Restful Weekend

Hi All!

I thought I would post today and give Kim a break. (Kim, thank you, I know we all appreciate you.)  I just want to start by saying thank you to everyone.  Your prayers and support are being felt and God is moving.  He is such a wonderful, awesome, powerful God and we know he is taking care of our family.

Miracles for Friday!

Yesterday morning my dear friend Marcia, checked her email and lo and behold, there was an answer to prayer.  One of the big priorities for the house here still, was to find a washer and dryer.  There is a family here who has been having their son (I think he is 7 or 8) treated at St. Jude for a brain tumor and leukemia.  After three years of treatment, he is finally in remission.  This family had bought a washer and dryer thinking they were going to move but ended up staying put and no longer needed them.  They were just going to store them but when they heard about our need and story, the family said that God had been so good to them over the course of the last 3 years and that they had been waiting for an opportunity to pay it forward.  So they gave us the set.  Praise God! 

We had an easier day at the hospital.  Only one appointment and it was to meet with the people who will be putting in Tyler's central line on Tuesday.  It's like a permanent IV, but it is inserted in the chest into a vein that runs directly to the heart.  It will stay in, until Tyler's treatment is over.  The good thing about it is, once it is in, no more needles.  Bad thing, no swimming.

We get to relax and chill until Tuesday.  We are thrilled to not have to be at the hospital for the next three days and are looking forward to catching up with everyone.  The plan is for Tyler to have surgery at 12pm on Tuesday to put the central line in.  Wednesday, Tyler will start chemo.

Charles has rushed home for three days to pack up some more stuff and try and take care of some things at work and will be back in Memphis on Tuesday.  

We continue to rest in God's loving embrace.  We know that God is writing a powerful story with Tyler's life and we will do everything we can to use it for God's glory.  Thank you all for your support.

Charles and Sarah

Two For One

Thursday, May 29, 2008.

Sorry there was no blog yesterday-computer problems!!!!

It has been 2 very busy days for Tyler, Sarah and Charles.  Wednesday started by arriving early to the hospital-9:00 am.  Tyler visited many areas of the hospital; pharmacy, x-rays, audiology, physical therapy, social services ,etc., etc.  They learned that since they have a home in Memphis  the hospital will not be paying for any travel or food expenses as they had so hoped.  Sarah shared how important it is to remain a family unit but Charles will need to drive/fly back and forth to Louisville to work. He will stay in their home as long as they can but may need to give up that home and look for other housing. She expressed that this will be a financial burden but they have peace that God  will provide.  They want to visit Louisville as often as they can but it will depend on Tyler's tolerance of his treatment.   They are still waiting for Kosair to send final reports and tissue sample results.  If they do not receive them soon, Tyler may need to have another bone biopsy (PRAY).  Monday will begin Tyler's 1st week of treatment and they label this as week 0.  He will be administered chemo for 1 to 3 days depending on how well his body accepts/tolerates the drug.  It is a work of Science, the chemo attacks fast growing cells (Cancer) and kills them.  As long as the drug is in the blood it attacks the cells however it also attacks other fast growing cells such as hair (which is why it falls out) and the esophagus (which is why patients get nauseous).  The drug needs to be processed just the right way to work effectively and without too many side effects (PRAY).  The doctor will fine tune the dosage as they constantly run tests to check Tyler's vital signs, liver, kidneys, heart, etc. Either Sarah, Charles, Glen or Marcia will always be with Tyler as he will need to remain in the hospital for these treatments. A positive:  THE TEEN ROOM; a place where 13-18 year old patients can go and play video games, use a MAC, play board games, do arts and crafts or just hang out with other teens going through the same thing.  No parents allowed! Tyler will have chemo every 21 days until week 10 (approximately 3 rounds) and then he will have "Limb Sparing Surgery".  The doctor will share details later about this surgery but a portion of his tibia will be removed and another bone will be inserted. He will be casted for 3 months and have physical therapy every day.  This day ended in the late afternoon, and they were exhausted both mentally and physically.  

Thursday:  Testing, testing and more testing for Tyler. He had a echocardiogram, EKG, physical therapy, testing on his kidneys and they drew blood 3 times. I'm sorry Tyler I hate needles too!!!!!!! This afternoon, Charles traveled with friends Marcia and Richard to pick up the furniture for their home.  What a nice gift from friends but they will still need lots of "stuff".  Their address is:  10704 Quiet Cove Collierville, TN  38017  Write or send them a card, they would love to hear from you.  Tomorrow (Friday), will be less hectic but a difficult decision will need to be made by Tyler.  He will receive a central line or port for his chemo treatments.  There are 2 types and Tyler will make the decision. (PRAY)  The family plans a weekend of relaxation with NO hospital visits. Thank you John McCallon (Tyler's youth minister) for calling and sharing Isaiah 55.  I encourage everyone to look this verse up. When we listen, seek and call on God He will provide free nourishment that will feed our soul.  The Hanson's have been listening, seeking and especially calling on God during this difficult time.  GOD is providing!  Thank you family and friends!  Stay Close!   Kim

Hi everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

today i went to the hospital and i had a temporary iv put in and i had some labs to see how my kidneys were filtering out stuff. i met with my rly rly boring social worker (haha). I had an EKG and an echocardiogram done on me meaning that they did an ultrasound on my heart and i got to see it was awesome. But anyway i hear everyone is excited that there is 1/2 days left of school and i would be to. I also heard that Mrs. McFarren is moving up to 8th grade!!!!!!! AWESOME!!!! I hope that i will see some of you and get to read and see all of the letters you guys have sent or will send. Thanks for support and prayer again.

