#HealingForHaylie-Post 16

Haylie Update- June 17

I have to be honest, these past 2 days have been the toughest on me. I got sick and can’t be around Haylie until I’m well. It is so incredibly hard not being there for her when I know she needs me. The only thing harder is going back to the hospital too soon and risking getting her sick. Because her body has no immune system right now, even catching a cold could be extremely dangerous or even deadly to her. She is just the sweetest thing. When she called crying, wanting me there, it just broke my heart. The only thing that will break it more is if I were to get her sick because I was still contagious. I just can’t take that risk. Please pray for a quick recovery for me and strength for me and Haylie while I have to be away from her and for wisdom to know when it is safe for me to be back at the hospital.

To add to everything right now, the chemo has begun to make her hair fall out. This is probably going to be one of the most difficult things for us to deal with. She has the most beautiful long hair and it is so hard for both of us. I know it will grow back one day, but it is hard for anyone to go through, especially an 11 year old girl. I want so badly to be with her through this and hold her hand and even cry with her, if it will make her feel better. We will get through this, but right now it just hurts. Really really hurts.

I am so thankful that Haylie has such a good daddy. He has stepped up and stayed with her the last 2 days and nights. I keep telling Haylie for everything that we find negative, we have to find at least one positive, if not more. So, it is a very positive thing that Haylie got to spend some great bonding time with her loving daddy, on Father’s Day. And I am very thankful that I have been able to get some much needed rest. I didn’t even realize how exhausted I was until I just crashed. I’m thankful for my awesome sister who has stepped up to take care of me, the house, and even make it to 2 of Brennen’s games. I’m thankful that I will get to spend some much needed snuggle time with Brennen tonight when he gets back from his tournament. And lastly, I’m thankful for Jared and Jamie King for taking care of Brennen and getting him to all of his baseball games this weekend. We are so blessed by family and friends who have stepped up to help us during this time.

On a very positive note, I want to celebrate some victories with Haylie’s latest lab results. Five days ago her blood lab work came back with zero cancer cells and her platelets held at 50!!! We were told by doctors that it was just one blood sample, and not to be discouraged if it shows a few cancer cells the next day and her platelets go down. We know we are in a long battle to get all the cancer out of her blood and bone marrow and there are times it will go up and down. We were encouraged because in that small sample they didn’t find cancer cells which means the cancer cells aren’t as concentrated as before and the chemo is working. The next day her blood work again showed no cancer cells and her platelets actually increased to 62. Doctors told us it was highly unlikely that she could already be making her own platelets. I believe in the power of prayer and can see God’s hand at work. Well, on Friday her labs came back with zero cancer cells detected again and her platelets had gone up to 80! Clearly her body was making more platelets! Yesterday labs came back zero cancer cells for 4 days in a row and her platelets had risen to 106! We actually were expecting them to go down because she had another round of chemo which kills both the good and the bad. I was a little shocked to see them still rising. Today’s labs came back with zero cancer cells detected and her platelets have increased to 128! We do have amazing doctors, but we have an even more amazing God. I feel like God has been telling me He is going before us fighting this battle and everyday the lab reports have proven we are beginning to win this battle with cancer. It is still a very long road so we will continue to need lots of prayers over the coming months and years. We realize we have only just begun the first phase and this process will take 2-3 years to be completely cancer free. The goal for this phase is to leave the hospital with 0.001% no cancer. This is the proven process that doctors take with all patients in induction. We must continue to get chemo over the next 2-3 years to insure her body is cancer free. But today, I am going to stand and Praise God for the first step in our victory.

Please keep the prayers coming, they are working. Her blood levels are down a little so more than likely she will need another blood transfusion this week. And thanks to all the amazing donors, there is an adequate blood supply for her to get one. Doctors are very pleased with her progress and said she is right where she needs to be.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:29-31
#HealingForHaylie

A picture of us from a couple of days ago. I love this girl. Her strength during this just amazes me.

She was so excited that the nurse drew a picture of her dog, who she dearly misses, on the door.

#HealingForHaylie-Post 15

Saturday Update on Haylie,

Sorry, it has been a few days for an update. Haylie had a rough Thursday Night/Friday Morning. I got the call on my way into the office and just kept going until I got here at Children’s. Also, Friday’s are a Chemo Day and Haylie handled it like a Champ! After the Chemo and the night before, Haylie slept most of the day yesterday and most of last next.

Melissa Miller Geraci has been here at the hospital the whole time, minus one youth baseball game. She woke up yesterday and really needed an adjustment after sleeping for two weeks on a hospital couch. Thanks to Brian Nimphius DC at Victor Chiropractic for giving Melissa a much-needed adjustment and thanks for staying after closing to complete the treatment. While Melissa was at home, it appears the lack of sleep finally got to her. We woke up sick after a nap. Ashley Hartzog examined Melissa and ordered her the meds she will need to get over this illness.

So, the B-Team (a.k.a – Dad) is here at the hospital with Haylie. As only God can orchestrate, this all happened leading into the weekend and when Melissa’s Sister, Brother-in-law, and the King’s were back in town to back us up at the house and on the Brennen front. Good Luck and the games this weekend boys!

