Round 2: #6

And a happy chemo day to all the TEAM CHIN readers! It truly was a happy day for Leanne! She was pretty anxious about her appointment with Dr. Bloom (her oncologist) today, but she also knows that God is good no matter what happens.

Dr. Bloom was very pleased with the results of this round of chemo! He was almost in tears he was so pleased :) When Leanne was first diagnosed she had some blood work done to check the level of the tumor markers in her blood. They were around 150 when initially tested and after her first round of chemo that number was down to around 110. In the month after Leo's birth, when Leanne did not have any treatment, the number rose to 200. But today, the number was down to 50. Yes, you read that right! FIFTY! And for all of you (like me!) who have no idea what those numbers mean, they consider anything under 40 to be normal. Praise God for allowing the chemo to be so effective to shrink the tumor so much!

In light of those results, Dr. Bloom wants to do two more months of chemo. However, he will check in with Leanne at the end of April and the end of May. And as we have learned in the past, we are holding loosely to those plans because they can change at any time!

Chris, Fran, Leanne, and Ryan went to the appointment with Dr. Bloom, but only Fran and Ryan went with Leanne to chemo. Thanks Kathy for spending the afternoon with Leo!

 Thank you so much for your faithfulness in prayer for Leanne and TEAM CHIN. God is doing big things and it is amazing to watch His plan unfold in the lives of Leanne, Ryan, Leo, and their families. Please keep praying for:

• The tumor to continue to shrink
• Continued wisdom for Dr. Bloom and the other oncologists as they treat Leanne
• Strength, patience, and contentment for Leanne and Ryan as they continue on in the battle against cancer
• Leo to start sleeping longer stretches at night
• God to continue to show Himself faithful to Leanne, Ryan, and their families

Round 2: #5

Today is Thursday and you know what that means, it is chemo day. Leanne had her 5th post pregnancy chemo treatment today. It was extra short because they only had to do one type of chemo and extra special because of the visitors!

Fran went to chemo with Leanne while Grandma Miller stayed with Leo! Deb has been in Eden Prairie helping Leanne, Ryan, & Leo out for the past few days and they are soooooooooo thankful she is there. I am sure she enjoyed her afternoon with Leo :)

This guy visited Leanne at chemo today and brought some shamrock shakes with him! Thanks Dad!

Leanne also spent some time face timing with Tim.

 Leanne has an appointment with her oncologist next Thursday before chemo. They will reevaluate the treatment plan and decide where to go from there. There is a lot up in the air right now and Leanne and Ryan need your prayers.

• Pray that Leanne's white blood cell counts stay in the high range so she can still have chemo
• Pray for wisdom for the doctor's as they make treatment decisions
• Pray for patience for Leanne & Ryan as they continue on in this journey
• Pray for peace and contentment for Leanne & Ryan
• Pray that Leanne would have the strength to fight the mental battle that comes along with cancer
• Pray for Leo to start sleeping longer at night :)

Round 2: #4

 Leanne had her 4th post pregnancy chemo treatment yesterday. While Fran and Leanne were at chemo, Mrs. Schuh stayed with Leo. (thank you!) 

The plan is still to do two more treatments and then meet with the oncologist to discuss the next step. Please keep Leanne & Ryan in your prayers. Please pray for:

• Peace and contentment for Leanne, Ryan, & their families as they trust God's plan.
• Good health for Leanne.
• God to give Leanne the strength to continue to fight the mental battle that comes with cancer.
• Leanne to stay ahead of any pain and side effects from the chemo and other medications she is on.
• Continued wisdom for the doctors and nurses as they plan Leanne's treatment.

Hijacking this Blog!

Hey everyone!  It is Leanne.  My older sister Katie usually updates the blog but I knew she would not post about this in the way I wanted to so I decided to hijack the blog and post myself :-)  These two wonderful people came to stay for a whole week two weeks ago. 

 

God sure knew what he was doing when they decided to visit because that was the week I ended up in the hospital.  WHAT A BLESSING to have such awesome help while I was not feeling well and not able to keep up with the things I wanted to be able to do.  I was lucky enough to have Mollie to help me hold Leo. . . 

 

She helped me feed Leo and gave me diapers. . .

 And she also helped me look at him and give him some love. . .

On a more serious note, I am so thankful for Katie and Mollie and the help they were while I was not feeling well.  Katie, along with Aimee (my younger sister), and my mom were amazing!  They took turns getting up with Leo in the middle of the night for a whole week so I could get rest and get better. . . Seriously, these people are amazing!

I am going to be real with you (not that we aren't usually) but I am going to be brutally honest and ask for some very specific prayer requests, :
*Cancer is a tough mental battle.  I struggle each day with fear and doubt and the devil attacks my mind in crazy ways.  These attacks come when I am tired and when I am alone and my mind just begins to race.  Please pray that I would continue to fight this mental battle and trust God and his awesome timing and plan.  (I have been working really hard on this but it is a constant struggle)
*One of the medicines that I take for three days before chemo causes pretty intense bone and muscle pain.  Like pain I have never felt in my life.  Please pray that I would be able to stay on top of the pain and that it would not increase with each dose of the medicine.
*The plan for my treatment is constantly evolving and changing based on what happens in my body.  This is tough as lots of people (including us) want to know the plan.  Pray for patience and trust as we let our knowledgeable doctors and our great physician in heaven lead us down this road. 


Thanks for being a part of my team.  I can't even begin to explain how much it means to know that I have the love and support that I do from all over the world!  I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!!!!!!

Update

Leanne had an appointment with her oncologist this week to check how her tumor is responding to the chemo and to make sure her white blood counts are up where they need to be. While the oncologist is pleased with the effects of the chemo thus far, they would like to do another round of chemo. So, she will have three more treatments then a week off. Then back to the oncologist for another check.

Please continue to pray for TEAM CHIN:
-Pray for continued health and strength for Leanne
-Pray for peace for Leanne as she struggles with fear
-Pray for Leanne, Ryan, and their families to continue to trust God's plan
-Pray for Leanne to continue to find her strength in God