Trips, field trips, Special Olympics and Awards

Trying to play catch up on all that has happened. I have become laxed in my Blogging over the last few years, but it honestly takes a bit of time to sit down and do this! 

First I'll update then I'll share pics. As you read from my last blog, the MRI didn't happen. We are trying to get back to Memphis the last week of March, our Spring Break. She will see ENT and now a pulmonologist first. We always have respiratory problems, and we need to have a handle on it before any sedation. Please, pray that we can get the appointments, and that Ivee would continue to get better. She is still struggling with congestion, but it is sloooooowly getting better! 

I posted about some of the updates from our Memphis Trip. Of course, every trip to Memphis begins with a car full of "mostly" Ivee's stuff. This is what it is like to go just on a four day trip with her. (Of course, Pawpaw was tagging along this trip so the two small duffle bags on the end are his and 1 suitcase is mine)

 

 Ivee was VERY interested in the new construction at St. Jude. One of the employees who was having lunch next to where she wanted to go "look" was very engaging and interactive with her.

This is the new Proton Radiation area being built underground. I am so excited about this addition. Ivee didn't get to benefit from this new form of radiation, but so many kids will now be able to receive it here in Memphis when the construction is done. Right now, all the St. Jude patients needing this type of radiation are sent to Massachusetts and Jacksonville, FL. 

Ivee had the opportunity to meet some of the professional basketball team players from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies support the on campus hotel facilities that we are privileged to use every time we go for a short stay. Here she is with Marc Gaslo. Every player was tall, but Marc stand 7' 1" and Ivee has never seen people so tall. She was not intimidated in the least!!!

I have waited for the day that Ivee would walk the halls of St. Jude unassisted. Even though she didn't have her MRI due to issues with congestion and O2 saturation, she walked herself into the MRI sedation room! 

I just wanted to share the new statue outside the Chili's Care Center. It is my favorite now of all the statues on campus. It is a representation of the Genome project. Isn't it just so fun!!!

Once we got back from Memphis, Ivee had a field trip to the zoo with school. We always have our "candid" bus drive snapshot!

I gave Ivee the digital camera (the cheaper one) and let her have at it. She's pretty good. She can take some good shots sometimes. Here 4 of her shots. 

Yeah...not all of her shots are great...love it!!! 

 

I love taking these trips with my children!!!

To end that week of school, Ivee participated in her first Special Olympics. It was a very emotional day for me. Looking around at all the special children there. Knowing the hearts of the parents of so many of these kids. The spirit of Hope was abounding. It was all I could do not to cry that day. She has come so far!!! She is a miracle! Here I watched my baby walk in front of her school banner as they passed in front of the stands. All I could think was, those initial doctors told me that with a 13% chance of survival...this day would never come. Well, my God said differently, and I watched my Ivee walk proudly, and though with a walker, she did it on her own! 

She stood there on the field with her classmates.

Her first event was the tennis ball throw (for age 8 and under) 

She won a third place ribbon! 

She was the most excited about the assisted run race. 

We had her hold her aid, Ms. Cheryl's hand, but we should have let her use that walker.

If she had used the walker, I think we would've had a first place ribbon.

But, she was proud of that second place ribbon. She is competitive, but she just likes to race. She made me race her, then Ms. Cheryl, then some of her classmates. 

I ended her day letting her take my camera. She took great pics, many I don't feel I should share since classmates are in it and I don't have permission from all of their parents. But, here's one she took of momma!

Today Ethan was chosen as the honor student for Art for the entire school. He and Brittney are extremely talented. Soon, I'm going to scan some their art and share it with all of you! 

I'm so proud of you Ethan. 

From Memphis...

Okay, so the update on Ivee. Gonna try to keep it short. 

1. Eye clinic: right eye isn't any better, but no worse as far as prescription is concerned. The patching isn't improving her vision, but if we weren't patching, it would  be so much worse. The short end of it...original cancer surgery caused the brain to shut that eye off when they crossed. Some vision came back when we began patching 4 years ago. It is a significant vision lose, only near sighted, she can't see far away. The right eye veers off more and more often. We will do some exercises to try to strengthen it, but we are possibly looking at eye muscle surgery. 

