Keep them coming

Many of you have been keeping my sister in law, Julie, in your thoughts and prayers. She has been battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma and went through a stem cell transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital earlier in the summer.

Good news was received in the form of a clear PET scan a few months back which was a sigh of relief and was thought to be the light at the end of the tunnel. A recent follow up PET scan revealed that tumors have quickly returned. They are still in the same area, the chest wall, which is promising since they have not spread. She has met with a radiologist along with her oncologist and a new plan of action is underway.

She had chemo a couple of weeks ago with another round scheduled in two weeks. A month later she will undergo another stem cell transplant, this time with cells donated from her twin sister, Jenny. During this inpatient procedure, she will receive full body radiation along with localized radiation at the site of the tumors.

Even though this is a huge blow, she has maintained her steadfast resolve to make it over this hurdle. That girl is one tough cookie. Our conversations usually leave me laughing as she has kept her sense of humor.  I know that it's not easy for her.  I can't imagine what she must be feeling deep down-trying to be strong for all of us. 

I do however know what I felt when Ryan told me the news a few weeks ago-disbelief, hurt, and anger.

I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they have to go through this again...so soon.  My heart hurt that they have to struggle with all the questions, the "what ifs?" and "what nows?". 

I was so mad that she has to endure it all again- the pain, discomfort, and inconvenience -without knowing the outcome.  That she has to take more time away from her family and not feel like herself when she is with them.  That her kids have to be without their mom while she is undergoing treatments and transplants.  That people complain about petty things while she is engaged in a battle for her life.

This being said, all I can do is pray and be thankful for what has been given.  I pray that the chemo, radiation and stem cell transplant get rid of the tumors once and for all.  That Julie remains strong and positive.  That the emotional stress is not too much for their family to bear.  I remain thankful that she has a wonderful medical team in place.  That the tumors have not spread.  That they have an amazing support system to help them through this.

Ryan and Julie are extremely appreciative of all the support that they have received. A fund was set up in the spring by a friend that allowed them to purchase a laptop computer, which she used as a lifeline to the outside world during her last hospitalization. Dear aunts and friends have made meals for their family and their mailbox has been flooded with cards of well wishes and encouragement-all of which have helped them up to this point.  Please continue to keep their family in your thoughts and prayers for the next few months.



For Ryan and Julie

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Flash Back Friday

Renee, Ryan, Princess Hannah, Julie and Jeremy

This was taken in May, 2004 after my niece's baptism. Miss Hannah graduated from pre-school last night and will start kindergarten in the fall.

Where does time go?!?



Aunt Jules

I don't know of anyone whose family hasn't been touched with cancer in some way.

My sister in law, Julie Uebinger, is once again fighting Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Ryan and Julie have been married for almost 8 years. Julie has been a part of our family for so much longer than this. I think they started dating when Julie was 17.

I went to a party with Ryan while I was home from college. I was ready to leave but apparently Ryan had been trying to work up the nerve to "go see about a girl". That "girl" was our Jules. They have since been blessed with two beautiful children. Hannah, who just turned 5, is sweet, stubborn and way too smart. Wade, who is 2, is absolutely adorable and loves being outdoors more than anything else.

Their battle with Hodgkin's began the second time shortly after Christmas. The initial treatment plan consisted of two rounds of chemo then a stem cell transplant. She has received two aggressive rounds of chemotherapy at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. It was discoverted after her most recent PET scan that there had been no change in the size of the tumors.

The doctors have suggested another round of chemo before the stem cell transplant. Last week she underwent a series of neupogen injections to increase the number of stem cells released from the bone marrow into her blood. Julie is currently undergoing pheresis as an out-patient at BJC to collect them from her blood this week, the target being 8 million cells. The doctors may need to use an experimental treatment to help her body produce the required amount. She has agreed to be part of the drug trial if needed.

Once the pheresis has been completed she will undergo the another round of chemo. The process for the stem cell transplant will begin a few weeks after and will include a 4 week stint as an inpatient at BJC. The cells collected during pheresis will be reintroduced to her body.

This all sounds very technical and straightforward because I can't fathom how painful each process must have already been. She has undergone two bone marrow biopsies, had her port (which is located in her chest) moved at least twice and has been hospitalized for infections involved with the port site. This doesn't even include the pain, nausea and fatigue associated with the chemo and the neupogen injections or what's to come during the transplant.

Through all of this, Jules has kept her positive attitude. I've never once heard her complain. Julie truly is the strongest person I have EVER met. My heart breaks for what their family is going through.

Thank you for all your care and concern and please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.



Words

I don't have any recent pictures of the boys. I certainly can't post a blog without at least one picture so I pulled this one out of the archives. It was taken last January at Owen's baptism. It's amazing to me how much both of the boys have grown this year.

Ms. Jennifer, our Parents as Teachers educator, stopped by on Monday for a quick session with the boys. While playing with Owen, she found that he has superb fine motor skills and his gross motor skills are excellent as well. She asked if he has any new words. I told her that I think he is now saying "night night" but wasn't certain. As she read a story to Ben that included the words "good night", Owen perked up and said "nigh nigh". We now have confirmation that he added a new phrase to his vocabulary. He has also started walking just a little more. Crawling is just so much faster!

When my friend, Kim, delicately brought to my attention several months ago that Ben might need to be seen by a speech therapist, I was initially very defensive. He has had issues with stuttering in the past, which comes and goes. This is pretty normal for his age. I am around him all the time, so of course I feel like I understand him completely. I have been discussing this with Ms. Jennifer during our last few visits. She thought he was dropping the beginning or end of certain words and medial sounds in others. I had previously scheduled Ben's three year old screening with the school district for Friday. At the screening it was determined that speech therapy will probably be in our future. He can make the sounds, he is just not using them.

Even though he may need help with his pronunciation, he has a wonderful vocabulary. While he was flinging his beloved "Puppy" around the other day, I warned them that if he wasn't careful, "Puppy" would get a hole in him and I would need to throw him away. His response was, "No-you can't do that-he's "Dog's" best friend!". (That's "Dog" in the picture above.)

I haven't been too wordy lately myself with my posts. I have recently found out that my Sister-in-Law, Julie, is going to be facing chemotherapy again in the near future. My heart is breaking for their family, and it is difficult to find the right words these days. "This sucks" are the ones that come to mind frequently, but remaining positive and keeping faith, I feel, will be much more helpful. I just don't know what to say...