WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012

Finally!!

Good evening. 

Well, I finally got a hold of Connie. She said that everything is the same, and I will be getting the reports in the mail this week. Once I get those reports, I will let you know what they say. But at least we know that David is still stable, no new nodules!! Yay!! 

I realized I never posted about David's appointment in San Francisco. It went well. We were told David didn't need an xray, but we didn't think that sounded right. Well, they have a new computer system and we DID need to get an xray. We just said we would go after David's appointment. As far as the appointment went, Dr. O'Donnell was so happy to see David, as usual. He was the first one to tell us that David wouldn't live 5 years. He always lights up when he sees David, and gets the biggest smile on his face!! Twice in this appointment he said to David, "You make me proud." He said David's legs are about 3mm different, but that is no big deal. He said it isn't even enough to need a lift in his shoe. He was so glad to see David alive and walking!! After the appointment we went to get the xray. Usually we are in and out in about 15 minutes. Well, after over an hour; with people who came after us being seen; Bryon asked how much longer it would be. Well, to make a long story short, they lost the paperwork! So they had to print up another order, and David got his xray! It was frustrating because we wanted to go home!! Anyway, I got a call from Dr. O'Donnell the next day and we were told there is no sign of a local recurrence!! Oh, we already knew that, because Dr. O'Donnell said that David is so thin that a local recurrence could never hide, it would be very obvious!! So that is good news. All good news on David's scans!! God is definitely not finished with David yet!! 

I thank you for your prayers, they are working!! We need to just keep praying that David's scans continue to be stable! Thanks again! 

Update on the probiotic David is taking.....it's not working, he is still having the same issues. I guess the next step is call the GI doctor and go ahead with the antibiotic/probiotic route. Grrrr. We were really hoping the probiotic would work. Please continue to pray for David's health. Thanks! 

Thank you for visiting and checking in on David. Sorry I didn't update sooner, I wanted to get the news from Connie before I did. Please continue to pray for David and the Koury family. Some unspoken prayer requests; God knows what they are. Thank you. God bless you all. We love you. 

Kristi and the Koury Klan 

Hope is ours for the taking every single minute. It's the assurance that things will make sense when there's no sense to make of things. 
~Luci Swindoll 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2012

Good evening. 

Well, we made it to Oakland safely. We left around 4:30, and it was starting to sprinkle a bit as we left. Then, as soon as we turned onto highway 50 it started to snow! And it snowed rather hard, and the road was a bit slushy. We were even behind a snow plow for awhile!  It was beautiful, but it was dark so we couldn't really see much, except what was in the headlights! Traveling in the snow to Oakland brought back MANY memories. And we were, once again, SO thankful for our Honda Pilot. There were chain requirements, and the inspector look long and hard at our tires and waved us on and told us to be safe. David got quite car sick; as always! Some things never change. As soon as we got low enough to get out of the snow, it rained the rest of the way. Poured! But we did make it there; exactly at 9:30 when we were supposed to be there for check in. So we checked in, and then waited. Of course, it is always rush to get there, so we can sit and wait. Anyway, David had the injection for the bone scan at 10:00, chest CT was scheduled for 11:00, but he got in a few minutes early. Then it was wait until the bone scan at 12:30. David did NOT want to eat in the hospital cafeteria, so we just didn't eat at all this morning. By the time everything was done, we got to the hotel around 2:45 or so. Then we unloaded our stuff and walked across the street to eat, finally! We went to Fuddrucker's, and then came back to the hotel to relax. We decided we will just veg in the hotel until we have to leave in the morning. So that is where we are now. We can't wait till tomorrow is over and we can go home!! Thank you so much for your prayers, we made it safely here because of them! It is supposed to snow tomorrow, too, so please continue to pray for us as we go to San Francisco and then home. Thank you. 

Well, that is about all for now. Thank you, again, for your prayers. Thank you for checking in on David. Please pray he doesn't get car sick on the way home. Thank you. God bless you all. We love you. 

Kristi and the Koury Klan 


Whether their children are in remission, cured, or still in treatment, parents of kids with cancer never really relax. Your mind tells you if it happened once, it could happen again. 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2012

Prayers needed

Good evening. 

Quick update. We leave tomorrow morning for Oakland Children's Hospital and UCSF. Please pray for our safety; we have come full circle and there is a storm coming in!!  We will be hitting rain and snow in the mountains. We aren't really upset about that; we love the storms! And we still have the Honda Pilot that does great in the weather! But we would still appreciate your prayers. 

Scanxiety is pretty high right now with us. Please pray that the nodules in David's lungs are stable, and that there are no new ones. Thank you. 

Here is a link to a video my daughter, Rachel, made. Please watch it. It is just a very tiny example of what David went through. My daughter did an amazing job on this video. Warning, have tissues ready! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUIRBQDXUwY 

Well, gotta get ready for bed, must leave very early in the morning. I will try to post tomorrow, if I can, on how the trip and scans went. Then on Tuesday we head to San Francisco for David's appointment with his surgeon. Thank you for visiting and for checking in on David and the rest of the Kourys. God bless you all. We love you. 