Since Melissa has been quarantined this weekend, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Please do not contact Melissa and let her get some rest.

I must give a quick shout out to all the Aggies on TexAgs. On Thursday, the story about Haylie went out to the Aggies. Once again, we are overwhelmed by the response. Aggies and Aggies Family members are heading into blood centers to donate and other Aggies are donating the airline miles to flight B- donators into D/FW blood centers. For those of you not on TexAgs, these are complete strangers helping others to get donators in town so they can donate. I have never even heard of anything like this before. Thanks Ags! BTHO Leukemia (Beat The Hell Outta Leukemia for the non-Aggies).

To my Army Brothers, your response to the call for donations and assistance is greatly appreciated. Special Thanks to SSG Robert Eudy and the A Co guys! You guys responded just as Veterans and Combat Brothers do. Walking in and donating IMMEDIATELY after the call for blood and platelets went out will not be forgotten. Thanks for covering our 6!

After the Fox4 New casts aired on Haylie and the call for blood and platelets made the public, we had random people trying to meet/see Haylie. The Children’s Nurses and Staff stopped this situation before we even knew about it. We appreciate caring individuals desire to reach-out, but given Haylie's condition, we need to keep her room as sterile as possible. Please understand our current situation and the need to protect Haylie and the other cancer patients during her’s and their treatments. Family and friends who wish to see Haylie will need to contact me through the weekend. Please note that FaceTime calls are still welcomed.

On a final note, we have never felt so much love, care, or support from your prayers and various actions. We have learned so much about Leukemia and the need for blood and platelets year-round. I cannot emphasize enough for the need for everyone to donate blood two to four times a year (you can donate as much as six times a year). If you can donate more often, then I encourage you to donate platelets (you can donate platelets every 2-3 weeks). If you are a business owner or firm executive, I encourage your firm to host a blood drive two to four times a year or coordinate a platelet donation day at a facility which can accept the platelet donation. Again, blood and platelets have a short shelf-life and are in constant need.

Thanks for the continued prayers and support. Gig 'em and BTHO Leukemia!
#healingforhaylie
#homerunsforhaylie

#HealingForHaylie-Post 14

From her Mommy:
Just wanted to take a minute and say thank you to Jamie Teal King, Jill Jetton Millican, Jessica Hawkins, Mindi Adams Bone, Brad Blankenship, Deric Gardner and really all our friends and family who have done so much to help our family. Every one of y’all are amazing and we are so blessed by your friendships. You have set up a blood drive, go fund me account, yard signs #HealingForHaylie and #HomerunsForHaylie fundraiser. Our family has felt so much love and support from each of you. I know each of you has spent hours upon hours to make things happen. You have strengthened us and been a bright spot on our journey. You have blessed us more than you will ever know. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. .

#HealingforHaylie-Post 13

So...Fox 4 just came and interviewed Haylie. It will air tonight at 9pm. That is, if no breaking news bumps us.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/trophy-club-girl-s-cancer-battle-highlights-need-for-blood-donations

We are overwhelmed by the amazing outpouring of support for getting Haylie B- blood. Her need was posted on the TexAgs page and people are already responding in huge ways. One guy who is B- and happens to be low in iron was going to eat a seaweed salad to try and bump up his iron so he could donate after work today. Then another is offering plane tickets to fly a B- guy up from Houston.

These are total strangers who are reaching out to helps Haylie. God bless them all.
#HealingForHaylie

Getting the mic on...

#HealingforHaylie-Post 12

Haylie update - June 12

We had an ok night last night. We just had a lot of wakeups due to nurses needing to give her some new medicine for her stomach pains and having to get up often to go potty and of course, eat. She wanted Cheetos at 4:30 this morning. Actually she wanted popcorn again but I had none so she settled for Cheetos. 😂

Drs had some good news for us this morning! Her spinal tap pathology results came back clear! Praise God! Now she won’t have to have a spinal tap every week but can wait 3 weeks. I’m so thankful because I think some of her back pain and headaches are coming from the spinal tap. Her WBC count is down to 1.9! Unfortunately, her hemoglobin levels have dropped again and the doctor ordered another blood transfusion today. We are so thankful for the plentiful blood supply available to her today. So so so many wonderful people have donated blood to make that possible. I spoke to the director at Carter Blood Care this morning and he said all their blood levels are in the green today except O-. They have seen an increase in the blood donations this week to make that possible. I hate that we had to go through what we did on Sunday night with not being able to get Haylie the blood she needed at first, but again God provided. Now, because of some of the awareness and the amazing heart of people who are willing to help, there is enough blood today for anyone who might need it. Sweet Haylie is making an impact to help lots of other people. That makes her and my heart happy.
We have had another rotating door this morning with nurses, residents, physical therapy, Child life, the dog lady, the cleaning lady, the hazardous waste guy. Typical morning. She was so worn out by the time the news crew got here she couldn’t even sit up bless her heart. We had to ask the news crew to reschedule for later today or tomorrow. They were very kind and understanding because they could see Haylie was really struggling. The blood transfusion should help give her energy back so she should feel much better by tomorrow. She is sleeping now so that should help also. I’m going to have to take a selfie of me with my hair washed, makeup and matching clothes. It’s a big day. I just can’t believe I got all ready for nothing and I’ll have to do it again tomorrow. 😜. Haylie laughed this morning and reminded me of a Mother’s Day card Brennen gave me in preschool that was fill in the blank and said My mommy looks pretty when...his answer was “when she wears makeup”. 😂
It is now afternoon and Haylie is currently getting her red blood cell transfusion. I was told it would take about 3 hours. She should start feeling better even before the transfusion is complete. Bless her heart she just gets so weak and crashes so quickly. She was doing great and the music therapy lady was teaching her some piano chords when she just crashed again. Just sitting in bed sometimes wears her out. Doctors have told us this is normal and we will have good days and bad days. I am thankful that the new stomach medicine seems to be helping her stomach today, so we will rejoice in that.
Michael just called and he donated platelets today. We are learning that every bit helps and can actually save someone else’s life. Thank you to all donors.

