Relaxing

For the first time in over a month the Kovacs were able to enjoy a relaxing Saturday morning. Paul returned to his typical routine of the morning paper and coffee along with the added enjoyment of little Lydia on his lap. Angela was able to do her baking and cheering of the boys at their soccer games.

Lydia's home stay has been very good thus far. She has slept through the night which is a tremendous blessing for Angela as she too can catch up on much needed rest. The home nurse came by yesterday and Lydia checked out just fine. Lydia continues to laugh at the crazy antics of her brothers and enjoys big sister Katherine by her side. We savor these "high" moments in our treatment and know that God has placed them here to recharge our energy for the days to come.

Welcome Home

We have great news to share. After almost one month in the hospital, the doctor finally gave Lydia the clearance to go home for the next several days. We left the hospital around noon (on Wednesday). Lydia is now enjoying her siblings and seems to be readjusting to the noise volume that is typical of the Kovac home. Thanks to all for your continual prayers - they are really making a difference. 

We are feeling good about Lydia's progress so far. Aside from an upset stomach, Lydia's side effects from the first chemo round have been minimal. We are particularly thankful that she seems to have avoided the painful mouth sores which can really make eating difficult for a nursing baby. The true impact of the chemotherapy will be revealed after next week's bone marrow test where we discover just how many cancer cells have been destroyed. Please pray for a good result here, specifically that Lydia's cancer cell count has been significantly reduced by the chemotherapy. 

And there is more good news - very good news! God has answered our prayers and blessed us with a sibling donor (one of our children is an exact bone marrow match). This is an extremely positive step forward for Lydia as her chances of remission have increased with the presence of a sibling donor. We will not be disclosing the name of the child at this time and we respectfully request that the issue not be raised with our children as they move about the community. As you can imagine, this is a sensitive area and we desire to protect the emotional stability of the donating child. It has already been a lot to digest for someone so young. Thank you in advance for respecting our desires. 

Our journey continues. After a quick stay at home, Lydia and Angela will be readmitted into the hospital next week for the second round of chemotherapy. This means another eight days of chemo followed by approximately three weeks of recovery all spent in the hospital. Please continue to pray for strength and perseverance for the entire Kovac family.

Lydia Bracelets

We were happy to discover that our Lydia Bracelets arrived this week. The bracelet itself has multiple meanings. The "Pray for Lydia" message will serve as a constant reminder to keep this little child close to our hearts and prayers. The color blue represents peace and calmness for the Kovacs as life will no doubt have its turbulent moments in the months ahead. Yellow is used because of the optimism that it conveys and the hope that Lydia will be cured. The bible passage Joshua 1:9 references the strength and assurance that is ours through Christ Jesus: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Most importantly, the two crosses on the bracelet represent that Lydia is a child of God; that she is loved; and that she has an eternal home with our heavenly Father!

The Kovacs received a limited supply of these bracelets.  Some have been set aside for visiting family members and friends and others will be distributed in their community.  Out of town family and friends may request a wristband by contacting Marcia Luecke (Angela's mom) at mlluecke@aol.com.

Brotherly Love

Danny (4 yrs old) had a wonderful one-on-one visit with Lydia on Thursday. Our Danny is personality plus with a tender heart. He has the unique ability to dance in front of Lydia and make weird faces so she laughs. Please continue to pray for the Kovac children who are all close to Angela and miss her dearly during this hospital stay.

Others

We have been extremely blessed with a strong circle of family and friends who have devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to take care of us. Many of their names are listed on this blog, many others serve anonymously. They don't expect anything in return which is especially comforting during this time when our capabilities are stretched. These people are God's gift to us and have fully embraced the practice of placing "others" over themselves.

After Walter Kovac's death (Paul's father), we discovered a prayer in his bible that had a handwritten note indicating that it was received from his mother, Ann Kovac. We don't know the author, but we have embraced it as a Kovac family prayer. Although our family certainly does not profess to have mastered self-less living, we continue to try and pray for strength in this area. This prayer is passed on for your benefit and especially for our "helpers" who have often times placed our family's needs ahead of their own:

Others

Lord, let me live from day to day

In such a self-forgetful way

That even when I kneel to pray,

My thoughts shall be for others.



Help me in all the work I do,

To ever be sincere and true.

And know that all the work I do,

Must be done for others.



Others, Lord, yes Others

May this my motto be,

Lord, let me live for others,

That I may live like Thee.

