Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Good evening, everyone.

Well, David's first (and second) day of school went good. He thinks he will enjoy this year ok. He is so happy he has the same English teacher he had last year, he really likes her. He is doing good so far. I keep reminding him to buckle down, this is his last year. He has the desire to do well, I just hope the effects from chemo he still suffers from won't derail him this year. Please remember to keep him in your prayers.

We went to another Aces baseball game last night. It was a fun game. It would have been more fun had we won, but we still had a great time. We only lost by one run, score was 7-6. It was very cold last night. We were bundled up in our sweatshirts; but I left the blankets in the car! Oh well. We still really enjoyed ourselves. David said it was a great first day of school, even though it was a late night for him. But that is one of the beauties of being home-schooled!!

Well, that is about all for tonight. We are all pretty tired. Thanks for checking in. Keep checking back, you never know what will happen! Thank you for your prayers. Have a really good night. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. - C.C. Scott

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Good evening,

We had a fantastic time camping! Our friends had never been to Lake Davis, and they loved it! It was beautiful. Bryon, Rachel, and David went up on Friday; with Pat following in his RV. Jennifer, Eileen, and I followed later, after Eileen got off work. We got there around 6:20. The weather was wonderful on Friday. It was nice and cold, but warm around the campfire. We had BBQ'd burgers for dinner, and Eileen made macaroni salad, and I brought some watermelon. It was such a yummy dinner. Then Saturday was a cold day. Well, not cold, but really cool. It was partly cloudy and wonderful. Boy, did it make us want Fall!!! We had tacos for dinner on Saturday, again with Pat and Eileen. We all sat in our nice warm trailer and had wonderful food and fellowship! Then, the weather changed. It started to rain; just a drizzle; so the guys put all the chairs and wood and stuff under cover, just in case. Then it started to rain, and it rained all night. It sounded so cool on the trailer. The kids love the rain~~~~so do I! We are so happy that the trailer has a wonderful heater. We were cozy and warm in the trailer, and the rain was so nice. When we woke up this morning it was beautiful! It was still cloudy and windy, and absoultely gorgeous. Pat and Eileen left rather early; Pat had a migraine. We packed up after we had breakfast (breakfast burritos). By that time the rain had stopped, and it was beautiful. It was cold, cloudy, and everything was wet, but we got everything packed up rather quickly. We didn't worry about cleaning the trailer; everything was too wet. We will clean it tomorrow, Bryon has his furlough day (unpaid day off) tomorrow. Then we came home. It is cold here, too, but I know it doesn't mean Fall is here yet. We have a fire in the fireplace right now. For dinner I made Chunky Chicken Potato Soup! It was a perfect dinner for a day like today. Overall, we had a great time camping. We did do some bike riding; and Jennifer, Bryon, and Pat rode Bryon's motorcycle. I can't wait to go camping again! We know we will go with Pat and Eileen again!

Well, David starts school tomorrow. It will be a bittersweet day for him. He has the same English teacher, yay!! He is very happy about that. He has a couple teachers he had last year, and that makes him happy. We are praying he has a wonderful year of school this year. He also starts Bible Study on Thursday, and he is ecstatic about that!! He already can't wait until Thursday! Crazy kid. He missed the bowling outing with the Bible Study kids; it was on Saturday when we were camping. Oh well, they have other activities scheduled. He is just looking forward to Thursday, but not tomorrow. Please pray that he has a good day tomorrow. Thanks.

Thank you for all your words of encouragement to us about the house. David is extremely happy that we aren't moving. None of us were looking forward to that, so we are all relieved that we are staying. Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement.

Thanks for visiting and checking up on us. Have a wonderful evening. Thanks for all your prayers. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

Despite the success of chemotherapy for osteosarcoma, it has one of the lowest survival rates for pediatric cancer.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Good evening.

We can't wait until tomorrow! Yay for camping!! I will not be posting again until we get home on Sunday, so this will be the last post for the weekend. I hope you all have a great weekend.

