Keep on fighting the good fight!

Keep on fighting the good fight!

It’s been about 3 months since the last update….people often ask how things are going and how Belle is doing.  That’s always a loaded question because physically she is doing really well and she is a normal 7 year old.  Seriously you would never think this child has a brain tumor that has the potential to threaten her life!  It has the potential to be that serious.  This is the same child that laughs and plays all the time.  She dances when her favorite song comes on the television during a Disney show…..she starts singing when a good song comes on the radio.  Even last week at her “Fun Run” at school she ran/walked 5 miles….she’s amazing!  So in that regard she’s doing great!  It’s always difficult to say how things are going inside of her….you know…how the tumor is responding to the chemo and cannabis oils? It’s always a hard question to answer because the scans only come every 3 months….so there is a bit of waiting game!  A game that overwhelms your thoughts constantly and ability to maintain normalcy in life.  To be honest…it’s always on my mind…CANCER!!!  It’s my new normal…but we are adjusting to this new way of life…slowly but surely!

So we had our most recent scan yesterday which always brings stress and anxiety leading up to the scan and waiting to hear the results…..they call it “scanxiety”…let me explain scanxiety to those of you who have not had the pleasure to experience this situation.  The stress and concerns usually starts about 7-10 days out from the scan.  Begins with some anticipation as you want to hear the results to see if things are working but then you start to worry what if they aren’t….DO I REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE RESULTS!?!?!  You bounce back and forth between these thoughts continuously leading up to the scan.  You find yourself sometimes in a daze and just not completely present in the moment.  These feelings and concerns overwhelm you at times which leads to being irritable, frustrated, pissy and just not a pleasure to be around sometimes.  You try and control it and not snap at people or things taking place around you but sometimes it just boils over.  I think as we endure more scans I have gotten better at controlling these emotional responses…..I’m human and not perfect.  Honestly…..it’s very scary and hard to go through…that’s probably the easiest way to describe it!  So if I’m ever an ass to anyone as scans near please forgive me and understand it’s not intentional….it’s just the scanxiety and it’s wonderful contribution on our lives!  I know were not alone as these scans approach and there are many of you out there praying and thinking of us during these difficult times….so thank you so much for helping us pull through this!!  It means the world to our family.

SO TO THE RESULTS…….GREAT NEWS PEOPLE!!!  The tumor is still stable (no new growth) and even appears to be smaller (in my professional) opinion….most importantly along with the tumor being stable is that the enhancement of the tumor is much less….things are working…the oncologist is very happy with the results and likes the progression of things.  He explained that we have 3 more cycles to go and then we are done with chemo…the last 3 cycles can also be the most difficult as the ANC (immune system) counts just don’t bounce back as quickly as they would like which causes chemo to be postponed until they do. So we will just have to see how this next 3 months goes….I can tell you that Belle continues to amaze the staff at Children’s on how well she is doing and that week after week she just continues to fight and do well…her counts continue to bounce back!  She certainly has her times when she isn’t feeling well after chemo but that’s to be expected.  God’s hand is at work here so please keep praying….don’t stop please…..KEEP THOSE PRAYERS COMING!

The rest of the family is doing well and hanging tough as can be.  Michael and Isabelle are back in school and enjoying be back with their friends.  Michael is now in middle school and transitioning nicely everything considered.  Michael has also be through a lot having to see his mom and sister go through cancer, I’m sure it has been difficult on him as well.  He is strong kid and has had a great attitude through all of this.  Isabelle goes to school as much as possible other than the big chemo days, she even goes to school on the days when she only has her small chemo.  The only days she misses is on the big chemo days when she is just too tired to go and comes home to rest like today! I'm so proud of her and her strength!  Having things as normal as possible is important.

I did want to let everyone know that the CBD oils appear to be working, it’s hard to ever say with absolute certainty but I truly believe that it is having a positive effect on her treatment.  The donations that we have received are going a long way in paying for these treatments along with her medical bills.  The cannabis oil isn’t cheap and it cost us about $900 a month to cover those costs so rest assured that those donations that we received at the beginning of her diagnosis is helping us tremendously.  We will continue these CBD oils well after her treatment to ensure that we are keeping her cancer free.  I just want to thank everyone again for all those donations….Sarah and I greatly appreciate it!  More than words can ever express!  It allows us to just focus on Belle and get her well!

Moving forward we will continue the fight and hope that the remaining chemo treatments go well and the tumor continues to go away.  We know that our journey is not over but we are making our way through this process.  Way to go Belle!  We are so blessed that Belle is doing well and that things are going in the right direction…..there are no guarantees when battling cancer!  It’s important to celebrate the successes big and small when they come along.  Praise the Lord!

I did want to share a passage that I read the other day that my friend Jamie posted on FB…it really touched home!

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.”  Philippians 4:6

Thank you again to everyone….for the continued prayers, the times when you check in us and see how things are going….for the love that you share for our family!  We couldn’t do it without all of you out there!

Before I go I did want to show the progression of her images to show everyone how things are progressing.  Focus on the white circle object in the middle of her brain...that is tumor!

December 2015 (At Diagnosis)

June 2016 MRI (6 Months into Chemo)

September 2016 MRI (9 Months into Chemo)

So as you can see from the progression of the scans things are improving and heading in the right direction.

Thank you again for reading the blog and following along with Belle's journey....keep those prayers coming for Belle as we still have a journey ahead of us!

GoFundMe Link: https://www.gofundme.com/mcallister-family-medical-fund

Mac, Sarah, Michael and our Belle