Our Katie and Day 1 - 3

Our sweet precious Katie has been such a blessing in our lives!  She was born on June 3, 2009.  Katie's full name is Katelynn Joy Epps.  She was named after her Aunt Lynn and her Grandmother Joy - both women are strong, righteous, and hard working women.  Katie has lived up to her name.  Katie truly has been a "joy" in our family's life.  All the rest of us are on the serious side, but our Katie is full of sunshine and  mischief.  She has brought so much laughter and happiness into our home.  Katie always has a smile on her face...well, with her family anyway.  If she doesn't know you, she is a little sphinx - she will not smile, talk, shake hands or give high fives, and she will stare people down.  With us however, she is a chatterbox and she acts like everything is a game.  Everything is funny to Katie, she likes to tease.  She has a very "yellow" personality and she has a special way of making us all laugh.  She truly is our sunshine girl.

On Sunday night, 11/06/11, we brought Katie to the hospital because she was extremely pale and not feeling well, she woke up crying 3 times that night.  Katie is not a complainer, so we knew something was wrong.  While Katie has always been fair, she was unusually pale and we were sure she was anemic.  After doing blood work, the ER doctor told us she was indeed anemic, but he also told us he was 90% sure she had Leukemia.  That came as a shock!  After two more days of testing, Katelynn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.  Katie will be receiving chemo therapy for a minimum of two years.  Her hair will be gone in three to four weeks, she will be in the hospital for another week.  Over the next 2 years, she will need many blood transfusions along with spinal taps and bone marrow checks. She will also be taking steroids twice a day off and on for the next 2 years and taking a sulfa medication for 2 1/2 years. 

We want to be realistic and real as this goes along, but we also want to find "joy" in the journey.  So each day, we will look for something to be "glad" about.  Like Pollyanna, we are going to "play the glad game" to help us and Katie through this.

DAY 1 (11/10/11): Our doctors count the days by the day her treatment started, so that is now how we will count our days...and day one was a rough one! Katelynn had a severe anifilatic reaction during one of the procedures in the operating room.  We almost lost her that night.  While her heart did not stop completely, it did get extremely slow and her blood pressure did get low enough that the doctor had to do some chest compressions on her.  It is very hard to hand your child over to someone else and put her life in their care.  At the end of "Day 1" we were glad our Katie was still alive.

DAY 2 (11/11/11):  So far, Katie has done amazing for a two year old, allowing the nurses to poke and prod her, all hours of the day and night.  Even at 2 a.m. when the automatic blood pressure cuff deflates, she will say, "all done" with a big smile on her face.  She was too sore to walk today, and somewhat fussy, but many smiles throughout the day in her usual Katie style.  We watched Kung Fu Panda, and I quote: "Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift - that is why it is called the present."  On this day we are glad for the gift of Katie and to have her in the present!

DAY 3 (11/12/11):  Katie is still too sore to walk today, her bones are hurting.  She woke up smiling and laughing today, and has had many extreme ups and downs, but she seems to be doing okay (better than her mom and dad).  Katie needed another blood transfusion today and we are glad (and grateful) to her Aunt Robin who donated the blood for her!  Thank you Robin!  Katie is 0+ and can take 0-.  Scott is making a list for those are able and would like to donate blood for Katie.  She will continue to need blood transfusions throughout the next two years.

We have felt all of your prayers, we feel strengthened and supported!  We want to thank everyone for their love and support during all of this.  A special thanks Jenny Denton for setting up this blog. Thanks to everyone for your love and concern.  We will keep this blog updated on what is happening with the sphinx (Katie).  Please keep praying for Katie!