Hello, everyone!

Since not everyone follows FB, I want to be sure our faithful blog followers know that we
are having a High School Graduation Celebration drop-in June 15th from 3 - 5:30 pm.  It 
will be at our home, 40 Pheasant Ct, Elizabethtown, PA.  Ethan is quite excited to be 
going to Belmont University in Nashville in the fall, majoring in Music Business.  God 
has sustained him through so much; we are eager to see how his journey will continue!

Hope you can make it!  Please RSVP to kblackbird@comcast.net.

Karen

Yeah!!

Ethan's CT Scan results were normal!!!  Yay!!  Thanks for the prayers

Please pray for Ethan's next CT scan on Monday, May 6. 

This is sooner than 3 months just because only a PET scan was done last time and they are getting him on a schedule working around his college plans. 

No current worries. He's doing really well. We should know results Wednesday afternoon.

 Thanks for continuing to pray!! He graduates from

High school on May 31.  Can you believe it??!!

Scans from March 4 are totally clear!!

Ethan's 3-month follow up scan is Monday, March 4th.  We will know the results on the 6th.  

Please pray, quite simply, that he remains cancer-free.  We are so thankful that God has sustained him and made him stronger in so many ways.  

We would also like prayer that his growth continues regardless of his circumstances.  As always, thanks to all of you who have invested so completely in upholding our family in prayer:  Truly amazing!  :)

Ethan's scans are TOTALLY CLEAR!!!  

YAY!!!

Blog update:  Big week ahead for Ethan.  

CT scan today, Monday, and PET scan on Thursday.  

Please pray there would be no signs that his cancer has progressed.  No bad new is the best news we can get!  

Also, Ethan's drum recital is Saturday, December 1, at 2:30 pm at Hope Community Church, Mount Joy (hopechurchonline.org for directions).  

Ethan will be playing three songs; his group should be done around 4 pm.  Please come if you can.  It will be very loud.  (You've been warned!!)

Good news/Bad news today:  

Ethan does not have any mouth ulcers which would have delayed his admission today.  However, there are no beds available.  UGH!  Very disappointing.  

Please pray that a bed will open up for Friday, November 9, so he can complete this LAST chemo admission!!!  

More than just wanting to be finished, Ethan wants to be able to participate in his drum recital on December 1^st.  You are all invited.  

Bring earplugs!   

It takes several weeks for him to feel well after this next type of chemo so we really want him to be admitted ASAP!!!  

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement!

Hello, everyone!

It's so odd how even the least desirable things can become routine . . . I'm less prompted to update all of you, because our life has settled into such a routine.  It isn't always good, but it is certainly routine, right down to the chemo side effects that Ethan just takes in stride.  

After another week of mouth ulcers, he is feeling well again . . . a little disappointed that his platelets are too low for him to be admitted this week.  Therefore, his next admission for chemo will be Wednesday, October 31 (Happy Halloween!) and will last 5 days.  One more chemo admission after that and then they check his CT scan.  If all is clear, then all is well for the time being and he will be done with treatment!!!   Hard to believe, honestly . . . 

Ethan will have frequent monitoring and we will hold our breath for the results of every CT scan, I am sure, but I am praying that our focus will be elsewhere overall.  Ethan is applying to colleges now . . . excited about the future, as he should be.  Please pray for discernment about those college decisions and that we not let our fears overshadow the amazing things God has in store for us.  

Stay tuned for details of a huge Open House we will have to celebrate the end of his treatment phase . . . You are all invited!!!   We should have more info to you in a few weeks.

Thanks again for your faithful prayers and encouragement to our family!  Praise God for his faithfulness to us and the peace He has provided as we continue on this journey.

Karen

Tegan and Ethan are having a great time in Green Bay this weekend eagerly awaiting the NFL game on Sunday!  

Although Ethan will be unable to meet Drew Brees (his favorite quarterback), Tegan's sister had contacted the Saints and received a package for Ethan, which he opened last night.  The pictures say it all!!! 

The others in the photos are Ethan's grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin.  What special memories they are making already!  

Watch for Tegan and Ethan field side before the game starts Sunday.  They have field passes!!

Final update on Jordan, btw:  she is recovering from Monday's car accident and doing quite fine. . . back at college . . . thank you so much for sustaining all of our family with prayer.  Quite a week!

Love,

Karen

Ethan  is one week out of his last chemo admission and, drum roll please, no mouth ulcers! 

The docs have increased the frequency of one of his "rescue"  meds every time and this seems to have worked.  How nice to have him able to eat normally and not be taking painkillers.  Other than fatigue, he is doing quite well.  

Pray that the upcoming trip for him and Tegan  would go smoothly.  They fly out September 28th to Green Bay  and go to the Saints-Packers game the following day!  

Pray for safety and a relaxing weekend for both of them.  

Thanks to all of you for your faithfulness.

We are having a much nicer Saturday than last week!  

All of us came to Delaware to celebrate Jordan's 20th birthday!  Having a great day! 

 Ethan had another transfusion on Wednesday and is finally feeling less sluggish today and the mouth ulcers went away yesterday.  

Super good news came this week with the realization that he has only four more chemo admissions and then he is done!!!!!  

Pray for his admission September 12.  That he would clear the methotrexate quickly and be discharged early!!  

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement!

Well, this is Saturday Sept. 1 and Ethan is at the hospital getting a blood transfusion.  Not a great Saturday for him, but he'll feel better in the end.  Tegan and Luke are his faithful companions today!  You know he was feeling the effects of a low hemoglobin when he agreed to let Luke push him to his room in a wheelchair because he was too tired to walk!  :)

We heard positive results yesterday from the CT scan.  Although there was a tiny area of some type of inflammation, they don't think that is anything to worry about.  Apparently, it's the type of spot that commonly shows up on even healthy peoples' CT scans if they have any type of cold or mucositis (Ethan currently has mucositis), and looks quite different that the way cancer presents when it spreads to the lungs.  That's good news . . . but it would have been a lot easier for me to just have the whole scan be clear.  My medical friends can send me affirming texts and emails, please, so I don't worry about this.  :)  Please pray that this is indeed nothing to be concerned about.  

