Happy BMT birhthday

We are now getting bone marrow. Alaina is setting records for recovery. She gets to be in the room with Arianna. They sang happy BMT birthday to her and is was a lot of fun. We now will celebrate 2 birthdays every year. Every one cheered for both Arianna and Alaina. Laney felt like quite a hero today. The bone marrow looks like a christmas red. I think that is from the oxygen in the blood. Eventually Ari will only have Alaina's blood in her. We are pretty exited because Laney has graet energy and a good imune system.

Liz's song

It's hard to say goodbye, when we barely said hello
It's the hardest thing I've ever done, I have to let you go
I hold you in my arms, and kiss your angel face
I'm holding on to memories to fill this empty space

I thought I had a lifetime to teach all you need to know
Instead you were the teacher, I needed time to grow
Watch over me from Heaven, my little angel up above
You'll be in my heart forever, there's no greater love

CHORUS:
I'll see you once again
Time will never end
You'll be mine and I'll be yours
Forever we will be
Together through eternity

Travis

Well I got to thinking the other day that my life is a bit challenging. But then I thought of all the blessings I have and the list seemed to never end. However my mind went back to the picture of Arianna vomiting and convulsing uncontrollably, with tubes in her mouth, nose and lines running into her chest, with numerous other lines on her head, arms and feet to sustain her life. The monitors indicating her heart rate at a dangerous amount her breathing so low that she is requiring a machine to breath for her, her head so swollen that it looks deformed her stomach literally 4x the size it should be due to the disease that has infected her organs and brain.

That is a sad picture for anyone to witness especially as her parent, you want so bad to somehow help her or even take her place. I am safe to say, that is not something a father wants to witnesses his 2 year old daughter going through. However, this morning I am grateful that this is my challenge. Today I read in the Book of Mormon Moroni Chapter 9 and thought how terrible that would be to be a father and have to witness your daughters lives to come to an end in such an evil and horrible way.

Then I thought about the challenge it is to face these investors on a daily bases, it really hurts to know that I have put these people in such a financial wreck, the fear that they have, the negative feelings they have towards me ect. But then I read verse 6 and Mormon was very inspiring in his words. Even as bad as the situation was for him he continued "diligently"

I really want to thank all of you for your prayers, fasting, love and support. It is comforting to know that I have friends and family that care and that are willing to help in anyway that they can. "its just a good feeling to know your not alone"

I really am grateful for my challenges it has given me an opportunity to exercise and increase my faith, hope and to be able to dig deep inside of me and become a better person, by being diligent and never giving up. I am learning that victory and success is not defined by the outcome, that it is defined by the honor and integrity that you fight for and stand for despite the outcome.

Faith

To me faith is knowing that if you are trying to live your life right God is taking care of you no matter what happens in your life.
So many times in church you hear people talk about how heavenly father protected and blessed them because they were living there life right and paying there tithing. This is so true and I have been protected and blessed so many times for trying to follow the spirit and do what's right. But you hardly ever hear the lord let my little baby get cancer and experience all her pain because we were trying to live our lives right. But I believe having faith means knowing that what ever he has happen in our life along our journey. If we are trying to choose the right it is all a blessing and for our good and benefit. He loves us and knows what we can and can't handle and I am so grateful to him not only for my blessings and protection but for my trials as well and knowing that he will always be there for me.

bone marrow is a go. Her hart looks better so even though they can't get her disease under control they are going to go ahead. So here we go. We all fasted that if she was meant to be done that her hart would not look better. So we are hopeful.
When we heard about being able to do bone marrow Alaina leaned down to Ari and excitedly said did hear that Ari you don't have to die.

According to Taylor. Alaina has fancy vain and we are lucky she is the match. When we got labs done the nurse said that alaina medieval vain is easy to access. It has less nerve cells so it doesn't hurt very bad and it has great flow.

When we saw the nurse that worked on Alaina she said "that is the nurse that poked me and took my blood, she so nice".

It is official Alaina is crazy. Just teasing. Here she is getting labs.

Family pictures

I love Hayley and no I'm not talking about myself. My sister is law Hayley is the bomb. She took our family pictures on my birthday. She us so talented. It takes a lot of work to make people 50 plus Pounds over weight look decent. We had so much fun doing them. Ari and Lilly did great they were both really happy. Ari was in a lot of pain, but she was such a sweet hart. Thanks again Hayley.

