Journal History
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 10:52 AM CDT
Well, for the few that still occasionally stop by to check on our family we just wanted to let you know that all is going pretty good with us. Health wise, Sarah Anne seems to be doing great. Sarah Anne is also still doing great in school despite the many trials we have had transitioning from elementary school to middle school. She continues to amaze us with her ability to endure and persevere through the toughest of situations. She is a member of the Junior Beta Club, she just wrapped up playing basketball and she is about to start cheerleading again for this fall. She is staying busy and growing into a beautiful young lady. We thank God for his blessing in her life.
Emma Grace is growing up as well. It is hard to believe that she only has one more year in elementary school and then she will have to transition to middle school. She is a straight A student and takes part in the gifted classes offered at WES. Of our three, she is definitely the biggest clown. But she also has a huge heart to go along with her silly personality. Emma also just finished up basketball and was even voted the best all around player on her team.
Believe or not we registered our little Jonah for kindergarten last week. Can you believe it? This August all three of our kids will be in school. Needless, to say it was kind of sad to realize that our last child was now old enough to be in school. Jonah is playing his first year in baseball. It is coach pitch and so far he is loving every minute of it. He is a sports nut! To be so little he is pretty dang good.
With Jonah being in school soon and with the economy tanking we decided that now was the time for Kelly to go back to work. We were so fortunate to have a friend (who owns his own company, www.eWAM.com) offer Kelly a great part-time job that allows her to take and pick up the kids from school. It has definitely been an adjustment for our family but all in all we believe it is going to work great.
God is really doing some amazing things within our church. There has not been too many Sunday's in 2009 where we have not started our 11am service with baptism. We are seeing so many new families come to know Jesus as their Savior and follow through with believers baptism. The best part of Children's Ministry is seeing God work in the lives of children and their parents. Pretty amazing!
I guess that is it for now. Thanks for continuing to check on Sarah Anne and our family.
God Bless!
Monday, September 22, 2008 4:13 PM CDT
Sarah Anne's annual oncology check-up went really well, other than the long clinic wait and the rush of emotions that come back with every visit. Your heart just breaks for all the families that are either just starting their journey or in the midst of battle against their child's diagnosis. The look and expressions on their faces as they wait in the clinic is just all too familiar for us. Of course, the staff, nurses and doctors always make a big deal of our family's annual visit. I guess it means a lot to them to be able to see and hug childhood cancer survivors to whom they diligently helped through their cancer diagnosis. The staff at Children's Hospital truly love their patients and it shows.
It is hard to believe that Sarah Anne is actually in middle school this year. Woodstock Elementary School only goes to 4th grade, so Sarah started 5th grade at West Blocton Middle school. This has definitely been a change for her and our family. So far she seems to be doing well, other than some situations with the school that are outside of her control.
Our Emma Grace is a 3rd grader at Woodstock Elementary School and she too is doing well with school. Jonah is growing up too fast. This will be his last year at home with mom, as he will start kindergarten next school year. Crazy huh? We are staying busy with Children's Ministry activities at church and the girls are cheering for McAdory again this year. We hope all is well with you!
Thanks for checking in on our family!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace & Jonah Hicks
Monday, June 30, 2008 3:25 PM CDT
We hope you are having a great summer so far. Our summer started off with Steven graduating from Southeastern Bible College with a theology degree & honors. Then Sarah Anne graduated from Woodstock Elementary School with the highest grade point average in her class. She received multiple academic awards but the one that seemed to stand out the most to us was her perfect attendance award. The parents of kids with cancer or who have survived cancer will understand just how awesome it is to have a child not miss a single day of school due to any kind of illness. Good health is such a huge blessing to our family and we give God all the glory. Sarah Anne will be going to middle school next year and while we know she will do great we must admit that we are a little nervous about it.
We celebrated our graduations, Steven's birthday and Father's day by spending a week at Fort Walton Beach. It was so relaxing to spend an entire week at the beach. Just about every night we rented a movie and watched it as a family. The place we stayed at (Waterscape) was so cool, as it had a water park for the kids & adults to enjoy. Needless to say we also spent a lot of time swimming.
We are also finally getting to enjoy our lake house a little more than years past. We still have many improvements to make but it is at least to a point where we can enjoy it on a regular basis.
Church is going great! We had an awesome VBS, with many kids making public professions of faith in Jesus as their Lord & Savior. Just this past Sunday Steven Baptized three children. God continues to bless our children's ministry.
Sarah is due for her annual off-treatment check-up with her oncologist in July. They have a special survivors clinic that Sarah Anne paritcipates in. We are so thankful for Sarah Anne's continued remmission. It is neat to watch God use Sarah Anne and her experiences to mold her personality into the godly person He would have her to be. She is a very kind, loving and tender hearted child and she is very attentive to those around her.
Thanks for checking in on us! Have a great summer!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace & Jonah
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 2:09 PM CST
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne is doing great! She is truly a blessing and is a beautiful example of God's healing power. The phrases "late effects" and "life after childhood cancer" are the hot topics nowadays for survivors and their family. Thankfully, we are not seeing any late effects from her 130 weeks of chemotherapy she endured. We continue to pray for her health and her remission. We had some awesome prayer warriors that helped us through this trial so many years ago. I am now asking you to pray for another precious little child of God who is just beginning his second trial with childhood cancer. His name is Tucker Beam and he is 7 years old. You can read his story and let him know you are praying for him and his family by visiting his web site.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/tuckerbeam
Thanks for remembering Sarah Anne and our family!
In Christ,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace & Jonah Hicks
Friday, November 30, 2007 4:50 PM CST
We are so Thankful that Sarah Anne reached her 5 year Off-Treatment milestone this November 6, 2007!!!! Thank You Lord!
This is yet another big reminder to our family of just how blessed we truly are. We thank God daily for our family and the health he has blessed each of us with.
Sarah Anne is doing really well. At this stage we have not noticed any late effects commonly associated with leukemia treatments. She is a straight A student and is even on her school's student council this year. I was so proud of her recently as she was one of four kids selected from her school to attend a math competition at the Huntsville Space & rocket Center. How awesome is that?
Our Emma Grace and little Jonah are doing great as well. Emma Grace is now in 2nd grade and she too is a straight A student. Jonah is about to turn 4 and he is mess. He loves hanging out with his dad, especially when something needs fixing.
Kelly & I are excited about what 2008 will hold for our family. This December is my last semester at Southeastern Bible College. Yahoo!!!! I cannot believe I am actually going to graduate. I just pray that God continues to use my education in a way that brings glory to Him and His kingdom. I have really enjoyed serving as part-time minister of children at VCBC. However, Kelly & I have come to understand the phrase that there is no such thing as part-time ministry. LOL!
We want to wish your family a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
"For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need." Philippians 4:13
God Bless,
The Hicks Family
Thursday, August 2, 2007 8:47 AM CDT
Hello friends!
I guess you know that Sarah Anne's check up went well because I didn't update quicker. She went down to the lab by herself (she's done that pretty much since she was diagnosed at the age of 2) to get her blood drawn. She sat in the chair and let the nurse poke her arm without even a grimace. She still amazes me with her tolerance level. It makes me proud & sad at the same time. (I'll post a picture on the photo page) They measured all 3 kids & gave them all prizes & tons of hugs. Of course I loved to hear all the nice things they said about my sweet babies! Dr. Castleberry was very positive about her growth and answered some of the things I had questions about. It was good to see him and know he had checked her out. Very comforting to this mommy. :)
Our clinic does yearly checkups on the same day so we get to see many of our old friends. It is really great to see these kids well & growing like normal kids. We met them while on treatment and, as you can imagine, they look much different now. The atmosphere is like a family reunion on check up days.
Our doctors and nurses are all still the same and make a big fuss over the kids. They've always been so kind and loving to us. We will forever love Children's Hospital for the care they showed our family when we were in trouble. Sarah Anne got excellent care and our family gained many life long friends through our time spent there. The direction of our lives changed in a positive way through all of this & through the friends we've made through the hospital and Camp Smile-A-Mile. Have you ever heard our testimony? It's pretty cool how God worked all of this together for good.
I truly can't say enough good things about that hospital without busing into tears. I know God worked a miracle in Sarah Anne's life (and all our precious buddies there)through that hospital & its staff. It was good to go "home" and get our check up. And it was also good to leave. :)
Oh - I know something else great to report - Emma Grace asked Jesus into her heart this summer! Her Children's Minister (a.k.a. Daddy) got to Baptize her last Sunday. It was really awesome! We're so proud of our little girl! (I'll post a picture on the photos page)
That's all I have for now. We are all crazy busy getting ready for school & cheering & such. Sarah Anne starts 4th grade and Emma Grace will be in 2nd. Hard to believe! This hopefully will be Steven's last semester. YEA!!
Please be in prayer for our 3 local buddies that are still going through treatment Evan, Madison B. and Madison M.
http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=evanthomason
http://caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=Madisonbeck
http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=madisonmiller
Thank for for checking on Sarah & may God bless you & your family!
Kelly
(and Steven, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace & Jonah too!)
Monday, July 9, 2007 6:42 PM CDT
Hello friends!
Just a quick request for prayers for a good yearly check up for Sarah Anne this Wednesday. As usual, she seems fine but as the day draws closer I can't quit thinking about it. I still feel the need to ask for prayers. Will that ever change?
Thanks for being there with us through thick & thin!!
God bless,
Kelly
Monday, May 7, 2007 3:27 PM CDT
Hello Family & Friends,
The updates have been coming a lot less frequent these past few years which is definitely a blessing, as that is a good indication that all is going well with Sarah Anne and our family.
Seven years ago this month (5/1/00) Sarah Anne was diagnosed with leukemia. A lot has happened in the past 7 years, some bad but for the most part it has been really good. We are so thankful that Sarah Anne is doing so well. She is a healthy little girl, who is really excelling in her school work. In fact since kindergarten she has earned all straight A's on her report cards. We were worried about this year (3rd grade) but once again she has excelled this year as well. The only thing we have noticed with Sarah Anne is that her short term memory is not that great. She is pretty forgetful about were she leaves her stuff but then again so is her dad.
It is hard to beleive that Emma Grace is about to finish up 1st grade. Emma Grace is also doing really well in school. She is consistantly reading at a 4th grade level. Needless, to say we are so very proud of her.
Who knew having a son could be so much fun. After two little girls, our Jonah is definitely a big change for us. Boys are so different, fun but different. He certainly loves his boy stuff (cars, motorcycles, and everything sports related). But he is also a little more scared of stuff as compared to our girls. Maybe, its because he is the youngest and he has a bunch of girls constantly looking after him.
God is really blessing our children's ministry at Valley Creek Baptist Church. Kelly and I are having so much fun leading all the kids at church. We are looking forward to a fun time this summer, once everyone gets out of school.
Sarah Anne's next check up is sometime in July.
Thanks for checking on us!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma & Jonah
Tuesday, January 2, 2007 10:37 AM CST
***HAPPY NEW YEAR***
Our family is looking forward to what the Lord has planned for us in 2007 and we hope you are too. We had a good Christmas, despite all the flu & sickness that has been going around. It is such a joy for us to see our kids celebrating the birth of Jesus and understanding that He is the true reason for Christmas.
Sarah Anne is doing great and we give all the glory to God! We continue to update our sight, because it seems like there are more and more children in our area being diagnosed with cancer. It is our prayer that through our story, families may find comfort, peace and hope.
May God Richly Bless Your Family In 2007!
Because of Him,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma & Jonah
Thursday, November 23, 2006 12:37 AM CDT
Hello friends!
We are doing great. Sarah Anne celebrated 4 years off treatment this month. She's still showing no signs of major long term side effects. In some ways it seems like yesterday when we were struggling with her chemo treatment & other times it seems like forever ago. I'm so glad it is over.
I'm taking the girls on a quick trip for a bowl game with our football team. We've had a great season. It's been a blast cheering for our 85# team! Steven & Jonah are going to "hunt & build stuff" while we're gone. We don't do things apart much so this will be a new experience for all of us.
Steven & I are celebrating our anniversary this week too. We've had a tough but blessed 15 years. I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband by my side in this crazy world. Our kids are blessed to have him as their father too. I love you very much Steven!
Thank you for checking on us. Please keep us & all of our childhood cancer friends in your prayers! We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
God bless,
Kelly, Steven, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace & Jonah
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 10:52 PM CST
Hi friends!
Our BIG girl is off to week long camp for the first time. We're half-way through the week & we're mising her so much I'm not sure we'll make it until Saturday.
She's at Camp Smile-A-Mile, Alabama's pediatric oncology camp. Camp SAM is a wonderful place where all the kids, on treatment or off, get to play and be "normal" with kids who know where they're coming from. Monday we took her to the hospital lobby to meet the other campers and load a fancy charter bus to take them to Alexander City. It helped us relax a little because her buddies Matthew and Hannah went too. (Hannah, Matthew and Sarah Anne were all 2 years old and all diagnosed within a month in 2000 with ALL. So, they went through their 2 1/2 years of treatment together and finished together. They're all doing great! These 3 will always have a special bond. Sarah Anne made a new friend in the lobby named Mary Catherine. She was paired up with another new friend when she arrived at camp, also named Sarah. Please pray for them & their counselor (Jamie) as well as the other kids & counselors there.
Camp SAM provides tons of fun for the kids including a Friday night dance. This year the theme is Greek gods and godesses. I had to sew her a toga and make her an ivy crown. I'm sure she'll be the cutest godess there!
I'll add a few pictures from Monday to the photo link & update when she gets home. Remember to pray for the Camp SAM kids and for our Director's family. They're wonderful friends too and the husband was in a car accident last night. So the director had to leave camp to be with him. I'm really not worried about the kids at camp, there are enough experienced adults to run things without her, but he's got some injuries, so please pray for our friend, Lee.
Thanks for checking on our sweet girl. She's doing great & growing up too quickly!
God Bless,
Kelly & Steven
Tuesday, January 10, 2006 1:48 PM CST
Happy New Years!
And...
Happy "8th" Birthday Sarah Anne
We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has had a happy New Year so far.
On January 6th with celebrated Sarah Anne's 8th birthday. God is so good and we give him all the glory for allowing us to celebrate this joyous day. It is hard to believe that our baby girl is now 8 years old. My how time goes by so fast. Sarah Anne is doing great health wise and also in school. Her next oncology visit is February 15th. Please say a special prayer for her regarding her next visit.
Emma is doing well in kindergarten and our little Jonah is about to celebrate his 2nd birthday on January 23rd.
God has truly blessed our family and we are so thankful for that. Thanks for checking on our family!
We Love You Guys!
The Hicks Family
Thursday, September 8, 2005 1:13 PM CDT
Dear Family and Friends,
So sorry for not updating Sarah Anne's web site before now. We have had a very busy but fun summer. Time goes by so quickly when you are running from event to event. Our three kids keep us moving.
Sarah Anne had her bi-annual oncology visit in July. This visit was really different from the ones in the past. She still had to have a cbc but this time they really focused on any possible late effects of her chemotherapy that we might be experiencing. By the way, her blood counts were all in the normal range! We spent a lot of time speaking with a neuropsychologist and answering questions about Sarah Anne's behavior and grades. All in all it was a positive check-up. More than anything we thank God that she is still in remmision!
Sarah Anne started 2nd grade this year and our little Emma Grace is in Kindergarten. It was the sweetest thing see our two girls walking into school together on that first day. God has truly blessed us with two precious little girls.
Our little man, Jonah, is growing like a weed. He is 20 months old and into everything. No doubt he is all boy. He loves trucks, tractors, balls, dogs and being outside. Needless to say he keeps mom pretty busy.
Life is pretty normal around our house (whatever normal is?) and we are so thankful for that.
Thanks for remaining faithful in checking on our family!
God Bless,
Hicks Family
Thursday, June 2, 2005 10:02 AM CDT
*** Sarah Anne's next check up is July 15. ***
It's Summer Time!
Yippee! School is out, so let the summer fun begin!
Sarah Anne finished up 1st grade on May 19th. She had an excellent 1st grade year with a wonderful teacher. Sarah Anne made straight A's for the entire school year and she had perfect attendance. We are so proud of her, considering all she has been through. I am not sure which one makes us the proudest, her straight A's or her perfect attendance. I guess both!
Our little Emma is also now registered to start kindergarten at Sarah's school (Woodstock Elementary) as she calls it. It is hard to believe that both of our girls will be in school together next year. That leaves just the boys, baby Jonah and Beau (labrador), to keep mommy busy during the day. I am sure they can handle that job pretty well.
Jonah is now very mobile and also very busy. Other parents have told us how boys are very different from girls and we are experiencing this first hand. Wow, are boys busy and into everything! We are still having some trouble with Jonah's recurrent ear infections and even visited an ENT this past week. As of right now Jonah's ears are clear according to the ENT after receiving an antibiotic injection and taking a 10 day course of oral antibiotics. The plan is to give Jonah's ears one more chance before requiring him to have tubes placed in his little ears. Time will tell.
We had a wonderful time during our annual beach trip to Destin/Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. The weather was perfect and the ocean beautiful. The highlight of the trip was Emma learning to swim without swimmies and also to go under water with her swim goggles. It is the simple things in life that seem to bring us the most joy! Our kids love to swimm and meet new friends at the pool.
Sarah Anne's health continues to be normal which is such an answered prayer. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for our family.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace, & Jonah
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 8:56 AM CDT
We hope you had a Happy Easter!
We sure did!
Sorry, for not posting an update sooner but we have been so busy lately. Let me say there is a huge difference between having 3 children as opposed to just having 2. We can no longer play man to man, so Kelly and I are now in a zone defense to handle our three kids. :) LOL
Easter was great! Our entire family had a part in our church's annual Easter Drama. The girls really thought that was cool. The easter bunny brought the girls Build-A-Bear gift certificates and they had a blast building their new stuffed friends. Emma made a white ballerina cat and Sarah Anne made a pink fairy poodle. They are such girls! Geesh. Jonah and I prefered the fishing bear, but no one would listen to us! Our little Jonah man is growing like a weed. He is all boy, getting into everything! Heck, he even eats like a boy, all hands and very messy. Oh well, just another challenge for us!
Sarah Anne is doing extremely well in school. So far she has perfect attendance and straight A's. She really seems to enjoy going to school and is very competitive about her school work (and other things too). She has had a really good school year as far as her health goes. Emma Grace is registered for kindergarten and will be starting this fall. She is so excited to get to go to her big sister's school. God continues to bless our family and we are so thankful.
We hope everyone is doing well, if not let us know so we can pray for you. Thanks so much for not forgetting about Sarah Anne and our family and also for your many prayers.
God Bless,
Hicks Family
Monday, January 24, 2005 8:34 AM CST
*** Happy 1st Birthday Baby Jonah! ***
Our little man celebrated his 1st birthday on 1/23/05. It is hard to believe that Jonah is a year old. Time is flying by. We had a fun filled weekend. Saturday we went to the circus (Thanks Camp SAM) and Sunday we celebrated Jonah's birthday with a family party.
Good News on Sarah Anne's latest doctor visit (1/17/05). She checked out fine with good blood counts, increased height/weight and with no reports of problems from us. Dr. Castleberry actually moved her next check up out to 6 month intervals. Wow! Big step from every 3 months. She seems to be doing well so I guess it is a good thing that she now only needs to be checked twice a year.
Thanks for checking on our family and for your faithful prayers!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma & Jonah
Friday, January 7, 2005 9:54 AM CST
*** Happy Birthday Sarah Anne ***
Our sweet Sarah Anne turned 7 on January 6th. We are so thankful for each and every day that God gives us to spend together as a family. When Sarah Anne was first diagnosed at the age of 2 1/2, I remember Kelly and I talking about how Sarah Anne would be 5 years old before she finished her chemotherapy treatments. Now she is 2 years past that point in her life and what a great feeling that is. We know we would not have been able to come this far without God's grace and your fervent prayers.
We had a busy but fun Christmas. All 3 of the kids really enjoyed the holidays and the time I was able to take off from work. It has been hard this week, getting back to our normal routines.
Sarah Anne is celebrating her 7th birthday this weekend by having her very first slumber party. She has invited several of her church and school friends over to spend the night, while enjoying some pizza and girl stuff. Also, several teenage girls from our Sunday school class are coming over to fix up Sarah Anne and all her friends with make-up, nail polish and fancy hairdo's. I guess it is a girl thing? Pray for me and baby Jonah because there is going to be alot of girl stuff going on.
Please continue to pray for Sarah Anne's continued remission. She is scheduled to see her oncologist this month and this is her first visit since changing over to 3 months intervals.
God Bless & Thanks again for loving and praying for our family!
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace and Jonah
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 12:10 AM CST
Merry Christmas!
It is hard to believe that we are only a few weeks away from Christmas. What happened to Thanksgiving???
For our family Thanksgiving was a blur. Kelly's grandmother took a turn for the worse over the Thanksgiving holiday's. The Friday after Thanksgiving day we had to take her to the emergency room at Princeton. They removed over a liter of fluid from her lung and she seemed to be getting a little better. Unfortunately, she passed away last Tuesday while still in the hospital. Her funeral visitation was Thursday night and her funeral was on Friday. Nana was one tough lady! She had been fighting breast cancer for about 9 years. Nana was fighting her breast cancer, while at the same time our Sarah Anne was fighting her Leukemia. Nana, due to her illness, actually lived with Kelly and I for a couple of years, in which we all became closer than ever. She will be missed by all of us but we find comfort knowing she is now cancer free, in heaven, with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How awesome is that?
Well, considering we are about 3 weeks away from Christmas day as I write this update, Kelly and I have a ton of stuff to do to get ready for Christmas. We all enjoyed the annual Camp Smile A Mile Christmas party this past Sunday. It was so good to see our friends and all those that had so much to do with Sarah Anne's journey through her leukemia treatments. This party really helped us to get back on track with the Christmas spirit. Now if we can just find some extra time to do our Christmas shopping!!!????
The kids are so excited and this year will be extra special because it will be baby Jonah's first Christmas. God has blessed our family so much and we thank Him daily for his love for us. Our family was already blessed and then God decided to give us a son and a little brother to complete out our family. The girls love their little brother!
Sarah Anne is doing well. She is healthy, smart, and growing up too fast. Thanks so much for all your many prayers said on her behalf. We know God heard each and every one of them. God Bless You!
We hope all is well with each of you and we wish you a Merry Christmas!
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace, Jonah, Hicks
Wednesday, October 13, 2004 3:01 PM CDT
Dear Family and Friends,
It is hard to believe that it is already fall. My how time is flying by. It seems like Sarah Anne just started 1st grade last week, when in fact she is already out of school enjoying her fall break this week. Sorry (skeeter bug) for the extended time between updates. Life has been pretty busy around our house since school started back.
Sarah Anne is doing really well in 1st grade. Kelly and I are both amazed at the things she is learning at such a young age. We remember 1st grade being about learning to read, lunch, naps and playtime. Sarah Anne actually started reading in kindergarten and now she is correcting sentences and answering math word problems. Go Figure? We are both so proud of her and the grades she is making (all A's). Sarah Anne just like most 1st graders, now has a toothless smile. She has lost two teeth since she started 1st grade. $$$$ The tooth fairy sure has gone up on her allowances.
Emma Grace turned 5 on September 9th but due to her being sick and our busy schedule we didn't actually have her party until much later in the month. She had great birthday party at the house playing with all her little friends.
Our little man, Jonah, is about as cute as they come. He has managed to wrap all of us around his toothless smile, which he so freely gives to us. He is a very good baby which is a good thing considering he was born into a zoo :). He is a very happy go lucky baby, never fussing unless he is hungry or wanting a hug. However, he caught us off guard this week by fussing more than normal. Upon investigation, mom discovered Jonah's 1st tooth has arrived! :) God has truly blessed us with this precious little boy.
Kelly is staying very busy taking care of Emma, Jonah, and Beau (dog). She is also keeping one of our friend's 2 year old little boy (Dylan) while his mom is teaching at another local elementary school. So needless to say between 2 little boys, Emma and our lab she is staying busy. I also started back to school taking 10 hours and working full time, which leaves me pretty useless in helping Kelly at night. She is one tough mom!
We are all looking forward to a nice mini-vacation this weekend. We are planning on taking the kids to Chattanooga, TN this weekend to visit the Aquarium, IMAX Theatre, and a stay at the Historic Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Looks like the weather will be perfect.
Please continue to pray for Sarah Anne. She has her oncology visit coming up next week.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma, Jonah Hicks
Thursday, August 19, 2004 12:26 AM CDT
Dear Family and Friends,
So sorry for the long period between updates. We have been so busy doing normal family things, that we have not had a chance to post an update before now. Sarah Anne has had a great summer full of activities.
She went for her check-up (every two months) last week. This includes a standard physical from her oncologist and a finger stick for the CBC to make sure she is still in remission. Everything went and looked great according to Dr. Castleberry. Sarah Anne's two year post treatment milestone is coming up on November 6th. After her next check-up in October the frequency of her visits will be extended to every 3 months. This is another step in the right direction. We have surely come a long ways since the days of daily chemo and weekly hospital visits. Thank you Lord!
Sarah Anne started 1st grade this year. Can you believe it? She started school on August 5th and so far she seems to be doing really well. Her teacher's name is Ms. Manis and Sarah Anne seems to like her a lot. Kelly and I are slowly adjusting to the fact that Sarah Anne is growing up.
