History

Journal History

Thursday, October 5, 2006 3:11 PM CDT

Well I know it's been a while but I have recently started looking at a lot of the kids sites again and thought I should update Patrick's. He is now is the second grade and doing great. He is still spoiled rotten but everybody says he earned the right to be, I guess their right considering what he's been through and all these precious kids go through fighting the cancer monster. It's hard to believe that it has been 5 years since he finished treatment. You'd think by now we would have stopped worrying over every little thing that happens with him but I'm still waiting for that time to come.
Patrick did get to go to Camp Rainbow this year, it was the first time that he'd ever been away from home without one of us with him. At first he wanted to ride the bus with his big brother Christopher but changed his mind. When I went to pick him up he asked me when he could go back. We are now getting ready for the "CURE" off Therapy Celebration at Six Flags Over Georgia in a couple of weeks. He is very excited about this also.
Well I'm going to go for now and hopefully I can get some new pictures updated soon.

Till next time everyone take care.

Love,
Kimberli

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 8:44 AM CST

Well Hello Everyone,
I guess ya'll thought we fell off the face of the earth by now. Actually I have updated a couple of times but each time it goes off to never-never land.
Patrick is doing great. He is getting so big and growing up so much. He is in the 1st grade now and only likes school sometimes. He was going on a field trip today to the Wild Turkey Federeation in Edgefield SC and was really excited about that.
The 23rd of February was 5 years from diagnosis, he went in on the 28th for a abdominal ultrasound and a chest x-ray (this was his 6 months checkup), everything looked good and the best news was that he doesn't have to go back until next February.
We lost Patrick's Paw Paw in June of 2005, his cancer had come back in his brain and they couldn't do any thing else. This was Patrick first real experience with death and he had alot of questions. He knows that he had cancer and that's what his Paw Paw had but he says mine went away so I'll be okay.
Well I hope this update takes, I've got to go get back to work.
Love to All
Kimberli

Wednesday, December 8, 2004 3:15 PM EST

Hello,

I hope this finds everyone doing good. Is everyone ready for Christmas? I can't believe it's here already it seems like just last week it was 95 degrees outside. Patrick is sure is getting excited he can't wait.
Patrick went for another ultrasound in November and everything is good. This past Friday the he had four teeth pulled. He was pitiful for a while but overall he did very good, now we have to get the rest of his teeth worked on. He is busy in kindergarden and learning so much, he get upset when he can't go to school. I hope he keeps this up.
Patrick's paw paw is doing better, they did the gamma knife on his brain tumor and won't know until January if it worked, also scans done about 3 weeks ago show no tumor in his lungs but they did another on Monday just to make sure.
Well I've got to go, I'm at work. If I don't update before the holidays everyone have A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Love,
Kimberli

Monday, August 23, 2004 2:35 PM EST

Hello to Everyone,

Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but our computer at home is broke and I have to do this when I get time at work. We finally found out the results to Patrick's test. The 2nd chest x-ray showed nothing, Thank God, we were really worried about this, just another example of what prayer can do for all of us and his MRI was normal.

I want to thank all of you for your support and prayers it really goes a long way. I ask God everyday to be with all the families going through this horrid disease with their children.

Again, I want to ask for prayers for Patrick's Paw Paw, we found out the day before Patrick test that his cancer had spread to his brain. He has lost use of his left hand and his left leg is starting to give out on him. He seems to taking it all in stride but is so worried about my mama because she now has to do everything that he did. So please remember them in your prayers.

Well I've gotta go will update again soon.