In other news; I guess we will be buying a dishwasher. That is, when we can afford it. And that is because we get to keep our house!! Bryon called today and found out that our modification was approved, and we will NOT be moving! YAY!! Thank you so much for the prayers, I can't tell you how much we appreciate it. It is still going to be VERY tight; we will not be buying any 'extras' and we sure won't have money left at the end of the month, but that is ok. We will still have the house, and that is what we wanted. I won't go into the details, but last night I was totally resigned to losing the house. I thought it was a done deal, and we had 90 days. So, I am very happy to report that we will be keeping the house. Whew. We have been fighting to keep the house for 2 years. It is so nice to be out of limbo, and things can move forward. As Rachel always says, "Now time can pass." I am so happy; but we are in shock a bit~~it hasn't really sunk in yet. I hope that makes sense. So, again, thank you so very much for the prayers. As I said on Facebook, maybe the "Koury curse" has been lifted! Maybe we were due for something good to happen to us. I don't care, I am just happy that I don't have to uproot my family; and David doesn't have to add his house to the long list of things he has lost.

Well, that is about all that is happening here. Thank you so very much for all your prayers. Thank you for checking in on us. Have a good evening, and a good weekend. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan


“There has been a significant lack of progress during the last two decades in treating osteosarcoma,” said Ian Lewis, Professor of Cancer Studies at St. James University Hospital in Leeds, England

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Good evening.

Today was, hopefully, the last day of Summer! It was hot today. It was almost 98* today! The humidity was a whopping 10%!! We are pretty tired of the hot weather. This is going to sound strange, so bear with me. I am tired of being cold. Yes, the house is cold in the Summer, and toasty warm in the Winter. I am tired of the cooler being on; the noise; and the being cold. I wear a zip up sweatshirt (hoodie) every day in the Summer in my house! Our hardwood floors are cold. It is totally backwards, I know. In the Summer the house is cold, but we, especially David, can't handle the heat, so we have to use the cooler. And the cooler is old, we got it for free, and it only has one speed~~~~high! So this weekend will be great! We will be camping, but it is predicted to be very cool. Like 65* on Sunday! So we will have the cooler off this weekend. And next week will be not quite so hot, so maybe we will be able to deal with just fans on some days. We are so ready for Fall!! It is my favorite season, but Winter is very close behind!! David's favorite season is Winter, so he is anxiously waiting for Winter and snow!!

I haven't heard from Connie on David's blood work yet, so I will call her tomorrow. David is not eating that much. Today for breakfast he had 2 mini cinnamon rolls; lunch was a half a sandwich; dinner was one meatball sub (homemade). He has, in the past, eaten as many as 5 meatball subs. Usually, on a 'normal' day he would eat 3. So, as you can see, he really isn't eating much at all. He is taking his medicine like he is supposed to. I am telling you, his cancer is the gift that just keeps on giving!! Stamina~~~yeah, still not there. I will keep you posted on what I find out tomorrow.

David is sad to see his Summer vacation coming to an end. I mean, this is the first Summer vacation he has had in 3 years, and it has gone by sooo fast!!! Poor kid. Oh well.

I have a prayer request for my daughter, Rachel. She has the opportunity to go to Israel in a couple of months. There is a gentleman that takes a group, and they go to the actual sites and walk the streets Jesus walked. In the past the sites were not historically accurate. They have done a lot of digging and researching and have the actual sites. Anyway, she really wants to go; and needs prayer to get the money. We would all like to go, but it is out of the question for us. She has been working a bit of overtime, and hopes to have the money to go. It will be for 2 weeks, and I am jealous! She is going with nobody she knows, but that won't stop her! So I would like prayer for her to be able to get enough money together, that she has a great time, and that someone will take her under their wing and take care of her. Sorry, I will always be her mom, and I will always worry about her. But I want her to have a great time! She is quite independent, and I am not surprised she will go that far from home 'alone.' We will miss her, but I am happy for her. Please pray that she is able to save the money. Thanks!

