From Nadine's Momma

Hello friends of Nadine and Levi!

Thank you so much for all your wonderful visits, cards, gifts, prayers, thoughts, etc. these past weeks.

Yesterday at her Doctor's appointment, Nadine was diagnosed to be "neutropenic." This means her white blood cells (specifically the neutrophils) are WAY TOO LOW and we must exercise precautions so as not to expose her to nasty bugs, bacteria, viruses, etc. Mostly, she just feels like laying in bed anyway, so that's not too difficult. The movies are coming in VERY HANDY! She and Levi end each day by laying together in her hospital bed, and watching a movie together on the little DVD player. It's wonderful to see them adjust to the new reality!

She has lots of sores in her mouth, and a very sore throat, so she's not eating or drinking anything, unfortunately. Dr. (name removed) said that if she isn't eating by her check-up tomorrow, she'll probably be checking back into the hospital for a while.

For now, we're going into the Cancer Treatment Center every day, for her "Neupogin" shots. We were supposed to be able to give them to her at home, but our insurance company informed us that the prescription co-pay was going to be $700 per WEEK!!!!! So we're trying to figure out a different way of getting her those necessary white-cell-booster-shots. We've got some very good people working with us on this problem, so with luck, it will be worked out soon.

Thank you to (name removed) for his beautiful reminder of our little guy, Levi. He is, without a doubt, the one having the hardest time right now. He is really struggling, so I'm glad so many of you have responded to (name removed) note, and want to do something for him!!!

I've had quite a few emails and calls today, asking what type of thing Levi would like? He's such a wonderful little brother, he just wants to be with Nadine. He doesn't want to go off and play by himself without her. And he doesn't much care for being away from mommy and daddy right now, either!

Today, he asked me, "Mommy, when I get cancer, will people send movies to me?" It broke my heart. Of course I explained that he was not going to get cancer, and his 4-year-old logic immediately interpretted that to mean that he wasn't going to get any of his own movies, either. So, for those of you who asked, I guess he'd like to have some dvds of his own!

He loves animal adventures, so maybe things like "Free Willy," "The Bear," "The Seal," Etc. He loves wildlife and animal planet and things like that. He really loved the Harry Potter series. Does this help? (He already has Benji: Off the Leash, and Stuart Little) Oh, and he loves Toy Story and Toy Story II. Oh, I don't know. Whatever you think. And THANK YOU.

Much, much love to everyone. We can feel your support, and it's what is keeping us going right now.

Love,

The Momma of Nadine