May 15, 2006
We have been busy,,, very busy! Here is an update on another milestone in Travis' life
Went to Mayo Clinic in February and Dr's indicated that Travis new hip and muscles appear to be on the right track of healing. Continue therapy which Travis continues to do, pool therapy is a highlight. We will go back to Mayo in December for a check up and review the medical status of replacing Travis other hip. We continue to go to Sioux Falls for his oncologist appointments and blood test praying everyday for good test results. Over the winter months Travis had a few bacterial respiratory infections, nothing we can not fix but does wipe him out.
We have awesome news to update you all with,, Travis is graduating!, with his Class of 2007 and we are very proud of Travis. He has worked so hard for this miracle to happen. We thank all of his supporters, friends, family, teachers, and Cari for making our dream come true. You all hold a special place in our hearts. Travis future plans are to attend CUC here in Pierre taking courses from SDSU and NSU for the first year and then attend St Cloud State University.
We are celebrating his graduation and we invite all of you to join in our celebration and happiness, May 19th, Saturday 4:30-7:00 at Pierre Rural Fire Station 1740 Airport Road, please stop by and wish Travis the best.
One more quick note. Children's Miracle Network Celebration Weekend is June 2nd and 3rd with live broadcast on KELO TV on Sunday. Travis has been asked to tell his story of his courage and his miracle, Live broadcast slot for Travis I am being told is noon.. Hope you can catch his broadcast.
God Bless.

December 26, 2006
Hard to believe it has been 2 weeks already sine Travis' hip surgery but I know he is counting the days as to when he can stop his medication, get rid of those TEDS stockings and get his recliner back to sit in. Overall he is doing awesome, faithfully does his rehab hourly and has graduated himself from a walker to crutches. Not too many trips out and about yet,, maybe another week or so.
Mayo has been in contact and his check up is scheduled in February, so we are praying for a great report. Travis will start swimming next week along with rehab with a treadmill and stationary bike.
Keeping up over the Christmas break with his homework. He gets a little bored but his friends and relatives continue to stop by and check-in. Maybe a game or 2 on the XBOX.
We thank you all for the Christmas cheers of card wishes and wishing all a Happy New Year.

December 14, 2006
Travis' bladder finally kicked in the working mode Sunday afternoon and bowels Sunday night so we were discharged Monday from Mayo. We made it as far as Sioux Falls Monday night, forecast did not sound the best with freezing rain and Travis was ready to get out of the car and hit the bed.
Travis pain seems to improve each new day, mornings are the toughest stiff and sore. Travis continues with his home rehab and within 3 weeks major rehab will happen. Need to wait till his incision and muscles start to heal. Since we were in Sioux Falls Travis was able to get in and see his oncologist, and that appointment went well, blood counts dropped a little after the surgery.

Few friends and family have stopped by to visit and he so much appreciated your thoughtfulness, so thanks to you. Also, those special Christmas cards that he is receiving he truly enjoys hearing from you all. Travis and his family want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and we thank you for your continuous support and prayers.

December 11, 2006
Good Morning,
well Travis did a whole lot better yesterday in moving and getting around, still pretty sore and still needs assistances but nothing we can not handle at home with him, so we get to come home. Of course all the rules of rehab and limitations so we will have to work on that. Bladder and bowels finally started doing their thing, so that is a real good thing.
Travis will do one more rehab here, steps and then we will drug him up and hit the road, not for sure how much he can take riding so we will see where we end up today at.
see you all back home!

December 10, 2006
Well we are still here, an extended visit.
Travis' bladder is still not active on his own so we will give it another day. Rehab this morning was very painful, but sitting in the chair for 30 minutes was not too bad. Of course all the things that come with surgery and laying in bed are starting to show, bed sores on the bottom, lungs getting a little congested and his muscles getting stiff and sore so we are working very hard to keep him moving the best we can. Hoping every hour of healing reduces the pain level.
Since Travis stay will be a few more days longer, Bill and Kelsey left this afternoon, rented a car to Sioux Falls and then Bill's brother is going to pick them up there and then head for home. Sad to see them leave, but school and work is on their agendas. Hope the weather holds up so Travis and I can get home soon.
We appreciate the continued support and prayers..

December 9, 2006
Dr was in this morning and took off the bandage and Travis was a little surprised to see how big his NEW battle incision is, as I told him another mark to brag about his health war,, what a kid.
He slept a little better last night, still waiting for his bladder and bowels to wake up, so still on a clear liquid diet. Rehab will be in twice today so we can get him a moving, of course the pain is present so that sucks.
Overall he is doing good, like me we want to be home.
Not for sure when we are coming home, maybe Sunday, Monday depends on how he gets around.
Travis sat in the chair for about 20 minutes and that wiped him out. hoping every time he moves it will get easier, but he says NO.
Dr's said when Travis is comfortable and able to get around a little more he can go home,, so need to keep on moving.

