History

Journal History

Friday, July 22, 2005 11:48 AM CDT

Christina got back from her Make-A-Wish trip last Tuesday. She had a blast. I can't say enough about Give Kids The World Village where she stayed. You could spend all your time there and not go anywhere else in Orlando and still not get to do everything they offered. They provided so many daily activites, not to speak of all the game/toy rooms, swimming, and rides they have. All the food you could eat and then some! She did tear herself away from there long enough to go to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, & Cocoa Beach to play in the ocean, a first for her! It will be a vacation that her family will not forget for a long time if ever! We have so many pictures that chosing some to go on here was difficult, but I managed to pick out a few :).
Christina now has her sites set on starting Kindgergarten next month! She has already got all her school supplies purchased and a few new outfits to wear. She is sooooooo excited.....
Not sure if I told you or not, but scans done right before her trip turned out clear!
Thanks everyone for checking in!

Friday, July 22, 2005 11:48 AM CDT

Thursday, July 7, 2005 11:08 AM CDT

Wanted to let you know that Christina's last scans were clear and all is well. She is suppose to leave for her long-awaited Make-A-Wish trip next Tuesday. She is so excited. I will let you all know how everything went when she gets back. Thanks for checking in......... Love to all of you....Dot

Friday, April 8, 2005 12:09 AM CDT

Wow, it has been a long time since I updated! Sorry. Christina is doing well. She got two teeth pulled yesterday, but she handled it like a pro. She was up and jumping around a couple of hours later and went to dance class last night. She wouldn't even consider not going. She is getting ready for her 1st dance recital in May. Above is the outfit she is going to wear for it.
Again, they have told us, she can have her Make-A-Wish trip in June. We have had to post-pone it for a variety of reasons, both theirs and ours. Hopefully, this one will work out!
She is all excited about starting Kindergarten next fall and she still loves her Mothers-Day-Out Pre-school she attends.
Her and her brother, Carson continue to keep us on our toes and keep us smiling. They are a true blessing to all of us.
As usual, thank you all for checking on her and remember to keep cancer kids in your prayers. There are so many that are suffering every day.

Monday, January 3, 2005 10:25 AM CST

Happy New Year Everyone!
Not much new here except her scans done in December all came back clear and she is now on every 6 months instead of every 3 months for scans. She had a wonderful holiday and got lots of new toys. We had a bunch of parties and such and I took lots of pictures which means I have a lot of scrapbooking to do. Better get busy...... Her brother is now getting old enough to actually play with and he loves all the attention she gives him. I have put new photos on this site, please go check them out under photo section. Have a great year!

Friday, December 10, 2004 12:48 AM CST

Hi All!
Thanks for stopping by and checking on Christina. She is doing great! She goes to dance once a week and is taking a sign langauge class with her mamaw (me) and mommy once a week. She is still going to Mother's Day Out twice a week. Her favorite part of MDO is the music class. Needless to say, we are staying really busy. I have updated her photos so please go take a look. Her little brother, Carson is growing like crazy. He has become mobile in the walker, so it is a struggle allowing Christina to play with her toys and yet keeping Carson away from them. She is pretty patience most of the time :) :) I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas. Christina is really into the decorations and our house is quite colorful! She goes back for scans/blood work on December 17th. As always I ask that you keep her in your prayers. We know Who is taking care of Christina and we give Him thanks every day. As always...Your prayers are appreciated.

Friday, September 3, 2004 10:53 AM CDT

I know it has been a long time since the last update. We have been really busy with a new one in the house. Carson (her little brother) is not one of those.....what do you call them... "laid back children". He demands a lot of attention from everyone in the house. It is amazing how fast they can get spoiled. But he is adorable and we love him and his precious smile. Christina is so good with him.
Health wise, she continues to do very well. Scans keep coming back clear. Praise God for that!!! She gets to go on her make-a-wish trip next Spring.
She didn't get to start kindergarten this year due to her birthday being in November, so Candi has her enrolled in a pre-school Mother's Day Out at our church. She loves it and looks forward to going every week. She is on the "writing everything down stage". I forget how much patience you have to have during this stage. You just want to grab the pencil and do the work for them, ok at least that is what I want to do, yet I can't. She has to learn to form those letters and words all by herself. :)
Please continue to keep not just her but the many, many others that continue to battle this beast called Cancer. Please support any group that strives to help these children and their families in any way.

