SHE'S HOME!!!!!

Nana and Papa were excited to greet Andrea!

We are thrilled to have Andrea back at home with us. What a joy it was to give her a HUG!! We have closed a chapter in Andrea's life and in her words we "just wants things to be normal!" And very soon they will be. The next 10 days are a period of adjustment as Andrea is not able to attend school yet. As precautionary measures we are told that we should not spend long periods of time in close contact with her. During these next two weeks at home we will gradually get Andrea back on track with school and start exercising (she has not been able to exercise for at least 3 months). She is really looking forward to getting back to swimming!

Smiles all around!! (nice nose hairs)

Andrea's name means 'courageous' and boy was she a brave warrior these past two weeks. We are so proud of her.

Andrea and her good friend Katka

Katka's results were good as well. She was equally as anxious to get the positive news and to be discharged. It was good to meet her husband Nicholas.

More Than Ready!!

We had our LAST visit with Andrea today. We are happy to say that our next trip to the hospital will be to bring her home! She is doing well...but more than ready to come home. It has been a long two weeks for all of us (including Nana, Papa and Uncle Steve-who returns here on the 31st) and we can hardly wait to celebrate her return.

Andrea has completely abandoned the idea of even trying the hospital food...she has not starved however. Connie and Nana have provided excellent meals for her; including Connie's famous Friday Night Pizza - which Andrea and Katka enjoyed while watching a movie, and Papa's incredible thin pancakes which are legendary world-wide.

We plan to provide one or two more updates in the next few days as we learn more from the doctors and experience life with Andy back at home. Thanks for your continued prayers and words of encouragement.

GOOD NEWS!!

We received good news from the doctor this morning. Andrea's full body scan indicates that the cancer has not spread anywhere else in her body. There is no evidence of cancer cells in her bones or lungs and no reoccurring tumors. All that remains is the residual thyroid tissue that we hope the radioactive will destroy. An ultrasound showed that Andrea has two lymph nodes on the right side of her neck that appear to be inflamed (they did not show up on her scan as abnormal). This may or may not be a cause for concern. In a patient who has never had cancer this would not be something they would worry about, but because of her history this will be something the doctors will want to keep an eye on. If it is cancerous we hope the iodine will be effective on this area as well.

Andrea will be discharged from the hospital on Monday morning -- a day we are ALL looking forward to!!

In 3 months time Andrea will have blood tests and an ultrasound to make sure there are no abnormalities. The doctors will not be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the radioactive iodine treatment for another 6 months. At that time Andrea will receive a diagnostic dose of RDI (with a 3-5 day hospital stay) and they will perform another scan. The results of the scan will show us whether the thyroid tissue has been eliminated and/or if there is any sign of re-occurrence.

We are so encouraged with the news we received today and thank God for many answered prayers.

Part of God's Family

We know that literally hundreds of people are thinking about Andrea daily and many of you have been praying for her healing and comfort while she is in the hospital. We are completely overwhelmed by the support we have received.

Each of the time slots on the Prayer calendar was filled (many by more than 1 person). That’s 168 hours of continuous prayer!!! We have also heard from many people who were not on the prayer calendar that they have been praying for Andrea daily - people from 5 continents (North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa), and 20 countries; Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario), the United States (Oregon, California, South Dakota, Texas, Hawaii, Michigan, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio), Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Uganda, Argentina. Thank you for praying!

When we decided to do this 24/7 prayer calendar we prayed that this would be a time of blessing for those who prayed and God would touch many lives. It has been encouraging to hear how God has spoken to many of you.

We anticipate that Andrea will come home on Monday. We look forward to that reunion!!! We are meeting with her doctor tomorrow morning. We have been told that he will give us the results of Andrea’s full body scan and discuss her follow-up treatment plan. We usually leave many of our meetings with more questions than we went in with. Hopefully after Friday we will have a better understanding of what her treatment plan will be.

DAY 7 of 24/7

It has been 10 days since Andrea was admitted into FN Motol Hospital for her tests and treatments. And the 7th and last day of the 24/7 prayer calendar that many of you have been a part of. We know that many of you, who didn't sign up for an official time slot, have been praying as well and our family has been thoroughly blessed by your faithfulness.
We continue to be encouraged by Andrea's progress. Connie saw her at lunch time today and Andrea had had another good sleep and continues to gain strength. She is eating well and has done her best to drink at least 2 liters of water/day. Katka is feeling quite a bit better as well and the two of them continue to be a good support for one another.
The days are feeling quite long for her (and us) as we anticipate a home reunion on Monday (or earlier in the weekend if her levels of radiation are safe).
Even though the 24/7 will be over at midnight tonight - Prague time - we take comfort in knowing that family and friends around the world will continue to pray for Andrea's recovery and complete healing. I will continue to update the blog to keep you all posted. We value your friendship!!!

