Kenny Update--March 29th

Kenny Update - March 29
We are home! The 'new' RX's have been dropped off and will be ready for pick-up in 20 minutes. The car has been unloaded and we are looking for a long nap this afternoon. Thank you everyone! 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 28th

A very short update. Kenny’s cell count took a leap in the last 24 hours. Depending on tomorrow mornings blood labs there is a good chance that we will be heading home. He had a rough morning sleeping after the 1AM breathing treatment. We are praying that tonight is more restful. 

~Ken and Jo~

P.S. – Today I was asked if I was a patient. I had a really long laugh.

Kenny Update--March 27th

Kenny’s cough is better today. They started breathing treatments every 4 hours and are planning to continue them for the duration of his stay. He is back on the path of getting more calories in him. Jo and I had a conversation with the staff dietician and discovered that we can ‘special order’ almost anything. There is something called a high protein shake that he, get ready for this, LOVES. Extra calories, extra protein, extra carbs, extra cold, extra good for both the chocolate and vanilla kind. He has already put away 4 of them and I see a 5th in his future tonight. He has also eaten a part of a cheese Quesada today. His cell count needs some praying over. Platelets’ are the last to recover and took a drop since yesterday so he received a bag of them this afternoon. We joked with Kenny that we were just sticking apple sauce in him – it had the same look. His white cell count is on the rise but slowly. 300 yesterday and 400 today. At this rate we are looking at least another 3 or 4 days before we can make plans to leave.
The hospital will be adding a baseline breathing test for April 5th. He took one yesterday but with all of the issues that he has had the last few days they were not able to get a good reading. The coughing could be a rare side effect of the medication that he is currently receiving. It will be a difficult issue to diagnose if it is true.
Kenny was awake more today than he has been since this admission. We are planning to finish Men in Black tonight during dinner. He was able to get some geography finished today while I was at ‘work’. He seems to have started regain some of his strength and endurance. He/we are looking forward to spending a few days home before next Thursday rolls around. Because we have been here so much we are getting to know some of the staff and our way around the facility. Today I was mistaken for an employee of the hospital. When asked what I did here – I almost said that I was a mental patient that escaped so I could eat some cafeteria food. But I thought better of it. I hate to have security shadow me. I have found a coffee machine that I have full access to. The floor receptionist and I had a 20 minute conversation this morning on her arrival at work. I think we have had every shift nurse on the floor now – some multiple times. One of the nurses had heard of Kenny’s lack of eating and offered to make her famous homemade mac and cheese.
All in all everything is on the upswing for Kenny. As always Jo and I want to thank each and everyone of you for all of your prayers. We have had so many ask if there is anything that they can do for us and the answer has always been – PRAYER! Thank you!

~Ken and Jo~

Early Pattern Baldness...By Scissors. :)

Here are the anticipated pictures of Kenny's club members with their new doooooos. Enjoy! :)


Kenny's before and after!

Kenny's friends from Texas! This picture of the Smith men gave Kenny the biggest smile! :)

Kenny's Bible Bowl coach and friend Kennedy!

Kenny's friend Dan!

One of Kenny's favorite cousins Scott!

Kenny's friend Jim!

Kenny's Grandpa Henry

Kenny's dad Ken shaving Ben's hair

Kenny's dad Ken

Kenny's brother Ben

Kenny's brother Daniel

The Henry Men!

Kenny's sister's donated their hair to "Locks of love." This awesome organization takes hair donations and makes them into wigs for small girls who have lost their hair due to cancer! 


Kenny's sister Jess

Kenny's sister Julee

Kenny's sister Jenn

Kenny's sister Jamie

Kenny's sister Jacquie

The Henry Men wearing their new hats from our friends at Valley View Church in Texas!

We just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who sacrificed the warmth of your heads for Kenny. Even though most people say, "It's just hair" the fact that all of you shaved or cut your hair means so much to him.
Thank you for your acts of love!

