History

Saturday, November 13, 2010 1:10 PM CST

Wow! Where have the last few months gone? Just a quick update on our girl...she is doing fantastic! Her weight has gone through the roof with all the fried foods...and by "through the roof" I mean she is now 106.8 pounds! She has gained almost 10 pounds and that is truly a miracle for her as we have tried for years to keep her above the century mark with little luck. Who knew all I had to do was put all her food in lard or bacon grease and THEN serve it?!?
Jourdyn is serving in the visitors center in Independence, Missiouri and loves the work. She misses home, misses her boyfriend Brad even more and is trying her hardest not to think about the holiday season without everyone around her.
Her health continues to be supported by a loving Heavenly Father and gets her chemotherapy each week without complications. She did have a nurse who was mean to her because she is a Mormon that Jourdyn was trying to kill with kindness but threatened to open a can of "Whitaker and Italian" on her if she didn't knock it off but that has been her biggest obstacle.
If you have a minute, write her a little note. The holidays are fast approaching and she is a little creature of habit, has already spent two Christmases away from everyone during her cancer journey and could use the voices from home. Her address is:
Sister Jourdyn Cleveland
937 West Walnut Street
Independence, Missouri
64050

We love you all and thank you for continuing to follow this little miracle in progress! Shelley

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 11:01 PM CDT

Well, she made it...Jourdyn is spending her first night in the MTC tonight! It has been such a great couple days leading up to it all!
We took a small family trip to a condo for 5 days and jourdyn's boyfriend Brad and Dayton's girlfriend Lacy joined us. We had a great time just getting sunburned and enjoying this last little bit together.
We headed to Salt Lake on Tuesday so Jourd could say good bye to as many ffamily members as she could. There were almost as many tears that day as the day before when she said goodbye to her brother Dayton and earlier that morning when she said it to her two youngest sibs!
By the time she said goodbye to Brad, she was about drained as they cried their little eyes out. He is about the greatest thing since sliced bread and we hope he is still around when all is said and done.
We went to meet our stake president in Lehi and had an amazing setting apart and she was just so ready to get the show on the road.
Rick and I experienced the new drop off at the curb system at the MTC around noon and I highly recommend it. All that sobbing drama was avoided while still having a great spirit. The boys didn't seem to mind helping her in with her luggage and she was about cried out and so ready to get going that we hugged and parted without a single tear!
TOnight I am torn between happiness and wondering what she is doing about every twenty minutes. We have been in contact with Brad all afternoon and he is having a much tougher time.
She got chemotherapy before entering the center so she is good to go until next Wednesday and I hope I have talked to the nurse there for the last time so she can just do what she is there to do.
We are so happy her health is good enough to do this. We know she is a walking miracle and are so proud of her desire to share what she knows with the world. Good luck Joey!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 10:26 AM CDT

Is it truly possible that I haven't updated siince Christmas? I have had many requests lately stating that they still check regularly and would like updates. I thought about shutting this down because Jourdyn's treatment is so consistent lately that there is not much to report however...

After putting in her papers a year and almost 4 onths ago, Jourdyn received her missioncall...she will be serving a full time mission (18 months) for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Missouri Independence visitors center mission. She will report to the Mission Training center on August 18th and her farewell will be on Sunday, August 15th at 1:00 in the iddlers Canyon Chapel (Exit 62 then East off exit, past Loves gas station, first chapel on your left)

Since the paper work took so long, Jourdyn had almost given hup on the thoughts of it happening and started into school again. She was accepted to the Education program at UVU but will put it on hold until she comes home. She is working at Pinnacle securities in the accounts department and is dating a guy she met there (ironically, he served in the same mission several years ago)

From what we understand, Jourdyn's mission president is a former IHC physician (internist). We have not heard anything on how or where she will get chemo while she is gone and i will feel much better once we have that situation under control. The regular rule is that people are not allowed mission service until they are 5 years into remission so it is indeed a miracle she is being allowed service at all!

We went on our first shopping trip yesterday. It is a little tricky buying suits for such a small girl. They only start at size 2 and she needs quite a bit smaller than that so we are having many alterations done. She is so excited at this point that it is hard not to get on board...once again, we follow her lead! More to come Shelley

Monday, December 28, 2009 9:38 PM CST

Happy Holidays everyone! Things have been going great with Jourdyn. She is signed up for classes at UVU for spring semester, she is working at a job she doesn't care for but is working and she has a new boy in her life. His name is Jake and he is from Sandy. They are having a great time and we finally met him on Sunday when she spoke in church. She was just made a Relief Society teacher as well and she will do great with that. Jake seems like a super nice guy and, as long as she is happy, I am happy!

Jourdyn's health is right on track other than it has been almost 3 years since she had a scan. Thay should be done every 6 months but she can't afford one. her new doctor (Stennett) is working on the hospital getting her one but he is really pulling strings so we will see what happens. Her weight has steadily gone down for the last few visits. She was a whopping 105 pounds when she left Cedar. Her visit a few weeks ago she was 98 pounds, now she is down to 92 and her size 1 pants are hanging off her. She says she eats but she is struggling to put on and keep on weight! I told her to start drinking ensure again but she hates it. I told her also to ask the doc what he thought of her weight loss. She thinks I worry too much and I do but that is my job and I am good at it!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. My dad is still having a hard time with his health and so we were very blessed to have everyone together this year. We all treasure the time we have together. Shelley

Thursday, November 5, 2009 4:28 PM CST

Boy, It has been a long time since I updated and I apologize. Things have been hectic at our house but things with Jourdyn are finally settling down.
Jourdyn has moved to Eagle Mountain with my sweet niece Melanee and her husband, Branden. She found a job at Wingers and has been dating and we are happy that she is taking her time. She got registered at Utah Valley University (after missing the deadline while at chemo and the classes filled by the time she was done) Thanks to a great counselor, she is in the classes she needs and is on her way. She will start in January.
She had a meeting with the financial aid folk at Weber and they are going to give her the full refund that she requested from them. It is such a relief to her that she will have that money to go toward her next steps.
Jourdyn is a bit bothered with me lately. She is stuck in a 17 year old mode of passing every move past me before she makes it. I have done a disservice to her by helping her with so much and I am now paying for that. She gets annoyed when i shut her down and say, Make your decision and then call if you want to let me know your plan but don't pass the plan by me first hoping I will make the decision for you. We have such a great relationship and she thinks she passes it by me because of this and her little feelings are hurt when I tell her to do it on her own....tough love stinks!

Friday, September 25, 2009 1:33 PM CDT

Well...After waiting for 6 months, checking the mail box every Wednesday for a mission call...We found out yesterday that our Stake President or Clerk or whoever never submitted the papers to the church headquarters! No wonder she never got a call! Our bishop called yesterday after our frustration grew and we were tired of being told to just be patient. He said the church can track the papers and see them going from Jourdyn to the bishop to the Stake and then stalling there. I was livid, Rick was mad and Jourdyn was disappointed. However, she told me I could not talk to the Stake President if I couldn't be nice and I can't be nice right now so Rick is taking it from here.

It was so disappointing: I mean, come on! It is not like she has unlimited time on her hands and yet she was willing to give 18 months of it away and now they took an extra 6 from her. She says everything happens for a reason so I guess, once again, I will follow her lead but it really feels more like someone just dropped the ball!

Jourdyn is moving to Eagle Mountain today and will live with my niece and her sweet husband. She will be attending UVU barring a mission call! Don't get me started! SHELLEY

Friday, September 11, 2009 4:07 PM CDT

Jourdyn has made some huge decisions in the last week. She is changing her major to Elementary Education. I felt she was not ready for nursing a few years ago but I guess it took her a little longer to figure that out. She is feeling a little displaced right now, as she dropped the chem classes she was in and the education department has no openings right now (she missed the deadline) so she is floating right now. Weber says they keep half her money even though she withdrew before the deadline but gave her a form to petition that and I can't imagine they will not give it to her. She wants to stay up north so she will look for a job for the next while and then start fresh, I think it was very brave for her to change mid stream.
She asked me if I thought she was crazy and I told her what I thought was crazy was spending your whole working career doing something you didn't love. Better to change now and be passionate about your choices. She has the rest of her life to be a grown up!
I can't help but notice this would be the perfect time for those mission papers to come through...while she is floating anyway. I think 6 months is long enough to be patient...she hasn't heard a "NO" so it could still be a "YES"! Wish her luck in whatever happens, for what is meant to be always happens!

Thursday, August 27, 2009 9:48 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo last Thursday and promptly got sick. We are not sure whether it was chemo related or just coming on anyway but she got a high fever, sore throat and ached to no end. My sister took her to instacare and they said it was not strep and sent her home. She was still bad the next day so she missed her first day at Weber State and we were on the phone all morning letting professors know what was going on. She is now on the mend and went to school on Wednesday. Because she is not 100%, they are holding off on chemo this week so she will not have counts knocked down while trying to mend.

Dayton is home from the California fires. He is glad for the 4 days off (with pay) but wishes he was able to go back. That kid is built for this work. He and his girlfriend Lacy are enjoying his time off so that means i see him about 5 seconds a day.

The other two kids started school this week so that means I am back to work as well, ARGH! It was a fast summer with lots of changes but we are ready for it! Shelley

PS: Jourdyn will be speaking for a combined meeting in Farmington this Sunday. She is doing it for a friend of mine in high school. THis will be the first time I am not there to hear her speak...Rick and I have to speak in our own sacrament that day!

Sunday, August 16, 2009 9:56 AM CDT

Jourdyn has settled right into life in Salt lake. SHe completed her CNA course and is now waiting to take the state test. In the meantime, she is getting chemo as usual, which went much smoother this week. She is doing alot of dating and having a great time but was so happy to see her family on Thursday that she started crying...a bit hoomesick i believe! That's okay, we miss her too!

Dayton is on a very large fire in Santa Cruz, California and, though he is working 16 hour days in hot, dry and dangerous conditions, he is loving being on fire pay, hazard pay and overtime all at once. We talk to him daily and he is fine!

We had an amazing 50th wedding anniversary party for my parents last night. It was toucha dn go as to whetehr my father would even be able to attend as he was admitted to the hospital the day befoer with a blood clot in his lung slightly larger than a large apricot. About 30 minutes before the party, he was allowed to come to the party and they had about 300 people who came to wish them well at our Luau themed party. It was so much work but so worth it as they both had a wonderful night keeping in touch with old friends. We had a family picture taken and the only one not there was Dayton but we will photoshop him in later. It was a great day!

Thursday, August 6, 2009 4:22 PM CDT

Jourdyn got her new chemo today. After a slight mix up on the order things went off. The order was written for the wrong chemo (the names were close: vinorelbine instead of vinblastine) I am hoping that they would have caught it before they put it in her but it was a good thing that I checked up on things this morning. It was the first time that she got chemo away from me. They didn't do everything just as she had it done in Cedar but there is a little learning curve for both sides and it will take time to get both sides on the same page.
Jourdyn just got done with her CNA course and is waiting to take her clinicals now. She met a guy in her class and they are going dancing tonight and she is still hearing from Chase every now and then so she is adjusting to life in the big city. I know that she is homesick though and will come home some time soon to have a car repair and an inspection.
Jourdyn is speaking in a ward in Farmington on the 30th and then school will be underway so she is on her way!

Saturday, July 25, 2009 1:39 PM CDT

Jourdyn has moved to Salt Lake! Last Sunday, her dad loaded her up to the top of the van and her car and headed out. She has had a busy week: finding a new oncologist (she found a great one that she is thrilled with) breaking up with her boyfriend (from what i can tell, this is a good thing as she is not too sad abut it all and she is usually full of drama) and getting moved in. her course starts on Monday and she will stay with Blaine and Aimee Bovee while she finishes it then it is back ot Farmington to start at Weber shortly after. She is settling in and then going to church with her friend Perry (that is,if it is a different ward than Chase) but she is ready for chemo to begin at McKay Dee next Wednesday barring any complications.
Dayton is still on the fire line, Madi is in the Orlando/Atlanta/Bainbridge neck of the woods for the next couple weeks with her Uncle Ryan and Aunt Janell and Tanner is enjoying trying out life as an only child.
Here is my article for the coming week:
Kill Them With Produce
By Shelley Cleveland

As I drove down the rural road leading through Enoch today, I marveled at the amazing home gardens I passed. My mind was taken back to the days when I too planted a garden. We had a huge plot in our back yard dedicated to the garden. I tried to think back on our bounty in the fall but all that came to mind was how dang much work we put out for so little reward.
It began with preparing the land for the sowing of seeds. This generally happened way too early so it snowed at least one time before we completed this process. The weeds have taken over through the winter though I don�t know how. I left the plot clean if the fall and I started working on it first thing in the spring so where are those weeds coming from? I blame Eve!
We were big on raised row gardening. That meant we sat on the ground and built big mounds like gophers. We then planted on top of these mounds and spent the rest of the summer trying to keep the dirt mounds in place. Every time the water came on, the lumps, flattened out , exposing the roots so we built them back up. I wondered why we didn�t just let them grow into regular ground like normal people but some brainiac on the internet convinced my husband this was the only way to get a great harvest. That is because my husband went to work every day so he missed the fun of rebuilding our root forts what seemed to be hourly.
Watering could have been easier as well but was not. Why spend all that money on soaker hoses which will hit each individual plant when you have a wife to haul a hose and sprinkler head from plant to plant? Move a hose, turn it on, have the sprinkler do a couple impressive in-air somersaults, only to land face first on top of a plant, once again, unearthing the roots with the force of a power washer. I have 2 choices: I can either run to the cucumbers rescue, getting soaked myself as I am shot in the face repeatedly while reaching in, eyes closed or sacrifice the plant and run back to the water source and shut off the hose. I have been instructed to �take one for the team�, so I return to the house drenched. Luckily, I will only have to suffer through this process five more times each day before the whole garden has been watered.
Weeding daily is a must for a home gardener. I swear, if you miss a day, the weeds will take over so there were no vacations longer than over-nighters for the Cleveland�s that summer. I reminded myself it would all be worth it in the end when we were eating beautiful salads covered with ripe, red tomatoes. Yeah right.
After months of my six times daily showers and my arthritic knees crippled from crawling through rows placed too close together for my wide load to fit comfortably between, it is finally time for the big harvest. I must confess, we did get a boat load of squash. The problem was, we could not eat it fast enough to use it all and didn�t like it enough to do anything else with it. We tried to give it away to neighbors but they had their own squash worries to deal with and were trying to pawn their bounty on us. An array of squash varieties generally sat in a bowl on the table until they started to get soft and smell a bit, at which point we dumped them in the trash just in time for the next harvest to be ready for the table display. Our carrots were 2 feet long and about 1 centimeter thick. They looked like we were harvesting number 2 pencils and tasted just about as good. Our heads of lettuce were small and bitter tasting but we ate them just because we should. We made and ate salsa every meal and about this point, I am wishing I had paid more attention while my mother was trying to teach me how to can my own fruit.
I spent a fortune trying to keep that venture alive for the season and the only real thing I managed to unearth was a family of mice that my children insisted I try to save by taking them to the pet store. Bon Appetit Mr. Snake! At least one of us should have a full belly for the long winter that lies ahead!

Shelley Cleveland is a freelance writer from Cedar City, Utah. She hates vegetables so she sees no need for gardens. For comments concerning this article, contact her via email at clevelandchaos.com

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 2:21 PM CDT

Jourdyn is working today to get all of her medical finalizedfor her move to Salt lake on Sunday. She is excited to move and a bit nervous. Chemo plans changed this morning so she is scrambling to find a doctor that will take her on. If not, she can go to Primary Childrens, though it would be more convenient to get chemo at McKay Dee across the street from her new University. She will get chemo this afternoon and may have to skip next week until everyting is finalized but that is okay, she can miss a week here and there and still be okay.

Dayton is on a fire that it took a month to grow to 500 acres and grew by 1000 acres just yesterday. He was in a windy area and the wind blew from the north though they had anticipated winds from the south so he had to scare his mother with tales of running down a mountain trying to avoid smoke walls coming right at him. He was on the top of amountain without a radio and earplugs to chainsaw and never heard the warning. I love that he is loving his job but I need him not to share with me anymore.

Tanner is finally home from his month long trip to Califiornia. He visited his best friend for what was supposed to be a week and then decided to stay until his money ran out. What a teenager!

Madisyn is at girls camp and will then be heading to Georgia to stay with Ryan and Janell for 10 or 12 days and is so excited she can hardly contain herself. They have planned some amazing events for her and I am jealous!

People keep sending me emails wondering how they can access my humor articles online and I have found no such link to my weekly humor section so I will try to remember to paste them in here. Here is this weeks article (actually it will not be in the paper until Wednesday so this is a preview. I may get in trouble for this but here goes!):

Please enjoy the Silence While Your Party is Reached by Shelley Cleveland:
I have a bittersweet relationship with cell phones. I feel I need one but I own the basic, freebie, no frills model. I am the person who needs a phone to call people. I don�t care if it can take your picture (though I have 26 pictures at the present time). I don�t really need it to text anyone (though I use that feature more now than my calling minutes). I don�t care if it has a full keyboard or can talk to me in twelve different languages. I just want to talk to people on my phone. The feature that makes me most insane at the moment is the music I get to listen to while I wait for someone on the other end to answer.
Teenage phones are the worst culprits. The lady with the pleasant voice instructs me to �Please enjoy the music while your party is reached� and then proceeds to unnerve me with �music� screaming obscenities I can barely decipher or yelling their rap about their sweet ride and delicious babe into my ear. I realize that I only have to listen for about eight seconds but it pains me, especially when the phone belongs to my oldest son who refuses to answer my calls so I get to listen to the same eight seconds twenty times in a row until I wear him down and he responds.
The baby boomer generation thinks they are cool just by having had the knowledge of how to get the song on their phone in the first place. This �cool factor� is quickly diminished when, after the initial message to sit back and relax ends, Barry Manilow informs me the Copacabana is indeed the hottest spot north of Havana. This song is used in Sydney, Australia malls to deter teenage vagrants from loitering. Enough said.
I do hear the occasional song I feel someone put real though into. My friend Donna has Blondies, �Call me� which always makes me smile. My son has a ringtone dedicated just to my incoming calls. Sounds sweet until you hear it. Out comes Queen�s, Bohemian Rhapsody declaring, :�Momma, just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he�s dead�.� I guess I should be flattered that I was mentioned but, somehow, not so much.
My least favorite rings come from the people who think they are clever enough to create their own. They are not. At least one friend from every contact list on the planet has the �pretend you just answered� trick up their sleeve. Boy, oh boy, that one never gets old. I could listen to them say, �Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? HA tricked ya, leave a message� all day long. I guess it is better than the ones that just tell me I have reached such and such a phone number and then want me to leave a message. I am always so flustered trying to remember if the number I just heard is the one I meant to dial that I don�t dare leave a message in case I am telling a stranger to meet me at noon for lunch at the Garden House.
Everyone knows that person who changes their ring tone to match the season. �Jingle Bells� will always be heard the day after Thanksgiving and �Here comes Peter Cottontail� can be expected some time in March or April. These ring tones are generally selected by women who wear holiday sweaters and vests and have silver bells dangling from their ears for the entire month of December . It is like a package deal. Sadly, that woman would be me if I had a phone capable of ring tone choices. Maybe when it is time for my upgrade. In the meantime, if you call me, please enjoy the plain old ring, ring, ring, while my party is reached.

Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:24 PM CDT

Jourdyn did not get chemo this week because she was in Vegas celebrating the 22nd birthday we never thought she would live to celebrate! She is now in Salt Lake visiting Chase and she will also have her school orientation on Tuesday at Weber State. Hopefully she will be home to get chemo on Wednesday as she missed last time. She will move permanently to Farmington in a couple weeks and start chemo in Ogden at the same time. It will be strange letting her take over her own medical but it is time. It is past time.
Dayton is on a fire in Antimony, Tanner is in California with his friend Sean until Thursday and that leaves us with wuiet little Madi to ourselves for a few days. What a joy! Shelley

Friday, June 19, 2009 11:14 AM CDT

Jourdyn's chemo took a while this week. Her port a cath that is permanently installed under her skin and is the means to disbursing the chemo to the rest of her body, wouldn't work on Wednesday. It would flush fluid in but they could not get it to draw out. They need it to do both or they can't use the line. They put in all kinds of fluid and finally the thing began to work. A small scare, as we have not had this problem for a couple years but the event is now over and she got her chemo.

Jourdyn and I are in Salt Lake right now. I am here to pick up Madisyn from cancer sibling camp in Tooele today and Jourdyn is here to see Chase for her big 22nd birthday weekend. It is technically not until Tuesday but he works so she is here now. I will head home with Madi noday to be home for father's day with Rick but I went to dinner with my parents last night and the three of us had a god time.

Dayton is on a fire right now so we will not see much of him for a bit and Tanner has been working at Brian Head. On a bummer note, someone slashed all four of Tanner's tires the other night and we had to replace them all. No sign of who did it yet but we are posting a $100.00 reward hoping some poor kid will nark someone out. Shelley

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 12:57 AM CDT

Jourdyn is moving to Salt Lake in July! She will be staying with her Aunt Aimee for the first leg of the move while she renews her CNA status. She will then be moving to Farmington and staying with my parents while she attends Weber State University. This will get her closer to school and Chase (mostly Chase if you ask me but nobody's asking me) She is very excited to get on with things.

Chase is taking Jourdyn to Vegas again this weekend and, since they haven't seen each other for TWO WHOLE WEEKS they are planning a whole weekend again. I will pick her up in Salt Lake after I take Madi to cancer sibling camp on Monday.

Life is slow and lazy because of summer and I am glad. I am now a slave to Facebook and so I have been lazy about this site. Jourdyn will get chemo today and we are working on trading her care to McKay Dee in Ogden after this. No small task but it is all working out. Let's not forget mission papers are still floating out there somewhere but they had better hurry or a boy is going to beat them out! Shelley

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:26 AM CDT

We had a terribly sad night last night. Jourdyn's little Chihuahua, Bruiser was hit by a car and killed last night. He was given to her by her Uncle Kris as a gift congratulating her on completing 48 weeks of chemotherapy the first time around. We had Bruiser for 6 years and, though he was given to Jourdyn, he was truly the family pet. There were lots of tears last night and into this morning. Our other two dogs are confused and Roxy has cried all morning, I think she wonders where her brother is.

Jourdyn spent the weekend with Chase and his family. She went to check out Weber State University and will be transferring there in the fall. In the meantime, she will be taking a course at the Davis Applied Technology Center in July so she will be moving in with my parents then and Chase is thrilled to have her just across town rather than across the state. I think he may have more to do with her choice of colleges than she is letting on but he is a great guy so we are not worried.

I am starting to try to let it sink in that she will be leaving. We have spent tons of time together and she is my best little friend but it is time. She is so happy (more happy than I think I have ever seen her) and so she will make the move and I will be happy for her. We do have some medical kinks to work out but I think she will be able to get her chemo at the McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden. We are working on that now. If not, she will Angel Flight home to get it which is not ideal.

Dayton had 30+ hours in his first two days back on the fire crew so the money should come in soon. I plan to confiscate enough money so he can move out during the winter but we will see. Tanner's best friend is moving in with us so there is never a dull moment. My husband teases me that I am a child collector. That may be true. Shelley

Friday, May 8, 2009 2:16 PM CDT

FINALLY...NEW PHOTOS ON THE WHOLE SITE! www.caringbridge.org/ut/jourdyn

Jourdyn went to Salt Lake this last weekend to celebrate her graduation. She also went to meet Chase's family. She was pretty nervous but said that they are great people and she had a really great time. She will not see him this week but will be traveling to Salt Lake on the 15th again to spend more time with him.

Jourdyn got home just in time for more chemotherapy. She did a great job and was back to work right after. She will be glad when the elementary school year ends and she will be down to one job. Still no word on the mission and she and Chase have just decided to wait and see what happens with a call and then see where they are at at that point.

Jourdyn is now trying to plan for a school year in Salt Lake that may not happen with a boy that she may not be with and anticipate a mission call that may not come. How is that for planning for nothing and everything at the same time!

Dayton will be returning to work on Sunday and he is excited to get back on the fire line. I will miss him so much. THough my house has been crowded, he has been such a great help at the house. I have had more odd jobs taken care of this year! Dayton has worked hard to get his body into shape for the fire season and they are not going to recognize his slim self when he goes back to Panguitch.

Tanner is on a parental imposed house arrest until school is over after being a stinker last weekend so he may get to pick up all the jobs that will no longer be completed by Dayton.

Madisyn continues to be a ray of sunshine! Teenage hormonal ray of sunshine but sunshine nonetheless! Shelley

Friday, May 8, 2009 2:16 PM CDT

Jourdyn went to Salt Lake this last weekend to celebrate her graduation. She also went to meet Chase's family. She was pretty nervous but said that they are great people and she had a really great time. She will not see him this week but will be traveling to Salt Lake on the 15th again to spend more time with him.

Jourdyn got home just in time for more chemotherapy. She did a great job and was back to work right after. She will be glad when the elementary school year ends and she will be down to one job. Still no word on the mission and she and Chase have just decided to wait and see what happens with a call and then see where they are at at that point.

Jourdyn is now trying to plan for a school year in Salt Lake that may not happen with a boy that she may not be with and anticipate a mission call that may not come. How is that for planning for nothing and everything at the same time!

Dayton will be returning to work on Sunday and he is excited to get back on the fire line. I will miss him so much. THough my house has been crowded, he has been such a great help at the house. I have had more odd jobs taken care of this year! Dayton has worked hard to get his body into shape for the fire season and they are not going to recognize his slim self when he goes back to Panguitch.

Tanner is on a parental imposed house arrest until school is over after being a stinker last weekend so he may get to pick up all the jobs that will no longer be completed by Dayton.

Madisyn continues to be a ray of sunshine! Teenage hormonal ray of sunshine but sunshine nonetheless! Shelley

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 4:30 PM CDT

JOURDYN IS NOW A COLLEGE GRADUATE!! She had a wonderful weekend full of events, speakers (including President Monson as the commencement speaker), family and parties. Chase came down for the second weekend in a row. That poor boy is exhausted I am sure from all the time on the road but his finals are also over. He is a pre med student with hopes of becoming a neurosurgeon. (I can barely spell it, let alone be it). They google eyed each other all weekend and she then headed north to meet his parents as well as celebrate her graduation.

It was a hectic weekend but so worth all the work. She is now awaiting the next step. mission papers are still in and they better hurry before this boy sweeps her further off her feet. Either way, she is as happy as I have ever seen her and that makes us all happy.

We have discovered a new love of family support, working toward goals and that we are pretty good at badminton! Congratulations! Shelley

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 3:35 PM CDT

Jourdyn is completely useless to me now! She has a new boyfriend and between him trying to sweep her off her feet and her graduation, she is not focusing on helping me get ready for all the hullabaloo this weekend.

Jourdyn and Chase went to Vegas this weekend and had a great time. He even got her on the Stratusphere which we would never have believed so they bought the photos from the ride. Chase looks like he just saw Santa and Jourdyn looks like her life is flashing before her eyes. They are hysterical!

They stayed with my sister Heidi and she confirmed that Jourdyn and Chase had a great time. He is coming back down for her graduation weekend and she is counting the minutes until his return. It is great seeing her so wrapped up in someone that is returning the emotion. He is so cute to her and she said that she had forgotten what it was like to be treated so great. She hasn't seen that since high school.

Jourdyn will still get chemo on Wednesday but she is not focusing on it so I dare bet that it will be uneventful and we always hope for that.

Thanks to all of you that have sent cards and well wishes for her graduation. She has worked hard for this and most kids will never understand how hard it was to go to school, work, get chemo and feel its effects and still graduate. We are so proud of her! Shelley

Friday, April 24, 2009 10:57 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo this week and did just fine. She is gearing up for her college graduation next Saturday. She is so excited that she can hardly stand it!

Jourdyn is dating a new boy again. He is from Salt Lake and she did not meet him through the college so she loves that he has no ties to the small town gossip of Cedar. He is a med student who served his mission in Mexico and he is coming down for her graduation with my niece and her fiance (who set the two up). He is also taking her to Vegas tonight for a date, which seems like a really long drive for a date (4 hours from SLC and another 3 from there to Vegas). They were hoping for good weather but it is supposed to rain. (Jourdyn thinks bad weather follows her) Either way, there is plenty to do in Vegas indoors and they are staying with my sister Heidi so, if they need to, they can just hang out there.

It will be a busy week preparing for all the graduation guests but we are so excited for her. Mission papers, a new boy and graduation all at once: She is so fun to be around when the world spins in the right direction for her! Shelley

Friday, April 24, 2009 10:57 AM CDT

Friday, April 17, 2009 10:33 AM CDT

Today is a bitter sweet one for us. April 17th is Dayton's 20th birthday and also marks the 7 year anniversary of Jourdyn's cancer diagnosis. In some ways it feels like yesterday and in other ways it feels like we have been doing this our whole lives.

We are trying to keep the focus on Dayton today because it is meant to be a fun day for him but at the same time, finding that balance of emotions is tough. I am proud of the way all of our kids have handled this last 7 years. When a child gets cancer, a family gets cancer and they are all survivors in their own right.

As for Jourdyn, I know that this is in the back of her mind all day. She too wants this to be Dayton's day but I still need you all to know that this is a landmark day for her as well! I truly never dreamed she would still be here. If you have the time today, take a minute to look back through some random dates in her history on this site (especially around January 2004) and you will feel this same flood of gratefulness at her good health at this time.

To send either of them a wish today: Dayton (435)590-4350 and
Jourdyn (435)327-0350

Thanks, Shelley

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:11 AM CDT

Jourdyn has strep throat this week so she did not get chemo again. This makes two weeks in a row so we hope she is feeling better by next week.

The mission papers took longer to submit than we thought but they are officially at church headquarters now. We know that it could take up to 3 months for an answer, even a "no" but she is trying to be patient.

Jourdyn and the rest of us had great, if not separate, Easter holidays. Tanner also got sick before heading to Farmington so he had to stay home. Rick didn't want to leave him alone so he stayed in Cedar as well. Dayton didn't want to drive without the other two so he stayed too. So, the girls were in one spot and the boys in another but it was still good fun to be with everyone else.

Jourdyn is heading back to SLC this weekend to go to the new temple in Draper with her friend Trevor. They have a great time together and Jourdyn is learning how to take a joke and play a little more so we are glad she is having fun.

Have a great week! Shelley

Thursday, April 9, 2009 3:31 PM CDT

Sorry it has taken me so long to update but the caringbridge site has been changing its author set up and it took a while for me to be able to access the site for updates again.
Luckily, things are great right now. Jourdyn's mission paperwork has been submitted and we are waiting now. THe Stake president said that we should be very patient (like three months patient) because she is a different situation than most normal mission calls. Meanwhile, she is gearing up for graduation on the 2nd of May.
Jourdyn is in Salt Lake right now so she missed chemo yesteday but she is feeling good and ready for the next adventure. Thanks for the continued support! Shelley

Friday, March 13, 2009 1:54 PM CDT

Jourdyn had her final interview with the Stake President on Tuesday night and so we think that her mission paper work has now gone onto the church for review. Hopefully, in a few weeks we will hear from them as to whether she will be allowed to serve or whether we will have to modify the request. She is as happy as can be right now. She is on a spiritual high and loving life. She has a back up plan that is appealing to her as well so it will be a win either way but she is hoping for the mission service. Her interview with the Stake was so positive and they let her know her life was just as it should be at this point and they are happy with her choices. He told her not to judge too harshly if the church brethren didn't feel comfortable with issuing a call. She has done what she needs to do and the Lord knows her heart.
Jourdyn got chemo this week and felt good so we are happy with that. she is working like a dog next week as the rest of the college is taking spring break. She is glad to be getting the hours and had no intentions to hang out with the college crowd during the break. She has kind of moved on from SUU (except for her graduation) and is more focused on the next phase of her life right now. It has been a great week! Shelley

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 12:26 AM CST

Well, Jourdyn finished all her mission paperwork last night, she has a final appointment with the bishop and the stake president on Sunday and the papers will be submitted! She is pretty excited but knows that it will be a long road ahead before the church approves of this plan. We hope they hurry as she has a boy hot on her heels asking her how badly she wants to go on a mission. She is pretty focused and I don't think he is going to persuade her not to serve but i would still like her to get this show on the road. Super nice boy, just bad timing.

Jourdyn has an ear infection right now so I am not sure if chemo is in the plan for today. Probably not however, she did not get it last week so we will have to see.

The paper work for this mission was so hard to fill out. There was not one question where we could write, "not applicable" on the medical forms. She had an answer on every line and they had to be supported with medical documentation. Try finding paperwork on everything she has had done in the last 7 years. It was quite an amazing walk down memory lane. She has been through so much and so deserves to tell the world why, in spite of trials, she knows who her Heavenly Father is. What a great kid! Shelley

Monday, February 16, 2009 8:56 PM CST

Jourdyn has everything ready to turn in to the bishop for her mission except the signed papers from her doctor and they are taking a while because there is alot of information to over and not scare the church so he is wording things very carefully. We hope they will be done this week. We took a pile of medical information that went from the floor up past Jourdyn's knees and paired it down to about 50 pages to send with her paper work. Even that many pieces may freak them out but we have to be honest with them.
Jourdyn has spent the weekend sicker than a dog. We thought that we were going to have to send her to the hospital last night because her fever sat around 103 all day and she topped out at 104.1 before finally coming down. He doctor met her at his office to start her on antibiotics and that is what they would have done for her at the hospital anyway. Today she is regular flu achy and her chest hurts much less so we hope that she is on the mend but she has a cough that sounds like a seal is in the next room.
Lukily we all had the day off today to get everyone well (Rick was sick as well and took the day off to recover) Back to the grind tomorrow. I would imagine that they will hold chemo this week while she recovers. Shelley

Monday, February 9, 2009 11:24 AM CST

Well, one more hurdle out of the way. Jourdyn went to get her doctor to sign her mission papers and, when he heard about them through his nurse, his initial comment was, "Is she out of her damn mind?" All this did for Jourdyn is let her know that she was needing to gear up for a fight.
He told her that she needed kidney testing: She got it and passed it. He told her she needed a scan: she scheduled it. He told her she couldn't get chemo on Wednesday and would need to get it later in St. George. She made sure that the nursing staff heard her when she basically let them know that "I have finished school, I have nothing but time on my hands and I will sit at this office with these papers everyday until she broke her doctor down and he signed them. She didn't have to work that hard.
On Friday, she and I went to her chemo appointment in St. George. The doctor said he was running late with new patients and would not be able to talk to her after. She told them that she would leave and go to lunch but she would return so they needed to call her when he was finished. About an hour later, she got the call and we returned, ready for a fight. Dr. Lemon told her he had been thinking very hard about this. He weighed the options of stopping chemo altogether and see what happened against continuing with the present treatment. He didn't like stopping so he decided on her same treatment. Then he talked about her scan. He said that every time she gets one, we pay a fortune to find out that they see "no visible signs of lymphoma" because the scans can't see microscopic disease and hers doesn't scan well. HE decided no scan (great news!) THen he pulled out the mission papers. He said that he had thought alot about them and decided that she could get her treatment somewhere else just as easy as from him. He told her that, as long as she stayed in the United States, he would sign the papers!
Jourdyn started crying and hugged her doctor and told him thank you so much and cried all the way out of the office. I am sure that people thought she got terrible news in there but she was just so thankful he finally gave in. She was amazed that he said anywhere, not just Utah. This makes it much easier to get the church on board but that will still be a huge obstacle. If it is meant to be, it will happen. We never thought it would get this far. Dentist appointment tomorrow, pick up the signed papers from the doctor at this weeks chemo on Wednesday and then they are ready to turn in! Shelley

Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:06 AM CST

Jourdyn is receiving chemo today rather than on Wednesday. The doctor was worried because her kidney function levels have been higher than he would like for a few weeks so he has held chemo until she saw a nephrologist again. She went the very nexr day to a new doc and he said that her kidney was just fine. Unfortunately, he did not send on the report of the all clear to her oncologist and they wouldn't let her get chemo until they got the report. Since her doc will be out of town next week and she has already missed two weeks waiting, it would be 4 weeks before she got chemo again and we were not comfortable waiting that long between doses. I got on the horn, lit a few fires under people and now she will get treatment today.
We did happen to mention to her oncologist that she will be bringing in paper work for him to sign off on for the mission. He looked at me for a full minute with an "are you out of your damn mind" look on his face so we know that he will be her greatest obstacle where this mission is concerned.
Jourdyn is bound and determined that this can work. If she listened to doctors every time they told her she could not do something she would never have finished high school, never started college, never worked a job and most importantly, would have died 4 years ago. While we value their assistance, we never feel that any of them are the last word. It may be a battle but if this mission is meant to be then it will all work out.
We found out that the Prophet will be the speaker at Jourdyn's college graduation in May. Unfortunately, because of the community interest in the speaker, each graduate will only be issued 3 tickets. I think if the community wants to hear the prophet speak, they can go to conference, He is here to talk to the graduates and their families. I am going to try my hardest to acquire enough tickets that at least her grandparents can all attend with her. They will all get to see her walk, just not all attend the speaker before hand. We will see. Shelley

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 1:20 PM CST

Well, here is the big news. Jourdyn had an interview with our bishop and Stake President and has been given permission to submit papers to serve a mission! We thought that her medical alone would make this impossible let alone her divorce. The brethren are aware of the circumstances surrounding both events and have shared them with the powers that need to be concerned and they are all so impressed by the way she handled both situations.
Now, clearance by them is not clearance for a mission, just clearance to try. They have already spoken to doctors with the mission department who feel that they would not send their child out with her history. On paper, Jourdyn looks really bad. Just filling out the "past surgeries" section would scare away most people. I would have been scared away if I was on the committee without seeing her in action. The plan is to try and let that happen. She will submit papers like everyone else, knowing that on the first try, she will very likely be told no. They will then petition to have her serve a service mission where there is less walking, etc. and ask for her to meet with the powers that be herself and let them see that she looks like any other girl her age. Once they see that she is not this sickly thing, we hope that she will be assigned somewhere like the church history center or museum, etc. She could still get her treatment each week if she were in Salt Lake but I guess she could really get it anywhere.
We know that this is a long shot but, the bishop was so great with her. He asked her if she would serve and she said yes. He told her that, though the church brethren may say no, the Lord had recorded her answer and her desire to do as she is asked will be enough. It is the same whether or not she actually gets to go. So now, we leave it in the Lord's hands. Again! She wants to make sure that this is a decision being made by the Lord and not by doctors. So now we wait. We wait and know that she is ready, worthy and excited. If they say no, then we will apply for nursing schools and get on with getting on!
It is amazing! The Lord does truly work in mysterious ways. Who could have predicted 4 years ago this would even be a possibility for her? What a life she is leading! We are so proud of her either way! Shelley

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 12:33 AM CST

Jourdyn met with her department counselor several times because she was sure that she had enough credits to graduate with a degree before heading onto the nursing world of schooling. Each time she told Jourd that she didn't have the right credits.
Jourdyn finally sat down and figured it out herself. She got an appointment with the school counseling office and they went through all of her credits (84 to this point). Of course they said that she had enough and had enough a year and a half ago. No use crying over spilt milk as the extra credits she took were really not "extra" but rather classes required before entering a nursing program. Needless to say, the man was impressed that she had accomplished all this while being in treatment all 4 years. Though she has missed the deadline for walking in May, the counselor said that "If I have to write a personal letter and follow through for you myself, we will see that we make this happen for you." She began to cry she was so happy and I could barely understand most of her conversation.

Other exciting things are in the works for Jourdyn but she would like so see what happens before I blab them on the internet so I will wait.

I am so proud of her! The only thing that has kept her going for the largest part of this cancer journey was her desire to remain in school. She has met that goal and it is so major for her that she can hardly talk about it! Congratulations Jourdyn! Shelley

Monday, December 15, 2008 7:00 PM CST

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you all had a fun night and are looking forward to g\a great New Year!

Jourdyn completed all her classes and is now looking to nursing school. She may have to take one more math class but she is wanting to go and live in Salt Lake. Life here in Cedar is not the pace that she would like and has been offered a place to live with my niece and her amazing husband. She is trying to work out all the bugs to make this plan happen. We will see. Between school, a new job and chemo (lets not forget that!) She has alot of bugs to work out! She is thinking of asking her cancer doc if she can go to chemo once every other week and just see how it goes. Then she would come home to get it, see us and head back. He was out of town for chemo this week so she will ask next Wednesday.

Jourdyn and Ryan had fun last night after she finished an amazing waitressing shift at Pizza Factory. I believe she said has an over $200.00 tip night and was fired up about it!

She is dating a few people at the time and I think this move to SLC will help to be on her own for a bit. She has always had a boy of some sort in her life and needs some Jourdyn time for a while. Luckily, they are all nice guys (not an abuser in the bunch!) so she has some time to have fun before making any big changes.

We are enjoying our time off but it is going way too fast. Christmas was a riot and so fun to be with all our families. We are truly blessed! Shelley

Monday, December 8, 2008 2:51 PM CST

Jourdyn got chemo this week just fine but they lost another friend at the clinic this last week. This one was made harder by the fact that it was the mother of one of Jourdyn's friends from high school. The woman had cancer for the same amount of time as Jourdyn so it was hard for her not to see similarities between them.

Jourdyn has been having a lot of dating fun lately. She went with a boy in Salt Lake and then another here in Cedar who took her on an exciting date as he is a tow truck driver and was on call when there was a big accident and she decided to ride along with him. It gave them a lot of time to talk and they had a good time in the end playing games with another couple.

Okay, we are sick of fielding the same questions over and over. Though I have been forbidden by my husband to mention his name in our home, I will say it once here. No more calls, emails and texts. Yes: we know Shawn is engaged. No: Jourdyn does not care (she says the great thing about divorce is that she doesn't have to care). Yes: She wishes them luck. No: (and weirdly this one was asked by a member of his family and not the one they might think) She nor I do not feel the need to warn her or her family. It is strange how interested people seem to be in her reaction to all this. I think it is a bit weird that she has no reaction but she has truly moved on.

Finals week so we are all trying to stay out of her way until her head stops spinning in case she starts spitting pea soup as well! Shelley

Monday, December 1, 2008 3:39 PM CST

It has been a great holiday weekend! We got to Aimee and Blaine's house on Wednesday night and got up bright and early and started helping a bit with the dinner but Aimee was so prepared that we mostly did the craft projects that I brought for all the girls to work on while the boys went out and killed pumpkins. We ll watched alot of football and ate way too much. I waited to goto my parents until Friday and Rick went and visited his brother Nathan in the hospital. He had surgery and we are hoping that he is released today.

At my mom's house, it was eating round 2! We went to bed at a reasonable time because we got up so early to go shopping with maniacs. We hot tubbed, ate some more, hot tubbed again and slept. Quite a lively bunch. We all got up on Saturday and took the new frontrunner train to the Gateway Mall and shopped again. Mom and dad were in wheel chairs and I think felt like they were being dragged along to places they didn't really want to go but we sure enjoyed having them there. My sister Kim was so sick for the whole holiday so we never got to see her much but spent alot of time with Heidi and Jimmy.

Jourdyn met up with the old gang she hung with in Sandy and they had fun catching up then she met up with the boys that she used to hang out with and had more fun. She went to church with them, played games with them all night and then convinced me to stay until 5:00 Monday morning so she could hang with them all night. Needless to say, she was no company at all on the ride home because she slept the entire way but had a blast with the boys and they are now planning trips down to see her and she is trying to think of a way to move to Salt Lake now.

We all have so much to be grateful for. I looked around and marveled that i still have all four of my children here. 4 years ago I would never have thought that would be the case. How truly blessed we are! Shelley

Monday, November 17, 2008 3:34 PM CST

Jourdyn and I were shopping in St. George on Friday night when she got a call from Pam Madsen. She coordinated Jourdyn's make a wish trip and she was asking if Jourdyn would sing the National Anthem the next morning at one of the wishes being granted in town. A little boy hadwished for a baseball field to be in his backyard and so the foundation, along with the Canyon View High Baseball team, put a field of dreams in his backyard with scoreboards and dugouts and everything. Jourdyn didn't have much time to prepare bu tshe did a good job and the little four year old was thrilled with the whole event. They had the high school marching band there as well as an announcer and a man videoing the whole event who is a national cameraman for Nascar events. They had a Coke vending truck and had popcorn, hotdogs, drinks and brownies for everyone to line up to the window and order (free of charge of course) It was adorable and brought back good memories of our Make a Wish journey.

Jourdyn is the hero of her math class. After a whole semester of a good teacher with bad teaching methods, Jourdyn asked people in her class to join her to talk to the department head. Nobody would come with her so she braved it alone. Next class time, the teacher was doing things completely different and there was an advisor there to observe the class. People came up left an right to thank her. It took courage but that is what she is made of.

Shelley

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 11:22 AM CST

It was a busy weekend but a good one. It was my friend Lisas daughters wedding this weekend. I took work off on Friday to help set up. The place looked great and the wedding was such fun. We danced (Jourdyn and KC Olson had us laughing so hard with their mad dance skills) and visited all night. Tessa and Kyle looked like they were having a good time, the crowd was heavy and the food spectacular. It was such a fun night and, though we were exhausted after tearing everything down afterward, it was a great event.

While I was attending the temple on Saturday, Jourdyn and Rick were attending the funeral services for Coach Hodson. It was tough for her but said that it was such a nice service, that his girls did an amazing job and that the size of the crowd bore testimony of everyone's love for Steve and his family.

Jourdyn had to give her fireside on Sunday night. There is a point in the program that she talks a bit about Coach. It was very difficult for her and I was proud of the job that she did and the crowd could feel her love as well as her loss.

Jourdyn got chemo this week and she talked to everyone the whole time about HER Coach. It made the time go by and I also think she is feeling a sense of responsibility to carry on his positive attitude. She filled in for him on Wednesday.

We are all back to work and school. That is escept for Dayton. He is sleeping until 1:00 and he swears that today is the last day! He is getting my dishes done and some of my laundry so I try not to complain.

It has been an up and down emotional roller coaster this weekend but we are so glad we participated in it all.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 11:36 AM CST

Jourdyn's beloved Coach Steve Hodson passed away last night. As we told Jourdyn the news, she collapsed in a puddle of tears on her bathroom floor. She sobbed and sobbed and we didn't even try to make it better for her. She loves that man so much and she is entitled to her tears right now.

Coach has been there for Jourdyn from the very beginning. He gave her the motto "Attitude is Everything" that she has lived by for the last 6 1/2 years. They have held each other up in tough times, reminding each other that this thing is beatable. He has stood like a beacon on the hill for her and she has always looked to him through this cancer journey. I know that she is feeling such a loss right now and we look to his wonderful family and pray for them. They are close and will hold each other up.

Jourdyn visited Coach on Friday at the hospital. They shared their love for each other and he told her that she knew how to do this thing, now go and finish it for him. What an example of selfless courage. Even in the end, he knew that she needed his words of wisdom to carry on. We will forever be in his debt for the gift that he gave Jourdyn: Hope! We love you Coach!

Friday, October 31, 2008 12:02 AM CDT

Jourdyn got qualified for financial assistance through the hospital this week and she has officially breathed a sigh of relief! He bills are fairly manageable now and that is great. She also won a battle with her insurance company this week and they paid bills finally that they should have while she was separated but still married. After more than a year of me becoming one with the customer service rep, they finally saw things clearly and paid in full! (and they were so nice to work with, Go Tricare!)

Jourdyn cleaned out her jewelry box in preparation for Halloween and found so many treasures it was like Christmas! It pays to clean occasionally. She found earrings that we had all been accused of stealing, a man's watch that she gave her dad and several old gift cards that I am sure she will spend before they have a chance to get cold in her hand. She went as a hippie to a party last night so she was fairly bedazzled.

After school today she will take a trip to St. George to visit Coach Hodson. He is very ill right now and it is important to both of them to have a chance to see each other again. I just don't think that anyone has any idea how influencial that man is on my child. He gave her the motto "attitude is everything" when she was first diagnosed that has carried her through some rough times. One day, when Jourdyn was in transplant and so ill that she couldn't talk because of the mouth sores and radiation burns, Coach called the hospital out of the blue. I explained the situation and he said, "put the phone up to her ear, she doen't need to talk, just listen." He proceeded to give her the "Hod pep talk" telling her to hang on, cheering her. Tears ran down her face as she just nodded every time he paused. He had a transplant of his own so he knew how she was feeling, physically and mentally and their bond is strong. OFf and on for the past 6 years, they check in on each other a couple times a month and are each others biggest fans. It is her turn again and she loves him more than you will ever know.

Shelley

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 2:24 PM CDT

Jourdyn is getting chemo today. She had felt a lump last week and her counts were too low but I think that she will be good to go today. No more sign of the lump so sorry about the scare!

Jourdyn and her friend, Justin, have been spending alot of time together and she is having a fun time though she insists they are just friends. She is planning to fail her math class because her first year teacher is an idiot (the entire class average is 42%) That lets me know that the teacher isn't doing her job. I told her to complan to the head of the department and a group from the class have an appointment.

Dayton is still on fires and may stay through the end of the month. We see him most weekends and it is good to have everyone home again (for a while!)

Madi has her 13th birthday tomorrow. I can hardly believe that I missed her 6th and 8th birthday parties doing this chemo stuff. No wonder it feels like we have been doing this forever... we have! Party to follow on Saturday.

Tanner is glad to be driving again though he never seems to have money for gas. I think he is skipping lunch and feeding the money to his car every day then coming home and eating everything! Oh well, as long as they are both getting full! Shelley

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 1:42 PM CDT

Jourdyn did not get chemo last week because her counts were too low. We were a little concerned about this because she also felt a lump in her neck that same week. We are looking forward to getting her into the doctors today to see if her counts are back to normal and, if not, what is going on. I think that she is fine but we will let the professionals handle this one,

Jourdyn is glad that she had so few classes this semester as her math class is killing her. She does have a friend in there that she met way back in her junior year in high school when she went to GOvernors Honors Academy and his name is Jordan also so that makes it a bit confusing but they both hate their teacher and that is enough in common to hang out.

Dayton is in his final two weeks of fire fighting and then he will move home. He decided that he could burn through much more money if he didn't get an apartment (actually, his buying the car sort of sealed that deal).

Tanner has his driving privledge back but he has been banned (by the school) from driving anywhere on district property so he has to park at the seminary building or out on the street and walk down. Oh well, good exercise and better than a ticket.

Madi is gearing up for her big 13th birthday bash! No sleep over this year as I learned my lesson last year but still a party and she is so excited she has made a count down chart that she tears off every day to tell how many more days until the big event. She does teenager so well, the crankiness and back talking is so her! Shelley

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 2:33 PM CDT

After a wonderful weekend watching conference, we felt humbled by the many messages that were shared on standing fast through the stormes of life, dealing with tragedy, preparing for hard times, etc. It made us feel that we are not alone in our struggles and that everyone is going through something. Not that we would wish any of this on another, but it helps us to realize that we need to step outside only a little way to see others whose suffering we would never want to have to experience and turn around and be grateful for the trials that are ours.

Jourdyn got very brave this week and let her friend Kristen cut her hair! She was feeling a bit in a rut and it looks darling and she loves it! Good thing, as her hair takes forever to grow and she will have this style on her head for the next year at least before it is long enough to change again. I will try to take a photo and get it on the site. She also colored it dark brown and it suits her.

My "other daughter from another mother", Brittney came through town on Sunday with her husband, Andy (whom I had never met) and their little boy, Boston (from the way his dad was dressed, we may believe that name came from a Red Sox fan) and it was so good to see her. She has a little pregnant tummy and I tried to make her son call me grandma just so I could call Marci and report it but, no such luck. (I guess I will have to stick to all the other "grandkids" that I have stolen from other people). Dick and Marilyn and Cierra came for the weekend to watch conference as well and we had a really fun tme visiting with them and seeing all the geneology that Dick has compiled on his family. It is very impressive and we are fortunate that we will be benefitting from all his hard work.

Dayton came home over the weekend and, though we only saw him at the homecoming game (which we won!) and for a few seconds here and there at the house, it was still good to have my boy home for a minute.

Jourdyn did have terrible leg cramps last night and I heard her crying at 11:00 and then again at around 2. I know they must have been hurting because she had a date last night and ended up cancelling because of her legs. They seem to be getting worse again but she refuses to go get the scan that she needs so we are not sure what the problem is. SHe got on the PCN network through the state but they do not over PET scans so she is still not getting the help she needs.

I watched a program on PBS about the uninsured in America and sat on the couch sobbing until every other living thing, including the dogs, had left me alone in my sorrow. It is such a crime to watch people who have always been hard workers, have always contributed to the system and then, because of circumstances beyond their control, are dropped from policies, let go from jobs and left to fend for themselves against a system that caters to those who have. Okay, soap box over! Shelley

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 2:01 PM CDT

Now that the weekend is over, I can let you all in on the big secret. My mom;s birthday was this weekend and we had a surprise party for her at their cabin this weekend. Every one of my siblings and every grandchild was in attendance and she was totally surprised! We spent three days together, working on the cabin and chatting. My brother Scott has worked so hard to get it al completed and, though there were still things to get done, we had a super fun time.

Dayton was on a fire but got off just in time to come with us. The night before we were to leave, his crew got called to Houston to help with hurricane relief and, though I know he wanted to go on the adventure so badly, he chose to come with us to my mom's party. What a great kid!

Jourdyn is working hard in school and has some new good friends that she has met through classes and study groups. Her chemo is today and that will be good. SHe was denied medicaid because they say that her condition is expected to improve (we wouldl love that but highly unlikely) so she continues to pay for everything herself. She is on top of things though and is feeling good!

Maadi and Tanner had SEOP's this week. Madi is getting a 4.0 and Tanner is working hard but playing harder at this point. He lost his car yesterday for pulling the e brake in the school parking lot and has been banned from driving to school for the rest of the year (by the principal) but he could have had a wreckless driving ticket so it could have been worse.

All is well at our house. I just submitted my next article to the paper and I am glad to be ahead for a change! Shelley

Monday, September 22, 2008 3:06 PM CDT

Jourdyn is doing great but had a hard time at chemo this week. The woman across from her started to cough, proceeded to vomit and that turned to pure blood and her eyes rolled back and she was out and unresponsive. She didn't speak english and her duaghter had stepped out so nobody could talk to her at the time. Then her heart stopped and, right there in front of Jourdyn (because there was no time to do anything else) they used the defibrilator paddles and caled 911. They came to get her but by then they had used the paddles multiple times and Jourdyn was crying and started to hyperventilate. They got her calmed down but called me to make sure she was okay later. She went straight to class but was pretty shaken up. She was also questioning her ability to be a nurse when she reacted that way. The nursing staff knew that she would be feeling this way and made sure she knew that they were all shaken by the event and that it took them several years of work to get "used" to seeing events like that. We have not heard the woman's condition but Jourdyn will hopefully see her at chemo next week.

We haven't heard from Dayton for several days now and are trying to remember that he is on a fire and may not be able to reach us. We have left many messages telling him to call the second he gets service. If I call to check on his location and status with the Forest service, he will kill me because he will get teased and has told me that "If I am burned alive, someone will call you, otherwise, I am fine". Quite the comforting words for a mother to sleep by

For those who have not heard, I am writing the humor column for the Cedar City Review and the Hurrican Journal. You can go to cedardityreview.com to read my first article, "UG BUG BABIES" if interested. My kids hate me using all their embarassing stories and my friends have sworn they will kill me if they see their names in print. Go figure. Shelley

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 10:48 AM CDT

Quite a week at the Cleveland's house. Jourdyn is fine though having a very hectic time. She didn't have enough on her plate between chemo, school and 2 work jobs so she was just called as the 2nd counselor in her Relief Society presidency. She is now trying to find quiet moments in her life to pray about calllings for the girls and it is very humbling to see her taking this responsibility so seriously. She is really considering each girl and it is draining to call on the Spirit in this fashion.

Tanner, on the other hand was channeling someting entirely differently when he beat the living tar out of a classmate last Friday and is now suspended from school. It all started when Tanner was defending a helpless baby bat and the boy interferred, A name was exchanged and the boy called on Tanner. Tanner laughed it off and thought all was well until two class periods later when the boy came up behind Tanner and shoved him. Tanner told him that he didn't want to do that and he did it again and then Tanner plowed his field. I have always told my kids they should never start a fight but they had a right to defend themselves. Tanner went a little farther than just protecting himself, as he kept pummeling the kid long after he was out of the fight. By the time I got there the kid was swollen, bleeding and bruised. Tanner did get a black eye from one hit. The boy was totally honest about starting the fight and his mom was more than apologetic, offering to fix Tanner's glasses and giving Tanner a hug before she left telling him that she wished they had met under different circumstances because he seemed like such a nice boy. Both boys are now spending their days at the truancy center and hating it. Too bad, you play, you pay!

I had a fun week as well. I will begin writing the humor column for the Cedar City Review and the Hurricane Journal this week. I am supposed to write about my family and life experiences in a humorous light and i thought that couldn't be too hard so I sent in a sample and they hired me. Now I can't seem to think of one thing that is that funny. Those of you who really know me, please send me memory ideas that are funny. I am once a month funny and not really every other week funny and I may run out of material by week 6. (Come one Britt Stevens, I know you have at least 2 I can think of right off hand, remember when I turned your hair pink,,, it feels funny now, maybe not then!)

Dayton came to visit and is now back on a fire. He really came to have me do his laundry then decided he would go to the laundromat and then discovered that, for many more dollars more, they will wash it for you. He wasted $45.00 on a few loads of wash but still felt it was worth it as it freed up his whole day off!

What a week, nothing funny or out of the ordinary that I can see! Shelley

Thursday, September 11, 2008 12:28 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday and she has counts low enough that they wanted to give her a peupogen shot but they decided to see if the counts came back up on their own. Then Jourdyn mentioned that her brother had hiis blood drawn to see if he had mono. The doctors were not thrilled that she be around him. She had a date last night and so she was not home to be too close to him anyway. Luckily the test came back negative. However, the doctor said that he did get some positive test results yesterday so it is going around the high school right now BEWARE!

Dayton stopped in last night just as Jourdyn's date was ending. She was mad that he drove up because it ended her date sooner than she hoped but I was glad to see him so he could look after his dog for a bit.

Madisyn did an amazing job raising funds and gathering items for the Fain family who lost their home in a fire on Labor Day weekend. Madi arranged for trucks, vans, flat beds and trailers. She made several hours of reminder calls to donors who signed up on her lists and, when it was all over, she had collected enough furniture to fully refurnish their home (and then some) clothes by the van full and almost 5000 in cash. The neighbor of theirs said that they actually have more now than before the fire, which is great by me. They hugged Madi every time they passed her in the halls of the home they are renting and can not get over the fact that she is only twelve years old. I was so proud of her this week!

Come see our lawn. Rick has done his traditional decorating and we have SUU carved in the lawn at this moment. It is amazing to watch him work his lawn magic! Shelley

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

I have finally added new photos!

Boy, it has been an eventful week around our neighborhood! We were having a barbecue on Saturday when the little girls of Andre and Tonya came in to day that our neighbor's house was on fire. We sent dayton our to investigate and the girls came back in to say that Dayton and Austin were on their way over to the fire. We jumped up and, sure enough, a house a few blocks down was fully engulfed in fire! The people left a BBQ grill on too close to the house on a windy day after they left for a neighbors house to eat. The family rented the house and had no homeowners insurance so they lost everything. Because of some sort of miscommunication with the Cedar City fire department, it took 30 minutes for a fire unit to arrive, though 6 police cars were on the Scene. Madisyn decided on Sunday that she was going to try to get donations for the family as part of her Young Women's good works value projects. It has snowballed into a major project. She has already taken 3 vens full of goods to them, monetary donations she has collected and, on Thurday, has 4 trucks and trailers lined up to pick up furniture and supplies from 50 additional houses! She has really run with this and the family (8 year old boy, 6 year old girl, 12 month old boy, dad and mom, who is pregnant with identical TWIN boys due in November!) has been so appreciative of all her help! She commented last night how good it felt to be good. I love that girl of mine!

Jourdyn is at chemo right now and will head to her lab after and then to work. As usual, her schedule is full but she is enjoying school and is figuring out her next step in life at this moment.

Dayton was home for a few days but is back on fire pay and he suspects he will be for the rest of the summer. It has been a slow fire season and, now that most of the workers are back in school, the fires are picking up so he has lots of work on his plate. He tried to get the police to let him jump on a garden hose at the house fire but they were not impressed with his G3 fire status and told them to back up.

Tanner has a new girlfriend and she is a cute girl. We will see what comes of this but he is happy and anytime you have a pleasant 16 year old around is a good day!

Rick is busy as always and I am hanging in there! I wish that I could get up to see my parents more often, as neither of them is feeling wonderful but it just isn't possible with work and gas prices. I talk to them daily and have enjoyed some really great conversations with both of them lately! Shelley

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 11:33 AM CDT

Jourdyn is all better and has now infected the rest of the family with her cough and her runny nose and sore throat.. I have hacked my way through two days of work now and hopefully start to improve tomorrow.

Dayton was fighting a fire in the panhandle of Idaho on the Canadian border this last week. He has cut down a rather large tree (about as big around as a small car) when the log rolled backward and broke his wrist. Being Dayton, he kept working and then went to the doctors the next day. Now he is on his mandatory time off and will go get it looked at. They put it in a soft cast in Idaho so he could keep working but we will see what our doctor says.

My mother hurt her back lifting a television of all things and has not recovered from it. Her strength has been depleted but she is staying positive. Dad fell a few weeks ago and is still recovering from his fall as well. They are quite a pair taking care of each other right now. Their ward has been so god to look after their needs right now ans my sister Kim is running herself ragged making sure they are taken care of.

School at the college is in full swing and so far so good for Jourdyn. Math, as usual is killing her but we will wait and see! Shelley

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 2:14 PM CDT

Jourdyn has been super sick for the last 5 days. For 3 days, her temperature hovered between 101 and 103.5 degrees and we were becoming worried. The doctor says that she has a sinus infection and an upper respiratory infection. Her chest hurts more than normal but he says it is because her one lung is infected and trying to still do all the breathing work. She is now on the mend but is very tired. She is back to work, as am I, at the elementary school. He college classes (all two of them) start next Monday. She only has two because they are all that she can take (besides a Chemistry class that cannot be taken at the same time) before applying to the nursing programs around the state. She has taken an extra math class so that she will meet the requirements for all nursing programs in Utah.

Dayton is fighting a fire on the Idaho/ Canada border and says that the terrain is so steep that they are climbing using both their feet and HANDS! He is tired but on fire pay so he is motivated to keep going. He is also motivated (or better be) by his brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee payment. He bought it and hours later was called onto the fire so he had to leave the jeep with me. He checked the mileage and told me it had better look the same when he got home. Funny how they are about abusing their own vehicles!

Everyone is back in school; Madi in 7th grade and Tanner in 11th and all is well! Shelley

Monday, August 11, 2008 5:57 PM CDT

Sorry it has been forever since I updated but our internet has been down and it still is. I am writing from the library. I was going to update pictures but that will have to wait.

Jourdyn is doing well. She still gets chemo every Wednesday and will head back to work on Thursday, as will I. She and Kyle finished their fishing trip and then headed to Salt lake for a couple days at Lagoon with their friends Riley and Amber. My dad was helping Amber with her engagement ring last night and she is so excited. Kyle's sister got married on Friday so Jourdyn spent the night at receptions. She has also spent a little time with Zak again. I try not to ask so I am not sure what is going on there and she is not offering information. I guess no news is good news.

Dayton bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo today and I think he doesn't really need to drive because he has been flying all day. It is a "sweet ride" and I hope he enjoys it for the next 5 years at least. He will either be working at an oil field or a mining operation this winter. We will have to see. Right now he is on a day off from fires but he will head back tomorrow.

Madi got her schedule and is excited to start middle school and Tanner just returned from a 23 group concert in California and is registering for school tomorrow.

Rick is still working on his mural in St. George but will hopefully be finished soon. He turned 44 on Saturday and celebrated by working, as usual.

The little family that was staying with us got into an apartment this week so it is very quiet at our house and I miss the little girls who think I am their grandma.

All is well with our family and we have had a busy but short summer! Back to the grind. shelley

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 7:03 PM CDT

Jourdyn did not get chemo today because she and Kyle left on a fishing trip but she will get it later this week. She has finally finished all her medicaid, social security and college paper work and so she is relaxing for the few days until school starts up again.

Dayton is on a fire outside Boise, Idaho and he is glad to be on fire pay again. He will be gone at least two weeks.

I spent the last week with my mom and dad in a gorgeous new condo in St. George. It was good to be with them (and my kids on and off and especially my sister Heidi who I always have a blast with). We talked alot, some about hard topics but mostly I sat and listened to my dad talk about his youth, his schooling, his life and it was such a blessing. I learned things I had never heard before and I treasured this week.

Hopefully, Jourdyn will not hook herself, get too sunburned, drown, have Kyle leave her in the mountains of Navajo Lake or any other adventures that are typical Jourdyn. Shelley

Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:52 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday and did great. Her doctor is filling out his portion of her medicaid application right now and hopefully it will all be completed in the next few days. We are joining my parents in St. George for a few days of fun in the sun. Jourdyn is beinging Kyle for part of the time and her friends Riley and Amber will be coming also so we should have a full house.

Dayton left for a fire in Shoshonne, Idaho last night and they are awaiting their orders today. He is excited because he got called back just as his time off was ending anyway and so he will have two full weeks of uninterrupted fire fighting and that makes him happy!

Tanner is working in Brian Head repairing condos for the winter season so he is enjoying having a little money in his pockets.

School will start in less than a month! The summer has flown by and I am not ready to go back to work yet!

Rick is working on some amazing new drawings for the upcoming Christmas season and has a whole line of Christmas cards available this year. He is doing "Christmas in July" here in Cedar on the 25th if anyone is interested in checking out his wares!

It will be good to see my sister Heidi as well as mom and dad for the weekend. Madi and I just want some more sun and pool time! Shelley

Saturday, July 12, 2008 7:08 PM CDT

It has been a tough few days in the Whitaker family. Since my daughter, brother and father already have cancer, we thought we were pretty well covered. Turns out that we will be adding one more family member to this elite club of ours. My mother, Jan Whitaker, was diagnosed with Leukemia yesterday. My sister Kim, my dad and I were all at the appointment with her when we got the news. As always, our great family has rallied around mom and we are going to stick together as a team. Mom has a rare type of this cancer that there is no real cure for so they are going to treat the symptoms for as long as they can and we will hope for the best. She is doing remarkably well at this point. Her spirits are up and we will take things as they come.

Jourdyn, of course, took this news especially hard and sobbed her little heart out. She was in Cedar working so she did not come up with us. She had a date that night (in fact, she has had more dates this week than their were days) so it occupied her mind but I got calls all day from her.

We just arrived back in Cedar and trying to figure out what has gone on here for the three days Madi and I were gone. Madi went to Lagoon for a few days and had a great time with her friend, Jula.

Dayton is still busy with fires, though no trips to Cali yet and Tanner is working up in Brian Head.

