Wednesday, July 28, 2004 9:23 PM CDT

*** Friday, July 30 - Just want to share the good news! The spinal went fine and confirmed Ross is still in remission!***

Also...MORE GREAT NEWS! The car tag was approved!! If you missed out on the pre-orders, be sure to apply for one when your tag is up for renewal!

Dear friends,

You may be noticing the new border...thanks to some of my Caringbridge and ALL-Kids friends I've been busy learning basic HTML and how to make my own borders. This one is a not so subtle message to all Alabama residents. If you haven't pre-purchased your "Curing Childhood Cancer" car tag, time is running out! We have to have 1,000 tags sold by July 31 before they can go into production. The cost of the tag is $50, and $41.25 of that will go to Children's Hospital for pediatric cancer research. I think we're going to make that total, but it may be close. Who knows....someone reading this might be #1000. If you've pre-purchased a tag, please leave us a note in the guestbook. We'd love to hear from you!

This summer has been the best one in recent memory. Ross is feeling so great. He's even starting to grow some...and he's VERY excited about that! Our family had a wonderful trip to Orange Beach the last week of June. Kennon and I remarked to other several times about how awesome it was to see Ross running, playing, and just acting goofy...a typical 13 year old. Last summer he was so tired from radiation all he could do was sleep. The summer before that he had such severe damage to his legs muscles from all the chemo and steroids, he could hardly walk. I've got some really pitiful memories from then...I can see him right now falling in the sand, trying to shuffle along. Or practically carrying him up some stairs because he couldn't make it. This summer was so different and so special for us. Praise God!

We leave early in the morning for Birmingham for a spinal. Dr. Hilliard wants to do some spinal "checks" this first year (and possibly second) off treatment. We feel all will be fine, but always hold our breath until we get the news. Please pray for this test to confirm he's still in remission. I'll post a short note at the top of this update when we get home, so be sure to check back.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Saturday, June 26, 2004 7:20 PM CDT

*** ALABAMA RESIDENTS: PLEASE CONSIDER RENEWING YOUR CAR TAG TODAY AND APPLY FOR THE "CURING CHILDHOOD CANCER" LICENSE PLATE. THEY HAVE TO HAVE 1000 TAGS PRE-PURCHASED BEFORE IT CAN GO INTO PRODUCTION. THIS TAG WILL NOT ONLY RAISE AWARENESS FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER, BUT WILL FUND PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH. WE'VE APPLIED FOR OURS....HAVE YOU???

Dear friends,

I do think this is the longest I've gone without putting out a new update - no news has been GREAT news!

Ross is doing so well. We had his counts checked the other for the first time in the month he's been OT (off treatment). Although he's not quite in the "normal" range, he's close! His white count is 3000 and all the other ranges were good and strong. Praise God!

He had a blast on his trip to DC/Pennsylvania/NYC/Canada. They really packed a lot in! He was tired when he got home, but bounced back quickly. I've put some new pictures in the photo album from his trip so be sure to check them out.

We had a really busy summer so far. Laura just finished up softball today. We are leaving on a much needed, much anticipated trip to the beach tomorrow! I plan on having sand between my toes by this time tomorrow night!!

I will probably not update again until we go back to Birmingham for his clinic visit on July 29. Ross will be having a spinal done to confirm his remission. His doctor wants to do some checks every few months this first year (and possibly some the 2nd year), especially since he relapsed in the CNS. The first couple of years of being OT are the most likely for a relapse to occur. We have faith we are finished with that phase of our lives, but ask for your continued prayers.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, May 28, 2004 4:04 PM CDT

Look for Ross and his group on the TODAY show on Monday or Tuesday morning (June 7 or 8). They will all be wearing red t-shirts!

****Update: Ross was spotted on the TODAY show on Tuesday, June 7th! If you happened to be watching, you could see him right behind Matt & Katie!


*** ALABAMA RESIDENTS: PLEASE CONSIDER RENEWING YOUR CAR TAG TODAY AND APPLY FOR THE "CURING CHILDHOOD CANCER" LICENSE PLATE. THEY HAVE TO HAVE 1000 TAGS PRE-PURCHASED BEFORE IT CAN GO INTO PRODUCTION. THIS TAG WILL NOT ONLY RAISE AWARENESS FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER, BUT WILL FUND PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH. WE'VE APPLIED FOR OURS....HAVE YOU???

Dear friends,

Just a short update to share the great news: Ross is officially off treatment! He had his last chemo treatment yesterday, along with a spinal and bone marrow test. Both tests were clear and showed no sign of leukemia. PRAISE GOD!!! He also had an echocardiogram done today to test for damage to his heart. It showed no damage and, in fact, looked great!

I thought it would be nice if Ross typed a little something on his page, so here he goes:

Hey, this is Ross. I just wanted to thank everybody for praying for me and keeping me in your thoughts. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's a little sore today but otherwise feeling great. Dr. Hilliard wants to continue to do some spinals this first year. He'll have his next one in two months on July 29th. After that we'll wait four months, then another one probably four months after that. As of now, no bone marrow testing is planned unless we suspected a relapse.

We'll do blood tests each month, but only have to travel to Birmingham every other month (the other months we'll just check counts here at home). That will work out great because his port needs to be used and flushed out at least every 8 weeks. He'll continue to take the antibiotic Bactrim on the weekends for six months, and will keep his port for about that long as well.

I'll continue to update his page. He's ready to jump full steam ahead - he leaves on his big NYC/Washington DC/Canada trip on Wednesday!

Thank you again so much for your many prayers! We will be planning a big celebration sometime soon - if you're reading this, you're invited!!

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Saturday, May 22, 2004 7:54 PM CDT

*** ALABAMA RESIDENTS: PLEASE CONSIDER RENEWING YOUR CAR TAG TODAY AND APPLY FOR THE "CURING CHILDHOOD CANCER" LICENSE PLATE. THEY HAVE TO HAVE 1000 TAGS PRE-PURCHASED BEFORE IT CAN GO INTO PRODUCTION. THIS TAG WILL NOT ONLY RAISE AWARENESS FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER, BUT WILL FUND PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH. WE'VE APPLIED FOR OURS....HAVE YOU???

Dear friends,

You're probably noticing the addition of a new picture on the home page. This newest picture was taken of Ross last week after he won the gold medal for the highest grade point average in his 7th grade class. We are so proud of him! He's come a long way since being diagnosed in October of the 4th grade. Even with all the trials he's faced he has managed to keep top grades: he won the bronze in the 4th grade and the gold in 5th, 6th, and 7th grades.

He received his 3rd Vincristine/Cytoxan combo last week and did great. He was thrilled to learn that he's grown 3/4" in the last three weeks and gained two pounds since last week! Hopefully he'll experience a big growth spurt after going off treatment. He hates being one of the shorter ones in his class, but realizes that it is because of the chemo and radiation he's had. Dr. Hilliard feels that he will probably have a big catch up spurt soon. His counts are on the low side, however. His ANC was only 850 and we can expect a drop this week as well. Please pray that his counts will be high enough for him to be able to receive his total treatment on Thursday. We don't "make up" missed dosages in this last stage of treatment, but feel so much better when he's able to get all the chemo he needs.

Okay, prayer warriors - Please pass the word around for people to be praying for good test results on Thursday (May 27th). Ross will not only be receiving his LAST chemo treatment, but will also be having some very important testing. They will do a bone marrow test and a spinal fluid test to confirm that he is still in remission. Obviously, this is so very VERY important. We really believe in the power of prayer and are living examples of how it has carried us through the last 3 years and 8 months.

We have to be in clinic by 9:00 on Thursday and expect for them to take him for the testing sometime before lunch. (You always hope to go up ASAP, since Ross will be NPO - without eating - but realistically we know it will probably be around 11:00 or so.) After he's settled in his hospital room he'll receive the chemo treatment.

We will be spending the night on Thursday for fluids, a system we learned really helps Ross prevent those awful spinal headaches. On Friday morning we'll have an echocardiogram to test for any damage to his heart from the chemo. Then we are OUTTA THERE!! NO MO CHEMO!

We plan to have a celebration sometime in June. Ross will be leaving on a big trip on June 2nd with about 40 other 7th and 8th graders. They'll be flying to Washington D.C., and from there travelling to NYC, Pennsylvania and Canada. He's really looking forward to it!

Both Ross and Laura and enjoying being out of school. Laura is still playing softball and staying very busy with that. She's one of our pitchers and is doing really well!

I'll try to update as soon as I can on Friday when we get home. Please spread the word about our prayer request!

Thanks,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, May 6, 2004 8:25 AM CDT

*** ALABAMA RESIDENTS: PLEASE CONSIDER RENEWING YOUR CAR TAG TODAY AND APPLY FOR THE "CURING CHILDHOOD CANCER" LICENSE PLATE. THEY HAVE TO HAVE 1000 TAGS PRE-PURCHASED BEFORE IT CAN GO INTO PRODUCTION. THIS TAG WILL NOT ONLY RAISE AWARENESS FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER, BUT WILL FUND PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH. WE'VE APPLIED FOR OURS....HAVE YOU???

Dear friends,

Three weeks from today we will be having Ross's LAST treatment, along with a bone marrow and spinal check. His treatment on Tuesday went great with no problems. He slept in Wednesday morning, but by 10:30 was in school. Praise God!

Happy birthday to Laura! She was eleven on May 3rd. It's hard to believe how much she's grown, especially since Ross's diagnosis. Our once painfully shy little girl has turned into quite a beautiful young lady who is anything BUT shy, as I'm sure her teachers would attest to! :)

We were hoping to have his last treatment day moved back to the 25th, but learned that the sedation unit wouldn't be available on that day, so his official last day is still on the 27th. Here is our remaining schedule of treatments:

* Tuesday, May 11th - 2nd round of Cytoxan/Vicristine
* Thursday, May 20th - 3rd round of Cytoxan/Vincristine
* Thursday, May 27th - 4th round of Cytoxan/Vincristine, end of treatment bone marrow & spinal check. We'll be spending the night in the hospital and Ross will have a echocardiogram on Friday the 28th to make sure that there has been no damage to his heart. (One of the chemos he was on in this relapse protocol - Daunorubicin - can cause damage).

After that, Ross will be officially OT (off treatment)!! He will continue to take his antibiotic Bactrim on the weekends for the next 6 months or so, and will also keep his port during that time. Probably around Christmas vacation time he will go in to have his port removed.

We have a special little "cyber" friend named Spencer who is at Duke and has just received his cord blood transplant. Please stop by his site and leave his family a note of encouragement! Spencer Rocket's webpage

Please continue to pray for Ross and for his remission. Thank you so much for all of your support, encouragement, and most importantly, your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, April 22, 2004 10:59 AM CDT

Dear friends,

Five weeks to go! Today is a day of tough memories for us. Two years ago today we learned Ross had relapsed in his CNS. It was a routine spinal w/chemo; we had no warning signs whatsoever. It was also the only spinal I was unable to be there for. I had just had my surgery removing my breast cancer tumor and was still recovering at home. Kennon was there with Ross and had to deal with that nightmare alone. He did not want to tell me that over the phone and waited until he got home to break the news. Ross even came home and went straight to the ballfield and played a game before I knew. Two days later I had my first chemo treatment.

Such a surreal time for our family. (You can go back in the journal history if you would like to read about that time....just scroll down until you get to the April '02 entries.) We have grown so much since that time both as a family and as Christians. I really can't express our gratitude adequately. The support we've felt over the last three and a half years has been incredible. I can't tell you how many times we have literally "felt" your prayers and how they have sustained us in some really dark moments.

Ross continues to do amazingly well. His blood counts are really strong; in fact, his doctor wants us to increase his nightly chemo (6MP) to 75 mg. every night instead of the alternating 50 mg. and 75 mg. he's been taking. We are shifting his clinic day back to Tuesday, May 4th. There are a lot of activities in May that occur later in the week, and I think it will work better for him. Of course, he has exams coming up and we may have adjust again that week. As of right now he will probably have his last treatment, along with a spinal and bone marrow check, on May 25.

I had my checkup with my oncologist this week. It went great! The blood test they do to check for tumor markers (an indication that cancer cells might be present) was really low - two points lower than it was three months ago. Also, I will start seeing him every six months now. He wanted to see me every three months for the first two years, then every six months until five years out. After that point I will just see him yearly.

Again, we can't thank you enough for all the prayers and support you've given us. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we start the big countdown and pray that the end of treatment tests confirm that Ross is still in remission.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Monday, April 12, 2004 8:47 AM CDT

Dear friends,

SIX WEEKS LEFT! We are really counting the days down, and enjoying life to the fullest right now. Ross and Laura are both staying so busy with baseball and softball. Ross's blood counts are continuing to stay strong and he is feeling just great. What a Easter blessing we had!

Today marks my 2 year "cancer free" anniversary. Two years ago today I had my surgery removing my breast cancer and malignant lymph nodes. In some ways it's hard to believe it's been that long, but in other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. I still see my oncologist every three months for checkups and everything is good, praise God. I'm so thankful for the prayers that have been lifted up for our ENTIRE family.

We will be going back to Birmingham for the beginning of the last series of Vincristine/Cytoxan on May 6. I'm toying with the idea of having a big end of treatment celebration for Ross.....if you have any great ideas let us know!

Thank you for checking in on us and for faithfully remembering us in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Saturday, March 27, 2004 7:32 PM CST

***SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST: A young boy in our town was severly burned in a gasoline explosion this week. His name is Austin Bailey, and he's badly in need of your prayers.****


Dear friends,

I did not realize it had been an entire month since I last updated. Once again, no news is GOOD news! Ross has been great, and was actually able to receive all four weeks of his Cytoxan and Vincristine. This was a first! In the past his blood counts have dropped too low for him to be able to get all four Cytoxans (the Vincristine doesn't affect the counts like the Cytoxan does). He managed to hang in there and get all four treatments. Praise God!

I just knew that his counts would bottom out after that fourth week, but amazingly they increased. Dr. Hilliard has said all along that the further we get away from his radiation the better he will be able to tolerate his chemo. I guess he's finally to that point.

We are really seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We only have 9 weeks left! (Big gulp here as I type that!) Kennon and I are dealing with a lot of mixed emotions. We are so thankful for the end to be so near, but it is frightening as well. Ross has been on chemo continuously since October 4, 2000. Some people are not aware of that, and think that remission = end of chemo. To KEEP him in remission he has endured so much. One day I'll have to try to count up just how many pills, shots, hospital stays, spinals, etc..... and post it on this website. I'm sure the numbers are staggering.

The kids have enjoyed being out of school this week on Spring Break. Ross is now the proud wearer of contacts! He's wanted them for a while, but we did not want him to have them while he was on such hard chemo. I'll be sure and put some new pictures in the photo album soon.

Please continue to pray harder than ever for Ross's continued remission and total cure.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, February 27, 2004 6:57 PM CST

***ALABAMA RESIDENTS - Please apply for one of the "Curing Childhood Cancer" car tags. They are available for pre-purchase now. We have to have 1000 pre-purchased by the end of July, and they are a long way from that goal. The cost is $50, and $41.25 of that will go to Children's Hospital. It's a great way to show your support and really help find a cure. Don't wait until your tag is due to be renewed....go TODAY!

Dear friends,

We began the first of the Vincristine/Cytoxan series yesterday in Birmingham. We will be travelling once a week for the next four weeks. Ross would be quick to add that although it's a pain having to go to Birmingham rather than take his meds at home, he is happy about being able to eat or drink whenever he wants! The other chemo he takes on the alternating weeks, 6MP and Methotrexate, have to be given on an empty stomach. I have stayed up very late on MANY occasions just so Ross could have his milk at bedtime he is so addicted to!

He had a great checkup. He's gained about 5 pounds in the last six weeks and grown 1/4" of an inch. That was such good news! Although he was pretty tired this morning, he's been feeling fine. Please pray his counts are able to tolerate all four of the Vincristine/Cytoxan treatments. He hasn't been able to receive all four Cytoxan yet.

We've had a very tough, sad week. On Sunday, my 24 year old nephew was killed in a wreck. Dan was such a sweet, special boy. It doesn't seem quite real yet, but our family is handling everything fairly well. My brother and his wife wanted any donations that are made in Dan's memory to be made to Camp-Smile-A-Mile, Alabama's camp for children with cancer. Camp SAM is a very special place for us, and it gives me great pleasure to think of memorials being given in Dan's name. If you would like to make a memorial, send it in memory of Dan Albritton to:

Camp Smile A Mile
P.O. Box 550155
Birmingham, AL 35255


If anyone would like Starke & Sharon's address just email me. I hate to just publish it on the web, but will be happy to share it with you privately.

More sad news: Clayton Cooper, the child I have requested prayers for before, died this week also. He was born with severe heart defects and has endured so much in his short life. I know Todd & Mary Shannon would appreciate your prayers. You can leave them a note at Clayton's web page.

Please keep both of these families in your prayers. I'm changing the photos in the album. The first picture is of Dan, my nephew, and the second is of Ross and Clayton, taken just a few weeks ago.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Thursday, February 12, 2004 8:42 AM CST

***ALABAMA RESIDENTS - Please apply for one of the "Curing Childhood Cancer" car tags. They are available for pre-purchase now. We have to have 1000 pre-purchased by the end of July, and they are a long way from that goal. The cost is $50, and $41.25 of that will go to Children's Hospital. It's a great way to show your support and really help find a cure. Don't wait until your tag is due to be renewed....go TODAY!

Dear friends,

Things are going great. Basketball has ended, and Ross is now practicing for his true love - BASEBALL! He'll be on the the Jr. High team at school. Their first game is the middle of March, I think.

His blood counts have been a little on the high side. On one hand that's good, because he is stronger and able to fight infections so much better. However, for the chemo to the most effective, the blood counts need to stay in a certain range, and he's above that range. We are increasing his nightly 6MP from one pill a night to an alternating schedule of 1, 1 1/2 pills. Pray that he tolerates this increase and that his counts don't drop drastically.

One sad note: Our precious beagle puppy, Maggie, is missing. She followed our older beagle off and did not return with him. She's been gone 3 nights, and we've had no sign of her. If you live in Camden, please be on the watch for her and let us know if you see her. I put a picture of her back in the photo album - it's a little old, but she still looks the same, just a bit bigger (she's still very small, though).

****UPDATE: THURSDAY AFTERNOON - MAGGIE IS HOME!!!******

Also, please consider applying for the "Curing Childhood Cancer" car tag if you live in Alabama! We need 1000 to commit to purchasing this tag before they can go into production. It's such a worthy cause...PLEASE GO BUY YOUR TAG TODAY!!!!

I have not mentioned my checkups lately, but they have been good. I'm still going to my oncologist every three months, and having mammograms every six months. So far, so good!

We go back to Birmingham on Feb. 26 to start the four week cycle of Vincristine and Cytoxan. Please continue to pray for our family and for Ross's continued strength and remission.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Tuesday, January 27, 2004 8:13 AM CST

***NEW PHOTOS ADDED 1/28/04***

***ALABAMA RESIDENTS - Please apply for one of the "Curing Childhood Cancer" car tags. They are available for pre-purchase now. We have to have 1000 pre-purchased by the end of July, and they are a long way from that goal. The cost is $50, and $41.25 of that will go to Children's Hospital. It's a great way to show your support and really help find a cure. Don't wait until your tag is due to be renewed....go TODAY!

Dear friends,

I'm really thankful that we don't have to be back in Birmingham until Feb. 26 because life has been BUSY! With Ross playing two basketball games a week, we are on the go enough right now. He's feeling great and his blood counts have remained good. He's currently taking his nightly chemo (6MP) and weekly chemo (Methotrexate).

