Another peek at Baby Potter #3

I had my second ultrasound on Wednesday and it was pretty exciting because we had Lilly with us and she was just THRILLED to see the baby and watch baby move...baby is very active, put on a good show for us! Above you can see that baby is sucking it's thumb, which very much reminds me of Mac because he always had his thumb in his mouth in all my ultrasound pics of him-
Below, baby looks relaxed, as if he/she is lounging...very funny. I love the tiny foot. We could count all the fingers and toes, very neat. Baby looks great and has grown a lot since my first ultrasound. He/She looked like a "jumping bean" in the last pictures and now looks like a little baby...

On another note, Mac has one week of school left and only one baseball game left....I am so ready for it all to be done! Our weather is turning to summer weather and we are all excited about it. We had a long, cold winter-
I also want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that have donated to my Relay for Life fundraiser. I am getting closer to my goal each day. It means more to me than most of you can imagine...I just REALLY appreciate you all very much. If you haven't donated yet, but would like to, there is still time. Just scroll down to my last post and click on the link.
THANKS AGAIN-
and much love to you!

Relay for Life

These are pictures of our loved one's that have been effected by cancer. Catie Lynn has Stage II Wilms' cancer and is going through chemo treatments now. She had her kidney and a very large tumor removed about 2 weeks ago. She is a precious angel to all of us. Below is my grandfather, known to loved one's as Big John. We lost him to a long battle with cancer in June of 2008. He was loved very much by many, many people. We all miss him horribly to this day. He was a "pillar" in our family, a hero and an amazing role model to us all.

Mac, Lilly and I will be participating in the Relay for Life this year. It is my third year of participating, but the kids have felt the emotions of loving someone with cancer, so they are participating too. We are asking you all to help us fund the fight to find a cure. ANY DONATION helps! We know times are tough for everyone in this economic mess, but we can't let that get in the way of finding a cure. As many of you know, I have even fought my own battle with cancer and have been very blessed with beating it and living a very blessed life.
Please consider donating what you can. Below is the link to my donation page.
In His Grip,
The Potter Family

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09National?px=11499938&pg=personal&fr_id=14741

Catie Lynn Update-

Catie Lynn had her port put in yesterday afternoon and the procedure went well. She also received her first Chemo treatment. She is going to have Chemo once a week for 20 weeks and then be re-evaluated. The final pathology report came in and confirms that she has Stage II Wilms' and she has favorable histology.
Jimmy's mom, Glenda, also arrived yesterday from Mississippi to help out with meals, Tarver etc. I know she will be a big help.
I will call them later to see how Catie Lynn is doing today. Our love and prayers are with them.

Lilly's Graduation

Lilly had her graduation today. I almost did not take her, but decided I did not want her to miss it. She has been sick all week and had to miss class on Monday and class this morning, but made it to the ceremony. Her teachers were very happy to see her! She had an awesome year of preschool and will go back to the same school next year for the 4's class. All the kids were so cute! Time is going by toooo darn fast-

I thought I would post a few pics of Lilly with Henry. She is always dressing him up and he always obliges to what she wants...poor pup!

The count down is here...

Mac had a music program last week. The theme was "Spring Garden" and Mac was a weed. (This is why he is in all camo) It was so hilarious & cute! All the kids did a great job. Our school schedule has been very hectic because the year is winding down. The kids have started the count down. Last day is June 5th for Mac and today was Lilly's last day of preschool. We are ready for summer! We have two weeks of baseball left and no sports until August....whew, I am ready!

This is Colby & Mac. They made good "weeds"

Sunday Update-

Catie Lynn got to go home this afternoon!
She is continuing to recover well. They put her down on the floor today and she crawled for a bit, so she is mobile.
She will possibly go back on Wednesday to have her port put in. Jimmy and Sherry are suppose to get more info tomorrow on the schedule for her port, chemo etc.
They are relieved to be home for now and are all tired...looking forward to sleeping in their own beds I'm sure.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

Saturday Update

Today was good day for Catie Lynn. All her tubes have been removed, including her epidural. All she has is one IV! She is on oral pain meds and is eating. She even sat up on her own today!
She is in some pain, but really only when she gets picked up or stretches out. When she's not moving around a lot, she is comfortable.
She may get to go home tomorrow!! That would be wonderful for the whole Langston Family!
She is recovering quickly...and may even be crawling by tomorrow- such a blessing to us all.
It proves that all our prayers and all of yours are not being ignored. The Lord is watching over her.
AMEN!
I will let you all know if she gets to head home tomorrow.

Friday Evening Update-

Hi everyone,

Catie Lynn has been taking pedialyte and
formula - so she's eating - which is great.
They are planning on giving her oral pain
medicine.  If that goes well,then they may
remove the epidural and the catheter
tomorrow, probably mid-day.

Even more exciting, they're planning on
bringing her some food for dinner -
perhaps some finger food.  Along with that,
she'll be sitting in a high chair.So she'll
have her first chance to sit up on her own.