Encouraging Day!

4.00pm - Prague time. Andrea continues to feel better and is getting her appetite back. She appears to be regaining her strength as she is able to eat more of the food we bring her (the hospital food just isn't happening for her right now). Andrea is still quite tired and has spent a lot of time listening to audio books or music. She was hoping to do some school work today but didn't have the energy.
Andrea has been in good spirits and has had a positive attitude. She has complained that the blinds in her room don't fully close and there is a bright light outside the window.
Connie visited with her earlier this afternoon and I will bring some supper to her and have a chance to visit soon. We cherish this time and can hardly wait to have our family back together again!

Wonder if Andrea's Hippo is in that truck?

We continue to pray and trust God for her complete healing. The radioactive iodine will continue to work in her body for up to 6 months. Our prayer is that all thyroid and cancer cells will be destroyed and that the cancer does not come back in any form.

1/2 WAY THERE!!

4.15pm - Prague Time. Wow! What a great visit! Connie and I were able to see Andrea for 20 minutes this afternoon. As you can see from the photos Andrea looks great and we had some good laughs. Connie commented to Andrea that this was the best part of her day. Andrea responded by saying it was "the best part of my (her) week!!" She has felt less nauseous today and enjoyed the chicken ceasar wrap and fresh scones we brought her. We will be able to see her again tomorrow for 20 minutes. It was such and encouraging visit. Andrea did end up having her whole-body scan today so we will see if we can find out the results sooner than our scheduled meeting (Friday at 8.00am). Andrea wanted us to pass on that she is very thankful for all the prayers, cards, gifts and emails.

A visit from a distance. So hard not to hug our girl!!!

I wrote the following this morning at 11.45am - Prague Time. We just got back from the hospital where we met with the doctor in charge of Andrea's treatment. We had understood that Andrea was to have a full body scan this morning and that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the results of this important test. She did not have the full body scan yet - we believe it is now scheduled for Thursday. We will meet with the doctor again on Friday morning to discuss the results of this test. This test will give the doctors a much clearer picture (because of the high dose of radioactive iodine compared to her first body scan) of whether the cancer has spread or not. The meeting this morning wasn't a total waste of time as we had some of our questions answered. Andrea is already on thyroid hormone replacement medication and is taking a vitamin supplement to protect her blood from the radioactivity. This morning Andrea was allowed to shower (her first since Wednesday night). She was very happy about that :) She also removed all the linens from her bed and had to include her PJ's and the stuffed Hippo we gave her for the 5 days of isolation. The hippo was so radioactive they said there was no way she could keep it (must have received lots of hugs)!! Andrea and Katka were moved to a different room as well. Andrea is pleased as it is bigger and brighter. They are also permitted to wander the halls and access their own food from a fridge in a common area. We brought her some food and were pleasantly surprised when the nurse brought her to see us! We had a 5 minute visit with her. She looked really good and her spirits were up this morning. Still experiencing nausea but was able to eat some breakfast. The hospital clothes were so big on her, with the crotch of her pants at her knees. She looked like a true skater! Connie and I will get to see for about 15 minutes this afternoon. We are looking forward to seeing her again.

Security is tight in the radioactive zone

Frustration Sets In!

It is now 4.30pm -Prague Time. We just got off the phone with Andrea. Since the morning she has started to feel a bit better. She was pleased that she was able to eat some of mom's apple sauce and Nana's home-baked buns. Her spirits were up, compared to this am, but she is still tired - to be expected I guess. Andrea spent over an hour reading the emails that many of you sent to her over the past day or two. She has been really encouraged by the emails and knowing that so many are praying.
Tomorrow morning Andrea and Katka will move to different room in another part of the ward. They will be able to walk the halls and the change of scenery will be a welcome sight. Andrea will also have a full body scan in the morning. Connie and I will meet to learn the results of that scan at 10.00am tomorrow. And the best news of all...Connie and I can visit with her for about 15 minutes in the afternoon (it will be hard not to hug her but to see her will GREAT!).

I wrote the following update at 10:00am Prague time
We talked with Andrea this morning. She slept okay but was up too late and still feels quite tired. Her stomach continues to feel nauseated and she is getting quite frustrated with that. She feels hungry, but when she goes to eat, she doesn't feel like eating.