Replenishment

Naps like these are an important source of replenishment for Lydia as she continues to progress favorably through her treatment. Lydia has also been replenished by numerous blood and platelet transfusions over the past several weeks. These transfusions are both an ordinary and necessary treatment process for leukemia patients. They have greatly assisted Lydia in maintaining appropriate levels of red blood cells and platelets. As she recovers from each round of chemotherapy and more leukemia cells are eliminated, Lydia's body will slowly be able to produce more "good blood." However, until this happens and she is cured completely, we will continue to depend on transfusions to help our little Lydia heal. In order to offer thanks and assist in the replenishment effort for others in need, the Kovac's will be sponsoring a blood drive in the near future. Details will be posted on this blog once they are available.

Sisters are the Best

Lydia received a nice long visit from her sister Katherine this afternoon. Lydia's face always brightens when big sis is around - there seems to be a very special bond developing between these two!

Lydia has been doing fairly well since the chemo treatment ended a couple of days ago. Her fourth tooth has arrived and hopefully some of the teething pain will now go away. Lydia continues to do well nursing and eating solids - bananas now seem to be a favorite. The major side effect from the chemo that we see is an upset stomach which causes little Liddy to throw-up at times. However, this is being controlled by anti-nausua medicine and Angela's tender touch. Please continue to pray that the side effects remain minimal.

Lots of Helping Hands

Angela's friend, Amy, has set up a calendar on a website called Lotsa Helping Hands. This is a way to coordinate times to visit Angela in the Hospital. All Lotsa Helping Hands communities are private and only community coordinators (Amy) can add members to a community. Please e-mail Amy Dowd at amy.dowd@verizon.net if you would like to be added to this calendar so you can see what days are available for hospital visits. This site is just a way to coordinate visits and make sure Angela gets time with her friends. There are other ways to support Angela even if you can't make a trip to the hospital. These are also listed on the calendar site. This information will also be listed on the "Ways to Help" page listed on the right side of the blog.

First Round Complete

Later today Lydia will complete her first round of chemotherapy treatment. We will then wait approximately three weeks for her blood counts to stabilize. If everything goes well, Lydia and Angela will then be released home for one week. This will be followed by another month long treatment in the hospital. We continue to be thankful to our extended family, neighbors, and church members who are greatly assisting us through this journey.

Why Pray?

People often tell us "our thoughts and prayers are with you." We are extremely grateful for their concern. But there are many other people who doubt whether prayer has any meaningful impact. Even some Christians struggle with the concept of how an all-knowing and all-powerful God can possibly be influenced by our prayers. The bible sheds light on this issue. God instructs us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) and to "pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). So we pray because God tells us to and it strengthens our relationship with Him. We pray because prayer has a meaningful impact on God's will for our lives.

There have been many answers to our prayers over the past two weeks. We prayed for strength, endurance, and an uplifted spirit for Angela and Paul - the prayer is being answered. We prayed for the protection and security of the Kovac children - they are all doing fine. We prayed for assistance from family and friends - the response has been overwhelming. We prayed for Lydia who is now approaching the end of her first 10-day chemo treatment. Today's picture demonstrates that God is answering our prayers by providing Lydia with many moments of happiness. She is smiling, nursing, eating solids, and tolerating the treatment as well as can be expected. Prayer for us has been meaningful and effective - please continue!

Easter Joy

Lydia is having a wonderful day. The Easter Bunny has visited much to her delight and the whole family (including Grandma Kovac and Grandparents Luecke) are gathered at Children's Hospital for an afternoon Easter feast. Not as tasty as our home cooking but the fully prepared Bob Evans Easter meal is fine under this year's circumstances :).

The meaning of Easter hits home in a special place this year. Without the Risen Lord and Savior, little Lydia would have no Hope. We find comfort in the Gospel message and Pastor Ron's scriptural theme this morning: "[We are] not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." Romans 1:16.

Happy Easter - Christ has Risen - He is Risen Indeed!

A Smile

"A smile is worth a thousand words." Lydia's smile came through in full force today - we are very thankful to have our little Lydia back. Although the road will be long and perhaps many more difficult days ahead, this smile indicates that there is Hope and a reason to be joyful. This smile represents that everything will be okay. Let's keep fighting for Lydia.

Caregiver

The doctors at Children's Hospital are doing a wonderful job treating Lydia. We are told that it is one of the best oncology hospitals for children in the country. The physicians are also part of a nation wide consortium of oncology doctors that consult on various cases and share information to assure that children like Lydia receive the absolute best care with the latest advances in cancer treatment.

