Author Archive: 'Carrow McClendon

Happy Tuesday night everyone. I am very happy to report that operation “Rest & Do As Little As Possible” is well under way this week. Even though we are shooting to keep the days low key Kayleigh still keeps us on our toes. Thankfully she is still feeling good and is staying active!

Today Kayleigh had her 22nd radiation treatment – only 8 more to go! She also had occupational & physical therapies as well along with a visit from Child Life but we were still done before lunch. She spent the afternoon napping and playing her iPad while Tim and I took care of work and housekeeping things. We enjoyed dinner and ice cream with friends tonight and made a quick run by Target. It was so incredibly normal.

It is quite amazing how our priorities have shifted in this short time frame. And not just priorities, but the things that bring us joy have shifted as well. Watching Kayleigh walk, talk and laugh. Watching her get to play with friends. We no longer are rushing from one thing to the next, making plans for what we need to do next. Now we are enjoying each moment and living in the now. Currently, our idea of planning is about 5 hours ahead – max – and the Lord is teaching me that is ok

Tonight’s reminder to not worry and keep the faith…

Luke 12:27-32
27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? 29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

Isn’t it awesome to read that God already knows our needs? Not only does He know them, but He wants to meet them. Not just meet them, verse 32 says He wants to give us the Kingdom. Wow. When we stop and think about just how big God is you realize there really is no request too big for him. So keep on praying big prayers. I know I am!

Prayer requests:
1.) Complete healing this side of heaven.
2.) For our phase 2 plans to start coming into focus. Clear direction!
3.) For phase 2 plan to not even be needed – wouldn’t that be awesome??
4.) For us to be able to successfully lower the steroids.
5.) Kayleigh’s new friends.
We are all making precious friends here. I am starting to understand what people mean when they say we are now a part of the St. Jude family. Everyone here is battling for their child, everyone here can empathize with one another. There is camaraderie between complete strangers because you just get it. Every new friend we make is added to our prayer list.

We love you all –
Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

Just a reminder for myself

She is on a mission – no time for pictures!

Unless you stop at Starbucks…

Yep, then you even get a smile if you bribe with a vanilla bean frappe

We matched! Thats one of those special little things.

Radiation 21 of 30 is in the books.

We made it safely back to St. Jude today. Kayleigh had radiation #21, vitals and her radiation oncologist visit today. We had to fill them in on last weeks eventful “try to get off steroids but be very unsuccessful” escapade. They seemed to be please that we are still sitting at only 1mg total for the day. It is even possible for her to need a higher dose as we complete radiation because radiation itself can cause swelling. Please pray very specifically that Kayleigh is able to stay at this 1mg dose and possible wean lower!

My precious friend Patty came to visit today. She was on her way from Nashville to Birmingham and decided to “just swing through Memphis”. If any of y’all have looked at a map you will know that while we are in the same state as Nashville we are WAY out of the way for Birmingham. Kayleigh thoroughly enjoyed showing her around and Tim and I were thrilled at the hour we had to unpack our stuff while Patty entertained her!

So tonight we are happily unpacked and settled in for the week. We’ve stocked up on snacks and drinks and I’ve done laundry. With just the 3 of us here this week I am hoping for a little R&R.

Prayer Requests:
1.) Complete healing this side of heaven!
2.) Kayleigh is able to at least stay at 1mg of steroids/day – and go lower if possible!
3.) Direction of Tim & I as we continue to work on phase 2. We are seeing God in big ways on this one. We don’t have a decision but I am very much looking forward to telling the story of how God puts it all together. Just the little pieces we are seeing tells us that all of our prayers are moving mountains – don’t stop!
4.) Rest. We are tired. Last week was a doozie. We were pretty dang frazzled by Friday. I personally was an emotionally wrung out dishrag crying at the drop of a hat. Then we run non-stop when we are home trying to cram everything in because we want to share Kayleigh with as many people as possible. It’s a perfect storm of exhaustion. So this week out goal is to regroup and rest!

Thank you all for standing with us. So often you are what holds us up and keeps us going. We cannot begin to tell you what that does for us.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

I didn’t get a single picture today! I will do better tomorrow 🙂

Happy Fathers Day!

We certainly had a good day enjoying family and taking it easy. We head back in the morning to start week 5 – time sure is flying. Please continue to cover Kayleigh in prayers. She had a headache show up this afternoon. It did not get out of hand but it sure scares us.