We are hoping to make it to the playroom today to finish a project she has been working on for days. I’ll post a picture when it is officially done.

It was great to see my Aunt Melloy and cousin Janna today. They came up and visited and prayed over Haylie. I am always encouraged to be around such amazing women. I was also encouraged by the devotional in my Jesus Calling book today. The last sentence said, watch to see how I transform trials into blessings. God can use even this painful time in our life and transform it into something beautiful.
#HealingForHaylie

#HealingforHaylie-Post 11

Haylie update - June 11th
It has been a busy day. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to try and send out an update. Haylie had a good day! Her blood work came back and her levels are all good! Her WBC is down to 2.4 and her platelets were still great at 61 and hemoglobin was at 9.4. We are watching her levels to see if she will need another transfusion, but so far they are holding well. She was super tired today so she may need another in a few days. The lab tests also came back with no problems with her liver. That is great news, but we are still trying to figure out why she is still getting such bad stomach pains.
She watched Big Hero 6 last night and she said it made her crave Chinese food. She was begging for some at 11:00 last night. She eventually settled for a lemon bar. Then she wanted popcorn at 4:00am. She finally settled for goldfish because I was just too tired to get popcorn at 4am.

She had a great day and let me tell you, the Lord provides. She was still begging for Chinese food for lunch. I was just about to order spaghetti from the hospital cafeteria when the sweet lady who was coming to pray for Haylie from Gateway church texted and asked if she could bring lunch. You can only imagine how excited Haylie was when she picked up PeiWei for us. I should have taken a picture!

And then my day got really crazy. I got a call from Fox 4 news and they wanted to do a story on Haylie and the blood situation. They asked if they could come by in 30 mins. 😳. Y’all, I have been in total grunge mode for days. When I texted Michael, his response was “do you have any makeup? 😂. Haylie was taking a nap and I decided to try and wash my hair. When I walked out of our room the nurse at the station looked at me and asked, did you get your hair highlighted? My response was no, I finally just washed it. Seriously, when in the world would I have had time to get my hair done? We are just making it minute by minute sometimes. Anyway, I learned you should always pack at least one decent pair of clothes even at the hospital. I was just trying to find clothes that matched with the clean ones I had left. I was fortunate that they had to postpone it until tomorrow. Michael was able to bring me clean clothes tonight so we are in luck!

Here is where it gets really crazy. I decided to try and wash Haylie’s hair with her leaning off her bed. It seemed like such a good idea in my head. I’m so thankful for the awesome nurse that came to our rescue. She was able to take the end of the bed off and we got it washed...kind of.
I finally got her all ready for bed and I’m about to go to bed myself. Thank you everyone for your continued prayers.

Prayer requests
1) That we could find the source of Haylie’s severe stomach pains and fix them.
2) That her spinal tap results come back clear tomorrow.
3) that her levels stay solid and we don’t need another transfusion yet.
4) that her story would inspire others to donate blood and it would help lots of people.
5) that B- blood and platelets would be available when she needs it.
#HealingForHaylie
Faith over fear

