Second Round of Chemo is a GO!

We just got back from Koen’s clinic appointment that was for to see how his blood counts were so we could start his second round of chemo. It’s a GO! When we left the hospital it was 468 today it is 5,000. He will be admitted tomorrow at 9:00 to start. . He’ll be getting Cisplatin tomorrow then have a day break and get Vincristine and Fluorouracil on Thursday. Please pray everything goes as and plan with no setbacks. As long as it all does we should be back home by Monday. There are so many things to pray for when it comes to these drugs. Here are the side effects of each one.

Cisplatin side effects:
Nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite
Hearing loss (He’s had two hearing test and the second one came back that the higher tones where being affected) Big prayer request for this not to worsen.
Kidney Damage
Low blood counts
Low level of magnesium in blood

Less common
Numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes
Allergic reaction
Seizures

Vincristine side effects:
Constipation
Stomach pain
Hair loss
Irritation of nerves: numbness and tingling of the fingers and toes, muscle weakness

Less common:
Drooping of the eyelids
Blurred or double vision
Jaw pain
Seizures

Fluorouracil side effects:
Loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting
Diarrhea
Mouth sores
Low blood counts

Less common:
Skin rash or darkening of the skin
Hair loss
Skin sensitivity to sunlight
Tingling in the hands and feet

See I told you! Koen is doing GREAT though! He’s eaten two meals today, which means he hasn’t need two of his tube, feeds for today. He was walking everywhere earlier. Here’s a picture of him enjoying his Freedom for the last day.

Blessed!

(Koen sleeping on the way home from the hospital.)

Home Sweet Home! Man does it feel good to be home, for all of us to be together as a family again and to be able to sleep in our own beds again. After 25 days in the hospital we were all so glad to be able to come home even if it’s only for 4 days. It’s better than what I thought in the beginning. I thought they would be making us go back to the hospital today. Koen is doing GOOD! I knew getting him home would be good for him. Last night he wanted to walk around even by himself. This shocked both Grant and I, we knew he would probably want to at least try walking but not by himself. We weren’t even sure if he would be able to walk since he had barely even wanted to stand for 2 seconds in the hospital. He was so thrilled to be home, he just smiled and smiled! He was also so ready to sleep in his own bed. We finally got him to bed around 10:30 (He took a nap on the way home) He slept from then till 1:30. He was due for pain medicine at 2:00. And then was back asleep from 2:30-6:00 up for thirty mins and then back to sleep till 10:00. Thank you everyone for the prayers that got him here!

Koen’s next round of chemo will start on Thursday he has a doctors appointment then to get blood drawn to make sure his counts are up. If there up he’ll start he’s chemo on Friday. He’ll have to be hospitalized for 3-4 days for the first week of this round. Praying he’ll be coming home again on Monday.

Please keep him in your prayers as he has a long road ahead of him. He’s such a little fighter! We couldn’t be more proud of him! It’s so hard as parents to see your little boy have to go through something like this. But I just keep telling myself a VERY sick little boy is better than no little boy at all. For the first two weeks of him being hospitalized we weren’t sure if he was going to make it. With GOD and his will to LIVE he has! I (WE) feel so BLESSED to be able to be Koen’s mommy and daddy! We can only Thank one person for that and that is GOD! Thank you GOD for sparing his life! I know the road ahead is going to be a tough one, but I also know Koen’s struggle is working and going to be working through so many peoples lives including my own.
Again thank you everyone for everything!
Koen’s proud mommy!

(Koen playing Geo Trax with Kaitin & Gavin at home :) )

You can watch a cute video of Koen playing here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJxIY1G_0NU

Sleeping In The Wagon

Koen sleeping in the wagon last week at the Hospital.
A comfy place to rest. :)

Going HOME!

What a good day today is! Koen is being released today as soon as the have all the orders ready and the feeding pump is here. He hasn’t had a fever now for 48 hours and his white blood cell counts have come up today. It was at 250 yesterday and is up to 468 today! Which means it’s climbing fast and could be up to 750 as soon as of tomorrow so we could be right back here tomorrow. But at least he’ll get to go home for a few hours before he has to start his next chemo round that he’ll have to be back in the hospital for 4 days. Koen hasn’t ever been to the new house so were very EXCITED to take him home.
Thank you every that prayed for him at 10:00! Your prayers are working keep them coming!

