Melanie – Sat. Update

This is Saturday around lunchtime–what do you say when you’re tired
of waiting and we just have to continue to wait? We met with a group
of Dr.’s yesterday and they are wondering if Melanie has a genetic
condition called Turcot– this again requires much testing and again
waiting–they plan to do another colonoscopy on Monday morning as well
as a lapriscopy to biopsy the mass in the pelvic region–which they’ve
told us will be at least Thursday before we know what it is–the
reason for another colonoscopy is to get to the end of the large
intestine to see if there are anymore polyps–we also have no word
from Jefferson on the brain tumor, which was supposed to take 7-10
days–so here we find ourselves–trying to hang onto a faith that we
know is real–yet not quite knowing how to keep our feelings intact.
Continue to pray that God would strengthen our faith and that we would
continue to walk one step at a time–it’s so easy to ask for the big
picture when God has asked us to simply trust Him–the resident Dr.
made the remark that he has never seen such a support system and how
Melanie has been so strong–the faith of a child is so refreshing. One
highlight of the day yesterday was the nurse giving us a large private
room–we are now in 3C North #9–
This valley feels very dark and yet we are more determined than ever
to not allow the forces of darkness to win–we continue to need
strength to continue the battle, peace from alarming thoughts, and
faith that continues to trust and hold to the hand of our Shepherd–
Thanks again for each prayer that has been offered on our behalf–we
can feel that carrying us along–pray against fear of the future and
the unknowns–We love you
all—Marty-Lori-Lauren-Joelle

-Melanie-Cameron-& Jana

Crabs For Melanie.

This is Rob.

We divert from the normal update format to bring you this:

My three oldest sons and I went crabbing at Wye Mills MD. and had a good day. We ended up with our limit of two bushels! and they sure were jumbos. A lot of them were 7 – 8 inches across the points and full of meat! Of course we had to bring some up to Melanie and she readily dug right in! Here are a few pics.

Heather joined her for a bit.

Thursday Eve. 6-28-07

Tonight we are still holding on to our Heavenly Father and have been
again resting in His much needed grace and peace–We so much
appreciate those of you that continue to lift us up to Him in this
time of need–especially asking for specific prayer sometime tomorrow
morning as a group of Dr.’s  are planning to meet to give some
direction to Melanie’s case. We have been told that the spinal MRI was
good–the large polyps in her colon appear to be non-cancerous but
they are awaiting final biopsy reports–they did another MRI today of
the pelvic region to better understand what is there–still much
waiting. Melanie continues to bring much hope and joy to us during the
day–We again had visitors which really does help to pass our time
away. We washed her hair and she showered all by herself–Tomorrow
will be a day of rest and maybe some therapy–We cannot begin to once
again thank each of you for being there for us in SO MANY ways–We
love you and hope to see you all soon–Love and keep praying!
Marty-Lori-Lauren-Joelle

-Melanie-Cameron-& Jana

More family and visitor pics….

The Family….

Uncle Rob, aunt Naomi, cousins Conrad, Brendon…

Marv, Becky, and girls…

Mark, Ruth and Dorcas…

Henry, Esther, and fam…

Richard, Christine and boys..

Mom Mom, Sandy, Grammy….

Mel and Jana..

All the siblings…

Mel and Mattie..

Phineas and Joyce..

Cameron and Landon..

Melanie Update Thurs. a.m. 6-28-07

This is Thurs am and we are sorry it has taken so long to update. It’s
because we don’t know alot more. Yesterday she went for an MRI and we
thought it would be to view the pelvic region then we were told they
were scanning the entire spine and pelvic area. It was a 3 1/2 hr test
and she was very tired and sore from lying on a hard table so long. We
are still waiting for biopsy results to see if things can be linked
together. After the MRI results they will decide on the next course of
action and possibly biopsy the abdominal mass. They want to check for
any genetic disorders which will involve more blood work. Her siblings
are all here this a.m. and are making mom and dad very happy. Melanie
hummed “God will take care of you” and “Under His Wings” and put her
mom to sleep last night. What a fighter!!! She has inspired us. Thanks
to all of you for your kindnesses, concerns, and many acts of
kindness!!! We are so grateful for all of you!!! The doctor was just
in and said she will be going for a pelvic MRI this afternoon. Please
keep her in prayer. Thanks. Marty and Lori.
P.S. Mel loves her e-cards =)

