Once again, it’s been awhile since our last post! Life definitely hasn’t slowed down, but as the saying goes, “no news is good news”! There have been lots of “big events” recently; i’ll try to recap here…
– First, congrats to Uncle Matt and Auntie G on the very early arrival of Briley Lawrence, our beautiful new 3-pound, 9-week early little neice/cousin! She’s doing great. We’re pretty sure we induced labor by living with them for so long (or at the very least, we prepared them for a more hectic schedule with kids?!) We’re very happy she’s doing so well and hopefully she’ll get to go home soon!
– Kate has decided that she doesn’t really want a birthday in November, because the “nuk fairy” is supposed to show up on her birthday to take her nukkies away. We NEVER thought Ellie would go for that when she turned 3, but she did great! Kate, however, was 9 months old when cancer took over our lives! While she has always been very well cared-for, she was just a baby, and she definitely gets the baby treatment in our family! The idea of the nuk fairy hasn’t gone over so well, until now. We may have struck a deal now that we told her, “maybe baby Briley will need a Nukie!” I think the birthday is back on…
– I will never forget just over a year ago, when Peter came off the ventilator in NY. Uncle Matt was with us in NY and it was such a production. There were still so many tubes, cords, lines; you could tell the doctors and nurses really prepared themselves for these things, we all had to leave the room as sometimes patients cannot make the switch to room air and need to be re-intubated. Peter did well, and we got a call moments later that my Grandpa Art had passed away in Mpls during an Angiogram. I think those 2 things happened simultaneously and Grandpa was giving Peter his last breath to help Pete breathe on his own again. This morning, just over 1 year later, Grandma Marie went to be with him. Auntie Meeses and I were able to spend yesterday with her and we are thankful for that.
– Peter is doing great. He did have the Rituxan / Cytoxan treatment a couple of weeks ago. He had 1 full day of Rituxan, then a repeat of that 2 weeks later, then Cytoxan the following day. He did great with the pokes, and then one of the nurses asked him if he wanted to play the “Wii” (sp?!), so he had a lot of fun with that while getting the infusions. Had a lot of nausea the day following the Cytoxan (chemo), but has felt great since. He didn’t lose his hair even though he told Uncle Troy that he lost some of it but it came back in overnight. That’s good because he was getting nervous about losing it. He asked me if he could just tell his class that he got a haircut if it started falling out!
– Last Thursday Ty took Peter to the U before school to check his counts, and also to draw blood for a HAMA test in NY. Unfortunately, we found out this week that he is still HAMA-positive. But it can take a couple of months for the HAMA to come down (after the above regimen to try and bring it down)
– Given that, Peter won’t be getting 3F8 treatment immediately, but he is due for scans/tests again so we’ll head east on Sunday the 26th. He doesn’t care that he has to get poked & prodded, sedated, etc as long as we’re back in time for Trick-or-Treating, which we will be!!!
– Other than that, we are settling in to life in Apple Valley!
– My Dad’s surgery is Monday, so we appreciate your thoughts/prayers for good news there!
– Thinking of all our friends fighting this dreadful disease…
A journal of Peter’s journey
Greetings Eigners!!! YEAH …. we are sooooo happy to read such a newsworthy update!! I check … and check…. and check … for updates…. and I , too, had convinced myself that “no news is good news!” — None the less, I was thrilled to log on this afternoon and see a new update!! YEAH!
~Peter, we are delighted that you are doing so well! I was driving past the civic center last Saturday (on our way to Sears for the kids’ pictures) and I noticed that they took the “Keep Fighting Pete” down from their sign. I have to admit that I got a bit choked up… after seeing those encouraging words up there for sooooo long (2+ year!!!!???) – it seemed weird to see that they had vanished! But, on the bright side – I guess we can look at it as a sign of victory, too! 🙂 Even though the marque’ no longer displays the message, all of your friends and family in the Brainerd area continue to pray for your COMPLETE healing ….
~Katie-O, Katie-O, Katie-O ….. I can hardly believe that you are going to be THREE!!! I still have vivid memories of your first visit to my house…. your teeny tiny body all swaddled up in your little pink sleeper with a head full of DARK hair! And – now, you get a cake with THREE candles on it?!?!?!? Kate – I’ve heard the Nukkie Fairy is really nice…. and I know that since you are getting to be such a big girl, you won’t mind passing on your nukkies to Baby Briley!! *** Do you think they have Bottle Fairies for 2 1/2 year old boys who still drink a “ba-ba”?!?!?***
~Ellie, I assume you are still busy with preschool, gymnastics and all that other fun girly stuff that you sooo enjoy??!? We miss you, sweet girl!
~Congrats on the arrival of Briley!! (what an adorable name!!!!) We pray that she continues to do well …. and that she gets to come home soon!
~We extend our sympathy to all of you on the passing of Grandma Marie. Just a note on Grandpa Art’s passing …. I got the chills when you mentioned that you believed his last breath was passed on to Peter ~ I, too, had conjured up some thoughts like that when those two events happened simultaneoulsy. God works in awesome ways!
~To all of my precious Eigners… we miss you sooooooooooo much! Parker still runs to the window sometimes looking to see if Kate-Kate is here yet!! Please, stop in for a visit when you are in the area!
~Wishing you all a beautiful fall …. relaxing times …. healthy days, and VERY HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
With much love,
Jenni, Ryan, Emily, Lily & Parker
XOXOXOXOXO
Aloha from Kona Peter and family, We are glad that all is going well. Ruth was just talking about you and how she things now that she is much taller she might be able to catch you running. She had so much fun in Chicago chasing you around the conference. We will keep you in our prayers as always.
Aloha, Ruth and family
Glad to hear how well things are going for you Eigner’s! Will keep Peter and your family in our prayers for more good news from New York!! Glad you are getting settled into your new place!! What are you going to be for Halloween anyways? Hope you have a wonderful time trick and treating!!!
All our love and prayers~ Ryan, Megan, and Logan
Thinking of you all today, with Brian in surgery/recovery, Baby Briley, Aunt Marie and all the grace and the testimony of your faith and family. Even were you not family and despite the distance of time and space, I’d still be grateful for all of you in my life. You’re always in my heart!
Thank you for the udpate Ty and Erika. Your family is in our prayers.
Stay strong Peter, you will be feeling better in no time.
Have a safe trip. Cole was just asking about Peter. Cole misses you here in Brainerd Peter. Maybe post a picture of your halloween costume or email it to us. He would enjoy that. jasnmel1@charter.net.
It sounds like you are really liking it in Apple Valley, we are so happy for you.
Happy Halloween and Take care..
Jason, Melissa , Cole and Paige Beyer
Dear Family Eigner,
You are such a beautiful family and you have so many happenings and things going on to enjoy and to cope with — it is difficult to imagine how you get the energy to do all these things! I am so proud of all of you, especially Peter, for being so strong and sticking together and loving each other the way you all do.
May God continue to heal you and keep you safe and give you all the energy and love to keep your family shining so brightly as you are.
Ken Schroeder
Hanging in the hospital thinking about you guys and praying that things are going well in NY. Briley can’t wait to play baseball with her big cousin Pete. She’ll need you to show her how to really smack’em far.