Hope4Peyton

Thanksgiving for the Mayhews = too much food, never enough family, and letting the kids play their hearts out so they’ll crash hard when we get them to bed. All the elements were met fully this year. Peyton was released from the hospital late on Wednesday and we were so very happy to be able to spend the holiday together. Peter’s mother Sharon hosted the turkey dinner at her place with a bountiful spread that blew our socks off, we all ate til we were ready to bust at the seams and then came back for dessert…have to make sure we fulfill that too much food element. After we ate, Peter and I were ready to lounge on the couch and watch tv when our kids decided “hey, it’s time to go for a bike ride!” We looked at each other like “these are not OUR children?”, but bike rides were taken all over Grandma’s sidewalks. The day was gorgeous, the kids were having a ball and it was a perfect day of Thanksgiving.

On Black Friday, Peter found the perfect place to be for indulging the need to take advantage of post-holiday sales AND sleep in late: Radio Shack. He was happy, I didn’t have to go with him and life was good. I did get my hair seriously chopped off, so I’ll have to post a picture of that sooner or later, but my haircut thrilled Peyton to no end. She told me “Mommy, I loooove your hair! Now it’s little like mine!” That just melted my heart, and when Rachael went to get her bangs trimmed tonight, she decided that she liked the haircut so much she wanted to chop hers off as well. I’ll have to post us with our newly “little” hair.

My sister and three of her four daughters came to FL to stay at my mom and dad’s in Daytona Beach. The fourth daughter and the husband had to stay in South Carolina due to health issues, but the others kissed them a sad goodbye and then booked it to sunny Florida and the beaches. I guess we native Floridians forget how enchanting the beaches are because my crazy nieces were actually out in the ocean….Katie really said it perfect “it’s not cold, because pretty soon you can’t feel your feet at all!” Nice….nothing like hypothermia to really say how much you love the holidays.

Because of sniffles, the girls were unable to come visit us, but my mother and sister came today to see us. It was a wonderful visit, I don’t get to see my sister or her girls often enough, but it’s always fun when we do get together. It’s hard to be so far away from those you love, and I sure wish they lived closer, but we spent a great afternoon together and my sister did the after-dinner dishes! Now you know why I wish they lived closer!

It’s just been a spectacular weekend so far, we’ve just enjoyed being together and have never felt like we had more to be truly thankful for. God has blessed us greatly, and even though we’ve had reason to shed a lot of tears this year, we are very grateful for the good in our lives. When I have my family close, when the kids are laughing and playing, when I talk to my friends and feel that support and closeness….how can we not be thankful? We tend to value the things that are material and very temporary and this year has been a lesson in priorities, what truly has value, and finding the gifts that God gives us every day.

This is a picture I had to post of Adelaine and her sweet mom Angela from the night we got to go to the Wiggles together.

So, I hope this post finds you happy and truly thankful this year.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—Anissa

Peyton and I got to come home today, and it's a wonderful thing to be a family together again. Her fevers turned out to just be random fevers with no infection or bacterial cause. She did have some issues with her port as we were trying to go home, there was a mild blockage that required medication to fix, but they did get it fixed and Team Mayhew will attack the turkey tomorrow as a whole unit! Hurray!

One of the things I meant to do was post some pictures from our hockey game night with the Lightning and here they are. Now, truth be known, we're not big hockey watchers so I don't have a clue which players are which, but they were all terribly friendly and gracious. We were thankful for the opportunity to meet them and for the kids to be wowed by the game and players.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we do have so many things to be thankful for. In light of a year that has been one struggle after another, we have found ourselves to be a stronger family, closer than ever and more appreciative of every blessing we're given. I have an amazing amount of love for our friends who've supported and encouraged us each day and given us their strength to rely on. God has brought fantastic people into our lives through our troubles and we are continually thankful for that. We are blessed to have a chance to minister to the new families that are going through the same thing we are, to return that love and encouragement to others.

Please keep Weston and Antonio and their families in your prayers this Thanksgiving as they are still at the hospital unable to leave. I am praying that they are able to find peace in their hearts to deal with the shock and pain of their very recent diagnosis and the upcoming trials they'll have to go through. I truly believe that Peyton's fever this week was just a way to get us into the hospital so we could meet these families and reach out to them and lift them up with prayer and understanding.