1:51PM (Central Time)
Hey Kara, The doctors just came in and decided that they are going to let him go home till Friday. So won't have to come back at all till then! We are so super excited! Koen had the biggest smile on his face and starting clapping when they told him. God is AWESOME! Lindsay

Sleeping!

This is too funny! Koen hasn’t been sleeping well at all lately, which means mommy and daddy haven’t been sleeping well also. But last night guess where he wanted to sleep. Right in the wagon! He slept in bed with me for about 2 hours and then the rest of night he slept in the wagon. It must be pretty comfortable for him because he is still asleep as I’m writing this and its 12:15am. He actually looks really comfy!
He also has rapidly started losing his hair! Every time I change his pillow case (which is about every hour) I just want to cry! It’s just hair and shouldn’t make me so sad but for some reason it does. Thankfully I’m sure he’ll be a very cute little bald boy.
His CT scan on Friday also showed that he has a large mass of poo in his bowels, so they put him on a stool softener. I’m not sure what to think about this because it causes him to have bad diarrhea and stomach cramps. I just don’t want to keep making him go through that if it doesn’t do any good. The doctors couldn't tell me how long or how they would determine if the stool softener worked. In my opinion until he starts walking there's not much you can do about it. He's been pooping fine but because it's formula poo, they think it's just going around the mass. So we could use a lot of prayer in this area. Doctor’s don’t like their toes stepped on but mommy also doesn't like seeing her little boy go through something that he shouldn't have too.
A BIG praise in the last 24 hours though is he has gone with out getting a fever. This is a huge answer to prayer. The doctors this morning think he could have a viral infection which could be causing him to have the fevers and low white blood cell counts. Which brings me to a another big prayer request his white blood cell count is down to 250 which it has to be up to 750 in order to start his next round of chemo. We understand it all but really don’t like having to see chemo be pushed back. This means just longer before he’s cancer free. If everything would go as planned with no set back he would be cancer free by Christmas. Another praise though, this happened after I had already wrote this. Koen wanted and was able to kneel on his knees today to look out the window. This is a big step towards getting his hips ready for walking again.
I meant to add a picture of Koen sleeping in the wagon but forgot the camera at the hospital tonight. I will make sure and add it to the next post.
Thank you everyone for caring and for your prayers, it means a lot to Grant and I.

Keep Praying!!

So, Koen seems to me to be doing a WHOLE LOT better than he was when we first arrived here. But yesterday he had a CT scan. He keeps spiking really high fevers. So they wanted to do a CT scan to make sure there was no infection around the surgery area or anywhere else. The results showed that there is no infection but still a little blood in his abdomen either from it rupturing or from when they did surgery. It also showed that there are no big changes to the tumor. This to us is a sad thing because we were hoping to see AMAZING results with just finishing his first chemo round. But unfortunately that is not the case! The doctors aren't that surprised though considering how big of a tumor it is. Since he obviously is still having problems we were not able to go home like I had hoped for! Right now his blood counts are too low for him to start his next round of chemo on Tuesday. However, the doctors think they should come up enough by then. He is also having a really hard time being in the hospital. He does really well and is happy as long as we are not in his room. With being in the hospital now for 23 days and being in bed most of that time he hasn't yet wanted to walk again. He is willing to fight the nurses off though! :) He also is so glad to be able to go out of his room now for wagon rides and the playroom. To Grant and I he looks really good compared to what he did look like. Although he's probably just back to what and how he was doing before his tumor ruptured and we had to take him to the ER.
I am wanting to have a prayers day for Koen! My idea is to set a time and day where we all promise to lift Koen up in prayer! If you would like to make that promise please leave a comment. Monday at 10:0oam will be the first one!
Prasies:
*Koen is off the PCA...only needing pain meds every 6 hours.
*Have a feeding schedule figured out and is working well, gaining back weight. (Hasn't had anymore throwing up)
*First round of Chemo went well.
*That he is more himself and still fighting strong.
Still Needing Prayer For:
*That his counts are down and can start the second round of chemo on Tuesday & handles all his chemo for the week.
*Fevers will go away
*He will want to start eating more table food
*Has a will to walk again
*To be able to go home
*To be cancer free
(This post was send to me Saturday from Koen's Mommy)

