Tobey Mac and Tobey Mac groupie!

Toby Mac

Last night Lisa had a amazing time at the Toby Mac concert! The cancer society made this possible for Lisa and that was one of the greatest gifts they could have given her. Lisa went to his concert last year and got to meet him then, and when she got to see him this year he totally remembered meeting her! Yep, they were old friends! Needless to say she had a great time, and I thinks she has a little Toby Mac crush going on!

So glad you were feeling good that you could enjoy the night!

Fun basketball game

Tonight at the West vs. McNary game Lisa had a good time seeing her friends again! This was a fund raiser for Lisa and a reminder to all of us that there are many sick kids the depend on the doctors and care at Doernbecher.

They sold bracelets and raffle tickets at the gate, and at the 3rd quarter Lisa drew a name for the winner of the 50/50 raffle.

Thanks to everyone who came out to see and support Lisa. She has been doing really good since she came home a few days ago. Let hope and pray she can really enjoy the Tobey Mac concert she is going to tomorrow night and the next week or so before she heads back to Doernbecher for her next round of chemo.

By the way...West won!

Hey Everybody!

This Friday at West Salem High you have the opportunity to help show Lisa Harder how much we love and support her.

Over the last 2 years Lisa has touched the heart of so many of her classmates at West High. This Friday the school is giving back to Lisa. At 7:00 this Fri., there is a boy's basketball game at West, against McNary. Each players is being sponsored for a dollar amount for each basket made. The proceeds made from this fundraiser will go to Lisa to help pay for medical needs. Sometime during the game they will also be auctioning off a Trail Blazer poster that is being signed by many of the Blazers.

So come on down to the game this Friday. Support Lisa and enjoy a night out!

See you there!

hanging in there

Last night Lisa's temp reached 102 degrees. This is so scary because her white blood cell count is so low and can not fight off whatever is attacking Lisa right now. Since then her temp has come down some and Gail and Lisa were both able to get a little sleep. Lisa is also fighting a rash that has formed under her arm. The spots have all formed heads now so the doctors were able to take samples from them to see if they can determine what caused them. The Doctors are saying the the chemo is doing its job and even though Lisa has gotten sick and had some complications from it that is what they really need to see in order for them to know the chemo is working. Its a catch 22! They are seeing a rise in her white blood cells so that is encouraging.

Lisa misses school, friends, and yes, even school work. I think maybe the meds are playing with her mind if she is thinking she misses school work! But non the less, she has searched out a few friends on the floor and together they have gone down to the classroom to "hit the books". But I don't think it will be all work...because this evening Lisa is trying to get together a good old card game with some of the other patients. I think maybe we have a little social director in the making!

They are not sure when they will come back home, but they are hoping for tomorrow.

Prayer needed

Lisa has been fighting a fever for a day or 2. Yesterday they knew it was getting bad but they hoped they could keep it under control through the night. They did manage it last night but this morning it started to rise even more and she noticed a rash under her arms, so they decided they needed to head back up to OHSU to have the Doctors look at her.

Pray that the doctors will have wisdom to know exactly what she needs and they will be able to lower her temp and she will be able to come back home for the 2 weeks before she starts the next round of chemo. The chemo that they gave her is nasty stuff and she did very well with it but she body need extra ordinary strength to handle it. God can give her that!

Home

Lisa was able to come home today. She finished this session of chemo last night and the Doctors released her to come home for 3 weeks until she starts the next session. She managed to make it through this round with out "getting sick" although she sure felt sick. Everyone was very happy about that. The Doctors also said to expect nose bleeds and they thought Lisa avoided that too, but on the way home she had a heavy nose bleed. This means that her white blood count is falling. Pray for that not to drop too low.

It is very good to be home. All the tubes, bells and whistles are gone for awhile. Hopefully all will sleep better too. Lisa looks good. She is eating and talking, just a little quieter than usual.

So lets hope and pray she gets stronger during these 3 weeks before she starts round 2.

ss

Prayers and Love

Thanks for all the prayers and love. After a very restless sleepless night on Friday Lisa slept fairly well on Sat. She has stopped eating now and doesn't even want to move. I am sure she feels like if she were to do either of those things she would get sick, because she is just on the verge.

I know yesterday they didn't want any visitors, so probably from now on again we should check in before we pop in. Gail's sleep is interrupted at night too, so she probably tries to catch up when it is quiet in the room. They have a window seat bed that she sleeps on that is pretty comfy, but if a second person wants to stay the night ....they sleep in a vinyl recliner, not so comfy.

Lisa I know LOTS of people are praying for you and sending LOVE.

ss

KFC

You know things are going pretty good when KFC still sounds good for dinner!

That is what Lisa asked for for dinner last night. Just before she started her 3rd night of chemo Lisa and Connor scarfed down some chicken and mashed potatoes!

About 5:30 the nurse came to hook Lisa up to several bags of clear liquid that just looked like water, but in reality it is the poison that we all pray kills the cancer in her lungs. So far Lisa has handled the chemo very well. She came into this strong, and that helps. They know that this super strong chemo will eventually make her very sick but the longer she can fight that off the better.

As the chemo dripped into Lisa she got quieter but we could still see that sweet smile come across her face as we talked. I hope the night went well and we will see you at home on Monday.

ss

Lisa and Connor hanging out on Friday night.

Round 2

Today one of bravest girls I know started the fight against cancer again. She is determined to live life to the fullest and that means trying to win this battle with cancer.

Lisa started chemo around 5 this afternoon. This is a very strong chemo that they hope will stunt the growth of the mandarin oranges (the size of her tumors) inside her lung. This chemo will last for 5 days. She is administered the chemo for 2 hours and then they wash it out for 4 hours. This goes on in some form for 5 days. We really hope that she will handle this first round well and be able to come home. She will have 3 weeks off and then go back to the hospital to start the process over again.

We can't deny that everyone involved is scared and we really hoped that Lisa would not have to go through this again. But if you know Lisa at all, you know that she has placed all her hope in God. She has shared her faith and journey with her peers several times this week and has touched so many lives. She is an amazing young woman and I see that in her more and more each day! We love you Lisa.