Jourdyn is doing the most dating she has ever done in her life and has finally caught the vision of window shopping before you try on the first thing that comes along. She has two that she quite likes and two that she just has a fun time hanging out with so she is getting the best of both worlds. She has finished her applications with medicaid and social security so now we wait.

Rick has been working on a mural in his cousins house for a few weeks now and he is in St. George working again today. We ahve certainly become two ships that pass in the night lately.

Please keep my mother and the entire WHitaker clan in your prayers! Shelley

Thursday, July 3, 2008 4:45 PM CDT

NEW PHOTOS!

Jourdyn, Tanner and I just got back from Mexico with my parents. Sounds fun huh! We actually went in a car (not as fun now) and we went to have dental work done (I bet you all wish you came) in 116 degree weather (ouch!)
We had an interesting trip and it was so fun but we are glad to be home.
Jourdyn mised chemo yesterday and she also skipped last week so this is two in a row and I am nervous about her missing this much. She will have to make it next week whether she wants to or not.
We have spent the day finishing up the applications for medicaid and social security and our brains are fried now! Jourdyn did not walk in the door until 2:00 this morning from a date with Kyle and so she was very reluctant to get up and work on these applications. I was not going to enjoy them by myself so I got her sorry butt up. 6 hours later and we are finished with what we can do. It is frustrating because we know they are going to deny her anyway. Oh well, so goes life.
My mother had a bone marrow biopsy this morning. They have seen some things on scans that they are not happy with so we are anxiously awaiting the results. We will probably get them next Thursday and I am planning to be in Farmington when she gets the results. We will keep you posted. Jourdyn has a date with a Jason tonight so we will see how that goes. She is dating more than ever and having a blast in the process! It makes her pleasant and that is what we shoot for! Shelley

PS: Dayton is on his 2nd fire of the season. He worked 319 hours this month and 32 in just 2 days so his pay stubs better reflect all that lost sleep!
Madi had a blast at Camp Hobe and learned to Scuba dive. She is planning to get certified before the year is over. She goes to girls camp in July and Georgia in August so she is a busy girl!
Tanner could not wait to get home from Mexico, as he got a new girlfriend just before we left. I have not seen much of him lately!

Friday, June 27, 2008 8:37 AM CDT

Jourdyn had a wonderful time in Las Vegas with her girlfriends! She got to gamble a little and got carded a lot! She basically had to hang her drivers license around her neck to save herself the trouble of getting it out every time she turned around. She did not get chemo this week because of the trip but she will get it next week and she feels pretty good right now. She was thrilled with all the phone calls on her birthday and had a great time so it was worth missing chemo this week.

Dayton was hoping to get on one of the fires in California but they decided to send other workers this time and he was pretty bummed to have to take a turn staying in Panguitch until a new fire broke out in Escalante again (totally different spot than the first one) and he is back on fire pay after being off fires for two whole days.

I have been lounging in a hotel room all week. My friend Lisa teaches classes every summer and I go with her and take advantage of the pool and other ammenities. This year it was handy because I took Madi to camp on Monday and then stayed in Salt Lake and we will go pick her up after Lisa finishes with her classes today.

We hare all heading to Mexico on Monday for a few days and we will be back in time for some chemo this coming week. Shelley

Friday, June 20, 2008 8:52 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo in St. George this week because her doctor wasn't comig to Cedar. He still wanted to see her so she traveled south. No issues and she met a whole new crop of patients down there that she loved visiting with.

Jourd is dating another person in the military right now. We try to stay calm and remind ourselves that not all military folk are psychotic. He just got home from Iraq AFTER serving a mission. They are just at the "hang out" dating point and we hope it stays that way for a long time. I may have a break down if she ever rushes into insanity again! She also has a date set up with an old high school flame that should be fun.

Her interview with Social Security took forever! They wanted to know ever blood transfusion (78) and surgery (19) and doctor's name she had ever seen (are you kidding me!) It took a couple hours extra just to go through it all and I thought she was going to be so ornery after but it almost became comical to her and she went to dinner with friends after.

Speaking of friends, she is going to Las Vegas with a group of them to celebrate her 21st birthday on Monday. I hope she brings her ID since she looks 15. I don't kknow what she thinks she is going to do. She won't gamble and certainly not drink, which are the big draws in Vegas and being 21. I think she is just ready to get a vacation for a bit! hAVE FUN! Shelley

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 0:14 AM CDT

Jourdyn has mouth sores for the first time in about two years. We called her doctor yesterday to let him know and he wants to see her tomorrow in St. George. Hopefully they are nothing major but we will be glad for her to get seen and find some answers.

Dayton is officially on a fire as of yesterday. It is the Corn Creek wildfire located between Panguitch and Escalante. He has worked 45 hours since Sunday (this is only Tuesday) and he is psyched to be on fire pay now. Good thing because he owes me money and I am ready to collect. He will be put on a color country team after this fire and he is on an engine crew this year. Hopefully this will be to his benefit.

Madisyn is sick and going to the doctors tomorrow. If she is not better by Monday, she will not be going to Camp Hobe. She can not get the kids at that camp sick. She is anxious to find out if she will be able to attend.

Tanner is on cloud 9 tonight as his Beloved Boston Celtics (the team he has loved forever) won the championship! Hopefully we can retire the good luck green shirt that is ready to crawl off his body by itself!

Everyone have a good week! Shelley

Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:20 AM CDT

Jourdyn is doing nicely at this point. She went to Chemo last week and weighed 101 pounds, her top weight since rher re-diagnosis. Now she goes this week and weighs 102! She ws pretty excited! We attribute the weight gain to a string of dates that are feeding her lately. She went to Salt Lake to see my dad speak in church and while she was there, hooked up with two old friends, Parry Slagowski and Pete Holmstead. It was fun for them to reminisce and have fun together. She especially liked how handsome Parry got while on his mission. SHe then got home and has hung out lot with her friend, Riley Holman, who got home from his mission last week. They went for ice cream, watched a movie, a soccer game, and a game night last night. This group of kids is a good one and she is having fun hanging out with them.

She did get a letter from the hospital saying that they will no longer cover her medical unless she applies for medicaid (again) and social security (again) and gets notices that they turned her down (again). She is frustrated with this process because they basically make her jump through hoops and then tell her that she is too healthy for their help but if she would like to quit both jobs and school, sit at home and wait to die, they will be able to help her. Whatever! She will play the game and in the end, hopefully one of the sources will continue to help her with her bills. For now, she is working hard and making a lot of money (thanks to all the people in town for the Shakespearean festival and the Utah Summer games).

Dayton is still doing controlled burns but is waiting for a real fire soon (while the rest of the world prays that the wildfires stay away!) Madi and Tanner both competed in the Summer games (soccer) and had a fun time, no medals won this year but they both tried hard and Tanner scored the goal to beat Cedar High's team and that was worth it all! Shelley

Friday, June 6, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Jourdyn got her stitches removed and it hurt more than she thought it would. She gimped around for a day or two, afraid that she would rip it back open if she moved to fast but she is back to just her normal issues now. She got chemo this week and it was no big deal! She is working alot and enjoying her summer. She is heading to SLC tomorrow to hear my dad speak in church as well as have a date night with all her guy friends who just returned from missions in Farmington. This little group has hung out together every time we went to my parents house since they were early teenagers and she is very excited to see "her boys" again. They all have alot of catching up to do.

Tanner is at EFY (especially for youth, not "elderly folks yelling" as Tanner has called it) at BYU this week and has enjoyed himself so much. He has made new friends and is already requesting that we sign him up again next year. It is a great spiritual week for these teenagers and we were so blessed that he could attend.

Madi is busy with summer games soccer and Dayton will be home for a day off from the fire fighting world tonight. He is a good boy and I so look forward to him being home for a minute!

All's well on the home front (other than it is not supposed to SNOW in JUNE but it did here in Cedar yesterday and I am still trying to recover from that episode!) Shelley

Monday, May 26, 2008 12:43 AM CDT

Jourdyn is healinhg up nicely. She will have 48 stitches removed on Tuesday. We did make it to Lake Powelland, besides a few "we have been on this boat too long together" moments, it was a great trip! Jourdyn managed to get in the water a few times (thanks to tegaderm tape and the fact that she weighs less than the rafts that she floated on). We are now back home and starting to enjoy the beginning of summer. Though it is windy and rainy here in Cedar City, it is my 44th birthday today and I am going to celebrate come hell or high water! With our family luck, the high water will come first and THEN hell will follow close behind.

Dayton is back in Panguitch awaiting the beginning of fire season and he is glad that he is no longer low man on the totem pole. He will be on the engine crew this summer for most of the time and on a hose crew the rest of the time.

Jourdyn is ahnging out with friends today and then working tonight and I think the rest of us will just play the memorial day by ear. Hope all is well with everyone! Shelley

Monday, May 12, 2008 3:07 PM CDT

Apparently, mother's day is not a reason to take a medical day off.

After church, I asked Jourdyn if she would like to take a scooter ride. She had never ridden one so, after a short lesson on gas and brake, she got on the scooter and took off. However, she missed the part about taking off the gas when you need to brake. She hit the curb, went head over hills over the handlebars, past a cinderblock retaining wall and headed to the other side of the wall. Unfortunately, waiting on the other side of the fence was a boat and she landed pelvis first onto the propeller before hitting the ground with her shoulder and face.

We all raced across the street to help her walk into the house. Halfway across the grass it was clear that she was bleeding. Rick wanted to take her right to the hospital but I wanted to assess the damage first. I undid her shorts, pulled down her garment bottoms and saw a major wound and said, okay, now we are ready to go to the emergency room. Rick scooped her up while I kept pressure on her leg, which was bleeding a good amount.

Her wound is along a panty line and onto her inner thigh about 6 inches long (another three inches long under the skin) and mostly 2 inches deep (three at the deepest point). Her shoulder has a small hairline break that they will not do anything to and her face has a little road burn. She ended up with 48 stitches and is as sore as can be today. Her friend Zak came to see her last night until she fell asleep and her friend Amber has been babysitting today.

On a spiritual note: If you could see her shorts, they could have almost been taken off of her without undoing them they got so shredded. Her skin is mangled with lots of stitches. Her garments, while covered with blood, do not have so much as a puncture mark, tear or hole. The doctor compared her garments this way. Take a steak knife, wrap a couple layers of cheese cloth around it and then try and cut a loaf of bread. Her garments gave a "dulling layer" between her and the propeller blade. She said that, had she not been wearing those garments, that propeller would have had nothing to stop that blade from going the extra millimeters from her main artery and she would have bled out before we could have even got her to the hospital.

I did leave sweet little tender hearted Rick in charge for 2 minutes while I took a potty break and, when I came back, the poor thing was in a chair, pasty white and sweating like a dog. He was on th verge of passing out so the nurse took his place. That is all I needed to come back and have them tell me , "Daughter in room 3, husband in room 4."

Though it was a traumatizing evening, we are so grateful for the blessing her temple endowment brought to her. What a great Mother's day gift that was! Shelley

Thursday, May 8, 2008 1:50 PM CDT

Jourdyn's chemo has been going well. She is maintaining her weight and that is great as well. She is finished with the semester and passed all her classes so she is one step closer to applying to the nursing program. She is relieved to have the semester over.

Dayton began fire fighting last Monday. He is glad to be back on fire pay and even got his good friend a job so he will have a buddy there this year. He will have a much longer season this year as he does not have to recertify for another 2 years. He will stay as long as the fires continue. Right now they are burning trail up on Cedar Mountain all day. He is praying for fire and we are praying for rain. Go figure.

Tanner is trying to be on the mend. He pushes his body terribly hard and is paying for it a bit but should heal up just fine.

Madisyn is over the trauma of her school year and is ready for our trip. We are going to Lake Powell to stay on my dad's house boat with my whole family and we are so excited! It has been since Madi was a little little girl that we have gone and we will spend a week there. I am trying to convince Jourdyn's Zak to stay at my house while we go so that I have someone to take care of the dogs and the house. He is a great kid and I think I can convince him it is a great idea!

Rick and his sprinkling system settled out of court and my grass is now greening up (thanks to a plumber friend of Rick's). All is well for now at the Cleveland house.

I will head to SLC for the telethon on the 29th. Look for me in the background on teleision. It should be a fun time! The telethon is May 31 to June 1. Please call in if you have the time and money, Our family in particular has surely benefited from such a great facility! Shelley

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12:20 AM CDT

Rick and his sprinkling system are filing for divorce! After working on them for three straight days (and Nights) he proudly set the timer for 4:00 a.m. and at the set time, they promptly DID NOT come on and I thought he was going to cry! We are now moving hoses and sprayers around the yard in an attempt to keep the yard from burning up because it has already been furtilized.

Tanner is so much on the mend that we wish he still hurt a little so he would stay still for two seconds like he was told by his surgeon. The day he went back to school, he went to soccer practice and RAN with the team. He played football (only passing mom, not hitting) as well. I told him not to cry to me when his stitches came out or his stomach dropped off or something equally horrifying happened. He says he feels fine, we shall see.

Jourdyn had a great date two nights ago and we like that because it makes her so nice to the rest of us. She brought me a drink at work and took her dad lunch. She has another date tonight with a guy she quite enjoys so maybe she will lube my car or something tomorrow if all goes well!

I just wanted to let you all know how proud I am of our Madisyn. She witnessed some kids exchanging drugs at the middle school last week (yes, 6th graders, and yes pills exchanged for pills and pills exchanged for pot). Though she was scared, she let her principal know and, though kids older than her got wind of her "tattling" and told her she had better "watch her back", she maintains that she did the right thing and has gone to school every dy, in spite of not being the most popular kid with a small population of the student body. She does want me to pick her up right on time and right at the doors to avoid confrontation (as one girl who tattled has already been punched in the face). All kids were expelled or suspended. I try to tell her that she actually lives in a cave with a mother bear and the first person to bother her will deal with ME and they would rather have a drug dog set loose on them than that!

Pray for Rick and his sprinklers to reach an amicable settlement! Shelley

Saturday, April 19, 2008 10:16 PM CDT

Tanner is well on the mend. His doctor came to our house today to take his chest tube out (who even knew doctors still made house calls, welcome to Cedar!) It was amazing how much tubing was inside of him and how much better he felt after it was removed. He went to the relay for life last night and is hanging out with his girlfriend tonight so I think he will be fine to go to school on Monday.

Jourdyn got chemo just fine this week and had a date that night. In fact, she had several dates this week (one that she expecially enjoyed last night). Zak was here today (yes, the one that broke up with her a few months ago) and I am not sure what is brewing there but I guess we will see. It is always nice to have options.

Rick has been becoming one with his sprinkling system today and he is pretty sick of it. The whole thing is torn apart and the sun is now down and he is working by flashlight. We are all trying to stay out of his line of fire at this point. I even went to a reception tonight alone rather than disturb him. (Keller's sister got married today and I went to the reception. I wanted to talk to Keller but his wife all but peed on him to make sure that I knew he was her territory so I just told his mom to tell him hello for me.)

Everyone is feeling better and just in time for a new school week. Tanner will be playing catch up for a while but he is glad to be heading back to school. Shelley

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 1:25 PM CDT

Tanner is home today and is feeling rotten. Going off the IV pain meds makes for a tough transition and he is hurting more at home. The bed doesn't go up and down and mom doesn't cater like the nurses do. Lucky for him, he has Jourdyn who has been babying him all day. She likes taking care of him and has a tender spot for Tanner anyway.

Jourdyn has a date with a new boy on Thursday. He was working on my lawn and I thought he was cute and saw Jourdyn and thought shse was too so I wrote Jourdyn's number on my check. He called her last night and they talked until the wee hours of the morning. He told Jourdyn to tell me thanks for the number. She was embarrassed at first and told me not to do it anymore but I think she was glad I gave out her number. Hopefully he is not a psycho, we have had our fill with that!

Soccer is over for Tanner and he is sad but wants to get back to school. It is funny how they hate school until they can't go then that is the only place they want to be! Teachers are being great with him and I think he should be able to go back on Monday.

Hopefully the drama is calmed down for a minute! Shelley

Monday, April 14, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Jourdyn has been doing great this week as she got chemo with no issues, got a perfect score on a large portfolio in one of her classes and got to imagine how the cooks at her work came to her defense. Funny stuff! However, Tanner has not had a good week at all!

Tanner complained of a stomach ache on Monday of last week but, being the compassionate mother that I am, I told him if he was not barfing, he could be sore at school as easily as at home so I sent him to school. On Tuesday, he still felt crappy but played in two soccer games that day and then came home sick. He went to school on Wednesday but his coach called me from practice saying to come pick him up. When I got there, he was sweating and his stomach really hurt. I took him right to the doctors office where they touched his belly (it hurt up by his sternum at this point) and told me he had the flu that ws gong around and to take him home and bring him back in a couple days if it got worse.

Thursday he stayed home from school because he really hurt and by Friday I thought he was feeling better but stayed home so he could rest, as the Junior Prom was the next day and he and his girlfriend were going.

By the time I arrived home from work on Friday, he was in so much pain that I called the docs office to take him back in. They could see him in two hours. We didn't make it that long... he was in so much pain that his eyes were only seeing white and he could not straighten up. I bypassed the docs office and went straight to the emergency room. They got a surgical consult upon seeing him and within an hour he was in surgery.

They came out after just a bit to tell us that the appendix had ruptured and did so at least 48 to 72 hours earlier from the looks of the infection inside and the way that the appendix was dying. We now figure that Tanner was beginning appendicitis on Monday and ruptured at practice on Wednesday!

So much for the prom! He was heart broken, mostly for Alexis who is a senoir and this will be her last prom. We already had a tux and a flower so we got his good buddy Landon to step in and take Alexis to the dance. Not the same for either of them but Landon was a good buddy to step into a difficult situation. The kids did swing by so we could see them all dressed up and we draped the vest and jacket over Tanner so we could get pictures of them too (as I tried to tell them this will be a great story 10 years from now.) I got a cute shot of them holding hands as he took his recovery walk, she in her beautiful gown and he in his (only one of them had the capability of their tail hanging out and it wasn't Alexis!) When the kids left for the dance, Tanner sobbed. His buddy Matthew (who is only 15) came to hang with him for the rest of the night and it was a life saver!

Now Tanner is trying to recover. They just got the results of the culture they took of the infection that had begun to grow in his abdomen and it is E-coli! Sounds bad but they said there are many things worse that could be growing and so now we wait while they test the cultures with different antibiotics to see which will most likely do the trick and then he will get to go homw, most likely on Wednesday. Take your time docs, at this point we practically own that whole wing in the hospital so, no hurry!

If you don't start laughing at some of the Cleveland luck at some point, we will all just be in a puddle! Though I do cry uncle, I am not crying out loud! Shelley

Saturday, April 5, 2008 7:53 PM CDT

Boy! It has been a long time since I updated this page. Sorry everyone but it has been a hectic couple weeks for us!
Jourdyn must have done a lot of soul searching while in Georgia because she came home and made changes. She decided things were not working with the boy she was dating and promptly started seeing a boy who had been patiently waiting to take her on a date for the whole semester. He had asked for her number in a shared class but she was always seeing someone else. They have been hanging out the last little while and he sure is a nice kid. He is from Delta and they are having a good time.

I have been helping with a fund raiser for a little local boy with cancer and it has taken every waking moment for the last little while. The event was last Saturday and it was a huge success. My whle family came to town to help put on the Jamboree just like the event for Jourdyn several years ago. I have become wonderful friends with an amazing family and I am so blessed to have these people part of our lives now. The whole family came over and helped Jourdyn out as well and we are bonded for life with the Callison and Thomas families.

Jourdyn is back in school though it is getting harder. She has made an effort in school and with those that she comes in contact during her day. She is a very forgiving person and I am continually amazed at her resilient spirit. She had a fun sleep over with her friend Amber last night and will be with Brian tonight to go over homework.

Tanner was told dthat he is a great soccer player and that his coaches think that he will be recruited to play at the college level and the next day his doctors for his feet think that if he continues to play he will damage his feet beyond repair. Now he has some tough decisions to make. We talk with the docs again on Monday. Basically he has a condition that makes his heel cords and muscles up the back of his legs stop growing even though his body continues. It is about 3 inches shorter than they should be and it causes him continual pain. We are looking at orthodics and possibly surgery in the off season. Who knows at this point.
Thanks to everyone who supported the fundraiser. You are all wonderful! Shelley

Saturday, March 22, 2008 9:00 PM CDT

Jourdyn is on her way home as we speak. She called from Denver and she will spend the night in Salt Lake before driving to Cedar tomorrow. She had a wonderful trip and now she is exhausted just in time to go back to school.

Jourdyn said that she is sunburned and thinks that she may have sprained her ankle in the ocean yesterday and may need to have it looked at. As she was trying to get sympathy from me, I told her that if you go to Florida on spring break and you DON'T hurt your ankle and get a sunburn, you just weren't having as much fun as you could have. Since she did both of those things, she must have had as much fun as she said she did-- and that was great fun. Thanks Uncle Ryan and Aunt Janell for showing her such an amazing time that she finally broke the 100 pound barrier from all the great sea food and alligator parts!

I went on the radio for an hour this week to talk up the Jamboree for Kody Callison. It should be a great event and everyone should come and support this darling boy. Jourdyn did her fireside for the family and did it again in Georgia for her Uncle Ryan's branch and they said that she did a great job.

We wish everyone a wonderful Easter. We have so much to be grateful for and the reason for this holiday is certainly one of them! Happy Easter everyone! Shelley

Monday, March 17, 2008 11:27 AM CDT

Jourdyn finally got to Georgia but it was quite an adventure. Of course, she has a hard time not having bad weather follow her. It stormed when she went to Florida last time (snow in Orlando) and this trip she was in tornado weather.

For the first time in 20 some odd years a tornado hit in Atlanta. As Jourdyn was flying from Denver to Atlanta, a second touched down and a third was waiting to touch down. Not being a real confidant flyer in the first place, she was a bit nervous but things went smoothly. Luckily she traded a lady places so their whole family could sit together and so someone else got thrown up on by the child next to them rather than jourdyn.

She met up with her Uncle Ryan and Aunt Janell and baby Grace in Atlanta but her luggage did not seem to make it. Luckily, somebody's mom told her to pack a change of clothing in her carry on as well as keep all her medications with her. She did what I said and had some clothes until her luggage arrived a day later.

She went to the Aquarium of the America's yesterday and got permission to pet one of the sharks. She is now in Bainbridge and will be hitting the beaches in Florida this week. She is also doing her fireside for the folks in Ryan's branch as well as for people of other denominations as well. I guess there is nothing in her talk that wouldn't be beneficial to other faith's as well.

Her phone is not working well there and that may be a good thing. It will give her a break from boys as well as family and she needs both right now! Shelley

Thursday, March 13, 2008 1:49 PM CDT

Jourdyn did get chemo yesterday and that was a very good thing. She missed last week because she was sick and she will miss next week because of her spring break trip to Florida and Georgia. If she missed this week, that would be three in a row and she always ends up with new lumps when she misses more than 2 weeks in a row.

Taylor has convinced Jourdyn that she needs to go on a bike ride with him. Nevermind that she has not been on bike since she was 12, ot that she only has one lung or that she doesn't own bike, etc. She is going to go on the ride. Hopefully they have a way to get the bike home when she craps out. At least he is getting her out and she is trying. She will be gone for a week and so will he, hopefully they will survive the separation. If not, she will be whining to her uncle and not me so I won't care anyway!

Tanner was made "Athlete of the Month" for Canyon View High School and will be in the paper this week. They interviewed him yesterday, I guess for soccer.

Madi had her career fair yesterday and was judged on that as well as for orchestra. They let her know yesterday that she is the new "Concert Master" for orchestra. Quite an honor I guess. I am musically illiterate but I told her good job just in case I was supposed to be more impressed than I was letting on.

It should be a quiet week on the home front. Lucky Us! Shelley

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 12:42 AM CST

So Jourdyn is feeling better but they have not decided whether or not she will get her chemo today because she is still on the mend. The rest of us still feel like crap but oh well.

Jourdyn will be ready to perform her fireside on Sunday, March 9th at 7:00 p.m. for the Enoch Utah Stake at their stake center. She will also do it when she heads to Georgia for spring break.

Jourdyn and her friend Amber have been spending alot of time at the temple lately and went again yesterday. They are glad that they can go together and so they take advantage of that often. SHe came home and decided to study rather than hang with Taylor (good call) but spent most of her study session on the phone with him anyway. He is getting his pilots license so he does not have traditional school like her so she really has to focus because they can't get together just to do homework. We shall see!

Hopefully chemo this week, one next week and then she will take a spring break from chemo as well. Shelley

Saturday, March 1, 2008 9:14 PM CST

Jourdyn got chemo and then promptly got sick. She was at work and having a hard time with a fever and nausea so they sent her home. By morning she was really sick with a 102.5 temperature and a sore throat. We went to the doctors and she has pneumonia and some funky viral infection that is going around. Now she is on antibiotics and feels like crap. She had a date on Friday and Saturday with a new boy Taylor that she quite likes so she was bummed to cancel both dates.
This week I went to spend the night in the hospital with my brother Kris but he is doing much better now and is home now. It was scary for a bit there but it was good to get to spend some time with him. I would just do anything for my family and I know they would do the same for me.
Now I am home and we are all sick, and I mean all of us! Jourdyn is still getting meds, Madi, Tanner and I all have sore throats (Madi can hardly talk) and now Rick came home from scout camp sick as well. Maybe now that we all have it at the same time we can get better at the same time too and be done with this.
My mom and dad are in Las Vegas with Scott and Kasha visiting Heidi. They were going to stop and visit but decided they would stay away from infectionville. Maybe on their way home on Wednesday. Shelley

Thursday, February 21, 2008 11:02 AM CST

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday and did great. Her mind was kept occupied because her friend Jessie came with her so they could study. This is the first time that she has had anyone besides me at chemo for the whole visit and it really helped to keep her mind off of the treatment.

Jourdyn had a bummer date on Monday night (the guy was so shy he barely said two words to her but she had fun with her friend Necia and her husband) but last night she went with her friend from St. George to dinner and a kid called her to come play games with him and his friends so she went over after. She was the only girl there but she knew several of the guys there and had fun with the guy (Taylor) who called her. Now they have a real date on Friday. Hopefully s ome time in the middle of all this she will find some time for school work.

The leg cramps are still going on but we hope with a little more time the potassium will kick in and help. If not, we will move onto the next remedy.

Madisyn is still fighting pneumonia but the doctor thinks that the breathing treatments are helping. We can't hear a difference yet, she barks like a seal all night long then wakes up exhausted. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow. Shelley

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:41 AM CST

Jourdyn has been feeling a little light headed lately and her leg cramps have been pretty bad. We took her in and they decided that some more potassium may help. She is supplementing as well as eating bananas several times a day so we will see how it goes.

She went on a blind date last night with a friend and her husband who set it up. She had fun but said he was quiet and not really her type. No worries, She has a date on Wednesday and Friday so she can try again. The kid on Wednesday she barely knows but he has been texting her all night. The one on Friday is a friend from high school that is a couple years older than her. She also has plans next week with two old flames who just came home from missions. We will see.

Madisyn is coughing her guts out and is miserable at home right now. She has an appointment at 11:15 with the doc so we will get it straightened out.

Tanner was ordained a priest this weekend by my dad. It was very touching that Tanner asked him and we had Dick and Marilyn and Laura's girls down for the weekend so we had a full house and lots of fun! Tanner is a great kid.

Shelley

Friday, February 15, 2008 10:25 AM CST

Jourdyn got chemo on Wednesday and did great. No weight gain but not down either. She has been asked out on a date and has another one scheduled this weekend so she is doing fine like we knew she would.

Tanner turned 16 today and he got new cleats for soccer and a cell phone. He was excited about both as he thinks he is the only kid without one in his whole school (he may have been right!)

I got caught in the huge storm on Wednesday. I left Primary Children's at 2:30 and by 6:00 I was still on the point of the mountain. It was so treacherous that I called my niece Melanee and stayed at her house for the night. When I got there, her sister in law was already there because the road to her house was closed and Branden could not get home because they closed the road he uses to get home as well. The next morning, when I left, cars were still abandoned all over the freeway, wrecks were still being cleaned up and the roads were still just as terrible as the night before. I left my nieces at 7:30 and did not get home for work until 1:00. The weather is great today! My neck is killing me from driving stress!

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day! Shelley

Friday, February 8, 2008 11:02 AM CST

After a lot of praying and discussions with each other, Jourdyn and Zak broke up last night. There were a lot of tears, even though they both knew that it was for the best. Today, As usual, Jourdyn has come to the realization that there is little that she can do to change the situation so she is trying to have a good attitude and move on, no matter how hard that is after 6 months together.

Jourdyn got her chemo late on Wednesday and she felt pretty crappy. Today, she is feeling much better and she and her friend Jessie are having a big girls night out and I hope she has a great time!

I am going to my first Primary Childrens Telethon event on Tuesday. It is national Pancake day at IHOP restaurants throughout the state and I am going to be representing the hospital at the store in Cedar. The waitresses will be fdonating their tips that day to the telethon. 100% of that money reaches the kids so EAT PANCAKES ON TUESDAY! THis is a big sacrifice for little waitresses who live off this tip money to donate the equivalent of a days pay to the hospital when they make so little to begin with! It touches my heart!

I have to mention that I had the sweetest moment with Tanner last night. As Zak and Jourdyn went downstairs to talk, and we all knew what was going to happen, Tanner's eyes welled up with tears and my 16 year old child asked me with a quivering lip, 'How long is she going to be here and will she be here long enough to be truly happy!" Then he put his head in my lap and cried out loud. He has such a tender heart where Jourdyn is concerned. They are very close. We talked about the fact that nobody knows how long she will be here, or any of us for that matter. I explained that because Jourdyn's life is uncertain, it explains why she sticks to her standards so closely. She may not have the luxury of time to fix mis steps in her life. This is hard for boys who date her to live up to her standards because I think they all feel they have the rest of their lives to fix themselves. When Jourdyn returned from talking to Zak, she cuddled up in the crook of her little brothers arm and they both fell asleep on the couch together.

There is someone out there who is worthy of that girl with her same standards and values and if any of you know who he is, send him our way! Shelley

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 7:52 PM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo today but she is struggling tonight. Her counts are a little low and they had to give her the aranesp shot today that she has not needed for almost 6 months. She is going to be in a fashion show on Saturday and has a practice tonight but I am thinking she would rather curl up in bed and go to sleep.

They didn't have room for her at chemo earlier and so she didn't get her treatment until about 5:00 tonight. That may be contributing to her tiredness.

Hopefully things will turn around for her in the next few days. Shelley

Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:18 PM CST

Jourdyn is pretty sick today. She got chemo yesterday and woke up with strep this morning. Having no way to fight it off, she is feeling pretty miserable. At chemo, she thought that her weight was up because she read "103" on the scale. She was so excited until the nurse reminded her to take off her coat and purse. She was bummed to find that she was carrying around a 5 pound purse and her weight was down again.

Jourdyn stayed home from work today but she has a big test that she says that she can't miss tomorrow so I hope she gets feeling enough better to go tomorrow, at least for the test.

Dayton had an interesting day yesterday. WHile exiting WalMart with a couple friends, he was hit by a car while crossing to the parking lot. Dayton had a few fine words for the driver who yelled at Dayton that he should have been in the crosswalk (never mind that an entire parking lot is pedestrian right of way). The man then proceeded to drive away. When Dayton told me what happened (he was not hurt) I went over to WalMart and they pulled the surveillance tapes and I watched it. They said that they would help press charges if that is what Dayton wanted to do. The dumb boys did not take a license number or anything. Dayton decided that, since he was not hurt too badly, he was not going to pursue it. I thought that the older man should have to learn a lesson about hit and run but Dayton said no so I guess that episode is over. Never a dull moment. Shelley

Friday, January 25, 2008 12:07 AM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo yesterday. She did pretty well. Her weight was down again and she is having some pain in her chest. At first she thought it was from where she got in a fight with Tanner and he punched her. It is still hurting three weeks later and the doctor can feel something. He is wondering if she has some "involvement" in her chest lymph glands so they are scheduling an MRI to check them out. I am not too concerned about it. I think that she is a bit of a whiner and I think that she got bruised. I think carrying a backpack around campus that is half her body weight isn't good for her either.

Dayton is going to Salt Lake to help with the ski school with all his room mates. They are working for ski passes. That thrills dad to trade for passes so everyone is happy. Mom and dad are coming to Cedar tomorrow and we are excited to see them.

Zak and Jourdyn went to a wrestling tournament last night in his hometown so he could compete in an alumni tournament. He did pretty well but got a ticket (he has a bit of a problem with a lead foot) on the way so I have been giving him a hard time. He thinks he is getting ANOTHER job so he can pay for their trip to Paris this summer. We will see! Shelley

Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:37 PM CST

Jourdyn's weight was down but only a bit this week so she didn't get scolded. She has been having more leg cramps lately and I am trying to convince her to get to the nephrologist (kidney doc) to see what is going on. She had to leave class the other day because they got so bad she couldn't stay sitting. She refuses to go because of no insurance. I am trying to work something out with the doc in St. George so that she can at least make contact with one of them.

It is freezing (literally) here. Jourdyn is having a hard time staying warm, even with a coat on all the time. She is about drying our eye sockets out at the house with the heat set on 78 most of the time when we get home from work. She thinks it is cruel and unusual punishment to havae us turn it down to 73.

Jourdyn is enjoying her classes for the most part but is finding out her "Fun" class comes with the most work as well. Oh well, that's the way it goes. She did go to a fundraiser meeting with me last night as we planned an event like her fundraiser, "Kody's Jamboree" that will be held on March 28th and 29th. Jourdyn will be doing her fireside the night of March 9th as a kick off for his stake. It will be at the Enoch Stake Center at 7:00 p.m. for anyone interested in coming and hearing her speak as well as getting involved with helping this adorable child! Shelley

Thursday, January 10, 2008 12:33 AM CST

Jourdyn's weight was up a half a pound on Wednesday so she has almost broken the triple digit weight again! She did great with chemo and was out in no time at all. She is in quite a rythym where chemo is concerned and we pray that it continues this way.

My dad got chemo on Monday. They drew his blood before starting and his PSA has dropped into the 90's! This is amazing for only having two chemo treatments to that point. He got the chemo and they had everything ready for him so they were out faster than the other two times.

Rick and Dayton both had their cars break down on the same day (Dayton's broke down on the way to help Rick with his). They are both back up and running but it was a tricky few days trying to get everyone around with one car. (especially with Dayt living across town now.)

Hope everyone is feeling good! Shelley

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 1:35 PM CST

Jourdyn started her new semester of school today. She sailed through the day with one brief intimidation encounter with her ex but she dropped the class because she was deciding between two classes and that sealed the deal. She just needed filler credits anyway. She will enjoy interior design better than natural resources anyway, don't you think?

Jourdyn's schedule is such that she will be able to work at the Elementary more so she will make more money. Not that she needs it at this point, she makes more money back from the school between her scholarships than it actually costs to go to school. At this point, if she lost all her scholarships, she would still have enough that she has rat holed away in hidden accounts to pay for more than another 2 or 3 semesters. That girls is a saver!

The chemo schedule will stay the same and that will be good to not have to mess with that this semester. She is feeling good.

Dad got his chemo yesterday and, after yelling at every person in the joint for the last two treatments about being late getting him started, they had everything ready to go and he was out in 4 hours (big suprise) Those people have learned very quickly who they are dealing wth! I called him this morning and he is feeling good today. I think treatment might be do-able if he continues to have so many good days in between the not so good ones. Shelley

Sunday, January 6, 2008 10:13 AM CST

Though every other person spent a certain portion of the Christmas break sick, Jourdyn was the only one who managed to stay well! She got chemo on Wednesday and, other than her wiehgt still being down despite eating her head off over the holidays, everything went well.

Jourdyn starts back to school (as we all do) tomorrow as well as work at the school. There is a little guy at the preschool at Three Peaksk that was just diagnosed with lymphoma. Jourdyn is having a hard time with this and we are all praying for Kody, as he is having a very rough start. It takes time to figure out what works for each patient for nausea, pain, etc. and they are in that trial and error stage. Please pray for the Callison family. Their kids go to my elementary school so I will keep in touch.

Jourdyn and Zak think they are going to FRANCE this summer. They are trying to get me on board with this thought. They think it will be cheap because he served his mission there and they can stay with members. We will see. I have figured out that the older my children get, the less they care about my opinion on things. Good!

Dayton is having his turn being sicker than a dog and is full blown miserable today. Shelley

Friday, December 28, 2007 9:29 AM CST

We had a wonderful Christmas! With the exception of my brother Kris and his family (who will come up later this week) everyone was there and it was so great to be all together with my mom and dad. Dad had a tired day and his mouth really hurts but he loved everyone being there.

Rick got sick the day after Christmas and so we decided to head home rather than risk getting my dad sick. The weather was terrible so I rode with jourdyn rather than having her head out early with the boys. She stopped to see her friend "make up artist Adam", and then we hit the terrible roads. It was a long trip home and I was relieved to finally touch down in Cedar City.

After 4 whole days apart, Jourdyn and Zak had a fun night together and made us all want to throw up! Dayton is still packing to move and bought (speaking of throw up) the most hideous couch from the DI I have ever seen. They love it and that is all that matters. My brother Scott welded me a great lampshade and now Dayton is trying to steal it.

Jourdyn is skipping chemo this week I assume because it it Friday and no sign of chemo. Her leg cramps are killing her and she needs to get to the kidney doctors but, because she doesn't have insurance, she is refusing to go. I suspect that the leg cramps are related to kidney function but I can't make her understand that.

A new little boy, Cody, age 5, was diagnosed with lymphoma yesterday here in town. His uncle and mom both contacted me and I sobbed after hanging up. I felt just like I did the day Jourdyn was diagnosed and I know just how his poor mom feels at this point. I actually ache for them. Please add them to my many prayer requests!

Lots of holiday clean up to do! Have a great day! Shelley

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 11:06 AM CST

Jourdyn did great with her chemo this week though her weight was down a bit. She gave the Garden house her notice last night that she will be quitting in two weeks. She makes more money at Pizza Factory and needs to work more where she makes the most money. They were sas and told her that if she ever needed to come back, she would be welcome.

My family is gearing up for the holiday. We went sibling shopping last night for Family Home Evening and everyone will eventually end up in Salt Lake for the holiday. Jourdyn and Dayton work off and on so we will again have three hundred vehicles up there. Jourdyn will go to a family party at Zak's in Joseph before heading to Grandpa's.

Speaking of Grandpa. He got his second chemo yesterday. They looked at his counts and he is responding beautifully to the chemotherapy. His PSA has dropped significantly and we are so thrilled! He did get sick last time but says that he knows what he did wrong and will try to change things up this time.

Dayton and his dog and friends have found a cute little house by campus and will be moving in on Jan. 1st. His packing has begun and the basement is quite a mess but Tanner and Rick are inheriting alot of clothes.

Madisyn has an orchestra concert tonight and she is very excited!

Everyone have a great holiday! Thanks to all for your continued support! Shelley

Friday, December 14, 2007 9:55 AM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo on Wednesday and, for the first time in over year, we got a call from the doctors office telling us that her counts were too low to be around other people. Luckily she didn't get the call until after she had taken all her finals so she can just hunker down at the house and relax. Zak is trying to talk her into going snowboardding but I think that with low counts she is better not to get too cold and get sick.

My dad is feeling pretty good, just tired which is to be expected. He lost his hair 2 days ago but says that process was not too traumatic for him. I guess he is not a girl so it may not bother him quite as much.

Dayton found a place to live last night. He and two friends will be moving out on the 1st of January. They can take their dogs and that is all I really care about.

11 days to Christmas and I am freaking out! Shelley

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 2:34 PM CST

Jourdyn is in Joseph with Zak and his family this weekend and she was so excited to go and see them all again! They will do some Christmas shopping in Richfield (who knew you could christmas shop in Richfield?) and they are looking for some new shoes for her. Zak is doing a good job on pill patrol and she has taken them all week. In trade, he got to drive her new car this weekend. I think his car is funner but I guess not. They will be home on SUnday.

Dad is feeling pretty good, at least that is what he is telling the troops. Jourdyn suspects he feels worse than he says but we will wait and see. Have a great weekend everyone! Shelley

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 3:34 PM CST

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Once ours got under way, It was delightful.

Madi, Tanner and I drove to Salt Lake on Tuesday so that I would be in town for my dad's first chemo treatment. Of course, once I got there, I found out that the investigational drug associated with the chemo had not arrived and he would not get the dose the next day but he should still come for his doctor visit.

Kim, Heidi, mom and I still went with him to the visit. We let everyone know how upset we were that they had dropped the ball, having had a month to prepare for this. Because he gets some pre meds 12, 3 and 1 hour before the chemo, we were furious when they checked the pharmacy and found that the drug had come in but now he couldn't get it because they had not premedicated him. They would not start until Monday, when everyone would have returned to their homes and he and mom would be alone for his first chemo. Heidi cried, Kim wrote every word like a true scribe and I let them know that this was not our first (or second, or fifth) time on this merry go round and that they needed to pick a different family to dink with. We knew what they were talking about when they spoke "medical", we knew what we were entitled to and we knew that we were getting jerked around.

By the time we left, dad felt frustrated that we had done a lot of ranting but nothing changed. I felt like they were aware that we were watching them and we were leaving no wigle room for screwing up.

Everyone gathered for Thanksgiving and it was a great time. I got to see Melanee, my great Nephew. McCray and my great niece Brekyn. My niece Lindsey and I washed dishes and had a great talk and I enjoyed time with my siblings.

I missed jourdyn but she was home working and then spent some time with her friend Amber and her family. She cleaned my house and got all my Christmas decorations up so I was happy to get home.

Blood draw today, chemo tomorrow. SHelley

PS: dad got his chemo on Monday and it was uneventful. He is still feeling good today so we will take that good news!

Monday, November 19, 2007 3:32 PM CST

Jourdyn's week of staying at her friends house came to an end last night and she sure loved that freedom. She came over to the house every day in new clothes and had a great time with a spot for she and Zak to gather without siblings and dogs everywhere.

Jourdyn will be staying here in Cedar for Thanksgiving. She has had tons of offers of places to go to eat and so I am not worried a bit about her.

Dayton got his Eagle Scout award last night. He and 4 other boys, all his age and friend group, got them together. It was a great night with wonderful speakers and a real live golden eagle there on display. THe food was amazing, thanks to the Gayson's and their Garden House restaurant and the boys had a fun time. I am just glad to have it over.

My dad had surgery this morning to put his port a cath in place for him to start chemo on Wednesday. Kim and mom were with him this morning and Kim sent me a message saying dad did a great job and his spirits were high. I had a great hour long talk with my brother Kris on the phone this morning. I miss those times when he and I would chat about nothing. Heidi will be up in Salt Lake tonight to spend some extra time with dad. I sure do have the cream of the crop for siblings!

I think that since Jourdyn is staying here she will get chemo on Wednesday, if she remembers. Luckily she is not a big date rememberer as yesterday would have been her one year anniversary and she did not even notice. Since she didn't, we of course, didn't say anthing! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Shelley

Friday, November 16, 2007 10:02 AM CST

We haven't seen much of Jourdyn lately. She has been staying at her friend Stacy's house while she is in Hawaii getting married. Jourdyn is watching her dogs and house. She is having a fun time having her own place for a while and it doesn't hurt that Stacy has cute clothes so Jourdyn thinks she is staying in a store! (she told her she could wear what she wanted)

Jourdyn did not get chemo this week because she had been sick. Her weight was upt to 99 pounds. Still not 100 but because it was up a pound, they didn't make her get her shot.

Jourdyn will be here for Thanksgiving. She has to work that day. She and Zak are trying to figure out things for the holidays but I am sure that things will work out fine.

We are heading to Salt Lake for the Thanksgiving holiday and it will be good to have my whole extended family together as my dad starts his chemotherapy the day before Thanksgiving. Shelley

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 3:23 PM CST

Jourdyn spoke at the "white coat" ceremony at the nursing program yesterday afternoon. It is where the newest nursing students get their white coats to start their nursing training. They asked Jourdyn to talk about the impact that nurses have had on her treatment and aslo how they have helped her decide her own career path. She talked for about 10 minutes and did a phenomenal job.

Jourdyn is sick today and she was at the hospital getting fluids and antibiotics this morning. She must have the flu and it just hits her harder than most because of the blood counts related to chemo. Speaking of chemo, she probably will not get it tomorrow as a result of this flu bug. We will wait and see because a day makes a big difference in our world.

Dayton is trying to pretend that I do not see the third dog out in the god run. his friend Cameron got a dog and needs a place for it for a while.. I also saw Austin looking up dogs on the internet. I AM NOT A KENNEL OR A DOG POUND OR A VET!! ENOUGH shelley

Thursday, November 8, 2007 12:43 AM CST

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday. Still 98 pounds and so they gave her another shot. She thinks she is eating enough but I know that her schedule is so busy that she is eating when she gets a chance and not making time for food regularly.

Jourdyn got sushi in our town yesterday and was in heaven. SHe hhould be the spokesman for Ninja sushi because she has sung its praises to everyone. Zak is not a fan and I had to work, luckily Aunt Kim was in town so they went to the new place and she says it is as good as Happy Sumo. I will go this week so metime to try it out!

Jourdyn got her new schedule for the upcoming semester and has decided to do May classes as well to get caught up with her group. I think she is still leaning to nursing but the people at the elementary school where she works would really like to see her do special ed. because she does such a great job with the kids.

Speaking of kids, I had one disturbed child get out of control yesterday. When all was said and done, he had bitten me on the ankle and hurt another child pretty badly. Thank heavens for suspensions to give me a break. Poor little kid!

All is good. I visited my dad over the weekend and it was good to have some one on one with him. Kris is feeling a bit better and they have his infection under control for the time being. Good News! Shelley

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 2:26 PM CDT

50,000 visitors to this site as of today! Are you even kidding me! How can one group have so much support! Thanks everyone!

Jourdyn is getting chemo as we speak. She is not a happy camper because she was back under 100 pounds today so she got the dreaded shot. I hear it hurt like a mother bear. Hopefully she will eat alot of Halloween candy tonight. Actually, she has to work at Pizza Factory but she is dressing up like a biker chick so I bet she still has a fun night in spite of the shot.

Dayton came home with two new dogs on Friday. Boxer pups that are 8 weeks old. He and a friend bought them and now somehow that becomes my problem until they move out in December. I told them good luck finding a spot to live where they will allow dogs that are going to get BIG! They think they will have no problem. I told them if they can't find a spot they will have to sell the dogs because they are not staying with me. 3 days and Dayton's room already smells like a kennel (like the teenage smell wasn't bad enough all on its own!)

Rick left for work dressed in a sequin gown, a gray wig, nylons... just a typical day at the office! Actually he was an old lady on a cruise ship and it was hysterical! Add the accent he was using and he looked just like Dame Edna!

Happy Halloween everyone! Shelley

Thursday, October 25, 2007 12:09 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday and she stayed at 100 pounds. Not a gain but not a loss either so no shot! She did find a lump in her jaw on Monday night that we could feel. We try not to get too freaked out but it is hard. Zak has not had this experience yet so we allowed him to get fully freaked out without too much teasing. He wanted a call as soon as the doctor looked at the lump. He felt it and thinks that it is mandibular something or other. Basically, an infection in her gland up in her jaw. He put her on antibiotics for 10 days and then, if it isn't gone they will scan it. He also teased her that it could be caused by too much kissing and she should lay off for 4 to 6 weeks. We also texted that message to Zak and he said she will just have to deal with the lump then! What sympathy!

Madi got her birthday over and I need someone to remind me never to let a 15 teenage girl sleep over to occur ever again! I mean it. Next year at this time I expect multiple reminder calls to keep me from letting that madness happen ever again! She did have a great time and she has a fun (if not quiet) group of friends.

Dayton can hardly sit still watching all the fire action going on in California. He wants to go so bad and has been on the phone with guys he fought with this summer. He is not loving school at this point and I think he wished he was still on the fire lines.

I thought that I would let our supporters know that my dad's cancer returned recently and he will begin chemotherapy on November 22nd. Please pray for our family as we all begin this journey again. Three members of my immediate family battle this disease right now. Heavenly Father must have known what a great crowd I hail from in order for us to rally yet again around one of our own. My siblings are incredible, my mom is the greatest ever and all of our cancer fighters are strong! Thank you for the continued support! Shelley

Friday, October 19, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

Jourdyn got above 100 pounds again this week (exactly 100 but whose paying attention). She did not need the shot to help her gain weight this week (who is really investing valuable experimenting dollars on thin girl shots? If they can cure skinny, how come they can't cure fat?). She got chemo jst fone and went to work that evening. She is feeling pretty good lately and has had few leg cramps and we are thankful for that. Zak and Dayton are going hunting this weekend so hopefully Jourdyn will take this time to get caught up on some sleep. I woke up last night to Zak sound asleep on the living room floor and Jourdyn asleep on the couch. They are wiped out and still won't get sleep!

Madisyn is having the big birthday bash tonight. If you see smoke coming from my house, respond! She is so excited.

I have been asked to sit on the Board of Directors for Primary Childrens Medical Center Telethon so I will be up in Salt Lake for the meeting of the board on November 2nd. It will be my first meeting with them and I am excited to be a part of it all! Shelley

Thursday, October 11, 2007 3:36 PM CDT

Jourdyn did not receive chemo yesterday. She has been fighting off a cold for a long time. The theory is: She starts to feel better, counts get knocked down by chemo, the cold picks up again and , just aabout the time she is feeling better again, chemo day! They have decided to give her a week off to try and get rid of this cold for good.

Jourdyn's weight is still down but, since she didn't get chemo this week, they did not weigh her. Because she hasn't been feeling well, her appetite is not being helped. She is not getting enough sleep and I told both she and Zak that they may have to take one night a week to not see each other so that they can both catch up on sleep. They both looked at me like I was a bug or something.

Madisyn is on the count down to her 12th birthday. Zak brought her a case of strawberry milk all to herself the other day for her birthday and that got the ball rolling. The guest count is up to 13 for a sleepover and so I am again looking for somewhere else to stay on the 23rd! Any takers to chapperone a pre teen party? Shelley

Thursday, October 4, 2007 10:42 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday and her docs are concerned again that her weight is down again. She even started eating breakfast faithfully, Zak took her out to eat a huge meal from a fancy restraunt and she ate past when she was full and still lost 3 more pounds. If she is down again next week, they are going to start giving her "weight gainng shots" and she is not thrilled about that. She will redouble her efforts and see what her weight is next week.

I have run away from home. I am in Las Vegas for the next few days taking a break from life. I am still in my PJ's and doing absolutely nothing at my friend's condo. It is a vacation from being a mom, caretaker, maid, chauffeur, etc. You should give it a try. I must say, I have the best husband in the world that says, "It's time for a break, now go take one!" I love you Rick! I have to say that Jourdyn called 5 times, Dayton texted once and Madi gave me a bed time call so it was almost like being home. I love them all!

If anyone has any fatty treats, send them Jourdyn's way! Shelley

Thursday, September 27, 2007 12:34 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday and did great. Her doctor is supplying her chemo now and that is helping defray the cost. She qualified for financial assistance through the hospital so that helps as well. We are getting her qualified for prescription assistance and, if that pans out, she will be in great financial shape. She has so many scholarships that she is being paid alot of money to staay in school. She comes out way ahead every semester (even more now that she is divorced) and it is going straight to medical so she isnt feeling the financial strain as much as she might otherwise.

She is getting pressured by the kidney docs to get to St. George to see them but she will not be covered for those visits so she is resistant to go. They are leaving mean messages on her phone scaring her about all the things that could be happening while she is not being cared for by them so I guess I will have to call them.

Jourdyn bought Zak a DVD set (the office) yesterday and she was so excited to take it to his house that she left it on his bed. When he got off work, he tricked her that his sister had already bought it for him. Poor Jourdyn. It is so easy to trick her because she is so trusting (that is getting better with age) She was so dejected because she wanted so much to surprise him. He finally said he was teasing and she headed over to his house for an "Office Marathon". It really is a very funny show. He is a cute kid and they are having a blast together! She is so nice to be around when she is happy! Shelley

Monday, September 24, 2007 1:29 PM CDT

Jourdyn met Zak's family this weekend and had a great time. They seemed to like her and she came home pretty happy. Zak however came in with a black eye that he told me Jourdyn gave to him. Turns out he is a bad liar (good trait) and he got it wrestling with his high school wrestling coach. His wife wants Jourdyn to come and do her fireside for her young women and so there will be another trip back in the future. Jourdyn described the community as "quaint". They slept alot and, he only called me once when Jourdyn gotleg cramps.

Madisyn was elected class president last week so she got to go to training on Friday and miss school. The boys all went to SLC to help my dad on his cabin in the pouring rain.

Dad is in wait and watch mode with his cancer. They are trying one more thing and then they will start chemo if they can't get his PSA back down with what they are trying. My brother and his wife were up while Kris had treatment related stuff and they headed home on Friday as well. They are all exhausted but they got alot done on the cabin.

Things are going well and that makes everyone happy! Shelley

Friday, September 21, 2007 11:56 AM CDT

Jourdyn got her chemo yesterday, along with a reprimand from her doctor. She has dropped back down to 97 pounds. This is a major no no from her docs as they feel she can fight off infections better when she is at a healthier weight. They would prefer no lower than 100 pounds but that is so hard for her. We had a talk. She never eats breakfast (the most important meal of the day). She tries to get a lunch but usually heads to work. She is at her second job during the evening and, the second she gets off, she is primping to go see Zak instead of eating. I explained that she needs to make opportunities to eat and she said she will try.

Jourdyn and Zak are heading to his home this weekend to meet his famly. She is very nervous. She envisions him having told his mom about her..."She is 5'4" tall, has brown hair, wants to be a nurse, IS DIVORCED, HAS CANCER, works 3 jobs, is from Cedar, blah, blah, blah. Hard to overlook those two small points and she hopes they won't be held against her. They certainly aren't keeping Zak away. They have made it clear that they are only dating each other (duh!). He is a real calming influence on her and treats her like we had hoped she would be.

Homecoming this weekend, working on the cabin in Heber, and I will get a baby quilt done if it kills me! Shelley

Tuesday, September 18, 2007 1:48 PM CDT

Sorry I have not written for so long. When things are gong well it seems that I get caught up in it and forget that the rest of you may not know things are going well. Anyway, Jourdyn is doing well and things are great right now.

Jourdyn and Dave decided to take a break and let her experience college life the way she should and let him do his sports the way he wanted. At first this bummed her a little but that lasted for one day. Her friend set her up on a blind date with a fella (not from Cedar which is great!). They were gong to double but her friend's husband got sick so Jourdyn thought the date was off. The boy called her to see if she still wanted to do something. That was a few weeks ago and they are inseperable now. His name is Zak and he is from Joseph, where they will be gong to introduce her to his family this weekend. He served his mission in Paris France and we have taken to calling Jourdyn Morticia because she loves hearing french so much that she melts just like Morticia and Gomez Adams. He seems like a nice boy but he has his own house so we don't see too much of them which is a good thing.

Jourdyn got her chemo squared away and her doctor is bringing it with him so that it costs he only a fraction of what it would have before. All her medical bills are managable now and that is a relief with a new car payment. However, she loves her sporty little car (Zak also has a sweet little ride so they think they are too cool together)

Jourdyn is enjoying school, institute, work and social life so we can't complain. Blood work today and chemo again tomorrow. All's well! Shelley

Friday, September 7, 2007 4:40 PM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo on Wednesday and she did great. She is feeling good again and revised her schedule so she has all the things taken care of that she needed to accomplish this week.

Jourdyn has a date tonight and another in the works when her schedule isn't so busy so she is feeling pretty confident in that area as well.

We are working with the hospital, her docs and her infusion center and we think that things will hopefully get financially secure for her so she can relax. We told her to just let me handle the financial end of chemo and I will involve her when she needs to be. That way she lets me stress out (which I am good at) and she can try to have fun (which, ironically, she is good at also!).

The weekend is here and we are glad that the work week was so short. We need a Monday holiday every week! Shelley

Sunday, September 2, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

It has been a couple tough days for Jourdyn. Her fever has finally come down but the leg cramps have been non stop and unbearable. Rick held her up and got her to walk around the block. Her chest started hurting and we were afraid that laying down for so long had given her pneumonia so we wanted to get her up and force her lungs to work.

It is funny (and that is totally the wrong word) how fast we forget what it is like to take care of her when she is sick and how fast those feelings come flooding back when she is. My chest tightened at taking her to the hospital. I had forgotten for a minute what it felt like to worry about her health. Even though I knew she was going to be fine, I forgot what it felt like to think, "Is this it, is this the moment the end starts?" I forgot what it was like to watch her eyes look at me scared and want me to fix what I am not capable to repair. I know it sounds a bit melodramatic but it all came pouring in but luckily, so did the brain telling me, you can do this, you've done it before not suck it up and knock it off.

She was a little out of it for 2 days but is pulling out of it today. We figured that would be the case as her counts tend to recover by Sunday after chemo anyway. She should be able to fully defend herself by tomorrow. She will head back to school on Tuesday with a new schedule that will be more manageable for her body. She is trying to bite off too much and we are finally convincing her that she needs to cut back so that she isn't sick all the time (we suspect she got sick in the first place from running 900 miles an hour and not taking any time to let her little body repair. THe old body saying, "If you won't slow down and take care of yourself, I will slow you down so you have totake care of me")

Hope everyone enjoys their 3 day weekend. We will take it easy tomorrow and just mellow out. Shelley

Sunday, September 2, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

Friday, August 31, 2007 6:46 PM CDT

What a difference a day or two makes. Jourdyn will no longer be stopping chemo! Her doctor basically explained that her was taking the "Tarzan" approach: He preferred not to let go of one vine until he had another to grab onto. In other words, we don't know what to do for you in the event your cancer comes back. We aren't sure of this study so we aren't convinced at this point that it is the thing for her. At this point, they will continue with chemo. She is not sure how she will pay for it without insurance but we are talking to the hospital about it. I guess they will have to take 10 dollars a month for the rest of her life if they want to get paid at all. If they won't she says that she will be done with chemo whether the docs like it or not. She made sure we knew that she is an adult and can make this decision on her own. THis whole lack of insurance business may actually kill her...I hope the companies and the powers that be can live with themselves!

Jourdyn also had a terrible night. She started getting cold yesterday afternoon and could not stop shaking. By 1 in the morning, her temperature was up to 104 degrees and she refused to go to the hospital (the whole insurance thing again). By the time it was 104.5 I called her doc and he stopped giving her the choice and we took her in. She has strep (we know) and a line infection (they think) and she feels like crap. On top of that her legs have cramped so bad today she can barely get up to walk. We have IV antibiotics as well as oral and a shot so hopefully she gets feeling better!

All this started while I took Austin and Dayton to Mesquite to buy their new Roxeta scooters on a trailer. THey are pretty excited about 85 miles to the gallon around campus and have put 75 miles on them today. THey are great! Shelley

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:10 PM CDT

Jourdyn and Shawn talked today and he was very nice to drop the class that they shared. I think it must have been uncomfortable for both of them. He didn't really need the class so he told her he would drop it. She called me to tell me how nice he was about it and she was both relieved, happy and pleasantly suprised that they were able to carry on a nice conversation. Time heals all wounds.

Chemo today as well as a doctor visit. The last doctor visit. A major doctor visit and I will be there with her for it. Next week she will have her last chemo and it is making her physically sick to think about it. She has had alot on her plate with school, all these jobs, etc. She is just on overload!

Please pray for her in the upcoming week that she will physically and mentally be prepared for the chemo to end and have a calm heart and mind for what lies ahead. Thank you all! Shelley

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 1:23 PM CDT

Jourdyn started back at Southern Utah University yesterday. She sailed through the day (after a brief uncomfortable run in with her ex and his pals) and seems to like her schedule even though it will be very busy.

Chemo tomorrow and then only one more. She is making herself physically sick worrying about being done with treatment. We are having a fast for her on Sunday and would invite everyone who feels prompted to do so to please join us.

We worried about what exactly to fast for. At first we thought we would just ask that her cancer stay away long enough for alternative plans to be finalized. Then we thought that we were thinking too small and that we would simply ask our Heavenly Father to keep the cancer from returning period (after all, that is what we really want if we are being honest with ourselves). So we are fasting and praying that her cancer will remain in remission this time and we will leave it in the Lord' s hands.

Life is busy but good so we will take what we can get. Sorry to all those who were mad ( and there seems to be alot of you!) that we didn't visit while in Salt Lake. I was not in charge of the itinerary and Jourdyn spent most of her time with Dave. We actually spent alot of time at Primary Children's trying to get her scholarship money transferred to SUU. As I have reminded many people, time is short and there is only so much that can be fit into each day! Shelley

Friday, August 24, 2007 9:02 AM CDT

Jourdyn's new vehicle was finally ready and she picked it up yesterday! It is a darling little chevy and she thinks it is pretty great. She made enough in th e last two days to make her first payment so she is pretty confident right now. She took me, then Dave, then her dad all to check it out. Once we all approved (like Rick or my opinion really counted) she signed on the dotted line.

Chemo went great this week. 2 more to go so next week she will have an exam with the oncologist just to check her end of chemo levels to have a base line to go from. She is a bit apprehensive about ending but I guess that is to be expected.

Jourd started back to work at the elementary school yesterday and would rather have summer go on for a bit but school starts for her on Monday so reality is setting in! She will be busy but that is good to keep her mind off chemo.

Dayton is home (everyone is home) so we are bursting at the seams around here but that is okay, the more the merrier (that was not an invitation...no room in the inn!) Shelley

Sunday, August 19, 2007 10:44 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo on Wednesday. She will start back to work at Three Peaks Elementary on Monday. She is excited to get back in school herself as well. She is buying her books on Monday as well. She feels pretty good lately and has had fewer leg cramps (however, she also sleeps less so less time to get the leg cramps)

Dayton will be moving home today. His friends went to Panguitch to move him home last night. His room is ready and we are excited that he will be home and that he had such a successful and exciting summer.

Jourdyn helped Dave move into his new apartment and shop for the essentials (she said it is interesting what a guy thinks is an essential and what really needs to be bought) They watched movies until the wee hours, making the most of what little summer is left for them before they have to manage their time better. Shelley

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 9:06 AM CDT

Jourdyn will get her scheduled chemo today with 3 doses to follow. She is incredibly nervous about stopping therapy. She thinks that the meds are what is keeping her alive and she is nervous about how long the cancer will stay away if she is off therapy. Who can blame her. I was dealing with hospitals for most of the afternoon yesterday (they are trying to get permission to write off her care since the divorce) and it finally hit me that she would be done with chemo soon. The fear welled up in me and I cried for an hour straight. I guess it is a nervous venture for us all.

Jourdyn and Dave are having a wonderful time together. He brought her a beautiful jewelery box and bracelet from his business trip and she made him a CD for an upcoming concert he invited her to go to. We are all losing sleep because their group of buddies are here until at least 2 every night laughing. Last night, Rick and I even got the giggles listening to them laugh. It was only funny until about 3 though and then the real grown ups are just tired!

Dayton will be home on Sunday for the school year. This firefighting experience has been a great one and we think that he will do it again next summer. Tanner and Madisyn and I head back to school tomorrow. I can't believe how fast this summer has gone. I am sick! Shelley

Friday, August 10, 2007 9:40 AM CDT

Jourdyn woke up with a sore throat on Wednesday so she didn't get her chemo. She felt better by night time and did make it into work.

Yesterday was Rick's 43rd birthday and we celebrated by going to dinner with our neighbors. Jourdyn and Tanner were both working at the Garden house that night so that is where we went. Dave got back into town and he and Jourdyn baked RIck a cake last night with three other friends being very loud helpers.

Dave and jourdyn and heading back to Salt Lake this weekend to pick up my dad's wave runners. Apparently he has the skills to fix them and then they will have them to play on with the little time left in the summer. Jourdyn and I go back to work in one week and school starts at the college the week after that so summer is really winding down!

Hopefully Jourdyn will finish chemo this month still despite the delays in treatment. Shelley

Tuesday, August 7, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

We just got home from our big weekend in Salt Lake. Dayton and Austin came for 2 days before they both had to be back for appointments at the college and Dayton had to get back for work. The rest of us lounged around the pool all day Sunday until Dave arrived to meet Jourdyn's grandparents and aunts. After he swam for a while we all went to the pond. At first we were going to just throw rocks but finally we were all wading up the river. Dave and Jourdyn lagged behind a bit but at least she was being adventurous enough to be there. Guess who fell in? Yeah, that would be me. Of course Jourdyn and Melanee were laughing their heads off and didn't even bother to help me. Dave came to mu rescue and then the girls felt bad when they saw I was hurt (just bleeding scraped legs). I too was laughing so hard I could barely help myself. By my THIRD fall, I was professional at helping myself up! Photos of the event can be seen on Daves phone. After he
got the hang of laughing at me, he joined right in.

Since I was so wet, most of us walked home but, Dave was letting Jourdyn drive his sporty car so she rode with him (shows he doesn't know her very well yet!)He is a great guy and is treating her like gold, which we all appreciate!His business trip will end on Wednesday so they should survive the separation.

Jourdyn had to work as soon as we pulled into Cedar so she will have blood work and chemo all on the same day tomorrow.

Tanner has been promoted to bus boy after one week so he is excited and Dayton just walked in with a buddy from fires for dinner so I had better go (never mind, by dinner, they meant Costa Vida!) Shelley

Friday, August 3, 2007 12:14 AM CDT

Jourdyn had a great day yesterday! Chemo went well on Wednesday (her first without insurance coverage) but she was a little tired after so she managed to get home by 2:00 in the morning (instead of 4) to get some sleep. She worked at Garden House THursday and was glad to be off early when her boss asked if she could work a double. She said yes but was so tired she could hardly keep working. Then I got a call at the house that would perk her right up. She applied for a scholarship through Primary Childrens Hospital and Miss Utah for $1000. Jamie Palmer (former Miss Utah) called to say that Jourdyn won the scholarship. She also said that they raised 500 more than they had anticipated and were going to do two seperate scholarships but, after reading her story for the past 5 years, they decided to give her the full 1500!

I drove to her work to tell her. She was awfully psyched and it woke her right up. She and Dave went out after work with a bunch of friends and she rolled in around 3:00.

We are going to Salt Lake this weekend while Dayton is home. Dave has some work up there this weekend so they are planning to meet up on Sunday. THey are getting along very well but we are hoping that she takes a little time to get to know him or anyone else before jumping to anything. He is a nice guy. He is 23 and a friend of a friend. He served his mission in Mexico and was raised here in the Cedar area. He is pretty funny, quite tall and laughs all the time which causes Jourdyn to laugh all the time... a nice change!

Dayton will be home for 3 days tonight. He called last night and talked to everyone. I think he misses us as much as we miss him because he even asked to talk to Madisyn. It will be a fun weekend.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 10:04 AM CDT

As we suspected, it didn't take Jourdyn long to get back into normal life. She has had a date every night since Friday and we are a bit worried that she is burning the midnight oil a bit too much but, school will be back on soon so her habits will be forced to change then. One young man in particular seems to be here quite a bit and he seems like a nice kid. She has a good head on her shoulders and has learned exactly what she does and, more importantly, does not want in a person so we trust her judgment.