Before she started school we had promised Sarah Anne we would let her get her ears pierced. Well, holding true to our word, our little girl now has holes in her ears. This is just a daily reminder that she is growing up, which is bitter sweet. Another exciting and obvious physical reminder that she is a healthy, typical 1st grader is that she lost her 1st tooth this month. The tooth fairy was very generous for this 1st tooth and left her 5 dollars. Needless to say Sarah Anne is now anxiously awaiting the next one to fall out. :)
Probably the biggest thing that Sarah Anne did this summer was something very special to all of us. Right after she was diagnosed back in May of 2000, we had her hair cut short to prepare for the effects of her chemo treatments. Well, since then we have not cut the length of her hair and it had gotten pretty long. She was very proud of her long hair and often talked about it being like a princess' hair. A few weeks ago, Sarah Anne and one of her friends from church decided to cut their hair by 10 inches and then donate it to "Locks of Love". This was such an amazing and emotional event for all of us, considering all that Sarah Anne has been through. She never ceases to amaze us with her compassion for other children who might be sick or different. She was very aware that some special little girl was going to be able to use her 10" ponytail for a hair piece. You can see some pics on her picture page.
We are gearing up this weekend for her 1st off treatment camp at Camp Smile-A-Mile this weekend located on lake Martin. We are looking forward to seeing some friends that we have not seen in a while and enjoying the company of all those that really helped us through our journey of childhood cancer.
As always thanks for stopping by to check on our family and remember to continue to pray for Sarah Anne's continued remission and all the others that are still fighting their battle against childhood cancer.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma, Jonah and Beau(our lab)
Tuesday, June 8, 2004 12:26 AM CDT
Dear Family & Friends,
Wow, our summer has gotten off to a great start. Sarah Anne graduated from Kindergarten on May 19th which was such a joyous event considering all that she has been through. On May 23rd we headed out on our annual family vacation to Destin, Florida. It was a big adventure considering there where five of us this year (baby Jonah). Everyone did really well, including our little man. The girls absolutely loved swimming in the pool and building sand castles on the beach. Then on our way home we stopped by skeeter bug's house to visit with his very special family. Usually when leaving to come home after a great week at the beach we are sad but having the opportunity to visit with our friends (Yates) from Wetumpka, AL makes for an exciting return trip. Our kids absolutely love seeing their friends Ashley & April and the many critters that live around their farm.
This week is Vacation Bible School at our church, so the girls are in for a fun filled week learning about Jesus. Kelly is a teacher so she too is in for a busy week.
Sarah Anne had her oncology visit/check-up last week. Kelly and I were both anxious leading up to this check-up because Sarah Anne had strep throat the week before we left for Florida, her lymph nodes were still swollen and she experienced some night sweats while we were in Destin. Thankfully, (praise God) her counts were all in the normal range and Dr. Castleberry said she looked fine. We are now a year and a half post treatment and the reality of her diagnosis is still very present. For the most part we are back to a normal (whatever that is) life, except when she doesn't feel well. Then the fear always creeps back in. Oh well, life moves on and so are we.
We hope each and everyone of you have a great summer. Please remember and pray for all the children that are diagnosed daily with some form of childhood cancer.
God Bless,
The Hicks Family
Thursday, April 15, 2004 9:09 AM CDT
Dear Family & Friends,
We hope everyone had a Happy Easter and in some way thanked God for all that He has done for us. Our family had a great Easter. Our church's annual Easter Drama was great and I know it touched many people. The Easter Bunny dropped off a basket full of goodies for all 3 of the kids and he hid them pretty good, too. The girls were so funny running around the house trting to find their baskets and Baby Jonah's too.
Sarah Anne went for her 2nd two month interval check-up yesterday. Everything looked great with the exception of her lymph nodes in her neck being a little swollen but Dr. Castleberry thinks that she is just fighting off a cold or alergies. I must admitt that we are now getting to a point where we are somewhat more relaxed going in for her check-ups. This is a good thing! Sarah Anne always enjoys getting to see the doctors and nurses she loves dearly. Of course she also enjoys seeing them get excited over her little sister and baby brother.
Now that Easter has come and gone, we are now focusing on Sarah Anne finishing up her 1st year in school. Sarah Anne's last day of kindergarten is May 20th. I too am looking forward to finishing up my spring semester of school. We are so looking forward to our family's annual trip to Destin and then on the way home stopping by to visit a very special cat and his family! :) We are also hoping that this summer, unlike last summer, we will be able to spend more time at the lake house. Beau(lab) learned to swim last week during his very 1st visit to the lake. The girls were so excited that he could actually swim. I know the girls can't wait until they can swim too.
Thanks again for stopping by to check on us. I am happy to report that life is pretty normal right now. I will try to post new Easter pictures soon!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace, and Baby Jonah
Thursday, March 18, 2004 4:01 PM CST
Wow, has it on almost been two months since our last update?
Dear Family & Friends,
I am so sorry for not posting an update before now. I guess with a new baby, Sarah Anne going to school, Emma grace attending K-4, Kelly keeping our nephew 2 days a week, Beau growing like a weed & getting into everything, Steven taking 10 hours of classes and working 40 hours a week, and all our church activities, time has gotten away from us. Whew! We are a bit tired to say the least!
Health wise we are all doing really well. Sarah Anne's last check-up in February was great. She is growing and developing into a beautiful little girl. The nurses and doctors were all so glad to see her. They couldn't get over how much she had grown. Her lab work came back normal which, is always a big relief. She was so proud to show off her little brother "Baby Jonah". Of course everyone made such a big deal over her being a great big sister.
Our little man(Jonah) is doing great. He is such a sweet little guy. Kelly and I are so glad we trusted in God and decided to try for a 3rd child. Having a little boy has been such a blessing to our whole family. The girls absolutely adore him, and so does Mom & Dad. He is starting to put on some weight and he is begining to fill out. He still has his hair but just as we thought it seems to be slowly starting to turn lighter in color. I wish he would keep his dark hair but he probably will end up a blonde just like his sisters.
Beau Jangles (Our Labrador) is now 9 months old. He is a handful to say the least. He loves socks and stuff animals. It is a daily battle keeping him out of trouble. But he is such a sweet dog. He loves his family so much, especially Dad. We keep reminding ourselves that at 9 months he is still very much a puppy and that he will soon grow out of alot of his puppy behavior. He is very smart (almost too smart) and he is learning everyday how to be a perfect family pet.
Kelly and I are surviving and like I said before we both are pretty tired. I think we both are already looking forward to our annual family vacation to Destin. Our summer calendar already looks pretty busy, so needless to say we will make the most out of our trip to the beach in May.
Thanks for remembering our family and for taking time to check on us. We love you guys and hope everyone is doing well.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma, Jonah and Beau(dog)
Tuesday, January 27, 2004 2:24 PM CST
God has Blessed our family with a son and a very special "Baby Brother"!!!!!
Jonah Steven Hicks
Born 1/23/04
7:23 am
8lbs 4ozs
21 inches
Baby Jonah was born right on schedule and without any complications. Kelly and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30am, by 6:00am they had already began to prep Kelly for her planned C-section and by 7:10 we both were in the operating room. Just a few minutes later (7:23am) we heard the first cry from our precious little man. Kelly did a wonderful job taking care of baby Jonah during the nine months he spent in her womb! He was born with a head full of black hair and a good set of lungs :). Kelly handled her first and only C-section really well. She did get a little nauseated a couple of times but pushed through it with out getting sick. Our stay in the hospital was pretty good and we were able to come home Monday afternoon. Kelly is experiencing some pain in her abdomen but this is to be expected.
The girls are so proud of their little brother. The first thing both of them wanted to do (besides hold him) was brush his hair. We are afraid they are going to brush him bald! :) They both love him so much! His first night home was a little tough but it was nothing that we have not endured before. I think that when new parents send their babies to the nursery at night while still in the hospital, the nurses play with them all night, so that they sleep during the day. The problem with this is when you get home the baby's nights and days are all messed up. Oh well, we will get to sleep again one day.
Thanks for checking on us and caring about our family!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma and Jonah
Tuesday, January 6, 2004 11:34 AM CST
Happy Birthday to our sweet little Sarah Anne!
Sarah Anne is 6 years old today! What a great day for our family. Sarah Anne woke up to mom and dad singing Happy Birthday at the top of their lungs! :) She is so excited that it is her 6th birthday. Today is also her first day back at school. Kelly made Strawberry cupcakes for Sarah's classmates at school to celebrate her birthday. Mrs. Cromer (Sarah's teacher) had Sarah Anne a special birthday hat waiting on her when she got to school. This saturday we will be having a Strawberry Shortcake birthday party at our home with a few of her friends. She is so excited!
January is already proving to be a very busy month. Kelly is hosting her monthly Creative Memories scrapbooking crop this Friday. Sarah Anne's birthday party is Saturday. Kelly is still sewing Jonah's nursery bedding. I have to write a 10 page research paper before 1/31/04. Jonah is being born on 1/23/04. My spring semester starts 1/12/04. Plus, I just have a few weeks of hunting season left, with even fewer opportunities to actual go (I have not got a deer yet). Wow, we are starting our year out very busy but what a blessing it is for us to be able to do all that we are doing. Thanks be to God for our family's health.
I hope everyone had a good holiday season. We did! Thanks, for stopping by to check on us and for the great messages in our guest book. Continue to keep Sarah Anne and our family in your prayers. Happy New Year!
God Bless,
The Hicks Family
Thursday, December 18, 2003 10:23 AM CST
Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!
Great News!
Sarah Anne's oncology check-up results were great. Her CBC looked normal and physical check-up couldn't have looked better. She is almost 44" tall! Everyone at the clinic was so glad to see her. They could not believe how grown up she looked. It is hard to believe that just a couple of months would make that big of a difference. I guess she hit a growth spurt??? We are so fortunate and blessed to know that she is still in remission. We realize that we are very fortunate that Sarah Anne is doing this well. We thank God everyday for our family's health!
Sarah Anne's regular oncologist was out of town, so Dr. Berkow gave Sarah Anne her check-up. This worked out well, because he encouraged us to pursue storing baby Jonah's cord blood and gave us great information regarding this. We had looked into this earlier but because of cost and others pessimism we dropped the issue. Dr. Berkow was very positive and told us that he thought costs should not be an issue because of Sarah Anne's previous diagnosis. He was right. I called Viacord to inquire about the process and they were so responsive to my call. Viacord is handling everything, including the costs! All they ask is for us to fill out some insurance and Bone Marrow Foundation forms to help them to possibly get reimbursed. This is so great! We hope we will never need it but we feel so much better knowing that it is there if anyone in our family should ever need it. We believe God has worked this out for us!
One sad note to mention. One of our cats died unexpectedly last night. Her name was Peaches and she was Kelly's favorite. We are not sure what happened to her. I noticed she was laying by the back door and not moving. After we brought her into the house we noticed she was laboring to breathe and was watering at the mouth. About 20 mintutes later she died. All the girls, including Kelly, were at church when she died. The girls seemed to handled it pretty well and I was able to bury her underneath a dogwood tree byside our beloved Dalmation, Princess.
Kelly and little baby Jonah are doing well as far as we can tell. Kelly is starting to feel really tired and really pregnant. We believe they are going to schedule her C-Section on 1/23/04 but we will find out for sure today. We still have so much going on between now and then. Kelly is reworking our nursery bedding (Peter Rabbit) by sewing blue and green gingham into the bumper pad to make it more for a boy. I still have to repaint the bottom half of the walls to blue from yellow. Hopefully, these things will make our nursery complete for our expectant baby boy. We still need to buy some more boy stuff but because of all of the Christmas shopping this has been hard. Alot is going on around our house!!!
God Bless you and thanks as always for caring enough about our family to check on us. We continue to ask for your prayers for our family.
Merry Christmas,
Hicks Family
Monday, December 1, 2003 3:05 PM CST
Happy Holidays!
We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Our Thanksgiving was pretty good considering 3 of the 4 of us was sick. Sarah Anne ran a fever and had a rash all over her abdomen, so naturally Kelly & I was worried about her. We ended up getting her worked in at the doctors office on Saturday. The pediatrician determined she has strep throat and bad ear infection. Kelly had the doctor check Emma while she was there and Emma also had an ear infection. So both girls ended up on antibiotics and they are starting to feel a little better. Kelly on the other hand is still feeling pretty bad, with congestion and a sore throat. She is scheduled to see her OB/GYN on Wednesday for her regular monthly visit. Hopefully, she doesn't have strep too???
It is so hard to believe that it is time for Christmas. Where did October & November go to??? Well, the girls are so very excited and at least they are ready. They helped mom put up all the decorations and hang ornaments on the tree. They had a blast making our house "look pretty" as Emma says. My girls are definitely "girly" girls. They love pretty clothes and pretty things around the house. Come on Jonah, I badly need some male bonding.
Kelly & I celebrated our 12th year Anniversary on November 23rd. We celebrated by going to dinner all by ourselves and then walking around the Galleria for a little shopping. We love our girls so much, but it sure was nice to get to spend some quality time without them. We were shopping in McRaes, when it hit us that we have absolutely nothing for baby Jonah. Everything in our house is for girls! So we decided to buy something for our little fella that will be here soon. We bought him two jumpers; one with cars on it and the other with a daddy hippo and a son hippo. Cool huh? He at least has a primary outfit and a backup. So now we can at least say that we have something for him to wear once he arrives!
Sarah Anne's next hematology/oncology check-up is scheduled for December 17th. Please continue to pray for her. I wish I could tell you that our fear has gone away but it hasn't. I still get a sick feeling in my gut every time I see her feeling bad. So I guess you should pray for Kelly and I too. God Bless you and thanks for checking on us. Your thoughts, prayers and messages mean so much to us.
Merry Christmas,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace & "Coming Soon" Jonah Hicks
Monday, October 20, 2003 9:06 AM CDT
Dear Family & Friends,
Kelly and I are so excited to tell you that Sarah Anne is doing great! Last week she had her monthly check up with Dr. Castleberry at Children's Hospital. The check up went well, and Dr. Castleberry said she looked great. He decided that she should only be seen every two months now. That is great news for us!
Last week Sarah Anne was out of school for her Fall Break. Kelly got to spend the whole week with both Emma and Sarah at home. I took a half day off on Friday and took the whole family to Desoto Caverns. The girls had a blast! They really enjoyed the caverns but their favorite part was panning for gems. Sarah and Emma love rocks, so panning for gems was pretty exciting to them. It was kind of sad last night knowing that Sarah Anne's fall break was over. She likes school but I know she would rather hang out at home with mom and sister doing cool crafts and other girl stuff.
Kelly is now about 26 weeks into her pregnancy with our little baby boy. She is doing well but starting to experience the full effects of being pregnant. The fact that we are going to have a little boy around our house pretty soon is slowly starting to sink in with us. Kelly and I both are getting excited about having a son.
Our little 18 week old lab puppy, Beau, is now not so little. He went to the vet last week for his last round of puupy shots and he weighed in at 42 lbs. Wow! He now weighs almost as much as Sarah Anne. He is such a sweet puppy and the girls love him so much. But he is all puppy and is in to everything. He keeps all of us on our toes. His favorite thing in the whole world is to sneak into the girls room and grab one of their Barbies or stuffed animals. Beau then proceeds to play keep away as the girls go screaming after him. Ugh!
I have been a little under the weather lately with allergies, cold, sinus infection and now ear infections. I am on an antibiotic and hopefully I will be better soon. School has been extra tough this semester for me. I think I bit off a little more than I could reasonably handle. I am now about mid way into the fall semester and anxiously looking forward to the end of this term.
I hope we find all of you doing well. It is so good to read your messages and receive all the kind gestures towards our family. You will never know how much you mean to our family! Thanks so much for your continued prayers and encouragement.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace and soon "Baby Jonah"
Thursday, September 11, 2003 3:45 PM CDT
*** 10 Months OT Update ***
Wow, it seems like forever since we have updated Sarah Anne's web site. Sarah Anne is doing really well. It seems as if she is growing up so fast lately. Maybe it is because she has started school? So much has happened since our last update.
A few weeks after Sarah Anne started school our family got the dreaded stomach bug that was going around our community. Sarah Anne missed two days of school, while dealing with her struggle with the bug. Fortunately, she did not get too far behind. Kelly was pretty diligent in making sure she got her school work done. If you are interested in taking a look at Sarah Anne's K5 class you can go to their web page. http://www.bibbed.org/wes/cromer.htm Sarah Anne is beginning to read. Can you believe it? Reading is such a big deal to her. She loves to read books. We are so proud!
Thank You Mrs. Cromer!
We are excited to tell you about our new member in our family. His name is Beau and he is now 13 weeks old. He is a full blooded, yellow labrador retriever (he actually is cream colored with red tipped ears). He was a gift from a very sweet person in Picyune, MS. (Cindy Carrick of TopDawg Labradors) After emailing each other back in forth in my research of labradors she read about Sarah Anne on her web site and decided that God was leading her to give Sarah Anne a puppy from her current litter. Can you believe it? God is so good to us! We drove 4 1/2 hours one way to pick him up and then turned around around and drove back home. He is so sweet and the girls absolutely love him. He is very smart to be so young and is taking to crate training and house training very well. If you would like to see where we adopted him from this is the web site. http://www.topdawglabs.com/
It is hard to believe but our little Emma Grace has turned 4 years old. Emma's birthday is 9/9/99. Cool huh? She too is growing up so fast. We are having a Care Bear Birthday party with a few friends for her this Saturday. Dad will be grilling out hotdogs, while mom entertains the kids. Happy Birthday Little Emma! We Love You!
Some more exciting news is that we found out what our third child will be this past Wednesday. Kelly and I both had a feeling prior to her sonogram but we both were cautious in sharing our feeling. After viewing two little girl sonograms, something just did not look quite right about this one. The reason things looked strange was because we were looking at a precious little boy! His little turtle was pretty clear on the sonograms and did not look like our girls at all! :) Kelly & I were hoping for a boy but most importantly for our third child to be a healthy little developing baby. God blessed us with both! We are planning on his name being Jonah Steven Hicks. He measured perfect, his heart rate was 143, and his bladder was working. Praise God! It's a boy!
I have started back to school for the fall semester. Classes are going well and it feels great to be back in the swing of things. I wish I could say things were great at work but they are not. Please pray for our engineering group and the tough times we are experiencing right now. I know God will see us through this!
Thanks so much for taking the time to check on Sarah Anne and our family. Your prayers and words of encouragement are always so appreciated. Please continue to pray for Sarah Anne and her continued remission. We only have two more months until she reaches the one year post treatment milestone. BTW, November 6th, 2003 is the official one year milestone.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Monday, August 4, 2003 2:56 PM CDT
Update 8/8/03:
Sarah Anne really enjoyed her first day at school. She handled the whole school thing in stride. She never ceases to amaze us with how calm and easy going she is. We already love her teacher Mrs. Cromer. Kelly is already getting involved and helping out with Sarah's class when she can.
*** 9 Months Off-Treatment ***
Dear Family & Friends,
Great News! Sarah Anne's 9th month off treatment visit went really well. She had to have her finger pricked in order to get a CBC (complete blood count) and she did great as usual. Her counts look pretty good. For the most part they were all in the normal range except for her HGB which was a little high and her MPV which was a little low. But the most important part is that she is still in remission. Thank you Lord!
This means that she will able to start school this Thursday just like any other child would. What an answered prayer. We are happy and sad all at the same time. Happy that she is doing well and is able to be a normal child. Sad because she is growing up so fast. We are very furtunate that her elementary school is literally just around the block and blessed that it is as good of an elementary school as you could ask for. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Cromer. She has a tree house in her classroom and Sarah Anne is so excited about getting to go up in it to read. Please pray for the children in Sarah Anne's class and especially Mrs. Cromer.
Sarah Anne has suddenly taken such an interest in learning how to read and write. She knows her alphabet perfect and knows how to write & recognize her letters/numbers. But now she wants to read and write her own stories. She will draw pictures for a book and then get Kelly to help her edit them. She is pretty amazing! She loves to draw and make craft projects. She might look like me but she definitely has her mommy's talent for crafts.
Emma Grace is doing well too. She still is so petite but fortunately she has recently shown more interest in eating. One thing we have learned about Emma Grace is that you should never under estimate her. She is pretty smart to be almost 4. She is has a great little memory and is a wiz at the matching game. I know she is going to miss her big sister when she starts school.
Kelly is finally out of her first trimester and she is starting to feel like her old self again. Thank Goodness! Oops, did I say that out loud? Just kidding! She goes back to her OB/GYN next week, I think.
We continue to be amazed and blessed by the kindness that our family, friends and people to whom we have never even met show us. You are being God's touch to us and for that we are so blessed. Continue to pray for Sarah Anne and our family as we are now only 3 months from our 12 month off treatment milestone.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Monday, July 21, 2003 2:23 PM CDT
Dear Family, Friends, and Visitors,
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and check on Sarah Anne and our family. Sarah Anne is doing really well. At her last Oncology visit we were a little concerned because her platelets were trending down. The good news is that Sarah Anne went for a regular pediatrician visit last week. Before Dr. Hale would give Sarah Anne her vacinations she will need to start school, he wanted to do a CBC (complete blood count). She had multiple bruises on her legs that made him a little nervous. But thank goodness Sarah Anne's platelet count had come up over the few weeks since she saw her oncologist. Thank you Lord! Dr. Hale tested her vision, hearing and got her caught up on her vacinations for school. Can you believe that in a few weeks my baby girl will be starting school?
Some more good news is that we were able to get Nana (Kelly's granmother who is battling cancer) back home for a while. She was doing well and we needed a break so with some thorough cleaning and careful planning we got Nana back to her farm. The past two weeks Kelly and I have been trying to get caught up on some much needed house work and yard care. We love Nana very much and we know eventually she will end up back at our house but for now we are enjoying having our home back.
Do you want to know some really exciting news? Kelly and I are now expecting our third child. Thats right, Kelly is pregnant! We have always wanted 3 children but after Sarah Anne was diagnosed we thought that we might have to settle for just 2. But we decided that God had blessed us so much through Sarah Anne's journey that we should not let her cancer diagnosis prevent us from our original dream of having 3 children. Sarah Anne and Emma Grace are so excited about having a baby brother or sister. They are so sweet! At night they always pray for the little baby in Mommy's tummy! God blessed us with conception of this child in May. Kelly is around 12 weeks pregnant and the expected due date is February 1, 2004.
So much is happening in and around our family. Please continue to pray for our family. Pray for Sarah Anne's 9th month Off-Treatment visit in August. Pray that she is able to attend school and play just like the rest of the children in her class. Pray for Kelly and I as we are obviously nervous about sending her to school. Pray that this new baby is healthy and that Kelly gets over her pregnancy sickness. Pray for me as I start back to school this fall and pray that God continues to give me guidance. Oh yeah, pray for little Emma Grace because I know she is going to miss her big sister when she starts school.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, July 2, 2003 4:55 PM CDT
*** 8 Months Off Treatment ***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne had her 8th month OT visit this afternoon. Everything seems to be going well with her. Sarah Anne's platelet count was lower than it usually is but that could be just a normal drop in blood counts. Dr. Castleberry told Kelly that if she started bruising badly or felt tired to bring her back in and he would check her counts again.
You would think after 8 months past her end of treatment that these monthly visits would get easier. Truth is for me they are still pretty scary events. You put on a strong face, pray and go through the motions.
I am sorry for not posting a mid month update but Kelly & I have been so busy lately. Between traveling, taking care of Nana(Kelly's grandmother), church, work, and house work there has not been a whole lot of time. To be honest with you, Kelly & I are pretty tired! Kelly's grandmother continues to defy her cancer and has actually improved. Doctors told us 6 years ago she had maybe 6 months to live. Then last year they told us she had less than 6 months. Well, she is doing great, which is a good thing. But her living with us full time is taking a toll on our family. Because she has improved, we are trying to get her back home for a while. We ultimately know she will be back at our house one day but for now we could use a break. This task is not as easy as it seems because no one has lived at her house in over a year. We have been working hard trying to clean her house back up so that it is liveable again. Wow! Not an easy job! Old people keep everything! Sorry for rambling!
We are looking forward to spending the 4th of July with our close friends. We are planning on a day of barbeque, swimming and fireworks that night. We hope everyone else has a happy 4th of July too.
Thanks so much for taking the time to check on Sarah Anne and our family! We love you guys!
God Bless,
The Hicks Family
Monday, June 2, 2003 1:24 PM CDT
Dear Family & Friends,
Wow, where to begin? First off, Sarah Anne is doing well. Last time I updated I mentioned our family vacation in Destin, FL. We had a great time in Florida. The condo we stayed in was really nice and the girls had a great time swimming. We were able to spend a lot of quality time together as a family. Kelly enjoyed the luxury of eating out and not having to cook while we were there, me too. We did have one unexpected event. Sarah Anne got chicken pox the first day we were there. Can you believe it? She had a very mild case, and it did not slow her down. Luckily, she just had a few bumps on her torso. The sun and chlorine from the pool seemed to help dry the bumps up really fast. We also got to use our GKTW International Amusement Park Passport at Miracle strip Amusement Park in Panama City. It was a short drive from Destin and the girls had a blast! Sarah and Emma love fast adult rides. No kiddy rides for our girls!
We ended our family vacation with a very special event. After years of receiving encouraging notes and presents from a very special cat while Sarah Anne was in the midst of battling cancer, we finally got to meet the loving Skeeter Bug and his wonderful family. Skeeter Bug lives in Wetumpka, AL, which was on our way home from Destin back to Birmingham (Woodstock). We called his mom on our way down to Florida and arranged a visit on our way back. I must say that this was a very special and emotional time for our family. It was so nice to finally meet the very special family that reached out to us, as complete strangers. They will never fully understand how much they mean to our family. We look forward to growing a lasting friendship with our old friends.