Besides school and basketball, Ross has also enjoyed going on several deer hunts. BUCKMASTERS has been really great. They've invited Ross on several hunts and he's really enjoyed them. He killed a 8 pt. and saw several others. Also, BUCKMASTERS invited our family to eat supper one night during their "Life Hunt". This is a hunt they do each year for disabled youth and adult hunters. Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian, and Troy Gentry from the country duo "Montgomery Gentry" were there. They were both as nice as they could be, and we really enjoyed getting to talk with them. After the dinner everyone (probably around 30 people) sat around the campfire while Troy Gentry and Neil Thrasher (a top songwriter from Nashville) played the guitar and sang. Jeff Foxworthy followed them and gave a standup routine. I've got some pictures that I'll be putting on the web page soon, so check the photo album again in a few days. It was a lot of fun, and we really appreciate the great people at BUCKMASTERS for inviting us!

A special little friend of ours, Clayton Cooper, is in need of your prayers. (There's a picture in the photo album of Ross & Clayton.) He was born on July 1, 2002, with serious heart defects and will eventually need a heart/double lung transplant. He's already endured so much in his short life. Please go by his web page and leave his parents a note of encouragement. They really need your prayers. Clayton's Web Page

Please continue to pray for our family and for Ross to remain in remission. It's hard to believe that after 3 1/2 years of this, he will actually be through with his treatments the end of May. We are very excited and nervous at the same.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, January 9, 2004 4:23 PM CST

Dear friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We have high hopes that this will be the best year we've had in a long time. We are actually letting ourselves look ahead to being off treatment. If Ross stays on the same schedule he's on now he'll finish up May 27, 2004. That's only 20 weeks away......

Those of you who have been reading our updates since the beginning may remember how I would put at the top "Week 100 of 140 (or whatever week we were on). When he relapsed, I quit doing that. Silly as it sounds, it felt like I was jinxing things, that maybe I was being too confident in our "end date". It's a huge step for us emotionally to let ourselves get excited about the end - and really believe it's coming!

We had a wonderful Christmas. Ross's counts have jumped around, and were pretty low a couple of weeks ago. He was not able to get his 3rd dose of Cytoxan, but when we went yesterday his counts had doubled. He did get both chemos (Cytoxan and Vincristine), and even came home and played in a basketball game last night! He didn't feel so great this morning, but by this afternoon was feeling fine. We will start the Methotrexate & 6MP series next week....which means we will not have to be back in Birmingham until February 26th!

If you live in Alabama, please consider pre-purchasing the "Curing Childhood Cancer" car tag. The cost is $50 and $41.25 of that will go directly to Children's Hospital to help in pediatric cancer research. It's a simple way you can really make a difference!

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We couldn't have made it so far without the support we've received from our wonderful family and friends, near and far.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, December 21, 2003 9:57 PM CST

Dear friends,

Christmas has come early in our house. Ross's spinal check was GREAT and he is still in remission, praise God! There were absolutely no white cells to be seen. Sometimes, normal white cells get crossed over into the CNS and give us a little scare until we know for sure they are normal, but this time it was perfectly clear. I couldn't think of a better Christmas present.

His counts are also good. Last time his liver functions were very elevated, but they have dropped down to a more normal range. With so much flu and sickness around we are especially grateful for his good counts and higher immune system.

We will go back on December 30th for the 3rd of 4 weeks of Cytoxan and Vincristine. He tolerates it pretty well and only has minor problems with leg cramping and sometimes nausea.

This spinal is the last he will have until we do a final spinal and bone marrow test at the end of treatment. It's something we've started allowing ourselves to think about and hope for. He should finish up around the end of May. Please pray that his remission will continue and he can get on with his life. I don't think we will ever know what "normal" is again, but are anticipating trying to figure it out!

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and takes time to remember the real reason we celebrate. Thank you for keeping us in your continued prayers!

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Saturday, December 6, 2003 10:44 AM CST

Dear friends,

Ross has been battling a cough and cold the last couple of weeks, but is hopefully on the mend now. He ran fever for a couple of days, but since his counts were still okay, the doctors in B'ham said we could take him to our local physician to be treated. His counts have dropped a lot this week, but they were still high enough (barely) for him to receive his chemo. He does show a lot of early white cells on his CBC - please pray that his counts are significantly higher next week.

With his bout of cold & bronchitis, Ross had to miss one day of school and also miss the first basketball game. I hated that he's worked so hard and had to miss it.....especially since we beat the other team by a lot and the younger boys got to actually play a good bit! Hopefully he'll get his chance to play soon. Their team is doing really well and have won both games they've played. They also are playing later on today.

If his counts are okay, we will be going to Birmingham next week (Thursday, Dec. 11th) for the first week of his Vincristine and Cytoxan. It's been really nice to have the long break from travelling back and forth. Also, another upcoming prayer request: Ross will be having a spinal on December 19th to confirm his CNS remission. I'll update as soon as we know those results.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I know the holidays are hard for so many people who have lost loved ones. Thoughout this journey I've had the unfortunate blessing to meet so many wonderful parents who've lost children to this disease. Please pray for them this holiday season and for their angels.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Thursday, November 20, 2003 10:05 AM CST

Dear friends,

I didn't realize it had been almost 3 weeks since I had updated - Sorry! No news has been good news. Things are great around here. Ross's counts have been good, although they've bounced around some. They were getting too good (I know that sounds absurd, but they do not want his counts too high - it would mean he was not getting enough chemo). We increased some of his chemo and his counts dropped too much. It's taking some fine tuning to find that perfect balance. I'm waiting on a phone call today to increase his meds once again....his ANC is over 1600 and they like it to be less than 1500 (but greater than 500).

Although Ross's white count has bounced around, his red count has continued to improve, thus giving him more and more energy. When he started basketball practice he was having a hard time with all of the running, but he is now able to do as much as anybody. They have their first game on Tuesday. As the youngest player on the team, I doubt he'll see much playing time, but that really doesn't matter. It means so much for him to be a part of the team and to be doing "normal" activities.

Laura participated in the school beauty pageant and won 5th grade beauty and was selected "Miss Congeniality" for the 4-6 grades. She was so excited! It was great for her to have a special night....something that was just hers and not connected to Ross. She looked beautiful ~ my baby is really growing up! I'll try to add a picture to the photo album soon.

It's been so nice not travelling to Birmingham. We will not be going back until Dec. 11th. It works out really well because the four weeks of going to B'ham will mostly fall during the Christmas break.

With the holidays approaching, we realize how much we have to be thankful for. We are so blessed to have so much family and wonderful friends nearby. I don't know how we would have made it these last three years without them! Of course, we are thankful for Ross's remission and his ability to not only attend school, but to excel. He continues to make All-A's on his report cards and has shown no damage from his chemo and radiation.

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for your continued prayers.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Saturday, November 1, 2003 12:58 AM CST

** NEW PICTURES IN THE PHOTO ALBUM **

Dear friends,

Life is good and has been fairly uneventful. Ross's counts did drop as expected, and he was not able to get his last Cytoxan; he only received the Vincristine. As a matter of fact his ANC was too low for him to go to school and he had to stay home last Friday. They've started coming back up, and he started the first week of Methotrexate and 6MP on Thursday. We do not have to go back to Birmingham until December 11th!! This will be the longest break we've ever had. He will still be doing weekly chemo (the Methotrexate is weekly, the 6MP is nightly), but they are drugs that can be given here at home. We will continue to have his blood counts checked weekly here at home.

Ross was able to go back to school on Monday and started Junior High basketball practice that afternoon. The first few days were tough for him, but fortunately the coach is very understanding and doesn't push him too hard. All the conditioning (aka running!) is tough, but he's gotten stronger and stronger each day and is able to do pretty much as the rest of them. He's really been looking forward to doing this and we're glad he's able to physically participate.

Weekend before last was a big weekend. We went to Auburn for the Auburn vs. Mississippi State game, and Ross was in the "Tiger Walk"! (There's a new picture in the photo album of Ross during TW) For those of you not familiar with Tiger Walk, it is a big pre-game tradition where the fans line the streets and cheer the players as they walk to the stadium. A friend of ours, David Jordan, played for Auburn in the 80's and his class was being honored that day. He asked Ross to go with him on the Tiger Walk. Ross was so excited to be a part of it- Thanks David!

On Sunday of that weekend we truly lost our minds and decided to add another puppy to our family. We now have 3 dogs & 2 cats! Maggie is precious and has quickly become the queen bee around here. Check out the photo album for pictures of her and the kids.

Tomorrow is the big day - Ross will officially be a teenager! It's so hard for us to believe. Leave him a note in the guestbook if you have a chance and I'll make sure he reads it.

I had a good checkup with my oncologist last week. All seems fine, praise God. I will be going for my next checkup in January.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Keep 'em coming!

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, October 17, 2003 9:19 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Sorry I missed getting out an update last week! Ross has now had 3 out of the 4 weeks of Cytoxan and Vincristine. His counts are holding up pretty well. Dr. Hilliard feels that hopefully he is getting far enough away from the radiation and that is not a factor anymore in keeping his counts low. We will go again next week for the same chemo, and then we will start the six weeks of Methotrexate and 6MP. It will be so nice - those drugs are ones he takes here at home and we will not have to go to Birmingham during those weeks.

He's been feeling great and not having any problems. His hair is really coming in now! I'll try and get some new pictures in the photo album soon.

The countdown is on in our house.....Ross reminds me quite often that he only has so many days before he becomes a teenager. November 2, 1990 seems like just yesterday ~ Ross loves to hear me tell the story of how I thought he was a taco salad......he came a week early, and I just knew the cramps I was having was because of the taco salad I had eaten for lunch. Nope - it was Ross! LOL

Thank you for keeping us your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for Ross's remission and his ability to tolerate his remaining treatments. He's been through so much and I know his little body is tired.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, October 5, 2003 9:36 PM CDT

Dear friends,

I wanted to update yesterday, but just didn't get around to it. Yesterday was the third year anniversary of Ross's diagnosis. I wish I could say those years have flown by, but they really haven't. It's been three long, hard years. We're a lot stronger and our faith in God is certainly stronger.

I told Kennon that I really think God has blessed me by taking away so much of my memory of those first few weeks. It's such a blur now. Of course, we were in shock and just going through the motions. We started this page shortly after he was diagnosed so if you would like, you can go back in the journal history to the beginning and read the first couple of entries to get a feel for what life was like back then.

Ross is doing great! We had two answered prayers this week: his counts were up and he had gained 2 pounds! Dr. Hilliard was really happy about the weight gain. After talking with his radiation doctor she doesn't feel that the amount of radiation he had should affect his eating, and now that he is showing some weight gain, feels that we can put off going to the endocrinoligist. That is something we may still end up doing down the road but for now, she's pleased. He received the full dose of Cytoxan and Vincristine on Thursday as scheduled. We'll go back again this Thursday for the same drugs. If his counts have dropped significantly he may end up only getting the Vincristine (it doesn't affect the counts like the Cytoxan). Please pray that he is able to get both of his chemos.

Laura participated in the St. Jude Bike-A-Thon this weekend. She road 21 miles!! We are really proud of her and all of the other children who participated in this very important event.

I've been working on setting up an online store. It's pretty basic, but functional. I've become an associate to a lot of companies like Amazon, Dell Computers, Office Depot, and LOTS more. For example, if you visit my site and click on the Amazon link and shop, they will track it to our site. I plan on giving 10% of any of the proceeds we receive to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please bookmark our site and help us spread the word! I've got a link on the top and bottom of this page, but here it is again! QUICK SHOP

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts. It has been 3 tough years, but knowing that so many wonderful people are out there praying and supporting us has made it so much easier.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, September 26, 2003 11:46 AM CDT

Dear friends,

Things are continuing to go really well. Today is the end of the first six weeks in school....and Ross has only had to miss one day. He is so proud of that! It's been three years since he's been in school that much. We already know of four days he'll have to miss next six weeks, but it is still so much better than what he's used to.

I've been back at school substitute teaching some and have to say, I've really enjoyed it. It's nice to be around the kids and other teachers again. Some really hard memories are still up there for me though.....I'll never forget the phone call with Dr. Trumbell (Ross's pediatrician) and him telling me we needed to take him to Birmingham for a bone marrow test. Or the day I had to tell "my" Seniors that I had breast cancer and wouldn't be able to finish the year with them. Of course I have so many more good memories and am thankful for the opportunity to be there at least on a part-time basis now.

Ross's white count has dropped somewhat. For the last two weeks it's edged downward, although it's still high enough for him to be able to receive his chemo. Please pray that they rebound and don't continue to decrease. He is due to start the four week cycle of Vincristine and Cytoxan next week. We'll have to go to B'ham each week for that chemo because it is given through his port. Those particular drugs are harder and will probably make his counts drop, so it is very important he starts out with good counts. His red count is great, and his energy level is perfectly fine.

Another prayer concern we have is Ross's weight. He's lost all the steroid weight, but has now gotten underweight. He's never been a big eater and would probably be thin even if he wasn't on treatment. Dr. Hilliard wants to talk to his radiation doctor and some of the endocrinoligists and see if they think the cranial radiation may be partly to blame for his loss of apetite. Meanwhile I'm pumping him full of whole milk w/Carnation Instant Breakfast!

We are fast approaching the 3rd anniversary of his diagnosis. Ironically, October 4th is also the day for the local St. Judes Bike-A-Thon. The lady organizing it asked me to go to the school and tell the kids about it. When I found out the date was the same as Ross's diagnosis date, I was surprised, but not shocked. God has managed to give us so many opportunities like that and the chance to meet so many wonderful people throughout our journey.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Tuesday, September 16, 2003 8:58 AM CDT

Dear friends,

Our family had an amazing weekend at Camp Smile-A-Mile this past weekend. For those of you not familiar with Camp SAM, it is Alabama's camp for children with cancer. Each year they offer camps for patients, siblings and families. Throughout the last three years, Camp SAM has become a very special place for our family. You can learn more about it by visiting their web site. Camp Smile-A-Mile

Ross's counts are continuing to improve. His ANC was actually over 2000 this past week! He is still not getting 100% of his 6MP, but Dr. Hilliard wants to keep the dosage like it is for now. He will be starting back on the Vincristine/Cytoxan weeks soon (Oct. 2) and they will probably drop him down some.

Laura is adjusting well to middle school. She's having a busy year with all new teachers, gymnastic lessons and being a PeeWee cheerleader. I feel like I spend more time with her in the car than at home!

Ross was selected to participate in the Duke University talent search program. This is quite an honor - Duke asks a small percentage of 7th graders (based on their SAT achievement test scores) to take the ACT test (which is normally taken in the 11th grade). It is so awesome to know that with all he's been through, Ross is still able to excel academically. Praise God!

Thank you for continuing to check in on us and for keeping our family in your prayers. Keep 'em coming!

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Monday, September 8, 2003 11:29 AM CDT

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Dear friends,

Very short, but important, update: Ross is still in remission! His spinal fluid was fine, praise God. Also, my tests were all fine. All in all, a very good week!!

Keep those prayers coming!

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Friday, August 29, 2003 6:31 PM CDT

***ALABAMA RESIDENTS - A new license plate that will help fund pediatric cancer research has been approved and is available for pre-purchase. Click on the following link for more information. Curing Childhood Cancer

Dear friends,

Ross's counts are continuing to improve. His overall white count is not up much (2300), but his ANC is up a good bit (1600's). The ANC is the percentage of infection fighting cells. We are so thankful that it is high enough for him to be in school right now. That is such an answer to prayer!

Next week will be busy for us. I go back to my oncologist for a checkup on Thursday and then Ross goes to B'ham on Friday for a diagnostic spinal. He will not be getting chemo in the spine; this is strictly just to check and confirm he's still in remission. We have no reason to expect otherwise, but we still are nervous and anxious about it. I guess once you've had your security blanket yanked away it becomes harder to relax. Ross and I will be spending the night Friday night after his spinal for fluids. Although it is not necessary to stay, we and Dr. Hilliard both feel it has helped him avoid those horrible spinal headaches he suffered with earlier in treatment.

We are heading over to Auburn tomorrow for the Auburn-Southern Cal. game. It should be a fun weekend and we are looking forward to it. WAR EAGLE!

Please keep us in your prayers this week and pray that my checkup is fine and Ross's spinal is uneventful and perfectly normal. I'll update again on Saturday or Sunday when we get home.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, August 22, 2003 8:33 AM CDT

***ALABAMA RESIDENTS - A new license plate that will help fund pediatric cancer research has been approved and is available for pre-purchase. Click on the following link for more information. Curing Childhood Cancer

Dear friends,

Ross's counts were up last week, but Dr. Hilliard still felt it was best to only give him the Vincristine again since the Cytoxan can really hit the counts pretty hard. Technically his counts were high enough (his ANC was in the 600's), but so close to the cutoff mark (ANC of 500) that she didn't want to push it. It was a fairly quick day. She felt like his counts would be rebounding soon because of all of the monocytes (early white cells) he had and gave him the okay to start school on Monday. That was such GREAT news and a real answer to prayer!

Ross and Laura both started school on Monday and have being doing great. Ross was pretty tired Monday afternoon, but has been hanging in there. Laura was so excited.....this is her first year in middle school and changing classes. She was very nervous but seems to really love it.

I had Ross's counted checked at home Wednesday and Dr. Hilliard was right - his counts have really improved. His ANC was 1144! Last night began the first of the six weeks of chemo we will do at home. On Thursday nights he takes 10 Methotrexate pills and each night he takes 6MP. Dr. Hilliard is starting him back at only 50% of the 6MP, but hopefully we will be able to increase that as soon as his counts stabilize.

Ross has been having a good bit of joint pain lately. I'm sure that is because of the four weeks in a row of Vincristine he's had - that is a common side effect. Please pray for that to subside soon.

We do not have to go back to B'ham until September 5. Normally we wouldn't have to go at all during this 6 week phase, but it is time for him to have his spinal fluid checked. He won't be having any chemo in the spine; this is strictly a diagnostic spinal to make sure he's still in remission. (A bone marrow test is not done until the end of his treatment unless they feel it is necessary.) Please be praying for us as we prepare for that spinal. It was such a shock to us when he relapsed in the CNS last year, and we always hold our breath whenever they check it now.

Thanks for checking in on us and keeping us in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Tuesday, August 12, 2003 1:39 PM CDT

***ALABAMA RESIDENTS - A new license plate that will help fund pediatric cancer research has been approved and is available for pre-purchase. Click on the following link for more information. Curing Childhood Cancer

Dear friends,

Just wanted to give a quick update and let everyone know what's been going on. Ross did not feel well all day Friday and began running fever Friday night. When I called the nurse on call in Birmingham, she wanted him to be admitted and to have blood cultures done to rule out a bacterial infection.

Kennon made the trip and got to the hospital around 10 pm. Since it was after hours they had to go through the ER to be admitted. We've done this before and had no problems, but for some reason, it took them FOUR HOURS to get admitted. I don't know if they've changed procedure or what, but they did all the blood work, exams and xrays down in the ER. (Although it STILL shouldn't have taken that long). They finally got in a room sometime after 2 am.

I went up Saturday and stayed with Ross and let Kennon come home. Nothing ever grew in the cultures and his fever never returned. We were able to come home yesterday (Monday) afternoon. His counts had dropped even further and his ANC is only in the 200's. He's feeling fine otherwise.

I'll have his counts checked here at home tomorrow and we will have to head back to B'ham on Thursday to get more chemo. Unless he's had a significant increase in his counts I doubt he will be able to get the Cytoxan, but should be able to tolerate the Vincristine. On one hand I wish they would just give him a week off, but I also know how much he's had to miss before. The fact that he's on a relapse protocol makes it even more important to get the chemo in him as much as possible.

Please pray that his counts rebound soon. School starts Monday and it will devastate him if he can't be there.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, August 7, 2003 8:46 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Ross and I went to Birmingham today for his Cytoxan and Vincristine treatment. He's been feeling great, but his counts have been dropping. We always have his blood checked here at home before making the 2 1/2 hr. trip... we learned that trick the hard way. We knew his counts were low (ANC of 700 yesterday) but they told us to come on and they would recheck them at clinic today. It had dropped further and brought his ANC down into the 400's. His monocytes (the early white cells) were high at 15%, so we feel like he will be rebounding soon. (I'm sorry if I sound like I'm giving a biology lecture, but those of you that know me well know that I really like to keep up with all of this!) They decided to just give him his Vincristine today since it does not make the counts drop like the Cytoxan does. Say a prayer with us that he is getting as much chemo as he needs. It's such a fine line.