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 25th

We are still here in the hospital. His fever has not been high but is on the antibiotics IV drip. Blood cultures have come back negative for infections and if tomorrow’s comes back negative then we will only need to wait for the white cell count to start increasing before we can begin our escape plans. His cough has been worse and has caused him to lose some of the food we have been able to get down him. A chest x-ray came back negative for pneumonia. He has a couple of mouth sores that are being treated – a side effect of the chemo treatment. Kenny has been napping A LOT of the time which is great.
His eating has been absolutely horrible – EVERYTHING taste gross - some more than others. The hospital actually has fairly decent food here but given that his taste are way off and the newness of this food is just way too much. So we have home cooking and boost in a fridge here and that should start an uptake in his eating.
Today has been a very laid back day. We were able to listen to a sermon from Calvary Chapel Kaneohe Hawaii this morning on the start of a 40 week lesson from Matthew. We really enjoyed it since this is the book that Bible Bowl is studying. It was even better that we were able to pause the sermon for the 3 interruptions that we had this morning.
I am going to ask everyone to pray for a little one next to our room. No details but he has been extremely ill and there have been a lot of medical personal in the room the last couple of hours. I caught a glimpse of Mom and it is just the helplessness of a parent that is so difficult to deal with. There is nothing that we can do – just the Master Physician. Thank You for your prayer support of our neighbor. 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 24th

We are finally settled in a room after a long visit in the ER then a chest x-ray. Kenny has a fever that is bouncing up and down but was high enough in a 4 hour span to check in at the hospital.

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 23rd

Early last night Kenny developed a mid-grade fever that continued to stay on the horizon. “Big Red” went into the trunk and the wait started. The temperatures to watch for is a fever of 100.4 for 4 hours straight or a temperature of 101.0 one time. ALL last night and this morning he made it to just above the 100.4 twice but for only two hours. We left for the doctor’s office for his scheduled 8:45 blood transfusion appointment. Again his temperature in the doctor’s office moved up and down but not high enough to have him admitted to the hospital. It went from a high of 100.0 but was down to 99.5 just before we left the office after a 5 hour stay. So we are home after a long day but continue to monitor his temperature closely. They performed additional blood work today to see where he is and his white cell count is a 0.2 from the chemo treatment. Next week it should be back above the 3,000 count after his body starts to recover. So we wait. “Big Red” is being left in the trunk just in case. P.S. No sign of singing, dancing or laser beams coming from Kenny – Just a nap on the way home. ;~) 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 22nd

Blood labs were run this morning and his counts are REALLY low. Kenny will be going to the hospital tomorrow morning for a blood transfusion. This should only be for a couple hours stay. Can we pray for the blood of someone who is a really good singer or dancer but not with laser eyes? Oh wait…it does not work that way. Never mind.

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 21st

We are still home and it has been a nice break. The last round of chemo was very harsh and Kenny had several issues with it thru Tuesday morning. It was difficult to see him so physically weak with only the 2nd round in him. He was only able to walk from my recliner to the bathroom, sit and rest, use the facilities, sit and rest then make the trek back to the chair all the time carrying a bucket. A distance of about 15 feet. At one point he lost his balance and went to the ground. Fortunately he was okay and Jo told him to hold onto the walls as he walked. He was having a difficult time keeping down meals and this further exasperated his energy. We started him on high protein Boost and it was huge help. As time progressed you could tell that he was feeling better and slowly started to regain enough strength that he was able to walk into the kitchen Tuesday afternoon on his own power with no help. Tuesday night he felt good enough to walk upstairs and slept in his own bed for the first time since last week. Today is even a better improvement. He had almost a full school day in and as I am writing this is watching a movie with several of the siblings. He still has a cough that has persisted for the last 3 weeks. There has not been any fluid in his lungs but it is just irritating to have.
We have had “Big Red” packed and ready to go since yesterday. Kenny is now entering the zone of low white cell count. Blood labs will be drawn tomorrow by the home nurse to check his counts. Jo had been keeping to a regular schedule of checking his temperature. As we were leaving the hospital Saturday we told the nurses that we would see them next week. I would very much like to be proven a liar in this case. ;~) Right now April 5th and 6th are the next big dates on the calendar. A new MRI to review the tumor, an echo cardiogram to check the heart and a discussion on the next steps in his battle.
Kenny is doing great and his attitude even puts Mother Teresa to shame on her so-so days. After a coughing fit that he had earlier tonight with his head over the bucket I asked him how his day had been. “It’s been a good day”. “I got a lot of school done and I’ve restarted my magic tricks”. Looking confused Jo explained that more of his hair started to fall out today.
We are so appreciative of the outpouring of your prayers on our behalf.
Prayer request are
The tumor is shrinking and the cancer is being destroyed.
The next steps the doctors are planning for his cancer battle are the correct ones.
Food – it just does not taste good. We have found a few items that are not totally repulsive.
We can pack enough calories in him to reduce the weight loss he had the last 3 week cycle.
The side effects of this chemo are none – there are so many but heart damage is issue number one.
 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 17th

