Thanks to Marsha for coming by to visit today!

Well here is an update...

She is a little bit more alert today. She opens her eyes a little bit and whispers a little too. She's not totally there but it is an improvement.

She has been coughing up a lot of stuff (they have a better word for it but I won't spell it right, so you get the idea) They have had to suction her throat a lot but she is also getting better about clearing it on her own.

The doctor is worried about blood clot right now so they checked her legs today and they are going to check her lungs later on.

They haven't made any decisions on what they want to do for treatment next because they want to see how she comes out of this. We'll let you know when we know.

THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT FASTED FOR MELISSA TODAY! We love you all and appreciate your support. You're great!

-Michelle

Marsha,

She is at the new hospital on 5300 S and State. Call me and I can tell you where to go in the hospital to find us. I think you have my number. If not, let me know.

-Michelle

THANK YOU!

Me and my family just want to say thank you to all of our family and friends who have called and come by. There are so many people who care so much about Melissa and we are so thankful for your prayers and kind words. We feel all of your support and couldn't ask for better family and friends. We love you all.

We are having a special fast that we started tonight so anyone that would like to join is more than welcome.

I also wanted to write down everyone who has come by to visit so Melissa can read this when she wakes up. I keep forgetting to take pictures of everyone but here are a few:

Uncle Vern & Aunt Judy
Uncle Bernell & Aunt Starr
Our cousin Katrina
One of my best friend from high school, Janie
One of Melissa's best friends, Beau (in the picture above)
Another one of Melissa's friends Sarah LaRue, her mom, and Leah (in the other picture above)

I can't say thank you enough!

-Michelle

Not a lot has changed today but my parents just got a chance to talk to the doctor that has been treating her chemo. He said he look at the MRI and the tumor in her brain is active again (which is what the CT scan showed as well) and it is bleeding and keeping the spinal fluid from draining. All of that contributed to the swelling in her brain. This was all stuff that we already figured was happening but wanted to have him look at the MRI to make sure. I guess MRI's give a better picture than a CT scan. It wasn't really any new information but at least we are now sure about what went wrong. Sorry it's not much of an update but that's about all we know right now.

They just took the trake (I have no idea how to spell that) out of her throat and she is doing a pretty good job of breathing on her own now. So that's good news!

-Michelle

They did an MRI late last night but they haven't really told us the results. Sounds like we are going to have to wait until Monday. But they did say that chemo did not work for the tumor in her spine so they will be talking about other alternatives to that as well. She has the maximum amount of radiation and chemo they will let her have so we will see what else they can do. It's a little discouraging but my dad gave her a really good blessing yesterday. I'm so grateful that he was able to that.. it's been a great comfort.

-Michelle

10/11/08 - Update

Friday morning Michelle wasn't able to wake up Melissa. She wouldn't respond at all so Michelle had to call 911. The paramedics came and she was taken to the ER close to their house. They did a CT Scan and found that her tumor in her brain was blocking the fluid that flows through the 4th Ventricle and that was causing pressure on the brain. It also looked like the tumor was bleeding inside the brain. Because of the Chemo she has been having she had very very LOW platelet count. She was at 1,000 when she came in and the normal person is 100,000. Platelets are in the blood and make the blood clot. The EMS poked her arm to get a line and she bled for over an hour. With such a low platelet count nobody would perform the surgery that she need because they feared she wouldn't stop bleeding. They gave her a couple platelet transfusions and was then moved to the Neuro ICU where they took another platelet count and it was high enough to have surgery. They did a surgery where they now have tubes in her head to drain the fluid that was causing the pressure. During the surgery they put a breathing tube in and today they are hoping to remove it and have her breathe on her own again. She has not regained consciousness yet but we are hoping that she will today.

All I ask at this time is for all of you to pray for her and my family that she will wake up soon and be able to talk to us again. We will try really hard to keep you posted on her condition.

She is such a wonderful person, she is perfect. I love her so much and know that everything is going to be okay.

-Mandy-