartment. While they were out Hallie went to Echo/EKG. They attached a monitor to Hallie's chest to record her heartbeats and cardiac activity. We then came back to the room and Hallie slept for a while. She began to complain about some chest/abdominal pain. She began her third and final round of chemo at 7:10 pm. Shortly thereafter she again complained of chest/abdominal irritation and we could only surmise that the source of this pain was being caused by the leads attached to her chest. We removed these and since she has not complained with chest pain again. We will have to discuss other options for monitoring her cardiac activity. She has been experiencing a low heartrate from time to time and we believe the doctors are just trying to rule out anything mechanically wrong with the heart. Hallie got a good bath next and is trying to eat something since she will be NPO after 4:30 Thursday morning. She is scheduled for radiation at 12:30 on Thursday. Harrison, Beth Ann, and myself will go to assessment triage tomorrow morning to have our blood drawn to see whether we are a match for Hallie's bone marrow transplant. It was kind of weird today when we were all assigned a patient number at St. Jude. We are all now getting ready for bed and Harrison and I are headed over to the Grizzly House for a good nights rest. Please pray for Hallie and Harrison.
Joe
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 0:35 AM CST
We had a little scare tonight as Hallie woke up in some amount of pain that seemed to be coming from the back of her head. She has since settled down some and we are just praying that she slept on it wrong and maybe got some kind of stinger. The doctor on call came in and performed some neurological tests and was satisfied that nothing needed to be done tonight. No pain medicine was necessary either. Hallie has finished her chemo and is resting comfortably in Beth Ann's lap in the room. She is scheduled for a MRI on Wednesday at 9:30am followed by the radiation treatment. The MRI will tell us if anything is going on anywhere else on her spinal column or brain. We are praying that nothing else is found. We will update everyone as soon as we find some results.
Joe and Beth Ann
Tuesday, February 22, 2005 5:31 PM CST
Hallie had a radiation treatment this morning at 11:00. She did very well during the prodedure; but was a little cranky when she awoke -do you blame her? She has been experiencing some symptoms from a cold she got from her mother. Hopefully that will run its course in a few more days. Dad and Aunt Amy stayed the night with Hallie last night. Tonight Hallie will get another dose of chemo and tomorrow morning at nine-thirty she will get another radiation treatment. Hallie is very lethargic and generally does not feel well; but we feel that with all she has been through she is holding up pretty good so far.
Harrison participated in some karaoke today on the second floor. He entertained the crowd with his renditions of "Cowboy Take Me Away" and "Sweet Home Alabama". At this moment he is working on some school work.
We will be moving into an apartment on Mud Island at the Estates at River Pointe. Our address will be:
The Gravelle Family
1440 River Rock Place #102
Memphis, TN 38103
We will not have a phone as we plan on using cell phones.
We hope we are completely moved in by Monday of next week.
In addition it has been suggested to us by the staff at St. Jude that due to the amount of sleep and rest that Hallie is needing at this time that we disconnect the phone in the hospital room. We will update this page daily so we ask that all of those interested in Hallie's progress refer to caringbridge.org/la/hallie for info.
May God continue to bless Hallie and Harrison.
Monday, February 21, 2005 4:01 PM CST
Today we met again with Dr. Furman and we have decided to take a day-by-day approach to Hallie's treatment from this point on. This will begin with a chemotherapy regimen that is administered for three days. The drugs are called "ICE" and are an acronym for Ifosfomide, Carboplatinum, and Etoposide. Hallie has has Etoposide previously. The side affects of this chemo are essentially the same as the other chemo she had a couple of years ago. We are hoping that she responds well to this chemo so that we can get her into another remission. If we can achieve this remission, then we will decide if we want to try another bone marrow transplant. This transplant would involve transplanting the marrow from a donor other than Hallie. Harrison is our best shot in the family and he will be tested tomorrow. A blood test is required. If he is not a match, then a national donor bank is available and hopefully we could find a match. The transplant is Hallie's only chance for complete cure.
She will begin chemo tonight around 10:00pm. We will probably be inpatient for this week anyway. She is getting radiation treatments to her spine every day. She is still feeling lethargic from the tremendous amounts of pain meds that were necessary to control her back pain a before the weekend. She is eating and drinking some and all of her vitals are fine. We will be awaiting the results of the MIBG test on Wednesday to see if there are anymore hotspots on her bones that we need to address.
In the coming days we will be adding photos to this site. Please pray for Hallie and Harrison. Harrison is doing fine and he is making lots of new friends here at the hospital.
It is worth noting that at this point in Hallie's treatment anything can change on a moments notice. Beth Ann and I have agreed that we are willing to continue and try to get Hallie into another remission as long as we feel she is not suffering too much and that we are seeing some progress with the eradication of tumor cells. This is tough and is a day to day thing.
We are in Room 2070 at SJCRH in Memphis.
God Bless Hallie.
Sunday, February 20, 2005 10:22 PM CST
This page has just been created. Please check back for additional updates.
Click here to go back to the main page.
----End of History----
| Donate | How To Help | Partnerships | Contact Us | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | |
|
Copyright © 1997 - 2004 CaringBridge, a nonprofit organization, All rights reserved. |