We went up to 4 Tower (the section of the hospital where Ross was always inpatient) and visited all of the nurses and staff today. It was so great to see them! Lots of hugs and laughter.... Ross had to show them his shiny, bald head because he always had a head full of hair while he was with them! I hope they all know how special and dear they are to us and what an AMAZING job they do.

Hopefully, the week without Cytoxan will result in really good counts next week. We will be going again on Thursday for his last Cytoxan/Vincristine week, then will be back home for six weeks of 6MP and Methotrexate. We are both ready for a break...I swear I think my Tahoe could drive itself to Birmingham.

School starts August 18th, and they are both ready. Laura is a little nervous about starting middle school and changing classes, but is looking forward to it. Ross is the one REALLY ready to get back! Like I heard him tell someone, if he's at school it means he's not in the hospital. Being told you can't go to school makes you really appreciate being there!

Thank you for keeping our family in your prayers. Please continue to pray for Ross's (and my) continued remissions, for wisdom for his doctors and nurses as they care for him, and for our safety in the many miles we travel.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Wednesday, July 30, 2003 2:25 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Ross's counts dropped a little following his treatment last week, but not too bad. His ANC was still over 1000 and he was able to get his treatment yesterday. He has two more weeks of doing the Cytoxan and Vincristine (in B'ham), then we will be back to the chemo he can do here at home (Methotrexate and 6MP) for six weeks. He will be having to go to B'ham during that "home" phase for a spinal, though. They will do it on a Friday (September 5th, I think) to check his spinal fluid to confirm his remission. He will not be getting chemo in the spine...this is strictly just to check. We'll spend the night for fluids since that has worked so well for us in the past. Dr. Hilliard doesn't usually see patients on Fridays but happens to be on call then anyway. This way Ross will only have to miss one day of school rather than two. We're so lucky they are willing to work around our schedule! :)

Ross did not feel well for most of the week after his treatment last week. He was nauseated one day, then just felt "blah" the others. He was also having some joint pain, a common side effect of the Vincristine. Please pray this week is better for him. He's feeling fine today, so that's a good sign!

Dr. Hilliard pointed out some interesting facts about Ross's treatment. She said in the past, the majority of children who relapsed in the CNS would eventually relapse in the bone marrow as well. They have since learned that by giving the heaviest chemo early and delaying the radiation, they are able to keep them in remission much better. As we've seen with Ross, it is not uncommon for the blood counts to drop and stay low after radiation and for there to be many skips in chemo. We are so thankful that his counts are up enough now for him to be back on treatment and ask for your prayers that they continue to improve. She said it may take months before they are up significantly.

Thank you for checking in on us and keeping us in your prayers. This site has been a blessing for us....it has been such a wonderful way to get the word out about specific prayer requests. And it never ceases to amaze me to read the guest book entries - it is so comforting to know how many of you are praying for us.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 8:25 PM CDT

Dear friends,

We had a wonderful, relaxing, MUCH NEEDED, 10 days at the beach. It was so great to get away and not have anything more pressing than deciding between the pool or the beach! I took Ross to the hospital in Foley to have his counts checked while we were down there. They were coming up, but still a little on the low side, so once again he only received 50% of his 6MP and 8 (instead of 11) of his Methotrexate tablets.

Ross's somnolence continued for a few days after we got to the beach, but thankfully ended as abruptly as it started. We were really lucky it only lasted 6 days for him; I've heard of children who go through this for weeks, even months. He and Laura both had a great time!

Back to reality: We had counts checked here at home yesterday and....drumroll please....his ANC was 1243! High enough to get 100% of the chemo this week. All of his other counts looked great - his red cells have really picked up too, and platelets are perfectly normal. His overall white count is still a little low at 1900, but is hopefully on the way up. We went to Birmingham today for his first week of the Cytoxan/Vincristine. We will do this once a week for the next three weeks, then back to the 6MP/Methotrexate schedule for another six weeks at home. I'll check counts again at home on Monday before we make the trip on Tuesday to be sure his counts didn't take too much of a hit. Cytoxan can really lower the counts and Ross is still quite sensitive following his radiation.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers and pray specifically for Ross's counts to continue to improve. I've had several doctor's visits and checkups myself lately and all is well. I have to have mammograms every six months and my latest one a couple of weeks ago was perfectly fine, praise God.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, July 10, 2003 7:52 PM CDT

Dear friends,

I had Ross's counts checked on Monday and they had improved significantly, thank goodness! He is back on his nightly chemo, but on a 50% dose. His white count is still low overall and they don't want to push it too much.

The All-Star tournament started on Monday and, unfortunately for our team, ended on Tuesday night. It's hard for our little league to compete with some of these much larger leagues. They had fun and learned a lot during their practices....and had the world's muddiest practice ever. Check out the photo page for a picture of Ross's team after one of the practices during Tropical Storm Bill! Needless to say, they played more than they practiced!

On Tuesday, five weeks after finishing radiation, Ross started feeling a little dizzy and began sleeping a lot. He woke up that day around 11, went back to bed at 12 and slept until 4. That night was the second night of the tournament and he was still so dizzy he couldn't play. It was quite a reality check for us....it's been easy to forget what all he's gone through sometimes. He sat and watched the game, and afterwards all of the players from the opposing team came over to shake his hand and tell him they were sorry he couldn't play. Well, that just about did me in and the tears were really flowing!

He slept a lot again yesterday, but has felt better today. It is not uncommon for cranial radiation patients to go through what is called "somnolence syndrome" and need to sleep unusual amounts. This can last anywhere from a few days to weeks.

We leave for the beach tomorrow for a much needed vacation. I will take him to the hospital down there on Monday to have his counts checked. Please pray that they are still good!

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Tuesday, July 1, 2003 5:11 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Ross's counts are still very low. I had them checked today and his ANC is only 341, so once again, we are holding his chemo. He has a lot of premature white cells, so hopefully they will be coming up soon.

Ross has been doing great with his All-Star baseball practices. The first day was pretty tiring on him, but each day he's gotten stronger and faster. He's hitting the ball well and playing great defense at 2nd base. He loves it so much, and his doctor has given him the okay to continue to play even though his counts are low. Playing ball outside is not like being closed up in a schoolroom - you really don't run the risk from being neutropenic as you would otherwise. As long as his platelets remain good, she says it's fine for him to play. His platelets are great at 208,000.

Laura had a wonderful time at camp last week! She's glad to be home, though, and back to all of her normal activities. She has become the master turtle catcher in her Uncle Lee & Aunt Laura's pond! She can be such a tomboy....right now she has a pet tree frog. She's such a funny, sweet little girl.

Ross's tournament begins next week on Monday. I'll be sure to update and let everyone know how they do. Please pray for his counts to recover soon.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, June 23, 2003 9:58 PM CDT

*** Texas pictures added to photo album ***

Dear friends,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get out an update! Things are going well. Ross made it home from his trip last Sunday and we haven't slowed down much since. Laura left for a camp the following Monday - Friday, then left for ANOTHER camp yesterday! I purposely planned for her to stay busy after my surgery because I wasn't sure how I would feel. I'm doing great and not having hardly any discomfort at all.

Ross had an amazing time on his trip. I've added a few of the pictures to the photo album. The Sunshine Kids site also has a photo album from the trip - you can find Ross in a few of the pictures. Click here if you'd like to visit that page.

Ross's counts have taken quite a hit following his radiation. They are slowly creeping back up. He's been off his nightly chemo for two weeks, but is starting back tonight at 50%. They don't want to push it while his marrow is recovering. The radiation, especially the spinal radiation, affects the marrow (which is where the cells are made). He's still feeling good, but gets tired pretty easily. They started baseball practice today and he hung in there. He did have the good sense to sit out when he got too tired, but managed to be out there and do well the majority of the time.

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for Ross's counts to recover. It will be tough for him physically until they do. Also, please pray for Laura while she's away at camp! I asked for prayers for our pastor's wife, Lane Lee, a while back. She received great news: they did a PET scan and it showed that her tumors were 3/4 reduced. She will still have to undergo intensive chemo and certainly needs your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, June 13, 2003 9:29 AM CDT

Dear friends,

As predicted, the last few weeks have been VERY busy! Three days after Ross finished his radiation he flew out to Texas with a group from our hospital for his Sunshine Kids trip. He is having an amazing time and has managed to call us each day with updates of everything he's done. He's not the least bit homesick (I think he's staying too busy!), and is having a ball. Some of the things they've done so far: gone to Sea World, tubed down the San Marcos river, went bowling, visited the Alamo, were honored guests at the state capital (they had a police escort, got to ride in really cool cars ~ Ross rode in a Viper ~ and each received a state flag that had flown over the capital), went to the Texas Fiesta Six Flags, and much, much more! He will fly back into Birmingham on Sunday and we can't wait to see him!

He finished his radiation with ease. Even his radiation doctor said he should be the poster child for radiation. Besides losing the hair, he has had no real side effects. Please pray this continues to be the case. Sometimes you can have a delayed effect that could be showing up in a few weeks.

Ross was selected to be on the All-Star baseball team for our Dixie Youth Majors (11 & 12 yr. old) team. This is such a honor for him and he is very excited. Considering all he's been through, it's pretty amazing that he could even be considered. Please pray he will be able to contribute and play....he loves it so.

Laura had a wonderful time at her Camp SAM sibling camp, and even shed a few tears when she got home because she missed it so much! They do such an wonderful job for the whole family. Camp Smile A Mile is Alabama's camp for children with cancer. Each year they have camps not only for the patients but for the siblings and families as well. The people that run it are so precious to us and the volunteers are so special. If you've never visited their site and would like to learn more about how you can help their efforts, click on this link. Camp Smile A Mile

My surgery went well and I'm feeling better each day. I'm still pretty sore, but can definately see the light at the end of the tunnel now! All the pathology reports came back negative, praise God. We didn't expect anything otherwise, but have learned not to take things for granted. I will go back in two weeks for a checkup.

Laura will leave for her next camp on Monday. She really looking forward to it. It amazes me that the shy little girl she once was has really blossomed into such an active, social little lady. She loves going to these camps and meeting new people. I guess in a way she's really learned to be more independant (a good thing, right??) because of all she's been through.

I'll update again after Ross gets home. He's taken lots of pictures and we may have to set up a link to a photo page! Please continue to pray for our family, and Ross's safety on his trip and flight back home. Also, please keep in your prayers all of the families that are battling this horrible monster. I've learned of several new angels lately, and their families really need your prayers.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Sunday, June 1, 2003 9:14 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Only three more radiation treatments to go! Praise God, Ross continues to feel good and has had no problems from his treatments. He is sporting a "new do"... after 2 years, 8 months of chemo, he's finally bald. He's never lost it all completely before. It's thinned out a bit but that's all. When I told his radiation tech that the other week, his comment was "We'll take of that". And boy, did they. When it started coming out it really came out fast. True to amazing strength and character, Ross has taken it in stride. He says he likes it and enjoyed flashing his bald head to his friends at the ballpark Friday night. (Yep, the ballpark....he played in a double-header Friday night! He's moving pretty slow, but managed to play 11/12 innings.)

Tommorow begins our crazy, busy week. I'll take Ross to B'ham tomorrow, we'll spend one night, come home Tuesday after radiation, play ball Tuesday night, Kennon will take him BACK to B'ham on Wednesday for his final treatment while I go to Montgomery for a doctor appointment and pre-op at the hospital. And that's just M-W! On Friday I go back to Montgomery for a checkup w/my oncologist and then will take Laura up to Camp Smile-A-Mile for her Sibling Camp weekend, return to Camden to watch Ross play in his last game Friday night, get up Saturday morning to take Ross to Birmingham to fly out on his trip, then pick Laura back up on Sunday. Then on Monday morning, we will leave home at 4 am to be at the hospital by 5:30 for my surgery. WHEW! I got tired just even thinking about it!

Please keep us in your prayers as we manage to wade through the craziness of the coming weeks. Laura will have to be shuffled around quite a bit the week after my surgery as well. Pray for the remainder of Ross's treatments and for his safety as he flies to Texas on Saturday.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Monday, May 26, 2003 2:55 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Ross continues to do GREAT with his radiation. He's had 9 out of 16 total treatments. Tomorrow will be his last treatment to his spine; the remaining 6 will be to his head only. Tomorrow he also gets the Asparaginase leg shots he had to have a couple of weeks ago. These are deep muscle shots (he'll get one in each leg). Please pray that he does as well as he did last time - he has had problems in the past, but hopefully this PEG-version (time released) will be tolerated again.

His hair has started coming out. I don't know if it's the Vincristine (a chemo he got 3 weeks in a row) or the radiation, but it's really shedding quickly! He wants to get it buzzed pretty short so it won't make such a mess.

Ross was invited to go on a wonderful trip in June. Actually, it's only 3 days after he finishes radiation (gulp), but his doctor is fine with that. He, and four other children from our clinic, will be flying out to San Marcos, TX and spending 8 days. They will be with other children from hospitals from across the country. The group that sponsors this trip is called Sunshine Kids. If interested, you can go to their web site to learn more about them: Sunshine Kids They will be going to Sea World, the Alamo, horseback riding, tubing, the Schliterbahn (sp??) Water Park, and much more! It's a trip of a lifetime for him. One of our favorite nurses from clinic, Kelly, will be going on the trip as well. The only bad part about the trip was that it fell at the same time as the Camp Smile A Mile camp week. He HATES to miss camp, but knows he can do that next year.

Something I haven't mentioned is my upcoming surgery. I have to have a complete hysterectomy done June 9th. Because of my breast cancer history and some problems I've had with cysts, both my oncologist and ob/gyn feel it's necessary. I truly hate the thought of having surgery again, but know it is best for me in the long run.

Ross and I have enjoyed having a long weekend at home! Laura will be coming to stay with us a couple of nights next week, and we are really looking forward to that. It's been hard being seperated these last few weeks.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, especially for Ross's remaining radiation and my upcoming surgery. Thank you for checking in on us!

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, May 18, 2003 5:16 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Ross has had four of his radiation treatments and has done really well so far! We are so thankful that he is tolerating them as well as he is.

Watching them get him in position and put the mask over his head is tough, but I keep reminding myself that this is necessary. He gets the radiation in three different angles; one on each side of his head and one on his spine. The technician said it is almost for certain that his hair will come out, but Ross isn't too worried about that. His comment was "at least it's summer!"

We were able to take Friday off and come home early for the Honor's Day program at school. For the second year in a row, Ross received the gold medal in his class for having the highest average. He was also honored to receive the Americanism Award from the American Legion Auxiliary. Considering how many days (weeks!) he's missed this year, this is quite an accomplishment. Can you tell we are proud?!?

He played baseball Friday night! It was so hot and humid, and he was unable to continue pitching - the radiation and chemo has really zapped his stamina. He sat out for two innings, but was able to come back and play at shortstop. He's so determined to play and we were glad he felt like getting back out there. As the radiation continues he may find it more and more difficult to play, but I know he will never quit trying.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are so happy to be able to cross one week off our calendar of radiation!

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Friday, May 9, 2003 3:30 PM CDT

Dear friends,

WONDERFUL NEWS! Ross's bone marrow and spinal tests came back fine...meaning he is still in remission! Praise God! They did both procedures at the same time while he was sedated. He was pretty sore afterwards, but is doing fine today.

Dr. Hilliard decided to go ahead and begin his chemo that wasn't due until Monday. So in addition to the Methotrexate he received in the spine, he also got Vincristine (in his port), L-Asparaginase (in his thigh muscle), and started his 4mg, 3X a day Dexamethasone (steroid). Whew!! Throw in a trip to the radiation doctor for CT scans & markings, a bone marrow test, & spinal......you would think he'd be in the bed exhausted. Not Ross! The only problem he's having is with his leg. That L-Asp shot is really tough on him and he's having a hard time - he can't put any pressure on it. He's hoping for a miracle ~ his baseball team has a game tomorrow ~ but I seriously doubt he'll be up to it.

We go back on Monday for his first radiation treatment and for another L-Asp shot. Ross and I will be staying at the Hope Lodge in Birmingham for the first two weeks, then will move an apartment that is furnished by Alabama Power. We'll get to come home on the weekends. Actually, next week will be a short week...they are letting him take Friday off so he can go to the Honor's Day program at school. He's worked so hard this year to keep his All-A average up. I'm glad he'll be able to be recognized for that hard work!

Laura and I had a great time at the Mom & Me camp last weekend. What started out as a stormy day turned into a beautiful one on Lake Martin. She and I canoed, made crafts, learned dances....just had a great day. Ross and Kennon went to the Auburn v. Florida baseball game while we were gone. Ross was able to go on the field and meet the players (thanks Coach Fuller!). They had a blast.

Please keep our entire family in your prayers. The next three weeks will be quite a strain. Also, please pray specifically that the radiation and chemo he will be receiving will be well tolerated. He has to have eight more of these L-Asp. shots over the next three weeks - it will probably be the hardest part.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, May 1, 2003 5:50 PM CDT

*** New photos added 5-1-03 ***

Dear friends,

Things have been going well - Ross's counts have stayed low enough to not have any chemo but high enough for him to be in school and playing ball. Perfect! We are on schedule to go to Birmingham on Wednesday next week to do his simulation for radiation. We'll spend the night and be at the hospital early on Thursday for his spinal and bone marrow test. This is a very important day....it will confirm that he is still in remission and can go ahead with his radiation. It will also be his last chemo treatment in the spine. We'll come home on Friday, then go back on the following Monday (May 12) to begin his radiation.

We had a scare last week. A boy in Ross's class broke out in what was suspected to be chicken pox. Because they are in the same class and he would have been exposed, the doctors in Birmingham had us bring Ross up for VZIG shots. These are antibodies that protect people with low immunities, but have to be given within 96 hrs. of being exposed. Because of their immune system being so low, this particular virus can be fatal. We were able to get Ross vaccinated within 24 hrs. of being exposed and have seen no signs of chicken pox. Also, it is not 100% that the child actually had chicken pox, but we are happy to be better safe than sorry! Ross had to get 3 very painful shots in his thigh muscles. He was very sore that night, but felt fine the next day.

Laura will be the "big 10" on Saturday! She and I are going on a "Mom & Me" campout with Girl Scouts this weekend. I look forward to being able to spend some time alone with her. That doesn't happen very often.

Baseball and softball are going great! Laura plays second base and has made some really good plays. Ross is playing short stop and also pitches. He pitched a great game the other night....in 4 innings he only walked one & gave up 2 hits. It was so good to see him out there enjoying himself and doing so well. He is really amazing!

I've added new pictures in the photo album showing Ross & Laura playing ball, so be sure & check them out!

Please pray fervently for our trip to Birmingham next week that the spinal and bone marrow tests do not show any cancer cells and confirm he is still in remission. His bone marrow has not been checked in a year, so we are anxious to see the results.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Sunday, April 20, 2003 10:00 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Throw a little baseball and softball into our schedules and things get REALLY busy! I'm sorry I didn't update last week. When I last updated I was expecting to go to Birmingham on the 10th for his treatment. His counts were a little on the low side and Dr. Hilliard delayed it a week. He had his last (yea!!) Cytoxan/VP-16 combo on the 17th. It was another loooong day - we got to clinic around 10 am and did not leave until 5 pm. He felt fine and has had no problems since.

We will be getting his counts checked here at home each week until we go back to Birmingham on May 7th. This last treatment he had should keep his counts in the range they need to be in, but if they should rise too much, we will add some "home" chemo (pills & shots).

