Mudcake Originals

Hey!!! Greetings from the mama who never stops! LOL! What would life be like if it was boring?!

I post with some EXCITING news!!!! It's all up and OFFICIAL! WHOOHOO!!!!

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MUDCAKE ORIGINALS

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Update on Layla Grace

I AM EXHAUSTED...so this update is coming from the one I posted on our playgroup message boards. there are spelling and grammatical errors but that's all i got for now...

i am home and so emotionally and physically drained i can barely think straight so i hope this post makes sense. after 4 hours of sleep last night and one meal today i am ready to crawl into bed. if i am feeling this drained i can't even imagine what shanna and ryan are feeling inside.

kelly and i went to the hospital today to vist. we got there around 3:15 and left at 7:00. i have never been to the oncology floor of a hospital and never at a children's hospital. i think a special prayer needs to be said for those docs/RN's tonight. they are truly incredible people. it's a hard walk down those halls.

now on to sweet layla...

i would be lying if i said seeing her eased my mind at all. when we got there layla looked very worn out. she was still coming out of a sedation from an earlier scan and was very out of it. it was extremely obvious that she's in severe pain. she counldn't sit still bc of the constant pain in her back, stomach, legs, etc. the doc described her bones and feeling like they are full of arthritis and are very painful. because of this she won't eat either. she hasn't eaten in two weeks. up until this evening a piece of toast and a few slices of banana have been a lot. she literally cried and pushed everything away as they begged her to just take a bite.

more blood was drawn and we bit back tears as layla cried and screamed not wanting to be touched. needless to say, kelly, shanna, and i went walking at this point. after talking to the pedi some more, they decided to try some morphine. y'all i can't even begin to explain the change layla made within 5 minutes of having that morphine. 180 doesn't begin to describe. she went from lethargic and miserable to smile, laughing, singing, making animal sounds, and EATING. she ate an entire helping of mashed potatos and drank a fully sippy cup of juice. this is HUGE. HUUUUGGGGEEEEE!!! for a couple of hours layla was the happiest she has been in 2 weeks. it was a much needed site and thankfully kelly and i were able to talk about it all on the way home as oppose to crying. we did okay while we were there, shanna only had to tell us once to stop the crying. it was hard.

now on to the more crucial update. the extensive ct scan today revealed that the tumor is not what they had first hoped. it was originally though to be above her kidney on her left side. well, that is only the start of it. it wraps all the way arouond the front of her stomach, around her aorta, and around another vessel/ventricle. it's really big and really aggressive. this was devestating news to ryan and shanna. originally they assumed surgery would be done to remove the tumor, but now because of the size and how wrapped around her heart it is, they will have to biopsy it (along with her bone) to determine the type of tumor. from there they will hopefully go straight to chemo. our prayer is the chemo will kill the tumor and in turn, the bones will heal themselves. the bones could be one of two things...side effects of all the hormones/toxins released by the tumor or bone cancer. we are praying that killing/shrinking the tumor will take care of the bones as well. if the tumor does not go away completely, as long as they can shrink it enough to do surgery safely, that is fine too. they are still going to do a brain scan soon to rule out any brain tumors but right now, the cancerous tumor in her stomach is the number one concern. the tumor is very aggressive and they are monitoring it closely, taking measurements daily for any changes. the doc said this tumor could have been there for a year or could have grown in the last 2 weeks when the symtpons started. we are just praying the chemo can kick it's butt!!!

immediate prayers requests...

- layla to remain pain-free or for her pain to be tolerable
- that she continues to EAT!! they won't want to start chemo until she is fattened back up.
- that monday's biopsy goes smoothly and that we get good results...treatable tumor, no change in size, etc.
- that Ryan and Shanna get some rests are able to take care of themselves.
- JENNA and CLAIRE. Jenna is VERY upset, she was crying at school today. She is 8 and worried sick about everything.

PRAY! PRAY!! PRAY!! PRAY!! PRAY!!

Prayers for Layla Grace

It has been a while since my last post and although I wish I was posting some funny story right now, that is not the case. Instead I am coming to you with a heavy heart. I come begging for prayers as a dear friend, someone I have blogged about before, the genius behind Baby Wears Prada, is sitting in a hospital room with her 17-month old daughter, Layla Grace.

After what was suppose to be a trip to TCH for what was thought to be GI issues, Shanna and Ryan have learned some devestating news. Their precious baby is not dealing with some constipation as previously thought. Instead a parents worst fear has been confirmed and althought the exact diagnosis is unknown, the words cancer...lukemia...brain tumor/neuroblastoma...and spread throughout have been tossed around.

My heart is breaking for both of them. Shanna and I were preggo together. We found out we were expecting around the same time and then learned we were due only a month apart. We share the same gyno so we got to do bloodwork together and countdown the days of miserableness together. We talk daily and IM for hours about everything from husbands and kids to our business hopes and dreams. She has brought more organziation to my clothing line than I could have thought possible. Our kids go to the same preschool and we catch up in the parking lots on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sometimes we venture to Hobby Lobby and the mall with our youngest or enjoy free Grand Slams at Dennys. We have gotten to be pretty good friends in the last 8 months and Shanna has become someone I thoroughly enjoy being around and talking too. We have a lot more in common than I would have ever guessed a year ago. We have become friends. And because of this...with all the fun we share, I now to share her heartache. I hate feeling helpless and right now I feel utterly helpless. So, all I can do right this minute is ask for prayers and kind thoughts as Ryan and Shanna get settled into a room on the cancer floor of TCH.

Layla Grace has two beautiful big sisters that love her to pieces. Jenna is a GORGEOUS 8 year old that loves her sisters so much and is such a huge help. She in undoubtably worried sick over Layla. Claire is 2 (1 year and 1 month older than Layla) and although she probably doesn't understand what's going on, she is definitely missing her mommy, daddy, and "Yay-ya".

So please pray for the sweet family. Pray for wisdom on the doctor's part and strength for the parents. Pray for peace and comfort for sweet Layla. Pray for this family to be wrapped in a blanket of peace and love as they endure the battle ahead.

Layla and Claire shopping a few weeks back.


Layla in Daddy's arms at TCH today.


If you want to stay updated or would like to offer the Marsh family some prayers or words of encouragement you can follow them on www.twitter.com/laylagrace or txt "follow laylagrace" to 40404 for txt mssg updates.

And check back as I will post updates as well.