The worst of the chemo session finished yesterday and the lesser will be finished in a couple of hours. Yesterday was a difficult day for Kenny. He slept far more than he was awake. The nausea was full strength and trying to find the right combination of meds to combat the side effects was not as effective. This morning is a different story. The nausea is a fraction of what he had. He ate more at breakfast today than he ate all of yesterday. He was awake for a 7 hour stretch before he was ready for a nap. He is drinking plenty of fluids; he looks and feels better than he did. The iPad was out for 3 hours while I was on a conference call for work. Meeting with doctor today there is a good chance that we will be heading home tonight instead of tomorrow. It was 2 thumbs up from Kenny on the chance to sleep in his own bed tonight. I was doing mental cartwheels on the chance to sleep more than 2 hours at a time. I believe I slept thru a health assessment the nurse was doing at 4 this morning.
We have had a lot of encouraging moments this hospital stay. His eye IS tracking better than it has been since the start of chemo. His headaches have reduced in frequencies and intensity. The double vision while still there does not appear to be getting any worse and may be lessening. April 5th is Kenny’s next scheduled chemo stay at the hospital. If his blood counts are high enough early that week he will be having a new echo cardiogram and MRI. The echo cardiogram is to monitor his heart for potential side effects from the chemo and the MRI will be to reassess the tumor and the next steps to take. As always we want to thank you for your prayers. 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 15th

We are back at the hospital with the 2nd round of chemo starting this afternoon. A quite and uneventful day. Jo and Kenny did some school this afternoon plus a couple of quizzes. After my day at the “auxiliary office” Kenny and I watched Captain America. 5 minutes before the end of the movie he was drifting off to sleep so it is an early evening for him. That is probably what I am going to do here in the next few minutes myself. They are of course pumping him full of fluids to protect his kidney and bladder from the toxins so I imagine that we will be up and down a lot.
His eye seems to be tracking better than it has and the doctor was encouraged. There is still the double vision and he is still turning his head to one side or the other to focus better. He has lost a couple of pounds in the last 3 weeks during his weigh in this morning. His appetite has not fully returned but he is eating at each meal. Jo is starting to use the line from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer where Mrs. Clause says “Who ever heard of a skinny Kenny? Eat…Eat”! It got laughs from him 10 years ago and still is making him chuckle today.
I had a rather unproductive work day due to PC issues that I was able to work thru after 3 very long hours. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get thru several of my to do items for this week. As always we appreciate all of you and the prayers you have lifted up on Kenny’s behalf. Thank You! 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 14th

Blood labs were drawn on Monday and his cell count is in the target range so it is back to the hospital tomorrow to start the next round of chemo. I asked Kenny if he is ready to head back to the hospital. With a big ole smile on his face he said “I’m just ready to get it over with”. I told him that we have a very long road ahead before it will be over with and with only the confused look that he can give me he said “I know that”. With a deep breath and prayer we start the next 3 week cycle.

We are thankful for
Kenny was fully recovered by Friday evening and he was able to enjoy his weekend.
We have had 6 straight days at home to catch up on some much needed sleep
Work has been flexible and I am able to do my job from my “auxiliary office”

We are prayerful that
The tumor is shrinking and the cancer is dying off
That the side effects from the chemo are nonexistent
We are home more than in the hospital during the next 3 week cycle
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
Thank you for your prayers! 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 10th

A very quiet and normal couple of days! Today was the first day that Kenny has not had any nausea at all – Jo has been tweaking the med schedule with great success. Kenny was not able to go to Bible Bowl practice on Thursday much to his disappointment. He was out of steam just before we were ready to head out the door. He has done remarkably well the last couple of days. Jo is going to take crew to church for both hours; Kenny & I are planning to head over at the last minute for worship service only.
All of the Henry household including Jess in Florida have had their hair cut in the last 2 days. I am told that the pictures are going to be posted soon on Kenny’s blog. Daniel is the one who seem to be the most surprised that his head is so cold. The little man has been wearing a hat almost nonstop! 4 of the girls were able to donate their hair to Locks of Love.
Blood labs will be run on Monday. If his counts are high enough then we are back in the hospital on Thursday to start the next round of chemo. Given the previous history we are planning to have at least 11 out of every 21 days hospitalized. The last of the changes to the grab-n-go bag were made today and the last items will be packed tomorrow afternoon. Big Red is ready to be thrown in the car at a moment’s notice.
I have been thinking of the Apostle Paul the last few days as he always thanked those he was writing to for their prayers and how he was thankful for them. To all of you we thank God for your prayers and petitions on our behalf. 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 8th

