the chemo party was a success

michelle was showered with sweet friends and gifts
thank you to who was able to come

we were just so glad she came and stuck it out for the hour

sweet girl, we love you michelle

and thank you andrea and maggie for bringing her and coming!

michelle for the next [2] weeks will be doing just ONE day of CHEMO!

hallelujah

until then we hope her immune system picks up just a little bit for her

she is just so tired all the time especially because she just finished the long brutal week of chemo of it being 5 days out of the week and almost 6 hours long sessions, yeah. she is amazing.. tell me about it!

if you would like to give anything to michelle and just wasn't able to make it to the party let us know! thank you for all of your kind words, it means a lot to michelle.

and don't forget you can STILL write her little letters/emails, it means the world to her hearing positive feedback from people, spread the word.

love you Michelle!

xox

jules.

just putting this cute picture up so you all can see how cute michelle is with her beanie. her hair is falling out.. the chemotherapy is kicking in. it makes her very tired but the doctors/nurses have given her anti nauseating medicine, so that helps her. she isn't eating much. she hates water. loves sprite and propel. oh and you can't forget the chicken nuggets and outbacks little steak and potatoes :) we love our michelle! we are having the chemo party for her tomorrow and will put up pictures of that! and nicole and jess put down some ideas for what to get her! hope to see you all there!

nicole, jessica, michelle, jules

xox

jules.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

happy birthday to the princess..

MICHELLE!

we love you.

best picture ever. taken tonight.

we are so happy jessica came to town

love you.

xox.

jules

Gift Ideas

so a lot of people have been asking what to give Michelle. here is the list Jessica came up with

her fav color is anything bright, tye dye,

she loves glitter

anything flashy

hannah montanna

lip gloss

beachy things, nail polish, chessy little girl toys,

barbies, pjs for victorias secret are her fav (espiecally in bright colors)

she loves new clothes for her tiny maltipoo dog

like really if people bought things with a 7 year old girl in mind

and thought BRIGHT SPRARKLY GIRLY FABULOUS that would be so her

love, nicole

Comfy Chemo Shower

While Michelle is going through chemo she will need lots of things to make her time easier. We are having a "Comfy Chemo Shower" to shower her with comfy gifts. Some things she needs are pajama's, slippers, head scarfs, hats, and anything else she would find comfy! This is a great time to come visit with Michelle and show her your love.

For those who don't know Michelle's birthday is on January 27th. This is not her birthday party but we will sing to her and have some cake!

We do not want Michelle any more tired then she needs to be. The shower is only two hours, please do not be late!

If for any reason Michelle cannot make it we will still accept the comfy shower gifts at this time and take them to her at a later time. We will post on the event that the shower is cancelled as soon as we find out it is.

This is a friend invite friend event. If you know someone who would want to come visit Michelle invite them! But please avoid inviting people like your brother's uncle's roomate's girlfriend. We know they love Michelle but feel they could show their love just as much through a letter :)

We will have snacks provided and anyone who would like to volunteer to bring something to eat that would be great!

Just e-mail me at imaynotbequeenelizabeth@gmail.com if you want an invite!

love, nicole

Short visit to home

After Michelle left the hospital Tuesday she was still running a high fever.

She went back to the hospital for her chemo infusion and the doctor decided to readmit her 

to Thompson Peak instead of letting her go back home.

Her kidney function is a little off but is improving today.

She has also developed Valley Fever, but it wont affect her chemo.

Michelle is trying to cut back on the pain meds so she is feeling more like herself.

Cross your fingers she will be able to go home tomorrow.

p.s the chemo is finally taking its toll on her hair.
no matter how much you prepare yourself for that,
that would be emotional for any girl.
make sure you send your love to our pretty girl

i miss her constantly

love, 

jess

Victoria Beckham & daddy long legs spiders

this post is courtesy of Andrea Long...

Michelle has been moved back to Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak so that her doc can monitor her care more easily. She is doing much better since the surgery last Saturday.  Almost all the swelling has gone down from her legs and most of the back pain has subsided.

  Of course, not all is smooth.

  A couple of days ago the oxygen saturationof her blood fell to below 90% and seemed to stay that way unless she had oxygen on. Yesterday they did a contrast CT scan and found that she had 3 blood clots in her lungs.  Since she has had trouble with bleeding and her platelet count is down, giving her blood thinners to dissolve the clot was not an option.  So, they decided to put a filter in one of her veins.  It looks almost like a little daddy long legs spider.  

It is designed to catch any parts of the clots that might dislodge and keep them from getting to her brain or heart where they could cause lots of damage. Eventually the clots will disssolve, but the filter will protect her until they do.  It is permanent and will not be removed.  It was a pretty simple procedure, but for Michelle, it just felt like one more obstacle to her getting well.  

 
Her blood counts are down, so she will stay in the hospital until her white, red, and platelet counts are up to a safe level.  Not sure when that will be.  She is back eating an unrestricted diet, although she still does not have much of an appetite and only eats a few bites from each meal. She is up and walking around a few times a day, but because her red count is low, she tires very quickly.  The doctor would like her to try and get the count raised on her own, but if that doesn't happen, she will get another transfusion.  
 
Today is day 16 of this hospital stay.  Hopefully she will be able to go home soon.  She gets discouraged pretty easily.  Thank you again to all you girls for your thoughtfulness and encouragement.  As soon as Michelle is able we are going to hit up the wig stores.  I'm not sure when her hair will start falling out - probably within the next week or so.  I know I'm not looking forward to that - just another thing for her to have to deal with. 
 
