03/29/06 - Tomorrow is the BIG DAY. Hannah begins her conditioning for her bone marrow transplant. Today Hannah returned to Sick Kids in a LIMOUSINE (a birthday gift from Chrysler, Brampton where her daddy works) after a GREAT BIRTHDAY with her family and friends. Hannah enjoyed the ride so much she asked if she could go again on the WAY HOME!! Hannah, if you can KEEP ON FIGHTING & MAKE IT HOME you can ride in the BIGGEST LIMOUSINE there is. That's a PROMISE!!!!! Hannah had a full day of hydration today & blood work. She was quite tired today after a BUSY DAY yesterday. Hannah will start her 1st day of chemotherapy tomorrow. It will run over 1 hour once a day for 4 days, that takes her to Sunday. She will also be receiving many other IV medications to combat all the side effects of the chemo. She will continue to receive her feeds over 12 hours at night as long as she is able to tolerate it. As of now she is receiving approximately 3 cans per night. She weighed in today at 12.7kg (28 lbs) and her height was 100.4cm. After the 4 days of chemotherapy Hannah will receive full body radiation TWICE a day, anywhere from 3-10 minutes per session for 3 days at Princess Margaret Hospital, just a short walk through an underground tunnel. Hannah will be escorted on a stretcher accompanied by Mommy, Daddy, a nurse and anesthetiologist, a child life worker and a transporter (WOW!!). The only part of Hannah's body that will not receive radiation will be her lungs. That brings us to Thursday. Because of Hannah's size and age they will be dividing the transplant over 2 days. They have found it to have a higher success rate. Therefore she will receive 2 bags of fresh stem cells (frozen bonemarrow from previous donor) on Thursday and 2 bags on Friday. This procedure is done in a completely sterile and isolated room. She will remain in this room until the new bone marrow engrafts (takes to her body). With the last transplant it took 32 days. While in this room Karen and Stephen will be the only ones able to visit her. Because of the NEED FOR a CLEAN & STERILE ENVIRONMENT Karen and Stephen are not able to SLEEP IN the room with her BUT WILL be taking shifts with her DAY AND NIGHT. We wish you all the best for tomorrow Hannah. STAY STRONG, KEEP FIGHTING. YOUR MOMMY & DADDY ARE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AND ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO GET YOU WELL. THEY LOVE YOU SO MUCH & WANT TO BRING THEIR LITTLE GIRL HOME!!! You are always in our thoughts and prayers!!!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY HANNAH!

03/28/06 - HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY HANNAH! It's hard to imagine that you are ONLY 4 years old today. You have had to go through so much in your LITTLE life. Hannah's birthday wish was granted as she was released from hospital and able to spend her birthday at HOME with her family. Hannah chose a chocolate cake with flowers on it. She is to return to hospital on Wednesday, March 29. Enjoy your day at home Hannah!!

03/25/06 - THANK YOU to everyone who came out today and donated blood and signed up on the bone marrow registry. The Honourary Blood drive for Hannah in Brampton was a GREAT SUCCESS. All available spaces for blood donations where fully booked as well as some walkins were taken. All the people who will be receving this blood, including Hannah THANK YOU. Karen and Stephen had the opportunity to go down to the blood drive and witness first hand the caring and generosity of total strangers. If it wasn't for all of you taking the time out of your busy lives Hannah and the MANY, MANY others that need this blood would not have the chance for LIFE. THANK YOU ALL GREATLY!!!! In yesterdays Brampton Guardian (Friday, March 24) there was an article about Hannah & the blood donor clinic. Karen and Stephen were also interviewed at the clinic today by Rogers Cable 10 & some local papers. Maybe Hannah will bring some exposure as to how VITAL AND CRITICAL reqular blood donations are and HOW NEEDED they are for SO MANY PEOPLE!

