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Here's the latest update on Esther Joy from Caringbridge.
Thank you for all the notes you left us. I am so sorry we have not updated till now. Esther finished her third chemo and for the first time had NO serious side affects! Previously she would end up back in the hospital on high morphine doses a couple days after finishing the chemo - Praise the Lord none of that this time! It has been the month for blood transfusions (apx. 2 a week) and we did have a new twist this month, or should I say Esther did. Her abdominal biopsy incision opened on the inside forming a 3 inch hernia. We had to wait a week for her white blood count to recover before they could operate, due to risk of infection and inability to heal. Thursday morning her counts were up, they gave her another blood transfusion, platelets, and took her in to surgery. The surgeon expected to have to put mesh in but he didn't. He said her abdominal muscles were strong and there was no adhesions. Praise the Lord she came through strong. Last night she wasn't feeling to good but today she is feeling much better. Her eardrum also ruptured for no aperent reason this month. Pray that her ear drum and incision will heal with no complications.
What a blessing! We were all able to be together for Christmas. Esther spent the night before excitedly getting costumes together and preparing to direct her siblings in the first Travis children's Christmas play privatly put on for mommy and daddy. Christmas evening we hosted a Christmas Party on the oncology floor for the families in the hospital and any others that could come. There was a great turn out. Every one received the Gospel and families were ministered to.
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Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. -- John Quincy Adams
Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less - Robert E. Lee
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved - Romans 10:13 (KJV)
The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him - Nahum 1:7 (KJV)
Group: Super Moderator
Posts: 11,253
Joined: 05-Jun-2005 Zodiac: Elder
Realm: Ganado, Navajo Nation, Arizona
Here's an update from today (1-11-2008) on Esther Joy! Thaks for praying!
It has been a busy couple of weeks. Sunday night we went down to Oklahoma City to get ready for the Esther's stem cell harvest. We spent the night at the Ronald Mcdonald House about a half mile from the OU Childrens Hospital where Esther was to have surgery and where she will go for her bone marrow transplant and recovery. We admitted her to the Hospital at 600 am to get her ready for surgery. She had a "small" catheter placed in the femoral artery of her right leg. After recovery we went up to her room in the transplant unit to wait for EMSA to come andpick her up to take here to the Oklahoma Blood Institute for her stem cell spin-off. Unfortuanately EMSA was to busy so we had to be postponed to Tuesday morning. Early Tuesday morning EMSA came and took us over to OBI. The spin-off took about 4 hours. We went back again Wednesday we went for another 2 hours. Praise the Lord we got more than enough stem cells for her transplant. Thursday morning we came back up to Tulsa and started round 4 on her Chemotherapy. These meds are the same they used on the 1st and 2nd rounds which gave her fairly severe side effects. Esther has had "bounce off the walls" energy the last couple of days which has been very encouraging.
Here's an update from today (1-11-2008) on Esther Joy! Thaks for praying!
It has been a busy couple of weeks. Sunday night we went down to Oklahoma City to get ready for the Esther's stem cell harvest. We spent the night at the Ronald Mcdonald House about a half mile from the OU Childrens Hospital where Esther was to have surgery and where she will go for her bone marrow transplant and recovery. We admitted her to the Hospital at 600 am to get her ready for surgery. She had a "small" catheter placed in the femoral artery of her right leg. After recovery we went up to her room in the transplant unit to wait for EMSA to come andpick her up to take here to the Oklahoma Blood Institute for her stem cell spin-off. Unfortuanately EMSA was to busy so we had to be postponed to Tuesday morning. Early Tuesday morning EMSA came and took us over to OBI. The spin-off took about 4 hours. We went back again Wednesday we went for another 2 hours. Praise the Lord we got more than enough stem cells for her transplant. Thursday morning we came back up to Tulsa and started round 4 on her Chemotherapy. These meds are the same they used on the 1st and 2nd rounds which gave her fairly severe side effects. Esther has had "bounce off the walls" energy the last couple of days which has been very encouraging.
If thinking is praying, then I've been praying for Esther's recovery.
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We’re all poets, only some of us write it down. JC 9/27/08
Anyone who has the courage to disagree, deserves all do respect. JC 4/28/08
Life is a loosing battle, so you might as well live it up. J.C. 3/29/08
Life should be like skiing, you have the most fun on the way down. J.C. 8/17/07
Take their word for it, and that’s just what you’ll get. J.C. 3/19/07
Only the truth is worth the ultimate sacrifice. J.C. 1/26/06
Compared to the far right, the far left is somewhere in the middle. J.C. 2/22/06
I’ll be the first to apologies, as long as I get one back. J.C. 3/7/06
It’s a happy man, who can laugh at himself.
If you’re looking for a new experience, don’t hire someone with a lot of it. J.C. sometime in 1990
Here's an update from today (1-11-2008) on Esther Joy! Thaks for praying!
