Movie Star!

Check out this sweet movie about Leanne sharing her story.

Click here to see it!

Cancer free!

Thanks to the faithful in prayer who prayed over Leanne's appointments today.

Leanne met with Dr. Bloom today and he said every thing looks normal. Words we have not heard in a long time. Things look great. Leanne looks great. Normal! We are free to use the words cancer free and remission!! What an answer to prayer. We are celebrating today with more thankfulness than our hearts or words can even express.

Leanne also met with her Radiation Oncologist today and her skin is healing (another answer to prayer) and everything is looking great!

Praise God!

As the treatment phase of this journey is over, we wait for what is ahead. Leanne will meet with her surgeon, Dr. Johnson, in October to discuss reconstruction. But for now, we will remain thankful and trust God's perfect plan. Please keep Leanne in your prayers. Please pray for:

• God's peace to be with Leanne as she moves out of the treatment phase
• Wisdom for Dr. Johnson as he makes decisions regarding reconstruction
• Continued trust in God's sovereign plan

Leo Here

 

Hey Team Chinnians,
It is me, little big guy Leo.  I just wanted you to know that my Mommy has a couple of follow up appointments later this week and she was wondering if you would pray for her.  She is feeling good and everything should be fine but she said that going to appointments always makes her nervous now.

I have been trying to help her not be so nervous by keeping her on her toes.  I like to switch up which foods I will eat each day.  She never knows which ones I will eat now.  I also like to keep her on her toes by scooting all over the place.  I can get to what I want and she keeps putting all of the good stuff (like the remote) up high.  

I better sign off, Mommy's cell phone is on the floor and I bet I can make it there before she sees me.  Thanks for loving on us and praying for my Mommy.  Look for an update later this week

Leoeoeo

Prayer Request

Leanne here with a random prayer request.  So my skin is still blistery and peeling.  It hurts so they are urging me to take pain medicine.  Regular advil and tyleonl are not cutting it so this morning I took the pain medicine they want me to take and it made me sick.  Now I do not want to take the pain medicine.
It makes me laugh that I went through 15 rounds of chemo and did not puke once, not even close.   but after taking a silly pain medicine this morning I puked.  Talk about funny!!!!
Please pray that either the pain medicine will sit right with my stomach in the coming days or that the pain would go away and I would not need it.
Thanks faithful warriors!

The last time ...

Today was Leanne's last radiation treatment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God has been so faithful to provide for all Leanne has needed over the past 10 1/2 months. And we know He will be faithful to continue to provide in whatever the future holds.

Today was the last time Leanne has to park here

  

The last time to walk in here

  

The last time to open this door

  

The last time to check in at this desk

  

The last time to wait in this waiting room

  

Congrats Leanne from the Radiation Oncologists!!

  

Now that radiation is done, Leanne will have a month off until an appointment with Dr. Bloom at the end of September. Please keep praying for Leanne. Pray specifically for:

• Peace for Leanne as her treatments are done
• God to keep healing Leanne
• Wisdom for Dr. Bloom as he determines the next step for Leanne's treatment
• Rest and recovery for Leanne in the coming weeks and months

5 left!

Only 5 to go! Leanne is definitely feeling the side effects ... Bummer. The fatigue has started to set in and Leanne is experiencing painful, blistering skin where they do the radiation. Please pray for her!

Here is a family pic from the Miller's, check out all that hair :) Leanne and Ryan had Leo dedicated at their church in Fergus Falls last weekend.

 

Please keep praying for Leanne:

• Pray for the blistered, painful skin to heal quickly
• Pray for the fatigue to subside soon
• Pray for Leanne to have strength 
• Pray for wisdom for Dr. Bloom as this segment of the journey comes to a close next week
• Pray for Leanne, Ryan, and their families to continue to trust God's plan
• Pray for this little guy to consistently sleep through the night for his Mamma's sake :) and Dad's too!

  

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! To all who have helped with meals, rides, watching Leo, running errands, encouraging words, and prayers. Your help is MUCH appreciated!

Happy Anniversary!

Leanne and Ryan celebrate their 3rd anniversary today. They have been through more than most couples married for 30 years. Praise the Lord for his sovereign plan as he joined them in marriage 3 years ago. What an inspiration their marriage is! Check out Leanne's post HERE.

Radiation is going well thus far. Leanne is starting to feel tired, but would say that overall she is doing well. Here she is at radiation.