03/21/06 - If you had the opportunity to watch ROGERS CABLE 10 Mississauga yesterday Hannah's Grandpa was on speaking about Hannah and a blood donor clinic that will be held in Hannah's Honour on Saturday. It is run by Canadian Blood Services in Hannah's home town of Brampton, Ontario. It is an Honourary blood drive. If you are able and willing and want to be a part of saving a life take 1 hour out of your day and "Roll up your Sleeve" and donate. The Clinic will be held at the Brampton Masonic Lodge at 955 Clark Blvd from 12:00 - 4:00pm on Saturday, March 25, 2006. To book an appointment please call 1-888-2-DONATE. Karen and Steven will also be there making an appearance on Hannah's behalf. Please come out and show your support. Hannah and ALL other children & adults who will receive blood transfusions in the future THANK YOU!!

03/21/06 - Still waiting on a bed in Bone Marrow Transplant. Things are REALLY busy over there. Hannah will move over as soon as a bed is available, hopefully in the next 10-14 days. If things take a turn for the worse before a bed becomes available Hannah will be able to begin her conditioning of chemotherapy and full body radiation (twice a day) in the oncology ward BUT will have to have the transplant in the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) ward in order to get the care that she needs. Let's pray a bed becomes available A.S.A.P. Hannah had a kidney function test done today where they inject radioactive dye into her veins and then through a handheld monitor measure the amount that is excreted through her kidneys. Because Hannah's OUTPUT has been much greater than her INPUT over the last few days the doctors feel she may have some kidney damage from the chemotherapy. To what extent they are still unsure. Hannah remains in bed not able to show much emotion. She is in the dark the majority of the day as her eyes are VERY SENSITIVE to the light, a side effect of the chemotherapy. She is still complaining of pain in her abdomen but the doctors are trying to wean her off the morphine. There is a CHANCE that Hannah will be able to have a day pass next Tuesday, March 28th for her 4th birthday. If she has not gone to BMT and she has no fever. A change of scenery may be just what she needs to CHEER HER UP. It gets VERY DEPRESSING for her having to stay in bed day after day, month after month not knowing what is coming next. Having to battle all the side effects from all the medicines and being CONSTANTLY interrupted with tests, vitals, bloodwork, etc. It is SO MUCH for her to handle. Although, Hannah is a TROOPER she sure knows the routines. When her nurse comes to do her vitals she holds out her arm for her blood pressure and opens her mouth for her temperature. She is SO STRONG and FIGHTS to get through each day. WAY TO GO HANNAH!! WE ARE ALL SO VERY PROUD OF YOU!

THANKS CITY TV!!!

03/17/06 - Happy St. Patrick's Day Hannah!! May you have ALL the luck in the WORLD!! Some of you may have seen Hannah today on City TV's Breakfast Television and on City Pulse news at 12 & 6pm. They did a LIVE broadcast from Sick Children's hospital. All the kids on Hannah's floor were given some nice gifts as a part of their March Break Program. THANKS CITY TV!!!

SAD, SAD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!

03/16/06 - SAD, SAD NEWS!!!! Just got the RESULTS, JACOB IS NOT A MATCH!! No exact dates yet but in the next few days Hannah will be moved up to the bone marrow floor. She will begin her preparation for the bone marrow transplant. Today her white blood cells jumped from 5 to 10 which has alarmed the doctors, apparently all the cells are cancerous. Hannah will have to rely on the previous donor marrow for this transplant. We were praying that Jacob was a match, it would have given Hannah a higher success rate because this bone marrow has already failed. BUT DON'T GIVE UP HOPE, MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!!! JUST KEEP PRAYING!!! Hannah will have to undergo some intense chemotherapy and full body radiation before the transplant (HOW MUCH CAN ONE TINY BODY ENDURE) the exact details are not yet known. Karen, Stephen & Hannah DON'T GIVE UP!!! THERE IS STILL A FIGHT TO BE WON AND HANNAH HAS ALL OF US IN HER CORNER!!! WE WILL NEVER STOP BELIEVING IN HER!!!