Blood work is scheduled today along with more paper work to restore Jourdyn to "Cleveland" status. SHe changed her license yesterday as well as her social security card. We went to Medicaid but they sent us somewhere else so we will go there today as well.

Heard from Dayton yesterday very quickly because someone else's phone had service. He will stay in Idaho until Saturday and then he will be home on for 3 days.

My brother Kris was taken to the hospital last night. They thought he was having a heart attack but, after some tests, he is developing pneumonia so they are keeping him in the hospital for now. I have not heard anything new yet today. Pray for him! Shelley

Friday, July 27, 2007 6:09 PM CDT

FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST!... Jourdyn's divorce was finally declared final today and you would have thought she won the lottery the way she was jumping up and down when she got the papers! There will be a smashing of the top of the wedding cake to celebrate followed by her first date. This poor boy has been patiently waiting for papers to come through because she insisted that she would not date while she was still married (a good practice) and now she is ready to get back into life. She is celebrating by going out and buying a spanking new car this weekend.

Chemo went well and, thanks to this mess dragging on so long, she has stock piled enough chemo to get her through the rest of treatment without any expense for meds coming out of her pocket. She will actually have enough to get her through the end of August instead of the first of that month as the doctors were hoping for. Good news!

Dayton is in Idaho right now on the Van Horn fire in the Salmon- Challis National Forest. He will be there for one more week and then he will only have 2 weeks left before school starts. He has made more than enough to pay for school and not have to work during the school year! Good thing!

Tanner started working at the Garden House washing dishes today and so now I have two kids working there. Madi is enjoying a break at her cousins in Salt Lake so it has been a great couple days for us all! Shelley

Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:55 PM CDT

Jourdyn is receiving chemo as we speak. She spent the morning traveling back from Salt Lake and her legs were cramping pretty badly. She is working hard at doing the things that the docs ask. She is drinking alot of water, sleeping with her feet up and resting her legs whenever possible. She is anxious for her divorce to become final (hopefully soon, they say 3 days to 3 months after the paper work gets to the judge, which it is there) so she can begin to attend the single college ward again and begin dating. She has someone calling alot asking her if it is final so he can ask her out but no such luck yet.

Dayton had a scare day before yesterday on the fire line. He and several other people were back burning to protect structures in Zion National Forest. One group got ahead of Dayton's group in their brush burning and the fire closed in a circle around Dayton's group. Three got out before the ring of fire closed, Dayton not being one of them. With Ponderosa Pines burning behind him 40 feet tall flames and brush oak on fire ahead of him, he prepared to take out his mylar cocoon protection shelter and hunker down for the fire to ride up and over him, when he heard them yell to run through. He was holding a gas can in one hand and a propane torch in the other and a 40 pound pack on his back. He pulled his sleeves down, his gloves up and lowered his head and ran out of the circle that had closed to the size of our living room. On the other side of the 10 foot tall flames, he held a flaming gas can, a burning torch and gloves that were on fire. He dropped everything and, being Dayton, took video of the whole thing while letting everyone know what an adrenaline rush that was!
When asked why he didn't just leave the gas can behind rather than running through flames holding gasoline, he calmly let me know that there is a philosophy concerning fire gear: If you can get out, so can your gear. He would rather burn alive than get in trouble with the "old guys"! (Same reason he would not let me polish his boots while he was home...do you want me to get beat up if I show up with shiny boots? It is bad enough that I plan to shower while I am home!) He has just been sent tot he Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho where he will spent a week before another break. Shelley

Saturday, July 21, 2007 7:02 PM CDT

Jourdyn did great the day of chemo but the day after, she was a sick girl! She got nauseated like I haven't seen her for a long time. She got leg cramps that, even after 2 of her pills, would not stop. We called her doctor and he brought her a new scrip that didn't touch them either. She cried most of the night and the next day, they called in a different med. Finally, she got some sleep. Good thing that she didn't have to work until that night because her legs felt like she had run a marathon from all the muscle spasms for a day and a half. Today she is as good as new and back at work tonight.

After only one day back in Panguitch, Dayton was moved to the Zions park fire where he is committed to another two weeks. He said that this fire is harder to fight because it is ponderosa pines that burn hotter than the pinion pines at the last fire. He is glad to be on fire pay after such a short break but he is tires. In fact, when he got called to this fire, he called me and asked how much I loved him. I told him alot and then he asked me to drive to WalMart, buy him a portable fan and an air mattress and bring them to him in Panguitch before he shipped out the next morning. I told him I would have loved him more if he didn't call me at 10:00 p.m. and that I loved him just enough to meet him halfway at the freeway exit after hours. His back is killing him more from sleeping on the ground than from the firefighting. We met him and now he will sleep like a baby! The lengths we go to as parents in the quest for happy children! Shelley

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 4:52 PM CDT

Jourdyn got chemotherapy today and it was business as usual. It was uneventful and we are glad for that. SHe will have chemo through August. She is making alot of jewelry and selling it to shops.

Dayton had an interesting ride home on Sunday. After 21 days on fires he was tired and hungry and ready to come home. As he got just outside of Panguitch, a lady being followed by a silver truck flagged him down. As they were driving away, the lady was crying hysterically and told Dayton that she had been raped by the man following her. She told him that she needed to get her things from the cabin at Panguitch Lake so Dayton took her back there (so much for not picking up strangers and never talking to strangers!)

The cabin was locked up tight so he was just about to break a window (and call the police to explain why later) when the man in the silver truck pulled up. Dayton picked up a stick and told the lady to pick up a screwdriver he saw. He toldt he man he didn't want any trouble and asked if he could open the cabin. He did. He wanted to talk outside to Dayton and get his name but Dayton refused.

THey left the cabin and Dayton told her he would drive her back to Las Vegas but he needed to stop in Cedar to check in with his dad as to what needed to happen legally before they left the state. We were at church when my shorts wearing son and a strange woman pulled in the parking lot. Our bishop met them outside and we took the woman to the hospital. I drove Dayton's car and he followed with the bishop so he could fill him in on the story. When we got to the hospital, it was touching to see this woman wrap her arms around my son's waist and cry on his chest all the way into the hospital while he had his arm around her shoulder. I guess she had trusted this kid so far and she was going to stick with him. While she was in the hospital, Dayton called her son and he headed up to pick her up. They arrived at our house about 45 minutes after she finished at the hospital. As she left, she gave Dayton a 3 minute hug and told him she didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't showed up and been so willing to help her out. She made sure he knew he was her hero, he said "no problem" and she went on her way.

Dayton returned to Panguitch the next day and led the police back to the cabin. It was quite an adventure! Shelley

Friday, July 13, 2007 3:55 PM CDT

We finally pressed the doctors office today for the test results that we have been waiting on for weeks. The PET scan showed "no measurable signs of lymphoma"! While we are relieved that the last 2 years of chemo has managed to shrink the lymphoma to untraceable proportions, we know that this is the same read out that we have received every time. We hope that her cancer will stay away once she stops chemo but we realize that the maintenance dose she has been receiving was probably not high enough to actually rid her of the disease. It is that microscopic crap that gets her every time. It can't be traced on scans but, given enough time to grow, it does. The first time it stayed away for 3 weeks, the second time 16 months. It is anyone's guess how long this dosage will be able to keep it away. We are optimistic that this is the best read out that she could receive before quitting treatment. This is the best that we could hope for to start being chemo free.

After 21 days of working HARD for 15 to 18 hours a day, Dayton will be home tonight or tomorrow morning! I am very excited to see him and get him cleaned up.

Tanner is up playing in Salt Lake and Madi has been sick for a few days. Jourdyn is making jewelry and selling it at a local store (in her spare time) and is staying overly busy! Shelley

Wednesday, July 11, 2007 10:41 PM CDT

Jourdyn got her chemo today, finally! SHe is feeling good and is working every day at one or more of her jobs. She loves the Garden House and is making a fun group of friends. She has about 6 more chemo treatments and then she is done for a while (maybe longer, fingers crossed)

Dayton is on day 13 on the Neola Fire and just left it today. He is now based in Beaver and fighting that large fire. He will have 2 paid days off on Friday and Saturday and then back to a different fire. Go figure, the year he finally does this it turns out to be a record breaking fire year. He wants a video camera because he is seeing some amazing things and has not been able to document them. He has still yet to shower and I can't even imagine what he will smell like when he rolls through in 2 days.

It has been a good and quiet, controversy free week and those are always welcome.

My dad and mom and brother are all getting their tests and treatments done and things are going forward. Rick will fly up with our bishop on Saturday to help work on the cabin again. It will be great to get that finished! Shelley

Friday, July 6, 2007 10:25 AM CDT

Jourdyn had a slight sore throat yesterday so they sent her home without giving her this weeks dose of chemo. I think she is fine but better safe than sorry.

Jourdyn starts job #3 today and she is super excited. She will work at the Garden House as well as Pizza Factory and the Elementary School once the summer is over. She needs to make enough to pay for the next two months of chemo. THis is a job she has wanted for a long time and finally has the guts to talk to them.

Dayton called last night and said that, right while he was eating lunch, a fire restarted right behind them. I guess a log was still hot behind the lines and that little fire started to spread pretty quickly. Of course they put it out but it made for a great story. He is carrying about 84 pounds on his back most of the day (I think 40 of that because he is the new guy) but he is determined to show the "old farts" he can carry the pack longer than them (which isn't hard, he says, because they trade off every 30 minutes and he carries his pack for 5 hours before trading). We will see how his back feels at the end of the summer.

Jourdyn is almost back to her old self and it is good to see her so happy again! This will make it easier to deal with stopping chemotherapy in August. I think that fact is causing her more mental stress than anthing that is happening in her personal life. She will be fine. Shelley

Thursday, July 5, 2007 8:39 AM CDT

Jourdyn is on track to receive chemo today. She has been working every day lately and is loving being busy. We all went to the parade yesterday. It was the same old small town parade and we love it! You can never really see enough flat bed trucks loaded with hay, balloons and baseball teams! Some old friends stopped by and they had fun thinking back on old times.

Dayton is working his guts out on the Neola North fire. He didn't complain about working yesterday because holiday pay is 42.00 per hour. He may stay on this fire all summer after his 2 day break on the 15th. I talk to him most nights and he says they feed him well, he has yet to shower (and we hate people who are sweaty around here so we are glad we can't smell him!) He has his own tent and went to the rodeo last night. He even got hot at work so he and some other guys jumped in a lake at lunch. He is in long pants, long shirt, helmet, goggles, bandana across his face carrying a 45 pound pack on his back and 40 pounds of fire water on his front for 5 hour stretches so I guess he is earning his pay.

Chemo today at 10:00 and then she is off today so that will be a nice break for her. Still no news on scan results but we have but a bug in their ear that we are getting antsy. Shelley

Sunday, July 1, 2007 0:03 AM CDT

Dayton left today to fight the Neola North Wildfire that is burning out of control in the Vernal area. He is excited at the pay increase he receives on a fire but I am nervous and told him so repeatedly. There is a website that can keep people in touch with how this fire is progressing. You can go to www.utahfireinfo.gov for the latest. It is 0% contained and 3 deaths have occured so this is no small fire.

Jourdyn is feeling great and worked today. She has a lot of shifts in the coming 2 weeks and she is glad to stay busy. She has lost about 5 pounds lately. We attribute it to stress but her doctors don't care. They are wanting her to make time to eat. Jourdyn, Austin and I sat up talking to a bunch of friends until 2:45 in the morning and I am sure that didn't help but she didn't work until the night shift today so it was okay.

Rick and Tanner are up in SLC helping out on Grandpa Russ' cabin again. My brother Kris is back in the hospital with a line infection and it looks like they are going to have to remove his line again. He is pretty frustrated and my poor dad is ready to come and live with me if I can promise to seal him up in the basement and push food under the door. I told him only if I could come down there with him.

Once again, people keep asking who Austin is. He is Dayton's best friend who is living with us. He is a great kid and helps out more than my real kids. He is playing football at SUU this year (he may red shirt though) and he will be staying through the school year as well. Shelley

Friday, June 29, 2007 12:16 AM CDT

Jourdyn celebrated her 20th birthday by going out to dinner and then to stay at a condo in St. George with friends. She got very tan and we joined her a few days later where the rest of us got very burned. She recovered from her nausea before her birthday set in and had a great time. She did have to come home to get chemo this week and take care of some paper work but she came back. Now we are home because Jourdyn is speaking at Especially For Youth today at SUU. She speaks for them most summers and we were glad that they called her again this year because they pay her pretty well.

Jourdyn still has not heard the results of her scans and we are a little worried. We usually her by now. She is mostly worried because she is supposed to call several people important to her when she gets the results and she doesn't want them to think that she is not letting them know, we just don't have results yet. When we know, you will know!

It has been a fun summer so far and we are ready for a rest and then more fun! Chemo went well and this week, no side effects so we are glad! Shelley

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 7:46 PM CDT

For the first time in a long time, Jourdyn came home from chemo and was immediately sick. She could not eat anything because of the nausea and her appetite was gone anyway. She came home and fell right asleep and has been zonked since then (about 6 hours now). We usually let her sleep as long as her body needs to repair. She has 5 more chemo treatments before they stop and I just told her to hang on for 5 more weeks. I am not sure why she got so wiped out this time.

She met with doctor Lemons dodaoy and he felt the lumps in her neck. He confirmed that he could feel them and wants them to hurry with the results of her PET scan. (Join the crowd). He is working on a plan B attacak in case this is a new round of cancer just to be proactive. Maybe she is sick because of nerves about all this but, she should be used to this by now. (not that this should ever feel "normal").

Jourdyn turns 20 on Saturday and is pretty excited about that. She is going out of town with some friends for a day or so, Hopefully this will be a short stint of sickness so she can enjoy the weekend. Shelley

Saturday, June 16, 2007 11:18 AM CDT

Jourdyn applied for, and was given, a new scholarship at SUU and it will get her through her junior year! She was thrilled. She didn't get chemo this week because she was having tests done for the lumps in her neck. THey think that they are nothing to worry about but they will measure them once a month for the next little while.

I have spent the week lounging in Mesquite with my friend Lisa (she didn't get to lounge much, she was actually there working). Our daughters joined us on Tuesday for dinner. Jourdyn spent the day at a spa with her friend Kristin on Wednesday having massages and such. She is addicted to massage now. On her way home, her car wouldn't start and she had to have a friend from St. George drive her home because she was speaking at a girls camp that night. RIck went and got the car home the next day. We all forgot about her at work and our friend Tony went to pick her up. Things are finally back to "normal".

Dayton came home last night and is liking his work. Lots of training right now but fire season is just "heating up".

ALl is well and moving, Shelley

Saturday, June 9, 2007 3:55 PM CDT

We had a pretty restless night a couple nights ago. As Jourdyn and I returned from the temple, she reached up to her neck and felt two small lumps. She tried to stay calm but it is tough for her in these situations. We tried to tell her that it was good that they hurt but her other lumps hurt too and they ended up to be cancer. We tried to tell her every lump doesn't have to be cancer but on her it has been. She was pretty distraught by bed time so her dad gave her a blessing. By the time I came into the room a short time later, she was curled up asleep snuggling her dad so I left her there and went to sleep in Madi's room (because she was still at camp).

Early the next morning, we started calling doctors. The first to respond, won. It happened to be the capable Dr. Mike Stults who called first and wanted to see her right away. He felt the lumps and looked at his charts and said that he felt these same lumps and documented them in 2003 and 2005 and that he didn't think they were anything to worry about but she will be scanned anyway (she is due and he wants a new base line on these lumps).

We are going to a dinner tonight for Rhonda and Richard Miller and Shannon and Burt Poulson who are all moving back east for a while. It is a ward party combined with a farewell and should be fun! Rick and Madi will be back tomorrow and I leave for Mesquite for a week and Dayton moves to Panguitch. I have never seen a kid so muddy as that one when he returned from his fire training! No smoke, just mud, go figure! Shelley

Thursday, June 7, 2007 12:27 AM CDT

Jourdyn got her chemo yesterday and tried to get there early enough to talk to her doctor about not having insurance anymore but he was already gone for the day when she got there. Her chemo went smoothly. Luckily she called me after.

I had been sick all day with a migraine that was causing me to throw up all day long so I didn't go to chemo with her. SHe called to see what we needed from the store and I was having another one of my allergic reactions and could not stop coughing. In the middle of her call, my throat closed off and I couldn't respond anymore. I sat the phone down and ran to get my epi pen. Jourdyn couldn't get a response out of me and qickly called my neighbor to come and help me and then she called 911. By then, I was doubled over coughing but I could barely take in a breath. The 911 operator talked Lisa through getting the epinepherine into me and just after the ambulance arrived. THey put an IV in and got some more meds in me. I still struggled but at least I was getting some air. This episode happened so fast! Like less than a minute and it was shut off. my eyes swelled but not like the other times. THey didn't even get a chance to react before I was in full anaphylaxis. It was scary. Jourdyn pulled up crying just as they wer getting me out to the ambulance and Rick shortly after.

Jourdyn and I switched places, me in the bed and she frantically taking notes of everything that they did to me. If I hadn't been so groggy from all that they had given me, it would have been a bit comical. I stayed there for about 3 hours and then they sent me home, still no real answer as to what keeps causing this reaction.

My eyes are still swollen today and my chest is a little tight so we are going to go refill the epi pen in case we have round 2 today. Jourdyn is here today and is sticking pretty close to me. My friend and husband have both called regularly to check on me as well. I am in good hands!

Dayton is enjoying fire school and learned how to make a shelter out of a mylar blanket in case a fire changes course rapidly and he has to make a tent to hide under while the fire goes up and over him. I hope he never has to use that... so does he! We pick up Madi from camp Hobi tomorrow. Does the Cleveland drama never end? Shelley

Monday, June 4, 2007 6:32 PM CDT

For having my house so full a day ago, it has sure cleared out today. We got Madisyn off to Camp Hobe, a summer camp for cancer siblings and she will be gone for a week. Dayton left for his fire fighting training this morning (to Rick in tears) and he will also be gone for a week. Once he is finished, he will be here for a day and then gone for the summer to Panguitch. Austin will leave tomorrow morning for his mom's house in Oregon and then on to Italy until the middle of July.

I went to Primary Children's yesterday and was asked to be on the Telethon Committee next year. It will be hectic but I will give it myh best shot.

Jourdyn is feeling pretty good right now, a few good leg cramps but she has spent alot of time in the car the last few days.
We went to IKEA today and had a crazy good time in there. It is like the Smithsonian, you need more than one day to take it all in. I did think of my friend Lisa at every turn because everything reminded me of something that she would love. I bought a few things. Jourdyn wanted a desk but held off because she really didn't need it. She is a good girl and Madi had a hard time leaving her more than me for the week. They have been scripture study buddies every night and it is nice to watch. I am exhausted! Shelley

Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:40 AM CDT

Jourdyn is doing as well as can be expected. She is spending alot of time on her knees and studying her scriptures. She is getting chemo today and they sent 4 doses so she has another month to get things sorted out with her doctors. We think they may decide to quit chemo one month early. She has her scholarship at the college squared away, applied for insurance, took a trip to Vegas to relax for a few days, shopped with a friend that she hasn't done anything with for ages and went to her friend Lew's bridal shower. It has been a hectic few days but she is on track receiving good counsel from her church leaders.

The house is full but Dayton got the job with the forest service fighting wild fires for the season and leaves for training on Monday and then the following week will move to Panguitch. Austin will leave to play football in Italy on the 6th and will be gone for a long while and that will give me a chance to fumigate the basement while my white and brown babies are gone.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support of Jourdyn. This has been tough on her and she once again feels the love and support of all her friends and family. Shelley

Thursday, May 24, 2007 8:44 PM CDT

I know this will come as a shock to most of you but, Jourdyn filed for divorce today. She would prefer that she just be allowed to deal with this but we will just say, this is a good thing and we are glad to have her home and safe.

The only bad thing about this divorce is that she is without a car, any money and no health insurance. We have been working it all out and, regardless of whether she gets covered again by our insurance or not, we don't care.

Jourdyn got her chemo on Wednesday and she may have to stop receiving it early because of the insurance business. We hope this won't effect the outcome. She went to get ice cream with the ladies from work and she had a great time. She seems fine though she will need time to heal emotionally.

She continues to be a fighter and we are awfully proud of her. Please don't call her for details, as she is trying to keep things normal. Shelley

Saturday, May 19, 2007 11:40 AM CDT

So, here is the new chemo plan as far as I know it right now. Jourdyn will continue on her regular chemo until August. At that time, she will stop all chemo related medications and we will see how long the two years of chemo will keep her cancer away. If and when (more likely when) her cancer returns, then they will put her in the clinical trial. In a nutshell the trial works like this: her lymphoma cells have a protein around them. In studies of mice, they have injected this stuff (HeFi-1) and it goes in and eats up this protein, causing the cancer cell to die. If you don't have active cancer, you can't be a part of the study because there is no protein present to attack. If her cancer comes back, then she will have enough disease to participate in the study. She would have to go to Maryland but that we will worry about if and when the time comes.

I admire her courage to stop chemo, knowing that she is waiting for her cancer to return hoping that this study is her next great hope. Wouldn't it be something if it worked? That is what we will be praying for (that and maybe her having a stretch of time that she can enjoy having no chemo therapy at all!)

Shawn has drill this weekend and Jourdyn works so, life is fairly normal right now. Shelley

Friday, May 11, 2007 7:40 PM CDT

I spent Monday in the emergency room after a retty severe reaction to something I ate. I couldn't breathe and they gave me two doses of epinepherine before it got under control.

Jourdyn went to the doctors with me on Wednesday (after her own chemo) to see the allergist. Turns out they think it is grass that is causing the trouble. I don't think so myself so I am carrying an epi pen wverywhere now just in case the reaction happens again.

Jourdyn did great with her chemo and is very glad that her school year is over. a couple more weeks and the elementary school she works at will be done for the school year. She will then have more time to get the things done that she would like to for her hubby as well as herself.

THe men are at Fathers and sons and Madi is going to a sleep over at her friends. If I am not careful, I may get the house to myself tonight. (I forgot, Austin is still here. He is Dayton's buddy who lives with us. Oh well, I can still read all night if I want to!) Shelley

Sunday, May 6, 2007 12:16 AM CDT

I spent the weekend at my niece's college graduation and had a great time with my brother and parents as well as Melanee and her husband, Branden.

Jourdyn and Shawn got all their finals completed and I think they can both breathe again. Jourdyn says Shawn feels he did well on his finals but Jourdyn is not as confident about hers. She missed one because she got the wrong day for it but luckily her professor was nice about it and let her take it the next day!

After a long talk with her doctor we have decided to wait on the clinical trial for now. We will complete the current chemo in August. Most likely they will take her off everything and see what this chemo did over the last two years to help her. If the cancer returns, then they will put her in the study. In order for the clinical medication to work, you have to have active disease and Jourdyn's may not be enough to participate unless it returns. I talked to Jourdyn about it and it seemed to be a plan that she could deal with for now.

Shawn sent Jourdyn some gorgeous "good luck on finals" roses and she was thrilled with them. She also loved Uncle Kris coming to see her house. He rode home from his daughters graduation with me and we had a fun time together. Jourdyn was a bit concerned when she saw him but calmed down. He doesn't feel great but he just keeps plugging along.

Hopefully, the other half of my family will return soon from Elko. They went for our nephew's baptism yesterday. Madi and Rick should be home any time. It has been a busy, but productive weekend. Time for a good rest! Shelley

Sunday, April 29, 2007 10:41 AM CDT

Jourdyn has been staying at our house for the last two days because Shawn has his weekend drill up in Salt Lake. The kids have had a fun time with her, especially Madisyn.

Chemo went well this week. Jourdyn's doc talked to me a few weeks ago aabout the possibility of having her involved in a clinical trial that is currently being conducted. I have been researching it since then and it has taken me forever. The whole report is written in "doctorese" and I speak "stupidese" so I have gone tothe library and aquired a "doctorese" (medical) dictionary. I read something from the report and then look up all the big words in the medical dictionary and then go back and read the report again until it is all making sense. That literally took me two weeks. I don't know how people survive medical school. (I guess the know in advance that they have not been studying "stupidese" up to the point they decide medical school is for them!)

Anyway, I have contacted the study group and we are in the very very preliminary stages of seeing if Jourdyn qualifies. Please pray for her. If this study is successful, she would be done with chemo! That would be great! Shelley

Sunday, April 22, 2007 10:59 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo on Wednesday and ran the Relay for Life on Friday and Saturday. She was the team captain for her Three Peaks Elementary team. Their team theme was "hunting for a cure" and they all wore camoflage clothing. THeir camp was decorated like a safari jungle with palm trees and animals hanging from the trees.

She also sang the National Anthem at the opening ceremonies and did a great job with that. THe microphone feedback freaked her out at first but she just plugged her ear and kept right on singing. It was pretty touching to see a survivor sing the song.

She walked the survivor lap with her usual cancer buddies and then she and I walked the survivor/ care taker lap together, as we have for the past 5 years.

It was freezing cold but her whole team showed up and took their turns on the track all 18 hours. Jourdyn and Madisyn slept there all night and I came back in the morning.

She did an excellent job with her team and the coordinators asked her to join the committee next year. I think she would do a great job with that.

Back to the grind and she is feeling pretty good. Hopefullystaying out in the cold weather for 2 days won't hurt her. Shelley

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:11 AM CDT

Yesterday was a bittersweet one for us. Not only did our son turn 18 but it also marked the 5 year anniversary of Jourdyn's cancer diagnosis.

It was hard to know how to feel. I spoke to Jourdyn and she said that she fluctuated between feeling sad that she never reached that mark of 5 years cancer free and saying, "lopok, how many people in my condition are even still here 5 years later." She, of course, settled on her defiant spirit and bought a cake, had "cancer sucks" printed on the top of the cake, and she and Shawn drove to the gully where she threw it into the gap! It made her feel better and, by the time we saw her that evening for Dayton's dinner, she wa happy and smiling and not a mention of cancer during the whole meal (which was niv\ce for Dayton!)

Jourdyn has been asked to sing the National Anthem at the opening ceremonies of the Relay for Life here in Cedar City on Friday night. She will sing at the football stadium at 6:00 p.m. right before she takes the field to lead the survivor lap around the track. She has organized a team from her elementary school and will stay at the field all night. We will go and see her sing, walk a while and then go home to prepare for Madisyn's yardsale.

Chemo today and hopefully an uneventful day! Shelley

Monday, April 9, 2007 10:02 AM CDT

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. Shawn and Dayton went golfing in the morning and then everyone (Shawn and Jourdyn, my mom and dad and my nephew, Max) came back to our house and we played games all night after a barbecue.

On Easter morning, we saw the kids for a bit before they headed back to their ward. After church, we all met back at the house for an Easter feast and more game playing. Jourdyn and Shawn both had homework so they left around 8:00 but we had a fun time.

Today, we are all off school so we are being lazy this morning but I am working on a quilt for Shawn sometime today. He has been begging for one since last summer. I will get this done just in time to be too hot to need it!

Chemo delivered tomorrow and administered Wednesday as usual! Shelley

Friday, April 6, 2007 11:40 AM CDT

Jourdyn got her chemo just great this week and he doc is working on some things that we might want to consider trying in the future. Kind of a plan C once this chemo stops working. He is a great doc and seems to be taking alot of time researching things that may help her.

Shawn and Jourdyn will be joining us for Easter as well as my mom and dad and my nephew Max. We have alot of fun things planned to do with everyone and I hope we have a great weekend.

I spent last weekend over in Kanab taking care of my brother Kris. His wife got very sick with an infection, pneumonia and needed her gall bladder removed so I went to stay with him to give his meds and visit with him. I enjoyed being with him but it was hard to see him miss her so much and worry about her so much. He was unable to visit her because of his condition and it was all I could do to keep him from sneeking into the hospital.

Hopefully, everyone will stay healthy for the Easter break. Happy Easter everyone! Shelley

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 11:20 PM CDT

Well, we are back and now need a vacation from our vacation. It was a little cooler than we thought but we had several days of great weather and took advantage of them. We met up with old friends and heard from our kids who stayed home most every day.

Jourdyn got chemo just fine without me last week and she is scheduled to get it again tomorrow. She had a little fender bender (her 4th or 5th) today. Her inlaws came to her rescue and she is fine. She did not find much comfort from me as I yelled at her for a good 5 minutes. Sobbing, she realized I was useless to her and called her dad.

She is being scheduled for scans in July. A little longer than I am really comfortable with as she has not had scans since August. Oh well, nobody asked me and I am trying to back off medically.

I spoke for Primary Childrens again last week and I think it went well. Jourdyn's story is very inspirational (especially when we start back at the start). There were even aspects that we had forgotten about. Funny thing is, the things we had forgotten would have been major things in many lives. I think that I am almost done speaking as the telethon will be on TV soon. I hope everyone takes an opportunity to watch, at least for a minute or two.

Thanks again to all those who held down the fort while we were gone. I have good kids and neighbors! Thanks again also to my mom and dad for the condo! You guys are the best EVER! Shelley

Saturday, March 17, 2007 9:09 AM CDT

Jourdyn had a hard time geting her chemo this week. Her port (the under skin line where she receives her chemo) was hurting and they were worried that the line was compromised so they sent her for a dye study. After a long wait and lots of tears, the study was done, the line was fine and she received the chemo. They think that Jourdyn has an infection around the line so the doc put her on antibiotics that he HAND DELIVERED to her at her house. (I think we are going to like this guy. I think Shawn likes him because he loves fish and fish tanks as much as Shawn does.)

I finished speaking to the Smith's food store people last night. It went well and hopefully they will reach their goal of 315 thousand dollars raised for the hospital this year. Good people. My friend Lisa drove me up there and we had a good time. You would think that as much time as we spend together we would run out of things to talk about but, not so. My parents were also able to attend the luncheon where I spoke so it was an extra special treat. I picked up the last of her medical records from PCMC to take to the new docs. That was bittersweet to leave that hospital yesterday, knowing that her days of treatment there are over. They have been so good to us and we thank eeryone there from the bottom of our hearts.

Rick, Madi and I leave for California today. If you see any smoke, more than three cars gathered or miss my boys at church, please look out for them. (Frankly, between soccer and basketball they are usually too exhausted to even eat so they may sleep the whole week!) Talk to you all next week! Shelley

Saturday, March 10, 2007 11:50 AM CST

Jourdyn has found another oncologist and she loves him. It is Dr. Robert Lemon and he is out of St. George. She will see him every Wednesday while he is in clinic in Cedar city and get her chemo in the same spot. It will be ideal for her!

We knew we were in for a long first visit when the doc said, tell me your history. He knew he was in for a long visit already because he had spoken to Dr. Afify. We started the visit at 1:15 and finished with the history at 2:53! We truly did appreciate the doctor being so thorough. He said he would rather be proactive than get this information during any crisis.

It is officially Shawn and Jourdyn's spring break. They both have to work and Shawn and his dad are finishing off the storage room in their house. The are both anxious to get it done. They have a good sized little house and will have even more room when they get this room finished. Shawn is a hard worker and he is lucky to have his dad's help.

We finished Madi's room (adorable) and the boys are in Salt Lake CIty getting their trash kicked by the big city soccer teams so we are enjoying a warm almost spring day! Shelley

Monday, March 5, 2007 10:39 PM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn attended the military ball on Saturday night. Jourdyn wore a floor length black and white velvet and shimmer material dress. She had a little velvet shrug that went over it and it was darling. Shawn wore a fancy Italian suit and, according to the two of them, they were stunning!

Jourdyn will start with her new oncologist on Tuesday. We are trying to get chemo arranged but she may need to take a week off while we get all the kinks wowrked out.

It is parent teacher conference week so Jourdyn and I are off an hour early every day and you would think that it was spring break! I came home and finished redecorating Madi's room (adorable!) and felt like that extra hour helped so much.

I have been asked to go to Salt Lake and speak at Primary Childrens hospital on the 16th. I will be talking to all the Smith's Food store executives and telling them why they should participate in the telethon to raise money. Lisa and I had such a fun time last time that I am really excited to do it again. However, we leave the next day for a week in California so Salt Lake is a funny directiont o head to get to Southern California but, anything for the hospital! Shelley

Thursday, March 1, 2007 5:32 PM CST

Jourdyn got the last chemo that will be approved by Primary CHildren's yesterday. Because her new insurance is not accepted by PCMC she had to trade over to an new oncologist. Her days were numbered with a pediatric oncologist anyway. We found Dr. Robert Lemon out of St. George who will over see things now. He actually comes to Cedar every Wednesday (her chemo day anyway) so he will see her right before chemo and then she will get it in the same building that she gets it now from the same women. SHe is happy with that situation.

The principal at the elementary that she works at put her in charge of the relay for life today. She is pretty excited to help but a bit nervous to be in charge of the whole shebang. She will do fine. I will help her sort through the paper work and with ways to motivate their team to donate and participate.

Jourdyn is feeling pretty good and her school work is coming along so that relieves her. Me too! Shelley

Saturday, February 24, 2007 6:29 PM CST

Things have improved somewhat with my brother Kris. He has developed blood clots in his legs as well but my sister said that she visited him last night and he was sitting up and enjoying the visitors. I have heard that they are contemplating some sort of surgery on him but I haven't heard much about that.
Jourdyn and Shawn went up there today. Shawn and clients are attending the Jazz game tonight and they are dropping Jourdyn off at the hospital so she can spend those hours with Uncle Kris. She adores that man and he has been such an amazing support that she is glad to have the chance to return the favor.
Jourdyn got her chemo and is feeling well. She has a little cough left over but they said that she is on antibiotics and, if she wears a mask, she will be fine to visit Kris.
We have found out that Jourdyn can no longer go to PRimary Children's Hospital and have it covered by her insurance so we are looking into a doctor in St. George. We will learn more about this on Monday. Of course, Jourdyn is a little nervous about starting up with another doctor at this stage in the game. Understandable, but we are trying to calm her nerves about it until we have all the facts.
I have been asked to speak in St. George on Tuesday on behalf of Primary Children's and I am waiting to hear back from them on a time and place. That hospital has been very good to our family and I am honored to sing their praises.
Well, Rick and I are painting Madisyn's room today and I finished her quilt this morning. I guess I better get back to work before Rick realizes that I didn't indeed go fix dinner. Shelley

Thursday, February 22, 2007 11:00 AM CST

No news on Jourdyn, her chemo went well and her lung is doing better.

I would ask for all of your prayers today for my brother Kris. He was hospitalized last night and is in pretty bad shape. he has blood clots throughout his lungs and is in the pulmonary care department trying to protect his heart. They say that it is touch and go right now and I am preparing to go to Salt Lake any minute. Please pray for him. He is in so much pain right now that he can not even raise his own arms to adjust his oxygen mask. My parents are exhausted and worried beyond belief. They stayed by his side all night and dad went home for a few hours sleep this morning and will then go back and trade mom places so she can do the same. This is taking an emotional toll on everyone. Thank you for your continued support! Shelley

Friday, February 16, 2007 2:35 PM CST

Every time I have sat down to type an entry, someone has come along and needed the machine. I am home alone now so I will hurry and make and entry because it has been quite a week.
Jourdyn got a terrible cough on Monday and felt that it was really hard to breathe. I got her an appointment with Dr. North and he had her go for an x-ray. Becky (her mother in law) took her to that appointment. The doc thought it was bronchitis but he saw a "shadow" on the x-ray and thought she might be getting pneumonia. For someone with only one lung, this is a major concern. If that lung fills with fluid, it becomes very hard for her to breathe. We were to watch her for fever and let him know if it got over 100.5 degrees.
Before she was done with the dose of IV antibiotics that Dr. North sent her to get, she already had a low grade fever (99.5) and she felt like crap. I took her home and got her some soup and then watched her temperature. Shawn got home from work and he started in with the temperature patrol as well. I got us some dinner and his folks came over so his dad could help Shawn give her a blessing. Of course the fever went up to 100.5 and then over it a bit. Just enough to make me wonder what to do.
Because this is Shawn's first real crisis with her, he wanted to do exactly what the doctor said. He thought we should be getting her to the hospital. I thought we should wait a bit and see if it stayed steady or climbed. If it did, we would go but, if it stayed where it was, all they would do at the hospital was give her fluids (which we were doing) and watch her temperature (which we were doing). We finally decided that Shawn would take her temperature through the night and call me if it went higher. He wanted me to sleep on the couch but I thought it was important for him to know that I trusted her with him so I left and then cried all the way home.
I didn't need to worry. Shawn lost most of the night's sleep but the fever broke early in the morning. Since then, she has been quarentines until her counts recover enough to be around people. This has meant no work at either job and no school. By today (she is going stir crazy!) She also had to stay home on Valentines. They had planned to go to the temple with his parents but stayed at home instead.
I think that she is on the mend and had her blood drawn again yesterday to check blood cultures to make sure that she does not have a secondary infection on board. Crisis averted and Shawn did an great job with her! Happy long weekend to many of you! Shelley

Sunday, February 11, 2007 9:51 PM CST

It has been a while since an update but life has been hectic!

Tanner turns 15 this week and so I took 6 teenage boys to Salt Lake to go skiing all weekend thanks to Grandpa Russ. THe boys had a wonderful time and I am exhausted! I must be allergic to something at my mom's house because I got the big frog eyes that I got last year and had to get some benedryl which makes for a fun drive home.

My brother Kris has been having a terrible time lately with his body's ability to handle his new treatment. I got to visit a bit with him which is the main reason that I volunteered to drive the boys to SLC. He got to go to Kanab today for the first time in a long time and he was pretty excited to get back to "God's counrty". Tad met him at my house and Rick and Madi got to see McCray (their new grandbaby). Lucky devils... I got him for only about 20 seconds at Jourdyn's wedding.

Speaking of Jourdyn... she got chemo this week and did just fine. We are still waiting for someone from Primary Children's respond to us. I will try again on Monday and then I am going to get mad! Shawn had drill this weekend and they took all the guys to RIchfield and so she was alone. SHe ended up having a sleepover with Shawn's little cousins and Madisyn. I think she was pretty glad to have him home tonight.

Back to real life tomorrow, tonight we will sit back and see the new snow falling. I am tired of the snow but it sure looks beautiful when the big flakes fall!

Thursday, February 1, 2007 0:56 AM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo today. She mostly sat eating a muffin and drinking a drink that her hubby brought to her while I chatted with the lady across from her. We have a little group that gets chemo at the same time every week and so we have all become quite engrossed in comversation from week to week. One man even helped Jourdyn study for a school test.

Jourdyn and RIck and I went to the temple last night (Shawn went on Monday) and we had a great experience. It is a wonderful feeling to watch your child do all that she does and understand the great importance of temple attendance to help us with the daily trials that we face. Rick and I learn so much from her daily.

Jourdyn has something wrong with her eye and the side of her mouth so we are going to the doctors tomorrow to get them checked out. Hopefully nothing too major because she just got chemo so her immune system will be low right now.

Midnight and I am exhausted so I guess I will call it a night. I am glad for a house full of kids and their friends but teenage boys sure know how to stay up late. Shelley

Thursday, January 25, 2007 5:21 PM CST

So, one of the fish died. Not exactly died, more like was bullied by the shark and then died. Now Jourdyn and Shawn are not only coming to grips with losing one of their own but dealing with the fact that they were raising a murder. However, by this evening, all children had been flushed and/or replaced and, though we are watching one other fish closely (as he seems to be "resting" at the bottom and takes little swimming breaks against the rocks) we are hoping for the best.

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday with a lady who was getting her first treatment. Jourdyn is great at consoling people when they are starting and yesterday was no exception. We remember what it was like to have that "deer in the headlights" look and know that you are scared to death. She smiled through her treatment to show the lady that it wasn't too bad.

SHawn brought me lunch today and it was delicious (Sizzler, and it is my favorite!). It was great because he stayed to eat with me and we talked and I could still get a little work done. Shelley

Friday, January 19, 2007 9:30 AM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn got a new fish aquarium yesterday. They say these will be their kids. They ordered their "kids" over the internet but it is a pretty tank and they will have fun with it.

Jourd's chemo was uneventful this week. Insurance still makes us crazy but maybe that is just a fact of life that will never change.

The kids have had fun showing their house to friends and fmaily. They had a friend of Jourdyn's over for dinner and then Jourdyn's Cleveland grandparents came and saw their house last night and thought they had done a wonderful job with it. They both look quite proud as they tell about all the work they have put into the house. Shawn from the ground floor up and Jourdyn decorating.

Jourdyn had school last night fiddling around with cadavers and I went over to help Shawn with a paper. Now we are just hours from the weekend and I am excited! Shelley

Wednesday, January 17, 2007 12:45 AM CST

Everyone has been so wonderful about the camera! We had so many emails and calls telling us that they had a camera that Shawn could use. Thank you everyone but Shawn decided to drop the class because every camera he took in, the teacher said did not have enough capability. Even after explaining to the teacher about his wife's situation and how tight money was for him, the teacher still said, bummer, photography is expensive and signed a paper allowing him to drop the class. We decided it was better to get out now than deal with a jerk for the whole semester.

They are loving school and Jourdyn gets chemo today. We have had bills overlapping as the companies are just figuring out that she is not on our insurance anymore and needing to bill another company. I am not going to lie to you, I am glad to go to work just so I don't have to deal with insurance companies. Shawn is taking Jourdyn out tonight and hopefully it will calm her down about the whole thing. I did try to help her but, apparently they think she is a gropwn up and should be able to handle this without her mommies help so they won't talk to me. Go figure. You are right Lori, getting pushed out of the system is tough!

Well, I am off to lunch with my neighbors and then to pick up something for my son in law to eat after. (he couldn't help but notice that WIngers was right next to his favorite food so I am on food duty now!) Shelley

Monday, January 15, 2007 9:59 PM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn spent the long weekend in St. George looking for a camera for his photography class and getting more and more discouraged each store they entered. Personally, I think that these professors ask alot of these poor college kids expecting them to borrow or purchase such expensive items for a one semester class. He will talk to the teacher on Tuesday and hope for the best.

Jourdyn has had leg cramps alot lately and Shawn is probably right that she needs more exercise to strengthen her legs. It is hard for her to walk much around campus because of the one lung issue, especially in this frigid weather (for our Florida viewers, we have had record cold nights at -16 degrees and a high today of 10 degrees. Never mind wishing for the mid 70's, I'd take the mid 30's at this point!) Whenever there is an opportunity, she needs to be building up her energy stores.

The long weekend was exciting around here. I watched a marathon on National Guard units in Iraq. I became obsessed and wasted an afternoon crying and telling my son in law that he was forbidden to ever return to that place. I was told by Shawn to "step away from the television" and so I ran to the store for him just to break away from the special (I feel fully bonded to the Arkansas unit and returned home in time for their homecoming episode)

Hope everyone had a great three day weekend (those who actually got the day off) Shelley

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 2:27 PM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn started school on Monday. Jourdyn is starting on her major classes and Shawn is working on generals. Neither was that excited but both seem to be enjoying their classes.

Jourdyn burned her first dinner last night. She called me in a panic because they were having someone over. Shawn got home and helped her pull it together and they had a fine dinner.

It is chemo day and it is still in my fridge so I take it that she has not yet received it yet (duh!)

I tried to reapply to our insurance company for a better rate now that Jourdyn is off our policy. No luck. They say we have to keep our old high rate because we have cost them too much money this year (and the last year and the one before that and...). I guess we will try again in a year and see if they see we are no longer costing them so much. I mean, if we came from a different company, they would not have even known Jourdyn existed to hold her records againsst us. It just doesn't seem ethical. Some people they make \money on and some they lose, it should all work just like Vegas. After all, isn't insurance just a big crap shoot that both sides are hoping never to have to use? Shelley

Saturday, January 6, 2007 10:05 AM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn have finally got their house put together. THey have it so cute! They finished all their thank you's and shoveled out from the 24 inches of snow we have had in the past week just in time to start school on Monday. THe break was way too short but I am excited that they will be continuing their education.

Jourdyn scrapbooked last night with her sister in law. I knew that I should have never let her take her supplies from here, now I will never see her again. I am glad that she and Amberley have so much fun together. Shawn has guard duty this weekend so it is nice that Amber and Bill are right next door to look out for Jourdyn.

The medical insurance stuff has still not been worked out but I will keep trying with them on Monday. We were all excited to have our insurance rates go down once Jourdyn came off our policy but they say that because we have sucked so much out of their pockets, too bad, our rates stay the same. That pretty much sucks but what do you do?

My brother Kris is stil in the U of U hospital fighting off an infection and other complications from his transplant and we would ask for your continued remembrance of him in your prayers. He is a great guy, a wonderful uncle and one of my best friends and truly deserves a break from all this! Shelley

Sunday, December 31, 2006 5:55 PM CST

Well, we didn't quite make it to the hospital. We found out that there were some problems with Jourdyn's new insurance and her ability to go to Primary CHildrens still. We are hoping that they are working out the kinks but, until then, we had to move quickly to get her chemo this week in Cedar City. It all came off and we were only a day late getting to Salt Lake. We had a great holiday with the Whitaker and Cleveland families and did a lot of shopping (I mean THEY shopped...they basically brought me along to hold places in line so they could continue shopping unti it was time to pay!)

Shawn and Rick came up after work on Friday. Jourdyn must have no concept of time because she asked every 10 minutes how long it would be until he got there and every time anyone opened the back door at my mom's house, she jumped up. Too bad they could only stay overnight but SHawn basically drove up to get her so they could turn around and get her to work the next day.

We are all home now. It is a snowy winter wonderland here in Cedar City. TOo bad Tanner's snowboard was stolen up at Snow Basin Ski Resort or he would be using it tomorrow. Dayton lost his season pass so I don't think he will be going either. (Our weekend really was funner than it sounds!) SHelley

Monday, December 25, 2006 8:43 PM CST

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We saw Jourdyn and Shawn around 11:30 this morning. They had a great morning and we were all glad to see them. They went to the movies with the Reber gang and then they came back to our house. We ate dinner together and then they headed back to their place to settle in with games and all their new goods.

I guess we will head to SLC tomorrow instead of Wednesday. Jourdyn doesn't want to have to get up early. Dayton doesn't want to leave early because he has a ski date planned so, I am going to make one of them mad no matter what we decide. Maybe we will leave late on Tuesday and make Dayton drive when it gets dark.

We all had a great holiday and Jourdyn has had fewer leg cramps (at least I haven't been hearing about them). Shawn got her exercise equipment that will help her build some muscle that will hopefully cut down on her cramps. We will see.

Hope everyone had a wonderful day! Shelley
P.S. We will update at the hospital.

Sunday, December 24, 2006 10:57 AM CST

Apparently, Jourdyn is a fisherman! Who knew? She caught 10 fish and had a very good time (except for cold hands off and on which she warmed in the truck). She was incredibly proud of her catch.

We have official times and dates for Jourdyn's doctor visits. We head up on Wednesday morning for appointments starting at 11:00. She will get chemo after that and then more appointments around 1:30. We like to time it so we are out of the hospital just in time to sit in ruch hour traffic and it looks like we have done it again! I hate Salt Lake traffic.

Jourdyn and Shawn's little nephew, Christian, woke up to chicken pox! (nice early Christmas present!) Shawn called to make sure that Jourdyn could be around him today. THough she has had them twice, I think she will be okay if she tries to not touch him. Her immune system is good right now and I think she only got them again because of the transplant (the body forgets all its old immunities and starts from scratch).

I hope we will see the kids some time tomorrow. The rest of my kids have already had two Christmases without Jourdyn so they don't really want another (especially Madisyn).

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Here at the Cleveland home we have so much to be grateful for! Merry Christmas everyone! Shelley

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 10:33 AM CST

Jourdyn had her eyes opened to handling her own medical insurance issues yesterday. After spending a couple hours on the phone, calling me with tears in her voice and finally deferring to her husband to talk to the insurance people, she realized that it is no fun being the one in charge! She got things sorted out so I called PCMC and they are getting her appointments for Wednesday, Dec. 27. I think she will have a few scans, a couple doctor visits and, of course, chemo that day.

Jourdyn and Shawn are going ice fishing on Thursday. She actually seems excited. I don't get it. Of course, Shawn also exposed her to the Rocky movies over the weekend and she went on and on to me about how great they were and how much they were looking forward to the new movie. I would rather set myself on fire that sit through a Rocky movie but I just smiled and said that it sounded like fun.

We are enjoying the time off even though we woke up to several inches of snow this morning. I have some haircutting to do this day and then I think we will hunker down for a snow day. Shelley

Saturday, December 16, 2006 9:34 PM CST

Jourdyn spent most of the day at a cooking class with her inlaws. Actually, they are doing all the baking for their holiday festivities next week and Jourdyn has heard so much about the baking skills of the group, I think she is hoping some of it rubs off on her (or at least come away with a few recipes she knows are Shawn's favorites.)
She had to work tonight.

Shawn worked this morning and ended up spending the afternoon with his boss. He will be a sleepy boy tonight.

Jourdyn sings in church tomorrow so, of course, she is getting a sore throat today. I told her to down the meds today and hopefully she will be feeling better tomorrow.

We are trying to set up appointments at Primary CHildrens but they are in transition mode and so it is taking a while to get the thing moving. We will try for the 28h but we will take the 27th if we have to. Shelley

Thursday, December 14, 2006 8:59 AM CST

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday. Her weight rebounded by 3 pounds, though she looked at me with the look that says, "I know mom, I will eat this week". SHe also called me crying during chemo. Normally this means that something went wrong. Today it was different. There is a little group that gets their chemo at the same time each week. One lady and one man usually sit and chat with Jourdyn and have become buddies. Yesterday, the gentleman came in just to say goodbye to her. The doctors have done all they can do and his cancer is still growing so they are finished with treatment. They told him he has a couple months and it hit Jourdyn very hard to lose another friend to this disease. I left work and went to comfort her but the group was pretty much taking care of each other when I got there.

Jourdyn is taking another final today. She has had one every day this week. She is split as to how whe thinks she has done on them. One good, one not so good, etc. She will be glad when this week is over. SHe will also be glad when next semester she and Shawn are both in school and will have more of the same schedule.

Shawn and Jourdyn had his work Christmas party last night so they headed to St. George. I have not talked to either of them since they went but I am sure they had a fun time. Shawn's Aunt Brittney would also be there and Jourdyn just loves her so she would have someone there that she not only knows, but loves to hang out with.

We are trying to get an appointment at Primary Childrens just after Christmas so we will be able to kill two birds with one stone; hospital and family visits at once. We will have to see how that workds out.

Jourdyn will sing in church on Sunday in their ward and I hope we have a piano player. She is singing with Lecia Pellegrini and the song is precious! Shelley

Friday, December 8, 2006 9:10 PM CST

So I actually got to see both of my kids today. I took Shawn a drink to work (as I do most days when I get off work) and then Jourdyn came to borrow some Christmas decorations. Though they went out for date night tonight, I got to talke at both of them so that makes me happy today.

We have taken Jourdyn off our insurance. I waited a while just to make sure that their new plan accepted her but it won't really matter anyway because she can't be on ours anymore anyway.

Jourdyn's weight dropped this week and Shawn says he is going to feed her bacon grease in the mornings. I think the stress of finals at school has given her little time to think of eating. She said that she will try harder. I say anything above 100 pounds is good but it should be much higher at this point.

We are working on appointments at Primary CHildrens over the Christmas break. Since we will both be off work, it will be easier to get her up there. Shawn used all his days off for the wedding and honeymoon so luckily I will be free. This visit is just a check up with maybe a few tests. Her first visit back up there since getting married.

Our house is quiet tonight and I am torn between enjoying the silence and wishing for a little ruckus to make things feel normal. (Nevermind, Tanner and his buds just walked in and I am longing for the silence.) Shelley

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 5:08 PM CST

I had my first encounter with Jourdyn and Shawn's new insurance, pharmacists and narcotics! Basically they didn't want to talk to anyone who was not on the insurance. Nevermind that I know every pharmacist in tow nby their first names and several were given wedding invitations. I finally got ugly (I know it sounds like something I would never do) and got the medication Jourdyn needed.

She (and Shawn) had a sleepless night as she dealt with leg cramps worse than usual. SHe is pretty tired of this all and more so now that she is married. SHe just wants things to be happy and normal. Shawn did his best to help her out and she eventually made it to work and they have a Christmas party tonight.

I miss seeing them all the time and it is a real adjustment for me. It is pretty sad when you look forward to delivering pills becasue I will get to see at least one of them (today it was Shawn). They have their little world getting set up right now and I am glad that they are spending their time together (it seemed like what I should say even if my heart is telling me that they need to get their asses over to sit on my couch and do nothing!) SHelley

Saturday, December 2, 2006 11:10 PM CST

My friend Lisa and I just got back from a long but productive weekend of shopping in Salt Lake for Christmas gifts. My feet are killing me! We also hit the Festival of Trees and saw the tree that my mom did in honor of my brother Kris. It was a great outdoors tree and it sold to a construction company and it was darling.

My brother is going back into the hospital on Tuesday and hopefully they will be able to get on top of his health issues. He is a great guy and a true example of grace under pressure.

Jourdyn and Shawn are all settled in their house and, after alot of work on both of their parts, the house is darling. They got new couches over the weekend and it has all come together so nicely. THey were relaxing on them as I went over to check out the finished product and I was very impressed.

Jourdyn got her first chemo on the new insurance plan and I guess things went well. I am feeling very much out of the medical loop and it is hard for me to stand back but I am. Not so much by choice but the insurance will not let me participate so they are on their own. There is just more preauthorizing to do and it will take a while to get the hang of it but it will all work out.

Shawn had drill this weekend so Jourdyn went with her little sister Christmas shopping. It was good for Madi. We have not seen much of Jourd lately and I think Mad (and mom) have missed having she and Shawn around so it was good for the girls to spend some time together.

The countdown to Christmas is on. We have told the kids that basically they got a new brother in law for Christmas and they are all being as understanding as teenagers get! Shelley

Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:17 AM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn got back to Cedar City and they opened their presents. They got started at 3:00 and they didn't finish opening presents until after 7:00. Both sets of parents were there helping put things away (Rick managed a few minutes before football was calling).

THey got some amazing gifts and they are getting their little house right in order. It is coming together so cute. Jourdyn goes for her first blood work on her new insurance today. Shawn and his dad have worked hard to get everything in order so hopefully it goes smoothly for her today.

Christmas goes up today at both houses and it will be fun watching it all come together as well! Shelley

Saturday, November 25, 2006 11:54 AM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn are back in Las Vegas where they stayed last night. THey should be home later tonight and I think they may start opening presents tonight as well. Everyone asks me if I have missed them, and I have but I think they should have asked Rick. He asks me every couple hours when they will be back.

Jourdyn took the wrong dose of her pills while they were in Florida and Shawn had a sleepless night making sure that she was okay. He did a good job and made me feel good that he is taking care of her so well. They seemed to be having a good time despite the weather.

Today, we are moving the rest of Jourdyn's clothes over to her house and starting to work on figuring out her new insurance coverage. WIsh me luck! SHelley

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 7:21 PM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn are having a ball! They called to tell us about the condo they are in, they called to tell us about Universal Studios, they called to tell us about their shopping trip, and Shawn called just because he calles me every day at work at the same time. I finally let them know they are the only people who call home on their honeymoon, to knock it off and we will see them on Saturday. Becky has been receiving the same calls and, while we are both glad they love us and miss us, we think they are weird.

Shawn did call one more time to ask if he could give Jourdyn her shot early because she is feeling a little tired out today. I told him yes. Tomorrow they will go to Disney World if they are feeling up to it, otherwise, on Friday.

We are still digging out from the wedding and the wedding sign in book and the catering figures that we saw over 600 people. What a night. At one point, the line went out the front door, down the disewalk, turned another corner and crossed the street to the curb of the seminary building. The photographer took a picture of it and it was amazing.. Becky and I thought we should post a sign (like at Disneyland) stating the wait time from specific points or telling that you "must be this tall to ride". All I know is that I would never wait in a line that long and she is my daughter. People must truly love these two!

I have had several calls from people who saw them in the paper and think that they can cure Jourdyn. Oh brother! get rich quick schemes of medicine, pyramids, people who want to make a quick buck. Either we trust the docs or we don't so we are trying to be polite but it is tough.

Thanks again to my mom for the beautiful flowers (they were just what she wanted!), to Erma for the amazing photography (as usual...Keep Rainey Photography in mind folks!) and Jeff Gayson for the spectacular job he always does on the food. People commented on it all night. To all our families who pitched in and decorated and tore down in record time and to the newspaper for the super job they did telling Jourdyn and Shawn's story. We would never have survived without you all! Shelley

Sunday, November 19, 2006 8:15 AM CST

So I was wrong. It was possible for things to get even better than they were on Tuesday. We have had an amazing weekend.

Jourdyn and Shawn arrived at the temple at 7:00 a.m. and were married at 8:00. Jourdyn looked gorgeous and Shawn was awfully handsome in his tux. They had over one hundred people waiting outside the temple as they came through the doors, including local media. They have followed Jourdyn's cancer from the beginning and, with Shawn in the 222nd field artillary unit locally, I guess they just thought it made good press.

That night at the reception was a whirlwind. I was a little ornery when we first got underway (there are those who will debate the "little" portion of that statement.) As the night got underway, family settled in (minus my brother Kris who was hospitalized in Kanab. His presence was missed and I thought about him on and off through out the night.)and enjoyed watching the steady stream of well wishers. At one point, we had to release all the attendants because the line of people had gone out the front doors, down the sidewalk and around the front corner of the building. We tried to hurry but some people had come such a long distance to see both of them that it was hard not to spend a minute or two with them. Some just came down the street and it was still hard to move things along. It was just amazing.

The room looked beautiful. We had quite a crew on Friday night setting up and we were completely finished by the time the family dinner rolled around. We had such a good time at that dinner. The food was excellent (I just have 4 words for you, "Jeff Gayson" and "Garden House") We played a fun game and embarassed the young couple, watched a CD production and made new friends within the other families.

at the reception, with Music playing, fountains bubbling, cameras flashing,giant screen DVD of the couple playing overhead, we all hit the dance floor where we had Polynesian dancers, a sweet daddy daughter dance and then we all watched as Shawn and Jourdyn took their first dance and the rest of us just seemed to disappear. After that, we all hit the dance floor and we needed a much bigger dance floor from that point. Madi and Jourdyn had a touching sister dance where they both sobbed and Jourdyn reassured Madi that she was just across town and that mom would protect her from the brothers.

As Jourdyn and Shawn left, the crowd blew bubbles their way and they sped away in their condom, shaving cream and pop can covered car. (Thanks in part to the classy decorating stylings of my own sons, Dayton and Tanner. I am so proud!)

I dreaded clean up but, I had barely turned around from a conversation when all the tables and chairs were down. Those Rebers are some hard working people and Bernie and Linda Reber didn't stop until the last bits of chocolate was cleaned from the floor. We were home by 10:10.

My house is a disaster, my husband has still not stopped crying, I don't know who has my shoes and I am not entirely clear where my other three kids slept last night but my heart is happy and my daughter is safe with Shawn. What a blessign you all are to us! Thank you for making this weekend truly one to remember! Shelley

P.S. The story ont the kids made the front page of the local paper. Go to www.thespectrum.com and you can check out a video of the whole shibang as well as read the story.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 8:29 AM CST

Well, someone should just poke me with a fork because I am done!I just can't imagine things feeling any better than they do right now. Jourdyn took out her endowments last night with Shawn at her side and a packed house of family and friends behind her like they have been for the past 5 years.

When we got to the end and the throng of people came to greet her and hug her, she gave her dad and I a long big hug and saked us if this was what heaven would be like. When we told her yes, she said, "what is so scary about this?" Right there, I watched any fear she might have had about dying leave her. What could be better than meeting up with people who love you so much.

Shawn took her to the sealing room for a moment alone and then we left.

I should say, everyone but me left. I watched the crowd leave and still no Rick. I sat out front with my bag and still no Rick. Even the bishop left and no Rick. Luckily, Jourdyn and Shawn had not left yet because Shawn came running up waving his arms that his dad had just called and Rick was already at the restraunt! HE LEFT ME! It took a while for me to recover and Rick knew he was in big trouble soon as our eyes met. He thought that I must have gone with someone esle because he never saw me, nevermind that I was the escort for Jourdyn and it took a while longer to help her get ready. Oh well, all present and accounted for this morning.

We did stop and get all of our blown up shots of Jourdyn and SHawn. About 10 enormous shots and about 20 8 by 10's. That should be plenty, don't you think? THey are mounted beautifully and her video is amazing. RIck and I watched it last night and got a bit nostalgic for a second, until we realized it was after midnight and crashed.

It was the start of a wonderful weekend as family is beginning to arrive. We are so blessed. SHelley

Sunday, November 12, 2006 1:18 PM CST

I knew I was in toruble yesterday when I woke up, looked at my clock which read 7:05 and started crying because I knew that next week at that same time Rick and I would be entering the temple with Jourdyn to give her away. The rest of the day I cried off and on (damn those country songs that kept playing and reminding me of the next weekend).

Jourdyn spent most of the day packing up as the house will be ready on Wednesday to move her stuff in. SHe packed for her honeymoon and then left 5 outfits out for the coming week but everything else is pretty well packed.

Today, the Peterson family will be having their Thanksgiving dinner because the kids will be gone for the real holiday. It is SHawn's mom's birthday as well today so they are celebrating that at the same time.

Jourdydn will get her chemo this week because they didn't want to skip two weeks in a row ao we will hope that she will stay healthy and nausea free.

They announced in sacrament that Jourdyn was taking out her endowments and the time. I guess that will mean a pretty packed session. I hope she will be able to concentrate on what she is there for through all the excitement. Shelley

Friday, November 10, 2006 8:59 AM CST

We are now into single digits before the wedding and it is hitting how much there is still to be done. The kids finished painting their house and the new carpet will be there on Monday and it will be better than new. The kitchen cabinets are very nice and her laundry room is Bigger than mine! Shawn and his family have worked their tails off getting the place finished before the wedding. They will begin moving in on Wednesday.

Tanner and Dayton had the flu yesterday and I thought I was getting it as well so I went to bed and slept and tried to convince myself not to get sick. We immediately sent Jourdyn to Peterson's for the next couple days to keep her away from it. If she got sick right now, she would not be recovered by wedding time.

We are having backdrop issues that we need to resolve today and lots of things to put together tomorrow. I finished her quilt and my mom finished hers. She has one more that needs to get done and two more from neighbors and friends so she should have a nice display.

The kids both got their new school schedules for spring and are glad to have registration over.

We are working on renewing all her prescriptions today so they will have some time before needing to fill them again. I think Jourdyn is working one more day before the wedding at Pizza Factory and then she will be off until they return from their honeymoon.

Thanks to all the people that have sent gifts. We even have three from people that we do not know but have followed Jourydn's life over the website. It has truly touched us that people are so happy for her successes! Shelley

Wednesday, November 8, 2006 1:09 AM CST

Jourdyn had doctor visits today as well as a blood draw. She will get chemo tomorrow and then again on Tuesday of next week so she won't be sick for her wedding in 10 days.

I have been working to finish a quilt and I have one more side to bind and then I will be done. I went over to help clean at the kids house with the entire Peterson family as well as Shawn's Reber grandparents. What a great family to rally around these kids. Their house will be adorable when it is all completed. Shawn is exhausted from running around from job to house and Jourdyn wants to see what he has been working on but he is insisting she stay away until it is all done, especially with all the fumes of cleaners, bug bombs and solvents. He doesn't want her exposed to those things and wants her to only see the finished project. The painters will be there on Thursday and carpet guys will come the first of the week and then we will move all their furnishings in by Thursday.

Jourdyn went for her temple recommend interview tonight and she will have appointments for her hair tryout tomorrow as well as chemo. It is back to the house to get their laundry room ready. Their video is being done by the photographer tonight as we finally got their pictures together and down to St.George. It is after midnight and I am pretty wiped out. I will call it a night and start up bright and early. The house is taking shape and that is making all of the tiredness we all feel worth it! Shelley

Sunday, November 5, 2006 8:16 PM CST

2 weeks to go, less if you ask Jourdyn and SHawn (13 days is less than weeks).

We just got home from Salt Lake where my mom threw another amazing shower for Jourdyn. They invited about 45 people and closer to 60 actually showed up. She got some wonderful gifts and grandma went above and beyond, again. She did an beautiful quilt for Jourdyn that took about a 20 year committment and will be a keepsake for years to come.

Just as we got back to Cedar, some neighbors from Sandy stopped by and it was so good to see them and visit, even though our house was such a sty that I didn't let them go any further than the living room.

We brought so much stuff back from Salt Lake that I could not see through one window on the van.

Shawn had guard duty this weekend but as soon as he was done, he hurried to their little house and began working on it again. His poor parents were there all day on Saturday and Rick even put in a visit to help. He doesn't want Jourd back there until it is done so he can suprise her. It is going to be a darling little house when he finishes it. It will be like new the way they are going to town on it!

Back to work tomorrow, I am glad, I could use the rest! Shelley

Thursday, November 2, 2006 8:04 PM CST

Jourdyn had an amazing shower last night thrown by Lisa Pellegrini. The food was divine, the decorations were darling and we had a crowd and a half show up bringing the most wonderful gifts for Jourdyn and Shawn. They could hardly believe all the things they got.

Jourdyn, Madi and I head to Salt Lake tomorrow for one last shower with our families and friends from the valley. She is so excited and wishes Shawn could come with her but he has National Guard duty this weekend so he can't come. Dayton got asked to go to the dance on Saturday night so he can't come and I just think that Tanner doesn't want to hang with us.

We got Madi's bridesmaids dress fitted today and now we get to start finding the right address for all the envelopes that have been returned to us. Great fun!

The stress level is getting to all of us at this point but we all just have to breathe and try to enjoy the home stretch. Shelley

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 1:57 PM CST

Jourdyn and Shawn have 17 days until their wedding and I am reminded of it constantly. They are getting to take possession of their house today and Shawn is very ready to get down to the business of getting it ready for them to move into.

Jourdyn has a busy day today. SHe had class this morning and now she is getting her blood drawn and chemo in the same day and then she will head to her big Cedar City shower. She is so excited that she is scatter brained right now.

She will have one more normal chemo and then they will adjust for the wedding and honeymoon. She may get to skip two weeks in a row if we can talk them into it but at least the one the week of the honeymoon. I was hoping to get in another visit to Salt Lake while she is still on our insurance but it may not happen.

Accomodations have been made for families to stay in hotels and that will help. We are getting carpets cleaned tomorrow so that I can try to fake people out that we are not the pigs that we truly are.

We are glad to have Halloween over with. I have so much candy left over, at least until Dayton learned where the stash is and then it will be gone.

Madi's dress will get hemmed tomorrow and I got a quilt ready for the shower tonight and I will start sewing again tomorrow. SHelley

Sunday, October 29, 2006 2:20 PM CST

Jourdyn had her first of 4 showers yesterday. Shawn's sister Amberlee threw her a family shower and we had a super fun time. She got some amazing gifts and she just loves his family so much that I am so glad that she will not have to worry about getting along with them. She was a bit bugged that I scored higher on the "who knows shawn" game.