Quick Update

Just a quick update from Koen's Mommy~~Koen is able to take wagon rides outside now! They have switched his feedings from going in all of the time to just every 4 hours. He has had a little trouble handling those because his tummy isn't used to that much food. Hopefully today he won't have any throwing up. He's slowly getting better about not needing his pain meds every four hours. I would like to say he might be going home soon but as long as he is throwing up he can't. Also, he has his Thursday chemo tomorrow. Which means he probably could go home on Saturday or Sunday but since he'll have to be back here late Monday afternoon and stay til Friday morning I don't really want to take him home and then just make him come back in two days. So they will probably just keep him. As long as he handles he's chemo treatment next week he'll be going home the morning of Friday, Aug. 28th!

Amazing Days Ahead!

We are looking forward to the complete healing of our precious Koen. He has been improving but is still not where he needs to be to go home. His pain is hard to control without a lot of meds. Our prayers are being answered as I am sure you can tell by his picture. (Look @ A Trooper post) It is a huge improvement of where he was just a couple weeks ago.
Koen's chemo will be 6 series of treatment. Each series is 3 weeks long and on the first week of each series he has to be hospitalized for 3 to 4 days. The other 2 weeks will be lots of doctors appointments, clinc days and tehn his other chemo on Thursdays, but all shuld be able to be done during those 2 weeks as an outpaitent. This is the tenative plan as any change in overall helath can delay chemo and blood counts have to be where the doctors need it to keep the chemo schedule moving forward.
After the 4th series of treatment they will be doing surgery to remove the tumor and then 2 more series of chemo and after this we wil have a cancer free Koen!
OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!
Thank you all for your prayers. Please pray for Grant as he started work at the new job today. It will be a challenge to figure out Koen's, Kaitin's and Gavin's care. Also, they don't have a second car at this time so transportation is a huge issue until they find time to get one purchased.~Koen's Nana Stacy

Still Fighting Strong!

(This was the day Koen moved from the ICU to the Oncology floor. As you can tell everyday he looks better! Notice how skinny his little arms are!)

Koen is out of the ICU. He was moved onto the oncology floor on Wednesday! It is nice to know he's out of the ICU because it means he has to be doing a little better. There is still a lot of worry, pain, and very little sleep. We figured out what was causing all of his gas pain. He was on a milk based formula which he is allergic to. This makes me kind of upset because before they even started him on the feeding tube the nutritionist had spoke to me and asked if Koen was allergic to anything. I let her know that we believed he was allergic to milk but we had not taken him to the doctor for the test. We did perform a muscle test on him that confirmed he was allergic to milk. But the nutritionist didn't think it was an accurate test and decided to put him on the milk based formula anyway. (Without making sure it was okay with us!) When we first realized he was having all the gas/stomach pain we thought it was from Koen not having a bowel movement. He did have a bowel movement and was still in a lot of pain so Mama Bear had to do some fighting to get his formula changed. What's even worse was he had been on the milk based formula for 10 days which caused him to lose more weight then he needed to. Koen has lost so much weight it is scary! Since then he has handled his rice based formula just fine and is up to the amount of feedings the doctors were wanting him to get to. Which means he is getting 1200 calories a day!

(The wagon ride, Kaitin held his hand the whole time!)