Sherry slept well at home last night; she
went with Tarver to school today because he
had a singing program.  When she got to the
hospital, they took Catie Lynn outside in
the courtyard in the wagon.
So she was able to get outdoors and
really enjoyed it.

Tarver has a busy social calendar for
the coming weekend - with many
different engagements with various
cousins and family.
(Jimmy said that he was having a ball.)
Tarver also visited the hospital for a bit;
so he was able to see
Catie Lynn in her hospital room.

They have a bit more information from the
oncologist. The oncologist confirmed
that Catie Lynn would have some chemo.
They are waiting for the second pathology
report to come in.  Basically, there are
so few cases of Wilms'disease in a year in
the US, that there is one person on the
East coast who reads all of the pathology
reports. (Apparently, regular folks may
misread the pathology report and get the
staging wrong just because there
are so few cases.) They expect that
the report may come in early next
week.  And then, Catie Lynn will
likely have a port put in towards
the end of next week - in a
day procedure at the hospital.
The port will be used for her chemo treatments.

Thanks Again for all your prayers
and support...keep it coming!

Another Update-

Hi everyone,

We have good news today.
The first is that Catie Lynn had a bowel movement.
I don't know if any of the rest of you have any experience
with abdominal surgery, but this is a very important step.
One has to have a bowel movement before
they are allowed to have anything by mouth - to eat or drink.  
 It was unexpected, so early, but good news!
She's now having ice chips.  Also, this will allow them to
remove the tube in her nose - which is good news.

The other good news is that the preliminary (local lab)
pathology report is in.  It says that it's Wilms' - either stage 1
or stage 2.  And it is "favorable".
 Both of these are good news.  A second sample was sent to
an out-of-state lab (at the same time this one was sent locally);
so they are waiting for those results (hopefully, to confirm these).
She will have to do chemo and possibly
radiation, but stage 1 or stage 2 is good news.

Catie Lynn took a ride in a wagon - propped up by pillows. 
So she got out of her room.  She had a bit of nausea
today - but they apparently found a good drug for it because
now she has no problem with it.  So this is great.
Jimmy said she was awake pretty much all day -
partly because of the nausea. But she's doing great.
Thanks for all your PRAYERS!

Some Photos and Updates on Catie Lynn

Here are some pics of Catie Lynn before her surgery on Tuesday. She was in good spirits and taking it all in stride. It was just mind blowing to think that she was sick because she showed no signs of it. Such a sweet 'lil doll she is.

This picture may be too graphic for some of you, but it's worth showing. This is the tumor that was growing inside her. Mind Blowing is all I can say....something this big growing in her little body. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Everyone is awaiting the pathology report/results. The doctors are about 80% sure that it is a Wilms Tumor, but will wait for the reports to come in before deciding what Catie Lynn's treatment will be. Hopefully, results will be in by tomorrow.
Sherry saw her OB today and Baby Langston #3 looks great and Sherry's blood pressure is good too. There are no signs of early labor or concerns from the stress that she has to deal with.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP THEM ALL IN YOUR PRAYERS.
I will keep you all updated as news comes available.
~GOD BLESS~

Update on Catie Lynn

This morning Catie Lynn under went a 5 hour surgery to remove her kidney and a tumor. She did well and the surgery went well. The tumor was the size of a softball and a half! That's about the size of her whole stomach!!
She will be in the hospital through the weekend most likely and it will take a couple of days for the pathology reports to come in with results/info about the tumor.
Sherry and Jimmy are both holding up well. Please continue to keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.
Lovingly,
The WHOLE FAMILY

We ask for your prayers...

Our niece Catie Lynn, who is 13 months old, needs your prayers as does the family.

She has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor on her kidney and will be having surgery on Tuesday to remove her kidney and the tumor.
This will be followed by 6 months of chemo and possibly radiation.
So far, she has not been sick at all--it was discovered at her well-baby app't.

This is rare form of cancer called a Wilms Tumor. I am going to try not to get into all the medical details because it is lengthy and a bit confusing.

We pray that the cancer has not spread and that the tumor will not rupture during surgery.

We also ask that you pray for Sherry, her mom. She is 32 weeks pregnant with Catie Lynn's baby brother. She needs your prayers for strength and good health so that he does not arrive early. This is a very difficult time for her and Jimmy, they need a lot prayers, support and encouragement. They also have a 4 yr old boy, Tarver. Tarver and Lilly are about 2 wks apart in age. Pat and I are going to help out with keeping him occupied during all of Catie Lynn's hospital visits/appt's.

If you'd like to send them a card for encouragement, you can email me and I will send you thier mailing address.
Thanks so much!

Prayer Chain...

Howdy all,
This is my niece Catie-Lynn and we need all of you to send up some prayers for her and the family. We just celebrated her first birthday in April. I am going to wait to inform you all of why we need prayers until possibly tomorrow when we have more information, but PLEASE just pray for her.
Much Love and God Bless-