Friday, May 14, 2004 11:57 AM CDT

That's right. Christina now has a little brother! Carson made his appearance on April 29th. He is doing great. Christina loves playing with him and helping feed him, just doesn't like those messy diapers or that spit-up.
She is in the why stage where everything you do and say gets a WHY??? from her. Driving us crazy, but loving every bit of it.
Will have more pictures of them both on the photo album page, please go check it out.

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 12:33 AM CST

Christina's latest scans were great. They are going to put tubes in her ears and do a adenoidectomy (take her adenoids out) on April 1st. She still isn't drinking enough fluids, but as long as her test results are coming back good they told us not to bug her about her not drinking and peeing enough. To drop the issue and maybe she will start doing better. Also, the surgery might help. She is all excited about the arrival of her little brother Carson (due in May). She "talks" to him every day. She helped me and his mom sew up all of his bedding and room stuff. She is still going to mothers-day-out twice a week and loving it. I have added new pictures so please check them out. Thanks for stopping by...

Friday, December 19, 2003 1:26 PM CST

Sonogram this morning...Christina is getting a baby brother in May!!! Christina really didn't get excited in the doctor's office, but was ok with it after a trip to McDonalds. You know, McDonalds takes care of everything.
I added her Christmas pictures on the photo page....
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas....

Tuesday, December 9, 2003 9:35 AM CST

Hi All,
Just to update everyone...Christina test all came back clear. She is doing great and looking forward to Santa coming. Only she wants to see and talk to him when he comes to the house, so that is something we are going to have to deal with. But we are happy she is well enough that we have to deal with such normal children activities.
She has decided that she wants her new sister to be called Emmy. Back when she was attending day care that was her best friend's name and she obviously likes it. I tried to tell her that it might be a little brother, but she won't even consider that possibility. Hopefully we will find out with the sonogram on December 19th. That will give us plenty of time to convince her to not call her little brother Emmy :) :).
I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and I hope during all the hustle and bustle of the next few weeks we all remember the true meaning of the season. I thank God for giving us his Son not only to get us through our lives here on earth but more important to give us everlasting life with Him.

Wednesday, September 24, 2003 11:13 AM CDT

Welcome to Christina's site. She had her 3 month scans last week and all is well. As a added bonus, we also found out last week, that Christina is going to get a little brother or sister the early part of May 2004. Needless to say this grandma is a very happy person!
Christina is still going to day care and still loving it. Her mom is deciding if she wants to quit work and stay home now or after the baby is born.
I will update the pictures of her on this site sometime this week, so please check back. She is growing up so fast. She still as always is my sunshine and my pride and joy. Everyday God allows me to have more blessings with just her presence. Thanks again for all of your caring thoughts and prayers.

Thursday, July 24, 2003 10:05 AM CDT

THE PORT IS OUT!!! Yea, one more thing off the list of getting through this ordeal. Christina wasn't too happy about it when we first told her, but then we showed it to her and everything was OK. She carries it around in this little clear container. She tells everybody she sees all about it. She even took it to day care yesterday and showed all the kids and teachers. They were amazed and she thought she was pretty cool. Also, in Fort Worth we had her eyes checked by an Peds-Optometrist and he said she had great vision for her age and didn't see any other problems with the white streaks in her irises. Told us the same defected gene that causes the Wilms causes the white streaks, but nothing to worry about. Until next posting, you all take care and thanks for checking on Christina.

