Liz Lothrop Update

Holy Reflexes!!!

2011-11-25T07:32:00.001-05:00

Celebrating our 24th anniversary with our children!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Once again we celebrated "Giving Thanks"! God has blessed us in so many ways that we are amazed and overwhelmed when we try to count our blessings. Obviously the greatest visual one for everybody who knows us is that Elizabeth is still with us and in remission. We are seeing some long term side effects rear their ugly head, but they are what they are and we will deal with them together.

Elizabeth had her nine month post treatment check up, Nov. 22, 2011. Her lab (blood work) looks great! The new news is that her REFLEXES are finally coming back!!!! The nasty Vincristine (mean christine) is finally starting to leave her system. That chemo was a vicious one on her nervous system and caused a severe amount of bone pain. Once again......a blessing that we will graciously receive!

Basketball, basketball, basketball, what more can I say. Elizabeth tried out for the Mason Basketball team and made it!!! It has been the best thing for her self confidence and for her physically. She runs up and down the court just sucking air and is so fatigued when she gets home, but is so happy and thankful for this chance. She loves every minuet of practice, playing, and being a part of this team. Elizabeth has not played ball since seventh grade and was thinking that this was one sport that she would not make it back too. Yet again....another great blessing!!!

Thank you to everyone that supported our efforts to raise money this year for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Our First annual Blazin With Love 5k run/walk and corn hole tournament was a gigantic success. Together raised over $32,000 and we're the number one fundraising team in the Tri-State area!!!!! We will be gearing up for the next 5k/corn hole soon. The event will be sometime in September 2012, so mark your calendars! You can follow us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Blazin-With-Love3/276684425682169
to get updates and see pictures from the event in Sept. We will also be working on a web page for next year and will keep you updated about that.

We are now 37 months away from that dreadful night that changed our lives as a family forever. We would never want anyone to go through the horrible times that come with cancer, but out of that nightmare has come so much good. Elizabeth has the best outlook on life and living. I believe it is only something you get from having to go through a life and death ordeal. I am so proud to do life with her. She teaches me new things about myself everyday and keeps me grounded as to what life is all about. As I stated earlier, long term side effects are rearing their ugly head, but so are wonderful gifts that God has given us through this journey. We are all growing as a family and finding new strength within ourselves that we never knew we possessed.

Please continue to pray for :
Continued remission for Elizabeth.
Her cold or whatever it is that she has to go away. Pray that it is not Mono and just some little cold.
For the Doctors, nurses, and staff that so lovingly take care of these children.
For Joel and Maya, that they remain GVH free and continue on in good health from their transplant.
For Jimmy. He has surgery to scope and stretch his esophagus Nov. 28, 2011, and to see if his disease is still under control.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

May God continue to bless all of you and keep you safe during this Holiday Season!

Blessings & joy,
Christine

Life the Past Seven Months!

2011-10-10T08:03:00.002-04:00

First treatment free vacation!

Homecoming 2011

Elizabeth's beautiful quilt made from her many t-shirts!

Randy has been asking me to write an update for the blog for the past several months. I don't think he realizes how hard this update is for me. Our life is so different in just the past seven months than it has been in the past three years, October 25, 2011 will be three years. I can still see that evening as clear as if I were reliving it now.

I go back and reread the posts, comments, and watch the videos and feel like it was just yesterday and then sometimes I look at a picture and feel it was a lifetime ago. Enjoy each day you have and don't get caught up in the "nothingness" of life. I said in one of my posts that one of the real tragedies in the end would be to forget all the lessons learned on this journey. Some days I find myself not living the lessons and getting caught up in that "nothingness". I get pulled into the ugly current parts of everyday living. I now have the perspective to pull myself back and live life in the moment that I didn't have before Lizzy's cancer journey, the way we should all live our lives. We use to live minute by minute and I thought that was so difficult at the time. I now see why it is important to live in the moment. You don't have time to worry about the future. God knows the future and he is the only one who needs to. All we need to do is live for the moment, trust, love and take care of what God has given us and he will take care of the rest, he always has and always will!

So many wonderful things have happened in the past seven months. The biggest being on Feb. 15, Liz ended her two and a half year treatment for ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). March, we went on our first family vacation without medication or having to go to the Children's Hospital for blood draws and she had hair! We had an "End of Treatment" party at our house in July. She received the most beautiful quilt from her sports families and friends. She is holding it in the above picture with the help of some of her friends. It is on her bed as her bedspread! We ended July out in Hilton Head with family and had a wonderful time. August Liz tried out for the Mason Volleyball Team and made Varsity. She loves the game and loves her teammates! We never thought that she would be able to return so quickly to the game, but she has! I should have known that nothing would stop her. She just beat the biggest opponent of her life .... CANCER! Lizzy started school in Aug. and has been able to go to school everyday except once a month on her clinic visit day. She also turned 17 on Aug. 25. Lizzy is looking forward to trying out for basketball this fall. I am excited about that too! I LOVE basketball! She is still weaker and smaller than the girls she will be defending, if she makes the team, but with time, weight training, and practice, she will get stronger. Liz has gained 40 pounds since Feb., mostly in the past three months. Most people (girls) would freak out about gaining 40, but she ended her treatment at 105 pounds on a 5'11.5" frame. She truly was looking like a cancer patient....NOT any more :) Liz remains a great student and is having fun being a kid and living life agin! On Sept. 3, we had our first annual Blazin With Love race! Our team, with the help of many of you, made over $21,000 from the race for a total of $31,000.00 for research for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and best of all, Liz won her age division (well not really, she won the age group 20-25, Brittany, her best friend, won their age group) Dr. Absalon, her oncologist, and family came out to the event to run. He said the best gift was when "I saw Liz running in the race with her big smile on her face". We just LOVE our Dr. Absalon!

Liz remains in remission and for this we are so blessed and fortunate. There are too many people still losing their battle to blood cancers. Liz will live with the constant fear that it may resurface....this is where living in the moment is very helpful....We cannot worry about the future. We need to embrace the gift of today that God has given us. Love each other like God loves us. If I can hold on to this one simple lesson, I know that life will be so much richer. I have a great group of friends that help me stay focused. Life is a journey that has rough roller coasters and smooth roller coaster, we are now on a smooth roller coaster.

Thank you for being faithful followers of Liz and her journey. Giving generously of your time, prayers, and finances. Without all of that we would not be where we are today. As time goes on, I see even more clearly why all three are so important.

Please continue to pray for:
Liz to remain in remission. Every month when we go for blood work it is a bit nerve racking.
For the newly diagnosed, about 44,000 in 2011.
For those that will loose their battle, about 11,000 per year.
For the scientist and doctors that are trying to find a CURE for blood cancers.
For the patients and families on A5, for strength and hope.
Joel Brown, to continue to become stonger and healthier on his road to recovery.
Maya Collins, to overcome her nausea, come home from the hospital, and live life cancer free!

Blessings and God's grace ~
Christine

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

2011-09-14T09:34:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

Please click on the link for information about the Light The Night Walk tomorrow, September 15, at 5:30 pm.

If you were unable to make it to the race/cornhole event and still wish to donate to help fund reasearch, please click on the donate now button on the right side of the page after you open the link.

Blessings ~ Christine

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

2011-08-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

Please be a hero for Annie, Hannah, Joel, Liz, Maya, and all people needing blood products. Call the Mason Hoxworth today to donate blood this week, mention the code BWL and Hoxworth will credit $25 per donor to our team, Blazin With Love! Check the flyer below for times.

Four months out!

2011-06-06T21:07:00.002-04:00

Liz had her monthly check-up today and things look good. Her counts have gone down a little but still in the normal range. I suppose ours do the same thing, it's just we do not have cancer or are not in remission from cancer. The doctor is not concerned, he said it is probably her body fighting a minor cold or allergies.
She is looking so healthy and strong, one would never know that she has been in a fight for her life. I am so proud of her and the way she has handled every situation she has been in since she was diagnosed.

Our race is up and running, no pun intended. We are so excited about it! Go to www.getmeregistered.com and look for Sept. 3, 2011 Blazin With <3 (love) and register. It is an evening race with cash prizes for the race and corn hole. Corn hole space is limited so if that is what you want to do, sign up quick! Come on out that Saturday evening and support five wonderful kids from the Mason School district that have blood cancers. If you are not running, we will also have the Blood Unit there from Hoxworth, to donate blood. Hoxworth is donating $10 per person to the race for people who donate that evening. They will also be doing Be The Match for the bone marrow. PLEASE, be a hero for someone. None of these kids would be here without blood products. Liz would not have made it through Saturday night without the blood products.

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16

Please continue to pray for the researchers and doctors that are fighting to save these children and adults.
Pray for the patients on A5 and their families.
Pray for the ones that have been told right from the start that they cannot be saved.
Pray for Joel Brown. He is doing well and so close to the end of his BMT. Pray for him to stay germ free and healthy.
Continue you to pray for little Maya Collins, another Mason student. I believe she is around seven,she has AML.

Life is not always fun and easy but it is always a gift. Treasure the time you have been given.

May you be blessed beyond measure and love always ~ Christine

My Fundraising Page

2011-05-11T21:33:00.000-04:00

My Fundraising Page:
http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/ButlerCo11/christinelothrop

Wow, what a journey we have been on over the past 2.5 years. We could never have survived it without your support. Thank you for your financial generosity to our cause and helping us try to find a cure for blood cancers. Not only are you helping the thousands with blood cancer, you are also supporting various types of cancers. Some of the drugs and chemos that have come from your support have crossed over into other cancers and illnesses. You should be very proud of the good that you are doing.

Elizabeth is now in full remission and off of treatment. Her last chemo was February 15, 2011. She is still on bactrim and will be through August 2011. Her blood work that was done on April 11, 2011 showed her ANC (immune system) at 3750!!!!! If you remember, she was always neutropenic, under 500. She is gaining some weight back, her hair is growing and filling in, and she is back to school full time and playing volleyball. Lizzy's port, which is the area that all the visceral chemos were given, was removed on April 12, 2011, another milestone in this journey.

We are entering a "New Reality" and one that looks brighter! No longer will be be going to the ER in the middle of the night, no more chemo making her sick and putting her into remission at the same time, no more neutropenia and isolation, pills, needles (well still a few of those), seeing doctors 5 times a week, blood and platelet transfusions......you get my point.

This year the Light The Night event has changed venues, it will be at the Mason Municipal Building. The event has gotten too large for the walks previous location, this is a good thing! We would like to get a team picture before the evening events begin. I will let you know when and where later

Thank you and many blessings ~

Christine

Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event. It is the nation's night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) funds lifesaving research that has contributed to major advances in the treatment of blood cancers and treatments for other types of cancer, such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. New targeted therapies that kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue are providing drugs and procedures that are improving quality of life.

In fact, in 2009 alone, LLS researchers were conducting more than 90 clinical trials, a critical step in the development of new treatments and cures that will help patients live better, longer lives.

A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.
A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members.
A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.
A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

Please make a donation to support my participation in the Light The Night Walk and help save lives. Be sure to check my Web site frequently to see my progress, and thanks for your support!

Comment

Three months out!

2011-05-11T18:18:00.000-04:00

Liz and Joel ... just hangin at the Brown's;)

Elizabeth continues to do well. Her platelet count is finally above low normal range. Low normal range is 150k, she hit 160k!!!!!!!! We were questioning if she acquired an intolerance to platelets. This can happen when you receive platelets all the time, like she did. Praise God for answering prayers.

Lizzy's immune system, ANC, is 2840. the normal range for an immune system is between 1800 - 8000. Her lymphs are still low at 22 and the normal range is 34-42. She will get there, it is just Her immune system is just a little baby ")

Lizzy's next check up is June 10. Please continue to pray for her body to continue to recover and for her to stay in remission. Remember, there have been wonderful strides made in the way of blood cancers but...there is still no cure; only long term survival. As a parent, this is not acceptable.

Jimmy's EE has gotten worse since the last scope. No changes have been made in his protocol and he will be re-scoped in three months. As far as his hips go....he has issues, but tries to work through them. He doesn't want to give up any summer time for recovery time. His body will tell us when the replacement will happen. Right now he has learned how over come some of the pain and discomfort. Please continue to pray for Jimmy and the challenges that lie ahead.

Catherine will be getting her tonsils out next month. Please pray that the surgery is successful and she has as little pain and discomfort as possible.

Joel continues to do well and is one day away from day 100. He/we are praying that he will be able to start school next year. After placing an EG tube, feeding tube, down his throat he is finally gaining weight!!!!

Ephesians 1:16

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

Blessings and prayers always ~ Christine

Quick up-date

2011-04-19T19:01:00.000-04:00

Liz is doing fabulous and gaining strength everyday. Her port was removed last Tuesday; the end of an era! She will be on bactrim through Aug. 3x a week, 2x daily, with monthly clinic visits and blood draws. The rate of remission fall-out drops significantly after five years. You can imagine the anxiety we have once a month. It sure beats the daily anxiety that we use to have.

Jimmy has his surgery Monday for his EE. Dr. Putnum did not have to stretch his esophagus and did not see any yeast in his throat, this is a good thing! We will hear sometime this week if how well he is doing with this disease and if there will be any change in his daily routine.

We are putting on our first Blazin With Love 5k on Sept. 3, at 5:30 p.m., as well as a corn hole tournament and the blood mobile will be there so you can give blood if you would like :) If you are interested in helping with this wonderful event, which of course, all proceeds will be going to Blazin With Love for the Light The Night Walk, for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

This is an update on Critter from his step mom, Michelle: "Everyone please pray for critter he was just taken over to ICU. He is having problems from blood pressure, swelling, and he is out of it. They are putting him on a ventilator to do a procedure do to his blood pressure and sedation If you can just think of him before you go to sleep and when you wake up."

Please continue to pray for all the children on A5. You watch children live and you watch children die on this floor. These children become friends, good friends. It is hard to watch your friends die.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27: 1, 3)

Blessings and prayers
Christine

Lizzy's celebration service!

2011-04-09T18:55:00.000-04:00

Sendspace.com: Lothrup.zip / Audio Files

Time to Celebrate!

