Bridesmaid :)

Madeleine’s Blog

September 22, 2013

So do not fear, for I am with you

Do not be dismayed, for I am your God

I will strengthen you and help you

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Isaiah 41:10

Madeleine as a bridesmaid for her cousin

Can you believe that it has already been one month since Madeleine first began the chemo that prepared her for the introduction of her TIL cells? Wow - time flies by! 

She has been doing really well during this month of recovery. She asked me to say thank you to all of you for your cards and other support/encouragement while she was in the hospital.

One of Madeleine's main goals as she came back from NIH was to be able to participate as a bridesmaid in her cousin Katherine's wedding, which was on September 14th (just a few days after Madeleine came home from NIH). 

I am pleased to report that Madeleine did great at the wedding and was able to fully be involved in the whole celebration - including the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, and everything. It was amazing, and she looked gorgeous!

Here is what Madeleine wrote on her cousin Katherine's Facebook the day of the wedding:

"You are more than just a cousin to me. You are an inspiration, a role model, and basically my big sister. I don't know what I would do without you. You have always been there for me. We are family and nothing is stronger than family. I am so happy for you and Kevin. I love you. Congratulations!"

And her cousin responded:

"I love you Madeleine...thank you for being a part of our special day, that meant the world to me. Your description on this photo [above] totally made me cry. I love you with all my heart."

We are so grateful that Madeleine was able to be a part of the wedding and to stand alongside her cousin on such a special day. We thank God for moments like these.

Deanne, Madeleine, David, and Max at the wedding

Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers for Madeleine's complete healing. She goes back to NIH the first week of October for scans and tests in order to evaluate her progress.

Heading home!!!

Madeleine’s Blog

September 7, 2013

So do not fear, for I am with you

Do not be dismayed, for I am your God

I will strengthen you and help you

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Isaiah 41:10

Enjoying the "outside world" :)

Madeleine gets to fly home tomorrow - four days early! Her blood levels have come back to normal, she feels quite a bit better, and it is time to go home to complete her recovery.

Deanne and Madeleine went out to celebrate tonight at a restaurant in Bethesda, and even got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

It definitely feels a little different to have the freedom to go outside once again after so many days in the same hospital room and environment. It is also very different (and enjoyable!) to have new choices of things to eat, and the desire to eat food as well.

We are all relieved that Madeleine made it through the treatment so well, thanks to answered prayers, encouragement from so many people, and the excellent care of the doctors and nurses at NIH.

In a month, Madeleine will be back for a few days of scans and also apheresis (where they run your blood through a device that gives the doctors an idea of how the TIL cells are doing). This means that she'll have to keep the "port" that they surgically put into her neck until after that visit.

So, the treatment part of the TIL therapy is completely over, and she has moved into the observation and assessment part of the trial. Thank you for your continued prayers for Madeleine - we are praying that those TIL cells will continue to mobilize and fight any remaining melanoma.

Stronger every day!

Madeleine’s Blog

September 5, 2013

So do not fear, for I am with you

Do not be dismayed, for I am your God

I will strengthen you and help you

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Isaiah 41:10

Receiving another encouraging gift

Madeleine had been feeling fairly poorly (fatigue and "bone aches" from the shots they give you that stimulate your bone marrow to start producing more white cells). But, last night and today there has been a huge improvement in her fatigue!   

She is no longer "neutropenic" (low white cell counts) so that makes a big difference in how she feels. She even went on a long walk last night and also today, where before that would have just been impossible a few days ago. This is a big step toward her getting ready to go home - she also needs to have stability in her other blood counts. They have been having to add platelets, so we are hoping those will also stabilize soon. If they do, then she may even be able to go home early.

We continue to be blessed by so many people's kindness... This time by a 14-year-old girl from Virginia who doesn't know Madeleine, but wanted to send a gift to encourage a young person battling cancer. She sent Madeleine a beautiful bag (pictured) filled with all different kinds of makeup and other fun items. Madeleine has already made good use of that. :)

Dart gun hits its mark!

Yesterday, Madeleine recovered enough that she was no longer needing to sleep as much of the day. As her Facebook post put it, "I'm awake enough to realize that I am bored out of my mind!"

Just at the right time, she received a boredom-busting gift from her cousins: a Justin Beiber poster and a couple of nerf dart guns to go with it . It didn't take them long to get the poster up - and the nerf guns loaded...!

If you look closely, you can see that one of the darts has found its mark. (Not sure if the marksmanship should be attributed to Madeleine, or to Deanne, but it looks like they had some fun with it.)

Thanks again, everyone, for your prayers, gifts, and encouragement!

Rest is a gift

Madeleine’s Blog

September 3, 2013

So do not fear, for I am with you

Do not be dismayed, for I am your God

I will strengthen you and help you

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Isaiah 41:10

Doing what she does best right now - sleep!

A few days have passed since the IL-2 has finished, and Madeleine is slowly getting stronger. They have given her more red blood cells and platelets to help get her cell numbers up to a better level. She is still having lots of the expected fatigue (which goes along with having low blood counts from the chemotherapy). And she is continuing to experience some nausea, puffiness, and other symptoms from the IL-2. 

But the good news is that things are slowly getting better! You can tell that things are improving because she looks good enough that I can post a picture!! :) 

Madeleine's dad has now flown back home, and Deanne continues to stay by her side there at the hospital. It has been a long haul for all of them, but everyone has gotten a little better rest during the past day or so. A few hours of sleep makes a lot of difference! (Deanne adds that coffee is helping a lot too!)

The doctors have told them that Madeleine's TIL cells appear to be "reproducing" and looking good so far. This is good news - we want those cells to continue to be there to fight off any melanoma, now or in the future.

Thank you for the notes and cards of encouragement, and for all of your prayers on our behalf!