Grover update

Leanne had an appointment today to check on Grover. He looked great! I even got to go to her appointment with her!

Leanne will have one more appointment next week before Grover enters the world. They will measure him and do some tests at that appointment. 

Please continue to keep Leanne, Ryan, and Grover in your prayers. Pray specifically pray for:

• Continued health for Leanne
• Continued growth for Grover
• A safe, natural delivery for Leanne
• Continued peace for Leanne, Ryan, and their families
• Praise! that Leanne & Ryan are all moved into their townhouse!!
• Praise! that Ryan will start his new job on Tuesday!!

trusting

Leanne and her parents met with the care team on Wednesday, all 16 of them. The meeting went a little differently than planned, but isn't that the case with life? It did, however, go according to God's completely sovereign plan for Leanne, Ryan, and Grover. 

So here is the new plan:

• January 10: Leanne will be induced (a.k.a. we get to meet Grover!!!!!)
• January 11 & 12: Leanne will have tests and imaging done to make surgery easier
• January 13: Leanne will have a single mastectomy

First and foremost, Leanne, Ryan, and their families trust the doctor's and their knowledge about how to best care for Leanne.

With that being said, the doctor's want to deliver Grover so they can move on to the next round of chemo sooner. They also want to deliver him before surgery so the medicine and anesthesia won't affect him. Leanne, Ryan, and their families have a lot of peace about this. They are trusting God that, even though this is not what they expected, He will continue to watch over them. As Leanne said to me, "Look at how God has already been putting the pieces together?! This is just another piece to the puzzle."

Once again, here is where you come in. We are BEGGING that you will spend LOTS of time over these next few weeks in prayer about the following:

• That Grover would be a BIG, healthy baby.
• That Leanne would have a natural delivery (no c-section)
• That Leanne would have a smooth recovery from surgery on the 13th
• Continued health for Leanne, Ryan, Grover and their families
• Continued wisdom and knowledge for the team of doctors
• Praise! God's continued provision and planning in each step of this journey!!
• Praise! Leanne had good blood counts at chemo this week!!
• Praise! A great team of knowledgeable doctors!!

Due to the health and safety of Leanne, Ryan, Grover, and their families, we ask that you would use extra caution while being around them this Christmas season. The best gift you can give them is the gift of health. To put it bluntly, if you are sick, feeling sick, getting sick, or recovering from being sick keep your distance!

TEAM CHIN is praying that you would experience the peace and provision of Christ this Christmas season.

 
The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need.
     He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
        He renews my strength.
   He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
    Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
   I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
   Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
     You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
   You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
      My cup overflows with blessings.
    Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,
   and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 

New Living Translation

#4

Leanne had her final chemo treatment before she delivers Grover today! And she had some fun company ...

 

Tim and Aimee were both in town and decided to bring a little Christmas cheer to Leanne and the other chemo patients. Happy ugly Christmas sweater Tuesday! Leanne will meet with her Oncology team on Wednesday to discuss the plans and timeline for surgery. We will keep you posted!

As you celebrate Christmas with your family, we ask that you keep Leanne and her family in your prayers. Please specifically pray for:

• Health for Leanne during this Christmas season
• Continued growth for Grover
• Peace for Leanne, Ryan, and their families as they await Grover's arrival
• Wisdom for the doctors as they decide the plan for surgery and treatment
• Leanne to carry Grover to 37 weeks

And Praise the Lord for the successful move this past weekend! Thank you to all that helped! Merry Christmas from TEAM CHIN!

Grover & moving update

 

Leanne had a perinatologist appointment yesterday and got to catch a glimpse of Grover. I don't know about you, but I cant wait to kiss those sweet cheeks!! Thanks so much for your prayers. Grover is growing (2lbs 6oz!!) and doing well. Leanne even gained a pound :)

On another note, there have been some changes with the moving plans. Here is the new schedule:

Saturday December 17, 1:00pm - Load the truck in Fergus Falls

Sunday December 18, 1:00pm - Unload the truck in Eden Prairie

Please call, facebook message, text, or email Leanne and/or Ryan if you are interested in helping.