We are on our way up to salt lake. Tomorrow should give us a clue to what our future holds. We are fasting and our a little unsure on what to fast for. She says she is done and is in quite a bit of pain. If her hart has been fixed by the medicine then They want to go ahead with bone marrow. The other night I was imagining that she got the bone marrow and it fixed her disease. I have been going through all the pictures of her before the disease and in about 90% of them she is out right laughing. She was such a happy little girl. I took so many pictures of her. Danny said to me one time. You are going to make your other kids feel bad. You are a little crazy about this kid. If it is possible I think I am way more attached to her now. She is my world. I love her so much. Even now with all she is going through she is still pretty Happy.

Tangled

We took the kids to tangled and we all loved it. Arianna loved it she fell asleep half way through. She sleeps more then she's awake lately. but we all really enjoyed it. We also got all 3 girls little Rapunzel dolls.

A lot has happened this last few weeks. Ari was getting ready for bone marrow. Alaina was our match, she didn't care that it would hurt, she just was exited to spend some time with Mom. What a sweetie. Anyway this whole last week was spent doing tests. None of them went well. The LCH is in 50% of her bone marrow. Her ct scans showed that all her lesions were getting rapidly bigger and she had quite a few new ones. She has really big ones on her hips so pretty much now we can only lift her by her bum because she is in pain everywhere. To top it all off The chemotherapy has damaged her hart. With all that going on, they said that they can not do bone marrow with her hart damaged. And they don't do bone marrow with her disease so out of control. And there is nothing we can do to get it under control. So here is a hart med will check on her hart in a week. meanwhile we have been trying to get her make a wish together and say our goodbyes. So I called them today and they decided they are just going to try to fix her hart and do it anyway. So we will find out Monday. Poor thing won't be very happy. She is so fed up with hospitals.

Family fast and prayer

My brother Travis' daughter, Arianna, has been battling LCH for most of her life. She is only 2 years old. My mom sent this out tonight. Please remember their family in your prayers.

___________________

Just an update on Arianna, I just got off the phone with Travis and they are giving Ari another heavy dose of chemo for the next few days. Things are not looking good for her. He says she is in a lot of pain and can't even sit up, it seems you can't touch her anywhere without it being too painful to her. She still has Herpes in her mouth, all through her body and can't eat except through a feeding tube. They cannot do the bone marrow on her because she still has the viruses and the cancer is coming back, which means she is not in remission. It has to be in remission before they can do the bone marrow transplant.

We would like to start a family fast in her behalf tomorrow (Friday) at noon until Sat. at noon if at all possible for those that can. Actually even if some would like to start today or whenever it would work best for you. We are all on different schedules, and I know this is a short notice. We had hoped to do it Sat. for our regularly fast Sunday but feel we need to do it now. We would like the fast to be whatever Heavenly Father's will is and for Ari not to have to suffer anymore; or if she is to be with us to please help her to get better soon. We will faithfully accept His will.

Haley and Travis our prayers are with you and we are so grateful for the great examples you are to all of us. We love you and are with you.