Skeetie lives on a beautiful farm and has many other critters to play with (Dogs, Cats, Horses, Fish, Deer, etc.) He also has plenty of loving individuals to scratch his head. He is one lucky cat, to have such a loving family. Our girls could not quit talking about all the fun things they got to do (Horse Back riding, 4-Wheeler Riding, playing with three sweet friends, picking flowers (Sorry Jan) and Pizza & cookies for dinner). They had a great time! I will post pictures soon.
We got back from Florida on Wednesday and then on Friday we were off to our family lake house on Mitchell Lake for a long Memorial Day weekend. Kelly spent most of her weekend scrap booking. It was so nice to see her finally get to do one of the things that she loves the most, perserving our families memories by creating cool scrapbooks. We got to go boat riding and the girls went swimming too. The water was a little too cold for us but as always Sarah Anne loved it!
Then on the following Wednesday I had to go to Nashville for a training class and got back on Friday. Saturday we got to spend a little time together but not much. Sunday we went to church and then to my moms to celebrate my 32nd Birthday. After that we went back to church for the evening service and to prepare Kelly's Vacation Bible School class room. This week is VBS week at our church!
This Sunday our family will be off again on another trip. To start with we are heading to Nashville in order for me to attend another training class until Thursday. Next we will head to Caneyville, KY to meet up with the youth of our church, they will be in Caneyville doing mission work at a small church. On Friday, we will head to Louisville to use Sarah Anne's Amusement Park Passport at Six Flags in Kentucky. On Saturday, we will head south to Lexington to visit a Horse Amusement Park (Our family loves horses). That evening we will meet up with some adults from our church who will be in Lancaster, KY on an construction mission trip. We will stay with them until Wednesday when we finally will head back home. Whew! Our lives have been and continue to be so busy!
Please pray for Sarah Anne this Wednesday as she goes for her 7th month off treatment visit. Pray that her blood continues to show that she is still in complete remission. We are anxiously looking forward to her 12th month OT. This is the next major milestone in her life.
God Bless You for checking on us,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
UPDATE 06/04/03
Sarah Anne's 7 month OT doctors visit went really well. She is still in remission and her counts looked good! Thank You Lord! Only 5 months until her next major milestone! (12 months OT)
Wednesday, May 7, 2003 7:44 AM CDT
Dear Family & Friends,
On Monday Sarah Anne went for her 6 month OT doctors visit. The clinic was crowded with several new faces and some that were very familiar to us. We were so happy to be able to see little Hannah Acton. There were 3 kids diagnosed with leukemia within a 4 week period back in April/May 2000; Matthew Myers, Hannah Acton & Sarah Anne. They were all 2 years old and all from the surounding Birmingham area. It was so good to see Sarah & Hannah playing together. Even though they don't see each other very much since they are both OT, they played as if they were best friends. Matthew, Hannah & Sarah Anne will always have a special friendship between them.
Sarah Anne's blood work looked good. All of her counts were in the normal range. For some reason, I was a nervous wreck. Dr. Castleberry came in while Kelly & the girls where in the restroom, and he immediately asked me if Sarah Anne had been sick. This sent my mind instantly, down the fear path but he was just generally asking to see how she had been. He said she looked great and that she could quit taking her Bactrim on the weekends. This is another milestone for Sarah Anne. She no longer will be on any medications assocaiated with her leukemia. Dr. Castleberry also told us that in July we could resume her immunizations. Sarah Anne will need these as she begins kindergarten this Fall.
Our family is looking forward to a great summer. We will be taking our annual trip to Destin, Florida towards the end of next week. Kelly's grandmother will be staying with her sister in Hartselle. This will be the first time that our immediate family has taken a vacation all by ourselves (no family and no friends). We are looking forward to spending undivided time as a family at the beach. The girls are so excited. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
In His Hands,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace Hicks
Monday, April 28, 2003 12:41 AM CDT
Dear Family & Friends,
I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Our family truly had a special Easter Holiday. Our annual church Easter Drama went well, the traditional Easter lunch at Maw Maw's house was great and the girls got plenty of treats from the Easter Bunny.
Sarah Anne is doing really well. It is so neat to see her feeling so energetic. It is like she realizes just how much energy she really has. She is growing like a weed. It is sad and glorious all rolled into one big emotion for Kelly and I. We are so thankful that she is growing and she is healthy. But at the same time she is maturing so fast. It seems like just a year or so ago she was small enough to sit in a bouncy seat on our fireplace and now she is riding a bicycle.
We are still taking this phase in our battle against leukemia one month at a time. Sarah Anne is scheduled to have her 6 month OT visit sometime during the first of May. At that point we will be half way to another major milestone, which is when she is Off-treatment (OT) for one year. The doctors and researchers consider this another major milestone because children who make it to 12 months OT, have a decreased chance of relapsing in the future. So we are thankful that we are coming up on our 6 month OT.
Please continue to pray for our family. Everyone has been so faithful to us and especially Sarah Anne. Please realize that we count on your prayers and that God will bless us through your faithfulness.
Emma Grace is doing well. Kelly is staying busy taking care of the entire family and tending to her Creative Memories stuff. Kelly's grandmother is still doing pretty good, but it is starting to take a toll on our family. Taking care of a loved one with cancer in your home is a very big comitment. I am about to finish up with my spring semester at Southeastern Bible College. I took 5 classes this past semester, worked 40 hours a week, maintained our home, taught a Wednesday night Bible study, and taught a Sunday morning Bible study class. Big mistake! I bit off way more than I was able to comfortably chew. If it had not been for all of Kelly's hard work taking up my slack with the girls and the pets, I would have never made. But it looks as if I am going to survive. I will update again after Sarah Anne's 6 month OT doctors visit!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace Hicks
Thursday, April 17, 2003 12:29 AM CDT
*** HAPPY EASTER***
Do you know Jesus? I am sure most know who He is, but the question is "Do You Know Jesus?" If you died today, do you know if you are going to Heaven? Do you have a peace in your life?
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to us, so that who ever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
God created the world and us to live in it. But because of the fall of man (sin), we were no longer able to be in the presence of God, our creator. God loved us and thus He longed to have fellowship with us, once again. But what about man's sin? A sacrifice had to be made to redeem man in Gods eyes. So God paid the ultimate price, He sacrificed His Son on a cross to pay for the sins in our lives. An unblemished lamb was slaughtered to pay for our sinful ways. God's only commandment for redemption is to believe that Christ Jesus died a sinners death, for our sins. Then on the 3rd day Jesus arose from death, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of our Father.
IF you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by works, is dead.
James 2:17
I beg those of you who might be reading this update to evaluate where you are in your relationship with God. If your relationship is not right then what better time to make it right, then now!
All is pretty good at our house. Sarah Anne and Emma Grace both had bilateral ear infections earlier this week. They both are taking anti-biotics and they both seem to be feeling alot better. The end of my school semester is coming soon and I can't wait. I have been enjoying school but I am ready for a summer break. Kelly continues to stay extremely busy by taking care of me, two little girls, her Nana, Creative Memories Consulting, church stuff and who or what ever else needs her attention. Please continue to pray for our family. We have good weeks and bad weeks. We realize just how much we have to be thankful for but sometimes that is just what it takes to make us worry so much. We know God is in control and we Trust Him. Thanks for checking on our family!
God Bless and Happy Easter,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 12:55 AM CST
*** 5 Months Off-Treatment ***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne had her 5 month OT check-up on Monday. I must admit that Kelly & I were a little worried this month due to some bruising and the fact that some of our other little friends dealing with leukemia are not doing well right now. It turns out that our worries were for nothing because Sarah Anne is doing great! Her blood counts looked wonderful. They were all right in the middle of the normal range! It is so good to see her CBC so normal. After reading 2 1/2 years worth of weekly lab reports that showed her immuno suppressed, it was so nice to read a normal lab report. Dr. Castleberry said she looked great and talked briefly about discontinuing her weekly weekend Bactrim dose next month. We also talked about having Sarah Anne's immunizations caught up in order for her to attend kindergarten this fall.
We are blessed with two sweet little girls! God is truly watching out for our family and provides us with everything we need one day at a time. Kelly and I are stilling providing full time care for Nana (Kelly's grandmother). This has proven to be quite the commitment, physically, spiritually and financially. Please continue to remember us in your prayers. Please continue to pray that Sarah Anne remains in remission forever! Please remember to pray for our little friend Erin O'Brien who just relapsed after being OT for 10 months. This is a cancer parent's worse nightmare!
http://www.caringbridge.org/nh/erinsstory/
Thanks for your love & prayers,
Hicks Family
Monday, March 17, 2003 8:37 AM CST
LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5
For God so LOVED the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that who so ever believes in Him, shall not perish but yet have everlasting life. John 3:16
Exciting News!
This past Friday Kelly & I, registered Sarah Anne for school! Can you believe it? She will be starting kindergarten August 7th. It was such a good feeling to be walking into our elementary school as a complete family. Sarah Anne was tested on her basic knowledge of numbers, letters and shapes, as well as a hearing test. She went with the teacher without any hesitation. We did not get to go with her but knowing Sarah Anne she did great! She is so smart. We are just praying that all the toxic chemo she has received over the past years will not affect her cognitive abilities. Sarah Anne could not quit talking about the one classroom that had a tree house in it. I know she is going to do well and hopefully she will really enjoy school. Kelly & I are so proud!
I believe Sarah Anne's next doctor visit is around April 2nd. Please continue to pray for her remission. The first year off treatment is such a critical time for cancer kids.
You guys are great and we are always so thankful for your kind and caring messages that you leave for us. We love you guys!
In Christ's Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace Hicks
Tuesday, March 4, 2003 12:16 AM CST
Great News!
Sarah Anne has been deported!!!
Sarah Anne's surgery to have her central line removed went really well. She never ceases to amaze Kelly & me with her bravery. We could tell she was a little nervous about having surgery and having the doctor cut on her side to remove her port. Even with her knowing exactly what was going to happen she never complained or wimpered one bit. The ladies in Children's One Day Surgery Unit are awesome and so kind! When they came to get Sarah Anne for surgery she just laid on her little bed, not saying a word, as they wheeled her down the hall into surgery. If anybody was wanting to cry it was Kelly & me. We just couldn't stop thinking about all that we have been through and that we were finally starting to see some closure to our nightmare with cancer. She was gone about an 1 1/2 before they brought her back to us. We were so happy to see her and she was equally happy to see us. Our good friend Kevin Blackwell was there with us when they brought Sarah Anne back to us. I know she was happy to see him, as well. How cool is it for your best little friends dad to be there when you come out of surgery. We asked if we could have her port after they removed it and to our surprise they gave it to us. Cool Huh? Sarah Anne is feeling well and we will be watching her little stiches to make sure they don't continue to bleed or have excessive oozing. Thanks so much for your prayers and kind words.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, February 26, 2003 2:37 PM CST
We finally got an official date to have Sarah Anne's Port-A-Cath (central line) removed from her heart and chest. Sarah Anne is scheduled to have surgery on March 3, 2003 at around 7am. We are expected to be at Children's Hospital One Day Surgery unit at 6am for pre-op preparations. We are very excited that this day has finally arrived for our family and especially Sarah Anne. But I have to admit we are still pretty nervous about Sarah Anne having surgery. I wonder too, if all the emotions we experienced when Sarah Anne was first diagnosed in One Day Surgery Unit will come painfully back to us once we arrive on Monday morning. For those of you who don't know, Sarah Anne was diagnosed in Children's One Day Surgery Unit after having a small bump removed from the top of her little head. I get nauseated just thinking back on that day. Well, it all started there so now we are going to finish it there.
Please begin praying for Sarah Anne's surgeon, Dr. Baldwin and his surgical team. Please pray for the anesthesiologist. Please pray for Sarah Anne not to be nervous. Please pray that she remains in remission and therfore she will never need a port again. Please pray for Kelly and I to have strength and peace as our little girl reaches this milestone of having her port removed. Sarah Anne's little port has worked very well over the past 3 years and we are so very thankful that she did not have any problems (besides the rare times when it wouldn't give a blood return)with it. This may sound weird to non CK parents but those of you who have gone or are going through what we have should understand our feelings. Thanks in advance for your prayers and thanks once again for checking our on our little princess, Sarah Anne.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Monday, February 17, 2003 9:39 AM CST
Howdy Family & Friends,
Thanks so much for stopping by to see how the Hicks family is doing. Everything is going really well for us right now. We give God all the Glory for all the blessings we have in our life. Everyday we get to spend as a family is truly a gift from God.
We are still waiting to hear about a possible date to have Sarah Anne's port surgically removed. All of us are slowly getting over the nasty cold bug that has been going around but other than that we are all healthy. I hope you had a great Valentine's Day! We sure did! At the last minute we decided to take a chance and try to go out for dinner. The wait was not bad at all and the service, food & atmosphere was great! We had a great time Valentine's Day night as a family. We ran into some friends that we had not seen in a long time. It was so good to see them! The girls had a great time at the pet store and mom & dad enjoyed shopping for some house stuff that we definetly needed.
Kelly's grandmother is doing better but Kelly & I are really struggling with this huge commitment of her living with us. We know it is what is best but it is really difficult at times. Part of parenting is making mistakes and learning from them. But now we have an extra set of eyes watching us make our mistakes and that can be tough at times. Please pray for us! Pray that we have the patience and understanding that we need.
God Bless You and Thanks again for checking on us!
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, February 5, 2003 5:37 PM CST
*** 3rd Month Off Treatment ***
Dear Family & Friends,
Good News! Sarah Anne's doctors visit went well. She is still in remission! Yippee! Thank You Lord! Sarah's blood counts were all in the normal range and she has been feeling good. Sarah Anne has lost a little weight but that is probably because she is starting to grow taller and is thinning out a little. Everyone thought she looked so grown! She has come a long way since May 1, 2000 when she was barely 2 1/2 years old. She is so smart and she has one of the most loving hearts of any child I know. (most of the time) Sarah's oncologist is hoping to get with Sarah's surgeon and schedule to have her port removed hopefully sometime this month. That will be a huge step for all of us! Sarah Anne has had her little port for as long as she can remember. But Kelly & I can remember her not having it and we are anxious to have our little girl back to normal (no lines running into her little chest and heart). Every month that passes is one more month towards the doctors declaring her cured! The first year after chemo has stopped is the most likely time for children to relapse. So we naturaly are checking off the months. When Sarah Anne reaches 5 years post initial remission (June 2000) then they say her odds of relapsing goes down to a little higher than any other child. Cool Huh? Keep Praying we still have a ways to go!
Little Emma had to go to the doctor today as well. She once again has double ear infections. We knew she did because she quit eating, which is a key sign that she has an ear infection. Poor thing is so skinny as it is, the last thing we need is for her to stop eating. Kelly and I try so hard to get her to eat but she just does not care that much about eating. She plays at the table while the rest of us are eating. Then when we are done, one of us will finally make her eat her dinner. She really doesn't care for snacks either. Go figure? Anyway, hopefully after another round of antibiotics she will at least go back to eating like she was prior to her ear infections. So please pray that little Emma's ear get better and that we are able to get some weight on her.
Nana is hanging in there and seems to be feeling better. She goes to her oncologist tomorrow, so we will see what they say. This situation is really starting to take a toll on our family. We wouldn't have it any other way but to say it is not hard would not be the truth. I am sure some of you can relate, because you too have had to take care of a sick loved one. Please continue to pray for Kelly & I to have the patience and strength to be able to handle the resonsibility that we have.
God Bless You and thanks so much for checking on our family!
Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Friday, January 17, 2003 at 12:06 PM (CST)
Dear Family & Friends,
Sorry for the delay in posting an update but our schedules have been really busy the past couple of weeks. Sarah Anne's January 8th (2nd month OT) visit went well. Her blood counts were all normal. She did have the beginning of an ear infection and our oncologist started her on an antibiotic even though she was not having any symptoms. We are still hoping to have her port (central line) removed soon.
Little Emma Grace is finished with her course of anitbiotics for her ear infection and she seems to be feeling great. She is growing up so fast, which is kind of sad because she is our youngest baby.
Sarah Anne had a wonderful birthday this year! She somehow stretched her birthday to a whole week of celebrating. We took her out to eat on her actual birthday with my parents and of course she got presents. Then she had a party at her school with her little friends and finally she had a big family & friend party at our house on Saturday night. We grilled hamburgers & hotdogs, she had two cakes and a batch of cup cakes. Her birthday party theme was Barbie, so one of her cakes was a Barbie cake. She loved it!
It is so hard to believe that she is five. The thoughts of sending her to school this fall make me a neverous wreck. She is so sweet and I am not sure I am ready to introduce her to the meanness that is commonly experienced in school.
I guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it in a couple of months.
Thanks for checking on us and please continue to pray for Sarah Anne's continued remission. It is still a very scary time for our family. Also pray for Kelly & I to have the strength & patience we need to take care of Nana (Kelly's grandmother). Nana is out of the hospital and back at our house. She has had breathing problems lately and we now know why. She has a tumor in her airway and multiple tumors in her lung in addition to the cancer she already had in her bones. She is on oxygen, and she seems as if she is feeling better. Pray for her peace and our strength.
God Bless,
Steven & Kelly Hicks
Thursday, January 02, 2003 at 09:38 AM (CST)
***HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY SARAH ANNE***
Dear Family & Friends,
We hope you had a great Christmas holiday. We sure did! It was so nice not having to worry about blood counts or chemotherapy! The girls were so excited this year and a joy to watch, as they ripped open their presents. We received so many gifts from people that we have never even met. Thank You So Much! The smiles that your kindness brought were priceless.
Both girls are doing really well, with the exception of Emma Grace having an ear infection. Sarah Anne is taking a growth spurt. She seems to be growing up so fast physically and emotionally. Just about everyday she surprises Kelly and I with something she says. She knows, hears and understands more than we think. Sometimes that is good and sometimes it is not. The other day she told her little sister that "she doesn't have a clue about what she was talking about". Funny Huh? Sarah Anne's next doctors visit is January 8th. This will be her 2nd month off-treatment visit. We know everything will be fine but it is very important to keep close tabs on her during her first year off-treatment. Hopefully Dr. Castleberry will give us a tentative date to have her port-a-cath removed. This will bring a new sense of finality to Sarah Anne's victory over the leukemia. It also will allow us to avoid mandatory ER/doctor visits if she runs a fever. We are anxiously looking forward to the day it comes out!
Sarah Anne's 5th Birthday is coming up on January 6th. This is a very special birthday to our family. When she was first diagnosed at the age of 2 1/2, one of the things that was so tough to think about was the fact that she would be 5 years old when she was finally done with her treatments. I would often sit and fast forward to her 5th birthday. I would try to imagine what she would be like and pray that we would be able to celebrate that day as a family. God answered our prayers and blessed Sarah Anne with healing. Sarah Anne has come a long way in the past 2 1/2 years. She will be a stronger person because of her fight with cancer. We are so proud of her. To be only 5 years old, she has such a thoughtful and kind heart. When she gets gifts that she already has or things that she feels she wouldn't play with, her first thought is to take them to her hospital to share with another little boy or girl who is sick and could enjoy them. It is going to be neat to watch her grow up and to see how God is going to use her to touch others.
Thanks for checking on us! Please continue to pray for our family and especally Sarah Anne's continued remission.
*Our little friend Janie Sims has gone to be with Jesus. She has no more pain and is now running and playing like children should. But she left a family who will miss her very much! Please pray for her mom, dad, two sisters and two brothers. www.caringbridge.org/al/janiesims
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Wednesday, December 18, 2002 at 10:16 AM (CST)
Merry Christmas Everyone!
It is hard to believe that Christmas is next week. I know I am showing my age by saying this but time sure seems to go by faster the older you get. Christmas is such a hectic time, which is not at all what it should be like. Our pastor delivered a great sermon on this topic Sunday morning. It is so hard to convince others that we should slow down and enjoy the real reason for celebrating Christmas. Our family is very thankful that God allowed our Savior to be born and ultimately shed blood then die on the cross for all our transgressions. How awesome is His grace and mercy! We were once lost but now we are found. I pray that each of you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. He is more than a good man or a prophet, He is Lord!
God has truly blessed my family. This year will be the first Christmas in 2 years that we will not have to worry about Sarah Anne's blood counts, immune system, chemo, etc. That is the best Christmas present ever! I find myself just wanting to hold my girls and just spend hours doing nothing but cuddling with them. Never take one day for granted! You don't know what tomorrow holds. I often wonder why God chose to give me such a wonderful wife and two precious little girls. Oh, how blessed I am. We are also very blessed to have such wonderful friends like you. It amazes me that you guys take the time to check on us. It is so comforting to know that you do and that you are there for us if for some reason we had to call on you. God will bless you for your kindness.
Sarah Anne is really growing up. Last night, she wanted to have the blessing before dinner. For the first time she said a blessing as opposed to singing "God our Father". It was so sweet and made us so proud to hear her maturing in her understanding of God and thanking Him for our family. So Sweet! Sarah is still taking Bactrim (antibiotic) 3 days a week, to make sure she doesn't get a specific type of pneumonia while her immune system is recovering. She feels really good and it is great to see how good she feels. Little Emma has not been feeling that great lately. She is not eating like we wish she would and she is complaining that her legs hurt. It is probably just growing pains and stubborness not wanting to eat. We will be taking her to the doctor soon to have her 3 year shots and a check up. Kelly and I are still trying to get use to the added responsibility of taking care of Kelly's grandmother. Boy, it is almost a full time job in itself. She seems to be feeling better after this last round of radiation. Keep praying for Gods will to be done and that we continue to have the strength and patience to deal with everything.
When praying say an extra prayer for our little friend Janie Sims. She has relapsed with leukemia and they are having a hard time getting her into remission again. She will be having a Bone Marrow Transplant soon. She needs our prayers. www.caringbridge.org/al/janiesims
God Bless You Friends,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, December 04, 2002 at 03:26 PM (CST)
***1 Month Off Treatment***
Dear Family and Friends,
Today was Sarah Anne's 1st OT (Off Treatment) visit to the oncology clinic. Sarah Anne had to have an arm stick in order to get a CBC and test her Liver Functions. Sarah's blood counts looked really good and most were already on the low side of normal. Yeah! Unfortunately her Liver Enzymes are still high. Dr. Castleberry said that they were lower than last month which was a good sign. So we will just keep praying that they continue to go down and that Sarah does not have any long term liver damage from the Chemo.
It was good to see all the wonderful folks that make clinic 5 so special. We have some true friends there and we care about them very much. Some of you might think this sounds weird but after seeing these people at least once a week for the last 2 1/2 years you come to love them for loving and taking care of you like they have.
On a sad note our 12 1/2 year old dalmation "Princess" passed away in my arms this past Monday night. She was very old for a dalmation and her quality of life was deteriorating. Our family will miss her very much!
We sure are ready for Christmas this year! Both girls are plenty old enough to realize that it is a magical time of year and it means presents for them. Our girls are a little spoiled but what can you do. They are so cute and say the sweetest things. They are so excited about all the Christmas decorations this year. They couldn't hardly wait until we put up our Christmas tree. We are looking forward to a Healthy and Merry Christmas.
Please continue to pray for Sarah Anne and her continued remission. Also, pray for Kelly & I as we have such a huge responsibility of taking care of Kelly's grandmother. Her cancer is active again and causing her pain in her bones. Kelly has been driving in to Birmingham everyday for Nana to get radiation treatments for pain. This is taking a toll on our family but we feel it is what God wants us to do. We are trying to make the best of it. So please pray for us as we are now taking care of Nana full time.
God Bless You Guys,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 09:24 AM (CST)
***2 weeks Off-Treatment***
Hey Friends,
We think it is so neat that you still care enough about Sarah Anne to continue to see how she is doing off treatment. Well, she is doing great! Her energy level is definetly increasing because she is more active and therefore she is getting in more trouble. :) It is still weird not having to go through our normal routine of dispensing her medicine before she goes to bed. It is nice to have one less thing to do before getting them a sleep. Today Sarah Anne and Emma Grace went to their pre-school classes. They attend from 8am to 12pm 3 days a week.
We are watching Sarah Anne very closely for any signs of problems (fever, headaches, ear infections, etc.). She has only complained a few times about headaches and we know that was because she failed to take a nap. Sarah Anne's first off treatment doctors appointment is scheduled for December 4th. We have faith that everything will be fine but we still pray about it often.
Emotionally, Kelly and I are handling her being off treatment better than I thought we would. I can tell that life will be so much easier once we get adjusted to our new routine of monthly visits. Kelly & both are feeling a sense of finally being able to begin catching up on so many things that have just but on hold for the past years.
Many of you know that Kelly's grandfather passed away in September. Well even before he died, Kelly's grandmother, who has breast cancer that has metastasized in her bones, was staying with us. This has not been the easiest thing for us but as family we know it is the right thing to do. Please pray for Kelly & I as we have a huge responsibility of taking care of her grandmother. Nana has out lived what the doctors expected by 5 years. Our girls have really grown to love their Nana more than ever. They consider her just another member of our immediate family. It is hard to know how much longer Nana will be with us. We worry about how this is going to affect the girls. Keep this situation in your prayers.
