Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Good evening.

Wel​l, the calender says end of April, but it is December outside!! The ground is white, and it is still snowing! This is Spring in Northern Nevada. By Monday it is supposed to be close to 70*!! Amazing!

David is doing ok. He is at Bible Study right now. He is sad that Bible Study is almost over. There are only two more weeks after tonight, and David is not looking forward to having 'nothing' to do on Wednesday night! But they will be planning summer activities, so that is great!

Schoo​l is going ok. Math is still his worst, and most difficult, subject. But he is doing his best, and that is all we ask of him. Please continue to pray for him. Thank you.

We are still having fun with sweet Emilee. On Wednesdays I take her to a 'Toddler Time' play group. She is shy at first, and clings to me, but then she warms up and has a lot of fun. It is good for her! Tomorrow we go to the swim center for David's pool therapy. It will be another busy day.

We are getting really excited for Mother's Day weekend. We are going camping!! That is our tradition. We have done it for 3 years now!! Our favorite way to spend Mother's Day! I get to spend it with all 5 kids, and we have a great time!!! Plus, it is nice sometimes to be away from phones, internet, etc. for a few days!!

Well, the ground is white; the trees are all flocked; and Berlynn is going crazy out there! She LOVES the snow!

Thank you for stopping by. Have a good evening. Thank you for your prayers, we need them!! God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan.

'Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it!!'

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Good evening.

Thi​s will be a long post, so bear with me. It was a fantastic day!! We got to the baseball stadium at 10:30 this morning, and were met by Amanda. As soon as we got there David was taken down to the clubhouse. He was given a baseball, by Amanda, to take to the clubhouse to have signed by some players. While David was doing his thing, Rick, the general manager of the Reno Aces, gave us a tour of the stadium; even in places normally off-limits. It was very fun. Then David was throwing a ball with T.J., the vice president of Baseball Operations/​Communicati​ons, in front of the dugout. They surprised David with a bat that was signed by all the players. He was pretty excited about that!! They also gave him a hat and an Arizon Diamondback​s jersey. Then we just kinda stood in front of the dugout waiting for the activities to start. As we were standing there, one of the players called David over and said, "There has been a change of plans, I am going to throw out the pitch, you are going to sing the National Anthem." Ha-ha!! The players loved David. In fact, T.J. told us they talked about him long after he left the clubhouse. He made quite an impression on the players! They told David they were going to try to win the game for him. Then David threw out the first pitch, with Brett Butler catching. David did fantastic!!! He stood on the pitcher's mound and made it to home plate! I know that might not sound like a big deal; but our president didn't make it that far!!

Then David went with Brett Butler to exchange line-up cards. Brett handed David the card, and David handed it to the umpire.

Then we got to stand on the field, with the players, for the National Anthem. Then we went to our seats, which were right behind home plate! Fantastic seats!! We were in the shade the whole time. The weather was gorgeous, in the low 70's with a nice breeze. We were a little chilly in our seats, but we had a fantastic time. Amanda and Rick both checked up on us a few times to see if we needed anything. They also gave us food vouchers, for standard baseball fare; hot dog, pretzel, and soda!! The game went into extra innings; it was tied 5-5 at the bottom of the 9th. At the top of the 10th, the Colorado Skysox scored 5 runs!!!! We thought we were doomed! Then we got 4 runs. Then with 2 outs, 2 strikes, and a man on first, the player hit a home run!! So we came back to win, 11-10!! David's first baseball game was a fantastic game!! He wants to go to more games this season! We will be doing that. He had soooo much more fun than he thought he would. The only bad thing was David woke up with his first ever migraine! He was in pain all day, but he said it didn't ruin his day, so that's good. It was a very exciting day. They will be sending us (via Lizzie from NNCCF) a video, pictures, and another shirt. Thank you, again, Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation and Reno Aces, for giving David a day he will never forget! It was a very special day.

Well, that is about it for today. Thank you for checking in. Have a great night. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Good evening.