Ethan's next admission will be Sept. 12. PLease pray that he won't need another transfusion before that (it takes a whole day of his "at home" life!) and that the mouth ulcers he has would heal quickly.  They are painful today.  Thank you all for your support and prayers!!!

Love,

Karen

Thanks for all the prayers!  Ethan was discharged yesterday and was able to join us in taking Jordan back to college! 

Jordan settled in after a much needed dinner at Cheeburger and Yogoberries!  I would like a frozen yogurt place in Etown, please! J

Ethan is tired but doing well.  Please pray that mouth sores will not appear next week.  He also has a follow up CT scan and MRI next week which will tell us if the cancer has spread.  Up to now there has been no spreading that we can see, and we pray that these scans show the same.  Praise God for our faithful friends and family.  You are a blessing to us!  Love to all,

Karen

Our fastest admission ever yesterday! :) 

Everything went smoothly.  Ethan will not need to get another dose of the chemo that can cause hearing loss.  

The changes in hearing that he has had are at such a high frequency that there is no functional problem, but if he received any more of one specific drug, it could get worse.  

His doctor said that it was an easy decision to just sub in a different chemo drug.  

Too much detail, I know, but suffice it to say that this isn't a setback or major concern.  

Pray that Ethan will be discharged in time Sunday so we can all go with Jordan to take her back to college in the afternoon! 

Thanks for praying!

Update Wednesday, August 22

Well, Ethan has had some extra days at home because his admission was bumped a week. His audiogram results necessitated a possible change in chemo and his attending physician was out of town. So instead of last Friday, we will be heading to Hershey today. .. Not sure for what until we get there! We're thankful that Ethan at least got to go to his first day of classes today. He is taking two at a local Christian school and one at home. 

Huge praise that Ethan completed trig this week! One more nutrition lesson and we can update his transcripts and he is ready for college applications! Phew! Hard to believe!  

I'll post an update with news from today later. Thanks for your ongoing prayers that the mouth ulcers be kept at bay!! Pray for continued healing and no more delays. Thanks to you all!

Ethan is nearing the end of his chemo admission, and here's a first...he hasn't thrown up once!  The nausea has been under control despite receiving 5 days of very strong chemo.  

Praise God for that!

His discharge will be tomorrow, Wednesday, July 25th, instead of today so that's disappointing.  However, he's had his friends coming in and so he doesn't feel forgotten!

Please pray that he can have the next two weeks off without mouth ulcers or fever.  His next admission should be August 8th.

 

Thanks to everyone for the prayers.  Ethan was admitted last week (July 11th) for chemo and did well.  He was discharged Sunday but, unfortunately, a mouth ulcer started to appear on Monday. . . just the beginning stage, so not painful.  However, he was to be admitted again on the 18th, but vomiting with a mouth ulcer just isn't a pretty thought.  So, by Wednesday it was still there, and we opted to delay his admission.  

Frustrating on the one hand, but at least he had a few days to spend with his good friend who just got back from being away for 6 weeks!  Ethan is getting pretty good at looking at situations from different perspectives so he can find the positives . . . such an important area of growth!!!

Today his mouth looks almost better, so he will be admitted tomorrow, July 20th, for the "heavy-duty" chemo, as I call it.  Please pray the the 5 days of chemo won't be as exhausting as it was the last time . . . he really felt awful when he had the last 5-day course. 

Also pray that he could be discharged Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday afternoon .  . . depends on how quickly our admission process goes tomorrow and how soon the first dose of chemo is ready . . . even one less night is such a mood boost for him!  

Thank you for the cards and notes . . . much appreciated!!!  As always, we pray that God would be glorified and Ethan's body would be healed at the end of all this.  :)

Love,

Karen

Ethan is doing a lot better today, but had a rough week b/c of a huge mouth ulcer.  He's pretty tired of smoothies, so moved on to Wendy's Frosties (that looks funny plural . . . but he ate them in plural!!)  Today was the first he could chew since last Friday, so the biggest prayer is that he can make up for lost time and put on a pound or two before he is admitted next Wednesday (July 11).  Hopefully, the sores will be gone by tomorrow; they've improved each day as his white count rises.  He misses pizza!!! 

Amazingly, except when the pain was at its worst, he has remained in good spirits.  His friends have been great at hanging out with him and their distraction is really helpful.   He turned 17 on Saturday, but we had fortunately celebrated the previous Thursday while Jordan was still home (she left for Haiti the day before his birthday).  Praise God that we celebrated early, because he didn't have any mouth sores then so Jordan took him to breakfast and spent most of the day w/ him and then we all went out to dinner.  Little did we know that that would be the last he could chew for a week!!  I truly thank God for the timing of all that.  :)

As always, continue to pray for total healing of Ethan by the end of all this.  He is drawing closer to God and making such mature decisions . . . we thank you for your ongoing prayers about all aspects of his life.  Our community of friends and family is truly a daily blessing to us.  

Ethan is partway through his "heavy duty" chem admission and he isn't feeling as badly as he did the first time he had this chemo. That's a praise item!

 

Continue to pray that he doesn't get a fever over the next two weeks when his white count drops so he can stay out of the hospital until his next planned admission on July 11.

 

Praise God he didn't get mouth sores after his last admission.

Praise also that he saw his surgeon Wednesday and was given permission to drive (might get those hours in for that license after all!) and bend his knee up to 90 degrees. :)