This is the Dunn family. They are very special friends of ours. Daryl and Dot with sons Ray and Andy. Andy is 4 years old and is in Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville.
He has a mass attached to his Adrenal Gland. This is behind his kidney/liver area. It is called neuroblastoma. He will have surgery to remove the mass Monday or Tuesday. He also has lesions on his pelvis and his femur. They are afraid that it has mestatized. He is in pain and is running a fever. His hemoglobin is very low.
Please, please pray for him. He is my "little buddy" that I talked about with the Sponge Bob cake.
The Dunn Family are such "good people". Their children are their life.
SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 20TH UPDATE!!!!!!
The surgeon has told them that he has 5 or 6 spots all over and around his chest area. This cancer is eating him up. Please pray for him, his brother Ray, his parents, the doctors, nurses, and anyone who is caring for him at Vanderbilt!
*****MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 21ST UPDATE!!!!!*****
Andy went through the surgery this afternoon. He is in recovery. They took out the mass and his adrenal gland with some lympnodes. The path report will be back tomorrow and we will know more then. Please keep praying for my little Andy!
**********LATE MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 21ST UPDATE!!!!!*********
I spoke with Dot and she said that the cancer is in his bone marrow. He will have surgery today for the port-a-cath and will start treatment pretty soon. He is on the 6th floor at Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital. Dot was almost unable to talk.
I am in the process of organizing a blood drive and a bone marrow drive for him. I will keep you posted when I know the dates and times.
PRAY!
******WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE, JANUARY 23RD******
Dot called me last night about 11 p.m. and said that Andy will start his chemo on Thursday. He will be very sick for almost 2 weeks from the chemo. They are hoping to have the path reports back late this evening. I will post it when I hear from Dot again. Dot relayed to me that they appreciate all of the phone calls and know that everyone is ralling around Andy. They ask for you to continue to pray for Andy through this long process. He has been moved to the 6th floor, Room 6311 which is the Onocology floor. Only two people are allowed in to see him. The big thing right now is that he can not be exposed to any germs.
******THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE, JANUARY 24TH******
Chemo will not start today because blood levels are too low. It will begin Friday.
**********THURSDAY NIGHT UPDATE, JANUARY 24TH**********
Chemo is set for tomorrow. The bone scan has come back showing that the cancer is in his bone marrow in his pelvis, top and bottom of his femurs along with his hips. He got the news today that he will be the receptient of "Make A Wish". The blood drive will be through the American Red Cross. I will keep you posted when the date and time is set. Tomorrow will be a very hard day for Andy with the chemo. He needs your prayers to continue.
*****FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE, JANUARY 25TH *****
I spoke to Dot at 4:30 p.m. and Andy was getting a blood transfusion. She said that his color was looking much better and it would take a few hours for the transfusion to be completed. He will begin his chemo Saturday morning. The chemo takes 3 days for it to drip completely through. Dot and Daryl are overwhelmed with all of the phone calls, cards, visits, gifts and most of all your prayers. Please keep praying for him and his whole family. We never know what lies before us and what tomorrow will bring. The next few days will be hard for Andy and he will be weak. He is such a precious little one and we pray that Andy has a quick and full recovery very, very soon! Blood Drive info. will come soon!
*******.....SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE, JANUARY 26TH.....******
ANDY HAS STARTED HIS CHEMO! Dot called me about 3:30 p.m. today and said that he was sleepy and wanted to take a nap. The chemo is a 3 day drip. She said that he had eaten alot today and I am so glad he has. She and I talked about how important it was for him to have some nutrition in him before he started this chemo. I hope and pray that it doesn't make him sick. The staff has told her that if it was going to make him very sick it would be Sunday. They said it depends on the patient's system if they get sick or not. I hope and pray he's like the little boy Dot was telling me that could eat Taco Bell after his treatments.
...........**SUNDAY EVENING UPDATE, JANUARY 27TH**..........
I just spoke with Dot (7:45 p.m.) and Andy has been sick vomiting a couple of times today. Once about 4 a.m. and once again this afternoon. He is very restless and not feeling well. I can't help but look to God through prayer to help give Dot and Daryl strength to get through this terrible time. I pray that Andy will be comforted and that God's loving hand is placed upon him. He is such a precious child, it is so hard to see him like this. I encourage everyone who reads this to stop what you are doing and say a prayer for him.