Wel​l, tomorrow is the big day! David is pretty excited! He is still nervous, tho. He spent the better part of the day practicing his throwing. Now there is something he can do!! Bryon and I donated blood this morning, then Bryon took David to the park to practice throwing. He does great! As long as he doesn't get too nervous tomorrow!! We got him a pad of paper for autographs! We think it will be a fun day! Thank you for all your encouraging words to him.

Please continue to pray for our finances. We had a couple expensive surprises. Bryon had to have some mandatory work done on his car~~~to the tune of $800!!! Then we got David's Prevacid prescriptio​n refilled (last time it cost us $90) to the surprising tune of $173.52!!!! YIKES!!! We don't know why it was so much; but we don't have the $973.52 it cost for those 2 mandatory things!! *sigh* We really covet your prayers. Thank you.

Thank you for visiting and checking in on David and the Koury Klan. Have a good evening. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan


Childho​od cancers are the #1 disease killer of children - more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Good evening.

Wel​l, it was a beautiful day today. It snowed and rained pretty much all day yesterday; and it started out foggy this morning; and then became a beautiful, albeit chilly, day. It was great to see the sun.

David has a great weekend planned. On Suday we are going to the Reno Aces game (for those of you that don't know, the Reno Aces are the Triple A team for the Arizona Diamondback​s. Their Head coach is MLB Hall of Famer Bret Butler). David gets to go into the clubhouse to meet the team, spend time with the team at batting practice, throw out the first pitch and then he will be with Bret Butler to exchange the lineup cards. He gets to be on the field for the pre-game ceremonies (actually, we all do) before throwing out that first pitch! He is pretty excited, and nervous!! Thank you, Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation and Reno Aces for setting this up!! The Reno Aces will be honoring 6 children this year; David is the first. We are so excited for him. Please pray that David won't be too nervous to throw the ball! We will be taking pictures, and Rachel will be videotaping it. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Well, we are still in limbo with the house. We are really tired of washing dishes by hand, but we don't want to replace the dishwasher until we know what is going on with the house. *sigh* Oh well. Hopefully we will find out SOON!! Please continue to pray for this situation. Thanks.

Well​, that is about all the exciting news from the Koury Klan. Have a good evening; and a fantastic weekend. Thanks for checking in! God bless you all. We love you! {{hugs}}

Kri​sti and the Koury Klan

Childho​od cancer is devastating and creates unique pressures on the whole family.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Good evening.

I am sorry I haven't posted for so long.......​been so very busy.

The calender says Spring; but it snowed all day here today! David loved it!!!

David is doing ok. Our biggest 'complaint' is that he still doesn't have any desire to eat. He went to Bible Study tonight, and didn't eat much. They serve dinner to the kids before Bible Study. David didn't want to eat much, and didn't want anything once we got home, either. *sigh* I'm glad his weight is still in the acceptable range; we just wonder for how long. Thank you for your prayers for his appetite to improve.

Con​nie called today about David's B12. We need to have his blood drawn to check the level before we start the shots. She said that we do NOT want him to become deficient, because then we have to play 'catch up' with his levels. If we caught it in time, he will only have to have the shots once a month! Of course, his levels will have to be checked regularly; and it will be a balancing act~~~for the rest of David's life!!! Connie said that the shot will be able to be given at home. That is bittersweet. That means I will be playing 'nurse' again; or is it still? I am just so sorry for my poor son. This all just sucks so bad. He is sooooo not looking forward to monthly shots for the rest of his life. Please continue to pray for him. Thanks.

We are still totally enjoying having Emilee. David loves her, just as much as we all do, and she is such a sweet baby. He really 'lights up' when she smiles at him or wants him to pick her up!

School is going ok. I have emailed all his teachers; just like I was instructed to do. I have heard back from 2 of them, and they are very willing to help David succeed. As his English teacher said, "David needs encourageme​nt, not frustration." I really appreciate his English teacher.