Love to All,
Kimberli

Friday, August 13, 2004 9:47 EST

Hello,

Hope this finds everyone good. Patrick is doing good, he started kindergarten on Wed. August 11th, he had a little bit of a rough start, he didn't want "mama" to leave and couldn't understand why I had to go to work and not stay with him. On Thurs. he didn't go because he had to go for his 6 month check-up and tests. This morning he did alot better, he told me he was going to try not to cry and he didn't.
Well on the news about his check-up and tests, the check-up itself went good, they said he looked great and all of his blood/urine came back excellent. They did an echo of his heart and that was good. The ultrasound we haven't heard from but the chest x-ray showed a spot on his lower left lung so they are going to do that one over next Wednesday the 18th. He has a little bit of a cough that he gets sometimes and they are thinking this might have something to do with the spot or maybe the way the x-ray was done. Also this happened once before when he was still on chemo and the spot turned out to be like a scar from where the tumor was pressed up against his left lung, so hopefully that is all this is, I have to keep thinking that to keep my sanity otherwise I couldn't even be typing this update. So everyone please send up a few prayers for Patrick.
Also, an update on his Paw Paw, he's doing good, the radiation and chemo have made him feel yucky and for now he will not receive anymore radiation, they have let him rest for like 3 weeks but will start chemo again but only once every 3 weeks to try and get the tumor to shrink some more, so please remember him in all your prayers.
Well gotta go for now, I will update next week as soon as I find out what's going on with Patrick.
Oh, also they will doing a MRI on Patrick because he seems to go into these trances sometimes and they want to rule out anything in that area, then we will be seeing a Neurologist on Wednesday the 25th to further examine what might be going on here.
I will update as soon as I find out about all of this.
Thank all of you in advance for your prayers.
Love to All
Kimberli

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 10:13 AM CDT

Hello to Everyone,

Sorry it's been so long since the last update, but our computer at home is broke and my computer at work is sooo slow. Anyway I hope this finds everyone doing good. Patrick is doing GREAT!! I can hardly believe that he is 5 years old today.
He is really excited, he was going to Chuckee Cheese today with his class at the daycare then when we get home he is going to have his party. He wants everything that he see anymore and we just about go broke trying to get it for him, but hey if anybody deserves it he does.
He goes next month for his 6 month check-up, another time of worry until it's over. But I know that he is going to be just fine.
Patrick's Paw Paw is doing good, he gets chemo once a week and has had about 25 radiation treatments with a few more to go.
Please remember him in your prayers along with Patrick.

Love,
Kimberli

Thursday, April 29, 2004 2:15 PM CDT

Hello to Everyone,

Hope this finds all of you doing good. I thought I would update since it's been awhile, our computer isn't working at home so I'm having to do this at work.
I went today to register Patrick for 5 year old kindergarten, I can't believe my baby is starting school. He is so excited about this, he can't wait to go to big boy school as he puts it, I just hope he stays excited once it starts. He's been doing great, playing and doing everything a 4 year old should.
On a more somber note, cancer seems to have struck our family again, Patrick's Paw Paw was told on Monday that he has lung cancer, we are not sure what kind or to what extent, he is having a PET Scan today to tell us more. Please say a prayer for him and my mama that they both have the strength and courage to get through this.
Well I'll update more later.

Love to you all,
Kimberli

Friday, February 20, 2004 10:54 AM CST

Hello to Everyone,
Thought I would update and let everyone know how Patrick is doing. Today is 3 years since he was diagnosed, (actually Monday the 23rd), but February 23, 2001 was on Friday.
Patrick had his 6 month check-up, they did an ultrasound of his abdomen, chest x-ray and blood/urine test. Everything came back (as they put it) PERFECT! THANK YOU GOD!!
His appointment with the ENT turned out good except he is suffering some hearing lose, they plan to put tubes back in his ears and soon as we can get this scheduled. Also the new dentist wants to do extensive work on him that will require him being put to sleep, we have to come up with quite a bit of money first. All in all Patrick is happy and healthy.
Well I'm at work so I will update again soon.
Love to All,
Kimberli

Friday, January 9, 2004 8:11 PM CST

Hello To Everyone,

Thought I would update and let everyone know that Patrick has gotten over the strep/scarlet fever. He finally got his flu shot on Thursday 1/8/04 ( He was supposed to get it on Dec. 22 but couldn't because of the the strep). He seems to be doing good now, maybe a bit droopy from the shot, but other wise okay.