#HealingForHaylie-Post 10

Update on Haylie - June 10
God is so good! He truly is in control and provides for our needs. I just got a call from the marketing director at Gateway church who is in charge of the church’s summer blood drive. They are announcing Haylie’s need for B- blood at the Dallas campus this morning where the blood drive is taking place today. Gateway is also having people use Haylie’s sponsor number so that she receives the credit for the blood. This mama’s heart is so blessed to have confidence that B- blood and platelets should be available to her when the need might arise for another transfusion. Thank you Jesus!
I just spoke with the doctors on their rounds this morning. Haylie’s white blood cell count is now at 2,900 down from 3,600 yesterday. We get closer to the 0 level every day! Normally 0 is a very bad thing, but this is the way they kill all the cancer cells. We are praying her bone marrow recovers extra quickly and starts to produce new healthy cells in the next few weeks.
Her hemoglobin is at 10.2 and platelets are at 72 which is great for her. The doctor said she estimates that Haylie will probably be needing another transfusion in the next few days as those platelets begin to die off. This is totally normal and the doctors are on top of it. Again it gives me peace knowing that so many people have been donating in Haylie’s honor so there should be an available supply of blood this week for Haylie and whoever else may need it.
We did hit a small bump in the road this morning that we are asking for prayer. We have been quarantined so we aren’t allowed to leave the room until test results come back. She has had a really bad stomach ache and doctors want to make sure it’s not an infection. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to watch Brennen’s baseball games today, but I’m getting updated from Michael via text and game changer.
Yesterday was a really good day. Haylie had more energy and made it to the playroom twice. My sister came and sat with Haylie so I could go to Brennen’s baseball game. It’s been hard on him because we haven’t been able to go to many, if any of his events. I really appreciate all the people who are stepping in and looking after him. A huge thank you to my amazing sister, Stephanie, and Jared and Jamie King for constantly picking him up and getting him to the places he needs to be. After the game I made it home for the first time since I drove Haylie to the ER. It is amazing how much junk mail we get and how quickly it accumulates. I was able to get bills paid and get more clothes and needed items for Haylie and I.
It really was so good to get out of the hospital for a bit. People kept saying I needed to get out but I knew Haylie needed me here, too. I have to say, the first step out was the hardest. I stood at the front doors and almost didn’t go. I’m thankful for my sister who said I didn’t have a choice and I was going. I needed it more than I even knew. Haylie was great, too, she said I had to go because I finally had a chance to get out of the hospital. She said she wanted to get out so bad and if I had the chance to go I had to take it.
Once again this post has taken me several hours to write with the constant interruptions so I have updates to the update. 😜
Doctors just came back in with test results and Haylie does not have an infection so we are no longer on quarantine!!! Praise God, neither of us were allowed to leave the room. We can now have visitors again, too.
I also got a text from a pastor at Gateway who was sitting with a guy that was B- and he was donating for Haylie, as well. We are so blessed. God is our provider and we should not fear. He provided manna in the desert for the Israelites, I know He can also provide B- blood for Haylie.
Here are a few prayers requests we are asking:
1) Pray for Haylie’s tummy. It has been hurting her pretty badly for several days now. That is actually why they put us on quarantine because they thought it was an infection.
2) Please pray for Haylie’s headaches and back pain to go away. It was pretty severe last night. It has been hurting ever since her spinal tap.
3) Continued prayer for peace, strength and healing.
4) For God to be glorified in all of this.
Thank you all!
#HealingForHaylie

Getting some Wii playtime in with Brennen last night

We got our sign!

Prayer for Haylie after the game.

#HealingForHaylie-Post 9

9:33a

Update on Haylie - June 9 and blood donations
First of all, I am absolutely blown away by the amazing and overwhelming response to help Haylie. Words can not describe how loved we feel by everyone who is reaching out and trying to help. Yesterday morning was a little rough for me with needing the blood transfusion and shortage of B- platelets before her spinal tap. We certainly did not intend to cause such a hysteria though. We have had people reach out from all over the country willing to donate blood. My heart overflows. I have learned more about blood in one day than I ever thought I would know. I have learned than there is a blood shortage, especially with platelets, that usually happens every summer. I had no idea. My hope is that all the wonderful people that donated blood yesterday will be able to save many people’s lives in the days to come.
Haylie is doing great and her spinal tap went well. We are still waiting for the results but are believing for it to be clear of any cancer cells. To my understanding, Haylie will probably need a couple more transfusions this month because her body is not currently making any more and the chemo is killing them off. In the next few weeks her body should recover and begin to make healthy platelets and blood again to replenish itself. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood, and we need to kill the cancer cells and then allow her body to produce new good ones.
I found out that people can receive any blood type of platelets because they have taken all the proteins out. An exact blood match is best because they will live a bit longer, but patients can take a different blood type of platelets, which is what Haylie took yesterday when no B- platelets were available. There sometimes can be a few proteins left so an exact match is optimal so you don’t build up antibodies to it in your system.
The transfusion went well and she had no complications. Doctors want her level to be above 10 while in the hospital. Since we have been here, it’s been handing out in the teens, which doctors are ok with. They had to bump it up to 100 in order to perform the spinal tap. I don’t know exactly why, but if I understood the doctor correctly it was to have lots in the spinal fluid so that way it would keep the cancer cells from coming in during the lumbar puncture from bleeding. Not sure about that but our wonderful doctor knows and I trust her.
She gets blood tests twice a day letting us know her levels. If it starts to drop too low again, we may need another transfusion but we can’t predict exactly when. Normally it is not such a rush, but due to the spinal tap and chemo infusion, it had to happen quick. Since platelets only live a few days, it is tricky to get the timing. It takes 2 days to receive the platelets after a donation due to the cleaning process. It is wonderful to have people that are B- that are willing to donate if she needs another transfusion. The reality is that there is a shortage and lots of people need these life saving transfusions every day. I pray that God would richly bless everyone who donated blood to help save someone else’s life.
I’m attaching a few pictures from yesterday. Our cousins came to visit and Haylie was able to go to the big playroom for about 30 mins. We look forward to the progress that we can make today. She is much stronger today and has more energy because of the transfusions.
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16
Thank you to everyone that gave blood to save someone else’s life, especially my child.
#HealingForHaylie

Carter Blood Information - Updated as of 1:56pm

Carter Blood Information - Updated as of 1:56pm

Answers to questions:

If you are B-, please give Carter this information when donating:
Sponsor # SPON033472 for Haylie Geraci at Children's Medical Center of Dallas
Shelf life for blood = 42 days
Shelf life for platelets = 5 days

If you are NOT B-, you can still donate at Carter for others in need and give them the above referenced Sponsor #.