I got home from work today and asked Kenny how his day had been. He replied “I’ve had a really good day today”. Today has consisted of his hair starting to fall out, nausea after every meal, some of the food items going from the “I’ll have that anytime” to “its okay” with a curled up nose. Translation – I hope I don’t have to have that very often. Getting deeper in conversation he is thankful that he was able to sleep in his own bed and got a really good night’s sleep, the nausea is not all the time - just after he eats, that he MIGHT get to go to Bible Bowl practice tonight, that he is feeling better than he did when he was in the hospital, food is more to his liking at home than the hospital, that he is back home with family and a dog that is not letting either of us out of her sight. Kenny is plugging away at school work and getting as much in as he can in a day. We have been home for over 24 hours and we have you who have kept us in your prayers - all in all a good day it is. 

~ Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 7th

We are heading home today. Waiting for the discharge papers to be completed and we are packing up. More later tonight!

~Ken and Jo~

Side Note

Thank you all for your prayers for Kenny. Many of you have asked if he is allowed visitors. The current answer is NO visitors at this time Please! When Kenny's white blood cell counts are down his body is unable to fight off infections. When his body is unable to fight off infections he is in a life threatening situation. Even exposure to something that wouldn't effect you or me could have severe consequences for Kenny. The chemo causes his counts to go down. Special precautions need to be taken most especially for Kenny and those around Kenny during/after Kenny's chemo treatments and when his cell counts are down for Kenny's safety (#1 priority) and those around him. Thank you all for understanding that Kenny's health and safety takes priority over visitors.

 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 6th

 Awesome and ALMOST unbelievable updates for today. Kenny’s recovery from this hospitalization went into warp speed since yesterday. His white cell count jumped from 200 to 1,000, the ANC count an incredible 11X what it had been from 40 to 440 and his hemoglobin that had been falling was up to 9.4 from 8.9. His ANC count 3 days ago was a whopping ZERO. There is no discus...sion of a transfusion and they are looking to kick him out of here within the next 48 hours! One of the antibiotics that he was on has been removed this morning. If his counts continue to improve tonight then the other antibiotic will be stopped early tomorrow. His mouth sores are nearly healed since his body is producing white cells again. He now has permission to leave his room (masked) and walk the hallway.
The x-ray that was done yesterday of his chest did not show any issue. The chest pains might be from sores in the esophagus and stomach so a NEW med was started today to coat the lining BUT the pain has subsided significantly over the last 36 hours. There was need for only one additional dose of morphine last night. He explained the pain as someone sticking a lot of needles into the center of his chest. All of this is a side effect of the chemo treatment.
Kenny was up for 7 hours straight this morning before he crashed for a well-earned nap. He was able to finish Bible Bowl, math and took 2 quizzes. He also has been getting as much time in as possible on a new iPad and a couple of games that came with it. He also built a bird house this afternoon in the activity room. He is REALLY feeling better.
Sleeping at a hospital is only a series of naps and the last couple of nights have not been an exception. Between the routine health assessment checks, hanging a new IV bag, getting up to use the facilities because they are pumping so much fluid thru your veins and the IV alarms that go off because of an air bubble detected or a med that is nearly finished. I think that the longest period we have slept is 2 hours. We are looking forward to crawling into our own beds and staying unconscious for as long as possible till we need to face a new day.
So here are the prayer requests - that the news continues to be good, home is just around the bend, we can catch-up on as much sleep as possible before his next scheduled chemo hospitalization next week, his body is protected from the side effects of the chemo, his strength is built up before next week’s hospitalization and over the next 3 weeks we are home more than we are at the hospital. Thank you for your continued prayers! 

