2022
(1680 = ANC @ 11:49 on 23 Jun)
The past two weeks Ella was able to attend Mass with her family. We so enjoyed this wee taste of normalcy, it’s hard to describe our feelings of Joy. This week she will be praying from home – to error on the side of caution.
The photo above was taken earlier this year with Ella’s First Commununion Mentor, Alice. Alice we miss you and we are praying for you each day.
Thank you so very much for your prayers.
God bless you.
(1680 = ANC @ 11:49 on 23 Jun)
Ella begins the third phase of her chemotherapy today. “Interim Maintenance I” is comprised of five treatment sessions. Ella will receive larger doses of the chemotherapy drugs each session.
This phase will be very demanding for Ella. Her immune system will be severely weakened by the themotherapy drugs: Vincristine and Methotrexate.
This condition, known as Neutropenia, poses the greatest risk to Ella’s already fragile respiratory system.
The ANC number, listed under each headline (1680 = ANC @ 11:49 on 23 Jun), is the number to watch as Ella progresses. When Ella’s ANC values dip below 500 she will be at the greatest risk.
While we are doing much to prepare for the upcoming periods of risk, we have faith that God has a plan for Ella (and for each of us). Moreover, we have faith that God’s plan is much better ours.
Please pray for God to come into our lives each day, to guide our steps, to increase our faith, and to help us be the people he wants us to be.
Thank you for your prayers.
God bless you.
Ten years ago today Ella was born and the world became a better place.
Thank you for your prayers.
God bless you.
Yesterday, Ella and family attended Sunday night Mass at St Anthony of Padua in Kailua. It was the first time our family attended Mass together since Ella’s leukemia diagnosis in early April.
It was also the first time Ella received communion during the Celebration of the Eucharist at Mass.
Everyone was delighted to see Ella – lots of “air hugs” and blown kisses were exchanged.
This simple routine event was a wonderful birthday present for Mum.
Thank you for remembering Ella in your prayers.
We ask God to bless each of the people who are praying for Ella.
God bless you.
Each day Ella gets a bit stronger and a bit bolder.
This past Saturday, Ella was determined to go for a bike ride. Ella’s new nurse, Nurse Diane, helped her complete her mission.
Well done Nurse Diane.
Thank you for remembering Ella in your prayers.
God bless you.
It’s certainly not a matter of being scared or even superstitious;
it’s more of a “Best Practice” – Electricians taking the day off on Friday the 13th.
We are especially grateful to the members of TEAM Ella from Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) for the great work they have done over the past 10 days. Once they learned of Ella’s new medical issues they sprang into action to provide the required power for Ella’s new clean air conditioning system.
HECO finished their part of the job this Friday (the 13th) when the “overhead crew” strung the new 200 amp line.
Well Done! Al, Nick, Lee, Russell, and especially Gena!
Thank you for remembering Ella in your prayers.
God bless you.
We can always count on Nurse Donna to brighten the day. Nurse Donna brought one of Ella’s favorite lunches – stir fried noodles from L&L Drive-in. They then headed out to the Kalama Beach Park for a lunchtime picnic. It is truly great to see Ella up and really active. Activity, such as playing with her sisters, is the best therapy possible.
Your prayers mean so very much to us.
Thank you for remembering Ella in your prayers.
When we pray each day with Ella we ask God to bless everyone who is praying for her.
God bless you.
Ella’s health is improving each day. Amen!
Last week’s mystery fever departed without fanfare this past weekend.
Once again, the Ella we know and love returns to us.
It is truly amazing how she bounces back from each battle.
We praise and thank God that Ella is such an amazing fighter.
You may notice the ANC table is no longer at the top of the page. We have relocated that information to a seperate page. You can access that page by clicking on the ANC link (3024 = ANC @ 0850 on 09 Jun) in the headline of each article.
The detailed tracking data is presented in 3 seperate graphs. Below the graphs is a link that allows you to see the underlying spreadsheet and data.
We thank you for your prayers.
We thank God for sending his Son to save us.
God is GOOD! All the time…Amen!
Ella tolerated today’s procedures well and is resting once again.
Thank you for your prayers. Amen
04:30 HST Update: Ella continues to fight a fever – her energy and appearance improving over the last 12 hours. While alternating doses of Tylenol and Motrin lessen the severity of the fever, the underlying cause of the fever remains a mystery.
Yesterday afternoon, Ella felt well enough to have a bit of outside time with her sisters before dinner. Click on the photo above to see a album of yesterday’s photos.
We thank God for the generous and loving people who support Ella and our family each day. We are blessed by their generosity, kindness, and fellowship.
Thank you for your prayers and your willingness to make this journey with us. Amen
The past few days have been a bit perplexing. Ella has been a bit warmer than usual – hovering around 100 F; with spikes as high as 104.5F. Luckily, Tylenol and Motrin are working well to keep her fever in check. Thus far, Ella refuses to reveal a definitive cause for her heat wave.
What makes this truly perplexing are the numbers associated with her immune system — her ANC # is 4380. Her symptoms would make more sense if her ANC # was 438.
So, we wait, we watch, we pray.
Bottom line: this is a pretty good example of how treating Ella can be a real challenge.
We start each morning with prayers of thanks to God for another day and for all the people who are praying for Ella.
Thank you for your prayers.
Just cause you’re having chemotherapy doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with a fellow video co-star. Tucker tried to explain that he had nothing to do with the amount of screen time he had in the video. We don’t think Ella was convinced.
We thank you Father for the gift of another day and invite you to send the Holy Spirit into our lives; We pray for all the people who are praying for Ella.
Thank you for your prayers.
