ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE

Ashley remains at Children's Medical Center in Dallas.

She was in lots of pain Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Her tummy has been hurting almost constantly for the past three weeks, most likely from the chemo. Yesterday morning the pain was getting progressively worse.

Ashley has also had difficulty breathing for the past couple of days. We had noticed that she was taking quick shallow breaths, and her breathing seemed labored. Chest X-rays were done to check for pneumonia, and we were initially told that the chest X-rays were clear.

After being in constant and somewhat intense pain all Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, Ashley was finally given some morphine Wednesday afternoon. She slept for about three-and-a-half hours straight, and her breathing was noticeably less labored. She woke up and went to the bathroom several times, and then went back to sleep on her own. Susan was also able to get a few hours sleep while Ashley slept. When I left the hospital last night to come home and take care of Justin, Ashley was still asleep and things seemed to be moving in the right direction.

This morning we learned that Ashley has pneumonia. That causes some concern because her immune system is currently wiped out from the chemo. The doctors are keeping a close eye on this situation.

The blood work which was taken when Ashley was admitted Tuesday night revealed a bacterial infection in the blood. The lab is running some more tests to see if it is related to the pneumonia, or if it will have to be treated separately from the pneumonia.

In spite of these new problems, Ashley is feeling much better than she was Tuesday night and yesterday morning. I just talked to Susan on the phone (it's now about 10:30 Thursday morning), and Ashley was going to go down to the cafeteria with Susan. That means she is feeling MUCH better!

I met with Ashley's teachers this morning and Ashley is now officially enrolled in the school district's homebound program. The teachers and other school faculty and staff have been so caring and compassionate and understanding. That really lightens our burden tremendously.

Thank you for all of your love and concern and prayers. I cannot even begin to tell you how much comfort we receive knowing that so many people care so deeply and are praying so fervently.

God bless you!
-Paul