Thanks for checking on us!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, November 13, 2002 at 10:52 AM (CST)
*** 1 Week Off Treatment***
Dear Family & Friends,
This is the first week in 2 1/2 years that Sarah Anne has not had to go to the hospital, give blood or receive a shot. Praise God! She went to her K4 class instead. Isn't this awesome news to hear? Sarah Anne's energy level already seems to be increasing. I am not sure if this is even possible but she sure is energetic this week. She has a cough but considering that everyone in our family has had a cold over the past few weeks, we feel she is doing pretty good.
The church service and Sarah Anne's Off-Treatment party went well. I don't think there were too many dry eyes during the slide show of her treatments over the past 2 1/2 years. It was a great night. Tannehill Valley Baptist Church treated us to a great cookies and milk party. There were balloons, face painting and more cookies than I have ever seen. Sarah Anne had a blast! We want to thank you guys again for all the love and support you have given our family.
God Bless,
The Hicks Family
Wednesday, November 06, 2002 at 04:38 PM (CST)
****SHE IS CANCER FREE!****
Dear Family & Friends,
It was a very long day, but it came with great news. Sarah Anne's bone marrow looked great and her spinal fluid was clear! Dr. Castleberry gave us the official word about 3pm this afternoon. Sarah Anne did so well today! She had not eaten since last night around 10pm, so she was very hungry but she never complained one bit. We are so blessed to have such a strong and courageous little girl. We are so very proud of her! God has heard our prayers and has blessed us with wonderful test results. Kelly & I can never begin to thank all of you enough. You have shown our family so much love over the past 2 1/2 years. God will surely reward you in heaven one day for your faith and willingness to pray for a family in need.
God Bless Each One of You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, and Emma Grace Hicks
Monday, November 04, 2002 at 10:46 AM (CST)
***WEEK 130 of 130***
Sarah Anne has made it through 2 1/2 years of chemotherapy treatment!!!!
Dear Family & Friends,
I do not have the words to explain just how thankful and happy Kelly and I are to be able to post this update. Sarah Anne received her last scheduled shot of chemotherapy last week. We have made it to the end! God gets all the glory for this! He has been so good to our family! He as surrounded us with faithful prayer warriors like yourself. We love and appreciate you so much!
We are now asking you to pray for Sarah Anne's post treatment bone marrow aspiration and spinal tap. Please pray that her results are cancer free and for our family to be able to put this trial behind us for good. Our faith is strong but to say that we are not nervous would not be the truth. We are anxiously waiting for Wednesday to arrive. Sarah Anne is scheduled to be at the hospital at 8:30am. We are assuming that we will get the final results back that afternoon. Please ask God to give Kelly & I strength and peace during the next couple of days. As soon as we find out the results, we will post them here! Sarah Anne is very aware of what is going to happen Wednesday. She is also looking forward to her Cookie's and Milk Party after church on Sunday night. We hope to see you there!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, and Emma Grace Hicks
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 at 02:33 PM (CDT)
***Week 129 of 130*** Only 1 week to go!
It is hard to explain how I feel right now. I am so happy that Sarah Anne is doing so well and that she is almost through with her treatments. I also feel a nervous feeling in my stomach about her coming off of treatment. She has been on chemotherapy for more than half of her life. Her weekly clinic visits, our nightly medicine routine has become so much a part of our lives that it is kind of scary knowing that this security blanket we have had for the past 2 1/2 years is now coming to an end. This may sound very weird to most people but I know of other cancer kid parents that have felt this emotion as well. Sarah Anne doesn't remember not having a port (central line in her chest)and she has come to accept that every week she has to have shots & finger sticks. This has been her life and thanks to God it has not been nearly as bad as it could have been. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful God and to have such wonderful friends that have supported us over the past 2 1/2 years. What will we do with the extra time that we have each week instead of going to the hospital? No more pills at night! To pick Sarah Anne up or give her a hug and not feel a port in her side! These are good thoughts but none the less different than what we are use to. So I guess this is where that nervous feeling comes from. Please join us in praying daily for her total healing. Pray that her Bone Marrow comes back normal. Pray that her spinal fluid is free of any leukemic cells. Pray for her continued remission. Pray for Kelly & I as we draw closer to Sarah Anne coming off treatment and her surgery to remove her port. These thoughts bring tears to my eyes every time I think about them. We have been through so much and we are almost to the end.
Thank You & God Bless,
Hicks Family
Wednesday, October 16, 2002 at 02:49 PM (CDT)
***Week 128 of 130*** Only 2 weeks left!!!
Dear Family & Friends,
We returned from our magical trip to Orlando around 11:15pm Sunday night. To say we are tired, is an understatement. I can't even begin to describe how magical and special our trip was. Sarah & Emma were so excited when they saw the beautiful, white, stretched limo pull up to our house to take us to the airport. They thought it was so cool that they got to watch Clifford on the way to the airport. At the airport we were greeted by signs and balloons from our wish volunteer, Jennifer. She was great! Both girls thought flying in the airplanes was pretty cool. The pilots made a special announcement welcoming Sarah Anne & Matthew Myers aboard our flight. Cool Huh? Once we landed they both got a first hand experience in the cock pit. Delta was great!
Our Give Kids The World Greeter was Milton, an 86 year old man who was so sweet to Sarah Anne. He was waiting on us just outside the security check point with a sign for Sarah Anne Hicks. He helped us navigate the airport and also get our rental car.
Give Kids The World is an awesome place! We were so thrilled to get to stay there. They showered our girls with gifts everyday and provided our family with everything that we would possibly need for a week of fun in Orlando. The first day we spent resting at GKTW. The second day our family spent at Animal Kingdom. This was a very cool park! They had great shows and all the characters showed our children so much attention. The third day, was Sarah Anne's special day at Magic Kingdom. We got to eat breakfast in Cinderella's Castle. The server sprinked our table with fairy dust, which alerted all the Princesses that Sarah Anne & Emma Grace were special guests. They loved all over our girls to the point that Kelly & I started feeling bad for the other children around us. It also worked out that Cinderella was scheduled to come to GKTW the next day. So she told Sarah Anne that she would ride the carousel with her tomorrow. This made our trip! Cinderella was so very sweet and such a kind loving person. The next morning Cinderella was waiting on us in the court yard of GKTW and when she saw Sarah Anne she ran up to her for a big hug. Then for about 30 minutes Cinderella and Sarah Anne talked, rode the carousel and played with Pluto. So special! We could not have planned this any better. Who would have known that the same Cinderella that was at our breakfast, would end up coming out to GKTW? It was truly a wish come true for our whole family. When Cinderella left she got a little teary eyed as she told Sarah Anne good bye. So Sweet! The fourth day we spent at Universal Studios. The fifth day went spent at Island of Adventure. The sixth day we started the morning at Disney MGM, the afternoon at the ER (Emma's elbow popped out of place. $50 dollars and a couple hours later we were back in action), then finally that evening we spent at the Magic Kingdom. This was our favorite place! The parade that night was so magical. Our girls are still talking about it! The final day we spent the morning swimming in the pool at GKTW and the afternoon at Sea World and that night we flew back home.
As you can tell we packed in all the parks, with full days at each one. There was not much time for rest! We truly experienced the saying of having too much fun!
Sarah Anne surprised us all with how much she loved roller coasters. Some of them she was too short to ride but if they did not catch us we rode them anyway. She was nuts! Towards the end of her trip she even learned how to hold her hands up while riding. It was such a great trip! At times we felt sad because we knew that there was a reason why we were treated so special and received so much love. But most of the time we just focused on our girls having the best time possible. We are truly thankful for MAW & GKTW! I will post pictures soon. It is going to be hard figuring which ones to post. We developed over 7 rolls of film.
Everything went well at Sarah's doctor visit today. Her ANC is 1700. She has only 2 more weeks of chemo left. Then on November 6th she will have a Bone Marrow Aspiration and a Spinal Tap to make sure that there is no clinical signs of leukemia cells lurking in her little body. I want to go ahead and ask you to start making this a matter of your daily prayer time. Please pray that she is still fully in remission and that she is cured from her cancer. Our family loves you and we appreciate your faithfulness to God & our family. On the evening of November 10th at 6pm I will be sharing our family's testimony during the evening service at our church, Tannehill Valley Baptist Church in McCalla. Then afterwards we will be celebrating Sarah Anne's end of treatment with her favorite thing, Milk & Cookies. Please plan to join us and bring your favorite cookies!
I will try to post pictures soon!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Sunday, October 06, 2002 at 09:30 PM (CDT)
***Week 127 of 130*** Only 3 weeks to go!!!!!
Can You Believe It?
Well Friends,
You guys never cease to amaze us! We have some of the most loving caring friends & animals (Skeety). Most of you guys have never met us in person yet you love us like long time friends. Others see us weekly and you guys never seem to busy to tell us you are praying for Sarah Anne. How could we ever thank you enough? Those of you who stop by weekly, we can't tell you how special your messages & notes are to us. So encouraging!
We are packing as I type and the girls are watching the Disney World Resort Movie. Everyone is so excited about tomorrow! I can't wait to see Sarah Anne's face when she sees Cinderella. Our girls are going to go nuts! The day is going to start really early. The limo will be at our house at 7:30am and our flight leaves Birmingham at 9:30. Please pray for safe travels and good health for us all. Kelly has the stuff needed to give Sarah Anne her shot of chemo while we are out of town. I will update and post pics as soon as we get a chance. We love you guys!
God Bless,
Hicks Family
Tuesday, October 01, 2002 at 12:10 PM (CDT)
***Week 126 of 130*** Only 4 weeks to go!
Dear Family & Friends,
This morning Dad got the honor of taking Sarah Anne to her weekly hospital visit. Between work and my new adventure in school, I have not been able to make the weekly visit with her as much as I did in the beginning. When I said I got the honor of taking Sarah Anne I really mean it. What an honor to have such a brave, sweet, kind, loving little girl like Sarah Anne. God has truly blessed me with a great family!
Sarah Anne, while holding my hand, walked all the way from the parking deck to her clinic. She did not complain one bit. I wonder why? Once we got there, she went back all by herself to have her height, weight and her vitals taken. She loves Ms. Cynthia & Ms. Viola. She came back with two suckers; a grape for herself and a cherry for her little sister. How thoughtful it was for her to think of her little sister at a time when most kids are crying,screaming and demanding to go home. I am one blessed dad. Sarah Anne then patiently waited in my lap, snuggling with me as I read her some books that were in the waiting room. Then they called her name, to come back to have her central line accessed and flushed (we have to do this every six weeks to make sure it does not get clogged). Once again she amazed me by her bravery. A new nurse came in to access her central line (port) and to get a blood sample for a CBC, so I was expecting a little resistance. Sarah Anne did not utter a word, as she carefully watched to make sure the nurse did everything right. Sarah Anne's blood counts came back great,which is a big relief considering that we are scheduled to begin her wish trip on Monday. I look back at all that she has been through and it makes me very sad and tearful. Not because of all the normal stuff that you expect cancer kids to go through but because Sarah Anne has handled all this adversity and torment so well. Thank you Lord, for being with our child in her time of sickness. Thank you Lord, for being our light and hope as we are now drawing near the end of this dark path in our life. We Love You!
Now for some even happier news. Sarah Anne's wish trip starts off Monday with a limo ride from our house to the Birmingham Airport. When will then fly Delta Airlines to Atlanta and then on to Orlando. Once we arrive in Orlando we will be greeted by Give the Kids the World volunteers holding a sign with Sarah Anne's name on it. They're job is to escort us to get our luggage and to take us to our prepaid rental car. We will be staying the week at Give the Kids the World Village in Orlando. We are provided with unlimited passes to all the theme parks and free breakfast and dinner. The highlight of our trip is going to be when Sarah Anne & Emma Grace get to meet Cinderella in her castle, while enjoying a breakfast fit for a princess. This is going to be such a magical moment! We can't wait. Our trip will end on Sunday, with a flight back to Birmingham and a limo ride back to our home. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
Please pray for our safe travels, for our families health (especially Sarah Anne's), for good weather, and most importantly, for our family to enjoy this magical time together. We thank God for all His blessings!
Thanks for your continued prayers and for your love that you have shown our family over the past 2 1/2 years. But please don't stop praying now.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Monday, September 16, 2002 at 11:44 AM (CDT)
***Week 122 of 130***
Happy Birthday Emma Grace!
She turned 3 on September 9th!
Dear Friends,
So sorry for missing a couple of weeks of updates but it has been pretty crazy around our house. I will start out by letting ya'll know that Sarah Anne is doing well and is still on target for being finished with treatment on November 6th. So we feel pretty good about Sarah Anne.
Why has it been so crazy? Kelly's grandmother who is a walking miracle (She was diagnosed with breast and bone cancer right before Sarah Anne was born and she is still with us!) fell and hurt her hip, so she has been staying at our house for the past couple of weeks. Then Kelly's grandfather (whom we both were very close to) died September 1st. We were so thankful that her grandmother was at our house when we got the news. So we had to help arrange his funeral while at the same time Kelly started her part time job and I started back to school. Then all of last week we were in Destin, Florida on vacation with friends of ours from church. Their daughters (Maggie & Andie) are Sarah Anne's & Emma's best friends, so needless to say the girls had a great time. It was nice for Kelly & I to get to spend some quality time with our friends as well. Then, when we got back home on Friday night we immediatly had to start preparing for our little Emma Grace's Scooby Doo Birthday Party on Saturday afternoon, which was supposed to be at a park but because of rain ended up being at our church gym. So as you can tell we have been pretty busy the past two weeks. I do apologize for not updating you before now.
Sarah Anne goes back to the hospital tomorrow for her cbc and a shot of MTX in her leg. We did get some bad news that one of our little friends has relasped, while we were away on vacation. This disease is so unpredictable and although treatments for Leukemia have come a long way, children are still dying daily from this monster. One thing for sure is that we are still fighting for a cure! So please continue to pray for Sarah Anne and for her complete healing! Also, pray for Kelly, Emma & myself. Some days we are so strong, yet others we feel so frightened by what we are going through. I am so thankful for our God and the love He has shown our family. It makes me sad to think about others that go through life's trials alone. Thank you for all the love you show our family!
God Bless,
Hicks Family
Wednesday, August 28, 2002 at 08:36 AM (CDT)
***Week 119***
Hello Friends,
I bet your wondering how our little princess Sarah Anne is feeling. Well, I have good news! She is feeling great! (This is relative to the fact that she is still on Chemo.) None the less, she is feeling great. We are so thankful that she is continues to feel well in these last treatment weeks. What a blessing!
What else has happened since our last update? Well, Kelly got a great part-time job working Mon., Wed., & Thurs. 9am-4pm at a private law office in Mountain Brook (Coleman & Friday). I bet you are wondering how this is going to work with Sarah Anne's chemo treatments every Wednesday? Well, so far Kelly has driven in to Birmingham on Tuesday for Sarah's cbc and had the clinic call her at home if it was ok for Kelly to give Sarah Anne her chemo shot. Both girls are now going to pre-school the 3 days that Kelly goes to work. They seemed to like it the first week but last night Sarah Anne said she would rather stay home with mom instead of going to school. (That just breaks my heart!) I know they would rather stay home with Kelly, because she is such a fun, loving mom. Heck, dad would like to stay home with mom too! Oh, well hopefully they will adjust. I got registered for my classes I am going to take this semester. I have to admitt I am pretty nervous about going back to college so late in life. We'll see how it goes trying to juggle a full time job, my family, Sarah Anne's health & school. Little Emma Grace is starting to talk so much better. We can't believe she will be turning three soon. She is still very much our baby girl. One of our favorite things to do at night is curl up in bed and let little Emma snuggle and play nurse on us. She is so affectionate!
Please keep us in your prayers! It is so easy to feel that everything is fine and back off storming heaven with prayers but please keep praying. Pray that Sarah Anne continues to do well in the final weeks of her treatment protocol. Pray that the girls adjust being away from mom 3 days a week. Pray that the children at their new school love our girls and treat them sweet. Pray that Kelly's new job continues to work out. Pray for me and my new adventure in school. Most improtantly pray that God strengthens your faith through praying for our family.
God Bless Every One of You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, August 14, 2002 at 04:46 PM (CDT)
***Week 117 of 130***
Hello Friends,
We are so glad that you have taken the time to stop by Sarah Anne's web site to check on her and our family! Sarah Anne is doing really well with the final phase of her treatment protocol. She is currently taking 6mp every night alternating between a whole pill one day and a half the next. She takes Bactrim twice a day on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Finally she goes to Children's Hospital every Wednesday to get her blood counts checked and her shot of Chemo (MTX) in her little leg. Today she had to endure an extra event, which was to have her port (central line) accessed and flushed to make sure that it does not get infected or clogged. Thank goodness it worked perfect! Her blood counts came back great but unfortunately her liver counts are high. On a numerical scale her oncologist said that her liver counts should be about 25 but Sarah Anne's was 125!!!! Can you believe it? He did not seem too worried but he definitely said they will watch this. On a lighter note we did find out that if everything continues to go as scheduled that Sarah Anne would officially be off treatment on November 6th, which includes her final spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration. Great News, huh?
Well, something kind of funny happened last night. After washing and drying both girls beautiful long blonde hair we told them to go to the living room and they could watch Madeline before they went to bed. Well, instead of doing that they found a pair of scissors that Kelly left out to open some packages with and decided to play beauty shop! Can you believe it??? I know, all kids end up cutting their hair at some point or another. But Sarah Anne's hair was just starting to grow long after 2+ years of chemotherapy. Any way they got a stern talking to from mommy and then Kelly & I both got a good laugh in. Girls?, gee wiz what am I in for??? oh, well that is what life should be about love, family, & sweet memories.
I continue to ask you to pray for Sarah Anne's complete healing. We will not pretend to not be a little worried about what could happen when she stops her chemotherapy in November. We are just totally trusting in God and his will for our lives. So please don't stop praying now! Continue to pray for Kelly and I too. We are looking into the idea of Kelly getting a part time job to help out with our family finances. At the same time, I am considering taking some classes at a private bible college near my office. Big decisions, need lots of prayers. So please remember us, too.
Little Emma Grace is doing great. She is such a unique child, in her own little way. It is amazing how two kids from the same parents can be so different. God has truly blessed us with two sweet little girls and lots of caring friends like you!!
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace Hicks
Thursday, August 01, 2002 at 10:09 AM (CDT)
***Week 115 of 130***
Dear Friends,
We are back from a 4 day trip to the beach with the youth from our church. Wow, what a trip! It was a very busy 4 days and very hot. But at the same time it was so eye opening to hang out and learn what today's teenagers go through. I love working with students and helping them grow in their relationship with Christ. The girls had a great time for several reasons. One was that they got to spend 4 days at the beach with several of their little friends from church. Another was that they love hanging out with the older kids and all the attention they get from them. We have some awesome christian students at TVBC and they seem to really love our girls. We got some great beach photos that I will post next week.
Yesterday was Sarah Anne's weekly clinic visit for her CBC and leg shot of MTX (chemotherapy). Her ANC was around 1700, which is right where it needs to be. She is feeling well except for the occasional complaint of leg pains. We are cautiously looking forward to her end of treatment sometime in November. Kelly has been talking with Make-A-Wish about arranging a party in the next couple of weeks for our family and the announcement to Sarah Anne that she will get her wish to meet Cinderella and have breakfast in her castle. Exciting, Huh? Sarah & Emma love talking about meeting all the Disney Princesses.
Thanks for checking on Sarah Anne. Please continue to pray for her and her continued remission. Also, if you will pray for Kelly and I. We have a lot of things on our plates right now and at times feel so overwhelmed by it all. Please pray for our strength, Godly wisdom, and most important our perseverance.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace
Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 09:17 AM (CDT)
***Week 113 of 130***
Hello Friends & Family,
Thanks so much for stopping by to check on Sarah Anne. Sarah Anne is doing really well with her treatments and her blood counts are staying consistently right were they need to be. This final phase of her treatment protocol is so much easier on her than the previous phases. Her hospital visit yesterday was good and as usual she did great with her cbc and her shot in the leg. Her hair is growing long and getting a lot thicker, which is a welcomed sign that the end is hopefully near.
We did have a scary incident with Sarah Anne on Tuesday. Sarah Anne was involved in a single car accident. She was riding in her Little Tikes Coupe car while her 6 year old cousin was pushing her. He supposedly slipped sending her sailing down a rocky embankment, through vines with big briars and finally crashing into a tree. Kelly was in the house when she heard Sarah Anne screaming. She ran outside to find Sarah Anne covered in dirt, leaves and bleeding. Kelly not knowing where she was hurting instinctively jumped into our quick set pool to wash the dirt and blood off. Well the final outcome is that Sarah Anne ended up with a big spot on her head where she hit the tree, bruises on her hinny, and her legs & face are covered with bad scratches from all the briars. But thankfully she wasn't badly hurt. Needless to say Sarah and her cousin will not be riding the Little Tikes Coupe near the embankment anymore. I think they both were traumatized by the whole event.
Little Emma Grace is doing fine as well. She will be 3 years old this September which is hard to believe. It is amazing how different kids can be. Emma is very smart but she also is very much a true blonde (no offense). Bless her heart, she is kind of clumsy and a little air headed at times. But she is the best hugger and snuggler you could ever ask for. She very much enjoys snuggling on the couch or in the bed with mom & dad. I guess you would consider Emma to be a young 3 year old. Maybe it is the second child syndrome? Who knows? But one thing for sure is that God has really blessed Kelly & I with two very precious little girls. They are very much different but also very special in their own ways.
Thanks again for stopping by to check on us. Please keep our family in your prayers. Kelly & I both have a lot of things, besides Sarah Anne's fight with cancer, going on around us and at times we find ourselves very overwhelmed and tired. So please pray for our strength and God's guidance in our lives.
We Love you Guys!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 04:39 PM (CDT)
***Week 111 of 130***
Happy 4th of July!!!!
Well, it was a very long day for Kelly and the girls in clinic today. Everything was fine with Sarah Anne, it was just that they had to wait along time to see Dr. Castleberry. We wanted to ask him about increasing her 6mp because her counts have been so good lately. Well, come to find out he thought Sarah Anne was only taking 50% of the recommended dose of 6mp, when in fact she was taking 75%. oops! Not sure where the lines of communication got tangled but it really doesn't make a difference as long as he now knows what she is taking. So his decision after he realized that she was taking more 6mp than his notes showed, he didn't really want to mess with her dosages being she is so close to being finished. At first she had a hard time with the 6mp causing low counts but now it seems as if she can handle it better. Maybe her body is slowly becoming immune to its effects? Who knows? Any way, her blood counts are great and she is feeling great.
Kelly and I have been working with Sarah Anne and her school type work alot more the past couple of weeks to see how she is doing. One thing that we have not talked about much on her web site is the possible effects all the chemo has had on her cognitive abilities. Sarah Anne is very smart but we can tell that at times she has a hard time putting words to her thoughts. It sometimes takes a few extra seconds for her words to come out. We have also noticed that she doesn't really like to write too much. We are trying to get her to write her name but she keeps telling us that she can't write her "S's" and "R's". Is any of this chemo related? We don't know. We are hoping that it is not, but time will tell for sure. It is not uncommon for children who have had high dose chemo to have various cognitive & behavioral problems. We have been so focused on getting her through her treatment protocol that we haven't really had time to think about the possible long term side effects of her chemo. We are so happy that she is doing so well and we know that God will see us through this. All this! Please pray that Sarah Anne continues to do well and that she does not experience any long term side effects from her chemo. Also, please pray for Kelly & I. We have a lot of things going on around us right now, some good and some bad. So please pray that God gives us strength, wisdom and peace. As always we appreciate you checking on our family and we especially value your prayers. God does hear our prayers!!!
We Love You Guys,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 04:39 PM (CDT)
***Week 111 of 130***
Happy 4th of July!!!!
Well, it was a very long day for Kelly and the girls in clinic today. Everything was fine with Sarah Anne, it was just that they had to wait along time to see Dr. Castleberry. We wanted to ask him about increasing her 6mp because her count have been so good lately. Well, come to find out he thought Sarah Anne was only taking 50% of the recommended dose of 6mp, when in fact she was taking 75%. oops! Not sure where the lines of communication got tangled but it really doesn't make a difference as long as he now knows what she is taking. So his decision after he realized that she was taking more 6mp than his notes showed, he didn't really want to mess with her dosages being she is so close to being finished. At first she had a hard time with the 6mp causing low counts but now it seems as if she can handle it better. Maybe her body is slowly becoming immune to its effects? Who knows? Any way, her blood counts are great and she is feeling great.
Kelly and I have been working with Sarah Anne and her school type work alot more the past couple of weeks to see how she is doing. One thing that we have not talked about much on her web site is the possible effects all the chemo has had on her cognitive abilities. Sarah Anne is very smart but we can tell that at times she has a hard time putting words to her thoughts. It sometimes takes a few extra seconds for her words to come out. We have also noticed that she doesn't really like to write too much. We are trying to get her to write her name but she keeps telling us that she can't write her "S's" and "R's". Is any of this chemo related? We don't know. We are hoping that it is not, but time will tell for sure. It is not uncommon for children who have had high dose chemo to have various cognitive & behavioral problems. We have been so focused on getting her through her treatment protocol that we haven't really had time to think about the possible long term side effects of her chemo. We are so happy that she is doing so well and we know that God will see us through this. All this! As always we appreciate you checking on our family and we especially value your prayers. God hears our prayers!!!