Thanks for checking in on David and the Koury Klan. Thank you for the emotional support you give us. Thanks for caring enough to keep checking in on us. God bless you all. We love you. {{hugs}}

Kristi and the Koury Klan

A hospital should also have a recovery room adjoining the cashier's office. - Francis O'Walsh

Monday, August 23, 2010

Good evening.

Do you all remember when I said that if it wasn't for bad luck we would have no luck at all? Remember a while back my dishwasher died? Remember a while back my washing machine died? Well, today my dryer died!! It is blowing COLD air! I couldn't figure out why the dryer kept running and running (it was on 'sensor dry'). So I opened the dryer and the clothes were still wet, and COLD!!! Grrrr! See, if it isn't one thing, it's another! So goes life in the (seemingly cursed) Koury Klan. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. Oh, thankfully, I do have a clothesline in the backyard. But not everything can be put on the clothesline! But we will make do until we can figure out how to get a dryer. *sigh*

We are counting the days until we go camping! One thing I forgot to tell you is we are taking our bikes camping!! We wish we had done that before. Bryon is taking his motorcycle; we have a motorcycle carrier thing that will attach to the trailer hitch on Bryon's car. I will drive Bryon's car with the motorcycle. I am sure Bryon and Jennifer will take turns riding Bryon's motorcycle, and David and I will ride our bikes. We can't wait. Rachel might ride my bike when I am not riding it, we will see. Anyway, sorry for the rambling. We are just really excited to go camping!

I can't believe summer vacation is almost over. The first summer vacation David has had in 3 years, and it went by so fast!!! It is kinda sad. Oh well. He is enjoying his last week of break. It will kinda be nice to get back into a 'schedule' again. It just seems that life is just going so fast.

Well, that is about all that is going on here. Thank you for visiting and checking in on David. Have a good evening. God bless you all. We love you. {{hugs}}

Kristi and the Koury Klan

"We have a multi-billion dollar industry that is killing people, right and left, just for financial gain. Their idea of research is to see whether two doses of this poison is better than three doses of that poison."—Glen Warner, M.D. oncologist

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Good evening.

It has been a busy weekend, as usual. Yesterday was busy with errands and Bryon getting Jennifer's motorcycle running. It has been sitting for too long, and it needed some work done. Then, Jennifer learned to ride it! YAY! She bought the motorcycle 3 years ago; when Bryon bought his; and she hadn't really learned to ride it yet. Well, yesterday she succeeded. And she looks so cute riding it. It is a dual sport bike; dirt and street legal bike. So now she just needs to take the safety class, and then she can get her license. She really wants to do that. That will be good for the Summer, save on gas!! Then today we went to church. Well, the kids and I did. Bryon has been at work since 3:30am (and is still there), so it was just us today. Then Jeremy and Lucy came over for lunch, and we had homemade sub sandwiches. Then Lucy and Jeremy left because Lucy and her sister were going to go to Target and Burlington Baby Depot so Lucy could register for the baby! She will be 18 weeks tomorrow!! She is almost halfway there! Then it has been just the normal housework for the rest of the day. Oh yeah, David and I went bicycle riding yesterday. I have so much fun with him. I am so out of shape, I haven't been on my bike in years! It was so much fun, tho. It felt good to be out there in the beautiful weather. Oh, today was only 79 degrees; beautiful!! Today Rachel roller bladed while David rode his bike. Anyway, it was a busy weekend.

Thank you for your prayers for the Bish family. Even though we knew Sam was going to die, it doesn't make it any easier when it actually happens. As one of the members of our Osteo family said, over half of the kids that were alive when her daughter was diagnosed are now dead. This cancer sucks so badly. It is stealing our children! Just in the last month it has robbed us of Soren, Matt, Nicki, and Sam. It is scary for us who are still in the battle for our children's lives! We feel like this cancer is a ticking time bomb in our children. And, like I said a few days ago, there is no rhyme or reason to it. It is so unknown, and unpredictable. Please remember to pray for our Osteo family members; God knows who they are. One specific person who needs prayers right now is Todd. Thank you.

