Morgan Grace Barnes

Morgan was born July 25, 1999. She has always been a very happy and independent child.
A few days after her third birthday, she started having difficulty walking. On July 31, 2002, she was taken to the emergency room because we thought she had an appendicitis. Later that evening, we were informed that she has Stage IV Neuroblastoma, a cancer that strikes young children.
She had her first surgery on August 2 and the main tumor was successfully removed. On November 22, she had a second surgery to remove the residual lymph node involvement and the surgeon was able to remove 99% of what he set out to get.
On January 9, 2003 Morgan completed the last of seven rounds of highly intensive chemotherapy.
On February 20, 2003 Morgan underwent an autologous stem cell (bone marrow) transplant at Duke University Medical Center.
Morgan's treatment protocol required that she receive twelve doses of radiation to the site of the main tumor mass. She completed her radiation treatments on May 13, 2003.
Morgan started receiving treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City on April 14, 2003. She is participating in a Clinical Trial (3F8 Monoclonal Antibody Treatment with GM-CSF) in hopes of ridding her body of this horrible disease forever.
Morgan completed her final cycle of 3F8 on April 15, 2005. Morgan was in active treatment for 2 years, 8 months, and 15 days.

This page has two purposes. The first is for our friends and family to get regular updates on Morgan's progress. The second is to give glory to the Lord for healing that He has performed in Morgan's body.

Journal

Friday, July 4, 2008

Hello Friends,

Happy Independence Day!

You would think that since I am out of work I would have time to sit down and do an update. I think I stay busier in the summer than I do during the school year. But it is a relaxing busy if that makes sense. Hanging out at the pool, etc.

First an update on Mom. Her surgery went well and they found that the cancer was contained to a pea sized tumor and had not spread to the lymph nodes. However, they did find precancerous cells in her breast. Therefore, she is going to start radiation mid-July. She will have 33 treatments and should be finished around the end of August. After that, her treatment will involve oral medication and regular follow-up. Please pray that all goes well with the radiation and this whole incident proves to be nothing more than a minor inconvenience to her life.

Morgan has now been off treatment for 3 years, 2 months, 2 weeks, and five days. She is 1959 days post-transplant. July 31 will mark six years since diagnosis. Since my last update, she has had no medical appointments of any time. Praise God!

Jerry's trip to the beach with the kids went well. However, it was cut a bits shorter than I thought it would be. I was having lunch at work and my cell phone rang. Jerry was calling to tell me that Holden wanted to talk to me. When he put Holden on the phone, my precious son says “Mom, I miss you and I want to come home. Every thing I look at reminds me of you. The trees, the shower, the couch.” I must admit that I got a little misty eyed as I told Holden to tell his daddy to pack their things and come home. They returned home on Wednesday afternoon. Of course, when Holden walked into the house he walked right past me without even saying Hello. I am still trying to figure out if his dad paid him to pull that little prank on the phone.

She has been busy though. Holden and Lyndon have too! Let's see . . . what has been going on in the Barnes' home:
**May 30: Last day of school for everyone except Mom
**June 10: Morgan's dance recital. She did a beautiful job.
**June 8-12: Morgan and Holden attended Camp Merriwood. It was a day camp and they both had a great time because lots of friends from their school and Madison McLeod were all there. Morgan got to spend the night on Friday night. Holden is looking forward to being able to stay the night next year. But I am a little worried if he can't even go to the beach with his dad and sisters how he will do at camp.
**June 22- 26: Morgan was at Camp Victory Junction. You may remember that last year she cried when I picked her up because she did not want to leave. This year she confessed to me that she was homesick and cried a little bit because she wanted to come home. I am sure by next summer she will be eager to go again. As a mom, it sort of makes me feel good that she missed me as much as I missed her.
**Lyndon is potty trained. She is doing great aside from a couple of minor accidents. She is my only child that was officially there before the age of 3. This means that everything is set for her to attend the preschool I wanted her in in the fall.

We are really enjoying the new house. All the boxes are unpacked but there is still a lot of work to be done. We have managed to take the pink tulip wallpaper down in Holden's room and paint it blue. That kind of had to be the first priority. No little boy should have pink tulip wallpaper in his room. The next project is to have the master bath fixed. We got a great deal on this house, but we bought it "as is". Two of the bathtubs have cracks in them. We have not been able to use them. It has been a bit of a hassle for all five us to be using one shower. Hopefully, we will get another one up and running soon. I love this house, but it was last redecorated in the 1980's so there is a lot to be done to bring it up to date. Unfortunately, there is not a money tree in the backyard to finance these adventures so things are going to be done very slowly.

We plan on having a great July. Tonight we are getting together with the McLeods for a cook-out and hopefully going to see the fireworks at the town square assuming that the kids manage to stay awake and happy until 9:30. We are going to be spending a week at the beach with my parent and my brother and his family. We are renting a four bedroom duplex. We are all looking forward to it. On July 19, Lyndon will be three. On July 25, Morgan will be nine. On July 26, Jerry and I will have been married for 11 years. God is good – all the time!

Prayer Requests:
1)Ask the Lord to never again allow cancer to grow in Morgan’s body.
2)Pray for healing for my mother, Vicky Morgan, to beat breast cancer.
3)Please don't forget about all the children who are battling this horrible disease. NEUROBLASTOMA WARRIORS

In Him,
Allison

Read Journal History

Hospital Information:

Brenner Childrens Hospital
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Winston Salen NC

Links:

E-mail Author: allisonbarnes@triad.rr.com

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