Moving the blog

Hey, I decided it was time to get the blog on my own site instead of free loading off of a generous friend.

The new location for Kylers Updates is http://web.mac.com/dkhaskins

From there simply click the "Kyler's Updates" link on the top of the page. There will be more Haskins stuff added to the site over time as my techincal prowess evolves.

We will leave this post here for a whille so people can get to the new site and set a new book mark for it.

The newest post is on the new site. I will be working on getting the archives over there as well.

Hope to see many of you at the Kyler's Call event March 10th at McBean Pavillion in Lincoln.


Blessings,

Darrell

Kyler's Call

Well, Kyler’s counts have been staying up this round. He has not missed any school due to low counts and he has been given the green light to skip his visit next week prior to his next chemo treatment on the 26th of February.
This is the first cycle where he has not been neutropenic at the low point. Praise God!
Since his counts have been good we’ve gotten out to do some fun stuff. He started a gymnastics class this week. He is very excited about it. Maybe it’s because he’s the only boy in the class? Little stud!
Here’s some information on something exciting. Since the beginning of this there have been a number of people who have really gone the extra mile with us. One of them has felt led to spearhead an event called “Kyler’s Call”. It will be happening on Saturday March 10th at the McBean Pavillion in Lincoln from 6-10 PM. There will be food, music, raffles, fun stuff for kids and more. It’s a celebration of life and healing. The PTC of Kendrick and Kyler’s school, Creekside Oaks Elementary, is also behind this as a fundraised to benefit Kyler’s journey through cancer treatment.
“Kyler’s Call” is a non-profit organization (EIN 71-1022641) and all donations are tax deductible. The cost is $20 per person or $75 per family (kids under 5 free). Checks can be made payable to “Kyler’s Call”. Reservations should be sent to Laura Medina 2149 Boyden Dr. Lincoln, CA 95648 or they can be dropped off at Creekside Oaks Elementary. Laura can be contacted at 916.835.8101 for further information. You can give her your e-mail address to receive updates and there are also opportunities to be involved.
I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to share that evening about our journey. We hope that many of you can join us to celebrate Kyler’s life.

Good Counts

This coming Tuesday is normally the time when Kyler has been neutropenic in the past. However, at his last visit his counts were much better than the previous cycle at the same time period. His white and red blood counts were great but he did need platelets. His overall ANC was very good (for him) sitting at 1100. He has not been overly tired or nauseated this round so far. I could tell he was doing really well when he jumped out of the van for the first time in almost a year. He’s been sitting down and scooting out for so long it totally shocked me.

I’m continuing to lead worship at Bayside of Lincoln for right now and I will be speaking there on February 25th. One of the songs we’ve been singing is a tune by Matt Redman called You Never Let Go. It’s on the Passion 06: Everything Glorious recording (one worth owning). It really hits home with us right now, and it’s often hard to sing without getting choked up. I’d re-print the lyrics here, but I think I need permission from the publisher. So look them up on the internet and someone else can have the FBI break through their door and haul them off to jail.

Pray for sustained energy and good enough ANC counts to continue school next week.

This is Kyler and his buddy Bryce. Two peas in a pod!

Halfway There!

We’ve made half of the chemo journey!

Kyler received a special bear from his class. The bear was to help Kyler remain strong when he was getting anxious about getting his port accessed. The shirt says, “I will help Kyler be brave today” and lists all his classmates names. Thanks for such a creative way to help Kyler. Many of you have been praying about his anxiety during those times. Thank you.



Chemo number 5 went well. Kyler passed out Valentine’s cards to kids on the floor along with a little toy (a car for boys or stickers for girls). The Valentine cards had jokes on them and he had to share each individual joke with his nurses. He was so excited about it that could not even wait for them to venture a guess at the punch line. He jumped right in with the delivery. He has not experienced any nausea that we can tell and it’s been five days since treatment. Perhaps this is due to the 50% reduction of the Cisplatin. That reduction will also hopefully minimize any additional hearing loss.

He appetite has been good. He absolutely loves watching cooking shows. Right now his favorites are Alton Brown and Rachel Ray. Sandie bought some DVD’s of their shows and both boys are asking if they can watch and try making stuff.

Kyler went over to a friends house and they made turkey cheese roll-ups and ice cream tacos from recipes in a cook book he got for Christmas.



Sandie’s dad, Walt, is doing well. He is in a rehab center in Redding recovering from his second stroke.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

Blessings,

Darrell

Hearing Test #2

Kyler had his hearing test Tuesday the 9th. To our disappointment, it revealed further hearing loss that has now reached down into the vocal frequencies. Sandie sat with Kyler on her lap as he was tested. He had headphones on and was supposed to throw a block into a basket when he heard the tone. Kyler sat motionless several times while Sandie could hear the tone escaping from the headphones. Despite the results Kyler has not indicated and difficulty in hearing. Neither his teachers nor we have noticed any significant changes in his hearing during the daily run of life. Because of the further loss in hearing they will be reducing the drug in particular that is causing the most damage.

His next round of chemo is this Tuesday January 16th. Thanks for continuing to pray.

Sandie’s father, Walt, did have to undergo surgery. We were told that there was an enormous amount of blood in his head and that he would die without the operation. The operation itself was a very risky one and the family was not given a good prognosis. This prompted all the kids to come home fully expecting to be arranging a funeral very soon. Thank the Lord he made it through the surgery and the doctors are hopeful that not much additional damage was done. They will know more in time. He shoud be moving out of ICU in the next day or so to begin recovery. Your prayers for Walt were much appreciated and we would ask for your continued petition to God on his behalf.

Blessings,

Darrell

Kyler's Grandpa Ewart

I know we are using this space for updates about Kyler, however, we need you prayers for Sandie's father, Walt.

He has suffered another massive stoke and is in the hospital. It is continuing to bleed and the medicine used to thin his blood is not allowing it to clot properly. They are giving him vitamin K to try and counteract the effects. Please pray that this is effective and that they will not have to do surgery.

Thank you.

Darrell and Sandie

Good News!

Normally when Kyler has an MRI we have to wait up to several days to get results. This time, however, they knew we were going to see our pediatric oncologist directly and had the films ready by the time Kyler was finished coming out of anesthesia.

We took them with us and our doctor looked them over for a few minutes before we came in and she announced to us that everything looked good. Sandie announced, “I just had Christmas!”

He will have to go in tomorrow to check and see if he needs platelets, but he is above the neutropenic mark and able to go to school. Despite a slight improvement in appetite he has not gained any weight. It seems like no matter what he puts in it doesn’t stick. He is not ill or more tired than he normally is, but he is still wearing the same clothes he was a year ago and he has not gotten any taller.

A recurring problem with Kyler is his anxiety prior to getting accessed, or ‘poked’ as Kyler calls it, and de-accessed. He is very sensitive about his port. He gets so worked up that his temperature gets elevated and the doctors feel the need to do a blood culture to see if anything is growing in there and come close to admitting him. His temperature goes back down when he calms himself but the fever is a big red flag for the doctors and they are quick to react. Early on in the chemo treatments he was actually admitted and spent four days in the hospital because he had a fever in the office. They never found anything in his blood and he never spiked a fever after he had been admitted. The fever, we believe, was anxiety induced and after he calmed down he was fine. We can’t seem to talk him out of it and he will even start getting worked up days ahead of time if he remembers he has an appointment coming up.

We would appreciate your prayers for his peace of mind.

Blessings,

Darrell Haskins

P.S.
For those of you wishing to visit Bayside of Lincoln this Sunday at 10:00 AM it is located at 645 5th St. in Lincoln, CA 95648.