Aside from physical treatment, an equally important area is the daily warmth, love, and spiritual attention that Lydia receives from her mother - Angela. This is one amazing woman and caregiver. As you know, Angela is a mother of five. She is still nursing Lydia and is required to stay with her at the hospital 24-7 for the next four to six months. During this time, Angela spends much of her day in a small hospital room holding Lydia, changing diapers, listening to doctors, and watching her young infant being poked with needles and tested throughout the day. She does not have full nights of sleep as Lydia is checked every two hours and needs to be "loved" in order to get back asleep. All throughout this time, Angela is doing an amazing job of maintaining a connection to her other four children. Please continue to pray for this wonderful caregiver that she has the strength and peace to continue this journey.

Lydia has not smiled since March 22 when she began feeling sick. This is quite unusual as Lydia has a very happy disposition. However, over the last two days it does seem that Lydia is perking up a bit. In fact, this morning Angela caught a glimpse of that smile that so well represents our lovely Lydia. She is almost halfway through her first 10-day round of chemo, then its three weeks of recovery until the next round is administered. Whatever difficulties the future holds, we can be assured that Lydia has the best "caregiver" at her side.

Reaching Out

We have been overwhelmed by the support and love of our church and neighborhood community. As you see from our coordinators listed under Ways to Help on the right side of this blog, we have a tremendous network of friends who have really stepped up to assist.

We have "reached out" just like little Lydia and wonderful people have answered the call. THANK YOU!

There was very positive news today for Lydia. She has no cancer in the spinal fluid system. This makes treatment much easier as the doctors can now concentrate on Lydia's circulatory system and the cancer cells in her blood. Lydia has now received three chemo treatments through IV with no adverse reaction to the medicine. That's definitely worth a prayer of praise.

Although she is still feeling bad, doctors have assured us that she will smile again once the chemo begins its work :)

We anticipate updating this blog 1-2 per week so please follow along and continue to pray. Many have asked to help. Should you desire to help please contact one of the coordinators on the side of this blog who are greatly assisting us on our road to remission.

Picture Perfect

Lydia March 2012

adorable

Lydia today in the hospital. Sweet Baby.

Update

Paul and Angela met with the oncology team this evening. Lydia definitely has leukemia and it is the AML variety which is very aggressive. That is not to say that it is terminal or in any way not treatable. The doctors are very encouraged that they will be able to treat Lydia into remission. The goal is to start chemo tomorrow for 10 days followed by a three week recovery all in the hospital. Lydia can then go home for one week. She then goes back to the hospital for one month of the same 10 day chemo and three week recovery period. At the end of the two month cycle, the determination will be made whether she is in remission. If so, Lydia will be given another round of chemo, she will go home, and life can go on normally. If no remission, the next step would be a bone marrow transplant. Lydia is at one of the best hospitals for this treatment. The doctors have shared numerous cases with Paul and Angela of little infants surviving beyond remission into complete cure - that is Hope through prayer.

Let's Pray

Friends,

Sweet, little Lydia has been diagnosed with Leukemia. On Friday, March 30, Angela and Paul got this tragic news, their 7 month old daughter has Leukemia. This will be a battle, and what we can do as their friends and family is pray; fight for their daughter to be healed.

The last week and a half Lydia had not been acting normal (crying, clearly uncomfortable, and in the last few days not eating), Angela had taken her in a few times to see the pediatrician. In the end they were sent to Children's Hospital with a very serious urging from the Pediatrician that this is serious and they need to diagnose it as soon as possible. They gave the diagnosis, and now are working back around to figure out what type of Leukemia it is and what path of treatment they will follow. Otherwise, they are doing their best to keep Lydia comfortable.

Lydia is at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Today is a big day because they will be doing a number of procedures so that they can pinpoint the type of cancer as well as the stage. The team of doctors will then put together a treatment plan.

Since Lydia has been in the hospital they have been able to do a blood transfusion and add platelets. When Lydia was first admitted she seemed to be in so much pain that she was put on morphine and has not been very responsive. The transfusion and liquids via IV have been very helpful; Angela said yesterday that Lydia was able to nurse twice, this is a great step!

Please Pray!

• Lydia's full recovery
  
• for clarity from the procedures today
• that the procedures will in no way have negative impacts on Lydia's health
• Strength and Endurance for Angela and Paul.
• understanding for Lydia's siblings (Kathrine, Caleb, Ben, and Daniel)

Praise:

• That Lydia has been able to start nursing again
• that the pain seems to be reduced after the transfusion
• that family have been available to help

We will try to keep this updated as information comes from the family so please check in on the blog. You can also sign up to receive e-mails each time something is posted on the blog (that is on the sidebar at the top.) Also, as opportunities to help arise that will be added to the sidebar. There will be many opportunities to help by bringing food and taking care of the older children, this blog will alert you when that happens.

Thank you for your prayers.