Thank you #healingforhaylie

#HealingForHaylie-Post 8

Sorry that my math is off on the update #s.

Update # 8 (June 8 - 10:40am)

It was a rough night. We need prayers and B- blood. Haylie was in need of platelets and blood last night, but unfortunately the B- supply is extremely low and they could only get one unit of platelets that finally arrived at 2:00am. They have been trying to locate more platelets because she can’t have her spinal tap and chemo treatment today until they are able to get her platelets and hemoglobin up. They finally got some blood for her and she is currently getting the transfusion right now. Please pray there are no complications or reactions.

We just found out that there are NO B- platelets. I’m being asked to sign a consent to give her another blood type of platelets because she needs the platelets to have the spinal tap and chemo treatment. Doctor said the treatment is more important. Please pray everything goes well.

She will have a spinal tap in her room at noon without anesthesia. Please pray that goes smoothly as well. They couldn’t get an OR for the anesthesia until after lunch and they didn’t know if they would have the blood so this gave us more flexibility and she could eat. Chicken express for breakfast today.

We have a big request. If anyone is B-, please consider donating soon. It is very rare and the blood supply is very very short right now. She will be needing more transfusions and not having blood or platelets to give her is scary. I wish I was B- so I could donate, but I’m not. Everything about Haylie is special, including her blood. Thank you for the prayers. We are finding out that it takes 2 days to process the blood. She should be ok for a few days but will likely need another transfusion by next Friday. I will try and find out more info on how the process works and keep everyone updated. Even if Haylie doesn’t get the blood, donating can help save some other persons life too.

For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13
#HealingForHaylie

BLOOD & PLATELET DONORS - B- donors only (not O-)

BLOOD & PLATELET DONORS - B- donors only (not O-)

Go to any Carter Blood Center and request platelets and blood be credited to Haylie Geraci. Platelets only last 5-9 days and it takes 2 days to process, hence the reason for the urgent request.

https://ww2.greatpartners.org/donor/schedules/centers 

URGENT NEED (B- Blood and Platelets)

Journal entry by Jamie King — 1 hour ago

From Melissa:

We need prayers and B-Blood, as Haylie is in need of platelets and blood.  There are NO B- platelets, so Melissa is being asked to sign a consent to giver Haylie another blood type of platelets, because Haylie needs the platelets to have the spinal and chemo treatment today.

Please spread the word!

https://ww2.greatpartners.org/donor/schedules/centers 

#healingforHaylie-Post 5

Update - June 7th
This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!
God is good. We have gotten several great reports this morning. When Haylie had her first spinal tap last Friday We learned there are 3 levels to the spinal fluid, 1- no cancer in spinal fluid, 2- cancer found but 5 or less in sample, and 3- lots of cancer throughout. Doctors prepared us that she might be a level 3 because her numbers were so high, but she came back a 2, which is certainly better than a 3. Well, today the dr just came in and said they got the official pathology report back and NO cancer cells are present in her spinal fluid. It was a false positive so she is at actually a 1! Praise God! Prayer answered. I believe God has already begun the healing.
She had another x-ray to check on the mass around her heart. We are still waiting for the results but they just did a test to see if she could lay flat and tolerate it. Well...she rocked it, she laid flat and still had 100% oxygen levels!!! I am believing that the mass is gone and she can now sleep laying down rather than sitting up all night. She swallowed pills this morning and said they didn’t feel like they got stuck like they have in the past.
We also just went for a walk around the floor to get her some exercise and get her out of the room. She is in good spirits and has a great attitude. I accidentally pulled her picc line while getting her out of bed around 2:30 this morning. I felt terrible and precious child said it’s ok Mom, it could have been a lot worse.
She will have another round of chemo tomorrow along with another spinal tap. She is supposed to have a platelet transfusion tonight to get her levels up so that anesthesia can be used. However when she found out that she can’t eat after midnight she said she wants to just use a local and no anesthesia. Our doctor said she sometimes has teenage boys decide to go that route because they want breakfast more than the anesthesia. I just didn’t think Haylie would have been in the same category, but she was requesting Dickey’s turkey at 4am. 😂 She rocked her first spinal tap without anesthesia so I know she can do it.
Thank you for the prayers. I was able to get eye drops and my eye is almost back to normal today! And I spoke to my mom and her surgery was a success and she is home recovering nicely.
A huge thank you to Jamie King and Ashley Hartzog for coming and getting me out of the hospital for dinner last night. Y’all are amazing friends and seeing y’all brought such joy to me during a rough time. I am beyond blessed by your friendships.
We also had some some great family members come and sing and pray over her this morning. It was very encouraging to me. He sang fighting my battles, and we stand believing that God IS going before us fighting this battle. God is so so good! We are standing in faith expecting more good news tomorrow.
Please pray
1) that Haylie’s spinal tap goes well, especially without being put under, and that the results come back clear with no cancer cells tomorrow
2) that we would stay healthy and continue to get more rest
3) that Haylie’s chemo treatment continue to kill all the cancer cells and her body would recover quickly.
Love you all!
#HealingForHaylie

With her doctor!