Jourdyn and Shawn finally got bedroom furniture picked out and she is a lucky little camper!

The two are counting down the days until the wedding and making me crazy telling me how long (20 days to go today)

Jourdyn will be taking out her endowments on November 14 which is our ward temple night so it will be fun to have people who really know and love her there.

Her garments had to be special ordered but they got here. She was to small for the smallest size they carry in the U.S. so they sent for pairs from the place that manufactures them for the Orient nations where the people are smaller. She ends up with them a little shorter but they won't fall off her either.

She has another shower tonight and a monster on Wednesday and Friday. She has a nail appointment and a hair appointment and then she should be ready. She is loving all the fun end of weddings. Invitations are in the mail tomorrow morning so start watching for them!

Shawn went to the temple yesterday with a friend while we were "showering" and they are at their temple class now. What more could a mom want.

Chemo on Wednesday. SHe has been a bit anemic lately so they may actually give her some blood products to pump up her system. SHe will need more energy this week as they will be moving things to their new house. Shawn is painting this week and then carpet and, probably just at the paint is drying, the wedding will be here.

Shelley

Thursday, October 19, 2006 7:43 PM CDT

Jourdyn received chemo on Wednesday and it all went according to plan. Her counts looked great and she feels pretty good this week.

The 18th was a great day. One month until the wedding and Shawn's 21st birthday. Jourdyn gave him a gun and he said he would marry her. Nice! Actually, she decided that she would take this opportunity to set the birthday standard of expectations. I don't think it hit her that by the time her birthday rolled around they would be so poor that she will be lucky to get a dinner!

THe two are going to pick bedroom furniture for the third time tonight. They can't seem to agree on a style. We will see if third time is the charm. They got a couch yesterday. Shawn moves into their house on NOvember 1st and will paint and make it great before she gets there. It is nice that they will be in a house and right next door to his sister. That way she can protect Jourdyn while Shawn is getting the crap beat out of him while trying to protect his house with his new gun! Shelley

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 9:09 AM CDT

We are living in a winter wonderland right now. We woke up to four inches of wet, heavy snow! From what I hear, we are in this little pocket of the state that got hit last night. Everywhere else is just rainy. Shawn has to travel for work today so we told him to call us when he gets there.

Jourdyn will get her blood drawn today along with some other tests that her nephrologist ordered. We already have her chemo from last week so we are good to go if her counts are high enough this week to receive it.

The big mix up over decorations has been resolved. the whole thing has been blown so out of proportion that it will never solve itself now! I just don't have the time or energy or interest to work on it right now!

Hope everyone in the sunny climates think of us today. We could use a few warm thoughts our way just to keep from freezing to death! Shelley

Monday, October 16, 2006 9:21 AM CDT

Jourdyn had dto rough it on her own this weekend as Shawn went back to National Guard. They managed Sunday night with each other but she is glad that this only happens once a month.

Jourdyn and Shawn have been going to a temple prep class on Sunday and they have really been enjoying it. It helps that Shawn's dad is the teacher.

Jourdyn is starting to feel better just in time for me to get sick.

There was a mix up over some decorations this weekend so I went ahead and bought my own and now we will have them to use other times.

Back to work...when I have 3 or 4 day weekends, it just makes it that much harder to go back to work. We are back on track for chemo on Wednesday. Shelley

Friday, October 13, 2006 8:23 AM CDT

Jourdyn did not receive chemo this week. Her throat was still too swollen and the hospital called me to tell me that she is anemic right now. That could explain why she has so little energy right now. We gave her a shot that stings like crazy while she is getting it but hopefully she will start to feel better today.

Shawn and Jourdyn were approached by the newspaper to do a big multi media spread about their wedding. The Spectrum wanted to shadow the two for the next 6 weeks and it would show up in print, on T.V. and on their internet as the kick off to thier new multimedia way of presenting the news. After meeting with the photographer and the reporter to hear all that this involved, they talked with each other and decided that, while they appreciated al the community had done for both of them, they have so little time together as it is between jobs and school that they didn't want the media with them every spare moment so we called them back and told them no. They asked if they could still do a couple stories and just not be quite so involved in every aspect of this wedding and so that is what will happen. Watch for a couple upsoming stories in the Daily Spectrum.

Jourdyn got some lovely flowers from her honey yesterday after he heard that she was sick. I waited for my flowers all day but the delivery person must have taken them to the wrong address. Shelley

Friday, October 6, 2006 1:47 PM CDT

Jourdyn has the sorest throat right now and is a little bugged that they went ahead with chemo because that will knock her counts down even more and make it harder to fight off whatever is wrong right now.

we are goint to hit it hard this weekend trying to get things accomplished for the wedding. We seem to get little pieces of tasks rather than whole projects.

We got all the proofs picked out for the large photos last night and will take them back to the photographer tomorrow or tonight. 3 Showers are planned and one more is waiting for a date so she will have lots of fun at all of those! Shelley

Wednesday, October 4, 2006 8:22 AM CDT

Jourdyn has a sore throat today so we are not sure whether chemo will happen today or not. She had a slight fever yesterday and they said that they would wait until today to see if her counts were low enough to indicate that she has some sort of infection. She will got o three doctors appointments today and I am sure at one of them we will find out.

Shawn sat patiently last night and helped Jourdyn until midnight to figure out her math. She just doesn't get it...at all... not even a little bit. It was very cute to watch him try to explain it to her. Her friend Tessa worked with her earlier in the day as well.

I got a new boss yesterday so some of the pressure is off for me and on for her. I do have three more meetings to go to before the transition is complete. Invitations today and napkins as well.

THe dry cleaners called and left a message that they needed to talk to me. I was sure that they either had a stain they couldn't remove from her bridal pictures or they had melted the dress but they were actually getting permission to clean the whole thing and not just the bottom. WHat a relief! SHelley

Monday, October 2, 2006 8:12 AM CDT

This weekend we had the opportunity to listen to General Conference. This is a meeting where we hear from our church leaders twice a year and I look forward to it each time. President Hinckley looked very fragile but gave great counsel. I enjoyed the whole weekend of meetings once I shut out my kids and all their drama and just concentrated on the meetings.

We will get Jourdyn's bridal sitting proofs back today. They had so many taken that it fills 2 CD's!

Invitation proofs will be ready today as well. We are working on final counts for all the printing right now. Jourdyn's new veil (#4) is ready today as well.

The bride is pretty excited that October is here. It just makes it feel like the wedding is closer. THey got registered at WalMart this week and picked some pretty out there things to register for. THey are trying to think of things they will want that most people don't think about until tehey need them (camping gear, games, tools, etc.) They are probably smart.

I start a busy week at work today and so I better go! Shelley

Thursday, September 28, 2006 8:12 PM CDT

Jourdyn had her picture taken for 5 straight hours yesterday in every possible pose that you can imagine. Erma (our amazing photographer) gave her a real work out considering she received chemo at noon that same day. People on the temple grounds were even crying as they watched her. (they could have been watching me bawling my guts out to the point that Jourdyn told Erma to go and take care of me and maybe they felt bad for me and cried along, who knows. Hopefully we got some amazing shots. Her dress was filthy afterwards. I don't recommend rock climbing in a wedding dress even for the shot of a lifetime when it costs 90.00 to have the dress cleaned again for the ceremony. Oh well, all is fair in the name of great memories captured on film I suppose.

I have been running like a crazy person at work trying to figure out what to do now that my boss has resigned. I will sleep well tonight.

Jourdyn and Shawn are at a movie for one of Jourdyn's classes tonight and that should be boring but he went with her anyway so she would not be alone. That is a great sacrifice on his part considering it is the heart of his hunting season.

Well, it is back to work on the wedding. No rest for the crazy! Shelley

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 4:40 PM CDT

Jourdyn and Shawn got their pictures back from Rainey Photography located in St. George and they are amazing (as usual) Erma has been photographing Jourdyn since she was a little girl and we would not have gone with anyone else. She took about 250 shots, 213 of which turned out so cute I was amazed that they narrowed the search doen to the ones that will be used on their invitations.

My boss resigned today so I am bringing home work to figure out how to do this all on my own until they get a replacement. Since it is also Jourydn's boss, she will be doing the same.

Invitations will be completed this week and the addressing will begin. We go for Jourdyn's bridals right after Chemotherapy tomorrow so we will see how her energy level holds out. She just hopes she doesn't look tired in the shots. If anyone can do it, she and Erma can! Shelley

Sunday, September 24, 2006 7:56 PM CDT

Jourdyn and Shawn got their invitation pictures taken in St. George this weekend and we can pick them up on Monday. Jourdyn will go back on Wednesday for her bridal sitting so it was a good thing that I remembered to pick her dress up from the seamstress. They had to take the thing in quite a bit and Vicki did a beautiful job on it, as usual. She has been Jourdyn's seamstress for 3 years now on all of her dance dresses and we would not trust her wedding dress to anyone else.

The two stayed at SHawn's Aunt Brittney's house and had a great time. I had them report that it was their funnest weekend so far.

Jourdyn came home and went to work and Shawn wanted her to take his car. Once she left, he went to work for the next three hours detailing her piggy car. He cleaned the carpets, upholstery, windows and exterior. They are planning to sell her car and Shawn wants to buy her a new, more reliable car. He hopes to have hers on the market this week.

They are going to register at WalMart this week and they should have fun with that. Shawn is much better at what they may need than Jourdyn so it is good they go together.

Chemo this week should be on Wednesday and so we need to get it early so she can do pictures. She is working two jobs but Shawn wants her to cut back at Pizza Factory so she is not worn out all the time. We will see.

Wedding plans were slow this weekend but we think we are still on schedule. When I say we, I mean me. These two thought they were really helping out to get their pictures taken! Shelley

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 7:42 PM CDT

Jourdyn received her chemo today after a long wait to get it approved. She was pretty frustrated but finally got it. Tonight, she and Shawn are out on a date and that will make her forget all about her chemo troubles.

The two are heading to St. George on Friday to have their invitation photos taken. They will stay there and have more done on Saturday morning as well. THey are lucky to have a photographer that ia our family friend who will take two full days to get the best shots.

Jourdyn is fitting in alot of doctor visits in the next little while. SHe went to the eye doctor today and she will have a few more before she loses our insurance and transfers over to Shawn's.

We are waiting for Rick to get home and the kids are starving so I guess I will make a snack before they perish. Shelley

Monday, September 18, 2006 4:03 PM CDT

My friend Lisa and I took care of many wedding items while in Salt Lake but mostly had more fun than we should have. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Rick held down the fort and was pretty glad to see me when I pulled in, that is until he had to unload an entire expedition full of wedding paraphenalia.

Jourdyn and Shawn got their first wedding present in the mail yesterday off their registry. Ron and Linda Felton sent them the dishes that they registered for and Jourdyn was so excited! Her very first gift, and from someone that is so very dear to both she and I that it meant even more to both of us.

The kids are scheduling their engagement photos this week and Jourdyn's dress is ready today for her bridal sitting. The boys are all going tonight to get fitted for tuxedos and my dress is ordered. Madi's is getting altered so I think clothing is complete.

Quilts are well underway and some of them have taken a 6 year investment and should be amazing. My mom is an amazing seamstress.

Jourdyn won a drawing at a bridal show so her backdrop is being provided by Tuachan. We are very fortunate for that and the Rainey family helping as well. People are coming out of the woodwork offering to help at the reception and so we are covered there also.

It will be a less hectic week now. Shelley

P.S. Siblings keep asking what the big suprise for the reception is...that is why they call it a suprise!

Thursday, September 14, 2006 8:53 AM CDT

Someone forgot to get her blood drawn because someones mother forgot to make the appointment like she said she would. Now Jourdyn will be getting her chemo today and will have to leave work early to get it.

Shawn is on the trail of his elk this week and gets pretty excited while he relays his hunt stories. He is going up today and again Friday and Saturday in hopes of getting his elk. I think this will be the first time since they met (except her vacation at the very beginning) that she and Shawn have not seen each other. Hopefully Jourd will survive.

Shawn's ring came last night and it is nice looking. He days it makes his finger itch but Jourdyn just told him he would have to learn to live with an itchy finger. We got the table decorations underway last night and the favors will be tonight.

Lisa Pellegrini and I will be heading to Salt Lake tomorrow for the weekend to take care of wedding details for our kids. Her son Paul is getting married in December. This wedding stuff is both fun and frustrating but mostly fun.

Jourdyn's leg cramps are back more often again after a little break of them not as often and I am trying to figure out what is different now that has brought them back. I would hate to think that it is because she started back on her pills but I suspect that one of them may be the cause. Later! Shelley

Monday, September 11, 2006 9:08 AM CDT

Jourdyn and Shawn spent the day on Saturday getting registered for their wedding. They said they laughed all day as they tried to sort out what they thought they would need. I sat at the house and worked on the guest list for the invitations until I was ready to scream.

Jourdyn came home from their day and Shawn had spoiled her by taking her to buy new clothes for her new job. He even picked most of them out and he has exceptional taste for a guy. He bought her new running shoes in hopes that she will get out and walk to help strengthen her leg muscles and hopefully cut down on the number of leg cramps that she gets. It was just a fun weekend.

As today is September 11, we are trying to spend the evening as a family. Having Shawn as a member of our family puts a new spin on the whole event. We had a night last week where we watched Shawn's footage from Iraq as well as looking through all his still photos and we gained a new appreciation for what happened to him there. We decided that we don't want him going back there again. Jourdyn had a hard time with the pictures and really didn't sit still through it all. I think that she doesn't want to know what happened in the event he ever has to go back.

Back to another work week and more wedding planning. Primary Childrens Hospital could not believe that Jourdyn had picked up a second job on top of the first, school, wedding and chemotherapy. They worry a bit that she is going to burn herself out but she seems to be doing well with it all. Have a wonderful day and remember to hug your families today. Shelley

Friday, September 8, 2006 5:35 PM CDT

Jourdyn received her chemo on Wednesday and this will be her new chemo day. Shawn finally got a check up after his stay in Iraq and is starting to feel better.

Jourdyn is in big trouble with Rick, Shawn and myself lately. I noticed that it had been a while since I filled any prescriptions for her. She finally admitted to us that she has not taken any of her medication (except chemo that someone else administers) for at least 2 months. I wanted to kill her and Shawn just left to cool off. She didn't see what the big deal was because she felt fine without any of them sso she didn't think she needed them. I tried to explain to her that the things she takes are for her long term care. For example, she doesn't take calcium for immediate benefit but it will help her bones in he future. She finally saw the light and said that she would take them faithfully. WHen Shawn came for lunch today, he checked her holder and saw that today's dose was gone.

The love birds are going to St. George to get registered tomorrow and to buy Jourdyn some clothes. She can not wear jeans at her new job so they are getting her come job appropriate attire.

I am heading to the football game tonight with my friend Lisa and it should be good fun. People should visit me today...it is the first time my house (upstairs)is clean in two months! I have raised lazy little piggies and I am cracking down (for the millionth time in my life) and will try to keep it clean for a few minutes.

I went to the doctor and got a shot that helped my two week long headache and he asked me if I had any stress and then started to laugh (because he knows our family pretty well). He told me that I needed to try and cut back on the stress so if anyone would like to help with this, I have a master plan: I just need a couple volunteers to take a seventeen year old boy for about a year, bridezilla and her soldier for about 2 months and smarty pants 14 year old until graduation. Miss Madisyn only makes me smile (however, if someone can make sure that at the next sporting event sign up, they remind me how much I have hated soccer season before I sign her up again it would be helpful) Shelley

Tuesday, September 5, 2006 5:19 PM CDT

Jourdyn started her new job at Three Peaks Elementary School and I am jealous. We will be doing the same speech therapy but she is doing it in a beautiful new building. She is going to enjoy making some money and at the same time being done with work by 3:30 and still having time to work at Pizza Factory at night.

Jourdyn and Shawn did a great job of taking care of things here at home while we were helping with the cabin in Park City. I may never hear the end of missing Shawn's parade with the 222nd but I did call him several times to see how things went.

I needed to come home from my vacation in the mountains to go back to work just so I could get some rest. The guys worked their tail feathers right off and they are now ready for the logs to go up.

Jourdyn will get her chemo on Wednesdays now to fit her new job in. SHe will get blood drawn on Tuesday and chemo after 5:00 on Wednesday. The IV clinic will hate that but it is really her only choice now.

We are working on the wedding a little every day, some days more than others but for the most part it is coming together. Shelley

Friday, September 1, 2006 10:54 AM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday after her morning classes but before her afternoon classes. We will see how she feels later. She has a lot of homework and it is cutting into her "Shawn" time but she seems to like all of her classes but her math and that is only tolerable because her friend Tessa is in there with her so they can bad mouth it together.

The gang is going to Salt Lake to help my dad with his cabin this weekend minus Jourdyn and Shawn. SHe has to work and he is in a parade with the 222nd on Monday and a dinner on Sunday. Hopefully we all have a safe weekend.

Speaking of safe, Dayton wrecked his motorcycle on Tuesday. He was heading to the church for activity night and a little girl came running down her driveway, he swerved to miss her and after he braked, the motorcycle had to be layed down and he skidded his head (in a helmet) and his whole wight side of his body (not in a helmet) across the pavement. Needless to say, he is a little banged up and sore but okay.

My little brother Kris is back in the hospital in Salt Lake. They are trying to figure out what is going on but he is haveing chest pains and such. Today is his birthday and that just adds insult. Please send a prayer his way if you can. (a prayer for Dayton would just put undo pressure on God to protect a kid that is hell bent on killing himself on that stupid motorcycle!)

We had a wedding luncheon with Becky (Shawn's mom) and got alot of things finalized enough to work on. She is a fun lady and we had a good lunch with Jourdyn.

Hope everyone has a great long weekkend. As I don't work on Friday's, mine will be a 4 day weekend and I will love that! Shelley

Sunday, August 27, 2006 3:52 PM CDT

Jourdyn and I went to the St. George area bridal fair yesterday and it was a joke. I guess it did show us we are further along than we thought. All that was there were dress booths (got that) and photographers (got that) and floral (got that) and rings (got both of them) and caterers (got that) so we wondered why we really went. We did buy fabric for tables and stuff and found her cake design. A lady named Dye had amazing cakes that we couldn't resist. She was a lucky little thing and won 2 drawings as well so it wasn't a total loss.

Jourdyn went to Shawn's ward today to hear his mom do the Relief Society lesson. She sid she did a great job and hopefully the moms can get together this week to sort out some details. Becky, I know you read this so we should get together for lunch to talk, dinner, tux's, #of family at things, flowers, etc.

Dayton's mouth is killing him so I guess we will go to the dentist or ortho tomorrow. Tanner spoke in sacrament today (which made my heart skip a beat because I was not informed of this tidbit) but he did a great job.

I am determined to find my basement this week as we need it for a "staging area" for wedding paraphenalia. We ordered the cake top and my fat lady mom dress. It will be stunning next to shawn's little mom. Oh well, too late to become the size 6 I always dreamed I would get to before wedding photos. I have perfected the art of standing sideways and extending my chin for a slimming effect anyway, no point in losing those skills now! Shelley

Friday, August 25, 2006 9:06 AM CDT

Jourdyn got her chemo yesterday after a long wait to sort out who was supposed to see her. Dr. Te thought he was her new doctor and I had to go talk to them and explaon that after his consult, we felt more comfortable going with the Primary CHildrens plan for another year of low dose chemo and checks locally by Jason North. Finally the issue was resolved and she got the chemo.

She and I are going to a bridal fair with my friend Lisa and her daughter in law to be tomorrow in St. George and I think it will be fun. Jourdyn and Shawn will have their engagement photos done in the next couple weeks and the lady to alter Jourdyn's dress is lined up.

I havae Friday's off this year so that will be good, who doesn't love a three day weekend every week! Shelley

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 9:02 AM CDT

Jourdyn will have her blood drawn in about an hour for her chemo tomorrow. They want her to see Dr. Te while she is there but we have decided to stick with the docs at Primary Childrens and have a local doc oversee things here in Cedar City.

Jourdyn and Shawn opened their joint account yesterday. It was very sweet to watch poor Shawn try to walk my computer illiterate daughter through the finer points of online banking. After a very long conversation, the light finally went on and she thought it was pretty cool. We will see how it goes with her in charge of finances.

School is underway for the kids and the college crowd goes back on Monday. They are pretty excited but more excited to get busy on painting their little house. Shawn will move in the middle of next month. Shelley

Monday, August 21, 2006 3:36 PM CDT

Jourdyn is finally feeling better from her sinus infection! We purchased bridesmaids dresses on Saturday and secured a wedding cake. Jourdyn and Shawn went today to open their joint accounts at the bank and starting tomorrow, Shawn is on a budget (good luck with that!)

Jennifer Weaver, a local reporter who also has a son being treated by the Hem/Onc department at Primary Childrens has asked to do a story on Jourdyn and Shawn. Shawn was also interviewed by a Salt Lake City newspaper today and KSL reporter Sam Penrod wants to do a story on their news on the actual wedding day. We are nor responding to any of them yet because they are just trying to absorb all the attention again and whether or not they want all these things going on. I suspect the Jennifer story will happen because she and Jourdyn are such god friends but we will have to see on the channel 5 thing. He did a story on her when she was prom queen and I guess this would be a follow up feel good so\tory as he puts it.

We were going to hold off on chemo this week because she felt so crappy but now that she is on the mend, I think it will happen.

People seem to have missed the wedding date...November 18th. PS Ron and Linda Felton, I need an address! Shelley

Saturday, August 19, 2006 8:58 AM CDT

Just when I think that one more thing could not possibly be done for our family by our amazing Cedar city folk, it happens again. I went into the bridal shop to make another payment on the dress that we ordered and had sent to the shop only to have the sweet woman at the store tell me that not only one person, but three had come in to pay on the dress and now, not only was the dress paid for but we had an instore credit!

I stood there in amazement as my two friends begged me not to cry. I decided to call Jourdyn instead and let her do the crying which she did. If I "pay it forward" every day of my life I don't think that I will ever have done enough for others to equal what has been done for us. Thank you to whoever all our angels continue to be. You will never know how much you have helped!

Shawn will be hunting for the next couple months but assures us that he will show up for the wedding. Jourdyn will go have bridesmaids dresses fitted today. Our backdrop is being built and favors are underway so it will be a busy but productive day.

It is hard to say whether chemotherapy did Jourdyn in this week or her strep/sinus infection but she has been pretty nauseated and achy and stuffy. Some ladies in the ward go together for a "snack and chat" and teased me that they had the whole wedding planned out for a week from today and we could get this show on the road. I have been telling everyone not to even tease about moving the date up and so they worked it all out. Now I just have to keep them all away from Jourdyn and Shawn. They have all signed on to help at the reception though and that will be a huge help. I have great friends!

Dayton made the #1 spot on the golf team and Tanner will be playing in all the freshman tournaments so it looks like they are off to a good start. Tanner seems to enjoy his new high school on the SUU campus and Dayton is just hapy that he is excused once a week to golf during the school day. Madi, as usual, is just happy! Life is good! Shelley

Thursday, August 17, 2006 10:47 PM CDT

Jourdyn got chemo today while the rest of us went back to school. It made for a long day. Shawn called me to tell me Jourdyn was sick and after a doctors appointment it was found that she has a sinus infection.

Jourdyn and Shawn are both sleeping right now. I hope he is not getting sick too. THey were supposed to go pick out tuxedos today but maybe later. The hunts start soon so we will be seeing less of Shawn for the next couple months.

Jourdyn may begin being seen by Dr. North as her hometown doctor which will really help where chemo is concerned.

It has been a long day and we are all going to hit the hay early tonight.

Shelley

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 9:18 AM CDT

It has been a good week around here. Once Shawn convinced me to not kill his wife to be, she has been in best behavior mode. She got chemo alone this week and it was uneventful. SHe has had leg cramping that is the same but soaking in the hot tub helps. Everyone soaked last night and then all fell asleep watching a movie.

Wedding plans are under way, that is if we can keep Jourdyn from changing colors every other day. They are working on insurance issues (that translates to Shawn is stressed out!) and wedding issues (that should mean that Jourdyn is stressed out but actually it means me). I had my back redone yesterday and I go back to work on Thursday so we have 2 days to accomplish alot. The honeymoon is booked, music scheduled, backdrops are being considered so we are getting there.

My brother Kris has been working here for the last few days and the kids are loving it. He went to Madi's soccer game yesterday and they won 5-0 with Madi scoring one goal! THey celebrated after. Shawn took her to the game. With all these extra "brothers" around, I was pretty free to relax and recover. I feel pretty good today.

Blood draw tomorrow and chemo on Thursday. Shelley

Saturday, August 12, 2006 10:21 AM CDT

So, Shawn really impressed me yesterday. Jourdyn and I had a knock down, drag out fight yesterday and I told her to leave my house. She knew from the tone of my voice that I was serious and so she left. When Shawn came over and found out, he headed out to find her and then called me to try and fix it (which he couldn't do)

Later that night, he came over and let me have it with both barrels. He let me know that he thought I was being "high school" and he wanted Jourdyn back at the house but not until he thought I would be nice to her. By the end of the conversation, it was hard to stay mad because he was trying so hard to plead her case for her. He held his own with me and I think I know of maybe three other people in the world capable of doing that. Mostly it impressed me that he stood up for her so fiercely.

Shawn and I spent the day working out butts off getting Jourdyn moved home. Since she would only be there for 3 months, we thought it would be good for her to move home now so that they could rent out her room. We got it all moved back (and when I say we I really mean Shawn) and once she got home from work she started dto organize.

My brother Kris will be here tonight so that will be so good to see him. My kids love it when he is here and it will give him a chance to meet SHawn tonight. Busy and exhausting day but so far no sign of leg cramps (however, we had to fire up the hot tub for Shawn's back). Shelley

Friday, August 11, 2006 2:50 PM CDT

Jourdyn went to get chemo by herself today. I was trying to dig my house out from all the summer filth but ended up with three boys eating lunch here and an even bigger mess ensued.

We are putting together our guest list and I am about sick of looking up addresses already. We are getting close to completion though and it will be good to have out of the way.

Jourdyn is feeling good and has been pretty faithful in drinking her gatorade but we are not seeing much improvement in the leg cramps. We will give it a little more time and see what happens.

I guess I had better get busy making peanut butter bars before I forget and end up in more trouble. Shelley

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 5:44 PM CDT

I am one day into helping Jourdyn with wedding plans and I am opening the job up to anyone that would like to work with her. She is so opinionated and snippy that I am about to toss her back. We did find her hairpiece, serving aprons, pen for the desk veil and other misc. items. We seem to think that if we worry about the little stuff, the big stuff will fall into place.

We are meeting Shawn's mom and dad for dinner tonight. I have met his mom and she was great. We really just need everyone in the same room so that we can agree on how much we are going to make these kids handle for themselves.

Jourdyn cramped up abit on the ride home from Las Vegas and we are trying to get it under control so she won't have to medicate and be worthless at the dinner.

If you see Rick, it is his 42nd birthday so if you see him, wish him a happy day. Shelley

Tuesday, August 8, 2006 10:01 AM CDT

What a whirlwind week it has been. Yesterday we bought Jourdyn's wedding dress. Shawn's mom Becky joined us and we all agreed that she looked amazing in it.

We are heading to Las Vegas today to buy a headpiece and jewelery to match her dress. We have a location for the reception, a temple time and offers of help rolling in. We have some fun suprises for that night lined up and it should be something to see.

Jourdyn cramped up so badly last night, she could not use her left hand. I asked her about how much gatorade she drank that day and when she said none, I had a hard time feeling too bad for her. Luckily she had Shawn. They have been working out their finances and reality may be setting in for the two. Somehow, it works out for us all.

Have a great day and think of me sweltering in Vegas with an ornery bride to be. Shelley

Saturday, August 5, 2006 9:24 AM CDT

So, those who always say I can't keep a secret...

It's official...Shawn and Jourdyn got engaged last night!

Shawn ran covert operations all week, buying a stone from one place, a setting from another, getting them all back to the first place to have them put together... all while we are doing hospital visits and trying to keep it all from Jourdyn while she was practically standing right by him the whole week.

They went to the Tim McGraw/ Faith Hill concert last night. He finally had the finished ring in his posession and had finished practicing what he was going to say (he proposed to me like 15 times until I finally told him that if he practiced on me one more time I was going to say yes and take the damn ring). He was a little nervous all day.

He wanted the whole day to lead up to the concert so he had her favorite flowers sent (lillies and purple things) in the morning, took her to breakfast, a little chemo and a doctor visit that we will talk about later) lunch at Red Lobster (her favorite for some ungodly reason) and then home to get ready for the concert. She primped and sang while poor Shawn was pacing and sweating, trying to have everything perfect.("Is my shirt okay?", "can you see the ring box in my pocket?", should I roll my cuff one more time?", etc)

They called me once during the concert to let me hear some of the singing but no word on a proposal until the ride home then Jourdyn called. He had a specific song that he wanted to propose during and they kept never playing it. He had faith and finally, the last song of the encore they sang it. By then, they had made friends with all the people around them and it was real noisy. He leaned over and told her that he would rather spend the next 5 minutes with her there than the rest of his life without her and dropped to one knee and popped the question. Of course, she cried and all their new friends congratulated them.

They walked in the house, her screaming and him looking like a proud and relieved little peacock. It really is a beautiful ring with an amazing center princess stone. Fat fingers has to shove it on right now but we will have it resized at home.

The doctor visits showed no visible signs of lymphoma and they are working on a follow up plan for the coming year. The scans were long and Shawn tried not to look while they were hurting her. He did a good job considering how nervous he was that the whole day came together.

Today, we have a reunion and a reception so she will begin showing everyone her ring. It has been a hectic but good week. Things have moved fast and our heads are spinning but we sure have two big grins here today! Shelley

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 11:15 AM CDT

So Jourdyn liked Dr. Te very much but we were a little nervous at his plan for treatment. He thinks that at 52 weeks we should just stop the chemo and see what happens. Shawn said he thought that was the dummest plan he had ever heard (not to the doctor). He wants to see if the cancer stays away. We think that "If it aint broke, don't fix it". If this chemo is working, keep doing it. It isn't making her too sick and her hair isn't falling out. He thinks that the leg cramps are from the chemo and may continue to get worse (which they are)if she stays on the treatment. We are worried that, if they take her off the chemo and then the cancer returns, where and how big will it come back? Would she still be able to go back on the low dose vinblastine or would she have to go to something stronger that made her sick and lose her hair again? Jourdyn was panicked and I told her to relax and we will bring it all up with Primary Childrens on Thursday and Friday.

We are heading to Salt Lake tonight. Shawn, Jourdyn and I that is. The rest of the clan will join us on Friday for a family reunion. Jourdyn and Shawn are pretty psyched for the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill concert on Friday night as well. Busy time! We will write when we are in Salt Lake. Shelley

Thursday, July 27, 2006 11:51 AM CDT

Chemo day again! Jourdyn will also be meeting with her new Oncologist, Dr. Joseph Te, and hopefully she will like him so we can coordinate more here in Cedar City through him.

This will be her final chemo before the one year mark of her cancer coming back a third time and she has done remarkably well. I know the docs are thrilled. Next week everything will be done at Primary Childrens and LDS Hospitals. Her leg cramping continues to be the only side effect that she deals with at this time.

It has been interesting (and exhausting) to watch Shawn and Jourdyn maneuver the ins and outs of a relationship. They want common goals and are starting to figure out that all of their goals are not in common. They are doing alot of talking and I am proud of the way they both stick in there until they find common ground.

They leave for his reunion tomorrow. Shelley

Monday, July 24, 2006 10:10 AM CDT

First off... Suzy, we wouldn't miss your reception for anything and we will be there after the reunion.

Now, Jourdyn completed her weekend tending 5 kids and came home exhausted. SHe slept for hours and then headed back to Shawn's house. They are heading to the parade today and then the hunting season starts tomorrow. That will be the true test of this relationship. She is trying to be a fan but luckily he is picking her over hunting occassionally so it is bearable for her.

Shawn and Jourdyn are heading to Arizona this weekend to met the rest of his family and then to Salt Lake to meet the rest of hers. She also has big doctor visits that we are a bit nervous about. Just lots of information to cover at the one year visits and lots more tests.

Everyone enjoy your 24th of July Pioneer day! We actually guilted our dad into taking the day off with us and so we are excited. Watch for entry #58 in the parade in SLC. Tanner is playing trombone in the Iron County Parade band today and then at Lagoon tomorrow. Shelley

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 10:22 AM CDT

Jourdyn had a terrible night last night. Her leg cramps were as bad as they have ever been. I went to get a drink with Lisa and when I came home she was crying on the porch. I tried to walk around with her and soak in the tub but it didn't help. We even medicated her and she woke up in pain anyway. She got back in the tub and cried that she wanted Shawn up here. He came right up and took her for a walk. We tried to beg her to go to the emergency room and get some hydration but she didn't want to go. She is sick of that place and avoids it as long as she can. Off and on I contemplated just taking her but they came in and she layed on him and finally fell asleep.

I am having a procedure done on my back today so I needed to get to bed. Shawn said he would stay with her until she was fully asleep so I went to bed. When Rick got up to get ready for work, he came out and there sat Shawn. He had sat there all night! He said she jerked off and on during the night and fully woke up once but didn't seem to register that she was awake and layed right back down once the pain stopped. What a sweetheart! (Sorry Shawn's mom!)

Now the poor kid got up and went home to get ready for work. He left before she woke up so I had to tell her. She is now getting ready to head for a blood draw to see what is going on that she feels so icky. She works tonight but I bet she doesn't make it through her shift.

We will update tomorrow and hopefully have some answers. Shelley

Monday, July 17, 2006 3:54 PM CDT

It is getting so sickening sweet around here I just may come down with diabetes from standing in the presence of Shawn and Jourdyn. I am enjoying the way that he snaps his fingers at her and says "get rid of the attitude" and she actually thinks about it.

Jourdyn has cleaned my kitchen, mopped the floor, cleaned the back porch and started some laundry just trying to make sure that he knows she is capable of these skills.

She missed her dose of darbopoetin this week because nobody sent it so I guess she just missed everything last week. We will see how this affects her counts for this week.

Hope it all goes well. Shelley

Saturday, July 15, 2006 3:40 PM CDT

There was one happy soldier at our house last night when Jourdyn got home. He got her about 1 1/2 hours early just in case she decided to drive like him but no luck. She rolled in about 8:30 and those two have been inseperable since. I don't even know what time he left and then they went fishing this morning. As my dad said, "They are both so twitterpated they don't know their ass from their elbow righ now." All I know is I may actually get to bed at a decent hour tonight.

Jourdyn's visits are all scheduled for her big one year follow up. She has two days worth of tests and doctor visits and Shawn is coming. He said he will be okay as long as they don't hurt her, then he might cry. I have braced him for her PET scan and when she actually gets the chemo (these two things hurt) but the rest is pretty harmless.

Jourdyn had a little leg cramping at Bear lake but for the most part had an amazing trip with her friend Adam. He spoiled my child again and she came home with so much new make up (Adam is a famous make up artist in Hollywood and is even up for awards for the make up he did for Pink's new video "Stupid girls". He bought her jackets and got her to try things at Bear Lake that she is always too big of a chicken to do. Adam has that effect on Jourdyn. She is way too tan now and will be repremanded by her docs for so much sun exposure to which, in complete smart ass fashion, she answers, "Why, are they worried I'm going to get cancer or something?"

I just poured parfume into a container for Madisyn and my hands are now so covered I smell like a two bit hooker and thus, so does the computer keyboard now. Guess that is all until the fishing trip ends. I hope she remembered to take a drink of gatorade. That seems to help her leg cramping a bit just getting enough hydration. Shelley

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:17 PM CDT

Jourdyn had better get home soon or we will have a puddle where Shawn used to be. Apparently this week feels like it has been as long as his whole time in Iraq. What a cute kid. He has come over every night while she has been gone and we do our best to console him. Hell, he's even making me miss her (she just sounds so much nicer when described by a kid in love!) Frankly, I am waiting for him to see her with no make up, yelling at us while we all wait for her head to spin and spit pea soup at us all! I have tried to explain her bad behavior but he just grins at me with that mouthful of straight white teeth and I almost feel sorry for the kid once he gets a glimpse at the Jourdyn we have all grown to know and love. (I wouldn't say this if I didn't just love her... and if it weren't a little true)

Jourdyn's 1 year visits are now scheduled. Shawn will be going with us so he can get a feel for the program. The docs seemed to be saying that they thought Jourdyn's program was TWO years, not one. They acted like another year was no big deal but, I was almost glad Jourdyn was not here or she would have killed someone (refer to behavior listed above)

I guess it really doesn't matter because we think they will want to keep giving chemo anyway. Jourd will have 10 tests that day as well as 2 doctor visits and chemo. Plenty full schedule.

Shawn asked Jourdyn to go to the Faith Hill/Tim McGraw concert the night after her hospital visit and a family reunion for us the next day. That should give the boy plenty of time to see ALL of both sides of the family and, if he is still here after that insane weekend, we will assume he is crazy and he should fit right in!

Monday, July 10, 2006 10:04 AM CDT

Jourdyn headed to Salt Lake yesterday. Not before she threw an ugly tantrum right in front of Shawn because her siblings wouldn't get in the car to leave until the World Cup soccer match was over. I asked him if he was watching this because this was the true Jourdyn shining through. He laughed. Poor Kid!

The two spent the day on Saturday at his sisters wedding and then a friends reception. They made their own dance floor in her friends living room and left me to wash dishes.

Shawn came to dinner last night (thanks to my buddy Lisa for the spaghetti sauce) even though Jourdyn was not here. I love a kid that is not afraid to talk even when the girl is not there. We ate at 6 and talked until 11. I don't care what Jourdyn does, I'm keeping him! Luckily Jourdyn wants to keep him too. We have bets as to how long Jourdyn will make it at Bear lake. She may have to stay because she is riding with others, plus she has waited for a long time for this trip with Adam and was way excited. If only Shawn fit in her duffle bag.

Jourdyn's chemo went great. It has really been uneventful for almost a year which the doctors told us would be a really great sign if she made it to the one year mark with few complications. She has had NONE!

Chemo is on hold this week as she is on vacation so nothing eventful should happen this week! Shelley

Friday, July 7, 2006 11:22 AM CDT

Jourdyn received chemo #35 today. Technically that means that she should have 17 more weeks to go. I think that puts us into Dece,ber before she actually finishes. At our next visit to Primary Childrens we will ask them again what happens on week #53. We hope they have a plan. Our plan is to continue with chemo. We figure, if it aint broke, don't fix it. If they quit chemo, we worry that the cancer will return. THis dose is manageable and seems to be working so we want to just continue.

Jourdyn had a long day and will continue to have a long week. She has been burning her candle at both ends and her dad is afraid that she is going to burn out. She went to Pirates last night at the midnight movie and had to be up early for chemo. Now her friends are here from Salt Lake so she will get no sleep until they leave and then she heads to Bear Lake for a week. No Sleep!

She went to her house yesterday and was greeted by 18 long stemmed roses waiting for her! I mean long. I let Shawn know that he was in trouble with Rick because I called Rick to tell him that he had never sent me that many roses just because it was a Thursday (I get them on birthdays, anniversaries or when he has screwed up!) Rick believes this is the first time he has been in trouble for something that he didn't do! These two are going to have a hard time being apart for a whole week. Shelley

Wednesday, July 5, 2006 7:51 PM CDT

NEW PHOTOS ON THE SIGHT... CHECK EM' OUT!

We had a great fourth of July! The weather was just perfect. Overcast for the parade where Madisyn was a clown and I got to meet Jourdyn's new flame. He is a super sweet guy and they seem to be having a blast. Meeting the overwhelming mother can be intimidating and he held his own. All that Iraq war training must have come in handy!

Jourdyn had to work so she missed the city fireworks but she did get to come to the barbecue at our neighbors and she and Shawn did fireworks after she got off work.

Jourdyn had friends coming from Salt Lake to visit this weekend so she is bugged that chemo is interfering with her plans. They are going to the car show on Saturday and then will hook up and go to dinner with Shawn. She will then head out on Sunday for a week in Bear Lake (not actually IN the lake the whole time) with her friend Adam and his parents. Adam is one of her dearest friends and she is looking forward to this trip. She will have to miss her dose of chemo that week so we will see tomorrow how Primary's feels about that.

The weather has been overcast today and I have been hoping for more rain all day. I think I could comfortably live in Seattle... I just love it! Shelley

Tuesday, July 4, 2006 0:20 AM CDT

Jourdyn has been busy this week. She played nanny during the day, worked the afternoon shift and then dated the evenings every night this week. She did again on Sunday and tonight and is doing the same again tomorrow. She is planning to go on vacation with her friend Adam next week and that may actually be a break for her to get caught up on sleep (but I doubt it). They are heading to Bear Lake for a reunion.

Chemo has been causing all kinds of trouble with Jourdyn's leg cramping. THey are getting worse all the time and she had Shawn take her home early last night because she was crying in pain. For her to cut a date short with him... she must have been hurting.

She is done speaking until the end of the month. She is finally starting to see the checks coming in for her speaking and commercials so she is feeling wealthy right now and took me to lunch! She even paid for her sister's fee to play on the allstar team.

Madi and Tanner are both in the parade tomorrow. Jourdyn and Shawn are sitting with us at the parade which will be the first time I meet him. Being freshly home from serving in Iraq, it will be very patriotic for us tomorrow. Have a great 4th! Shelley

Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:01 AM CDT

Jourdyn and I headed up Cedar Canyon last night to present her fireside at a Girls Camp. We were given basic instructions and told that there would be a sign marking the turn off and paper plates showing the way from there. Well, no sign, no paper plates and we were wandering the mountains in the vacinity of the camp.

For those of you that don't already know. I don't camp. I don't camp because I am terrified of deer (I know it seems like a stupid phobia but I think being afraid of snakes is silly too). Needless to say, even though it was light outside, we were on the top of the mountain in the deer playground. Jourdyn kept flashing her camera at me as I drove on abandoned roads with my shoulders up around my ears like a protective shield.

We finally ran across the road and, almost an hour late, presented the fireside. Again, she did a great job. We answered a few questions and then headed down the mountain just after 9:00 p.m. Of course, we are now in the dark on a road we don't even know how we found in the first place, trying to find the highway in the dark through a deer infested obstacle course.

With my lights on bright, we made our way 10 miles per hour down the hill, Jourdyn laughing all the way. I told her how freaky it would be to get a flat tire because she would have to walk by herself to find help. It freaked her out a little but not as much as my Sasquatch and homeless drifter stories. By the time we found the highway, we were both almost in tears, partly because we were terrified and partly from laughing at ourselves.

Jourdyn is feeling pretty good and is getting her blood drawn as we speak. She will get chemo tomorrow, in between tending a friends children for the weekend and dating. A friend of hers, Shaun Peterson, just returned from Iraq with the 222nd and looked up Jourdyn. She is enjoying hanging out and going out.

P.S. Do not get so competitive during a harmelss family volleyball game that you forget that you lost the tip of your finger in a freak knifing accident and try to lob a ball at your wife or you will end up on the ground groaning in pain and holding your bloody stump crying like a girl (or something like that!) Shelley

Saturday, June 24, 2006 6:03 PM CDT

Jourdyn had a busy couple days. She and i headed to Salt Lake so she could do her fireside for a Youth Conference in Sandy and did a great job despite having chemo that morning and feeling terribly nauseated by the time the fireside started. You would have never known, she did a great job. Her phone rang in the middle of the talk so I grabbed her purse and ran out into the hall. It was her dad seeing how the fireside went. Nice.

Friday morning she headed bright and early to Ogden to shoot a commercial she had been asked to participate in. They heard about her cancer status through a friend and asked for a photo of her. When she sent it, they said that they couldn't use her because she LOOKED TOO HEALTHY! She had me resend new photos of her during transplant and they decided to use her for an Intermountain Health Care commercial. They told her to bring 3 changes of clothes so she went out after the fireside and hurried and picked out three outfits. When we got to my mom's house to stay for the night, they had sent her an email stating that the outfits could not be white or have logos on them. Of course everything that she bought had Roxy all over the front so she went to a friends the morning of the shoot to borrow outfits only to get to the hospital to have them decide to just put her in a hospital gown. THey still didn't think she looked sick enough so they took all her make up off, powdered her face and accentuated the dark circles under her eyes.

As she sat there waiting for her turn to shoot, she looked over at me and said, "Well, another birthday and here I am sitting in the hospital!". We had a good laugh but, as they were paying her $100.00 per hour, we really didn't care how long it took them to get to her shoot. 2 1/2 hours later, we left and headed to eat sushi at Happy Sumo, as the director heard it was her birthday and that she loved sushi from Jourdyn's friend. We had a great meal!

We then hurried to pick up Madi from Camp Hobi where she had a great sunburned time and then we headed home.

Jourdyn had no idea what was going to happen that night so she didn't worry too much about the time (other than she wasn't thrilled about spending her birthday in the car). Her roommate Janell had plans to take her to dinner and then they needed to swing by Janell's mom's house. Imagine Jourdyn's suprise when they walk through the back gate and a suprise party had been planned for her. She called me to tell me ( of course I already knew). The ratio of boys to girls was perfect (about 1 girl to every 5 guys) and she had a blast. SHe got 3 new swimsuits for her birthday and got to wear them all if she wanted to that night.

Tonight she is going with Tyler Kinross (a friend from high school) to the Panguitch baloon festival to hear Janell and her family perform. Janell and her sisters and mom have a singing group and perform all over the world (they went to China last year) so Jourdyn is pretty excited to go hear her tonight. She had a killer day at Pizza Factory and made more in tips than ever before so she is having a rocking few days here! It is good to have everyone home again as we have all missed Madi. Shelley

P.S. Finger watch: Rick went to the docs yesterday because he thought he was getting an infection. Turns out he is just a whining male after all!

Thursday, June 22, 2006 8:58 AM CDT

Jourdyn's blood work was good yesterday so she will get chemotherapy today at 10:30. She really wanted to skip this treatment because she is always a little sick the day after a treatment and tomorrow is her 19th birthday so she really didn't want to feel icky. Hopefully we will get enough fluids in her that she won't get too sick.

Jourdyn will also be traveling to Salt Lake to speak at a Youth Conference in Sandy tonight. The address is 11400 south 1000 east Sandy, Utah and it starts at 6:00 p.m. This will be the first one she has done on a chemo day so we will see how her energy holds out.

We will pick Madi up from her cancer sibling camp on Friday and then head home for Jourdyn to have her big birthday party with her room mates. She is pretty excited! Wish her well id you see her tomorrow! Shelley

P.S. Rick's finger continues to look like an Arby's side order today but I guess it takes a long time for healing.

Sunday, June 18, 2006 2:36 PM CDT

We are at my Whitaker family reunion this weekend and, as a note to everyone, if you ever cut the end of your finger off, do not put it directly on ice, rather, wrap it in saline and then put it on ice. How do I know this you ask? Well, because my husband managed to severe the end of his left ring finger off as he sat and visited with family and whittled as he loves to do.

I tried not to give sympathy, as he is known to cut himself often (little cuts) and I hate that he whittles in public (because wood chips fly everywhere). However, this time, he jumped up pretty quickly and, upon showing it to us, we about lost my sister Kim and Aunt Joyce. Luckily this was a reunion and so we had many people on the ground hunting for the end of the finger to take to the hospital. People were on their hands and knees blowing the wood chips away thinking that the end of the finger wouldn't move. They were right. My cousin Debra was the lucky winner of the finger scavenger hunt. She was not to keen on claiming her prize so I had to go over and pick up the dead stump. I felt a bit like one of the crime fighters on CSI (the original, not Miami) with my little forensics sample in my hand.

We headed to the hospital where, they did not reattach the end (or even clean his finger before putting neosporin on it and wrapping it so it looks like a chicken drumstick and sending him on his way. This really made Rick mad because he thought there would be nothing for them to do and he just wanted to wrap it up himself. Luckily, it was not his money hand (the one he draws with) because they said it will take it months to heal.

As they did not fix the finger, the memorial services for "Stumpy" Cleveland will be held on Monday. Viewing all day for anyoone that is interested as I have saved the finger in a jar (of saline) to dazzle the neighbor kids until it starts to stink.. So went our Father's Day!

For a change, Jourdyn did not provide the weekend drama and she kept swimming through the whole episode and didn't see the finger until our return. She is staying in Salt Lake until Monday when we take Madisyn to camp and then we will hit a bit of birthday shopping for her (5 more days).

Sunday, June 11, 2006 7:01 PM CDT

Well, I managed to make it 3 whole days before letting my kids come to the St. George vacation I was taking. My friend Lisa joined me for the first 3 days and then the relaxation was over but it was my own fault.

Jourdyn went to Las Vegas Monday Tuesday and Wednesday to work for my sister and got paid an obscene amount of money. She also got in a car wreck... Again. It was her fault... again and the girl she hit took off with only Jourdyn's number and her first name. Jourdyn was so upset that she actually gave Keller's phone number (which is similar to hers) but he has not heard from the girl. Hopefully she never calls because we have no way to get hold of her. If she does call, the Las Vegas police will charge her with leaving the scene of an accident. Bummer since she wasn't at fault.

Jourdyn went to Zion's park for her roommates birthday party on Friday and Saturday. She had a great time but, after river rafting, she got leg cramps so bed that some young men that were with the group had to give her a blessing. How great that she spends time with people that can do that for her.

We leave on Friday for my family reunion and will be home on Monday, as we have to stay to take Madisyn to Camp Hobe, a cancer sibling camp. Then back to Salt Lake on Thursday for a fireside in Sandy and home on Friday, Jourdyn's 19th birthday. A busy week! Shelley

Saturday, June 3, 2006 10:21 AM CDT

Jourdyn presented her morningside at EFY this morning in Cedar City and did another great job. She is getting more comfortable with her presentation and her biggest problem is that she just talks for a bit and then, when she needs to refer to her notes, has lost her place and it took a second to regroup but overall another great performance. She will do it again on the 18th for a fireside and then in Sandy on the 22nd for a Youth COnference. After that, she will enjoy a little summer down time.

I (Shelley) am running away from home today. My mom and dad gave me a week in a St. George condo for my birthday. I should invite my family but I have learned something about myself... I am not that good a mom. Actually, I will go with my friend for 2 days, enjoy a few by myself and my scrapbook supplies and then the kids will come for the last few days. Last year I spent a lot of time crying and sleeping and getting all the emotion let out that I don't seem to do in front of people. It is very therapeutic. On Friday i will be joining my little brother Kris (Russ) at the Relay for Life in Kanab with my parents.

Jourdyn will leave on Sunday for 3 days in Las Vegas with my sister tending her little step son, Zane, while he is with them for the summer.

Please watch for smoke from my house, blood from my children and any bones protruding from anyone. However, if you find any of these things, please call Rick at work. I don't care for one whole week! Shelley

Thursday, June 1, 2006 9:07 AM CDT

Jourdyn will speak at EFY this Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. It is at the north institute building on the Southern Utah University campus. It is a little early but it is also summer so there should be no reason she can't get good rest before.

We heard this week from the medicaid office that Jourdyn's benefits will be discontinued on her 19th birthday because she is not sick enough for them. We told them we could get medical records showing the decline in her legs and the cramping, the kidney in failure, one lung, chemo, cancer, blah blah blah but they said that unless she is pregnant (good luck with that with no ovaries) or completely disabled she is cancelled. I see people walking around all the time with less medical issues that are still on medicaid. We will try the social security office but they told us that is unlikely. Happy birthday Jourdyn.

She will receive chemo today and then is spending the day with Madisyn. The two sisters have been apart for a whole week and missed each other pretty badly so they are hanging together all day. THey invited me but, with the boys at Youth Conference with their dad, the though of a house to myself sounded pretty good.

We are still trying to adjust Jourdyn's meds for her legs. The dose is making her worthless when she takes it and charlie horses continually when she doesn't. We are trying to find a happy medium. Maybe I will send her to stay with her medicaid case worker and see if he can figure it out! Shelley

Friday, May 26, 2006 11:37 AM CDT

Jourdyn has been asked to be a speaker at EFY (Especially For Youth). THis is a sort of motivational/spiritual speaker to youth groups that spend a week on a college campus learning to work together and feel the spirit together. She will speak to her first group on Saturday, June 3rd at 6:30 a.m. on the Southern Utah University Campus. She said yes even before they told her that she got paid for these gigs so she was doubly excited. She will use a version of her talk from the fireside. She has also been asked to submit a version of the fireside to our church magazines, THe Ensign and the New Era. That would be so great if they actually use them. She said she would think about the magazine thing but made no committment.

My mom was diagnosed with skin cancer this week. THey are going to take a biopsy in about 8 days. She just had knee surgery so they didn't want to doit until she had some recovery time from that. She doesn't seem to be too worried but, as for me, I will rest easier when we get the results from the biopsy.

Today is my 14th anniversary of my 28th birthday (as my husband puts it) and so I am having a pretty leisurely day. My poor dog got bit by a spider last night and his whole face swelled up until we almost couldn't recognize him. He is still a bit swollen today but looks much better. THe benedryl we are supposed to continue giving him makes him quite entertaining but we were pretty worried last night.

Jourdyn continues to have charlie horses worse and worse. THey have given her more medication (muscle relaxer) but they just knock her out. Two nights ago, she literally fell asleep at the computer and smacked her head on the table on the way down. Her dad had to carry her to bed because she couldn't walk. I think the new dose may bee too high! She and our dog Bruiser looked very similar in the way they walked. SHe has a big date night tonight so she is praying that the leg cramps stay away today.

Shelley

Monday, May 22, 2006 7:28 PM CDT

Jourdyn did her first fireside last night and I think she did a great job. She was so nervous that her story would get boring, that she would go over the hour time limit (she had 2 minutes to spare including their opening and closing songs and prayers). The crowd seemed truly touched and i think she is ready for the other ones that are scheduled. She has one more in Salt Lake and maybe two more. She is scheduled for a paying gig on June 3rd. These gigs help because the trip back and forth gets a bit pricey with gas going through the roof.

Jourdy will get blood work on Wednesday, chemo on Thursday. School is out for the year that same day (Hurrah!) and summer will be officially underway for the rest of the family. Jourd started a bit ago and has been hanging out at Sand Hollow and with room mates and buddies. She is having a good stretch of time right now.

Thanks for all our family on both sides, friends (sorry I didn't get to visit more after but it was a bit hectic) and old ward members for coming to the fireside. Jourdyn had friends who showed up from elementary and middle school when they heard it anounced in their wards that she was speaking. It was a good night. SHelley

Wednesday, May 17, 2006 7:47 AM CDT

Jourdyn has had a hectic few days getting everything ready for her fireside. It will be held on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. at the Flint Drive Chapel, Edgemont Ward in Sandy, Utah. She is pretty ready and it should be a nice event.

She and I spent the day in St. George getting a new windshield yesterday and we had a good time together. The warm weather zaps her energy lately and she was p oo ped out just in time to get home, regroup and head to Fillmore to meet her dad coming home from his Atlanta trip. It was good to get him back home, though we can all tell he had a wonderful time with his brother and Janell.

Jourdyn is supposed to be drinking three gatorades a day right now and it is proving to be about impossible for her. She still cramps up so badly and couldn't even get the lid off her own pill bottle yesterday because her hands were so cramped up. It reminded me of my sister Heidi when she needs her calcium. She has a little cold so we will see if we can stay on top of it before it turns into something bigger.

It is good to have my whole family together again. Tanner had a concert last night and received an award for outstanding section lead. His hard work is paying off in the music department. He has another concert tonight. No big deal but Madi has a softball game also and I have my achievement days group of girls today. Thank heavens that Rick is home, we will divide and conquer. Shelley

Thursday, May 11, 2006 3:42 PM CDT

Jourdyn went to the hospital in Salt Lake this week by herself. The child has only been to that hospital at least 100 times but I had to talk her through how to get there on her own. I couldn't even say turn east or west because, apparently,she has no concept of any directions except left and right.

She went to all her appointments. They will rescan her next month to see how the cancer is coming along. The nephrology (kidney) people don't know what else to do about her leg spasms and charlie horses so they are just going to up the dose of her muscle relaxers. The shots she is getting are not helping to keep her hematocrit high so they have doubled the dose again and we will see how it works.

Dayton is on the road to recovery. He has not been working because he can't have the saw dust in his nose but I told him he is going back today and I will get him a mask. He wasn't very excited about that plan but that is the one that we are sticking with.

Rick is in Atlanta this week visiting his brother and participating in an art show. I hope things go well for hime there. He has some great new prints he did of Christ and Joseph Smith that Ihope sell well. He sure is talented.

Since Rick is gone, my house has gone to hell in a handbasket and the kids are surviving on hotdogs and top Ramen noodles (microwaved because it is just to darn long to wait for that water to boil).

Jourdyn stayed in Salt Lake for a friends wedding so she will be home for Mother's Day and Rick will be home on Tuesday. All seems as well as it can get and we will take it. No visits to Primary CHildrens until August! Shelley

Saturday, May 6, 2006 9:10 PM CDT

Jourdyn has been doing great since chemo. I think it had more to do with her getting done with her college finals and ending this school year. She is working today but had a busy day at her house as many of the girls were moving home for the summer and new girls were moving in. Because Jourdyn is now one of the oldest residents, she got to move to a room that she wanted until their new house is built in August. She will be moving into the new wing. Laurie Hansen Hunter, the owner of the house, probably has no idea how good this has been for Jourdyn to be with those other girls. It has also been good for the residents of our house to have the focus taken off Jourdyn for a bit.

We have a first official Salt Lake City date for Jourdyn's fireside. It will be at 5:00 p.m. on May 21st at the Flint Drive Chapel in Sandy, Utah (unless they decide to do it on a stake level and then it will be moved to the stake center that is just west of the Flint building.)

Dayton is having a tough go of his recovery. He feels like crap and is in more pain than he thought he would be in at this point. Hopefully he will turn the corner soon.

Shelley

Thursday, May 4, 2006 10:06 PM CDT

It has been a busy couple of days. Dayton had his nose surgery today and he is not a happy camper tonight. His nose is stuffed with two straws to help him breathe. He is bleeding and hurting. Last night Tanner had to be taken to the doctors because his stomach hurt. THey did blood work and said that they were going to watch him because the counts were leaning towards his appendix. I asked if we could get an operating room 2 for 1 deal but they didn't laugh near as hard as I thought they should have. I thought it was funny but then, anything to keep my tears of laughter from turning into the ones of despair. (I have found that they turn on us very quickly lately). Turns out he didn't need surgery after all and is feeling a bit better this evening. His fever has gone away and so has his headache.

Jourdyn got chemo today and we laughed that things had to be pretty bad when chemo was number 3 on my priority list. In fact, in family prayer this morning, Rick had to remind me to bless Jourdyn during chemo. She went by herself and must have done fine because she is out tonight with most of her girlfriends from high school. Her buddy Emily is moving to Chicago on Friday and so they had a farewell bash for her.

I am taking tomorrow off work and taking care of my baby boy. Hopefully by Monday he will feel like getting off the couch.

Shelley

Tuesday, May 2, 2006 11:45 PM CDT

Jourdyn has been feeling a bit draggy the last week or so. I am not sure why because she is receiving a new dose of aranesp. She even went in for a blood draw today because she just had no energy. We will not hear the result until tomorrow. Finals are all this week and most are tomorrow so she can't afford to miss. Dayton is having his deviated septum repaired on Thursday so Jourdyn will have to tough out chemo by herself.

Jourdyn will also be heading to Primary Childrens next Wednesday by herself. She will take a list of things that we need considered (like what to do about her energy level) and she will get chemo. I am nervous about her going alone, not because I worry that she won't speak up for herself but that she voices too much and isn't willing to listen to compromises. I guess she will have to try it alone and I can clean up the pieces from the visit later. Jourdyn just refuses to do much at Primary's. With Dr. Ghaffari on leave, they pretty much want her up north and she is not going for it. It should make for a great fireworks show on Wednesday of next week. Sick I am going to miss it but Rick will be in Atlanta at an art show and Dayton will still not be up to being alone. After taking care of Jourdyn's medical needs for 4 years, if I skip out on Dayton's the one time he needs me, well you all figure out how much trouble I would be in.

We have the first date for one of Jourdyn's firesides that will finally be in the Salt Lake Valley. She will be speaking at the Edgemont ward in Sandy on May 21. We think at 5:00 but maybe 6:00. We like the earlier time because we will drive home after and that makes it pretty late to get home if we start later. I spoke with the young womens president and she said that it would be dandy for any other visitors to come. It is a talk geared for the young women but the more the merrier.

I learned that two more women from my ward in Sandy were diagnosed with breast canccer this past week. They are both going to begin treatment and our prayers are with both of thier families. Please include them in yours. Shelley

Friday, April 28, 2006 6:09 PM CDT

Jourdyn got her chemo yesterday. That is, she got it after a visit to the doctors office to tell her that she was looking great. Everyone at PCMC wanted her to be transfused because her hematocrit keeps dropping. I tried to tell her that she needed to also but, it is the week of finals and she was not missing any class for a little old transfusion. She said that she felt fine and that she would think about it the next day. The next day was chemo day, the docs all pow wowed and decided to up her dose od aranesp (meant to keep the hematocrit higher, therefore the confusion as to why it was dropping) She will get 60 instead of 40 mikes (what the hell is a mike?) every week in a shot. That thrilled her literally to tears. Apparently the shot hurts like a fiend and the thought of a bigger dose was not very appealing to her. She did rejoice at the clinic when she stepped onto the scale and was a whopping 100 pounds! She has been looking toward that goal for a long tim (haven't we all.

She got the chemo and they redrew her blood. Her crit was up to 26 and no transfusion so once again she got her way. Shelley

Monday, April 24, 2006 3:34 PM CDT

Sorry it has been such a long time since an update. Our computer had a cold so we had to nurse it back to health.

Jourdyn is feeling pretty good lately. We did have a little battle with Primary Childrens because they thought that she was being seen by Dr. Ghaffari every week before chemo (I guess that was the agreement to get chemo in Cedar). She has not been seeing anyone unless she has been sick. Dr. Ghaffari is on a leave of absence so she couldn't see him anyway. I told them that I hate to pay for a visit for someone to tell me that she is feeling fine. I can ask her that for free. I could see if she were 3 and could not communicate her illnesses but they have never told us anything that she didnot point out to them first (I feel a lump now tell me what it is, it hurts to breathe now tell me why,my leg hurts like I have a clot, do I?, ect.) They still said too bad so now we get to go to the doctors every Thursday before they will give her chemo so they can see that she is fine and charge me 500 dollars to tell me. Why do I get the feeling that I am bending over? We will play the game.

Jourdyn went to the relay for Life on Friday and Saturday and had a good time seeing her cancer buddies. It was a little chilly but we toughed it out. She did the survivor walk which is always emotional to me. The second lap, they invited the care takers to walk with the survivors. One of Jourdyn's nurses, Joyce and I took this lap with her as I continued to bawl away.

Dayton had his Prom on Saturday and looked quite the gentleman. He had a fun time. Madi started softball this week and is the first baseman for the team right now. She may become the pitcher when they stop using the machine. Tanner cut all his hair off because my neighbor paid him $50.00 to do it. He actually looks like a boy for a minute.

We will have blood work on Wednesday like usual with a new doctor visit and chemo on Thursday. All is Well! Shelley

Friday, April 14, 2006 8:54 AM CDT

Jourdyn and I had a good old fashioned knock down, drag out fight on Wednesday. Basically, her smart mouth caused me to tell her to leave my house and take her chemo with her beacuse i would not be going with her the next day. She needs to have the same dicipline that the others get but it was sure hard on Thursday when she called my work to tell me she had changed the time for her chemo and I said great but i am still not coming. I did not go.

Jourdyn came by our house to make nice after. I assume things went well. I believe that is the first treatment that I have not been to in 4 years. I may try to fight with her more often. (kidding, it was torturous)

Jourd headed up to Salt Lake last night by herself to hang with some of her buddies from the past. THey have been trying to go out and hang forever and so, with my sisters Utah reception tomorrow night, she headed out early. We are leaving in a little bit to head to SLC ourselves.

Dayton turns 17 on Monday. He is a little leary of these odd birthdays. On his 13th, Jourdyn was diagnosed. On his 15th, he broke his back in a car wreck. For his 17th, we plan to buy him some bubble wrap, twirl it around him and take pictures as he sits safely on the couch for the day. He is getting braces the day after the prom (22nd) and having surgery to correct a deviated septum on May 4th so, good thing he will be having alot of fun this week. Next week, OUCH!

Have a wonderful Easter break. We are truly blessed to have the Savior and his sacrifice as part of our family. Shelley

Tuesday, April 11, 2006 6:25 PM CDT

Jourdyn has been having alot of leg cramping lately. She says it feels different from her usual leg cramps. We think that it is related to her high potassium levels but we will have to wait and see at her blood draw tomorrow.

Last night she did come to our fun family home evening. We flew kites and had a barbecue with the Stephenson family. Since this is Trent's family, the two of them graced us with their presence for a little while but it was pretty cold flying kites so the two of them headed off to another event to join up with us later.

Jourdyn is being set up left and right and will even meet up with a group of friends from Farmington this weekend for Easter. It is good to see her socializing.

A date for her fireside is being scheduled for here in Cedar City with a stake so she may actually do this thing at a date close to home. That would be nice. We are enjoying being here. Doctor Ghaffari is taking a leave of absence so I hope she will continue to get her treatment locally.

Shelley

Saturday, April 8, 2006 2:47 PM CDT

Jourdyn is feeling great lately. The Nephrology docs (kidney) called yesterday because they saw her blood results and were worried about her potassium being so high and her hematocrit being so low. They called to find out how she was feeling with these two counts so out of whack. I told them that if they hadn't told me, I would never have known that anything was wrong. She was just preparing to go on a date and had plenty of energy. They wanted her to be redrawn but we told them that they could see more blood work next Wednesday, just like everyone else. If she got feeling bad, she would go get drawn and let them know. THey agreed because she didn't give them an option. Today she still feels fine so we are not worried.
Jourdyn is in the final stages of completing her fireside and will start scheduling dates soon. She is tentatively doing it in Kanab, Salt Lake, Farmington and Manti. We will update when she will be showing at a wardhouse near you! Shelley

Sunday, April 2, 2006 6:53 PM CDT

Jourdyn is nursing a cold still and her late nights finally caught up with her. She went to an institute dance on Friday night, after she and Trent (a darling boy she is dating) finally managed to finish a movie they have been trying to watch for a week. She and her room mates had a great time together. Because it was the day after chemo, she had to sit out alot but Janell (her bestest bud) sat out with her alot. THey were out late dancing and going to eat after. Saturday she spent the whole day watching the Semi annual General Conference of our church leaders and took notes the whole time. Today was a different story. She watched at 10 am but slept from noon until 5:30 when we finally woke her to eat. Who knows how long she would have slept otherwise. Too bad because there were some excellent talks that she would have loved. I guess she can catch them on the internet later on lds.org.
Jourdyn needs more sleep, though she managed to get back to 97 pounds on chemo day and acted like she had just won the lottery.
It has been a good Sabbath day! Shelley

Thursday, March 30, 2006 8:02 PM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo today and hustled her buns right to work. She seems to feel pretty good and is keeping pretty late hours that will eventually catch up with her but in the mean time she is having a good time. She has been dating alot and is really enjoying hanging with the kids that she is right now.