David has one more week of Summer vacation. School starts next week. He is excited/nervous. I got the sweetest email from his English teacher from last year. I can tell she is a teacher who truly cares, and I so appreciate that. I hope David has her for a teacher this year. I don't know when we get his class schedule, I assume this week. Please pray for David as he prepares for his Senior year of High School. I can't believe this is his last year. Him being a year ahead has made the time go so fast. Thank you for your continued prayers for him.

I forgot to call Connie about David's blood work. I will do that this week. I will keep you posted on what I find out.

We can't wait until Friday. Our last Summer camping trip! It will be fun, it always is! It is just one of those little things we do as a family that doesn't cost much!

Thank you for checking in. Thank you for all your support and love~~~and your prayers. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

'Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.'~~~Robert Brault

Friday, August 20, 2010

Quick update. Little Sam lost his battle tonight. Please remember to pray for the Bish family. I can't tell you how absolutely sick I am of this monster taking our children from us. We have got to find a cure! I just don't have anything else to say tonight. I am just sick of this. Thank you for understanding. God bless you all.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

Osteosarcoma (osteogenic sarcoma) is a highly malignant tumor. It characteristically presents between the ages of 10 and 30 years and has a male predominance. The tumor is usually treated with wide tumor resection and adjunctant chemotherapy. Despite treatment the prognosis is poor and a fatal outcome is the rule.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Good evening.

Things are going about the same here. We are anxiously waiting for Fall~~~it is gorgeous here! The leaves on the tree in our front yard are about 66% yellow, and the whole yard is covered with the leaves that fell off already! It is funny, because the tree was VERY late to blossom this year; and it is early to turn and lose it's leaves! We are really hoping for an early, long Fall. David is ready for Winter and snow, but I am not quite there, yet. I am ready for all the colors and smells of Fall.

We hope to hear this week about the results of David's blood work. The results are supposed to be faxed to Oakland Children's Hospital, so I assume we will find out this week. David still has the rash on his knee, but it is getting better. I am putting the cream on it every night; but David said it is still itchy. He said it actually feels good when I rub the cream on it because that kind of scratches it. He is not healing real well, and that is a sign of zinc deficiency. Please continue to pray that we can get his meds tweaked to the correct dosage. Thanks.

Please continue to pray for Sam. He is in the active phase of dying. Hospice told them it could be any time. He is on oxygen and morphine; having trouble breathing; not eating or drinking; mostly spending his time sleeping. Please pray for his parents and 2 sisters. I can't imagine the pain and agony they are going through watching their child die. There has got to be no greater pain than that. I watched my dad die, and that was bad enough!! I can't imagine watching my child die, someone who should outlive me!! Also, please continue to pray for the families of Matt and Nicki. Thank you so much for your prayers. I know the families appreciate it.

Thanks for visiting and checking in on the Koury Klan. Thanks for being there for us. Thank you for the love, prayers, and emotional support. Have a good evening. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

'Be yourself. No one can ever tell you you're doing it wrong.'~~~James Leo Herlihy

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Good evening.

Today has been a busy day. Bryon had to work today. I had to run to the grocery store first thing this morning because the kittens (and their mommy) had no food. The kittens are 6 weeks old; they are eating and drinking; and using the litter box. Yay! So, they can go at any time! So, if anyone knows of someone who wants a kitten, let me know. They are so very cute. 2 boys and 2 girls. One boy is pure black, and one boy is orange. One girl is mostly black (with very cute markings that make her always look sad), and the other girl is tortoise shell. They are such cute kitties. Anyway, then I did some housework, then had to run to Costco. Then Bryon got home and we had dinner. Then Rachel and I had to run to walmart. Busy day.