We are so thankful for your partnership in prayer. Please continue to lift Leanne, Ryan, and Grover up in prayer. Please pray for:

• Continued growth and health for Grover
• Continued health for Leanne
• Rest and peace for Leanne, Ryan, and their families
• Leanne to carry Grover to 37 weeks
• A smooth move this weekend

Moving!

*Written by Leanne

God is so good!  He is answering prayers and proving for all of our needs right now.  What a powerful experience it is to sit back and watch Him work and learn to be patient and wait for His timing!
We have been praying since the beginning of this cancer journey that God would somehow open up doors for us to be in the Twin Cities.  There were a number of reasons behind this prayer but the two most important ones were that:

1. Ryan and I could be together as I go through treatment and once Grover is born
2. I could be near my doctors so that if anything odd happened we would not have to drive 3 hours to get to a doctor who knows my case. 

For the last few weeks we have been working on details so that we can move to the cities.  Ryan found out at the beginning of December that Titan would work with him and allow him to keep his job and work out of the Shakopee store.  What an answer to a prayer!  They worked out the details and he will start there in January.  I have been in Fergus Falls this week and have been working to pack as much as I can.  Ryan's mom and dad came over on Tuesday and were a HUGE help!  They helped me pack sooooooo much!  My parents are on the other end and have been looking at places for us to live and found one last night!  It is close to them so they can be there quick if we need them. 

Here is the timeline:

Friday December 16- Celebrate Aimee's COLLEGE GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!!! (our baby ... ok, my parent's baby is all grown up)
Saturday December 17- 1:00 pack up truck in Fergus Falls
Saturday Evening- unload truck into Chris & Fran's garage

We would love to have help here in Fergus on Saturday.  The truck will be here around 1:00.  If you want to help please send us an email, facebook message, comment, or text.  We could also use some help once we get to the cities but we don't exactly know what time that will be yet.

This move is what we need to do right now and as hard as it is to leave the Fergus/Alexandria communities we need to do what is best for my health.  We pray that if it is His will, God will bring us back to the area someday.

Thanks for loving us and supporting us through this.  We could not do this without TEAM CHIN!!!!

Bump update

Leanne is 26 weeks along! She had an appointment with her perinatologist (aka baby doctor) this morning and Grover looks great! His heartbeat was in the 150's; which is normal for him. Leanne is doing great and the Dr. said everything looks wonderful. Praise the Lord for continuing to knit Grover together in his mommies womb.

Please continue to pray for Leanne to have a safe, healthy, and long (37 weeks) pregnancy.

#3

Chemo treatment #3: Done!

 

Leanne had her third chemo treatment today. She also had an appointment with her oncologist, Dr. Bloom. They measured her tumor and said it had shrunk 1cm!!!!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!

Please continue to keep Leanne, Ryan, and Grover in your prayers. You can pray specifically pray for:

• Continued growth for Grover
• Continued health for Leanne
• Leanne to carry Grover to full term (37 weeks)
• Minimal side effects from the chemo for Leanne
• Peace for Leanne, Ryan, and their families as they trust God with their future plans

Thankful

We know it has been a while, but we have been busy celebrating all we are thankful for. Oh, and eating, laughing, and loving on these three.

 

We wanted you to know that we are so thankful for you! We are thankful for your prayers, support, encouragement, and love. We could not do this without you Team Chin.

Leanne has her next chemo treatment on Tuesday. Please pray for

• Continued health for Leanne
• Continued health and growth for Grover
• Leanne to carry Grover to full term (37 weeks)
• God's continued provision for Leanne, Ryan, and Grover in all areas of their lives

Grover update

Leanne had a Dr. appointment this morning. The Dr. said that baby Grover looked great! He is weighing in at 1 lb and 6 oz. Grover is growing and looking healthy. Thankfully Leanne is lucky enough to have frequent ultrasounds of Grover so we have a picture to share!