Last weekend was a special one for our family. The annual Relay for Life was held, and Ross and I walked the survivors lap together. I, of course, was crying the whole way with Ross rolling his eyes at me and making fun of my ever-present tears. It was emotional and rewarding at the same time. I guess sometimes the enormity of what all we've been through just hit me. Seeing his classmates on the side clapping for him as he walked by....well, let me just say I don't think I was the only one shedding a tear or two.

Like I said, ball season is in full swing! It's something our whole family enjoys and it is especially great to see Ross our there with all his buddies. He's the starting short-stop for his team and has pitched some. His stamina is not 100%, but all in all he's doing great. Laura starts at 2nd base and has improved so much since last year. It's really cute to see her getting down and ready...she looks just like Ross. And of course, she had to be #28 too!

School is winding down for Ross. Because of his upcoming radiation schedule, his last day of school will be on May 6th. His teachers have been absolutely wonderful about working with our crazy schedule and have really made keeping up with his makeup work very manageable. We so blessed that he is such a great student....he's managed to make All-A's on every report card this year (and every year!).

Thank you so much for your continued prayers - they are such a comfort. Please continued to pray for Ross's continued remission and for his upcoming radiation.

Happy Easter!

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Monday, April 7, 2003 8:55 PM CDT

Dear friends,

Well, once again Ross proved me wrong! His counts WERE good enough this last week for chemo. His ANC was a good, solid 1900....pretty amazing considering all he's had lately. We went in for his Methotrexate infusion. It's a huge bag (Ross calls it Mountain Dew...it's bright yellow)that takes 24 hrs. to infuse, then he gets fluids for another 24 hours. They check his blood to make sure he has cleared enough of the chemo before we can go. His level is supposed to be 0.6 or lower...his was 0.62! Dr. Castleberry was on call and took pity on us and let us go anyway!

It is nice to be able to say it was the last scheduled treatment of high-dose Methotrexate! In fact, he only has one more scheduled overnight stay, not counting radiation. The doctor who will be doing his radiation came to visit with us and go over everything. I liked her a lot and she spent a lot of time talking with Ross. I think he feels pretty comfortable with her, too.

She went over possible side effects, things I don't really want to think about but know are out there. She did feel that because of his age he will not be at much risk at all for any learning disabilities. She does think that he will experience some growth setbacks and will not be as tall as he would have otherwise. Kennon is 6'6", so hopefully this just means Ross will be average height! Seriously though, this is a concern for us. Ross has not grown at all in the last 11 months. Dr. Hilliard said that was common because of the heavy chemo he's had and that he will probably experience a catchup growth when he finishes chemo.

One side effect that she mentioned was the 50-50 chance that he will develop cataracts down the road because of the cranial radiation. There is also a slight chance (around 5%) that he might develop a secondary cancer because of the radiation.

We could get really bogged down in our fears of the future, but know that we have to do this to ensure that he HAS a future. She is dividing his radiation over 16 total treatments. During those treatments, he will have 16 cranial and 10 spinal sessions. For those of you who know about rads, he will be getting 2400 total to the brain and 1500 to the spine.

She told Ross that most children do fine and do not feel any effects until about a month afterwards. This of course led to a discussion of playing baseball! He's convinced he'll be able to play during this time and knowing how determined he is, he probably will! We will go for "simulation" on May 7th - they will do a CT scan and set everything up in the computer for the area to radiated. They will also be making his mask - he has to wear a mask that is molded to his head and then bolted to the table to prevent him from moving.

If Ross's counts are good enough we will go back to Birmingham on Thursday for his last Cytoxan/VP16. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we prepare for this upcoming phase. It will be very hard on all of us.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Saturday, March 29, 2003 10:50 AM CST

Dear friends,

Everything went great with Ross's spinal on Thursday. First, and most importantly, he remains cancer free! Everytime he has a chemo injection in his spine they also check the spinal fluid for any cancer cells. Because he relapsed in his CNS (central nervous system), this is something we always fear. Everything looked great, praise God!

We stayed the night for fluids and were able to come home on Friday. He's feeling fine and can't quit talking about his baseball practice that starts on Monday! I think it will mean so much to all the boys in the league to see him out there....he's got a great group of friends who have really been there for him during the last 2 1/2 yrs of treatments.

If Ross had not relapsed he would have been finishing up treatment this month. That's a hard pill to swallow, but we try not to look back and just take things day by day. The way it looks now he will be finishing up treatment next summer.

We will check Ross's counts on Wednesday to see if he can go in for his Methotrexate infusion. I doubt he will - he typically has low counts about two weeks after the Cytoxan/VP-16 treatment. I outlined in my last entry what his remaining treatment will probably be, and Dr. Hilliard doesn't expect him to be able to get his next treatment until April 10th.

Thank you for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers!

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, March 21, 2003 7:12 PM CST

Dear friends,

Ross's counts were good and he was able to FINALLY get his treatment of Cytoxan and VP16 yesterday. His ANC was around 1200 and all else on his CBC looked great. It's such a blessing to see those counts rebounding! It was another loooong day.....about 7 hours in clinic. He was pretty tired today but otherwise is feeling good.

Dr. Hilliard spent a lot of time discussing Ross's upcoming radiation plans. Based on the fact that he has been unable to receive all of the scheduled chemo, she feels that the higher dosages of radiation are needed. This will consist of 2400 rads to the brain and 1500 rads to the spine. Of course, more radiation means more chances for side effects. Please pray fervently that he will tolerate these treatments with no debilatating effects. Some of the side effects that are possible (but certainly not probable) are learning disabilities, secondary tumors, and growth problems. There are many more, but these are the ones that have us most concerned.

The fact that Ross is 12 is to his benefit. A lot of the side effects are worse in younger children who are still going through so much cognitive development.

Dr. Hilliard planned out the remaining weeks until radiation, and it looks like this:

March 27th - spinal w/Methotrexate (one night stay)
April 10th - High dose Methotrexate infusion (two night stay)
April 17th - Cytoxan and VP16
May 8th - spinal w/Methotrexate and bone marrow test (this will be to confirm his remission before beginning radiation)
May 12th - begin radiation (will also be getting chemo during this time.)

Sometime soon we will be meeting with the radiation doctor and discussing his treatment plans in depth. As of right now we think it will last for 3 weeks.

Please begin praying NOW for this radiation phase and for his upcoming bone marrow test. The reality of it all can be really overwhelming at times. Emotionally Ross has handled all that has been thrown at him amazingly well, but lately has begun to share some of his fears. He's so ready to have all of this behind him and be a normal twelve year old boy looking forward to baseball. Who can blame him?

Another prayer concern we have is our pastors' wife, Lane Lee. She battled melanoma 6 years ago and has just begun her battle again. She has had a brain tumor removed and will have to receive chemo for tumors in her lungs and intestine. Please pray for God's healing for her and for her husband, Ron, as they go through this terrible time.

Thank you for checking in on us and for continuing to lift us up in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, March 13, 2003 9:57 AM CST

Dear friends,

Ross was not able to get his treatment last week. We had counts done and his ANC was only around 400. On Thursday morning he awoke with a terrible headache and had a lot of vomiting. He was not running a fever, but the doctor felt like he needed to be seen. I had a feeling they would keep us and I was right...we ended up staying for two nights. When we got there his body temp was down to 94.5, unusually low for Ross. They were afraid that the low temp along w/the sudden vomiting might signal sepsis. They started him on several IV antibiotics, but nothing ever grew in the cultures. He was feeling fine by Saturday and we were able to go home. They are assuming he had a viral infection.

I had his counts checked yesterday and they are still low, although improving. His ANC is 621, which technically is high enough for treatment. His doctor, however, felt it would be best to give him another week off to build back up. She wants him to be stronger before getting such a tough chemo combination as the Cytoxan/VP16. We'll try again next week!

I had my three month checkup on Monday with my oncologist. Everything seems fine! My tumor marker blood test (CA 15-3) was 18; anything below 30-40 is good. I'll be going back in June for my next checkup with him, but have a checkup with my radiation doctor next month.

Baseball and softball season is here! Kennon is the president of our local Dixie Youth league (as if we don't have enough to do!!), and we have been very busy getting that started. Games will start mid-April. Laura is really excited about softball and has improved so much from last year. Ross is DETERMINED to play. Although he knows it is unlikely he'll be able to play in even 1/2 of the games, he is so fired up. When radiation starts I doubt seriously he'll be able to play at all, although he thinks he'll be able to come home on Friday and play Friday night. Who knows.... I remember last year he had a spinal and played (and pitched!) in the same night!

Please keep our family in your prayers and pray specifically for:

** Ross's continued remission

** Wisdom for the doctors as they plan out his remaining treatment and radiation.

** Ross's counts to rebound and for him to be able to continue with his treatments.

Thank you all for checking in on us!
Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, March 3, 2003 2:29 PM CST

Dear friends,

Ross's stay for Methotrexate went well and we were able to come home on Saturday. We both felt like a two night stay was such a short trip! He did fine with the chemo and besides being a little tired, has felt fine since. He's back in school today!

His counts had dropped some but were still in a good range. Dr. Hilliard wants to have his counts checked here at home again on Wednesday before we return on Thursday for Cytoxan/VP-16. She said it is likely to see a continued drop, even though the Methotrexate doesn't usually affect his counts. The Cytoxan/VP-16 combo is pretty tough and can drop the blood counts for 1-2 weeks afterwards. If they are too low on Wednesday, we will wait a week before returning.

Be sure and check out the photo album; I finally got around to adding some new pictures! Ross received a HUGE box from Auburn University, including real football, basketball and baseball jerseys, gymnastic t-shirts & caps, signed football, and lots of books and programs. I think you'll be able to tell from the smile on his face that he was pretty excited. He even shared the loot with Laura and let her have one of the t-shirts!

His package was one of the many wonderful things that has happened during his illness. God has really blessed us with the opportunity to see so much good in others. So many people have gone out of their way to send a card or package...and each and every one have really brightened our day.

Please continue to pray for our family, and specifically for:

** Ross's continued remission, and for wisdom for the doctors and nurses that care for him.

** Wisdom in deciding the best course to take for his radiation.

** Lisa's continued remission: I will be having a check-up on Monday the 10th - please pray it goes well.

Thank you again for remembering our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Monday, February 24, 2003 11:27 AM CST

*** New pictures added on 2/25/03 ***

Dear friends,

Ross is doing so well right now. The treatment on Thursday (Cytoxan and VP16) went very well, although it was a long day. We were in clinic for seven hours! About half of that time was waiting on the meds to be infused, but the other half was just waiting on labs and seeing the doctor. Neither one of us complained too much....we were just happy to be able to come home!

I spent a long time talking with Dr. Hilliard about Ross's protocol and the changes that were going to be made. She talked at length with the study coordinator and he felt that it was better to continue with chemo for now rather than go on into radiation. The plan is for him to alternate between the Cytoxan/VP16 and high-dose Methotrexate infusions, plus have the two remaining spinals on his protocol. We will most likely do the radiation sometime around the first of May.

The study coordinator said there have been a few other children who have had as severe of a reaction to Ara-C. I guess this is an important part of being on a clinical trial - seeing just how far you can push the limits. Obviously, we reached Ross's limit with Ara-C, and he will not be getting it anymore. Even the spinal injections will contain only Methotrexate.

I feel good about these decisions and am confident in the ability of our doctor to make a wise plan in regards to Ross's situation. One area that is still not clear is the amount of radiation Ross will have to have. A child that relapsed >18 months from the original remission would be considered low-risk and receive the lower amount of radiation. If <18 months, they are considered high-risk and receive a larger amount. Ross relapsed one week shy of 18 months. Please pray for wisdom for our doctors as they map out this crucial part of his treatment. We certainly want to make sure he receives as much radiation as he needs. Of course, the higher dosage can lead to more late term effects.

He is feeling better now than he has in such a long time. I let him go to school today for the first time in about a month. Everyone has been so sick we were afraid for him to go before now. He was so excited ~ you would have thought it was Christmas morning! He wanted to get there as early as possible. He's missed seeing his friends and being in the normal routine of school.

We will have his counts checked here at home on Wednesday and then, if everything looks okay, head back to Birmingham for a 2 or 3 night stay for Methotrexate. As you know, our last couple of admissions have been terrible. Please pray that this trip will be uneventful and that he will not have any bad side effects.

Thank you for keeping our whole family in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, February 17, 2003 9:07 AM CST

Dear friends,

I learned a while back not to ask "What else can happen?", because something else can ALWAYS happen. Our two night planned stay last week ended up lasting five nights, and Ross was a very sick little guy.

We went on Tuesday and began his 24 hr. infusion of Methotrexate that night. He did fine that first night. He had a spinal done on Wednesday morning and seemed to do great with that. Although he was groggy most of the day from the sedation, he seemed to be doing fine. (One scare I had: the results from his spinal showed some white cells in the spinal fluid. They had the results sent off for further testing to be done to rule out a recurrence - flow cytometry- and all was fine. It is not uncommon to have some cells cross over after a illness. Whew!)

Around 11 pm Wednesday night, Ross spiked a fever and severe vomiting all through the night. He continued with high fevers until Friday. After testing for both bacterial and viral infections remained negative, it had to be assumed that he was having another drug reaction. His blood pressure remained fairly stabile, so at least we didn't end up in PICU again.

The spinal he had included a small amount of Ara-C, along with Methotrexate and a steroid. This tiny bit of Ara-C has never caused him too much trouble in the past. They feel that he can't tolerate ANY amount of the drug now. It's like his body sends up a red flag anytime it comes in contact with it.

Another problem we encountered was an elevation in his kidney functions. His creatinine level was very elevated, which indicates that the kidneys were not working at the level they should. It took him much longer to clear out his Methotrexate this time, and that probably has something to do with the nausea he experienced. As concerning as it was to learn about the kidney problem, I was assured that it was a short term condition. By the time we left the hospital on Sunday, his creatinine level was almost back to normal.

The relapse protocol Ross is on consists of twelve months of intense chemo, followed by three weeks of cranial radiation and chemo and a year of maintenence chemo. I found out that the previous protocol called for six months of intense chemo (instead of twelve), same radiation phase, then eighteen months of maintenence chemo. There is a strong possibility that we may go ahead and move into the radiation. He obviously can't tolerate the Ara-C anymore, and with the issues that have come up (kidneys), you have to weigh the benefits vs. the risks of continuing his current protocol. Dr. Hilliard is speaking with the study coordinators and will have a plan for us soon.

We will go on Thursday for a long day of Cytoxan and VP-16. We will hopefully be home on Thursday night, but with the way things have been going lately.....I'm taking a bag just in case!

Please continue to pray for our family and for Ross's strength and continued remission. The last few weeks have been really tough on him.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, February 6, 2003 10:53 AM CST

Dear friends,

We are home! We did not get home until around 9:30 pm last night and are taking it slow and easy today. Ross was so excited...he talked non-stop the whole way home.

We did not think we would be coming home until today. When the doctors made rounds yesterday morning they told us Ross was having a problem with his clotting factors and they needed to run some more tests. He had received FFP (fresh frozen plasma) while in the PICU for this same problem. What caused this problem is up in the air; an infection can cause it, but so can severe trauma to the body. Because he was septic, it could have easily been the problem.

Around 5 pm I thought I would ask for a pass to get him out of the hospital for a little while and go eat supper. The resident came in and asked if we'd rather go eat supper at home. It took a few seconds for our exhausted brains to catch on! I had just started washing clothes, but some angel had put them in the dryer for me and we got out of there in record time.

Dr. Hilliard is contacting the study coordinators of the protocol Ross is on and discussing a new course of action for him. Obviously he can't keep getting the Ara-C....or at least it has to be modified. I have full confidence in her and know that she will come up with the best solution.

The plan now is for us to go back on Tuesday for an admission. They will be giving the high-dose Methotrexate infusion (which he usually does fine with) starting on Tuesday, and a spinal w/chemo on Wednesday. We will hopefully be home on Thursday. Since he's missed a lot of his treatments lately - he had the delay because of the bronchitis and only got half of the Ara-C - she feels like he needs something more intense than the Asparaginase he was scheduled for. Because Ross relapsed in the CNS, it is very important that he gets chemo that will cross over into the CNS.

Thank you so much for the prayers during this last week. We could certainly feel them and they helped us keep it together somewhat during such a frightening time. Please continue to pray that his doctor will come up with the best solution for his future treatments and that his body will tolerate the chemo. It is such a fine line that we walk...you want him to get enough chemo to keep the cancer cells away, but you do not want him to go through such serious side effects.

Thank you again for keeping all of us in your prayers.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Tueday, February 4, 2003 12:19 AM CST

Dear friends,

This last week has been really tough. As many of you are aware, Ross had to be admitted into the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) for 3 nights. I'm happy to report that things are much better now and we are back in a regular room.

We came up on Thursday for his Ara-C admission. He has had such terrible reactions in the past to this drug, and we always dread it. It's a high-dose infusion and he receives 4 three hours drips every 12 hours. During the night after his first drip, he started severe vomiting and some fever. An upleasant side effect, to be sure, but not uncommon. After his second drip, his fever spiked up to almost 105*, he continued vomiting, his pulse got up to around 170, and his blood pressure dropped critically low. They "coded" him, which basically means that we had about 20 people rush in to our room and work on him. He was awake, but a little disoriented. It was a very scary time for both of us; they put in two IV's and transferred us down to PICU to be placed on blood pressure medicine and be stabilized. I called Kennon and he made it to Birmingham in record time.

After getting to the PICU, we talked with the doctors and they told us he was considered critical for the next 24 hrs. He was placed on oxygen in addition to the two bp medications. At first it was assumed that there had to be a blood infection to cause this septic reaction. Blood cultures were drawn, but as of now (4 days later), they still don't show a definite bacteria. They are now assuming it was a reaction to the Ara-C. It is very uncommon to have such a severe reaction, but apparently there are a few case studies they are looking into that had similar reactions. He was put on four different high powered IV antibiotics in case it was an infection.

We got moved back to a regular room yesterday afternoon. It is so much better to be on our normal floor with our regular nurses. I can't say enough good things about these nurses. When visiting hours were over in the PICU (we couldn't stay with him around the clock), some of the nurses would go in and check on him for us. They are wonderful and really like family to us.

They are stopping the antibiotics today. His blood counts look great and they are really encouraged with how he is doing. They are going to get physical therapy to come by today to work with him. He's so weak and stiff from being in the bed for the last 6 days. They have also said he could start eating a little today (he's been NPO..without food or drink... since Friday).

We hope to be able to come home on Thursday. They are not doing his chemo that was scheduled this week, but will delay it until next week.

This has been one of the scariest weeks we've had. Ross has, of course, been pretty down and depressed. He's ready to come home. Kennon went home yesterday after we got moved out of PICU and I know Laura was glad to see him and get to sleep in her own bed.

Please pray specifically that Ross will regain his strength and spirit, and that the doctors will find the best course of treatment for him. Ara-C is an important drug in his treatment and I don't know if we can do without it. I hope there is something they can replace it with. He is due for two more rounds of it, but hopefully they will have some answers by that time.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, January 24, 2003 at 10:09 AM (CST)

Dear friends,

Just wanted to give a quick update to let everyone know we are NOT in the hospital right now getting ARA-C! Ross is still fighting a really tough viral infection right now, and Dr. Hilliard didn't want to zap him with ARA-C, which is so hard on the body and really affects the blood counts, right now with his body trying to fight this infection.

We had his counts checked at home on Wednesday and they had dropped, but were still in the okay range for receiving a treatment. His platelets had really dropped, going from around 250K down to only 96K. It is not uncommon to see a drop in platelets when fighting a viral infection (something I didn't know before all of this!). We went to Birmingham on Thursday. His counts had dropped even more, with his ANC being only 680 and his platelets 75K. Dr. Hilliard was concerned with the way his lungs sounded (he still has that terrible, deep cough) and ordered a chest x-ray. It didn't show pneumonia, but she was afraid that it could develop into that, or that he could run the risk of developing some secondary infection. With his counts so low and his body weak, it could be very dangerous for him. She sent us home with some really strong antibiotics just in case it was developing into pneumonia. He'll take those for five days.