We Love You Guys,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, June 19, 2002 at 02:28 PM (CDT)
***Week 109 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sorry for not posting an update last week. Things have been pretty busy around our house lately. Sarah Anne is doing great! She didn't have any problems last week and seems to be doing good this week as well. She had her weekly clinic visit today and everything went well. The remainder of her treatment protocol involves continuing with the weekly leg shots of Methotrexate, nightly 6mp and Bactrim on the weekends. She should do really well during her last couple of months of treatment. Wow, what a journey this has been so far. One of so many ups & downs, tearful & joyful, scared & confident, tired & rested, bad & good times, you name it and it seems as if we have been through it. One thing for sure is that no matter what, good & bad, we are no longer the same family we were 2 years ago. I thank God for the most important thing, which is the fact that Sarah Anne is still with us, and she seems to be doing really well heading in to the final months of her treatment protocol. Every new day is reason for celebration at our house and for that I thank our Lord & Savior and all our friends who have remained so faithful in praying for our family. We Love You Guys!
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, June 05, 2002 at 04:06 PM (CDT)
***Week 107 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
Well it is that time of the week to post an update. Last weeks dose of vincristine really made Sarah Anne feel pretty bad this past weekend. We decided to go to the lake house and get it ready to enjoy this summer. Unfortunatley as soon as we got there Sarah Anne began to throw up. Kelly could tell that she was not feeling well during the ride there, but neither of us were expecting her to get sick enough to throw up. Luckily it didn't last too long and by the next day she started feeling better. Vincristine is one of the chemo drugs that always makes her feel bad, including vomiting, constipation, head aches, and muscle aches. We can tell that Sarah Anne still doesn't feel up to par but everyday that goes by she seems to feel better. Thank goodness she is not scheduled to receive any more Vincristine. We had a great time at the lake spending some family time but the weekend also had a few problems. The biggest was dad accidently exploided the rear windshell of mom's van (oops). We think it exploided because it was so hot and dad just happened to sling a rock into it while weed eating the grass. The other one, is that being two years old little Emma would not stay out of the tall grass while dad cut it. So the end result, is that she is covered in chiggers. One of the highlights of the weekend was when mom and the girls surprised dad with chocolate Krispy Kreme doughnuts (my favorite) in celebration of his 31st birthday on Saturday. All in all we had a pretty good weekend.
This week is vacation bible school at our church so Kelly and the girls have been pretty busy. Kelly is teaching the five year old class with two other friends. Today Sarah Anne went for her weekly clinic visit and received her shot of chemo in her little leg. Her blood counts are lower this week than they have been in the last 6 months or so. Her ANC was down to 873. Hopefully this is just due to the increased chemo she has received over the past two weeks and it will go up between now and her next visit. She can still receive her treatments as long as her ANC does not fall below 500. So please pray that her counts go up and that we wont have to delay her treatments. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer and have lots of fun things planned. We love you guys so much and appreciate your prayers more than you will ever know. God has truly blessed us with great friends, who don't think twice about praying for our families needs.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 03:34 PM (CDT)
***WEEK 106 of 130***
Well we survived the week of steroids, but barely. I think poor Mom caught the brunt of it by being with the girls all day & night. "Works weeks" are not the most pleasant of times around the old Hicks home. Sarah Anne's counts are really high this week due to the steroids boosting her immune system. But the steroids take a pretty hard toll on her physically. She immediatly starts eating more than normal and has a hard time sleeping at night. It got to a point that at 3 am we would just let her watch movies, while we went back to bed (you have to sleep sometime). Sarah seemed perfectly content staying up all night watching TV. The steroids also cause her to get black cirlces around her little eyes (Raccoon eyes). But all this is just temporary until she stops taking predinisone, so we will survive. Yesterday, Sarah Anne received her last dose of the chemotherapy drug Vincristine. This is one of the more nastier ones so we are very happy that she does not have any more of those scheduled treatments. All in all we feel she is doing great and we thank God for that!
As far as the rest of us (mom, dad, Emma) well we all seem to have some sort of cold or allergy thing going on. Generally just feeling rotten, sore throat, and sinus congestion. Hopefully, we all will be getting better soon. As always thanks for checking on us. We love you! Hopefully, we will have new photos to post soon.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Wednesday, May 22, 2002 at 05:44 PM (CDT)
***Week 105 of 130***
It is the "WORKS WEEK"!
Dear Family & Friends,
We had a great time at Camp Smile-A-Mile this past weekend. I can't say enough about all the people that make it possible for families with kids diagnosed with cancer, to have such a special place like Camp Sam. We love everyone of you and are so very thankful for all you do! We will post new photos soon!!!
Today, was Sarah Anne's last scheduled "Works Week" which includes, spinal tap with Methotrexate, Vincristine, Methotrexate in her port, Prednisone, 6-MP and Bactrim on the weekends. It is hard to believe that she has had over 21 spinal taps over the last 25 months. We are so happy that the end of her treatment schedule is coming soon. Sarah did so well today. I know I say this every week but it is true and if you only knew how much easier it is on Kelly & I when she is so brave. Her blood counts are good but her liver counts were a little high. They were not high enough for them to delay treatment which we were thankful for. Please pray that Sarah Anne handles this last big round of chemo well and that her little liver is able to flush out the excess chemo. I pray that she feels well this week and that she doesn't experience any bad side effects from the additional drugs. We really appreciate ALL of you who check on us and we are so thankful for your prayers on our behalf. God is good and He is seeing our family through this tough time. So please remain faithful to Him and Pray often.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace
Thursday, May 16, 2002 at 04:42 PM (CDT)
***WEEK 104 of 130***
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Off To Camp We Go!
Dear Family & Friends,
We are so looking forward to going to family camp at Camp Smile-A-Mile this weekend. We will get there Friday night just in time to roast a marshmellow and be home Sunday afternoon. We love Camp SAM and all the folks that take part in this wonderful organization.
Sarah Anne's clinic visit was great! It was only an hour long, which is a record for us, and her counts were great. She is such a good patient. She wouldn't let dad take off her Emla patch, only Ms. Ruth. Oh, what would we do without our sweet Ms. Ruth. We are very fortunate to have such close relationships with our clinic staff. Great folks, with big hearts.
Please pray for Sarah Anne next week, it is her last scheduled "Works Week". She will be getting an arm draw, her port accessed, Vincristine, Methotrexate, a spinal tap, and start a week of Prednisone. I can't believe it is her last "works week". Please pray that all goes well and that she tolerates the increased chemo without any problems. Oh yeah, pray for Kelly & I too. Prednisone makes her pretty hungry and grumpy. It seems to have a cumalative affect too. So next week ought to be interesting. Thanks for checking on us!
God Bless You guys,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace
Friday, May 10, 2002 at 09:58 AM (CDT)
***Week 103 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
As always thanks so much for checking in on our family and especially Sarah Anne. She is doing so good right now. What a blessing it is to see how well she is doing. Kelly & I could not even begin to tell you how happy we are because of Sarah's good health lately. It is God answering our prayers and we are so thankful for that. Her clinic visit yesterday was an easy one. She just had to have her finger pricked for a cbc and a shot of chemo in her little leg. Her counts look good and they are right were the doctors like to see them. Please don't stop praying for our family. We still have 5 months of treatment left. Then once treatment stops we will need to continue praying because there is a chance that once she stops her chemo that her leukemia could come back. So please, when you pray for Sarah Anne, pray for complete healing in her body.
I just want to tell everyone how special Kelly is as my wife and as our girls mommy. I could not imagine going through life with out her. She is my best friend and she is the best mom that our little girls could ever have. She has a heart of gold and even in the midst of our own families trials she is willing to help others along the way. She loves our girls so much and she teaches them daily to love one another and most importantly to love Jesus. If I were a kid I would be thrilled to have such a cool mom, like Kelly. She is not afraid to pick up frogs, salamanders, lizzards or other little critters around our house. She loves flowers, birds, and other outdoors stuff. But most of all she loves sharing it with our two little girls. How fun! The days she spends with our girls are priceless and I am so thankful that she is able to do that.
I don't know of too many wives that work and try as hard as mine does. She takes care of all of her duties, plus helps me out with mine. She has cut down trees in our yard (or pulled down with my truck), got on the roof & cleaned the gutters out, painted the inside and outside of our house, cut grass, plus many more things that you would not expect a mom to do. She knows how to speak my love language. We have been married for almost 11 years and each year our bond & love grows stronger. I pray that it always will. I know without a doubt that God blessed me with a great wife and a wonderful mother for my little girls. How lucky are we?
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ONE VERY SPECIAL MOM!!!
We Love You Mommy,
Steven, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, May 01, 2002 at 11:30 AM (CDT)
*** 2nd Year Diagnosis Anniversary ***
***Week 102 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Two years ago today our little Sarah Anne went in to Children's One Day Surgery to have what we thought was a benign bump removed from the top of her little head. Kelly & I were so scared about the surgery but knew that it was going to be fine. Well, May 1st ended up being a day that our family will never forget. It was a day of tears, fears, anger, and sorrow. It was the day she was diagnosed with cancer. But it also was the day God started opening up some new doors for our family. Little did we know God was in total control and he was already tending to our family. Our one day surgery nurse, Lorrie Blackwell, was a christian and her husband a Pastor. She so happened to have two little girls the same age as Sarah & Emma. She immediately reached out to our family, she called Kevin to pray for us. Their church sent us cards, Kevin came to the hospital to pray over a family he did not know, and they brought Sarah Anne surprises while she was inpatient. Their daughters and Sarah & Emma have become best of friends. From Sarah Anne's diagnosis God has created a very special friendship between two families. This is just one example of the many new friends God has blessed us with through Sarah's diagnosis. God also has increased mine & Kelly's faith and trust in Him through this trial in our life. We both can say that we love the Lord more now than we ever did before. Only God can take a family tragedy like childhood cancer and use it to His glory. We have so many new friends that are so special to our family and that have helped us through our trial that I could not even begin to name them all. But you know who you are and please know that our family is eternally grateful for all your love, kindness, faithfulness and prayers you have shown our family over the past 2 years. We love You guys. There are also families whom we have never met but none the less we love so much because of your love & concern for our family. Sarah Anne is doing great and she is growing up so fast. She is so brave! She is an inspiration to us all. Please take a minute during this week to thank God for all he has done for our family and for all of his answered prayers for Sarah Anne. Then take a minute to pray that God continues to watch over our family, bless Sarah Anne with a continued remission and uses us to minister to others in need (physical & spiritual). We pray everyday that we can finish this trial strong and in a way that honors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is one of my favorite verses in the bible. It is the words of the apostle Paul as he is writing to the people of Corinth.
"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong". 2 Cor. 12:10
Please let God be your strength in your daily trials.
God Bless,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Wednesday, April 24, 2002 at 04:11 PM (CDT)
***Week 101 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne had a great visit at the hospital today, after suffering through two unexpected visits last week for unexplained fevers. I guess she just had some kind of nasty virus or something? But she is feeling much better now. Her blood counts today were good, in fact they were too good. Her ANC was 4030, WBC 7.34, RBC 4.25, PLT 386k. Those are all normal blood counts. She has been off and on her chemo pills for the last week, plus she did not get her weekly shot of chemo in her leg so thats why her counts are so good. It is comforting to know that her marrow is still able to function at a normal level. But now it is time for her counts to be lowered back to the range at which her oncologist likes to see ANC 1000-1500 by getting her back in her routine of weekly leg shots and nightly chemo pills. One part of me is getting excited because we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel but another part of me is still a nervous wreck. We have had one friend who could be experiencing a potential relapse and another who has just relapsed in his central nervous system. Leukemia is one tough cancer and I can't wait till the researchers find a cure for it. Please keep praying for our family, and pray that we finish this trial in our life well. We love you guys and are so thankful for all the people that take time to check on us.
God Bless You,
Hicks Family
Wednesday, April 17, 2002 at 11:14 AM (CDT)
***Week 100 of 130***
Only 30 Weeks to Go!!!!
Dear Family & Friends,
We had a great time at Camp Smile-A-Mile this past weekend. It was the annual Tots-N-Tikes Camp which, is just for the little ones. As usual our girls were spoiled and had awesome counselors. This year our family got to experience what it is like to sleep in the regular cabins as opposed to the luxury ones reserved for families with babies. All in all it was fine, except for they seperate the girls from the boys so mom ended up with both girls in her bed. Dad tried to help her out by buying the girls Ariel & Clifford sleeping bags but by the end of the night they still ended up in Kelly's twin bunk bed. So needless to say she didn't get too much rest. But hey that is not what camp is all about anyway.(Easy for me to say :)
The night & day after camp wasn't so great.First Sunday night Sarah Anne threw up at the dinner table. Then on Monday Sarah Anne woke up with a 103 fever and dad was pretty sick too. So Kelly had to take Sarah Anne to the clinic on Monday to have her counts checked and to have blood cultures done to see what was causing her fever. Sarah's counts were fine, so they let us go with the assumption that it was just viral. So Sarah Anne did not have to go to the clinic today and she will skip her weekly leg shot of chemo. Sarah Anne seems to be feeling alot better thankfully. Thanks for checking on us and keeping our family in your prayers.
God Bless,
Hicks Family
Wednesday, April 10, 2002 at 01:56 PM (CDT)
***Treatment week 99 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Well today Kelly & I each took a kid to the doctor. Kelly took little Emma to the doctor because she is coughing and had double ear infections. I took Sarah Anne to the hospital to get her weekly CBC & IM MTX shot. Kelly and Emma ended up meeting Sarah & I at Children's because they got through quicker. (Not a surprise!) Kelly said Emma did really good at the doctors, which is not the normal for her. But she does have ear infections in both ears. Sarah was great as usual and it was kind of nice to get to spend some one on one time with her at the hospital. I am beginning to think that other than driving her to and from the hospital that Sarah Anne really doesn't need us with her. She knows exactly what to do and when to do it. Although she might get side tracked playing with her friends in the clinic. Anyway, all is well with Sarah Anne and her ear infection is gone. We have some good news to share! Our little friend Shelby Batley is officially off treatment. Isn't that great? We are praying that everything goes well with her now that she is finished with her treatment. Way to go Shelby!
The girls are starting to get excited about Sarah Anne's wish trip to Disney World to eat with Cinderella in her magical castle. We are not sure exactly when we are going (May or October) but we do know that it will be before November when she hopefully will be done with her treatments. As always thanks for checking on us and for remembering us in your prayers.
PS. One of our cats had kittens this week and the girls are so excited. So if you know someone who wants a sweet kitten let us know. (3 white & 2 orange)
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, April 03, 2002 at 05:29 PM (CST)
***Treatment Week 98 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
All went well today at Sarah Anne's clinic visit at Children's. She had a pretty easy week compared to last weeks spinal tap. This week she just had to have her finger pricked and a shot of chemotherapy in her leg. Kelly said she did great!! She also has an ear infection in one of her ears, so Dr. Castleberry has her on an antibiotic to clear it up.
I am not sure why but last week as she was getting ready for her bath, and I got so sad. As she was undressing I noticed that her little arm was bruised from where they took her blood sample, then I noticed that her little side where her port is was all red & irritated from the tagaderm and finally she had a needle mark in the center of her back. Now, she has had these signs before but for some reason I happened to notice them all at once and immediatley felt so sorry for her. She was pretty oblivious to my saddness becasue she was too busy playing in the bath tub with her little sister. I guess reality hits you in the face every once in a while and even after almost 2 years of battling this it still hurts to think about all that she must go through. But on a brighter note she also never ceases to amaze us with her perserverance. You guys are great and your prayers are so appreciated. We also draw so much strength knowing that others are praying for our family. Please keep praying!
God Bless you,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Wednesday, March 27, 2002 at 01:40 PM (CST)
***Week 97 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne's Spinal Tap today went pretty good. What ever that means? She is so brave & strong. She goes through so much and it is amazing how calm & relaxed she is through out the procedures. In a way it is very sad, because you know any normal 4 year old would be going nuts at just the thought of having their finger pricked much less having a long needle stuck in their back. But Sarah Anne never even flinches. I draw so much of my courage and strength from her. She is an amazing child. This whole leukemia thing could be so much harder but God has blessed us and He continues to provide healing and courage for little Sarah Anne.
Well we played our second soccer game this past Monday night and to our surprise we had a bunch of our friends show up to watch. It was so much fun. Kelly brought a big blanket and everyone sat & watched dad herd 3-4 year old kids around a soccer field. I must say it is pretty amusing to watch. It is so great to see Sarah running out there with all the other kids. Thank You Lord!!!! We get a off week this next Monday but on 4/8 we will be playing the purple team.
This Friday , Saturday, & Sunday I will be participating in an Easter Drama presented by my church. I will be portraying the part of one of the disciples, James. If you would like to attend there is no charge, and it will be held at 7 pm each of the three nights. For those of you who have small children, there will be a nursery provided. It is a really big production (over 100 people involved) and definitely is something that will touch your heart during this Easter season.
Tannehill Valley Baptist Church
Easter Drama
March 29th-31st
7 pm Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
Directions: Take I-59 South towards Tuscaloosa, then exit 100 (Petro Station), go left back over the interstate. Then take the first right before you get to the Tannehill General Convenience store. You will pass the old church facilities on the left, keep going straight and the new church will be about a half mile on your right. It is located right across the street from Tannehill National Golf Course.
I would love to see you there!
Happy Easter,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace
Wednesday, March 20, 2002 at 12:04 PM (CST)
***Week 96 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
So glad to be able to report that Sarah Anne is doing great! She seems as if she is feeling great and is running/playing like any other child. In fact she played in her very first soccer game Monday night. You should have seen her. She looked so cute in her little red soccer jersey, black shorts, red socks and black soccer cletes. Since dad is the red teams coach she got first pick for her jersey number and she chose the number 5. Why? Don't know but that is the number she wanted. From a parents perspective she did great in her first game but as a coach I have got to figure out a way to teach them to quit chasing bugs and start chasing the soccer ball. If anyone is interested in watching her play, our games are every Monday night, 6pm at the Bessemer YMCA.
God Bless you for checking on our family. It brings so much joy to our family knowing that every week different individuals from all over the world care about our little Sarah Anne and how she is doing with her fight against cancer. Keep praying, the end of her treatment is within site. Hopefully, she will be done this November! Awesome huh?
Thanks again for checking on us!
Hicks Family
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 at 12:31 PM (CST)
***Week 94 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne is doing great! Her little sister, Emma Grace, is finally getting over double ear infections and she is starting to feel good again. We are getting close to being done with our home addition. Yeah!
Please pray for peace and strength for our friends Jason & Mandy Hinson. Their sweet little 3 year old daughter Madison, went to be with our Lord after her battle with Neuroblastoma. This is the first friend from our hospital that Sarah Anne has had that has passed away. Her funeral is today. Kelly and I both have very heavy hearts and teary eyes because of the pain that our friends are experiencing. How precious are our children and we should never take one day for granted. Sarah Anne does not know about Madison and there is no way that Kelly nor I could tell her. How sad! I do find peace in knowing little Madison is in heaven and what a beautiful place it must be. Please remember this family in your prayers.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Thursday, February 28, 2002 at 12:54 PM (CST)
***Week 93 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne is doing really well right now. Her liver functions are in the OK range and her blood counts are pretty good as well. Yesterday Sarah Anne had to have her arm stuck for CBC and her shot of Chemo in her leg. Relative to other days it was a pretty easy day for Sarah Anne at the clinic. Now Emma on the other hand had a very bad day. Poor thing, she threw up in her stroller while Kelly was visiting one of our little friends in the hospital. Needless to say it is not very good to be visiting the oncology floor with a sick child, but who knew she was sick enough to puke? Last night Emma was one very sick little girl. She did not want to eat or drink anything. She sleep most of the night, instead of playing with her big sister. She also ran a fever. Kelly & I decided to let her sleep with us since she was so sick. Well, you guessed it, she threw up in our bed. So Kelly & Emmie had to take a bath and dad got the great task of cleaning up the mess. I guess it was my turn! Well, this morning our little "M" seems to be feeling better. Kelly got her to eat some cheese toast and drink some diluted juice. So hopefully she just had some kind of 24 hour virus. We are now praying that no one else in our family comes down with it.
Please pray hard for our little friend Madison. She has Neuroblastoma and has relapsed. She is very sick and the doctors are saying her outcome is not very good. She is such a sweet little girl. Please also pray for strength & peace for her parents, Jason & Mandy.
God Bless You and Thanks for checking on us,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Thursday February 21, 2002 4:36 PM CST
***Week 92 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Well after a week of being off of chemo and antibiotics Sarah Anne's liver functions have gone down. They are still high but her oncologist feels that they are at a level in which she can start back on her treatments. So yesterday Sarah Anne got her shot of Methotrexate in her little leg and started back on her 6mp at night. Thanks for your prayers, they were definitely answered!
We are in the middle of a home addition and remodling project at home and things really are taking shape. We are so excited about having some extra room in our house. I am planning on building the girls a set of bunk beds that will be a castle for their new "Princess Bedroom" that we are adding. They are so excited about sharing a bedroom. Right now, they each have their own but would rather be together (sweet huh?). When we are finished we will still have one bedroom as a nursery, Emma's old bedroom will be a study, the girls will now share a bedroom and Kelly & I also have a new Master bedroom. Wow! Crazy huh? Any way, all is well right now and we are back on track with Sarah Anne's treatments! Praise God! Please remain faithful to our Lord and Savior. All things are possible for those who believe.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
Thursday February 14, 2002 7:51 AM CST
***Week 91 of 130*** HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
Dear Family & Friends,
Please say extra prayers this week for Sarah Anne. Her liver functions are high again, except this time they are about 20 times what they should be. (ALT 520) Dr. Castleberry has stopped all of Sarah's chemo. and her weekly antibiotics hoping this will give her liver a chance to recover. I am sure this is will work itself out but none the less it is a little scary for Kelly & me. Sarah Anne threw up Sunday night for no obvious reason and after talking with her oncologist he thinks it was related to her high liver functions. She seems to be feeling fine right now, so we are praying that she is already getting better. As always we are so thankful for your prayers, notes of encouragement and love. Hoping to get some new photos posted soon.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Friday February 8, 2002 7:21 AM CST
***Week 90 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Well, we all survived Sarah Anne's "WORKS WEEK". Some of us made it better than others. To start with in the middle of one of those prednisone moments of excitement Sarah Anne fell down and hit her mouth on a toy. Well, she started screaming and spitting blood, then Kelly started screaming for me, I was outside feeding the dogs, then Kelly screamed for me even louder, I come inside then I start freaking out, because at that moment Kelly nor I knew where all that blood was coming from. So for a moment everyone except little Emma was freaking out. Then we realized that the blood was coming from a severe bite inside Sarah Anne's mouth and we finally calmed down. Poor Sarah when she fell, she bit down on the inside of her swollen check with three teeth. Ouch! It was one of the worst mouth sores I have ever seen but it seems to be healing well. Now for little Emma. Well, she has had her hand slammed in a door a couple of times, her fingers shut up in drawers a couple of times, and finally her little head smashed in the van door. Poor Emma! A true Survivor Show or Fear Facter Stunt, would be to lock someone in a house with a couple of kids on steroids for a week, now that would get some ratings! What a week but the good news is that we only have one more scheduled prednisone pulse :)!Sarah Anne is feeling better but little Emma seems to have a cold again.
How about some better news? The girls are now taking gymnastics at the YMCA. The people there are so nice. They are letting the girls take lessons for free and all we have to do is pay our monthly family fee. The girls seem to really love gymnastics and they are the cutest little gymnasts I have ever seen. They mind their teacher really well and seem to be having so much fun!We also are very excited because this week we are moving into our new church building. It is beautiful and the girls are so excited about their new Sunday School class rooms. It is going to be awsome to see what God has planned for us in our new facilities. As always thanks for checking on us and being a part of our lives. We need you and your prayers. We give God all the glory for Sarah's well being and for your faithfulness in praying for our family.
Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace
Thursday January 31, 2002 7:50 AM CST
***Week 89 of 130*** (WORKS WEEK)
Wow, I am so sorry for not updating before now. I was out of town last week and Kelly was busy taking care of everything while I was in Rhode Island. The past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic around our house. I was in a car accident on 1/17/01 (not my fault) which resulted in our car getting totaled but thankfully no one was hurt. We are also in the middle of a home addition to our house. Then you have got all the usual stuff, so sorry for not letting you know how things our going before now. Well, Emma is feeling better and she is getting over her cold. But now she has something going on in one of her eyes. It waters and mats up really bad in the mornings??? Sarah Anne is feeling fine. She has been a little moody lately but still all in all a sweetie. This week is a "works week". (Spinal tap, Methotrexate, Vincristine, Prednisone, 6mp and Bactrim) Please pray for her during this week. The steroids always make her swell up and very grumpy! Oh, yeah pray for Kelly and me too. Thanks for your faithfulness and your love for our family. We need you!
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
***Week 86 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sorry for the delay in updating Sarah's web site. Sarah Anne's liver counts are still elevated and she will continue to have to have weekly blood draws from her arm, as opposed to her finger. She looks great and feels great right now. We are so thankful for this, considering everyone else in the family at some point or another has had a cold. Our little Emma is sick with a cold right now. We have so much to be thankful for and we give God all the glory for we relize that our times are in His Hands. It is our prayer that God will use Sarah Anne's battle with cancer to bring Glory through our family to His Kingdom. We are so thankful for your prayers and your faithfulness. We hope in some way that your relationship with God has grown by remaining faithful in praying for Sarah Anne and our family. It is things like this that give us comfort, because we know God can use bad situations for His good. Thanks for loving Sarah Anne like you do and for being God's touch to our family.