2. ENT clinic: No good news here. We are stuck. Ivee suffers from radiological chronic sinus issues. Radiation has affected her sinus passages causing her secretions to be thick and it will be this way. That's it. We will continue doing what we are doing, but we will keep a warm humidifier in her room from now on as well. We will treat her as  infections come and go with antibiotics. She will find it easier to deal with as she gets older, and she learns how to clear it. Either by blowing her nose, coughing, learning how to spit, etc. all which is difficult for her due to vocal cord paralysis and the inability to control throat and tongue muscles. 

3. Scan: Yesterday  Ivee's blood pressure and pulse were high. This is probably due to the albuterol treatments and Sudafed. Both can increase heart rate. As we went back for her scan we checked her stats, and she was a tad bit lower, but Ivee's O2 stats began around 85 and would pretty much stay there. There were times I had are her cry or made her cough, he would come up to the mid 90's, but she falls right back down to 85 or lower. So, without intibation, it wasn't happening. I didn't want to inibate, because it makes it very hard on her vocal cords. Dr. Merchant wasn't to keen on sedating her as well. He has nothing against intibating, but with all the damage/issues to Ivee's brain stem, he didn't want to chance anything with her respiratory system. He stated that he would be comfortable waiting a few months to scan being that there was nothing significant of concern on the last scan. Emmett and I are less comfortable waiting (Emmett for sure!) but we are trusting that she is healed any way. So, I'm going to keep in touch with nurse Christy, and we will try to get her up here for scans when she is having a good week with her sinuses. Yea...let's see how that works out. 

4. Tomorrow we see GI and Endocrine. We will address the constipation and stomach issues. 

5. In good news. She has gained 2+ pounds since November and grown 1 inch. This is since she started GH on December 6th. 

A long day...

Beginning a long day of appointments here at St. Jude. Ivee contracted a fever Monday night, but the next morning it was gone. The NP from her clinic gave her a kick of antibiotic intravenously yesterday for her sinuses. We see eye and ENT today, so we will hopefully see what the docs think of her eye veering and the chronic sinusitis that she's been dealing with for years. MRI is bright and early in the morning, and we will also look at her sinuses then as well as the brain. Praying for answers on so many levels. She is still struggling with her bowels as well. The prune juice worked for a while, but now it seems to be slowing again.

Today is the last day to call...

This is our local country radio station. They are the greatest St. Jude supporters around. Call today and support Ivee and other kids with your pledge/donation.

^^Angel Wings^^

     Every time I have to change a link at the left with ^^angel^^ wings around a child's name...I am so saddened.  I don't believe that we become angels when we go to heaven, but I do believe we are transformed, made whole...we are completely healed. All the worries of this life pass away, and Christ is made the purpose and focus of our being.
     Yesterday Aaron Bell became new, healed and whole. I have a heavy heart anytime we loss another child to cancer. When we lose a ependymoma fighter, my mind feels so heavy. They are so close to my heart being that they and Ivee have battled the exact same monster. For Aaron, my heart was especially heavy. Most children that I know fighting ependys are young, and most pass away from earth to heaven under the age of 6. Aaron was a few weeks shy of his 17th birthday. He and Brittney are the same age. I thought about the weight he cared in his heart, knowing that he was facing death and leaving his mom and dad behind. I have a great imagination, that sometimes isn't so great when I let it wonder. I was putting Brittney in his place. What if it were Brittney, not Ivee, that had been battling this for 7 years? What if she was the one having to deal with the uncertainty? I couldn't imagine the thoughts going through Aaron's mind. After they discovered that Aaron was going into an end stage, he requested that his mom not cry in front of him cause it upset him. What a hard request, and how Kristie tried her best to make that a reality. My prayer in my heart was that Aaron's struggle at the end would go quickly. I had other friends who watched their child struggle day after day, just hoping that it would come to an end, and it just keep going and going. I know God heard my prayer and I don't know that he did it because of me, but Aaron digressed quickly, and I was shocked to see that he went home to heaven yesterday evening.

     Please, pray for Kristie and Chris as they will miss their only child Aaron so much. If you would like to leave a word of faith and encouragement, Aaron's CB site is on the left side of my screen. (^^Aaron B^^
     And not that this would ever come at a good time, but my heart and body get a little heavy when Ivee's MRI is so close to the passing of one of our kids. Please, pray for this momma's heart and mind as Ivee has her MRI on February 27th. Pray that her sinuses and stomach continue to heal. She is still very congested and has to be sedated for that day. Pray that the prune juice will still continue to work. Pray we get answers about her stomach from GI and for her chronic sinusitis from ENT. Pray for safe travels and pray for Emmett and the kids as we have to once again leave them behind. Somebodies gotta work, but Emmett, Ivee, and I always wish he could go with us. Ivee loves her daddy so much! 