The day after Koen was moved to the oncology floor his was able to go on a wagon ride and totally felt up to it. He is so tired of being in a hospital bed!
We also made a stop in the playroom! It was good for him to get out. Going out didn't last long, that very night he started spiking fevers and has been isolated to his room ever since. The doctors believe he's only spiking fevers because of the tumor. But as long as he's having fevers it is to dangerous for him to be out in the hospital because of all the other sick kiddos here. It has been hard for him! With the fevers it has also brought a lot of throwing up and discomfort. Nobody feels good with a fever. Also, he is still experiencing pain form his tumor, chemo pain, and bed pain. This is causing my poor baby to not sleep well, which has caused Grant and I not to get much sleep either. Grant and I were switching off days because Kaitin and Gavin were missing us so much. It now takes both of us to get through the nights. Once again Mama Bear had to have a word with the doctors and nurses. In my opinion Koen sleeping is just as important as his blood pressure. Every time his fever spikes they have to take blood cultures to make sure it doesn't grow bacteria. He has also been having loose stools which baffles the doctors.

(Picture before his haircut, they both weren't thrilled about having to cut his hair off! It is much better short because of having fevers makes him sweat so bad. Also, when he starts to lose his hair it won't be so bad!)

The doctors were thinking Koen could possibly go home as soon as Monday(today) but as long as the fevers and loose stools continue, he won't be able to leave. Also, we have been having trouble finding a pain medicine that works and last longer than an hour and a half. Please pray that all these things will get figured out and that Koen won't be in pain anymore. Also, that he is able to go home. He longs for the day when he can leave this place! Every time Mommy, Daddy, Kaitin, or Gavin leave he just cries and cries. The other day when my Mom was here we went out to lunch so when I told him goodbye he was sad and cried. Not long after we left he said he was hungry. My guess is he was hoping it would mean he could go too.

(It is so cute when Kaitn comes to visit and yet so sad. He misses his brother so much! Kaitin seeing his buddy, best friend, and brother go through this is so hard on him. It thrills Kaitin when he comes and Koen does something new everyday for him from holding his hand, to just saying a few words to him, or smiling. They're so cute together!)

Please keep the prayers coming for:

*Pain Relief

*No Fevers

*No Loose Bowels

*Chemo on Thursday
*Sleep

*Most of all "HEALING"

Thank You to all of you for your prayers and thoughts, it means SO much to us!~Koen's Mommy

A Trooper!

From Nana Stacy~"Koen is a trooper! He is improving daily. Still very weak but is willing to give us a smile! :) Keep praying....all our prayers are being answered! Specific things to pray for: Quick healing, shrinking of the tumor, relief, and gaining of weight. Thanks to all who have been praying!!!!!" ~~~A full update is coming soon~~~

A Walk

From Nana Stacy~"Koen was able to recline in a little red wagon for a walk to the great outdoors (on Thursday). Fresh air will surely do him good. He is making progress everyday which we are praising our Lord Jesus for. Kaitin and Gavin was able to spend the whole day with Mom, Dad, and Koen so they are happy little guys. Thank you all for your prayers! It means so much to know there are so many that care."

Oncology Floor

From Nana Stacy~Just spoke with Lindsay and they did get Koen moved on to the Oncology floor. He even tried a little bit of popsicle tonight. First thing he has had since July 31st. Koen has been pretty fussy with all the moving and shifting. He is still so weak so please pray for his strength, that he gains some weight and responds well to the chemo. Please pray for the rest of the family as well as the boys (Kaitin & Gavin) they are really missing having their Mom and Dad together. Lindsay and Grant are switching off, but still isn't enough time for little guys!

Progress

Update from Koen's Mommy~ (from facebook)
"Koen had a better day yesterday! Maybe getting moved from the ICU! Getting another chemo treatment on Thursday!"

Update from Koen's Nana Stacy~ (from facebook)
"Our Koen had a better night! They changed his formula in the feeding tube to a rice base and he is not having the belly pains like he was. Heartrate and respirations continue to fall more into the normal range. Keep praying! We love to see progress!!"

Pretty Good Day

An update from Koen's Nana Stacy (Taken from her Facebook profile) ~~
"Koen had a pretty good day! Holding his own with his breathing and heart rate. Stayed awake for several hours today. Was tired of the bed and wants to just be held. He doesn't talk much at all but is sure to let you know if he isn't happy with you. He is very weak and fragile looking as he has lost a lot of weight. Please continue to pray! GOD IS WORKING! We serve an awesome GOD!"