For we know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him and who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
God Bless you,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, Emma Grace Hicks
Friday, January 04, 2002 at 12:23 PM (CST)
***Week 85 of 130***
Happy New Year!
Happy 4th Birthday Sarah Anne!
Dear Friends & Family,
We hope you had a great Christmas! We surely did! All is well around our house. Sarah's blood counts are still right where they need to be. But her liver counts are 3 times what they should be. Which means her body is having a hard time filtering out the excess chemo. Please keep this concern in your prayers. They will run more tests next Wednesday. We got some snow this week and I can't begin to tell you how much that meant to the girls. They loved it! We made some great family memories during their first experience with snow. Sarah Anne is having a Disney Princess Birthday Party this Saturday and we will be celebrating her 4th Birthday! What a Blessing that is! We will post snow & Birthday pictures soon.
God Bless You,
Hicks Family
Wednesday, December 19, 2001 at 03:55 PM (CST)
*** Week 83 of 130 ***
Ho, Ho, Ho Merry Christmas!
Sorry for missing last weeks update but as usual it has been kind of busy around the Hicks Home. Well, the good news is that little Sarah Anne is hanging in there like a big dog. Her blood counts are right were they need to be and she seems as if she feels fine the majority of the time. Today she just had to have her blood work done and a shot of chemotherapy in her leg. When dad asked her how her leg shot went she said,"fine, just fine". Sarah Anne continues to amaze us with her strength and will.
We are praying for a healthy Christmas and a Happy New Years Holiday this year. It is kind of sad to read Sarah Anne's history log of what we were going through last year. But God helped us make it through it and He is going to continue to bless our family with good health. We have Faith in that!
One of the true blessings that have come from Sarah Anne's battle with cancer is the awareness of just how many kind, caring and loving people there really are in this sometimes cruel world. Our family has been truly blessed by loving family and friends (some of whom we have never met, yet in our hearts we love them like family). They are true angels and we are thankful for them being God's gentle touch on this earth. If you only knew how much joy and comfort the little notes, cards, emails, gifts and prayers bring to our life. Thank You for not allowing us to go through this valley alone. We pray that your crown in heaven is full of precious jewels because of your kindness that you have shown our family.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel of the Lord said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:8-12
God Bless You and Merry Christmas,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Thursday, December 06, 2001 at 11:30 AM (CST)
***Week 81 of 130***
Merry Christmas!
I am happy to tell you that everything went really well with Sarah Anne's spinal tap yesterday. Besides the long wait, her visit was very uneventful. Sarah Anne is truly amazing when it comes to enduring her back stick (LP). She gets a little Versed which makes her a little relaxed and she also sees clouds floating in the room. She can still feel pain but she never moves or cries. It is a tough procedure to watch but with Sarah handling it so well it is a breeze. The toughest part is keeping her little sister occupied during the procedure. Sarah Anne's counts are right where they need to be. So I think raising her chemo. to 85% was the right thing to do. As always we are so thankful for your thoughts and prayers. I hope everyone is taking time to enjoy this holiday season and to thank God for all your blessings.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, November 28, 2001 at 05:37 PM (CST)
***Week 80 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sorry for not posting an update last week but with Thanksgiving and everything else it was a busy week. Kelly administered Sarah Anne's chemo shot at home and did it like she was an RN. Kelly also fixed the entire Thanksgiving meal for our family all by herself and it was delicious!!! I have told her that she now has raised the standard for cooking in our house and that anything with helper at the end was no longer acceptable. We had a great Thanksgiving with so much to be thankful for.
Today Kelly was able to take Sarah back to clinic 5 to receive her treatment, because hopefully she is past the chicken pox scare. Sarah's counts are doing great with the new 85% dose of chemo. and as usual she did not cry for her shots. I hope you stop to give thanks during this holiday season and please continue to remember our family in your prayers.
Happy Holidays,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace Hicks
Thursday, November 15, 2001 at 04:14 PM (CST)
***Week 78 of 130*** Only 1 year to go!!!!
I am so excited about this week. Unofficially Sarah Anne only has 52 weeks or less of treatment to go. Wow, to you that may seem like a long time but to our family we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Praise God! I am so happy about the way Sarah Anne has been doing lately. It seems as if she is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she will be turning 4 in January. That means that over half of her life so far she has been receiving chemotherapy. I am proud to say that she is one tuff little girl and Kelly & I are very proud of how she has handled all of this thus far. She is so smart! I know most parents say that about their kids, but she really is. She knows all her colors, counts to 20, says her ABC's, she is a wiz on the computer and she can even add & subtract a little. See how smart she is! I guess you can tell I am feeling kinda proud right now.
Well, we still are praying that she avoids coming down with the chicken pox. Yesterday, at the clinic she was handled as if she was a carrier but we are still hoping that she is not. Her counts are still a little too high as well. But hopefully after uping her chemo. to 85% that should bring them down to the range in which the doctors feel is best for preventing the leukemia from ever coming back. If she is going to get the chicken pox at least her counts are high enough that she should be able to fight them off with out too many complications. But why don't we still think positive and continue to pray that she avoids them all together. Other than that all is well. To avoid Sarah having to wear a mask again and possibly give another child chicken pox our oncologist gave Kelly Sarah Anne's chemo. shot for her to give Sarah at home. Pray for Kelly to not have any problems. Other than that all is well.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you. 1 Peter 5:7
God Bless You All and Thanks So Much For Loving Our Family Like you Do.
Hicks Family
Friday, November 09, 2001 at 08:17 AM (CST)
***Week 77 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Well, it has been a very busy and eventful week around the ol' Hicks house. Sarah Anne is feeling great and is full of energy. We found out why she is feeling so good Wednesday at her weekly clinic visit. Sarah's blood counts (imune system) is almost that of a normal child who is not receiving chemo. So our oncologist has decided to up her chemo doses to 85% of what she is supposed to be getting. She was at 75% because every 8 weeks or so she ended up in the hospital with low blood counts. We also found out Wednesday that Sarah Anne was exposed to Chicken Pox at church on Sunday. It just so happened that we found out a little too late for her to receive the anti-viral medication that they give people with suppressed imune systems to prevent or lessen the case of Chicken Pox. So I guess her increased imune system or high blood counts couldn't have happened at a better time. Please join us in praying that little Sarah Anne avoids coming down with Chicken Pox. Also, my sister went into labor on Wednesday night and had a baby boy on Thursday morning. Sarah Anne was so excited about her new cousin but she was sad that she couldn't see him up close because of the threat of carrying Chicken Pox. She had a hard time understanding why she couldn't welcome him in to this world wth a big kiss. Please keep us in your prayers.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Monday, November 05, 2001 at 11:52 AM (CST)
***Week 76 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Everything is going well around the Hicks' home. Sarah Anne's blood counts are great and she seems to be feeling well. Her weekly visit to clinic 5 at Children's Hospital was a pretty easy one. She just had to get her finger stuck and a leg shot of Methotrexate. Thanks for checking on us and as always keep us in your prayers.
God Bless,
The Hicks Family
Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 07:52 AM (CDT)
***Week 75 of 130***
Dear Family and Friends,
So sorry for not updating the web site last week but it was a pretty hectic week. Just assume that no news is good news if we happen to miss another week in the future. Well, that is exactly what I bring you today, good news.
Sarah Anne is doing really well. Her blood counts continue to be right where they need to be and overall she seems to feel fine. I think the steroids from her last "Works Week" are finally getting out of her little system. Kelly is no longer having to fix her food at 2am in the morning and she is starting to slim back down to her normal weight. Kelly leads a candle lighters support group with another Great Mom (Jennifer Myers) one Tuesday a month and while they were at the hospital yesterday they decided to go ahead and get the kids blood work and chemo shots. So that means Kelly does not have to make another trip to the hospital today.
We are so excited about this weekend! We are going to meet some of our friends, who are from Baton Rouge LA, in Mississipi and spend the weekend camping. Both of our girls are so excited! Please pray for good weather and a safe trip.
I want to thank our Chemo Angels for all wonderful thoughts and surprises they have sent Sarah Anne. I can't begin to tell you how much joy and excitement Sarah Anne gets from opening her mail. I hope to take some digital pictures of her and her surprises and post them for you to see her beautiful smile. Thank You and God Bless You for your kindness.
Keep the Faith,
The Hicks Family
Friday, October 12, 2001 at 07:33 AM (CDT)
***Week 73 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne is doing pretty well, considering all that she went through on Wednesday. She was at Children's Hospital for about 5 hours. She had her arm stuck, a spinal tap and her central port accessed. She received 3 doses of chemotherapy and she is now on steroids for the next week. I am so thankful for how God gives us and especially Sarah, strength when we need it. It has been a tough week emotionally for our family. Matthew Billy a little friend who had AML went on to be with our Lord and our other close little friend Matthew Myers is in the hospital because of low blood counts. Please remeber these families in your prayers.
One of the toughest parts of fighting cancer is the ups and downs that it brings in to your life. We are so sad because of the pain and loss it brings but we are so happy & thankful that our precious little girl is doing so well. Please continue to be faithful in praying for our family!
The Lord God is my strength. He makes me like a deer that does not stumble so I can walk on the steep mountains.
Habakkuk 3:19
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 08:29 PM (CDT)
Hi friends,
I'm sorry we didn't update Sarah Anne's web page last week. Steven's office is in the middle of a big move & he hasn't had time to do anything extra. And I don't have an excuse, except for the two little girls in this house.
Her visit went well. She still has great counts. But we got some sad news about our friend, Matthew Billy. Please keep his family in your prayers. (This is not our 3 year old buddy, Matthew Myers. I know many of you have grown to love him through us. Although he is not feeling very well either & has been taken off chemo until he recovers.)
Please pray for little Sarah Anne this Wednesday because she is due a spinal tap with all the yucky drugs. Steven calls this week "the works". She will be sick and moody all week. So keep her in your prayers at least until next Wednesday.
Thank you for your love & prayers. We appreciate you all. God has really blessed us during this trial.
Kelly, Steven, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, September 26, 2001 at 01:03 PM (CDT)
***Week 71 of 130***
Dear family & friends,
I am so happy to report that Sarah's counts today were great. The little rash on the tip of her nose is better, as well. Kelly & I could not be happier with the way things have been going lately with Sarah's fight against Leukemia. I know God is truly an awesome God and is blessing our family with good health. Sarah is growing up so quickly and is becoming smarter every day. To be only three years old she amazes us with how perceptive she is. Not much goes by Sarah Anne unnoticed! She ask me the other day if the leaves were going to start to fall off of the trees because it was getting colder. There is so much that God teaches us through our children if we will just stop and listen. One of the blessings of this trial in our families life is the increased sense of appreciation of the little things that God has blessed us with, like the simple changing of seasons.
Psalms 116:6 The Lord protects those with child like faith.
Please continue to pray for our family!
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Thursday, September 20, 2001 at 09:52 AM (CDT)
***Week 70 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Wow, has our family been busy lately! We had a great time at Camp-Smile-A-Mile this past weekend. The weather could not have been any better. Both of our girls had a blast and their counselors were great! It also was really good for Kelly and I to get to spend some time with a few of the families we have grown very close to. God has blessed us with many new friends. We could not be doing as well as we are with out them. If you are interested in seeing some cute photos of Sarah Anne & her friend Matthew Myers dancing at Camp Sam you can check his web site out. www.caringbridge.com/al/matthewmyers All went well yesterday at Sarah Anne's clinic visit. She is doing really well and we give God all the Glory for how well she is doing. Thanks so much for all your prayers and support.
Philipians 4:6 Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.
God Bless You,
The Hicks Clan
Thursday, September 13, 2001 at 09:57 AM (CDT)
***Week 69 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne continues to act & feel great!!! But she has a weird looking circular rash about the size of a dime on the tip of her nose. Last week the nurse practitioners told us it was a bug bite but Kelly & I new better. Our onc. looked at it yesterday and feels that it is either an isolated case of ring worm or some other huge word that I can't even spell. We are treating it with a topical cream and will watch it for the next week. Hopefully this antifungal cream will make it go away. Sarah Anne's blood counts were still great and right in line with where they need to be. Our little Emma Grace is now 2 years old and it is so hard for us to beleive. We are looking forward to this weekend because our family is going to the Family Camp @ Camp-Smile-A-Mile. This is Alabama's Oncology camp for children. It is so nice and loads of fun for the kids. Please remember the Annual Light The Night Walk for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is coming up on the 20th of September @ 5 pm. This is going to be a fun night for everyone! Please come even if you don't want to take part in the short walk around Southside, it is great just to enjoy the food, music & fellowship.
God Bless You & Thanks For Your Prayers,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Thursday, September 06, 2001 at 12:01 PM (CDT)
***Week 68 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sorry for the delay in updating Sarah's web site but it has been very busy around work & home lately. Well, I think everyone is starting to get over the colds we had last week and Sarah Anne has yet to come down with it. Praise God! I can't tell you how thankful we are that she has not gotten this little virus that has been going around. With her low immune system even the slightest cold can be hard for her to get over. We have been so blessed lately with a healthy little trooper. She had another good day at the hospital on Wednesday. She had her finger pricked for her blood counts and she received her shot of Methotrexate in her little leg. She makes sure to tell everyone that she didn't even cry. We tell her that it is ok to cry if she wants to but she is determined to now go through this with out many tears. We are so proud of little Sarah Anne and how she is handling all that she is going through. She is such an encouragement to us and we pray that she is to you as well. Her counts again were right where they needed to be. It seems as if 75% 6mp dosage is just right for her little body to handle. Sarah is getting excited because this weekend we will be celebrating her little sister's(Emma Grace) 2nd Birthday with a party. We are going to have some friends over for a teddy bear picnic and birthday party. It is hard to believe that our baby is now 2 years old. Emma was just barely eight months old when we Sarah Anne began her fight against cancer. In some ways we are glad that time is going by fast and in others we are sad because of all the time we have spent fighting this dreadful disease. Please continue to remember our family in your prayers!
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY! "Emma Grace" 9/9/01
We love you!
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & Emma
Wednesday, August 29, 2001 at 05:01 PM (CDT)
***Week 67 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Dad has been sick with a cold/virus, mom is now getting it, Emma has had a little runny nose but Sarah Anne seems to be fine! I am so thankful for times like this. Sarah has really been feeling great lately. Praise God! Kelly & I both had a yearly check up this week and Sarah Anne was so excited to see that Mom & Dad both have to go to the doctor too. Sarah's hospital visit today went well, except that there was a child that was in clinic that had relasped after being off treatment for 10 years. Kelly said it was a pretty sad day for that family and the nurses at the clinic. Sarah Anne's counts still remain in the normal range for a child undergoing chemo. I know that God is answering our prayers and I am so thankful for that! Keep the faith!
God Bless You,
Hicks Family
Thursday, August 23, 2001 at 01:28 PM (CDT)
***Week 66 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
All is well at the Hicks home this week. Sarah Anne had a pretty easy week (compared to others) of treatments.:) She went yesterday and had her blood checked & received a shot of Methotrexate in her leg. Other than that she is still taking daily 6mp and Bactrim on the weekends. We had a great weekend this past week and we celebrated Kelly's 31st Birthday. Sarah Anne & Emma Grace got mommy a new Little People Fire Truck. Needless to say Mom was really excited about the present they picked out for her. But I think they were a little bias in their shopping. Dad got Mom a much needed new watch, which she seems to love. Next month is going to be a very busy month for us. September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Kelly is busy trying to get a Childhood Cancer Quilt to represent our state in Washington, DC this year. She is also helping out with this years "Kandles for Kids" at Liberty Park, September 9th from 6-8 pm. Also, our family will be going to Fall Family Camp @ Camp Smile-A-Mile Sept. 14-16. And we also are forming a team of walkers to walk in this years Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Light The Night Walk" Sept. 20 @ 5 pm in honor of our little trooper Sarah Anne. If you are interested in walking on our team please let Kelly or I know so we can put you on our roster.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, August 15, 2001 at 04:54 PM (CDT)
Yeah! ***Week 65 of 130*** Half Way Point!
Dear Family & Friends,
Can you believe that it has been 65 weeks since little Sarah Anne started her treatments? In some ways time has gone by so fast. In others, like unexpected hospital stays or unscheduled bone marrow aspirations it has made it feel as if she will never be off of chemotherapy. God gets all the glory for getting us this far! As we look back on the first half of Sarah's treatment, we realize that we could have never made it to this point with out our faith in God and our wonderful family & friends. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the past 65 weeks. Our lab nurse gave me a very spiritual poem and one line really touched my soul. It said, "God's mountain tops are truly beautiful, but it is in the valleys that I grow the most". This is a great way to sum up how I feel about the past 65 weeks. We are a forever changed family, some ways good and some ways not so good. We want to thank those who have helped us in so many ways, cards, balloons, gifts, financially, baby sitting, and most importantly for your prayers. But like I said last update, we still have 65 more weeks to go. So please don't stop your prayers and encouragement now!
I bet you are wondering when I am finally going to tell you how Sarah Anne's spinal tap went? It was great! Sarah's counts were good and they continue to hold steady. She was such a brave little girl today. She did not shed a tear for her finger stick, port accessing or her back stick! Can you believe that? She is such a big girl. As we were waiting on our Versed (loopy medicine) she calmly looked up at me and asked, "Daddy when am I going to get my back stick?". This was a gentle reminder that through all this mess, she is starting to grow up and that she is aware of what is going on around her. Kind of Sad! huh? Anyway, we had a good day at the hospital and we got to visit with our friends Hannah & Matthew. Next week should be a fairly easy day, just a finger stick and leg shot. Thanks for checking on us!!!!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Romans 15:13
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Wednesday, August 08, 2001 at 05:30 PM (CDT)
***Week 64 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
Today, was another pretty good hospital visit for Sarah Anne. We have had it kind of easy lately because she has only had to have weekly finger sticks, leg shots and daily oral chemotherapy. Her counts were still pretty good this week but they were down a little from last week. Hopefully this is just a normal up and down trend for kids under going chemo. Please say an extra prayer for Sarah Anne next Wednesday. She is scheduled for a leg shot and a spinal tap with chemo. Spinal taps are not easy for our family and especially tough on little Sarah Anne. There is always a lot of anxiety on weeks when she is due for a spinal tap or "back stick" is what Sarah refers to it as. As always thanks for checking on us and keep the prayers coming.
Some people think because a child is in remission means that they are cured but this is far from the truth. Getting children into remission is not as hard as getting them to stay in remission! This is a long fight, so please don't stop your prayers and support now. One thing we have learned through this fight so far is that cancer is a roller coaster ride never knowing what is going to happen next. So again, please remain faithful in praying for our family.
In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15
God Bless You,
The Hicks Family
Wednesday, August 01, 2001 at 01:30 PM (CDT)
***Week 64 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
Well, Sarah Anne had another good report on her blood counts today. Her counts were all in the expected range for a child undergoing chemotherapy. We are so relieved that she is now producing RBC like she is supposed to. Dad was not able to go to the hospital today but Kelly brought the girls by my office to let me give them a kiss. The first thing Sarah told me was that "I didn't even cry for my leg shot or my finger stick today, daddy!". That in itself makes me want to cry! We are so proud of how Sarah is dealing with the weekly hospital visits and chemotherapy. I know God is truly answering our prayers and has blessed us in so many ways. Thanks so much for checking on us and remember to leave us a message on our guest book!
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, July 25, 2001 at 03:45 PM (CDT)
***Week 62 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
I am so happy to tell you that Sarah Anne's visit to the hospital went really well today. Sarah Anne's CBC test results were really good. It seems as if her marrow is back on track and making all the blood components like it should. She received her shot of chemo in her leg and didn't experience any problems. This is such an answered prayer. We were worried that she might have to have another transfusion or even a bone marrow aspiration if her counts did not come back up. Thanks so much for your faithfulness, love & prayers. You will never know how much the little things you do mean to us.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24
Thanks for checking on our family,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & Emma
Monday, July 23, 2001 at 05:15 PM (CDT)
***Week 62 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
We are back home from our week long mission trip to St. Louis. What a wonderful experience this trip was for our family and church. We ministered to inner city children by hosting back yard bible clubs for 3 days. Then on the 4th day we presented God's plan for salvation and 20 children came to know Christ that day. Wow! Is that not the coolest thing in the world!! It was very sad to have to leave those sweet children but we had to come home. We just pray that the church we were working with continues to water the seeds that we planted within those sweet children.
Sarah Anne & Emma Grace did wonderful all week long. They got to spend the week with their best friends Maggie & Andie Blackwell. Sarah felt great the whole week and was able to keep up with all the other children. Kelly gave Sarah her shot of Chemo. while we were there and she did a wonderful job! We will be taking Sarah Anne to the hospital this Wednesday to have her blood counts checked and to get her leg shot of chemo. We are praying that her counts are as good as Sarah is feeling. It has been 2 weeks since her red blood cell transfusion and we are hoping that she is now making red blood cells on her own again.
Please join us in praying for good counts on Wednesday!
"The king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you do for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me".
Matthew 25:40
Yours in Christ,
Hicks Family
Monday, July 09, 2001 at 05:01 PM (CDT)
***Week 60 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
We took Sarah Anne back to Children's Hospital this morning to see if her little body was making red blood cells like it should. Her tests came back and told us that she was slowly starting to make red blood cells again but not at a fast enough rate to prevent her from needing a red blood cell transfusion. So around 11 am they began to prepare Sarah Anne for her transfusion. At about noon her bag of blood showed up and she began the 4 hour transfusion. Kelly and I prayed that the blood would be clean, thanked God for the donor and prayed that Sarah Anne would not have any problems receiving it. About 4:30 she was all done and so far she seems fine. Praise God! We are hoping this is going to give her a boost until her marrow can recover and start making red blood cells again. We are not real sure why she is having this problem. Our theory is that it is related to the recent viruses that she has had. We go back to the clinic this Friday for another blood test and to receive our dose of chemotherapy to take with us on our St. Louis trip next week.
Please pray that Sarah Anne doesn't experience any complications from her transfusion and that her body starts producing red blood cells like it should. We love and appreciate all of you. Your thoughts and prayers mean so much to us!
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & Emma
Friday, July 06, 2001 at 02:52 PM (CDT)
***Week 59 of 130*** Part 2
Dear Family & Friends,
We took Sarah Anne back to Children's Hospital today to see if her red blood cells were up. The CBC showed that they were not up and in fact they were down a little from Wednesday. The reticulyte test, which tells us if Sarah's marrow is producing red blood cells, showed that she is still not producing red blood cells like she is supposed to. The good news is that Sarah's other counts are great and she still feels fine. (The red blood cells are the ones that carry oxygen to the rest of your body.) So when they are low you are usually pale, tired and have frequent headaches. Right now, Sarah only complains of occasional headaches. (She is so Strong!) Because Sarah Anne looks and feels fine our oncologist decided to wait on the blood transfusion and recheck her on Monday. We will be watching Sarah closely this weekend to make sure she doesn't over do it. It has been a really busy and crazy week for all of us. Good thing we went on vacation last week. :)
When you pray, please pray for Sarah Anne's red blood cell count to come up. Also, please remember Kelly's grandfather in your prayers. He is in the hospital because he is in a lot of pain and can no longer stand or walk on his own. Tests are being done to see what is causing him these problems.
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Psalms 9:1-2
Thanks for checking on us and for keeping our family in your thoughts & prayers!
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Monday, July 02, 2001 at 04:47 PM (CDT)
***Week 59 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Well, we are back from our family vacation at the beach. It was great fun! Our girls had a wonderful time playing at the beach and swimming in the pool. Mom & Dad had a great time relaxing and enjoying the luxury of eating out. I must admit that after 6 days in Florida Kelly & I both were ready to come home.
We were immediately thrown back in to reality once we arrived home. Our Dalmatian had a big cut on her side so we had to take her to the vet. Then on Sunday morning we went to church, that afternoon we attended our 6th grade Sunday school swim party, that night we had a 4th of July party at church, and then a youth meeting after church. Wow! What a busy day that was! Sarah ran a temp. that night and then this morning it was gone. Today we spent 5 long hours at the hospital. Sarah's counts were ok except for her hemoglobin & hematocrit. They both were pretty low. Our favorite nurse Ms. Ruth called us once we were home and said that after running a test they found out that Sarah was not producing red blood cells like she is supposed to. So our oncologist wants us to come back in on Friday and if her red blood cells aren't better she might have to have a packed red blood cell transfusion. Please pray that between now and Friday Sarah Anne's counts improve to avoid having to have a transfusion.
God Bless You & Thanks for checking in on us!
The Hicks Family
P.S. Our friend, Chip Smith passed away while we were on vacation. Please keep his parents and sisters in your prayers. We are very sad for this family, but happy Chip is walking streets of gold with Jesus, and completely well! I guess we have a new angel watching over our kids now. We'll see him again one day.
Friday, June 22, 2001 at 04:56 PM (CDT)
***Week 58 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
Thanks for stopping by to check on Sarah Anne and our family. I have good news to share with you. Sarah Anne had a long but good day at Children's Hospital. First off, we were greeted by Linda & Andrew Watson our friends from Children's Harbor. Linda & Andrew have grown to become really close friends of ours. They were waiting with very special presents as we entered the clinic. Then Sarah Anne's counts came back and they were pretty good, including her platelets, which were up to 141k. Then Sarah Anne was given her vincristine and her methotrexate in her port and she didn't even cry. She then received her spinal tap by two of our nurse practioners, Meredith & Bethany. I must say, it was one of the easiest spinal taps Sarah Anne has ever had. Sarah Anne did not even cry a bit.(A huge answered prayer!) I must give thanks to the great nurses and staff in the Hem/Onc clinic at Children's Hospital of Birmingham. With out their skill,kindness, and love our weekly visits would be so much more difficult & painful. God Bless You All!
