Updates & Prayers for Kenzi

Kenzi started round 3 yesterday and so far, so good. It's 3 chemo drugs over 2 days, so we should be able to head back to the apartment tomorrow. Last time she had these drugs, she had some jaw pain so please pray that it will be less this time and that any other side effects will be minimal. It was so nice to be at the apartment, it's actually hard coming back here to sleep. Kenzi doesn't seem to mind and is still relaxed and bossing the nurses around as usual. She's figured out how she likes things and has no problem directing everyone to do it her way. I love that she still has her spunk. The other day while we are hanging out she said, "Cancer isn't as bad as I thought it was. I get to be a lazy couch potato while the medicine kills the tumor." She is helping me to change my perspective on life right now with her positive outlook. I was feeling nervous, not wanting to mention that it was a long weekend, afraid she would be upset that we were missing ou...

 I can't believe a whole month has past since our world was turned upside down. It feels way shorter, but on the other hand, it feels like a lifetime. Now that we are able to leave the hospital in between chemotherapy treatments, life feels a little normal. If normal meant I had only one child, a husband who worked out of town and we lived in a skyrise apartment in downtown Burnaby. It is very different than our normal, but it's nice to have our own bedrooms, our own kitchen with a dinner table to eat at and the most amazing views!  Kenzi is in good spirits and feeling well after this round, just a bit of motion sickness. Her hair started falling out about a week and a half ago, and to be honest, it's one of the hardest parts. There's no more pretending life is normal anymore, the world will know now. We went to a wig store today where they measured her and she will get a free wig, but it will take about 8 weeks. If anyone has hair they want to donate, let me know and I...

Today Kenzi finished her last treatment for this round of chemo. We're thankful to cross another hurdle off the list. Somehow we're making progress. She did well with this 5 day round, she's just extremely tired. She spent every afternoon napping, which is the best side effect we could ask for. Other than that, she doesn't have too many complaints.  Tomorrow morning if all goes well we will get to take her back to the apartment and stay there until her next round, which should start next Friday. We will come back, when needed, for a few appointments in between. The nurses have also been teaching us to take care of her PICC line and give her meds, which we will need to do each day. Aside from that we are looking forward to having our own space and our own kitchen to cook it.  Wes went home for 2 nights to see the kids and get a bit of work in. We decided it would be best for him to go while we're still in the hospital and have all the support here. He will be back wh...

 Our mini vacation is over and we're back in the hospital. It was so nice to be able to sneak away, even if it was for only 2 nights and be with the whole family. We headed to Stanley Park to spend time at the ocean and had a movie night. It felt so normal, it was amazing! It's only been 3 1/2 weeks, but I forget what normal life is like.  We were scheduled back at the outpatient oncology department at 11:00 yesterday morning, so I dropped off Wes and Kenzi and headed to Langley to meet my mom and dad and trade off Linden, Ayden and Beckham. They were excited to spend time with cousins, so we happily said our goodbyes, which makes it so much easier.  Kenzi received her chemo in the outpatient department, then was moved over to the ward to be admitted. This round of chemo is 5 days long but I think they'll keep us a day longer to administer fluids. After that if things are well, we should be able to take her back to the apartment. But it's a learning curve for us so we a...

God is answering our prayers; yesterday Kenzi went for a chest x-ray and the tumor is shrinking! Her trachea and her heart are moving closer to where they should be (not all the way back yet) and they are hearing some breathe sounds in her upper left side. We are allowed to take her "home" until her next chemo treatment starts, hopefully on Friday. Wes is planning to come here tomorrow (Wednesday) with all the kids to pick us up and we will get to spend 2 nights together as a whole family at the condo in Burnaby. (No, we are not allowed to take her back to Vernon.)  Although, I'm a little nervous, this is such a blessing. It will be so good to be all together again after 3 long weeks apart. Hopefully the kids will gain a little more understanding of what is going on. We come back Friday morning and if her blood counts are ok we will be re-admitted and start our next round of chemo that day. Please pray for everything to go well for us outside of the hospital and for her c...