Jennifer is finally getting her car fixed! Something I didn't know was her deductible is lower than normal because she hit an animal. I am not totally sure what difference that makes, but it was a nice surprise for her. She will be taking her car in on Monday, then she will be riding her bike to work. She is looking forward to that! It will be good for her. Not sure how long it will take to fix her car, but she doesn't care. I will be taking her back to work on Monday after she drops the car off. I hope Rachel can take her home after work. If not, I will pick her up.

We are excited for 2 weeks from now. We are going camping the last weekend of August. We are going with some friends from church. Bryon and Pat are going up Friday early afternoon; and I will be going up with Eileen later, after work. I think David and Rachel are going with Bryon, Jennifer will go with me and Eileen. Bryon will also have the dogs. Hopefully we won't get up there too late. We are really looking forward to it! We love camping!! These two weeks are going to go by slow. It is David's last camping trip before school! It isn't our last trip for the year, but the last one for the summer.

My heart is heavy again tonight. Matt lost his battle with Osteosarcoma this morning. Like I have said before, it is so hard to see these kids die from the same cancer that is in my son's body!! I don't understand how this cancer works. I mean, remember I told you about that kid who has had the lung mets stable for 5 years; then with some kids it just spreads like wildfire in their bodies. It just goes to show how unknown this cancer is. There is no real rhyme or reason to it. It is so unpredictable. And that is what scares us the most. Please pray for Matt's family. And Sam has been needing oxygen all day today. Please continue to pray for Sam and his family. Thanks.

Thanks for checking in. Have a good evening, and a good day tomorrow. God bless you all. We love you. Thank you for your prayers. {{hugs}}

Kristi and the Koury Klan

All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action.~~~James Russell Lowell

Friday, August 13, 2010

Good evening.

Today was an interesting day. I just mentioned yesterday about not hearing about the house. So, today we get a letter from our mortgage company, Ocwen. They say it is our 'final notice' to get some missing documents to them. They said they are missing Bryon's pay stubs because the ones they received were not legible. That is a lie. He sent his pay stubs as a computer printout; extremely clear and legible. Then (remember I got the letter TODAY!), they said we had until 8/12/10 to respond. That was yesterday!! So I looked at the postmark on the letter, guess when it was postmarked?!?! Yesterday! They didn't even mail it until the day we were supposed to have submitted the forms! Please, if any of you are using Ocwen, GET OUT!! Try to find someone else. They have NO customer service, and we are really tired of being jacked around by them. Anyway, Bryon emailed the forms (again), and then called them to let them know how incompetent they are!! They told Bryon to give them a week to process all the paperwork, and then call them again. We will see. Oh, they gave him a direct line to the agent handling our case~~~she didn't answer the phone and her mailbox was full so Bryon couldn't leave a message. Again, I hope and pray none of you have Ocwen carrying the papers on your house. They are a shyster company! They got their bailout money, and they don't care two beans about us, or anybody else for that matter. Ok, that is off my chest!! Our house situation is in God's hands, and that is all I can say. We are praying we keep it, but Bryon is so tired of working with these people that he is ready to walk away. I want to fight, I am tired of being played for a fool. I have been treated like I am stupid, and I don't know what is going on, too much in my life. Another thing I am done with!!

Bryon took David to LabCorp today to get his blood drawn. It was actually pretty fast! I stayed home with Emilee, of course. I didn't want to take Emilee because usually it is a 2 hour wait! They were only gone about 30 minutes!! David hates getting poked all the time, but we need to know what is going on with him. Hopefully, we will find out what is happening with his zinc levels; and hopefully everything else comes back great!! He is 'at risk' for leukemia; it is a side effect of some of the chemos he was given; so they have to watch out for that. I forgot to tell you that Connie said to put hydrocortisone cream on David's rash~~yes it is still there. The rash from the tape from surgery in June! He is so highly allergic to all adhesives, and he isn't healing very fast. It looks like blisters! Well, his leg is looking a tad bit better with the cream. He said it still itches really bad, but he tries not to scratch it. So that is good. He still isn't eating very good. We notice him eating less than he used to. Please continue to pray for him. Thanks.