Well, all that to say our family is off to the beach next week. We will miss everyone and especially miss going to church this Sunday. But we will stop & give thanks to God for blessing our family with so much. I could not imagine being any more blessed than we are right now!
His touch defines our lives in every way, from the cradle to the grave, from morning to night, from year to year. Whether we yeild to that touch, of course, is our choice. But, oh, the differnce He can make.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Tuesday, June 19, 2001 at 12:14 PM (CDT)
***Week 57 of 130***
"THE WORKS WEEK!"
Hello Family & Friends,
As always we are so thankful that we have you and we appreciate you taking the time to check on our family! Well, Sarah Anne was able to get her shot of Chemo. last Friday which officially started her back on her chemotherapy schedule. Yeah! (Another answered prayer!) This Friday Sarah is scheduled for "The Works", which includes an arm stick, port accessed, leg shot, spinal tap and a week of steroids. The week of steroids will make our family vacation at the beach very interesting. I hope the fishermen have been catching a lot of seafood!!!
We had a little scare with Emma Grace this week. Monday Kelly was holding Emma's hand and Emma decided she didn't want to go any farther. So Emma decided to drop to the ground while Kelly was still holding her hand and that pulled Emma's elbow out of socket. Ouch! Well, today we took Emma to the doctor and after a few x-rays the doctor was able to pop it back in place. He said they call this "Nurse Maids Elbow"? Any way all is fine now. If we can just make it through Friday with out any unexpected events, hopefully our family will be off to the beach for some fun in the sun! When you pray, please pray for Sarah Anne to not be scared, to experience as little pain as possible & for good blood counts. Praise God for your faithfulness!
Remember that God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus!
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Thursday, June 14, 2001 at 10:23 AM (CDT)
***week 56 of 130*** Part 2
Dear Friends & Family,
I am so excited to tell you that Sarah Anne's fever has finally broke!!! :) Now, if her platelets will just go up to above 75k then we can get back on track with her treatments. We will be going to the clinic this Friday for a CBC to see if she can receive her shot of Methotrexate for this week. Next weeks treatment is going to be a tough one! We refer to it as the "Works". She will have her arm stuck, her port accessed, a leg shot, a spinal tap and finally a week of steroids. Wow! Then if everything is going well, we will be off to the beach for a week at the end of June. Thanks again for your thoughts & prayers. When you pray for Sarah Anne, please pray that her platelets come up so she can get back on her chemotherapy. (That's hard to say, but we have to keep in mind that the chemotherapy will ultimately help her!)
God Bless,
The Hicks Family
Monday, June 11, 2001 at 12:45 PM (CDT)
***Week 56 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
This is day 9 of high fever spikes for little Sarah Anne. Can you believe this? She also has been off of chemo for 9 days to give her body a chance to beat this virus. Sarah acts & feels ok as long as you give her Tylenol every 4 hours. But if she doesn't get a dose of Tylenol her fever immediatley spikes back up to 103+. Her cbc showed that her platelets are up to 50k but some of her other counts are coming down. Dr.Castleberry now thinks that she might have a parvo virus. Our little friend Hanna Acton was in the hospital this weekend because of low counts and high fever. Dr. Castleberry also thinks this is what Hanna has as well. The sad thing about this is there is nothing we can do except let this virus run its course. I guess Sarah & Hanna picked this up from the oncology clinic? Please continue to pray for Sarah Anne & our family. It is really hard to see your child with fever for this long. Emotions really start building up when things are not going like you wish they would. Thanks for everyones kindness, love & support through these difficult times in our lives.
Please pray for a miracle for Arielle Cooperman she is 9 years old and she has an identical twin (Alanna). She has just relasped after her bone marrow transplant, which was medically her last chance at beating her leukemia. I believe in miracles and I hope you do too!
"Oh that you would Bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.
1 Chron. 4:10
God Bless You,
The Hicks Family
Wednesday, June 06, 2001 at 02:50 PM (CDT)
***Week 55 of 130***
Dear Friends & Family,
Well, here it is day 4 of high fever for little Sarah Anne. After calling our clinic this morning they decided that we should bring Sarah Anne back in for another CBC. Sarah's platelet count was down to 38k, which is the lowest it has ever been. Her other counts were all fine but he did notice some classic mononucleosis cells in her peripheral blood. Dr. Castleberry feels like she has infectious mononucleosis virus, which comes from CMV (cytomeglovirus) and/or EBV (Epstein-Barr virus). After doing some research on the internet this makes since to me. Sarah has alot of the common symtoms seen with CMV (mono) but because of her young age they are less severe (She does not have a sore throat or enlarged lymph-nodes). This would explain her low platelet count, which is a common symtom of CMV. She is not considered contagious because of her age and CMV usually is spread by saliva??? I want to know who has been kissing on my daughter??? It normally takes about 10 days to get over this virus and once you get it you will always have the antibodies floating around in your body. Dr. Castleberry wants to see her back in the clinic on Monday morning.
Please pray for little Sarah Anne. She feels terrible right now and there is nothing we can do about it. She has one of those viruses that just has to run its course.
Thanks for checking on us & God Bless You,
Hicks Family
Monday, June 04, 2001 at 11:29 AM (CDT)
***Week 55 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah Anne has had a pretty tough weekend. She started running a fever Saturday morning and just really not feeling well. By Saturday night her fever spiked up to 103.7 and by the time we got to the ER around 11:30 pm it was 104. They could not get a blood return from her port so they had to get blood from her arm for the blood cultures. She had two chest x-rays and they were both clear. Sarah had some red spots on her chest and with such a high fever they wanted to check for menigitis. This meant Sarah had to endure a spinal tap in the ER. Ouch! This test came back negative also. So around 6 am on Sunday they sent us home after giving her a dose of IV Rocephrin (Antibiotic). Sunday her fever spiked up again so we continually gave her tylenol every 4 hours. Today, we took her to the clinic first thing. Our nurses were able to get a blood return from her port/central line to check and see if it was infected. We dont have the results yet. But her oncologist feels that this is just a bad virus and that it will work itself out. Sarah's platelets are continuing to fall (today 62k) Should be 140-400k! So she is off of all chemotherapy until her fever breaks and her platelets come up.
Please pray that Sarah Anne gets well real soon. This week is VBS at our church and it will be sad if she misses it.
God Bless You and Thank You for your Prayers,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Wednesday, May 30, 2001 at 04:19 PM (CDT)
***Week 54 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
I hope your Memorial Day weekend was as relaxing as ours was. We had a very relaxing and fun filled weekend. Friday night we treated the Blackwell family to dinner at our house and let our girls spend some time playing together. This was our way of showing Kevin & Lorrie how much it means to us that they are walking in the Rock N Roll marathon in honor of Sarah Anne this Sunday morning. Their daughter Maggie and Sarah Anne have grown to become best friends.(See new photos) Saturday we spent the entire day at home swimmming, swinging, and helping daddy work outside. Sunday was a whole day of learning how God wants us to be Godly parents. Monday we helped out with our annual youth barbeque sale at the church and spent some time at MawMaw & PawPaw's house.
Sarah had another great day at Children's Hospital and this time the nurse gave Sarah her shot in the right spot. Sarah's platelets are falling a little bit but all of her other counts seem fine. The dropping platelets could be related to her ITP??? Please continue to pray for Sarah Anne & our family. We are doing well right now but we still have a very long road ahead of us. Also, please say a special prayer for Kevin & Lorrie Blackwell, as well as our other friends that are part of LLS TNT, this Sunday Morning. They will be walking 26.2 miles in honor of Sarah Anne and her fight against leukemia. And please pray for the Blackwell's daughters Maggie (3) and Andie (1+) because I know they will miss their Mom & Dad while they are in California.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so entangles, and let us run with perseverance. Hebrews 12:1
God Bless You,
The Hicks Family
Wednesday, May 23, 2001 at 01:44 PM (CDT)
***Week 53 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
Well, I bring you good news again. Sarah Anne is doing really well right now. Her counts were a little lower this week but they are still in the good range. I think the warmer weather and getting past the flu season is making a big difference in how she feels.
We did have a little problem while receiving Sarah's shot of chemotherapy. A brand new nurse came in to give Sarah her shot and 1) she didn't know what emla(numbing cream) was nor did she wipe it off before wiping Sarah's leg with alcohol 2) when she gave Sarah her shot she totally missed the spot that was numbed with the emla cream. Needless to say Sarah Anne did not make it through this without shedding a few tears. Oh how I wish I would have spoken up sooner!! Other than that it was a pretty good day at Children's Hospital.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & Emma Hicks
Thursday, May 17, 2001 at 06:06 PM (CDT)
***Week 52 of 130***
Dear family & friends,
What a great week we have had!!! First off, we had a wonderful mothers day because we are blessed to have an awesome mom & wife. We love you mommy! Sarah & Emma both have felt really good this week. The weather here in Birmingham has been great (high 85, low 60).
Sarah's weekly hospital visit was short and pretty easy. Sarah just had to have her finger poked and a shot of methotrexate in her little leg. Her counts were so good, that we did not even have to see Dr. Castleberry. Emma had to have a follow up blood test because her counts were a little low a couple of weeks ago. Can you beleive that are non-cancer kid is having to have multiple blood tests??? Hopefully all will come back fine. Thanks for checking on us!
Happy Mothers Day! We love you Mommy!
God Bless You,
Steven, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Thursday, May 10, 2001 at 10:05 AM (CDT)
***Week 51 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
All is well this week with the Hicks family. It is kind of weird because this week has been so normal. We haven't had any low counts, fevers, runny noses, coughs or any of the others that we have been experiencing. Emma got a good report a her doctors visit on Friday. Finally, she is up to the 25th percentile on her weight chart!
Sarah's weekly visit to the hospital went great as well! Her counts were up a little bit which, is great news (ANC 800). She did so well receiving her shot of methotrexate and her finger poke.Thanks so much for checking on us and as always we appreciate your prayers.
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you". 1 Peter 5:7
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Wednesday, May 02, 2001 at 04:52 PM (CDT)
***Week 50 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
I am so glad to be able to share such good news with you. Sarah Anne's platelet count was up to 124k, which is more than double what it was last week(59k). That is a huge answered prayer. Sarah's blood counts looked so good that her oncologist decided not to perform the bone marrow aspiration. That is another huge answered prayer, because that is a very painful procedure and it now looks as if she is still in remission. I think Dr. Castlebery and the nurses were surprised to see Sarah's counts recover as quickly as they did. Sarah was such a big girl today! She sat in the lab chair and let Mrs. Bo draw blood from her arm all by herself. She also had a spinal tap and she did not cry one bit for either procedure. She amazes Kelly and I with how well she handles all that she has to endure.
Yesterday was Sarah Anne's one year diagnosis anniversary. We celebrated it by going to a petting farm and having a lakeside picnic. It was a wonderful time of reflection and a pretty relaxing day for everyone. It is amazing how blessed we are to have two sweet little girls and a God that will always love us. And for that Kelly and I are truly thankful.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalms 118:1
God Bless you and thanks again for your prayers on our childs behalf.
Steven & Kelly
Friday, April 27, 2001 at 10:20 AM (CDT)
***Week 49 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
First off I want to say thank you for all of your kind notes and your much needed prayers. It is the small things that make such a big difference to people who are experiencing tough times. We truly appreciate your love! I had a wonderful time in Chicago but I am so glad to be home. After talking with Kelly on Wednesday, and finding out about Sarah, I could not wait to get home to my family.
As most of you know Sarah is off of her chemotherapy because of her low platelet count 59k. (Normal 140-440k) We are very concerned about Sarah Anne. The doctors told Kelly on Wednesday that she could have ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura) which means her body is attacking her platelets and getting rid of them. This would account for her platelet count being so low. But her oncologist also wants to perform a Bone Marrow Aspiration to rule out the possibility of a relaspe of leukemia. Please pray that this is just a virus or even ITP and that her cancer is still in remission. I believe we can handle whatever it turns out to be but God tells us to pray specifically for our needs. Thanks for checking on our family!
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34
*** If any of you cancer moms have any helpful information on ITP please email Kelly! ****
God Bless You,
Steven & Kelly Hicks
Wednesday, April 25, 2001 at 10:54 PM (CDT)
Thursday morning update at bottom of message.......
Well, today went a little like I thought it would. Sarah Anne's platelet count had dropped to 59,000. So her doctor put a hold on her chemo for a week. I thought he said her ANC (a formula to determine her infection fighting ability) was fine at 2100 or something, but after I got home I refigured it & only got 706. So maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I know how to do it so I'm not sure about that. I might have Steven call when her gets home tomorrow afternoon & find out. But the thing that DID NOT go the way I had planned was that her doctor said after looking at the blood sample smear he found that her platelets were abnormally big. He said he was pretty sure she had developed ITP. What is ITP? I don't know either. He tried to explain it to me & I still feel like I don't know. Something about a secondary virus from one of the viruses she has caught lately. It attacks her platelets & causes her spleen not to recognize them. Her spleen treats them like bacteria & gets rid of them. And because her spleen is much more efficient than her suppressed bone marrow, she's killing her platelets faster than she's making them. He said if she were an adult they would immediately check her for Lupis. They don't know why some kids get it and some kids don't. They see it most often in children ages 2-6 with ALL. He said there is nothing they can do about it, but she would eventually out grow it. Usually within a year. Very few kids (10%) will keep it into adulthood & those children will have real problems as adults. For now all it will do to Sarah is keep her platelets low. That will cause bruises & bleeding. But she isn't a candidate for a transfusion because her spleen would immediately get rid of the new platelets too. I don't know what to think. I've looked everywhere on the internet & so far I've found nothing! And I've never heard of anyone having this. Maybe it is no big deal. I'm not going to worry over what MIGHT happen. On the other hand, once again he mentioned it could be related to a relapse of her Leukemia. He said we'll check her counts again after being off chemo for a week. And if they are good, she'll get her tap next week & they'll do a bone marrow biopsy while she's sedated to check her marrow for Leukemic cells.
Sorry this is so long & crazy. Maybe I'll have more information soon. I'll be glad when Steven gets home. He'll find out everything there is to know about this ITP. Until then I'll just pray Sarah Anne has a good chemo-free week!!!! With a good tap & bone marrow biopsy next Wednesday! Low platelets or high platelets, I don't care - just keep that BAD cancer away from her!!!! If a bruised up kid is the worst thing I get, I'll be ok. Tuesday, May 1, is her one year diagnosis anniversary. I can't "celebrate" it with the fear that she's relapsed. This has been the worst & best year of our lives. I know God will see us through this.
Thanks for your prayers & words of encouragement! We love you!
Kelly & Steven & girls!!!
Thursday morning update.... Sarah Anne is tired & is crying a lot. She's making me do everything, even little normal things. She says that she can't do them. I don't know why, except maybe she's just tired. Other than that she's fine. I have found several web sites about ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura). I've added some at the bottom of this page. I think she'll be fine as long as this is really what she has. I think it could easily be confused with a relapse. That is why they do a bone marrow biopsy to diagnose. We'll know after Wednesday.
Wednesday, April 18, 2001 at 12:44 PM (CDT)
***Week 48 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
All went well today at our weekly hospital visit. Sarah Anne had her finger poked and she received her weekly leg shot of Methotrexate. Her platelets were still low and in fact they have dropped from last week. (Today they were 79K, Should be 140-440k) Please pray that her platelet counts come up soon and that this is not the beginning signs of another bout of neutrapenia. (Low infection fighting ability) Also, please pray for Sarah Anne and Kelly next Wednesday. Sarah is scheduled for a spinal tap and I will be out of town, so Kelly will be by herself.
On the the brighter side of things:
We are so excited about this weekend! This will be our first visit to Camp-Smile-A-Mile!!! We will be leaving Saturday morning for the Tots & Tikes camp and be returning back home Sunday afternoon. This camp has such a wonderful ministry to children with cancer and we are looking forward to being a part of it.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Eph.4:2
God Bless You,
Steven & Kelly
Wednesday, April 11, 2001 at 12:37 PM (CDT)
***Week 47 of 130** I think?
Hello Family & Friends,
We had a great day at Sarah's weekly hospital visit. We got to visit with all of our clinic friends and nurses. Our favorite lab nurse (Mrs.Bo) was back and she is feeling a lot better after experiencing a mild stroke. Sarah was so glad to see her. She takes almost all of the anxiety of giving blood away and for that we love her. Sarah's counts were really good today, except for her platelets they were 89k. They should be around 140k-440k. Sarah also has a mild ear infection which is probally from the sinus drainage she has been experiencing. They gave her a prescription for an antibiotic which should take care of it. But other than those two things everything else is going great and we feel very blessed. God is good and he has blessed our family with so much.
Most important is the fact that God sent his Son to die on the cross for all of our sins and we should be so thankful for the debt He paid for us. It is because of God's grace that we are saved.
Happy Easter & May God Bless You,
Steven & Kelly
Wednesday, April 04, 2001 at 05:10 PM (CDT)
***Week 46 of 130***
Dear Family and Friends,
Thanks again for stopping by to check on Sarah Anne and our family. Your notes of encouragement and prayers mean so much to us. I am so happy to tell you that other than a little runny nose Sarah seems to be doing really well. Her ANC was 2100 this week which is really good considering that she is on weekly chemo. Please pray for little Emma Grace. She went for her 18 month checkup and she had another bi-lateral ear infection. This will make two in the last few months. Our pediatrician is also still concerned about her weight and her verbal communication skills. Kelly and I aren't too worried. We think she is just going to be a slow talker and she is probally going to be a petite child. We have to take Emma back in a month for another checkup so please pray for some change in her weight.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
God Bless You,
Steven & Kelly
Friday, March 30, 2001 at 08:43 AM (CST)
***Week 45 of 130***
Dear Friends & Family,
Sorry for the delay in posting Sarah's update but it has been a very busy week at work and home. Sarah Anne's counts were fine her ANC(Infection Fighting Ability) was about 1600. She got her finger pricked and just had to have a shot of chemotherapy in her leg. So all in all it was a pretty easy day for her. Some other good news is that we had Emma's hearing tested this week and every thing was fine. That is a huge answered prayer! Also, while Emma was at the doctors office Sarah Anne got to spend the day with her best friend Maggie (Thanks Lorrie!).
***For everyone that is training for the TNT Marathon in honor of Sarah Anne, we just want you to know that we appreciate all that you are doing in helping find a cure for this beast called cancer.***
Eph.2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
It is our families prayer that your faith is strengthened by being a part of this trial in which we are going through.
God Bless you,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma
Tuesday, March 20, 2001 at 04:26 PM (CST)
***Week 44 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
After one hospital stay and 3 weeks of being off of chemotherapy I am happy to tell you that Sarah Anne's counts were back up as of Monday (ANC 5049, wow!) and she is now back on chemotherapy (kind of). We thank and give God the Glory for our answered prayers! We did experience one little problem but I think it is no big deal. After spending a wonderful and relaxing Saturday afternoon at the "Promise Land" (Thanks to Emily & Howard Wise & Children's Harbor, we love & appreciate you), we experienced a little problem on Sunday. This was going to be the first Sunday in a long time that our entire family was going to get to go to church but as we were getting off of the exit to go to church, Emma Grace threw up! So much for our family going to church together!!! Then, after getting such good news at the hospital on Monday morning, Sarah Anne threw up after she woke up from her afternoon nap. So we held her 6mp pill one more day to give her a chance to fight off this stomach bug before we bring her counts back down with chemotherapy. Can you believe this??? We are praying for warm sunny weather and no sickness within our family nor at our church. Both of our girls really love their church classes and it is just about the only interaction they have with other children. Please continue to pray for our family and especially for our girls to get to feeling better.
Our Strength, John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid".
Thanks for checking on us,
Steven & Kelly
Monday, March 12, 2001 at 04:46 PM (CST)
***Week 43 of 130***
Dear Family and Friends,
Well, after a week and a half of being off of chemotherapy you would think Sarah Anne's counts would be up but they're not. The strange thing is that she acts like she feels pretty good but after her blood check today at the hospital we found out that her counts are still too low for her to resume treatments (ANC 307). So I guess we will wait and try again next week. Please pray that Sarah Anne's counts come up over this next week, so she can get back on schedule with her treatments. It is kind of strange for Kelly and I because we can tell how much better she feels when she is not taking her chemotherapy and that makes us so happy. But at the same time we also realize that it is the chemotherapy that will eventually cure our child of this cancer. So we are really hoping she is able to get back on her chemotherapy real soon. Another cancer parent explained it nicely by saying "That childhood cancer is the longest and scariest roller coaster ever". That is exactly how we feel at times but thankfully we know the one operating the roller coaster. It is through our Faith in Him that keeps us going.
Please say an extra prayer for Sarah Anne's counts.
God Bless You,
The Hicks Family
Friday, March 09, 2001 at 03:01 PM (CST)
Dear friends,
It has been a crazy week around here. As Steven wrote on our last journal entry, Sarah Anne had to be admitted to the hospital Sunday for low counts, fever, nausea, and headaches. She was one sick little girl! But after a few days of IV antibiotics and fluids she was able to come home Tuesday afternoon. Her counts were still very low, but they were improving so the doctor thought we could be discharged. We've been in the house since then & she seems to get stronger each day.
This hospital stay was easier in some ways than the past. We knew she was just neutropenic (low white counts) and had not relapsed, so that was a relief. And it was shorter, that’s always better! But because her port hasn't been acting right they had to use an IV in her arm too. And for a child with little veins that hurts! She still says her arm hurts & protects it when we change clothes. Now we have some new fears to talk about & get over.
We didn’t go to clinic this week because we knew she wouldn’t be well enough to receive her treatment, so we go next Monday. The attending oncologist said our oncologist might want to decrease her dose of the chemotherapy that we give her at night. It seems Sarah has had a harder time with low counts since they increased her dose in November. We’ll see what our onc says about that Monday.
I have some GOOD news!! They got a blood return from Sarah’s port Tuesday afternoon!! That is VERY good news! Our NP put TPA in it to dissolve whatever was blocking the line. After 2 ½ hours it flushed & got a return just fine. I just pray that it has been fixed & we won’t have any more problems. I hope they access it Monday to see.
Thank you for your prayers and encouraging words. We’ve been blessed with wonderful friends through all of this. We really appreciate you!!
God Bless,
Kelly
P.S. These friends need extra prayers: Jessica Thompson, Chip Smith, and Arielle Cooperman.
Monday, March 05, 2001 at 12:12 PM (CST)
Dear Family and Friends,
Just wanted to let everyone know that Sarah Anne was admitted Sunday via the ER for neutrapenia(low wbc) and fever. Last Wednesday was when they could not get a blood return on her port and her ANC was 480. Because they tried so many different things with her port and her ANC being so low while on prednisone, we worried that when she stopped prednisone that her counts would drop. We also were concerned about all the port sticking and possible infection associated with that. But I am, praying that this is just viral suppression of her counts and the fever is associated with low counts. One of our NP was a little concerned to see us admitted again for the same symptoms we experienced in December. But after talking with the oncologist they think it is 6mp and viral related. Sarah has been on a higher dose of chemotherapy (50mgs 6mp/day) for about 3 months. Please pray that Sarah’s counts come up, her fever breaks and she gets to come home soon. It is so hard on the entire family when we are inpatient but I am thankful that it seems to be just the usual stuff (what ever that means?). I am so thankful that I can ask for prayers on Sarah's behalf and know that she will receive a blessing because of our Faith.
God Bless Everyone,
Steven & Kelly Hicks
Thursday, March 01, 2001 at 05:30 PM (CST)
***Week 41 of 130*** Again
Dear Family & Friends,
Yesterday, was a really bad day for Sarah Anne at the hospital (5 hours). Her ANC (infection fighting ability)was down to 480 and she is having some sinus congestion problems, plus they could not get a blood return on her port after hours of trying. This was the first time that Sarah has cried this hard and she begged to go get in the van and go home.(It was so sad) They decided to hold all of her treatments except her vincristine (VCR) which needed to go into her port. They tried saline, heparin and finally TPA (tissue plasminogen activator) and still could not get a blood return. The weird thing is that it flushes just fine. Stuff goes in but it nothing will come out. Finally, before they would give her the chemo. we had to go up to radiology to make sure that her port was not broken some where and that the chemo. would not leak out into her chest. Well, the test showed that it was working right. The doctors think that she has developed a fibroid sheath over her line and when you try to get a blood return a little flap closes at the end of her line. The only thing they told us when we finally got to go home was that maybe it will work just fine next time??? Seems like they would have a better answer than that??? Sarah's other chemotherapy was put on hold until her counts come up.
Please say a special prayer for her counts to come up and that the chemo. will do its job but not anything else.
Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
Wednesday, February 21, 2001 at 05:22 PM (CST)
***Week 41 of 130*** I think????
Hi Friends & Family,
I bring you good news today! Sarah & Emma are both finally getting over their runny noses and they both are feeling a lot better. We also had a very long (4 hours) but good day at the hospital.