 

Please to continue to pray for:

• Continued good health and growth for Grover
• Continued good health for Leanne
• Rest and peace for Leanne

Baby Bump

I am sure you all have been itching to see some baby bump pics. Well here it is! 23 weeks is looking good on Leanne :)

 

Praises:

• Healthy pregnancy thus far for Leanne and Grover!
• The support Leanne, Ryan, and Grover have been shown over the past month! Thank you!

Prayer requests:

• Peace for Leanne and Ryan
• Health for Leanne and Grover
• That God would continue to provide for Ryan and Leanne in all areas of their lives
• Good news from the Dr. on Tuesday

wear it!

As promised, here is a way for everyone to help!

Once Leanne was diagnosed, we began brainstorming ways that we could help Leanne, Ryan, and baby Grover. So we got online and ordered some bracelets figuring we could give them out to those wanting to join TEAM CHIN and ask for a donation to give the Miller's some financial support. A few weeks later, all the way from China, we got these! Doesn't my niece look cute modeling the bracelets?!

 

So here is where you come in. Email me at teamchinny@gmail.com with the following info in your message:

• Your name & address
• How many bracelets you would like (Youth sizes also available)

I will connect you with your closest TEAM CHIN retailer :) or just mail them to you. Once you receive your bracelets, we ask that you would send a financial donation of any amount to:

Leanne Miller

17639 George Moran Dr

Eden Prairie, MN  55347

More than any type of financial support, we really covet your partnership in prayer. We specifically ask for prayer for:

• Peace for Leanne
• Leanne to find her true beauty in Jesus Christ
• Continued good health for Leanne

This has been a hard day for Leanne. With lots of tears and the support of her mom and Michelle, at DK International, Leanne shaved her head today. Please keep her in your prayers. Doesn't she look beautiful in her wig!!!!

#2

Chemo treatment #2: done

Leanne had her second round of chemo today. Ryan surprised her last night by coming down to the Twin Cities so he could go to her appointment with her. Ryan's mom, Deb, was also in town to go with Leanne. She is feeling pretty tired, but isn't feeling the side effects ... yet. The doctors said that she could most likely expect the same side effects as her last treatment:

• Days 2-5: feeling pretty tired and sick
• Days 5-14: tired and low counts (so don't get sick!!)
• Days 14-21: regaining strength and appetite

A family friend (Cindy) dropped off some of her famous sugar cookies for Leanne to munch on over the next few days. Yummy!!!

Leanne will remain in the Twin Cities until the 15th of November. After the 15th, she will head up to Fergus Falls until Thanksgiving. Thanks for all the love, encouragement, and support you are all showing Leanne and Ryan during this time. We appreciate your prayers more than we could say. Please continue to pray for:

• Health for Leanne and baby Grover
• Peace for Leanne and Ryan as they are making decisions
• For Leanne to experience God's unending peace in all areas of her life
• Leanne to feel beautiful (because she is :)!!!) as the chemo begins to take its toll on her body

Want to help?

I know a lot of you have been wondering how you can help. Well, here is a very practical way! Leanne wrote this on her blog earlier today.

Okay well I have lots of needs. . .  BUT I have a need that you can help me with. . . One of the things I have been struggling with the most in this whole experience is fear.  I can't explain it all but it is one of those things that just creeps up when I least expect it.  It is the devil's way of getting into this situation and trying to take the glory away from God.  I am working really, really hard to conquer this fear and repeat verses and phrases in my head to help me. I was thinking about how I can continue to conquer it and I decided that I wanted to write verses on 3 x 5 index cards and bind them together so I can flip to one every time the fear creeps in.  Here is where all of you come in.  Pick a verse, write it on an index card, write your name (and a note if you want) on the back of the card, and send it to me.  I will put them all on a ring and keep them with me all the time. Here is the address:
17639 George Moran Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55347

Thanks for being a part of my support team and for letting me be real. . . I know I can count on you to help me conquer this fear and show the devil that my God is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more powerful that he is!