03/13/06 - SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS. Regarding the MASS in Hannah's abdomen, a further ultrasound was done a few days later and the mass had DISAPPEARD. Doctors felt it was normal, post surgical fluid that was retained and had worked itself through the body. ONE STEP UP FOR HANNAH!! Hannah continues to remain in SEVERE pain at times, mainly in her abdomen. She is on a continuous morphine drip for pain management. She spends ALOT of the day sleeping and the rest of the day in bed, unable to get up because she is continually hooked up to IV and MONITORS. A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT AND SET BACK IN HANNAH'S CONDITION. Because Hannah HAS NOT RECOVERED WELL from this round of chemotherapy doctors feel that she WOULD NOT SURVIVE, IF GIVEN ANY MORE CHEMOTHERAPY. Therefore they WILL NOT BE STARTING A SECOND ROUND ON MARCH 16TH AND HAVE AGREED TO DO THE BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. As early as the NEXT 3 WEEKS. They feel that Hannah WOULD NOT MAKE IT TO WAIT UNTIL MAY. Hannah is now receiving blood transfusions approximately every 12 hours, that is an INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF BLOOD! IT TAKES on average five whole blood donations to collect enough platelets for one platelet transfusion for a child with leukemia and platelets can only be stored for five days. SO IF YOU ARE ABLE, PLEASE GET OUT TO THE NEAREST BLOOD BANK AND DONATE!!!! Your donation could be SAVING A LIFE! PLEASE PRAY FAITHFULLY OVER THE NEXT 2 WEEKS. Jacob was tested on Thursday as a possible donor for Hannah. He has a 25% chance of being a MATCH and if he is his STEM CELLS from the umbilical cord that were saved at his birth could be used IMMEDIATELY FOR THE TRANSPLANT. The results should be available in the next 10-14 days. It wasn't a coincidence that Hannah got sick again only TWO WEEKS after Jacob's birth. God's plan to bring Jacob into the world at that exact time was to SAVE HIS BIG SISTER!! Karen and Stephen, you have been SO STRONG AND SUCH WONDERFUL PARENTS TO HANNAH. YOU SHOULD BE SO PROUD OF HER AND HER STRENGTH. SHE HAS GONE THROUGH AND OVERCOME MORE THAN MOST OF US WILL EVER IN OUR LIFETIME. SHE IS A TRUE INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US, AND SO ARE YOU!!

03/01/06 - Hannah had a CAT scan today that revealed a fluid mass in her abdomen below her diaphram. Unsure of what the mass is doctors will be further investigating with an ultrasound later tonight or early tomorrow morning. They did not want to speculate. The mass is in direct placement of where Hannah's speen was. Hannah remains in extreme pain, even when her abdomen is touched lightly. The CAT scan also revealed that Hannah has thickening of the walls in her bowels/intestines. She has been having diarrhea and vomitting++. She also has some type of infection in her bowels. Hannah has been receiving blood transfusions almost daily and this evening was given another platelet transfusion in case something unexpected was to happen this evening and she had to go to the O.R. If the ultrasound is inconclusive Hannah may have to go back to the operating room and have the doctors reopen her incision to determine what type of mass is present. Hannah is being sedated with pain medication to keep her comfortable. When she is awake she is crying most of the time in pain. HANNAH, IF ONLY WE COULD TAKE AWAY YOUR PAIN WE WOULD. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!! YOU HAVE SUCH AMAZING STRENGTH!! Hannah is NOT ALLOWED to have anything to eat or drink until futher investigation. She is on TPN (total parental nutrition) a supplement given through her central line. Hannah is on 2 antibiotics for the central line infection that LOOKS LIKE it is clearing up. HOORAY! She may need to receive more antibiotics for the bowel/intestine infection once determined. Hannah is supposed to start her next round of chemotherapy on March 16th IF her counts are OKAY! That will only be decided closer to the date. REST PEACEFULLY HANNAH AND KEEP UP YOUR STRENGTH. WE WILL PRAY FOR COMFORT AND HEALING FOR YOU!!!!