Tuesday Evening 6-26-07

Well, here goes….. Melanie had a sonogram this morning. One of the
doctors reported a mass of some sort in her abdomen. This afternoon
she also had a colonoscopy and endoscopy, which revealed some large
polyps/ tumors That are causing the bleeding. They took some biopsies
to determine the type, we should know by the end of the week. They are
planning to do another cat scan tomorrow to try to see this thing in
her abdomen. If the cat scan does not reveal anything conclusive, they
will need to go in surgically and have a look. Our hopes of going home
anytime soon are pretty much nil. We are still trusting, hoping,
believing, in a God who cares and supplies our needs. Thanks again for
carrying us. We love
you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marty,
Lori, Melanie, Lauren, Joelle, Cameron, and Jana.

free e-cards can be sent to> http://ecard.nemours.org/
Use the following patient info:

First name: Melanie

Last name: Miller

Room # 3212

Melanie 6/25/07 Evening.

Just a quick update:

We had a good day with enough company to keep
Melanie happy yet not too much to wear her out. She had to start her
“clean-out” for her GI procedures at lunch time. I don’t think you’ll
ever get her to drink orange Gatorade again! She made us eat lunch in
the room with her so she could watch us eat and hear us CRUNCH! The
first food we will get for her will no doubt be Chinese! They were
supposed to come and get her for an ultrasound of her kidneys, but
never came. The other day when they did the CT scan, they noticed what
appeared to be cyst(s) on the kidney. They want to be sure it is a
cyst(s). The pediatric oncologist said, as well as another Dr., they are
almost certain that the tumor and the GI problems are unrelated. Is it
safe to get our hopes up? Sometime tomorrow they will do the endoscopy
and colonoscopy. These results will not be back until Friday at the
very earliest. It is possible we will have a report from oncology as
early as Wednesday. We continue to wait and trust one more time in the
God from whom we are learning how to rest and trust as He so gently
carries us one step at a time. Thanks again for many
prayers, e-mails, calls, visits, cards, monies, food, childcare, cleaning, transportation, and the multitude of blessings you all have given so abundantly. We cannot thank you enough.

Love to all-Marty, Lori & family

More pics…

Mom and Dad

Sis. Joelle and Mel…

Sis Lauren, Mel, and cousin Leslie..

Cousin Leona and Mel..

Uncle Kenny and aunt Donna..

Cousin Greg and Mel…

Uncle Ben’s and fam….

Mom Mom

Melanie 6/24/07 Eve.

Melanie is in bed and settled for the night. She had some visitors
today, so we were out in the wheelchair for awhile and ate lunch in
the lobby. We again are so blessed to have such caring and generous
friends. Well, Melanie just requested food she is ravenously hungry!! They told us
that this is from the steroids. They plan to go ahead with the
endoscopy & colonoscopy before we leave so we don’t have to come back
up for that. The thought of going home never sounded so good,
especially when our other children are waiting for us. Although I’ve
been told they are having lots of fun . Monday will be prep day for
her GI procedures. We were disappointed that this has to wait until
Tuesday, but they said if all goes well they may still discharge her
on Tuesday. Marty went home for the night and Donna is on her way up
here. He has lots of work waiting for him, so it makes it hard to see
him go, but I know it’s necessary. We continue to pray for healing and
continue to thank Him for bringing us this far. We continue to wait
and rest in knowing we have a Heavenly Father who will carry us.
Love to all,

Marty, Lori, & family

Melanie 6/23/07 Evening.

