Home & Relay for Life

Thursday, May 10, 2012 2:00 PM

Bishop is home from Vanderbilt. She did very well overnight and was discharged at 12:45 p.m. today. Thank you Kim Bush & Gail Porter for helping us with Warrick while Bishop was hospitalized.

Tomorrow night is the Mount Juliet Relay for Life. Due to John's work schedule and Bishop's recovery, the kids and I will be at the Relay for a short period of time to participate with the team "Up All Night for the Fight".

It will be an honor to watch Bishop walk with Gail Porter for the survivor lap. Though Bishop is a "fighter" and not a "survivor", it is always both powerful and emotional watching the men, women, and children who walk the first lap. The ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. I urge the people of our community to come out and show your support in honor and in memory of so many brave people.

Allison

Getting Better

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 10:56 PM

Double Pneumonia

Monday, May 7, 2012 10:43 PM

Bishop is in the hospital. She was admitted this morning after having a 102.8 fever. Oddly enough, she was able to walk to the car so I could drive her to Vanderbilt. The reason why it is odd is because she has double pneumonia. The first signs of pneumonia has her keeled over, lathargic, and having an ambulance rushed to get her.

When we arrived to the emergency room, she still had a high fever. After several tests and doctors evaluations, we all agreed that this pneumonia was different. Apparently the pneumonia she has this time was viral. This was interesting as her pneumonias in the past were from aspirating. Therefore, she seems to be recovering well considering she has both lungs contaminated. If she continues to recover well, this will be a first!

Several pulmonary doctors came by. They are wanting to further test Bishop with her respiratory illness mainly focusing on how scarred her left lung is. They drew some blood to run 12 different tests. Some are to check how strong her immune system really is in case there are other issues we do not know about. They will also have her come to clinic more often, once she is feeling better, to try other tests. She did have a pulmonary appointment last week and received some of the best praises from her doctor with how well she was doing. It just stinks with how quickly she becomes ill.

May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. Yesterday, Bishop and John went to help Makenzie Matthews and friends at at car wash in Mt. Juliet to raise money for pediatric brain tumors. Though the sun was too much for Bishop to participate, John's bald head turned red! Thanks to all the locals who helped Makenzie reach her goal for a cure!

Allison

ENT Visit

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 2:34 PM

Bishop has been doing well. I think she has been at school longer this round than before the winter months started. She will be out of school this next week due to not taking the TCAP tests, so I have made extra appointments (dentist, counseling, etc.) she normally cannot attend, during this time. It will be busy, but much needed. It's also helpful having Warrick at school.

We finally heard back from ENT on Monday afternoon. Per his request, I took Bishop to Vanderbilt today for her ENT to do a biopsy of her her left nostril. Upon looking in her nose, he feared doing the biopsy as he didn't have much to take from and worried it could make matters worse. She is off of the antibiotic ointment and we will treat her with OTC steroid cream. Bishop will follow up with him in three weeks to determine then if he will move forward with this biopsy.

As you may know, since Bishop was diagnosed along with Warrick the same year with autism, I have been unable to work. I volunteer as much as I can depending on the kid's appointments. Because I have to be available, especially for Bishop the minute she becomes sick, I cannot find a job. Benefits help with medical expenses, but we are still a one-income family. With that being said, I have become an Arbonne consultant. I'm very excited to start this to help supplement the lost income for our family.

Many have asked how they can help our family. If you are interested in receiving Arbonne products, please let me know.  You can also visit the website at: https://www.arbonne.com/shop_online/shopOnline.asp Please reference consultant ID # 19989183, for Allison  Mikaelian.

Even if you are unable to purchase any items, if you could help spread the word for me, it would help out tremendously. Every bit helps!

Thank You!

Allison

Appointments

Monday, April 16, 2012 2:39 PM

Bishop has been doing great. She has enjoyed being back to school half days with her friends. We found out that it's been approved that she will again be waived from TCAP tests this year. She cannot physically nor mentally handle that length of testing for 4 days. The only modifications would be to allow her more time in which would make the testing even more difficult.

Bishop's Oncology appointment was last week. We reviewed her MRI and her doctor reminded me that stable was good for her. I just hate seeing the pictures knowing how much of the tumor is wrapped around her brain stem. Bishop will still receive quarterly MRI scans and will keep her port in place. The doctor wants to be proactive and ready to begin chemo again once the first sign of growth appears on her scans.

We also discussed Bishop's nose swab when she had surgery on April 5th. No one has yet to contact us over the results. The Oncologist read the report, but could not discuss much as the questions I had were more geared towards ENT. All I know is that Bishop does NOT have a staph infection. Her nose is looking better, but is still raw. I want an answer as to what is causing deterioration to her left nostril. After two emails and two phone calls, I am still waiting impatiently!

On a good note, Bishop had her Neurology appointment today. All went well and she will not need to see this specialist for another year as long as her seizures are minimal. She will remain on her current seizures meds.

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY, WARRICK! We had a great weekend celebrating Warrick's birthday. We even did a Best Buddies Friendship Walk in support of the Best Buddies Tennessee program on Sunday. Warrick was one of the top 20 participants who raised the most money (thanks to the help of Grammy & Paw). He won 2 tickets to a private concert with Amy Grant & Vince Gill. Since the concert is on a school night at his bed time, Bishop will get to go. She is very excited!

Allison