Friday

We are still at Medical City, waiting to clear the Methotrexate. They will retest Madeline at 4pm.  She was at .27 at 6:30pm last night (48 hours) and we need to get to .10. So YES, yes, you DO need to understand decimals in real life! We won't know until later tonight if we get to leave because the test takes a long time to come back. If she doesn't reach that .10 mark they will retest her tomorrow and  I'm already preparing my speech of how they MUST test her before noon to get her home for Halloween.  More important than Halloween, she must get home to see this:

 

 I was only home for a few hours and couldn't look at everything, but if you donated to this - thank you!! What a huge show of support - in her love language- books! Thank you so, so much! 

Wednesday

We are back in the hospital this week for another round of chemo. We checked in yesterday around noon, hydrated all afternoon, and started chemo last night about 6:30pm. Chemo was finished at 10:30 and Madeline got a good night's sleep. This chemo drug is the one you have to clear to go home. They do a blood test every 12-24 hours until you get to 0.10. Madeline is hoping to be home for Trick-or-Treating on Halloween. She is dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood this year!

She is feeling okay and enjoying some extra rest today. She has lots of homework and a whole bag of things to do so I'm sure the next few days will pass quickly. 

Next week, we will do the same thing. The good news it will be the last round of chemo before surgery later in the month. Still waiting to figure out those details and will share when we know more. 

Last night the Evans Middle School Pantherettes dedicated their halftime dance at the 8th grade Cockrill - Evans football game to Madeline. What a wonderful showing of love for our sweet girl! 

Finally, on Tuesday, November 3rd, the students and staff at Ben and Madeline's middle school will be wearing their "MadelineStrong" t-shirts as a show of support. If they don't have t-shirts, they can wear yellow or pink. Please feel free to wear your shirt, or pink/yellow on Tuesday too! 

Thursday

Madeline got her wish to stay home the past two weeks with just a slight hiccup on Tuesday. Her red blood cell count was even lower than last week, and her doctor felt she she needed a blood transfusion to keep her feeling good. The process was pretty quick once it got started and we were home before bedtime. They gave her a hard sell about how great she would feel afterward, and in true Madeline-style she said she felt fine before and the same afterward...but hopefully it did the trick. She has stayed busy this week keeping up with her school work, decorating the house for Halloween and trying to beat her high score on 1010. She is feeling good, but dreading next week's chemo and the 4-5 day hospital stay. Hopefully the goal to be home to celebrate Halloween will keep her positive. 

I got her school pictures this week. We were blessed to take them right before she started losing her hair. She looks so grown up to me. This is my reminder of what we are working for: to be cancer-free and to go back to school and to her favorite activities. 

Other than that, family life is pretty normal. Brad is busy with work, Ben is busy at school, and I am starting to slowly remember what I did when I was a stay-at-home mom. So funny, how quickly I have forgotten how to do something that I did for so long! Slowly it is all coming back to me and I'm starting to enjoy the extra time at home and the freedom to "putter" around the house. I started reading a great book by Lysa TerKeurst, "The Best Yes." Gosh, I needed this book like two years ago! Better late than never. I'm also obsessed with "The Jim Gaffigan" show - it makes me laugh out loud every time! 

Seeing people wearing their MadelineStrong shirts and bracelets on social media and around town really brightens the day. Thank you so much to our ever-supportive friends and family. We love you all and are so thankful for the support you are giving to Madeline and to our family. 

Raking Leaves and Killing Cancer

Even though it is still HOT in Texas, our trees think it is Fall. Today I spent A LOT of time sweeping leaves up in the back yard. I was careful to make sure I swept up every one but the leaves continued to fall, even as I swept them up. I would sweep, they would fall down. Two hours later, I kid you not, it looked like I never swept at all. 

It's a lot like chemotherapy. Madeline goes through it each week hoping all of those mean, ugly cancer cells will be killed but there could be more cells somewhere else. It's so frustrating. Even after they remove the tumor in a few weeks there has to be more chemo to kill the cancer cells that might be there. It feels like I can't possibly ever sweep up all those leaves, but I pray that the chemo kills every single cell. The process is frustrating. 

We are all enjoying being at home this week.  Ben is especially happy to have us around and Madeline is so happy not to be living in a tiny room with her parents! Madeline's counts were very low on Tuesday, but she feels fine and is working hard to finish all of her schoolwork before quarter end. My mom went home on Wednesday and Brad's mom is "on call" so we can enjoy some family time just us. 

Hopefully we will get to be home next week too! We go back on the 27th for two more rounds of chemo. Both rounds are the ones that you have to clear before you go home and Madeline is really hoping to get home to celebrate Halloween. Then they will do more scans to plan the surgery and (hopefully) see how teeny-tiny the tumor is after all that chemo. I am guessing the surgery will happen before Thanksgiving. 

Thank you for all of the MadelineStrong t-shirt photos!! It means so much to us. We truly have the best friends and family. 