Everyone is getting better at our house and Jourdyn is gearing up for a spring full of her new fireside. She has been invited to do it in several places. We will post dates when we know more about when and where.

Eventually we have got to get her up for another visit to primary childrens but she is enjoying doing things here so we are trying to keep her in town. Shelley

Monday, March 27, 2006 9:16 AM CST

We had the best time in Las Vegas this weekend. Jourdyn stayed behind for a date and met us on Saturday afternoon. She missed out on another invitation to the SUU ball for the wedding but I think she made a good choice, we had a blast! Our whole family was there and the wedding was at a beautiful mansion. Jourdyn's throat hurt too much to sing but we all danced the night away and had a great time. Jourdyn started cramping up on Sunday but that may have been more from shaking her groove thing all night more than actual charlie horses related to her kidney.

Now she is starting to feel better and has got the entire rest of the family sick. Tanner and Dayton have to go to the doc today. Oh well, it may have been worth such a fun wedding! Every family member that has not seen Jourdyn recently was relieved to see her looking so healthy, other than being way too skinny. We believe counts will be great for chemo this week. Shelley

Friday, March 24, 2006 6:18 PM CST

Jourdyn had a crappy day yesterday. SOMEONE put dead fish all over Jourdyn's car windows. It upset her until a sweet kid she is dating brought her a treat and some pretty smelly stuff to take the smell away and she seemed to forget all about the fishy situation.

She went to work but had to leave because she was blacking out. We took her to the doctors and she needed to have fluids. Since being sick (and the stress she has been under lately) she has not had much of an appetite and dropped to 91 pounds over the last two weeks. People had better stop stressing her out or they will be dealing with the momma bear!

Anyway, we spent several hours at the clinic getting fluids and chemo (heaven forbid we skip a week of that crap for her to feel better!)

Jourdyn is still very stuffed up and will not be singing at the wedding. She cried alot yeaterday about that. Luckily she has given the gumboo to everyone else and so we all feel a bit sinusy as we head to Vegas for the wedding weekend.

Dayton and his team won the championship for church ball last night fot the whole city. I have a bit of a sore throat from cheering! Way to go boys!

We will concentrate on getting food in Jourdyn this weekend. She will join us in Vegas tomorrow. She has a date tonight and was not going to miss it to look at us all night when the real action gets under way tomorrow anyway. Just when I thought I was important...luckily I have Children to remind me I am small and insignificant in the whole scheme of the universe. Wish Heidi and Jimmy the very best weekend ever! Shelley

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 5:03 PM CST

Jourdyn got her blood work done and her counts were high enough to get chemo tomorrow but her blood pressure was so low that she almost passed out several times today. They called from the IV clinic to say that her blood pressure was so low that she was about to pass out again there. They think that she needs to come off her meds for blood pressure, that it is making it too low. We will wait and she what it is tomorrow. She has had the flu the last few days and her throat is pretty blocked off. IT may be messing with her bp as well. If it is not higher by tomorrow, we will call her kidney docs and see what they think.

Jourdyn is not likely to be able to sing by Saturday. She is pretty stuffy and it is upsetting her. She has been looking forward to this wedding singing for a long time.

She is at her last class of the day right now. She just couldn't miss any more but she was worried that she could keep it together long enough to go. I am keeping my phone on and my fingers crossed.

She was offered some chicken soup today by a friend so I am not the only one trying to get her better. I told her that a lot can happen medically in a few days and not to worry too much. Good luck with that! Shelley

Monday, March 20, 2006 3:09 PM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo through her new port on Thursday and it worked like a charm! We held our breath and hoped for the best. She thought it was up a little higher so she numbed the wrong spot but other than that, no troubles! Good thing, she had another date that night. She was wined and dined at a play and dinner and is going out again tonight. She has another date later this week so I guess she is trying to be okay.

Jourdyn is burning her candle at both ends, trying to stay out later and I think she is beginning to pay for it today. She is getting the flu. She has the aching chills, which will be bad if it isn't resolved in time for my little sisters wedding on Saturday, shere Jourdyn is to sing. Right now, her throat is so closed off she can hardly talk, let alone sing so we will have to hope for the best again.

I got a more reliable van this week and I am so grateful! Now I won't freak out anytime the weather and Jourdyn take a turn for the worst at the same time! It is not new but it is new to me! Shelley

PS Blood work tomorrow and chemo on Thursday if she is feeling up to it!

Monday, March 13, 2006 8:40 AM CST

Jourdyn has been doing well. She brought Madisyn to St. George for our friends wedding reception and, because the weather has been so terrible in our neck of the wookd, she and Madi crashed our anniversary party and stayed un St, George with us. We had a good getaway anyway.

Jourdyn's port continues to get better and should be ready to be used for chemo this week. She and a friend had a sleepover at Jourdyn's house last night and she is trying to have a fun spring break close to home. People are trying to set her up on dates left and right so we will have to see.

She is trying to get her lung capacity better after the last round of chest pains. She needs to get her ability to take deep breaths better, especially if she is going to sing at my sisters wedding in 2 weeks. It still hurts to take in large breaths but Heidi and Jimmy are great motivation to keep trying! Shelley

Friday, March 10, 2006 5:57 PM CST

Jourdyn received her chemo yesterday and, finally, everything was uneventful. It did take them thre tries to find a good vein but other than that, smooth sailing. Her new port is still healing but should be ready to use by next chemo.

Jourdyn's college break started today but, because she missed so much school and work, she did not have the funds or the time off to really do anything. She is tending until Sunday for Rick and I so we can go to St. George for a few days. Our 20th anniversary is on the 21st and we were hoping to get a little further away but, with all the snow at our house, we will take what we can get.

Jourdyn will come to St. George tomorrow and may stay with some friends until Monday. She works after that. Welcome to the real world.

Jourdyn gained back a little wieght this week and is a hefty 97 pounds (well almost) today.

CAUTION: Dayton thinks that with us gone, Tanner doing baptisms in Salt Lake, Jourdyn taking Madi to her house...well, you do the math! That leaves innocent little Dayton here. Feel free, at any time of day or night to call, come by, check for smoke or fire coming from my roof...you get the idea! Shelley

Tuesday, March 7, 2006 6:58 PM CST

Wow, time has managed to get away from me again!

Jourdyn got back to Cedar City and was doing as expected, until she got her chemo. She got the worst back ache that she never had before. She could not lay still and, after all the pain medicine that I felt comfortable giving her (including the valium again) she was still in pain. Rick and our sweet Bishop gave her a blessing and she finally slept. We chatted about her and our worries about her, because she just looked so terrible. This was last Thursday. By Friday, she was up trying to do some homework (though it pooped her right out). Saturday, she contemplated going to a baby shower for one of her friends but just trying to get ready made her dizzy again. But, in her usual style, by Sunday, she was up and ready to teach her primary class by 9:00 and, as she passed the bishop in the hall, you could see on his face that he was in amazement that she was there after the state he left her in on Thursday.

She has not complained much about t he new port size again. She seems to be doing okay with it. We will give it one more week before using it for chemo to let it fully heal first.

On a rough note, Jourdyn and Keller have broken up. After three years they just need some personal growing room though I am having a rough time because, as you all know, I adore that boy! I will never be able to repay him for the gift that he gave Jourdyn and he will always have my respect! She is trying to do the best that she can because it was a difficult decision for her to make.

She is back in the thick of school and SUU is once again being great about getting her caught up. Hopefully we are in for a medical dry spell. I don't know about her but I could use it. Shelley

PS. Once again, I am having an allergic reaction to something and my eyes have swollen shut again. I am going to need plastic surgery for all the hanging St. Bernard skin that I am developing around my eyes if this doesn't stop. I did make it to the doctors for a shot this time!

Thursday, March 2, 2006 8:10 AM CST

Sorry to those who have been contacting me waiting for an update.

Jourdyn had surgery to remove her old port and replace it with a new one on Tuesday. They could not fit her in the schedule on Monday. She went into surgery at around 7:30 am
and and it was to take about an hour. Two hours and 20 minutes later, she was out. They called me back and she was yelling for me. As soon as she saw me, she wanted to talk to Keller. She promptly fell asleep. She got lots of pain medicine but it made her forget to breathe and so she had to go on oxygen. We watched kids in the bed next to us come, recover and leave, at least 10 times and we were still there. When she came to enough, she realized that the port was much bigger than her last one, was on the other side of her chest, and was more toward her armpit than the last one. She threw the biggest hissy fit you have ever seen! She told the nurse she wanted to talk to Dr. Meyers and they called the surgeon in to talk to Jourd. Jourdyn voiced her anger at the doctor and her not filling her in on all the changes. The doc calmly told her the reasons (that a biggger port was needed and that is why her old one was not functioning properly and she assumed Jourdyn knew that, and that she placed it where most people are more happy with it because it is more hidden by clothes). Jourdyn told her she didn't care about a scar, as she looked like she had been attacked by a shark as it is and made sure the doc knew she was mad.

For the rest of the afternoon, she was unconsolable and therefore, remained on oxygen in the recovery room until 5:00pm before I called for her buddy, Steve Lloyd to talk to her. They felt that her breathing was not stable enough to leave town but she refused to be admitted so we agreed to stay in Farmington one more night before heading home. Once they got her to calm down and focus on breathing, they let us go.

We got to Farmington and she continued to cry. She tried to remove her own plastic wrist band and, when the plastic gave faster than she thought, her arm popped back and flew back and hit her right in the chest on her new stitches. She cried and screamed in pain and i finally gave her Valium (mothers little helper in more ways than one) and said nighty night.

The nwext morning we got to the car to head home and she miss judged the drop to the seat and cracked her head on the door frame. The tears started again as I looked up to see my poor dad have the look of "Can anything else happen to the poor little shit!"

Uneventful ride home, we arrived safely and Keller came over and she managed to settle down after a long talk with both of us. We hope she will ajust to this new port size. She gets chemo through her arm today and we will not use the new port for a few weeks hoping she will get more comfortable with it. She told Steve she would give it a month and then, if she hated it, she wanted it removed. We will hope that doesn't happen. She is pretty headstrong (in case you didn't already know that) and if she gets her mind wrapped around hating this thing, I am not sure I will be able to convince her otherwise.

Sorry for the late entry but my mind is fried jello and I didn't even remember to update until this morning. Shelley

Sunday, February 26, 2006 10:46 AM CST

Luckily, every pretend surgeon is alive and counted for this morning. Jourdyn had more tests and they still have no answers. Their decision was either go to surgery now or get discharged but we don't know what is causing the pain. Great answer!

We decided that we would leave the hospital for a few reasons:
1. They wanted us to go (that was a big one)
2. We were hoping the pain would resolve on its own.
3. If she did need surgery, we didn't want pretend surgeon who has done 7 of these working on her. If we wait until Monday, we get the lady who removed her kidney, lung, installed one of her ports and did the llump removal this last diagnosis. Jourdyn and Dr. Meyers have a history.

Jourdyn is very ornery, tired and frustrated. I gave her some pain med before bed last night but not any more because we need to judge her pain without it. Maybe it will be gone. If it isn't, pray for me because then I have let her pain meds waer off and we will have to build back up which is not fun!

We will stay at my mom's until Monday unless things take a turn for the better. Shelley

PS: Right before she left the hospital, her port would not draw again, then they went to deaccess her and it worked, we have done this for a week now. They want the port out because it has so many problems. Just when we think we made our decision, it begins working and we all question ourselves again.

Saturday, February 25, 2006 9:26 AM CST

If at first you don't succeed, deal with it! It is very unlikely to get any better!

Jourdyn has had a very tough week. After her port would not work for chemo last week, she started having alot of pain around it and in her chest. The pain got to the point that they thought she had a leak in her port and that the last chemo went into her tissue and was giving her a chemical burn. They ruled that out. But the pain continued so they thought she might have pneumonia so the did a chest xray and that was ruled out. She went to work on Thursday and had to go to the emergency room where they thought she had a blood clot in her line or lung so they did a Ct and ultrasound and they ruled that out.

Now we have been admitted to Primary Children's Hospital because she is needing oxygen to breathe and is in alot of pain still and no answers. We are getting pretty frustrated.

A pretend surgeon came in to tell us he doesn't think she is in enough pain to have an infection so he is not sure if they will remove the port, which they THINK is the sourse of the pain. (Having watched her deal with the pain of having a lung removed, I can tell you, she is in more pain here so I am not sure how much pain she needs to be in before they think it is sufficient!)

They will try to access it again today and if it doesn't work again (at first it wouldn't draw blood, not it will not flush or draw) they will do another dye study.

OUr whole family is in Salt Lake today but none of us together. Dayton for girls state play off (no he is not a participant), Tanner skiing, Madi shopping with her friends family and Rick being the chauffeur. Of course Jourdyn and I in the hospital.

I must say, after a year and a half break without an admit, I was literally swallowing back the sick taste in my mouth at entering a patient room again. My back forgot how to deal with the pull out bed and I am now in no mood to deal with pretend surgeons today. Pray for the staff, will you! Shelley

Monday, February 20, 2006 10:23 AM CST

Jourdyn is having some pain in her port-a-cath and they are worried that there may be a blockage of some sort in it, especially since it would not draw last Thursday. We will go in today and see if they can get it to work today. If not, they will schedule her for a dye study where they shoot dye into the line and follow it through to see where the problem might be.

We got about 6 inches of snow last night and so we hope to stay home as much as possible today.

We are still waiting for the scan results. They are taking their sweet time getting the results to us. I will can AGAIN today and hope for the best. With it being a holiday today, we will probably have to wait until Tuesday.

Shelley

Thursday, February 16, 2006 6:43 PM CST

Jourdyn has a hard time at chemo today. They accessed the port in her chest but it would not draw blood. They ran in her nausea medicine anyway and hoped that the meds would help clear the way for the line to not only flush but also draw. (they can't give chemo in a line that won't pull blood back intothe syringe). After the nausea med, it still wouldn't draw sot hey had to take out the needle and try again. Problem is that the numbing medicine had worn off and so it hurt the second time. She cried and cried, especially when the second line would not draw either.

They pulled that line and went to one in her arm. This one stung when they put it in and she screamed and cried. They had a good flusha nd return on it so they hated to pull it, even though it was burning. They ran a bit of fluid and put a heat pad on it hoping to calm the arm down. They asked her if she wanted them to pull it again and she said that she was tired of being poked and to just get on with it. They did the chemo and, after all that, it went in fine.

We still haven't heard from Primary Children's on the results of the scans. I called today and theyjust siad they were still trying to track them down. I often wonder if they were the patient, how quickly would they find the results? I am not sure who "they" should be, but it feels like people forget what it is like to worry and wait.

We will wait until next week and see if the port works. If not, they will have to do a dye study to see what the problem with the line is. Jourdyn is exhausted, emotionally and physically tonight. The hot tub is broken and she just wants to soak. Fill a tub like the rest of the world i guess! Better days to come! Shelley

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 8:18 AM CST

Well. the swelling is almost gone and I find that now I am mostly left with the wrinkles that come after skin has been stretched beyond what is humanly possible under my eyes. Just another little thing to help people think I am my children's grandmother and my husbands mom!

Jourdyn had a rollercoaster day yesterday (as did we all). She stayed at our house Sunday night. When she woke up in the morning, she stretched and noticed a lump in her abdomen. I felt it and it didn't feel like her other lumps. It was bigger and softer than the others. I tried to comfort her with my standard, "every lump doesn't necessarily have to be cancer" and she answered me with her standard comeback, "Yeah, they don't have to be but they always are."

I went to work and tried to let logic dictate to me that it was not cancer but my heart finally gave in and I called the doctor. Primary Children's wanted her seen so we took her to Dr. Ghaffari's. Jourdyn was madder than a wet hen at me. I think she is just sick of it all and figured that, if it was cancer, what were they going to do about it anyway?

We got to Ghaffari's and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief looking at the lump. She has a hernia! Not that we are thrilled about that news but we will take it over more cancer anyday! She needs to lay off the heavy backpacks, trays of heavy dishes at work and so forth. Good luck with that one. She will avoid surgery to repair it if it does not get any worse than it is. We will hope.

We should hear the results of the PET scan today or tomorrow. Rick and I are going to lunch today for Valentines and so are Keller and Jourdyn. He sent her beautiful roses last night just so she would know that he didn't forget the "pretend holiday" as he calls it! We both avoid the dinner hour like the plaque on a holiday. Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines. We all certainly feel all your love! Shelley

Saturday, February 11, 2006 4:31 PM CST

Jourdyn has her big long visit to Primary Childrens on Wednesday and Thursday and, so far, so good. Her CT scans looked good and there is no new cancer growth which is good. We still have to wait until Teusday or Wednesday for the PET scan results. Blood work was good and she got her chemo. Bone marrow looks clean (as usual) and her kidney is stable. Nice to go pay everyone all the big bucks to tell us "same old, same old!"

I ran into our dear friend, Wanda White, at LDS hospital. Sorry we had to rush off so fast, Jourdyn was already late for her scans and they put the fear of GOd into us if we were late!

On the way home, I had an alergic reaction to something and swelled up like the Blueberry girl on Willie Wonka! My eyes swelled shut, my right cheek went numb and mu family told me I looked like a bajorin (sp) on Star trek, or star wars, one of those nerd shows. It got a bit scary when I was having trouble breathing but my doctors office was booked for the day so I told them I would just suffocate at home. Two days later, I am still swollen but it is getting better. I give my kids a good laugh every time they look at me and, isn't that what a mom is for...commic relief!

All seems to be well with Jourdyn and we will hope for the best on next weeks test results. Shelley

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 4:58 PM CST

Jourdyn went to Dr. Ghaffari's this morning. She has a respiratory infection. Sounds worse than it is. She is taking some antibiotics, sniffing Afrin up her nose, sucking on zinc drops and an occasional shot of decongestant. Her counts are actually better than they were on Saturday so she should be able to start fighting this off just about the time they knock her down again with chemo on Thursday. We are still heading to Primary Childrens as everybody wants their piece of the Jourdyn pie.

She has rested most of the day. I think night was harder on her, just like it is every kid who sleeps and their chest lays flat. She should sleep sitting up like Brigham Young used to do (or so they say in the Beehive house tour). We will have two busy days at PCMC. With her sick already, I hope that her energy holds out. Usually when I say that, i am the one who poops out first. We will try to update at the hospital. Shelley

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 8:16 AM CST

Jourdyn has had a rough night. She started out with a cold (I would imagine from her stint at sleighriding with the buddies). We took her to the doctors on Saturday because it just wasn't getting better. No Flu(fif you know there is a flu test now to make sure things are not bacterial?)and , thank heavens, no RSV. This is the bad thing for Jourdyn with only one lung.

The week has progressed and she is getting worse. She came up in the middle of the night and asked her dad for a blessing. She can't breathe at all through her nose and her chest is killing her. I would imagine that we will be heading back to Ghaffari's today. As much junk as is in the air right now up in Salt Lake, I am glad that we live down here but we will be heading up there tomorrow and I hate for her lung to ever get exposed to that.

I just went in to feel her and I think that we may be developing a fever this morning so I will update again after we have finished the morning routine and doctor visit. Shelley

Thursday, February 2, 2006 9:01 PM CST

Jourdyn got chemo #15 today and we are amazed. Last week her count was just over 500 and she barely made the cutoff to get chemo. This week we were sure that she would drop enough after that she would not rebound quick enough to get this weeks dose but she was at 800 this week! Go figure. She also got to take care of an english assignment by interviewing 2 of her nurses there today. Kill two birds with one chemo, I always say!

We will have to go to Salt Lake next Wednesday and Thursday for her 6 month checks. They just couldn't swing all of these appointments on one day. Pray for good weather because now we don't have enough time for Angel flight to set up a flight so we will be driving. She will get PET scans, CT scans, xrays, pulmonary tests, echocardiograms, neurology, nephrology, oncology, bonemarrow, as well as chemo. That ought to keep us out of trouble for the visit.

Jourdyn feels good and is spending more time bonding with her room mates. They went sleigh riding until after midnight and today she is wondering how all these girls manage to wake up after their all nighters. I asked her if any of them had cancer. Since the answer was no, I explained that that was how they managed it. Pace yourself little missy! Glad she has enough energy just to TRY to keep up with the pack! Shelley

Saturday, January 28, 2006 9:00 PM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo on Thursday and it was uneventful. She is very tired lately but I think it is because whe is packing alot more into her day than she actually has energy to do. She rode to Mesquite with me today to meet my sister, Heidi. She brought us my parents dog who got lost in Las Vegas and then a lady answered their ad in the paper and returned the dog. Now my parents will come tomorrow to pick up the pooch. Jourdyn got a good neck cramp in the car and I thought I might have to turn around and go home but it relaxed and the rest of the day was normal.

I have recently let Jourdyn begin reading my journal entries (about 8 or 10 full legal pads full plus many typed entries) over the past 4 years. Many events when she was super sick, she was so medicated through (thank heavens) that she really doesn't remember alot of things. It has been interesting watching her read about her own life, things she missed, things she forgot about and things that she never knew my perspective (and fear) about. Not that I am completely comfortable with her reading it (I do tend to vent in there and I may be a bit Italian when I do it)but for the most part I think it is enlightening for her.

For now, we couldn't ask for things to be better and we pray for successful tests in February.

Monday, January 23, 2006 8:56 PM CST

This week has been an emotional one. Raquel Roundy's funeral was Saturday and the family did an amazing job under such difficult circumstances. LaNiece even spoke which I thought took such courage. They were at church yesterday and are taking it one day at a time. LaNiece and I have spoken several times about that day eventually coming but it was hard to watch regardless of how prepared you think you are.

Jourdyn has been a bit sleep deprived this week. SHe had room mates that are trying to enjoy the college experience which includes staying up late. Jourdyn's body is not equipped for these late nights. She is sleeping alot at odd times because she is not getting quality sleep. She is torn between staying at the house with the girls and coming home so she will get the sleep she needs. She is at the movies with a couple of the girls tonight so I took that as a sign that she is going to try and stick it out for a bit more.

We are working with Primary Childrens this week to coordinate her 6 month visit. Time flies when you're having fun I guess! I have had about as much fun as I can stand, thank you very much!

I was made the Achievement Day leader and Jourdyn was made the 6 year old Primary teacher on Sunday. One of us asked for their calling and it was not the fat one. She was so tickled to have a real calling. I will learn to love mine as well. Madi is part of the group which is the only reason I said yes, so I can spend more time with her.

Chemo on Thurdsay would make it 5 in a row and that may be a record. I talked to the pharmacist and he thinks she was so close to not getting it last week that he thinks she may be skipping this week but I will remain positive and plan for a Thursday treatment. Shelley

Monday, January 16, 2006 6:28 PM CST

This has been a rough day. My dear sweet friend LaNiece lost her 23 year old daughter last night. LaNiece has been a 24/7 caretaker for her disabled daughter since she was born and she, Brad and Cherie have a large hole today in their lives. Please remember them in your prayers and hug your kids once today for both of us. My friend Lisa and I spent the morning over with her as we all tried to come to grips with this very unexpected event. After 23 years trapped in a body and mind that betrayed her daily, Raquel is now fully aware of the amazing sacrifice her mom, dad and little sister have made for her. They are a wonderful example to everyone of Christ like, unconditional service.

Jourdyn continues to feel well and was just called yesterday to her first church calling. She is a primary teacher for the 5 year olds. She was pretty excited.

She got chemo on Thursday, which should be our new day for the next while. It was uneventful and she has not suffered any nausea. We are excited about that. Her next visit to PCMC will not be until the first of February and that will be a big visit with scans and tests to see what this beast is doing in her still.

The whole incident with the English teacher has blown over. It took a lot of talking her down but she is in a new class with a teacher who loves her (or at least has been given a heads up to appear like she loves her) and she is moving on.

Thank you all for the continued support. After visiting LaNiece last night at the hospital, I ran into several nurses who asked about Jourdyn. We live in a great community where support is everywhere. Shelley

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 10:08 PM CST

Jourdyn felt as good as she gets this past week. No nausea, no leg cramps, counts good enough for chemo. All great! She will get her blood work done tomorrow for chemo on Thursday this week. Because of her new college schedule she will trade chemo days.

Jourdyn had an interesting time on campus today. She went to her new English class and the teacher told the class that they were allowed 2 absenses, excused or otherwise before hurting their grade. Jourdyn went up and intorduced herself to the teacher after and explained about chemo, cancer, and counts to the guy. He told her that he would make no exceptions to his program and that she had better work her medical schedule around school or find a new class. She called me pretty upset and we went to the University to, first, get her out of his class and into another like he wanted and then, second, to make sure that all the proper people on campus knew that there was an ass roming free in the English department. (wrong mother/daughter combination to piss off today!). Because Jourdyn functions under the students with disabilities act, the teacher has to accommodate her. Armed with this news, I left her on her own. She is an adult and can figure this out for herself. I just told her that the college has been very good to her and one bad teacher does not make the whole place have to pay. She will talk to the dean of students and the head of the disabilities program. We spoke to the head of the English Dept. today and she said that she would get on top of that. Jourdyn was ready to talk to the lawyer for the college but, luckily he had gone home for the day. I gave the english lady a heads up when I spoke to her that Jourdyn is in charge of this and that I suspected that she is not finished yet. She thanked me for the heads up and commended Jourdyn for standing up for herself. After that conversation, I figured Jourdyn had it under control so I came home. I guess we will see tomorrow what happens. One bad apple...

Hopefully counts will cooperate tomorrow as it is the first week of her new semester and she would like to stay in class as much as possible with such a full load this semester. Shelley

Tuesday, January 3, 2006 9:05 PM CST

We have so many wonderful messages on Jourdyn's message board that it takes my sorry old internet provider about a day and a half to pull up all the entries. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by great people- thank you all!

Jourdyn headed to Salt Lake on Monday. She spent the afternoon with Melanee and Branden (my niece and her husband) and then headed to grandma's where she sat up all night talking to Uncle Kris until her eyes about shut. NOt sure what they "pow-wow"ed about but she loves that guy so much!

Today she went shopping with Grandma and Mel and will hit Primary CHildrens for a little testing before heading home tomorrow. She will avoid a full fledged visit to PCMC unless something turns for the worst (which it is not going to do!)

She starts back to school on Monday and it will be interesting to see how she handles a full load again. I gotta give the kid credit for trying. She will probably do it just to show me that she can. I gave her a hard time about pushing too hard so she will hang in there just to spite me. I'd love to see her prove me wrong. (wouldn't be the first time. As a mom, I have become an expert in being wrong!) Hope everyone had a great New Years. Jourdyn worked and I slept--party animals! Shelley

Friday, December 30, 2005 8:25 PM CST

Jourdyn received chemo #10 today. 10 down, 42 more to go! She did a great job today and sat and watched "South Pacific" and sang right along witht he movie. For those of you who don't know, Jourdyn is a movie musical freak! She is renting Brigadoon tonight.

We found out today that she will be scanned in February at her 6 month visit (time flies when you're having fun!?) We are not sure what they are looking for since they said themselves that her disease will not show up on scans. We are glad that they are letting us skip the January visit. She is ready to get back into school. Her GPA was wonderful and so her scholarship is in tact (a 3.92!) She is signed up for 15 credits and will begin receiveing chemo on Thursdays to accommodate the new semester.

Jourdyn has been separated from Keller for 2 whole days (he stayed in Texas with his dad a little longer)and you would think that she is not going to make it. I will be glad when he gets home tommorrow. She said that he and his family were very cute with her in Texas and they even managed to sneek away for a date one night.

We will hope for a good week as it will be her first in her new house with new roomies (except Janell who she is very glad is still with her). That Janell and her mom have been great for Jourdyn. Janell calls every time that Jourdyn doesn't come "home" to make sure that she is feeling okay. What a good girl!

The holiday clean up is under way. Jourdyn had to go to work shortly after chemo so we will see how she feels by the end of her shift. No news is good news! Shelley

Wednesday, December 28, 2005 10:19 PM CST

Jourdyn just got home this evening and had an amazing time in Texas. She managed to stay well and only had leg cramps one night. Keller's family played host to her and showed her all the Dallas sights. Sheis very tired but in a good way. She opened her presents before she left and then Keller picked her up at 4:30 a.m. Christmas Eve. Just after she left, I bawled my eyes out. Rick tried to get me to stop because he was afraid she would forget something and come back in and see me. I went back to bed and we hit the trail to Salt Lake later that morning. We had a great Christmas and heard from Jourdyn often during her trip. We are all home now and will have her blood drawn bright and early tomorrow for chemo on Friday. Hopefully her counts are good and high so she will not miss any more treatments in the next little while. She feels good, had a good trip, and a great Christmas. What more could you ask for! Shelley

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 10:11 AM CST

I didn't realize how long it has been since I updated until I saw Brenda Bradbury's entry. She is a blast from the past that I met through chance on a parent support site and she literally saved me back in the beginning of all this mess! Her son had cancer as well.

Jourdyn has been singing her little heart out this season! (or should I say her one little lung out). She did a beautiful job at her friends wedding, at a ward in Enoch last Sunday and then, our church Sunday. She had a little choir of children singing with her. A dear friend of my mothers, Cory Conners, wrote a CD full of the most beautiful Christmas songs that have become the favorites at our house. Jourdyn had a favorite, Heavenly Choirs, that she has wanted to sing for years. She just never felt well enough. Finally this year, we sent to Cory for the music and she did it! The church was a mess with tears at the sight of these sweet little kids singing and the one lung wonder hitting every note!

Jourdyn skipped chemo this week to be ready for her trip to Texas on Saturday. She and Keller are so funny to watch because they are like five year olds counting down to this trip. Sometimes she just squeels even thinking about it. Hard to deny her anything she wants so badly as this trip. We did have a bit of a debate about her wearing a mask in the airport as well as on the plane. I tried to tell her that, if I am feeling sick I might skip a trip to WalMart (might) but if I have paid a boat load of money to fly and see granny, I am going if I have to tote along my oxygen tank! People fly sick! Keller has promised me that she will leave the thing on the whole time. After all, he did it twice while he flew just so he could come and see her safely afterward.

We are pretty ready for the holidays and hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday! I will probably update once Jourdyn is in Texas (if you can read what I write through the veil of tears!) I wrote that last part for one more little jab at Jourdyn before she leaves. Have a great trip baby, bring me something fun! Shelley

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 11:08 PM CST

Jourdyn's counts were too low again to get chemo this week. I am a bit worried because she will not get chemo this week, she had requested not to get chemo next week so she doesn't risk getting sick in Texas for Christmas (makes sense!) and then she will not get it the following week because she will be in Tezas. Three weeks in a row makes me nervous but I guess we will have to wait and see. If we don't give her some concessions here and there then, what is she going through all this for?

Jourdyn's table at the Relief Society party was beautiful and she was pretty happy to be there. She is finishing up finals right now and is just glad for any break.

Rick has the raging flu right now so we have sent Jourdyn to her own house to stay away from him. That's all she needs right before her trip. We are busily finishing up Christmas plans and we will see what the next day brings! Shelley

Wednesday, December 7, 2005 2:29 PM CST

Jourdyn did well with her chemo yesterday. She sat and knotted through the whole event. She did feel a bit sleepy and overheated (which for those who really know her, you know that overheating is rarely a problem for her!) right after treatment but she is at work today.

She thinks she is feeling the stress of finals week upon her. Keller laughs at that because she only has three classes and two are "sliders". Try it with a full load next semester. She thinks she will try 16 credits next semester and thinks she will be back on track for the nursing program by her junior year if she doesn't have anymore major setbacks.

Jourdyn is getting ready for a busy weekend of singing engagements. She will be singing on Saturday morning, at a wedding that afternoon, on Sunday morning and again later in the week. I think she is just happy to be singing again.

We have had alot of requests for Jourdyn to come and speak in wards around the state. We will try to update where she will be and when so people can come but I think it will be hard on her to meet every request she gets. Maybe we can consolidate some groups. It should be fun to hear her. She will be speaking at our elementary school before the Christmas break and I always love to se that!

We are going to the Relief Society Christmas party tonight. She is working today so I hope she doesn't wear herself out because she is helping at it tonight. Shelley

Sunday, December 4, 2005 11:15 PM CST

Jourdyn had a rough start to her weekend. She started having back pain on Thursday night that got worse on Friday. By that night, she could hardly move. She could not sit up and walking hurt way too much. After two pain pills not touching the pain, we called all the docs hoping one would have an answer before the weekend set in. She finally fell asleep and they think that things in her body were just starting to betray her. She is feeling better today, though it still hurts, she is able to move tonight.

Rick took Madi to SLC for the weekend to visit his brother. He came home bearing many gifts and Jourdyn got two beautiful new jackets and about 4 pairs of pants. (THanks grandma and Josh!). I got a new Christmas sweater that I wore to church and Madi got a sweat suit. Nathan, Rick reports, is in better spirits and is waiting more information from his docs. Let me tell you Nat, the squeeky wheel does indeed get the oil. We have a busy week. Jourdyn gets chemo on Tuesday, she is decorating a table for the Relief Society table on Wednesday, Make a wish breakfast on Saturday, as well as Jourdyn singing at one of her friends weddings and then singing in a ward in Enoch on Sunday. Let's pray that her health and strength holds out this week as she tries to pack her plate as full as she can! Shelley AKA the squeeky wheel

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:39 PM CST

Jourdyn got her chemo this afternoon. She was to get it yesterday but there needs to be two nurses present during chemo and Gail was sick so they postponed until today. She is feeling pretty good and went to have her hair done. They are coloring it a chocolate brown so it can grow a little without her frosting it every other day and damaging her already fragile hair.

Jourdyn is going to be pretty busy come spring time. She had worked up a fireside for the young womens program and she will be presenting it in St. George, Salt Lake, Manti and Farmington (so far). Hopefully she will be up to it because, as usual, it is pretty inspirational.

Jourdyn met a lady at Costco yesterday who turned out to be the DJ for her favorite country radio station. She played songs for Jourdyn and mentioned her on the air. She is setting up a tour for her and called Jourd again today to see what she wanted to hear. Thanks Andee!

We are hoping for no sickness this week and ask for continued prayers for Nathan. We are still in the early stages of information on him and we are praying for him as well. HANG TOUGH AND STAND FIRM! Shelley

Tuesday, November 29, 2005 0:07 AM CST

We got the chemo misunderstanding worked out. Turns out you can give it fast, unless they discover a problem with doing so and then they slow it down. For the record, I was very nice on the phone and was glad that I held my tongue until I had all the facts.

We got some disturbing news today in our Cleveland family and would ask for all of your prayers to take a break and turn to my sweet brother in law, Nathan. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer today. We just can't seem to get enough of this in our families and, as you can imagine, the whole clan is reeling from the news. He is still in intensive care and we would ask that you all remember him at this time. Jourdyn took the news especially hard. She knows just what it feels like to be hit in between the eyes with this kind of news. I am sure she has a "Jourdyn pep talk" waiting for him when he is up to it just as she did for my brother.

I chatted with my bishop tonight and we commented how prevelent cancer seems to be lately. Not just in our family (though we have our share). It seems to be everywhere anymore. I told him that I cry "UNCLE"! We have our arm fully behind our back being twisted to our shoulder blade and we say, no more! Next sentence I am saying how much all these struggles have brought us together as a family and I guess I wouldn't trade my burdens with anyone else. We all get what we can bear but the Lord must have much more faith in us than we give ourselves.

Jourdyn will receive chemo tomorrow so we hope for better results this week. No cute baby niece to distract me this week. I will be watching that drip like a hawk! Shelley

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 12:30 AM CST

Jourdyn had quite a day yesterday. We got to the hospital on time (at 10 a.m.) and they started her chemo around 11:30. Long wait for something that should take 15 minutes to put in the fluid before, 15 minutes for the chemo and 15 minutes for fluid afterward.

My niece and her husband came to see us at the hospital and brought chunky monkey (Brekyn, my great niece) to see us. I go t so preoccupied playing with the baby that I didn't pay attention to the chemo. I guess I should have because they put it in so fast. No 15 minutes, 15 seconds and it was all in. I questioned them about how fast they put it in but they said that it was normal. Jourdyn has never (and I mean never) been as sick as she was yesterday from a chemo. This is supposed to be low dose and she could not move from the nausea.

I am trying to get hold of the hospital to vent my concerns (that si my really nice way of putting the "Coming to Jesus" meeting that will happen when someone responds to my call.

They really didn't resolve anything at the visit. They said there is really nothing that can be done for the leg cramps but they will try a sleeping pill to relax her before bed.

No scans for three more months. It was frustrating to hear same old, same old when things are still continuing to feel worse to her. Oh well, we will do what we are told. Pray for the person who answers my phone call from the hospital. They may need it! Shelley

Sunday, November 20, 2005 9:19 AM CST

Jourdyn's counts remain low and she is pretty sick of sitting around. Her leg cramping is becoming much more frequent lately. Used to be they only happened at night but now they come all day long. Now add the aching that the neupogen shots bring and you can guess that she is pretty miserable.

We got an email from Kurt Bestor today asking about Jourd. It never ceases to amaze me how many people that she has touched over the past 4 years. The fact that they remember her and are touched enough by her to take the time to seek out information on her is very moving to me. This time of year, she and Kurt have a special bond through his amazing Christmas music.

Jourdyn will be singing in church some Sunday before Christmas and that should be exciting for her. It is one of the goals that she has on her life "TO DO" list. It is wonderful seeing her knock things off this list. We should all have a life list like this, regardless of how long we think we might have. It really helps her stay focused.

We go to Primary Childrens on Tuesday and we will ask them all the questions that have been piling up around here. Hopefully we will be home the same day. Shelley

Friday, November 18, 2005 5:19 PM CST

Jourdyn started the neupogen shots last night. These shots help her counts recover but make the very center of ehr bones ache like none other. Now add that aching to the charlie horses she gets already in the night and you can guess how her night was last night. I woke up to see her sound asleep on the bathroom floor. I guess she could not get comfortable and that is where she ended up.

Jourdyn's appetite is being affected by the chemo again. Things just don't taste like they are supposed to anymore. Of course this means that it is again a struggle to keep weight on her. She is a whopping 98 pounds right now. The low counts have left her so tired that she can hardly move around. We are back to the notes on the door telling people not to visit in order to protect her from infections. She is still trying to recover from her cough as it is. Hopefully she will feel better soon. She missed school all week this week again.

We will have to play it be ear for the holiday with her. We are scheduled to go to Kris and Tad's house, we will just ahve to see whether Jourdyn gets to join us or not.

PS: Dayton got his car back today! If you see him sluffing, please... by all means...Let me know (it was such a joy driving him places and listening to him complain about it!) Shelley

Thursday, November 17, 2005 4:07 PM CST

Jourdyn's counts were too low to receive her chemo on Tuesday. Probably better that she didn't get it anyway to give her body a little more time to recover from her sickness.

We got counts again today and she is still only at 300 so she is mad because she can't go to school and with the weekend coming, she will probably be stuck at home for that too.

Everyone here is finally feeling a bit better and I think that we got off easy considering that about half of the elementary school kids that I should have seen today at work were home sick.

Dayton gets his car back tomorrow and luckily Jourdyn found his keys. She picked up Keller and then lost the keys to his car for a whole day. There was going to be an old west showdown if they were not found by 7:00 tomorrow morning.

The kids are getting ready to have a school break next week. Maybe they will change their tune when they find out that we are going on a safari to find our house under all the clutter! Shelley

Monday, November 14, 2005 10:00 AM CST

Well, mother knows best. Jourdyn got sick from hanging around Tanner.

I was helping Rick at his art show on Saturday when my friend Lisa came to pick me up because Jourdyn had been taken to the emergency room. She could not stop coughing, had a fever and was shaky and disoriented. When I got there, our neighbor Matt Staheli (who took her to the hospital) was still sitting with her. She cried when she saw me, then she cried when she thought I would leave her, then she cried because Keller was up the mountain (he got sick too)

They started her on antibiotics through her IV and we will continue them at home for another few days. On Sunday morning, I woke up with the very same junk... in fact, 5 of us are sick at our house, Rick managed to stay well (probably because he is only home about 3 minutes every day!) He ran around taking care of us all weekend and is probably glad to be back at work today so he can rest up a bit.

We will all feel better soon and Jourdyn has a folow up apppointment today. I wonder if this will all keep her from chemo tomorrow. Shelley

Saturday, November 12, 2005 9:30 AM CST

It never ceases to amaze me every time I hook to this site and see how many people continue to read Jourdyn's story every day. We almost average 100 hits per day! Rick and I were at a craft fair (hocking his portraits) and she came up to me and asked if I was the cleveland that owned Jourdyn. She told me her work looks at the site every day! Amazing!

Jourdyn is trying her hardest to convince herself that she feels good today because she has to work a double shift but I think she may have spent too much time trying to make Tanner comfortable and has caught his throat infection. This should be interesting to see how long she will take to recover if Tanner has been home 6 days now.

Jourdyn is confident that, if this chemo continues to behave like it is, she will be able to return to a full college schedule next semester. She is pretty stoked about it too. She has asked very little advice from me on she schedule because she knows that I think she will get sick if she tries to overdo it. What do I know, I am just the mom.

Dayton let me know that I am not at the top of his popularity list yesterday. You see, I wrote up a driving contract that my kids have to sign (I will be happy to share the contract as it is wonderful) before they can drive. #1 on the list is: I will not use my car to sluff school, if I do I lose the car for one week. Imagine Dayton's suprise as he is called to the office only to see his dear sweet mother with her hand out asking him how he enjoyed his guitar class that day. He gave me the keys and really hasn't spoken to me since. He thinks that is a bad thing so I will let him think that his silence is torturing me. I did explain about the "Mormon Mother Mafia" that exists in my area that allows me to have eyes in the back of my head, even when I am at work! Some call us tattletales but I prefer the Mafia title because, after all, I am Italian!

It has been a good week and we pray that she gets this bug out of her system! Shelley

Wednesday, November 9, 2005 2:28 PM CST

Jourdyn got chemo yesterday. We all held our breath as they tried to access her new port. IT WORKED TODAY! We all let out a collective sigh of relief and the chemo went in just great. She went right to work after. She stayed away from our house last night because Tanner has a killer flu going on right now.

Jourdyn is running errands for her dad as we speak. She is starting to plan her schedule for next semester. If things keep going well, she may get to take a better load next semester. We are hoping for another good week.

My sister gave us a hot tub last week and we should have it up and running this week. It will be so good for her to be able to soak her bones (as well as tanners legs and daytons back) Thank you Heidi, you are great for so many reasons! Shelley

Sunday, November 6, 2005 8:54 AM CST

Jourdyn has had one of the best weeks since starteing up again. She had her chemo (at the lower dose), got to work three shifts (and could have worked another but we were in St. George), went to yard sales all day with me and grandma and grandpa on Saturday and pooped us all out, found herself a great new coat, hasn't had any leg cramps and no nausea!

She would not go have her blood drawn on Thursday because she was afraid they would tell her that counts were bad and that she would have to stay home. She did go on Friday but made sure that it was late enough in the day that we would not get the results for the weekend. She has really learned to play this game well.

Unless these counts are really low, she should be able to get chemo on Tuesday again. For now, I hope they are high enough because she is planning to go to her ward at 1:00 today. It has been a good week. SHelley

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 11:01 PM CST

Jourdyn's counts were high enough (finally) to receive her chemo today. We got to the IV clinic around 1:00. Jourdyn was really nervous because this was the first time they would access her new port. It has only been a few weeks since it was installed so she was a little sore and nervous to have them access it. Her ports in the past have not had much luck and they poke and dig and eventually, after getting no blood to return in the tube and unable to flush, they give up and use a vein, defeating the whole purpose of getting a port in the first place.

Today they poked and dug and... no blood return and no flushing so they had to use a vein. She was sobbing because it hurt and because she was dejected that the new port was not working. They hope that it just has too much swelling in it still to work. They will try again next week. After that the chemo went in smoothly and she went to her own house for the night.

She went as a woodland fairy and Keller was a lumber jack for Halloween. She looked cute but her costume was cold. She will be moving at the first of the year to a different house in town with a group of really nice girls. Laurie Hansen Hunter takes pretty good care of our girl in the housing department. She is so excited because she will still live with her friend Janell and that makes her happy.

We hope for a smooth week. With the new lower dose, we pray that her body will recover quicker so she can stay on track. 5 chemo's down...47 more to go! Someone please tell me there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Shelley

Friday, October 28, 2005 3:26 PM CDT

Primary Childrens called yesterday with a new plan. They are cutting Jourdyn's chemo dose by 50%. She was a little nervous about that but they explained that if she is getting a 100% dose but then misses two weeks in a row she would get more chemo to get a 50% dose and manage to get it every week. (over all she would receive an extra 50% dose every three weeks...follow my logic?) They will also be giving her a shot every Friday instead of every other and upping the dose considerably. They are hoping this will help her counts to recover faster.

She tried to tell them that she wants to be rescanned now but they said they will not scan again until about the 6 month mark. They said that her disease is a microscopic one that is not like a big tumor you see on a scan. It is a liquid cancer and could show up anywhere in microscopic amounts in any lymph in her body, it just happened to manifest itself in her groin lymph. Basically this means that there is really nothing to look for on a scan. She is frustrated with the whole system but they know that the chemo, no matter what the dose, should slow the growth of disease. If we do not continue, the disease will progress (at what rate, I don't think anyone knows) so for now, we bite the bullet and do as we are told.

She went to school against orders today because she is going nuts at the house. I told her not to breathe for the whole hour. I have to pick my battles carefully with her. It is better to give into her occasionally to keep her mentally in the game than force my hand and lose her mentally. This whole game is about 80% mental and 20% medical if you ask my professional medical opinion.

**Funny note: one of my speach kids who struggles with the ability to pronounce the letter "K" told me yesterday that he saw his neighbors new "titties" last night. She had seven of them and they all say "Meow, Meow!" We worked really hard to get that K sound down today but I laughed my head off before that! It is little moments like this that make life fun! Shelley

Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:03 AM CDT

For the second week in a row, Jourdyn will not be receiving chemo today. Her counts are only at 400 (they need to be above 750). They are not sure why she is not recovering in between treatments as they would like. She should be on week 8 today and she has only had 4 treatments. 50% of her treatments given is not the number that they are shooting for. Next week, if she is high enough, they will be cutting her chemo dose by 50% to see if her body will accept that lower dose. Then comes the question: will the lower dose really accomplish anything? She is very frustrated right now and pretty dejected about this treatment plan so far. We have been asked by some medical professionals if we are looking into alternative treatments (which we are). One even asked about her going to Texas where they only deal with her kind of cancer but our insurance doesn't cover anything outside the intermountain region.

Speaking of Texas, Keller is there right now. On Saturday his grandpa passed away from multiple myloma cancer. Jourdyn and Keller cut their hunting trip short and Keller and his family headed to Texas for the funeral. They will be home on Wednesday.

Madisyn had a great 10th birthday! She partied all day and played with her goods. Tomorrow will be her friend party here in Cedar. We are going to a local ceramics shop for the party.

Jourdyn feels sick this morning. I think it is just a cold but, with her crit so low, we may go to the docs before the day is over. They better come up with a workable plan soon. Shelley

Saturday, October 22, 2005 9:49 AM CDT

After a very rough start to the day, Jourdyn finally got on the road for her weekend hunting trip.

She had a terrible stomach ache all morning but, after sending Keller on his wa without her, she managed to pull it together and I took her to meet him later last night. SHe is so funny about hunting. SHe hates it. Keller decided to include her in the hunt rather than leaving her at home. She thought this sounded fun until she realized you had to pee in the woods and get dirty. Being the priss that she is, she demanded he take her to preview the "cubby" she would be sleeping in inside the trailer. What Keller called a "cubby" she called a "fold down bed" and decided that her highness could sleep in it. After his Aunt SueAnn bought enough food for an army, installing a satellite dish and bringing in a TV bigger than any in our house, they decided that the girls would now enjoy the camping trip. Jourdyn and SueAnn will watch movies all day and have a blast.

Keller's grandpa's cancer is taking its toll on his body and they don't think he will last the weekend. Keller decided to stay here rather than travel to Texas right now. I think in his situation, he is not wanting to watch someone die knowing what he does about Jourdyn. We all grieve differently and do what we have to do. Please keep the Sanders family in your prayers this weekend.

ONE DAY TO MADI'S BIG BIRTHDAY, she is so excited she can hardly stand herself that we will all be here for it this year! Shelley

Tuesday, October 18, 2005 11:18 PM CDT

Jourdyn did not receive chemo today. Since surgery, she has had a tough time getting her energy level back. She went to school on Monday but she got light headed and her dad had to go get her. He took her to the doctors office where they did blood work. Jourdyn had a pretty low hematocrit and they thought they should transfuse her. We waited until today and rechecked her counts. They were a bit higher so we opted not to transfuse. It is always better to let her body do the work to repair if it will. SHe has been pretty draggy all day but did get over to the college campus tonight to get a test taken.

They were hoping that lowering the dose of chemo would help her to avoid missing doses but, so far, she has missed 3 of 7 treatments. They will decide next week how they should continue. They may cut the dose back even more of they may cut to every other week. We will have to wait and see.

She is looking forward to her camping trip this weekend with Keller's family. Keller has informed me that I am to send her with all the drugs that she might need. Last time, she got leg cramps at the cabin and they had no muscle relaxers to calm her down. He is going to be prepared this trip. Since she missed chemo this week, she should be feeling pretty good this weekend.

Madi turns 10 on Sunday so hopefully we can focus on her that day without any events from any other children! Shelley

Sunday, October 16, 2005 9:17 AM CDT

Jourdyn got into surgery at about 4:05p.m. on Friday. She was pretty antsy to get going because she was so hugry. Then they gave her reglan to help with nausea but it makes you really jumpy and she could not sit still.

She was scheduled to be in surgery for about 40 minutes so Keller and I chatted and ate. As an hour goes by, then longer, we started to worry. After 2 hours, I went out to see what was going on. They said he was having a heck of a time getting through all the scar tissue and was dealing with bleeding very slowly to limit her output. Shortly after that they called me back.

The anesthesiologist was a friend of Keller's family and said that Jourdyn was asking for "3 Kellers to every 1 mom". Better than last time when I was never even mentioned. She was very emotional, as usual when she wakes up.

She got to Keller and cried that she had a dream that she died during surgery and she couldn't find any of us. There was nobody around that she knew and it scared the begessus out of her. He reassured her that he was right there and wasn't going to leave her (put a damper on his hunting plans for later that night!) When we got her up to walk, we could see that the back of her gown ws covered with blood but they said it was because they really had to jerk her around to get through the scar tissue. The doctor said that "getting through all the scar tissue was a bitch but the port placement was perfect and ran great". Hopefully it will be ready to use on Tuesday and save her any more poking.

She did great after that. Of course she was sore but, went home, ate a little, watched TV, and even went to our homemaking meeting on Saturday morning to make her crafts she signed up for. She got sore in the afternoon and Keller picked her up. She got nauseated later in the day and had a bad night last night (too much activity too soon)

She will get counts tomorrow and hopefully chemo on Tuesday. We are hoping for an uneventful Sunday! Shelley

Friday, October 14, 2005 7:29 AM CDT

Jourdyn is having her surgery here in Cedar City today. She let Primary Childrens know that she was comfortable with Dr. Stults here in town and that he had done lots and lots of port installations. Dr. Stults said about 5000 of them over 30 years. He ordered one from Primary Childrens so it will still be pediatric size because Jourd is so small.

She was not happy to learn that she is not scheduled for surgery until 2:30 in the afternoon, which we all know means 4 or 5. She can't eat or drink after midnight and she has a tough time with leg cramps if she doesn't frink all the time. They said I could bring her in any time before surgery and they would hook up her IV so she could get fluids still but, I anticipate a very ornery girl today.

Jourd was pretty restless all night. I am pretty sure why. Keller called last night and said he had just been in a car wreck with one of his friends. They slammed into the back of a car who suddenly stopped in front of them to turn onto the freeway without signaling. Apparently they were traveling pretty quickly and, of course, didn't have seat belts on. (don't think he isn't going to hear about this from me today!) He says he is fine but his back hurt a little. Wait till today if he thinks it hurt last night. I am going to push for him to get it checked out.

My mom and dad rolled through town yesterday. mom's knee is healing up well and they are headed to California. We will update after we hear anything. Counts are good so we don't expect any bleeding problems today so, cross your fingers! Shelley

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 3:08 PM CDT

If we are not careful, we are going to have 25,000 hits on this site so far by the end of the day! Amazing support!

Jourdyn and I flew to Salt Lake on Angel Flight yesterday. The plane must have gone on a diet during the day because the plane we flew home on was much smaller than the one up. Jourdyn felt crappy so she got the back to herself and I sat up front. Note to those taking 4 seat planes. Be sure not to shove a bacon cheeseburger down your throat right before you fly. I had to will myself from Delta on to Cedar not to throuw up all over the dashboard. I did barf just after walking in my house.

Jourdyn got chemo but it took just under an hour and a half to find a vein that was usable on her poor little arms. The veins are just shot! Therefore, she will have surgery on Friday of this week to put in a port a cath again that they can give her chemo through. She is not thrilled but, doing it Friday means that it can be done in Cedar by Dr. Stults, who Jourdyn loves.

Jourdyn sat on a "disability panel" at the university today. They were trying to show students that, regardless of your trials, if your will is strong, you can accomplish anything. They had a small crown but they seemed to be impressed with her story. There were two other students on the panel and 3 instructors. It was fun to watch her in action. We will update if anything changes before Friday. Shelley

Monday, October 10, 2005 8:38 AM CDT

Jourdyn's counts stayed high enough for her to go to Salt Lake this weekend. Because it has been so long since she received chemo, they were way high so they could come down some and still leave her plenty of room to have safe counts.

We went to our Uncle Mike's suprise party at the Canyons resort this weekend and Josh put us up in a swanky pad at the resort. Mike was so happy to see everyone but especially Jourd.

Sunday we went to my great nieces blessing and Keller got to stand in the circle, using his priesthood for the very first time. It was a great weekend and Jourdyn stayed well.

We head to Primary CHildrens tomorrow for more chemo and lots of appointments. We will travel on Angel flight again and this time a pilot from Las Vegas will be picking us up. Jourdyn doesn't love getting there this way but it sure saves on time, gas and nerves. These pilots who donate their time truly are angels!~ Shelley

Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:57 PM CDT

You know what they say about bad luck...it comes in three's...We have decided that it actually comes in multiples of three! Dayton fractured his ankle right at the growth plate last night at mutual. He was dinking around on a truck tire from an obstacle course and fell off it. We went to the emergency room and he is now resting in an inflatable boot cast. He couldn't even put any pressure on it last night but is doing better tonight. (pain pills are a wonderful thing!)

We got Tanner's results today...no problems! just a lump that they think is related to puberty. Great relief for us all. Poor Madisyn is afraid that the Cleveland Curse will hit her next. I have tried to tell her things will be okay.

Jourdyn came home sick from work today. She was dizzy and nauseated. She was supposed to work a double shift so she came home and slept for a while and is now back at Pizza Factory tonight. We will see how long she lasts.

We are going to Salt Lake this weekend for my nieces baby blessing (my great niece that is!) So we hope for an uneventful weekend other than that event! Shelley

Tuesday, October 4, 2005 4:25 PM CDT

Jourdyn received chemo today and, despite the anti nausea medications they gave her, she is getting pretty nauseated. For being such a tiny shot needle full of harmless looking clear fluid, this chemo really packs a punch! She met with doctors here in Cedar City today instead of SLC. They had clinics down here and after alot of poking and prodding, we paid them alot of money to fill us in that... Jourdyn is sick! thanks for the news flash, we almost missed that bulletin without their update!

No news on Tanner yet but then we didn't really expect any news until at least Thursday or Friday of this week. Doesn't mean that we are waiting patiently, just waiting.

Jourdyn got some exciting news yeaterday... The people at the Make a Wish Foundation of Utah were asked for the names of two outstanding cancer surviving kids and they chose Jourdyn as one of them to be interviewed for an article in PEOPLE MAGAZINE! We haven't heard when they will contact us or if it will ever make it to print but as they say in the pageant business...it is an honor just to be nominated. I have been teasing Keller all day about them putting his picture in the magazine with Jourdyn, because nobody hates posing for pictures more than Keller (and nobody loves it more than Jourdyn)

Shelley

Friday, September 30, 2005 3:07 PM CDT

We just got home with Tanner and, so far so good. The doc thinks that it is nothing to worry about but they are sending it off to pathology and we should know in about a week the final results. I HATE playing the waiting game! I should be good at it by now but I am not.

Tanner is a medical lightweight just like our sister and it only took a half dose of anesthesia to put him under and a long time to wake up. I got some great blackmail video of him. (even in a crisis I have to come up with ways to keep the crowd submissive).

Jourdyn showed up at the hospital and took over. She checked and changed the monitors, fed him ice and he even chose to ride home with her. Most of the nurses knew Jourdyn and Kathy, who was with Jourdyn at her first diagnosis, was also Tanner's nurse today. She watched the whole exchange between the two and started to cry as we wheeled him to her car. She told me I had great kids in spite of all we had gone through and I told her I have great kids because of what we have been through. We continue to see blessings in our lives and thank those who continue to point them out to us. Hope everyone has a great Conference weekend. We watch with great anticipation for words meant especially for the Cleveland clan. Hope you all do the same! Shelley

Thursday, September 29, 2005 4:28 PM CDT

So do you want the good news or the bad news first? Okay, let's start witht the good news. Jourdyn's ANC jumped from 400 on Monday to 1500 today. I barely got the words out of my mouth before she did a little happy scream and told me she was heading to the college to take some tests that she had missed. Other than that, she has managed to stay caught up with her homework so she can go back to school tomorrow. She could go back to her house also but she has to continue on the antibiotics through Friday so I think she will probably stay at "home" until then. She feels pretty good and this new info should help take her mind off of how much her IV hurts her.

Now for the bad news and it is not about Jourdyn. Because we just don't know how to have a calm moment around here, Tanner has a lump in his chest that we have been watching for a few weeks. It grew a bit so we took him to the doctor who didn't love the look of it so he sent us to another ultrasound person who sent us to the surgeon who will be removing it for a biopsy tomorrow. I am trying not to freak out and told Tanner that the only reason we are even jumping to this step is because we have "Side show Bob" for a sister so we get jumpy around lumpies! If he had the luxury of living in a normal household this would just be watched. After all, teenagers get lumps all the time so we are hoping for the best and praying that Heavenly Father can hear us crying UNCLE by now and will cut us a break.

We will update tomorrow when we hear anything. Pray for all of us to keep a sense of humor and remember to keep all the sharp instruments away from the mother of the crowd right now! Shelley

Friday, September 23, 2005 4:22 PM CDT

Frankly, Jourdyn was easier to deal with while she was on the morphine drip! Once she is "with it" enough to fight with me, she does.

She is angry that she is still on IV antibiotics because we promised her (nobody would ever do that) that it would come out on Thursday. In reality, they put her on antibiiotics until Thursday, at which time they would redraw her blood and see if she could defend her own body from that point. No go! She still has an ANC of only 100. It must be 500 before she can think of helping herself so, mor IV antibiotics until monday (at which time they will blah, blah, blah... now you are all my witnesses that no promises were made.)

The university is dropping the classes that she needs to have gone so she can manage the rest of the schedule. She is a bit bugged but I think she is so mad about the IV that it is a distraction from the school schedule. Far be it from me to stir up a bees nest so, unless she mentions it to me, I KNOW NOTHING!

Jourdyn is going a bit stir crazy but is supposed to have no visitors. Of course Keller does not classify himself a visitor and, if we did, we would all want to run away so she sees him and an occassional visitor that uses their best discretion as to whether or not to visit.

Hopefully it will be a calm weekend. Shelley

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 6:53 PM CDT

Jourdyn has been staying at our house this week because of the pain meds and the IV antibiotics that she is receiving every few hours. She is doing so much better today than Monday. THe infection in her neck becamse so full that it started to split her earlobe away from her face and bleed. She was pretty out of it from the pain and the pain meds but thankfully she slept most of the day. Tuesday she looked better but felt like the day after you get over the flu, just sort of pasty. Today, she at least got up and actually put on a bit of make up, though she still slept most of the day.

Jourdyn still can't go anywhere because her counts are too low. In fact, they are still 0 so she can not defend against anything. Hopefully they will be coming back by the weekend.

I had a rough day yesterday because some decisions had to be made about work and school. We decided that it was unfair to Jourdyn's bodd, Chris Weaver, to have her on a schedule, count on her coming, and then calling to say her counts were too low. He has been so great to her and, once again, said that he would just work her when she had good enough counts and when she felt good enough, rather than put her on the regular schedule.

The college was equally great to work with. Mark Barton, LuAnn Abbott and Carmen Alldredge sat for several hours with me and got me to the right connections to drop some of her classes without punisheing her by losing her financial aid (her scholarship). They talked to Dale Orton and her promised that it would all be taken care of and for her to just get better. She will stay in four classes and drop two. That is about as much as she can physically handle right now. We will just have to see what she feels like next quarter and go from here.

Keller loves when he is mentioned in here so I will let you all know that he is being made an Elder on Sunday and we are so excited for him and his family. Jourdyn thinks of Donna and Terry (And SueAnn and Bret for that matter) as extensions of her own parents and so also feel like we own a little piece of Keller.

IV antibiotics end tomorrow. Doing these all through the night, I will be glad when this nightly duty is over and we can all catch up on sleep. Last night, I was so tired I almost fell back to sleep in the middle of a transfusion! Shelley

Monday, September 19, 2005 8:07 AM CDT

Jourdyn spent all evening in the emergency room last night. We just could not get her aching under control. She was passing out and has a lump in her neck with red dots all over it. I suspect that she has an infection in it.

They drew blood and her ANC (ability to fight infection) in "0" right now so no school for her today. She is worried about school and her ability to keep up anymore. I am going to talk to them today about her dropping another couple classes. Tha will only leave her with three and not enough to maintain her scholarship but hopefully they will understand her desire to try to stay in some school and not punish her for being sick.

I left for a bit last night to pick some things up from her house. When I got back, she had been having a bad time so they gave her some morphine and she asked for a blessing so Terry Sanders and Rick gave her one. Keller is being made an elder next Sunday so Rick said he would be the "go to guy" after that.

After being released, we took her to our house and she slept for a while. She came up crying in pain again so I gave her some more and went down to sleep with her. (Actually, I went to sleep in her bed and left her in mine but she came down a few minutes later and said that her dad snored too loud to sleep with...HA I told you so Rick!)

This morning, we will let her sleep. I have to go to work so I am a bit worried about leaving her here alone. I will call Lisa and put her on look out. She will go to Dr. Ghaffari's office for more antibiotics later today. Shelley

Saturday, September 17, 2005 10:27 PM CDT

Just as last week, Jourdyn had about a 3 day break before her body betrayed her with side effects. She is getting it much worse today than last week.

We went to St. George this morning, though she was complaining of leg cramps. By the time we got there and shopped for a bit at WalMart, she said, "Oh no!" and I looked at her as the lights went out. I sat her down as she panicked that she couldn't see me anymore. Once she sat down, the dizziness went away and I got her to the car. We got home and she rested for a few hours.

Being the stubborn child that she is, she insisted that she could not miss a waitressing shift at work and that she felt a bit better. I called her later in her shift to see how she was doing. She said she was dizzy again but was taking breaks after each table to put an icebag on her chest. (she has been complaining of not being able to get a full breath the last few days.) Around the end of her shift, her boss called to say that she was doing poorly enough that he was worried about her driving so Rick went to pick her up.

She was very dizzy when he brought her in and I thought she was going to pass out. Her legs were aching so bad that we thought she needed to soak in a hot tub but worried about that making her more dizzy. We compromised and let her get in the tub but I sat at the edge like she was three years old keeping her from going under or falling asleep. She said as long as she sat, she felt less dizzy and her nausea is going away. We got her out and put her in her old room for the night.

At this point, her dad is in with a massager rubbing her legs and trying to get her to go to sleep while at the same time making her drink gatorade to help rehydrate her. We are trying to avoid a trip to the emergency room tonight.

She just needs to slow down a bit but she just doesn't want to admit to herself that she can no longer do all the things that she wants. She worries about money if she can't work and school seems to occupy her mind and time. I think she just needs more sleep. The body can't heal if it is exhausted. I will sleep on the couch outside of her room tonight. It still beats the beds at the hospital by a long shot. Pray for a calm night and a better tomorrow. Shelley P.S. She felt bad about missing the Kirt Bestor concert in town tonight. They have become good friends in the past 4 years.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 8:54 PM CDT

Jourdyn received her 2nd dose of chemo today at Dr. Ghaffari's office. Jourdyn was not in the mood to be poked and prodded today so she was not very cooperative. I actually had to yell at her today to knock it off and she told me to shut up. You know, one of those real bonding moments between a mother and daughter. I think she is just frustrated at having about 5 days of 7 that she felt crappy. I told her to give me 3 months of trying to get the system fine tuned this time and trying to figure out what will work for her. The leg cramping was the worst for her and they have given us a new medicine (neurontin) to try. It is actually an anti-seizure medicine but helps with the muscles as well. It makes you drowsy so I don't think she is going to be on board with taking this long term. I heard of another drug, Quinine, that is for leg cramps that I will ask about tomorrow.
Primary Childrens finally got me the results to the bone marrow biopsy and the spinal tap. Everything looks normal and they think that the cancer is concentrated just in the groin. It will not change what they are doing for her, it will just give them all the information they need to proceed.
Jourdyn is enjoying her new living arrangements but is still at our house alot of the time and the boys keep telling her to stop eating all our food. Hopefully she will have a better week with fewer reactions this time. Shelley

Sunday, September 11, 2005 9:18 AM CDT

After teasingly hanging from her waist and yelling "Don't leave me!" several times this week, Jourdyn moved out on Saturday. She got a dose of reality when she shopped for all the things she needed and had nothing. We caravaned her things over and then I stayed to help her get it all organized. After another trip to WalMart for the things she still needed (like a shower curtain) she was sitting on her floor going through shirts with a grin a mile wide. It did make me feel better that she requested sweet and sour chicken for Sunday dinner so I know she will be home tomorrow.

She felt much better Friday night and by Saturday, her tongue was feeling weird (we are not sure what that means) but not so achy. She got ready for a concert (SheDaisy) even though her doctor felt that she should not be moving while counts were low. I know he is trying to protect her but she weighed all the pros and cons with the Primary Childrens docs and then decided that she was going to live her life. I just pray the infections stay away.

I dropped her off and cried all the way home. It's not like she moved to France or anything but, all the sudden, across town feels a long ways away. Shelley

Saturday, September 10, 2005 0:28 AM CDT

This has been a very roller coaster day around here! Jourdyn woke up and got ready for school even though her legs still hurt and she felt a little dizzy. She insisted that she needed to go to school to take a test.