 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 5th

Mostly good updates for him today. The 2 antibiotics are doing the trick. His fever has been below 101 for over 24 hours. He still has one but not the high fever that got him admitted. The sores in his mouth are nearly healed. The white cell count is moving upwards, his electrolytes are back in balance and most of the morning he was looking great. He did a little school with Jo this morning and did his Bible Bowl review.
Now for the bad updates. Early this afternoon he was in a lot of pain in his chest and they needed to give him a dose of morphine to get it under control. A chest X-ray was completed a little while ago and we are waiting for the results. He took a long nap and when he woke up he was “feeling a ton better” to use his own words. His red cell count is dropping and there is a chance that he will need to have a transfusion in the next 48 hours. His white cell count is still really low so there is no guess on a discharge date.
The mixed updates are he is interested in eating but his appetite is really way off. He is waking up a lot in the night on his own but is able to go back to sleep. He still has a slight cough but it does not appear to be an issue.
All and all believe it or not a good day – Kenny is sitting in bed playing a game. He is his normal cheerful self. The nurses have told Jo and I that they like having Kenny as their patient. The road to recovery is slow but he is making progress. I was able to put a full day in my new ‘auxiliary office’ and I was able to hit the mute button for conference calls at the correct time.
Hour by hour! 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 4th

Kenny was occasionally spiking a fever yesterday. Last night after another spike to 103 they put him on a 2nd antibiotic. This morning his temperature has not hit 101. His white cell count is on the upswing and there will be another blood draw tonight. He has had about 6 hours today where he has been awake and has spent about 3 hours sitting in a chair. All in all he is getting better although it has been a little slow. He has a couple of mouth sores that the staff has been treating and they are improved. The last couple of days he has had some discomfort in his chest. We thought that it was his central line that was bothering him. It was determined that it is acid reflux – a side effect from the chemo. So he is on another med to help with it. The boy is a walking pharmacy. His appetite is much better today but has a long way to go. He has not had any additional seizures since earlier this week.
Both Kenny and I slept as well as could be expected. We are praying for a repeat tonight. Sleeping at a hospital is really a series of naps. We actually had a 3 hour stretch where there were no nurses, no IV alarms going off and we are far enough back in the unit that we did not hear the door to the unit opening and closing.
We are re-learning living at the hospital. It looks like we are going to be here for at least a couple more days. My face is starting to be recognized by the supporting staff. I walked into the cafeteria today; the cashier looked at me and said “...we are out of chocolate milk today”. Making a check list of items that will help and determine which items that we have been bringing is a waste of space. Yesterday I got a power strip for both of us so we are not sitting in really weird positions as we are using our electronics. Tomorrow should be interesting for me working a full day from the hospital room.
Thank you for all of the prayers! 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 3rd

Well – Kenny is back in the hospital again. He had a low grade fever most of yesterday afternoon and a cough. Under the chemo protocols once he hits 101.0 then he wins an instant call to the Doctor and a trip to the hospital. The first cancer treatment Kenny was in the hospital after every chemo treatment except for 1 time. This ‘unexpected’ stay at the hospital was not totally unexpected. They have him on antibiotics and IV fluids to fight off whatever this is. His temperature has been up and down today but is being closely monitored. His white cell count is still very low. He is sleeping a lot. He is the most cheerful and pleasant sick person we have ever seen.
We did get news today that the 2nd pathology report concurred with the original diagnosis of “undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma at the base of the skull”. Kenny will continue with the chemo treatment that began last week with a reassessment in April on the tumor.
Prayer concerns are
White cell count drastically increases
The infection removed from his body
His appetite increases
The chemo treatment is effective against the tumor
We both get more restful sleep while we are here
It was great to be at the Greenwood round robin this morning. I am extremely appreciative of the prayers that were made on Kenny’s behalf. Thank You! 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--March 2nd

Kenny has had a couple of good days. He has a small cough this afternoon and a little discomfort that OTC Tylenol has been taking care of. Yesterday a home visiting nurse came out to give Jo and I training on flushing the central line and changing the dressing. They will be visiting us twice a week to draw blood work, check his line and change the dressing. Labs came back today with really low white cell count so there is no Bible Bowl round robin or church this weekend for him. He has had a rising temperature this evening but it has not hit the magic mark to start the clock for a trip to the hospital. We have our grab-n-go bag packed. I went out and bought a BIG bright red one with wheels to carry his and my stuff. 10 years ago it was not so much a problem carrying it. Last weekend I was a little sore from carrying the bags to the far end of the parking lot.
Hope to see those at the Greenwood Round Robin tomorrow. As always we cannot thank you enough for all of your prayers. Y’all are appreciated more than you will ever know. 

~Ken and Jo~