A better night and day

It is 6.00pm here in Prague and I just got off the phone with Andy. She is pleased that we dropped off some food for her but still does not have much of an appetite. She is feeling much better than yesterday and indicated that she was at about 7.5 out of 10. Katka has not felt that well this afternoon and both are quite tired. Andrea has been working through a brain-teaser book and finished reading her first book there. She is also enjoying audio books and believe it or not she has only watched one DVD in the past two days!! Andrea was pleased to be able to access her emails today andygocrazy@hotmail.com
THANK YOU for your prayers and best wishes!!

Below is a short note I wrote at 10.30 - Prague time - this morning.

Andrea had a much better sleep last night. She is not feeling 100% but was able to eat a small amount of breakfast and drink milk and water. She is also able to connect to the internet and will be checking her emails (I don't think she will have the energy to respond at this point). Thanks to those of you who have sent words of encouragement.
Katka feels about the same as Andrea...better than yesterday but not 100%.

By the way...with all the trips to the hospital we have discovered that Czechs have the most polite elevator etiquette. You never enter an elevator without saying "dobrý den" (good day), nor leave an elevator without saying "na shledanou" (good bye). Interesting.

Exhaustion

Andrea had a rough night and morning. She experienced nausea quite bad and was very exhausted. She sounded pretty down this morning but the nurse gave her an injection to help with the nausea and she slept and rested most of the day and went to bed by 8.00pm. Connie and Nana made some chicken noodle soup for Andrea and delivered it through the nurses at the ward. She enjoyed that compared to what the hospital served her and was able to keep it down.
The hospital food is not that good and often bizarre (for example: 3 jelly donuts for dinner). So we are delivering home cooked meals and fresh salads and fruit when ever we can.
We are praying that the nausea will pass and that she will be able to sleep well.

We have printed out the emails that have been sent to her and have delivered them to her. She has been encouraged and has really enjoyed reading them. Thank you! She also enjoyed listening to recorded greetings and well-wishes from many of her classmates and other kids at school...thank you Mr Maddocks and friends!

It is so hard to not be there to help her. We are stripped of all possibilities of helping her physically, and are left to pray. So we will pray.

First Day of 24/7 Prayer!

We just got home from the hospital and we had positive news. Andrea had a small drink on Tuesday (very low dose of radioactive iodine which is used to tag or light up where any thyroid/cancer cells could be) and yesterday they took a preliminary scan from her waist up to her head. This was to give them an idea of how strong the dosage should be for today--the 'big drink', they call it. The doc was very pleased with the scan and her blood levels. The scan shows that there is a small amount of thyroid tissue(may or may not be cancerous) in her neck still as well as two lymph nodes in her neck that they are not sure whether they have cancer or not. From these first tests, it looks like there is no cancer in her lungs. Praise God for that! They were originally talking about giving her a dosage of radiation that was 100-150 mCi, but after these results, they decided to give her a dosage of 80 mCi --so that is good. Her iodine levels were very low, which is what we have been working towards with this diet. Doc said that will be very good for her as then the radioactive drink will be absorbed better by the thyroid cells.

We were able to visit with Andrea this morning for about 30 minutes. Her roommate, Katka, came for a few minutes to translate something for the nurses. We had a brief visit with her. She said that Andrea is such a strong and courageous girl. She is just amazed at Andrea and how calm she is about the whole thing. I think they are enjoying each others company. We had a chance to tell Katka about the prayer calendar and that we have asked people to pray for her as well.

We were not able to get the internet connected for her, so that was a bit of a disappointment, but she is okay with that. We will print off her emails and bring them to her as they come in. She was quite tired this morning as she stayed up a bit late last night--hopefully she will get some extra rest today.

She should already have her 'big drink' by now--they were going to give it to her by 11am. The small drink gave her a bit of a stomach ache and so we are praying that this dosage will not cause her to be nauseous.

October 17th 2007

Andrea had a busy day today. She had more tests and spent time trying, along with Katka her roommate, to get connected to the dial up internet...no luck yet. She has got to know Katka quite well and is teaching her several card games.

She had a body scan today. They strapped her to a narrow bed and required her to remain still for 20 minutes. She had a nasty itch on the back of her head but her arms were strapped down...nice feeling. Connie and I will meet with the doctors tomorrow to discuss the results of the scan. This scan and the other tests she has had will determine the amount of radioactive iodine she will take on Thursday morning.

Andrea appreciated the text messages she received today. Thanks for taking the time to do that. We are excited to learn what God is going to do with this 24/7 prayer time which starts tonight at midnight! Thank you for your prayers.

DAY 2

Good evening.