Kristi and the Koury Klan 

We are continuing to see late deaths of children presumed “cured” due to late relapses, toxicity and secondary malignancy. 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2012

Finally an update

Good evening. 

Sorry I haven't updated before now. Things have just been busy, and I really hate spending time on the computer! I get bored really fast!  :) 

Anyway, here is what happened at the doctor. He said David has 3 options: #1~~take a Rx probiotic for a month and see what happens, see if David gets any better; #2~~take an antibiotic for 2 weeks and then a probiotic for 2 weeks and see if David gets any better; #3~~do nothing. Clearly option #3 is NOT an option, and the doctor didn't recommend it, but had to offer it to him. David chose option #1. David said he wanted to do the least 'invasive' of the options first. He didn't like hearing about the side effects of the antibiotics, and said if just doing the probiotics doesn't work then we will explore option #2. The doctor gave us a month supply of the probiotics, yay! It has to be kept in the fridge because it is live freeze-dried probiotics. The doctor said it should kill the unhealthy bacteria in David's small intestine while not harming the healthy bacteria. If it does work, he will be on probiotics for the rest of his life, but that is no big deal! David said, "It's no biggie, just another pill to take twice a day!" Please pray this works!! He really doesn't want to do the antibiotic route. He has already taken 4 pills~~~not helping yet! He was just told to take it for a month and then give the doctor a call and let him know the results. The doctor said that the surgery removed part of his colon and the small intestine (including that valve), and that is part of David's issues. The other issue is the chemo that David had destroyed part of his intestine; it just doesn't work like it is supposed to. He kept saying that David has just been through so much; and we agree!! Too much!! Hopefully the unhealthy bacteria will be a thing of the past soon!! So that is the happs with the doctor appointment. 

David completed his first week of work! He did great. He is nervous and excited for Monday. He will be learning new things on Monday, and that makes him rather nervous, and excited at the same time. We are so proud of him. I knew this day would come, when all my children would be working and gone all day, but I'm not sure I was ready for it! I miss having him home with me! He's my last one still at home! I am so glad he has beaten the odds and has lived long enough to get a job, it's just strange to have him gone all day. He is well-liked, no big surprise, and does a good job at work, so we are hoping that someday this will turn permanent. He rides his motorcycle to work now, but that will be changing once it gets cold! He will have to take my car, but that's ok. Please continue to pray for him; pray for his safety as he rides to and from work. 

Well that is about all that is happening around here. Thank you for checking in on David. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. Also, please pray for one of our Osteo family members. I have mentioned Sonya before; she starts chemo again in a couple of days for a relapse, and her dad died yesterday from lung cancer. Please pray for Sonya, and her mom and sister. Thank you so much. God bless you all. We love you. 

Kristi and the Koury Klan 

Whether their children are in remission, cured, or still in treatment, parents of kids with cancer never really relax. Your mind tells you if it happened once, it could happen again. 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012

Sorry for the delay

Good evening. 

I am sorry I haven't updated with the results of David's interview! It has been very hectic around here! He had the interview, and he got the job! It is only a temp job, but that is ok! He started yesterday and he said he likes the job. It was kinda sad for Bryon and I because we had planned a trip to Arizona to visit our friends, and we weren't there for David's first day of work! We left for Arizona on Friday, and didn't come home until last night. I really wanted to be there for David's first day of work, so I could pray with him before he left......I've done that with all my children. It was good for him, but hard for me! He is my baby, and it was difficult for me to not be there for this momentous occasion! But, anyway, he had a good day, and he likes it. I am so glad that it is a positive experience for him. He was extremely nervous yesterday, but not at all today. He doesn't even dread going to work! So thank you for all your prayers. Now please pray that this could turn into a permanent job! That would be great! 

David's appointment with the gastroenterologist is on Thursday. Please pray that it goes well. We will finally get the 'official' results of the hydrogen breath test, and we will get him started on antibiotics. He had to call the temp agency and let them know about this appointment. The place he is working already knew; he mentioned it in the interview. They also know that he will be gone October 22 for scans in Oakland and October 23 for his appointment with Dr. O in San Francisco. But he had to tell the temp agency. Anyway, we can't wait to get this appointment over with!! 

Our weather has finally turned the corner and it is getting cooler. It definitely feels like fall is in the air!! Sooooo glad we don't live in Arizona! It was 102 and 103 when we were there!! I do NOT like it that hot! Our friends do, however. We think they are crazy!! I am so glad to see it getting cooler. I love having my windows open and have the cool breeze blowing in. Great sleeping weather! 

Well, that is about it for now. I will try to update after David's doctor appointment on Thursday. Thank you for checking in. Have a good evening. God bless you all. We love you. 

Kristi and the Koury Klan 

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month…the general public is not aware of this! 
The Gold Ribbon is the symbol for Childhood Cancer…the general public is not aware of this either! 
The fact that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and that the Gold Ribbon symbolizes Childhood Cancer goes largely unrecognized across our country.