I headed to work but left my phone on. (a thing that I never do, especially during class) I started teaching a lesson in first grade when my phone rang. I went outside to take it and it was Jourdyn crying that she was really sick and too dizzy to drive. I left right then to get her but, her next call she was hard to understand and said she wasn't sure where she was. I knew her schedule and finally found her. She was very nauseated and a bit disoriented so I took her to Dr. Ghaffari's office. They hydrated her for several hours and she felt much better. Her mouth is very sore (mostly her tongue). They are very suprised at how quickly the effects of this chemo set in. We are numbing her mouth with Lidocaine and hope mouth sores stay away.

At 6:00 we headed to Cedar High for the Relay for Life cancer run. She did the survivor lap (along with Dick Norse, who she had a good long chat with and was impressed with her cancer tale...he said her trip through cancer made his look like a cake walk)She had very sore legs so she didn't stay to do more laps but her sweet dad went and did like 25 more laps in her name. (Jourdyn did one lap for Anna, Tyson and Dallin, her little angels)

After the relay and a rest, Jourdyn and I spent until right now packing up her room for the big move tomorrow. I tried (and succeeded) to put on a happy face because she is so darned excited. I just kept thinking of the events of the morning and worried that they would replay when she is on her own. Hopefully she will come home often to visit and not very often for care. After we got done packing, she smiled a big smile and hugged me and I told her I was so excited for her then told her good night so I could quickly come to the computer before bed (and so she would not see the tears that were finally coming and spoil her excitement. So here I sit at 11:40 p.m. crying so hard I can barely see the screen so sad and happy at the same time that I don't even make sense to myself.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Jourdyn doesn't seem to care: Good or bad she is ready for the next step on her own! Wish her luck! Shelley

Friday, September 9, 2005 8:03 AM CDT

Well, sooner than even the doctors expected, jourdyn is feeling the effects of the new chemo. Usually felt at 5 days after chemo, Jourdyn went until Thursdau (2 days) before she got sick. Her legs cramped up so badly that she could hardly walk but said it felt better to keep moving than to sit down.
We tried everything to get her calmed down and finally called the doctor. They think that they will try a new pill to help her legs but say that they are a bit discouraged that things turned so quickly and blame the neuropathy she had coming in for this leg pain so quickly.
I gave her enough pills to knock her out (soma, oxycodone, antihistamine for her cold) and finally they said to give her a sleeping pill. That finally did the trick.
I expected to have to call and get her assignments for her today but when i went down this morning to check on her, she was sitting in her bathroom sink (where she always primps) getting ready for school. She says that her legs still hurt but won't take anything this morning because she won't be able to drive or concentrate at school and work.
Tonight we have the relay for Life cancer run here in town and the newspaper called to see if Jourdyn would be doing the survivor run. At first she said no (mostly because she said she wasn't feeling much like a survivor right now and part because of the leg pain) but, knowing that the newspaper lady (our dear friend, Jennifer Weaver) was bringing her child who is going through a form of treatment right now, she decided to hold the baby for a photo at Jennifer's request and she will run the lap. We pray for a better day for her.
She still insists she is moving out tomorrow!

Wednesday, September 7, 2005 9:46 PM CDT

Jourdyn and I went to Primary Childrens yesterday. We got an early start with a PET scan at LDS that lasted 2 hours and made for an unhappy Jourdyn as she couldn't eat or move for the whole test, even through a terrible charlie horse in her leg.

We went to Primary's and she got her spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy. They are checking for any more disease but she has never had cancer in any other spot. They used a new anesthesia and she woke up quicker and without nausea. She got her first chemo before we left. She was not expecting this and she was a little aprehensive about getting started but decided the sooner she starts, the sooner she will be done. They are looking to do chemo for about a year at a rate of one treatment a week.

Today, she got up, went to school, went to work, studied with Keller (who is at this moment trying to burn down my basement with a soldering iron) attended her sisters soccer game and is now quite sore and worn out (and ornery!)

She has not become sick yet from the chemo but usually it takes a few days for that to set in. They don't think that she will lose her hair but it may thin enough that she decides on a wig anyway. We will just cross that bridge when we come to it. So far so good! Shelley

Thursday, September 1, 2005 3:15 PM CDT

Just when I think that I will settle into this new arrangement again, Jourdyn changes the plan and I am sent reeling again! Jourdyn is moving out!

A great friend of Jourdyn's lives in a home just outside of town to the west owned by her friends mom and dad (great people). They knew Jourdyn had always talked to Janell about wishing she could move out but financially she knew it was not possible. These cute people have made it so that Jourdyn will be able to experience college life in her "own place" with other girls that Jourdyn knows and loves and will be great examples to Jourdyn.

When she first tried to sell me on the idea, I was very nervous from a medical standpoint of course. I worried about her getting sick in the night, about low counts when others germs become an issue and taking her medications. We talked it all out and she will come back home during times that she is sick. They have made it clear that her room will always be her room and, if she needs to be there only one day a week, at least she will get to experience college life. This is one thing that has always been on Jourdyn's "to do" list of things she wanted to do in her life and who am I to deny her the chance to check this off her list?

I am like any other mom whose child spreads their wings and flies for the first time. My child just happens to be that one in a million flying peacock who just has to take flight. (Too bad her mother is just a grounded turkey!... butterball at that!)

We will move her out on Saturday, head for Salt Lake for tests on Monday, Tests on Tuesday and home for school on Wednesday and her new apartment! (apartment nothing! This is a 4000 sq. ft. house with 6 bedrooms and 3 baths, a huge deck and 2 family rooms.) Not exactly me dorm room in Manzanita! Shelley

Monday, August 29, 2005 7:25 PM CDT

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men....we will not be going to Primary Childrens tomorrow.

The hospital made a mistake and could not schedule everything for Tuesday so they ran it over into Wednesday thinking that we would not mind. Jourdyn about blew a gasket when I told her and she had me call them back up to say that we would not be coming. They rescheduled for the following Tuesday and will fit everything in on one day. She was adament about the fact that she will not be missing school. They said, "would we rather not delay your treatment any further, of course. Do we think waiting one more week will matter, no we don't." I am nervous about the wait but, I think that, while the rest of her world is spinning out of her control that it is important for her to have a say so on the things that she can control. (to the extent the it doesn't threaten her life, to which point she made that everything threatens her life)

I have started work this week. Poor timing but medical bills are going to become wall paper around here soon! I am a speech therapist at Enoch Elementary School. I know that I am not trained but I can speak and I probably need a therapist and they needed someone pretty badly so those two qualifications seemed to be enough. I work part time and leave after my kids and are home before them. It is pretty interesting, even though I am just shadowing Mrs. LeBaron right now.

Jourdyn will have all her tests on Tuesday the 6th and we will see if they decide to start chemo before then. So far, she is loving school and was able to make some pretty profound comments in her institute class as the discussion today was on "The Lord will give us no more trials than we are able to bear."
Shelley

Friday, August 26, 2005 5:58 PM CDT

Jourdyn headed out bright and early to the new freshman orientation at Southern Utah University. We spent the morning yesterday at the college changing her schedule to accomodate her chemo schedule. (that's the kind of determination that will see her through, fitting in chemo rather than letting it rule her world).

Jourdyn had 16 credits and needed to drop a 5 credit math class to free up her Tuesday for treatment. That left her with only 11 credits and made her a part time student which meant that she would lose her scholarship. Through a few good friends who went to bat for her (thanks Mark Barton and LuAnn Abbott) the university waived one credit to keep her full time student status rather than making her take another one credit class she didn't need and probably wouldn't be able to attend. SHe will try to pick up the math class in the spring.

We got her schedule of events for Tuesday. This is all prepatory to chemo sometime towards the end of next week. She will have a bone marrow biopsy (where they go in through her hip bone for a sample) and a spinal tap to make sure that both areas are cancer free before finalizing her treatment plan. I don't think we will get that final plan until these tests are performed. We will hopefully do this round trip in one day so she can get back to school on Wednesday.

She is dealing well with all that is happening. I almost worried about whether or not all this is sinking in to her but, after a talk with Keller, he says he thinks that she is just calm and not scared about things anymore so there is no need to cry. I guess I will hope this is the casse (since I really don't want to confront the child and force her to cry!)

School starts on Monday and that will be a welcome distraction to her. Shelley

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 11:25 AM CDT

It has been a tough few days but you would be proud of our girl! Once again we are all following her lead as she does this thing with grace and determination.

I sat and had a pity party all day Saturday. We were to go to a barbecue that night but, when the time came I told Rick to take Madi and tell the family why Jourdyn and I would not be there. As Rick and Madi went out the back door, Jourdyn ran up the stairs, dressed and beautiful. She ran to the door, yelled for them to wait and looked back at me. As I sat in my pajamas all day, no make up (or bath for that matter), never having occured to me that others might have appreciated it if I brushed my teeth, she turned and said, "I can't sit here like this with you mom, I'm going to the barbecue", and out the door she ran. The child is going to make it really hard for me to wallow and feel sorry for myself. In self protest, I remained smelly until the next morning when the all clear was sounded and I wet down the bar of Ivory for the first time in 48 hours!

We just returned from the visit to Primary Childrens. Being a crowd of "glass half full" people has come in handy these last few days and yesterday was no exception. We learned that they are still working on a protocolas they are gathering most of their information from France. You know the french, they are leisurely folk (who don't like to bathe much either) so it takes a while. Jourdyn asked some pretty frank questions and they were as honest with her as they could be, They were honest with her that they feel that they are no longer in "Curing" mode, as the treatments that normally work (chemo, radiation and transplant) have failed but they are in "prolonging" mode, hoping that she will buy time until new products become available (being slowed down by those opposed to stem cell research) that will put us back in "curing" mode. The amount of bought time is, of course, something that they can not tell. The new lower dose chemo they are thinking of giving (vinblastin) has been used in studies before (in France) with results buying up to 10 years. This is good unless you think that she will still only be 28 then and still too young to navigate heaven alone because, as we all know, Jourdyn could not find her own way home from Parowan let alone a big place like that. We will just keep on this track and hope and pray that something better comes along. She voiced that she was fully ready to try again and would do what she needed to do but, if this showed not to work or made her quality of life not worth it then, she wanted to be finished with traditional treatment. This by no means indicates that she is throwing in the towel, just that she will wipe up a different way when she is ready. She feels that she will know when that time comes. We await more news later in the week as to how we will proced with medications for now.

I wish so many of you were closer so you could see the grace with which this child is being carried right now. Those who question where God is in all of this need only look my child square in the eyes to know the answer.
Shelley

Sunday, August 21, 2005 12:04 AM CDT

Well, after a year and a half break from this world we have been living, Jourdyn's cancer has returned.
Jourdyn felt a lump in her pelvis about a week ago. It hurt so we were pretty sure it was an infection but with her history, everyone involved felt that it would be midically irresponsible not to have a biopsy. Last Sunday she had new scans to confirm that the lymph node was enlarged and they scheduled her to return to Primary Childrens on Tuesday. We had just been to the hospital 8 days before but they only scanned her abdomen on up so they missed this area. Her blood work looked good so there was no reason to suspect anything.
We (Jourdyn, Keller and I)met with Oncology on Tuesday and the surgeons sheduled her first thing in the nmorning on Wednesday for the biopsy. In the past, they came in and told of the cancer as soon as they were out of surgery. This time they said that the initial pathology looked good so we relaxed a little. We got home that night with a promise from the surgeon that we would hear from her the minute she knew anything. She called on Thursday to say that so far in the pathology that things looked good so we really settled down. On Friday, her oncologist called. I was alone at home with Madi and I thought she was calling to share what they surgeon has already told me so I waited patiently through her speech. Then she got to the end and said that the final pathology revealed signs of lymphoma again and she wished she didn't have to tell us this over the phone. I tried to hold it together but knew that I needed Rick home so I hung up with her, telling her we would call back when we had reinforcements there and Jourdyn needed to be told. I called Rick hysterical and told him to get home. My head was reeling as the phone rang again and it was Dayton telling me he had been in a car wreck! I sat on the porch before I fell off it as I got the details from him (yes he was fine, yes his car was dinged and yes he caused the accident) I blurted to him about the bad timing and that I just found out about Jourdyn's cancer. Now the poor kid is not only trapped at a wreck but he is upset about his sister and has no parent to help him. I called by good friend Lisa to go help him (after she stopped at our house to put a bag on my head before I passed out). On Ricks way home he happened passed the accident and recognized the car and called me to tell me he was staying with Dayton which calmed me down about that.
I knew that Jourdyn was at Keller's house so I called him to get her home. I told him we got some disappointing news about the pathology and cried that the cancer was back. Jourdyn must have been sitting right next to him because she let out a scream that let me know she had just heard the entire conversation so that is how she found out again.
Keller had to literally carry her screaming into the house. It was not a fun scene and my heart was breaking for both of them as she screamed and he held her while she pounded on everything in sight.
When Rick arrived home with Dayton, the tears began again and we hugged and cried for the better part of the evening, at least until we (Jourdyn and I) were medicated and fell asleep.
At this point, the hospital called with an initial plan: we will give them Monday to talk with other hospitals so they can formulate somewhat of a plan and we will go to the hospital on Tuesday. At first Jourdyn said I can't do this again, I am tired. But you know Jourdyn. By the end of the conversation, she was asking about treatment and seemed to be on track for trying again.
I have been trying to follow her lead but I am a little bit slower to come to terms with things than she is. the kids are all having a tough time with this news but they will all find their outlets. Please continue to pray for our family as we head to the doctors on Tuesday. We are sorry to drag all of you through this again but we are so grateful for the support. Shelley

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 5:30 PM CDT

Jourdyn turned 18 last Thursday. She had a fun day with a barbecue with Emily (Thanks Em) and a movie later that night with Kyle (a new friend of hers). She went shopping all morning for her presents from us (clothes and shoes- because she was starting to have to wear things TWICE!) and was excited that day when another scholarship came in the mail that day. It is from the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults and is in memory of Matt Stauffer. It is a $1000.00 award that will help so much this coming school year. She is in pretty good shape for her first year to be paid for and, if grades hold out, she will be clear for next year as well.
Jourdyn is trying to head to Claifornia for the 4th so see her buddies Adam and Burke but with gas prices so high, she may not get there but she is having a fun summer and is working hard.
Jourd had scans of her bones to test how brittle they are getting in light of the fact that she is not getting the hormones her body needs to keep them strong. They can't do hormone replacement because it gave her a blood clot last time so we are in tricky territory. She will see an OB in August as well as her Oncologist, Nephrologist, Lung Doc and Bone marrow folk. Should be a fun visit. At least for themost part they are healthy visits and they cheer how well she is doing.
Talk to you all later. Shelley

Thursday, June 2, 2005 10:15 PM CDT

Jourdyn had a blast at graduation. She was asked to sing at her seminary graduation and did a wonderful job. We got a gruop photo of all the kids and one of her and her friends from our neighborhood as well.
High school graduation was held at the Centrum on the SUU campus and there was a good crowd. She was wearing 4 leis around her neck (one from grandma and the rest from grandmas friends at the Polynesian Clutural Center who wer thrilled to hear Jourdyn was doing so well)
The graduation was nice and the speakers did an excellent job. Just about the right length for me.
After the ceremony, we headed to the high school for an entire evening of events. We all (grandmas and grandpas, aunts, cousins, siblings, etc) headed to a polynesian luau that was so fun. The dancers wer amazing and there was a good crowd. Soon after, the kids filed into the high school for a full evening of events ((at night until 530 in the morning) She had a great time at the grad night festivities and slept until 2:00 the next afternoon. She even made it (again) on the front page of the paper for graduation. (just what that child needed, 200 kids in the senior class and of all the kids, they take her picture)
She headed to Mesquite for her graduation trip given to her by the Whitaker grandparents. (Her Cleveland grandparents took her to pick out her own hope chest and she did a great job picking, it is gorgeous and she has already begun to fill it with her treasures). She will be in Mesquite until Saturday and has had different friends down there with her most every day. The one day she didn't have people, she headed to Vegas to see Aunt Heidi and Mrs. Haddad. The Haddad's were not there because "mister" has had heart surgery and Jourdyn has been a bit worried. She has called me twice since leaving to find out how he is doing. They have been very good to jourdyn and we ask for all your prayers on their behalf.
Jourdyn recieved her Certified Nurses Assistant certification in the mail today and will be happy to see it when she gets home. She is ready to get on with this next phase of her life.
She is enjoying every minute and will enjoy her summer before starting school this fall at SUU. She does not have to be back to Primary CHildrens until August 3! Enjoy your summer! Shelley

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 11:35 AM CDT

Hello Everyone!
We are home from our trip of a lifetime! We had more fun than one family has a right to have! The kids were going constantly and between the Make a Wish Foundation and Royal Caribbean we were wined and dined the entire trip! Jourdyn met some great friends on the ship, mostly other wish kids (there were 10 of them) and their siblings. We ice skated, rock wall climbed, danced, karaoked, swam, sight seeing tripped, ate our brains out and stayed up until the wee hours of the next afternoon. We were going every second and I didn't worry much about where anybody was because there was so much to kkep them all entertained. Cruising is definitely the way to travel with kids and actually enjoy yourself.
Jourdyn graduates from high school tomorrow. She is so excited and nervous all at the same time. She will be going to Mesquite for a week thanks to grandpa and grandma and then back to real life. When she graduates, she will be taking 3 special friends along with her across the stage. Anna Thorne, Tyson Taylor and Dallin Hartline all passed away during Jourdyn's treatment. She became very close with these three and will be wearing their pictures inside her graduation cap so she can take them along with her. Thank you to all their families for letting us be a part of their lives and for giving us such great memories of your children.
Thank you for all your help and prayers in getting us to this point. We will update one more time after graduation and then we will close out this site so that other families can use this service. Thank you all! Shelley

Friday, May 13, 2005 10:40 AM CDT

Hi Springdale,
This will be my last entry because we leave the ship early tomorrow morning. Today we are going to Nassau in the Bahamas. We spent the day at sea yesterday. It rained off and on but that didn't matter because there were so many activities going on. We danced alot and stayed up late. We had another formal night last night and got a group photo taken of all the make a wish families together. I have made many good friends this week and we exchanged addresses to keep in touch. I will miss them all.
I look forward to the last day on an island and have had an amazing trip so far. It was everything that I hoped it would be. Thank you all! Jourdyn

Thursday, May 12, 2005 12:18 AM CDT

Day 6 at sea and we are heading for Nassau in the Bahamas. It is raining for the first time on our trip and so there are lots of things to do inside. I went ice skating this morning and we were going to the belly flop contest until the rain. We have another formal night tonight and that will be fun! I tried lobster for the first time last night and loved it so they brought me another one! We are eating all the time and playing until very late every night! We went to St. Maarten in the Virgin Islands yesterday and that was the funnest island yet! Lots of pretty beaches and great shopping! Tomorrow is Friday the 13th so I hope we still have a great day in Nassau! Hope all is well in Utah and that you are all staying dry! Jourdyn

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 7:55 AM CDT

Hello Springdale!
I am having a great time! I went to San Jaun Peurto RIco yesterday and shopped until I literally dropped. I am very sunburned! I have met lots of other kids on the ship and hang with most of the other make a wish kids. Today I am heading to St. Thomas in the VIrgin Islands and it is beautiful here! We are going to Magens Bay, one of the top 10 beaches in the world and to see old pirate castles. MOre shopping here of course!
I have had formal night, been introduced on stage at the productions and have a private ice skating session tonight. I also got a free hour at the spa!
We will update again later but Thank you all again for helping this happen for me and my family! Jourdyn!
PS. We have not figured out how to put pictures on yet. We will bring them to show if we never get them online.

Saturday, May 7, 2005 8:31 PM CDT

Hi everyone, especially the kids at Springdale ELementary School!
We are having a blast in Miami! We have been here for two days. Went shopping, ate at Bubba Gumps, attended a Florida Marlins baseball game and now I am finally on the cruise ship! We have been on for a few hours now and we just had a great dinner. I am now going ice scating with some girls I met and to the arcade. I went to a variety show with my mom and sister and it was pretty cool. Our rooms are small but we are not in there too much anyway. We are all feeling a bit sea sick but it is getting better as we get our "sea legs".
We will try to update every day but it is 50 cents a minutte to use the computers so I have to think fast! The weather is great about 80 degrees. Have a good mothers day everyone!
PS We met the dad of another cancer child who didn't make it. Ari was about my same age and it was good to meet her dad Ron Felton. They have been great supporters of my mom and me.
Jourdyn

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 10:13 AM CDT

We leave today for our amazing trip to the Caribbean! Please check the web site often during the week as Jourdyn will be updating the site with photos and commentary on the trip for the kids at Springdale Elementary who helped make this wish possible.
A big thank you to Heather Horton and Pam Madsen, out own personal angels from the Make A Wish Foundation who coordinated this whole event. They have been amazing and I think they are actually as excited for us to get on this trip as we are!
Thank you all for getting our family to this point. We think that after the trip we will leave the site up for a bit but will finally put this baby to bed. We thankyou all for the support and all the workds of encouragement on the webstie. We have printed it all off to save for jourdyn forever.
Graduation announcements went out today. I can't believe in 3 weeks my baby will be graduating! I never thought I would see this day come and I may not make it through the ceremony without bawling the whole time!
Think of us if it starts raining (or snowing) or blowing. Hopefully we will be basking in the sun! Shelley

Friday, April 29, 2005 9:56 AM CDT

Jourdyn is busily preparing for the make a wish trip we leave on Wednesday. She will be a certified nurses assistant on Monday and could actually take a job in that field soon if she chose to. She loves pizza factory so I think she will stay there.
Jourdyn received another couple honors this week. She was asked to sing at her high school's seminary graduation next month and she is pretty excited. She also received another scholarship! This one fromthe local Elks lodge. Unfortunately she will still be on the cruise when they are presented but she still sent them and acceptance and thank you letter. That will make it so much easier on ;her this first year of college.
Jourdyn is busy working, dating, studying and winding down her senior year... and looking forward to her trip.
Our Uncle Kris finally got home to Kanab and we are so glad that things at the hospital are looking so great for him! WELCOME HOME! Shelley

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 5:06 PM CDT

Hi everyone! We are at Primary Childrens and I have to be fast because Jourdyn is still in tests but everything looks great! Her scans show no signs of cancer and her lung is functioning at 85% (good for someone with only one lung)
Jourdyn's kidney is functioning at 50%, up from 20 last test. She will begin hormone replacement because her ovaries have been absorbed by her body and are not producing the estrogen levels that she needs to protect her bones. Over all they are thrilled with her progress.
Jourdyn is healthy and happy. She bounced back from the big break up by "dating" a cute new boy. He is adorable and has been equally su[pportive of her doctor visits. They are just buddies but she sure seems happy to hang aroung her "Buddy"
WE will be heading home in about 10 minutes and she should not have to be back here until August 3. Shelley

Sunday, April 10, 2005 12:52 AM CDT

Jourdyn did a wonderful job talking to the kids at Springdale Elementary last Wednesday. She spoke for about 30 minutes with about 15 minutes of questions. It was fun and the kids were invited to watch her website for photos of her caribbean cruise and personallized messages to them.

Jourdyn is having a tough weekend. After 2 years and 2 days of dating, Keller and Jourdyn broke up on Saturday. She is trying to pull herself up but has been crying the entire weekend. They are young and have different directions that their lives were heading and hopefully they will have an amazing friendship when all the tears are over. He is a great kid and they both helped each other through a very tough couple of years.

Jourdyn will be heading into alot of tests next week as they check to see that she is still cancer free after a year off treatment. She will start on Sunday of next week and will end on Wednesday night. She is nervous for all of it and will just be glad to have them over.

Jourdyn will begin attending the college ward next Sunday. She really doesn't connect with the girls in the ward since coming back from transplant and would just like to get with other people who she can relate to again.

We had about 4 to 5 inches of snow yesterday and so we did nothing all day. SOmetimes that si just what you need!

If there is anyone ready to date out there! Jourdyn needs to get on with life! Shelley

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 5:19 PM CDT

Jourdyn is representing the cancer world well this week. She has been asked to speak on behalf of the make a wish foundation at the Elementary School in Springdale, Utah tomorrow. The 50+ students raised over a thousand dollars that will go towards Jourdyns wish. She is going to speak to them and meet and thank them.

Jourdyn was also asked to become a member of a new program through the governors office. The governors wife has asked her to represent the state's cancer kids as a diplomat. What that entails we are not sure of but she is quite honored and excited to share her success story and encourage others to donate and help the cancer community. More info on this to follow.

Jourdyn will have her one year post bone marrow visit on the 20th and, though I think she is nervous, we are cartain that things are going to be clean on her scans.

Speaking of clean scans, My brother Kris got his post transplant (100 day) scans and all of the results lookd great! HURRAY!!! He is gnawing at the docs arms to get home and who can blame him? We know what it is like to miss your own bed, your kids and your own house (and in he and Tad's case, that good old red dirt) They will get there soon. Tad may have to put the shock collar from the dog to keep him in line until his release!

Thanks for this long haul with us, we both have great support systems in place and are lucky and blessed to have the associations that we have! Shelley

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 10:37 AM CST

Jourdyn finally has the details for her Make A Wish trip to the Caribbean... it might actually happen this time! She (I should say we) leave on May 4 for Vegas where we catch a flight to Atlanta and then to Miami where we spend the night and the next day before starting the cruise. We will be on "The Navigator of the Seas" on Royal Caribbean Cruise lines if you want to see the ship, go to www.rccl.com. They have had her fill out a questionaire of things she would like to do while on board and also excursions. We will return home on May 14th just after leaving the ship. We had a cruise family home evening last night and talked about things we would like to do.
Jourdyn has been having lots of charlie horses in her legs during the night. They are not the typical kind that you get and can relax out. They contort her legs and she screamed for several hours two nights in a row. They make her legs look unhuman and I am sure the pain was terrible. I spoke to the doctors about them and they agreed with Jourdyn (our little nursing student) that because the kidney is failing it cannot filter all the toxins through it so they are released into the tissues of the body. The muscles try to protect themselves from these toxins and so they contract to keep the toxins out. They don't release like a normal charlie horse so we just had to ride it out. Hopefully drinking lots of water will help her system.
She is happy, healthy and busy so things are going well. We will update after her next visit at the end ot the month. Shelley

Friday, March 4, 2005 5:01 PM CST

Jourdyn had blood work done yesterday for the first time in 6 weeks. The counts looked the best that they have looked for about 6 months! The kidney counts are still elevated (BUN should be 21 and it is 48, creatinine should be 1.0 and it is 1.8) but these numbers are way down from before. She feels good, looks great and is about 100 pounds now, the big fatty! She is gearing up for graduation, working hard on scholarship applications and planning for her make a wish trip!
The entire family is being sent on a carribean cruise in May and it has all the bells and whistles. This organization works their little fannies off to make these wishes truly memorable and we are all so excited to go that we can hardly stand it!
Jourdyn is working on her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate right now and will do her internship with Dr. Ghaffari so she is very excited!
Jourdyn is also the womens Rep for the high school and is busily working on the Womens Week activities so, as you can see, she is your typical teenager who is not home very much...Just how we like her! Shelley

Thursday, February 10, 2005 6:18 PM CST

Jourdyn is doing well right now and is preparing to head to Salt Lake for a nursing conference this weekend. It will look good on her resume. Funny that she spent her last three years at the hospital and now, for a fun field trip, she is going back to the hospital. Oh well, at least she will be a visitor and not a patient.
Her last visit showed that her ovaries were not visible on the ultrasound so they think that they may be deteriorating, which we thought could be a possibility. She is not waiting to get another type of ultrasound that will show a better view of them and determine what to do next.
She is at the shop getting her hair dyed and trimmed (I never thought her hair would get long enough for a trim!) and she is loving it!
She should not need to go back to the hospital until April with the Ultrasound in March. She also lost two more pills from her daily routine so we are down to 8 differnet pills a day and hopefully we will drop more soon!
Shelley

Friday, January 21, 2005 2:44 PM CST

Jourdyn had her 1 year birthday and we had a great time. The Gayson family gave us all a trip to their new and, I might add, amazing restraunt to celebrate. They treated us like royalty and we were more full than any family has a right to be. We then had a get together with her friends the next night and she blew out one candle on her brownie for good luck in the coming year.
We headed to Primary Childrens Hospital the following Wednesday for her check ups. Everything was a bit chaotic but we got through the day pretty well. Jourdyn had scans and erays and ultrasounds. The ultrasound did show that her ovaries are shriveling up and dying but we will have a follow up appointment with a local OB to determine where to go with that next. We knew all along that this would be a possibility with all the chemo and radiation but, once it became a reality, it was a little tougher to take. She was, once again, a trooper and we headed home without too much trauma. She will not have to be back at the hospital for another 3 months so we are trying to get bone marrow to wait that long for her follow up one year post transplant visit with them too so we can have one really long day instead of three regular visits.
Back to real life for the most part, she is working and playing hard and getting all her ducks in a row for college (if I have to look at one more scholarship application, I will barf!) Updates will be fewer until there is any news but that is a good thing! Thank you all! Shelley

Monday, January 10, 2005 10:36 PM CST

Things are going great with Jourdyn. So much so that she will be celebrating ONE YEAR CANCER FREE on Saturday, January 15! We are so thrilled and want to have a day full of fun things for her that day. One thing that we would ask of all our friends and family who read this page and have been so supportive through her long journey is for you all to send her a "birthday" thought to this web site as we celebrate her one year bone marrow birthday. We will be giving her a copy of all of the entries on this site on Saturday and would love to include these messages in her book.
You have all been so wonderful and, while she is still struggling with her kidney, we feel that the cancer journey is coming to a close. They say that, while most cancers look toward the 5 year mark, Lymphomas generally come back if they are going to, within the first year so this is a big deal. Thank you everyone, we will still post after her monthly visits to the oncologist and nephrologist but not daily as we have tried to do in the past. THANK YOU ALL AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL! The Clevelands

Saturday, January 1, 2005 11:25 AM CST

Happy New Year Everyone! Jourdyn did great with her latest surgery. In fact, the best she has ever done! I think that it was because, in her excitement to get this one under her belt, she forgot to be nervous enough to need the verced to calm her. NOt having it made her wake up so much faster and we were out of there in 2 hours, start to finish. She is usually in recovery for that long trying to breathe normally on her own. No oxygen this time! She was sore for a day or two but is great now and looking forward to her bone marrow birthday on January 15. This will officially be her 1 year cancer free mark and we are so excited! We are trying to think of some way to mark the date but haven't settled on anything yet.
We had an uneventful new years eve, which is wonderful and we are all finding things to occupy our day so it should be a good start to the new year! My brother is moving along with his transplant and had not yet felt the effects of the chemo so we are holding our breath, crossing our fingers and toes and praying often for him. He is just the greatest brother anyone could ask for and an even better uncle! Life is good! SHelley

Tuesday, December 28, 2004 9:53 PM CST

Jourdyn is in surgery right now. They took an emergency baby surgery and it set Jourdyn back a few hours. She is hungry but understands that emergencies come first. You have never seen a child smiling so big as my baby as she headed into surgery. She is thrilled to think that this may be the last surgery. She is happy to be finished and it showed all over her face. We will stay this night and then we will go home tomorrow. The rest of the family headed back tonight. Rick tried to stay until the surgery was over but it kept being delayed (by 4 hours) and so I had them go home. Kim will be staying at our house tonight and so is Dayton's friend Jason so they will have a full house tonight. We will update later but I think things will go well. Thanks for the prayers. Keep my brother and Tad in your prayers. He started chemo yesterday and will begin his transplant on the 5th. Thank you all! Shelley

Thursday, December 23, 2004 4:39 PM CST

Jourdyn will be home for Christmas this year! She is scheduled for surgery to remove her port a cath (where she got all her chemo and meds through in her chest) on Tuesday. They have her scheduled late in the day (5:45) because she is the oldest patient. I tried to tell them that it takes her a long time to wake up because of her lung issues but it didn't seem to matter so, she will be hungry after midnight but she will be rid of the port. It hasn't been used for several months and we feel that it is just a source of infection waiting to happen.
We will stay in Cedar for Christmas day and then head to Salt Lake to do the family thing. We are excited to be home but will miss all the traditional christmas eve events with the extended family. We will update after Christmas and the surgery but we want to thank everyone for the continued support and we are actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. PS My brother will begin 8 days of Chemo on Dec. 29 and has been released from Huntsman for the holiday. He is still very sick and nauseated but they are trying to control it from my parents home. If he is going to be sick either way, better sick at home! Shelley

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 9:21 AM CST

We have had a good few weeks here. I am fully recovered from my hysterectomy. Frankly, I think it went much smoother than I thought and I had very little pain. I think I will try vacuuming today (for those who know me will appreciate what kind of will power it took for me not to clean for 4 weeks).
Jourdyn was asked to sing in church last Sunday. She was pretty nervous. After having her lung removed, the capacity to hold notes just wasn't the same as it was before. She has worked pretty hard developing strength in that lung and told them yes. She decided on "Oh Holy Night" because it was a favorite that Mrs. Beers had her sing in Elementary Choir and became one that she sang regularly in Sandy. It is a tough song with very high notes that are held out for a long time. She cried through several practices with her pianist, Kari Jensen. Finally Sunday arrived and she was making herself sick with nervousness. She asked her dad for a blessing before heading down for one more morning practice. Everyone was there; Keller and his family and people from the Make a Wish Foundation even came. She sang beautifully. She struggled at the first but by those big strong notes, you would never know that she was missing a lung. I looked around and, of course, everyone was bawling, especially her dad. I could not breathe. Just like when she was 5, I held my breath while she held out notes, giving her a reassuring smile at the end to let her know she held it out long enough. It wasn't until she finished that I cried. Leslie Swank (poor Leslie) has to speak after Jourdyn. She got up and said the perfect thought. "Isn't it wonderful to see miracles happen".
She truly is a miracle! She touches people everywhere she goes. one high council member told her that her attends alot of church meetings and he has never heard such a beautiful cong before. She did it!
We are thrilled to be home this Christmas- everyone! Jourdyn and I are going to the Kurt Bestor Concert in St. George tonight and that will be a great kick off to a wonderful season.
I get the priviledge of escorting my sweet niece Melanee tot he temple on Thursday as she takes out her endowments and then again at the ceremony on Monday. If I can ever stop crying long enough to help her... that will be the miracle. Every time I think about it, I start to cry. She had always been "my baby" and I am so honored to do this for her.
My brother is improving and his spirits are up. Visitors are encouraged and so is getting him to eat. Hopefully he will get to attend his daughters wedding on Saturday! Life is good! Shelley

Monday, November 29, 2004 3:52 PM CST

Jourdyn made it back to Cedar after about an 8 hour drive following her dad in a terrible snow storm yesterday. She is not thrilled about winter weather and even less about driving in it. She will come back to Salt Lake tomorrow to give the opening prayer at the lighting ceremony for the Festival of Trees. She is excited yet nervous to represent all the kids at the hospital but it is quite an honor. She is feeling good and had a great holiday. I am recuperating in Salt Lake now and spending the day at Huntsman Center with my brother but I will go home woth everyone after the ceremony tomorrow night. I feel great and think my surgery went pretty smoothly. Shelley

Friday, November 26, 2004 12:35 AM CST

The whole family joined me in Salt Lake on Wednesday. Things went smooth with my surgery and I feel better than I expected to feel. We were all together on Thanksgiving morning (except for Scott who is in Holland right now). We all got ready and took a trip up to the Huntsman Center to visit my brother Kris. His spirits are pretty low even though they have found a donor match for his transplant. It is hard to see past today when you feel so terrible right now.
We got Kris to come out to the family room where everyone was waiting for him. The little girls sand a song and then Jourdyn sang "Oh Holy Night" for him. With tubes coming out of his nose, unable to eat or drink for over a week now, and hurting in his stomach, the song overwhelmed him. His little bottom lip shook and tears ran down his face. THe whole room was very touched with the spirit that was in the room. Jourdyn helped Uncle Kris back to his room shortly after and had a "coming to Jesus" meeting with him. We were all looking toward her to say the things that would make him hang on. He has been so depressed and, if anyone can relate to what he is going through, it is Jourdyn. SHe was gone for a long time and came out and shared what she told him. To hang on, to think of the good that happens every day, to remember that there is always one person who knows his pain and he can talk to him any time he wants to. I have never been more proud of my child. To see her lift the spirit of another when they needed it most touched me deeply, especially because it was for my brother. We left him and tried to carry on with our holiday, another year missing someone at our table so deeply that it was hard to carry on.
Today, I am hurting a bit so Aunt Heidi took Jourdyn shopping, grandpa took the boys, Madi and Rick went to his parents to hang Christmas lights and I am resting. It is a good day. Shelley

Friday, November 19, 2004 10:47 AM CST

Jourdyn had visits to both oncology and nephrology on Wednesday. They were uneventful, if long visits. They even scheduled her next follow ups clear into January (the 19th) because things are staying steady with her. THey said that, as long as nothing changes, we will "stay the course" and not mess with things.
She had a good visit with my brother at the Huntsman that night. We decided to spend the night so we could see him longer (and because the fog was terrible to drive home). She got him up for a walk and they talked a bit. He is pretty out of it but I think that Jourdyn is the perfect person to lift his spirits. If anyone can appreciate what he is going through it is Jourdyn!
I go to Salt Lake on Sunday for my hysterectomy! I will be there through the 30th so I hope everything is good at home while I am away! It will be good to have over with and get on with the holidays! Shelley

Sunday, November 14, 2004 7:28 PM CST

Jourdyn has had a good if clumsy week. Her feet continue to be a problem and, having no feeling in them, she is tripping alot. Not that she was ever very graceful but now she is downright clutzy. Good thing she's cute!
Jourdyn gave her lungs the first singing workout they have had since surgery to remove her lung. Her capacity to hold her breath has been very minimal and she has worked very hard to get her remaining lung strong. She was asked to sing the National Anthem on Veterans day at her high school with Ben Lowey, a fellow student body officer. They did a fantastic job! Though she was winded, I think the cold morning air helped her and you would never know that she had any trouble. It was so special to me to hear her sing again. I have truly missed that!
I am finally getting my hysterectomy on November 22. I know it is a dumb week to be down but at least my family will be able to be up for Thanksgiving to be with me.
Jourdyn was also invited to receive the "distinguished Academic Student award" from Southern Utah University, along with many of her classmates. It was a fun day and she actually got to be there most of the day.
Kurt Bestor, LDS piano player and entertainer, has become friends with Jourdyn over the past few years. He sent us an email inviting us to be his guest at his St. George concert and she is pretty excited about that! He did tell her that he hoped that she hadn't grown her hair back because she had a pretty cute bald head but she just said, "yeah right"!
Last but not least, Jourdyn has been asked to be one of two kids to participate in the lighting ceremony for this years Featival of Trees in Salt Lake. She will be giving the opening prayer and she is very honored to be able to represent all the kids who didn't have the same outcome as she did.
My mom is having surgery to remove a lump in her neck tomorrow and my little brother had surgery two days ago so, look for a wing of some hospital soon to be named for the WHitaker/Cleveland families for all our monetary contributions to the field of medicine! Enough already!
Shelley

Tuesday, November 2, 2004 9:51 PM CST

We got some things resloved through testing today. They redid the CT scan of Jourdyn's scapula today and it takes a look a piece at a time. They discovered that the pain that she had was related to a healing fracture of her rub. She got thrown across a truck on homecoming and they think that could cause it because she is so small right now and not a lot of padding to protect her. (a seatbelt would have helped though!) She topped out at 94 pounds today and they are questioning her as to whethter she is "trying" to stay samll. This made her really angry because she eats all the time and hates looking sickly. They promptly apologized.
Later tonight they also took her to have the EMG to check the numb feet. They turned the voltage up as high as they dared and she had little to no reaction in her feet muscles and nerves. They have determined it to be a chemo induced (vincristine)neuropathy. They feel that it has been coming on (chronic) longer than she even could feel it and that her nerve damage is severe enough to indicate that the damage may be permanent. THe only thing on her side at this point, they say, is that she is young and so nerves may be able to regenerate but she would probably not see any imoprovement for a couple of years because the repair process, if any, is slow. She is so used to disappointing news that it barely blipped on her screen. She just said, "at least I am not in a wheelchair and they said it shouldn't get much worse, so can I still go to my leadership conference tomorrow?" She is a pretty resilient spirit and they are letting her leave tomorrow. We are relieved that the results came quickly so we are not wondering. She will not need to be back until the 17th.

Monday, November 1, 2004 9:39 PM CST

Jourdyn is back in the hospital today. We had quite a time getting here. We got to Nephi and blew a tire on the car. My brother called a patrolman who came to help (because our spare was flat and our jack had no lug wrench. The patrolman took the spare to the gas station and had it filled and brought it back. By this time it was clear that, onoce again, I was going to miss my appointment for my ultrasound. Oh well, I didn't shave my legs anyway! Anyway, He brought the spare and was ready to follow me to town but the car would not budge. The front tires were completely locked. He ended up calling a wrecker because they thought it was the transmission. The patrolman offered to drive Jourdyn up to Primary Children's so they could get started on her. After a long afternoon and my parents driving all the way to Nephi to pick me up, my car is still there getting fixed (turns out it was only that the spare was not the right size for the car and locked up the wheel) I will pick it up later or Keller will get it on his way up for his eye surgery on Wednesday.
My brother Kris had an appointment at the U today so when he was finished, he met Jourdyn and went with her to her first MRI today. They saw nothing on it but they reviewed the old MRI and a different doc cetected a small abnormality. They don't think it is cancer and it is a wierd spot for fungus so they are going to do a new scan tomorrow along with an EMG to check the damage to her nerves in her feet. We MAY be able to go home tommorrow but more likely on Wednesday, in which case Jourdyn would stay because she has a leadership conference up here later that night. We will just have to wait and see. They may want to biopsy the scapula while she is here as well. We just need to see. We will update tomorrow after tests and meeting with the neurologists. Shelley

Sunday, October 31, 2004 8:56 AM CST

Sorry it took me a while to update. Jourdyn went to her appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. They did the follow up scans that they normally do as follow up to a Gallium scan that has "questionable" results. The results looked good, as they saw nothing to account for the shadow on the Gallium scan. They had decided to wait and do nothing for a few months and then they will rescan and see if there is any new development. THey didn't feel too worried and said that she could go home but would have to stay on the voriconizloe just in case the fungus was trying to return. No problem. They tried to address the fact that Jourdyn's is losing the feeling in her feet. They said they would try to work her in with neurology. Working her in means that you get to see them after the first part of January! We got home and the very next morning, jourdyn woke up with pain in her scapula (the very spot they have been watching with the scans). Worse than that, she has lost complete feeling in her feet almost up to her ankle bone. We called Primary Childrens and they want to admit her on Monday until they figure this out. They don't think it is a kidney or oncology issue but they did some research on the internet and found that a long term side effect from the voriconizole can be neurological damage. Would have been nice if someone could have checked this out before she had been on the drug for a year! They told us to stop taking it until they figure tis out. We will be leaving on Monday morning very early and I will drop her off and hopefulle still get to my ultrasound for my hysterectomy. I really don't think that I am going to get it any time soon but, just in case, I want to be ready. My brother did get to go home for the weekend and is thrilled to be back in real life for a minute! We will be sponsoring bone marrow drives throughout the state if anyone is interested in donating, please keep checking the site for dates! Shelley

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 5:33 PM CDT

We are up at Primary Childrens and Jourdyn is getting her bone scan right now. She finally let it all out last night and sobbed about how scared she was about the tests today. Her dad gave her a blessing and I gave her an ativan and she managed to calm down. We have our last test at 9:00 tonight so it will end up a long dy. They should have the results of all tests by our appointment time tomorrow at 10:00. We will be anxious to hear the results. We brought our new little dog and Kris and Tad are babysitting while we are up here. It is a baby chihuahua that they gave us so it is a little piece of home for them all. We will update again tomorrow after we get the results. Shelley

Sunday, October 24, 2004 9:15 PM CDT

We got disappointing news on Friday. Not one of my brother Kris' four siblings were a bone marrow match for him. THis news was about as devestating to me as his initial diagnosis. We are staying positive that a match will be found on the national registry. He sounds positive and is trying to keep himself as busy as you can being cooped up in one place all the time when you are used to being on the go all the time. Jourdyn and I will be in Salt Lake for her tests on Wednesday and Thursday and will look forward to seeing everyone. I go back on the first for the ultrasound for my hysterectomy. I have put it on hold three times now and I am hoping to still get it scheduled before the end of the year. Jourdyn is at Keller's cabin tonight with his family because our kids have the "harvest holiday" (a fance name for the deer hunt) tomorrow. Dayton actually got his deer last night with one shot that impressed everyone that he was hunting with. Uncle Kris wished he could have taken him and so did Dayton. Keller did a good job filling in though. My brother heads back to the hospital tomorrow to find out where they go from here. We will once again hold our collective breath and wait. Shelley

Friday, October 22, 2004 0:10 AM CDT

I went to Salt Lake yesterday to donate blood to see if I might be the matching sibling for my brother Kris' bone marrow transplant. There are four of us and each one has a 25% chance of being a match. We had a fast Sunday hoping that one of us will be the lucky one. Heidi flew in from Vegas to donate also. It was a nice but too fast visit with Kris and Tad. They are being strong and trying to stay positive while they play the hospital waiting game. Jourdyn got the results of her last scans. The gallium scan that checks for recurrence of disease or fungus showed a "shadowed" area by her scapula (shoulder blade). They sent us for an zray locally in hopes that Jourdyn had injured herself like a fracture or break that would explain the shadow but they saw nothing. They immediately scheduled her for a bone scan and an MRI to check for new fungus or cancer back. It could also end up being nothing or something new, they just don't know and that is why they are checking. Of course, Jourdyn is a nervous wreck as we wait for Wednesday's appointment. We are all on cancer overload at our house and we will be glad to get the results of these new tests. She is staying busy. She was just asked chosen to be "distinguished academic scholar" which is an honor given by SUU faculty and she will attend yet another conference for this on November 12. We are gearing up for Madi's 9th birthday party on Saturday. I was at the hospital with Jourdyn last year and missed her birthday so it is a big deal sleepover party this year. She is pretty excited. Tanner and Keller just finished their football seasons and as the rain is falling everywhere we go, I can't say that I am not glad they are finished. Rick is using his free time to drum up freelance art jobs. He has been doing portraits of people's kids alot lately and is an amazing talent. Dayton is Dayton and keeps me laughing daily. We have amazing support continuing for us here in Cedar as we await yet another nervous time in both the Whitaker and Cleveland households. Shelley

Thursday, October 14, 2004 12:36 AM CDT

We have not updated for quite a while. We would normally say that "no news is good news" but that is not the case for our family right now. As many of you may already know, my little (and that is such a silly term because I think he has about 9 inches on me) brother, Kris, was diagnosed with leukemia last week. As you can imagine, we are all in shock and Jourdyn is especially devestated by the news. He is at the Huntsman Cancer Institute where he is in the early steps of preparing for a bone marrow transplant. We are, of course, well aware of what this involves and are ready as a family to beat this dreaded disease one more time. All of Kris' siblings (there are 4 of us) are being tested soon to be bone marrow donors, as leukemia patients cannot donate for themselves like Jourdyn could with her lymphoma. He is strong. We will beat this again. As for Jourdyn, she had her follow up scans and here they go: CT scans looked free of fungus and I suspect they will call to let us know soon that she can go off the anti fungal medications that she has been taking for almost a year now. He gallium scan that checks for cancer showed a little "shadow" but they are hoping it is from a pretty good bruise she sustained on her day date for the homecoming dance. They will continue to watch it to see if there is any change in it from other scans. This has caused a little anxiety at our house but, unlucky for him, Kris took our minds off it pretty quickly. Her kidney results showed that she has HUS (which is what they have been treating her for all along so that is nothing new to us). It is just good to have an actual diagnosis. They continue to be leary of doing the plasma exchange as it is pretty risky for a kid with Jourdyn's history so they are going to continue with medications and blood pressure control and hope that the problem will improve and they will not have to plasma exchange. Jourdyn had a blast at homcoming and looked gorgeous. I will get her dad to add a photo from the dance to the site. She was grateful that her Uncle Kris was able to help with the decorations and stay at our house that night. They had a pretty close bond before, but now, they are in a class all to themselves! Please pray for both of our heros now! Shelley

Tuesday, September 21, 2004 4:33 PM CDT

Jourdyn is still in the Rapid Treatment Unit here at Primary Childrens Hospital, though it doesn't feel very rapid right now. We are still trying to get home today but they decided last minute that they wanted to transfuse red blood before we go to help her avoid bleeding. She will not get out of here before about 8 tonight and I have a hard time driving in the dark but I suspect that I will rest up now and try to get her home tonight before she blows a gasket. She is sick of this place and is on an emotional overload right now. They think that it will take a bit to get the results of the biopsy and the doc who did it isn't convinced that it is the "HUS" that the other doc has been treating. The test should tell. We are pretty sure that, unless something really takes a turn for the worst, that she should be able to get to her homecoming dance. Her dress is hanging in her room here and everyone from "her floor" has been down to see it. She really can't be cheered up today. She just wants to go home. I try to tell her that we need to let the docs fix this problem because we really don't want to get into transplant issues. The docs from renal want her to lay low but they forget that she has been doing that with oncology for the past 3 years and is sick of sitting around. There is a fine balance between departments. I am trying to coordinate tests and appointment schedules for both now and get it so we make one trip instead of two. Hopefully we will be home in the next 8 hours. If not, I don't think I even want to be with her! Shelley

Monday, September 20, 2004 6:32 PM CDT

Jourdyn had a great weekend at her cousin Megan's wedding and today got down to business with her kidney biopsy. She was to be here at 9:00 and get started at 11 but her platelets had dropped again into the 60's so they had to transfuse first. They didn't start her biopsy until around 3:30. Since she couldn't eat, she was pretty hugry. The biopsy took longer to set up than to actually perform. I got tostay in the room an assist and it was pretty interesting. They numb her skin and then numb inside with a large needle until they reach her kidney. They then go in and pull out a small string like sample to send off and it leaves just a samll hole that they cover with a bandaid. She feels like she should get to go home but, especially with low platelets, the risk of bleeding was a problem. She is in recovery now and will be watched tonight and then has to take it easy for the next 2 weeks. She will be sore tomorrow but not too bad. I should get back with her now. They will not have results of this for about a week but we will still check counts in the mean time. They were not great this morning but better than they have beenlast week so, who knows. Shelley

Saturday, September 11, 2004 9:37 AM CDT

Jourdyn has had a pretty disappointing week. She was told that her doctors didn't feel she was ready medically to go on her make a wish cruise yet. We were all to go in October but now it is on hold again and she is pretty upset. Not that this news was the worst that she heard wither. Dr Nelson, her pediatric nephrologist (kidney doc) said that Thursdays counts did not look good. Basically Jourdyn has a count in her body that we have been able to control with kidney medications so far. Her count has jumped around a bit and even got pretty high before but has always come down. Yesterdays counts officially jumped the track and are now to the point that they can no longer control them with medications. They believe that the kidney is officially trying to shut down. This means that she will go have a biopsy of her remaining kidney (risky itself because if they damage it during the surgery, she only has one). Ince they determine what they have been suspecting all along is wrong with the kidney (TTP-HUS) they are planning to do a "plasma exchange". This is where you put in a new catherter in her chest with two tubes, one to take out, one to put new in. Then they would begin taking out all Jourdyn's plasma (apparently it has something to do with the small clots that are being thrown into the kidney, that is basically what HUS is) and replace it with new plasma from donors. (that is why we ALL need to be blood product donors!) It takes three days of transfusing then a break. THey do this for roughly 3 to 4 weeks and it has to be done at Primary Children's so Jourdyn and I will stay up in Salt Lake. Now, when will they start? Good question, glad I aksed it! They are trying to watch her next two blood counts this week to see if there is any improvement. Jourdyn is maid of honor in my nieces wedding next Saturday and her Homecoming dance that she has been working so hard as the decorating chairman that it would be a shame if she had to miss the dance. They will watch counts but, if they trend any higher, wedding or no wedding, dance or now dance, they move forward. Of course Jourdyn took the news pretty hard. She is pretty sick of all the exciting events in her life being pulled out from under her. We found out just before the high school football game (which we lost so that made her even sadder). I have not talked to her yet this morning but she went out with Keller and all thier friends after the game and I am sure they all know now. We are going to fast for Jourdyn tomorrow, praying that Jourdyn's counts will lower on their own and that she will not have to have these procedures. They are quite risky even for someone without all Jourdyn's history. We would invite any of you to participate with us in this fast. Thank you, Shelley

Tuesday, September 7, 2004 2:29 PM CDT

Jourdyn is enjoying a long stretch at home right now. She heard from Oncology that they don't think they need to see her every two weeks any more. She is just too darn healthy from a cancer unit standpoint and they will start seeing her once a month. We have been waiting a long time for that news. Jourdyn makes it pretty clear that she does not have cancer, just a kidney problem. She is cancer free and has no problem correcting me whenever I tell anyone her diagnosis. She is getting ready for the homecoming dance. She is a student body officer and they are in charge of the homecoming dance so she is staying pretty busy. She is truly from Cedar City now... she is in hunter safety and is having a blast hunting almost every day after school. I am just amazed that she has enough energy. I don't know that she loves the hunting but she sure does seem to enjoy being the only girl in a big group of hunting boys, including Keller! Her kidney is still causing trouble but the docs seem happy that things are at least stabilizing, if not getting better. Jourdyn will be the maid of honor at her cousin Megan's wedding next weekend and she is very excited about that. I leave on Monday for a whole week of wedding festivities and then the family will join me on Friday. It has been a good couple weeks and we take them where we can get them. Shelley

Thursday, August 26, 2004 5:23 PM CDT

Jourdyn had a bit of a scare one week ago. She had her blood drawn and then headed for school. When the results came to my by phone they needed to know that Jourdyn was not driving because her potassium levels were so high that they were worried about her having a heart attack! I had my friend Lisa drive me to the school to pick her up and drive her car home. They doubled up on two of her meds and, of course, she was just fine. No heart attack, just very swollen legs. They get too full of fluid because her kidney is not pushing the fluids through her like they should. They get all brownish purple looking and then she spends the rest of the night with her feet in the air. However, last blood draw, after doulbing up on meds, some of her counts actually looked good. Though most are still high, they are trying to come down and maybe we will get a break and be able to salvage this kidney. Her platelets ate 78 (they should be 400 but hers have been sitting around 10 so to us 78 is huge!) We are waiting for new lab results right now and hopefully they will be even better. Her legs and feet were so swollen last night that she lost all feeling to her feet and they looked bad enough that we thought about calling the docs. They look and feel much better today. Probably just up too much during the school day. Shelley

Monday, August 23, 2004 6:05 PM CDT

Jourdyn got to start school last Thursday and you have never seen a kid so anxious for the first day! I thought she was going to burst. She did have a bit of a scare on Friday. The hospital called me after her blood draw to tell me that her potassium count was so high that they were worried that she was a candidate for a heart attack! As I told my friend Lori in an email earlier, I think that comments like this are responsible for all my new gray hairs! I rushed to the school to get her where, of course, she was just fine. She has been drawn again today and they will compare to see how she is doing. Kidney function numbers continue to look bad but we are still hoping that they will turn around. She did go to Las Vegas with some buddies from our old stomping ground (Sandy) and shopped with them (with the help of her Aunt Heidi spoiling her to the point I think she may decide she wants to convert to a new mother in Vegas) until she was exhausted. She is doing well otherwise and we keep our fingers (and legs and eyes, etc.) crossed for good blood work resuults! Shelley

Thursday, August 5, 2004 4:48 PM CDT

Jourdyn is going home today! They have her blood pressure under ocntrol with medications and they hope that the rest of the problem will resolve itslef over time. We have strict instructions to get blood checked every other day and that will be fun on our vacation but at least we will be able to go. They have not limited her activity but suggest that she stay out of the sun too much (which will be fun in St. George!) She will get her school shopping done and that makes her happy. We have been given perameters that she must stay below or we are back up her so we are crossing our fingers (like that helps) that the creatinine and BUN will behave themselves for a while while her kidney repairs. We will update next time we are at a computer if there are any changes. Enjoy what is left of the summer! School is just around the corner. Shelley

Monday, August 2, 2004 9:35 PM CDT

Jourdyn saw the Nephrologist today but his message is the same, they want to wait and watch because they are too nervous to cut into her. They think at least another week in here so she is not too thrilled with that news. She has been very nauseated tonight and the vomitting has finally started, we are not sure if any of this is related or not. She has been pretty tired all day and pretty bloated from fluids not leaving her body. We are trying to remain upbeat but are just sort of settling into hospital life again and that means alot of sleeping and waiting. For doing nothing all day we sure are tired. I guess being emotionally drained makes you sleepy too. Dayton is working a new job at a restraunt washing dishes and started today. That will be good and the other kids are awaiting anew school year in 17 days (but who is counting). We spoke to the Honors Academy today and they are allowing Jourdyn to make up her work when she gets home. People continue to pour love our way and we feel it daily! Thanks everyone-- we know it has been a long haul and we thank you all for sticking with us all this time! Shelley

Sunday, August 1, 2004 10:16 PM CDT

Jourdyn got her labs drawn on Thursday and found that her creatinine level was high. This is a sign of kidney trouble and, since jourdyn only has one, they are being pretty protective of it. My brother Kris took Madi home with him, Dayton was at scout camp and so was Tanner so we headed out on Friday morning and we have been admitted. It seems that Jourdyn's kidney is trying to shut down. She feels fine but there have been signs that this was a problem for some time now (June) that nobody put together (her high blood pressure, needing platelets all the time, creatinine level rising, etc.) She is being seen by a nephrologist now. They have, for the time being, diagnosed her with post transplant TTP. It is easier to go to a search engine and type in "TTP" to find out about it but basically it is where the kidney develops small blood clots and they block the filtration system for the kidney so things don't escape as easily. She has all they symptoms but they are at a loss right now as to what to do for her. They are trying to find nation wide case studies to go by but they can't find any kids post transplant that have also had a lung and kidney removed, pancreatitis and lived to fight TTP. There are a few things they could do but are hesitant to try because of her low platelet levels (she could bleed pretty badly during a surgery at this point). The line we had taken out last week is now needed this week to do a plasma exchange and the procedure is risky. She feels fine and that is making it hard for her to sit still here. If they do the exchange, it could take 10 days but they may just give her new plasma without removing her old stuff. We had a family vacation planned for this Saturday and it looks as though, once again, plans are changed. She is in amazingly good spirits. She went to church today. In fact, the General Primary President, Sis. Menlove, came up and talked to Jourdyn and was so impressed by all that she had gone through and still had such an amazing spirit and testimony that she took all her information to have the Young Womens General President come and speak to her. They said that the young women who think that life is so hard and there is no time for Personal Progress could benefit from hearing her story. Keller and Rick left tonight and the kids will all be back home too. Keller comes back up here for an eye appointment on Tuesday and possible surgery so, at least she will have company. She has a lot of tests coming up once the week gets under way so hopefully we will have more heads in on the discussion as to what they plan to do with her. She has some papers due this week so hopefully they will keep her busy. Shelley

Tuesday, July 27, 2004 11:53 AM CDT

On the 24th of July, Jourdyn got a samll hole in her broviac line that she gets all her meds and transfusions through. She is now up at Primary Childrens to have a new line put in. She will be going back to the line that she originally had that is under the skin. We have pros and cons for both but we hope this wil be a good decision for her. They were going to biopsy the lump under her arm at the same time but the doctor feels that it is only scar tissue (YEAH!) so they are holding off on that. People have asked about her scholarship from the Honors Academy that she was unable to attend. We spoke to them and they said that she did all the work before she went (they had to write papers and research and such) and that, as long as she writes her final paper, the 4 year scholarship is still hers. Her trip to Texas has been rescheduled for Thanksgiving and she should be able to get to Quest leadership Conference (where she should be today and tomorrow) later tonight. So, she has had things delayed but not cancelled. She will be out of surgery soon so I better get some lunch. Shelley P.S. Tanner had his visit yeaterday and they did a spinal tap to check the neuro receptors sending messages to his legs so we will know in 2 or 3 weeks about his condition.

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 10:31 PM CDT

Jourdyn is back in Primary Childrens tonight. She got a fever at the Governors Honors Academy on Sunday and has been in Valley View in Cedar City since then. Today she needed blood and platelets and they found the source of the fever; a staff infection in her chest tubes. They felt that she had enough things going on that she needed to be at PCMC. We came by ambulance this afternoon and they are about to start transfusing. She is in a foul mood (and who can blame her). Her academy is finished, they have told her the trip to Texas this Saturday with Keller is a no go and she is stuck back here. She is not being very happy at this point. She has slept alot and will more because they are loading her up with benedryl because her eyes have swelled up from weird allergies. We have no idea how long we will be here but she is pretty out of it so the time should go by for her. Shelley

Wednesday, July 7, 2004 11:09 AM CDT

Jourdyn went to Primary Childrens yesterday for a follow up visit. She has started to need platelet transfusions again every few days and she is getting tired of it. They took her off all the IV medications now and she is on all pills so she is more freed up during the days. She found a lump under her right arm a few weeks ago and they are still watching it but it did not show up again on scans this time so we are keeping our fingers crossed (we have chosen not to share the lump issue with my mom as she is going through her own medical issues right now and info on Jourdyn tends to set her own treatment back) Jourdyn is having a great and busy summer. Her doctors expressed their desire for her to slow down or at least tell them how she manages to keep up the pace that she does. She is working and is attending her Governors Honors Academy this Saturday. She will need to leave it for a bit to be transfused but should return. As soon as it ends, she is heading to Texas for a week to visit with Keller's grandfather who is beginning a bone marrow transplant this week. She will be a good resourse for him. After that, it will practically be time for school to start. She has about 1/2 inch of hair that is dark brown and straight as a board. It looks adorable on her. We will be back at PCMC on July 26 and hope that her platelets stay up until she returns from Texas. It is risky to send her but she is adament about going. We will hold our breath and see. We will update again on the 26th. All the other kids are doing great. Shelley

Friday, June 11, 2004 4:42 PM CDT

It has been a long time since we have updated this site. Luckily, no news has been good news! Jourdyn is off the shots to give her counts, her counts are not great but are holding steady. She finished out her school year and has just a few classes to finish up on. She gets to go back to work next week and they have approved her to travel to Texas with Keller's family in July. She has some new fluid in her chest where her lung used to be but they are watching it. It is giving her a wicked cough and it hurts but they don't seem terribly concerned. She will go back up on June 21 for follow up scans to check for cancer at the 6 month mark (we can hardly believe that milestone is here already!) and she is growing hair! It is not long but, with the weather so hot, she has decided it is enough to go without her wig and it looks adorable! It is much darker than I thought it was going to come back but it is just as cute as can be. She will be allowed to go to church on Fathers day (where our whole family has been asked to speak in sacrament) so that will be a good day. She is going to a health occupations camp this week. She is enjoying ehr summer! We will update again after her scans! Enjoy your summer! SHelley (P.S. I highly recommend to any mom to "run away from home" for a week. I had a refreshing break and it was good to both get away and return!)

