Houston We Have a White Count!

     Wednesday night our little Hazelnut's fever broke without Tylenol and has only returned twice for about an hour!  Thank you all so much for the prayers because they absolutely worked.  The moment I needed a reprieve God came through and brought me peace.  I am so thankful. Yesterday she had a white count, but I didn't want to get my hopes up because sometimes they can fluctuate.  But today, they went up again!  They even went up enough for her counts to show an ANC (absolute neutrophil count) of 428!!!  This means her stem cells are grafting, are rebuilding and we are on the upswing! Usually, they like to see her ANC be above 1000 for at least three days, so we still have a ways to go; however, the doctors were all quite surprised they jumped so quickly.

     I cling to good news because a rising white count means healing, but she is still feeling pretty crummy. She is extremely tired and quite uncomfortable, but her pain is being managed well on the morphine.  She still has pretty bad mucousitis and spends a lot of her gagging and coughing up gunk, but, dare I say, it seems to be getting better by just a smidgen.  Again though, I am thankful that this is all she is facing, because she shows no sign (and prayerfully never will) of any of the scary & life-threathening side effects that many other kids face during transplant.  The things that are happening to her are normal and she will get through, and the doctors are very happy with how she is looking and how she handling it all. So please keep praying that she amazes us!!

In The Thick Of It

*** DAY +6  POST TRANSPLANT**

     The day that I have been dreading has arrived.  Our little Hazelnut is miserable.  Her blood counts are down to nothing, and we are just waiting for them to rise.  The mucositis has produced such painful sores that have traveled through her digestive track.  And it also produces an excess of thick mucous that continues to make her gag and eventually vomit.  Thankfully, she is no longer nauseous, but she still hasn't eaten for days.  We are also battling a fever that has reached up to 103, but it has been extremely difficult for her to take the oral dose of Tylenol she needs.  It is so painful for her.  I asked if there is an IV form available and the doctor told me that there is, but it's very expensive so they avoid it at all cost.  So they torture kids to inject medications that cause them extreme amounts of pain to save a buck (can you tell this bothers me a little?).  In addition to the normal hydration flowing in through her central line, she is now on IV nutrition, a cocktail of different antibiotics to combat a possible infection that the fever may be indicating, anti-nausea meds, benadryl to prevent an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics and a continuos pump of morphine, which has finally allowed her to rest a comfortably as possible.  She is no longer crying out in pain with the help from the morphine, but she is obviously quite unwell.  She has spent the last two days laying in bed, drifting in and out of sleep and is barely speaking because it hurts too much.  Needless to say, these last couple of days have been extremely difficult.

     But, in true Hazel fashion, she is amazing me with her ability to cope and adapt to such a terrible situation.  She still finds things to smile at, and allows all of us to poke and prod her because, ultimately, she knows we are trying to do what we can to help her.  She has been able to communicate very well to me and tells me when there is something that she needs.  The doctors say for the kind of pain she is most likely in, she is doing extremely well and that it should hopefully only last for a few more days.  WE CAN DO THIS! OUR GOD CAN CARRY US THROUGH!

     I am so thankful for all of your prayers and have received many messages with bible verses to encourage me during this time; and it has helped so much. I feel lifted up by your prayers and God has kept me from falling into the darkness of despair.  Without Him and without you, I know I could not be getting through this as well as I am.  So please, keep them coming!

Deuteronomy 33:26-27  "There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms."    

FAQ's

     Over the last few days I have received several messages and comments wondering a lot of the same things, so I thought I would put together a quick FAQ post!

Q: Who is Hazel?

A: Hazel Hammersley is a 2 year old girl from Simi Valley, California. She is part of our very young family, which includes 3 additional young children; Micah (7), Elizabeth (4) and Jonah (11 months). Hazel, or "Hazelnut", as we like to call her, was diagnosed with a High-Risk, Stage 3 Neuroblastoma on April 24, 2013. 

Q: What is Neuroblastoma?

A: Childhood cancer is the #1 disease killer in our children; more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined!  Neuroblastoma is a solid tumor form of childhood cancer that originates in the sympathetic nervous system, the nerve network that carries messages from the brain throughout the body. The cause of neuroblastoma is unknown. When neuroblast cells fail to develop normally they form tumors in the nerve tissues, usually in the neck, abdomen, or pelvis, and most commonly in the adrenal glands. Nearly 70% of those children first diagnosed with neuroblastoma have disease that has already metastasized or spread to other parts of the body. Neuroblastoma has one of the lowest survival rates of all pediatric cancers. For more information please click http://www.cncfhope.org/ 

Q: How can I send a gift/note/card to Hazel? 

A: Please use the following address
Hazel Hammersley
Hope For Hazel
PO Box 1449
Simi Valley, CA 93062

Q: How can I send Hazel money/contribute to Hazel's fund?

A: If you'd like to contribute to Hazel's Fund, please visithttp://talbertfamilyfoundation.org/pages/Hazel.html Click on the yellow "DONATE NOW" button. 100% of your donation goes to our family. No donation is too small. Checks can be mailed directly to:
THE TALBERT FAMILY FOUNDATIONHazels Fund 
25003 JIM BRIDGER ROAD
HIDDEN HILLS, CA 91302 

Q: How can I get a "Hope for Hazel" bracelet? 