A day of meanings....

      Everyday in our family holds meaning. Another day to live, love and be more like Jesus. February 18th holds a few memories for me. Some I don't share, but the memory that is the most vivid is of my Ivee. This day, 2 years ago in 2011, Ivee underwent her last brain surgery (knock on wood)! Her cancer coming back was a surprise to me and Dr. Merchant. She had no symptoms when we discovered it via MRI that January. But, here we were, in Memphis, TN as she underwent her fight to beat cancer again. Another year marks another milestone. Brittney and I were talking a few weeks ago, and she made a statement. "I remember some of my life before Ivee, but so much has happened in the last 6 years since she's been born, that I don't really remember life without her and cancer."
      You would make think that her statement made me sad, but honestly, I feel blessed. My kids are "typical" kids and they don't really know a "normal" life. BUT, they have been given a testimony. They know that life is short and there is no time for the trivial things. Like I said, they are normal kids. They want to do what is meaningful to them. Ethan is probably a little more "typical" then Brittney. He is still in "me" mode. But, Brittney has made me so proud. She has her moments, but she is a great big sister, and she takes care of Ivee like she was her own, cause she is. Ethan does do for her as well, even though he is in the "aggravation" mode when it's comes to her. I am hearing so much, "Stop it Ethan," lately. Sometimes he has aggravated her so much, he can just walk by her dancing and she says it. He looks at me and says, "I didn't do anything." That is when I remind him that if you aggravate someone enough, they think everything you do is to aggravate them! I'm sure that went in one ear and out the other.
     Time to do a little picture catch up.

This is Ivee at New Years. She was so cute wobbling around pointing her cousin Nathan's laser gun. 

Ivee just loves for me to pull out the camera and take random shots. 

Above is us in the doctors office waiting. 

Ivee has also had an obsession with putting napkins on her head for the last three years. Her Brittney has no issue in joining her in her napkin wear. I love how my 16 year old loves her baby sister!!

Emmett and I have a growing group of kids who hang at our house and church every week. Emmett and I open our home to kids 12-20 years old every Friday night for about a year now. We serve them supper, they listen to Emmett give testimony and read the Word, and then we usually play Just Dance. I enjoy these kids so much. This is a pic of a few at an Underground Mobile event. 

Brittney had her first medical procedure this past week. Her Endoscopy showed nothing that helped us with her stomach issues, but her drugs gave us all something to laugh about...including Brittney.  

Cousin Nathan's birthday lead to a good time. She loved the slide even if it was cold. Whitney and Haley enjoyed their time with their cousin as well! 

Ivee took one day with  her cousin Haley and played dress up. Here is my Merida!!!

I didn't post any Christmas pics this past year, but my kids have so much fun dancing together. 

We also don't eat out much, well, like we used to, but Ethan still dazes out when eating Mexican! :) 

Finally, here is my Ivee as school. Mom came for the party that day. Love this baby so much!!

Quick update

I had a not so great day last Friday. Frustrated that I didn't know what was wrong with Ivee. Already on an antibiotic for her chronic sinusitis, stomach pains had been in the picture as well and just getting worse. However, no fever was in sight. I just couldn't figure it out. She was having soft and normal stool, and was complaining about her upper hip. I went through everything. Gas, GH issues, scar tissue maybe, even considered shunt issues. Everything in her life has always been so rare or difficult. Ends up...after an x-ray on Monday, we found that she has alot of air and she has a lot of poop in there. Sorry for the mind picture, but it is what it is. She's been on an antibiotic for 10 days, which usually cause diarrhea, so once again, my child is the odd one out. She has taken the treatment well, calling it a shot in her booty. Interestingly enough, she does get shots every night...guess she just thought this was a different kind of shot. We have been doing the Mucinex and liquid suppositories 3x every 12 hours. She's still not moving any stool, but she has really released alot of gas. 

Yea, so not the post you were hoping to read...:) But...we all do it...and she needs too! So, now I ask you to pray for poop. 

Never thought I'd ask for that! 