He has a doctors appointment on Monday the 12th with his ENT to have his hearing checked. He says he can't hear very good, so we're going to get this checked to see if their is a problem. On Wednesday the 15th he is going to a different dentist for a second opinion on his front teeth. Then on February 5th he goes back for his six month check-up at the HEM/ONC Clinic.

We'll update soon to let everyone know how all of these appointments go.

Love to All,
Kimberli

Monday, December 22, 2003 8:27 PM CST

Hello to Everyone,

Can you believe I'm updating again so soon? I thought I would let everyone know that Patrick has scarlet fever/strep throat. He is covered from his neck down with a rash, his tongue is swollen and red and his bottom looks really bad. He is really doing great considering, they put him and his brother Christopher on antibiotics,(they have both been sick since Saturday morning) Christopher has only the sore throat and fever, but Patrick even with this is still such a trooper. His doctor says he will be fine and we have no reason to think different. He told me what to look for and when we should see improvement and what to do if not.

Well I'm going to close for now, will update in a few days to let everyone know how Patrick is doing.

Hope Santa is good to everyone.

Love,
Kimberli

Thursday, December 18, 2003 6:11 PM CST

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hope this finds everyone good. Patrick is doing great, he is due for his 6 month check-up in February, they will then set up for scans.

He is really excited about Christmas and wants everything he sees on TV and then some. But hey, that's how he's supposed to be and we are very thankful that he can and is.

We just got a new puppy and Patrick is really driving us crazy with it, all he wants to do is carry her around, I've tried and tried to tell him she can walk, that's why she has 4 legs, but he still insist.

Well that's about it for now, hope everyone has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR. Will update again soon.

Love to All,

Kimberli

Sunday October 12, 2003 9:49 PM CDT

Hello to Everyone,

Well, everything is good here, "Thank you God"! Patrick is doing good except for a stuffy nose. His daddy is also doing good, the heart cath. showed no sign of heart disease, but his heart is only pumping at 40he doctor feels it is from high blood pressure. That's a relief, we don't have to worry so much about a heart attack, but now we have to worry about stroke. He is now on 2 meds. for high blood pressure to try and get it under control. It seems to be working so far, his blood pressure is down, but the side affects of the medicine are another issue. I know everything will be okay, but still a few extra prayers will be gratefully appreciated. Will update again soon.
Love to All,
Kimberli

Wednesday, July 30, 2003 9:11PM CDT

Hello to Everyone,

Hope this finds everybody good.

Patrick is doing great, he went yesterday for his 4 year old check-up at his regular peditrician (not cancer doctor), and he is your average healthy 4 year old. He had to get 3 shots, plus a TB test, which is a regular needle now which surprised me. He said "these shots don't hurt a little bit, they hurt ALOT!!" Hey he might still be a little fellow but he knows a shot hurts no matter how you try to convince them it won't, he had his share.

He is now 3'4" tall and weighs 401/2 lbs. He is getting so big and so full or energy, even his Dr. said "Patrick you're wearing me out just watching you run around".

Well I'm going to sign off now, will update soon, hopefully with new pictures.

Love to All,
Kimberli

Friday, July 4, 2003 5:14pm

HAPPY FOURTH!

Hope this finds everyone good. Patrick is doing great, the eye doctor still wants him to wear his glasses but he thinks differently. He is still have work done on his teeth, hopefully all that will be over soon, Patrick told me the other week that he did NOT want to go back because they hurt him. He had a check-up at the Hem/Onc clinic on June 11th and they said he was doing great and they were going to wait until he came back in July for a CT scan to do bloodwork because he looked so good.

The first week school was out we were off to Florida, Disney World, Sea World & Universal. Patrick had a great time except he was not to thrilled with alot of the rides (I think he needs to be just a little older and he will really enjoy it) maybe next summer.