----- TYLER

News from Tyler

Hey guys wats up!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks 4 all of the support and all of the prayer. I love reading all of the blogs u guys post up. I miss seeing u all and try to keep in touch with. I hope that i will get 2 see some of u this summer. All of my hospital stuff is going great. Its painful at times but im holding up with the prayer. Conner remember no taking off ur pants newhere i promise it will do u very good and u will go far in life without it. HAHA :) p.s. Keep me posted on lots of things that will happen and ill keep u guys posted too!!!!!!!

-TYLER

More From Memphis Day One

Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 8 pm:

Sarah informed us Dr Maurer, who is a "fellow" on special assignment, wants to be a specialist in pediatric oncology. He is one of six selected in this field by St. Jude Hospital. He has a wonderful bedside manner, and they like him very much.
Tyler's other doctor, Dr. Dow has developed a new treatment that Tyler may be the first patient to go through the clinical trial, as long as the medicine is available by next week. God continues to bless prayers through timing, as this would have not been available 2 weeks ago.
There are 1200 cases of osteocarcoma each year, occuring in mainly boys, ages 10-25.
St. Judes is a phenomenal hospital, with unbelievabe resources. Tyler is now considered a St. Jude Kid, and will be taken care of for life.
Tomorrow will be a long day with meetings in Pharmacy, Audiology, Nutrition, just to name a few. Tyler has lost 7 lbs since last Friday, and it is important for him to gain that weight back and more.
After much prayer about finances and living decisions, God once again answered (and in quick fashion) to meet their needs. Charles and Sarah were considering occupying their Memphis home, but they had no furniture. They had just been discussing taking money out of savings to pay for this need. The Ross family's cousins, who are builders, called the Hansons to inform them they were moving new furniture from a model home to their home immediately.
Answered prayer again!
Sarah would love to talk to eveyone, but she is very busy right now. She wants all of you to know your love and prayers are being felt by the Hanson Family every hour of every day.
More good news tomorrow!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

11:00 A.M:  Sarah called today to tell me about their exciting trip to Memphis.  They ran into very bad weather.  They had to pull off the road a couple of times to avoid the high winds and rain.  They safely arrived around 9:00 p.m.  They are staying at their good friend's, the Ross's home for now.  They got a good night sleep which is what they needed for a long day today.

5:00 p.m:  It has been a long day!  Tyler has been shuffled from triage, to the D Clinic (Clinic for solid tumors) and other areas of the hospital.  The toughest part was giving blood.  Thankfully the hospital will be able to use the test results from Kosair so Tyler won't have to go repeat those tests again.  They are still waiting on the official pathology results.  Treatment will start as soon as those results are in.  Treatment will be chemotherapy.  They are very pleased with Tyler's doctors:  Dr. Scott Mauer and Dr. Daw (A sarcoma specialist). A game plan will be put into play very soon.  Thank you to Glen, Marcia's mother and Marcia's niece for taking good care of Elijah and Christian so that Sarah and Charles can take care of Tyler.  We miss you Tyler!!!! Today at school Mrs. Thomas prayed an awesome prayer for your recovery.  She encouraged your friends to pray and keep in touch (That won't be hard).  Caleb Hicks and his mother made special cards with the scripture Thessalonians 5: 23-24 printed as a directed prayer.  They will be passed out to all of the 7th graders to remember to pray constantly for Tyler.  Keep your faith strong and keep your head looking to the sky.  GOD, the great physician is holding you close.  Our love to the Hanson family!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Today, Tyler and his family set off for Memphis around 1:00. Sarah(his mom) and Tyler rode together in one car, while Charles(his dad) drove Glen(his grandpa), Elijah(1st grade brother), Christian(2, soon to be 3 year old brother), and Molly(their dog). After their 6 hour drive, they will be staying with their close friends. Tomorrow they will be meeting with doctors at St. Jude's hospital to determine Tyler's treatment plan. The Hansons thank everyone who visited Tyler and sent him notes, gifts, and sweets. They feel truly blessed to have such great support.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Welcome friends and family to Tyler's blog.  We thank you for your support but mostly your prayers.  They are greatly appreciated and needed.  Tyler is enjoying company today from Conner, Clay and Austin.  They have been cheering him up with a game of scrabble and popcorn.  Tyler is feeling better after a tough day yesterday.  He had a small portion of his bone removed in his right tibia. The biopsy revealed that he has a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. The family will be traveling to Memphis on Monday to begin treatment at St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The family's desire was to have Tyler treated at this world renown hospital which is difficult to get into to. They had no immediate openings to treat Tyler's type of cancer unless you lived within a 200 mile radius of the hospital.   The Hanson's moved to Louisville in August 2006, leaving a home to sell in Memphis.  Today they learned that Tyler will be immediately accepted as a patient because their home hasn't sold.  Isn't God good that he didn't send anyone to buy that home?  It has been on the market for 2 years!!!!!!WOW!  Tyler needs your prayers for a successful treatment to cure this cancer.  The tests taken at Kosair showed that the cancer has not spread.  Praise GOD! We are anxiously waiting for the news some day soon that Tyler is completely healed! Tyler needs to hear from his friends.  Please send Tyler encouraging notes along with cards.  We will have a Memphis address soon.  This week you can drop off cards to Kim Novicki in the middle school office at CAL.  If you would like to talk, call Kim at home instead of Sarah.