Rough Days

I (Kara) talked to Lindsay (Koen's Mom) this afternoon and the past couple of days have been rough for Koen. Koen has been experiencing great amounts of pain and discomfort. An X-Ray of his abdomen showed that he has many gas pockets which could be the cause of the pain. The pain may also be from the tumor. The exact cause is unknown. Please pray for pain relief.
Koen has also struggled with his respiration levels and a high heart rate. Today his heart rate has lowered some. At this point they will not have to put him back on the ventilator. Please pray that Koen's heart rate and respiratory levels will stay in the "normal" range and that he will not have to be incubated again. Koen's white blood cell count is also elevated which means he has an infection somewhere. Koen is currently on an IV antibiotic for this. Also, pray that the antibiotic works quickly and his white blood cell count will return to normal. Koen has been very restless and not sleeping well. Grant and Lindsay have been holding Koen often and trying to comfort him as much as they can. They are exhausted and it is so hard on them to see their sweet Koen go through this.
Also, please pray for a good day tomorrow, rest, that the chemo is shrinking the tumor, and for comfort & strength for sweet Koen, Grant, Lindsay & Family.
Isaiah 40:31~~ They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.

Prayers Answered!

Today was a good day! Koen was extubated today at 11:00, he is thriving and breathing on his own. Every morning the doctors have what they call rounds, this morning in rounds they were so surprised at how far Koen has come in such a short time. Being extubated also means he gets rid of several more things the catheder, chest drainage tube, sedation medicine and as soon as his ready to eat on his own the feeding tube. The feeding tube could still be a few days but you never know with him. He is such a little fighter! After the tube was out he didn't say much other than No, No, No! Which to us is a beautiful word! Not only do we get to at least hear him talk we also get to see how much more fight he has left in him. Today there were tears of joy, God has yet again BLESSED us with our little Koen. I cried out for GOD not to take him yet and he heard my cry and granted me more time. I could not imagine my life with out my little Koen. He brings so much joy into our lives! He still has along road ahead of him but we all know GOD is right there with us during this very hard time. All we have to do and is look to GOD for the srength to get us through it! They are tentatively moving him up to the oncology floor tomorrow! With him possibly going home next weekend sometime. He'll have another chemo treatment on Thursday so as long as he handles that okay he should be going home. Please keep lifting our little boy up in prayer! I'm truly THANKFUL to each and everyone of you for your support and many prayers during this time! Love you Ko man, Mommy!

Little Fighter

Koen is having another good day today. Even though he is sedated, he amazes his nurses by all the kicking around he does! They are surpised at what a fighter he is! Koen is slowly being weaned off the ventilator and is scheduled to be off tomorrow. They will also be taking him of the sedative. We are so excited to see him awake again! Please pray that his lungs will be strong enough for him to breathe on his own. We know this step will make a night and day difference in our little guy! We are also praying that Koen will be moved out of the ICU within the next few days. It is great to see all the many IV's and tubes slowly going away! Koen is down to just a PIC line (which was put in yesterday) and his Medi-port as far as IV's are concerned. The PIC line is a kind of IV that can stay in as long as 6 months. It is inserted in the crease of his arm and actually goes up the vein all the way near his heart. The Medi-port is under the skin in his chest and is accessed by a needle. This is what is used to give Koen his Chemo treatments. We have greatly missed all the joy that our little Koen brings to our family. It's really all the little things that go mostly overlooked that are missed the most. We cannot wait for the moment when we can just see his big smile and hear him laugh! Please continue to pray for Kaitin and Gavin as this is just as hard on them as it is on us. Last night I was finally able to sit down at home and have dinner with them. Even though it was after 10:00 p.m. and just McDonalds the boys were so happy to be sitting at the table with their daddy. Kaitin and Gavin immediately grabbed each others hands and said "Let's pray dad!" Kaitin began praying "Please help Koen and Mommy to come home soon so we can all be together." Please continue to pray for strength for our family and for Koen's continued good response to his treatments. Please pray that his tumor shrinks quickly and that Koen will be able to come home soon. Lindsay and I would like to say thank you for your continued prayers and support. We would not get through this extremely difficult time without them! We take comfort in the fact that Koen is in God's hands and that God has continued to sustain Koen's strong fighting will. We will update you all on his progress tomorrow.