Monday, July 7, 2003 12:34 AM CDT

We are heading back to Fort Worth the week of 07/14/03. They are taking her port out (FINALLY)! I ask her the other day if she was ready and of course she told me NO. She wanted to keep it, she doesn't want them touching it. So we will have some explaining to do when the time comes.
Also, her peds doctor here saw white streaks in her eyes a few weeks back and sent her to a local eye doctor and he stated that it was common in Wilm's patients. We did some research on that and then talked with her Onc doctor and he wants her checked out by a Ped-Optometrist in Fort Worth. He doesn't seem too concerned, but wants to make sure. Please pray for us as we journey to Fort Worth to take care of all of this. I will update the site as soon as I can afterwards, Thanks, Dot

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 9:00AM CDT

One year ago today Christina was diagnosis with Wilms. Hard to belive this started a year ago. Some days it seems like yesterday and other days it seems like years ago. Christina is doing great. She is going back to day care and loving it. Her hair is back in really thick and very pretty. She is gaining so much weight her mom is threatening to put her on weight watchers :). She is keeping us really busy and we are thankful for every minute of it. As I always say because I always mean it, thank you all for all of your prayers and support. I have no doubt that is what got us through all of this. Love to you all...Christina's ma maw (dot@apex2000.net)

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 10:00 AM CST

Good News! Christina's scans were all clear this week. She goes in next week for blood work and her doctor's appointment. Hopefully he will schedule her port removal soon. Keep praying and thanks.

Friday, March 7, 2003 10:20 AM CST

Christina will get her first scans off treatment on Monday, March 17, 2003. She has a doctors appointment the next day to review the results. I have added a new photo album on her other website if you would like to see some more pictures. Link is below. Thanks for all your thoughts prayers, and concerns. She is doing great.

Wednesday, February 12, 2003 3:08 PM CST

Christina had a check-up yesterday and I am pleased to announce that all of her blood levels are higher than they have been since the start of this. Her levels are getting at a near "normal" range. She is gaining weight and overall doing great. I thank everyone for all the thoughts, prayers, & contact that you continue to give us. I have added 5 new picture albums (End of Chemo Party, Ft Stockton Park, Ft Stockton Train, News Years Eve, & Winter 2002-2003) on the picturetrail.com/christinakinney web site if you are interested (link is below).

Wednesday, January 29, 2003 at 02:28 PM (CST)

Christina got out of the hospital this morning. She had been in for a couple of days to re-hydrate her. She had a cold last week and because of low counts she just couldn't shake it. Dr. Bueno wanted to give her some IV fluids and antibotics.
We did go ahead with her End-of-Chemo party last Saturday. I know that sounds kind of dumb with her having a cold and all, but we just didn't know how to contact everyone and cancel. So many people had told us they had passed on their invitation to another person that had been interested in Christina's progress. And sure enough we had a good turn out and she did really well, running around like her old self. I will post some pictures when I get a chance. On Saturday night she was just really tired and got worse on Sunday. We spent Sunday afternoon in the ER getting IV fluids, then went to see Dr. Bueno on Monday morning and he thought she needed more.
As always thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Monday, January 13, 2003 at 02:09 PM (CST)

Christina is doing great. She is eating well and gaining weight. Her energy level is way up and she is keeping us on our toes. We are having a end-of-chemo reception for her on January 25th. Everyone is invited and if you need details just e-mail her mom (address below). Again I want to thank you all for your support and prayers and remember to keep her and others that are still battling this beast in your prayers.

Wednesday, December 11, 2002 at 02:57 PM (CST)

This week has been a very exciting week. Christina had all of her end of chemo scans and test ran on Monday. Then yesterday, she got her last chemo and found out that all the scans and test came back clear. Praise God!
Dr. Bowman wants to leave her port in till the end of March to get her through the winter months and after her 1st scans off treatment. She will have to have ultrasounds done every 3 months until 2004, then it will go to every 6 months, then once a year for a long, long time.
This has been a long journey and we are so happy to be at the end of this part. I can't thank all of you enough for your support and prayers. We were just overwhelmed by it all. Please remember to pray for all the children that are still facing this beast. There are so many that have it much worse than Christina ever did. I had no idea how many families have to deal with this beast daily. I have meet wonderful families that have been torn apart by it. Some no longer have their children with them. The whys are just not answerable. I can only say that we have been very blessed and I count those blessings everyday.

