Author Archive: 'Carrow McClendon

A little R&R…

What a wonderful day today was! For us, Saturday’s mean softball and today was no exception. We had perfect weather most of the day and enjoyed watching big sister play ball. Kayleigh felt great and was able to enjoy running, playing, and just being a kid.

Since we got home earlier than normal we also had time to swim!!! Our friend “Coach” has been working like a mad man trying to get our cement swamp turned back into a swimming pool. I wish I had a picture of Kayleigh’s face when she told me the pool was ready and she could swim, sheer joy – it was priceless!

We are so blessed and completely overwhelmed by the support of our friends and community. The local mail truck is decked out in purple, every mailbox in our neighborhood has a purple bow, the folks across the street have a sign in their yard, purple Kayleigh t-shirts are everywhere. Our schools, churches, sports teams – everyone is “Team Kayleigh” – and we thank you.

Love to you all,
‘Carrow 💜

Radiation Day 5:

All Kayleigh had today was radiation at 9:00 a.m. and then we were free to go! Treatment went great, it was the fastest one yet! We weren’t in the hospital very long today but I was stopped twice, by two different people, to let me know what a great job Kayleigh is doing with radiation and how much they love her. One of them said “she’s such a little adult, we all just love her.” It’s nice to know they appreciate her spunky spirit as much as we do!

We are now safely home and looking forward to a wonderful weekend. Kayleigh will get to be the mascot of the softball field again tomorrow and after that we are looking forward to some quality pool time!

Kayleigh did have a mild headache this evening. I’m sure being tired from traveling, the excitement of being home, running around like a banshee, all combined with the decrease of steroids had something to do with that. Please pray that it was an isolated incident and that no more headaches or other side effects make an appearance!

Thank you for your prayers!
Love,
‘Carrow 💜

Here’s our crazy, happy crew all together again ☺️

Radiation day 4:

Thank you Jesus for another good day! Today was a very busy day for Kayleigh. She had radiation, occupational therapy, an oncology visit, a pharmacy research trial consult, and physical therapy. Whew! She was a trooper all day long. Each stop we made the nurse, doctor or therapist each made a comment about how well she is doing – how her symptoms are decreasing and how well she is looking. They all seem a little surprised but as my friend reminded me today – of course she’s doing well, she has the power of God behind her!

As expected her oncologist lowered her steroids again today. We are so thankful for how the medicine has helped but we are quite happy to be working to get her off of those! We were also given the all clear to go home for the weekend. We are looking forward to a long weekend with our family being complete. Thankfully, it is now summer time for us so our older kids will be able to visit us more in Memphis as well. God’s timing really is perfect. We are seeing it in how every little detail lines up and we are so thankful for a God that cares about both the big things and the small.

Prayers for tomorrow:
1.) Kayleigh to continue tolerating radiation well – no bad side effects.
2.) Steroids to lower without and bad side effects.
3.) Safe travels home Friday and back on Monday. And safe travels for our kids as they come to visit next week.

Thank you for you prayers, texts, calls and messages. We appreciate all of the encouragement and support!

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow 💜

P. S. –

Many of you don’t know us personally, so here is a picture of who you are praying for…
Dad – Tim
Mom – ‘Carrow
Sister – Grace (11)
Brother – Cole (8)
Kayleigh (7)
We are from Hartselle, AL

Day 3 Radiation:

Another good day, thank you Jesus! Today’s schedule was pleasantly short. Kayleigh had radiation at 10:00 which she did like a champ. We are noticing a little bit of fatigue but so far that is the only side effect. We are praying diligently each day that she will have no bad side effects and are offering our thanks each day when that prayer is so graciously answered! She is still on a fairly high dose of steroids but we expect to step those down again tomorrow.

We also visited with the “school” department today. If for any reason we have to be here when school is in session they have teachers on campus to help one-on-one with her school work. It is such a blessing to know St. Jude has thought of everything possible to make life a normal as possible.

Since we finished up before lunch today we decided to check out the zoo! All of the staff has told us about how great the zoo is and they were right. We didn’t stay very long but Kayleigh loved getting to go and see the animals. We managed to see about half of the exhibits so we have more to look forward to in the days to come.

Tonight’s prayer requests:
1.) If steroids are lowered tomorrow that her body adapts well and there are no adverse side effects
2.) Kayleigh will feel good enough to come home this weekend!
3.) Complete and miraculous healing in the name of Jesus Christ.

Tonight I leave you with a quote from my devotion last night and a verse a good friend sent…

“God can do nothing for me until I recognize the limits of what is humanly possible, allowing Him to do the impossible.”
-Oswald Chambers

“As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.”
Micah 7:7

We are learning no matter where you are, no matter what obstacle you face, when you surrender the situation to God He grants you peace. And with peace comes thankfulness, hope and joy for every day. Many of you have commented on our strength through this. We want you to know it isn’t us. On our own we would be lost in our own despair. It is Jesus in us. That is where our strength comes from.

Thank you all for your continuous prayers and support. We love you –
‘Carrow 💜

Day 2 Radiation update:

Today was great! Kayleigh wasn’t nervous at all about going for radiation today and that made for a much better morning. The nurses tell us that she is doing a fantastic job doing her part – being quiet and still. And if you know her then you know that’s an amazing thing. Especially on these steroids!!! If you don’t know Kayleigh personally then think back to the Looney Toons days and picture Ricochet Rabbit… times 10! And if you don’t know Ricochet Rabbit then you need to YouTube him, it’s worth the minute 😜.

We also met with the Radiologist again today just as a follow up from last week. He ran through her tests and seems pleasantly surprised that she seemed stronger today than last week! Another “thank you, Jesus” moment. We really love those moments! I have also noticed that her balance is almost back to normal, she hasn’t had a headache in a week and no more nausea. We are so thankful!

We finished up our appointments by lunch today so as a treat we took naps!! Of course after her nap Kayleigh was ready to get moving so we went on a hunt for cupcakes (which we found and were fabulous) and a movie (Angry Birds is funny). It’s been absolutely wonderful to have such a “normal” day.

Please continue to cover our sweet girl in prayer. We are being very persistent in our petition for healing! Keep Tim, I and our other children in you prayers as well, along with all of our family that is working hard to keep things as normal as possible at home.

Thank you for your prayers, messages, texts & calls. They matter to us and are greatly appreciated. Until tomorrow…

‘Carrow 💜