Finally. Please say a huge prayer for our friends Aaron Bell, Kristie and Chris. Aaron got some bad news Monday. He will be beginning hospice care...I am heartbroken for this family. We have never meet, missing each other by minutes or hours many times at St. Jude, but I love and care for them the same. Aaron is 16, and the thought of really knowing all facts just makes my heart burdened for him and his parents. 
Aaron's website is in my links list. If you would like to leave a note of prayer or encouragement, please do so!! 

Time....

     I honestly wish I could take the time to update my blog everyday, but quite honestly, I don't have it to spare! I did want to touch base with our followers/subscribers. Ivee began growth hormone therapy about 8 weeks ago. She has finally gained some weight, as my back can tell me without the use of a scale. She does have some complaints, and I am not sure they are GH related. It seems to me, and her pediatrician, that they possible are, but she has had a sinus infection and drainage, so we are going to wait for the symptoms and side effects of the antibiotic to pass before really seeing what the issues maybe. It does seem that she is learning what growing pains are. I am sure some of the complaints she has with her legs and joints are related to growing pains, something she has truly never felt before. As hard of a decision it was to start her on growth hormone therapy, I am looking forward to seeing my baby girl grow. I just pray over her every night that God will protect her body from any potential harm that the hormone therapy could impose.
     Ivee's left eye is patched everyday from 4 to 6 hours. We have been patching her for years, trying to increase the strength in her right eye (damaged from the initial tumor removal in 2006). For a while, she was gaining ground and sight, but lately, the right eye is veering off more and more. If it continues, we will be looking at a possible surgery on that eye. This is something else we pray over every night. Actually, a typical prayer night for Ivee goes something like this...

       "Dear Jesus. Help me to walk, help to eat, keep my healthy and heal my body. Help my eye, help me grow, help my tummy. I pray for Lucy, Levi, Chasity, Carlin, Eli, Haley, Whitney, Sonia, Pastor Bobby, Cathy...(and the list goes on). Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. May angels watch me through the night, and wake me with the morning light. Amen" 
     
     She's never lets us forget to pray. A typical nights routine is: Brush Ivee's teeth (for 1 minute. We have a timer!) Go potty. Hook her up to the feeding extension line and give her the night time meds. Hook her up to her feeding machine (which feeds her all night long). Prep and give her the growth hormone shot. Pray. Mommy AND daddy must hug and kiss her good night. And lastly, don't forget to play the music!
     We will return to St. Jude for her MRI and other appointments at the end of February. I was just telling Emmett the other night, I can always tell when it's getting close. I feel this need, or urge to pack and travel. I guess it is similar to someone who travels for their job once a quarter. You just feel it coming. Of course, you can feel the anxiety trying to creep in as well. It's the little things that set it off. For example, Ivee had a bout of diarrhea this past weekend. Saturday night she was complaining about her neck (where the shunt line is located). I saw nothing and after a little crying spell she was fine. But there was the time, back in 2010 when she had a rare shunt line infection after a stomach virus. The conclusion had been that the virus traveled outside the intestines and traveled along the line to her neck where an infection started in. I am SO very thankful that she is here with us, but please...NEVER think cause the cancer is gone that the worrying or living with the consequences of the cancer is easy. Nothing about it is easy. I just feel incredibly blessed! It could be so much worse than it is. She is a happy little girl, who just lives a not so typical little girl life. Honestly, she doesn't know any different, and sometimes, that makes me sad for her.
     Okay, I'm pulling myself away from the pity party! Keep praying my friends! I am so thankful for you. And if you would, please add the following to your prayers as well.

Our friends, Sheila and Jesse. Their husband/dad, Danny, passed away Christmas Eve. It is still a very hard road, and Jesse has health/disabilities (much like Ivee). Danny was a huge help, and now it is just Sheila. And they miss him terribly!
Our pastor, Bobby. He is going through chemo and needs the prayers of God's people for healing!
Carlin, still going strong, but has hard days.
Aaron, going through chemo for new tumor growth. Surgery not an option and radiation has been maxed out.
John, just had surgery to remove a returned brain tumor.
Emmett, yes, Ivee's daddy is having problems with his arm. Pain from elbow to hand. Seeing the doctor Friday.

Here's a tale you'll want to hear....