Stay tuned this week for more practical ways to help!

Please keep praying for Leanne this week. She has her second round of chemo on Tuesday. Pray for strength, health, and peace.

Look Good, Feel Better

On Tuesday, Leanne and Fran went to a class called Look Good, Feel Better. It is a class aimed at helping women who are going through chemo by offering support, encouragement, and beauty techniques. You can learn more about it here.

Here is some of the sweet stuff that Leanne got. Hello Chanel, Clinique, and Estee Lauder!

 

She said the class was helpful for learning things like how to draw on your eyebrows (in case they fall out). She was also pretty encouraged by one of the speakers who came up to her after the class and shared how she is really inspired by Leanne. She encouraged Leanne to keep fighting and that she will get through this.

Leanne also had a good time with the sweet, older lady who sat next to her :)

 

Good thing Leanne was there to help show her how to hold mascara, which one is the eyebrow pencil and which one is the eyeliner, and how to clean your face to get the makeup off! 

After the class, Leanne had a Dr. appointment for baby Grover. They had an ultrasound today ... always fun to see the baby! The Doc said everything looked great! Heartbeat sounded good and the baby looked great!

Please keep praying for:

• A continued healthy pregnancy for Leanne
• Health for Leanne while undergoing chemo
• Peace and trust for the entire Miller and White families

support

I know I can speak for Leanne and Ryan on this one. They have felt so supported, encouraged, loved, and lifted up in prayer in the past two weeks.

Our cousin, Jen, and her volleyball team were playing for a CURE this past week. 

 

Leanne is back in Fergus Falls until  next Tuesday, November 1st. Please pray for:

•  Rest for Leanne
• Health for Leanne; that while her immune system is low she would not get sick
• A continued trust in God's plan for Ryan, Leanne, and Grover

praises, wigs, & grover

Leanne had an MRI this past Wednesday and she got the results today that the cancer has not spread at all! Praise the Lord! Thanks for your prayers!
On another note, Leanne, Fran, and Katie went shopping for a wig on Thursday. It was hard, but needed to be done. The ladies at DK International were fantastic! Michelle, Leanne's wig lady (for lack of a better name), was awesome. She was really helpful and had lots of encouraging information to share. Here are a few snapshots of ones that Leanne decided NOT to get ...

The Danielle:

The Grandma :

You will just have to wait and see which one she actually got!

**Just so you know, Leanne and Ryan are not actually going to name their little boy Grover. It is just a nickname :) While visiting this summer, Leanne was reading her niece the book Goodnight Grover before she went to bed and thus the nickname Grover was born!**

#1

Chemo treatment #1: done

Leanne, Ryan, and Fran left early this morning for an appointment with Dr. Bloom. They learned that Leanne will have 4 chemo treatments (3 weeks apart) before she has surgery. Then we will wait with eager anticipation for Grover to make his entrance into this world!

Chemo treatments are scheduled for:

• November 8
• November 29
• December 20

Please pray that:

• Leanne would feel healthy and strong in the days following her chemo
• Leanne would be able to rest
• Grover would continue to grow
• Leanne and Ryan would trust God's plan for their lives

tomorrow

It will be a big day. Leanne and Ryan will meet with the oncologist, Dr. Bloom, in the morning. They will get more information about the full details of Leanne's plan for treatment. She will most likely have her first chemo treatment tomorrow.

Please pray for Leanne and Ryan. Pray for:

• Wisdom for the doctors as they make decisions about treatment plans
• Effective communication between the medical team and Leanne & Ryan
• Strength for Leanne as she has her first chemo treatment
• Peace for Leanne and Ryan
• Safety for baby boy Miller

Thanks in advance for your partnership in prayer.

it's a

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Leanne and Ryan had their ultrasound today and found out they are going to have a little boy!!!! They could not be more excited!!