Melanie had a fairly good day and she loved her company. We were able to
wheel her out onto the patio for a while. They are decreasing her
steroids and trying to wean her off the IV’s. The radiologist read the
MRI from yesterday. Dr. Warf said he confirmed his report that they
feel like they got the whole tumor. We are still awaiting oncology and
hematology which they again told us 7-10 days until we will get a full
diagnosis. They are planning for her to see a physical therapist on
Monday. If all goes well with PT, they have suggested we may be able
to bring her home on Tuesday. We will need to bring her up with us for
the reports, and at some point, follow through with a colonoscopy and
endoscopy. We continue to wait and trust that God is in control. She
found out she is getting company on Sunday and thought that was
great. She loves people! Thanks so much to each of you who have
blessed our family in so many ways. Sometimes we feel so small, when
we think of how we’ll never be able to repay all the kindnesses that
has been showered on us. Even words through e-mails from people we
don’t know has again lifted our spirits. We continue to need much
prayer as we move forward.
Love Marty-Lori-and family

Here are a few pics…..

Visitors! Bro. Dave and David.

Rachel and Jalissa

Quite the track of stitches for sure!

Friday Eve Update. 6/22/07

Friday eve. 8:00 .Just a quick update. Another MRI was taken this
morning to determine if all of the visible tumor was extracted. The
neurosurgeon came in after reading the images and reported favorable
news. He felt confident about the success of the operation. This does
not necessarily mean that there are no cancer cells elsewhere. The
biopsy will determine what type of tumor, thus indicating how
aggressive the treatment or if any further treatment will be
necessary. Tumors are graded from 1-4. A one being least aggressive,
four being the most aggressive. By aggressive I mean the ability of
the tumor to multiply cells. Tumors with a grade of 1 typically are
slow growing and have well defined borders and ,depending where they
are located in the brain, can be removed by surgery alone. A class 4
or “high grade” tumor doesn’t have well defined borders and is fast
growing. So we will have to wait and see. Melanie is doing very well
which prompted the Doctor to give her the ok to be moved to a
different floor. Her new room no. is 3212 floor 3C. She may even be
able to go home next week mon. or tues.? Thanks again for praying and
encouraging. Love, Marty & Lori

Melanie’s Journey.

We have used the occasion of Melanie’s illness to begin this blog. We hope this will help keep our friends and extended family updated on Mel’s journey. We continue to covet your prayers.

Here is a summary of Melanie’s illness:

Thursday afternoon. (June 21)

Around June 6, our 13 year old daughter Melanie started with frequent headaches. She has had some not so bad days and then some not so good days. She has lost some blood, vomiting, diarrhea, and again headaches, very pale, weak, and just feeling like her energy has been sapped. Tylenol helped at first but soon failed to provide any relief. After many and various tests, a CT scan revealed what appeared to be a mass on the left frontal portion of the brain. The size of the mass is about 3 cm.
Surgery was scheduled for today and by mid afternoon had been completed. Mel came through the surgery very well. The doctor felt optimistic that he was able to remove all of the tumor.

Here is a pic or Melanie taken right before surgery…

Thursday Eve…

At this writing Lori is trying to rest. Not a lot of sleep was
acquired since the beginning of the week. I was able to get some rest
last night. Melanie is resting comfortably with various and sundry
wires and tubes tethering her to the bed with a sewn surgical incision
across the top of her forehead just back from her hairline. She will
be able to hide most of the scar with her hair. She was a bit
disappointed when she discovered that they were not going to shave all
of her hair off…???. go figure. The first words out of her mouth
after she woke up from surgery were ” I told you I would be
alright”. Can you say morphine??? You should see the outpouring of
love on the walls of this place! The e-cards have sufficiently covered
one big window in her room. You probably don’t fully realize what a
blessing you are to us during this time of uncertainty. We really
appreciate all of you for caring about our situation. An MRI is
scheduled for tomorrow morn. to be sure that as much of the tumor was
removed as possible. They do it so soon in case there needs to be
another surgery before she heals. We will have to wait to find out
what type of tumor it is to determine if she will need ongoing
treatment i.e. radiation or chemo or no treatment. We are confident in
the ability of our Lord to heal her completely, but we are trying to
resolve ourselves to trust Him whatever the outcome. God is not
surprised by our bumps in the road. He knows and cares and builds into
our lives strengths that only adversity can accomplish. So continue to
pray for endurance and hope. Love Marty