Also keep the Campbell family in your prayers as they go through this first holiday without Karen at their sides. Pray that they are able to find the reasons to be thankful regardless of the overwhelming pain I know they are feeling at her loss. I pray that Mark and Nick are able to hold each other close and be reminded of what a joy Karen was and that she would want them to find peace in her passing and turn to the Lord in their grief.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—Anissa

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1

Today was a fun day for Peyton because she got to be filmed by one of the local news station, channel 10, and they're going to show a spot on her and some of the other sweet kids from our wing, including Adelaine, on Thanksgiving during their 6 pm broadcast. It's a little segment about what we're thankful for, how our child's illness changes our priorities. When he asked me what I'm thankful for, I told him "discharge papers"…we laughed but i don't think that was what they were looking for.

In all seriousness, when they asked the one thing I was most thankful for this year, I told him opportunities. Because for me that just says it all, the opportunities we have should never be wasted. We have chances to make sure that those we love know how much they mean to us, how can we waste those chances? We have the opportunities to reach out and make a difference in the world and to spread the love of God every day.

Peyton is doing better, her fevers are still up and down, but nothing too high and they don't seem too concerned about them. They resolve on their own, so we're not even on the tylenol. She's still getting the antibiotics and she got her chemo today that should have gotten yesterday. Her blood counts are down, so we'll probably get some sort of transfusion tomorrow. We're still waiting on culture results, but we should go home tomorrow.

f.r.o.G…..fully relying on God
—Anissa

The only way to top off a topsy turvy week like this one was to have Peyton get a fever and for us to have to get admitted into the hospital.

Around noon Peyton started to show signs she didn't feel well and her temperature was rising. By 2 I had to call the doctor and let them know she had a fever of 101.4 and she sent us straight to the hospital. Since we've been admitted she had a horrible time getting her port accessed, three times they had to do it, and on top of that they had to take blood from her arm so they could do a second culture and make sure nothing was actually in the port itself. They've already started her on antibiotics and they've given her tylenol which has the fever under control. She feels pretty lousy at this point, so I'm hoping they're able to figure it out soon.

On the upside, Adelaine is still admitted to the hospital getting treatment for the yeast infection in her throat and her mother and I are able to visit! Adelaine is much improved, but they will keep her here for several more days until her infection has cleared up significantly. Because they are unsure of what Peyton's fever is from, she is unable to leave our room and Adelaine can't visit in case it's something contagious. So, they can't play, but they wave at each other from the doorways. If we have to be here, having friends here is a nice way to relieve the boredom.

We also have our friend Carly here with a fever, and we've met a new friend Weston who was just diagnosed with a very rare form of ALL leukemia. His cancer is very hard to treat and please pray for Weston's family as they cope with the shock and overwhelming emotions of this news. Angela and I have both introduced ourselves to the family in an attempt to reach out to them, help them in any way we can.

With my being at the hospital at least through Wednesday, I am going to miss my friend Karen's funeral. I am so saddened by this, but she of all people would understand and my first priority is the safety of Peyton's health.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—Anissa

I have great pictures to go with this post, so check back soon and I'll get them up!

I'll start this post with the sad news in my life. My dear friend Karen lost her fight with cystic fibrosis on Thursday and went to be with the Lord. She was an amazing person, full of positivity and had an enthusiasm for life that would be a great lesson for us all to learn. Karen has a sweet husband Mark and a 7 year old son Nick who needs our prayers, for comfort and peace as they are sure to struggle with their grief and loss. Karen’s legacy is wide spread as she has touched many lives and we love her and will miss her.

Karen’s death has been extremely hard on me because there were two children in our area that died this past week after battling cancer and the frustration of it all just gets to me sometimes. I stood in my kitchen crying on Friday morning when I received confirmation that Karen had passed and Rachael popped her head around the corner. Her smiling face was instantly concerned and she asked me, “Mommy, why are you crying?” I had explained to the kids that Karen was in the hospital and so they understood that she was very sick and that she could die. I told Rachael that I was sad because my friend had died and I was going to miss her, so I had to cry for that. It never fails to amaze me how God comforts us, because Rachael looked at me with great wisdom in her eyes and said, “Don’t cry, Mommy, because Miss Karen went to heaven and someday you’ll see her again.” She gave me a big hug and went on her way and I was left with her 5 year old message that Karen is in Heaven and that’s nothing to cry about.

Nowwww….on to happier things before I break down and boo hoo right now, drip tears into my keyboard and short-circuit the thing.