Grant

Our KO Man

Our little Ko man had another peaceful day! Everything with his Chemo went well. Koen had a hearing test with the results being he can hear perfectly! His hearing is a huge prayer request! With the Chemo he could have some hearing loss which would be permanent. Please continue to pray that his hearing will stay the same and not be affected would be such a BLESSING! Koen still needs help breathing but he is breathing over the ventilator. He is thriving and proving that his lungs can work. The main reason the doctors are keeping Koen on the ventilator is due to the size of the tumor. There is so much pressure from the tumor on his lungs that it is causing the lower part of his lungs to collapse. Another HUGE prayer request would be for the Chemo to work quickly and take the pressure off of his lungs so he can be taken off of the ventilator.
Koen has been much more responsive today. It is so nice to see this but breaks my heart at the same time. Since he is on the ventilator it is impossible for him to talk so he was using sign language. It was sad because he was signing drink but we weren't able to give him one. It was also sweet but very sad when Kaitin and Gavin had to leave to go home and Koen started crying. Koen is really missing his brothers. When Kaitin and Gavin are in the room he is so peaceful. I think the sound of their voices is good for Koen to hear. It's been a very hard day for me. It's so hard when you have a child in the hospital and also two healthy boys that love and need me just as much. Also, with just moving and not getting to move myself in was very stressful. My sister Karlissa has been a huge help and a blessing with helping me get the house put together. I know it has to be very hard and stressful on her jumping right into motherhood! Karlissa is doing an AWESOME job and I am so GRATEFUL for her.
Koen will be getting some more Chemo today so please keep him in your prayers. 1.that everything goes as planned 2. Koen's body handles it well with no side affects. It also makes me sad because the medicine they will be giving him is one that will cause hair loss. But I know that it is just hair and it will grow back! I think it's just hard because it is a reminder what my little boy is going through. I know GOD works everything for good and that is what I am holding on to. I also know GOD has a purpose in all of this. I might not see the whole picture but I know GOD is on our side and working through my little man. Thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts. It means so much to know millions of you are joining with us in prayer for our little boy. With much LOVE!~~~Koen's Mommy

Beginning the Fight

Sweet Koen
Koen is currently receiving his first Chemo treatment. We are feeling much relief in knowing that the first step has been taken on his path to recovery. With a final diagnosis, the doctors are very confident in the treatment plan they have set for Koen. They are even anticipating that Koen will be able to join his two waiting brothers in as little as 3 weeks! Kaitin and Gavin were able to see Koen today. They have been greatly missing the normal stability of their family and keep asking when Mommy, Daddy and Koen are coming home. Please continue praying for them as they have had their little world completely upheaved! I can only imagine what is running through their minds with what they have had to face in the last several days. We are so very grateful for the family members that have stepped in to help soften their landing. Papa has become Kaitin's on call handyman tackling projects such as putting his "Gator" together and fixing his bike. Kaitin is our little perfectionist and has no problem letting Papa know if his work isn't up to par! Kaitin was full of comments and questions when he came in to see Koen and brought some much needed laughter with some of them (why is Koen wearing a dress? a.ka. the hospital gown).
It was very touching to see both of them wanting to just hold Koen's hand to comfort him. It is amazing to see how the simplest acts mean so much. Even though Koen has remained on the ventilator, his lungs have made a lot of progress. They have been able to reduce his oxygen intake to 40%. When he was first intubated, he was receiving 100%. His own lungs are breathing almost double over the ventilator. The primary reason he is still intubated is due to the fact that the lower parts of both his lungs are still partially collapsed. This is from all of the pressure put on them from his large tumor. We now have hope with Koen starting his Chemo that the tumor will shrink enough in as little as a week to allow his lungs to function more normally. Even though we are very excited for Koen to begin his treatment, it also brings up several new concerns. The primary risks associated with his treatment are permanent hearing loss and kidney failure. His immune system will also be severly weakened and he will be much more succeptable to any illnesses. Please pray for these things as Koen faces a very tough road ahead. We have witnessed Koen's strong will to survive over the last several days and know that God will give him the strength to continue his fight. For those of you who don't know, Koen's full name is Koen William. The meaning of Koen is bold and the meaning of William is strong-willed warrior. That is exactly who are little Koen is! Please continue praying for our little one as he begins this long battle! We love you Koen! ~Daddy