2011-03-30T16:28:00.000-04:00

October 25, 2008 was the start of a two and a half year journey for Liz and her family, a journey that we have all joined through this blog, through prayer, and through our support. This weekend, we're celebrating that journey, and the end of Liz's treatment, with a time of music, stories and thanksgiving. The celebration begins at 10:45 a.m. this Sunday, April 3, 2011 at WellSpring Community Church, 7689 Bethany Road, Liberty Township, Ohio. Bring friends...wear orange...and show Liz, Randy, Christine, Cat and Jim one more time just how much we love them. Hope to see you there!

First Post Check-up

2011-03-16T16:09:00.000-04:00

James 1:2-4
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be prefect and complete, needing nothing.

Something my family has lived and learned from for 30 months. I hope we never forget the lessons we have learned and that we will continue to grow in God's grace and love.

Please keep Elizabeth in your prayers. Tomorrow is the first post treatment check-up. She will have a long morning starting at 7:15 a.m. in the Hematology/Oncology Clinic (hem/onc), 7:45 with a new visit to the Hem/Endocrine, 8:30 back to the Hem/Onc clinic, 10:30 DXA Scan (bone density), and 11:10 Pulmonary Function Testing (breathing treatment).
She has been very busy and consumed with the OGT testing at school and has not given her visit much thought. I hope she continues to NOT give it any thought, worrying does not do any good.
Please continue to pray for:
Finding a cure,
keeping Liz in remission,
Joel Brown and his recovery from his bone marrow and staying in remission,
For peace and strength for Critter and his parents, Stan and Michelle,
For all on A5.

Blessings and prayers,

Christine

Praise God!

2011-02-17T09:16:00.003-05:00

Saying goodbye to the operating room and chemo!!!

Getting ready to leave the clinic.

When we came home that night there was a surprise waiting for her!

Signed shoes by the staff!

Wow! What a journey the past 2.5 years have been. I can't even tell you that there was a 2009. Our lives have gone from 2008 to 2010 with 2009 being a blur somewhere in our lives. 2011 has merged in with 2010 along the line but I am confident that it will have a life of its own soon!

As most of you know who are on my facebook, Liz is through with her treatment phase. Thank God she will no longer be getting sick from treatment and only be getting stronger. I asked her on the ride home from the hospital if she could tell me how she felt about this phase being over and her response was "No, there are no words to describe how I feel." I am so proud of her and how she has handled this horrible disease and I know that I will continue to be amazed and proud of how she handles the rest of her life and this disease.

Our new reality for the next five years is not nearly as intense and definitely more normal. Liz will have blood work and a physical monthly for the next 18 months, at the end of this time she will graduate to every other month for a year, then graduate to every three months for 18 months, then down to every six months for 18 months, and finally once a year for the rest of her life.

Liz will also be seeing an Endocrinologist. She will be seeing the Endocrine Doctor for Reproduction/Infertility issues. This can be a common issue for children who have under gone chemotherapy and radiation. Please pray that any issues Lizzy is having will resolve on their own.

Her first visit with the Endo Doctor will be March 17. Liz will also have a bone density test and will have to fast for her blood work. She will have a few EKG's (electrocardiogram). An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart. The EKG and bone density tests are normal tests done due to the amount of toxic drugs and steroids that have been put into her body.

We continue to give the glory to God. He did not give Elizabeth Leukemia, but he put the wonderful team of doctors, nurses, staff, and Children's Hospital in our path. He gave us a wonderful team of community, prayer warriors, old friends and new friends. This disease is not a private issue, it is one that knows no stranger. There is no way we could have or would have wanted to keep this private. We would not have made it through without all of you. We will be having an end of treatment party sometime in May/June. Stay tuned to the blog for more information on it.

On a side note, we are planing a 5k walk/run and corn hole tournament on September 3, at 5:30 p.m. The run is called Blazin with Love and will be in honor of Liz, Joel, Annie Coyle, and a few other Mason students/teachers that have cancer or are in remission. All the profit will be going to Team Blazin with Love for the Mason's Light the Night Walk on Sept. 15, 2011. The LTN walk supports the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. Stay tuned for all the fun events.

Please keep Joel Brown in your prayers. He is progressing like he should but is in a great amount of pain and discomfort. Please pray that the engraftment of his sister's cells take root in his body and start to become his own.

Please keep Critter and his family in your prayers. Pray for peace, comfort, and wisdom for them. Let them be at peace with the decisions that they have to make.

Please pray for peace and comfort for Courtney, another one of Mason's special little ones. She was the other child in the fundraiser with Liz and Joel from Gary's barber shop in 2008 or 2009 (see I told you 2008/09 are the same for me).

Thank you to all the student, staff, and friends that came out for Zumba for Leukemia. It was fun and a great success!

Always praying!

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!

—Psalm 105:1-2

Dang.......

2011-02-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

Okay, we need prayers for Liz. She has been sick off and on since Thanksgiving. We went to the hospital yesterday, Feb. 10, due to her being sick and her end date so close. The docs ordered blood cultures for all sorts of virus and bacterial infections. Mary Snow, her nurse coordinator, called us today and said that Liz has tested positive for the RSV/PCR virus. UGH..............
The game plan for the weekend is: rest and hydration. She has labs on Monday and we pray she can finish out her chemo on Tuesday as planned for the last two years. On Tuesday she will arrive at the hospital at 6:30 a.m., have a complete physical evaluation to see if she is healthy enough to go through the surgery and receive the chemo's. If she is not able to complete her treatment on Tuesday, Dr. Absalon said the treatment will be rescheduled. Needless to say, Liz is very sad about the new turn of events. If Liz has a fever at any time, she will need to go to the ED and will be admitted for at least 48 hours to 10 days.
Thank you for your prayers and being faithful,
Christine

COUNTDOWN DAY 7

2011-02-08T22:46:00.000-05:00

WOW! WOW! WOW! That is all that I can say. Well, I can say a lot more but I won't.

This has been a very long and hard road. We have come 1,097 days out of our 1,104 days of treatment. We are down to SEVEN days left. It feels so surreal. I am going through her apothecary draw, her medicine draw, filling her pill box and I realize that I am at the end, the box is empty for the last two weeks of this month, I keep picking it up, wanting to fill it thinking that I have forgotten to do this.

As I look back, I have seen tremendous growth in Elizabeth, our family, and her friends. What a gift God has given to all of us in that respect. Even as I say this, I find myself feeling very weak and frightened to take her off of her chemo. The chemo is the agent fighting the monster that invaded her body two and a half years ago, without her having the chemo, I feel like I am free falling. I need prayers for strength not to borrow worries from tomorrow. All I can do is continue to pray to our Father that he keeps Elizabeth in remission; that this cancer never rears its ugly head again. Knowing that there is not a cure is a frightening reality for a parent to face. I can only pray and drop my worries at the foot of the cross.

Thank you to everyone that has shared in our journey. We could not have made it through the past few years without your prayers, help, and great show of love and support. Please, NEVER stop praying for Liz and those suffering with cancer.

Specific pray requests:
Elizabeth finishes out her last seven days strong
Minimal side effects from her chemo
Joel Brown, that Alli's bone marrow engrafts and begins to make it his own, mouth sores, fevers, and rest
Critter, that the spots found in his lung and brain are just by-products of the chemotherapy
The staff on the 5th floor of Children's Hospital

If you want to be a hero to someone ...... go and donate blood or platelets this week!

Blessings and Love in Christ,
Christine

2011-01-25T14:02:00.002-05:00

A visit from the Rosendale's. Lizzy giving Marianne a Blazin With Love tee!

We are getting closer to the end of Elizabeth's treatment! Liz will go to Children's on Feb. 15, for her last dose of Vincristine and Lumbar Puncture with Methotrexate. Liz will take her daily chemo, Meccptapurine, through Feb. 17, and end her steroids on Feb. 19. The side effects of the Vincristine will hit on or around Feb. 22.
I don't know what the next ten years will look like. I know we will have monthly check-ups for the next several years, but other than that......I will let you know when I find out. I should get that information on the 15th of Feb.
Hitting this mile(million mile)stone is bitter sweet. We never thought we would get through all of the treatments, side effects, radiation, ER visits, clinic visits, day hospital visits, blood and platelet transfusions, etc. etc. etc, but here we are and being off of chemo for the first time in 2.5 years, begs for your mind to wonder and worry. There is a hugh comfort in knowing that she is taking something to keep it from coming back. From talking to other parents, I know this is a very normal thought and that I am normal. Liz has also expressed that she is scared too. I guess this fight for us will never be over, not until there is a "true" cure for Leukemia. One without the threat of falling out of remission. We will be having a party to celebrate her end of therapy sometime in April. Stay tuned for more details.

Update on Jim ~ He is doing very well and as long as the 2x daily steroids work, he will be able to continue on in this treatment plan. His esophagus will be stretched again in May, by Dr. Putnum. He will also be checking to see if he has any yeast infection in his throat from his steroids. This is an easy fix ... just another drug, an antibiotic!

Please continue to pray for Joel Brown. He is now in the hospital getting ready for his Bone Marrow Transplant for Feb. 1. His sister, Allie, is the donor. Joel will be in the hospital for the next 100 days. Please pray for the health of his sister, that the transplant is a success for Joel, and the peace for the entire family.

Please continue to pray for: the research for trying to find a cure, the doctors, scientist, nursing staff, Hoxworth, and those who give so freely to help save the lives of others.

There is an event at the Mason community center, March 12, 2011, from 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. copy and paste the link to go to the event. It should be a lot of fun for the biking enthusiasts! All proceeds go to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!

file:///Users/christinelothrop/Desktop/2011%20R2A%20Brochure.pdf

Blessings ~ Christine

Psalm 18:6

But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to

my God for help.

He heard me from his sanctuary;

My cry to him reached his ears.

Oh What a Year Makes!

2010-12-28T20:53:00.002-05:00

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2010

Wow, what a difference one year can make. Liz is doing very well and we are so thankful and blessed.

We are down to a mere 49 days left in Elizabeth's treatment. No more chemo's (God willing) after that! It is hard to imagine what life will be like without the daily and monthly doses of chemo but we are so excited to give it a try. I have to admit though, the thought of just stopping her chemo and the fight against the cancer is frightening.

Just Believe!

Update on Joel. If you don't know Joel, he is Elizabeth's friend and classmate at Mason. He is finishing up his last round of ARAstinkinC this week at Children's. The doctor's will then begin preparing him for his bone morrow transplant which will be around the 1st of Feb. Please keep Joel and his family in your prayers. It will be a tough road for a few months but nothing these kids are not use to.

Please continue to pray for the complete healing of Elizabeth and these children that suffer so much from cancer. They are the most inspirational individuals that you will meet.

Prayers and blessings for the New Year.

Christine

HOME!!!!!!! :))

2010-11-18T19:37:00.001-05:00

Liz became sick with a common cold about seven days ago. On Tuesday night the dreaded fever broke out and we were instructed to "bring Liz to the ED." She was not happy about that; Fevers really scare here. They put her on an antibiotic soon after we arrived because she had a bad cough and crackle in her lungs. The xray showed she was clear but they continued to treat her for possible viral pneumonia while waiting for her blood cultures to come back. They were negative so we were allowed to take her home Thursday, late afternoon.
Lizzy's ANC (immune system) is falling rapidly. She is now at 560. 500 is the no one can visit without the flu shot, free of any type of sniffle or cold, and she cannot go anywhere without a mask.
We have a lot of plans for this Thanksgiving but things are going minute by minute at this point. Please pray that she/we get to do all we want to do as a family.
Lizzy has her next big chemo date Tuesday, November 23. Please pray that she will be well enough to go ahead with these procedures and she will still get to spend her holidays with family.
Blessings to everyone and have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.
Christine

Gap Give & Get Supporting LLS

2010-11-08T06:40:00.000-05:00

If you shop at the Gap, go to this link and print off the coupon. You receive 30% off and Gap gives to LLS for research for blood cancers!

Thanks!

Gap Give & Get Supporting LLS

Tackling Leukemia @ Sycamore High School

2010-10-27T20:30:00.001-04:00

Sycamore High School will host Tackling Leukemia this Friday, 10-29-10, against the Mason Comets
in honor of Joel Brown, Liz Lothrop, and Leah Jordan. Come out and enjoy a great game for a great cause. All proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Shirts will be on sale for $12 at the game.

Down, Angry, and Scared ... but NOT out!

2010-10-26T21:49:00.002-04:00

Joel visiting Liz two weeks ago when she was having a bad reaction to the chemo. Both of them were on steroids ..... just guess how many bags of popcorn they ate?!?

We have just gotten horrible news. Joel Brown, Lizzy's good friend and classmate, has relapsed. We are in disbelief. We have seen this "relapse" happen time and time again on the Oncology floor but never believed that it would happen to Joel or Liz.

Joel will go in this Friday for a bone morrow biopsy and be admitted for the Induction Phase. This phase is to get Joel back into remission, it is a 29 day cycle. Joel will take the same treatment route that Lizzy took. He will go through Induction of 29 days, Consolidation of 58 days plus delays, Interim I of 58 days plus delays, Delayed 1 of 58 days plus delays, Interim 2 of 58 days plus delays, and Delayed 2 of 58 days plus delays. Yes, you got it ... without delays it is another unfathomable 319 days of very intense chemo. I'm sorry, but I am really having a hard time understanding why a child or any one for that matter has to endure this cancer trip once let alone twice. If anyone has the answer to that one, please help me out here.

Please keep Joel and his family in your prayers and wear Orange this Thursday for Joel. It will be his last day of school for possible the rest of this school year. He will need a lot of support, prayers, and love from his friends.

Prayers and blessings for the Brown's

Two Year Anniversary

2010-10-25T11:52:00.001-04:00

Wow! Today marks Elizabeth's two year anniversary from diagnoses, what a road we have traveled.

We could never have made it this far in the "cancer" journey without all of the prayers and support we have received from our family, friends, and even strangers.

Our lives have taken on a "sea change" several different times during the course of two years. These transformations or marked events have been ones of sadness and joy. We have lost ones that we came to know and love. We have seen their struggles and they have seen our struggles. We have seen into some of the darkest times of each families life. But, with that being said we have grown in ways that are ineffable/indescribable. We have been tested as a family, in our faith, and in our marriage. It has not been an easy road and one that we certainly would have never chosen on our own to participate in. But it has been one that we would never exchange because of those experiences our individual growth and the growth our family has experienced.

We have become closer and have realized what is important in life. What use to stress me out now is not even a minor speed bump in the road anymore. Life is much fuller and a lot less petty. I wish everyone could have the liberating mind set that I have from things in life that just do not matter in the big picture. My hope, wish, and prayer is that our family never forgets these lesson as time goes on. To go through such a life changing ordeal and lose the valubale lessons that you gained would be a terrible loss.

