I had hoped to share a totally upbeat post about how well Maggie is doing and how much fun she had at her fall retreat (TBC college girls). She did get to go, BUT…. started running fever yesterday afternoon. We knew she had wonderful nurses helping her – Jenna Clair and Betsy – so we told her to take Tylenol or Advil and keep an eye on it. This morning (Saturday) at 2:00 am we got a call from her in Bay St. Louis. Fever had spiked to 103. Phil and I made the drive to pick her up. We stopped at home long enough to pack bags for me and Maggie, hug Phil and Molly goodbye, and load up on coffee (thanks Molly!) for the drive to Batson. You’ll remember this summer we were met at the door of Batson’s ER with a new policy – no patients over 18 treated regardless of their status with any Batson clinic or physician. I thought we had a magic ticket this time to by pass that policy, but it didn’t work. Maggie was seen in the adult ER for diagnosis, which we believe to be a UTI (still waiting for culture). She got her flu shot Monday in the clinic, and I personally think this contributed to the fever. She was admitted to 3C after an eight hour stay in the ER. Her fever and nausea are under control, and she’s getting antibiotics. We’re both looking forward to rest. We’re praying this will be a short event with complete resolution of infection and fever.

Maggie’s chemo admission last week (Monday – Wednesday) was the best kind – staying totally on the script. All side effects were well controlled. We did get some really good news – her tumor marker (CEA), continuing a downward trend, is now 6.1 – lower than the reading at MDA this summer which brought us back to Batson for traditional chemotherapy. She is having no tumor-related discomfort/pain, so we’ve been given the go-ahead to reduce the dosage of her pain patch. It will take our next scan to provide definitive proof, but we are cautiously optimistic that Maggie is having a positive response to chemo. ( Her scans two months ago were stable – showing no growth or shrinkage). And speaking of the next scan, she’ll have a PET/CT on Monday, October 30th. Her followup will be Thursday, Nov. 2 for the next round of chemo.

Also during her last admission, she was finally at Batson for one of the fun days. (She loves to tell anyone who asks that she’s never here for the “fun” visitors but got to meet Delbert Hosemann! And we did appreciate his Valentine Day tradition of making the rounds.) Monday, the ladies from Kendra Scott were here to allow all Batson patients and a caregiver to design and keep a piece of  jewelry. Our necklace and ring look beautiful together! (I’ve included a photo from Monday showing Maggie staging her jewelry for a photo). Thank you, Kendra Scott, for your support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.IMG_2580-min

In summary: We’re giving thanks for the days of joy and thanks for what the tough days reveal and teach us (and for me, it’s A LOT in the patience department). I find myself “counting in the dark” some days – His mercies, that is. His Word teaches me, promises me, these mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23), are over all His works (Psalm 145:9), and delightful to Him to show (Micah 7:18). Why shouldn’t I count each one? Even on the hard, dark days when I have to work a bit harder to see them.

Specific prayer requests: quick healing of this infection for a quick return home; continuing downward trend of CEA to be confirmed with improvement in scans; smooth transition while lowering dosage of pain medicine.

Thank you for your prayers and unfailing support. We love you.