Monday, August 20, 2012

Living Life Upside Down

To say that our lives have been turned upside down would be an understatement.  On Friday, August 3rd, late in the afternoon, we met with the oncologist at St. Jude who told us that the diagnosis had been changed.  Reid has spindle cell sarcoma which is worse than Rhabdomyosarcoma.  The oncologist also said that Reid's eye (not just eyeball) and everything in the orbit will have to be removed in order to give him the best chance for survival.  Then, he told us that we were going to be admitted right then to start chemo.  This journey is a roller coaster ride for sure.

We were admitted and Reid began his first round of chemotherapy late Friday night.  He handled his chemo like a champ.  We were released to come home to Baton Rouge on Tuesday, August 7th.  We drove in the driveway, and I immediately pulled out to take Wyatt to his open house at school. School started on Wednesday.  To say that we missed Wyatt over the 12 days that we were in Memphis would be a vast understatement.  We are very thankful for the friends and family who kept him busy and loved on him while we were gone.

On Saturday, August 11th, we noticed that Reid was breathing more rapidly than normal.  We called Memphis that night, and they told us to watch him to see if anything else (like a fever) developed.  On Sunday morning, we called the St. Jude Clinic in Baton Rouge.  Dr. Jones (the oncologist) told us to bring him to the ER.  We spent Sunday through Thursday in the hospital at OLOL.  Reid had viral pneumonia the best that they could tell.  He had to be on a nasal cannula for oxygen.  It was scary and sad to be home yet have to be in the hospital.  We knew that because of chemo his immune system would be suppressed, but we did not expect a 5 day hospital visit.

We leave on Wednesday to go back to St. Jude.  Reid is scheduled for an MRI on Thursday morning to see how the tumor has responded to the first round of chemo.  We will then meet with the ocular oncologist who is supposed to perform the surgery.  WE NEED A MIRACLE!  I cannot bear the thought of Reid losing his eye.  We can SEE a noticeable difference in his eye just from the first round of chemo.  We are praying that God has healed the tumor to such a GREAT EXTENT that the doctors will be blown away.  PLEASE PRAY FIRST AND FOREMOST FOR REID'S EYE TO BE SPARED!  

We will be admitted for the second round of chemo on Friday evening again.  We actually liked being in the hospital over the weekend.  It was quiet, and the nurses were very nice.

Please pray for me.  I am having a very hard time with all of this.  Pray for me to have peace that passes all understanding.  Pray for me to have strength to put one foot in front of the other and do what has to be done.

Pray for God to unfold something miraculous through this journey.

5 comments:

Amanda said...

Amy,
Wow, I cannot imagine what you are going through right now. It will be a privilege to pray for Reid...and the rest of you, too. Thanks for sharing all of this. I think I read where you may have met Kate? Hopefully it was you she referred to and you will have someone who can really understand your pain.
Love
Amanda

Anonymous said...

I will be one praying maniac!!! praying for that precious eye to be saved, praying for a miracle, praying that the chemo has already started to heal Reid, praying that you will physically feel God's loving arms wrapped around you, praying Lance will feel peace, praying Wyatt will be resilient and able to focus on school...love you!!!!

Sarah said...

I found your blog from the krull's blog and wanted to let you know that you have prayers for your family from Nashville, TN

Carol B. said...

Praying for your family.

B.R.M said...

I check on you. Praying.