After tomorrow, we are down to only four hard chemo treatments and of course her daily chemo. When we received her protocol or treatment plan for the previous 2.5 years, I never thought we would see the light at the end of that very long tunnel. We are so close now that not only can we see it . . . we can smell it. February can not come soon enough. I never thought that I would wish time to go by quickly, after all it is a wonderful gift from God, but I am so ready for her and for all of us. Please keep her in your prays and pray for minimal side effects from the Vincristine. Last month was a real terror for her and the pain was just incredible. The side effects of this chemo will hit seven days from tomorrow. Please remember her on that day and bring back "Orange Tuesday". When you where this color on Tuesday you will be remembering her and all the ones that struggle with Leukemia.

This Friday is the Mason-vs-Sycamore Game at Sycamore. The cause is "Tackle Leukemia" and the proceeds will go to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. The honored heros of the event are: Liz, Joel, and Leah! Joel came in to meet Elizabeth when she was diagnosed and Liz went in to meet Leah when she was diagnose. "Pay it Forward" as they say. These three have a bond that others cannot understand and it is a beautiful thing to see.

Shirts are being sold through Sycamore High School. They only ordered 400. The Shirts are long sleeved and $12 each.

Blessings and prayers,

Christine

Looking for Good Help!

2010-10-16T13:50:00.001-04:00

Everyone is just splendid in the Lothrop household Liz continues to be healed by God, through your prayers, and the wonderful doctors that God has so graciously put before us.

Jim is adjusting nicely to college life. I never hear from him so I guess that is a good thing. Randy keeps reminding me to open up my fingers and let go, not an easy task for a mother. Jimmy has had his first round of mid-term exams. He said it is a bit different than high school. I do believe that I have said those exact words to him at some point in time but like most kids, he did not adhere to them. He wishes he would have now. Live and learn, right?!? He is doing well with his Eosinophilic disease too. As long as he continues to stay on the steroids he seems to be doing well.

Here is where the title of this entry comes into play. A few wonderful women and myself are looking for good strong men and women to help us put together a 5k walk/run race for August 2011. The money raised will go toward the Light the Night walk in Sept. and hopefully a few other avenues. If you would be willing to help us in this endeavor please let me know. I will be having a meeting at my house to brain storm and divide up into committees. We are thinking of having it like a little festival with food, games, the run/walk, corn hole tournament, etc.etc.etc., so if you are interested in joining this fabulous team for a wonderful cause please let me know asap and come with some ideas!

Please continue to pray for:
Liz, that she keeps responding well to her treatment and she stays in remission.
Joel Brown, that he stays in remission and the immature cells in his spine are nothing.
Jim, for his Eosinophilic disease, that the steroids continue to help his condition.
That our faith in the Lord will always remain strong and continue to grow stronger.

May you feel the love of God as we have over the past 24 months; it is ineffable in all the ways that we have felt God's love, peace, strength, hope, and presents.

Blessings,
Christine

Thank You!

2010-09-22T08:04:00.003-04:00

Thank you to everyone that came out and walked Thursday with Team Blazin With <3 love. It was a wonderful time and a big success for everyone. We have almost reached our goal of $15k. If you have not donated and would like to, you can go to our page and still donate.

Liz continues to get better each day. Her mental strength and awareness on the court is coming back and also giving her confidence. God has given her an uncanny strength and I am so thankful to him for everything good and bad in our lives. He is there in our joy to celebrate and there in our sorrow to carry us. God is something to be in awe about!

Elizabeth's body seems to be handling her dosage increase of her daily chemo, but only blood work will show what is going on inside her. She has blood work on Monday to see if her body is handling the increase and if she is ready for her next big treatment on Tuesday, September 28 at 2:00, with Vincristine, otherwise known as "Mean Christine". The side effects have a delayed onset of 7-10 days. She usually goes down pretty hard for about 24 to 48 hours with joint pain, eye sensitivity, bone pain, nerve pain, nausea, headache ...... it is just not pretty. Please pray for side effects to be minimal and with a miracle, none at all.

Jimmy is doing well from his surgery last Monday. His esophagus is looking better and the visit with Dr. Putnum went well. He said that the top of the esophagus looks great and that the congenial web that they stretched the first time has not grown back nor has the strictures (scaring from the disease) come back. The middle looks good, some small strictures are still visible but pliable. The bottom still has a lot of the Eosinophilic disease. Dr. Putnum believes that because he is tall, the inhaler contents that he swallows is not reaching to the bottom part of the esophagus. We are waiting for the biopsy results to be read and then we will go from there. The two thoughts are: 1) Jim will continue as is and be re-scoped in December to see if any difference has been made to the lower part of his esophagus, 2) adding a daily liquid steroid to his regime for the rest of his life and be re-scoped in December. If the liquid steroid is add and it does not work then we will have to start looking into his diet and taking food groups away. Please pray that the inhaler works completely on his disease and he will not have to add a different drug to his system nor take away food. FYI Jimmy, as of today, is a full fledged college student ....Go Bearcats! He is loving it and his big sis, Catherine, is taking good care of him, showing him where all of his classes are and around the campus in general. I just love my kids!

Please continue to pray for the families, children, and staff on A5.

Blessings and prayers to all of you.

Christine

lizzy2010

2010-09-14T22:41:00.000-04:00

Enjoy a video that was made for Randy to share in Romania with two churches and at a college youth rally. It shows a bit of Elizabeth life and journey over the past several years. She has come a long way, through some really tough and dark times. We pray she is on the other side even though she still has a life struggle ahead of her.

Please come out and join us Thursday for a walk to celebrate, honor, and remember all survivors and victims of cancer. Lizzy always tells me that cancer is a word, not a sentence.

If you can't make it on Thursday, come out for the last fling in Glendale for LaLaPalooza. It is a fundraiser with the proceeds going to Team Blazin with Love. Liz and Joel will be MCing this event, it begins at 5 p.m. in downtown Glendale.

Blessings to all of you ~ Christine

Fun times!!!

2010-08-25T22:09:00.002-04:00

Elizabeth's first day of her Sophomore school year, YEA!!!!! No more wigs to school.

Her birthday hat at Mongolian Grill....SWEET SIXTEEN!!!

Elizabeth back on the court.....she made it over and the opponent missed the block. Score a point for Liz!! Her back is to us and she is wearing the two white knee supports.

Her special shoes from Catherine and James. They designed them and had "We Believe" inscribed on them.

life is good and the Lothrop's are a very blessed family. Two years ago we were unsure of her next breath but the Lord is good and we owe him it all!

God's blessing to all of you. In our prayers ~ Christine, Randy, Catherine, James, and Elizabeth Grace :)

update :)

2010-08-22T19:07:00.004-04:00

I see it has been awhile since the blog has been updated. We were informed by Ashley Schaefer, founder of Layups for Leukemia, that we needed to do so :)

Elizabeth is doing fantastic. You would never know that she is going through treatment for Leukemia, but trust me, she is. Her hair is now about an inch long with beautiful curls just like she had. However her hair is much darker than before. No biggie, at least she has hair, she said.

Elizabeth tried out for the Mason Volleyball team and made JV. She is extremely pleased to be a part of the team and is looking forward to working her way back into full time play and hopefully varsity next year.

Tomorrow is Mason's first day back to school and we are thankful that she is able to start school and stay in for the entire year. Liz will miss every 29 days due to Vincristine chemo and Interthecal Methotrexate chemo (chemo in her spine). These two chemo's are given at Children's. Liz will receive both chemo's Tues. Aug. 31. This will be her first missed day of the year. She will remain in treatment until Feb. 17, 2011.

We are in the countdown phase for her every 29 day stuff. She has seven more times for the Vincristine. Here is a reminder of the side effects for this chemo: constipation; hair loss, nausea, vomiting, severe allergic reactions (rash, hives, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue), cough or sore throat, fever or chills, hearing changes or loss of hearing, mouth sores, muscle weakness, numbness or tingling of your fingers or toes, pain in the bones, muscles, or jaw pain, seizures, stomach pain, trouble urinating, unusual bruising or bleeding, vision changes or loss of vision.

Interthecal Methotrexate is given every 90 days in her spine. She is put to sleep for this procedure and only has three more times for this nasty procedure and chemo. Pharmacology 101 for Interthecal Methotrexate: dizziness, drowsiness, headache, swollen tender gums, decreased appetite, reddened eyes, hair loss, blurred vision or sudden loss of vision, seizures, confusion,weakness or difficulty moving one or both sides of the body, loss of consciousness.

Elizabeth takes Mecaptuprine pills daily and Methotrexate pills every seven days. Side effects of the Mercaptopurine are: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach/abdominal pain, weakness, skin rash, darkening of the skin, or hair loss, mouth sores,fever, sore throat, easy bruising or bleeding, pinpoint red spots on the skin, yellowing of eyes or skin, dark urine, painful or difficult urination. Mercaptopurine causes myelosuppression, suppressing the production of white blood cells and red blood cells. It may be toxic to bone marrow.

Side effects from the Methotrexate pill are: anemia, neutropenia, increased risk of bruising, hair loss, nausea and vomiting, dermatitis and diarrhea. A small percentage of patients develop hepatitis, and there is an increased risk of pulmonary fibrosis where dry cough can be an important sign.The higher doses of methotrexate often used in cancer chemotherapy can cause toxic effects to the rapidly-dividing cells of bone marrow and gastrointestinal mucosa. The resulting myelosuppression and mucositis are often prevented (termed Leucovorin "rescue"- as this is the folic acid based drug used).

Last but not least is her Pantinidime treatment. This is a breathing treatment that prevents against bacterial pneomonia. Side effects, of course there are side effects, did you think there would not be??? Her they are: stomach upset, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, cough or a change in taste, tightness in the chest, breathing difficulties, skin rash

As you can read from above, she still is in a battle and the side effects of the chemo's she is still taking are horrendous but with less amounts in her body, she is better able to manage the drug. Please pray for the side effects that can happen. last time she received the Vincristine the side effects were ugly. Some months are worse than others.

We continue to fight this battle and win. We have lost some very wonderful children and friends afflicted with blood cancers. We are still fighting and we will continue to fight to find a cure and possibly an easier protocol or treatment plan for those afflicted with blood cancers.

If you have not signed up to walk or donate to Team Blazin With Love for the Light The Night event, please consider doing so and be a hero to some. Please go to: http//pages.lightthenight.org/soh/ButlerCo10/LChristine

All proceeds go to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society for research to find a complete cure, the last 10 to 15%.

We have come a long way since Oct. 25, 2008. 730 days to be exact and are now down to 179!!!!!!!! I know to some that seems like a long way away but let me tell you, that is just a mere blink of an eye. We have been so blessed during those 730 days; in ways we can not explain or that one would even understand unless they too have to travel this road.

Please continue to pray for Elizabeth's well being,
that she stays in remission,
for minimal to no side effects from her medications, chemos, and anything else we may have to give her,
for her doctors, nurses, and caregivers,
for Critter, Bobby, and Ridgeway.

Please keep Jimmy in your prayers. He will undergo surgery to have his esophagus stretched on Sept. 13. Jimmy was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis three months ago. He continues to do well on the Flovent steroid. Dr. Putnum said he is allergic to proteins found in foods.

Blessings and prayers to all of you.

Christine

My Fundraising Page

2010-07-31T14:03:00.002-04:00

My Fundraising Page
click on the link to read, join our team, and donate :)
Be somebody's HeRo!

"Back to Life" vacation with the Brown family & friends! Celebrating Liz & Joel's good health thru the maintenance phase of their treatment

2010-07-23T23:45:00.002-04:00

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

2010-07-13T22:13:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our Team's Homepage
click on the link to donate to our team Blazin With <3 (love)

My Fundraising Page

2010-07-01T19:52:00.003-04:00

My Fundraising Page

Click on My Fundraising Page to go to Lizzy's page and join and/or donate ;)

We are also voting on what to put on the new t-shirts. Cast your vote:

A) STILL FIGHTING STILL WINNING

B) FINISHING STRONG

C) FINISH STRONG

2010-07-01T19:12:00.003-04:00

Quick update on Jimmy. We had his appointment with Dr. Putnum on Monday. Good news is that he is not on a liquid diet and the steroid is working on the inflammation. He can eat without a hitch and loves it. Jim's esophagus is less than 8mm; a person his size should have about 20mm. Doctor Putnum believes he will be able to stretch it between 10 and 12 mm when his esophagus is pliable enough to do this. Jim's next surgery is Sept. 13.
Bad news is. . . because his esophagus is so diseased, at this point, they can not do testing. Dr. Putnum feels it is not in Jim's best interest to test at this time because Jim would have to come off of the steroid and all the strides they have made thus far would be undone.
I understand a bit more about this disease after our consultation. This disease, Eosinopilic Esophagitus, is non-curable. It can be corrected if caught soon enough, meaning before strictures (scare tissues). However, you can never go off treatment, this disease will come back. You can keep it under control with diet and medication.
Dr. Putnum did say that Jim will remain on this steroid for the rest of his life. The only long term effect has been yeast infections of the esophagus and mouth and is easily treated with medication.
Please pray that they will be able to stretch his esophagus more on Sept. 13.
Pray that he will be lucky and never have to do any of the diets and that the steroids will do all it needs to do.
Pray that this disease does not progress.

Onto Elizabeth. She is doing great! Liz is taking Advanced Geometry this summer. Her dad is her teacher and they are loving every minute of it. She is playing sand volleyball every Thurs. night at Sports Express and taking private lessons from Greg Ulland once a week and loves it. She is enjoying being as normal as she can be while still taking chemo daily. Liz is getting ready to go to Cancer Camp July 11 - 16 and then onto Hilton Head July 16 - 23. The Brown family (Joel's family) will be going with us. Liz and Joel each are bringing two friends each. It is a welcome back to living vacation!
Please pray for minimal side effects of her chemo's.
Pray for her complete cure.
Pray for her friend, Critter. He had a bone marrow aspirate today and are waiting for the results. Pray that God had touched his marrow and healed him.
Pray for all the children on A5 South and North.

Blessings ~ Christine

Lizzy's blog but new pray request

2010-06-09T19:30:00.017-04:00

Well, as most of you know by now, there is never a dull moment within the Lothrop home. I just wish going to the doctors for something routine would stay that way, routine!