For our prayer warriors: Pray that the cancer is only on her fibula and that the chemo is destroying every single cancer cell. Pray that all of the cancer cells are being methodically swept up and thrown away. Pray that we worry less, feel confident that He is in charge, and know that He is with us as we journey through this dark place.   God sees us. Finds us. Intercedes and provides for us. 

Home Sweet Home

We are home! All the Prughs got to sleep in their own beds last night. Madeline felt terrible all day yesterday and slept most of the day.  Her doctor gave her a few more meds on the way out the door but I think there are so many things in her little body, she just feels miserable. I am hoping she wakes up feeling a little bit better this morning. She did eat a little yesterday including a bowl of Blue Bell ice cream, so that is good! 

We again came home to so many thoughtful gifts from our friends and family, a delicious dinner, and a stack of encouraging mail. We are so loved and we are so thankful to each of you for supporting us in your own way. We know it's so hard to know what to do or what to say, please know that we understand and are just thankful for the extra love and prayers. This is far from over, unfortunately, so we are thankful to everyone for staying on this journey with us. 

Brad has a co-worker that sends Madeline a funny cartoon joke every week, I have friends that take time to text me just to check in, and every time I look at Facebook someone is wearing a madelinestrong bracelet or a shirt. These little things matter so much. Thank you!

Check your mail!

I heard lots of "Madelinestrong" t-shirts were delivered today.

 

Check your mailbox and if they didn't come today, I'm sure they will arrive soon. So exciting! Thank you so much for such a tremendous outpouring of love for our sweet girl. We are starting chemo now, and hopefully will be home tomorrow or Friday. 

Wednesday

All went according to plan yesterday - short clinic visit and then upstairs to be admitted for her 4th round of chemo.  She was feeling good when she went to bed, and I'm hoping she wakes up feeling the same. Ben stopped by after his football game last night to deliver her requested dinner - tacos from Taco Bueno. Today is more hydration and then a second round of chemo tonight. She is such a trooper, quieter than her regular self, but calm about all this hospital business. 

I think our MadelineStrong t-shirts are being delivered today!! I can't wait to see them. 

Monday

We enjoyed every second of our weekend at home. The weather was perfect, and I felt like a normal mom catching up on chores and errands. 

Madeline is feeling okay but just wasn't up to visitors this weekend.  I think spending 24/7 in a room with us made her just want to be alone and enjoy her own room. We will go back to Medical City tomorrow but, without getting our hopes up too much, this should be a shorter stay. Hoping to be home Thursday or early Friday. Then she will have two weeks to recover. 

Thank you to all of our friends who helped me get in touch with Madi Davis, who is on The Voice right now. I guess I am the only person in McKinney who doesn't know her. I am in now contact with her family and we are cheering her on...so thank you!

A few of Madeline's soccer teammates got to meet Lauren Holiday from the Women's World Cup team on Saturday. Emily gave her a bracelet and even got a team picture signed for Madeline. We have the most thoughtful friends!!

 

Madeline's spirits were also lifted by a very special delivery of Blue Bell ice cream from the Connolly family on Sunday. What a fun and totally unexpected surprise!! 

For those of you that ordered "Madeline Strong" t-shirts, they should show up next week. We sold so many they had to push the date back by a few days. 

I love sharing all the pictures our friends and family are posting wearing the Madelinestrong bracelets. Some of you are so creative!  

If you would like one or two or ten, just fill out this form: https://goo.gl/5a26j7

Thank you for every prayer and good thought. We are tired, and missing our old life, and worried about Madeline. Please pray that we can feel strong and optimistic, that this week of chemo is uneventful, and that Madeline feels lifted up by all the people praying for and thinking of her. 

Friday

Heading home in just a few minutes! Hooray!!!

Thursday

Good Morning! Just a quick update on our sweet girl. We are in the same boat as last week, waiting for her body to clear the medicine so that we can head home! The great news is that her number after 24-hours is already 3.2. Last week at this time it was 9.7 - so she is doing great. She experienced some nausea last night but distracted herself with a Netflix movie, and is getting some extra sleep this morning. They will recheck her level around 8 tonight and if it's close, again at 8 tomorrow morning. We are preparing for a Saturday discharge just to avoid any disappointment. 

I chose this quote today because that's pretty much where we are. This week will mark the end of the first "block" of treatment but next week starts the next one. One day at a time, one foot in front of the other. Thank you to the friends who have taken time to remind me about all the things to be grateful for. Today, I'm grateful for the cinnamon rolls I brought for the nurses that Madeline wanted to eat this morning. Sorry nurses, maybe you will get some next time! 

Ben turns 14 today. I was so worried about how all of this would impact his life and I just can't believe how in stride he has taken all of it. He has quickly become the glue that holds us all together and a lot of the time is the one that reminds us all to be normal. I am so proud of him and so happy to see he and Madeline so close. He is truly #madelinestrong.