Friday night was our Tampa Bay Lightening game courtesy of the Children’s Cancer Center, and it was a fantastic night!!!! Oh my goodness, we had such a good time, I thought we’d be out of there by 8:30-9:00, we didn’t get home until 1 AM! MY kids can party with the big dogs because not one of them nodded off until we got to the car. The game was phenomenal, we got to sit in a box suite provided by Brad Richards and the Steve Yurrid foundation. They decorated this thing especially to be used by pediatric cancer patients and their families for these events and it was so much fun! Nathaniel tells me, “Mom, they have a sink, a bathroom and TWO TVs! You could live here!” I told him, “Nathaniel, this suite is sooo much nicer than my first apartment, you have no idea.” We all enjoyed an awesome game, the girls just loved having free reign to be noisy and jump up and down at will. Nathaniel hung out with some kids playing on a Playstation (on one of the TWO TVs) and watching the game periodically. After the game was over, we got escorted down and had a chance to do a meet and greet with the coach and players. That was cool, except we’re not big hockey watchers (which we’re going to have to fix) and we really didn’t know who many of the players were. The players were kind enough to walk around and autograph items for all the families and take pictures for the fans. I have some great ones of the kids and I’ll post them when I get them off the camera.

Saturday night was the Wiggles concert, good times just keep rolling around here! Rachael and Peyton had a blast, they sang and danced. It was funny because when the Wiggles came on stage and started to sing, Peyton just sat there, absolutely mesmerized with her mouth open. It was precious and we appreciated the chance to see her so happy. Luckily it only lasted an hour and a half, and we got to go to the same suite we were in for the Lightening game, so the kids could watch and the parents could hang out if we wanted to.

Thank you so much to the Children’s Cancer Center for giving us this fantastic weekend.

Our sweet friend Adelaine is in the hospital right now, she’s been in since Friday and they just found out that her fever and sickness has been because she has a yeast infection in her throat. One of the medications the girls have to be on is a weekly, three-day dose of antibiotics and that’s led to Adelaine’s yeast infection. Poor little girl has just been so sick and we continue to pray for a fast recovery. She was released from the hospital Saturday for a few hours so she could come with her family to the Wiggles concert. She wasn’t all that thrilled to be there all the time, but it was wonderful for her family to get out as much as it was ours and to get the chance to spend time together.

Peyton has been a trooper through a tiring weekend, and it’s only Sunday! This is a more relaxing day for us. We have a birthday party to go to for Nathaniel and then I’m taking Peyton down to visit Adelaine at the hospital. Angela and I are also going to take the girls down to meet a family who’s admitted at the hospital that just got diagnosed this week with ALL leukemia. Their little boy is 3 years old and we’re hoping to reach out and give them some support at this time.

Peyton is still feeling a little down, she’s tired and worn down from the chemo and we go back on Monday for more, but that will be it for another 9 days. So, we get to enjoy the rest of our Thanksgiving break with no chemo visits, just blood counts. I did have a long talk with the doc about Peyton’s future treatments and here’s how it goes: After this cycle is over, she gets a two week break for her counts to come up (which means NO CHEMO FOR CHRISTMAS!!) and then we start a very very harsh cycle called “delayed intensification” which is back to 4 days a week and her counts being extremely low, THEN a cycle like the one we’re on which is fairly easy going, and then back to a second “delayed intensification”, only even harder. After that we’ll have her cranial radiation treatment and then we’ll go into maintenance…..the holy grail of leukemia treatment!

The doctor did talk to me about Peyton’s last bone marrow results. The bone marrow previous to our last one had 0% blasts (leukemia cells), but the most recent had 6%. This bone marrow was performed when she had her staph infection, so there is some thought that her raised blast count was partially due to her body doing its job and trying to fight off infection. However, the doctor did make a point to explain that it was still high. I asked her straight out if this meant that Peyton was headed for a relapse and she said that they were not classifying it as a relapse, but they would be keeping an eye on her for any symptoms and after her next cycle of chemo she would get another bone marrow test. This was not good news, but not necessarily bad news either. They constantly remind us that treating this disease can be tricky because it’s still such a learning process. They know they get certain results from certain tests, but they don’t know that those answers definitively mean something.

So, I’m praying for patience with this situation, for my mind and heart not to panic.

I just realized how long this post is, and I’m wrapping it up now.

f.r.o.G…..fully relying on God
—Anissa