Love,

Mom

DARN HERPES

When I was in Elementary School sometimes the kids would say "Don't touch her or him they have Herpes" I never really gave it much thought back then of what herpes was, all I know is that it would make the kids cry the ones that were getting the finger pointed at them being accused of having herpes. Everyone would say oooohhh, yucky and grouse!!! I always thought it was mean when kids would say that about the other kids and most of the time it got me into a fight with the mean kids. For those of you that know me that was a common event for me. Little did I know just how brutal herpes could be. Obviously with her lack of Immune system she has had a great challenge combating this virus it has continued to spread and become more violent. The herpes as you can see are very prominent on her lips but, that is just what the eye can see. Her entire mouth was covered with one big herpes cold sore. The herpes had become so infectious that it was covering her teeth, the gums of her mouth had swollen over her teeth and her teeth could not be seen. But, that was not it the herpes continued down her throat through her digestive tract all the way to her rectum and vaginal area. Obviously the pain was very high she stopped eating and even drinking. For a DI patient not to drink causes problems so the constant IV's and feeding tube was a must. When she would go to the bathroom #1 or #2 her body would shake because of the pain. In the beginning she would scream and cry. She would try to hide it from us that she had gone to the bathroom in her diaper because she did not want to have her diaper changed, having her diaper changed was another painful task because of the wiping. So we started spraying her off with the shower hose then allowed her to soak in her bath tub. She would sit in the bath tub for hours and hours. We would have to change the water multiple times to keep it warm for her. We ended up having to put socks on her hands because she would not stop picking at them. The pictures of her on the left in the bath tub was not when she had the herpes. I did not take any pictures of her when she was in the bathtub with herpes. So I put these up instead to show how cute she is in her tub playing with her (buddies) that is what she calls those little toys, they would come with some of her meals. She would sit in that tub for hours. We think because the warm water felt good on her bum and vaginal area. When I would hold her while she was asleep I would put my arm under her head and she would snuggle into my chest. She accustomed her body to not swallow her saliva because of the pain of the contraction in her throat. Well one morning when she woke up I was covered in blood because of the sores on her lips and she was constantly bleeding from the sores in her mouth. It had looked like I was shot by a gun in my chest. When she saw all of the blood on my chest she became very concerned for me and started hugging me trying to console me through my pain well the pain she thought I was experiencing. That is very common of Ari to be so empathetic to others and their comfort or discomfort. When our other kids Kaley, Taylor and Laney went into have their blood drawn to see who would match for the bone marrow transplant, Ari did not want to watch and she was upset that they had to be poked, after-wards all the kids had bandages on them to stop the bleeding. Ari was so upset and she was consoling each one of them giving them hugs and patting their backs. The expressions on her face portrayed pure love and empathy.

PICU

This picture was taken shortly after Ari was taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Ari and I (Travis) had been alone for several days. Haley was back home in St. George because she was due any day to have our new baby. After the third day my mother came up to be with me. It really takes two people to care of Ari. Ari loves to be held by her mom so much and if Haley is not available then I will have to do. So one job is for one to hold her 24 hours a day and the other is what I call the Gofor.... Go for this and Go for that. They are both challenging roles I have played both roles many times. When you are the Gofor you not only have to take care of all of Ari's demands but you have to take care of Haley's as well because, Ari will not let Haley or me leave her. I have to agree with Haley, when you are laying there holding Ari her strong loving spirit feels mine it is a divine experience to be able to hold such a precious being. Here is the story behind this picture, Ari's condition is very volatile especially at this time it was not unusual for her to taste death 1 to 3 times a day. Let me explain, Ari's heart rate had rose to 228 beats per minute (very very high for a two year old) her fever was remaining between 101 and 104 constantly and she was requiring blood transfusions every 12 to 36 hours. Her poor body was plagued with not only the LCH Disease and Diabetes Insidious (DI) but she was also fighting EBV Virus, Strep, Herpes and Staff infection. With no Immune system those infections and viruses will kill her and killing her they were. The EBV Virus and the LCH was eating up all of her blood. Those viruses and and infections alone are painful. But also the LCH and DI can be an excruciating pain. My cousin died of Colon Cancer at the age of 52 almost two years ago, he explained the pain was like no other pain he had experienced he said it went all the way through the bones. Ari's blood pressure had been dropping rapidly so she was transferred to PICU. On the way to PICU she was saying something I could not understand her. We had to go from the 4th floor to the 2nd floor. She continued to be saying something and I kept asking her what she wanted. I said " I am so sorry honey I don't understand you!" Keep in mind right before we left the 4th floor to PICU her blood pressure was 46/14 yes that is correct. They had to put four additional IV's in her besides the port access she already had which at the time was receiving blood and trying to find her veins is a nightmare. Seriously, to me it feels like I am witnessing some sort of evil torturing while probing and stabbing. She was going in and out consciously and unconscious. However she continued to be mumbling words and I felt so bad that I could not understand her. Finally I heard her say in her cute little 2 yr old weak voice with the little baby two year old accent say "Name Jesus Christ Amen." She wasn't asking for anything from me or even trying to tell me anything she was praying. I wish I knew what she was saying, my heart wonders what a little girl in that condition and situation will ask God for? I was sure that she was not going to survive and my heart was fearing making that phone call to Haley but, she made it again. This picture was taken two to three days after, my mother and I stood there watching her sleep. The feelings of watching your 2 yr old daughter come so close to death in such a painful manner and then be able to witness her sleeping so peaceful is a joyous occasion.