Thursday, November 07, 2002 at 09:11 AM (CST)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR LITTLE PRINCESS!
Yea, that's right, Christina turns 3 today.
As a celebration we have re-done her room in a Princess theme. Her Papaw built her some sheleves, her mom painted and decorated a dresser, and I brought/made her new curtains, wall hanging, and bed coverings. Her parties are this week-end. Should be lots of fun to have the family and friends over. She has been feeling really well these past few weeks. Her blood counts are up. She is gaining weight, and her hair has started coming back in. She only has two, that's right, I said TWO chemo treatments to go!!! YEA!!!
If anyone would of told me a year ago that we were facing this before her 3rd birthday I would of told them they were crazy. Never in my wildest imagination would I even consider the possibility that something this ugly could ever lay a hand on my child. But it did and we had to face it. Christina has kept us sane and together through-out this whole ordeal. On her bad days she just keeps on keeping on. On her good days it was if she isn't sick at all and we can temporary forget for a few hours.
One thing this disease has taught us is that there are so many children affected by this monster. More than I would of ever imagined. Most of them are never really "well" again and a lot of them died. I encourage all of you to do your part to get these kids and future kids some help. Let's do whatever it takes to find a cure and/or prevention so that these children don't have to go through this battle.
As always, thanks for your support and prayers for our family. I will post some birthday pictures next week.

Wednesday, October 23, 2002 at 06:27 AM (CDT)

Christina went to the doctor yesterday. He stated we are on the home stretch. The scans they did a week ago came back looking great. Her blood counts are up. She has 3 more treatments: October 29, November 19, and the last one December 10th. Dr. Bowman stated that they will take the port out soon after the last treatment. We won't have to wait the 6 to 8 months that some do. That means by Christmas she will be Cancer Free! Chemo Free! & Port Free!. What a wonderful Christmas present that will be!
I want to thank everyone for all their prayers and concerns through-out these past months. I know that is what has got us this far and will continue to the end.
Christina has been such a princess through-out all of this. Everytime something has drugged her down, she just hops right up, dust herself off, and keeps on going. She is an inspiration to us all.

Tuesday, September 17, 2002 at 02:15 PM (CDT)

Hi Everyone!
Sorry I am so long inbetween postings.
Christina is the same...she has good days and really bad days...it is more like good hours and bad hours.....But overall considering everything she has been through she is doing great. They took her x-rays and scans that she had done here and compared them to the ones she had done in Fort Worth back in May and said that all is clear. Praise God for that. The spot that was on her lung back in May they are now blaming on her being put to sleep for the surgery & test and the lungs not inflating all the way causing what look like to be a spot...My question is...could they not of figured that out back then..or maybe God had a hand in it disappearing and they have to come up with something...either way it is gone and I chose to give God the glory for it.
I have developed another website that has just lots and lots of pictures on it. The link is below or www.picturetrail.com/christinakinney. Be patience, some of them take some time to load. I put them in 4 different albums so that may help.
Christina went this morning for her 2nd dose of the Doxorubicin (red stuff). If you remember she was suppose to have it weeks ago, but had to postpone due to low blood counts. After her first dose of this medicine is when she lost most of her hair and was really sick. The other two medicines don't seem to effect her as bad as this one does. I am asking for prayer that she gets through this one with minumum side effects.
Well that is it for now.. Thanks for visiting her site and thanks so much for the wonderful responses on the guestbook and personal e-mails we have received.

Tuesday, August 27, 2002 at 06:36 AM (CDT)

GREAT NEWS!!!
All the scans came back and everything looks great. Plus starting yesterday she only has to get chemo once every three weeks for the rest of the treatment. I want to thank all of you for your prayers. Christina has been doing really well.

Monday, August 19, 2002 at 07:29 AM (CDT)

Christina goes for ultrasound and x-rays this Thursday, August 22nd. Her mom's birthday. What a way to spend her birthday. She goes for her blood work Friday. Then we see the doctor on Monday 26th for the results and for her next chemo treatment. Please check out the photos. I added new pictures this week-end.

Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 07:38 AM (CDT)

Hi Everyone. Sorry I am so late on the update this week. Christina is about the same, bad days and good days. They have postponed her scans and x-rays until after she sees the doctor next Tuesday. I will let you know the results as soon as I get them. Thank you all for your continued support,prayers,e-mail, and messages left on this site. Candi's e-mail address is below (on the main page of the site) and my e-mail is dot@apex2000.net or DEvans5511@aol.com if anyone wants to contact us personally.

Thursday, August 01, 2002 at 09:48 AM (CDT)

WOW what an awesome response to this web page. It really lets us know that we have lots and lots of people thinking and praying for us. Thank you so much and I really thank the ones that signed the guestbook. It is the highlight of our day to read through the daily post. We read them to Christina every night.
I have added new pictures. I just had to put the one in there with her new buddy Hobbs. Her uncle (Bubba) brought this cat home the night before all this began and Christina and him have really bonded. Hobbs lets her carry him around all day and seeks her out to play. Notice Hobbs's paw on Christina foot. They think they have to be touching each other even in their sleep.
Christina is having good days and bad. We never know from one day to the next what it might be and we haven't figured out what might be triggering the bad. The doctors are telling us it is just the chemo and something you have to deal with. Try to explain that to a 2 year old!

Monday, July 29, 2002 at 02:37 PM (CDT)

I finished getting this website updated this week-end. I will be putting her updates on it every week or whenever necessary. Please try to be patient in reading through this. I have just re-read the journal pages and have found spelling and/or grammer errors. For those of you that know me...spelling is not my strong suit...What did I ever do without spell check??? Which as you can tell wasn't used on this site. But you can get the gist of how she is doing and what all she has gone through. Please continue to pray for Christina and all the precious children that have to go through this ordeal. Be sure to check back often and please be sure to sign her guestbook so that we can see who has "visited" us.

Tuesday, July 23, 2002 at 02:06 PM (CDT)

Dr. Bowman told Candi everything was OK. Just watch for the warning signs that were on her print-out they gave us back in June. They gave her VCR.
We had a family meeting Sunday and decided that this is probably what it is going to be like for a while and we need to accept it and go on. Due our best to get her to eat and drink and try not to stress out as much. Cause when we stress so does she. We just have to rely on God to get us through this. Sure enough the last two days have been better. We have to rejoice over the good things and get through the bad things. I know by the onc-peds list I am on that there are many parents going through a lot worst than us. My heart goes out to them. I pray that God gives them the peace that they need to get through whatever situation they are in.

Sunday, July 20, 2002 at 10:47 PM (CDT)

Called Dr. Bowman twice yesterday. He told us yesterday morning that if she hasn't urinated by early afternoon that she will have to go to the hospital. Luckily by early afternoon she did. But dad still wanted to check with the doctor, so another phone call. 1X every 12 hours just doesn't seem right. He stated that was fine. Try and get her to drink and to call him if she goes another 12 hours. Sure enough this morning mom called him again. He told us she was probably fine but if we wanted a piece of mind to go on and get her check at the hospital. Had blood work done, cath for a U/A. and sent home with the understanding that we were to call if she starts running fever.
Blood work: WBC 1200 ANC 276
Christina got home and took a 2 1/2 hour nap then went back to sleep at 7:30 and slept all night. This is from a child that likes to stay up late and not take any naps at all. Her hair is all but gone. Her mom doesn't want to cut it so she has long strands here and there scatter all over her head. Doesn't seem to be bothering her at all. She still has a good attitude and still tries to play. We go outside to play around 8:00 every night. She isn't allow to go out during the day due to sunburn and heat. She is such a trooper.

Friday, July 19, 2002 at 01:43 PM (CDT)

This has been a very bad week. Hair loss, mouth sores, not eating, not drinking. Very little intake so not much out take. No energy. How much can a 2 year old endure?

Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at 01:39 PM (CDT)

Blood Work:
WBC 1000 ANC 270
Christina energy level has just dropped to nothing. She only plays for short periods of time and then has to sit down and rest. Every time we comb her hair the comb is full of hair. She is still not eating or drinking enough.
Dr. Bowman told us that this is all "normal" for a cancer child. She received VCR today.

