Never stop fighting!

(Family that fights together...stays together!)

“Never Stop Fighting”

One year ago our world was rocked….everything got turned upside down yet again!  We as a family had to embrace the fact that Belle had a brain tumor and that we had a long journey ahead of us!  There was so much uncertainty and so many unanswered questions.  After going through the 10 month cancer fight with Sarah and just trying to get her through her cancer battle…..I couldn’t even begin to fathom how the hell we were going to make it through Belle’s cancer battle as well.  I was so mad and angry…..I couldn’t understand for the life of me why the hell we were going through this yet again so quickly after Sarah's diagnosis.  It’s like going 15 rounds with Mike Tyson and then having to fight him again the very next day!  The last two years has been tough to say the least….we have had many low points that have brought us to our breaking point and wanting to just give up but in the same breath we have had some amazing moments of joy and happiness!  Quite an emotional rollercoaster…..ups and downs!  We have learned a lot about ourselves and the strength of our family over the last wo years.  What can I say I guess God build us to last!  I can’t say enough about the resilience of my family….Sarah, Isabelle and Michael have been truly amazing……their strength, fortitude and grit is something to admire.  Isabelle has so much fight in her and her ability to stay happy through all of this has been so great to see!  I know that this has been a tough year for her and she has had to bear the brunt of the cancer fight.  Certainly its hard as a parent to see your child go through this battle but I can’t even being 8 years old and having to go through this….she’s just a kid!  She’s tough as nails but sweet as sugar!  I can’t say enough about Michael as well…..he has had to watch his mom fight breast cancer and his sister fight brain cancer…I’m sure it weighs on him if he is going to get cancer too.  Through all of this he has done well…he even got on honor roll this semester at school and he’s kicking ass in wrestling!  I couldn’t be prouder as a father!  Through all of this we have definitely grown as a family and become closer! 

(Sarah and Belle at her last chemo)

So since the last update a lot has happened and we have good news!  We always cherish the opportunities to celebrate good news when it comes our way.  Isabelle finished her last chemo treatment on 11/23, she was able to finish up the last round of chemo with the vinblastine only.  The carboplatin was too much for her to take for the last round.  Her body just said enough…she did great to get as far as she could until her body said no more.  It was nice to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving without having to worry about chemo.  Finishing chemo is always “bitter sweet” because you no longer have the stress of going through chemo but then you have the concern of what’s next without the chemo keeping cancer at bay.  The oncology teams called a “Leap of Faith”…. trust me its totally the case!  You pray and hope that everything is working correctly and that the body will take over from here and keep killing the cancer.  This is a difficult time to manage emotionally…constantly watching her to make sure nothing else is popping up.  It can easily drive someone crazy!  She has done well since finishing her chemo treatment.  She did have a couple situations arise when we had to get her ANC checked just to make sure she wasn’t neutropenic.  She was dealing with a little bug which did cause for some concern with an elevated temperature but everything is good and well now!  

She had her full body and brain MRI on December 15th which she handled very well.  She was in that MRI machine for an hour and a half….that’s along time to lay in that machine.  But she’s so strong and did great….certainly lorazepam and the movie “Life of Pets” helped but even with that it can be hard to go through those scans awake so way to go Belle!  We did have to wait to get the results until the 16th but Sarah and I have learned this process very well.  If they let us go or there is no neuro-oncologist on the phone with the MRI radiologist tech, then most often things are looking good.  For those of you that have not had the pleasure (haha joking of course) of having sit in one of these rooms with your child, it’s so stressful just waiting and hoping that there is nothing popping up on the MRI that would cause for concern.  I don’t think I will ever get used to watching my loved ones go through these scans…but I muster all my strength and do my best to support Belle.  Her strength helps me so much….funny that she’s the one actually helping me!  I know it’s not easy on Sarah either sitting in the reception area waiting for us to come out.  I think there has been some emotional damage done from the first MRI when we learned that Belle had the tumor….it’s kind of messed us up to be honest!  So I’m sure you want the news from the MRI….drumroll please….(I hope some of you reading this are really doing the drumroll)....Things look great!  The enhancement reduction looks even better than the last MRI, the oncologist cannot say with 100% accuracy if the enhancement is residual fluid or activity of the tumor but everything is pointing in the right direction.  I don’t know what to say….I’m completely overjoyed with happiness for Belle.  She’s not completely out the woods yet because we do have MRI’s every 3 months just to keep an eye on things but we will chalk this up as a huge victory!  We will celebrate this day and Belle…what a rockstar she is!  I would say her treatment has been a success.  I still struggle to let my guard down…even in this moment, I’m still cautiously optimistic…I hope that I can begin to let that go over time.   I don’t think that me being on a constant alert will ever go away 100% but I have come to understand that this is my “new normal”…my new reality if you may!   

(Image above 12/17/15) 

 (Image above 12/15/16)

I used to wish all the time that this had never happened to us and part of me still feels that way!  I remember our life before cancer entered like bull in a china cabinet…..just causing havoc and turmoil at every chance.  But now I realize that this happened to us for some crazy reason….I know that God didn't give Sarah and Belle cancer so that we would appreciate life more and to purposefully change our path but things just happen sometimes.  Life is hard…it has challenges and difficulties….but there are also so many beautiful things to cherish and appreciate it!  I can say whole heartedly that these last two years have helped me just live better and appreciate each and every day more.  I can’t say enough about how much I love my wife and my children!

Isabelle has had such a great support system over the past year from all the friends and family that have helped us navigate this battle as well many people at her school.  I want to really thank those special teachers and administrative staff that made this last year as easy as possible and allowed her to have normal life at school.  She loves going to school and seeing her friends!  It has been very reassuring knowing that she is in such good hands when she is at school.  The school held some wonderful events for her prior to her last chemo treatment.  The school posted words of encouragement on their electronic display board, the principal Mrs. Milley brought her up during a school-wide celebration to congratulate Belle on getting through this difficult year and her wonderful teacher Mrs. Messmer threw her an amazing celebration party!  We are just so fortunate to have some many people helping us along the way!  I guess it’s pretty darn easy to love Belle so I totally get it!

(Isabelle at her party)

(Group huge from her classmates)

(Belle with her teacher Mrs. Messmer)

Other than that we are still forging ahead….we know that the fight is never completely over!  We will stick with eating well, using cannabis oil and essential oils routinely!  The McAllisters will continue to fight and do our best to keep kicking cancers ass!  We will celebrate this Christmas for so many reasons....most importantly Jesus and the precious time with our loved ones.  I encourage each of you to do the very same...time is the most precious gift...so celebrate it with those you love and care for!  This is a special Christmas having come so far in a year!  I truly hope and pray that 2017 is a great year filled with joy and happiness...I think we are due! 

Merry Christmas to everyone!  Thank you so much for all the support and love over the last year....keep those prayers coming and supporting my family....it means the world to us!

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

Love the McAllisters

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall no perish but have eternal life"