Update With Arianna

Hello Everyone,

We have been receiving multiple emails, texts and phone calls asking us for an update with Arianna. Many have said that they check the blog frequently but nothing new has been added for a while. We do apologize unfortunately, the last 3 months have been very intense with Arianna and we have also had a new baby arrive. So I am going to do my best to update my information. I usually like to go through my sister Liz because I am not the best when it comes to spelling and punctuation. For example I have been writing lip nodes not lymph nodes so Liz will usual correct my mistakes before she publishes what I wrote. (where were you on lip nodes Liz)

I am mainly going to post pictures and explain, Haley is going to write the details of the latest events.

Arianna has touched my life in so many ways I really do not have words to explain, I guess that is why these pictures may explain better. It has been a very bitter and a very sweet journey these last 18 months and I am sure the bitter sweet will continue. I have to gratefully admit that I have not complained in word or actions these last 18 months I have continued to hold my spirits high however, just the other day I was with my sisters, Liz and Vicki and my mother. I unloaded for about 30 minutes and they empathetically listened with all of the love in the world. Haley and I really hope that all of you feel the love and appreciation for your prayers, love and support. There is no question that we are blessed from you and your prayers and fastings. Thank you very much!

Bone marrow time

We are getting ready for her transplant. Alaina is a complete match. She is exited to take a brake from school and come up with Mom. She doesn't quite know that it will hurt.

Sometimes a picture tells a thousand words

Email from Travis

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:31:13 -0700
From: jtlane1976@yahoo.com
Subject: Ari update

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick update about Ari. Some of you may know that we have been in and out of the hospital for the last 7 weeks, mainly in St. George. But we have been at Primary Childrens since Thursday (August 26, 2010). Mom was up here with me while we spent over a day in ICU. Haley couldn't take it anymore remaining in St. George so she came up yesterday evening. She was staying in St. George because she is due any day to have the baby. Actually her due date is on the 4th of September. But she has always been 10 days late with all of the other kids. Anyways we have decided to have both of us up here at PCH and have made arrangements that if she does go into labor we literally just have to walk over to the University Hospital. We won't even have to go outside and get into a car. The kids are with Grandma Bradshaw. They are on their second week of school and they really like it. Taylor is playing contact football and Haley recorded his games last Saturday and without being an unbiased father, he is unbelievable!

Ari is definitely struggling. The list of her infirmities is very long and the discomfort and pain that it is causing to her body is very sad. It is not just one single symptom that is killing her it is a multitude of diseases, viral's, bacterias and infections. Just one of those symptoms would bring me to my knees begging God to take my spirit to allow my physical body to be alleviated from the pain.

She has herpes that has infected her mouth down her throat through her digestive tract all the way to her rectum. She also has a viral called EBV. I forget what it stands for, but it is causing her body to not be able to heal and reproduce white and red blood cells. She also has staph and strep--not the normal strep that most people get but the kind that eats through your skin and organs. Obviously the pain of all of these is extremely painful. I am seriously blown away of how she continues to bare it.

The cancer has moved into her jaw on both sides and into the base of her skull as well as into her lip nodes. So now the LCH is in her liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen top of her skull, the base of her skull her jaw and her lip nodes. The doctors were joking today saying that this is a new disease and it should be named after Ari. But they were serious when they said that they had never seen anything like this and they are amazed as to how she continues to fight this disease.

The plan now is to get her healed of the Herpes, staph, strep, and EBV. Once she is healed of those bacterias, virals, and infections then they are going to work on the Cancer. They are very concerned about the cancer in the lip nodes especially because that will aggressively spread and it is a large chance that it is in her bone marrow. So we are closer to the bone marrow transplant and hopefully the new baby's placenta will match. If not we will start with Taylor then Kaley then Laney. Then, if they don't match we will move on to Ron and Vicki's kids (LOL).

I did not know that bone marrow transplant was so risky. The doctor explained the risks of the transplant and now I understand why it is the very last resort.

Thanks for all of your help and love.

Love
Travis

August 31, 2010 Facebook Feeds

Haley Lane said: Ari hasn't had a fever in a while. so that is really exciting. thanks for all the prayers.

August 31 at 6:30pm via Facebook for BlackBerry · Comment ·LikeUnlike · View Feedback (25)Hide Feedback (25)


12 people like this..