With so many kids out sick at school and his counts as low as they are, we are going to keep him home and try to get him well before we go back next week. We'll be going on Thursday to try again for the ARA-C. It's a very necessary part of his treatment and although we always dread it, we know it's also very important. Ross knows that too, but was pretty happy about delaying for a week!

Please keep us in your prayers and pray specifically that Ross will fight off this infection and be able to have his treatment next week. Laura started coughing some this morning and I'm afraid she may be getting whatever Ross has. Keep her in your prayers, too - we have been so fortunate that she has been very healthy these past two years.

Thank you for checking in on us!

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, January 17, 2003 at 01:27 PM (CST)

Dear friends,

Thank you all so much for the good wishes with my mammogram I had earlier this week. Good news: all was clear and looked fine! I will be having them done every 6 months for probably the next 3 years. I felt like it would be fine, but it was such a relief to hear that it was okay. Praise God!

Ross did well with his VP-16 and Cytoxan treatment yesterday. It made for a loooong day in clinic, and he was really wiped out last night. His counts were lower, but still in a good range. His ANC was around 1300, but will probably drop following the treatment yesterday. I'm going to take him locally to have his counts checked on Wednesday before we go back for a treatment next week. I'd hate to go all the way to Birmingham and be sent home for low counts! (It's happened before!)

He is fighting a viral infection ~ probably just a cold ~ right now and it has him feeling pretty yucky. He has a bad cough and sore throat and stayed home from school today to get some rest. He hates to be out of school any more than necessary, and that has him feeling kind of blue.

He will be getting the dreaded Ara-C next week. Ugh...how can it be time for that again already?!? We will go on Thursday (assuming his counts are okay) and stay for two nights. He will get 4 different three hour infusions during that time and will get a leg shot of Asparaginase before we leave. Please keep him in your prayers during this time. We are hopeful that this round will not be as harsh on him as it has been before.

As always, thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Your support has meant so much to us!

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, January 13, 2003 at 09:03 AM (CST)

Dear friends,

Things have been going much smoother in the Agee household these last couple of weeks. No ER visits, no fevers... praise God!

Ross was inpatient from Thursday to Saturday for his Methotrexate infusion & 6MP (pill form). He did fine with it, and is back in school today. This particular drug has never given him too much trouble. They always test the blood to make sure that the chemo level is low enough before we can be discharged. It has to be below 0.6% - and Ross's was 0.57. Whew! That was too close for comfort. He has had to stay that extra night before, but we were very thankful to come home on time this time.

We will return to Birmingham on Thursday for Cytoxan and VP-16. It will only be a day trip, but a loooong day trip. These are given in a drip and they have to infuse over several hours. Both of these are very strong chemos, but so far he hasn't had much problem with them. He does get a bad taste in his mouth while getting them (something I can understand...one of my chemos did that too), and doesn't feel like eating much. Please remember him on Thursday, and pray that he tolerates this treatment well.

I will be going back to the Cancer Center tomorrow for my first follow-up mammogram. I would appreciate your prayers. I have been doing great and am not expecting anything but good news from my test. I have been experiencing some soreness/tightness in the area where they removed the lymph nodes, but this is normal. More than likely I am having some nerve regeneration in that area and can actually feel again!

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Wednesday, January 01, 2003 at 06:34 PM (CST)

Dear friends,

Happy New Year! As we look forward to our new year, our prayer is for health and happiness for our family. The "new millenium" has not been kind to us thus far, but I have faith that 2003 will be a better year!

It has been a while since I've updated, but I'm afraid no news was not good news this time. Ross has had a rough few weeks here lately. He's developed the severe leg pain like he had back in the summer, and has had two emergency room visits. The good news is that neither of the emergency visits ended up being admissions and his leg pain seems to be getting better. A few days before Christmas he started running really high fever (103.8), but his counts were good and blood cultures remained negative. One of those mysterious viral infections, I guess. He felt fine by Christmas. Monday he had a spinal and all seemed to go well with that. His spinal fluid was clear of any leukemia cells, a test we no longer take for granted. We spent Monday night in the hospital for hydration and were home early afternoon on Tuesday. By Tuesday night, however, he started to feel - in his own words - "really cruddy". He was running fever and had some vomiting. We ended up in the emergency room again today, but his counts seemed fine and the Birmingham doctors said to just treat the fever and nausea while we wait on the blood cultures (they take 24 hrs.).

I don't think this is as much related to the spinal tap as it is to the chemo he had. Before whenever he had the terrible spinal headaches, he did not have the fever and was not nauseated. I think this is more of a reaction to the Ara-C, which is one of the drugs injected into the spine along with Methotrexate. His body just can't seem to tolerate the stuff.

We had a wonderful Christmas and really enjoyed seeing our friends and family over the holidays. Kennon's brother Ben and his family, including their new daughter Leighanne, were here from Texas. We especially loved getting to see Leighanne. They just recently adopted her from China and returned home with her on Thanksgiving Day. She is just the sweetest little thing and we are happy to have her in our family.

I hope the Lord blesses each of you in this new year. We have been so blessed to have the support we have....from family nearby, friends that will take Laura on a moments notice - to friends around the world that offer support and wonderful little surprises. Imagine Ross's face when he received a "real" Australian football all the way from Melbourne, Australia! (Thanks Liz!)

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, December 16, 2002 at 04:51 PM (CST)

Dear friends,

We finally made it home from the hospital late Thursday night. Ross had to receive units of blood and platelets before we left, and that took some time. Hopefully, we will not have to go back to Birmingham until December 30th. He will be having a spinal then and will be spending the night for fluids. His doctor is actually giving him a week off....the spinal fell during Christmas week, but, thankfully, they will not make him have it then.

We had to do a little begging and pleading to get to come home. Although he was fever free and his blood cultures were negative, his counts were terrible. His ANC was 0. (ANC represents the percentage of infection fighting white cells). I was told to bring him back at the first sign of fever. Praise the Lord - he's not running any fever!

Since his counts have been so low, he's had to stay out of school. We've been trying to do makeup work here at home, but he really misses his friends and the interaction of being in school.

I've been giving him the GCSF shots each night for 11 nights now. These help build up his white cells. I took him for blood work today and his counts look much better. They would like his ANC to be higher, so we are to continue with the shots for two more nights. He will be so happy to finish those - they are really painful. The needle doesn't hurt, but the medicine burns going in. (I had these too and can attest to that!) He's been really weak and tired ever since we got home from the hospital. I pray that as his counts increase, so will his energy level.

Thank you for checking in on us and keeping us in your prayers.

God bless,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, December 09, 2002 at 03:38 PM (CST)

Dear friends,

Ross tolerated his treatment of Ara-C and his first leg shot of Erwinia Asparaginase fairly well. He was only given a 50% dosage of the Ara-C because of the side effects he suffered last time. He did run some high fever (104.4), but it got down to normal after a couple of days.

He had no problem with the new Asparaginase. He did have some leg pain before the hospital stay, but we attribute that to the month long high dose steroids and Vincristine. His legs are feeling fine now.

Ross went to school on Friday and was feeling pretty well. However, last night he started running fever. When it reached 101.6 I called the hospital and they had me take him to our local hospital for a CBC (we were trying to avoid that 2 1/2 hr. trip to Birmingham at 11 PM!) His counts had dropped quite a bit, and given that he had been running fever, they asked for us to bring him on last night to be admitted for fever and neutropenia (low white count w/low infection fighting cells). Kennon made the trip and they got settled in the room around 2 AM. I came up this afternoon and relieved Kennon. So far, Ross is doing fine. His fever has not been over 100 and so far his blood cultures are not showing any sign of infection. They also did a chest xray, and that is not showing any sign of pneumonia, which was a relief...he's had a terrible, deep cough.

Hopefully we will be able to go home tomorrow. If not tomorrow, Wednesday. Please pray for Ross to heal and for his counts to rebound soon. It is hard for his body to fight off infections with his counts this low, and he will have to stay out of school until they come up.

Please continue to pray for the Forrest Johnson family. Forrest remains in critical condition but is holding his own. Also, please pray for little Clayton Cooper. He is the infant son of good friends, Todd and Mary Shannon Cooper. Clayton was born with a serious heart defect and has had to have (and will continue to have) serious surgeries to repair his heart. Their latest concern with him is the possibility of neurological damage.

Thank you for checking in on us and keeping us in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

*** Update on Wednesday, Dec. 11 ***

We are still inpatient. Ross is feeling good and remains fever-free and has negative cultures. His counts have bottomed out (ANC of 0), and they want to keep him one more night. They PROMISE we'll get home tomorrow if he doesn't run fever. Keep your fingers crossed!

On a sad note, our friend Forrest passed away yesterday. Please keep the whole Johnson family in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with this tragedy.

Thursday, November 28, 2002 at 07:43 PM (CST)

Dear friends,

Happy Thanksgiving! We have enjoyed a wonderful day with Kennon's family today, and will continue to spend time with my family over the weekend. And, of course, enjoy all that delicious Thanksgiving food!

Having "Steroid Boy" (aka Ross) has made for some interesting meals lately. He averages about 15 pancakes (no that's not a typo) each morning. He will finish up his month of steroids tomorrow, so hopefully things will get back to normal soon. Besides making him incredibly hungry, he has not had too many problems. We have noticed a tremor in his hands and assume it is from the weekly Vincristine he's been receiving.

We will go in the hospital on Monday for a two night stay. He'll be getting the dreaded Ara-C - that's the chemo that gave him such a hard time this summer. His doctor only wants to give him 50% this time. Hopefully that reduced amount will be tolerated better this time around. His doctor is also planning to replace the L-Asparaginase chemo he will be receiving soon with another form of asparaginase called Erwinia. If you remember, Ross had terrible leg pain and could not walk this summer after his L-Asp shots, so they are assuming that was a reaction. The Erwinia form does not have as many reported reactions. All of these changes make us nervous and we have to remind ourselves that his protocol is only a guideline and that changes are to be expected. Please remember his doctor and her whole medical team as they care for Ross.

Laura has a sinus infection and has not been feeling too spiffy lately. We've been so fortunate that she's been so healthy over the last two years....I really can't remember the last time she had to be on antibiotics.

Please continue to pray for us, and specifically for:

*** Ross on Monday - Wednesday as he begins the new phase (Intensification II) of treatment. Pray that his body will be able to tolerate the chemo and that he will be receiving the amount he should.

*** Pray that Laura will recover soon and be healthy.

*** Please continue to pray for our cousin and friend, Forrest Johnson. As I mentioned on my last update, Forrest is in critical condition. He is fighting for his life and needs as many prayers lifted up as possible. His wife Jodi had their second daughter last week and is doing well. A website has been created to keep people up on his progress. Please go by and leave his family a note if you have the chance. Updates on Forrest Johnson

We have so much to be thankful for and give God all the glory for it all. We have grown so much closer to our families and friends. We have been shown the true goodness in so many people. We take each day as a gift and try not to worry too much about tomorrow. Most importantly, we know that God is with us every step of the way

Take care and have a wonderful holiday.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Friday, November 15, 2002 at 08:39 AM (CST)

Dear friends,

Ross has done amazingly well during this phase of treatment. His weekly Vincristine and Daunorubicin have been tolerated very well, as has his HUGE steroid dose he takes each day. The steroids have him pretty bloated and have made him a little achy, but all in all, he's done great. He's certainly eating us out of house and home! He gained 5 lbs. this week! He's developed what our favorite Nurse Practitioner, Meredith, call the "PPS". Positive Pancake Sign. When Ross asks for more pancakes, you know he's feeling okay!

I finished my radiation on Monday, ironically on Veteran's Day. I certainly feel like a veteran now, battle scars and all! I am so thankful for that to be over and to be able to get more involved in Ross's treatments. He and I will go to B'ham on Wednesday for his last treatment in this phase. The next phase is going to be tough, and we need many prayers as he enters that one. It's a 6 drug regimen and will involve many hospital stays.

Ross made all A's once again on his report card this grading period. It's amazing to me, considering all the days he's missed and the poison that is being pumped in his body. Laura almost had all A's...she had a B in Math. We're very proud of her, too.

A special friend, Forrest Johnson, is in need of your prayers. Forrest was in a terrible accident months ago and crushed his leg, but was able to pull himself out of his vehicle. He has undergone numerous surgeries and rehabilitation, but is still in danger of losing his foot. This week Forrest had to be admitted to UAB for respitory problems and is in grave condition. He and his wife Jodi are expecting their second child any day now. Please remember this special family in your prayers and pray that God heals Forrest and gives him and Jodi the strength they need.

Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, November 01, 2002 at 08:44 AM (CST)

*** Saturday, November 2 is Ross's 12th birthday!***

Dear friends,

Ross and Kennon went to Birmingham yesterday for the first treatment in the new phase (re-induction)). Thankfully, his counts had really rebounded and he was able to get his treatment. So far, he has done fine. He was exhausted when they got home last night, but got up and went to school today. Praise God!

Tomorrow is Ross's 12th birthday! If you have a chance, drop him a note in the guest book. He really enjoys reading the entries. Even though he thinks he's "too old" for a party, I know he would appreciate the recognition.

I have six more radiation treatments to go! WooHoo!! I can't wait to be finished, and be able to relieve Kennon of the weekly trips to Birmingham. I'm so fortunate to have such a wonderful husband who is able to help out as much as he does.

We have so many prayers concerns all around us. Please pray specifically for:

*** Pam Stewart - A friend who is a 5 year survivor of breast cancer and recently learned she is facing a recurrence that has spread to her bone.

*** Alonzo Agee - Kennon's 92 yr. old grandfather - he is facing many health problems and needs your prayers.

*** Ben, Julie, Austin, Jordan & Zack Agee - Kennon's brother and family - they (Ben & Julie) are travelling to China on November 14th to adopt their daughter, Leighanne.

*** Sarah Anne & Matthew: Two dear little friends who have just recently finished treatment for leukemia and are now facing the joyous, but scary, world of being off treatment!

*** Ross's continued remission and strength.

*** My continued remission and remaining radiation treatments.

Thank you so much for keeping our family in your prayers and for lifting up our concerns.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Thursday, October 24, 2002 at 04:03 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

Well, I guess this has been our week for delays! After taking three days off to give my skin a chance to heal, I started back on my radiation Friday. On Monday, however, the machine went down as soon as I got back there. Arghh! It's been up and going since then, though. Ross and Kennon went today for his appointment and found out that his counts were too low to get his treatment. I hate they made that trip for nothing (2 1/4 hr. one way). Of course, they ate lunch at Dreamland BBQ for lunch, so I guess it wasn't totally wasted!

One of the reasons Ross's doctor wanted to delay treatment for a week is because he is about to begin a new phase of treatment. For the next four weeks he will be in "Reinduction" and following that will be six months of "Intensification II". These will be very tough - during these four weeks of Reinduction he will be on high-dose steroids and be getting weekly treatments of Vincristine and Daunorubicin, two very strong chemo drugs.

I had my port removed last week and the stitches taken out today. I was so glad to have that done - it feels one step closer to being through. I have 12 more radiation treatments to go...can you tell I'm counting down?!?

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

*** An improvement in Ross's white blood count and infection fighting ability.

*** Healing for his body as he begins this new, tougher phase of treatment.

*** My radiation treatments.

*** For both Ross and my continued remissions.

Thank you for checking in on us and keeping us in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

Tuesday, October 15, 2002 at 08:57 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

Ross continues to do well and amazes us daily. After his last treatment on Thursday of Cytoxan & VP 16 (very strong chemo), he went to school all day Friday and went to Auburn for the ballgame on Saturday. The sheer determination he has is incredible: he refuses to let this disease invade his life anymore than necessary. We are so thankful that he tolerates his treatments so well!

He is scheduled to go to Birmingham on Thursday for another spinal tap & injection of chemo. He and Kennon will be spending the night ~ this seems to help ward off those awful spinal headaches. The treatment he had last week will probably have his blood counts very low, so please pray that he remains healthy and strong.

I'm on a little break from my radiation. The doctor decided I needed a few days off - my skin has gotten pretty irritated and sore. Hopefully I will be able to start back on Friday....I'm ready to get this over with! I'm over halfway finished and should (hopefully) finish on November 8th.

Thank you for checking in on us and please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross & Laura

PS - I've added a new picture to the photo album that was taken at Camp SAM family camp.

Friday, October 04, 2002 at 09:40 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

Today is the two year anniversary of Ross's diagnosis. October 4, 2000....in some ways that seems like only yesterday. I'll never forget that day ~ our family was forever changed. If he had not relapsed, we would be looking at finishing up this spring; now we are looking at May 2004.

Ross is in the hospital right now getting his 24 hr. drip of Methotrexate and then fluids. It's supposed to be a two night stay, but last time it ended up being three. Kennon is with him and they sound like they are doing good. Ross even showed him where to go for Dreamland ribs before his appointment! Hopefully, they will be home tomorrow.

I'm still doing well with my radiation. It's starting to wear on me a little: I seem to want to nap more and more! I'm very fortunate to have so much family here that has really helped out a lot in the daily trips. I'm going to Selma, which is about 45 minutes from here, so it's not too bad.

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers, especially for:

*** Ross's continued remission
*** Ross's current hospital stay and that he will be able to tolerate the chemo as expected
*** For my radiation treatments to be effective and for me to remain cancer-free
*** For our peace of mind...sometimes things just seem so overwhelming.

Thank you all for checking in on us and for your continued prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Tuesday, September 24, 2002 at 07:52 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

Things have been going really well for us, so whenever I don't update for a few weeks, assume no news is good news! I went to the doctor yesterday for a checkup and he told me, "You are disease-free!". I was beaming all day long ~ it was so wonderful to hear those words. My bone scans, CT scans and bloodwork was all normal and I don't have to go back to him for 3 months. I've started my radiation and that is going great. So far I've had no problems with it whatsoever.

Ross has been doing well, too. Although his 2 night stay ended up taking 3 nights (because, as one nurse put it, his body was on a "rent-to-own plan" of the Methotrexate and had trouble releasing it). They always check his levels to make sure it is down before he can leave, and it wasn't after the two nights. He has done great since then and will be going back on Thursday for a spinal tap w/chemo. As usual, he will be spending the night to (hopefully) avoid having a spinal headache. Because I've started my radiation and that is a daily treatment, Kennon will be doing most of the hospital trips for the next 7 weeks.

We had a blast at family camp! Camp Smile-A-Mile is an amazing place with the most caring people I've ever met. To get away and forget about the "C" word for a weekend was so wonderful. We were completely exhausted when we got home, but it was a good kind of tired!

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

** Ross's continued remission and health ~ we are so fortunate that he has been able to be in school as much as he has so far!

** A praise: My great checkup and progress in my treatment!

** For Kennon: He will be taking over most of the care of Ross while I'm doing radiation.

** For Laura, who is probably affected more by all of this than anyone.

Thank you again for visiting and praying for our family.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, September 08, 2002 at 08:33 PM (CDT)

*** New photos added to the photo album ***

Dear friends,

All is well in the Agee house. Kennon and I had a WONDERFUL trip to Los Angeles (War Eagle anyway!). We got to do a lot of sight-seeing and really had fun. I even managed to enjoy the flight ~ although I was pretty nervous at first!

We were surprised to find out that Ross's white cell count was too low for his chemo treatment last week. His doctor feels that he has had so much chemo for so long that these delays are more likely to occur. His body just needed a break, I guess. He's been feeling great and went to school all last week. We had his counts checked today and they are up to where they should be. We will be going to Birmingham tomorrow for his 2 night stay with Methotrexate.

One of the new pictures I added to the photo album is of Laura cheering at her first football game. She looked so precious and did such a great job!

This will be a busy week for us (but come to think of it...ALL our weeks are pretty busy!). Ross and I will go to B'ham tomorrow, Kennon will come up on Tuesday while I go see my radiation doctor for CT scans and radiation simulation, then I will return to B'ham Tuesday afternoon. Ross and I will get home late on Wednesday (hopefully) and I will have to go to my oncologist for follow up X-rays and a bone scan. On Friday our family will be going to Camp Smile-A-Mile for the family camp weekend. It will be a wonderful way to relax after such a hectic week!