Our son, Jim, has always been a choker and very slow eater. We use to tease him about being European because he ate so slow. We would all be finished and would wait another 45 minutes to an hour on Jimmy to finish his food. We thought he really loooved his food. About a year ago this coking issue became more prevalent and I kept saying "as soon as Liz is in Maintenance I will get you to the doctor for your throat" that time came two weeks ago.

We met with Dr. Cotton for a consult and were instructed to have a barium swallow. A barium swallow is a medical imaging procedure used to examine the upper GI (gastrointestinal) tract, which includes the esophagus and, to a lesser extent, the stomach. They used barium sulfate, a type of contrast medium that is visible to x-rays. As the patient swallows the barium suspension, it coats the esophagus with a thin layer of the barium. This enables the hollow structure to be imaged. Upon examination of the xrays, Dr. Cotton found what is called a congenial web across his esophagus, which was constricting his esophagus and not allowing him to swallow, plus his esophagus is considerably smaller than that of an adult.

Fast forward to today. Jim and I trudge on down to Children's for the stretching of his esophagus, a one time deal, right?! 15 minutes into the surgery I was called to the desk where I was instructed to pick up the phone when it rang, Dr. Cotton wanted to speak with me. I immediately new something was not right. The surgery was to take an hour and we were only 15 minutes into it. He proceeded to tell me that so far everything on his end was fine but when he went to scope, he noticed some "abnormalities" in Jimmy's esophagus and was calling in a specialist to look while Jimmy was under. Fast forward another hour, both doctors came to speak with me. Dr. Cotton said "my job is done, here is your new doctor, Dr. Putnum, world renowned doctor for what your son has. Jimmy has a disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

First of all, I have to learn to pronounce this disease. We all know what an esophagus is but what is eosinophils? Eosinophils (ee-oh-sin-oh-fillz) are a type of white blood cell (WBC). Eosinophils are the least common of the white blood cells and comprise approximately 1-4% of the blood’s cellular make-up. Eosinophils are an important part of the immune system, helping us fight off certain types of infections, such as parasites. Many different problems can cause high numbers of eosinophils in the blood including allergies (food and environmental), certain infections (caused by parasites), eosinophil associated gastrointestinal disorders, leukemia, and other problems. When eosinophils occur in higher than normal numbers in the body, without a known cause, an eosinophilic disorder may be present.

Let's just put it right out there, there is no "cure" for EE (Eosinophilic Esophagitis), but treatment can help alleviate symptoms and prevent further damage to the esophagus/gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Treatment of eosinophilic disorders will vary based on the location of the eosinophils, severity of symptoms, and other medical problems that Jimmy has. In most cases, dietary measures and medications can significantly improve problems related to the underlying eosinophilic disease.

Jimmy's prognosis for EE does not appear to limit life expectancy and there is currently no strong data suggesting EE causes cancer of the esophagus. In some patients, EE is complicated by the development of esophageal narrowing (strictures) which Jimmy does have and does cause his food to lodge in his esophagus (impaction). It is not clear how long EE has to exist before strictures form. However, since the natural history of EE is only emerging, careful monitoring and long-term follow-up is advised. The initial diagnosis of EE can be overwhelming and often affects the entire family. A positive attitude and a focus on non-food activities go a long way in learning to live with EE. With proper treatment, Jimmy can lead a normal life.

We are in the process of setting up a consult with Dr. Putnum for the course of treatment Jim will take. Being 18, he will have the final say in what he will do. The first thing that needs to be done is the clearing of the eosinophils in the esophagus, which is done through a strict diet and steroid use. There are several diets which Dr. Putnum will go over with us during our consultation and not one of them will be easy or fun but is necessary. This is a life long disease. Jimmy is not a stranger to medical adversity in his life. He will handle this with the grace and dignity that I have seen him do in all his situations.

Please pray that we start on this journey soon and Jim will eventually find the relief he is looking for.
Pray that he has the discernment that he needs to make correct and important decisions concerning his medical treatment.
As always, continue to pray for Elizabeth. She had her BIG chemo on Tuesday and has been down and feeling very puny since.
Continue to pray for my entire family. We have been through so very much in the past three years and need more prayers than we have a right to ask for. Life can really stink at time but what really matters is that we have each other, you included!

Blessings,
Christine

Way North Sports and Golf Enthusiasts

2010-06-02T18:04:00.011-04:00

Elizabeth and her cousin, Sean Westhoven, at their cousin's wedding this past weekend!

Way North Sports is an organisation that allows adults to have fun playing sports. They are registering for summer leagues now. Check them out!

Way North Sports at http://www.waynorthsports.com is hosting their first charitable event and it just happens to be for none other than our Team Blazin <3 at http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/ButlerCo10/BlazinWith3. If you are interested in getting a team together, meet some pretty awesome people, and support a great cause, copy and paste on the registration site below.

Liz has heavy chemo on Tuesday. We will head down to Children's by 5:45, her procedure will be around 10:00. She will be put to sleep and the doctor will then inject Methotrexate into her spine. Methotrexate is one of the chemo's that just lays her out. Please pray that her nausea is minimal to none, that would be nice, and her bone pain, sensitivity to light, and debilitating headaches are minimaul to none also. As she receives these two chemo's, every 29 days for Vincristine and 90 days for Methotrexate, I am praying that the drug residual in her system is less and therefore her side effects will be less.
She was with her second cousin, who is five, this weekend and she, Haley, was diagnosed with pneumonia today. Please pray for Haley and keep Elizabeth in your prayers as well that she should not get sick too and move forward on Tuesday without delay.

Always praying and being blessed by all of you ~ Christine

Come join us for the First Annual Mulligan Cup at http://www.waynorthsports.com, on July 16th as we support TEAM BLAZIN' WITH <3 (love) in their efforts to wipe out blood cancers.

For more info about the day of golf or TEAM Blazin' with <3 click the links above!!!

http://www.waynorthsports.com/register

If interested in Sponsoring at the event.....please contact Way North Sports Crew directly.

Way North Sports Crew
513.907.3366 (office)
waynorthsports@gmail.com
www.waynorthsports.com

FYI

2010-05-25T22:16:00.004-04:00

As of today, Liz is down to NINE months left in her treatment. Wow, how time flies . . . even when you're not having fun.
Blessings,
Christine

Doing good ")

2010-05-16T23:08:00.003-04:00

We are into Lizzy's fifth week of her freshman year. She is loving it and she only has about 20 more days till the end of the year. Boy, don't you wish all of your school years would have gone that quick!!!

I believe Lizzy has finally hit her stride in Maintenance. She is holding her own with the daily chemo, every 29 days Vincristine, and 90 days of IT Methotrexate. She is still at 50% dosing for her daily chemo but it may be increase to 75% next month. It will all depend on her CBC (complete blood count).

Last Thursday we were invited, along with Joel Brown and his family, to speak at the Hoxworth High School Luncheon Award Banquet. Both Liz and Joel spoke about their diagnosis and how incredibly important the donation of blood products are. The area high schools raised 13% of the total yearly donations needed for the greater Cincinnati area. They raise over 11,000 units! Like I told the students at the luncheon "blood donations were the first defense in saving Elizabeth's life. She received nonstop unites of whole blood and platelets from the minute she was diagnose and it continued pretty much for the 33 days she was in the hospital." "Liz received blood and platelets for 4.5 days before she was even treated for the cancer." "She would have never made it to see her first treatment without the blood donations." It was an honor for Liz, Joel, and our families to be a part of this wonderful event.

Please pray for Elizabeth's continued success with her "maintenance phase"
minimal side effects from all the chemo and narcotics that Elizabeth takes and has taken
Please pray for all the children on A5 South and their families

Blessings ~ Christine

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

2010-05-03T20:33:00.002-04:00

Welcome to our Team's Homepage

It is that time of the year that I am gearing up for the fundraising event, Light The Night. Please visit the team page of "Team Blazin with <3". Once again the Lothrop and Brown family are teaming up to raise funds to help find a cure for Blood Cancers. Will you please prayerfully consider donating to our cause and fight this year on behalf of Liz and Joel.

Blessings,
Christine

Beautiful Baby Girl!

2010-05-03T19:36:00.002-04:00

Four weeks of school is just too much for Liz :) Batman was just happy to be with her.
Life is priceless!
Blessings ~ Christine

Relay for Life 2010

2010-04-25T16:30:00.004-04:00

For best view, double click on picture and watch on youtube. Part of picture is cut off here.

Prayers for tonight's event and update ")

2010-04-23T06:43:00.008-04:00

Good morning -
Tonight is Catherine's Relay for Life at University of Cincinnati. She works so hard on this event all school year and enjoys being part of it. Please pray that at least the thunder storms stay away. I don't know if you know how this event works, but these college kids stay out and up all through the night, with the event ending Sat. morning. I am not worry about her safety because security is everywhere. Catherine is in charge of the slide show of survivors and those who have lost the battle. If you have pictures of people that you would like to honor please send them to Catherine at: catherineclothrop@gmail.com the pictures will not make it into the video this year but they will for next year. The video is shown during the time of silence and continues to run silently during the rest of the event. It is a beautiful tribute.
Please pray for Randy too. He is speaking at the event about Elizabeth, her diagnoses, prognoses, and our life over the last 19 months. Pray that he is strong and can make it through our story by glorifying God at all times.

Life seems to be resuming for Liz. She has been in school for two weeks now with only a few tardies due to treatment or fatigue. We are down to having her blood drawn once a month, Vincristine every 29 days, Interthecal Methotrexate every 90 days, Mercaptopurine every night, Methotrexate pills every seven days, Prednisone, and Fluconazole. She has an arsenol of other meds on hand for pain and nausea which she uses around every 29 days. Instead of living every minute trying to deal with the side effects, we are now at least living day by day. I remember so clearly Liz having her Methotrexate, vomiting within seconds of it hitting her system, and then continuing to battle the horrible side effects for the next five to six days. There would be days that our curtains were never opened because of the debilitating headaches, nausea, and bone pain Liz would have with all the chemo. Her eyes were extremely sensitive and her bones would ache due to the Vincristine chemo.

Our God is an awesome God. I know you hear this a lot from people and it seems so cliche but it is true. Some people know the awesomeness of God with out tragedy and some learn of God's great love, grace, peace, and mercy through journeys. However you come to know the Lord the point is that you did. May God always be a part of your life, good and bad. He is the one constant.

"But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever" (Psalm 52:8).

Blessings,
Christine

2010-04-18T20:09:00.010-04:00

WOW! look at what chemo can do......Elizabeth does not recommend it ")

Elizabeth actually made it to school all week. She was late on Monday due to a big chemo day, late on Thursday just because she was exhausted and her body is not use to moving that much, but all in all she had a wonderful week ")

It is now day seven of the Vincristine and the side effects have hit. She has been in bed all day on a pain killer called Oxycodone and an anti nausea drug, Ativan. The combination of these two drugs wipe her out.

Kayla McDowell came over after church and lifted her spirits, even though she fell asleep on her, Dawn and Logan Ficorelli came by in the afternoon with a smoothie, and Connor McVey came over late afternoon and had dinner with her. Thanks guys! You lifted her spirits a great deal.

We are down to 305, GOD WILLING, days left until she is finished with her treatment. It has been a long, hard, and rough 440 days of treatment. We have had some wonderful mom and daughter times through this journey and for that I am eternally grateful.

It is that time of the year that I begin to gear up for Light The Night Walk. This is a wonderful evening sponsored by Hoxworth Blood Center and put on by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. All the proceeds will go directly to this incredible and live saving organization. LTN walk takes place Sept. 16, at the Mason Sports Park. Please consider coming out, joining, and donating to our team again. Please go to our team page at: http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/ButlerCo10/BlazinWith3 where you can join and donate to our team and cause.

Thank you for being such wonderful, prayerful, and faithful followers. Your prayers and support have helped us see the silver lining in this hurricane.

Please pray for the side effects of Vincristine; extreme joint and bone pain to go away soon and she can stop using the Oxycodone.

Blessings,
Christine

It has been a while

2010-04-13T13:30:00.004-04:00

Brittany, Liz, and Jim at Lakes Park, Florida.

Liz is doing great! She had a wonderful spring break, only two trips to the hospital for blood draws while we were there. She has started back on her daily chemo but only at 50% dosing. The docs will try 75% in a month or two and then up to 100% dosing. If her body will hold her counts at 100%; that is the ultimate goal. Her blood counts, like the ANC and platelets need to remain at the magical numbers of 750 and 75k.

Please continue to pray for all the kids on A5 South,
the staff that takes such good care of them,
Liz remains in remission,
minimal side effects of all her chemo and drugs she still takes.

Blessings and enjoy this God given day.

Christine

disclaimer

2010-03-28T11:56:00.003-04:00

I forgot to give you my disclaimer. We prayed really really hard and we are going home! God is glorious and has reminded all of us once again who is in charge at all times, good and bad.
Thank you for praying.
Blessings,
Christine

hospital update

2010-03-27T22:15:00.002-04:00

We are still here, just in case you thought we were anywhere else.

Liz is finally feeling better. She has been fever free for about 14 hours now, please keep praying. We have no idea when she will be released. The nurses and doctors are putting their educated guess on her white board. Earliest one is Thur. 4-1. Personally, I thought that was a cruel joke .... not really. The latest is Tues. 4-6. They are all being optimistic. I figure God will release us when the time is right. Go ahead, give us your guess. I will tell you she usually takes three weeks and we are 2.5 weeks into it. Also, a little insight, the precursor cells that they look at to see if her ANC is coming in are not showing yet. Now that you are adequately armed with this information, you are qualified to guess.

Please continue to pray for all the children on A5 South and the wonderful staff.

Blessings,
Christine

POWERFUL Lyrics!

2010-03-26T22:01:00.004-04:00

If you double click on the still you can watch the video on youtube in it's original dimensions

In, Out, In, You guess!!!!!

2010-03-25T13:14:00.003-04:00

We are back in the hospital. Liz spiked a fever of 103 last night and after spending much time in the ED, we arrived in our room at 2:45 am. She is resting semi-comfortable at the moment. The are giving her two units of blood, antibiotics- zosyn and vancomyocin, and morphine for the pain. We are in here for at least three days, 10 if she has a bacteria in her body, and until her ANC is 200 and rising. At present, her ANC is a whooping ZERO! The last time this happened we were in here for three weeks. Please pray that that is not the case this time. Each time this happens to her it gets harder to deal with. Life can be very cruel and disappointing at best sometimes.