Little Brother Gavin holding Koen's hand to comfort him.

Results

Koen's Nana called to tell me the results of the pathology report and she wanted me to give everyone a little update.
Koen has Hepatoblastoma cancer it is in Stage 3 and it is malignant.
They are starting Chemo tonight at 10:00pm. The plan as of now is for Koen to receive 6 three week rounds of chemo. After the 4th round they will do surgery to remove the tumor. They were told that in 7-10 days after Koen starts getting Chemo they should see positive changes. Koen is still on life support and in a drug induced comma.
Praises:
*Koen had a much better day then yesterday.
*Thankful for answers and a plan of action.
Prayer Requests:
*Koen's body can handle the Chemo
*Koen will NOT experience hearing loss or kidney failure from the Chemo
*Please continue to pray for previous requests.
Koen and his family have a long road ahead of them and they know that God has the power to heal him. Koen's family appreciates all of the prayers and support from everyone.

Positive & Encouraging

We were able to meet with Koen's Oncologist this afternoon. The meeting was very positive and encouraging. It was much needed after all of the events today. This morning a chest x-ray showed that Koen had large amounts of fluid in his right lung. The doctors later decided to drain the fluid to help his breathing which at the time was very short and rapid. They were able to drain 140mL (over half a cup) of fluid out of his right lung. As is fairly common, his right lung partially collapsed as a result of the procedure. They subsequently made the decision to intubate him and give his tired and worn out body a much needed break. He has been fighting very hard for the past 5 days. It was very scary walking back into his room and hearing that this was necessary. We are now however seeing the positive effects of him being intubated as all of his vitals are back within normal ranges. This has come as a great relief to us as we have had to watch him fight for every breath. Every aspect of the meeting with Koen's Oncologist was very positive. The oncology department here is part of an international orginazation that pools together research of cancer cases in children. This is necessary due to the fact that these cancers are so rare. The oncologist said that there are approximately only 200 cases like Koen's a year. However, they have been pooling this data for over 50 years so they have developed proven standard plans of attack for curing this type of cancer. We will know and hopefully start Koen's treatment plan tomorrow after his biopsy results are finalized. The goal of Koen's oncology team is that they will be able to declare him cancer free in as little as two years. We are so thankful that God led us here and feel that Koen is definitely in the right place. We now see the whole picture of why we were led to Colorado. Koen is sleeping well tonight. Even though he is heavily sedated he still has been somewhat responsive when asked certain questions. He shook his head yes when we asked him if he knew his Mommy and Daddy loved him! He also shook his head yes when we asked him if he would like a puppy when he is all better. It has been of great comfort to us to be surrounded by our families during this time. We greatly appreciate all the sacrafices you are making to be here for us and our little Koen! It has been amazing to hear how many people we have praying clear across the country. It is unbelievable to see how far one little life can reach. Thank you all very much. Your prayers are being answered. Please give the little ones around you an extra hug as we even more realize how precious they are.~Grant

HOPE

Koen's Nana Stacy called me this evening to give me an update....some Good News! She said that Koen is able to rest very peacefully being intubated and this is a relief not to see him fight so hard. The Oncologist said that they will start Chemo tomorrow and that the history of this type of tumor has a high success rate. They should know the official name and stage of cancer tomorrow. This has been a very draining day for everyone.
Praises: that....
*Koen can start Chemo tomorrow
*That this type of cancer has a high success rate
*Koen is able to rest & not fight so hard for air
Prayer Requests:
*Koen will regain his strength
*the little area of his lung that ruptured will heal so no more air will escape
*Peace for everyone
*they WILL start Chemo tomorrow
*Koen will have minamial side affects from the Chemo
*Grant, Lindsay, Kaitin, Koen, Gavin, Family Members

URGENT Prayer!