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

*** Ross's hospital admission
*** For Laura ~ she will be shuffled around quite a bit this week.
*** For the tests I will be having done ~ please pray that no remaining cancer is found and that I can begin my radiation as planned.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Friday, August 30, 2002 at 08:35 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

The spinal Ross had on Monday went well. The fluid was still clear, which means he's still in remission. Yeah!! It was an easy tap and he didn't suffer any bad side effects. He was too tired to make it to school when we got home on Tuesday, but I was glad he realized he needed to rest. He was back in school on Wednesday and has been feeling great ever since. Our next scheduled treatment is on Wednesday where he will be going for the 2 night stay of Methotrexate. I worked it out where he could go to school for 1/2 day Wednesday, so he was happy about that.

Kennon and I leave early in the morning for a trip to Los Angeles! Our wonderful friends at McGraw-Webb Chevrolet here in Camden gave us the trip. It includes airfare, 3 nights at the Park Hyatt, and tickets to the Auburn-So. Cal. football game Monday night. The timing could not have been better. My counts have rebounded and I'm feeling great. We really need this time away and are so excited! The kids are quite jealous....but Laura, true to form, wants us to bring her back "lots of stuff". I'm sure they'll both be getting plenty!

Laura is staying busy practicing with her PeeWee cheerleader squad. She is very excited about cheering this year. I can't believe she's old enough! I'll be sure to post some pictures of her when they have a game. She looks so cute!

Ross's hematocrit was still very low, but they feel that the counts are on the rebound and will improve by next week. He is so pink (other cancer parents know what I mean) and feeling good, so we are not concerned. I think it's just a matter of the numbers catching up with the body. He did not have to receive blood, so that was an answer to prayer.

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

** Ross's continued remission and health
** For our safety on our trip (I must admit...I'm a little nervous about flying!)
** For our children's safety while we are away

Thank you all for checking up on us.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Wednesday, August 21, 2002 at 04:17 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

School has started back...and so has Ross! He was so excited that he couldn't get much sleep the night before. The child I usually have to literally drag from bed in the mornings has been up and dressed before 7:00 am. It is such a joy for us for him to be able to go.

I met with his teachers before school started and we talked about how best to deal with Ross's makeup work. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of teachers who love our children. I know they are going to make this year a lot easier than it could be. At best, Ross will be in school 3-4 days a week, although some weeks as few as 1-2 days.

Treatments have gone smoothly. The two night stay for Methotrexate was uneventful, and the trip yesterday for VP16 and Cytoxan went fine, too. It can be pretty tough and I tried to get Ross to sleep in and go to school for a half a day, but he wouldn't hear of it! I know how important it is for him to be there and be "normal".... so I let him go. His white count is good and strong and he has plenty of infection-fighting cells. His hematocrit is very low at 27.4. He should be feeling tired, but I swear, I think it would have to be pretty severe for him to admit it. The doctors said that if it is down next week he will probably need to receive some blood. Please pray extra hard that this will not be needed and that his counts rebound on their own.

We go on Monday for a spinal and will be spending the night for fluids. Ross wasn't too happy about that....he doesn't want to miss two days of school. His nurse told him if he wanted she'd put on the orders that we could check out early Tuesday morning and maybe he could make school for part of the day. That seemed to make him happier!

I am feeling good and regaining my energy following my last chemo. I will start radiation in about three weeks, so I am enjoying having this time off.

Thank you again for keeping our family in your prayers.

Love,

Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, August 09, 2002 at 11:09 AM (CDT)

*** NEW PHOTOS ADDED 8/9/02 ***

Dear friends,

Wow, I didn't realize how long it's been since I've written. One week at the beach and I totally become a bum!!

We had a WONDERFUL vacation. It was so nice to get away and just be normal for a while! We did a lot with the kids..went to the movies, the waterpark, the go-cart track, but also managed to find time to just relax on the beach as well. It was hard to leave and come back to reality. I added some new pictures from the beach on our photo album, so be sure to check them out.

Reality hit us pretty hard the very next day we were home. Ross had a treatment and ended up having to stay in the hospital overnight. It was a new combination of drugs for him (Cytoxan and VP-16) and he was pretty nauseus and had a very low blood pressure afterwards. He slept it off and was able to leave the next morning. On Monday of this week he went for a spinal, and since he had problems with his last one, we stayed for one night afterwards for fluids. His spinal fluid was clear (still in remission!!). He was able to leave the next morning and has been fine ever since, thank the Lord. Laura and I managed to squeeze in a "girls night out" and spent the night in Birmingham. We had a lot of fun...we shopped and shopped and went to a movie. It was great for us to be able to spend some time together alone.

I had my LAST chemo treatment yesterday! My sweet nurse had made me a pin I had to wear that said "Last chemo treatment!" on it, and all the nurses signed it. I'm feeling pretty good today and so thankful that phase is over. I go on Monday to talk to the radiation doctor and set up my schedule for that. I think that will start in about a month. It will be 5 days a week for 7 weeks. I think it will be more of a hassle than anything; most people I've talked to say the radiation is much easier than the chemo.

I'll be going back to Birmingham with Ross on Tuesday for his next 2-night stay for Methotrexate. I talked to Dr. Hilliard about the possibility of Ross attending school this year and she said that as long as his blood counts are good and he feels like it, it was okay. I'll be getting with his teachers to figure out the best way for him keep up with his work. He has to be in Birmingham basically every week, and will probably be missing on average 2 days a week of school.

I want to say thank you to all the dear friends who put on the horse show benefit for us recently. It was such a thoughtful thing for them to do, and I know it was a lot of work. We are so blessed to live in such a caring community and to have such wonderful friends. Also, if there is anyone who would like to be put on my mail-out list to be notified when I enter a new journal entry, please email me. We truly think the more people that are praying, the better!!

Much love,

Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Sunday, July 21, 2002 at 01:36 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

We are finally all home! After having a CT scan, which was normal, Ross had a blood patch done on Monday and was able to come home on Tuesday. His bacterial infection has also cleared. He had to go back to the hospital with Kennon on Friday for his 2 night stay for Methotrexate (he was scheduled for it earlier in the week, but they wanted to give him a few days at home). They got home about an hour ago, and he seems to be feeling fine.

Laura got home home from camp yesterday and had a wonderful time. She's really stayed busy this summer - which has been such a blessing. We've been in the hospital with Ross more days than we've been home, and it has helped having her occupied and having fun. I had my 5th of 6 treatments on Thursday (only one more!!), and all went well.

We are leaving tomorrow for a MUCH NEEDED vacation to the beach! Please pray that all will go well and that we will really enjoy spending some time together. We've had such crazy schedules in the last few weeks....it will be wonderful to just relax and enjoy each other. My doctor even gave me the okay to skip this weeks' lab work, and Ross will not have to return to B'ham until Tuesday week.

Thank you again for keeping our family in your prayers. It is such a comfort knowing how many prayers are being lifted up in our name.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, July 14, 2002 at 11:17 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

I just wanted to give you an update on our latest situation. Ross went in for his spinal on Monday, the 8th, and did great. Spinal fluid was still clear, so that was wonderful news! Everyone commented on how great he looked.. he's really been feeling great these last two weeks. We went home and assumed everything was fine.

He woke up Tuesday running a temperature and complaining of a headache. The headache wasn't too bad, and I attributed it to his fever. I called the clinic and was told to treat the fever and if it wasn't better to let them know on Wednesday. It isn't unusual to run a little fever after a spinal.

On Wednesday he woke up with a fever of 104.7* and a terrible headache. He also had a stiff neck, and of course, I panicked thinking he had meningitis. We rushed him to Birmingham and they did another spinal tap. It was a very scary, tense day. They admitted him into the hospital and he has been there ever since.

The cultures they took from his spinal fluid were negative for any bacteria, so they ruled that he was experiencing a chemical meningitis. This means that he basically had inflamation and irritation from the chemo that was put in his spine. In the meantime, the lab work they did on his blood has grown a bacterial culture and he is on heavy antibiotics to fight that bacterial infection.

He started having terrible headaches and vomiting yesterday, and the doctor that made rounds this morning is feeling that he probably has some spinal leakage and will need a blood patch. He has also mentioned doing a CAT scan tomorrow.

I came home last night to spend a little time with Laura and get her packed up for camp. She is leaving for a church camp tomorrow and will be gone until Saturday. I will be going back to Birmingham this afternoon and Kennon will come back home.

This has been so hard on Ross. We just left the hospital not long ago from a 2 week stay...it seems so unfair that he is having to deal with yet another crisis. Please keep our family in your prayers, and pray that he will be home soon.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, June 30, 2002 at 09:50 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to do an update. Our lives seem to be moving on a very fast-track lately!

Ross got home after 14 days of being inpatient, and has been doing well. His legs continue to improve each day, and he is not having too many problems...only a little soreness. They have him still taking the steroids to help.

After having a week off, we went back to the hospital last week for a planned stay of two nights, which turned into actually three. He was due to receive Ara-C again, the nasty drug which he had such a hard time with before. Becaues of all the problems he's had recently, his oncologist didn't feel he was quite up to it and replaced it with another chemo, Methotrexate. He's had the high-dose 24 hr. infusion of that before, and done well. The only hitch we had was that his blood levels showed he wasn't processing out the chemo soon enough for us to get home after 2 nights, so he ended up staying for three. We went straight from the hospital to Montgomery for MY chemo treatment (4th of 6). Whew! I'm glad to say we both did well and are having no bad side effects.

Laura went to Camp-Smile-A-Mile this weekend for sibling camp. This was a wonderful opportunity for her to get a little extra attention! Camp SAM is such a great place and they do such an amazing job. Ross didn't get to go for his week...that was during his two week hospital stay. Hopefully we'll get to go to the family camp they will offer in September. Check out their web site sometime: www.campsam.org

Please continue to remember our family in your prayers, specifically for:

** Ross's legs to continue to improve and for him to recover from the last few weeks.

** His continued remission and for wisdom for his doctors treating him.

** A praise: My brother in law received good news from his biopsy and does not apparently have lymphoma. This is such a blessing!

** Ross will return to B'ham on July 8th for a spinal tap and injection. Please pray that this procedure goes well and that his spinal fluid is still clear.

Thank you again for keeping our family in your prayers. We have been blessed in so many ways throughout all of this, and appreciate you more than you'll ever know.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Monday, June 17, 2002 at 06:25 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

I wish I could say the past two weeks have been uneventful....quite the opposite. Ross is still in the hospital. Tomorrow will be the two week mark, but hopefully he'll be home soon.

When I last wrote I told of his kidney stones and low counts. He passed the stones without too much trouble (easy for me to say!). After receiving two units of red cells and two bags of platelets, his counts finally rebounded. The reason he's still in the hospital now is because of his legs.

He began to have severe pain in both of his thighs about nine days ago. It was very localized...on the top and sides of his thigh muscles. The pain was so debilitating that he was placed on a morphine drip. He has not been able to walk or move. We had a scare - one CT scan he had showed some "infiltrating cells" in his muscle....possibly leukemia cells. They did a muscle biopsy and bone marrow test on Wednesday. Praise God, it was negative. The biopsy showed some severe edema/swelling of the tissue which was probably a allergic reaction to some of the chemo legs shots he had recently. He ran fever that would reach 103* every day for 10 days....on occasion getting as high as 104.8*. I'm happy to report he's been fever-free for two days now!

Because he has been unable to use his legs, physical therapy has begun working with him. His muscles are so weak it will take some time to recover. I went back to stay with him from Sunday-Saturday and Kennon has been with him since Saturday. They are hopeful to be home either tomorrow or Wednesday.

This has been such an emotionally draining time for us - we knew this treatment would be rough, but we weren't prepared for this! He is actually due for another hospital and chemo treatment this week, but they are going to wait until next week.

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

** Ross to be able to come home soon and to regain the strength in his legs.

** For our next hospital admission - he will be receiving the dreaded Ara-C again next week.

** That my counts will rebound soon - they were low last week and I will have to take shots starting tomorrow to help improve my red blood count.

** For my brother-in-law, George Alford. He had a biopsy done today on what is suspected to be lymphoma.

** A praise: The little friend we requested prayers for, Matthew Myers, is doing well and his counts have improved.

Thank you again for remembering our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Friday, June 07, 2002 at 04:54 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

Ross is really having a rough time. We thought he was doing so well after his last treatment, but he started having problems on Sunday night. He had severe lower back pain, but we assumed that it was chemo related (he's had muscle spasms before). I called clinic on Monday and got the okay from them to treat his pain, but by Tuesday morning he was still hurting. He also complained of having pain when he urinated and also had blood in his urine. He had kidney stones! We went to clinic on Tuesday for his regular appointment for a leg shot of chemo, but he was in so much pain they admitted him for the kidney stones. After doing numerous tests and CT scans, they confirmed he did indeed have the stones. So far he's passed about 4 and has one left. It has really been painful for him, but like he always does, he's taken it in stride.

Meanwhile, his blood counts bottomed out. His ANC is 0 right now, and he's had to have one bag of red blood cells and two bags of platelets. He's also running a fever anywhere from 101 to 103. We were told this would probably happen....the chemo he had last week (Ara-C) is a really tough one. The doctors told us he would continue to stay in the hospital until at least Monday, and hopefully by then, his counts will begin to go back up.

While Ross was in clinic I mentioned to his doctor that I had noticed a tremor in his arm. She also noticed it, and had a MRI ordered. I was a nervous wreck about it - she was looking to make sure he didn't have any swelling around his brain from the chemo. The new chemo Ross is on is so much stronger than what he's had before. Praise the Lord, his test came back perfectly normal, and there is no damage. The tremors are probably just a side effect from the chemo, or possibly because his counts are so low.

I was only able to stay with Ross on Tuesday night, and Kennon has been with him since Wednesday. I had my 3rd chemo treatment yesterday, so I had to come home for that. I've done better this time than either of the other treatments. We added some extra medication that has really seemed to help with the nauseu. I'm taking Laura to Girl Scout camp on Sunday. She'll be gone from Sunday to Friday! It's the longest she's been away from home, but she's really looking forward to it.

Obviously, this has been a tough week for us and we really covet your prayers at time. Please pray specifically for:

** Ross's blood counts to recover and for him to be able to come home soon.

** Ross's kidney stones to pass soon and for him to be relieved of that pain.

** For Kennon as he is the caretaker this time in the hospital, and for me....who wants to be!

** For Laura, as she goes off to camp this week.

** We have a dear little friend, Matthew Myers, who has been battling low counts and will have to have a bone marrow test next week if his counts have not recovered. Please pray that his counts will rebound soon.

Thank you all so much for remembering us in your thoughts and prayers.

Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Friday, May 31, 2002 at 11:10 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

We got home from our first inpatient stay on this new protocol yesterday, and things went pretty well. He received a high dose infusion of Ara-C, a new chemo for him. I was very nervous about it....it has a very nasty reputation! He ran fever of around 101* and was very sore and tired, but this is a common side effect. It's basically like having the flu. He did not get sick, though - and is feeling good today. Praise God.

They expect his blood counts to drop drastically....it is very common for kids to need to get blood after receiving the high dose Ara-C. Starting today I will be giving him a shot once a day of Neupogen, which will help boost his white cells. We go back to clinic next week on Tuesday and Friday for more chemo. He will be getting leg shots of L-Aspariginase.

We were very concerned last week because Ross's liver tests came back extremely high. He's had some problems in the past, but nothing this bad. His ALT was over 1800! The highest it's ever been before was around 300. They had us hold his Bactrim because they felt it might be causing the problem. When they checked it again on Tuesday it had dropped down to below 300, so they are considering changing him from Bactrim to another antibiotic.

Thank goodness, we are off the steroids now! Four weeks of high dose (12mg) steroids has really taken a toll on Ross. He's so puffy...he gained six pounds in one week...and really doesn't have much energy. Not to mention he's been eating like a wild man! He ate 16 (that's not a typo) pancakes for breakfast one morning.

We are so proud of both Ross and Laura. They both received awards at Honor's Day for having All A's each grading period. Ross also received the gold medal for the highest overall average in his 5th grade class. He received a standing ovation....there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Considering what all they've been through this year, I think it's quite an accomplishment!

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

** Ross's blood counts: please pray that they remain good and that he will not need to receive blood.

** Ross's liver: please pray that they find the cause of his elevated liver levels and that no permanent damage has been done.

** I will be going next week (June 6) to receive my 3rd chemo treatment. I was very sick last time...please pray that will not be the case this time.

Thank you again for you many prayers - they have carried us through some tough times.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Tuesday, May 14, 2002 at 12:45 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

I'm so happy to be sharing good news with you. After testing Ross's spinal fluid yesterday, they determined he's back in remission and has no leukemia cells in the CNS! Being in remission does not change the treatment plans, but it does mean we can move on into the next phase, and that he will not have to have another spinal for 7 weeks. He's had four spinals in the last four weeks, so he is quite ready for a break!

His blood counts have remained pretty good. Apparently, most kids have really bottomed out by this point in treatment. His doctor feels that his marrow is so strong and healthy and is really churning out some good cells. That is one really bright spot in all of this....as much as a shock it was to learn he had relapsed, his being so strong is really in his favor as he starts this new, tougher protocol.

Many of you have asked how I'm doing. I was pretty sick after my first treatment, but it did not last too long and I've been able to do pretty much whatever I've needed to do. I do seem to take a few more naps, though! My blood counts were pretty low last week and I didn't feel so great, but that has seemed to improve. I will go again on Thursday for my second treatment. I ended up shaving my head for Mother's Day....not exactly the day I had planned. My hair was really coming out and making such a mess. I'm glad I did it...it gave me a feeling of being in control of my situation. Laura, however, was NOT pleased and is having a hard time dealing with it. She seems to be doing better about it, though. Ross still has his hair, but it will be coming out soon. Right now he's just eating us out of house and home. He ate SIX pancakes for breakfast this morning!

Ross will go back on Monday for chemo in his port and then again the following week for our first 2 night stay. Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

*** Ross's continued strength and ability to tolerate this new treatment. He has been having a lot of back pain, which is a combination of the drugs he's on now and the number of spinals he's had.

*** My treatment on Thursday - I pray that I will recover quickly this time, also.

*** For Laura and Kennon - they are probably the ones that need more attention than anyone. It's hard to watch people you love suffer.

Thank you again for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate all the wonderful messages in the guestbook. WOW! A special "hello" to all the kids in Mrs. Betsy Reaves class. I hope that you will always remember that God is there for you, too.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, May 03, 2002 at 08:36 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

We got the good news on Wednesday that the leukemia is NOT in Ross's bone marrow. This is such an answer to prayer...and we appreciate all of our prayer warriors out there who have been lifting us up to the Lord. The number of cancer cells in his spinal fluid was reduced down to just two cells (from 13 the week before). It seems that the treatment he had last week zapped some of those cells. He started on his new protocol on Wednesday, and we fully expect those cells to be completely gone by next week.

This is going to be such a long, hard road. Sitting down and going over everything with the doctor made it really hit home. It will take two years, thirteen more spinals, and many hospital stays. For the first year of treatment we will have to be either in the hospital (for 2 or 3 nights) or getting chemo in clinic every single week with only a couple of skips. We live 2 1/4 hrs. away....so the thought of that much travel is daunting. A year from now he will have to have 3 weeks of cranium radiation. This will be five days a week - we will just have to move up there for that period of time. That's a long way off, and I can't worry too much about it now. The only way I'm able to keep my sanity is to take it one day at a time.

Physically, he did okay with his first treatment. Emotionally, however, he's pretty down. Today would have been his last day to be able to go to school, but he's in the bed right now not feeling so hot. He finally broke down last night and let some of his feelings out. He's really depressed about having to start all over again. It's so hard for him to go from being so active with school, sports and friends to being told you can't play baseball anymore, go to school, etc... We are trying to keep him as positive as possible, but it's hard.

