Molly Margaret's Miracle

Hey friends! As you may know, we travelled to Boston a couple weeks ago to get the second opinion of two doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital. We had a good trip with safe travel and productive appointments. We are praising God to now have two more incredibly brilliant doctors on our team. The main goal of this trip was for these two doctors (OMS specialist & neuroblastoma specialist) to see Molly Margaret in person so that they can legally give input and be part of our care team moving forward. They were very impressed and encouraged by her clinical presentation and great response to OMS treatments thus far. This was so encouraging to us. They confirmed the plans Duke already has set in place and we left feeling a peace that we are heading in the right direction with these treatments. In both treatment plans there are some critical decision points that will be coming in the weeks and months ahead and we’re very grateful that we have these additional doctors to evaluate and speak into those decisions.

Upon our return to NC, we started Molly Margaret’s first chemo cycle. We had a very long day Wednesday (11/17 – MM’s 14 month bday!), followed by a shorter infusion (relatively speaking) Thursday. Friday was scheduled for the same treatment as Thursday. As she was receiving treatment, we thought she felt a bit warm and asked for her temp to be taken. It was a little elevated but not considered a fever. After treatment ended we asked them to take it again before we left so we would feel okay. At that point she was showing a slight fever. The nurses went to get the doctor, labs were drawn and an antibiotic was administered. With someone receiving chemo, fevers aren’t something that can be waited out because her body may not have what it takes to fight. When the labs came back, her hemoglobin level had dipped so it was decided she needed a blood transfusion. Her level has teetered on the low side ever since we started this. A few days before it was determined she has an iron deficiency. The plan was to start an iron supplement but keep an eye on that level since she was constantly teetering on the verge of needing a transfusion. At the time, it felt like a big disappointment and setback. How quickly a “short” 5 hour day turns into 10. Looking back we feel so thankful that the slight fever triggered labs to be drawn so we could address the need for a transfusion and that it all happened while we were at the hospital. Not what we wanted, but thankful for the little things. Like the fact that the two nurses who stayed late with us were our favorite two! They had to stay a few hours later than they’re supposed to with us on a Friday night and they were so friendly and compassionate! Such a gift. Saturday morning we went back for a shot to help stimulate MM’s body to make white blood cells since the chemo will cause those levels to dip.

Overall, Molly Margaret has still been her fun loving spunky self. Over the weekend she ate normally and did not appear to be in any pain. Praise God for that. The past couple of days, she’s appeared to be less comfortable and we’ve had some tough nights. Nothing terrible and if this is what the side effects are we will take it. But it is still hard to know she’s not feeling quite right and to not know exactly how to help since she can’t explain what she feels. We’re so thankful for the tools we have in our toolkit that our naturopathic doctor has helped provide us because we feel like we at least have options that can help her and make her more comfortable.

This morning (11/24) we went for blood work and her counts look good! We’re entering the days that they will likely dip so we’ll have them checked again on Monday. Praising God for that good news today! 

Some specifics to pray over:

• That Molly Margaret would be getting over the hump of side effects from this medicine and start fully feeling herself again soon.
• For sleep! Everyone is tired. Emotions are high and not getting good rest is never helpful. Please pray in the coming nights MM and us could rest well at night.
• That we would be able to rest and enjoy time together over the next few days as we focus on posturing our hearts in a state of gratitude. That these days would be “uneventful” medically.
• That the medicine would be working effectively, getting rid of the bad cells and not touching the good. We believe this tumor is shrinking as we type this!
• For protection from any sickness or infection. We pray God places a shield around MM’s body that she would not catch even the slightest cold during this treatment process.
• For protection over Molly Margaret’s body and organs that nothing is harmed or affected through these treatments.
• For a key decision surrounding her OMS treatment whether to give or not give a certain medication (long explanation but we’d just love prayer for the doctors and us weighing the pros and cons).

We cannot thank you enough for praying specifically and boldly. It truly brings us to tears when we hear of the people lifting Molly Margaret up in prayer. One of the sweetest things God is teaching us is about the body of Christ. What a beautiful thing it is to experience the Lord’s goodness through the acts and prayers of others. Thank you for continuously being His hands and feet in our lives. The road ahead feels a little less daunting as we see so many walking beside us. In the beginning I remember being overwhelmed at the outpouring of love but thinking what happens when this goes on for months? When it’s old news and people forget? And God has continuously drawn near through all of you reminding us that’s not how He works. That He puts people in our lives to be in it for the long haul. That He’s not just doing a work in us through this but in countless others as well. It’s so like our God to weave one story into more lives and testimonies than we’ll ever know. Thank you thank you thank you, please don’t stop crying out to the Lord and begging Him to do His good work in Molly Margaret’s body and in the lives of every single person who hears her story.

• Neal, Mackenzie & Molly Margaret 🌾