Please pray that this is just a normal thing that happens in maintenance,
her counts come up quickly,
her spirits stay strong,
all the families on A5 South,
the wisdom of the team of doctors that are placed in her care,

God ultimately has the control. No matter how we struggle for it, he always has it. Please please please pray for her complete recovery; this means NO relapse. God is an awesome God. No matter what our struggle is he is with us and that gives us comfort.

Blessings and enjoy your God given day,

Christine

Prayers

2010-03-22T21:18:00.003-04:00

Lizzy enjoying a slice of heaven at her Aunt and Uncle's in Orlando :) Thanks Dave and Suzanne!

Meet Ridgeway. You can follow his progress at: http://rally4ridgway.blogspot.com/
He was diagnosed with ALL in September of 2009 and of course, we met at Children's on one of Lizzy's many stays.

Lizzy has specifically asked that you pray for her health.
Once again her counts are down, ANC 500 and falling, platelets 14k, she had a platelet transfusion this afternoon at 3:30. All chemo has been stopped once again and will not start again until her ANC is 750 and platelets are 75k.
You know the drill when this happens..... no school, no outings without a mask, and no visitors if you are sick. This means a cough, runny nose, fever, or what you may think is allergies. Please call me first at 349-5966 before visiting. If Elizabeth gets a fever while she is neutropenic, ANC under 500, she is hospitalized for a minimum of 10 days, on two different antibiotics, and until her immune system is above 200 and rising. last time this happened to her, we were in the hospital for three weeks waiting on her ANC to make a reappearance in her body.
Lizzy's spirits remain high through all of this, even with the episode from last Friday. I do not know how she does it sometimes. I get very sad when her world comes crashing down around her when it should be getting better each day. I know that one day she will walk away and be cured. God has placed in Elizabeth's life very special, dedicated, and intelligent people to provide the best care and outcome for her.

Please pray for all the children on A5 South
for our friends who's children have lost their battle with cancer
for Ridgeway, who broke him arm today and ended up in the ED
for the wonderful staff at Children's
for Lizzy's health, her counts to rise, her cold to go away and not get any worse

Psalm 18:32-34 NIV
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Blessings to all of you,
Christine

Back with a BANG!

2010-03-13T10:54:00.003-05:00

We are home from our wonderful vacation. We had a great time. The weather was OK but who can complain, we were in Florida! Weather is subjectional anyway, right?!?!?!

We did not bring back the sunshine like we promised but we did bring back colds; we won't share them with you though.

Lizzy had a wonderful first day of school on Friday. Since her diagnoses in Oct. 25, 2008, Eight grade year, she has only gone to school 32 days. 30 days was before her diagnoses and two were the first two days of school this year. She has truly had her share of disappointments for a 15 year old but she handles it with such grace. I love her so much!

We had a rough go of things last night. After picking her up from school she began to feel poorly. She started to vomit in the car. When we got home I gave her ocycodone and ativan but the symptoms only got worse. The pain became concentrated on her right side where the appendix is. We called the hospital and they told us to go to the ED right away. I made it to Pfiffer Road but the pain became too much and we had to pull over and call 911. They meet us at the BP on Pfiffer Road and took us the rest of the way to Children's. About five hours after the pain and vomiting started it ended, just as quickly as it came on. The doctors have not figured out what the problem is/was.

Liz had a chest xray for the rattle and whizzing they heard in her lungs, they wanted to rule out pneumonia. Thank God it came back clear. The relief on her face and in body was actually visable. She also had an ultra sound on her ovaries and kidneys. The doctor felt it might be twisted ovaries which would entail surgery. That was also ruled out. Her ovaries are very small and was hard to find but they did and they were not twisted. Doctors said they are small due to the chemo and the depo provera shots she has received. Please pray that the small ovaries will correct themselves when she is no longer on chemo. She had traces of blood in her urine so they felt it could have been a kidney stone. Bottom line ....... we really do not know. That is not a real reassuring feeling but Liz is fine and not in any pain.

We were discharged at 1:30 a.m. and she is sleeping peacefully upstairs. All is well within our soles. As Liz said on the way home "God answered another prayer." "He always does!" She is so right!

Thank you for being with us on our very long journey. I am grateful to all of you for your prayers and support. People are always asking us why, why why???? Lizzy's response is and always has been "if not me then it would be someone else."

We go in Tuesday for her heavy dose of chemo. She will have Vincristine and Interthecal Methotrexate. Please pray for minimal side effects of both of these chemos. Vincristine causes bone, joint, and abdominal pain and Methotrexate causes back pain from the procedure, and mouth sores. Please pray that her cold goes away and does not turn into anything other than just that, a cold.

Blessings and prayers,
Christine

A full day

2010-03-03T09:06:00.004-05:00

Liz had such a great time today, again!
She had to do some unpleasant business first, school work. I know Melissa, that you are glad to hear that. We had lunch at Seasons 52; an awesome restaurant from the Darden Company. They own Olive Garden, Longhorn, Red Lobster and a few others. It was so wonderful, all dishes being 475 calories, and Liz had her sushi. From there we went and had a manipedi which is a mini manicure and mini pedicure and WE all loved it! We meet her uncle, Dave, at the 6:00 showing of La Nouba, cirque Du Soleil. It was Awesome! The top photo was her favorite part of the play. These people are incredible to watch!
She is still asleep but will be going to the Disney Gaming Arcade today with Patrick and two of his friends.
We leave for Fort Myers tomorrow morning to see Grandma and Grandpa Westhoven, Aunt Patti, and the Blakster.
Blessings to all and I hope the weather is starting to get better for all of you.
Christine

Oh What a Day!

2010-03-02T11:03:00.004-05:00

We spent Monday, all day, at Disney! I was so proud of Liz; this is the longest day she has had since before her diagnoses. She lasted EIGHT hours!
We rode all the adult rides and some of the more mellow rides. The mellow rides were for me but I did ride the bigger ones too! Don't worry doc's, they were not THAT big of an adult ride so Liz was safe :)
God gave us a beautiful day to tour around the world, Disney World that is, but is sure felt like the world. To see Elizabeth so carefree and feeling so well is such a joy and a gift.
Tune in tomorrow to see what she does today!
Blessings,
Christine and Elizabeth~Grace

LaRosa's and or Chick-Fil-A

2010-02-22T21:13:00.001-05:00

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has become a very important organization within the Lothrop home. My daughter is here because of this organization. I am not just saying this. It is fact! This organization provides at least 75% of the grants and funding in research for pediatric blood cancers. 4,000 children a year is not enough of a money maker for drug companies to put their money into and develop pediatric cancer drugs. Most of the drugs and chemo's used for these children are adult drugs that are tweaked to work for children. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society funds research for the cure. We are know at an 85% cure rate for the type of Leukemia that Elizabeth has, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This organization cares and is making huge strides in the field of blood cancers.

Please consider eating out at LaRosa's tomorrow and or Chick-fil-A on Wednesday and team-up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Mason Middle School to fight and save the lives of thousands of children. One lost is one too many. Below is the information sent to me from the Middle School.

Help support the Mason Middle School Pasta for Pennies campaign by eating at LaRosa's! Please spread the word! This is an easy one folks. Order out for lunch or get it for dinner that day!

When: Tuesday, February 23rd (from open to close)
Where: Mason LaRosa's
How: By giving/mentioning the attached flyer when eating there. It is valid for eat in, carryout, & delivery.
Why: 20% of food sales will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through the MMS Pasta for Pennies campaign.

LaRosa's Mason Direct Number 513.398.0680

AND OR..........

When: Wednesday, February 24th (5-8pm)
Where: Mason Chick-Fil-A
How: By giving/mentioning the attached flyer when eating there. It is valid for eat in & carryout.
Why: A portion of food sales will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through the MMS Pasta for Pennies campaign.

Blessings,
Christine

Go for Monday!

2010-02-19T07:55:00.005-05:00

Catherine, Lizzy, and Haley this past summer going canoeing.

We had Lizzy's lab work done and she is finally a go for her next big chemo. I feel like we are always fighting day 29. Her ANC is 950 and her platelets are 127k. Dr. Absalon, her primary Oncologist, was jumping with excitement when he saw her numbers. Thank you for your prayers for her.

Once again God continues to inspire me to always try my best and that is not easy to do. I fail at it all the time. I ran a race on Valentine's Day, oh how I wanted to quit that last 1/4 mile up hill to the finish line. Why do all races end on a hill and not going down the hill but up the hill???? All I thought about was Liz and how she would give anything to be out racing and doing things that we push ourselves to do because it hurts.......whaa whaa whaa. I didn't quit and it felt great! Not really, I wanted to heave my guts out but I am glad that I ran the race and did not stop.

Lizzy can't wait to get back into Volleyball. She said her goal is to get a volleyball scholarship. If anyone can do it, I know it will be her. If you want to see what a true fighter looks like just go to A5 south. I have never seen kids with such tenacity. Their will to survive and live a healthy life is something to admire.

We will go to Children's, at Liberty, for her chemo, Vincristine, Monday at 8:00am. Please pray for minimal side effects as this is the chemo that effects her joints and causes stomach pain. Liz will receive this chemo every 29 days; as long as her counts are 950 and 75k. Lizzy will also start back on her daily chemo Monday. We are now down to 363 days left of taking and having chemo. We are still in the Valley but we are walking toward the light with God always at our side.

Blessings to all,
Christine

Kids need your help

2010-02-16T22:26:00.007-05:00

Liz giving a thumbs up to the donor of the blood and platelets that she was receiving.

I have asked a lot from all of you over the past 16 months; for prayers, for money to support our cause, fundraisers, walking events in support of Liz and the list goes on and on and on. I am going to prayerfully ask that you consider giving blood products. Elizabeth would not be her today if not for the generosity of selfless and giving people. I have learned so much from being a caregiver of a child with cancer. Elizabeth has gone through so many units of blood and platelets that I have lost track of the amount. She will never be able to give back by giving blood because of her type of cancer. This is something that really bothers Liz because she knows a persons life is depending on it. My child is here because of people who give and I cannot thank you enough.

Platelets take any where from one to two hours to give. The shelf life for platelets is three days, but no need to worry about them going bad, the last time I gave platelets the bag left with a name on it and it went directly to Cincinnati Children's. The Plasma I gave went to Shriners downtown. A person can give platelets every two weeks and blood can be giving every 56 days.

Patients continue to need life-saving blood, no matter the weather conditions. Like everyone, Hoxworth Blood Center is dealing with the snow yet again. Hoxworth will remain open! Donors can call 513-451-0910 to find a place to donate. All donors, 2/15-2/20 will be automatically registered to win a pair of Suite Tickets to the SOLD OUT Taylor Swift Concert on March 28th!

Please consider giving the gift of life, you never know who you are going to save!

Blessing and prayers,

Christine

2010-02-16T21:46:00.002-05:00

Liz is having her her blood drawn this Friday, please pray that her ANC is 750 and her platelets are at 75k. Last time they were checked her ANC was 510 and her platelets were 63k. If they are at the right levels she will have chemo on Monday and go back on all of her daily chemo as well.

Liz is feeling really good, no chemo, it will do that to her : ) Please pray that she resumes her chemo on Monday and her counts remain high.

Blessings and prayers,
Christine

Movin on up, just like the Jeffersons

2010-02-11T08:40:00.004-05:00

We are heading in the right direction; UP! We had blood drawn on Monday and her ANC is 540. WHOOPEEEEEEEE! This means she can wonder about like a normal person; NO mask and we can go places! Liz and I were like two school girls that were just asked to the prom. We danced, hugged, and wanted to cry but didn't. Who wants to be the first one to do that? JEEZ.

God is awesome. Liz and I prayed hard on the way to Children's that she would be at least 500. An hour later we called Children's and the prelims were at 450. The tech had one more step to do and this step usually brings the numbers down a bit. I told her "I am confident that God will work the numbers, I will call back in 10 min." called back and God gave us 540. The rest is HIStory. We were out the door to breathe the air and take in the day.

Liz needs to have an ANC of 750 and platelets of 75k to have her heavy chemo on Tues. please pray that her counts continue to climb and she is well enough to go back on her daily chemo. Feb. 17 , 2010 is one year away from her final chemo date. We will be celebrating our journey over the past 16 months and gearing up for the last 365 days. I don't know what we are going to be doing yet but one thing is for sure ...... the Lothrop house will be rockin. I can't wait to have the calendar count down like the kid's do at Christmas time.

Thank you all for your daily prayers, checking in and reading the blog, letters of encouragement to Liz, and your financial support for our cause.

Blessings and prayers,
Christine

Layups for Leukemia!

2010-02-06T16:06:00.002-05:00

2010-02-05T12:15:00.004-05:00

For those of you who could not make it out for the Layups 4 Leukemia, we made a little video of the highlights. Copy and paste the link below and enjoy. I don't have the total as of yet that was made for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society but when I do, I will let you know. Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odRazm4nui0

Winter Break 2010!

2010-02-02T23:37:00.000-05:00

MASON vs SYCAMORE :)

2010-01-31T18:21:00.002-05:00

Last year was a success but this year it needs to be even bigger! Our goal is to raise $10,000 for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society This year we have decided to have a competition between Sycamore and Mason to see who will sell more t-shirts! SO WHICH SCHOOL WILL IT BE?

Honored Heroes:
-Liz Lothrop
-Joel Brown
-Leah Jordan

T-shirts will be sold for $10. Students wearing the t-shirt to the game will get free admission. Adults wearing the t-shirt will get in for $3, without t-shirt regular $6 admission will apply.

Sycamore and Mason High School will be selling t-shirts during lunch on January 28th and 29th and February 1st and 2nd.

Whatever t-shirts are left, will be sold at the door.

There will be competitions at halftime- Sycamore vs Mason!

There will also be items raffled off throughout the game.

If you would like to make an on-line donation please visit the event webpage at: http://soh.lls.llsevent.org/layupsforleukemia

Questions, please contact event co-chair @ ashleyschaefer21@yahoo.com

THANK YOU in advance for all your support.

Ashley
Play by play, we are closer to a CURE!

Up hill? No wait, down hill.