Snuggles with Dad last night.

Watching a movie together.

Caring Bridge for Haylie

Here's a quick link to Haylie's CaringBridge Site:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/healingforhaylie

#healingforHaylie-Post 4

Wednesday- June 6

I used to think that the saying “God will not give you more than you can handle” was true, but now I know that it is totally false. I believe He sometimes gives us way more than we can possibly handle so that we have to give it to Him. This is not something I can go through with my own strength. This is where I give it to Him and He takes my heavy burden and carries us. I’m so very thankful we serve such a big God that can handle it all. We are also so blessed by the amazing support system we have of people helping us in our time of need. I really think this is what Christ meant for his church. Everyone comes together and does a little to help others and it makes it possible. Then someday we will be able to help others in return. This is truly how the body of Christ works.

We didn’t have a great night, but it was way better than several in the past. She is a little stronger today than yesterday which is good. The great news is that her WBC is down to 5000! We get closer to the 0 number every day when the chemo will have killed all the cancer cells. Of course that means there are side effects so we are working through those as well. Haylie’s hemoglobin rose very slightly last night so they won’t be doing a transfusion today. I’m glad that it rose, but the transfusion would have given her a much needed energy boost. We are praying that it continues to go up and she regains some energy.

Today my goal was to wash my hair and I am happy to report I finally got it done. Yay for clean hair! The doctors might not even recognize me today. Tomorrow I’m hoping to get a bigger goal than just washing my hair, but again we celebrate the victories.

It took me a while to figure out what day it was today. I have not walked out of the hospital in 6 days now. I was told one area on our floor has a large glass window that the sun will shine in so we are going to try and find that soon. I guess that can be our goal for tomorrow.

Also, please pray for my Mom. She has had a lot of health issues of her own lately and she had a procedure done this morning in El Paso. Pray for her quick recovery. She has wanted to come see Haylie but she needs to recover herself first.

Thanks again for all the love and support. God is going before us and fighting our battles. The verse I wrote down this morning reminds me of this.
The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you. Deuteronomy 1:30

#HealingForHaylie

#healingforHaylie-Post 3

Update on Haylie - Tues June 5
We had another great night. Yay!!! She actually slept from 10:30pm-2:30am this morning!! She woke up at 4:15am and wanted a salad. She settled for a few bites of a fiber bar and went back to sleep until 6:40am when she wanted the salad again. 😋. We had to wait until 7:00 when food services finally opened. She finally got ranch dressing and had her salad for breakfast! And thank you to Jamie for free bird burritos for lunch yesterday and Tonni for an amazing dinner! It was such a blessing to have a delicious meal. I didn’t even realize how much we all needed it.
We met with her oncologist this morning and found out that her white blood count is now down to 8,500! The goal is still 0 because most of her cells are the bad T-cells. Her bone marrow will have to recover and then it can start producing healthy white blood cells again. So right now, her immunity is extremely low so we ask that if anyone is sick or even thinks they might be sick, please do NOT come visit. The doctors require everyone to wash their hands and use sanitizer and preferably a mask when you visit. Also, flowers and plants are forbidden on our floor and stuffed animals are discouraged because of risk of infection. She gets tired really easily so we ask you to please text me before visiting so I can let you know if it’s an ok time. We are still learning and getting adjusted to what will be our new normal for awhile.
I’ve been trying to write this post since 7am but have had a constant stream of doctors, nurses, phone calls and texts. Sorry if I am not able to respond, we are still a bit overwhelmed. Michael spent the first night at home so he could get some rest since he returned to work yesterday.
Haylie’s hemoglobin is reallly low so doctors said they will be doing a blood transfusion either today or tomorrow which should help her feel better. Also, I’ve had several people ask about donating blood. I believe some friends are setting up a blood drive soon. We were told to go through Carter’s blood care. Haylie is B- but it’s ok if you are not the same blood type because you can donate in honor of Haylie and she will get credit for a discount on her blood transfusions, and there are lots of other people in need of blood and it can be a lifesaving blessing for others too. We will be in touch with more info about the blood drive.
Prayer requests
1) Continued prayer for strength and healing for Haylie and for her to stay healthy from infection.
2) That Michael, Brennen and I all stay healthy so that we can be around her. (If we get sick, we will be quarantined from her)
3) That my eye would get better. I think I may have scratched my lens. 😬
4) Prayer for her platelets to increase. She is now at an 18.
5) Prayer that the blood drive be a blessing for others as well as Haylie.
Thank you to everyone. We are beyond blessed by the most amazing friends. We can feel your love and prayers. I’m learning to choose faith over fear. God is going before us and He has got this.
#healingforHaylie

Another update - June 5th
We had some fun visitors today! Blair the therapy dog came by along with our awesome teachers Mrs P, Mr Mordecai, and Mr Dunbar and our sweet friend Morgan and her mom.
We loved our visitors but today has been a really tough day. We knew we would have these occasionally. Yesterday was another round of chemo and it knocked her down pretty hard today. She is requesting no more visitors at this time until she can get some strength back.