I can't tell you how much all the wonderful messages in the guestbook mean to us. If you haven't done so, please take the time to read what everyone has written. There are some very inspiring messages, and they have helped us make it through each day. If what we are going through has helped make at least one person have a closer relationship with God, then the hell we are going through will be worth it. I know our relationship with Him is so much stronger. Take time to praise Him each day...don't wait until you need Him so desperately. He's there through the good times AND the bad!

We will be going back on Tuesday for his next spinal and chemo treatments. We will be trying to only stay a few hours and get fluids and (hopefully) come home the same day. Please pray specifically that he will tolerate these harder treatments, and that we will be able to bring him home that same day.

Again, thank you so much for you love and prayers. We feel it, and it makes it easier knowing we have so many people out there behind us.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

**** HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY TO LAURA TODAY!!***

Tuesday, April 30, 2002 at 09:23 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

This is probably the hardest update I've had to write yet. We keep wanting to wake up from the nightmare we find ourselves in... but we can't. We learned last week that Ross has relapsed.

As you can imagine, this is such a shock. He is stronger and healthier now than he has been in the last two years. He's been doing SO well we even had to increase his medicine. What should have been a routine spinal and chemo injection showed 13 white cells and 1 red cell in his spinal fluid. Dr. Hilliard shared her concerns with Kennon and that she was going to have further testing done on those cells. Sometimes normal cells do cross over into the the spinal fluid, but these were not normal. Our monster, leukemia, is back.

Because his other counts are so good and he is showing no physical signs of a relapse, we pray we've caught it early. They are doing a bone marrow test tomorrow to see if it's in the marrow. We pray it's not, but will deal with that if we have to. They will starting Ross on his new, intense program tomorrow. This will be so much tougher than anything he's done thus far. At some point he will have to have cranium and possibly spinal radiation. As you can imagine, this carries the risk of many side effects.

I'm asking you to pray fervently for our family. We've been dealt so many blows in the last few weeks. My first chemo treatment went well. I was pretty sick for one night, but it wasn't too bad. I seem to be more tired, but goodness knows, that could just be the stress.

I know many of you will be asking WHY. We certainly have. I do take comfort in knowing that God has a bigger plan in all of this, one that we can't conceive just yet. I truly feel that we will both be fine, but realize it's going to take a lot longer than we planned on. We've received so many wonderful cards and letters, and truly do appreciate them. The other day I received two cards that both quoted the same scripture, and it really touched me. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

** Ross's bone marrow test: He will be having it tomorrow around 10 or 11. Pray that it is not in the marrow.

** For wisdom for his doctors as they begin him on his treatment, and that it will be the correct plan for Ross.

** For Kennon: He can't help but feel like everyone he loves is being taken from him. Sometimes it's harder to watch the ones you love suffer than to actually suffer.

** For Laura: She'll be nine (on Friday), and already worries that she'll have cancer. She told us the other night that "she hoped she was really old before she got her cancer".

** For me: I will need to have strength to deal with my chemo treatments. Of course, it will take a team of wild horses to keep me away from Ross...please pray I have the strength to take care of both of us.

I will update again soon when I know more about what his treatment schedule will be. Thank you for remembering our family and keeping us in your prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, April 21, 2002 at 07:43 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic around our house. Things are seeming to settle down a little. Like Kennon said, we're putting the war paint on and getting ready to fight another battle.

Kennon will be taking Ross tomorrow to Birmingham for his spinal tap and chemo injections in the spine and port. Please keep them in your prayers. Luckily, the last few spinals Ross had were not too bad and he recovered fairly quickly. They will again keep him overnight and on fluids to try and prevent any serious side effects. This is going to be hard for me.....I've never not been with Ross on his inpatient stays. I know that they will be fine, but it will be hard just the same. Ross continues to do great and is really enjoying baseball. His counts remainded good and steady even after the increase in his nightly meds.

An update on my situation: The lumpectomy and axillary dissection went well. I'm still pretty sore and stiff, but recovering. We did find out that of the eleven lymph nodes they took out, three were malignant. I suspected that one would be, but it was still quite a shock. We have stepped on the fast track and met w/my oncologist to discuss treatment. I had a port placed in my chest on Friday (just like Ross) to be able to receive the chemo. My first treatment will be this Thursday. My treatment consists of six chemo infusions, every three weeks followed by 7 weeks (5 days a week) of radiation. I will also be on the drug Tamoxifin for probably about 5 years. Because of the risk factors (young age...I'm 35, lymph node involvement) my chemo treatments will be pretty intense.

We still consider ourselves to be so lucky. People look at me strangely when I say that, but we have been given the opportunities (twice) to really see the good in people. We are surrounded by such a wonderful and loving family and community. Our local Relay for Life was held on Friday night. I was not able to attend because of my port surgery that day, but was told that "my" Seniors (I teach high school and am the Senior sponsor) walked a lap in my honor. In so many ways we are truly blessed and thank God for these blessings.

Please keep our family in your prayers as we deal with this new battle. Poor Laura made the comment the other night that she "hopes she's really old before she gets cancer". I had to explain to her that our situation was very unusual and that hopefully she would never have to go through it. It's sad....cancer is such a part of our lives, she assumes it's a part of everyones.

Thanks you for your love and support.

Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 at 09:30 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

Ross continues to do great! We are increasing his nightly dosage of chemo to 2 pills a night, so please pray that will be the correct amount for him. Although he is doing so well, he continues to need your prayers.

I hate to use this forum to share my news, but I know what wonderful "prayer warriors" we have out there in cyberspace. On Monday, two days after my 35 birthday, we discovered that I have breast cancer. I will be having a lumpectomy on Friday at 10:30 a.m. to remove the tumor. The doctor also felt an enlarged lymph node, so until we know further, we have to assume that it is also malignant. I pray that this is not the case, but they will be doing an axillary node dissection to remove several nodes (not sure how many) and test them all. We will probably not know the results of the pathology reports until Monday, at which time we will meet with the oncologist to discuss my treatment. I know I will be having radiation and very probably chemotherapy also.

This is obviously quite a blow to our family, but we are clinging the faith that God will see us through this trial. He has certainly carried us so far with Ross. The kids seem to be taking it well .... unfortunately, cancer is discussed often in our house and they were already familiar with some of the terms.

I'm asking for your prayers, specifically on Friday during my surgery time. Some specific prayer requests are:

** That the surgeon will be able to remove the tumor and get the clear margins of tissue without any trouble

** That there is no malignancy in the lymph nodes

** For strength and healing during my subsequent radiation and treatments

** For Kennon, Ross, and Laura...for strength and comfort

** For Ross's continued remission and treatment


We are so fortunate to live in such a wonderful community. Once again everyone is really supporting us. There has been a prayer meeting scheduled at our church on Friday from 8-5 and I've already had many telling me that they will "be on their knees" for me.

Thank you so much for continued thoughts and prayers for our family. I'll try to keep everyone posted.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Wednesday, March 27, 2002 at 05:03 PM (CST)

**** NEW PHOTOS ADDED ON 3-27-02 *****

Week 77 of 130

Dear friends,

Ross continues to do well and is staying very busy. With baseball season right around the corner, he has been practicing hard. He is pitching some, playing short stop some.....just about anywhere the coach wants him. He loves it, and I love watching him doing something he enjoys so much.

We decided to take him to the eye doctor to have things checked out. He seemed to be squinting quite a bit and said he was having some trouble seeing the board well in school. He is near-sighted (like Mom!) and did need glasses. We were a little concerned that his vision loss might be due to all the chemo he's taken, but the doctor doesn't feel this is the case. He looks so much older in his glasses! Like always, Ross just took it in stride....this is a small bump in the road compared to what he's been through.

He did great after his last spinal, but was not feeling so good after the second round of Vincristine and stayed home for a couple of days to rest. He will have his next spinal on April 22nd and will hopefully do as well as he's done with the last ones.

His blood counts had been a little high and his doctor was considering increasing his nightly chemo, but things have leveled back down. He's right where he needs to be for now....please pray that he is getting the right amount of medication. It's such a fine line.

Ross killed his first turkey today! For those of you reading this that don't know what a big deal this is, bear with me. It's a pretty big deal in this little 'ol southern town! He was very excited...this was also his first turkey hunt. I've added some pictures in his photo album, so be sure to check it out!

Thank you again for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Friday, March 01, 2002 at 04:11 PM (CST)

*** Week 73 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

Wow, I can't believe I missed giving an update for the whole month of February! Sometimes it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done...I'm sure I'm not alone!

Ross has been doing great, and had a wonderful spinal this week. Well, I don't guess any spinal can be considered "wonderful". Maybe uneventful and easy would be better descriptions. We went in on Monday, had him sedated (while sitting up...quite a trick - they propped him over a table), and Meredith was able to get him in a good position and use the small 25 gauge needle. We stayed overnight to keep him flat and on fluids, and he has felt GREAT. He was back in school by Wednesday and even played in a basketball game Thursday.

Ross will go back to Birmingham on Monday for another dose of Vincristine. This is what they call the "works week"...not only did he have a spinal and injection of Methotrexate in the spine, he also had an injection of Methotrexate in the port, Vincristine in the port, 7 days of 50 mg. of Prednisone a day, and will have the second round of Vincristine next week. Of course, he still takes his 6MP nightly and Bactrim on the weekends. Whew!!!

His counts were high this last week and they are considering raising his nightly chemo dosage. They will continue to watch his counts closely over the next couple of weeks before making this adjustment. Please pray that the right decision will be made. It's such a fine line...you don't want his counts to be too low or too high.

Ross and Laura both had "All A's" again on their report cards. We are so proud of both of them! Baseball/softball season is just around the corner, and we will get even busier (if that's possible!!)

Thank you for checking in on us and continue to pray for our family.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday January 31, 2002 4:04 PM CST

*** Week 69 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

I'm sorry for the delay in updating Ross's page! No news has been good news. His counts have remained steady, and his ANC (infection-fighting percentage) has been staying around 1500, which is great. There have been so many children out of school sick with colds, I've been holding my breath. Laura has been fighting off a cold for the last week, but so far, Ross seems fine.

We've been keeping very busy between work and school. Ross has been working on his first science fair project here lately. It's entitled "Does Age Have An Effect on Memory?". It's been interesting for him......I knew what the outcome of that test would be!! :)

We do not have any planned visits to B'ham until Feb. 25th, when he will be receiving his next spinal. We are planning to spend the night as we did last time, and hopefully continue to avoid a spinal headache.

Both Ross and Laura had "All A's" again on their report cards last grading period. We are so proud of them!

Bart, our 15 yr. old friend with AML we've requested prayers for, found out his older brother is a great match to be a bone marrow donor. This was wonderful news! Please continue to keep Bart and his family in your prayers as they prepare for his transplant.

Thank you all for checking in on us. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, January 06, 2002 at 08:04 PM (CST)

***Week 66 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

Good news! The recovery from this last spinal was much easier....no headaches! It seems we've found the best way for Ross to receive his spinals, at least for now. We stayed overnight in the hospital and he received fluids for 24 hrs. Also, he had to stay perfectly flat for almost 24 hrs....he couldn't even sleep with his pillow (and he's as bad as me about "his" pillow!) Although it took a couple of sticks, they were able to use the smaller gauge (22G) needle, and they also mixed in some steriod w/his chemo injection. I don't know which of the precautions did the trick, but we are so thankful!

Ross and I had to go up and stay in a hotel the night before the spinal because of the snow that was expected. Any snow in Alabama can cause major problems...we don't know how to deal with it! Laura enjoyed getting to play in it and even managed to build a snowman with her grandaddy. Three inches of snow really seemed like a lot here in mid-south Alabama!

We will be going back to school tomorrow and getting back into our routines again. It's hard to believe that the school year is already halfway over!

As the new year has started, we can't help but reflect back on how far we've come. We are truly blessed to have our friends, family and church support us in so many ways. Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

*** Ross's continued remission and ability to stay strong during his treatments.

*** A young man we've recently met - his name is Bart and is 15 years old. Bart was recently diagnosed with AML (acute myelogeneous leukemia). He will need many prayers as battles to gain remission. He will be needing a bone marrow transplant.

I hope the new year finds each of you happy and healthy, and that you give God the glory for all the riches in your life.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross, and Laura

Saturday, December 29, 2001 at 08:20 PM (CST)

*** Week 64 of 130 ***
ALMOST HALFWAY THERE!

Dear friends,

Just a quick note to let our "prayer warriors" know about the change of dates for Ross's upcoming spinal. He was scheduled to go in on Dec. 31st, but that has been moved up to Jan. 2nd. His clinic will be closed for the holiday, so we are being bumped forward a few days. Hopefully this will still give him enough time to recover before school resumes on Jan. 7th.

We will probably be spending the night on this trip - and although I don't relish the idea of a night in the hospital, it may be for the best. They want to try to avoid the problems we've encountered lately by keeping him on IV fluids for a long period of time, possibly overnight. Also, we will be doing this spinal in the clinic vs. in the outpatient surgery unit. This means he will not be put to sleep completely, but will be mildly sedated. By doing this, he will be able to get in a better position and the nurse may (hopefully) be able to use a smaller needle. One other idea they are considering is injecting a steriod into his spine as they inject the chemo. The reasoning behind this is that it may help reduce any inflamation that might occur. It used to be common practice in leukemia patients to receive what they called "triples"..... two doses of chemo and a dose of steriod. They quit doing the triples after learning that the two chemos were too much for the body to handle. We're hopeful that these new steps they are planning will help. Please remember Ross in your prayers on Wednesday, January 2nd.

We had a wonderful Christmas, and can hardly believe the new year is upon us! We continue to thank God for all the blessings he has given us, and pray that you take time to thank Him, too!!

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, December 13, 2001 at 04:21 PM (CST)

**** NEW PHOTOS ADDED TO PHOTO ALBUM ****

** Week 62 of 130 **

Dear friends,

I did not realize how long it had been since I had written! I guess with all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas, time just slipped away. No news has been good news, however.

Ross has been feeling good and has had good counts, for the most part. One week we had to hold his chemo because his liver functions tests were too high, and they wanted him to have a week to recover. It's such a balancing act....his counts have to be just right. They don't want them to be too high OR too low, and they also check his liver to make sure there is no damage there. This was the second time during his treatment Ross has had to miss a week due to high liver levels. We are basically pumping his little body full of toxins...and that can obviously be hard on his organs. We are so thankful that his clinic is vigilant about keeping a close watch on him.

He managed to make it through this last round of Vincristine/Prednisone without too many bad side effects. He did lose a little hair, but not as much as before. We will go back to Birmingham on Dec. 31st for his next spinal tap. Dr. Hilliard is researching what might be the best route for them to take. Having had two bad spinals in a row, we are all nervous about this next trip.

School will be out in one week...yea! Students don't realize that the teachers look forward to these breaks as much as they do!! We are really looking forward to Christmas and are so thankful for all of our blessings this year.

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

** Ross's continued remission
** Ross's liver (that there will be no
permanent damage from his chemotherapy)

I've finally added some new photos in the photo album, so be sure to check them out!

We are approaching our "half-way" mark in treatment! Only three more weeks and we'll be there!! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and remember the true "reason for the season"!


Much love,

Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Sunday, November 18, 2001 at 04:59 PM (CST)

*** Week 59 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

When I last wrote we were preparing for another spinal and trip to Birmingham. I hate to report bad news, but Ross had ANOTHER terrible spinal headache and had to receive a blood patch after suffering for five days. Good news is the patch fixed him right up, but we were very upset to have to go through that again. He has six spinals remaining, and we are anxiously researching different ideas. Our oncologist is also looking into some options. She has mentioned that we might have to spend the night in the hospital and be on IV fluids overnight. Although I don't relish the idea of a hospital stay, I'll be glad to do it if it will help. His next spinal is scheduled for Dec. 31st. If anyone has any experience with spinal headache prevention, please email me!

Ross has done well with his recent extra chemo. The two weeks of Vincristine has not seemed to have affected him too badly this time. He only woke up one night with bad leg cramps. His blood counts were high last week, but that is normal after being on Prednisone. I have a feeling his counts have dropped drastically in the last day or so. Ross has been feeling a little weak and tired today, and that is probably because of the fluctuation in his blood counts. I'll know more tomorrow when he has his blood counts checked.

Ross and Laura both had wonderful report cards! They both had "All A's", and we are very proud of them.

Please continue to pray for our family - we are reminded each day that God listens and comforts us. Please pray specifically for:

** Our ability to find a way for Ross to receive his spinals without having the debilitating after effects.

** For Ross's counts to remain at a good and steady level, and for his continued remission.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Much love,

Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, November 01, 2001 at 04:03 PM (CST)

*** Week 56 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

There is much to celebrate in our house - today is the one year anniversary of Ross's remission and tomorrow is his 11th birthday! Ross loves reading the entries in his guestbook, so if you time, please leave him a short message.

Things have remained (knock on wood) consistently good. His counts are fine, and he feels great. With the cold & flu season approaching we are trying to be extra cautious about hand-washing, etc... We certainly don't want a relapse of the pnuemonia he suffered with a few months ago!

We will go to Birmingham on Monday for his next spinal. This will be a big trip - not only does he get a spinal, but also chemo in the spine, two different chemos in his port, and the start of 7 days of steroids. He will also return to B'ham a week later for a second dose of chemo in his port. This particular drug (Vincristine) can be really nasty. It usually cases severe leg pain for him and also causes hair loss.

Please say extra prayers for Ross on Monday and the following week. We truly believe in the power of prayer and know that God can work miracles. After our last experience with a spinal, we are very leary about this trip.

Thank you for continuing to keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Much love,

Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, October 22, 2001 at 07:09 PM (CDT)

*** Week 55 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

We have, thankfully, had some uneventful weeks lately. Ross's blood counts have remained good and steady. For those of you who like to see the "numbers", his counts today were:

WBC: 2900
ANC: 1827
Hematocrit: 34
Hemoglobin: 12
Platelets: 294,000

These numbers may be greek to some of you...but trust me, they're good! He's been feeling great and really enjoying school. I think he likes being in middle school and changing classes, having his own locker, etc... He and Laura both had All A's on their report cards, and we are very proud of BOTH of them!

Thank you for the wonderful messages you have been leaving in the guestbook. It means so much to us to know that people, literally all over the world, are praying for us. The one year anniversary of his diagnosis came and went....and it was not too bad. I'm looking forward to his next anniversary - the first full year of remission will be on November 1st! What a blessing that day will be - not only is it such a special day in this journey, but it is also the day before Ross's birthday (on Nov. 2nd).

Most studies say that after you have been in remission for five years, you can be considered "cured". That means Ross will 15 before we can totally breath easily. However, we know that we have to live each day to the fullest, and trust in God to carry us to that day.

We will go back to Birmingham on Nov. 5th for his next spinal and spinal injection of Methotrexate, as well as a shot of Methotrexate and Vincristine in his port and a week of Prednisone (this week is known as *the works* by some of the other parents!!). I will send out a reminder closer to that time...we will need all the prayers we can get!

Thank you again for faithfully remembering our family in your prayers. Our lives have been enriched by your love and support so much.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Thursday, October 04, 2001 at 03:35 PM (CDT)

*** Week 52 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

Although I usually wait and update every two weeks, I just had to write a little something today.

One year ago today our lives changed. It's so hard to believe that it's been a year. In some ways, it seems like yesterday..I'll never forget it. In other ways, it seems much longer than a year. I long for the day when a fever is just a fever again!

God has truly blessed us in so many ways this past year. We've learned so many lessons and appreciate our friends and family so much more. I can honestly say that we could not have made it this far without all the blessings God has so graciously given us.