2010-01-26T22:07:00.005-05:00

Liz and Jim at Youth Group ")

Have you ever gone to a movie on the recommendation that "It is the best movie you will ever see". Well, maintenance is a bit like that. Liz and I had these illusions that when the tough weekly treatment was over and we hit maintenance we would "see the light". Let's just say that we are not breaking out the sunglasses. Although we are seeing less of the doctors and downtown Children's, we are not seeing more of the outside world. We do miss our doctors and the nurses. Believe it or not, hours of waiting at clinic now seems like a fun day out.

Lizzy's counts remain swirling at the bottom of the toilet. We had blood work done at Children's Liberty today and her ANC is 10, platelets 21k, hemoglobin 10, white blood cell (WBC) .05. If you want to visit, please call me first, also make sure you are not sick in any way, even having the sniffles. This is where her counts were when she was admitted in November and remained in the hospital for three weeks. Without an ANC ,immune system, Liz cannot fight her own bodies bacteria.

All chemo is stopped until her counts recover to an ANC of 750, and platelets of 75k. Last week Liz received two units of packed red blood cells and one unit of platelets. There is a critical crises for blood and platelets. If you have never given blood or platelets, please prayerfully consider donating. Your donation saves lives! Not every one can give financially but every one can see if they can give blood products and if they can it doesn't cost a thing.

Please pray for her ANC to recover
that she does not get sick
that we "see the light" soon
for the researchers and funds that have allowed there to be an 85% cure rate

Blessings,
Christine

Layups for Leukemia

2010-01-22T17:49:00.001-05:00

UC Relay for Life is back again!

2010-01-21T17:44:00.003-05:00

Hello Family and Friends :)

I am back at this again this year! I am hoping to raise $3,000 with my team and bring us a few steps further in finding a cure for cancer.

This year, I am helping save lives from cancer by taking part in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life Event, and I’m hoping you will help by supporting me.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life® is a life-changing event that gives people in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out on the University of Cincinnati campus and take turns walking or running around a path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.

In addition to helping people celebrate, remember, and fight back, Relay For Life® also helps raise much-needed funds and awareness to help the American Cancer Society save lives from cancer.

Please support me in my efforts by visiting my personal web page to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation at
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/cat.lothrop

Every donation really does make a difference. I know that times are tighter than normal for many of us, but any amount you can give truly can help save lives. Just $5 gets us one step closer to the exciting goal of a cure!

Thanks to your support, the American Cancer Society can:

Help people stay well by helping them take steps to prevent cancer or detect it early, when it’s most treatable
Help people get well by being in their corner around the clock to guide them through every step of their cancer experience
Find cures by funding groundbreaking research that helps us understand cancer’s causes, determine how best to prevent it, and discover new ways to cure it
Fight back by working with lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and rally communities worldwide to join the fight

Each of us has our own reasons for caring about the fight against cancer … whatever your reasons, I hope you’ll choose to make a difference by making a donation online to support my efforts. I’m so grateful to have people like you in my life who want to see an end to cancer in our lifetime as much as I do. Together we can save lives.

If you want to learn more about Relay For Life®, please visit RelayForLife.org.

Thanks so much everyone :)
Catherine Lothrop

Counts down

2010-01-21T16:06:00.005-05:00

The Lothrop "trickle train"

We are now 35 days into maintenance and her chemo may need a little adjusting. Lizzy's blood work today was not encouraging. Her ANC ( immune system) is at 80, well below the 500 mark. We had her at a basketball game last night; please pray that God was watching over her and will protect her from any type of sickness she was exposed to. Her platelets are only at 15k so here we sit at Children's getting a platelet transfusion.

Life is funny; you wait for this miracle of "Maintenance" and you find that you are still battling the same demons. I guess the first three months are a bit of a roller coaster until they have the dosage right for her daily chemo.

The plan as of now is to stop all chemo until her counts recover. ANC 750 and platelets 75k. Once that happens she will go back on 100% dosing of her 6mp chemo and see if she can hold her own. If not, her chemo will be held again until her counts have recovered and she will start back up at 50 to 75% dosing of her 6mp.

Please continue to pray for protection from illness,
her counts to recover,
minimal side effects,
the families and children on A5 South.

Be a blessing to someone today,
Christine

Count back

2010-01-13T20:33:00.003-05:00

Liz and Batman riding home from Fort Myers

I was just going through my binder from the past 455 days of Elizabeth's treatment and here is a 14 month in review for you.

125 days in the hospital (3.5 months)
295 days at the hospital ( clinic, blood draws, blood/platelet transfusions, fevers)
35 days at home without running anywhere

God and you were with us every step of the way. No one could make it through that ordeal without the love of God, family, friends, and community. Thank you for being with us during our darkest moments and sharing some of our most wonderful moments of growing as individuals.

Please continue to pray for minimal side effects from her chemo and just the daily routine of all the drugs that she has to take.

Blessings,
Christine

Layups for Leukemia is fast approaching!!!

2010-01-09T18:40:00.002-05:00

Last year was a hit...this year we are going to PACK THE HOUSE and SAVE LIVES!!!
The event details are:
Feb. 2nd 2010 7:30pm during the Boys game
Mason at Sycamore.

Event being held by Sycamore Womens Basketball team.
Questions contact co-chair Ashley Schaefer@ ashleyschaefer21@yahoo.com

T-shirts will be sold for $10. Students wearing the t-shirt to the game will get free admission. Adults wearing the t-shirt will get in for $3, without t-shirt regular $6 admission will apply.
There will also be items raffled off.

The webpage address if anyone would like to make on-line donations is:
http://soh.lls.llsevent.org/layupsforleukemia

2009-12-30T21:10:00.005-05:00

Lizzy swimming under the water in gma and gpa's pool!

It has been a bit so I thought I would let you know what we are up to.

We had the OK to travel so we did! Probably a bit further then they meant for us to go.

We left Dec 26th at 4:40 am for Fort Myers and arrived 18 hours later. We have had a great time and are enjoying having some wonderful family time. First time on vacation for over 15 months.

Today we spent the day at the beach. I believe every other person on the planet did the same thing, but that did not stop us from having fun. Liz and Randy did some passing and bumping of the volleyball on the beach, getting ready for the day she steps back on the courts.

We will be leaving for home on Fri. morning and getting ready to begin school and the real world again.

Please continue to pray for:
Liz to stay in remission
minimal side effects from her chemo
her strength to return
for the families on A5 South
The doctors and nurses that continually take care of these children and their families.

Happy New Year and blessings,
Christine

2009-12-25T06:57:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas and God's blessings upon you in the new year!

First day of Maintenance

2009-12-18T07:39:00.003-05:00

Dr. Jen and Liz signing her Maintenance papers.

We have finally made it to MAINTENANCE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elizabeth has 433 days behind her now of very hard chemos and treatment plan.

Elizabeth has 427 days left in her maintenance phase.

Elizabeth's five year remission will occur in 2016.

Elizabeth's cure will come in the year 2021, when she is 27 years old.

Elizabeth's faith remains strong, if not stronger, in the Lord.

Be faithful unto the Lord, always.

Blessings,

Christine

ORANGE!

2009-12-13T08:17:00.000-05:00

Jim's basketball team busts out the orange uni's in support of Liz!

Wahoooooooo!

2009-12-08T13:56:00.004-05:00

We are home. We came home yesterday around 11:00 am and could not be more thrilled, her ANC is 290. It is good to sleep in your own bed but better to know that your daughter's body is producing the new bone marrow.

Thank you to all how have been faithful to us during this difficult time. Upward and onward to a brighter future.

Blessings,
Christine

We're moving on up

2009-12-06T10:25:00.003-05:00

Jam 5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord.

Lizzy's lab came back and her ANC is 180 WAHOOOOOOOOO! They need to be over 200 and consistently rising before we can go home. This is the highest her ANC has been in close to a month.

Liz was allowed out of her room yesterday with a mask. We were so excited! The weekends are awesome around here because no one is around down stairs. We went downstairs and low and behold, there was Brittany and Cindy Dodson waiting to see Liz (wink wink) It was a wonderful moral booster for Liz to see her best friend and feel slightly normal.

Maybe, just maybe we will get to go home by Mon. Please keep the prayers coming.

Blessings,

Christine

Yuck

2009-12-04T18:25:00.002-05:00

Well, it got worse. Her ANC dropped to zero. I guess we should have been happy with the 20. I asked the doctors if there was anything I needed to be concerned or worried about and they said "no." Dr. Burns said it is not typical but she has seen kids do this before and Liz has never had a direct up with her ANC's. She is a little bit like a yo yo with them and is going to do this typical "Liz style."

Please continue to pray that she gets out soon and is able to begin Maintenance. I want her to be a normal kid. She should be going to Christmas in Mason with all of her friends, not battling a war.

Continued prayers ~ Christine

Please Pray

2009-12-04T11:05:00.002-05:00

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

Lizzy's counts have all dropped from yesterday. Docs have ordered a new CBC to be done. Please pray that for some reason her first results were a mistake. Please pray that there is nothing wrong with Elizabeth and if they did truly drop it is normal and not due to anything going wrong within her.

This has been a blow to her mental state; mine too. Please pray for us and all the children and families on A5 South.

Blessings ~ Christine

Simple Truths

2009-12-03T05:12:00.000-05:00

Still here

2009-12-01T15:56:00.004-05:00

Believe has been Lizzy's mantra from the day she was diagnosed.

Quick up-date. Liz is doing well but we are still here. Her ANC is still at zero and all indications point to her remaining here until next week maybe being released mid-week. Her spirits remain high; thank you for all the prayers and cards being sent to her.

Once her counts reach 750 for an ANC and 75k for platelets we will begin maintenance. As far as Liz and I are concerned we are in maintenance. No more 57 day phases of hard chemo.

Liz is keeping herself occupied with movies, games, and magazines. I am really proud of her because not only is she in the hospital without visitors, due to the hospital restrictions, she is also in isolation and not allowed to leave her room. These walls can become very small after 13 days. We may hit 3 weeks in here, almost as long as the Induction Phase when she was diagnosed and we stayed for 33 days.

Please pray that Elizabeth's counts come in sooner than what the blood work shows. Miracles happen :-]

"Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help. You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."
Psalm 30:10-12

Blessings and continued prayers,

Christine

Celebrate, we are done with Delayed Intensification 2!

2009-11-28T11:03:00.006-05:00

Elizabeth took her last dose of chemo on Friday for this final phase before Maintenance. I did an end of the phase dance and Liz looked at me and said "Don't ever do that again." Of course we all laughed and I continued to dance while adding a little singing with it. Don't get me wrong, we are a long way from the finish line, but the treatment will not be as intense and she should be able to resume a more normal life; life beyond just Children's!

Liz is looking ahead to the future with me for the very first time since being diagnosed. She asked for soccer shorts! A sign that she is getting back into her athletic mind set. She is looking forward to a new game in life, one that she can call the shots in. We are hoping that she will go back to school March 9. This will be the beginning of the third trimester, new for everyone at school, not just her. Liz has not been to school since Oct 13, 2008. She is looking forward to spring conditioning with the Mason Volleyball team, and lifting weights at Lifetime with her mama :-) Life is good and only going to get better. I know we will still have hard days but that is just it, it will be days, not months.

We are now day 10 of the antibiotics but Lizzy's ANC is at zero still. What does this mean????? We are not being discharged. Liz will remain on the antibiotic for the duration of her stay. We do not know how long that will be because it depends on the count recovery of her ANC. At the moment there are no signs that they, her neutrophils, are trying to come in. The inside of her body is a war torn battle field. The bone marrow is so fragile, immature, and little of it, that it is not enough to help her out and keep her safe from bacteria. As you all know by now, from reading the blog, that her cancer, ALL, is a blood cancer and grows in the bone marrow.

Thank you to our church, Wellspring. Your prayers on Sun. and throughout this week, making Liz your prayer focus, has helped her spirits. Normally at this time she would be so mad and upset that she still has to remain in here waiting for her counts to recover, but with all the support and prayers that you are sending on her behalf she is much more at peace and less combative. Thanking you for loving her and our family like God loves us. This journey would look completely different without our faith and you. May God enrich your lives as he has ours over the past 13 months.

Blessings and happy belated Thanksgiving.
Christine

You made her smile!

2009-11-24T10:30:00.004-05:00

You made Liz smile, giggle, and laugh with all the ecards sent through the Children's website. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to get on line and send her good thoughts. She has them hanging all over her room!

Lizzy had a rough start to her day but is getting better as the day progresses. She has been given pain meds, anti nausea meds, and platelets and will be sleeping peacefully soon.

I am calling it a morning and going to snuggle with Liz and watch Prancer. Please continue to pray for Liz and the side effects from these drugs and her own body's bacteria.

Blessings,
Christine

It is a bacterial infection

2009-11-21T08:56:00.006-05:00

A gift from her Aunt Theresa and her cousin Haley! Haley says "If you just believe"

Liz came down with a bacterial infection in her blood this past week; good news is we were already at Children’s when she really needed medical attention quickly. She was admitted on Wednesday and we will be staying at Children’s for a minimum of 10 days. Everything seems to be under control, her blood pressure is now stable and she has received multiple blood transfusions to help with her hemoglobin, the oxygen carrier in the blood.

I felt bad for Randy on Thur. of that day. He walked into Day Hospital just as everything started to go askew. He was wonderful though, he never lost his composure. He calmly walked over to the chair, placed his items on it, turned around and walked directly to the bed and took her hand and rubbed her face. It was such a tender moment to witness. Lizzy's blood pressure had just dropped to 70/35, if you know anything about BP, you know this is extremely low and dangerous. Her normal BP is 107/85 or 107/90. This is the time people with a bacterial infection slip into septic shock.

Septic shock is a life-threatening reaction to a severe infection. During septic shock, the body tissues and organs do not get enough blood and oxygen. The problem may start with a small infection that overwhelms the body's defenses and spreads. In some severe infections, the germs make harmful toxins that can cause fluid to leak from blood vessels out into the tissues. The toxins may also prevent the heart from beating strongly enough. Together, these reactions lower blood pressure. If blood pressure gets too low, the body and its organs become deprived of oxygen. The body tries to help itself, but without enough oxygen, it makes too much of certain waste products. These extra wastes can do additional harm.

Septic shock is an emergency that requires treatment in the hospital. Thank God we were at the hospital and it did not go into septic shock. However, her treatment is the same regime as if she had gone septic.Liz was put on medicine to fight the infection, plus IV fluids. Without treatment, septic shock is usually a killer. The sooner you receive treatment, the better your chances of recovery.