A: If you'd like to get a "Hope For Hazel" bracelet, please contribute $5.00 (or $9.00USD internationally to account for added postage) to http://talbertfamilyfoundation.org/pages/Hazel.html  Indicate the word "bracelet" in the gift comment section and how many bracelets you would like, and we will get one out to you asap. Once you get your bracelet(s), please send us a photo of you wearing it and include your smiling face and a photo caption. You can get it to us using the private messaging feature on our facebook page. We'd love to include your photo in a photo album we're making. Thank you! 

Q: How do I get a "Hope For Hazel" T-shirt? 

A: If you'd like to show your support for Hazel and her family, you can purchase a "Hope For Hazel" t-shirt!  To do so, please contribute $20.00 (or $25.00USD internationally to account for added postage) to http://talbertfamilyfoundation.org/pages/Hazel.html  Indicate the word "T-Shirt" in the gift comment section, how many shirts you would like and the sizes, and we will get one out to you asap. Don't forget to send us a picture when you wear your new shirt!

Q: I'd like to send Hazel a gift. What does Hazel like?

Hazel loves the color blue, Disney Princesses (especially Rapunzel), Hello Kitty, Madeline and Minnie Mouse. Hazel wears a size 4T. Please use the following mailing address
Hazel Hammersley
Hope For Hazel
PO Box 1449
Simi Valley, CA 93062

Q: Can I send something to Hazel's siblings?

A: Of course!  Siblings often feel left out when their sibling going through treatment gets tons of attention.  So if you feel you would like to bless our other children, you are more than welcome to give them a little sunshine!

Q: Aside from sending money, what are other ways that I can help?

A: We always appreciate your prayers and positive thoughts but you can also donate any blood type in Hazel's name at Children's Hospital Los Angeles Blood Donation.  Many kids in treatment need blood, so if you are not local, please consider donating blood at your local children's hospital and help save a life!

     Thank you all for your continued support and prayers and if there is anything else you would like to know, please feel free to leave us a message on Hazel's Facebook page Hope For Hazel

Last Day of Chemo and a Re-Birthday!

     First, let me start off by saying that our little Hazelnut is still feeling pretty well!  I am so thankful that God is blessing her with more good days than I could have hoped for.  She is starting to become disinterested in food, so I know the nausea is beginning to settle in, so I am prepared for other side effects to soon follow; but please pray that it continues to stay very minimal.  Also, I realized I never updated about eh possibility of a second surgery.  Dr. Tran spoke to our surgeon Dr. Bliss, and he said that he doesn't foresee needing to do another surgery right now and that we will wait until her post-transplant scans to see where we are.  I pray we don't have to open her little body every again.   
     On October 8th Hazel received her VERY LAST infusion of chemo!  It brekas my heart that we have to celebrate something like this, but six months ago I felt like this day would never come and now it has not only come but it has gone!  We (prayerfully) never have to knowingly pump poison into my baby girl's body again and she will never have to deal with the crappy side effects after these next few weeks are over.  Praise God we made it!

 



     On October 9th, Hazel received her infusion of life saving Stem Cells. We have been working up to this for so long, and although it was a beautiful moment it was quite uneventful actually!  There had to be about 6 medical professionals in the room, and once the cells were hung it took about 10 minutes total.  They have to take her vital signs every five minutes, which she did not care for at all(!) and she even tasted a bad flavor in her mouth; which I was told was from the preservative the cells are kept in.  It gave off an aroma of creamed corn to me, but others say they smell something different or nothing at all.  It is hard for my mind to grasp that she just went through a life-saving procedure because she is still feeling so well and it does not appear from the outside that her life needs saving.  But I make sure to remind myself any time that I can that her body would not recover from the Chemo she just received and it is because of her stem cells regrowth that she will be able to become strong once again.  She will have to be weakened before she gets stronger, so please pray for us through these next days, as they will likely be our toughest.

Her stem cells!

   

Stem Cell Transplant

     Hazel and I just got settled in our new home for the next 4-6 weeks in the Transplant Unit here at CHLA. Saying goodbye this morning was so rough and there have been many tears shed these last few days by each and every one of us. Please pray for God to sustain our little family during this time of struggle and separation. We are all on edge and just want this all to be over. But we will take one day at a time and the Lord will get us through this just like He did with the 6 grueling rounds of Chemo and several hospital stays.

     Now here's what the next few weeks will look like:

- Today is day -7 and we work up to day 0 which is the day of the transplant and will be considered her re-birthday. This is because the chemo will utterly destroy her bone marrow and immune system. If she was not to receive her own stem cells back, this process would kill her. But, thankfully, she will be rescued with her stem cells and she will regrow brand new bone marrow to build a new immune system like that of a newborn baby (hence the rebirth).

- On days -7 to -1 she will receive an anti-seizure medication to prevent the seizures that can be a side effect from the high dose chemo.

