prayfordaisy:

“Be glad in the Lord, you His righteous ones;And give thanks to His Holy name.” -Psalm 97:12

Praises!!!  Daisy experienced multiple answers to prayers today and is feeling so good about it!

The day started with Daisy experiencing the usual fear associated with her Chemo treatments. I gave her the “Be brave” talk and she said through her tears, “Daddy, being brave right now feels as hard as trying to fly when you’re not a bird!”

On the way to the appointment we prayed for bravery, no pain, and high blood counts so that she did not have to have a transfusion. Daisy was doing pretty well in the moments leading up to the dreaded needle being pressed into her chest and then when it went in for the first time ever, she did not feel it at all ! She was so stoked!!!

We talked about how that was an answer to prayer and we thanked the Lord.
After she received her two different medicines for the day she remained accessed while we waited to hear the lab results. The results came back and Daisy’s counts have gone way up… way up! You guys are awesome in prayer. Her levels are in the “normal” range! Not normal for a kid going through Chemo, but normal for any kid!!! Amazing! Wow!

Thank you for your prayers in that area. Daisy rejoiced and acknowledged that Jesus had answered huge prayers for her today.  When we were leaving she said through her big smile, “Daddy, this is my bravest day ever. I am going to remember this day and be brave again next week!”

What an amazing reversal from how she felt just a few hours before! Thank you for sharing in our amazing adventure with Jesus… we wouldn’t change a thing.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High; To declare Thy faithfulness in the morning, And Thy faithfulness by night, With the ten-stringed lute, and with harp; With resounding music upon the lyre. For Thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by what Thou hast done. I will sing for joy at the works of Thy hands.” -Psalm 92:1-4

prayfordaisy:

Here is a quick bullet update.  More details follow:

• Daisy was given the incorrect formulation of a certain Chemotherapy drug two weeks ago and had a severe and frightening reaction.
• She has Chemo again tomorrow and they are going to give her the same drug, but formulated correctly and are hoping she will not have the same reaction, but are going to pre-medicate her before just to be safe.
• Generally, Daisy has been feeling very well and her spirits are up.
• Her hair is getting pretty thin and today she said, “I am happy that I am going to be bald… no more knots, no more messy hair in the morning, and I won’t get a hot head in the hot sun!”
• Isaiah turned 9 today!
• Britt has swine flu.
• The whole family needs an extra prayer covering with Britt so sick… especially Kate, who is carrying such a heavy load.
• The risk for Daisy being exposed to the swine flu in the Merrick home while her immune system is weakened is obvious and needs prayer.

Some further details:

• Yes, horrifically, Daisy was given the wrong formulation of a chemotherapy agent. The doctors all said, “This never happens.” And of course they all felt terrible. There is an internal investigation going on to figure out how such a grave mistake could have occurred. For now, an additional third party will check all of Daisy’s treatments before they are administered to her.
• Obviously, litigation is quick to enter people’s minds. We were able to tell the doctors and nurses that we, as Christians, are not vindictive or vengeful people. We understand that people make mistakes and we are okay with that. Of course, it was a really big mistake, but which of us has not also made a really big mistake? And so how can we ourselves being imperfect, try to hold other people to the standard of perfection? We cannot. We know what it is like to be forgiven, having been forgiven of so much through Jesus Christ, so we must forgive in the same way. We were able to communicate this to our oncologist and tell him that we love and appreciate and value him and are so deeply thankful for all that he has done.
• The investigation will go on at the behest of the Cottage Hospital Pharmacy and associated parties to whom they are accountable. We do not want anyone to lose their job or reputation; we just want to use this experience to help create a safer system for future patients.

Technical Chemo Info:

• The medicine that Daisy was supposed to receive two weeks ago is called Doxorubicin. It is one of 3 agents she will be receiving during Chemo.
• What she received was an alternative formulation of that called Liposomal-Doxorubicin. It is a formulation that more aggressively attacks the cancer and is usually used in adults and administered over a period of 2-4 hours.
• Daisy got it in a manner that would have taken 6 minutes if it were not cut short by her reaction and the nurse’s stopping the flow through the access port in her chest.
• The pediatric pharmacist’s and the oncologist’s research leads them to believe that the reaction was due to the variant formulation and not the agent Doxorubicin itself. Therefore they feel confident that they can administer the treatment to her tomorrow without any adverse effects, but there is no guarantee.

Prayer Points:

• For Daisy to not react negatively to the Doxorubicin.
• For Daisy not to contract swine flu.
• For Daisy to be free from fear at her treatment tomorrow. (Fear has been a really huge problem for her at these treatments)
• For Kate to have extra strength and the Lord’s joy at this time.
• For Britt to get over the swine flu quickly.

The Merrick’s love you all and thank you so much!

The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

2 Chronicles 16:9

prayfordaisy:

Daisy had an extremely adverse reaction to chemo today.  The doctors do not know why.  She was given Benadryl and is asleep right now.  She may need to be hospitalized.

Please seek the Father!!

prayfordaisy:

Daisy only has three more radiation treatments to go! Just not going to the Cancer Center everyday will be a big relief and make life a little easier. We will be doing Chemo once a week for a while.