Red Man Syndrome is a reaction to the drug vancomycin. Patients typically develop symptoms within 5 or 10 minutes of receiving the drug, and they experience itching and flushing of the face, neck, & torso. They may also experience swelling of the lips, face, or eyes and/or a drop in blood pressure, but this is less frequent. Red Man Syndrome is not a true allergy, even though the symptoms look similar to an allergic reaction. Red Man Syndrome can usually be avoided by pre-treating the patient with antipyretic and antihistamine medications (like acetaminophen and diphenhydramine) and infusing the drug at the slower rate, which is what they did with Liz and she has been ok since then.

It will be a race to see if Lizzy's ANC count comes up by Sun. If not, she is in here until they do. At the moment she is blazing a trail at ZERO. Appearance wise Liz is looking much better but her insides, where the battle is waging, tells a much different story. I truly understand the old adage, "You can't judge a book by it's cover". Lizzy needs God's will, your prayers, and the advances that the medical profession and researchers are making.

May God grant you nothing but beautiful thoughts today.

Christine

Make Lizzy smile

2009-11-20T08:57:00.002-05:00

If you want to make her smile, go to the Children's Hospital web site and send her an e-card. We are on A5 South room 46. She needs to decorate her walls.

On a very sad note, Natalie passed away this morning at 6:30 am. She has gone home to her father and is now healed of her pain and suffering. Please pray for her parents, Steve and Rita, and her brother TJ. They have been staying with her and were with her when she took her final breath.

God's love and grace is sufficient if we just allow yourself to except it.

Blessings to all of you.

Christine

A few days stay

2009-11-19T23:26:00.002-05:00

Well Liz has bought herself a few days stay in Children's Hospital. She woke up feeling pretty lousy today, nauseous, lethargic, and just plain crappy. We had a blood draw at 9:00 am, by 10:00 am we had her blood results. Liz needed more platelets, she was back down to 19k. While in the hospital being pre-medicated to receive her platelets, she spiked a fever. Being neutropenic, meaning an ANC of <500, a fever will cost you a hospital stay until the docs can find out the cause of the fever. Liz's ANC is zero still and is not showing any signs of coming up. The doctors ordered blood cultures and had a nasal swab for the flu, AGAIN! The swab will be back in 24 hrs, the blood cultures are about 48 hrs. I will update when I have some answers to why she is sick.

Please pray for Natalie Bradley and her family. Natalie is dying; it is only a matter of time. They are keeping her sedated and pain free. Steve, Rita, and TJ, are staying in her room until the end. Please pray for peace and comfort during what must be the most difficult time in a family's life.

Blessings, peace, and comfort to all of you.

Christine

Catherine's endeavor for Relay For Life

2009-11-19T11:51:00.004-05:00

Hello Everyone!
I think I left a lot of people out on my last email and for the few I sent emails to, I have yet to see any of you on my donation page. Not a big deal as long as you didn't forget! No one is obligated to donate. I just wanted to remind everyone that I am trying my best to raise money to find a cure for cancer again this year.
I am doing all of this in honor of Liz Lothrop, Joel Brown, and Karan Witham-Walsh. I wish that there was enough funding before that there was a cure before any of them had to go through anything like this terrible disease!
Please take a moment to check out my page and decide if you can help out with the cause.
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=10539235&pg=personal&fr_id=23477, as always, I like to remind you that the smallest amounts help and add up. Even $5.00!
Feel free to forward my message to any friends or family that you may know who would like to help with the cause I support and share with millions of people.
Thanks so much,
Catherine Lothrop
Relay for Life Luminaria Chair

Prayers are needed for a friend

2009-11-17T06:02:00.004-05:00

"I heard your call in the nick of time; The day you needed me, I was there to help." 2 Cor.6:2

Please pray for our friend Natalie Bradley, who was diagnosed with Leukemia in Dec 2008. Natalie has finally undergone a bone marrow transplant with the perfect match from her brother, TJ.

Natalie is not doing well, as far as we know, the BM is good and she now has changed to TJ's blood type. BM transplants are very dangerous, not the procedure itself, that is just like getting platelets, it is all the pre and post work and drugs that damage every living organ and cell in your body. Below you can read Rita's, her mom, last entry:

Natalie had a rough night again last night. Another ultrasound was ordered to check for blood clots, because her leg was more swollen, but none were found. She also received platelets last night, because there was some bleeding in her mouth. This morning an echo and chest x-ray were ordered as well as another engraftment study. They have the OR booked for a bone marrow aspirate tomorrow, since her counts keep dropping and the CT scan revealed that additional lymph nodes have become swollen. They are hoping she will be stable enough to undergo the procedure.
The chest x-ray revealed that there is now fluid in her lungs. In addition, she is becoming more and more disoriented. Nat is still on an oxygen mask and heart and respiration rates remain high. Nat's hemoglobin and platelets are low, so they will be giving her packed reds and platelets. Lasix has also been ordered to draw off some fluid. No results from the echo at the time of this posting.
Please pray.
W.I.N.

Thank you for being faithful to my family as well as new members of my family; those on A5 South/North.

Blessings,
Christne

saying goodbye to some wicked drugs :-p

2009-11-16T12:55:00.005-05:00

In the above photo you will see Elizabeth and I giving her her final dose of ARAc! What a glorious day today is!

This is a time of goodbyes ........... a final goodbye to the following wicked wicked chemos: Cytarabine (ARAstinkin c), Doxorubicin, Dexamethasone, Radiation, Daunorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, and the Peg asparaginase shots.

As we head into the end of this DI2 phase, we just want you to know how thankful we are for all of the above drugs. Without these we would not have Elizabeth. Thank you, all of you, who have given financially to our cause, Light the Night, to find the cure for blood cancers. Because of your giving, these drugs and their combinations are available for Liz and the children on A5 South and North.

God willing we will never see these drugs again. Please continue to pray for her counts to rise. She has receive platelets again but did not need blood. Elizabeth's ANC, immune system, is a big fat goose egg ...... ZERO. At this time it is not safe for Liz to have visitors. I will let you know when her counts are up and she can see her friends again.

Blessings and prayers,
Christine

Low counts

2009-11-12T16:28:00.002-05:00

Due to radiation, Lizzy's hemoglobin and platelets needs to remain at or above 10 and 50k. This morning her HGB was 8.8 and platelets at 41k. We went to radiation at 11:40 and then directly to clinic for 1 unit of platelets and 2 units of packed red blood cells. We have about an hour yet to go and then we can go home. She is sleeping due to the pre-meds that are given to her for before receiving blood products. If you have not given platelets or blood before, please consider doing this as a true life saving gift. 80% of platelets donated goes to children with blood cancers. You are their hero and mine as well. I was scheduled to give platelets and plasma (plasma which goes to burn victims) today but had to cancel due to Liz needing them; little ironic don't you think?!

We are half way through radiation. Her last day will be next Wed. She is doing well and with little side effects from the radiation. Between the ARA-stinkin-c and radiation, it is knocking the heck out of her blood counts. Her ANC is also down to 280 which means she has no immune system again. If you are planning to come and visit, call me first at 349-5966. If you are sick in any way, shape, or form, please visit at another time.

Please continue to pray for:
blood counts to rise
ANC to be at least 500 and above. This is not great by any means but better than 280!
minimal side effects of radiation
no long term permanent damage from radiation or chemotherapy

Praying for all of you daily ~ Christine

Radiation

2009-11-10T21:28:00.003-05:00

Liz is doing well with her radiation and cytarabine, ARA stinkin c. She is receiving radiation for 8 days, Mon. - Fri., a break Sat. and Sun., then finishing out next week, Mon. - Wed. Elizabeth will continue with ARAc again on Fri. - Mon.

The radiation is causing some discomfort in her ears and jaws. The pain does not last all day, only a few hours. The ARAc has some ugly side effects. This drug put Elizabeth in the hospital last Christmas, please pray that it does not this time. So far she is doing very well on it.

Please pray for minimal side effects of radiation and ARAc
Hold Natalie Bradley in your prayers. You can follow her on her carepage:
https://www.carepages.com/carepages/NataliePage/updates/2414865?client_code=cincinnatichildrens&ipc=mur

Blessings,
Christine

Orange Out!!!

2009-11-06T22:09:00.001-05:00

Lunch time today at Sycamore high school! In support of Liz and the race to find a cure!

Once again, NO DELAY! God is good

2009-11-05T17:49:00.005-05:00

If you look closely, you will see Lizzy's two frogs, Bud, the bigger one, and Tebbir (ribbet backwords).

Can you believe it???????? NO DELAY, this is the phase where Liz has a 30 day delay and they did a bone marrow aspirate to see if she had fallen out of remission in June. God has a great sense of humor!

Tomorrow we will begin the end of this wicked phase and by Dec. 8, we will hit maintenance. I can hardly believe it. Please, this is going to be a rough phase with ARA-stinkin-c and radiation so continue faithfully to pray that she remains healthy and out of the hospital. The light is shinning brightly at the end of this very long journey and it is something that we could not have gotten through without your prayers.

We still have a long road ahead of us but not nearly as intensive as the first 1.2 years have been. She will always need prayers, this is the only way, mentally, a person can get through such a difficult time.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT *********ORANGE OUT FOR LIZ******* tomorrow. Just wear orange for Liz, this also brings awareness and honor to all that are fighting Leukemia/Lymphoma.

Blessings to all of you,

Christine

Walk on Water!!!

2009-11-01T21:09:00.000-05:00

One tough week down

2009-11-01T16:49:00.003-05:00

Please pray for a better week for Elizabeth. No child should ever have to endure what she has this past week.
Liz has once again lost her hair; Randy finished shaving off what little fighters were left on her head after church.

Blessings,
Christine

Home sweet home

2009-10-28T21:15:00.004-04:00

Once Elizabeth was a confirmed case of H1N1 this is what they did to the door to her room. She was not real happy about it because we know what other parents and patients are feeling and thinking when they see that. They freak out and want to make sure their nurse is not the same nurse entering that room. All nurses have two or three patients a day to take care of and of course that means someone is going to have "that" nurse. We had a second door to the left of this door that went into an anti-chamber that all doctors and nurses had to enter. Anyone entering the room had to put on a gown, gloves, and a mask in the anti-chamber and pitch it in our trash before going back through the anti-chamber. We were both quarantined to the room. If I left I had to wear a mask and could not loiter in the halls.

For the next two weeks, anyone having any type of health issue, asthma, heart condition, or any type of immune suppression can not come to visit Liz. THIS IS FOR YOUR PROTECTION! The last thing Liz wants is to make anyone sick. If you have had the flu shot and are not sick in any way, shape, or form, you can call ME at 349-5966 to see if it is OK that you come. I would prefer that she not have visitors until she is cleared of this but sometimes that is not helpful for her mental state either.

We have been discharged from the hospital and are now at home. Liz is soaking in the jacuzzi and just relaxing before going to bed.

We had rounds with the team of doctors, pharmacists, and various other medical personal this morning around 10:00. The game plan was to have a CBC, complete blood count, taken at around 3:00 pm. If her ANC remained at 250 or above she would be able to come home. They changed their minds and said "We have three consecutive ANC's above 200, we are going with that and she can go home after we make sure she does not need a platelet transfusion." She did not so therefore we were turned loose, literally, and sent on our merry way by 5:45.

We have a CBC at Liberty tomorrow at 8:00 am, an appointment with Dr. Brenneman, at the Barrett Center for her radiation at 9:30 am, and then onto clinic at Children's after that. The said the appointment with Dr. Brenneman could take two to three hours.. They will be making a mesh mask of Elizabeth face to place over her face and snap her to the table during radiation. She must remain perfectly still at all times. We do not want the radiation going anywhere but where it is intended to go. Liz has great stress over this. They will also be doing CAT scans and MRI's for the correct placement of the radiation. It is extremely confusing and once I understand it better I will share it with you.

Thank you for your vigilant prayers for Elizabeth and our family during this trying time. Please continue to pray, we are not out of the woods and she can still have major complications. By now I am sure you all realize what they are ... renal failure, heart failure, high blood pressure, lung damage, etc etc etc. Please just pray for complete and total healing on Elizabeth's behalf with out complications.

God's love in unfailing. Lean on him in all situations in life. It is a privilege to share our joys with him.

Blessings,
Christine

It is confirmed.

2009-10-27T18:03:00.002-04:00

It has been confirmed that Elizabeth does have the H1N1 virus. Please continue to pray for wellness and peace of mind during this time. We are still waiting for the blood cultures to come back hopefully with no trace of bacteria.

Liz is scared but the the docs. have made her feel a little less frightened and she is resting comfortably.

Pray for:
NO complications from the H1N1
Liz to feel peace
For the cultures to be negative of bacteria
For family that came to celebrate her life and one year anniversary, that they remain flu free

Thank you for your faithfulness ~ Blessings,

Christine

2009-10-27T10:09:00.004-04:00

Liz playing Monopoly with her cousins, Melissa and Tyler.
Quick update on Liz ~

First off, we had a wonderful day celebrating her life and our lives together on Sunday. We had a great dinner and played one of her favorite games, Monopoly!

Secondly, Liz came down with a fever of 101.8 last night and has bought herself a stay at Children's Hospital on A5 South. When a cancer patient is neutropenic, ANC of >500, and running a fever, they are hospitalized. In the ED they stabilized her by administering two different antibiotics, fluids, and anti-nausea meds; they also did a CBC, flu swabs, and blood cultures. These tests will take 48 hours before the results are back.

Just came in from rounds. She must be fever free for 48 hours, cultures must come back negative and that also takes 48. With that being said, we will be in here until at least Thursday.

We are praying that the fever is simply due to the chemo she received on Fri. Her body is worn down and tired and seems to not handle all the intrusions as well as in the beginning.

Continue to pray for the following:
All patients and families on A5 South
Liz's fever to break
That her cultures come back negative
That Liz is not so fearful of the unknown
For my family to remain healthy

Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Christine

Giving thanks one year later...

2009-10-24T11:55:00.013-04:00

Above is a picture of Liz before diagnosis and her now. She is beautiful!