This week is what we refer to as "The Works Week" because Sarah gets 3 different chemo. drugs plus a whole week of steroids. Sarah had to have her blood tested from her arm, a spinal tap and her port accessed today to get all of her chemotherapy that she needed for this week. Her platelets are slowly starting to come up (137k) but her infection fighting ability was down a little bit today.(ANC 800) The spinal tap that she had today went really well thanks to our NPs Richard & Bethany. (That plug was for you Richard!) Sarah was such a big girl today and we are so proud of how she is handling all that she is having to go through. God continues to be our source of strength during this tough time in our life and we give Him all the Glory.
Please pray that Sarah has a good week. The steroids and one of the chemo. drugs usually causes Sarah's legs to hurt. The steroids also cause Sarah Anne's tummy to ache and makes her really grumpy. So, I guess you should pray for me, Kelly & Emma too.
2 Cor. 12:9-10
"So now I am glad to boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may work through me". "For when I am weak, then I am strong".
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
Wednesday, February 21, 2001 at 05:22 PM (CST)
***Week 41 of 130*** I think????
Hi Friends & Family,
I bring you goods news today! Sarah & Emma are both finally getting over their runny noses and they both are feeling alot better. We also had a very long (4 hours) but good day at the hospital.
This week is what we refer to as "The Works Week" because Sarah gets 3 different chemo. drugs plus a whole week of steroids. Sarah had to have her blood tested from her arm, a spinal tap and her port accessed today to get all of her chemotherapy that she needed for this week. Her platelets are slowing starting to come up 137k but her infection fighting ability was down a little bit today.(ANC 800) Her spinal tap that she had today went really well thanks to our NP Richard & Bethany. (That plug was for you Richard!) Sarah was such a big girl today and we are so proud of how she is handling all that she is having to go through.
Please pray that Sarah has a good week. The steroids and one of the chemo. drugs usually causes Sarah's legs to hurt. The steroids also cause Sarah Anne's tummy to ache and it also makes her really grumpy. So, I guess you should pray for me, Kelly & Emma too.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
Thursday, February 15, 2001 at 06:07 PM (CST)
***Week 40 of 130***
Hello Family & Friends,
We can't begin to tell you how thankful we are for all of you. It means so much to us to know people care about Sarah Anne & our family. It is your prayers, notes of encouragement and God's Grace that keeps us going through this valley of childhood cancer. May God bless you for being a blessing to us.
Sarah Anne has been sick the past week with a cold. It is so hard for her to fight off a runny nose once she gets it. Her nose is so red from her being a big girl and wipping her nose herself (she rubs a little too hard). Sarah's clinic visit went well, execpt it was very long. Sarah's platelets are still pretty low(90k) but they where up from last week (77k). Now that she has this cold, we realized that the cold is probally why her platelets are low. Emma also has a cold and she is requiring a lot of Kelly's attention. So please pray for Kelly and for the girls to shake their colds.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Wednesday, February 07, 2001 at 05:35 PM (CST)
***Week 39 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
All went well today at Sarah's weekly hospital clinic visit. She had to have her arm poked instead of her finger because they wanted to test her liver functions. I am not sure what we would do if it were not for the super nice ladies that work in the labs at Children's Hospital. Sarah Anne has very small veins and you can not see them through her skin. Sarah's favorite lab nurse is Mrs.Bo. She has the best luck at finding Sarah Anne's little hidden veins. We thank God for Mrs. Bo!
All of Sarah's counts were good except for her platelets. They were barely high enough for her to get her chemo. treatment today. (She received a shot of methotrexate in her leg) We are not really sure what is causing her platelets to drop like they have been over the last few weeks. Sarah feels fine but she really bruises very easily because of her low platelet count. Please pray that her platelets start to come back up soon.
Thanks for your prayers and for checking on Sarah Anne,
Steven & Kelly Hicks
Wednesday, February 07, 2001 at 05:35 PM (CST)
***Week 39 of 130***
Dear Family & Friends,
All went well today at Sarah's weekly hospital clinic visit. She had to have her arm poked instead of her finger because they wanted to test her liver functions. I am not sure what we would do if it were not for the super nice ladies that work in the labs at Children's Hospital. Sarah Anne has very small veins and you can not see them through her skin. Sarah's favorite lab nurse is Mrs.Bo. She has the best luck at finding Sarah Anne's little hidden veins. We thank God for Mrs. Bo!
All of Sarah's counts were good except for her platelets. They were barely high enough for her to get her chemo. treatment today. She only had to have a leg shot of methotrexate today. We are not really sure what is causing her platelets to drop like they have been over the last few weeks. Sarah feels fine but she really bruises very easily because of her low platelet count. Please pray that her platelets start to come back up soon.
Thanks for your prayers and for checking on Sarah Anne,
Steven & Kelly Hicks
Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 05:07 PM (CST)
Dear Family & Friends,
We had a really good day at the clinic today. Sarah Anne got her blood tested and a shot of chemotherapy in her leg. (She did not even shed a tear, what a big girl!) Sarah's blood counts looked good, except for her platelets they were a little low. Sarah & Emma have really been enjoying the nice weather we have had in Birmingham lately. Sarah loves to go outside to swing & hang out with her daddy. Emma is doing good and seems to be growing up so fast. Thanks for all your continued prayers and words of encouragement.
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
Wednesday, January 17, 2001 at 04:26 PM (CST)
Hello Family & Friends,
I am so happy to report that Sarah had a good day at the clinic today. Her ANC(infection fighting ability) was 1928! That is really good compared to what is was a couple of weeks ago. Sarah got her finger pricked to make sure her counts were high enough to receive her treatment and then she got a shot of Methotrexate(chemotherapy) in her little leg. Sarah was very brave and didn't really cry for either procedure.
We want to send out a special thanks to Jeff Rodgers and his family. On January 7, Jeff ran in the Walt Disney World Marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and in honor of Sarah Anne. This means so much to us. Especially after learning that Jeff injured himself a few weeks prior to the race but still ran & finished the race to help find a cure for leukemia.
Last night we went to the Birmingham Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training kick off meeting at Dave's pizza in Homewood. We had lots of fun visiting with our friends and got to eat plenty of pizza. Next Wednesday we will be going to the Tuscaloosa Team in Training kick off meeting. We have several people that will be running marathons this summer in Sarah's honor. ***If anyone is interested in supporting these friends please email us and we will tell you how you can help find a cure for leukemia.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT
God Bless you,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma
Thursday, January 11, 2001 at 10:30 AM (CST)
Dear friends,
Sarah's clinic visits have been changed to Wednesday. And if all her visits go as well as it went yesterday, it will be sooooo much easier. We would have been in and out in about an hour and half, except we saw some friends we haven't seen in a long time & we visited a little longer than normal. Sarah seems to be doing much, much better. What an answer to prayer! We were beginning to think a dark cloud was following us. After about a month of falling counts, followed by a long hospital admission, which included a relapse scare, only to come home to a family wide stomach virus. We deserved some good luck!! Yesterday her counts we were way up. With an ANC of almost 1900 while on treatment, she’s feeling much better. So why is she acting so moody? Did I mention she turned three last week? LOL! I think we’re even going to attempt a late birthday party this Saturday. Pray for us! I guess we’ll always be fearful when we get in large groups of people. We’re going to take her to church Sunday too. She hasn’t been since before Christmas, and she probably shouldn’t have gone then. We want to keep her routine normal and let her interact with her friends, but it seems there are about 100 different viruses and colds going around. It gets depressing to stay home too. So good counts are a BIG deal to us. We are very thankful.
Little Emma goes to her doctor Friday for a recheck. I don’t think she’s gained much weight, if any. Please pray for her too.
Thank you for your continued prayers. There have been times we were almost too tired to pray. I know your prayers are what kept us going. I often wonder how people who aren’t Christians handle stress like this. If it weren’t for the strength of knowing God’s in control and He loves our children much more than we do, we sure couldn’t have made it.
Thank you again for checking on us.
Love,
Kelly, Steven, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Sunday, January 07, 2001 at 10:04 PM (CST)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SWEET LITTLE GIRL!!!!
Sarah Anne celebrated her 3rd birthday on January 6. She is such a blessing to our family and what a special birhtday this was for all of us to be a part of. After the whole family suffered through a stomach virus we found time to open some presents and go shopping on her birthday.
Sarah is now back on track with all of her treatments. Sarah's ANC was up to 1049 as of last Wednesday. Which means she is doing well and should be able to get back to her normal routine (Church, shopping, McDonalds, etc.). Sarah's clinic day has been changed to Wednesdays because of the long wait that we were experiencing on Mondays. So we will be updating her web site on Wednesday nights.
Thanks for your thoughts & prayers,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma
Monday, January 01, 2001 at 10:28 PM (CST)
We made it home for New Years Eve! YEA!! What an answered prayer! We are
so thankful!! Sunday Sarah Anne's counts were up to an ANC of 300. The
doctor originally told us that she couldn't go home until it was above 500,
but I guess he had seen it improve for several days & knew it was a trend.
I think he felt sorry for us since we had been there so long. Just last
week an ANC of 280 got us admitted, but they were slowly decreasing, where
now they are slowly increasing. We have to go to our clinic Wednesday. If
her counts are high enough, I guess they'll put her back on her treatment
plan, which calls for a spinal tap. YUCK!! If they aren't high enough, I'm
not sure what they'll do. Put us back in the hospital? Hold her treatment
for another week? That will be three weeks off treatment. That's a little
scary to me. I'll be glad when that day is over!! We'll let you all know
what happens in the clinic on Wednesday.
Thank you again for all the prayers on our behalf. It was hard to keep a
positive attitude when we were scared she possibly had relapsed. We found
comfort in knowing that so many people were lifting us up daily. I know God
is pleased with all of our faithfulness. I wonder all of the time why this
is happening to us. But then I think about the new friends that we've met
and the prayers & praises we've gotten to share. In many ways I feel
privileged to be a part of this miracle.
Thanks for your love this past year! And HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!!!
Love,
Kelly & Steven
Saturday, December 30, 2000 at 12:08 AM (CST)
Dear Family and Friends,
On Wednesday morning Sarah's blood counts bottomed out way below what they
should be, even for a child with leukemia (Infection fighting ability/ANC
0). The doctor mentioned to Kelly that Sarah might need to have a bone
marrow aspiration to see if she was coming out of remission, if her counts
did not start to come up. We prayed all day and night for God to help little
Sarah and for Him to give Kelly & I the peace we needed to continue to
support our family in this crisis. On Thursday Sarah's ANC was up to 68 and
the doctor seemed a little more optimistic and that the reason for her
suppressed immune system was indeed a virus. On Friday Sarah's ANC was up to
120 but with the long holiday weekend and the fact that our hospital friends
(nurses, practioners, & social workers) were aware of the emotional pain we
were going through they encouraged our pediatric oncologist to go ahead with
the bone marrow aspiration. This procedure is a painful procedure but would
definitely let the doctors know what we were dealing with. After a little
less than an hour, Sarah's nurse practioner told us that her bone marrow was
clear. Which means that Sarah is still in remission and the reason for her
low counts must be due to an unknown virus. To God be the Glory! This was
such wonderful news to our family! Now we can start the New Year knowing
that she is still cancer free! Sarah is still a very sick little girl but at
least we now know what we are fighting against. Sarah is on IV antibiotics
every 4 hours. Her fever is gone but we still need her counts to come up
over 500 before they will let us go home. I want to thank everyone who sent
up prayers for our precious little girl and I pray that God Blesses you for
being faithful to Him. We could not imagine going through this valley with
out our almighty God.
Please continue to pray that Sarah's marrow recovers and that her blood
counts start to come up soon .
God Bless you all,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace Hicks
Tuesday, December 26, 2000 at 11:33 PM (CST)
Dear family and friends,
We had a wonderful Christmas day at our house and we hope that you did too. But this morning (12/26) little Sarah Anne woke up with a fever of 101.2. We were hoping today, at her scheduled clinic visit, that her blood counts would be up from last week, she would receive her scheduled spinal tap, and she could get back on track with her chemotherapy she takes at home. But this would not be the case. Sarah's ANC was 290 (should be over a 1000), which was to low to allow her to go home. They did blood cultures, throat cultures and a chest x-ray. Her chest x-ray was good and we will not know the results of the blood cultures for a few days. The doctors did not want to wait on the blood culture results so they started Sarah on two IV antibiotics. They are telling us that we will be in the hospital for at least two days. We need two things to happen for her to be able to come home; her blood counts need to come up above 500 and she needs to be without fever for 24 hours.
Please pray for Sarah Anne's blood counts to recover and for her fever to break soon.
She is in room 444 at Children's Hospital.
205-939-9444
Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma
Tuesday, December 26, 2000 at 11:33 PM (CST)
Dear family and friends,
We had a wonderful Christmas day at our house and we hope that you did too. But this morning (12/26) little Sarah Anne woke up with a fever of 101.2. We were hoping today at her scduled clinic visit that her blood counts would be up from last week, she would receive her scheduled spinal tap, and could get back on track with her chemotherapy she takes at home. But this would not be the case. Sarah's ANC was 290, which is to low to allow her to go home. They did blood cultures, throat cultures and a chest x-ray. Her chest x-ray was good and we want no the results of the blood cultures for a few days. The doctors did not want to wait on the blood cultures so they started Sarah on two IV antibiotics. They are telling us that we will be in the hospital for at least two days.
Please pray for Sarah Anne's blood counts to come up and for her fever to break soon.
Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma
Monday, December 18, 2000 at 06:00 PM (CST)
Dear Family & Friends,
Little Sarah is not feeling too well. She was scheduled to have a spinal tap done today but due to her counts being so low they decided to wait a week. Her ANC(infection fighting ability) needs to be around 1000 but no lower than 500 to receive her treatments. Sarah's ANC was 311. So they also told us to stop her treatments at home as well, to see if her counts come up. Her oncologist thinks that she has a virus which has caused her counts to bottom out like they have. We just pray that we can stay out of the hospital during the holidays and that next Tuesday she has recovered enough to resume her treatments as scheduled.
Please say a special prayer for Sarah and our family during the holidays!
Merry Christmas,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & Emma
Tuesday, December 12, 2000 at 12:27 PM (CST)
Dear Friends & Family,
Sorry for not posting an update last week but with Christmas parties and shopping we have found ourselves to be really busy. Last week and this week Sarah just had to have her blood counts tested and a shot of chemotherapy in her little leg. Sarah's counts look pretty good and she is finally getting over the runny nose. We are so excited about Christmas this year. Sarah can not put down the department store wish books. But most of all she is old enough this year to learn about the real reason for Christmas which is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She knows that her birthday (Jan. 6) is after Jesus's birthday. Sarah's little sister Emma is finally walking after 14 months and is having a good time pulling ornaments off of our tree. We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas.
Sarah Anne is scheduled to have a spinal tap and a shot of chemotherapy in her leg next Monday (12/18). So please pray that the procedure goes well and her spinal fluid is still clear of any cancer cells.
Merry Christmas and God Bless you,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Tuesday, December 12, 2000 at 12:27 PM (CST)
Dear Friends & Family,
Sorry for not posting an update last week but with Christmas parties and shopping we have found ourselves to be really busy. Last week and this week Sarah just had to have her blood counts tested and a shot of chemotherapy in her little leg. Sarah's counts look pretty good and she is finally getting over the runny nose. We are so excited about Christmas this year. Sarah can not put down the department store wish books. But most of all she is old enough this year to learn about the real reason for Christmas is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She knows that her birthday (Jan. 6) is after Jesus's birthday. Sarah's little sister Emma is finally walking after 14 months and is having a good time pulling ornaments off of our tree. We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas.
Sarah Anne is scheduled to have a spinal tap and a shot of chemotherapy in her leg next Monday (12/18). So please pray that the procedure goes well and her spinal fluid is still clear of any cancer cells.
Merry Christmas and God Bless you,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Friday, December 01, 2000 at 05:28 PM (CST)
Hello family and friends,
I have some good news! Sarah's counts were up this week to ANC 1800(infection fighting ability). We had a good day at the clinic, other than the 2 hour wait only to spend 15 minutes with the nurse practioner. Sarah was such a big girl! She got a shot of chemotherapy(MTX) in her thigh muscle and she did not even cry. We are so proud of her in one sense but it is kind of sad to see her getting used to them poking on her in another. Kelly, Sarah & Emma have been fighting a cold but hopefully they will be getting over it soon. Thanks for the continued prayers and support.
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Phil.4:13
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
Monday, November 20, 2000 at 04:59 PM (CST)
Dear family & friends,
We had a pretty good day at the hospital today. Sarah went in to the clinic to receive her weekly shot of Methotrexate in her little leg. Before they give Sarah her weekly chemotherapy they check her blood counts to make sure that she can handle the dose that is due for that week. Sarah's ANC(absolute neutrophil count) was 545 and if it goes below 500 they will usually hold her treatments until her counts come up. So we were able to stay on track for this week. But please pray that Sarah's blood counts (immune system) come up a little, so we can continue to stay out of the hospital and on track with her treatments. Besides having low counts she seems to feel pretty good and continues to play/act like any other child. We have so much to be thankful for this year. One of God's gifts to us through Sarah's illness is the increased appreciation for the little things and to be thankful for everyday that God allows us to be a part of.
We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and thanks again for all your prayers,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne, & Emma Grace
Wednesday, November 15, 2000 at 05:30 PM (CST)
Dear Family & Friends,
Sarah seems to be doing really well considering all that she is having to go through. She had a pretty good day in the clinic at Children's on Monday. She did have to get her finger pricked twice in one visit because the first sample of blood they said clotted and also her leg shot of chemotherapy leaked out a little around the syringe. But those things seem pretty insignificant considering all the other things that are going great for her. She should have it a little easier for the next few weeks up until Christmas when she is scheduled for her next spinal tap. Our family wants to continue to thank everyone who includes us in their prayers. God only knows what He has in store for our family through all of this and it is our prayer that somehow He uses our situation to advance His Kingdom.
Thanks so much for all your kind notes, e-mails and phone calls,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah, & Emma
Tuesday, November 07, 2000 at 02:15 PM (CST)
Dear Friends,
Our clinic visit went fine yesterday. We had about a three hour wait, which ran into lunch & nap time, Sarah Anne is finishing up her Prednisone week (FUN!), the anxiety from last week's bad visit, and we brought baby Emma with us, so that made two babies to keep entertained & two babies to keep out of trouble. She flipped out during the procedure, but luckily it was a quick procedure. So, considering all of that, it went fine.
One of the drugs she's gotten for the past two weeks, Vincristine, makes her legs hurt & her hair thin. But so far today she's not had any leg pain. That is an answer to prayer. Her counts continue to be within the expected range of this phase of treatment. I guess that's the important thing. We want her immune system to stay as close to the expected range as possible & to keep her on schedule!
Thank you for all of your prayers. All of the wonderful emails & journal messages have been very encouraging. Thank you all!
Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & baby Em
Thursday, November 02, 2000 at 03:55 PM (CST)
Dear Friends,
Sorry we haven't updated our journal before now. It has been a hard week for us. Sarah Anne had a spinal tap Monday that didn't go very well. It took us a few days to get over it. She's taking a "pulse" of drugs this week that is making her very irritable and causing leg pains. Hopefully after she gets off the Prednisone, Monday, she'll get her sweet personality back. The leg pains could last another week or so.
Other than that, she's still doing great. No "real" problems. Thank you for all of your prayers.
Kelly, Steven, Sarah & Emma
Monday, October 23, 2000 at 05:34 PM (CDT)
Everything has been great for the past two weeks. Sarah's had a little break and has just had bloodwork done the last two clinic visits. This next visit, Monday 10/30/00, is the first treatment in the next phase "Late intensification" and it is going to be a tough one. She has to get a shot of Methotrexate in her leg, a spinal tap, Vincristine in her port, she will take Prednisone for a week, continue to take her 6MP at night and also her bactrim on the weekends. I guess that's why they call it "Late Intensification"? So please remember Sarah and our family in your prayers especially on Monday morning.
Sarah continues to do really well and we know it is because God hears all of our prayers on her behalf. Let Sarah be an encouragement to you and let her help you improve your faith and trust in our most gracious God. Please be sure to look at her new pictures and remember to sign her guest book!!!!!!
Love,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & Emma
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 at 10:17 PM (CDT)
Dear Friends,
We are home!!!! Thank you for all of your prayers. This was the best visit we've had. I think all the prayers are what made the difference. Sarah Anne is doing great!
Thank you to our family, all our friends, the many churches, Ms. Robinson & Ms. Matthew's classes at Flint Hill Christian School and all the “strangers” who were lifting us up. We are praising God for getting us through this. Thank you also for all of the kind, encouraging words you've left on our guestbook. We'll post pictures as soon as we can!
God Bless You,
Steven, Kelly, Sarah & Emma
P.S. Thank you to the children’s department at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church for the bears and bunnies they brought the children. Sarah Anne loves her bunny, Mary Catherine!
Monday, October 09, 2000 at 05:25 PM (CDT)
Well, we have finally made it to our last scheduled inpatient chemotherapy treatment. It is hard to believe that it has been 5 months and 5 inpatient stays later since Sarah was diagnosed.(5/1/00) We would have never made it to this point with out the grace of our most wonderful God and all of our faithful prayer warriors. Sarah was admitted this morning to Room 439 for her final treatment of IV methotrexate. If every thing goes well she should get to come home Wednesday afternoon. She is doing so well and has really adapted to her new lifestyle which includes weekly visits to Children's Hospital for the next 2 years. We forgot to put her emla cream on her port and her arm this morning but it seems like Sarah didn't need it anyway. She let Mrs. Bo draw her blood without any emla cream and without us holding her at all. She is such a big girl and has changed so much over the last few months. Please keep up your prayers for Sarah and our family. We are out to a good start but we are in a long journey and we will continue to need your prayers.
Love, Steven, Kelly, Sarah, Emma
Monday, October 02, 2000 at 04:02 PM (CDT)
Hi friends! Sarah Anne had an easy day today. The last two weeks she's gotten a well-deserved break in treatment. She’s only had to have her finger pricked for blood work. It has been wonderful! Steven didn’t take off work (only after I convinced him we would be ok). We didn’t get a sitter for little Emma Grace. So we got to show off our baby sister to all of our wonderful nurses! And we even got to run errands while we were out because Sarah wasn’t drugged & grumpy. Today, we went to lunch, to the Homewood library and the Summit for shopping. It has been a wonderful day. We almost forgot we were sick! The last two weeks she has surprised me by sitting in the chair for her blood work all by herself. In the past I’ve had to put her in my lap & help hold her still for the procedure. But not now, she puts that little finger out there & waits for the stick. She doesn’t even cry. It is great, but sad too. We’ll see how she does for the next arm stick. I’m sure that one hurts a little more, but she’s very brave. We got the results from the test this afternoon & everything looks good. Praise God! Next week is our last big inpatient dose of chemo. Then she’ll progress to the Delayed Intensification Phase. It will be a big relief to know the inpatient stays are over! So continue to pray for us next week. As strange as it sounds, it will be a little sad too, because we’ve spent so much time on the fourth floor & we’ve grown to love the nurses. I don’t think there is an emotion that we’ve not experienced almost daily for the past 5 months. It has been life changing – that’s for sure!!!!
If you would like to be a part of this awesome last inpatient treatment, this is how it works. You can pray for her Monday night around 8:00 or 9:00, that is when they should hook up her last bag of Methotrexate. I’m sure it will be very emotional (for me at least). Then pray for Steven & me on Tuesday, because that is when she runs us all over the hospital dragging her IV pole. If she gets sick it will be late Tuesday afternoon & more on Wednesday morning, so pray hard for her then. And then pray for her Tuesday night around 8:00 or 9:00, because that is when she should finish that bag of Methotrexate. What a wonderful thing!!! I’ll try to take a picture with the digital camera & post Wednesday for you all to see. Then pray that her little body will flush all of it out, like it is supposed to. She’s had a few times where her levels were too high & they’ve threatened to keep us an extra day. But so far, she’s managed to work it out at the last minute. Surely, this won’t be the time we have to stay an extra day! And Wednesday at 2:00 they’ll give her Leucovorin(antidote to the chemo) & we should be able to go home!!! THANK YOU GOD!!!!! Oh, Happy day!!! I’ll update you then!! Thanks for your prayers! We wouldn’t have made it to this point without your support. We love you all!!!!
Friday, September 29, 2000 at 04:05 PM (CDT)
Sarah Anne Prayer Team - Thank you!
Dear Friends,
Thank you for supporting Sarah Anne with your participation in the Light the Night Walk. Over the past few months we have been overwhelmed with the support of our friends and strangers. In a crisis it is common to feel alone. We have not felt this way at all! You have made us feel like we are a team! Our victory is your victory!
Galatians 6:2
From family, friends, too many churches to count, missionaries in other countries, children in schools and new friends we’ve made along the way, there is no way to know how many prayers have been made on our behalf. We know God hears our prayers. James 5:15
We love you all and hope you will see the strength and love of our awesome God through this. We all know God is in control of our children’s lives, but when they are sick you have to put your faith in action. There is no way to get through this without being changed. We hope by you sharing this, you too will be changed. At first glance you can see very sick children but look closer, He is our calm in this chaos. He uses everything in our lives to make us more like Him. We can make this obstacle an opportunity to grow closer to Him. Please allow God to show you the good in this. Romans 8:26-28
Thank you again for everything. We hope you are all sending Him the praises for her good health too! She is almost done with the second phase of treatment and doing as well as we could hope. Please continue to pray for her, she still has a long road ahead of her. Philippians 4:6
God Bless You All!
Steven, Kelly, Sarah Anne & Emma Grace
Tuesday, September 26, 2000 at 02:55 PM (CDT)
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