We have Chemo again tomorrow and Daisy will need strength and bravery to face that needle again. Generally she is doing very well and we have seen the old silly, crazy, beautiful, vivacious Daisy come out this week for the first time in a long time! As we head toward the end of the week though she generally starts feeling fatigued and depressed from her treatments. This week in particular could use some extra prayer covering as Kate will be gone teaching at the Reality Women’s Retreat Friday and Saturday.

We cannot tell you how thankful we are for all your prayers, love and support. We are amazed at all y’all and at Jesus!

Psalm 143:8

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, 
for I have put my trust in you. 
Show me the way I should go, 
for to you I lift up my soul.

prayfordaisy:

Daisy had a pretty hard time at Chemo yesterday, fear still being a big factor.
But radiation is going well and we are half way through (we finish next Friday), and are not seeing too many side effects yet, but the doctor says they are coming.

Daisy is looking forward to having the weekend off from both treatments.

Today, Daisy got her hair cut for the first time ever!! She did it in anticipation of it falling out and one of her best friends (Selah Balli) did it with her. A sweet girl in our fellowship offered to do it and brought Barbi dolls for each of them to cut the hair off as well. The Barbi Doll’s hair looked just like Daisy and Selah’s, one blonde and one brunette.

Daisy and Selah are dedicating the beautiful hair they cut off to Pantene Beautiful Lengths which makes wigs for women with cancer.

prayfordaisy:

Things are transitioning a bit with Daisy. It seems as though we have gotten over a hump with some of the big physical challenges, though we are experiencing small side effects of Chemo and Radiation like fatigue, sores in the mouth, strange bowel behavior, etc.

But the main challenge now seems to be emotional. Now that huge amounts of pain are not a daily issue, Daisy is asking a lot of questions about her body and cancer and what it all means. She has been getting depressed, crying a lot for no reason, feeling some shame and embarrassment, etc. We are praying and loving her through it.

We are still working toward giving her all the details of stuff she will still endure, but she is fragile, so it is slow going… We think she is starting to wonder why she has been getting dozens of beanies in the mail…

The main issue this week is Chemo on Thursday. Radiation everyday is going well, but the thought of going to Chemo again terrifies her. This is a picture of her and Kate at Chemo last week and you can see by the look on her face that she is not stoked.

Though she seemed to come through it great last time, she is really dreading going back. The thought of the needle sticking in her chest for a long time and all that is just too much for her right now.

So, we can use prayer in those areas. We are pretty emotionally drained as a family and it seems to be getting a little harder right now. But the Lord is our strength and joy and is so near in the midst of it! We are loving and worshiping Him!

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

⁵Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

⁹The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

-Philippians 4:4-9

(via prayfordaisy)

prayfordaisy:

We are amazed at how kind the Lord was to Daisy today. She started out the day extremely distressed that she was going to have to go to the hospital again. She was almost panicking at the thought. I (Britt) took her in my arms and prayed for her. Then I began to tell her about all of you praying for her and of all the places where she is being prayed for like Africa, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Israel, The United Arab Emirates, South America, and all over the states… she was soooo stoked. Then she asked if she was being prayed for “even in Hawaii?” “Yes!” I told her. And that was it! Hawaii won the day!

Since that moment she has been so brave, happy, full of joy, overflowing with peace, and wonderfully energetic, humorous and sweet. Radiation happened and, so far, she is feeling better than she has since this whole thing went down a couple of weeks ago! Wow! God is so good. Thank you for your prayers… they work because we have a God who hears and cares!!!

Tomorrow Daisy Love has her first round of Chemo right after radiation. Radiation is at 11:40 and Chemo at about 12:15.

Lets just pray for bravery and grace to feel good and minimal (or no!) side effects.

Chemo side effects include:

Major:

• Hair loss. :-(  The oncologist said this will happen by the end of October.
• Low blood cell counts - The main danger here is her susceptibility to sickness. This is a major prayer need for the next 7 months. If she gets sick during chemo and gets a fever over 101.5 it most likely means an immediate hospitalization and red-blood cell and platelet transfusions. White-blood cells cannot be transfused unfortunately and these are the major fighter of infections. So germs and visitors and infections and stuff are a big deal for the next long while.
• Irritation of nerves: Numbness and tingling of fingers and toes, and muscle weakness
• Seizures
• Abnormal liver functions
• Heart damage

Less major:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Skin sensitivity to sunlight
• Mouth sores
• Skin rashes (This has already been very problematic for Daisy. She has incredibly sensitive skin.)
• Diarrhea or constipation depending on which medicine is used that week
• Stomach pain
• Jaw pain
• Blurred or double vision
• Drooping of the eyelids

Thank you friends. Our family has experienced more of Jesus through your love and prayers and support. We are humbly and beautifully overwhelmed.

I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you… (Philemon 7)

prayfordaisy:

Daisy on her way to her first radiation appointment. Happy and eating a yogurt pop.

prayfordaisy:

Be encouraged friends… you’re prayers are powerful because God is good!!