Prayers:
1.) For complete healing this side of heaven!
2.) For her headaches to stop totally.
3.) To be able to come off the steroids.
4.) Safe travels to Memphis.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

Today was a wonderfully low key day! We slept late, the kids swam, Tim & I snuck away for lunch just the two of us, and we finished up with birthday/father’s day dinner with Tim’s side of the family.

Kayleigh felt pretty good today. We have swapped over to .5mg steroids in the morning and .5mg again in the evening and she has not mentioned a headache. Thank you Jesus! I am noticing her right eye is drooping much more often. That usually correlates to her fatigue level and she is certainly a bit more run down these days. Of course, if you ask her she is absolutely NOT tired.

This coming week we are planning to rest as much as possible and keep everything low key. As radiation continues Kayleigh will become more tired each week. Thankfully there are only 2 weeks remaining and she has done very well!

Please continue to pray with us for Kayleigh’s complete, miraculous healing. As we see the end of radiation on the horizon we can’t help but try to look to the future. We know that her healing can only be accomplished through God himself and we know that He is able. Our prayer is that He will see fit to grant our request. And we want as many voices as we can possible gather to be storming the gates of heaven with the same request, repeatedly, consistently, persistently.

So, while it would be easy to start worrying we are going to CHOOSE to not worry. God keeps reminding me that He’s got this. It’s my job to be still and let Him run the show. God is already doing amazing things before our eyes every day, answering prayers before we have a chance to realize what we need, and often times before we ask. It is obvious God has a plan and it is perfectly prepared and tailored just for us. That is what grants us peace.

Exodus 14:14
The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Psalm 46:1-7
1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! 4 A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. 5 God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. 6 The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts! 7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

The God of Israel is our fortress… That pretty much covers it. We will not fear when the earth quakes. We will not fear when the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar – we will not be shaken – because we are rooted in God Almighty himself, the maker of heaven and earth. How thankful we are for our relationship with Jesus that affords us direct access to this amazing God. Cancer has no power here. Cancer cannot win.

No matter what you may be facing God is big enough to beat it. He may not answer your prayers they way you think they should be answered, honestly, He probably won’t – but that’s ok. In those circumstances make the choice to be thankful anyway. You can’t see the future but God can and He is moving all the pieces into place for your benefit and His glory.

We love you all and are so thankful to have you standing with us.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

Hello All!
Tonight’s post won’t be nearly as long as last night’s because frankly this mama is pooped! Last night was incredible. We are still getting messages and pictures today of teams supporting Kayleigh in their purple. If you have purple team pictures please feel free to post them here on the page. We really love seeing them!

Today Kayleigh finished up radiation treatment #20 of 30. It’s hard to believe we only have 2 weeks left. Please continue to pray big prayers with us that this radiation is eradicating this cancer. We know the doctors say radiation can’t get rid of it but we know God can. We want to storm the gates of heaven with thousands of prayers!!

Kayleigh has felt better today. We changed her dosing today from 1mg in the morning to 1/2mg in the am and another 1/2mg at night. So she is getting the same amount but hopefully this will keep head aches away. So far so good today. She didn’t mention a headache until it was time for another dose – thank you Lord for progress!

We also had lots of fun wrapping presents at RMH before we left. Today is Tim’s birthday and Kayleigh HAD to have everything ready to give daddy tonight. It’s fun to see her so excited to give to someone else for a change!

One super cool thing did happen today. Coach Jojo swung by the house with a big surprise for our girl. See, Jojo coaches more than just softball, she coaches basketball too. Her little 8u basketball team won state this year and many of those girls are also on the softball team. Their team voted to make Kayleigh an honorary member of the basketball team and today their championship rings came in. Can you guess what happened? If you guessed that Coach Jojo delivered Kayleigh her very own big, sparkly, shiny, state champions ring then you get a gold star! Kayleigh was amazed.

Many of you reading at from our softball family. We probably will not be at the ballpark tomorrow. The scorching hot weather really takes a toll on Kayleigh’s body. She is not going to be very happy with our decision but sometimes we have to make hard decisions and keeping her feeling good tops the list! So all you awesome girls in purple, play hard, never give up and post pictures!

Tonight’s prayers requests:
1.) Complete healing this side of heaven!
2.) For the radiation to be doing far more good than the doctors dreamed possible.
3.) For Tim and I to have clear direction for phase 2.
4.) For Kayleigh to get back to feeling good all the time and to be able to wean off the steroids.

Joshua 1:9
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