- Starting sometime in the early hours of tomorrow morning she will begin her infusion of the first high dose chemo, Busulfan. This will be for 4 days to day -3.

- On day -2 she will continue her anti-seizure medication but will get a break from chemo

- On day -1 she will receive the second high dose chemo drug, Melphalan.

- On day 0 she will get her stem cells! This will take a grand total of 15 life saving minutes, so probably quite anti-climactic!

- From here she will receive her daily GCSF injection to help boost her blood counts and we begin the waiting game. It will take several weeks for her counts to recover and it may be very grueling.

- The week after chemo will probably be the roughest due to the painful side effects from these drugs, so please pray for as little side effects as possible!!

- In addition to the usual side effects like fever, low blood counts, mouth sores and the like; ther is a a laundry list of potential temporary and permanent risks that include: 5% chance of a fatality, Veno-occlusive disease of the liver (most serious), bladder irritation/bleeding, kidney damage, other organ damage, decrease in fertility, a risk of developing another cancer and much more.

     These risks are not common but do occur, so we must be vigilant in her care and in prayer! In addition, we will be kept in isolation with limited/no visitors to prevent any infection or complications that could be life threatening, so this may be a long couple of weeks with a 2 year old!

     Despite our fears and anxieties about this reality we are facing, we hold fast to the truth that we have a Mighty Father who holds our little Hazelnut in the palm of His hand. We know He will comfort is, protect us, sustain us, love us and guide us. And as is its says is Hebrews 4:14-16 (a verse that has come across my path many times this last week) "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Please pray for miracles to happen so His glory may shine and that we rely on Him for his grace in our time of need! Here is a picture of Hazel with Dr Tran for her last health check before being admitted:

An Amazing Time and Some Sobering News

     This last week and a half our family has been sweetly savoring everything.  I have never appreciated the small moments you get as a parent with young children and the quality time with my husband as much as I do now.  And Hazel has been feeling so well that it has been so wonderful to just enjoy our time as a quasi normal family!  One of the amazing moments we were able to share was taking a trip to Disneyland!  This was our little Hazelnut's first time and she just LOVED it!  All of the children seemed to have a magical weekend.  Here are a few pictures, and then after I will discuss the sobering news we also received:

     The time at home has been peppered with so many appointments at the hospital to prepare for Hazel's stem cell transplant, the most important one being our meeting with Dr. Tran our oncologist where we discussed all of the results from Hazel's tests and the procedures involved with the transplant.  We first went over the results from the MIBG and CT scans.  As we already were aware, there is still a small portion of her original tumor that could not be removed during surgery, and the idea was that it would already be dead tissue going into transplant after receiving that last round of Chemo in Phase I.  However, the MIBG scan indicated that the small portion left in her little body is, in fact, live cancer cells.  Needless to say, we are disappointed in this news, but the doctor assured us that although this is not favorable, about 50% of Neuroblastoma cases head into transplant with live cancer cells and it is not something they haven't dealt with before.  This news makes all of her upcoming treatment all the more critical and now we may have to consider even more treatment (i.e: MIBG therapy).  We also discussed the possibility of a second surgery, and should be hearing back from the doctor on that in the next few days.  I am unsure about what this news means for Hazel's chances because we did not discuss that, but I can only assume that it just makes the next year more difficult and arduous for all of us.  

     We then discussed the reality of what we are about to go through with the stem cell transplant, and this entailed quite a lot of information; so I will write another post detailing all of that for you.  In the meantime, please pray that God will use the rest of Hazel's treatment to eradicate ALL of the remaining tumor, and that when all is said and done, we do not have to face the reality of relapse and can be finished with cancer!!

A Complete Work-Up

    These last days at home have been absolutely amazing and our little Hazelnut is doing so much better! Thank you so much for thinking of us and continuing to keep us in your prayers, because we feel them! I haven't updated since arriving home because we have been really enjoying all of this family time we finally have together and have been taking advantage of every moment before heading into the stem cell transplant admission next month. Also, we have had tons of appointments at the hospital to do a complete work-up (scans, kidney test, ECHO, dental exam, etc...). This is all done to determine where Hazel's disease is exactly at so that the doctors can come to a consensus about all future treatment, and most specifically what kind of high dose Chemo and how much of it she will receive during the transplant.  This will (prayerfully) be the very last infusion of Chemo our little Hazelnut will EVER receive, and I am so looking forward to that moment that it is done. However, this particular chemo's job is to wipe out her entire immune system and leave her with no defenses so that when they give back her stem cells we collected months ago, she can regrow a brand new immune system that will be stronger and more resistant to Neuroblastoma. We meet with get doctors on the 24th to discuss all of her test results and go over every single detail of the stem cell transplant process.  I'm definitely nervous about this meeting but I am also ready to have as much information as possible so I can be prepared for next month.

     This next week will continue to be full of appointments and family time. In fact at this very moment Hazel is getting her MIBG scan and is doing great! As soon as we know anything, I will let you all know, but if it takes me a few days, just know it is because Hazel and I are having a great time being with our family!