Sending lots of good thoughts and prayers your way!

I am so sorry for your family. I know it is every mother's worst fear. I have children the same age. I hope you don't mind if I ask you how you found out that your daughter had cancer? It is not easy for little ones to communicate what they feel all the time. Did you suspect something was wrong?

I hope it's o.k. to put your family on my church prayer chain. It never hurts to have more and more prayers.

So far it has been good to hear/read your updates. Our prayer will be that it continues to be good results and that it will soon be all over with a total healing!

My prayers are going out to you (not sure if I already sent you well wishes - oh well never have too many)

Praying for you all....

Praying for and thinking of you and your family!

I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter. Cancer touches so many people, myself included. My grandfather, brother, mother-in-law and husband. It is so exhausting for everyone involved. My prayers go out to you. Keep family and friends close for support. If you need to talk, we are all here for you. May god touch you and the ones close to you.

praying for your family...

Keeping Eve (and your family)in my thoughts and prayers...

Adevag, our pediatrician felt a mass in her abdomen during her two-year-old checkup. He sent us to get an ultrasound, and the radiologist then sent us to Duke because she thought she saw a Wilm's tumor.

One of the side effects of Vincristine is constipation. This has been drilled into our heads by everyone at Duke. Do NOT let the child get constipated. There is a special place in purgatory reserved for those of us who allow this to happen.

Well...we went two full days allowing this to happen. Not that we weren't trying to push the medication and high-fiber foods, but Eve wasn't having any of it. Saturday morning, she decided she wasn't going to take any medicine. I tried sneaking it into juice. Chocolate milk. Pudding. Applesauce. No way, no how was she eating any of this. Perhaps she was suspicious of all the new treats we were plying her with? We tried holding her down and pouring it into her mouth...she would just gurgle with it like it was Listerine and spit it back out in our faces. (Which was NOT fresh like Listerine.)

Fortunately, we found something called MiraLax which is supposedly tasteless and clear, that dissolves into any beverage of your choice. I'm not sure why we did not purchase this days ago, as this is truly the only way we could outsmart a two-year-old. We also decided to feed Eve copious amounts of sugar-free candy, which contains sorbitol (the laxative of diabetics).

The only part of the plan we didn't think all the way through was that Eve would be so full of stuff, that she would throw it all up on Saturday night. Twice. Thank goodness we were caught up on laundry (on account of the grandmas!) and had extra sets of sheets. (Natalie slept through both episodes of vomitting and the santizing that followed.)

Sunday finally rolled around and the three adults in the house literally did a happy dance (and Matt uttered a "Praise Jesus!") when Eve did what she needed to do. The rest of Sunday was pleasant since she felt a lot better, and she even scarfed down a large plate of salad (ruffage!!!) at dinner.

This morning we took Eve to the pediatrician to have her blood pressure checked. It was 96/58, much, much lower than the readings she was getting in the hospital. The oncologists wanted us to get this checked today to make sure that she wouldn't be overmedicated with the Lisinopril (blood pressure medicine) if her BP was normal. This could be a sign that the chemotherapy has shrunk the tumor enough where it isn't putting as much pressure on the renal artery (which is causing the secondary hypertension).

The good nurses at the pediatrician's office also showed us the proper way to hold down a two-year-old and force medicine down her throat. This came in handy because she needs to take an antibiotic twice a day, three times a week, to prevent a certain kind of pneumonia. Eve can certainly scream loud enough to make you want to give up, but my mom, Matt, and I held her down and gave her the medicine. Can you believe it takes three of us to do this?

I took Eve to a friend's house where she was photographed in some of her birthday tutus. I wanted to make sure to get some pictures of her pig tails before her hair falls out. We were told to expect that 2-3 weeks after the start of chemotherapy, over the course of 2-3 days.

After the photo session, I took Eve to get her first haircut. She sat perfectly still as she got most of her hair cut off. (The support nurse at Duke recommended we get her hair cut short before the hair falls out, as it may be less traumatic for Eve and her siblings.) She's cute as a button- in fact she looks like a little pixie with her new hairdo!

I'm happy to report that she's snug as a bug in a rug right now. She's got quite a strong spirit! We go back to Duke for chemo and an appointment with nephrologists on Friday. We are beyond blessed with the outpouring of support we have received from our friends. Here's hoping for an uneventful week!

whew!

sounds as if you are still strong and resilient despite the challenges. you remain in my thoughts.

Thank you for the update. I admire your strength and are keeping your family in my prayers.

Please know that prayers are headed your way from all directions. Thanks for keeping up posted. Hugs.

Thanks for all the updates. Little Eve has been in my thoughts all week.

God Bless you all!

I finally set up a blog: http://evegriffith.blogspot.com/

I put a widget in the upper right hand corner for people to subscribe via email if they want. I posted some pics of Eve in her pig tails!

she is such a beautiful child! your family members are real troopers!

She is beautiful. We are continuing to keep her and your family in our prayers.

All prayers, all peace to you, and your family. Your cake family is thinking of you!!

eve is a doll in those pigtails!! i'm so glad to hear you have such good friends and family supporting you through this ordeal. stay strong, and god bless you,your husband and family!! will continue to pray for you all!

Your family is in my prayers. I'm glad you have good friends and family around you right now.

Well, I finally got around to making Eve a welcome home cake from the hospital...
http://evegriffith.blogspot.com/2010/02/dopey-hearts-doe-wipe.html

She ended up having her right kidney removed last month and is starting radiation on Monday. Then we have a few more months of chemo.

Thank you for all your prayers. If you are on Facebook, some friends of mine started a page for Eve you can join: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Eve/308434913681?v=wall

So glad that she is home with you. Thanks for the update, Eve continues to be in my prayers.

Thank you for updating us. I was just wondering a few days ago how everything was going.

I've been following your Eve vs Wilms page and keeping your family in my prayers.

Can I just say that you are a superwoman? You're obviously such a devoted mom, plus you do gorgeous cakes, are a terrific writer, and the Valentine's Day dinner you described made my mouth water -- you must be a wonderful chef, too!

I look forward to the news that Eve is 100% well soon and that your lives are back to normal.

My heart and thoughts are with you and your family. She is so beautiful!

Praying for you and your family...plese stop by when you feel up to it to let us know how you're doing.