Patrick has a birthday coming up in only 10 days, I can hardly believe that he will be 4 years old, he acts like he's about 20.

Well I'm going to close for now will update again soon.

Love to all,
Kimberli

P.S. Keep checking I will be putting Disney pictures in soon. Isn't the one with Pooh the sweetest thing?

Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 07:07 PM (CDT)

Well hello to everyone, just enough time for a short update. Patrick had surgery on Monday, August 12 to remove his port and repair the hydrocele. He did very well except for having to have 2 breathing treatments during surgery becuase he became so conjested, the surgeon told us he thought he might be coming down with a cold. That was the only real problem we had, we left the hospital about 1 1/2 hours afterwards. Patrick was a little sore but never really complained only told you it was hurting if you asked. He is so tough and tries to be such a big brave boy when I know he has to really be scared at times for all the things he still has to go through.

We were supposed to have a MRI on Friday but because of the congestion we and the doctors decided it would be best to reschedule. Will let everyone know the results when we have this done on August 29th.

On a much sadder note, I just found out tonight they our special little friend Sara has been given a month or less to live. So, everyone who visits this page please, please visit her webpage (link is below). This just breaks my heart she is just 6 months older than Patrick and I am asking each and everyone of you to pray for little Sara and her whole family at this time.

Well I'm signing off now and will update later. Keep checking for new pictures which I plan to put in shortly.

Love to all,
Kimberli (Patrick's mama)

Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 06:20 PM (CDT)

Well I'm back again to let everyone know that Patrick's CT Scan and Bone Scan came back and everything looks good, no sign of any disease coming back. This means we are Cancer Free. It feels so good to be able to say that. I think it's one of the first times I actually said it even though we have been out of treatment for almost a year and have shown no signs of recurrance. At the same time it feels so strange saying that,now don't get me wrong, I am very grateful and Thank God daily for letting Patrick stay healthy, but with everything we see and hear of the friends we've made at the clinic (check the link below and visit one of our very special friends website)there is always that little bit of doubt and from what I've heard there probably always will be, but at the same I really am very positive that Patrick will be just fine.

We were supposed to have a MRI today but the machine broke so we have to reschedule. Will let everyone know when we have this done and the results.

Now back to a little of Patrick's story. We went through almost six months of chemo for which we are very lucky, this could have stretched out a few more weeks but we never had any delays with Patrick's treatment. This tells you that he did so well and tolerated chemo without any complications, such as fever, low counts, infection and many other things that could have postponed treatment. After about 2 1/2 months Patrick started getting sick, but it was only in the morning right after he woke up (this was when he was in the hospital and actually getting chemo) and then the rest of the day he was fine except when the nurses came in and made him to the mouth care which is required of chemo patients. This would make him gag and he would shutter and get sick then everything would be okay. He really hated this and since we never had a problem with mouth sores I didn't do it as often as we should have at home (4 times a day)I hear all the kids don't like this. This is another thing I am very thankful for because these mouth sores could get so bad that you would run a fever and end up in the hospital and cause a delay in treatment. During this six months we only had one unscheduled hospital stay and it was because Patrick seemed to have trouble breathing and to make sure everything was okay that admitted us to do some tests so they could make sure he didn't have pnemonia, His hemoglobin at this time was around 7 which is really low but you could not tell this from looking at him because he seemed to have more energy then all of us and after 2 1/2 days, some tests on his lungs to extract fluid (to rule out a certain pnemonia which chemo patients get, we took an antibiotic twice a day for three days of week to prevent this), 2 units of blood, 1 unit of platlets and many albuterol treatments (these gave him all kinds of energy) they determined nothing was wrong and sent us home because they were afraid he was going to hurt himself from falling off the couch in the hospital room, hitting his head etc....

Overall we really had it very easy, except for the juggling of our work schedules compared to so many other parents. Again, I am so thankful for our good fortune and continue to pray that Patrick stays healthy.