Her blood levels are really low and she is expected to get a blood transfusion tonight or tomorrow so hopefully that will get her some energy back. Thank you everyone for understanding. Please keep her in your prayers.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or troubled for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
#HealingforHaylie

#homerunsforHaylie

So proud of Brennen and his Bobcat baseball team. He said he was going to play hard and win for his sister, Haylie. He hit a home run and they brought home the championship! The best part was the team said a prayer for Haylie after each game. We are so blessed by an absolute amazing group of friends. My heart overflows. Congrats Bobcats! And thank you Stephanie for taking Brennen to all the games this weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/melissa.m.geraci/videos/10213681919097071/
https://www.facebook.com/melissa.m.geraci/videos/10213501304101809/
https://www.facebook.com/melissa.m.geraci/videos/10213501295501594/

#healingforhaylie our boys praying for our girl Haylie! They were ‘playing for her today’!
Bobcats 8U Advanced

Praying for Haylie!!!

https://www.gofundme.com/5mqf14o

#healingforHaylie-Post 2

June 3, 5p
Update #4
Today has been a very good day! Her white blood counts are down to 50,000! She started eating and has gotten some strength back. The doctors saw her this morning and are very happy with her progress. She was disconnected from several of the monitors so she has many less wires today. She even went to the playroom today for about 30 min.
Haylie had a good night, or as well as can be expected. They are pumping her full of fluids to try and flush the chemo out so she needs to potty about every 40-60 mins. That is a great thing, but it makes for a terrible nights rest. We are exhausted but doing better. We have had several small victories today and we will celebrate them.

Thank you for the continued prayers. And a big thank you to Ella for the awesome sleeping mask, she loves it for her naps and the blanket kept me from freezing last night! And thank you Ashley for the foam pad to sleep on. It makes the hard couch so much better. Here are some pictures from today.

2 of our great doctors

Nanny and Pops came to visit

Going for a walk

She loves the sleeping mask her friend Ella brought her

Making a craft of Peanut our dog

June 4 9:00am ·

Update #5
Praise God, we had a great night. Since they removed the monitors, we didn’t have the alarms going off all night when Haylie’s heartbeat would reach very very low levels. The drs said her ekg was normal and it was all caused by the steroids so we shouldn’t be panicked. They also reduced the fluids in her IV so we made it for 2 hours stretches instead of every 20-40 mins like the last few days. I actually got a few hours sleep and I feel so much better.
Prayers for today
#1- Today she will begin her next chemo treatment, so please pray that her body responds well.
#2- That Haylie’s white blood count continues to come down and her platelets increase. Currently due to her blood type they don’t have any platelets here and they have to have them transferred from Parkland.
#3- Michael is returning to work today. Please pray he has a good day with lack of sleep and that Haylie and I do well without his extra help today.
#4- My right eye is super blurry, I think it is just from lack of sleep, but please pray I can see normal again.
#5- Haylie’s jaw is very painful and she is having trouble eating. We were told it is a side effect of one of the steroids she is on. Please pray the pain goes away.
#6- Pray for strength for Michael, Haylie and me and for God to be glorified in all circumstances.
Today this is our mountain. We have seen God move mountains and we know He can do it again. 

#healingforHaylie-Post 1

This first post might be a bit long, so please forgive me.  However, I want for each of you to get all of the details that we are working with....

The Geraci family is a dear family to us.  We were in the same Life Group with them at church, we got to love on Melissa & the kiddos while Michael served our country, then they became our next door neighbors for a little bit!!!!  They no longer live in Rockwall & so we miss them, but these updates have been posted on fb and I thought I would share them with each of you since y'all have proven to be incredible prayer warriors.

May 30 at 8:14am ·

Please say a prayer for Haylie. She is having to miss her last 5th grade field trip picnic because she is having major stomach pains and has been for a while now. Her doctor thinks it could be her gall bladder. We are trying to get an appointment with Children’s Hospital asap.

May 30 at 7:28pm ·

Update on Haylie.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers and messages of support! We are so thankful that we were able to see the GI doctor at Children’s Hospital today. We were told that we couldn’t get an appointment until Oct 11 so getting in today was a real blessing! We were also able to get a sonogram done today after she started throwing up at the doctors office. The sonogram showed a very swollen liver and spleen. We are still awaiting the lab results from her blood tests but should get more answers from that tomorrow. They took 9 viles of blood, the absolute max they could take with her weight, so we better get some answers! It was a bit difficult and she was passing out since she hadn’t had anything to eat due to the sonogram. They also found that she has a virus that was causing the red bruise rash, fever and chills. Her gall bladder actually seems fine which is good news. She feels much better now than she did last night or this morning so we are thankful for that. We are optimistic that she will be able to make it to her 5th grade graduation on Friday.