Tha​nk you for visiting and checking in on David and the Koury Klan. Thank you for all your prayers, please keep them coming. Have a good night. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

'The time is always right to do what is right.' Martin Luther King

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Good evening.

I am sorry I haven't posted before now, I wanted to get the official word before posting.

Dav​id went to the oncologist today. She said the nodules are still there; and they are still stable. She said she is not 100% sure it's cancer, but she is not 100% sure it's NOT cancer. The only way to know for sure is to do surgery, and they don't want to do another thoracotomy on David just yet. She will keep a VERY close eye on his lungs. So she will keep David on the every three month scans until October, then we will go to every 4 months.

We talked to the Child Psychologis​t, and she is worried that David is suffering from depression; not that anyone can blame him. Please pray for him. Thank you. He did lose a couple of pounds, but he is still at an acceptable weight. We were also told that we will be starting David's vitamin B12 shots soon. I am not exactly sure when, but they are getting the plans together. They were originally going to wait until his levels dropped significant​ly, but decided there was no need to wait. They know the levels will drop, so they might as well get started. So he will NEVER be able to leave cancer totally behind him. I told him that his cancer is the gift that just keeps on giving!!! And it stinks!! I am not looking forward to my son having to go through these shots for the rest of his life!! *sigh*

The bone scan looks good. There is the normal 'uptake' in his left foot and at the top of the prosthesis. They think the uptake in his left foot is from overuse~~it still bears the brunt of his walking. He still limps, but I honestly think he always will. We were told that with the size of his tumor, and the amount of muscle they removed so they could get clear margins, he will never have a normal gait. But that is just something he will have to deal with. He is that strong trooper, and he will still live life to the fullest; for him. I am praising God that he is still alive! I will take him, disabled and all!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! He had a good birthday. I made the sour cream chicken enchiladas, and he ate 5 of them. Wylene, thank you for the generous gift to him. Thank you, all of you, for thinking of him, and remembering him.

Thank you for visiting. Have a great night. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan


More than 2/3’s of survivors will deal with one or more (sometimes life-long) “late effects” from treatment, which can occur in any organ or system of the body, & include such things as Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD – can occur from bone marrow transplants​), learning disorders, growth problems, sterility, hearing &/or vision loss, neuropathy/​pain, heart damage, amputations (& prosthetics​) & the possibiliti​es of recurrences &/or secondary cancers.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Good evening.

I am sorry I haven't posted yet~~~~I'm hoping that no news is good news. We don't have any news yet. *sigh* I will call tomorrow, and hopefully I will find out something.

I neglected to tell you that on our way to Oakland we had to go through a LOT of snow!! We woke up Monday morning to about 2 1/2" of snow!!! It was great!! It was beautiful in Oakland. David hates being there, of course, but it was a beautiful day. The scans went fine. Christine needed to take a couple extra bone scan pictures; she saw some things she didn't like. We also got to meet up with a boy we 'met' on our support group website. His name is Alex and he is just a few weeks older than David!! He was having his first post-chemo scans. He had his CT scan just before David; and he had his bone scan just before David. We spent a lot of time chatting between the time the boys were injected and they had their bone scans!! It did help pass the time! David is glad those scans are over! To tell the truth, so are we. We just want to know the results. I will post when I find out.

We 'celebrated' David's birthday today, even though his birthday isn't until tomorrow. That just means Jeremy and Lucy were here. Tomorrow David wants me to make Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas for dinner. It will be a yummy dinner. I can't believe my 'baby' will be 16 years old!! I am just thankful he is here to turn 16. I hope he has a great birthday tomorrow.

Pl​ease continue to pray for some situations that really need your prayers. There have been people that have let me know exactly how they feel about me and my family (the 7 of us). I can't go into details, I just request prayers. I think they are 'toxic' people in my life that I need to just let go of, and release from my life. That is so much easier said than done~~~~giv​en who the people are. Please, please pray for me. Thanks.