Kristi Lane Niu Just want you to know we love you guys and think and pray for you often. Give Ari a hug from her cousins in AZ
August 31 at 6:32pm · LikeUnlike.

Tammy Swayngim Zimmermann Thank God awesome news
August 31 at 6:33pm · LikeUnlike.

Sharon Danners That's fantastic Haley!!! Bless her heart!!! ;)
August 31 at 6:37pm · LikeUnlike.

Jacki Barbe That is wonderful.. GOD IS THE ALMIGHTY HEALER..PRAYERS WORK...TY LORD... Still praying..
August 31 at 6:44pm · LikeUnlike.

Jackie Hodge Great news Haley!!! Praying every day!!
August 31 at 6:46pm · LikeUnlike.

Tina Riehle Yay! That's awesome!
August 31 at 7:23pm · LikeUnlike.

Christina Taylor That's so awesome! Prayers work! Still praying for her....love you all!
August 31 at 7:40pm · LikeUnlike.

Keena Argo Ortiz Great news! Praying much more is to follow.
August 31 at 8:42pm · LikeUnlike.

Lelynn Parys wonderful!
August 31 at 8:50pm · LikeUnlike.

Bobbi Matty Kaufman Good news! We all will continue praying.
August 31 at 9:51pm · LikeUnlike.

Amber Parten Continue praying..
September 1 at 7:28am · LikeUnlike.

Nicole Maslonka Henderson Still praying for little Ari..
September 1 at 7:48am · LikeUnlike.

Jacki Barbe TY U LORD!!! TY U LORD!!!! GOD IS GREAT!!!!!

I'm having a hard time tonight. I have never been away from her. But since the baby is due any day,Travis took her up this time. She almost died tonight. They are now in intensive care. I've always said to myself it would be ok if she skipped of to heaven. She is in so much pain I would have to be really selfish to not want her to receive relief. Tonight I realized that I still feel the same way but if it is going to happened I want it to be in my arms. I think the only reason I'm ever strong is because I have this amazingly strong spirit nestled in my arm and my spirit just feeds of her's. She is so amazing in every way. I am so grateful for her. Thank you Heavenly Father for sending me such a beautiful angel.

I'm sure every thing will seem brighter in the morning.
but for now thanks for all the prayers.

Being Home

I have not blogged for a long time because I have been busy being home. It still feels like a vacation.

We had a doctors appointment last Thursdays. I was very exited. She has been doing so well. She is so happy and so active. It makes me so happy. I was hoping that all the chemo rounds had gotten the decease out of her body. That was not the case her counts had dropped, we didn't need a transfusion "barely". Her ultra sound showed no difference in her liver and spleen. Doctor Fluchell said he wasn't going to go off that to much because it is so obvious that her stomach has gone down.

Over all it was a rough day. Ari was so mad we were even there. While we were talking about stuff that wasn't the greatest, she all of a sudden started freaking out. Clearly she couldn't understand what we were saying, maybe it was our tone.

The game plan from here is a maintenance plan of 3 different types of mild chemos all done out patient every three weeks. Then if that doesn't work she will receive two rounds of the most intense chemo she can handle followed by a bone marrow transplant. They said because of the type of transplant she would need it would need to be a sibling. Even then it is a 25% chance that they will be a match. They said every once in a million a complete stranger will have her match. They were really exited that I was pregnant because of the cord blood. Because of our situation it would be free. Dr. Druscull said it cost about $500 a year to store it. Amber had told me about all the amazing things they are doing with cord blood and cancer. It is pretty interesting.

So that was our day at clinic. I'm still hopeful. Maybe we won't need the second plan. The only thing that makes me nervous is that it is still in her and last time our maintenance plan didn't go so well, but you can't loose hope right. Every day I'm very very happy watching her being so happy. I am so grateful and blessed. I have to say I really completely enjoy my life.

A Hair Cut for Ari

Written by Elizabeth (Lane) Hibbard, Ari's Aunt

Ari's hair has gotten so thin since the chemo, she literally has a few strands of hair growing out of her head. Haley decided to even it all up with a buzz cut. Ari got a kick out of getting her head shaved. She looks like an official cancer baby now. The hospital called and offered Ari a free trip to Disneyland as part of the Make A Wish Foundation. It is bittersweet. She is returning to the hospital on Tuesday for more chemo treatments.