Well I've babbled on enough for now, will let everyone know how the MRI turns out.

God Bless and Love to All
Kimberli

Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 04:43 PM (CDT)

Well hello to everyone, just getting in from work and the doctor with Patrick. We went to see the surgeon about taking his chemo-port out and repairing his hydrocele. He is scheduled to have surgery on August 12, 2002. Also, he is to have CT Scan, Bone Scan & MRI on July 29th & 30th.

Patrick had a very good birthday. He had a Spider Man cake and all the decorations were spider man. He got alot of toys and had the time of his life, which is what a three year little boy is supposed to do, he is still talking about it.

Okay, now back to what Patrick has been through. I left off where we had just found out that our baby had CANCER. We were immediately admitted to the hospital, talking to all these different doctors (which were the ones on call, this was on Friday and they were there all weekend talking with us and reassuring us that this kind of tumor was one of the best forms of cancer you could have, if there is such a thing, and overall they were just great) we were allowed to go home long enough to get some things because we were told we would be there awhile.

On Saturday morning they did his first of many CT scans to come of his lungs because Wilms tumor tends to spread to the lungs. They informed us this would take approximately 10 to 15 minutes and that he would have to be sedated. Even though they told what to expect with this sedation I really lost it when my baby's head just fell and he went limp. This CT scan turned out to take 45 minutes to an hour because one of his lungs collapsed and they had to re-inflate it. The scan didn't show any sign of disease in the lungs which was what I had prayed for all night being that I did not sleep but they did inform us at this time that the tumor was very large and unless the head of pediatric surgery and his partner both agreed it could be removed without risk of rupturing during surgery, (this would have been deadly) we would have to have chemo first to shrink it, fortunately for Patrick they both agreed that they could remove this horrible thing in my baby's kidney without endangering him.

They now had to work Patrick into their already filled schedule, they knew that this tumor had to be removed as soon as possible because it was just continuously growing. We found out late Sunday night that he would definitely have surgery on Monday but was not sure of the time.

Patrick went through over six hours of surgery to remove his kidney and the tumor intact, they showed it to us afterwards and this tumer filled a bowl that was about the size of a 2lb. butter bowl. We now had to wait for report from pathology. Wednesday they told us that the pathologist said the tumor did not show all the characteristic of a Wilms tumor so they were sending it to New York (The Wilms Tumor Study Group) for diagnosis. On the following Monday, March 5th they gave the final diagnosis of Clear Cell Sarcoma, Stage II. This was a lot worse than Wilms Tumor and they gave us a 70% survival rate, (only a 5% chance it would be this). Again we were devastated but at the same time were reassured that this was still very treatable. They immediately scheduled us for a bone scan and MRI because Clear Cell Sarcoma tends to spread to the bone and brain. I think I prayed and cried more at this time then any other in my entire life that the tests would show nothing and once again all my prayers were answered because all these tests came back negative.

On Thursday of this same week we had our first of six radiation treatments and our first chemo. Afterwards we were dismissed to go home only to have to come back early the next morning for another radiation treatment. I went and had Patrick's picture taken on Saturday morning because they told me his hair would start falling out in 2 to 4 weeks and I wanted a new picture of him before this happened, of course his didn't for almost 7 weeks. We were now on a very emotionable roller coaster. On Saturday night Patrick got sick for the first time, it was determined this was caused from the radiation because the part of his body having treatment included a small portion of his stomach. We finally got this under control and everything really went very good. I consider us very fortunate that Patrick handled everything so well, even at this time we had seen so many children that weren't fairing as well...

I signing off now because it has been a very long day and will continue later and hopefully have some more pictures before long.

Love to all,
Kimberli

Thursday, July 11, 2002 at 05:50 PM (CDT)

Well I'm finally back to update, I used to wonder why people waited so long between updates and now I know, there is not enough time in a day. And by the way, this is my second attempt, I was almost through and Patrick crawled under the computer desk and turned the power off, lost everything so I'm trying again.

