Good Evening,

Well it has been 5 days since we started treatment on Chantel’s neck with antibiotics and homeopathic things and she is getting worse and worse.  Tonight when I put her to bed is broke my heart.  Her neck is so red and swollen that her skin is shinny.  I was shocked at how large and hard the mass was when I put lotion on her tonight.  The mass is at least 3 inches long and the swelling is around 6 inches.  It goes into her cheek and also toward the back of her head.  Today she has gotten pretty miserable.  She needs me to carry her all of the time, she whimpers constantly and now it hurts her enough that she keeps reaching up to it and quickly draws back because of the pain. 

Saturday the doctor ordered several labs and tests.  To add to the trauma for Chantel the lab tech wasn’t able to get her vein the first time so she had to poke her twice.  Of course Chantel cried like her world was going to end.  Monday we got her blood work and her strep test back.  Her blood was fine and she was negative for strep.  We are still waiting on the test result for mono and for cat scratch fever.  Tomorrow at noon I am taking her in for an ultrasound to see if the mass is a liquid or a solid.  If it is a liquid they will send us to ENT to drain it.  Hopefully they will be able to do that tomorrow as well.   If it isn’t fluid I don’t know what their plan is yet.

Keep praying please.  We are all worn out. Chantel feels awful already and then her mom keeps trying to force her to take meds all day.  This morning I was in tears trying to get her antibiotics down.  I am an expert at hiding medicine and tricking children, but Chantel has outsmarted me.  I have tried it strait up, in yogurt, in juice, in fruit smoothie, with a straw, in a syringe, in a bottle, and even feeding it to herself.  She is too young to bargain with and too old to be fooled. 

Sharmi is on her bad weekly chemo tonight and is up calling for me again.  Got to run.  Daddy said she dreamed about a giant. 

Cheris

PS.  Melissa found the post that I wrote an December 2nd last week and she put it on the web site now.  Thanks Melissa.