That is about all that is happening with the Koury Klan. Please continue to pray for Sam, Matt, and Todd. Also, McKenna is having her second chemo as we speak. Please keep her in your prayers. Sara went to college; please pray that she will be able to handle the schedule, work load, and physical stuff that goes along with it. Thanks for your prayers for these people. They are continually on my list, and they need all the prayers they can get. Sara needs prayers as she goes to college and to stay cancer-free; McKenna needs prayer to get through the next 7 months (her course of treatment); Todd needs lots of prayers for his health; and Sam and Matt need prayers for peace as they lose their battle with this disease. Thank you so very much for your prayers. I really appreciate you guys!

Have a good weekend. Thanks for stopping by and checking in on David. God bless you all. We love you. {{hugs}}

Kristi and the Koury Klan


If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like hell. - Lance Armstrong

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Good evening.

Our weather has been so beautiful these past few days. I was able to turn off the cooler and open the windows! It felt so good. But.....I guess all good things must come to an end! It is going to be in the 90's tomorrow. Yuck! I am tired of summer. We really liked having the windows open!! Oh well. We enjoyed it while it lasted.

David is doing ok. He still isn't eating like we would like him to, but we celebrate every bite! He starts school on Aug. 30th, and he is NOT looking forward to it. I have to admit this summer went by really fast!!

We haven't heard anything lately about the house. The last letter we got from them was dated June 9th. That letter said they were reviewing our case. Don't know what is going to happen. But I will let you know when we hear anything.

Please continue to pray for Sam.

He is going downhill really fast. He is only 9 years old! He is scared, and that is hard on his parents; as if having to watch your child die isn't hard enough. Please pray for some peace for Sam. Thank you.

Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful day tomorrow. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan


In too many cases, the moms, the dads, the sisters and brothers of children with cancer must stand by a hospital bed and watch helplessly as this horrible disease consumes the life of an innocent child.~~~Michael McCaul

Monday, August 9, 2010

Good evening.

David had his oncology appointment in Reno today. He is doing good. Connie said he has better color than she has ever seen him have. Yes, his color is better; he is still a bit pale, but not as 'gray' (her words) as he used to be~~yay! That is good. He will have scans in October, then we will graduate to scans every four months instead of every three. She ordered blood work done on him, we are still concerned with his appetite. He has lost a few more pounds, and we just don't like that. He is rarely hungry, and when he is nothing sounds good. He has pretty much no appetite, and is down to barely 130 pounds. His high was 137. So, we will have to go to LabCorp and gets his labs drawn, and go from there. We still have the Megace, so we will use it if we have to. Overall, it was a good appointment. Emilee was a perfect angel! She got a little concerned and clingy when Connie started actually examining David~~I was holding her and telling her that it was ok, this was David's appointment, and nothing was going to happen to her. Then when Connie just sat down to chat with us, Emilee wanted David to pick her up, so he did. Then she was playing with the paper on the exam table, and she was happy. Silly baby girl! So it was a long, but good, day. We are still keeping a close eye on David, and other than his appetite and weight loss, he is doing good. Please pray that his appetite picks up. I know I have been asking for that for a very long time, but we would rather him want to eat on his own, not because he is taking a medicine to make him want to eat! Thank you for your continued prayers.

Lucy is 16 weeks along today! I am so excited for this baby. I think I may be more excited than they are~~~~ok, maybe that isn't quite true :) But we are really excited!! Please continue to pray for the health of that baby.