Than​k you for visiting and checking in on David and the Koury Klan. Have a good evening. Thank you for all your love, prayers, and support. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

'You just have to live your life not caring what they think and shake off the drama and prove to them that you're better than they think you are!'

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Good evening.

Dav​id's scans went well yesterday. We left at 5am and got to Oakland Children's Hospital at 9am. We had enough time to go get a coffee at the outpatient clinic before checking in with radiology. We won't know the results for a couple days, though. Please continue to pray that the lung mets are gone; thanks!

Our hearts are heavy, again. Once again I tell you that an Osteo Warrior has lost his battle with this wretched monster. Keaton died this morning. He was David's age. I HATE CANCER!!! I HATE OSTEOSARCOM​A!!! I am so sick of our osteo family members burying their babies!! This is just not right! Hopefully some of the money my daughters and I raised will go to Osteosarcom​a research, and we won't have shaved our heads in vain!! Please remember Keaton's family in your prayers as they try to deal with the loss of their son/brother​/uncle. Thank you.

Thank you for checking in. I am not really up to adding more at this time. Thank you for your prayers.

Kri​sti and the Koury Klan

Strengt​h is nothing more than how well you hide the pain.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Good evening. I hope you all had a great day celebrating our risen Savior.

We had a good day. We went to church this morning, and it was good. I want to say a big THANK YOU to our church family. Last week they held a rummage sale with all the proceeds going to us. This morning they presented us with a generous check, and I just want them to know how much we appreciate it. Thank you, church family. We are lucky to have 2 families; our church family and our Osteo family!! Our Osteo family is a family that NONE of us want to be a part of; and we all know exactly what each other is going through. We are a very close-knit family, and I love and appreciate each and every one of them!! And our church family~~~wh​at can I say? We couldn't have gotten this far in this journey without their love, support, and prayers. Thank you; we love you!!

Jeremy and Lucy were here for lunch, yay! It was a yummy lunch of tri-tip, baked potatoes, corn, and fruit salad. The fruit salad was wonderful! It had apples, bananas, strawberrie​s, raspberries​, and blackberrie​s in it! Sooooo yummy. Then David wanted to have an Easter egg hunt. He still likes to do that, so does Rachel, so Bryon and I hid the eggs. But we only did it ONCE; it was freezing today!! And VERY windy (big surprise, I know). So once they found all the eggs I peeled them all and made egg salad and 'angeled' eggs (not 'deviled' eggs, lol). Jeremy and Lucy left around 2:30, and Jennifer left around 4:30. It was a great day with family.

Plea​se continue to pray for David's scans on Tuesday. Thanks.

Plea​se continue to pray for Keaton, Todd, and Rachel. There are other children that need prayers, but these are the ones who need them the most at this time. Thank you.

Thank you for visiting and checking in on David and the Koury Klan. Thank you for your prayers. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan


Disease progression in the lungs is in fact, the primary cause of death in osteosarcom​a - Meyers PA, Gorlick R: Osteosarcom​a. Pediatr Clin North Am 1997; 44:973-989.​

Saturday, April 3, 2010

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!!!​

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Ours is going fast, as usual. We did a little shopping today; Bryon and Jeremy helped a lady from church load up a moving truck; we went to church; and the kids colored eggs. It has been a pretty hectic day. Tomorrow we will go to church, and then Jeremy and Lucy will come over for lunch. We are going to have BBQ tri tip, baked potatoes, and a fruit salad. It will be a yummy lunch.

Scanxiety is alive and well around here. Please pray for David's scans on Tuesday. We have to be at Oakland Children's Hospital at 9:30am. David has the injection for the bone scan at 10:00am; the CT scan at 11:00am; and the bone scan at 1:00pm. Hopefully they can get us in early, as usual. Christine and Bryant are really good at getting us in early. Please pray that the scans go well, and that there are no surprises. Thank you.

Thank you for visiting and checking in on David and the Koury Klan. Have a Happy Easter as we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead and conquering death for us. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

'Human misery is too great for men to do without faith.'~~~H​einrich Heine