This anniversary date has been on Ross's mind, too. He keeps a student planner in school to write down homework assignments and goals for each week. On today's date he had written in big letters THE DAY I FOUND OUT I HAD LEUKEMIA. On the goal section, he wrote "I made it through the first year of treatment!" At first, it bothered me the way he worded that (like maybe he was thinking he might NOT have made it), but the more I thought about it, I realized he was proud of his accomplishment. We are so proud of him, too!

My father did have some blockage show when they did his angiogram and had a stent put in and some angioplasty done. He's home and doing great - even threatening to climb back on his ladder and finish painting the pool house! Mama says NO!!

Thank you again for your wonderful support during this past year.

Much love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, September 24, 2001 at 09:45 PM (CDT)

*** Week 51 of 130 ***

Dear friends,

As you can see, we are nearing our one year mark. Week 52 is just around the corner. As someone once told me, try not to look back.... think of it as the day he began to get better.

When I last wrote I was looking forward to a weekend family camp at Camp Smile A Mile, but was worried about Ross's headaches following his spinal. Well, we never made it to camp and his headaches evolved into nausea and lasted for 8 days. He was so sick....he was out of school the entire time. We ended up having to go back to the hospital to have a blood patch done. They drew blood from his arm and injected as close as possible to the spinal tap site, with the hopes that the blood would form a clot and close up any leakage remaining from the spinal tap. It was a long, exhauting day...we were there from 7 AM and returned at 7 PM.

I have to say we had our first bad experience at the hospital. I don't want to dwell on it, but let me just say that things could have been handled differently and much more smoothly. Our doctor and nurses were, as usual, absolutely wonderful. Our problem was with an anethesiologist who needs a little extra training in his bedside manner. Ross was crying, I was crying, my father (Kennon was out of town and my father went with us) was upset and MAD....it was really awful. Daddy ended up having some serious chest pains that night at home and will have to have further testing done later this week. Anyway, the blood patch worked beautifully and I'm so glad we had it done. Ross was back in school today and is feeling great.

We feel pretty drained around here....it seems like the last two months have brought more problems than we've had to deal with all year. We are ready to settle down a little!!

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for:

*** Ross's continued remission
*** A sense of normalcy and peace around here....we surely need it!
*** For my father, Dan Albritton - he will go for his angiogram on Friday.
*** For us on October 4th - Ross's one year anniversary of diagnosis. I'm really dreading that day, and think it will be a tough one.

Many, many thanks,

Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at 04:31 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

The shock of yesterday's events have left our family stunned and saddened. I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, much akin to the feeling I had when Ross was diagnosed. As that anniversary date (October 4, 2000) nears, I am constantly reminded of those feelings. Now I have to add September 11, 2001 along with one of those dates I would love to forget.

As Ross and I were driving into Birmingham yesterday for his spinal, we listened in horror to the news reports. Everyone was moving in slow motion in clinic...obviously stunned by the news. Ross had a "good stick" as far as spinals go. The only problem he had was basically starving afterwards! Because he is sedated, he cannot have any food or drink after midnight the night before. And because he needs to take his nightly medication on an empty stomach, he did not eat after 7:30. You can imagine how hungry he was when we were finally able to leave and go eat lunch at 1:00!

He is not feeling well today. He attempted to go to school, but left after 1st period. He has had a horrible headache all day. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow and be able to attend school again.

One bit of good news we received in clinic: Ross does not have the cold agglutinin that he developed during the pneumonia anymore. This was an answer to prayer and a reassurance that he is fully recovered from the infection.

Ross's blood counts looked good, and he has an ANC (infection fighting) level of 1800. This is a good number...not too high or low. His ALT was a little high and we will have to keep a watch on that. (This is a liver test - it is common for your liver to become overworked while on chemo).

We are planning to attend Camp Smile A Mile this weekend and enjoy their "family camp" weekend. It will be a much needed time away for our family and we are really looking forward to it!

Please continue to pray, specifically for:

*** Ross's continued remission

*** that Ross will recover from this recent spinal and not have too many side effects.

**** For our country, our leaders, and for all the families who were devasted by the attack. May God give them comfort and strength.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Wednesday, August 29, 2001 at 04:52 PM (CDT)

Friday, August 17, 2001 at 07:25 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

After I wrote my last journal update Ross continued to be very sick. His temperature reached 104* at one point; needless to say, we were very worried about him. He literally did not have the energy to leave the sofa or his bed. All he wanted to do was sleep.

Dr. Hilliard realized just how sick he was when we went for our checkup on Tuesday. She ordered new chest xrays and prepared us for the possibility of having to do a bone marrow aspiration to check for a leukemia relapse. They drew several vials of blood to run numerous tests. His chest xray showed some infection in his left lung. By the time we returned from xray his lab work was being processed. We received the wonderful news that although he was severly anemic, his white count has risen dramatically and his platelet count remained good and high. There was no need to do a bone marrow test. This was such a relief - if it had been a relapse there would have been a decrease in these counts.

Dr. Hilliard felt confident that it WAS a viral infection, but wanted to run more tests to find out, if possible, exactly what he had. When they were running his CBC they had a hard time getting a count on his red cells. Ross had cold agglutinin, which basically means his red cells were "clumping" together. When they finally got them warmed and spun out, we found that his hematocrit had dropped to 21. The normal range is 35 -45. It's no wonder he's been so tired and weak. Quick science refresher: your red cells carry oxygen through the blood, and when your hematocrit and hemoglobin (which are percentages of your red cells) are low, you become very tired and lack energy.

Because of the various symptoms Ross was showing (high fever, cold agglutinin, lung infection, deep cough...), Dr. Hilliard ran a screening for mycoplasma pneumonia, better known as "walking pneumonia". This screen came back positive. The good news is that it can be treated with an antibiotic (he's on Zythromax). We never dreamed we'd be happy to hear our son had pneumonia, but the other possibility was, of course, much worse.

Because he was so anemic they felt he needed a blood transfusion. It was too late in the day to get started on Tuesday, so we went to a hotel and returned to clinic on Wednesday morning. He received 400 ml over four hours, so we were quite tired of sitting! The blood really perked (and pinked) him up, and he felt much better by the time we left for home. We are so grateful for the blood donor whose supply Ross used. (We were not able to donate as it takes 72 hrs. to prepare the blood to be used).

Ross is feeling so much better now, and has not run fever since Wednesday. Dr. Hilliard still wanted to hold off on his meds until we get his counts checked again on Monday or Tuesday. She also said we could do that here unless he doesn't seem to be improving, so we are thankful for a reprieve from clinic for a while!

Please continue to remember Ross in your prayers as he builds back his strength. This virus hit him really hard and it will take some time for him to fully recover. It's amazing how much better he's doing now, but his stamina is not back up to normal yet. School starts on Monday, and Dr. Hilliard gave him the okay to give it a try. From an infection standpoint he's in no danger, it's just a matter of him overexerting himself. We will, of course, watch him very carefully. He's so excited about going and being with his classmates after missing so much of the last school year.

Thank you for remembering and praying for our family. These last two weeks have been really hard. It's been such "smooth sailing" for so long we had become lulled into thinking he wouldn't have any problems. It's very common for leukemia patients to have these hurdles, but hopefully he's recovered from this one.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Friday, August 10, 2001 at 09:08 PM (CDT)

** New pictures added on 8/12/01 **

Dear friends,

Wow, what a difference a week can make. In my last update I told that Ross was not feeling well. That following weekend Laura had a two day fever virus, and by Monday, Ross had caught it.

We went to Dr. Blackmon for our weekly lab work, and were suprised to see that his white count had fallen so dramatically. His total white count was down to 1000, with 58% neutrophils. This was borderline what they call being "neutropenic", meaning your counts are so low that you are at a greater risk for infection. One of the nurses called me from Birmingham and suggested I hold off a day on giving Ross his leg shot. Well, later on in the afternoon Ross began to run fever. I knew if it reached over 101* we had a likely chance of being summoned to the hospital.

After speaking with the oncologist on call, he advised us to go back to the hospital here in Camden to have more blood drawn and see if there had been any change in the counts. These reports showed that his white count had dropped even further. They gave Ross IV antibiotics and did chest Xrays here in Camden, and we took off to Birmingham that night.

We got settled in our room around 11 p.m. It's almost funny...the whole time during consolidation when Ross had to have his inpatient treatments we always wished for one of the "big rooms" at the hospital. There are about 5 rooms on our floor that are much larger than others. Well, of course we never had one during those planned visits. But on this trip, we got one!! Moral of the story: be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!

Ross has been one sick little guy over the last several days. We were so thankful to know that the cultures they did were negative for any bacterial infection, and that his was more than likely a viral infection. Of course, the thought of a relapse was ever present in our minds, but we were reassured that even though his white and red cells were down, his platelets were high. Apparently dropping platelets are a sign of relapse. God eased my mind by letting Ross have the highest platelet count he's EVER had.

We returned home tonight after four nights at Children's Hospital. Ross is still running a temperature and is very weak. He has not been able to eat much of anything all week. For the last several days he's been running fever of 103* +. We will go back to Birmingham on Tuesday for a checkup and will hopefully get the ok to begin back with his chemo. They are holding all meds on him until his counts have a chance to recover.

We were both so glad to get back home! I didn't think we'd ever make it though - we had a close encounter on the way home. It was really storming and raining very hard, and I hit a slick spot in the road and got thrown in the ditch! We ended up going through some really tall grass (all I could see was green in the windshield!), and managed to come to a stop about 5 ft. from a light pole. We were so lucky, and neither of us were hurt. We don't think the car had any damage, but will be taking it to get checked out in the morning.

Please pray for Ross's strength and ability to fight off this infection. It has really taken a toll on him. We think that his counts were already very low after coming off the Prednisone, and this virus just made it worse. Also, a minor problem has been that his hair if coming out again. It doesn't seem to bother him, except to irritate him when it gets on his shirt, face, etc... It's really been a lot this time. Poor thing had to rinse off in the shower AFTER taking a bath to get all the hair off of him.

Thank you for keeping our family in your continued prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Thursday, August 02, 2001 at 03:35 PM (CDT)

Dear friends,

We had a wonderful, relaxing trip to Orange Beach! The weather was beautiful, and I only saw one shark. Seriously, I really DID see a shark....it was about 5' long and was in knee-deep water! People were running and screaming....it was really like something from a movie. I guess we have to remember that we are the intruders in their environment. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time in the the gulf!!

Ross has been doing great, although he's not having a good day today. He has just finished up a week of steroids and has had some pretty heavy-duty chemo over the last two weeks. I think it has finally caught up with him today. He has not had any leg pain so far from this round, so we are thankful for that. His blood counts have remained very good....almost too good. We will be keeping a watch on them pretty closely over the next few weeks and if they continue to be high, they might want to increase his 6MP pills he takes at night. Currently he take 1 1/2 pills one night, two pills the next. Please pray that we are able to find a dosage that keeps his counts in the range they need to be in without causing him any side effects.

The summer has been a wonderful time for us, but I think both Ross and Laura are getting a little bored and are ready to head back to school. I'm excited about going back also....the thought of being in a normal routine again is GREAT! School starts on Aug. 20th, but I have lots to do before then!

I hope to have some new pictures added soon, so be sure to check back. I can't believe it's been almost a year since Ross was diagnosed. October 4th will is just around the corner. We've all come so far since that date. It's amazing how God can carry you through the hard times. I remember thinking that Ross really looked fine....and now I look back at pictures from that time and am amazed at how much better he looks now. My cousin came down for a few days while we were at the beach and told me how wonderful it was to watch Ross run and play and wouldn't everyone be amazed to know he had leukemia. That got me thinking....you know you never really know what kind of trials other people are going through. Things may seem fine on the outside. I think we've been really blessed through all of this. I don't "sweat the small stuff". I find myself reaching out to other people more and more. I know how much everyone's support has meant to me.

Thank you for keeping our family in your prayers. Please pray that this school year will be a wonderful one for all of us. As always, please pray for Ross's continued remission and for all the special little ones who are battling this horrible disease.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Friday, July 13, 2001 at 01:50 PM (CDT)

** NEW PICTURES IN PHOTO ALBUM **

Dear friends,

The last few weeks have been busy ones for us! We find ourselves not quite sure what to do with ourselves now that baseball is over. I, of course, have quickly adjusted to the "beach mode"...and we leave this afternoon for our trip to Orange Beach! This is a MUCH needed trip away, and we are really looking forward to some fun in the sun! Of course, we've heard plenty of warnings about sharks, but don't worry....I'm sure we'll manage to have a GREAT time without spending too much time in the ocean!

Ross did really well during the AllStar tournament. He ended up playing center field and made some awesome catches! He also bunted in a run to tie a game that we ended up winning. Our team finished 2nd in the tournament, and we are so proud of them!

On July 4th we added a new addition to our family. Copper, our beagle puppy, is desperately trying to find someone to play with, but so far, our 2 cats and other dog are not being too friendly. I think it's the way he bounces around that has them spooked! Oh well, maybe they'll come around soon. He is like a mini tornado, and full of puppy energy. I put a picture of Ross with him in the photo album. Since Ross won't be able to play football this year (or probably the next) because of his port, he's planning on spending lots of time with Copper. I'm not convinced Copper is going to be the rabbit dog Kennon and Ross think he will be.....he loves to sleep in the recliner when Kennon is not around!

We were given a reprieve from Children's and do not have to have Ross's blood drawn while we are at the beach. His counts have been consistently good and they said I could give him his shot without doing the labs. YEA! We are so thankful for Ross's continued health and strength.

Our blessings seemed even more overwhelming the other night. Arielle, the 9 year old girl I have mentioned that was battling a relapse of ALL, passed away. She earned her "angel wings".... a phrase I see all too often with our cancer children. Her family is going through so much right now and certainly need your prayers. You can send a message of condolence on Priscilla's web page, if you wish, at:
www.caringbridge.com/ca/arielle/

Ross will have to return to clinic on July 24th and July 31st for a spinal and two weeks of Vincristine. He will also be on a week-long pulse of Prednisone. Vincristine is the drug that gives Ross problems with cramping, as well as causing his hair to come out. Please pray that he will tolerate these drugs and that he will not have too many side effects.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Ross and our family.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Thursday, June 28, 2001 at 08:25 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

The summer days have remained busy, busy, BUSY! After returning home from camp, we have been busy with Vacation Bible School and with baseball practice for AllStars. I taught in the Bible School and really enjoyed it.....I missed not being with the kids at school as much this year. Ross is continuing to do amazingly well considering how much he's been going and doing these last few weeks. His blood counts have remained pretty consistent, having fallen a bit last week, but back up this week. I think he had one day after having his shot that he was just completely wiped out. Sometimes it's easy for both of us to forget that he needs extra rest these days, and when he doesn't get it, it shows.

The baseball tournament begins on Monday, July 2nd and will last throughout the week. Our boys have worked very hard, and I hope that they will do well. We're so proud of Ross for even being a part of the team. At times I can see that he is a little weaker....his reflexes aren't quite what they used to be. But for the most part, you wouldn't even guess what he's been through to watch him. I think it does so much for him on an emotional level to be in a "normal" situation....running and playing like all the other boys his age.

Ross announced the other day that he wanted to be a pharmacist when he grows up....I think he thinks he already knows so much about medicine that he would be good at it! My father and one of my sisters are both pharmacists, so I know that influenced him. It's funny....he has never said what he wanted to do. I told Kennon that I wouldn't be surprised if he does become one....you would have to know Ross to appreciate how serious he takes things sometimes. Laura decided to follow Ross and said SHE would become a pharmacist, too, or maybe a veternarian...or a nurse...or a zookeeper....or a chef...you get the picture!

I have been made aware of an effort to have a "Childhood Cancer Awareness" postage stamp. If our cause was selected (and there are several other causes up for selection), it would do so much to increase the funds for battling this disease. I read that the "breast cancer" stamp supplied over $20 million dollars in funding. I hope that you can take the time to go the link I have provided, and print out a letter to the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. You will need to adjust the letter to fit you (you will probably need to delete a sentence or two). The more letters we can have sent pleading our cause, the better! http://www.acor.org/ped-onc/stamps.html

The girl I mentioned in my last update, Arielle, is hanging on. Her family was able to find a different doctor that is willing to try for a second transplant. They have to first get Arielle to remission, and even then, the prognosis is not good. It is, however, a glimmer of hope that they are hanging on to. Please continue to pray for this child.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! Thank you again for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura

Monday, June 11, 2001 at 05:32 PM (CDT)

**NEW PHOTOS ADDED IN PHOTO ALBUM 6/11/01**

Dear friends,

Ross had a wonderful week at camp....but ended up coming home a day early. He was a little homesick, and decided 4 nights was enough for him! I hate he missed the last night, but he really did have a great time. He is already talking about going next year, and Laura seems to think she's big enough to do the "sibling camp" in August. It is only for two nights. I think it is so wonderful they have a camp session just for the brothers and sisters of the patients. Too often they get left out and need extra attention. We are also planning on going on the "family camp" weekend in September. The whole camp area is just beautiful!

The regular season of baseball has finished for Ross and Laura, so our life has gotten back to a "somewhat" normal pace again. Ross found out this weekend that he was selected for the All Star baseball team! We are so proud of him for this accomplishment. To think back to those first few days in the hospital....it's really amazing how far he's come. He could barely walk - he was so sore from the bone marrow tests, spinals, and the surgery placing his port in his chest. Throughout the entire ordeal, he has never lost his sweet spirit, and has never once asked "why me?" He, as well as the rest of us, have certainly had our down days, but all in all, have adjusted quite well. It's amazing how the Lord can lift you up when you put your faith in Him.

We are so fortunate in Ross's continued strength and health, and realized just how much the other day. I've been a member of a message board for other parents with children battling leukemia for almost the entire time he's been on treatment. It's been a wonderful source of information and support. It's great to meet people who have "been there, done that". However, sometimes you see so many cases of children who are not doing well. I'm asking all of our "prayer warriors" to please pray for a particular young nine year old girl named Arielle Cooperman from California. Her mother, Priscilla, is a part of our board. Arielle has just recently relapsed after having a bone marrow transplant in March. She is not expected to live much longer, and her parents are facing many agonizing decisions. They have been told that there is nothing medically left for them to do, and that only a miracle could save Arielle. Please pray for peace for this family and strength to accept whatever God reveals as His plan.

Once again, we realize that we are blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family. Your support over the last nine months has been tremendous! Please continue to pray for Ross's continued remission and health.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Thursday, May 31, 2001 at 10:52 AM (CDT)

Dear friends,

I've decided to try a new format for sending out our updates on Ross. Many other "cancer moms" I've met use this site, and seem to like it. I think it will be a nice way to be able to share photos and a way for each of you to share back with us in the guestbook. I will send out a short message to let you know when there is a new entry on our page.

We went to clinic yesterday for Ross's spinal tap and injection, as well as his injection in his port (which replaced the leg shot for the week). It was a long, exhausting day. We were in clinic for 5 hours! He was supposed to have his spinal at 9:00, but did not get it until 12:30. Poor thing, he was starving. They had told him no food or liquids after the night before since he was being sedated. We've been so fortunate in the past and not had too many long waits.....it made me even more thankful that our clinic trips are more spread out now!!

He seems to be feeling fine today, and even rode on the 4-wheeler yesterday when we got home. He has a ballgame tonight, so I am trying to make him rest today. I don't know if he'll actually play, but based on how he's feeling now, I would say he probably will.

Ross leaves for Camp Smile-A-Mile on Monday. This will be his first time away at camp, and he is really excited. It is on Lake Martin and seems very nice. They do so much with the kids. One of our favorite nurse practioners will be there in charge of all the meds, and Dr. Hilliard is even planning on going for one day. She told Ross she was going to teach him how to water ski! I'm excited for this opportunity for him to be with other kids that are going through the same treatment he is....and still able to run and play as any other healthy child. I have a feeling Mom & Dad will miss him much more than he misses us!!

Please continue to pray for our family, specifically for his continued remission and safety next week at camp. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Love,
Kennon, Lisa, Ross and Laura Agee

Thursday, May 31, 2001 at 10:44 AM (CDT)

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