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

Kristi and the Koury Klan

The growing population of childhood survivors is notable for its vulnerability to adverse health outcomes, many of which may not become clinically apparent until years after the completion of therapy.
Despite surviving their initial cancer, childhood cancer survivors continue to face considerable premature mortality as adults. The excess risk of dying from other causes that contributes most to loss of life expectancy is the increased incidence of chronic conditions among survivors of childhood cancer. We need to monitor the health of these survivors and to minimize the use of therapies with late toxicities in newly diagnosed patients.
Survivors also experience a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, with as many as two thirds of childhood cancer survivors reporting at least one chronic condition and one fourth reporting a severe, disabling, or life-threatening condition. Survivors of childhood cancer are 5 to 10 times more likely than their healthy siblings to experience heart disease. The incidence of these conditions increases with time, so the full extent of disease- and treatment-related late effects has yet to be realized. Survivors of childhood cancer are a new, large, emerging population at risk for acquired premature symptomatic cardiovascular disease.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Good evening.

I just want to request prayer for my Osteo family. In the last couple of weeks we have lost 3 children. We lost Nicki, Soren, and Tyler. Matt is losing his battle, and it could be any day now. Please, please pray for the families of Nicki, Soren, Tyler, and Matt. Thank you. My heart breaks for these families; I know it could very well be us. Thank you for your prayers.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

Today, up to 75% of the children with cancer can be cured, yet, some forms of childhood cancers, like osteosarcoma, have proven so resistant to treatment that, in spite of research, a cure is illusive.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Good evening.

Again, thank you all so much for your love and support. You are all right, family isn't always about blood. In this case, it is by choice; my choice. Thank you for understanding. And thank you for being my family.

Well, we went fly fishing. And we had a blast!! David had SOOO much fun! He was able to use the rod that Bob Saintey (David's Sunday School teacher when David was 6) gave him, and he was so excited about that. The woman who was his teacher, Judy, said she has three rules~~~#1-have fun. #2-relax and don't stress. #3-don't have better equipment than the teacher. Then she said he failed rule #3. She was great!



They all were great. David said he had a lot more fun than he thought he would. We couldn't stay the whole time, we left after lunch (about 1:45); David was just too worn out. We hiked quite a ways to the spot where we fished, and David was very exhausted. His very first cast he caught a fish!!

It wasn't one of the bigger ones, but he still caught a fish! It is a 'catch and release' private reserve, so he didn't keep the fish. But he was pretty excited to have caught a fish on his first cast. I have posted pictures of the day. The place we went to was absolutely gorgeous! And it was a perfect day. The weather was beautiful! God blessed us with a wonderful day.

We are so glad that David had so much fun, we were just sad that he couldn't finish the day. He was just way too tired. I am so sick and tired of him still suffering the physical effects of this stupid cancer!! But, the trooper that he is, he just did his best and lasted as long as he could. I knew he was tired long before he admitted it. He really wanted to stay, he was having so much fun. *sigh*

Thanks for visiting. I so appreciate all of the support from you guys. Thank you for being there for me/us. I love you all! God bless you. Have a good rest of the weekend.

Kristi and the Koury Klan


Survival rates for children with localized osteosarcoma are at about 70 percent, compared to 15 percent in the early 1960s. Survival rates for children with metastatic disease are about 30 percent.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Good morning.

I want to say thank you to all of you who support me/us during this time. I love you all. Thanks for being the ones who have 'stepped up' and been there for us.

We are heading out the door; we are going fly-fishing!! We are going with "Reel Kids, Real Living" a fly-fishing retreat for children with cancer and their families! David even has his own fly-fishing rod (thanks Bob!!).

Just wanted to say thanks, and I love you. Have a good day.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

Friday, August 6, 2010

Good evening.