It has been a busy couple of weeks. Sunday night we went down to Oklahoma City to get ready for the Esther's stem cell harvest. We spent the night at the Ronald Mcdonald House about a half mile from the OU Childrens Hospital where Esther was to have surgery and where she will go for her bone marrow transplant and recovery. We admitted her to the Hospital at 600 am to get her ready for surgery. She had a "small" catheter placed in the femoral artery of her right leg. After recovery we went up to her room in the transplant unit to wait for EMSA to come andpick her up to take here to the Oklahoma Blood Institute for her stem cell spin-off. Unfortuanately EMSA was to busy so we had to be postponed to Tuesday morning. Early Tuesday morning EMSA came and took us over to OBI. The spin-off took about 4 hours. We went back again Wednesday we went for another 2 hours. Praise the Lord we got more than enough stem cells for her transplant. Thursday morning we came back up to Tulsa and started round 4 on her Chemotherapy. These meds are the same they used on the 1st and 2nd rounds which gave her fairly severe side effects. Esther has had "bounce off the walls" energy the last couple of days which has been very encouraging.
If thinking is praying, then I've been praying for Esther recovery.
Dear Lord, lest I continue in my complacent ways, help me to remember that someone died for me today. And if there be war, help me to remember to ask and to answer "am I worth dying for?" - Eleanor Roosevelt
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)
One can "pray" in many different ways; like stevenpd said, it's positive energy and this always helps. Mark, thank you for the update; I keep praying.
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"Now here's my secret", said the fox, "it is very simple. It is only with ones heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."
("The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
"The soul would have no rainbow, if the eye had no tears." (Native American Proverb)
I am so thankful to God for the power of prayer and what it is doing in Esther Joy's little life. My class at school continues to pray for her - especially the little girl that shares the same birthday with her. Thanks for keeping us posted. We continue to pray.
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"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."" Psalm 91:1-2
"Be what you would seem to be--or, if you'd like it put more simply--Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise." from "Alice in Wonderland"
Group: Super Moderator
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Here's another update from CaringBridge on Esther Joy. Thanks for praying for this good family.
January was a very busy month with Esther's treatments. After a successful stem cell harvest in Oklahoma City, Esther went back for her fourth chemo round. This went well, but two days after she finished she came down with an unexplained fever. We spent the next week in the hospital just monitoring her condition and giving her IV antibiotics and antfunguls. She was energetic and playful the whole time and we still don't know what caused the fever. The doctor's did a CT scan that showed the initial tumour has resolved itself down to 2 pingpong sized masses in her pelvis. They say that they should be able to remove both of those with the surgery that will be scheduled in a few weeks.
This last week Esther had her fifth round of Chemo and was released from the hospital yesterday. The meds they used on this cycle make her depressed. When I talked to Jennifer this morning she said Esther was not feeling very good. I am now traveling, so Jennifer doesn't have web access so I will update the site as I get the news from home. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and messages, it truly is an encouragement.
Group: Super Moderator
Posts: 11,253
Joined: 05-Jun-2005 Zodiac: Elder
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Here's some good news on Esther Joy's progress. Thanks for praying and keep it up! The following is from CaringBridge.
What can we say but God is Faithful. Esther went into surgery yesterday to remove what they could of the tumor. The surgery lasted about 2 hours. The surgeon was able to remove all of the tumor. The tumor itself was nothing more than dead tissue; the chemo had done its job. They sent the remains to pathology and we are still waiting on the final results, but the surgeon is very optimistic that all they will find is dead cancer cells. Praise the LORD!!!
Esther is still in pain from the surgery itself, but we hope to leave the hospital this weekend. She may even be able to start round 6 of her chemo treatments next week. That will be the last treatment prior to the transplant itself which will involve a lethal dose of chemotherapy to kill off her current bone marrow and then the infusion of her own stem cells.
This was a major victory this week but we still have many more battles ahead before complete victory. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging notes.
Mark - thanks so much for the update on Esther Joy. My class is still praying for her daily. The little girl in my class that has the same birthday refers to Esther Joy as her friend her mother told me. We'll keep praying. God is definitely faithful, merciful, and compassionate. We serve an awesome God.
Oh my, what that child has had to endure... I sure am praying that she will be healed from this terrible disease. It took my father-in-law four years ago and is slowly claiming the life of my mother-in-law right now so I know what a formidable enemy it is.
Bless her and her family, Father....
S.
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"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king..."
Group: Super Moderator
Posts: 11,253
Joined: 05-Jun-2005 Zodiac: Elder
Realm: Ganado, Navajo Nation, Arizona
Here is the latest update on Esther Joy Travis from her parents via CaringBridge. Thanks for praying!!
Yesterday Esther finished her last round of chemo before her transplant. The pathology report came back with the great news that there were no viable cancer cells present in the tumor. Esther has been in great spirits and has been healing rapidly from her surgery. We would ask that you pray that she doesn't get sick during the next couple of weeks so we won't have to the visit the hospital anymore until her transplant.
We have been able to reunite the rest of the kids with Esther. It has really uplifted her spirits and she has reassumed the job of being big sister gladly. Pray that we will be able to find a way to keep them around her during her transplant. It will be such an encouragement if she can have them around consistently during that time.
The transplant itself will require a mega dose of chemo to kill off her current bone marrow (each cycle of chemo makes it harder for her current bone marrow to do its job) and then an IV infusion of Esther's stem cells that were harvested back in January. She will then be in a closed unit for around a month while her system recovers. She will have essential no immune system during this time so she will be very susceptible to getting sick. This will be the most critical phase of her treatment. For this reason visitors will be restricted to healthy family members and healthy close friends. All of this should begin in about three weeks. Thank you for your continued prayers.