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 8:25 PM CDT

Hey Everybody,
I guess since Shelley's on sabitical (I wouldn't know how to normally spell a word like that but for some odd reason I do)for the duration of the week down in Mesquite...shh don't tell anyone it's her birthday tomorrow, I thought I'd be the one to clue you all in on Jourdy's progress. Jourd and i had our clinic visit yesterday and her ANC was 32 and her platelets were at 20, not terrible but not great but they saw now reason to transfuse her. She was "tech" on this visit and I was the "duh" or chauffer as she kept calling me. She told me with such a visit that was good and quick I was a "worry wart". We dropped by Grandma Marilyn's office and then a short visit to Farmington, to see Grandma Jan. Except for a lack of energy Jannie is doing really well. At the Cleveland Ranch in Cedar things are dandy and kids are ready to get out of school. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. On the way home jourd listened to a cd that her little friend from Florida gave her, yes this was one of those little ones who didn't make it through the cancer battle to stay here with us. As I listened along with my oldest daughter I could tell she was thinking of this little girl who was now gone from this world and all I could imagine Jourd thinking was, 'Why am I here and she died?' I know Jourdy has so much more in this journey and I am very excited for her to continue on it. I'm waining nostalgic and Shell would tell me to stop 'blubber guttin' it' so I will and we'll talk to you all later. Only two more days of school for the kiddies, hooray?!? I hope they have a great one! Bye, Daddy Rick

Monday, May 17, 2004 4:14 PM CDT

Jourdyn has officially finished her time with bone marrow! She is being transferred back to the regular oncology clinic now and will soon be able to go to clinic only once a month. Right now it is still weekly but we are getting closer. Jourdyn's platelets were only 18 today but they decided not to transfuse and see what her body is doing. She is healing up nicely from her kidney and they will know by the end of the week how long she has to stay on antifungals but it wil be somewhere between 1 month to 3 months. She is a little tired and was sick last night but she is feeling good today. I guess we head home now for a week. She has a dance again on Saturday and so she will get her counts checked on Friday to see that all is well. WEveryone else is doing okay and we are ready for some uneventful down time. I am leaving for a week to go to Mesquite for my birthday. I am not turning 40 though ( I prefer to think of it as the 1st anniversary of my 39th birthday.) I figure if I leave town people can't ne to harsh on me. Shelley

Tuesday, May 4, 2004 2:43 PM CDT

Of course the Cleveland family doesn't know how to function without a little drama in our lives so we did it again. Jourdyn and Keller (and his mom) were in a car wreck last night! Let me start by saying they are all okay. Let me next say that both Donna and I were opposed to Jourdyn going with her. Keller had a baseball game in St. George. Donna was going. Jourdyn wanted to go with her. I repeatedly told her that I didn't feel good about her going because, lets face it, she is still 5 days out of kidney remmoval surgery. I wanted her to stay put but she insisted that she had it all figured out (pain meds in purse, water bottle, umbrella, comfy chair, etc.) The game went great (they won!) but on the way home, while they were stopped, some guy not paying attention hit them from behind totally crunching the left tailgate. Worse than that, the jerk hit and ran! Never even stopped. They were wearing seat belts but, because of Jourdyn's kidney incision, the seatbelt hit right along it when her body jerked forward. Keller called and told me they were all okay but I knew that her platelets were too low to get banged up.. Primary's wanted her checked out. She is sore but fine. Keller's back hurts today. We now had to come to Primary's so they could confirm that there is no internal bleeding going on. The incision did have a bit more drainage today but otherwise looks good. They will transfuse just to be safe today. Moral of this story: (because if we are not learning anything from all these trials then what a shame!) As parents, when the spirit tells us to do something, we need to LISTEN! I knew she shouldn't go. I let my desire to see her be "normal" outweigh her health issues and didn't stand firm. I am not here to be her friend, I am here to "lead her, guide her, walk beside her". We had a yelling match when she got home and now things are dandy again. We may stay the night. I had a root canal before all this started yesterday and I am still a bit sleepy. It is always dangerous for a mom to take advantage of pain medication (even if it is prescribed to her). You never know when you will be called upon to "Think" and your brain will be on vacation. Shelley

Saturday, May 1, 2004 1:47 PM CDT

Jourdyn has done it again and in record time! Just 4 days after having her kidney removed (with one lung, chemo, radiation, blah, blah blah) Jourdyn is heading home to Cedar today! Even the surgeons are impressed with her energy. They kept looking for things she needed to do before getting out and she did them all! We are still waiting for discharge orders but should be on the road in about an hour. She will even get to go to school when she feels like it (whichcould be Monday). No church for a couple more months because of little kids in confined space but that will follow soon. Luckily she only has one class a day because they don't think she could hold out for an entrire school day yet ( I think she can!). We will still have clinic once a week but we hope the big surgeries are a thing of the past. This is quite and adventure she hasbeen on (and I guess continues to be on). She has been working on a fireside for about a year now and I will be excited to hear her side of all this when it is all over. See everyone soon! SHelley

Friday, April 30, 2004 1:28 PM CDT

Jourdyn is still a bit sore but is improving every day. She is a bit low on blood today so she will be getting transfused soon. They took her for a chest xray this morning and she may be getting her chest tube out if everything looks good. That will halp because it is making it hard for her to relax because it is positioned under her arm so she can't put it down all the way. She is still needing oxygen off and on but for the most part not when she is awake. She has been up walking around a bit though she hates it and has started breathing treatments that she hates worse. However, she is surgery saavy and knows how to play the game in order to get released (which still looks as though it will be on Tuesday). She is eating and thinks that it is cool that she broke the 100 pound mark (we won't tell her it is fluid and will go away again). Rick went home last night and the kids had already taken care of the house (thanks to whoever put that bug in their ear) and they will stay in Cedar for the weekend. They say Jourdyn will be able to go to Cedar when released and may even be able to start going to school a bit. Still no church because there are too many people who bring their little kids sick and she would have to be sitting still by too many of them but, one step at a time and we will take it. She is ready to move on. We got Tanner scheduled with a neurologist in July (they are the docs to be scheduling people that far out) so we can get on top of his leg pain issues. It has been getting worse lately. Dayton is sore but moving right along. We have to remind him that even though the back brace hurts, it is helping. Madi has managed to avoid our curse so far and we are thankful for that. Despite all the problems, we will take our trials over some other peoples any day. As I had complained to my brother about life being so overwhelming about four years ago he reminded me of that conversation and what I wouldn't give to have the problems of that day four years ago and yet am so thankful for what I have learned over these past two. Lesson in all of this: I guess Be careful what you wish for! Shelley

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 8:52 PM CDT

Well, our Jourdyn has done it again! They said she would be in ICU for 2 to 3 days and, less than 24 hours later she is back on the ICS floor. She got her nose tube out this morning and was finally able to rest a bit. They took her 2 extra IV's out and, opnce she got to ICS, they took out the catheter. She is pretty sore but has been up and walking. She wants the blood clot boots off so she is trying to get up and moving. We didn't make any calls when we got there and many folks were panicked to find her again (Keller let me have it that I didn't inform him of her whereabouts). She is going to continue here for several more days at least and then they will let us in on the next step. It was terrible snowy weather today and we were glad to be out of it and even more glad to be out of the ICU! Rick and the kids will probably stay home this weekend. My mom should be out of the hospital on Friday and we don't want them running amuck and, with Rick here this week, it will be better for them to stay home (and clean the mess I know they made while the cats were away!) Hopefully we will have results tomorrow of the samples they took off the kidney. We will try to get some normal sleep tonight. Shelley

Tuesday, April 27, 2004 7:59 PM CDT

Jourdyn went into surgery at 10:30 this morning. They put in the chest tube first and did the bronchoscopy next. They said things looked good in the lung area and could see no fungus there so at about 1:00 they moved to the kidney. They took the lower half first, which takes a long time because they have to cut a bit then stitch to keep her from bleeding to death. She did have bleeding issues and they gave her 2 units of blood at this point and then called us to tell us that they were waiting to send a sample of the lower section to biopsy before determiniing if the entire kidney was bad. They called back about 20 minutes later to say that it was bad and were disappointed to have worked so hard to salvage the upper half to now have to remove it. She was in surgery a total of 5 1/2 hours. We met her in recovery and that is when the fun started. She has fought for two years not to have a tube in her nose and lost that battle today. She has a tube running through her nose to her stomach to empty it and keep her from becoming nauseated. She is combative and mean! She is asking for Keller every three seconds and is crying and swearing at everyone. "If you are not here to cooperate with me then GET OUT" she has told everyone that enters her room. Actually it is ICU so it isn't exactly a room. More of a curtained area. Rick and I are not allowed to sleep in there so we have a "parent room" (one twin bed) for tonight and we will trade off sleeping and being with Jourdyn. If you fall asleep in ICU you are asked to leave. They are doing shift change right now so we had to leave and could still hear her screaming for her mommy as we left. I know it is all because of anesthesia but I am horrified at how she is fighting with people in there. I finally tried "If you don't knock it off I will not let you talk to Keller when he finishes with his baseball game today" and that still didn't work. She has a 4 inch incision on the front left side that they said would be on her back so she is mad about that. She has been cathetered which sent her over the other edge and she has two chest tubes, one for the lung, one for the kidney so, you can guess that she is a bundle of joy to be with tonight. Hopefully, they will be able to stabilize her platelets and by morning she should get the nose tube out but I told her I am not negotiating with her because when things don't happen she is just furious. CALGON...TAKE ME AWAY! On the bright side, she will not remember any of this, Rick and I are another story! Thanks to the neighbors who have our other kids this week! (Websters, Remingtons and Dwyers, you guys are the best) People have asked about my mom. She seems to be feeling a little better today but they will probably keep her in the hospital in Ogden through Friday because of her blood sugar levels and physical therapy on the arm. They have not closed up her wound yet and will do that before she leaves. Dayton and Heidi are functioning but sore after their wreck and Tanner has minimal pain in his legs right now. Hopefully that sums up the medical front for the Cleveland family for today! SHelley

Monday, April 26, 2004 2:54 PM CDT

Jourdyn and I are back at Primary Children's getting pre op work completed. She is scheduled for surgery at 11:00 tomorrow and will probably be here at least a week. She is really nervous and she and Keller had a tear-filled night last night. One more hurdle and we should be able to see the finish line. Today is day 102 but she is still not making her own platelets so we will see how long the weekly visits continue. Speaking of surgery, my mom is in again today. She has had a terrible aching in her arm that, after several weeks, left her unable to move her arm. They scanned it and thought it was cancer because it was a large mass. After a week of the hospital run around they finally went in and found that she had developed a spontaneous pocket of infection (not from an injury, which they almost never see) and they cut it open and she is in the hospital in Ogden where they continue to pack and repack and now more surgery on it. It has been a trick for them to balance pain meds and still monitor her blood sugar so she doesn't get too loopy. She is worn out and so is my dad. This happened at the busiest time for my moms gift basket business and dad has been running ever since. Dayton is still feeling pretty sore from the wreck, in fact, I think he felt worse this morning when I left than I had seen him. I think he is stiffening up. Jourdyn will find out more from the ear, nose, throat people today as to whether or not they will be joining in on the surgery or not. We hope not. We hope it is just a sinus infection but with our luck, we don't dare to hope. My friend Marci said that she was going to steal Madisyn from us to protect her from the "Cleveland Curse" that seems to have hit everyone else. Tanner has been having many more spasms and sore legs at night but they are manageable until we get to the neurologist. We will update tomorrow before surgery. Rick is leaving in the morning to be here as usual on surgery days and since my family will be with mom, it will be good to have him here. We should get a group discount or a wing in the hospital named after us or something. Shelley

Monday, April 19, 2004 4:29 PM CDT

Okay, the Cleveland family cries UNCLE! This weekend Dayton and three of his friends spent the weekend with my sister in Las Vegas for his 15th birthday. On the way back home, just north of Mesquite, a lady pulled onto the freeway across three lanes and cut off Heidi and Terry causing them to fishtail. Terry tried his hardest to correct but the explorer hit the asphalt barrier and went airborn. They rolled and landed upside down in the median. Luckily, everyone was in seatbelts but my little sister broke her neck and Dayton broke his lower back! They are both very sore but able to walk and move. We were very lucky that Terry has quick reflexes and that seatbelts were being worn. Heidi is black and blue today as the car hit hardest where she was sitting. She said that she was impressed with all the boys because they didn't panic and helped each other and the adults get out of the car. Jourdyn had a wonderful time at the prom and she and Keller even made the front page of the paper the next day. They were on channel 5 on Friday night and, needless to say, it was an exciting weekend. Tanner had his visit today and they do not think that he has cerebreal palsy. They are still not clear what is wrong but they are referring him to a neurologist that shouuld bwe able to see him in about a million years. They are booking September right now. We will spend the night and then we will get started up for surgery on Monday. Jourdyn's counts are coming down again (platelets were 22) so she will need to be treansfused before surgery. She is nice and ornery today so I still think she is getting back to normal. We will go to grandma's tonight and then get back to help Dayton. Shelley

Thursday, April 15, 2004 10:47 PM CDT

We are in Cedar City once again and you will notice that it is before Friday. The BMT team decided that Jourdyn's counts, while not impressive, had held steady. It has been a month tomorrow since her last transfusion. THey decided to give her a trial run and let us stay home until next Monday (A whole week at home!). We made arrangements for Tanners visit to be the same day so we can take care of everyone at once. The publicity department at PCMC told KSL that Jourdyn's school voted her prom queen so they want to do a story. I told them they could if they geared it more toward the school kids and their amazing support rather than on Jourdyn. They are coming tomorrow to video for a few hours so I am now cleaning my piggy house. I spent the day delivering gift baskets all over St. George area today with my dad for my mom's business. I found out about the interview when I got home. I colored my hair and it is the most beautiful shade of burgundy and orange that I personally have ever seen! What timing to look like an easter egg! Oh well. Jourdyn was elected Women's Rep at the school. Actually, they had no choice but to elect her because she ran unopposed. (one girl dropped out and the other didn't have high enough grades) She is pretty excited. I guess I will get some sleep as I will need to be up at the crack of early to clean again. I guess the KSl story will be on tomorrow night but maybe they will hold it until Saturday. I think Jourdyn will be scanned once more before surgery but I haven't heard yet (one of the problems with being out of town from PCMC). Have a great weekend. Ours will be busy between Dayton's 15th birthday (he is going to Las Vegas with 3 friends) and the Prom. I will get Rick to post new photos of prom when we get them. Keller loves to see his face on the website! Shelley

Tuesday, April 13, 2004 2:27 PM CDT

This weekend we went home after the Gallium Scan on Thursday. All day Friday I wondered about the results and tried to be patient (until about 9:00 a.m.) I called but no results were in so Jourdyn headed to St. George with Keller and his mom for his birthday shopping trip. All our minds were a bit preoccupied. I knew that if results didn't come before 4:00 we wouldn't get them until Monday because the clinic would be closed and there would be no professional to read me the results. I called around 3:00 and they still weren't there so I figured we were in for a torturous wait. About 10 minutes later, Gina (our case worker) called. She said she checked once more before she left for the day and they were there. She said that, for the first time in almost two years, they see NO SIGNS OF LYMPHOMA! I called Kellers phone and he told her and then she bawled. 2 years of stress came out in one phone call. She still has a big surgery coming up but this is a big day for us. We can't get to the 5 years clean mark if we can't make it to 100 days. And we did it (notice how I act like I got a clean bill of health!). We are back in clinic today for routine blood work. The scan did show that she had a sinus issue going on so they will CT it on Friday before we head home for the dance. She will have a great weekend and then head back for the surgery with a great positive attitude. I better get back with her. Tanner shouuld be coming up here next week to get started on his testing. We are now trying to coordinate two kids visits so I am not spending any more of our lives on I-15 than is necessary. We had a great Easter and did all the normal fun stuff all weekend. It was nice! Shelley

Wednesday, April 7, 2004 1:03 PM CDT

We are at the clinic again today. Jourdyn had her OB visit today and it was not as traumatizing as she thought because they weren't ready for the "big visit" yet. They are going to put her on hormone replacement therapy (an estrogen patch) in about three months. They are letting us go home again this weekend, myself for Easter and Spring Break and Jourdyn for Keller's birthday. She is not needing platelets today, though they did come down a bit. Her potassium levels have risen so much they are wondering if her kidneys are functioning better. Wouldn't that be something if she didn't need the surgery after all? I know that is wishful thinking but, we dream alot at our house. Many people have heard through the grapevine about Tanner. Here is the scoop. They think that Tanner is in the early stages of Cerebral Palsy. They think it will be mild and the are also looking into the possibility of "tethered cord". Both are generally found at birth but can show up at puberty (Tanner is 12). We are trying to keep him from panicking so please don't have your children run up and askk him about it because he has no information. As for Rick and I, self preservation tells us not to panic until after he has had his visit to Primary Childrens Hospital where he will see a pediatric orthopedic neurologist (it doesn't get any nmmore specialized than that). Then we will try to help him and figure out what it is that Heavenly Father still has for us to figure out. We just really do not have any difinitive answers on him yet so we are saying that it could still be anything at this point. Jourdyn is finishing up in the clinic and hopefully things are good because she has a cold sto they are testing her for RSV. If she has it, she will be hospitalized and that would be bad because prom is next Saturday. Her new buddy, Adam Darais is coming all the way from California to do her make up for the dance. He is a professional makeup artist to the stars for Mac Makeup Company. She is so excited she could just pee her pants. She and Adam met through one of Jourdyn's nurese (Suzy Q) and they have spoken on the phone many times. He sent Jourdyn a trunkload of make up and sends her an autograph every so often of famous people that her workd on. (She even had Kelly Osbournes cell phone number). It is an exciting relationship for a kid from Cedar City and Adam is so uplifing to her. I better get back iin for her breathing treatment so we will write next in Cedar. Tomorrow is the Gallium scan but we don't expect results until at ltast Friday. Shelley

Monday, April 5, 2004 4:43 PM CDT

We are back in Salt Lake at the hospital for routine stuff today. jourdyn got her Gallium injected today for her test on Thursday. This is a big one. It tells whether or not the cancer is gone. We have been anxiously awaiting this one. Jourdyn got to go homoe for the big Prom assembly on Friday where they announced the royalty... Jourdyn was voted Prom Queen! It is amazing to see the support that the kids at Canyon View High School continue to give Jourdyn after all this time. She had an amazing time and was just glad to be at the school (her first day of school) even though she didn't get to stay. The stage looked wonderful (thanks to my buddy LaNiece) and the flowers were gorgeous (thanks to my buddy LaNiece) and everything was perfect (thanks to, well you get it). She will not get to go back to the school again until the assembly for student government. She is running for Womens Rep and they have to give a speech on April 14.
Her counts were great today. Platelets climbed from 23 to 37 all on their own so they are not even giving her the neupogen shot today and seeing if her body is finally kicking in. We are back on Wednesday for an OB visit (don't think she is thrilled about that one) and again on Thursday for the Gallium. Since it is spring break for our kids on Friday (as well as Kellers 17th birthday) we are trying to get home again this weekend. We are pushing it with them so we will have to see what they decide. It was a good weekend. Tanner has his follow up visit on his foot today and we are hoping for good news. Madi had to be home sick today so if you get a chance, swing by and give her a momma love for me. Dayton had a baseball game in St. George that I drove all the way to see and found out that it was cancelled due to rain. Oh well, at least I tried. Rick and I have actually seen each other and we almost felt like a family this weekend. Shelley

Thursday, April 1, 2004 1:11 PM CST

Jourdyn has had an exciting week at home. She found out this week that she is part of the Prom Royalty! She was told that she was going to the school for a meeting with her counselor so she was real suprised when they announced the kids. They all had to talk to the camera and tell why they should be royalty and Jourdyn said "My name is Jourdyn Cleveland and you should vote for me because I am the only bald chick in the whole school." I couldn't believe she said it but they put them on the spot and that is all she could think of. They vote again on the kings and queens today. She is just so happy to be around other kids for a minute I don't think she cares too much about the fan fare. We took Tanner to the doctors yesterday for a foot appointment. He has been struggling for about a year with pain and not being able to straighten it out. They did an MRI and we are waiting for difinitive answers to what is the problem. We get to come home again today (we are making a round trip run today) We left Cedr at 7 and will leave Primary's again as soon as I finish this email. IT was great to be home for such a stretch. we almost forgot how to feel so normal. We need to be back here on Monday for lots of 100 day tests. (today is only day 75 but they get a jump in these tests for 100 days) She did not ned platelets today again but is still not jumping her numbers. If they don't start to hold, we will never get hme permantly. I better go, we are picking up Jourdyns prom dress right now. It needed to be altered becasue we were thinking she would have gained weight by now. bye! Shelley

Monday, March 29, 2004 12:33 AM CST

We had a good weekend. Jourdyn went from sun up to sun down and still felt pretty good. She had a blood draw yesterday and her count, though not impressive, had still stayed above 20 so we get to stay here until Wednesday. We need to be back in clinic on Thursday but we will probably turn right around and come home again. It made it so much better on the other kids. Madisyn is thrilled that we will be ehre to see her sing tonight at her choir c oncert. Little things mean alot. She loved that I was there to do her hair for church and that I drove her to school today. Jourdyn is down at a meeting for student body officers for next year . I only let her go because it is in a room during lunch so she won't be around too many people. I have felt a little displaced because the house is empty. I am so used to Jourdyn by my side every minute that I hardly know what to do with myself. (but you know me, as usual, I am finding things to clean. Not that it is too hard as I managed to finally get the CHRISTMAS decorations put away.) Dayton has a baseball gave today in North San Pete and I got to watch Tanner pass the sacrament for the very first time yesterday. We look forward to Conference weekend. We will be listening with a different perspective this year and are so grateful that spring is here. As we drove up to Primary Childrens this week, we saw that the tulips are up. I got a bit teary because this is the third year in a row that we have watched those flowers come up at the hospital. At least this year we are seeing rebirth and the coming of a new season. New beginnings. New perspectives, are we sure it isn't new years instead of Easter? Have a great day! Shelley

Thursday, March 25, 2004 7:23 PM CST

Jourdyn is doing great today. For the first time since transplant Jourdyn hasnot needed a transfusion all week. Her count is not great but it is still high enough not to transfuse. We told them that we are going to start going home on the weekends and they seemed okay with this plan. So we didn't argue and got right in the car and drove away. I am writing from Cedar at this very moment. Jourdyn got home and immediately headed to St. George with Kellers mom to watch his baseball game. She had a great week. She had great counts, she got accepted to the Governors Honors Acaemy (one of only 50 kids state wide) and she is going to run for Women's representative at the high school. She is really excited about a senior year, after missing two years, and is ready to dive right in. If she doesn't make it, no worries, life is just too short. She will fit in as much as she can this weekend and then get busy raising the funds she needs to attend the academy. It will be worth it because it has a four year scholarship to SUU attached to it. We are pretty proud of her right now. See you on Monday, Shelley

Monday, March 22, 2004 2:00 PM CST

Jourdyn is in the bone marrow clinic right now. We had scans today. From the lung standpoint they look good. Still some air in there from the leak in her bronchial tube sut not enough to be restricting her remaining lung function. From the kidney standpoint, it is still just as full of fungus as when we started. They think that the antifungal antibiotics are keeping it at bay but will not remove the remaining fungus. Therefore, they have tentatively scheduled her for removal of her left kidney on April 27, the week after the prom. She will probably be iin the hospital at least a week and they will put the chest tube back in to keeptoo much air from collapsing the reamining lung during surgery. It will stay in through that visit but she will not leave the hospital with it again. They will also try a bronchoscopy to see if they can find the air leak and repair it as long as they aleady have her sedated. The incision for the kidney will be about 5 inches long and they will definitely not be able to do it laproscaopically because they rick puncturing the fungus and releasing it into her system which would defeat the purpose of removing it in the first place. THis all is pending her bone marrow docs approval. They are not thrilled with her undergoing another majjor surgery while counts are still not climbinig. She is holding steady today and did not need any transfusing however, her numbers are all barely above the limits so they are not too impressed and she will probably need blood on Thursday. She is going to Kellers baseball game today in Mt. Pleasant, with doctors approval so she is happy. We will wait and see on Thursday what Dr. Pulsipher says about surgery. P.S. We all had a wonderful weekend. It was our anniversary on Sunday (18 years) and Rick and I were able to get away for a fun evening. I even got away the night before with Madisyn and we had a blast. Saturday, Keller, Jourdyn. Madi and I went to the beehive house, lion house and Joseph Smith building to do geneology. It was pretty fun. Rick and I took off on Saturday afternoon and returned on Sunday. We will update again on Thursday. Shelley

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 4:23 PM CST

Jourdyn was incredibly nauseated this morning and could not stop throwing up so we finally brought her into the clinic. She has a migraine so they are treating it and hoping that it is the reason for the nausea. She also needs platelets so they will give them today so we will not have to be back here tomorrow. She is sleeping right now and has been super tired lately. She has been getting more frequent headaches so I bet we will leave with a prescription for the Midrin they are gining her here. the trick has been for her to keep it down. She keeps losing the pills they are giving her. I need to get back in with her. I think we will get to go home tonight. Shelley

Monday, March 15, 2004 6:38 PM CST

Well, we did it! We actually spent Thursday through Sunday at our own homw without any complications! It was a great weekend. I got so take Dayton to the paintball store to get ready for a big shoot out, got to go see Tanner do a fantastic job in the career fair at his school, and took Madisyn to St. George for a day of shopping. Of course, as usual, Rick and I are two ships passing in the night but our anniversary is Sunday so this Saturday is ours come hell or high water! I even got to go to Stake Conference. I can hardly believe that April Conference is just around the corner. It will mark 2 years since Jourdyn felt the "lump heard round the world!" As for Jourdyn, she got to go to Keller's baseball banquet (as did the rest of us). It was fun to watch the reaction as people realized the little thing hanging on Keller's arm was Jourdyn. You could tell she had really been missed. Her buddies Kristen and Emily took her and she had a "normal" life for a minute. I almost bawled when I walked into my basement that evening and there was Jourdyn and her "girls" with their guys all sprawled out watching movies. I know it sounds stupid but for me it was a great moment to see my teenager with her gang doing kid things. She just had a blast and we even had to drive back to Salt Lake this morning at 4:30 a.m. just so she could eek out every last minute of fun. Thanks girls and Keller for making it a fun weekend! We spent Sunday afternoon filling out her scholarship applications that were due today so wish her good luck! I have explained to her that she is my 2 million dollar baby and I wouldn't trade her for anything but she will need scholarships if she plans to attend college. She made the high honor roll without having a teacher all year so I think she will do fine but it is nerve-wracking waiting. We went to PCMC today and they gave us good news... Jourdyn did not need any blood products after such a busy weekend (we were thinking she had drained herself) and best of all, radiation says they would rather hold off on any more radiation treatments at this point. They don't feel anything alarming them and, at Jourdyn's age, if you give too much radiation unnecessarily you risk giving the child a secondary cancer! No thankyou very much! They will wait until day 100 to do a scan that should detect any cancer growth and then decide from there if she will need more or not. Again, you guessed it, we wait! However, this time I would rather wait than watch her go through that radiation again. She and I headed back to my mom and dad's where we immediately crashed until just now. Jourdyn is still asleep. Oh well, it was sorth wasting Monday to have our weekend. The kids all needed it! Shelley

Thursday, March 11, 2004 12:03 AM CST

Things are looking good for Jourdyn to get home this weekend. She does need platelets today but other than that she is feeling good. If she gets to go to the banquet on Friday night, it will probably be with a mask on but that is okay. We have been lounging around lately. WEe did go get Jourdyn some pants yesterday (childrens size 14) because her weight continues to droip in very small increments but hopefully she wil lstart to gain soon. They say that she was on the IV foods for so long that her stomach hdoesn't have the capacity that it did before. (funny, mine stretched to fit a football in it) . They say to give it time. What else do we h ave. Day 55 today so we are officially over the hump. Maybe the next time I post it will be from Cedar CIty! Shelley

Monday, March 8, 2004 12:25 AM CST

Okay, First for the IMPORTANT business: Keller still needs to sell 5 more tickets to the baseball banquet on Friday night. They are $20.00 for a family meal (great deal) and here's the best part... it looks like if things stay good until Thursday, Jourdyn and I will be going home for the weekend and you can see her at the banquet (in a mask of course). We are so thrilled to be getting home for the wekend! Keller says to call his cell at 531-9490 if you are interested.
Now, Jourdyn has been feeling pretty good the last few days, tired all the time but that will continue until her body makes more platelets. She is almost finished peeling (for the third time) from the radiation and she thinks she is starting to feel some hair coming in (whatever, she is slick bald and I don't feel a thing) I told her we could go on a makeover show and they could dye those three hairs on her head. She just thinks I am mean. She missed the preference dance on Saturday and that was a hard night for her. She and Keller talked on the phone and watched a concert on TV together (again, on the phone). She was pretty tired all Sunday and slept a good deal of the day. We went for a drive together last night and, when I stopped to talk to a neighbor, she walked up to the house. It was only 100 yards but it must have pooped her out because she is still tired this morning. All things look good, potassium was a little low but they are pumping her up before we leave. You should hear from us again on Thursday. Shelley

Friday, March 5, 2004 2:02 PM CST

Jourdyn had a weird heartbeat this morning (it sounded like she has a rusty wheel squeak). They sent her down to have an echocardiogram and EKG this morning to make sure that the staff wasn't getting to her heart (because her central line goes directly into her heart so if it gets infected the heart could be too). Everything seems to be fine so if she stays fever free today, doesn't need platelets or red blood, her heart continues to sound "normal"(because it only makes that sound periodically) and gets all her antibiotics today without complications, we may get to leave the hospital tonight! She is ready to leave and I think the staff is ready to have her go. Yesterday was pretty stressful as my friend Adolfo lost his son Cody Garza at around 4:50 p.m. yesterday. They came and told me that Cody was going and we sat in the next room and waited. They came and shut our blinds (the sign that it is over because they are preparing to remove his body from the room and don't want other little people to see). I went out in the hall and waited with Adolfo while they got Cody ready in the room. We hugged and cried and I told him that Cody was pain free now. It was a tough week for the staff on our floor. Cody's nurse yesterday is Jourdyn's nurse today and Cody's room is already occupied again by a new diagnosis child. Life goes on with or without us. I guess we all do our best up here to join life. Shelley

Thursday, March 4, 2004 10:57 AM CST

Jourdyn has been fever free all night but they are leaning towards a mild staff infection on her chest tube. Yesterday they removed the tube and have sent it down to the lab to be cultured. That takes three days so we will be here until at least Saturday morning while they give her broad spectrum antibiotics to cover anything in case that is not what it is. Of course surgeons don't think that was the problem because the ct's from the day before showed nothing but we know how fast something can progress in a child with no immune system. We take all infections very seriously and, though Jourdyn is mad to have to be here, I am glad that they are on top of things. Hopefully they will not culture out anything too bad and we will be able to get out of here sooner. Jourdyn and I talk all the time of going home and hit the docs up for it all the time too. This is one of the things that makes us see that we are making progress but only in baby steps and we are not ready to be home full time yet (but we will continue to hit them up for weekends). Keller continues to call on a regular basis and she basically watches tv, does homework and waits for phone calls. We have had two more little friends pass away this week. Ivan, age 5, who has been doing this for his whole life, passed away on Sunday and Andrew, age 4, passed away last night in Idaho. My dear friend Adolfo's son Cody is going to go any time now in the room next to Jourdyn. They are all sweet little things and to watch these nurses comfort each other just breaks your heart. I struggle with these deaths; I am thankful that Jourdyn is still here but I also wonder why these other kids were ready to go and what makes Jourdyn stay. All I know is that I am grateful that she is still here. We thank everyone, especially our Heavenly Father, for watching over us! Shelley

Wednesday, March 3, 2004 7:27 PM CST

Jourdyn has been admitted to the ICS floor with a fever, chest pain in breathing and nausea. The fever has been up and down so they are not sure what to think at think at this point. The lung folk said that the fluid was plural fluid that should be there when air is not taking up the space but I find it strange that we have never seen this fluid before and now, when it shows up, here comes a fever. They must think so too because they removed the chest tube this afternoon in case it was causing an infection that could be casuing the fever. They also gave her platelets because she had dropped to 13 today. They have cultured all her lines, changed her dressings and pumped her up on antibiotics so now, you guessed it, we wait! She has been pretty tired today but then we were up most of the night dealing with fever and pain issues. I am heading to get clothes now because we figure we are in her minimum until Friday. Rick and the kids should be up on Friday night so if we are still in, I will get a break (Rick never seems to get a break) . We also had a chest xray today but, frankly, I am so tires right now, I can't even remember what they said it showed if anything. I will ask again tomorrow and update later. Jourdyn is still insisting that I pick up her US HIstory and English homework so she plugs right along. Now we see what fevers do tonight. Shelley

Wednesday, March 3, 2004 12:00 AM CST

Jourdyn is back in PCMC asnd I have to make this quick. She had chest pain last night and a low grade fever. This morning she still had a low fever (100.3) but it hurt to breathe and there was yellow fluid coming out of her chest tube.. We brought her up her a couple hours ago. She needs platelets and they have put her on oxygen. She is being admitted right now and we are waiting to hear from the chest surgeon as to what this fluid is and where it is coming from. We will update later if we hear anything. Shelley

Tuesday, March 2, 2004 3:35 PM CST

Jourdyn had a Bone Marrow Clinic visit this morning and for the first time, she didn't require any blood products! We were thinking that she would need some red blood because she has been so tires but things looked good (she was close on platelets but they are going to wait and see what she does on her own). They said that she is tired because of the neupogen shots that we have been giving her this week. They are taking all her energy to try and make new cells. She also had a chest ct today and the surgeons think that her lung is looking better. They can still see an air collection but it looks decreased so they will keep the chest tube in for now and recheck in three weeks. We will also get a kidney scan on that same day. There are some additional drugs that they are waiting on right now that Jourdyn should technically be on already. They think her counts need more time to come up before they add the other drugs (septra) because they make her counts come down a bit. She will get started on her follow up spinal taps soon. They will put more methotrexate in her spine (chemo) and protect it in the event that the transplant didn't work. We will not have the follow up gallium scan that checks for cancer until day 100. So, basically things look as good as they can for how beat up her body is right now. She looks great, feels tires, and hit them up today to go home. They are going to talk aabout it but they said today that, though she is making progress, she is taking baby steps and they need to wait a while. For anyone interested: Keller is selling fundraiser tickets to the baseball banquet on Mar. 12th. They require these boys to sell an unrealistic number of tickets so if anyone is interested, they are $20.00 a family and you can call 586-8225 and we will hook you up! We are going to also hit the doctors up to let Jourdyn go home for this so you would have a chance to see her there!(just a bit more incentive to help these kids out!) Hope everyone survived the bad weather weekend, we shoveled until I have given myself a crick in the neck! Thanks to Gib Gibson for the bracelets, she has them on today! Thanks to Lisa Allred, she finally got her magazines and loves them! Everyone is just great! Shelley

Friday, February 27, 2004 2:28 PM CST

We hope everyone is safe after all the snow that both north and south received last night. Our family is all traveling up here tonight so we hope the weather cooperates but it is supposed to be bad all the way Friday and Saturday. Be careful! Jourdyn is in the clinic right now receiving platelets. Her potassium levels are better so she will not need oral anymore. She will get a neupogen shot twice a week that has a special agent to help her body produce more monocytes that help fight the fungus. Sheh is otherwise feeling pretty good today. I think that she wishes more and more that she could go home (don't we all) but I don't see it in our near future. We are officially on day #43 of our 100 days for those that are keeping track. Almost halfway! That is when we will start negotiating to go home. Shelley

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 3:13 PM CST

Jourdyn got to leave the hospital of Sunday afternoon. She did leave with a chest tube still in her (even some nurses that had been here for 19 years commented that they had never seen a kid released with one in). She is feeling well but they are watching her pretty closely for infection or swelling at the new site. We are back in the clinic today for a check. It looks like she is needing some platelets but no red blood today. I think they are finally getting on top of the potassium issue. Jourdyn and I went yesterday and found her prom dress (we think) It is a gorgeous purple thing and she loves it so I guess that is all that matters. It is so new on the market that she had to try on a different one so they could get the fit and them show us the color and then they will order it. Hopefully she will put on some weight because we are being optimistic and got it in one size bigger than she wears. She is feeling pretty good but gets tired pretty easily. She has been wheezing alot lately and we wil ask about that today. Rick and the kids were here for the weekend (minus Tanner but adding Kyle Webster for Dayton) and had a good time. Rick and I just never seem to get any time together because it is all so hectic. Maybe we will get a chance to be a couple again in a few months. I guess I'd better get back in with Jourdyn now. Shelley

Saturday, February 21, 2004 4:51 PM CST

Jourdyn is still here. They told her that she might go home yesterday but of course that never happened. They are still trying to deal with red blood and potassium levels and as soon as they get those under control then she will go home. She is feeling pretty good but she is definitely ready to get out of here. Keller is here so that is keeping her occupied while she gets 1 unit of platelets and 2 units of red blood plus potassium. She has no fevers, no aches, except for the new line a bit. As far as the line is concerned, they thought it had enough time to let most of the air drain off so they sent her down for an xray. It showed that the air was all still there. No air is coming out of the tube so we think that the tube is not placed properly. Either that or it is coming in again as fast as the drain is letting it come out. We are now waiting for surgeons to come and talk to us again. AGAIN WE WAIT! Rick and I attended Anna's funeral today and it was a sweet little service. Her dad spoke and did an amazing job. We saw that they burried Anna wearing a little plastic ring that Jourdyn gave her at Christmas time that Anna just adored. She looked just precious and, even though the weather was starting to snow, it was a nice service. I am visiting with my much older friend Marci and we are going downstairs to get a coke right now! Shelley

Friday, February 20, 2004 2:07 PM CST

Jourdyn is a little sore today but other than that things are moving along. We look like we may be here until Monday and then we will just have to see. She has not needed any blood today but her hematocrit was low enough that I am sure she will get red blood tomorrow. She will see her dad and the boys (including Keller) tonight so that will help with the bored mood she is in. I have Anna's vewing tonight so I will leave for that and then come back but will probably let Rick spend the night with her. She hates that she is hooked up to the "bubble machine" that helps suction the chest but hopefully not for long.(It isn't the most convenient contraption to haul around). My sister Kim, after losing everything to work or go to school, took a much needed break and went to my other sister, Heidi's house in Vegas. I wish I was there too! They always manage to get together without me, I think it is a conspiracy. No, they MUST KNOW that I am the fun sister and that they could never have as much fun without me as they can with me! I hope she has a blast! We were to meet with radiation today to see if Jourdyn will need spot radiation under her arms as extra protection from the lymphoma but since she is in here and hurting they decided to postpone that for later. Looks like we will hunker down for a wait and watch weekend. No news is good news! Shelley

Thursday, February 19, 2004 9:06 PM CST

After fasting all day, Jourdyn was finally taken into surgery at 4:30 this afternoon. The procedure was pretty quick and we waited a bit for her to fully wake up. Her first question was "Where's Keller" (which she asked at least 7 times because she was still too groggy to reatin information) and then started asking where they implanted the drain. They had to put it in the spot where it could get to the biggest collection of air and that ended up being in the right side of her chest, just below her existing port. It is smaller but sticks out more and she has been crying about it for a while. She thinks she will never find a decent dress for prom with all these contraptions hanging out of her and still hide all the scars (that Keller calls beauty marks). By the time the ansethesia wore off she was in better spirits (not great, just better). They will watch the drain over the next couple days then decide how much longer it wil need to be in. It could be several weeks to several months and, Dr. Meyers says even up to a year. Not likely but, we don't rule out anything because we know how Jourdyn's body likes to roll. She got platelets this morning but we haven't had her hematocrit tested again today. So far no red blood today. Hopefully, she will start making this on her own now that they gave her a neupogen shot that raised her neutrophil count to 4500 (that's high folks!) She ate so much dinner that I was afraid she was going to make herself sick (an enchilada in sauce, bag of chips, 4 cartons of milk) but she said she was starving. Since she only weighed in today at 96 pounds, I'd say she can eat all she wants! They say one of her antibiotics is making her chew through potassium the way she is and they would like to get her off it soon. That may mean removing her kidney to get rid of the biggest piece of fungus remaining and then they could take her off that antifungal medication. Of course Bone Marrow doesn't want to do this as much as the infectious disease team wants to. Bone Marrow will not let them operate that invasively with her immune system down unless it becomes totally unavoidable and we are not near that point yet. Tomorrow I will take a small break from the hospital to attend little Anna's viewing with some of the nurses. Not that fun to get away to but it has been a great honor to have Natalie call me daily and let me help where I could with funeral arrangements. As I talked to Natalie today, she told me that She and Steve felt that Anna was going to be there today to watch over Jourdyn through her surgery and that it was no accident that Jourdyn is in Anna's old hospital room. I thought it was so touching that in the middle of their own heartache, they took time to make sure I knew they were still cheering on Jourdyn. Our Heavenly Father gives people the most amazing strength in the face of trials and I am so blessed to know this incredible young couple at this point in their lives. I am heading down for my dinner now. Thanks for the support again today! Shelley

Thursday, February 19, 2004 1:38 PM CST

Jourdyn had a rough day yesterday. The news of Anna, all the blood transfusions, finding out she wasn't going home, learning of the surgery today. It was all a bit much fior her. On top of that. My sister Kim came straight from work yesterday to have dinner with me and when she got to the parking garage, someone had smashed in her passenger window and taken all her work supplies (her entire livelihood) all her college books, homework, palm pilot and digital camera. It was fully lit and about 8:00 at night. We are all devestated for her and amazed that in the parking lot of a Children's Hospital, of all places, that someone would cause that much heartache. I hope there is a special corner of HELL reserved for people who cause grief at PCMC! Jourdyn is awaiting surgery right now and is not enjoying being NPO (going without food or water). It looks like she will be going in around 3:00. Madisyn is now on her way to Elko to stay with my sister (in law). Aimee and her dad are both driving half way (Wendover) to take Madi in this terrible weather (for those in Cedar, it really does snow some places in the state of UTah). Thank you Aimee for sacrificing your day and weekend to entertain Madi. She is so excited and had so much fun with Marci that she probably doesn't even remember why she is really out of school this week. Hopefully we will get some time together soon. We will update later when we hear how things went with Jourdyn. Shelley

Wednesday, February 18, 2004 7:24 PM CST

Jourdyn has had another set back today. After the pulmonologists saw her chest ct results today, they determined that she needed to have the air drained off of her lung because the air mass was increasing. They also felt that it was important enough to do tonight or tomorrow. They have opted to get more antibiotics and blood products in her tonight and do the procedure tomorrow. They are a bit concerned that she has no count thus no way to fight infections on her own but they are hoping that the antibiotics will do their trick. After just losing Anna yesterday to a bacterial infection, we are not too thrilled at the prospect of anything invasive at this point. Jourdyn is devestated tonight. First she thought she was just going to clinic yesterday but ended up staying. Then she thought it was for overnight and ends up longer. Now she thinks she is going home in the morning and ends up being here at least through the weekend. It is all seeming very unfair to her right now. (Anna and life in general). She is getting a blessing in a few minutes. They are still concerned that she is not having red blood counts come up after transfusing. She did test positive for blood in her stool today (she will love that I shared that) so they think she may be bleeding in her intestines but I have had no word on that as the lung issue is taking center stage right now. The chest tube is rather small (aabout the size of a ball point pen where the ink is) and it will be in a minimum of three weeks. It will depend on how much air continues to leak out. If it continues longer than that, they will have to go in and repair the actual hole but they can't do that while counts are low, it is just too invasive ( I guess we have degrees of invasiveness) As my friend Marci's grandma Reva once said "I never have to do this day again". Thank the Lord for that! I guess I will head back up to help my child get through this night. Shelley

Wednesday, February 18, 2004 2:43 PM CST

Jourdyn is still in the hospital and it looks like we will be here at least one more day. Jourdyn is chewing through red blood cells all of the sudden and they are not sure why. She went for weeks needing no red blood and now she is getting two units at a time and it is still not raising her count. They are thinking that she may be bleeding internally somewhere. The most likely spot is her intestines, and they did see traces of blood on cultures but they can't be sure. She can't be scoped at this point because she has no count to keep her safe from an invasive procedure. She has no fever now and that has held steady since yesterday afternoon. She is getting two more units of red blood right now (6 units in two days) and they want to keep her one more night (which was unexpected) so Madisyn is spending the day with my dear friend Marci Setvens and getting pampered. They are "doing lunch" after they finish at the salon where they are getting manicures. I told Marci to spank her at least once today so she won't get too spoiled by all this or I will never get her back. Jourdyn also started the day by hearing some devestating news. Her little friend, Anna Ruth Thorne, age two, passed away in ICU last night. Jourdyn and Anna shared birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving and bone marrow birthdays (not to mention blood types). jourdyn called Anna her hospital little sister and they adored each other. Jourdyn sobbed her little guts out today. We spoke to Anna's mom, Natalie, this morning and, though they are sad, they feel at peace about her being with her Heavenly Father now. We talked about how blessed we are to know the plan for us after this life. Without it, many parents here would have nothing to console them. We hope to be out of here for Anna's viewing on Friday night. Please remember Natalie and Steve in your prayers for us tonight. All our hearts are breaking at this hospital. The air in Jourdyn's lung is growing and will eventually have to be dealt with, wither by a chest tube or with a large needle to aspirate it out. We will write more later. Shelley

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 5:13 PM CST

Well, we tried. Jourdyn got a fever today and we are being admitted. Not that difficult a task normally but since I have Madisyn with me (thinking that we are spending the week together) it has been quite an afternoon trying to make arrangements for her. She will be going to my sisters house until Rick can get back up here to get her and we will try it again another time. Of course she is heartbroken and I have spent the afternoon consoling both girls (Madi because her week is ruined and Jourdy because she feels responsible for ruining it). It is breaking my heart to see what a toll all this is taking on my family. We all have our own individual struggles and, just like strengths make the whole group stronger, individual trials end up tearing away at each person a little at a time. We need this all to be over soon. Hopefully she will just be in here for a few days but, I just got the results of the ct scan (at least some of them) and the air around her lung has grown so they are going to talk to pulmonary to see what they need to do from here. I am afraid that it is going to involve putting in a chest tube to drain it out but we will wait and see what the docs say. Of course this is just one more bit of bad news in Jourdyn's book and she has had about enough. I am not even making eye contact with her right now for fear that the evil rays that are shhooting out of them will kill me instantly! We haven't heard anything on the kidney yet but the left lung still looks free of fungus so I guess that will have to be our victory today. Shelley

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 10:59 AM CST

We had a great visit (though short) to Cedar City. We kept it on the low down so we didn't get too many visitors. She wasn't able to go anywhere but it still felt good to be home. She is back in for clinic visits right now. We knew that she was low in blood products because since getting back from Cedar, all Jourdyn has done is sleep. She just can't seem to find any energy. When we got here today we found that she needs platelets and blood. Her platelets were only 7 (they should be at least above 20) and her hematocrit was only 20 (it should be above 30) so she should be feeling better soon. We get scans again today and these are biggies. They will show how the lung is doing and if the funguses are under control. They may also determine if they got all the cancer. Jourdyn is fairly high strung today and we will be relieved to get this out of the way. I better get back with her. We will update later if we get results. Keep praying today please! Shelley

Thursday, February 12, 2004 10:38 AM CST

Jourdyn is back at PCMC for a check up. Her counts are low again and so she is getting two units of platelets before we hit the road just to make sure she is good to go until Tuesdays appointment. She is excited to be home even if she can't go anywhere or see anyone. Just being home makes her feel that this will all have an end. I am a bit nervous to take her away from here but I think mentally it will be good for her. Tanner was so excited that I was coming to take him to lunch on Friday that he got a bit emotional. Now I have to come whether or not I bring Jourdyn. She needs to borrow some clothes from her friends that are a bit smaller than her (attention Jamie and Emily) because she is in a pair of pants today that are hanging off her butt and they are the smallest that she owns. Hopefully her weight will bounce back soon but they say it takes all that she is taking in just to make the energy to make new cells and that doesn't leave much for bulking her up. (wish I had that problem) . Everything is about time. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting, and then hurrying followed by more waiting. They seem thrilled with her progress. New CT scans to see how the fungus is doing and if the chemo, radiation and transplant did what they were supposed to do to the lymphoma. Once again, you guessed it... we wait! Shelley

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 4:38 PM CST

Jourdyn has been dragging for a few days, very tired. We thought her counts were going to be low today and we were right. Her ANC has dropped from 2500 to 600 and she needed platelets. She was asked if she had been sick but she said no so they aren't sure why everything dropped so much. I told them that I had planned to go home for the weekend for Tanners birthday and ordination to a deacono (can you believe it!) and they said that, after they look at her counts on Thursday, they would rather that she go with me so I can monitor her meds than to leave her with anyone. We will wait and see what happens on Thursday but she is pretty excited about it. I must say that I am nervous because every time we try to get home, Jourdyn comes back on lifeflight. I will be in touch with Dr. Ghaffari at home before we decide anything. She is almost done transfusing so I will end until Thursday. Shelley

Saturday, February 7, 2004 5:38 PM CST

We have missed our sweet little Madisyn and Dayton today. Madi came down wih croup yesterday and is staying with our neighbor, Erin Holman today. She was heart broken because she was not able to visit Jourdyn in the hospital so she has not been with Jourdyn for about a month. Dayton stayed with the Remington's (at least he was supposed to). We miss them both. Jourdyn went and picked out her new cowgirl hat today. She is pretty stylin' now and Kellers will be done next week. They will be the best dressed fake cowboys in Cedar when she gets home! Keller insists that I tell everyone hello. He keeps telling me that he is tired but I am making him work on his homework. They have had a busy morning and it has about wiped out all Jourdyn's energy. We are about to put her on her afternoon meds now so she will be trapped here for the next few hours anyway. Her dad and Keller were both relieved to see how different she looked from when they left her two weeks ago. She was so swollen and red that Keller almost didn't recognize her. Luckily she doesn't remember anything. We got film back of the stay and even she couldn't believe how she looked. I kept thinking at the hospital that looking in the mirror through that visit must have been hard for her but I never saw her show any emotion. I truly think tha t our Heavenly Father knows what we are able to bear and that was something that she would not have been able to handle so He made it possible for her to not "see" what the rest of us saw. Now that it is a memory, she is glad that she doesn't remember any of it. I wish I was that lucky! We will spend the rest of a very snowy, lazy day together and I must say it feels great! Shelley

Thursday, February 5, 2004 1:33 PM CST

I just typed a whole message and hit the wrong button so it all erased. Now you all get the shortened version over again. Jourdyn is at PCMC right now. She has done great at eating and is at a whopping 93 pounds. She is being taken off IV foods and will go on fluids only until she can drink 1 1/2 liters a day. She didn't need any transfusions today, to our amazement! She is feeling pretty tired most of the time but is getting more energy every day. She is getting ready for the weekend because she and Keller are going to get their cowboy hats fitted that they both got for Christmas. She is limited in times that she can be out in public. She can eat out but only at slow times and no chinese or mexican food. She can go to the mall but only at slow times, never at night. She can even go to the movies if it is a slow matinee. She can do all this but we have not got up enough courage to try. We have seen the effect on kids that have been too adventurous during recovery time and we do not want to end up back in the hospital so we are taking things pretty cautiously. We figure if we do this now, we will have the rest of her life to play. She is going to pick up her prom dress as soon as her energy level is high enough to go anywhere. We take it a day at a time and today is a good day. We are thankful for that! Rick and the kids will be here tomorrow (minus my Dayton, who thinks he has a life in Cedar!) I will miss him! Shelley

Tuesday, February 3, 2004 10:51 PM CST

Jourdyn and I had a nice morning. We ran a few errands, Jourdyn waited in the car alot and then we headed home to start the afternoon meds. Now it is almost 10:00 and we are almost finished (this one will not quit running until 9:00 tomorrow morning so we have a long break). She has had an amazing amount of energy today and has not slept since waking up this morning (and she did that before noon!) I am sure that she will sleep like a log tonight but, since my little wiggle worm wants to sleep with me tonight(?) I think that I will get better sleep if I go back to the hospital bed! Actually, It felt good to have a lazy day. Tomorrow, it is back to school for Jourdyn. She will usually do about 3 hours of school work a day and we hope to get her caught up again soon. It is scary to think that I am in charge of her education right now (those of you who have watched me count on my fingers will understand) but, lucky for her, she is smart all on her own (one of those genetic markers that nobody can explain). Her hands continue to peel away and they are very sore but they look a little better every day. She put on "real clothes" today for the first time in over a month. Jammies have been her style. She finally saw what the rest of us have seen all along: The child has no meat on her bones! Her little jeans just hang off her non existent bum and I pinched her knee for fun in the car and thought I had broken her! She is doing an excellent job with her eating (like a quarter of most things we make her, really this is impressive) and hopefully she will be off IV foods by Thursdays clinic visit. She has a little bruising today so we think she will be ready for a transfusion of platelets when we get there for that visit. Jourdyn is getting on the site herself for the first time in a few weeks and is overwhelmed at the support from everyone. Maybe tomorrow she will do the update herself. Something for everyone to look forward to! Shelley

Monday, February 2, 2004 6:02 PM CST

I am writing to you all from the office at my parents home! We are in Farmington! After a big celebration this morning at the hospital (and a unit of platelets), they released us at around 4:00 this afternoon. When we got to my parents driveway, we both started to cry; Jourdyn because she was so glad to be "home" and myself because, three weeks ago, I never thought that we were going to be out of the hospital together again. This has been an emotional ride and, though she still has a long way to go (with the fungus and the lung issues still on board) we are celebrating the fact that she has made it this far. She is now upstairs chatting away on the phone to Keller. She still has three IV drugs a day and IV foods until her stomach lining reapirs enough to eat. She has enough pills to kill a horse but hopefully they have enough protection on board. We will continue to update from here. Let's hope it is uneventful from here on out! Shelley

Saturday, January 31, 2004 3:58 PM CST

Jourdyn must be missing Keller this weekend because she actually wanted me to snuggle her today. It sure felt good to get up on her bed and hold my little girl for a while. I sure am proud of how hard she has worked the past two weeks (and years). She is really peeling now from her "radiation sun burn" and her hands hurt pretty bad but we still spent the morning making bead bracelets and matching earrings for her nurses. It is hard to believe that two more nights on the pretend bed and then we are out of here....maybe for good! They want to watch what her body does with the fungus once she has white counts. They let us know that they are fairly impressed that her body was able to keep it from growing while her counts were non existent. They hope, now that she can defend herself, she might be able to get rid of the fungus without surgery. Dr. Meyer, the lung Doc, also wants to wait to see if a healthy Jourdyn could absorb the air around her lung on her own. It may be that surgery won't have to be done for lung or kidney. Once again, we wait and see and we are getting pretty good at that. I guess I will close for now. Have a good fast Sunday everyone, we all have alot to be grateful for and I am so glad you have all been with us to watch what I think is no less than a modern day miracle...and I am her mom! Shelley

Friday, January 30, 2004 1:22 PM CST

Things are good today. First let me say (especially to "boomerang butterfly" whoever that is) that Jourdyn was completely unaware that her friends were boycotting the dance. All she knew is that, either way, she would have a dance even if we had to recreate it when she could go. She did not ask them to move the dance for her, they offered. Anyway, Her friends DID let the faculty know that they couldn't afford to go to both dances and would wait for Jourdyn's but I don't even think that had anything to do with what happened next. Lisa Allred, one of the advisors, called us at the hospital to let us know that they had a meeting with the yearbook people and the rest of the folks at the school involved. THey just wanted a way to get the photos is the yearbook to keep from the cost of a suppliment this year. They decided that they would announce the royalty on April 3rd in an assembly, just like usual but they would still hold the dance on April 24. I am feeling a bit bad that people are thinking that Jourdyn had anything to do with this, however, I am touched that they would still do this. You are wrong, Boomerang, one child does make a difference. Either way she was entitled to her dance and we were totally willing to pay for it ourselves (we did ask Mrs. Allred if they would save the decorations so we could recreate it as best as we could) but never asked them to move the date. Jourdyn is still on track to leave the hospital on Monday to go to Farmington. She is pretty sore from the burn still but is getting better every day. Her weight is down to 96 pounds but they say she is doing better than about 98% of kids trying to get calories in herself on top of the IV foods.

Thursday, January 29, 2004 3:25 PM CST

Jourdyn is doing better today. Her hands are still really burned and hurt but she has been doing home work all day today. I try to write it for her but she says that would be cheating. She will get to go to Farmington on Monday if all goes well. She found out yesterday that her day 100 is the same day as the prom so she was so excited. Now today we find out that they moved the prom forward to make sure the pictures had time to be in the year book (what about a suppliment like they do for sports?). Anyway, she has been bawling ever since. I am pretty bugged since the school advisors made such a big deal about telling her that they would even move it back a few weeks if it meant that they could get her there. They just took away her reason to try. It was the thing that she set as her goal to fight to get back to. We told her that we would put on her own prom after she got back if she missed the school one and now I am receiveing all sorts of emails from kids saying that they are going to boycott the school dance and wait until they can attend Jourdyn's prom. Mrs. Merrill, the advisor, tried to call while I was out so I suspect she is calling about the prom and how they are going to do it without so many of their junior class. I am sure that most of the kids will still go to the school one but, my childs heart is broken again today and after such great morning news. The kid just can't catch a break. They are cutting back more meds today and that will help get her out of here. She bascially just needs to start eating again. This is tough because oof mouth sores and radiation has messed up her taste buds so nothing tastes right to her. She is trying and that is all we can ask of her. Tomorrow will be another day (better again I hope). Shelley

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 4:43 PM CST

We are officially engrafting as of today (Leslie Swank is the big winner of like $6.50). Jourdyn is still a bit hurty in the throat but they are still cutting back on her pain meds, hopefully that will make her less nauseated. She did have 1 bite of a waffle, one bite of a peach slice and a full bowl of corn pops and milk so we are on our way. She is still pretty red and the burn really hurts as it is peeling now. She looks pretty swollen from the steroids but they are cutting back on those also. They are slowly getting her off antibiotics, bacterial first and then the big guns later. She is ornery and I had to yell at her to be nice to people entering her room so she is not happy with me right now. That;s fine, I could use the quiet for a while. She got the Ct scan today and we should have results this afternoon sometime. It is just a regular day today, just waiting for her body to repair. We are finally hearing what things we need to do to get out of here. It looks like about another week. I also found out today that the days since she engrafted (13) count toward her 100 days. She will be glad to hear that! It is our good thought for today! Shelley

Tuesday, January 27, 2004 3:53 PM CST

That is what I get for giving Keller the password to edit this site! We think that Jourdyn is officially engrafting. We will know for sure tomoorrow if her counts stay above 500 but, if they do, Leslie Swank (I think) won our pool at the hospital. Jourdyn's mouth is feeling better and she is going to try to eat today. This is one of the stipulations for getting to go home. It will still be awhile as they need to taper her steroids and get her off most of the antibiotics while still keeping her fever free. She is having another CT today to check and compare. She has been very sleepy even though she is cutting back on pain meds. The doctors tell her that it is very draining for a body to try and repair itself. It takes all the energy you produce just to repair. She sleeps alot but it gets to be less every day. Hopefully we are on the down hill side of all this stay and will be in Farmington soon to begin our 100 day stay there. Dayton is home sick today so if anyone wants to give him a momma love for me, I am SURE he would LOVE it! Shelley

Tuesday, January 27, 2004 11:42 AM CST

Hi Everyone Just wanted say HI
Love Keller

Monday, January 26, 2004 3:30 PM CST

Jourdyn has the first signs of engraftment today (not engraftment, just the first signs)! She has a neutrophil count (ANC) of 300 today. Engraftment happens when she has an ANC of 500 for at least two days in a row. Hopefully some time this week. She is more alert today but is peeling terribly. Her doc says she looks like she is recovering from a bad vacation to Florida! They have started her on some steroids today to fight rejection. I have not heard why yet because kids who donate for themselves generally don't reject. She does have a few symptoms of it though (little red dots all over, and a bad rash, and her weight up again) I hope it is nothing but we will wait and see. She has been trying to work on homework again but as she is still on a morphine drip this is proving to be a difficult thing for her. She still sleeps most of the day but we are hoping that with a few counts showing up she will be able to get her mouth to repair and start eating again. She last ate on Jan. 17. We have a new chest x-ray today as well. Just to compare. If anything changes, we will write again. Shelley

Sunday, January 25, 2004 6:33 PM CST

The kids all had fun at their "Sandy" friends houses over the weekend and now we are all at the hospital. My dear friend Alex mad arrangements to get them all gathered up and delivered them all to me at the hospital. She made us homemade bread and cookies and we took them to the family room and had a great visit. We even had a hula hoop contest in there (Madi and Dayton killed the rest of us). Jourdyn is doing much better. She is still pretty out of it but pops up with some pretty funny things to say that her brain is convincing her is happening (she told me "that baby has the prettiest blue eyes" and thought she was Pinocchio under the ocean a little after that!) Her voice sounded just like him though and Keller and I laughed until we about peed our pants. She is less red today and much less swollen. The doctor thinks she will engraft in the next 48 hours and that is exciting! We are going to go rest up now. It was a good weekend. Shelley

Saturday, January 24, 2004 4:38 PM CST

The boys are at Robinetts house in Sandy and Madi is at the Curistensens in West Jordan. Rick, Keller and I are at the hospital. Everyone accounted for so it must be a better day. Jourdyn continues to battle fevers, though the peak each day is coming down. yesterdays x-ray showed LESS AIR around the lung so they will hold off on any major procedures for now. Jourdyn was pretty out of it last night, luckily because Keller and Rick arrived and Keller had a bit of a reaction to seeing Jourdyn all bloated, redish purple and bald again. She just doesn't look much like herself right now and I have to look at her photos on the wall often to remind myself who I am sitting with. Keller has regrouped today and done the same amazing job with her that he does every week. She looks a little less red today and though I still think she will not remember all this, she does know for now that we are all here. It really helps her to have these visits. We have had conversations with people that say it is just so hard to see her, well imagine being her. Family visits are all she can have right now and we are now encouraging them. She needs to know that her family is there for her physically not just mentally and spiritually. I know that life is busy for everyone but, again, try being her! Thanks for all the words of encouragement along this journey. Shelley

Friday, January 23, 2004 3:15 PM CST

Jourdyn is finaly talking again! She has also had one apple juice (ouch!) and 2 cartons of chocolate milk. The first food or liquid she has been able to swallow for 6 days. Her lips are peeling off as well as her little burned face and ears. This is all good as the skin beneath is repairing and coming to the surface. She is still pretty out of it. She had visitors today but she will not remember having them. Thanks to Kathy and Gib for getting me out of the room at just the right time yesterday. She had two dye studies today trying to figure out why her line will not draw and a chest x-ray to see why she is having trouble going without oxygen. They put her on it during the night and she was on it most of the morning. We are hoping it is not because the air around her lung is building up too much and making it so the remaining lung cannot expand enough to take in the oxygen she needs. Again we wait for results. I have been told that some people are not checking the site anymore because it is too depressing and makes them too sad. I know how they feel! I understand that this may be tough to read (try living it!) and also understand that for some it may be too much. I will try to lighten it up where I can (remember Miller time?) but for the most part, I just call it like I see it! Rick and the kids and Keller will all be her this evning and this week especially, I am ready for the break!Shelley

Thursday, January 22, 2004 7:38 PM CST

Today was tough for all of us in Jourdyn's room today. She has been running fevers all day and by early afternoon, she had enough! She thought she had something on her tongue and touched it. When she did, her entire surface of her tongue came off on her finger. She didn't know what it was until she had me look at it and her whole tongue was raw. I thought that was the worst that could happen, I was wrong! Shortly after this she went to the bathroom and started choking. When I get in there, she has blood all over the place and is still coughing it up. The lining of her esophogus was trying to sluff off because of mouth sores and she couldn't get it to break free. She worked with suction and tubes trying to get it to break free until the staffthought she was losing too much blood. She was mad when they made her stop because she was sure she was going to choke in her sleep. After Steve assured her that she wouldn'tthey gave her some ativan and she fell asleep. Eventually it will come off but it was one of the most terrifying things to watch and it went on for abut one hour and 20 minutes before they decided it wasn't happening tonight. She then needed more platelets and a red blood transfusion to get her back up to speed. I don't usually cry up here but, as my friend Marci calls it, today I had a fit and fell in it. It was short and I have recovered but it is draining to watch that happening to your child and know that I can't help her. I guarantee, had Rick been there today, they would have been cleaning her sweet dad up off the floor (which would have just given her Aunt Kim a soft spot to land had she been there). I am finally getting a break to eat breakfast lunch and dinner right now (if someone can explain to me why I am still so fat I'll give them a dollar). By the way, I had my nursing complaint meeting today and I am glad that I waited because it went well without bringing everyone down. They will be having a meeting with all the nurses (not just mine) to tell them to tighten up. I'm going to eat now! Shelley

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 9:52 PM CST

Jourdyn had had another tough day today. She had a reaction to her antibiotic and shook like crazy (abelcet) and they basically had to knock her out to get it under control. Her face is still swollen even though she is getting rid of some of the fluid. Her face is bright red, almost purple from a reaction but they aren't sure to what since she is on 7 different antibiotics. We got the results to the CT scan today and found that there is even more air gathering around her lung so, eventually she will have to have a new chest tube to drain that off. Not right now of course since counts are too low. They also saw that her esophogus us so swollen up that you can see the swelling on the Ct (not normal). They are hoping that is doesn't swell too far because eventually the sores would move out into the chest cavity. They think they will get on top of them before that happens. They also saw that, what they think is more fungus, has shown up in the lower lobe of Jourdyn's left lung (the other side). They are not sure if it is fungus yet so we are not saying anything to Jourdyn because it will not change what they are doing for her right now and all it would do is to upset her and she is on overload now anyway. We knew that is was a race to see what would happen first, count recovery or fungus growing. At this point they think fungus but they also think that counts will be here in the next week and it shouldn't be able to cause that much trouble in a short time. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. I think Rick had a tough time with this new information but basically, we just don't know what it is yet so, no point in working ourselves up. We have enough to concentrate on right now. On the good side, they think that the fungus in the kidney is looking smaller so the treatment worked for it, no reason to think that it won't work in the lung too. Jourdyn is getting more platelets for the third day in a row in a few minutes so I had better get back up with her. Thanks! Shelley

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 5:34 PM CST

Jourdyn has had a tought time getting on top of pain today. She kept pushing her pain button but just couldn't get on top of it. We went for a CT scan today and she pushed it again. I lok down and the medication is running onto the floor, the tubing wasn't even hooked up to her! This is the third time this week that something had gone wrong in the pain control area. We got her back to her room and they gave her a booster dose that knocked her on her butt so I decided to leave to keep from killing her nurse. I left to pick up the film for Jourdyn's photography class (yes, through all this she is still trying to keep up on homework, let that be an exampl;e to all her friends who hate doing homework). I got to the developing lab and slammed my door, just as I realized the keys were still in the ignition! I locked my keys in the car. After an hour of trying to get help, I paid the lock smith for his 15 seconds of service and headed back to the hospital. I called Jourdyn and she said that she began choking because she can't swallow so the nurse was sitting in with her (like that will help) and they were going to give her platelets that she reacts to way too often so I told them not to give them until I got back, so I could "supervise" (because I CAN play a nurse on TV you know). The went in smoothly and I had finally calmed down enough to talk with our case worker. She encouraged me to talk with the head nurse tonight about all the foul ups. I think I will wait till tomorrow so I don't tick anyone off to the point that they will never work on my child again. It is hard complaining around here because, when all is said and done, these are still the people who will work on your child, now they just do it with a chip on their shoulders. I think a nights rest will help me to word my complaint just right. Jourdyn had now gained about 13 pounds of sheer fluid. They still can't give her anything for it because of her low blood pressure but they will try tomorrow. Her eyes are so swollen that her eyelids are turning purple and her face looks like she has had her wisdom teeth out. They say it can't hurt her but I have been bloated before (for the past 18 years) and I knkow it isn't comfortable no matter what they say. Okay, It's Miller time (just kidding, well maybe, okay, No) Okay, It's Diet Coke time. I will write again tomorrow. For those of you praying for us, maybe you should pray tonight that all of the nurses are still present and accounted for in the morning! (for those of you that really know me, I may have found some people to replace The Totally Awesome Computer Guy on my "hit list"!)Shelley

Monday, January 19, 2004 6:52 PM CST

Today Jourdyn's mouth sores are pretty bad. She has a lot of trouble talking and is writing down most of what she needs. She is getting transfused all day today. (red blood). They are putting them in slow so she will be less likely to have a reaction because it restricts the airway and hers is already restricted. They have stopped her ativan as she is not nauseated and they have replaced it with valium because she is fairly high strung about all this pain and upkeep. She is losing track of time and days (which is good) but still is not getting very uninterupted sleep because of all the people in and out of her room. Because she is still spiking fevers, they are going to do a CT scan of everything again tomorrow to see if the fungus in her kidney or lung is on the move. Rightnow she says her pain is at a 4 or 5 (1 to 10 scale) which is the lowest it has been for about a week so that is good. The doctors feel that the mouth pain will get worse for about two more days and then should level off and could even start to get better even before counts recover. She does have internet in her room but has a hard time seeing the screen right now. She is a little flighty rightnow. If it weren't so darn sad, she would almost be comical at times. Thanks, Shelley

Sunday, January 18, 2004 6:18 PM CST

Hi everyone this is my first time ever updating the website so if you have any questions or concerns call nobody just wait until the next update. jourdyn's a lot more alert today she has been up and messing around with her bead sets. Her fever has subsided so far today and the doctors still don't know what caused it. today is day plus three and were are in a waiting stage for this bonemarrow to engraft. Her dad gave her a few massages of differant sorts. That is pretty much it for today. Rick andI are heading back to cedar. If anything else goes down goody cleveland will take over again peace out keller.