Tuesday, July 09, 2002 at 10:23 PM (CDT)

Blood Work:
WBC 1100 ANC 440 WT 27lbs
Gave her VCR. She does so good during these treatments. I am so proud of her. She knows when we put her "magic cream" (Emla numbing cream) on that she is going for blood work or a treatment and she just lays down and let us put it on her. Then she get to the clinic and does whatever they ask her to do. That is pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old.
Our local paper, Odessa American, is doing a story on the Cooks Children's Clinic and Christina. They took lots of pictures of her getting her treatment. It should be in this Sunday's paper.

Tuesday, July 02, 2002 at 10:16 PM (CDT)

Blood Work:
WBC 2400 ANC 1166 WT 27lbs
Was given VCR (Vincristine) and DOX (Doxorubicin) and Zofran.

Saturday, July 29, 2002 at 10:15 PM (CDT)

Today has been another down day. She wanted Mamaw to hold her most of the day. Didn't eat well. Didn't play well.

Wednesday, June 26, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Christina's cousin, John spent the day with her. She has played well and ate better than she has in a long time. Maybe that is the trick. Anything that works!

Monday, June 24, 2002 at 01:06 PM (CDT)

Blood Work:
WBC 1600 ANC 784 Wt 26.5
They couldn't get anything out of port, thought needle might be bent. Took out, put cream on, waited an hour, put needle back in. Had Vincristine but postpone Doxorubicin for at least another week until her counts come up. She had a bad rash where bandage had been put on and off the last 24 hours.

Monday, June 17, 2002 at 01:02 PM (CDT)

Blood Counts:
WBC 1800 ANC 666
Counts are too low for chemo this week.
Still trying to get her to eat and drink more. It is amazing how creative you have to be to get a child to eat.

Thursday, June 13, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Got Christina to eat something today so they let her come home this evening.

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Christina was put into hospital (ORH) for IV fluids. Don't like being in hospital but glad that it is local and didn't have to make trip to Fort Worth. Had lots of friends and family visit. Christina still not wanting to eat.

Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 12:45 PM (CDT)

Got the result from blood work on June 3rd:
WBC 2500, ANC 1550 WT 28lbs,
Todays blood work and weight:
WBC 2100, ANC 1533, WT 26lbs
Gave her the Vincristine (clear). Told us to try and get her to drink lots of fluids...LOL Christina isn't wanting to drink anything. Told us to be at Dr. Bueno's office at 9 tomorrow morning to check her and if she is not better put her in ORH for a few days for IV.

Friday, June 06, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Last Radiation Treatment today. Christina did really well. We headed home right after the treatment and Christina slept all the way home. Of course we had to make a side trip to Arlington for Krispy Kreme donuts to take home with us. Nothing like driving a hour extra just for donuts. But of course we are talking Krispy Kreme. We don't have anything near that good here.
We have an appointment in Midland for next Tuesday. They are telling us that she can get most of her chemo treatments there as oppose to driving to Fort Worth every week. Feels good to be home again.

Thursday, June 06, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Next to the last treatment. Can't stand the fact that they have to drug her every morning to put her to sleep. We decided to pack up the room and get ready to head home right after her treatment tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 05, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Went better this morning. I guess staying up till 12 did the trick. After radiation we headed over to Garland to see some of our relatives. Had a really good time. It was nice being around a big family. Christina loves showing off her "boo-boo" (incision). Everyone has to look at it rather they want to or not.

Tuesday, June 04, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

It was a lot harder today. Christina didn't want to go back to sleep and it took a long time to get her down. but she stayed awake afterwards long enough for us to get some food and drink down her so she didn't get sick. We decided to try and keep her up late tonight so maybe she won't get good and awake by radiation tomorrow. Christina and Tice have this game they play every night. They work puzzles together and we make a game out of mom and mamaw trying to get involved. Christina told us tonight that Tice and her are working their puzzle and that we need to go work ours.

Monday, June 03, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Got up early and went to radiation at 7:30 a.m. Christina did well. Went right to sleep and it didn't take long at all. Love having Tice here. It gives mom and mamaw a break.