At one time while I was there, Haley started putting some cream on her skin. She started screaming. I thought it was because it must have hurt or something. They had to assure her they weren't taking her to the hospital. She thought the cream was part of the hospital ritual and she did not want to go back.

Other than her pot-belly, shaved head, and Ethiopian legs, she runs around like a normal kid. She hasn't grown much in the last year. She is still quite tiny. She kind of waddles around like an old man. Mostly from the atrophy her legs experience from being in the hospital so much. She played with all of her cousins this weekend like she was just as alive as everyone else. You would never guess with her smile and disposition, that she has had more hardship in her short life than most of us put together.

It is uplifting to see her in good spirits, but no one really talks much about the inevitable. Her life is completely in the Lord's hands.

Today a good friend of ours died. Her name was Jessenia. She was 9 years old and completely full of life. She came here with an 85% chance to live. We arrived at about the same time but she has never been able to leave.

Some days I lay in bed and I will hear the bells ring, This means a child has finished their last chemo and is getting to go home. hopefully never to return here again. It makes me cry every time.

No matter the out come a lot of times it all about the journey.

I asked God to take away my pride, and god said, "No."
He said it was not for him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my suffering child whole, and God said "No."
He said her spirit is whole, her body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience, and God said "No."
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation, it isn't granted; it's earned.

I asked God to give me happiness, and God said "No."
He said He gives blessings. Happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain, and God said "No."
He said suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow, and God said "No."
He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked God if He loved me, and God said "Yes."
He gave me His only beloved Son who died for me. And I will be in Heaven someday because I believe.

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me.
And God said, "Ah, finally you have the idea."
-quoted by E. Dale LeBaron

A Better Day!

Today has been such a great day. Ari has been really sick this past week. Everyday it seemed she would get something new. She was going diarrhea every 15 min, she wasn't eating, She developed really painful hemorrhoids, She had about three different infections, her ear started bleeding, They were having to monitor her hart really good because her potassium was out of whack, She got ulcers in her mouth, And was having 3 to 5 fevers a day. She did not smile or let me leave her side for about 6 to 7 days. Her bum was so sad. I felt so helpless. I believe most the time watching someone we love go through pain, we would so much rather take it upon us. About 2 night ago as we were falling asleep I just kept praying over and over again, "please help her to stop pooping and get some relief please". That night she cut back. That day she did a lot better and she smiled for the first time in a week. Today she has done amazing we have been playing and eating all morning. We are so happy and grateful.

Pictures of Ari

She has been living in the bath, for awhile it was the only thing that brought her relief. She loves taking baths with her buddies. we accidentally flushed her buddy down the toilet. she was not very happy with us. She only gets them with her food tray once a week, since she hasn't been eating we thought she wouldn't get another one. We told one of her nurses, Dave what happened and he brought her up 5 new ones. That was when she gave us her first smile.

Our Visit To See Ari

Written by Minalyn Lane, Ari's Grandma

Krew loves Spiderman, so we got their pictures with him

The kids even got to talk to Travis on Skype, they loved that

Laney signing Ari's photo frame, her grandmother, Lori, made

Ari in her hospital bed

Here we are all eating at the cafeteria. This where we got to visit with Haley. Haley is such a trooper and what an example she is to all of us. Thanks so much Haley, we love you.

Ari has two infections and today her ears burst. They had to put in a feeding tube for her, she just doesn't feel like eating much. This time the chemo has been a lot harder on her and she has been really sick and in a lot more pain. She is so sweet.

Thank you, thank you

Life gets a little crazy in here. You never are bored or have much free time because Ari needs constant attention. Sometimes it takes me a couple hours just to get my dinner eaten.

Right now I am holding Ari; she is falling asleep. I'm eating a delicious salad Mom made me. I am reading Ari's blog and people's comments and crying like a baby. I am so grateful to Liz for starting this blog. She is such a good writer and always has me in tears. I love reading everyone's comments. Hearing about Jennifer's little boy who has had a similiar journey and is now doing great really lifts my spirits.

The post about donating blood really got me going. Literally, every kid on this floor is alive today because people donated blood. It touches me how many people have donated blood because of knowing Ari's story.

I really believe a lot of the Lanes have super human blood. My blood is lacking iron, super thin, and has all kinds of issues. Ari must have more of my genes then Travis's.