Saturday, January 17, 2004 8:16 PM CST

Jourdyn is hitting a hard point in her treaatment. She is losing track of what day it is. She has lost control of her muscles and they twitch without warning. She can no longer swallow and they have started to suction out her mouth with a machine. She is in alot of pain. They assure me that she will not remember these days but they are still hard to watch. She has had a few visitors that haven't seen her in a while and it is tough on them to see her like this. On top of all this, she has a fever that has gone on long enough that they feel it is not related to the transfusion anymore and that there must be an infection on board. She is at 103.3 degrees right now. She is really struggling at this point and we ask that you all remember her in your prayers tonight. The staff has set up a "transplant pool". They pick the date they feel she will engraft and put their name on that date with a dollar. Whoever gets the right date wins half the money, the other half going to Jourdyn. I was encouraged by the fact that her doctor took day 10. That is sooner than I thought. I took day 17 and jourdyn took day 21. Keller is sure that day 22 is the winner but I personally hope that Dr. Peterson is right. The quicker counts recover the better chance we have of getting on top of this infection issue. I better get back with Jourdyn now. Jourdyn can not talk but if you call, I will make sure she tries to know that you tried. Thanks, Shelley

Friday, January 16, 2004 4:48 PM CST

Jourdyn is in alot of pain thanks to mouth sores. They are making the entire inside of her mouth bleed and they are spreading down her throat. She tried to eat but it is impossible because her throat is so swollen that she can't swallow. They are setting up suction so we can clean her mouth out. I did make her a smoothie this afternoon and it seemed good to her. She managed to bathe and even got her makeup on. Must mean it is Friday and Keller will be here tonight. The boys are staying with buddies in Cedar and Madi is excited to go stay with her bestest Sandy buddy, Sierra Christensen, this weekend so it will just be Rick for me, which is just fine. The kids can't visit her anyway because of age restriction (we had to pull "emotional health" strings for Keller to be able to visit) so they get sick of being in the waiting area anyway. Usually I try to leave the hospital to be with them but it will be good for Rick and I to both be with Jourdyn for a bit. They just hooked Jourdyn up to a morphine drip so now she can control the amount of pain meds she is getting and maybe we can get on top of this mouth issue. Other than that, she is not nauseated or sick, no fevers, and trying to eat so we will call it a good day so far! Shelley

Thursday, January 15, 2004 11:11 PM CST

Jourdyn got her bone marrow transplant today! It was just like getting a red blood transfusion except in much smaller bags. there were 4 bags, each running over about 10 minutes. They kept her faily sedated all day but she tried her hardest to stay awake and soon it became almost comical to watch her try and stay awake and talk. She put on chap stick for a full 5 minutes today and did that about 5 times. The sores in her mouth are getting worse and she is struggling to eat. She got sick later tonight and has finally konked out for the night. She appreciated all the calls today but was not able to recall who she talked to so I made a list of visitors and callers so I will share that with her tomorrow. She now has internet access in her room and nce she is awaake enough to think, I am sure she will get on it. Thanks to all who have helped her get this far. She still has the hardest part of the transplant ahead of her (low counts make you very sick with no way to recover until the counts return). We continue to pray that the fungus will stay at bey long enough for the count recovery and thank you all for the continued prayers. We also ask you all to remember the Munford family in your prayers. Cami is a good friend of Jourdyn's from Cedar whose cancer had returned after a 31/2 year break. We know how hard this is to do again and hope you all remember Lori, Carl and their kids in your "Jourdyn" prayers too Thanks! Shelley

Wednesday, January 14, 2004 9:42 PM CST

You all would just be so proud of our girl tonight. I don't know if it is because she is so excited to be done with radiation or what but she had been in a great mood tonight. It all started after the radiation ended. They turned on the "graduation March" and gave her a "diploma" showing that she completed her round successfully and then they put a graduation cap on her and took her picture with a mew stuffed animal and her certificate while she put her tassle on the other side. She was exhausted after, just like every other time. She felt like a smoothie so I set out to the store to find the fixins that were bone marrow approved (not easy). WHen I got back, Jourdyn had done a facial on her nurse Mary and had put beeswax marshmallow creme on her tech Ryan's face. She had done her make up and looked radiant (not because radiation had made her glow either!). I guess I was next. She made me take off my make up (but not before she told me how greasy my face was) and made me over. I got a nurse to take a picture of the process and the finished product. When she was done I looked like the best dressed hooker in the hospital! Actually, she does a pretty good job. She ate a custard and is now trying to eat a bowl of soup but the inside of her mouth is beginning to sluff off so it hurts. She is not about to fall asleep in her food so I stepped away. It was the most positive day we have had in a long time and we sure needed it before the BIG BIRTHDAY tomorrow! I think we may celebrate this birthday bigger than her actual one in years to come. Hopefully she will get good rest tonight! Shelley

Wednesday, January 14, 2004 2:35 PM CST

For Those of you that live in Cedar and saw my sweet little Madi's message yesterday, please give her a hug for me and make sure she knows that it is from her mom. She misses us so terribly right now and I think she could use some lovin'. Especially from someone with a little "momma meat on their bones" so it feels more like it is coming from me.
Jourdyn is doing well today. She had radiation this morning and we go again at 2:45 for her LASR DOSE! It leaves her without any energy and she sleeps alot. However, when she wakes up she starts right in on her homework! She is amazing. She tries to focus on life after cancer and she wants to be on track to get finished with 11th grade just like everyone else.
She ate a good breakfast and even choked down some ice cream this afternoon. That is a big deal since she started getting mouth sores last night. Anything that she can get down at this point helps. She weighed in at a whoppping 97 pounds this morning. They wished she was about 20 pounds heavier than that to start but they have no choice.
Tommorrow marks Jourdyn's bone marrow birthday as they call it here. She will be on the phone with Keller as it is put in at 4:00 but after that she could use congratulatory calls. After that, I am afraid that she will be medicated so highly that she may not remember talking to people. I think the hospital is even allowing visitors on Thursday so if you have been thinking about it, that is the day. She may not be up to long visits and she may even be asleep but it is worth a try. Thanks everyone! Shelley

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 9:21 PM CST

Jourdyn has been pretty sick today so they are giving her medications to help but now she has been sleeping all day. She is struggling to stay positive but it is really tough right now. She is feeling very cut off from the world and is going a bit stir crazy in her room. Hard part is, her 40 day confinement hasn't even started yet. That will begin Thursday. I have been sleeping off a migraine headache today as well so we are just the depression sisters today. It is very draining trying to keep another human positive all the time when they seem to be in an impossible situation. She had a good talk with Steve, her bestest nurse and me and about 4 with Keller today. She was excited to hear from her best buddies Kristin and Jamie today too. The calls really help. Thanks everyone. One more day of radiation to go. Needless to say, she hates it. It makes her nauseated and has left her with absolutely no energy. So I am letting her sleep this day away and we will give it a try again tomorrow. Shelley

Monday, January 12, 2004 1:32 PM CST

Jourdyn finished her high dose chemo last night. Hopefully we will never have chemo again! She is nauseated now but they say the big nausea from this treatment will not set in for about a week. She also got a bright and early wake up call, 5:45 a.m., to go to her first radiation session. Since I can not go in with her, I had a LONG wait to see her (2 hours) They assure me the next session at 2:00 will not take as long. They have put markings all ove rher body with permanent markers (not tatoos) to get her shields to protect her lungs in the same spot. She had to sit on a bike seat like contraption and hold still while the treatment went on. She came out crying, saying that she hated that. One down, 5 to go was all I could tell her. She got her first of 2 baths and went to sleep. She was nauseated again and it woke her up so they medicated her and she slept again. Rick and Keller came for the day and we left Keller with Jourdyn while Rick and I went to dinner. It was nice to see my sweet husband and to talk, even if it was about the same old stuff. He asked me what we even did before cancer caused our "temporary divorce". Neither of us could rmemeber. Jourdyn was sick enough that it was even hard to raise her spirits for Keller and that always does the trick. I think we are in for a long week! Shelley

Saturday, January 10, 2004 3:07 PM CST

Jourdyn is still batteling nausea but they have decided to pput her on regular meds for it (all the time rather than her having to ask for meds). This should help to stay on top of it better. We had a good talk last night about trying to stay on top of sadness and loneliness. She has been trying pretty hard today but it is tough. Luckily, Keller and Rick WILL be here in about 31/2 hours so that should turn her around a bit. 3 days down. We have a BMT calender on the wall in her room and we change it every day. She has gotten into a routine with all the bathing and mouth care today and it helps to see on a chart what is coming rather than it being sprung on her. She is trying to eat but it is tough on her while nauseated. They say it gets worse once the mouth sores set in. That will be in about a week. One day at a time I keep telling her. She has great nurses that try to give her as much freedom as she can have in her little room (when to eat, when to bathe, meds now or in an hour, etc.) She is a tough kid. Talk Later, Shelley

Friday, January 9, 2004 9:41 PM CST

Jourdyn has had a tough day today. The nausea set in almost immediately with this chemo. She has had it before but in much smaller doses. The old bag looked like a single sized potato chip bag and the new bag is like a regular sized bag, and she gets two of this size one after the other. She is feeling pretty lonely right now. Despite doing this for almost two years, this is a new experience and she is very nervous. It isn't helping that Keller will not be up this weekend and that her siblings can no longer visit either. Her dad is going to try to come up after a campout with Tanner tomorrow. They have started her new chemo, thiotepa this evening and so now she has to bathe twice a day and change her clothes and the dressing covering her port site twice also. Being so sick, this drains her. She is needing to be on an exercise bike for 30 minutes a day since she can't get out and walk around. She is also needing to do mouth protection 4 times a day to try to help with mouth sores. The nausea leaves her tired and she is sleeping a good portion of the day. Of course, nurses and techs and docs still come in so she is not getting uninterupted sleep so she still feels tired. We had a good talk today about attitude and hopefully it helped. She feels pretty cut off from people and, though I tell her that calls will have to do for now, she is feeling pretty down. It is hard not to feel lonely when you are alone. Somehow she manages to dig her way out and I suspect she will do it again. Tomorrow is another day. 2 days down, 38 to go. (Now we know how Noah felt, 40 days and nights is a LONG time!) Shelley

Thursday, January 8, 2004 3:39 PM CST

Jourdyn and I worked most of the night to get packed and reaady to go. She had medications until about 2:00 a.m. so I didn't get much sleep but probably wouldn't have anyway. We have both been pretty emotional but Jourdyn more so. She got a blessing from her Uncle Ryan and Grandpa Dick and a call of encouragement from Keller and Coach Hodson. He is a great source of knowledge because he had first hand experience for what she is going through. She spoke to him again this morning even though she was really crying. Of course she got her Keller call while my sister Kim and I loaded the car. They struggled with her spinal tap this morning and it took them three tries but finally got the methotrexate in her spinal column. This will protect it from the lymphoma while in bone marrow. I guess that is the most likely spot that it would try to migrate next. She will begin chemo shortly. Here is the schedule and what they call each day:
day -7: High dose VP16 (makes her sick)
days -6 to -4: thiotepa chemo (she has never had this before)
days -3 to -1: radiation 2 a day for 30 min. each
day 0: Her bone marrow put back in (they call this her bone marrow birthday and make a big deal out of it.)
then she starts on the positive ( ) days. It usually takes between day 14 and day 19 to starte to engraft (for the bone marrow to begin making healthy cells and growing). Usually a week or so after that she could go to Farmington to begin her 100 day stay. In order to do this, she must be eating, be fever free and show no signs of infection. That is where it gets tricky because they already know that Jourdyn had an active fungus on board now. They felt that waiting and giving more chemo would give the lymphoma a chance to grow and if that happens, she is no longer a candidate for bone marrow. They feel that , even though she is at greater risk witht the lung and kidney issues, they are still outweighing waiting. Either way her counts will be lowered, (either by regular or high dose chemo) so they would rather take their chances with the high dose and hope that the antibiotics that they have now versus even 2 years ago will be enough to keep the fungus under control until her counts recover. It is a real game that we are playing right now, not an exact science. I am glad that we have the people working with her that we do. I think we are in good hands. I am going to go back up and be with her now. We are in one room for a few days (4418) but will be moving into an isolation room on Sunday once another child leaves it. We will write later. Shelley

Wednesday, January 7, 2004 10:49 AM CST

Leave it to my child to pull it off, again! They got the results of her breathing tests and she is going to begin her bone marrow transplant tomorrow! She is excited, I am nervous and Rick is in a puddle right now! I guess the one who needs a good attitude has one and the other two will continue to follow her example like we have done for the last two years. We are now scrambling to get her things and mine cleaned for BMT. It is quite a process, We have to clean everything with alcohol wipes, wash her clothes, put them in sealed baggies, all make up, homework, CDs you name it, must be sterilized before it enters her room. We have been trying to compact her things in gallon bags (easy enough when you are a size 0) now try the same thing with my big girl clothes, not as easy! Jourdyn's uncle Ryan has come into town to see her and she is going to be so suprised. We have been keeping it a secret for about a month now. I am glad he got here while she was still out. We did go on our shopping trip and ate dinner way too late but at least she ate. We have an appointment at PCMC at 1:00 to finalize things and have her BMT physical and make sure, for the 4th time this week (literally) that she is not pregnant (there are my insurance dollars hard at work, pregnancy test, $100.00 a pop!) We basically roll our eyes and laugh at this point. I mean come on, she only sees me, she hasn't got a viable egg in her body but lets keep testing this anyway! Well, I'd better get busy! We have alot to get done. Shelley

Tuesday, January 6, 2004 1:21 PM CST

We headed back to SLC at 4:15 this morning. TOO EARLY! We had new breathing tests and we may not have the results of them until tomorrow. They think we may be getting back on track for bone marrow but we will believe that when it starts. We have a few more appointments to get to (finance and ob/gyn) so I guess we will be here for at least a few days. Jourdyn was pretty low this morning, she is just sick of all the tests. She has managed to pick herself up this afternoon and after a brief rest at grandma's house, we will be going to Victoria's Secret to panty shop (that always cheers Jourdyn up) We will write again tomorrow. Shelley

Monday, January 5, 2004 6:15 PM CST

Okay, we have been missing for a while but here is a very quick version of what has been going on. Jourdyn got a pulmonary function test done and then they olet us go home for a few days so we were here for New Years Eve. It was not very eventful (except for my son cleaning eggs off of every house in the neighborhood for the rest of his life with his two buddies). We had to be back to PCMC on Friday. She was to get fitted for her radiation shields, which we did and then start bone marrow on Monday, which we didn't do. When they finished the shields, they got the results of her pulmonary function test (that sees how well her lungs are going after the surgery). It showed that Jourdyn's lung is only functioning at about 42% and the high doses of chemo and radiation at that level would kill her because she could not breathe. Good to know! They have delayed bone marrow again while they give her lungs more time to recover. Problem is, now the lymphoma is likely to come back so they will probably have to do more maintainance chemo to keep it at bay. So we turned around and came home in a blizzard for the weekend. Now it is today and we are going to SLC to 4:00 in the morning to have another pulmonary function test. Hopefully there will be some improvement. I feel the the oncologiy folks are not thrilled that they are pushing for bone marrow, they think it is too aggressive right now and that her body is not ready. The bone marrow folks think that it is the only shot to beat this and we shouln't delay. I finally had a "Comin' to Jesus" chat with all the folks today and said that I was not going to make a life altering decision for my child until I felt that everyone could make me understand their sides so I (and Ricka dn Jourdyn) could make an intelligent and informed decision about how to continue. They talked to Jourdyn of the chance that this was not going to work and that she needs to be thinking that death may be a possibility. Like she hasn't already thought of that! We did have a good talk about it today. She says she is a bit scared of that and thinks about it often but she is also ready and talked alot of it today. She feels that she needs to try to go on but if it doesn't work, we had a very difficult discussion today, brought on by Jourdyn, about her funeral. She doesn't want it done our way but her way. SHe talked of songs, speakers, even pall bearers. You might think this is a grizzly subject to hit on while we are trying to be positive but it was a wonderful chat we had and it was good to hear her take on things and that she is calm one way or the other. She is an amazing soul. We will head to SLC tomorrow and hopefully never have to hit on that subject together again. Shelley

Tuesday, December 30, 2003 2:14 PM CST

Jourdyn had her kidney biopsy yesterday without me. I was still down with strep but my niece Melanee and Keller were with her and Keller knows what is going on with her almost as well as I do. (Today even better) We have initial reports but they show no sign of fungus and they know it is there so we will wait for full pathology. In either case, they feel that she is ready to start bone marrow. We get to go home to Cedar for 2 days (hopefully weather will cooperate) and then back on Friday to start having shields formed to protect her lungs from radiation and then we get started on full BM on Monday. Horray. We are finally here! We will try to enjoy a few days so we will probably not write or check emails for a few days. Happy New Year Everyone, Shelley

Sunday, December 28, 2003 7:19 PM CST

For those of you that haven't heard, Jourdyn is out of the hospital! We are in Farmington. She got her CT results. They showed marked improvement in her lung region but everything looked the same in her kidney (we are not sure why the ultrasound showed nothing). She will go in tomorrow for what they call a CT guided kidney biopsy. Rick and the kids just left for Cedar. They left Keller because he wanted to go with her to that. My niece Melanee is taking them for the biopsy. I can't be around Jourdyn for 48 hours because I have STREP! Great timing isn't it? Now I have to miss the surgery and we may have to postpone going into bone marrow because I can't go to the hospital to sign consents with her until Wednesday. I am not going to lie to any of you, I feel like crap! I am trying to stay far away from her, hopefully she is so full of antibiotics that she will be proctected from me but we have been spending alot of time together. You may have seen Jourdyn and Rick on Channel 5 news a couple nights ago. I missed it because the power was out ( I am calling for a copy). It just figures, I sit at that hospital with her for two years straight and the first time I leave to let her dad have a go at it, they get famous! We have heard from about everyone that was it. Hopefully she will come home tomorrow night and we will have to see what happens from there as far as bone marrow sheduling. I guess it all depends on how sick I stay. She really isn't too comfortable starting without me being with her. People have asked about visitors in bone marrow. We haven't had the final meeting but we think they are more lenient now that they are in the new protected rooms but we feel thet for Jourdyn's safety, we are going to not allow visitors until count recovery. Any little thing could set her back and, while she will miss people, her health comes first. Most parents on the floor feel the same way. She does have computer and internet access in her room now so she can get on MSN to chat and that should help. She also got Web cams so, if you have one, you will be able to see each other while you talk. (If you live in Cedar City, you can go over to our house and use our other one for home.) People have been so giving this holiday season to our family and we are deeply touched. It never ceases to amaze us how much support we receive and want you all to know that the love and prayers are felt and appreciated! We hope you all have a great new year. Our greatest desire this new years eve is for Jourdyn to get bone marrow underway. Shelley

Friday, December 26, 2003 3:13 PM CST

Merry day after Christmas everyone! We missed yesterday because we were busy doing the Christmas thing. We had a great but hectic day. Jourdyn has made great improvements over the last few days. For one example, Jourdyn had an xray on Christmas eve day (Ithink). She got finished and I said, "Let's run back up to your room" and guess what she did? She ran. Not a run walk but a full on run down the hall all the way to the elevators. When she got there she was pretty winded but she just had her lung removed 9 days ago and she is running. When she got up to her floor, she decided that she would show her nurses and docs so she ran to her room. It got back to her InfectiousDisease doc and he came to tell her that the feat of running at this point is the equivelent of someone running a 4 hour marathon! They were very impressed. Her biggest obstacle at this point is her eating. They may have to go to a feeding tube in the next few days if she can't start eating better. She just finished hernew Ct, the big one we are all waiting on. We are hoping (and praying) that they will show imporvement in the lungs, no infection in the kidney and that her body is getting ready to move onto bone marrow. It has been a long time since her last chemo and they are worried that, if they don't get started on bone marrow they will at least need to do more chemo to keep the lymphoma at bay. We should find out preliminary results today but a final decision might not be made until Monday (you know the dreaded weekend curse of PCMC that I have spoken of before). Keller has been her since Wednesday night and the nurses were trying to figure out a way to bottle that kid or put him in pill form because Jourdyn is a much better patient with him here. It was so great of his parents to sacrifice time with him to let her have the great Christmas she was hoping for. Thank you everyone, we will post later if we hear any results. I have to go feed Rick, he thinks he is starving to death. Shelley p.s. The roads were the worst I have ever had to drive on today. If you don'thave to be out, stay home!

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 1:51 PM CST

Marry Christmas Eve everyone! Jourdyn is tired this morning. She is scheduled for an xray sometime today. They took her off the pain pump and she is now on oral meds. She doesn't think they work as well but she has been able to get up without help. The problem is that they make her sleep more. The docs say she needs a feeding tube to keep up her nutrition and she says no. I try to let her have as much say so in her treatent as I can but they are now telling me I am letting her be too independent. Whatever! I convinced her to eat something besides cereal for breakfast but that is what a normal teenager eats for breakfast, if they eat at all. This whole feeding tube is causing her much more stress than her chest. I think it is feeling better but they still say she doesn't have as much air moving through at this point as they would like. That is why she is getting the chest xray. They are checking for fluid. Hopefully they will not find enough to have to put the chest tubes back in. We are trying to keep doctors at bay for Christmas morning and let her have her time. Rick, the kids and Keller should be here by 6:00 tonight so, let the wild and crazy and hectic celebration begin! Shelley

Monday, December 22, 2003 10:14 PM CST

Apparently I was in rare form yesterday. I didn't even realize how nasty I was until I read some of the posts and I wondered why everyone was so scared to call etc. Okay, I publicly apologize for yesterdays post and chalk it up to sheer exhaustion. The phone lines are open and she is up for SHORT visits.
Jourdyn got her chest tubes out today. This is good because we thought she would only get one out. It hurt incredibly and she was allowed to let a few swear words fly. Even with permission she had a tough time letting anything fly. She's a good girl. I was suprised at how long the chest tubes were inside her, about 14 inches. They were also solid, not pliable like I would have thought. No wonder it hurt so much to move with them in. They also did an ultrasound of her kidney today. Now I know you can't compare a CT with an xray but the xray doc said that he couldn't see signs of much (and he saw the initial CT as well). He said they barely look like the same child. I hope this is finally some good news. We really won't know until they re-CT on Friday but I think the fasting helped. Thanks to all who participated. Tonight Jourdyn is hurting from the chest tubes coming out but has needed very little oxygen today. They want to take her off IV pain meds tomorrow morning but I am not sure she is ready for that. They think she is but they also came to check her after they had premeded her for the tube removal (ativan, demerol, valium and benedryl) No wonder she wasn't needing to push her IV meds! We will see in the morning. Jourdyn was officially the first child moved into the brand new oncology rooms on the 4th floor. The area was just a plan when we started all this 2 years ago and it is bittersweet to see it done. The rooms have computers for every kid and we hear they should be able to access the internet from their rooms tomorrow. They all have DVD players now so we are trying to get movies in here. I actually got lost up there today and have yet to figure out where I am supposed to go to the bathroom and shower. Oh well. Jourdyn is resting now from her busy day and I will do the same. Please don't be afraid to call. If we are busy it will just ring and you will know! Sorry for my poor behavioryesterday. I guessit was my venting day...and at NO ONE in particular ( I barely even realized I wrote it untilo today!). Shelley

Sunday, December 21, 2003 8:07 PM CST

The kids and Rick came for church today here at the hospital. So did Keller and his friend Seth and my mom and dad. It was nice to see everyone and Jourdyn even made it to the meeting! Being up made her exhausted and needing pain medicine. I think it was hard for the kids (all of them) to see that her normally happy self has been temporarily replaced by someone who rarely talks, sleeps alot and cries while doing simple tasks. I tried to tell them that it is the medication and not her but it is still hard to watch. We loved seeing everyone but, once they all left, she slept the rest of the afternoon.
Keller's parents are sacrificing their own Christmas plans so that Keller can come up here on Christmas eve to be with Jourdyn. They are just great people. This will free me to go be with my other kids on Christmas eve while those two are together. We will do the Christmas day thing at my moms house and then take her and Keller's presents up to the hospital and let them open theirs there. Rick and the kids will then go out to the Cleveland's and I will stay with Jourdyn so she feels she is not being neglected on the holiday. We will just have to play the whole day a bit by ear because we really don't know what they have planned treatment wise. We think they are going to make a decision on the lung tomorrow but don't know when they will implement what they decide. She is now aware of the possibility of more cancer and she is dealing remarkably well with that. The fact is, nobody knows anything for certain right now so there is no point in getting ourselves too worked up about it. We have actual problems to deal with without making ones up for ourselves. People ask if we are worried, or scared, or tired, or angry, or sad...duh! Snap out of it! We are just trying to focus on now and not even worry about tomorrow. She has proved them all wrong several times. As far as doctors are concerned, she SHOULD have died a month ago when the fungus started and she SHOULD still be in ICU today and she SHOULD still be on a ventilator now but she showed them every time and I have no reason to doubt that she can continue to show them! Now, I am going to go finish watching Titanic with my daughter. (can you tell that questioning phone calls are not the best thing right now. We are questioned out!) Shelley

Saturday, December 20, 2003 10:26 PM CST

Jourdyn has had a few set backs today. She needed to go back on oxygen full time (which she was only needing at night). We think it was because they raised the amount of pain meds she was receiving and I think the dose was too high. She slept all day and we could barely wake her long enough to walk or breathe. I had them cut the dose back and she is doing a bit better tonight. They took out her foley catheter and she is very relieved. She hated it. Now she had to be up more though to go to the bathroom. We also got a visit from ID (infectious disease) today. They said that the urology and nephrology teams are split about half and half as to what to do about the kidney. Half want to remove the whole thing because the infection appears to be spreading. The other half want to biopsy because they feel that it MAY be a secondary cancer: that's right. it may be more lymphoma or even leukemia. We are siding with the biopsy before removing another major body part. Jourdyn was in the room when this news was presented but Jourdyn has been pretty out of it and we see no reason to scare her without warranting it so we are only answering questions that she asks us and have not volunteered to go over it again. I don't think she is aware of anything right now. We are still on "no visitor" status mainly because her siblings are here this weekend and we are being protective of their time with Jourdyn right now. She just cannot risk getting exposed to the flu, pneumonia again, RSV or any other respiratory infection (colds) right now. The crap hanging over the Salt Lake Valley right now is enough to keep her indoors even if she wasn't confined to her bed. What I wouldn't give for a little Cedar City fresh air eight now. We have had little Santa's from Cedar to Salt Lake helping out our family anonymously this Christmas and it continues to amaze and humble us. I am excited for church here at PCMC tomorrow. I always love the Sunday before Christmas meeting and I would imagine it is a pretty great and spiritual meeting here at the hospital. We are so blessed, especially now; I have 4 great kids who love each other, I have wonderful friends and supportive families, I have the knowledge of our Heavenly Fathers plan for each of us and I have an amazing husband who holds me up on one side while the Lord holds me up on the other. I am truly blessed! Good night all! Shelley

Friday, December 19, 2003 11:38 PM CST

Today Jourdyn was up and walking and did a great job. They may take the catheter out tomorrow morning and one of the chest tubes. Rick and the kids are on their way up here as we speak. She is trying very hard to work because she wants to get this show on the road. They have upped the amount of pain medicine so that she can try to get out of bed. It is leaving her pretty sleepy most of the time so we turn the phones off and turn visitors away because it takes everything she had just to do her exercises and getting up. Hopefully as her time up grows, the amount of meds will decrease. It is pretty quiet most of the day in her room because she is sleeping. I am enjoying the quiet and conserving energy for when she is awake to cheer (and yell at her) to perform little tasks that seemed so natural for her a week ago (like breathing, coughing and raising her arms) She breaks out in a sweat when trying to do any of these things. Hopefully we will see some changes over the weekend. Shelley

Thursday, December 18, 2003 11:14 PM CST

Jourdyn has been a working little thing today and is exhausted tonight! She started with a walk for the first time since surgery. It was a short trip to a wheelchair for an xray but it still counted. She uses a breathing machine twice an hour (not very faithfully) and is puffing harder each time she uses it. They changed her dressing today and she screamed her little "lung" (notlungs) out through that. Tonight we just finished an honest to goodness walk. She got herself up, walked down two hallways unassisted (except me to push her IV pole with its 5 pumps attached to it, one nurse to hold her lines from her chest tubes and one to carry her catheter line but she walked alone) and when we turned to go back to her room, she said, "one more hallway" with tears streaming down her cheeks and gritting her teeth. That is the kid I think we all know and love... the fighter! She is now back in bed tryng to keep her eyes open to talk to Keller but is fighting off sleep. She is amazed at how much energy it takes just to breathe lately. "Give it time", I keep telling her and she tells me that "time is something she can't waste." That's perspective for you. I am a lucky mom! Good night everyone and thanks you for the fast today. Youare all helping so much. We think that Jourdyn will have more surgery on her kidney tomorrow. The same infection is around it that was in her lung so they are going to try to install a drain that will pull that fluid off before it gets a chance to invade inside the kidney. She is not thrilled about one more drain (this will be #4) but we have to get on top of this infection whatever way we can. We both were in bed by about 6:00 last night and so we are a little more rested today but, after today's workout, we are ready to call it a day. Thanks everyone! Shelley

Wednesday, December 17, 2003 8:47 PM CST

Jourdyn has been working her little guts out today. Keller is coming on Sunday and her goal is to be able to sit up to communicate and brath without the oxygen by then. She is doing her breathing treatments and crying her little eyes out from the pain. They upped her dilauted drip so she is sleeping a good deal today. GOOD. Rick went back to Cedar so he could work and relieve my brother who has been staying with the kids. I have had a wave of sleepiness set in and I tried to catch up today. We put a sign on the door that let everyone know that SHelley had turned into a mother bear overnight and, if they HAD to come into her room, they damn well better look important. No random checking, no students, no "can I just listen to your lungs?" so she got a lot more sleep today and actually said she felt rested tonight. I guess I am as mean as I have suspected I was all along. Oh well, whatever works! We are still requesting no visits or calls. It just takes everything out of her even to be awake and trying to focus. Thanks everyone. She really is making great progress. Technically, according to the schedule, she should still be in ICU for 2 more days. She just might suprise us all...AGAIN! Shelley p.s. people have asked about the kidney: they felt the lung surgery was enough for mow. They are watching it closely and will eventually deal with it. Her incision is about 10 in. long and runs from just under her right breast, under her arm and around to the same spot in the back. They were very careful to follow the bra line so she will have the scar relatively hidden. She hurts like crazy tonight.

Wednesday, December 17, 2003 10:49 AM CST

Jourdyn was moved back up to the Oncology department today, not because she is ready but because they needed the bed for a trauma and she was themost stable of the unstable kids. We never want to be in PICU again. About 3:00 this morning, I watched the doctors begin CPR on a child next door and it continued for 2 hours. I didn't even know they would fight that long. They lost her anyway and it was hard to watch in spite of all that we are going through.
Jourdyn is in an incredible abount of pain today and is having a hard time being patient with herself. It will be slow but I think progress will come. We are trying to remain positive in spite of the doctors around us. I have requested that no students come to her room today and even doctors, if they don't HAVE to be in there need to stay out today. She has had enough! Shelley

Tuesday, December 16, 2003 11:53 PM CST

Jourdyn is came out of surgery just before 10:00 p.m. She is in the intensive care unit for now. They removed the entire top lobe of the right lung, a small portion of the middle lobe, and repaired two holes in the "windpipe". The lobectomy went well, little bleeding (though they did give her 2 units of red blood just to pump her up). She was able to come off the ventilator for now (they say she may go back on if needed) but her saturations of oxygen are good for now. The holes in the pipe are a concern. They have to leave a chest tube in until they are healed and that cuold take several weeks. The whole process has left her little body in a battle to get to bone marrow. Bone marrow is a tough process on a "healthy" child, but it is even tougher for an immune compromised kid. We are confident that our Jourdy is a fighter. We have had family by our side today and are grateful for that. As Jourdyn needs her rest and we would like her nurses to tend to her and not to answering the phone, we would ask that you keep informed through this page and not through visits or phone calls for the time being. We are cherishing our time alone with her. Thank you all. Shelley

Tuesday, December 16, 2003 6:18 PM CST

Jourdyn was taken into surgery at 5:15 p.m. tonight. She was very nervous and they gave her verced to calm her down. The surgery will take about 3 hours and she will be in ICU when she is done. She may or may not be on a ventilator. They have told me that I can not stay the night with her unless we stay awake so we will try. I think she is blocking out aspects of this procedure for self preservation. When they asked her if she had any questions of the surgeons, she asked if she would have stitches. I just think she is blocking information out in order to help herself cope. She will hopefully be back in ICS tomorrow but it just depends on how her body does with everything. We will update when we hear ANYTHING! Shelley

Tuesday, December 16, 2003 12:32 AM CST

Jourdyn was told that there was not enough room in ICu today so her surgery had been postponed. They told her to go ahead and eat breakfast so she did. About halfway through a bowl of cereal they came in and said, "don't eat!" They wanted to take her to surgery at 1:oo and now they can't because of the food. We are so mad right now. Nobody dares make eye contact with me right now because they all know I am about to blow. Rick and Jourdyn's grandpa's are here to give her a blessing in the event she goes sometime today. They are giving her platelets right now to prepare for something, we just don't know when it will be. We will post later if things change. Shelley

Monday, December 15, 2003 4:21 PM CST

Jourdyn is breathing better today and got her pressure dressing off her back where the harvest took place. She is in line for removal of the top half of her lung and a biopsy of her kidneys tomorrow morning. She is fairly quiet today. I think she is trying to proces all that is happening right now. She did get to be a special guest at the Kurt Bestor concert done for the kids today. He made a big deal about his buddy Jourdyn and the fact that she was here two Christmas seasons in a row. They exchanged email addresses and she talked to him while Fox 13 news videoed. She may be on the news tonight at 9:00. Everyone watch. She was nervous about that because she had no hair on at the time. Hopefully we can get some food in her today and that she will be rested for tomorrow. We really need all your prayers now! Shelley

Sunday, December 14, 2003 10:22 AM CST

I am so sorry we did not updat e sooner but it has been a terrible weekend. First, the good news. Jourdyn's harvest was successsful! They got more than the needed amount to transplant and will save it for her. Now the bad news. The fungal infection that has invaded Jourdyn's lung is not going away andis, in fact, spreading. Her right lobe on her right lung was full and it has now moved into her left kidney. They suspect it is just waiting to grow in other spots as well. To knock her counts out for transplant at this point would leave her defenseless against the fungus and she would die from that. The bone marrow transplant is now on hold until they resolve this new problem. The way they do this is to go in surgically and remove a good portion (1/3) of her right lung and possibly a portion of her kidney. They just can't get it to go away with antibiotics so this is the next step. Of course this development took away some of the thunder from the harvest victory and she was not in a mental state to continue that day. The team decided to let her go home for the weekend and start up on Monday. Keller and I loaded her up, thinking we were sop wound up we could handle the drive after such a long and emotionally charged day. We were wrong so we headed to my parents house and my sweet dad drove us home and then round tripped it back to Farmington that same night. Because she was getting IV antibiotics at home still, she didn't finish until around 4 in the morning. Keller came over and was with her that morning (even though I know he didn't sleep either) but she slept for most of the day. Keller and I went Christmas shopping and when we got back she was running a fever (103.6) I called the hospital and they wanted her checked. Her breathing became more labored and her blood pressure dropped very low (69/38 ish) They took a new xray and saw that in the short time we had been gone, the whole top of the lung was now filled. She was at risk of losing the entire lung so, once again, we took a very expensive life flight trip back to Salt Lake. The trip home was meant to give her some mental relief time and all she did was struggle the whole time. Keller once again stayed with her while Rick and I went to pack. Rick hit the road by car and actually beat us there because we had to wait to stabilize her and get the plane there from SLC. I got Jourdyn, traded Keller the car and he went to stay with the kids for the night (have I mentioned how lucky we are to have Keller as part of this journey. You just will never find a greater kid if you tried!)and now we are back in Primary Childrens. We have heard that sjurgery will not occur until Tuesday. We know that many of you are worried about us but we are asking for no visitors right now. She is tired and weak and has alot of work to do to get ready for surgery so she needs her rest while she can get it. We thank our great neighbors who are kicking in once again with our other kids in our absence. We have great friends! We will update if we hear anything. Shelley

Friday, December 12, 2003 2:47 PM CST

The harvest went well so far. They wer able to get 800 cc's of marrow, which is what they needed. Now we wait while they count how many viable stem cells are in it and hope that it will be enough to transplant. We should know by 4:00 p.m.today. Jourdyn is still at PCMC because she is having a tough time getting her oxygen levels high enough and she is being given potassium again right now. I am going to go back in with her. Keller is with her and has been a great source of comfort today. She woke from surgery and asked for him before me (I'm not going to lie to you, it hurt a little!) He does a good mother hen impersonation though and has been a worried mess most of the day. I will update when we get the results. Shelley

Friday, December 12, 2003 9:08 AM CST

We are back at Primary Childrens Hospital again today for her bone marrow harvest. They whisked her away from us (Keller and I) so fast that we hardly got to say goodbye to her. We are both sitting here in panic mode now because we know that she left us uncomfortable. Hopefully they will put her under quickly so she doesn't worry too long. She will be in surgery for about 1 and a half hours so we will go eat now and update later. Shelley

Monday, December 8, 2003 9:22 AM CST

Jourdyn and I are home! Not just out of the hospital, but actually in Cedar City! It feels good to be here. We will stay until Thursday. We got our Christmas tree up the other day and will take care of many errands today. Everyone has the flu so I am leary of letting her wander too far. We will probably not update again until we are back at PCMC on Friday. We are going to try to enjoy our time home! Shelley

Thursday, December 4, 2003 11:35 AM CST

Jourdyn is out of the hospital. We have a clinic visit tomorrow ans then, cross your fingers, home to Cedar for a few days!
We tried to go to the Festival of Trees yesterday but, before we got out of Farmington, she was sick. I think she got nauseated because she needed to be drinking more now that she is not on IV fluids. Once she got some juice and water in her, she felt fine. We are going to try to go again today.
We had a talk about bone marrow issues and, she doesn't like the thoughts of an unrelated donor but likes the alternative of no donor even less. We are leaving the decision to continue (in the event her bone marrow doesn't work) up to her. We are trying to create many distractions right now including having her holiday celebrations early.
Thank you for all your concern. Pray for lots and lots of bone marrow on Thursday! Shelley

Tuesday, December 2, 2003 2:15 PM CST

Jourdyn is leaving the hospital! She will be going to my mom's house and here is the schedule (tentatively)
Tuesday: To Farmington
Friday: clinic visit the home to Cedar
M-W or M-TH: Begin Neupogen shots for bonemarrow harvest
Th or Fri.: Bone Marrow Harvest then back to Cedar
Some time the next week begin Bone marrow transplant

They are trying to cover all their bases and have gone to the national registry to look for unrelated donors for Jourdyn in case they get in and find out that her own marrow has taken too much of a beating. They will then give her the option of whether to continue or not because an unrelated is pretty tough on your body. I think the alternative is even tougher and that is to let her go home and live until the cancer takes over. Not a great option but they feel she is old enough to make that decision. We need all the prayers we can get that her bone marrow is healthy and plentiful next week. Shelley

Tuesday, December 2, 2003 0:08 AM CST

Jourdyn has been making a lot of progress the past few days. She has been working her little rear off doing what they tell her as far as breathing treatments, lung exercises,longer walks and trying to eat. They have dropped a few antibiotics and, if all goes well, she MAY get discharged to Farmington as early as tomorrow! We MAY be able to go to Cedar for a bit before bone marroe if all goes well and if my family there gets better. Every member has been sick. If you see any of them shoeless or hatless or coatless, you MAY kick their butts for me! We really want a break at our own home and can't go tell they are well. They will then wait for counts to fully recover and then we will be back up for the long haul. We have no clue how long the break may be. We are torn between getting to be home for Christmas and getting the big show on the road so we can be home for good. I hope we get started ASAP! Shelley

Saturday, November 29, 2003 4:21 PM CST

Before I update with our positive news today, I want to ask you all to remember two friends of mine in your prayers today. I have "met"Ron and Linda Felton from Florida on a parent website. We have cooresponded over that past little while as our daughters fought similar battles on the cancer front. Sadly, their sweet teenage daughter, Arielle, lost her battle last night and I ask that you remember them with me today.
Jourdyn had new scans this morning and things are looking up. They don't know what antibiotic is doing the trick but something is working. Her lungs are fluid free, she has some air passing thrugh today and her ANC jumped to 7000 so she will be off neupogen shots for a while! She will be here a few more days while they taper drugs and eliminate others but the doctors are thrilled today with her progress. They are even talking about her getting to got o Cedar City for a bit.
Keller just got here so she is double happy right now and so am I because her favorite "babysitter" is now here so I can go and take a break! It is a good day in our hospital room. Thanks for all the prayers! They sure do help! Rick remains sicker than a dog so he will not be able to visit her again before they leave. At least he has some days off to afford to be sick! Shelley

Friday, November 28, 2003 7:12 PM CST

Jourdyn had a tough time being in here on Thanksgiving. It was her first holiday in the clink and she hated it. We brought her food from Grandma's house but it isn't the same. Her dad came and spent the night but he got sick so we had to trade places again. My friend Marci Stevens came and sat with her while I went to my moms to eat with the kids. (Thanks again Marci!) I had to wear a protective gown to keep other people's germs off of me and a hepa filtered mask. (don't think that wasn't a trick to try and eat with a mask on!). Rick is still sicker than a dog so I didn't even see him at dinner because he was sleeping and I was staying away from his germs.
Jourdyn was scheduled for more surgery today but they felt that since she had been fever free for more than 24 hours that the antibiotics might be working. The breathing treatments are killing her but she is doing them. She had another terrible reaction to the antibiotics late last night and got the shakes so bad that she couldn't talk. They gave her demerol again to calm the shaking but it caused her so much tenseness in her muscles that she was pretty sore today and slept alot. She took a walk tonight and will have new CT scans in the morning to see what type of progress is being made, if any, and what they will do next. We will wait and see tomorrow. Hopefully she will start coughing this crud out of her system. We also have a visit with bone marrow tomorrow to see if we are still on track. Thank you everyone! Shelley

Thursday, November 27, 2003 6:41 AM CST

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Here's the latest. Yesterday in the afternoon Jourdyn had a bronchial lavage procedure. Dr. Pheffer went in first with a scope and took photos of the upper right lobe of Jourdyn's lung. Where there should have been three open airways branching off to the rest of the lung, the middle hole was plugged with tough mucous and puss. After the pictures were taken then a saline solution was sprayed into her lung and this is so afterwards the doctor could sucton it back out and some of the cells from the infection could be gather to determine what kind of problem is going on, whether it is bacterial, a fungus or just what. Later we were told that it was neither of these types but that a longer culture would be done and that might come up with some results in a couple two or three days. In the meantime along with the meds Jourdyn is on right now she'll be doing special breathing treatments 4 times a day to try and break up the clogged up bronchia tube. This might be followed by some other procedures on Friday depending on where things stand. We just need to keep her away from the seasonal bugs and cold and stuff for now. I am even wearing a mask as I try give Shelley a break to get some sleep at her folks house in Farmington. I am very thanful, check that, we are all very thankful for all who help in our situation, be it family, friends, doctors, nurses or for whomever has helped in this experience. I know Jourdyn is very thankful to have the friends and others she doesn't even know well who encourage and uplift her. At this time of the year remember to be grateful for the everyday, common things and tell people how much you love them and appreciate them. Now it's time to enjoy a unique Thanksgiving here at PCMC. Thanks to all of you, we love you all.

Wednesday, November 26, 2003 10:12 PM CST

The levage was done and also turned up negative. The lung has three bronchial tubes in each section. Her middle tube is so blocked up with stuff that you cant even see it on the picture. The pulmonary doctor says she doesn't know what it is that is in there so they will culture it a bit longer and then she will have a new proceduredone on Friday. It is much more invasive but we have not discussed this with Jourdyn yet so we will update again later. (We like her to know first). With two procedures today and the thought of being here on a holiday, she is pretty low tonight and getting very tired of this. Hopefully she will figure out a way to cope with this because she is here for a couple more weeks at this point. have a great holiday everyone! Shelley

Wednesday, November 26, 2003 4:03 PM CST

This will be quick. The fluid aspiration from this morning was negative so they are going to move to the next step which is a BAL (levage) where they squirt fluid into the lung and suck it back out to test the cells inside. They sucked up about half a can of coke of fluid off her outside of her lung so hopefully she will be able to breathe a bit more pain free. She is only functioning on one lung right now so she is on alot of oxygen to help that lung out. Hopefully this teat will tell something because if not she will have surgery again on Friday. They are about ready to go to surgery so we will update again later. Shelley

Tuesday, November 25, 2003 7:04 PM CST

Today has been an emotional rollercoaster for us. The pneumonia has moved into both sections of Jourdyn's right lung despite heavy doses of antibiotics. Because her counts are so low they need to take it to the next level. She will need a lavage tomorrow where they squirt saline into her lung then suck it back out along with any cells to culture. They are also going in through her side with a large needle to aspirate some fluid that is gathering in her pleura. They are looking for a fungus. They have started her on an antifungal antibiotic but the side effects from it are almost worse than what she is already doing. She started shaking violently today so they gave her demerol to settle it down and she slept the afternoon away. All the better because they couldn't stabilize her enough to do the procedure today anyway. Her potassium level was too low which meant she couldn't wake up from anesthesia, she needed too much oxygen, her platelet count wouldn't raise, etc. They felt that things have turned the corner as far as seriousness of infection are concerned and recommended that Rick come to Salt Lake today. Jourdyn knows only as much of this as she needs to know but she suspects it is serious because all her family starts showing up. They have said that bone marrow is now on hold because they are in life saving mode now. I am so tired and Rick is here now to stay the night with her. They will get started again tomorrow around 6 am and, if each additional step is needed, they will do the last procdure around 3 pm. They basically have said, if we can't treat this from the outside in, we will treat it from the inside out. We are all praying for Jourdyn tonight and thank all of you that are doing the same. Thank you everyone. Shelley

Monday, November 24, 2003 11:34 PM CST

We have recieved the first of the new scan results: Jourdyn's pneumonia has not responded to the antibiotics and, in fact, has gotten worse. They are now moving to an antifungal antibiotic (the big guns). There are some pretty severe side effects from this one. In fact, they wait to break them out because some of the side effects can be worse than what they are treating. In Jourdyn's case, with no immune system to fight this off herself, they need to move to this next step. We will not have the results of the rest of the scans until tomorrow. She is trying to cough alot for them because her coughing has not been productive enough and they may have to tube her down her throat tomorrow to help productivity along. At this point, they are fairly sure that this is where we will be on Thanksgiving. We are trying hard to be thankful for something at this point but it is a reach right now! Shelley

Monday, November 24, 2003 11:42 AM CST

The fever is back and I think the doctors are scratching their heads. As they said this morning, "we will scan her body starting at her eyebrows and we won't stop until we reach her toenails." I guess this is good news because the "real doctors" are in charge again (we hate weekends here) and hopefully we will get answers. If it turns out to be a fungal infection they will start her on new antibiotics but they have their own severe side effects so they don't want to jump to them until they are sure. She got blood last night but it did nothing to change her counts so they are giving her 2 more units of red blood and 1 unit of platelets again today. We will update later. Shelley

Sunday, November 23, 2003 10:47 PM CST

After a very long night and most of today, we think that Jourdyn has turned a corner! Her night nurde and I spent from midnight until about 4 this morning wiping her down with iced washcloths trying to break a 106 temperature. She had cold packs under her also. After a rag had been on her for about 5 to 10 minutes, it was as warm as if we had placed it under tap water. At about 4:30 her temp dropped to around 103 so we called it a night. She spiked again through the morning and felt so miserable that I had to hold her to get an xray today. It confirmed that the pneumonia is still there. She slept for the better part of the day and needed blood products by early evening. They tried to give her platelets but her blood pressure was too low (78/33) so they cancelled them until tomorrow. She did receive red blood and after them, temp went down, blood pressure came up and she sent me for some soup. Now I guess you could call this coincidence but I also sent for some elders to give her a blessing after church today. They gav her the sacrament and then a blessing. As for me, I prefer to be thankful that the priesthood helps no matter who gives the blessing (however, some tears were shed because she missed her daddy terribly today). Tonight we hope for no fevers, no stomach pain, hopefully off oxygen tomorrow and signs that the antibiotics are doing their thing to the pneumonia. Good night everyone! Shelley

Saturday, November 22, 2003 8:34 PM CST

I know that I already wrote today but we have had late news today. Jourdyn has been fighting fevers all day today. She actually hit 105.8 degrees today and I am not going to lie to you, I became fairly alarmed. We have been working to get it down and they feel that it is because of the pneumonia. I was worried about the effects of a fever that high but nobody seems to be worried about that, other than they would like to know for sure what is causing it. I have never actually felt another human this hot. she is, fortunately, out of it for the most part because of pain meds. I think that she has misplaced a day again because she asked me if things had been performed on her yet that were done yesterday. We are going to change her dressing again right now to make sure that there is no infection in her line. Shelley

Saturday, November 22, 2003 2:31 PM CST

It has been a tough night for Jourdyn. She continues to spike fevers and sits at 103.3 righ now. She has abdominal pain this morning and it became so severe that they took her down for an xray to check for a bowel obstruction or some other thing that would let us know why she continues to have fevers after 5 days on antibiotics (three of them now). She is pretty heavily sedated right now. She doesn't remember some procedures that have been performed on her as of late and that is probably a good thing. (I wonder if there is "mom forget this is happening" medication). I am watching the BYU Utah game right now but we have a lot of down time. In case any of you need to know, and I am sure you do, there are exactly (and I mean exactly) 91,374 holes in the tiles on the ceiling in Jourdyn's room (you are welcome to come and check our math)
Hopefully we will have some answers today but I fear that we get the "second string" team when we are still on admit on the weekend. Shelley

Friday, November 21, 2003 11:20 AM CST

It has been rough the past few days. Jourdyn continues with fevers and they just completed a new chest xray. She can not stand on her own and I had to dress her last night. This is because her bones ache so terribly from the neupogen shots. The pain management team is coming in to talk to her but she refuses to take anything for pain that is narcotic so they will have a fight on their hands with her today. She is back on full time oxygen because it has become harder to breathe. She is receiving another platelet transfusion any time now because her count has dropped to 12. We knew that she needed them because she got a bloody nose last night and had spontaneous bruising on her arms. Where bruises are, platelets cannot be far behind. Keller leaves for the next week and, while she hopes he has a blast, she is also going to miss his weekend visit terribly. It will be good for both of them to try to function independently of each other for a minute. That boy has taken on a lot of grown up responsibility by hanging with my child. We just love him! Since we are in here, I think that the family will stay in Cedar this weekend. I will miss them but they would just end up sitting around up here. It is snowing like crazy right now and I wish I were home making cookies. Shelley

Thursday, November 20, 2003 12:16 AM CST

Jourdyn is receiving red blood right now because she is fairly anemic right now (for those of you in the know, her hematocrit was only 21). She has a fever of about 103.2 rightnow so they have run another blood culture which buys us at least another two days in here every time they do this. She is so sore from all the neupogen shots that she needs help to get in and out of bed. A cough has started today and she is trying to cough hard to get stuff up but witht he pleurosy it is really hurting. Her shirt is completely wet from sweating so much through the night. She is exhausted and so am I. Over all, we are ready to have this hospital stay over and move on! Visitors are not a good idea right now in general to protect her fragile immune system but we know that you are all thinking of us! Thanks, Shelley

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 11:14 AM CST

Well, we are back in Primary Childrens Hospital after a scary evening. Jourdyn was feeling achy because of her neupogen shots. When I give it, I usually check her temperature. It was 101.2, high enoughto call the oncologist. While on hold, I was doing some of my other nursing duties on her and took her temp again. This time it is 102.2 and I am still on hold. By the time I talk to the doc, it is hurting her to take a deep breath so they said to head to the third floor to be admitted unless it got worse, then go to the ER. Before we reached the hospital she could barely breathe so we went to the ER. It was so crowded that I worried about germs and told them I would rather take her right upstairs. By the time they got her in the room, she was having a very rough time breathing and couldn't talk well. Her temperature had climbed to 104.1 and they reacted very quickly. They took a chest xray and saw that she has pleurousy and pneumonia. THis is not great news but it is mild enough and located only in her right lung so they feel that we can stay on top of this and not let it get out of control. We had thought that she was going to try to get to Cedar today but this showed us exactly why we stay close to PCMC even when she is feeling "normal". Things change so quickly. THis morning the fever is under control, she has been up to walk, though she cries the whole time and she has ordered breakfast. This is a big deal as she is down to 98 pounds today.
I need to also mention that my sweet niece, Melanee is donating her beautiful long naturally curly hair to locks of love today in Jourdyn's honor. She has been growing it since she was a little girl and I can barely talk about what a sacrifice this is. Megan, my other niece did the same thing with her long, straight, gorgeous blonde hair a while back before we started this site. They are both grat girls! Thanks! Shelley

Monday, November 17, 2003 8:46 PM CST

Jourdyn went to Primary Childrens again on Friday for a platelet transfusion again and again she had an allergic reaction to them. They had to give her epinephrine again to help her breathing and also albuterol treatments and oxygen. It was still nerve wracking but not as eventful as the first reaction because they were watching more closely this time and were prepared. Her body is chewing up platelets like crazy right now (normal) and she needed them again today. I suspected that something was wrong because she was really hard to wake this morning. She had no energy and kept falling back to sleep. We finally got to the hospital at 11:00 and sure enough, she needed platelets again and red blood because her hematocrit was very low too (that explains the tiredness) We didn't get back to the house until around 5:00 this evening. She has to go back to PCMC on Wednesday for another unit of blood and also more platelets. No sign of her counts recovering yet either but for the first time I heard them say they think she will be ready for bone marrow harvesting in about 2 weeks. Horray! All I can say at this point is, donate blood! We use so much of it and I don't know what we would do if people didn't volunteer like that. It is such a valuable service that almost everyone can do! Thanks to all you brave needle haters out there! Shelley

Friday, November 14, 2003 10:26 AM CST

We went to Primary Childrens yeaterday for Jourdyn's first blood count since chemo ended. We even pack,ed bags because if the counts were up we were going to sneak to Cedar City for the weekend. We were wrong! She has a count of absolute zero right now. She has to be 500 to be around people and 10,000 to get her next chemo. They can tell if the counts are trying to come up yet based on her monocyte count. She doesn't even have any mono's to count so they feel that she still hasn't hit rock bottom yet to start to climb back up. They felt that she could go septic if she was around people so they said no to going home. She cried her eyes out. Even little disappointments at this point are too much for her to bear anymore. She wants to be home, see people, feel "normal" for a minute and not have to have everyone have to make the effort to get to her all the time. She has had friends up here who want to come visit but, at this point it is just too dangerous to introduce new germs to her. The doctors said that family could be around her because she is used to the germs in her own household. They even gave her Keller because she is around him so much anyway and they felt that they had to give her someone to keep her spirits up but the line had to be drawn somewhere. Kids don't understand and think that she is picking one person over another but it isn't her, it is me and the doctors trying to protect her. We hope everyone understands. Rick and the kids will be here tonight with Keller and I am excited to see them all. My family couldn't come last week because of church obligations and I missed them all terribly! Hopefully it will be a great weekend! Shelley

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 7:27 PM CST

We are just biding our time here in Farmington. Jourdyn had a few days that she was very nauseated but with IV fluids going over the past few nights, we think that we have it under control now. We will wait here until counts get checked on Thursday. If they are high enough, we are going to hit them up for coming to Cedar over the weekend. If she needs to be transfused, we will do it and then hit them up. If they say no, we may still try a jail break and hit the road anyway. I am trying not to go against the doctors but we are both a bit homesick!

Saturday, November 8, 2003 9:14 AM CST

Jourdyn is going home today (Farmington)! She is pretty achy but will hopefully not need any extra meds for it. They got her lines working after 8 hours with TPA in the line. The scans showed that things are coming along nicely and the things they thought they felt they suspect are nothing more than scar tissue from her two biopsies. After her counts recover, she should be ready to start trying to harvest her bone marrow, probably a couple weeks. Fingers crossed! My family had to stay in Cedar this week so Rick could fulfill his church callings so I will miss them very much until next weekend. Keller came up with my brother Kris yesterday so Jourdyn was a happy camper last night. It should be a good day and we will take them where we can! Shelley

Friday, November 7, 2003 1:28 PM CST

Jourdyn is doing good today. She is pretty achy from the chemo and being in bed for a week but should go home (to Farmington) tomorrow morning. Keller is coming up this evening so that is helping her spirits. We have found a new lump in her neck and another one under her arm today so they have scheduled a CT scan for later today. I guess they will decide what they are doing based on what they find after the scans. Jourdyn's new pheresis lines coming out of her chest have stopped letting them draw blood from them. Those of you that have been following this for the last 2 years will remember that her old port had the same problem. They have put high dose heparin (TPA) in her line to try and unclot it and then they will do the other side and see if they can get them drawing again. They flush just fine so she is still receiving her fluids and chemo just fine. Her spirits will be up once we get out of here for a few days. Shelley

Tuesday, November 4, 2003 4:45 PM CST

Today has been a tough news day for us. The results of the bone marrow match for our kids came back today and we were sad to find out that none of them are matches for Jourdyn. Not even close enough to consider. They were 0 out of 10 matches on all three. That rarely happens. On the bright side, Dayton and Madisyn were identical matches to each other, which also rarely happens.
So, here is he plan for the near future. They will finish her chemo this round on Saturday. It will take her about three weeks to recover from this. That puts us to about the first of December. They will then take her into surgery to harvest her bone marrow in hopes that the stem cells are in there. This is done under general anesthesia through her hip bones. They take about 200 samples off each leg (ouch!) and hope that the stem cells needed are there. They said that she will feel like she has been beaten up for a couple days but should only need minimal pain medication. After all, it is the process every donor goes through to donate their cells so people do this all the time. She is pretty down about this and has had a tough emotional ride today. Now we just need to get this chemo over and hope that the bone marrow is ready! Please remember her in your prayers for the next little while. Shelley

Monday, November 3, 2003 2:10 PM CST

Jourdyn is back in Primary Childrens Hospital today for another round of chemo. She will also get a transfusion today because her hematocrit is so low. They even said they wonder how she functions when it gets this low. She will begin the chemo later tonight and it will finish running on Saturday. She is usually sick for about 2 to 3 weeks after this one. Wish her luck! We will update later on how she is doing. We just got her in a huge snow storm!

Saturday, November 1, 2003 9:31 PM CST

Jourdyn was able to go to her little sister, Madisyn's baptism today and it was such a special time. They sang a song together and Madisyn bore her testimony. I couldn't have been more proud of my kids today. We were so touched by Swanks, Bergstroms and Sanders' driving all the way from Cedar City and our cousins, The Bovee's coming from Elko. The weather was not great and they all still made it! Of course we had all our "local" family but it is always nice when we get the Cleveland and Whitaker families together and for such a great event. Jourdyn will go to Primary Childrens to start the next round of chemo hopefully on Monday. There has to be an empty bed. Happy Halloween everyone. The Academy at Cedar Mountain kids did another fundraiser that night for Jourdyn. They did a carnival. We didn't get to go because it got too cold for Jourdyn to be out and I had to wait forever for the IHC team to bring my new medical supplies and I have to be there to sign for them but, THANK YOU KIDS. All of you in Cedar City need to know how many times these kids have some through for my child. They have truly wrapped themselves around her and they have become a great group of friends for us! We just love the Academy! Have a great day everyone! Shelley

Thursday, October 30, 2003 4:51 PM CST

Jourdyn had her scans on Tuesday. It was a good noews, bad news day. The bad news was that the first round of chemo didn't take care of everything so she has to have another round of the nasty stuff she just got done with. The good news is that she has to wait for counts to come up so we got to go home until Saturday morning! We had a bag packed in the event they would let us go so we hit the road right from the hospital. I suprised Rick and the kids and just showed up. Jourd still can't go to school but she did go visit with her counselor to get school work sorted out. She is on track for straight A's (or very close to it)right now. Not bad for a sick kid! We head back to Salt Lake on Saturday for Madisyn's baptism (now that we are home and could have done it here in Cedar) and then Jourd should start chemo on Monday or Tuesday. For now we are just enjoying being home! Shelley

Monday, October 27, 2003 7:15 PM CST

Jourdyn will be going back to Primary Children's tomorrow morning for her follow up scans after this first round of chemo. If they are "clean" and show no signs of cancer, she will proceed to bone marrow once her blood counts (neutrophils and platelets) are high enough. If there are still signs of cancer, she will gp in for another round of chemo before transplant. They will decide when they are harvesting her bone marrow based on the results of these tests also. She could be harvested as early as Monday if she is clean. If not, it may be during the next chemo round or shortly after it. Tomorrow will tell so once again we all wait. Her spirits are higher and I am seeing signs of my old Jourdyn again. It has taken a bit longer to come to grips with what is happening to her but, who can blame her? She is an amazing fighter and I see that in her eyes again. It calms me down to know that she is not going to let this beat her, at least without a good fight. Shelley

Friday, October 24, 2003 6:51 PM CDT

We were told today that Jourdyn's stem cells will not be able to be harvested through her new catheter. They are not releaseing themselves into the blood stream despite all the high dose neupogen. They will next attempt to harvest directly from the bone marrow. This means going in through her hip bones. Very much more invasive and painful for her. Because they didn't find enough in the blood, there may also not be enough in the marrow. For this reason, my other three children will be given blood matching tests tomorrow to see if one of them will be a compatible donor for Jourdyn. They are a bit nervous but it won't hurt much. They feel that, in the event that we need them, it is better to start testing now because a donor cross match takes between 3 to 4 weeks to do. If Jourdyn's bone marrow can't be used, we don't have the luxury of wasting that kind of time to cross match afterwards.
Jourdyn is feeling a bit better but still doesn't have the energy level to do much right now. We are both looking forward to seeing the family when they get here later tonight for the weekend! On the bright side, we don't have to be to the hospital at 8 in the morning anymore for the CD34 tests and the last dose of antibiotics went in her at 4:00 so we are not on such an all encompassing schedule anymore. Thanks to the amazing ladies who decorated for Madi's party and made it such a success! I have the greatest friends on the planet! I love you all! Shelley

Thursday, October 23, 2003 7:52 PM CDT

We have had a major set back in Jourdyn's treatment today. We found out today that, sespite all the medications to help raise her CD34 counts, her body is not producing enough to harvest through her bloos stream like they had hoped. This process doesn't work in about 1 in 5 kids (nobody told us that up front). They had a big bone marrow meeting about her at 3:00 today and we think that they will now have to go in through her hip and eatract the bone marrow that way. Of course it is as painful as it sounds and Jourdyn is very disappointed tonight. The doctor says "If the stem cells won't come to us, we'll go to them." Hopefully they will be there. In rare people they are still not producing there either and so they would have to go to a related donor and she could no longer donate for herself which brings all its own complicatiions. They have assured me that this is very rare and they are hopeful that they can find viable cells in her bone marrow.
We were in the hospital for about 7 hours today while they tried to fix a problem with her intestines. She screamed at the top of her lungs for about 4 hours straight because they couldn't give her any pain medication while they were doing it because it would dull the sensation and they needed to know where the pain was coming from. Tonight she feels as though she has been pulled through a know hole. If the pain comes back tonight, we are back up there tomorrow morning for more testing. Enough already! We have to get good news soon, it is our turn! Happy Birthday Madisyn! We all love you! Shelley

Wednesday, October 22, 2003 10:08 AM CDT

Jourdyn's counts are still not climbing fast enough to have her stem cells harvested but they are getting close. She is in the PCMC bone marrow clinic right now receiving another platelet transfusion. She is receiving IV medications from home administered by ME! I am not very qualified to be doing this and, needless to day, am a nervous wreck most of the day. She is getting some form of medication at least every 4 hours and IV meds every 8 hours in between. At some sittings, we are there for about 2 hours giving the medication and up to 11 different syringes of medication is given. I hope I am doing everything right.
Because of this regimine, it became clear yesterday that there was no way I could leave her to go home for Madisyn's 8th birthday party. After many hours of tears, I called Madi and then we cried together, we are going to have a date on Saturday in Salt Lake so if you get a chance, I know a little girl whose heart is hurting right now and could use a birthday wish from as many as want to give one to her.
On a special note, Madisyn was given permission to be baptized in the font on temple square on November 1st. This will be so exciting for her! Also, we have a special friend who made arrangements for President Faust to hand carry Jourdyn's name to the first presidencies temple session where her name will be verbally called out in their prayer roll during their session. She cried when she heard this. We are truly being blessed right now! Shelley

Monday, October 20, 2003 2:19 PM CDT

Jourdyn is going home! Well at least to Farmington. She will go on an IV and receive antibiotics three times a day still and 5 shots a day. We have to be back here first thing in the morning because they think she will be ready to harvest stem cells by then! It takes 6 hours a day to harvest and she may need to come through Saturday but we hope that it won't take that long. Then it will be another round of this nasty chemo (we hope not until at least Monday) and then after that 5 day stay for chemo and letting her counts recover (about 3 weeks, just like this time) she will go into bone marrow and receive the "BIG" nasty chemo that will destroy her entire system waiting for the new bone marrow. We are not thinking that far ahead though. One day at a time for now and, for now, she is just happy to be leaving the hospital for a while. Shelley

Sunday, October 19, 2003 10:32 PM CDT

Jourdyn has finally got a white blood count of 500! This is good because it has started to move. They took her first CD34 reading today (this is the cell that the body must be producing to harvest stem cells) Hopefully in the next few days they will be able to harvest. Her appetite is better today and she is eating some solid foods so hopefully she wull be off the iv foods soon, then we can get her back to my moms house (barring any more fevers). Keep your fingers crossed! Madisyn "passed" her bishops interview for her baptism today. She was very excited! Jourdyn's spirits have turned the corner for now. We take it all day by day. It makes it easier to swallow than thinking about the whole experience at once.

Saturday, October 18, 2003 12:57 AM CDT

Jourdyn's bones are really aching today from the increase of her neupogen, the shot that forces her body to make white blood cells. She is like watching a little old woman when she walks. She is on pain medication all the time now so she is a little out of it most of the time but insists on still getting her homework done every day while she is awake. I left her last night and went to a hotel to try and get one good night sleep. I got here this morning and the nurse said she cried all night partly because for the pain and because she was alone. I have to go home on Thursday for Madi's 8th birthday but my niece will be staying with her. Her counts are still too low to harvest but, for the first time, she has made a small jump in counts so we are hoping that they will increase soon. Thanks everyone. Shelley

Friday, October 17, 2003 11:05 AM CDT

Jourdyn's body is still eating up all her platelets so she is being transfused for the fourth time this week. As long as she can't keep platelets, her body will not produce white blood cells so she continues to wait to be harvested. They have only done this transplant on one other lymphoma for a long time and she was harvested on day 20 after chemo. We are at day 15 to give you all an idea of our wait. They also said it took her five 6 hour shifts to get enough stem cells to transplant (versus 2 to 3 days normally). Jourdyn is trying to stay "up" (Keller coming to visit helped) but is tired of being her now knowing how ling she will have to be here once bone marrow is started. She has lost all her hair again though it doesn't seem to bother her as much this time (it wasn't too long anyway.) She spiked a fever again last night (102.6) so she will be here at least two more days getting antibiotics and then, if she is okay, we come back and get checked every morning until harvest time (that is Jourdyn's harvest time, not the seasonal harvest I hope!) See you all later! Shelley

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 10:50 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Jourdyn has spiked a fever again tonight and may end up staying in the hospital another day. They have upped the amount of medication she is getting for bone marrow because her counts are not coming up the way they had hoped. She is getting triple the amount of neuopogen and it is making her very achy. She is getting 5 shots a day now. She hates it! We have just started this but will try to keep it going. We will see how visited it is. Thanks, Shelley

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 10:50 PM CDT

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 10:44 PM CDT

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