   

Please continue to keep her in your prayers. Pray for:

• Peace as Leanne and Ryan discern what God has in store for their future
• Minimal side effects from the radiation
• For Leanne, Ryan, and their families to continue to trust God in this journey

Thanks to all who are helping out on the Care Calendar! We are so thankful for you!!!!!!

Radiation update

Leanne has 7 treatments under her belt and is feeling great so far! Praise God! With 5 treatments a week, it is bound to get exhausting soon but Leanne is such a trooper!

Thanks to everyone who is helping out by watching Leo, making meals, running errands, and doing her grocery shopping. We could not do this without all of your help!

Please keep praying for Leanne:

• Pray for the fatigue side effect of radiation to be minimal
• Pray for peace for Leanne
• Pray for strength for Leanne as she continues to battle cancer

Please sign up to help on the Care Calendar if you can! Click HERE to sign up.

Relay for Life

Thank you to all who were able to participate with Leanne and TEAM CHIN on Friday in the Relay for Life! It was a great event and Leanne was blessed to have the chance to share her story.

Here is Leanne's speech from the event. (Make sure you have some tissues handy, you will need them!)
 

Leanne starts radiation today. Please keep her in your prayers. Pray for:

• The radiation tech's to skillfully administer the radiation
• The side effects to be minimal (fatigue is the biggest side effect)
• Strength and perseverance for Leanne as she continues on in this journey
• Peace for Leanne, Ryan, and their families

3 months!

Leanne had an appointment with Dr. Bloom last week and at the end of the appointment he gave her some news she hasn't heard in a while.

"See you in 3 months." She couldn't believe her ears, in a good way!

Now, begins the radiation segment of her journey. She had another radiation consultation this week and had her mugshot taken.

  

Here is the form they made for her during radiation to ensure that she lays in the exact same position each time.

  

She also got tatoos :) to also make sure she gets her radiation in the same spots each time. The side effects of radiation are not as extreme as chemo, but fatigue is the biggest side effect Leanne will experience. She will start radiation on Monday and will have 33 consecutive treatments.

Please join TEAM CHIN on Friday for Relay for Life in Eden Prairie. Click HERE for more info!

Catch up!

We've been a little behind in the blogging department. Sorry! We'll try to get back on track.

Leanne has been recovering quickly and is feeling great! She started physical therapy last week to get her full range of motion back after surgery and also to get her ready for radiation. Once she is able to lift her arm fully above her head she will have the go ahead to start radiation. Radiation will consist of 33 treatments. 28 of those treatments will be for the lymph nodes and the area where tissue was removed and the remaining 5 treatments will be for the scar. Each session should last no more than 30 minutes total. As one of Leanne's friends put it, "Radiation is a piece of cake compared to chemo." Leanne was glad to hear that!

But the biggest praise of the past few weeks is that Leo is sleeping through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for your faithful prayers!

Please pray for:

• Wisdom for the Radiation Oncologists as they decide what type of radiation Leanne will have
• Continued peace for Leanne
• Wisdom for Dr. Bloom as he continues to make decisions regarding Leanne's treatment
• God to be glorified as Leanne has a chance to share her story at the Eden Prairie Relay for Life Race on July 13th. Click here for more info.

Here are some pics from Leanne's birthday! Doesn't she look great?!?!?

This guy ...

 

is super happy because his Mommy and Daddy got great news from Dr. Bloom today! The scan Leanne had last Monday showed that there is NO cancer in her body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dr. Bloom (he is calling himself the captain of TEAM CHIN!) is incredibly pleased with the results of surgery and chemo. She will continue to have appointments with Dr. Bloom, but now it is onto radiation and continuing to take low dose chemo meds. Radiation will most likely start within a few weeks, but we are not sure yet.

As Leanne moves on to the next stage of treatment, please keep her in your prayers. Pray specifically for:

• Wisdom for the Radiation Oncologists as they determine the plan for radiation
• Peace for Leanne and Ryan as they continue on in this journey
• Full recovery and healing for Leanne
• Effective physical therapy for Leanne
• Leo to continue sleeping better at night

The Care Calendar is back!

We need your help again!

Leanne and Ryan are in need of some help now that surgery is done and she will be starting radiation in the near future. If you can help, please read the following info and sign up!