Anyway, thank you, thank you everyone for all your stories, comments, and prayers. We love you all.

It's Morning

Yesterday was crazy. Ari has never lost her desire to drink. Water is her drug. Yesterday morning she ran out of her medicine that tells her body to hold on to her fluid and stop urinating. At the same time she was vomiting, peeing, and SHE WOULD NOT DRINK. Even when she is vomiting a lot she will keep up her fluids by drinking like crazy. So she got dehydrated super quickly and started blacking out. We got medicine in her and she pulled out of it pretty quickly. It is very scary when this happens. The rest of the day went pretty well. Mornings are always the worst.

The doctor working with us said she grew up in a poor country where the number one cause of death in children is dehydration. Mainly, because they do not have the resources to treat it.

Take the Good and the Bad

Good day. Bad day.

Today has been one of the hardest days. She has been throwing up all day. We were talking to Travis on skype and he said, "She looks like she is dead or really drugged up. Last time her 3 day was her worst. The good thing is we are almost done with chemo.

Marie Osmond came and brought Arianna a blanket. I was pretty exited. She has spent time in here with her kids. She is such a beautiful women.


They brought in a Dalmatian. We love there dog therapy. Ari was half asleep and perked right up. He climbed up in bed with her. This was the best part of her day.



We got transferred back Into a bigger room. We love it. No one got to see are small room in person, witch is a bummer because it really was funny

The Hospital is crowded

It has been a long time rite now we are back in the hospital. The hospital is so full they have us in a closet J/k. The room is about 8x10. We are finding the humor in it.

Donating Blood

By Elizabeth Lane Hibbard, Ari's Aunt

I have never donated blood in my life. I am scared to death of needles. I have passed up a lot of opportunities to donate blood. I just can't bring myself to get in a chair and voluntarily let someone put a needle in my arm and take my blood out of my body. The thought is akin to sticking needles under my fingernails.

I have never donated blood, until last week. We were hosting a Blood Drive at my work--Paul Mitchell the School--St. George. With this health trauma that Ari has been faced with this past year, I have heard Travis comment how grateful he is for all of the people that give blood. Because, Ari has been the recipient of many transfusions. They are from complete strangers who will never know that their blood has saved someone's life.

I decided to donate blood and overcome my fears. Despite the fact that I kept telling myself I was doing this (indirectly) for Ari I was still experiencing anxiety. I had sweating palms and had to keep going to the bathroom. No idea why it made me have an overactive bladder. My stomach was turning and I was half hoping I could be disqualified from the questions they asked. I made it to the chair and the attendant exclaimed that my veins were golden. She was smiling so I assume that's a good thing. After a quick prick getting the needle in, it was smooth sailing. The anxiety was for naught, and it was an easy procedure.

I regret that I have not done this sooner and possibly been able to be a part of a miracle in someone's life who may have needed my blood. I regret that I am 39 and have taken this long and had to have a serious health issue in my own family before being moved to action. My hope is that anyone who may read this will be motivated to do more in helping out others. You may not know someone personally, but you will be giving a precious gift to another person's life. Not only will the person that receives your blood be given a gift, but you will also give to their mother and their father; their siblings; and their friends and family. Your small donation will affect lives like a ripple in a pond.

I don't know whose blood has been given to Ari in the many transfusions she has received. It would be impossible to tell. They most likely are not the people reading Ari's blog. Just the same, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for making her life go on longer because you took the time to donate blood. Thank you for letting my brother have his daughter a little longer because you gave blood. Thank you for letting my sister-in-law be Ari's mother for a little longer because you gave blood. Thank you for the miracle that may have been nothing for you. Thank you for the small things...because the small things ARE the big things.

Update

From Travis (Ari's Dad):

I'm just giving an update to family and friends on Arianna. It looks like there is some type of fungal (bacteria) in her brain and/or organs. They will be doing a CT Scan on her body to find out where and what it is exactly.

A word of encouragement

Written by Elizabeth Lane Hibbard

It is amazing to me what can happen when life seems daunting. It's amazing how many friends and family and strangers reach out to you. I received a wonderful email from a complete stranger who has been following Ari's blog. He too is a parent of an LCH child. I forwarded the information he gave me to Travis. I have also received the following email on Facebook from a friend who is from our hometown of Page, Arizona. Her daughter suffered from LCH and they have a wonderful success story. There is still hope.