Sunday, June 2, 2002 at 10:10 PM (CDT)

Decided to drive back today as oppose to having to drive most of the night. Great Grandma (Tice) decided to come with us. That will help a lot. Looking forward to getting this part behind us.

Friday, May 31, 2002 at 10:58 PM (CDT)

YEA!! Candi's old employer is paying for us to fly home for the week-end. We will drive back for Monday's treatment. Went in for Christina's first radiation treatment. As before it took a while for her to go to sleep but not as long as before. They had to take lots of x-rays so they could position it right. Took a long time for that, but the radiation was only 2) 30 second shots. We got through and headed for the airport. About 1/2 way there Christina started throwing up. Longest trip to an airport I have ever had. She wasn't awake to throw up but yet she was throwing up. Even standing in line at the baggage check. It was scary. Then waiting for the flight she fell asleep in my arms and didn't wake up until PaPaw picked her up our airport. Her first airplane ride and she slept all the way through it. It was so good to be home if only for the week-end.

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Arrived at Lab and they explained Christina would have to have 6 radiation treatments, first one on this Friday then every day next week. We realized just how long we were going to have to stay away from our home and family. They explain that today they were going to do yet another C-Scan and then mark her body. They took her to the treatment room and gave her stuff to relax, but by now Christina has had enough of people poking around on her and wants nothing to do with it. They kept giving her more and more stuff to relax and it seemed the more they gave her the more agitated she got. I just started praying that God will get her to relax and fall asleep. Finally she did. This place is not child orientated and could learn a lot from Cook's. They are polite and caring, but they obviously don't have many pediatric cases. Maybe we have just been at the best and everything else just doesn't measure up. We ask the radiologist to show us the x-ray of the tumor. Was that a mistake!! It was massive. How could we not know that this monster was growing inside our precious child? We were so upset by the morning events we went back to RMH and laid around and cry for the rest of the day. Luckily Christina slept for 5 1/2 hours and didn't have to see her mom and grandma in that condition.

Tuesday, May 28, 2002 at 10:47 PM (CDT)

Went to the clinic at 9:30. They did the basics (weight, blood pressure, height) then they gave her the first of many chemo treatments. We had three different staff members in the room entertaining Christina as they access her port. One kept blowing bubbles, one had books, they were singing songs. Just anything to keep Christina's mind off what they were doing to her. This place just keeps amazing me day after day. They are so good. They hooked her up to IV and administer the drugs then we went to the playroom/waiting room to wait for the IV to run through her system. We learned so much just talking to other parents. They could tell we were new to all of this and they were very generous in explaining the parents side of it. She is on the Regimen DD4A which means she will be taking Vincristine (clear) once a week for 10 weeks then once every three weeks, Actinomycin D (orange) and Doxorubicin (red)once every 6 weeks assuming her blood counts stay up, which they probably won't. Sent us back to the RMH and told us to report to Texas Oncology Lab at 9 tomorrow morning to mark her body for the six radiation treatments.

Monday, May 27, 2002 at 10:31 PM (CDT)

Memorial Day. We are usually having the whole family out and opening up the pool today. Well it isn't happening this year. Alice, Melinda, and Bubba left early this morning for the long drive home. We are alone. Just Christina, her mom (Candi), and me (MaMaw)(Dot). No Car, No Plan, No Nothing, Strange Holiday.
We met another child here at RMH that has cancer. Christina now has a buddy to play with. They don't have TV's in the rooms and Christina doesn't think she can go to sleep without watching BABE so it was a challenge. We tried everything but she fussed and cried off and on for over 2 hours. We finally gave up and against the house rules we took BABE down and watch it on the big TV in the Living Room. Sure enough she went right to sleep. I am sure the other house guest didn't object. It was either listening to crying or listening to a movie for a few minutes. Some how tomorrow we are getting a TV/VCR for our room.

Sunday, May 26, 2002 at 10:00 PM (CDT)

Christina is doing so well they release us to go to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) across the street. They won't let us go all the way home. We had to go get some medicine filled so we took the opportunity to drive around Fort Worth. It was good getting out, but Christina wore out really fast so we mostly just hung around the RMH for the day.