4:18PM~
I just got off of the phone with Koen's Papa Derek and they drained 140ml of fluid off of Koen's right lung. Everything was fine and then Koen took a turn for the worst. His heart rate has sky rocketed and at this point they are trying to determine if they need to put him on life support or a tube down his throat. Koen needs LOTS and LOTS of PRAYERS!! Please take time to pray for him and his family!!

5:30ish PM~
More about Koen from his Aunt Abby: "the doctors withdrew 140ml of fluid from Koen's lung a few hours ago. after the procedure, when his lung filled back up with air, one of the air sacs popped causing koen to have severe difficulty breathing. in order to prevent the possibility of respitory arrest, the doctors intubated him immediately. he is now on the ventilator and very sedated to he intubation procedure."

Pray for Pain Relief

(FYI:Please check comments on posts for updates as well~everything on main blog posted in Central Time)
10:53AM
Koen is having a rough day today. He is experiencing pain from his surgery yesterday. So please say a prayer for some pain relief. Also, he is still having trouble breathing. We were told that we can hold Koen to help calm him down and relieve some of the pressure off of his lungs. So it's nice to know I'm going to get to hold my baby again. Thank you for all of the prayers & support!~Lindsay

12:27PM
They did another chest x-ray this morning and It showed that Koen has quite a bit of fluid built up in his lungs. The doctors are going to attempt to drain the fluid to help him breathe better. This should happen within the next hour. ~Grant

1:50PM
PLEASE be Praying! Koen is swelling and they are going to take fluid off his right lung. We need a miracle! Pray~ Stacy (Koen's Nana)

Hospital Address

The Children's Hospital
c/o Koen Slovek ICU Room #9
13123 East 16th Avenue
Aurora, CO 80045

(Since Koen is in the ICU he can not receive Latex balloons, living plants, or flowers)

Pray For Family

Here is our most recent family picture. One thing you could add to the prayer request list is prayer for Kaitin and Gavin. They are both very confused and scared for their brother. They greatly miss their playmate and best friend. They need to be comforted just as much as we do and they don't have their mommy and daddy availabe like they are used to. Koen is running a fever but sleeping well. He is still in a lot of pain. That is the doctors main focus tonight to keep him as comfortable as possible. Pray that Lindsay and I will have the strengh to keep a positive environment for Koen at all times. He has a very strong heart and spirit and needs to see the same from us! We will keep you updated and thanks again! ~Grant

Precious Koen

Koen's Daddy sent me this picture today of Koen snuggling with his animal friends....so precious. I talked to Lindsay this evening and they will receive the liver biopsy reports by Tuesday. She said that they are praying to have them tomorrow so treatment can start as soon as possible. Koen also had a port put in today for when he starts Chemo. They are very thankful that surgery went well and that both her and Grant were able to hold Koen for long periods of time this morning. Some Prayer Requests: Pain Management, Strength, Good Test Results, Healing.

Out of Surgery

Just received word from Koen's Aunt Abby that "Koen is in recovery after his liver biopsy. He had some bleeding so he will be getting a transfusion. Other than that, the surgery went well. He's a trooper!"

A PayPal account has been setup for Koen to provide a way to donate funds. The purpose of this account is to help Grant and Lindsay "Crow" Slovek (Koen's parents) with all of the extra expenses they will be faced with. We don't want them to have to worry about finances at this time. The most important thing we ask all of you to do is to continue to pray for sweet Koen, his Dad & Mom, brothers Kaitin & Gavin, and Family.

Some Special Prayer Requests:

* Strength, Peace, & Healing

*Pain Relief for Koen

*That the Doctor's do only God's work

*Rest for Koen & his family

*That the cancer will not be very advanced

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and our strength, ever present help in distress