Here is the link to the Care Calendar we have set up for Leanne, Ryan, and Leo:

http://carecalendar.org/logon/98734

When you get to the site, please use the following information to log in to their calendar:

    CALENDAR ID:   98734
    SECURITY CODE :   8797

On this website there are a few ways you can help:

1. Bring meals
2. Run errands (Target, grocery shopping, etc)
3. Housework

 When you get to the calendar, you can click on a particular need you would like to help meet. Then you will be asked to fill in some information. After entering your information, please scroll down and click Sign Up. Then, your name will show up on the calendar to let others know this need has been filled. You will also receive an email as a reminder that you signed up to help.

If you live far away, but would like to help here are some suggestions:

• Gift cards to Target to purchase groceries, cleaning supplies, etc.
• Gift cards to grocery stores in the area: Cub Foods, Wal Mart, and Rainbow Foods
• Continue to pray!

Relay for Life: Honorary Survivor

Leanne was chosen as the honorary survivor for Relay for Life in Eden Prairie this year! She will have a chance to share her story and then will lead the survivor lap. 

Click HERE for Leanne's personal Relay for Life page and HERE for the TEAM CHIN Relay for Life page. 

TEAM CHIN is forming a team, but will not be there all night long. Please consider supporting the American Cancer Society by clicking on the TEAM CHIN page HERE.

The event will be on Friday July 13, 2012 at Eden Prairie High School at 6:00pm. Hope to see you there!

Good news!

In the words of Ryan today, "We actually get to leave a doctor's appointment with some good news!"

Leanne met with Dr. Johnson today and he was said everything looked good! The skin near the incision looks good, the amount and color of the drainage looks good, and most of all Leanne looks good!

The plan for now is this:
Scans on June 11th
Meet with Dr. Bloom on June 18th
Start radiation (not sure of length of radiation treatments)
Physical therapy to get range of motion back

We know this plan can change at any time so we hold loosely to it. I know I can speak for Leanne, Ryan, and their families when I say there has been a huge sense of relief this week knowing the cancer is gone from her body.

Please continue to pray for Leanne to have a full, quick recovery
Pray for wisdom for all of Leanne's doctors as they make decisions about radiation
Pray for sweet Leo to sleep through the night :)

Gone!

Dr. Johnson called Leanne this morning to let her know the results of the pathology report. He was able to get clean margins on what he took during the last surgery and none of the lymph nodes removed in the last surgery had any cancer in them. PRAISE GOD! God is so faithful and has provided for Leanne every step of this journey so far. We are trusting Him to continue to provide what Leanne needs as she starts the next part in her treatment. All we know this far is that radiation is in the future and rehab will happen at some point to get her arm back in shape after surgery. Please keep praying for a smooth recovery and for Leo to sleep through the night. So thankful we get to celebrate with all of you!

Guess who ...

is home!

  

Leanne was discharged from the hospital and was able to enjoy breakfast with Leo this morning. :) He sure was glad to see his mommy! Leanne is so thankful for all of your prayers, encouraging texts, Facebook posts and messages. Keep 'em coming!

Please keep praying for Leanne. Pray for:

•  Smooth recovery for Leanne. 
• The pathology report would come back with clean margins. 
• Wisdom for the Doctor's as they continue to make decisions regarding Leanne's treatment.
• Leo to sleep through the night.

Done

We are talking to the surgeon right now and he filled us in. Surgery is done and all went well! It is hard to be optimistic with all that happened earlier this week but we have learned to just trust God instead. They didn't have to take any more muscle and were able to get all the lymph nodes necessary. Hopefully she will get to come home tomorrow if the pain is under control. Pray that the pain will be under control tomorrow and that Leanne will recover quickly. We appreciate your prayers more than we can express.

Surgery update

Just got a call from the surgeon that things are going well in surgery. Please keep praying!

Tonight: 6pm

Once Leo heard the news yesterday that his mommy needed to have surgery again, he wanted to go and cheer her up. Mission accomplished :)

  

We just heard from Leanne's nurse that she is scheduled for 6pm tonight. She will be taken back to pre-op at 4:30. Please keep praying today. Pray for:

• Dr. Johnson to be able to get all the cancer removed from Leanne's body
• Dr. Johnson to work quickly and safely during surgery today
• Peace for Leanne, Ryan, and their families
• Quick and full recovery for Leanne in the next few weeks
• Leo to sleep through the night
•