Please pray for:

•  Their sweet baby boy to continue to grow healthy and strong
• Healthy pregnancy for Leanne
• Peace for Leanne and Ryan
• For Leanne and Ryan to continue to trust God's plan

let's start

at the very beginning ... (written by Leanne)

God created the heavens and the earth. . . ok ok I know that is not what you are looking for. . . I will try again. . . At the very beginning. . . it was a cyst.  Two doctors confirmed it and I felt confident in their diagnosis.  They told me to just watch it and let them know if it ever changed or grew.  That was March 2011.  Fast forward to June, Ryan and I get pregnant.  I continue to watch the cyst and it does not change over the summer.  Mid-September I notice that the cyst has grown and is starting to hurt.  I call the clinic and they advise me to wait until my appointment the next week.  At the appointment (September 27) the doctor decides she wants an ultrasound of the cyst. September 29th: I have the ultrasound done and get a call the next day saying they want me to meet with a surgeon.  October 3: we have the meeting with the surgeon.  He wants to do a biopsy.  October 6: I have the biopsy done and we wait for results.  October 10: the surgeon calls and says he wants Ryan and I to come in the next morning and he will not give any information over the phone.  October 11: we meet with the Surgeon and the Certified Nurse Midwife I have been seeing throughout my pregnancy.  They give us the news  and let us know that they are referring me to the Piper Center at Abbott Northwestern in the cities.  We get really scared and nervous, pray, and call our parents to come to us. We spend the rest of the morning at Marty and Mandy's house being distracted by their two beautiful little boys as we did not think we could drive home and did not know where else to go. (We are soooooo blessed with good friends)  We eventually meet up with our parents and spend the afternoon at home in Fergus deciding on what our plan will be.  Wednesday we go to my parents house and are surrounded by some of the greatest people in the world Tim, Danielle, Crosby, Katie, Bret, Mollie, and Aimee.

Fast forward to Thursday, October13.  We (Ryan and I and both sets of our parents) meet with Dr. Johnson, the surgeon.  We feel calmed by the discovery that we can do chemotherapy and other treatment while I am still pregnant (There are two kinds of chemo and I will need both. One is safe during pregnancy and the other is not. The one that is safe to have while pregnant I will start soon and the other I will have after Grover makes his/her entrance into the world).  We talk about surgery and he lets us know that it is not if but when. He and the big, huge team of doctors and oncologists will meet Monday, October 17, to talk about my case (they do this for every case) and decide which will come first, chemo or surgery.  We also meet with Dr. Bloom, the oncologist who laughs at my answer of "duh" to the question "why are you here?"  He answers a lot of questions and wants to start treatment right away.  He decides that because of the risk of infection and the way that chemo will lower my immune system that I not return to school this year.  He recommends that we be transferred to a perinatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor) and think about doing chemo in the cities because other places might not be comfortable giving chemo to a pregnant person.  (This is also because Dr. Bloom, Dr. Johnson, and the Perinatologist are all at the same place and can easily communicate with each other to streamline my care)

We have an appointment Monday (October 17) with the perinatologist and will get to find out if Grover is a boy or a girl.  We want to check on Grover and make sure everything is alright before we start treatment.  We will also find out what the doctors decide is the plan for treatment and surgery.

Please pray for us as we journey on the long road ahead. Check back Monday to find out who is growing in me!!

welcome!

to Team Chin!

 This blog will be updated often with the latest news, praises, and prayer requests about Chin's fight against breast cancer. So be sure check back soon!

Current prayer requests:

• Peace for Chin and Ryan
• Wisdom for the doctors as they meet on Monday to decide on a plan of action
• Continued safe development of Baby Miller
• Encouraging ultrasound of Baby Miller on Monday
• That God would continue to show us how big He is

Your partnership in prayer is the most effective way to help Chin at this time.