Six years ago, in a home so unsuspecting, the lives of five family members would be changed... forever. December 15th, the Foley babies, after their Christmas Concert from church, posed patiently as their mother held her camera. Daddy, Emmett, was in Texas and mom, Hope, thought she would surprise him with some pictures of his babies in front of their tree. He had been gone for about a week and would be gone for a little longer, to be home just in time for Christmas. Ivee, the youngest of the children, only 7 months old, had not been acting so happy lately, crying often but wanting to be her happy, cheerful self. On this night, she was patient, but quickly decided she wanted nothing to do with being happy in the pictures for daddy. As the night progressed into the next day, Brittney, the oldest child, became sick. She continued to deal with vomiting and nausea all through that Sunday, December 17th, which happened to be Ethan's 7th birthday. Mom was very tired, but decided that she would take Brittney to the doctor Monday while sending Ethan off to school. 

Hope loaded her daughters into the van that Monday afternoon, and set off to the doctors office, hoping that Brittney could find relief from her stomach pains and sickness. Being that it was only 7 days until Christmas day, the mother decided to stop at a store just down the street from the doctors office to pick up a couple of items. Leaving Brittney to rest in the van for a few minutes, Hope took Ivee stilled strapped into her infant seat inside the store, placing Ivee on the grocery cart securely, as so many parents do. Finding the few stocking stuffers that she needed, Hope left the store. As she exited the doors, she reached to throw something in the garbage can at the end of the cart. As the she turned around to look at her baby, she saw the moment that the car-seat hit the concrete ground with a loud bang, face down....the way the car-seat fell made no logical sense. Hope, completely overcome with grief and fear, pulled the car-seat over to see that Ivee was awake but dazed and a large knot on her forehead. She rushed her children to the doctors office down the street, the same place she was taking Brittney for relief that day. The doctor there said Ivee was responsive, but since she was wanting to sleep, she might possibly have a concussion, a CT scan would confirm this. So, from there, Hope rushed Ivee to the local hospital 30 minutes away, the entire time Brittney telling her mother that it was going to be okay. 

With Hope's husband being hours away, Hope called a friend, who immediately began finding people to come to her rescue to get Brittney and be by her side, and then she called her husband. Emmett, after weighing what had happened, told his boss that he needed to leave Texas and come home immediately...his family, his daughter, his wife needed him. 

As Hope stood by Ivee's side, the nurse positioned her body and her head on the CT table, no need to strap her down, for Ivee was sleeping away. Hope, continually praying that the fall, which was now permanently etched, no scarred onto her brain, would not have hurt her baby...that it was just a concussion. The nurse exited the room to prepare the machine for the scan. As Hope stood there looking at Ivee's little body a peace and calm came over her. Reaching down to take Ivee's hand, Hope heard a still, small voice speak straight to her heart..."It is okay. I am with you. Ivee will not be harmed from this fall...but there is something that I need for the doctors to see." It was then and there, Hope knew. The weeks of crying with no relief, the head tilting, the fact that her daughter didn't seem to be like her other kids at the same age...something was wrong with her little girl. The nurse asked her to step inside the room with her while the scan took place. Hope stood there looking through the window as the CT machine came to life, and then looking down at the computer screen, Hope saw what her heart already knew...a large white spot where gray should be appeared as the scan went from the top of Ivee's head to her neck and spine.

Picking up her baby and leaving the room, Hope held Ivee close, knowing that life had just changed, but not knowing just what that would mean. The doctors told her that an MRI would be needed in hopes of getting a clear answer, but all she could think is, “How am I going to tell Emmett? What do I say? What does all this mean?” Even after the MRI, sitting in the emergency room surrounded by friends, Hope still felt distant, stunned and alone, desperately wishing that her husband could teleport straight into the room from Texas, but knowing she would have to wait for him to drive the long hours home. 

The hard separation started when Hope had to let her baby go with the pediatric nurses in the ambulance for a transfer to the local children’s hospital, where she would be admitted to the PICU. Hope's friends drove her the 40 minutes from one hospital to the other, the entire time, Hope's heart hurting and searching, and only finding some relief when she was joined again with her baby in her new room in the ICU unit of the children's hospital. 

