August 25, 2004

The surgeons and oncologists met yesterday to discuss Kaelyn's latest scans. Their recommendation is to prepare for a liver transplant. There is still the possibility that once they get her into surgery they could find out that they can take out the tumor without doing a transplant, but if they can't resect the tumor they will at least have a new organ ready to do the transplant right then and there. Cancer patients get put to the front of the transplant list, so it is estimated that she could have an organ within 2-3 weeks. That was good news to me, I was afraid we would have to wait months.

The transplant surgeon said that they have a 90% success rate with liver transplants. She would need to be on immune suppressant drugs for the rest of her life, and they themselves have their own unpleasant side effects. Kaelyn will still need to have one more round of chemo after the surgery to make sure all of the cancer cells are dead.

So, this is our road map. It sure has been a bumpy ride. Please continue to pray for our baby. She is so precious to us, she needs all the strength we can lend her both physically and from on high. We are thinking about having another special fast for her and her surgeons this coming fast Sunday, September 5th. If you would like and are able please join us in fasting.

Link to CT Scan of Kaelyn's Liver

Here are some pictures of Kaelyn's latest CT Scans. I thought you all might like to see what it is we are fighting. Just click on the links below.


liver diagram.jpg


CT scan.jpg

August 24, 2004

Well, the scans were completed on Friday August 20. We spoke with the oncologist briefly about what she saw. She said that the hepatic veins seems to disappear into the tumor. The surgeons still need to review the scans and make their recommendation. We did speak with the transplant surgeon yesterday. He actually calmed our fears a bit regarding the transplant (if needed). Cancer patients get pushed to the beginning of the transplant waiting list, so Kaelyn could have a new liver within two weeks of placing her on the list.

Today Kaelyn's team of doctors will review her case and come up with a plan. We should hear from them at the end of the day. So hopefully we will know whether or not she needs a transplant. Just from what I saw on her recent CT and from what the transplant surgeon said, I think she will be going in for a liver transplant. But, you never know, maybe the surgeons will surprise us and say that they think they can take the tumor out. I will update the site as soon as I know for sure what we are going to be facing.

In the mean time, take a look at these cute kids!

~Angie

Big Blue 

August 13, 2004

It just seems like the cancer world is never predictable. The oncologist called yesterday and filled us in on what the surgeons thought of Kaelyn's scans. It seems that they cannot see where the two main veins in the liver are in comparison to the tumor. So they want to postpone the surgery so that they can get better pictures of the liver. They need to do an MRI scan and an Echo Cardiogram. We are hoping to get these done on Monday, so that if everything is okay, Kaelyn can still go into surgery on Tuesday. But, the bad new is, is that if the veins are too intimately involved with the tumor they will not be able to remove the tumor. Kaelyn will have to have a liver transplant at that point. We really pray that we will not have to go down that road.

Please continue to fast this sunday if you are able. We are going to be fasting that the tumor will still be able to be resected and that her veins are not in the way. We know that God is a loving God and He can perform miracles. Please pray for one for our baby.

We love you and will update the site when we find out the results of her scans.