Emily’s Smiles through Difficult Trials

Emily had her evaluation this a.m. and has already begun another treatment program at Duke. Tonight she began taking oral chemo, given once daily on an empty stomach at bedtime, for 21 days. She will begin a two week (maybe longer) radiation treatment plan at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday. At the end of this 21 day program, the doctors will re-evaluate Emily’s results and make a determination whether to possibly send her back to NY or to begin another 21 day oral chemo regiment at Duke. They are trying desperately to shrink the tumors and suppress the cancer growth. Emily is ready for the radiation because she knows it will ease her pain. She is not looking forward to losing her new hair that has come in but knows that in order to feel better she must face these difficult days again.

Tonight she found comfort in a delicate handkerchief that has been prayed over and anointed with oil. A gift from another one of our “older” cousins, Jeff Padgett and his church in Charlotte. Emily placed it over her neck tonight and said she “was going to sleep with it under her neck every night so God would make her feel better”. Another blessing sent from caring people, that has comforted Emily in a time of need.

Today Emily showed amazing courage and strength in comforting her Mommy & Daddy. I am constantly in awe of this child and her incredible strength and humble attitude. She knew they were worried about her having to go through these treatments again and reassured them at that moment, “It’s OK, I’m not hurting now”. Can you just imagine being in their shoes? I share this information with each of you reading this, not to make your eyes tear, but to share the LOVE, FAITH, HOPE and DETERMINATION Emily, Eddie & Dawn have. Faith to get through the day, Hope for a cure, a miracle, Love that is unboudless and pure, and Determination to keep fighting.

THANK YOU for your continued support and many prayers. Thank you for the financial support, particularly these last few days. Extra expenses are being incurred and now the apt. , they were thinking they could end the lease on, will have to be maintained a while longer. Internet capability will be reconnected soon and constant travel between Hampstead and Durham will be frequent again. Eddie will try to be home during the week so he can work, Dawn will remain in Durham with Emily. They do hope she can come “homie home” on weekends. When her counts begin to drop or she is too frail to travel, they will have to remain in Durham. Trey remains busy with school & football and will look forward to spending time with Emily as often as he can during this treatment time. Please pray for Emily, Trey, Eddie & Dawn as they face these difficult days. “You can be sure that when you pray, God hears you.” — Wendy Ann Dunham

Love,
Stephanie

“Morning, noon, and night, I plead aloud in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.” — Psalm 55:17

Well, what an exhausting and stressful few days this has been for Eddie, Dawn & Emily. They made it to NY just fine and were accommodated at the Ronald McDonald house. However, the Doctor in NY did not have adequate information to proceed with treatment. After speaking with Dr. G, it was recommended that Emily be brought back to Duke to have radiation to the upper spine and to begin oral chemo treatment. They have an 8 am appointment Wednesday morning for a pre-evaluation at Duke and a 1:00 appointment for them to do her “markings” for radiation. Possible radiation will begin on Thursday and the oral chemo as early as tomorrow, Wednesday. At this time they do not know how much or how long this will be administered.

So, we got them flown home late this afternoon to RDU and they are resting comfortably tonight at the apartment. Please pray for treatment to begin a.s.a.p. for Emily. Hopefully she will get to come back home to Hampstead this weekend. She is very anxious to see Trey and grandparents and tell them about her airplane adventure.

Thanks to all that helped to make NY possible. A big THANKS to American Airlines for assisting with a speedy ticketing service at the last minute. A special THANK YOU is extended the to Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation of New York, NY. The rallied around Emily, Dawn & Eddie upon their arrival to a strange city and even saw to it that they were personally driven back to the airport on short notice today. They have provided countless emails to me with phone numbers and names of volunteers to call with any need Emily might have while in NY. These folks truly were a blessing and extended great support to the family. Please be sure and visit their website when you have a minute and read about their advocacy to families of children with brain and spinal tumors. www.cbtf.org

I will update when I know more about Emily’s treatments. Pray they can relieve her of the pain she is now in and that she will be able to physically withstand any medical procedures they must implement on her tired body.

“You can stand firm in time of testing with the help of the Holy Spirit.” — Shannon Rule’

Love,
Stephanie

What an amazing day of support for Emily & family. The Lord provides and He led many folks today from NC to VA to MD to NY to make it possible for Emily to travel with as little stress as possible. By 5:00 this afternoon, airline tickets had been purchased for the 3 of them, transportation arranged to get to RDU for a 6 a.m. flight on Monday, personal transportation arranged to meet them at LaGuardia upon their arrival there taking them straight to the hospital. A network of “family sponsors” is available to assist them should they need accommodations, meals, etc. if the Ronald McDonald house is full. Church outreach programs have been contacted to provide assistance if needed, arrangements for flights to come back home will be taken care of. In between all this individual cash donations were contributed for expenses they may incur. The list just goes on and on.

Eddie and Dawn have been overwhelmed today, once again, as this tremendous outpouring of support has relieved some of their burden. They wish to say THANK YOU from the bottom of their hearts to all that have been involved in networking today to make everything possible for them. It is this kind of love and faith that helps them to face each new day.

Emily was ready for bed when I got to their house tonight and she and Trey were giggling like their giggle boxes were turned upside down. She just smiled when I told her she had a window seat on the airplane. At that moment she was busy trying to glue a picture on a piece of paper, ever the creative little girl. Her neck was hurting and she was very tired today, but she kept pressing onward and worked through it. Such a brave little girl!

With so much to do preparing to leave, I doubt there will be much to report until Monday night or Tuesday, after they’ve reached the hospital. So a new update may be a couple of days away. Keep checking the website, but more than anything, keep those prayers coming. Emily, Eddie & Dawn need those prayers to sustain them in this upcoming week. Please remember Trey as he attends school while they are away. He will miss them alot but the family and friends will keep him busy with school, football practice and games. Trey is a busy little boy these day!

THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE!!!
Love, Stephanie
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.” — Mother Theresa