After a long day of visitors in and out, Emmett stepped out of the elevator late that night into the 5th floor waiting area. After their long embrace, Hope lead Emmett to their daughter's small hospital room, to their beautiful baby girl hooked up to monitors and machines, the only signs of a fall being a nice bruise over her right eyebrow. She was very happy to see her father, and he her, but now looking into her little chubby face brought different feelings than joy. It brought with it a fear and despair. The doctors were still unsure what the spot on Ivee's MRI meant. It didn't show signs of any one particular diagnosis. The neurosurgeon wouldn't know what he was dealing with until he got inside that beautiful little head. Emmett, Hope and family enjoyed her company that Tuesday and said their prayers over her. Wednesday, December 20th, lead the family to the halls of the surgery ward on the bottom floor. The doctor reassured them that he would take care with there child. They kissed their baby good-bye and sat in the waiting room. This waiting room, shared by the surgery department and the maternity ward, was full of people, all with very different emotions. Many were there waiting on the joyous news of babies being born. Celebrating the great day when a new life would come into the world. Emmett, Hope and family sat there praying for news of something simple, that the doctor would come in saying all was well, she did fine and she would be the same child they knew before. Five hours later, as the doctor took the parents into a room to themselves, they saw it on the doctors face. Holding hands their hearts broke when they heard the words...cancer. 

That was it. That moment. The moment that car-seat hit the ground outside a store in Robertsdale, AL on Monday, December 18th...that was the moment. The moment that their lives, their ideas of how precious life truly was changed forever.  It only takes a moment for your world to come tumbling down, spiraling to a place where no matter what you do, you have no control over this. However, it is also the moment that life and faith and family took on new meaning. The moment became their...day, our day of learning to trust and pray and plead and grow and learn. 

It became G.I.F.T day! 

The day that we, the Foleys learned that God is the healer, sustainer, prince of peace, savior, delieverer. 

He is in control and he is the faithful one when our faith is wavering. Not that we didn't know he was all these things before, for I had been taught this in church my entire life...

...but now we believed it! Now we had to live it! Now we counted on it! 

                               God

                               Is

                              Faithful and

                             True! 

He is a Gift. He came as a Gift. He died as a Gift! And he rose as a Gift!

Happy G.I.F.T day to you all and may Jesus be the Gift that you all come to know and receive! 

____________________________________

Ivee after her first surgery 12/20/2006

A month after surgery, just beginning chemo. 

Daddy and Ivee in the hospital during chemo treatments 3/2007

Ivee's 1st birthday in the hospital 5/8/2007

Ivee at St. Jude with her daddy while he visited us there while she underwent radiation to the brain 7/2007

Living at home again and her hair growing in. Loving her sister! 9/2006

Ivee and Brittney's hair growing back. Brittney lost her hair during Ivee's treatments as well. Cancer affects the whole family! 

Ivee on her first anniversary of G.I.F.T. day 2007!!!!

Ivee in 2008! Man, at the hair! Loving Grandpa, watching baseball, and visiting the Memphis Zoo. 

Ivee has her 9th surgery. This time to remove a cyst and scar tissue that formed in her brain. 09/11/2008

After being released from Memphis from scar tissue surgery, Ivee develops Meningitis, and has to have two more surgeries to have a shunt placed in her head. 09/21/2008-10/2/2008

Ivee goes ALL of 2009 without on single surgery or issue needing hospitalization! 

Ivee has a rare shunt line infection and has to have her shunt replaced. So use to hospitals, she and I always found ways to entertain ourselves and others. 2/2010

And we find out Ivee is very allergic to one of her antibiotics...after mommy has to get ugly with the doctors! 

We find out that Ivee has hip displasia...totally NOT related to the cancer and brain surgeries. She undergoes hip surgery, her 14th surgery over all, and stays in a full body cast for 6 weeks. 9/23/2010

MRI reveals Ivee's cancer has returned 01/24/2011

Ivee undergoes her 15th surgery to remove cancer from her brain again 02/18/2011

A week after brain surgery. 

Way late....

Yes, I am sorry I dropped the ball. Man, has life been busy around here.
Ivee's scans were clear and stable! She's doing well.
She began growth hormone therapy a week ago, and takes the shots like a champ!
She is sick at this time, and we are praying that she gets over it soon!
I promise to actually do a real post soon. G.I.F.T. Day is coming. I will make myself take the time to mark this anniversary in our lives!!! So, don't forget to check back at the end of next week!
Thank you for checking in and God bless!

Just four more...

We are sitting in our room at the Ronald McDonald House after a long day at the hospital. Ivee had her MRI today, and we will patiently wait until 8:30 am tomorrow morning when we see her favorite Doctor ever to hear the results. This time is stressful. Last night I laid in bed thinking about my Give Thanks fundraiser for St. Jude and thought, "my goal won't even cover Ivee's MRI and sedation for tomorrow. We have to do more." So I have four days to meet my new goal of $2,000. I would be so thankful for help to reach this! Just click here to help me. http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/GiveThanksWalk/GTW?team_id=29674&pg=team&fr_id=3750

I will update when we have results. Thank you for your help and keep praying!