Tomorrow is Elizabeth's one year anniversary. A lot of people would probably not look on this day with thanks but I do. This is the day we were given to save our daughter's life. This is the day our world, for a brief moment, fell apart. This is the day our already close family became even closer. The bond between our children is unbreakable and beautiful and I know it will always remain this way.
Life throws curve balls all the time and if we did not have our life preserver, God, we would have sank like Peter did when walking across the water. As long as we keep the preserver pulled close to our heart we will always prevail, no matter the outcome.
I am on my way to the grocery store to buy and prepare our Thanksgiving dinner for tomorrow. A new tradition in our family is a celebration of thanks on Oct. 25. Giving thanks to God, our family, and a chance to grow old together.

May all of you be blessed with the same gratefulness, gratitude, and love that we feel.

God bless,
Christine

Numbers update and not her phone numbers!

2009-10-22T16:42:00.010-04:00

Well, we are on the slippery slope down hill. We had Elizabeth's blood work done this morning and the results are just as we predicted.
I will give you a little refresher course on Leukemia, ANC, HGB, WBC, Platelets.

Leukemia is a cancer in which abnormal white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow. These abnormal cells, called leukemia cells are cancerous. In other words, they grow out of control. Eventually they spill out of the bone marrow into the peripheral blood. The leukemia cells are not able to function as immune cells like other white blood cells, and their population keeps growing. Eventually they crowd out normal blood cells, including normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. There are so many leukemia cells that the normal blood cells cannot do their jobs of preventing infections, carrying oxygen, and causing the blood to clot.

ANC is the real or actual number of white blood cells that Liz has to fight an infection. White blood cells are the part of Lizzy's blood that work against possible bacteria, fungus, or viruses that may make her sick. A normal ANC is greater than 2,500. A safe ANC is greater than 1,000. After chemotherapy, Lizzy's ANC may drop low as 0. When the ANC drops below 500 , it is important that she remain away from crowds and people who have colds, flu, or runny noses. If Elizabeth is in the hospital with ANC below 500, she will be placed in protective isolation. This is to protect her from being exposed to possible infections. Lizzy's ANC is 90, not too impressive.

White blood cells protect the body from invasion by pathogens, and when levels of specific types of these cells are low, Liz has a lowered resistance to bacterial infection. White blood cells ( WBCs), or leukocytes (also spelled "leucocytes"), are cells of the immune system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a hematopoietic stem cell. Leukocytes are found throughout the body, including the blood and lymphatic system. A normal WBC is 4.5 to 13.5. Elizabeth is at .08. When she was diagnose on Oct. 25, 2008 her WBC was .05.

Hemoglobin is a protein carried by the red blood cells in the body. Hemoglobin will pick up oxygen when it passes through the lungs so it can deliver the oxygen to all of the tissues in order to maintain the health and viability of those cells. Hemoglobin is created by two similar proteins which will stick together. Both proteins must be present in order for the hemoglobin to pick up and release oxygen as it should. One of these proteins is called alpha, and the other is called beta. Beta does not appear until after birth. During the pregnancy, a protein called gamma functions in its place. A normal HGB is 12.0 - 16.0, Liz has fallen to 10., when diagnosed she was at 5. They usually transfuse her between 8. and 9. When her HGB is low it causes a lot of body aches, labored breathing and fatigue. She said it feels like the flu.

Platelets are fragments of cells in blood that are another important part of the clotting process. They work with the clotting factors in plasma to help prevent unwanted bleeding. Platelets come from special cells called megakaryocytes. Like other early (immature) forms of blood cells, megakaryocytes are mainly found in the bone marrow. A normal platelet count is 135k -466k, Liz is at 88k. When she was diagnosed she was at 17k

So as you can see the body is complicated and Liz is complicating it even more; I am sure she would stop if she could :-)
Liz will probably remain neutropenic, ANC below 500, for the rest of this DI 2 phase. We are praying that she will be done with this and into maintenance by Christmas.

This is an extremely difficult phase and Liz and the Lothrop's need all of the prayers you have to give. Please pray for her health, that she does not come into contact with anyone who is ill. Liz, at the moment, she can not even fight off her own bodies bacteria. Pray that Jim and Randy remain healthy. They both are going to school every day and coming home to her. It is a true answer to prayer that they have remained flu free given their circumstances.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me verses and inspirational sayings and quotes. I will arm myself with them when Liz goes back on the steroids tomorrow.

Blessings,
Christine

Favorite verses

2009-10-20T21:26:00.006-04:00

Liz and her brother, Jim, at the homecoming!

I have a lot of faith and hope but let me tell you, last week was one of the most helpless feelings I have had in a long time. If you have had moments of helplessness in your life and there is a favorite bible verse or inspirational verse you can share with me I would love to have it. I want to arm myself with verses that can help me and possible help Elizabeth through next week. One that is bound to be another "helpless feeling" times.

Thank you for praying, being faithful, and riding this roller coaster with us.

Blessings,
Christine

update on day 9 of DI2

2009-10-18T08:58:00.007-04:00

Great news for a friend from Children's, Natalie Bradley. Her bone marrow transplant (BMT) was a success! Natalie was diagnosed with AML, a different form of Leukemia, before Liz was diagnose. She is now in remission! Her brother, TJ's, bone marrow was as perfect of a match as possible and she has life to look forward to again. I believe Nat had about a 1% chance of survival. If you don't believe in miracles you may want to visit Children's on the 5th floor. Yes, there is great sadness but there is also great joy, joy like a lot of us have not experienced and by God's grace and the exceptional staff, the Bradley's are experiencing this joy. They are a strong family of faith and excepted what the odds were but never gave up their faith in our Father. You can read and follow Nat's progress on her carepage.

Liz is tired and sick of being sick. her mental state of mind is being affected by the steroid, dexamethasone. It is causing her sleepless nights and days, anger, depression, and sadness. She is off of the steroid right now but will be going back on them this Friday for another seven days. The doctors are going to put her on a drug called Seroquel. Seroquel will help with her sleeping issues and mental state while on this steroid. Once she is done with the steroid, she will also go off of the Seroquel. She is also on Tamaflu for the next 10 days. For her, this drug is causing a lot of pain in the stomach and severe light headedness. I am sure her side effects are aserbated by the fact she is on so many other heavy drugs. Liz is not sick but was in contact with her cousin who at the time was not showing any signs of being sick but was in fact contagious and came down with a fever about 8 hours after spending the day together. Please pray for Melissa and her baby as she is eight months pregnant.

Liz has a lot going on before she hits maintenance but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. God is good and he is showing us wonderful things in life that we may have missed if we would not have hit this LITTLE glitch in our lives. Remain faithful to HIM and you can get through anything and come out being a better and stronger person for it.

We will meet with Dr. Brenneman on October 29 at the Barrett Center in preparation for radiation that will begin sometime in November. They will be making a mask of her face that will be used during the radiation procedure. We will also be getting a schedule of her treatment and taking a tour of the center and the area of where she will be receiving her radiation.

Continue to pray for all the families on A5 South and Nat's miracle of remission.
Side effects from all the drugs
Lizzy's vital organs to be protected during this phase
Lizzy's mental state of mind
Her team of doctors and nurses that take care of her all week long

Blessings and good health.

Christine

Need sleep

2009-10-14T09:48:00.003-04:00

Please pray for sleep for Elizabeth. The steroids are keeping her awake all night long. During the day she sleeps most of the time but it is not a restful sleep like we get.

There are four stages of sleep before you get to the Rem cycle, the deep sleep. Liz, on steroids only makes it part way into stage one: a light sleep where you drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. In this stage, the eyes move slowly and muscle activity slows, also in this stage many people experience sudden muscle contractions preceded by a sensation of falling. Liz does not even make it to the falling stage of one. Probably a good thing becuase her steroids are making her a crabby pants. You can pray for that too, her crabbiness, while you are praying for her today.

Joel is still in the hospital and as far as I know they have not been able to find the source of the problem. Please continue to pray for the Brown family and Joel.

Blessings and a good nights rest to all of you tonight!

Christine

First 29 day in Delayed Intensification 2

2009-10-12T20:10:00.007-04:00

Andy, Liz and brother Jim

Liz and Conner

Liz and Joel

Liz and Joel

Our family had an awesome weekend. Liz and her friend, Joel Brown, were elected as the Freshman Attendants. They absolutely had a ball. Something that they have had very little of in the past year; normalcy. They were just two kids that belonged.

We are now into DI2. This phase will last 60 days if she does not have any delays. The first 29 days goes like this. We started Friday, Oct 9 at 6:30 a.m. She had an LP (lumbar puncture) with Methotrexate. When Liz came around and was brought back to her room the docs wrote her orders for Vincristine and Doxorubicin, her chemo's. Are you ready? Here comes your pharmacy class.

Vincristine is one of a large group of drugs known as "antineoplastics"; these drugs are also known as cancer drugs, chemotherapy, or "chemo". They are used in the treatment of various cancers to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells. A combination of different types of cancer drugs will often be used to achieve a greater effect and minimize side effects. Likely side effects are: Nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, diarrhea, rash or bloating, hair loss, reversible nerve damage, jaw pain, joint pain, body pain, vision problems, muscle weakness, low cell counts (white, red, and platelets). Rare but serious - we won't go there - just pray she does not have "rare but serious side effects." Vincristine will be given day 1,8, and 15.

Doxorubicin, a chemotharophy, must be given slowly and directly into a vein (IV). Side effects of Doxorubicin may cause damage to the heart muscle (including heart failure), bone marrow suppression, trouble breathing, swelling of the hands or feet, easy bruising or bleeding, hair loss, low cell counts (white, red, and platelets), mouth sores. One rare but serious side effect that scares me and I ask for you to pray against is a new cancer or leukemia. Doxorubicin will be given day 1, 8, and 15.

Here is one she really hates, Dexamethasone, a steroid. She said this one changes her appearance more than any other drug she takes. Side effects are: difficulty sleeping, decreased ability to fight infection, mood swings, weight gain, or the side effect called "moon face." This is where their face become very round as well as the abdomen, bleeding of the stomach, headaches etc, etc, etc. This one has so many side effects it is hard to list. Just pray, that is all I can say and ask for. Liz will take this drug day 1-7 and 15-21.

PEG-asparaginase or PEG shots. This chemo will be given on day 5. This consists of three shots given in the thigh muscle at the same time. I hate this one. Side effects are increase ammonia found in the blood, extreme tiredness, weakness, decreased blood clotting factors, severe kidney damage, fever, rapid heart rate, and on and on and on; another one that has horrible side effects but Liz has no choice but to take these drugs to survive.

I am asking for prayers for her good friend Joel Brown, who is battling ALL as well. He has been admitted to Children's this evening with a high fever. He spent last night until 4:30 a.m. in the Emergency Department and went back down tonight. His fever was 102. Please pray that he is just worn down from all the fun and excitement of being on the homecoming court and that he just needs some fluids for hydration. I ask that our Father pour his protection on Joel, Liz and all the children fighting blood cancers. We are needing prayers for Liz's protection from the flu. Mason had about 400 high school students out today from the flu. If Leukemia patients get the flu and it turns into pneumonia it is deadly. Not one pediatric patient has survived pneumonia while going through treatment with Leukemia. This is a very scary time for our family and extended families on A5 South.

Gob bless you and continue to protect you.

Christine

We're on!

2009-10-09T08:22:00.003-04:00

Woke up at 5:00 am for a 6:30 am procedure downtown at Children's. Liz's counts were good enough to start Delayed Intensification 2, ON TIME! This has never happened, she has never started a phase on time nor has she ever ended a phase on time. God does still work and show miracles.

I will up-date you with what this phase will entail later on this weekend. Please pray that she gets to go to the homecoming. She has been nominated for freshmen attendant and we will find out in a few hours if she will be on the court or not. Joel, her cancer buddy and classmate has also been nominated. More importantly, in the grand scheme of things, please pray for her vital organs to be protected in this phase. DI2 is intense on her heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver. Effects from these chemo's are irreversible.

Please keep all these children and their families in your prayers. Children's is such a blessing and I thank God everyday that we have such a wonderful hospital in our backyard, but it can also be a very sad place to be.

Love and prayers to all of you,
Christine

2009-10-04T10:20:00.004-04:00

While we are waiting for the DI2 phase to start, I thought I would let you know what Liz has been up to. She is feeling really good right now, her last dose of chemo was September 22.

October 2, Liz and I went for a small jog around the neighborhood. She loved every minute of it especially when I ate the sidewalk. She was laughing so hard at me when I fell that she swallowed an insect and I did not feel the least bit sorry for her. How come if I had fallen at age 26 I would be a klutz but at age 46 it is just because I am old???? Can anyone answer this for me?

Last night she went out for a walk/jog again and had Corrine, a friend, come over to hang out for a little while. After Corrine left she stayed up until 3:30 a.m. talking to Connor on skype. I don't know about her but I am exhausted. If you have skype, this is a great way for her to stay connected. Her counts will be down under 500 most of this new phase and with the flu and respiratory season clearly underway her visits with people will be limited.

It is great to see Liz feeling good again. She is still having issues with her joints and muscles but all-in-all she feels great. She is being a typical teenager and giving me fits about wanting to go and see and do. I have to be the bad one and always say no no no! She is not really digging her mother right now. I love it!!!! This house feels normal for a little while!

Please continue to pray that Elizabeth gets to go to homecoming,
her counts rise so we can begin the last phase before maintenance,
her internal organs will be protected from all the chemos in the next phase,
she remains healthy,
all the families and children on A5.

Blessings to all of you.

Christine

For Riley Stanforth. and Lisa Brown; your update :-)

2009-09-30T20:47:00.006-04:00

Cousin Melissa and Liz at Children's on the Pulmonary floor for her breathing treatment.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27: 1, 3)

We are now in the waiting phase. DI2 should start on Oct. 9, if her counts are high enough. Her ANC has to be 750, she is only at 300, her platelets are at 76k and they need to be at 75k. Please let's pray that she makes it on time. With that being said and her ANC only being 300, you MUST have a flu shot to visit Liz. While Liz is neutropenic, no immune system, please call first if you would like to visit. If you know that you have been in close contact with anyone sick, please do not come by to visit at this time. We have come too far to let anything happen to her. Liz will not be in school the rest of this year. We are hoping that she will be able to go back sometime in January or February 2010.

Even though Liz will not be able to have many visitors because of her ANC, she is feeling much better. We are thankful for the good days.

Please continue to pray for the following:
counts to go up
pain to subside
she is able to go to the homecoming Oct. 10
her Doctors, Nurses, and anyone involved in her care
the families and children on A5 South