All this really started with Patrick on February 1, 2001 when I had to take him to the doctor because his groin was swollen and very painful. They determined that Patrick had what is called a hydrocele (similar to a hernia but only fluid where a hernia is intestine). After this they sent us down to the ER at the Children's Medical Center (CMC) at the Medical College of Georgia to be examined by a pediatric surgeon who confirmed that it was indeed a hydrocele and he asked that I call his office the next day to set up a pre-op visit. He was then seen on February 6th at his regular doctor and then again on February 8th by the surgeon, where at both times he was thoroughly poked and proded to check for any knots or something that was not supposed to be there and nothing was there. He was set to have surgery on March 9, 2001. (I felt at this time that something was very wrong but just didn't have a clue as to what it was, goes to show that a mother's intuition is almost always right and now that I think back I believe that God was trying to prepare me for what was to come.)**NOTE: The tumor was most likely what caused the hydrocele)

The following week I noticed that Patrick's stomach felt hard but nobody else seemed to notice. On Sunday February 18th Patrick woke up crying that his ear was hurting. I called the doctor on call and he checked and he did have an ear infection, I also mentioned what had been going on and that Patrick's stomach felt hard, he told me to follow up with our regular doctor the next week, we already had an appointment on February 23, 2001 to get a shot. We left and started on antibiotic's and everything was going fine. When Friday finally rolled around I almost canceled the appointment, thank the good Lord above that I didn't. We were not in with the doctor for more than 5 minutes before he found this mass,(I hadn't even had the chance to mention the firmness I felt in Patrick's stomach),which was the size of a grapefruit, nothing had been detectable just 2 weeks prior. We were immediately sent down to X-ray at the CMC for a ultrasound, this was so scarey and when I had to call my husband and tell him to meet us there was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do (because this man REALLY LOVES HIS BABY).

Having the ultrasound done was so hard because we had no clue at the time what to expect but knew something was very wrong, not only that but Patrick crying the entire time, about 45 minutes, non-stop because he was scared of all the strange people around him and trying to comfort him was next to impossible. Needless to say even though we felt that something bad was going on the bottom of our world fell out when they confirmed that Patrick had what they thought at the time was a Wilm's Tumor....

Okay, Patrick is demanding my attention and tired of being ingored so I'll stop for now and continue next week sometime. We have a appointment with the surgeon on Thursday, July 18 2002 for a pre-op appointment to remove his Chemo-port and to finally repair the hydrocele. OH! and Sunday, July 14 is Patrick's 3rd Birthday. And also I've added some pictures of Patrick up to this point.

Bye for now,
Kimberli

Sunday, June 23, 2002

Hello to everyone who comes across Patrick's page. I wish I had known about this website so that I could have started a page for Patrick sooner.

If you are here, you know that Patrick was diagnosed with Clear Cell Sarcoma of the Kidney ( a bad histology of Wilm's Tumor, and only a 5% chance that it could be this) in February 2001. We are now ten months out of treatment and as of his last scans (in April 2002) he is doing great and cancer free. But with this particular cancer it tends to come back later rather then sooner as with most cancers. We are very thankful for his progress and good health thus far and pray daily for his continued good health.

Enough of the bad stuff for now, time for some good news. Patrick is doing great and loves being your typical three year little boy, fussing with his brothers and everyone else (wanting and fighting for his independence) but still at the same time being the sweetest little boy you ever want to meet. He is in Daycare now and loving it for the most part, as long as he gets to stay in what he considers "His Room". He's learning and singing new songs (loves singing songs, his favorite is Twinkle Little Star). He is learning so much, some good and some bad which is to be expected.

Well enough for now, will continue with some more entries of what we have been through with Patrick and new updates on his progress as we continue through the coming months with scans and test.

Click here to go back to the main page.

----End of History----