Liz,

My heart is breaking for Travis and his family. Brooke had to get these high dose chemo treatments as well. 5 days in a row of 24 hour chemo and we would be home for a week and back in the hospital for 2 or 3 weeks at a time from all the side effects. We spent Aug-Dec 2008 in the hospital. Doing all the blood transfusions, procedures, and surgeries as well. My prayers are with you all. Please let me know if there is anything I can do. We will be celebrating Brooke's end of treatment party on Thurs. I will ask for prayers for Ari from everyone there. Please keep me updated. On a positive note when we reached this stage of the game they told us Brooke only had a 30% chance and she is HEALED! Praise God. Miracles do happen and I'm believing for Ari.

Love,

Felicia

More on Ari

Written by Vicki Lane Taylor, Ari's Aunt

Ari is back at Primary Children's Hospital. She will be there for 2-3 months. She's been receiving chemo treatments and blood transfusions every 3 weeks since she left the hospital. Doctors said that her cancer is worse than the first time she came in. They have only one resort left to try. She will receive the highest dose of chemo that can be given for 5 days in a row. Then she will remain in the hospital for 3 weeks to recover from the chemo because it is so gruesome. Then the process will start over...5 days chemo, 3 weeks recovery. It can be done 3 times. The Doctors told them she has about a 20% chance of survival. Please keep Travis and Haley in your prayers.

Ari's LCH Relapse

Written by Jaymi Lane King (Ari's Aunt)

On Sunday I went up to visit my niece at Primary Children's Hospital. As you can see she is not doing so well. She is back in Primary Children's, they have decided to give her the highest dose of chemo they can in hopes that it will help but they say it is not looking too promising. Her face is so puffy and her stomach is bulging because all of her organs are swollen. Even with the pain medication she is in constant pain. My brother and sister in law are such great examples, they have done an amazing job keeping their spirits high for her and the rest of their kids. We love you guys so much and thank you for your great examples to everyone. Our prayers are with you.

A video of Ari is posted on Jaymi's blog at:
http://kingskourt.blogspot.com/

Primary Children's Is A Second Home

Written by Liz Hibbard

I was on my way to the airport in Vegas tonight. I was so sad because I have to leave my three kids for another week while I work in St. George. I hate saying goodbye to them every week. When we were half way there, Travis called to remind me about the headlights on the truck he's been letting me use for the last four months. He didn't know I was coming tonight, but the thought occurred to him to call me. And, because he is always thinking of others, he wanted to make sure I was going to remember what to do with the headlights.

I asked him how Ari is doing. He said they expect her to be in the hospital for at least the next two to three months. Her belly is swollen and he said her head looks round and swollen too. She is in alot of discomfort pain. Mostly, her illness causes her discomfort; however, she also has a lot of pain too.

After talking to him, I looked at my husband, Brant, to whom I had been complaining earlier. I said, "I will be glad to leave my children each week in comparison to what Travis and Haley are going through. I am thankful this is my trial and that we don't have a child going through what Ari is experiencing. " Of course, Brant agreed. I don't think there are very many people out there that wouldn't be more grateful for their challenges in comparison.

I am thankful for Travis, Haley, Ari, and their children. They have been such a great example to me. Haley and Travis are so positive. I truly believe it is impossible to get Haley to say anything bad about anybody. Her heart is so sweet and pure, she cannot even begin to think ill of another person.

I don't know why we have the trials that we do. I think despite the hardship, we just have to be grateful and look at the silver lining. Sometimes it is hard to see. I know that our ways are not always the Lord's ways. I will keep praying for Ari as I know everyone else will too.

The odds are against us

The doctors have said that Ari's chances of making it are about 20%. They have given her 3 to 6 months.

Back in the Hospital

By Haley Lane

They told us if we keep doing what were doing her survival rate is only 20%. So we have to figure out a knew game plan. When we went in for our appointment yesterday her counts were almost as bad as when we came the very first time. Since we have been here she has been given blood for almost 12 hours straight, so for all those people out there that donate blood THANKYOU THANKYOU.

The game plan this time is to treat her as if she has leukemia. It is quite aggressive and quite crappy. So we will be here for another 2 to 3 months.

So keep us in your prayers. We love you all.

A Relapse

Ari is in the hospital again. She has relapsed. That's not good. Usually, if they relapse they do not always recover.