Blog-Blah.....

I was looking at my blog as I was ready to post and thought...how BLAH is this page!! Oh well, I just don't have the hours to put into it to make it pretty like so many others I've seen. Can't have it all, can I now!

I sent my baby off to school today after being out for three days (sick for 5). She is still not well. She has no fever, but the cough, phlegm, and gagging is still rampant! The saliva is so thick too. I wonder if somehow radiation or chemo has not affected her saliva glands? My husbands father had throat cancer and once he went through treatment, he has difficulty producing saliva. I know Ivee's was to the back of the head, but chemo does affect the entire body (some areas more than others). I wonder if she has been affected in this way. I also believe that chronic sinusitis is a big monster for her!

Well, I sent her off to school wearing a medical mask, like they have to do when getting chemo and roaming the halls of the hospital. She doesn't like it, but didn't give me one fit about wearing it. With the way she sounds right now, I am still unsure if they will want to sedate her on Tuesday for her MRI. I have to keep her on the road to recovery, and we all know how sanitary elementary school kids are! Right! She was dying to go back to school, so I told her yesterday she could go if she wore the mask to keep her healthy. She agreed! I texted her aid to ask how she was. Said she isn't talking but she says she's okay. She maybe a bit embarrassed by it, I know is annoyed by the mask, but she is such a trooper. She is the strongest, bravest person I know. She is the sweetest baby too. She knew I felt kinda lousy this week too, but nothing compared to her. We were laying in bed yesterday, and she had a coughing/gagging spell. After it was over, she turned to me, put her hand on my face and said, "You okay momma? You feel better?" She can melt and break my heart all at one time!

Keep praying my friends! She still needs to get well and we have 4 days for that to happen! And at the same time, continue those prayers for her cancer to be gone and her MRI to be clean and clear! God bless you all!

Give thanks and Needed Prayers

Going to share a few pictures, and then get to the meat of this posting! 

Brittney and her date to homecoming. She's getting so big...and now...no braces. 

 Ivee had a field trip to the Corn Maze. So much fun!! 

 My adorable baby girl looks so cute next to this pumpkin! 

And She LOVES her teacher, Mrs. Jones! 

Friday night, November 2nd we had the privilage to meet my favorite author...EVER! He came to a small town near us. I couldn't believe it. As he was talking, Ivee whipped out my big camera and started snapping. She caught this one and I thought, "Man...that's a pretty good shot!" 

So, yep, this is us with...

!!!!!!!!!!TED DEKKER!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Day EVER!!! In the words of my 16 year old, Brittney! 

And Ted fit right in with us. Once Ange, my friend  snapped the pic he said, "I probably look like a dork in that one!" I said, "Then you fit right in with us!" 

On to the other important stuff...

We could use great prayers here in the Foley home. Ivee has been sick since Saturday. She has severe congestion and has had fever on and off. Right now, she is in the bed sleeping. She is tired of coughing and gagging on thick saliva. The doctor and I have decided to medicate her based on chronic sinusitis. It is my belief that Ivee has this often due to all the damage her nasal and sinus passages had while we had to suction her with a catheter during chemo, when both vocal cords were not working and the left was trying to recover. Something that happened sooo long ago now, is still causing her pain and discomfort. It maybe that one day she will require adenoid or tonsil surgery or even sinus surgery. That is definitely not something we are going to pursue right now. BUT...She has her MRI next week, and we really need her well...with or without the MRI coming she needs to be healed of this. She is a sick little girl. She's been on antibiotics now for over 24 hours, and there has been little improvement,  but as many of your know, when she has congestion it is thick and her paralyzed vocal cord makes it very hard for her to clear these secretions. She's also having difficulty breathing when the secretions are covering her cords. Please, lift her up in prayer. Please, cover her MRI results in prayer. Pray for a cancer free scan...pray that the cyst/edema in her head is better...pray for the pressure on the brain stem...pray for the inflammation on her spinal cord. Pray for safe travels to Memphis and home! 

And finally...pray about still giving to my Team Ivee Give Thanks. Walk. I am so close to my goal!!! I need to reach it by November 16th. Just click HERE to give!!! Thank you SO much for your prayers!!!