May 31 at 2:41pm ·

Please say a prayer for Haylie again. The dr called and said her labs came back critical and instructed me to get to the ER right now. We just got here and got checked in. I don’t have many answers right now but they have been amazing here so I know we are in good hands.

June 1 at 12:48am ·

Update on Haylie
I’ve had so many people asking for an update so I figured this was the best way to get out.
Haylie has been diagnosed with leukemia. This is a really hard post to write. Currently her levels are extremely high and we are in the ICU. Right now we have more questions than we do answers.

It has been a really long hard day for us. As I look at the time, I realize this is now day 2 for us. By God grace, have made it through day 1. We have a long road ahead of us but are so thankful to have some answers as to why Haylie has been feeling so bad lately. We can now work on a solution. This diagnosis is not an easy one, but we serve a mighty God who is bigger than cancer. Right now we will take this one day at a time.
We have been so well taken care of so far at the hospital. I’m still processing everything and honestly I’m absolutely exhausted. We are so thankful for all the prayers and ask for you to continue to pray for us. This is so much bigger than I can handle so I’ve given it to God and He will go before us. We stand firm and I will praise Him even in the storm.
Haylie is so amazing. No words can describe how much I love this child. She is still so sweet and positive even during this very difficult time. She is a fighter and I know we will beat this.
We are a bit overwhelmed with things, so we ask you not to contact us directly right now. We have an amazing group of family and friends and we will be reaching out to you for support in the coming days. Please keep us in your prayers because we know the power of prayer. Love you all. I will try to post more updates when I get a chance.

 June 1 at 1:42pm ·

Update on Haylie #2
So much has happened in the last 12 hours I’m trying to figure out where to start. The doctors have identified which type of leukemia Haylie has, T-cell ALL. That is not what we were hoping for as it is the most aggressive and does not tend to respond to chemo as well as the others so she will require a very aggressive treatment. We will be required to stay in the hospital for the first month of treatment right now. They also found a large mass above Haylie’s heart which has brought some complications. We are so thankful that it has not affected her breathing. She just received a picc line to start the chemo. It was a little scary because of the location of the mass. They had to do it in radiology to get a clear picture and go around the mass. They were not able to put her under or use sedation because they were afraid the mass would block her airway. She did awesome! I knew she was tough but she is showing such strength right now.

She had a good night last night. Her white blood cell counts were dangerously high and kept climbing during the night, so she was watched very closely. Thankfully they have started going down with the treatment so we won’t have to do the emergency procedure. Praise God! We can feel the prayers! She just received a platelet transfusion because her platelets were also dangerously low. We are so thankful to be at an amazing hospital with doctors who are on top of her care.
I’ve always told Haylie that God has big plans for her and will use her in big and mighty ways. So this is chapter 1 of our story. We look forward to see how God will use Haylie and show Himself mighty. Day one and here comes the Son!

June 2 at 3:32pm ·

Update #3
Prayer warriors please lift Haylie up. I feel like we are in a spiritual battle right now and it can only be won on our knees.
I wrote that about 3:00am when she was struggling to get enough oxygen. It was a long night but God is faithful. Her oxygen alarm kept going off when her levels got low and we would have to wake her up to take deep breaths and reposition her. The nurse finally put her on oxygen when we couldn’t stay above 90%. She is doing much better now and we are currently at 98%! She is being pumped full of fluids to flush her system so she has to get up to go to the bathroom all the time. Sometimes we got up every 20 mins, once she made it 90 mins. We are getting good at unhooking the machines and rolling the IV pole to the bathroom. We got to see our nurse very regularly last night.

Haylie had a really rough time with muscle spasms in her legs around 9pm. She was kicking uncontrollably at times. The doctors couldn’t figure out a reason and ran blood tests to screen her levels which all came back ok. I finally called my parents who started to pray and finally the kicking stopped and she fell asleep. The nurse even said it had to be Jesus because it stopped the second they finished praying.
Ok...it is now 3:00pm and so much has happened again that I haven’t had time to post this. Huge praises! Today has been a great day with lots of victories. Her white blood count dropped from 385,000 yesterday to 177,000 this morning to 85,000 by mid morning. Since we are below 100,000 we got to transfer out of ICU!!! When we arrived at the ER her count was 270,000. The normal range is 4000-10,000.
We just got moved to our new room on the oncology floor. Doctors are amazed at how fast she is progressing. I’m not because we serve such a big God. Prayers are being answered!
We are overwhelmed by the love and support we are receiving. We have had many precious friends visiting us and bringing us food. Jamie King, Ashley Hartzog and my sister Stephanie, I might never be able to properly thank you for all you are doing for us. You have helped pick us up and helped carry us through.
Thank you for all the encouraging words and Facebook messages. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to respond to many texts or messages. Hopefully we will get some more rest in our new room and I can post updates more often. I’m posting a few pictures of our journey thus far.
Please keep praying, they are being answered.

On our way to get our picc line put in.

Family visiting!

Friend visiting!

Friend and Daddy!

BFF!!

Bustin’ out of ICU. Our nurses were great!

Finally getting some rest in our new room.