Surgery successful

Hunter endured an approximate 3 hour surgery this morning in Los Angeles. Surgeons deemed the surgery successful. They excised an elliptical grapefruit sized area, removing some muscle down to the bone. All margins were cleared of any cancer.Luckily NO bone had to be removed. Skin was taken from the thigh area by the plastic surgeon to cover some of the surgery site. Hunter did well, but may have to be hospitalized a week to avoid movement to the area so that the skin graft will heal properly. The oncologist will wait for the go ahead from the surgeon as to when the next phase of chemo will begin. Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers.

Surgery..

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday the 30th of December. It has been extremely busy with many different appointments and decisions. The surgery is much more detailed than we had originally thought. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and the surgery is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.. Please keep Hunter and all those involved in his surgery in your prayers.

All Of Our Love,
The Herrick Family

RECENT Updates...

Things have been a little crazy around the Herrick household the last couple of days. It has been filled with doctors appointments, platelet, and blood transfusions. We received a call from Hunters doctor on Sunday evening saying that they didn't believe that the "ICE" chemo was working. They received the recent CT scan and compared it to the old one in October and felt that the tumor has gotten slightly larger instead of shrinking like they were hoping to see. We then had an appointment with the surgeon on Monday and we were told that the surgery was going to be postponed for now. They were going to try to use a different chemo to shrink the tumor and then do the surgery after that. Hunter then had a platelet transfusion. Tuesday we went for our second opinion at City Of Hope, with Dr. Sato. She suggested that we continue with the surgery and had some other suggestions that were very helpful. She's one a few doctors that specializes in Ewings Sarcoma, so it was extremely wonderful to talk to her. After the second opinion Hunter had a blood transfusion scheduled at his doctors office so we were able to talk to his doctor about everything. Dr. Sato was also able to talk to Hunter's doctor and they were able to work out a plan. They decided to try to re-schedule Hunter's surgery and remove the tumor. When the tumor is removed they will look at it and go from there. Hunter had an MRI today, and possibly a blood transfusion tomorrow. We received a call today and surgery is re-scheduled for the 30th of December. We are not sure of the details yet but will learn more as the days progress. It seems as each day, and at times each hour brings us something new. We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we get the details. THANK YOU for all of your continued LOVE, SUPPORT and PRAYERS... May your Christmas holiday be filled with lots of love and memories that will last you a lifetime.

Love to ALL,

The Herrick Family

McDonalds Fundraiser

A BIG THANK YOU for all of your CONTINUED support!!

I wish that I/WE had the magic words that could truly express how much we appreciate all the support that we are getting from everyone. When I first was leaving for McDonalds I was a little scared on how it was going to go, how "I" would handle it? When I got there it was amazing to me how quickly I felt the "true" love and feelings from so many. Some from those that we see all the time, some from those that we haven't seen in a long time and some from whom we have never met before. Life seems to pass us all so quickly as we go about our daily routines, and people come and go in each and everyone of those days. When we are in that moment, in that day, we don't realize that those are people that will touch our lives forever... We are so extremely blessed to have so many "days" with so many amazing people. THANK YOU....

All of our LoVe,

The Herrick Family...

A special THANK YOU to Lori Morrison, Kim Huettl, Debbie Neary, Sue Flood and Lisa Sharp for making all of this possible, and doing such an amazing job. We would also like to THANK McDonalds and their wonderful staff...

FUNDRAISER

Herrick Family Fundraiser....This TUESDAY on the 15th at the McDonalds on Valley View and Ball. Please come and support the Herrick Family from 4pm - 7pm. You can go through the drive-thru or walk up....Lisa Sharp will also be there selling "I Support Hunter" bracelets. We hope to see you there!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Home from SECOND Chemo Treatment

Hunter came home late Saturday night from his second Chemo treatment. During this treatment they tried a new anti-nausea medication (Ememd). Hunter seemed to do a lot better this time. They are not sure if he did better because of the new medication or because they had to reduce the strength of one of the Chemo's (Carboplatin) by 20% because it was causing damage to his kidneys. We are "hoping" to keep him extremely hydrated so that it will hopefully help heal the kidneys before his next Chemo treatment. Hunter did have a blood transfusion before he left the hospital and I'm sure that there will be more to follow this week, along with platelets.

The next scheduled appointment is to see the surgeon on the 21st of December. We are told that they are "planning" to hopefully do surgery on the 29th to remove the tumor and clear the margins. We will know more of their plans when we attend the meeting on the 21st.

ALL of our Love and Appreciation for YOUR Continued SUPPORT.....

The Herrick Family

Thanks for those who came to visit Hunter, it really does help pass the time!!!

STEM CELLS COLLECTED !

We got the call from City of Hope on Thursday to go down there and get tested for collection. Hunter was ready to start collecting Stem Cells, YEAH!! It was a long, long day and a bit painful for him at times but he made it through the day! After he collected his stem cells he had to go get a blood transfusion, and then Thursday was complete. Friday morning we needed to be back there at 8 a.m. to start more collections of the Stem Cells. Friday we were told that we have collected and exceeded the amount of Stem Cells that we needed so Hunter is now done with this process. He collected about 12 million cells... NO MORE 6 shots a day!!! Yeah!!! This was painful for him and he is thankful that is over. Hunter will have the weekend off and then into Chemo on Monday (Dec 7th) for a 6 day treatment. He will be at the Kaiser Permanente off of Lakeview, so if you have had your flu shot come by for a visit! Thank you for ALL of your continued support...