For those of you who have children, have you thought of what it must be like for those mothers and fathers out there who have a child suffering with a critical illness? To have a child who stares death in the face every day?!? I can't help but feel abandoned by people who I would have never guessed would ever let me; or my child; down, and I am so angry and frustrated about it. So I want you to ask yourself, what if this were you? What if you had to hear the words, "your child has cancer?" It's been almost 3 years, where were you 3 years ago? Now imagine the time since then being filled with doctors and surgery and hospitals and poison and pain and anxiety and travel and financial devastation and lots more surgery. Now imagine your friends and family almost completely vanishing from your everyday life. Think of what it would feel like to be avoided by the people you needed most. Imagine the stab of pain in your heart as you look at your other children and realize that the fight to save one child has taken you from your other children. Imagine the pain in your heart as you watch your other children watch the sick child; with pain in their eyes. Now imagine the fear that freezes you when you think about the worst happening, and wondering if you will be alone when it comes. I can't stand to hear the words, "If you need me I will be there." I didn't need you 'there' - I needed you HERE. I know I have said those words, and I didn't realize how empty they are. Those of you who say those words, and know how awful it is to hear them; shame on you the most!! You should know better.

I wish I had the option to turn my back, and wait for that update in my email or facebook, then say how much I care.... but in reality be so detached that I can choose to just forget about it until the next update. Maybe post something like "stay positive" or "keep praying" or "it will be ok" or "everything happens for a reason" and that makes me feel better, and it is ok for me to really not be involved at all. I get that from people who live 3000 miles away, from people who don't even know us (and that's ok from them), why would you think that is enough from close friends and family?? People who don't know us have shown us far more love, support, and concern than close friends and family. People who don't know us never once questioned whether or not we were 'faking' this (as if we would; how sick and twisted is that?); never kicked us when we were down; never betrayed us; never sent mean, nasty, selfish, vindictive letters; etc. They understand our need to vent, and they accept us for who we are. They understand that cancer is a FAMILY diagnosis, and they continue to read my posts. They didn't stop reading because THEY (their opinion) felt it was all about me. I have felt more love and acceptance from them than I have from close friends and family. They have reached out to us far more than close friends and family have. Some of the nurses, technicians, and doctors at the hospital reached out to us more, and showed more love and compassion, than close friends and family have. I find that very sad, and all too common. I have read about that happening several times, on other caring bridge sites. However, I also read on a caring bridge than one family was brought together by their child's cancer diagnosis. They said sisters (who hadn't spoken in years) put hard feelings and differences in the past and began talking to each other; the family rallied around and supported the parents (of the child with cancer) like never before. They said, "That is what happens when a child is diagnosed with cancer." Really? I only wish that were true. One of the biggest regrets I have in my life is telling my family that my son has cancer. I wish I would have just stuck to a committment I made to myself before he was diagnosed and just not told them. But I can't go back; though I wish I could. But I can go forward, and that is what I am doing. I will continue to post; the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I will contiue to tell about the whole familly, and how we ALL are doing.

If you don't like my post today, too bad. I am angry and frustrated, but more than that - I am done. Done pretending that its ok when its not. Done with people who don't care about me or my family.

This was one of those 'venting' posts. Thanks for listening. Do NOT post any criticism for what I have said~~~it WILL be deleted!


Childhood cancer is devastating and creates unique pressures on the WHOLE family.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Good evening.

Sorry I haven't updated sooner, it's been a bit busy around here. I talked to Connie on Friday; it was her day off. She said she would look at the report from Radiology on David's bone scans on Monday and call me. I said that was fine. Well, a little while later she called me and said that she called Dr. Hastings and the bone scan looked good. She also said she didn't want me waiting all weekend to find out the results. I told her we weren't expecting any surprises, but I really appreciated her calling me. She is great! She said that she knows that no matter how far out we are from chemo, scans are still REALLY scary. She totally understands that. I really apprecicate that about her. So, the results are in. Bone scan clear, lung nodules stable! We can now breathe for the next almost 3 months. Thank you for all the prayers.

Please continue to pray for Nicki and her family. Also, please pray for Matt, he is losing his battle with this monster, too. Also, another child, Tyler, lost his battle this morning. I HATE OSTEOSARCOMA!! Please remember all these families in your prayers. Thank you.

I am tired. Thanks for visiting. Have a great evening. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

Every Child's Smile is Beautiful; The Smile of a Child With Cancer is Inspirational.