We are at the end of day 2 with only 12 more days to go. We want to update all of you on how these past couple days have gone. These couple days have been filled with blessings as well as some tough moments. It has been very emotional for us to experience this with Andrea. The unknowns and language barrier have caused anxiety.

Blessings:

• Andrea has a roommate who speaks English and Czech fluently. Her name is Katka. She is in her 30’s, has been very kind to Andrea and has helped us with translation. She and Andrea have been playing cards and keeping each other company. Andrea said tonight, “I am so thankful that Katka is with me”.

• We have been able to talk with Andrea on her cell phone throughout the day.

• She has been in good spirits and, thanks to many friends around the world, she has lots of activities to keep her busy during her stay.

• Connie’s parents and brother are here helping us out and being a great support.

• That so many have been praying for Andrea and our family. This has been so encouraging for all of us. Our prayer calendar is almost filled up!

Prayer Requests:

• We have not been allowed in Andrea’s room these three days—this was unexpected and has been difficult for Andrea. Today each of us (Al and Connie) were only able to spend 20 minutes each with her in a waiting room area and could not have any physical contact with her because she was given a small dose of radioactive iodine for one of the tests.

• We have her set up with the computer and web cam, but unfortunately they have not been able to set up the internet access for her. If you feel like dropping her a text message, she has a mobile phone with her. Please email us for her number if you want to contact her.
• That the cancer will not have spread to other parts of her body. The tests and treatment will provide us with that information.

• Katka is also going through the same treatment for thyroid cancer and we want to pray that they will be a good support to each other and for healing for Katka as well.

If you are interested in still picking a designated hour of prayer we still have some times that are open.

Prague time: (remember we are 9 hours ahead of BC time)

Thur 18^th: 5am , 9am

Fri. 19^th: 1am, 2am 7pm 10pm

Sat. 20^th: 1am, 2am, 3am

Sun. 21^st: 1am, 2am, 3am, 5am

Mon. 22^nd: 1am 2am, 3am, 5am, 6am

Tues. 23^rd: 1am, 2am, 3am , 5am

Wed. 24^th: 12am, 1am, 2am, 3am, 10pm,

For the next few days we will be updating our blog for those who are interested in reading a more regular update. www.alandconnies.blogspot.com

7 DAYS OF PRAYER for Andrea

7 DAYS OF PRAYER

We have been encouraged by some friends to have a prayer time for Andrea while she is going through her treatment in the hospital. We thought it would be nice for her to know that someone is praying for her each hour of the day while she is in isolation. We have divided the days into one-hour time slots. Please let us know if you would like to join us and take one of the hours on any of the days from the 18^th to the 24^th. If you would like to email her during that hour or during her stay please use andygocrazy@hotmail.com She will have access to a computer and will be checking her emails regularly.

Just let us know by email a day and time (Prague time) you would like to pray. We will organize the times on a web-based calendar and be updating the remaining times available. It is not necessary but if you want to see the times on the calendar click on " Andy's Prayer Calendar" (we will not post names on the calendar but will keep the names private). When someone is praying at a specific hour the time on the calendar will say "no subject".

Andrea will be in the hospital from Monday 15 October until Monday the 29^th. She will be on her own from Thursday the 18^th until Tuesday the 22^nd. We will then have 10-15min visits with her until her radioactive levels are low enough.

We have decided to set up a one week schedule for the time that will be most difficult for her. It will be from Thursday, 18th October 12.00am – Wednesday, 24^th October 11.59pm – Prague time.

Here is a timetable to show you the time difference between Prague and Vancouver.

Prague Time For Day 1	Vancouver Time for Day 1
12am-1am Thursday	3-4pm Wednesday the 17th*
1-2am	4-5pm*
2-3am	5-6pm*
3-4am	6-7pm*
4-5am	7-8pm*
5-6am	8-9pm*
6-7am	9-10pm*
7-8am***	10-11pm
8-9am***	11pm-12am
9-10am***	12am-1am Thursday
10-11am***	1-2am
11am-12pm***	2-3am
12-1pm***	3-4am
1-2pm***	4-5am
2-3pm***	5-6am
3-4pm***	6-7am*
4-5pm***	7-8am*
5-6pm***	8-9am*
6-7pm***	9-10am*
7-8pm***	10-11am*
8-9pm***	11am-12pm*
9-10pm***	12-1pm*
10-11pm	1-2pm*
11pm-12am	2-3pm

* prayer time for friends in North America
***prayer time for friends in Europe

Thank you for helping us through this time.

Al and Connie, Andrea, Mark and Sara

Andrea's prayer calendar can also be accessed through this link: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=end1hj03o5jhmcjmvd8pemo538%40group.calendar.google.com