Love and Prayers,

The Herrick Family

The NEW Plan

Things have had to change a little due to the fact the Hunter was having a tough time recovering from his first Chemo. Since the first Chemo he has had 5 blood transfusions and 3 platelet transfusions. His body has had a tough time recovering after being hit with such a strong and powerful Chemo. They decided today that they are going to try to collect his stem cells soon instead of waiting till after the next Chemo. They want to make sure that they can get the stem cells to collect, and since Hunter had such a hard time coming back after the first Chemo they are a little worried how his body will react after the second time. Most importantly they don't want to loose the chance to get cells, so the shots have started today!! This means that Hunter has started taking 6 shots a day, as of today. He will have to collect and get his blood tested every two days to see where we are. It can take anywhere from 5 to 10 days to get to this point. Once we get to where they think that they can collect stem cells (a certain number in the blood counts) they will have us go to City Of Hope and start the process. Once we are there it will take anywhere from 2 to 7 days to collect the stem cells. We are PRAYING that they get more stem cells than needed, then they can harvest them until we need them in the future. After they collect the stem cells that they need we will continue a Chemotherapy treatment, followed by surgery when he is able. Please PRAY for strong stem cell collections, and an easier road travelled to get there....

ALL of our LOVE,

THE Herrick FAMILY

HAPPY Thanksgiving to ALL of our Friends and Family...

We are truly blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives and for that we are extremely THANKFUL for... This has been a week full of doctors appointments for Hunter. Between City of Hope, transfusions, and his regular appointments he has been there almost everyday. This Chemo treatment (ICE) is very strong on his body already, he has needed 2 blood transfusions and 2 platelet units. He will go in on Friday to get one more unit of blood (making it 3) and depending on his counts if he will need more platelets. His next appointment will be on Monday to see if he needs anymore of anything else. Hunter is scheduled to go back into Chemo next Tuesday (Dec. the 1st), but it will all depend if his counts are good. Please PRAY for good counts so that he can stay on schedule. LOVE and PRAYERS to ALL...may you find the "little" blessing in all the things that you do...

Love, The Herrick Family

City of Hope

Friday the 20th Hunter began running a fever around 101. His counts are down from the chemo treatment and was tired most of the weekend. Monday November 23rd, was a visit to the clinic where antibiotics were given. He lost ten pounds over the last two weeks but, his appetite is returning. Then a trip to City of Hope to meet Dr Rosenthal, Director of the Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation team. Discussion of what to expect from the treatment, outcome, side effects, dangers, percentages and hospitalization of at least 30 days or more in a negative pressure, germ free room... They will harvest the stem cell by giving medication that will boost his stem cell production and allow the stem cells to detach from the marrow and enter the blood stream. He will be hooked to a machine, much like the one they use to separate platelets from the blood, and the stem cells will be harvested and stored for the transplant of a later date. The hope is to get them in one session but, it may take more. Then it was back to Kaiser for a much needed blood and platelet transfusion, he went in looking gray and came out much pinker and ate a good dinner.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers,

The Herricks

Season Ticket Family Pizza Fundraiser...

Where do we begin our "THANK YOU's". We are so extremely blessed to live in such an amazing community! When we moved here almost 17 years ago, little did we know that Cypress would be our extended family. We would like to start off by THANKING Steve and Lisa Fosmire, and the owners of the Season Ticket Family Pizza. We would also like to THANK the STAFF for all of their hard work and SUPPORT! There are so many people to THANK besides this amazing community that we live in, we would like to THANK; the Landell Staff and Families, Lexington Jr. High Staff and Students, Cypress High ASB, Teachers and Coaches, and lets not forget all of our family and friends..... I would like to send a special ThANks to Lori Morrison, Kim Huettl and Debbie Neary for all of their hard work in organizing this event! They did an amazing job!!!

THANK you again to EVERYONE for all of your LOVE, SUPPORT and PRAYERS,
Love,
The Herrick Family

First Chemo Treatment

November 11th - November 16th
Hunter went in for his first round of his new treatment (known as ICE). It was a six day treatment that brought back a lot of memories for Hunter. There were some rocky times but we got through the first round and it's one that's off the calendar. I want to THANK all of those who came to visit him. It really helps when he gets visitors because it keeps him distracted which is a huge plus!!! THANK you for all the love, support and PRAYERS...

November 6, 2009 we had a plan of treatment meeting with the doctor. Hunter's treatment will be 9-12 months and it will be very aggressive. Some of the plan listed below may be adjusted slightly due to test results and other variables.

2 cycles of chemo (6 days in the hospital, Every 21 days beginning with first day of last Chemo)
Stem cell harvest ( 1-7 days at City of Hope)
Surgery to remove the tumor and clear the margins
4 cycles of chemo (as above)
Stem cell bone marrow transplant (at City of Hope 4-6 week hospital stay in a germ free room)
Radiation - Monday through Friday for 6 weeks possible stay in housing by Sunset facility in LA

The doctor is in contact with other doctors nationwide to get the best possible treatment for Hunter. Jeanna and Joe will seek a second opinion for reassurance.

The doctor did request that all persons in contact with Hunter or the Herrick Home get a flu shot. Home schooling will be done because Hunter's blood counts will go very low making him susceptible to infections.