Saturday, May 25, 2002 at 10:01 PM (CDT)

Our day started really early. At 2:30 a.m. Candi was laying beside Christina in bed and woke up with Christina stretching. Only Christina had a hold of the NG tube and out it came. We called the nurse in, she wasn't too happy with us. Then she called the doctor and he told her not to re-insert it. Her stats looked good and he was planning on taking it out anyway Saturday morning. Just to watch and see what she does. That was the turning point. She really perked up and started taking and didn't shut up for 3 hours. I guess she had to catch up. You didn't hear us complaining about being awake from 2:30 - 5:30 in the morning. It was wonderful.
Alice, Melinda, & Bubba(Uncle Carl) showed up around 8AM. She was sure happy to see new faces. LaVona, Tanya, Luke, & Cayden showed up around 11AM. By then Christina was on the move. We were chasing her around with the IV pole. She loved the play room. LaVona had brought a big basket full of goodies for us and a big bucket of toys for Christina. Melinda had brought her some pages to color and some gifts from Christina's day care staff. PaPaw(Paul), her dad (David), and her Uncle Philip left around noon for the long drive home. Christina kept improving all during the day. Dr. Black came in and told us the tumor was the size of a grapefruit and orange side-by-side (how did we missed that?) and that it was a Stage III with favorable hist. He layed out the treatment plan and told us Christina was doing great.

Friday, May 24, 2002 at 09:57 PM (CDT)

Christina slept most of the day. Ng tube still in nose. Arms still in splints. Off and on we would take them off and Christina wasn't messing with the tube. She is such a good patient. We have recieved so many phone calls and visits. It is amazing to me how God always takes care of us through others.

Thursday, May 23, 2002 at 09:00 PM (CDT)

Surgery Day!! Dr. Black, the surgeon was out in the hall at 7:30 a.m. getting the nurses moving trying to get Christina to surgery. Surgery wasn't scheduled until 9 but thankfully he didn't want her to have to wait. They took us down around 8 and we got to stay with her until they got ready to put her to sleep. We went to wait. They called us 2 times during the surgery just to reassure us that all was well. Then Dr. Black came out and told us that everything went well. He had to take out the left kidney and some lymph nodes but he thought he got it all except the small spot on her lung and it would do more damage to open up the lung so he chose to let the chemo take care of it. He stated we would have to watch it carefully for any new growth. He thought hers was a Stage III with favorable hist. but would have to wait on the test results to confirm.
They had given us all the horror stories of what Christina might looked like when she came out of surgery, but she came out looking like an angel. They had her hair tied up with a ribbon. They had told us she might have as many as 5 tubes in her but she only had the ng tube in her nose and of course the IV tube in the port they had put in her chest for the chemo she was going to have to take. Her insision was not near as big as what they had told us it might be. They had spared us some of the grief and had taken out all the other tubes and wires before we saw her. For the most part she slept for the rest of the day and night. They did have her arms in splints to keep her from pulling out her ng tube. But she got used to them and did really well.

Wednesday, May 22, 2002 at 09:24 PM (CDT)

What a terrible day!!! We arrived at Cook's Children's Hospital at 8:00 a.m. They weigh her and ordered all the test. Told us we were probably looking at surgery later today or tomorrow. They admitted her to the 4th Floor Oncology Dept. They tried to start an IV but her little veins kept blowing. They put her to sleep to start the IV, then do all the test. They ran another C-Scan,Ultra-sound, X-Rays, Blood work, and whatever else they deem necessary. Came out and told us they had scheduled surgery for tomorrow morning. She came back from the test with an IV in the crook of her elbow and they put a splint on her arm to keep her from pulling out the tube. Christina was so scared. She didn't understand what was happening to her and neither did we.

Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 08:46 PM (CDT)

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Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 08:46 PM (CDT)

Today is the day our whole world changed. Christina went to the doctor with an ear infection and during the exam Dr. Bueno discovered a hard lump on her adominal area. He sent her to ORH for test then we went home to wait. At 6:30 p.m. he called and told us he believe Christina had a Wilm's Tumor and to be at Cook's Children Hospital in Fort Worth at 8:30 a.m. the next morning.

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