I attached some pictures from her haircut.  She was really groggy that day, but Kristina did such a nice job on it.  It is really cute when it's all styled.   

looks almost like Victoria Beckham right?!

Love, Andrea (Michelle's mom)

Dear Everyone,

It's awfully hard to track you all down

so i figured a post would get to you all the same.

Michelle's sister Maggie got her a digital photo frame for her hospital room.

If you could please email her pictures that would be great!

Maggie.m.long@gmail.com

Examples of the perfect picture(s) would include.....

a picture of you and Michelle together

a picture of you and your family to let her know you are thinking of her

a picture of a fun memory

or anything that you think is appropriate and would make her smile:)

Thanks everyone!

xoxo

jess

P.S. don't make me contact you personally because I seriously will

Skinny Legs

Just for a follow up on yesterdays post..

Michelle is off the ventilator tube

:)

The doctor showed Michelle's family that, despite all the set-backs,

 her AFP levels are continuing to drop.

Today they have dropped just above 100,

which tells us that the chemo is doing a fabulous job of killing the cancer.

Michelle is still a bit groggy but the fluid retention is decreasing.

Her mom told me her color is starting to look very good again,

so i imagine she is starting to look a bit like sleeping beauty in her hospital bed.

Thankfully, the intense back pain she has been having is gone as a result of the doctor removing addition tumor from her lower back area.

He let her know that she will soon have her "skinny legs" back.

I know Michelle, and sick or not, that made her very happy

Blogging from Utah...

My life in Utah has begun...

and as slow as it is up here for the time being, 

Michelle's condition is changing pretty rapidly.

She has already completed her first week of chemo.

Although I am not there to witness this myself,

Michelle's mom, Andrea, keeps me posted with texts so I don't feel too left out.

Her texts today informed me that after a Sigmoidoscopy the other day, they were able to see some additional cancer in the colon.

The doctor was afraid that the chemo would kill cells too fast and her bowel would perforate,

so he did a temporary diversion.

The surgery was today and Michelle will spend the night in ICU, and hopefully back on the floor tomorrow.

At least one more week at ScottsdaleShea hospital.

As far as her mood and spirits, she is pretty much under until at least tomorrow when they take the ventilator tube out.

The doctor has made it clear that he is still optimistic, but so many complications are arising daily and Michelle is having a very tough time.

This is not the time to forget her in your thoughts and prayers.

Although you might not hear a response from Michelle, any words of love would make her and her family feel comforted.

I love all of you who supporting my best friend while I physically can't. You are doing an amazing job and I am so grateful for you.

Please don't stop!

love,

jessica

visit to the queen!

its jules

its 10:50pm.

i just got home from visiting Michelle at the hospital.

she has switched hospitals to Scottsdale Shea Hospital.

i am pretty thankful i got to see her.

tonight was a real good reality check for me.

i had not seen Michelle since this whole diagnosis which has been a couple weeks now.

just because of work, her surgeries, recovery time, i got sick, being pregnant and the joys from that.. etc.. 

anyway so Michelle is in good spirits.

she went back into the hospital on Sunday because her mom had a concern because she wasn't eating and she was in lots of pain.. she would want her pain meds after 2 hours when they should last 4-5 hours at a time.. after several discussions with her mom and the doctor he decided to readmit her back to Scottsdale Thompson Peak Healthcare Hospital.. and last night was transferred over to Shea for several reasons.

Michelle can't eat, she just can't and she is technically not allowed to and can just have clear liquids.. they are injecting through the IV the nutrients that her body does need.. and her body decided to retain that, so after several days they noticed she was swelling, her body was retaining the water and nutrients, and in result was having problems with her kidneys and with the swelling in her abdomen that they had to drain 3 quarts of fluid from her abdominal area and her legs have also swelled up too(they said that it will go down eventually..) and about her kidneys.. the doctor got worried and Michelle went into surgery and had stents put in, and now her kidneys are back and activating properly so far.. i wish i could explain just the problems that have been happening to our Michelle.. but it is just one after another. She had to start chemotherapy and tonight was her third night, she is so groggy and out of it already she doesn't really "feel" the results of the chemo, because she is wiped out already. they have also given her an epidural to lay off so many pain meds and that seems to be helping her pain. my husband and i had a nice long talk with her mom.. not even needing to tell you the rest of the endless issues, all i can say is please continue to pray for Michelle, her body will fight this. she is just not herself, obviously, her body has been put through the ringer.. it breaks our hearts.. there are several other things that have gone wrong as a result of the cancer but they are keeping a close eye on the tumor on her colon and the cancer in general. the doctor is optimistic of what the chemotherapy will do to the cancer, it's just a matter of her body being able to "keep up" with everything that is going on... she also got her hair cut from a sweet girl named Kristen from her previous salon that Michelle worked at! it is the Victoria Beckham bob! Michelles mom will be sending pictures soon! They are just exhausted, but still made us laugh and smile and the hospital today! they are very positive! all of the family. so please continue to pray for the family and Michelle of course and even the for the doctors that are attending her, that they will know what to do in the best interest for Michelle and her health. thank you for all the support, i love seeing the stats go up and up day by day and the followers just increasing! you are all so great. i know Michelle and her family appreciate support.

xox

jules.

ps. the plan is to go wig shopping next week, depending on the health and condition of Michelle, any donations will help.