December 8, 2006
well it was a pretty restless night,, but overall Travis is doing OK. Dr's indicated once again surgery went really well and his new hip will sure help him out a lot. Rehab came in this morning, Travis sat on the edge of the bed and he had enough. Leg and ankle exercise every hour to avoid blood clots, he does these in bed on his own. Travis' bladder is not awake yet due to all the meds so he has been catheterized 6 times to help empty out his bladder so we are hoping with him moving around things will wake up soon. Just started clear liquids so we will see how that goes. Rehab just came back and Travis was able to stand beside his bed, so we are making some gain there. Plan is to leave Rochester on Sunday and head for home, not for sure if we will go all the way or need to stop in Sioux Falls for the night. Once we get home the next 3 weeks Travis will need to be very careful not to put too much strain on his hip as he could dislocate it, so will need to have assistances in getting around and of course rehab as well. Amanda and Isabelle came down from St Cloud for the day so that will help the time fly by today

thanks again for the support and prayers.

December 7, 2006
It was a very long day yesterday,, lots of appointments to make and Dr's to visit. With Travis past history of MRSA and ARDS lots of concerns so trying to figure out he best medical plan for him. In the meantime Travis woke up yesterday morning with a cold. Surgery is this morning, we arrived at the hospital Rochester Methodists at 6:30am  and they just now took Travis to the OR, so I will keep you posted when we hear more.

Travis' surgery was a lot longer then thought,, almost 3 hours instead of 1 1/2,, so it has been a long day for all. Surgeon's said everything went as good as it could go, lots of AVN disease in his hip, but we all knew that but surprised as to how much. Dr. indicated that Travis's hip was just like a person with a fractured hip. imagine walking on a broken hip day after day, for all these years, we are so thankful this will help with his leg pains.
one of the pain management tools they use is a pain blocker which is a small tube interested in there hip area with all the nerves to numb them, but do to Travis MRSA in the spine area Dr's thought it would be best to do the IV pump self management pain so that is what we are doing to help the pain for the next 48 hours. Blood pressure is a little low but they are monitoring every 30 minutes, may need to increase the fluid in-take.
Tomorrow Travis will start rehab and get to walking so I am sure that will feel rather strange with both legs the same length.

Hoping for a great nights sleep and some heat, it is so cold here.

December 4, 2006
Well it has been awhile, a real long while.
A few updates on our family and Travis....

Travis became a proud Uncle (sister Amanda and Jon) had a beautiful baby girl, a day before Travis' birthday so an awesome gift. Isabelle Grace is healthy and brother Isaiah thinks she is pretty cool. Everyone is doing just fine.

We continue our monthly trips to Sioux Falls with Travis' oncologist appointments, blood counts remain to be stable except his feratine level which is still over 1000, so we are monitoring that monthly. In August, Travis was referred to Mayo Clinic from his Minneapolis Doctors. We found out that Travis is a prime candidate for a total hip replacement on his right side, left side to come later. His AVN(Avascular Necrosis bone disease) continues to damage his bones, so Dr's are ready to repair his right hip which is the worst of all his joints. Hopefully this will help ease the pain in his bones. The AVN disease continues to progress and Dr's will try to repair his diseased bones, what can not be repaired arthritis will take over.
Travis is scheduled for hip surgery in Rochester Dec. 7th so we will keep you updated on his progress and rehab. (like we have never done rehab before) ;-)

Of course Travis has done a little fall hunting a few pheasants trips, a pheasant hunt with the NWTF Wheelin Sports and of course his highlight of all hunts DEER. He was able to get out with Cody and bagged a real nice big doe with his crossbow, that was pretty exciting. Over the weekend hunting with Cody, Travis shot a real nice buck 7x8, so he has managed to get his hunting taken care of before his surgery so we are all thankful for that.

We continue to ask for your prayers and support for Travis.
God Bless

January 19, 2006
Travis has reached another milestone in his cancer journey, his last day for his chemo treatments will be Jan. 23rd, it is a celebration but also a scary event. We knew that no cancer cells were growing when Travis was receiving his chemo now we will find out if the chemo has done the job. Travis will continue his monthly trips to Sioux Falls (for 5 years) for examines and blood work. Dr's will be watching his blood counts, test will show if there are any blast (ALL cells) in his blood, in other words checking monthly to see if the chemo treatments were successful. Keep the prayers coming. Travis immune system will still be weak and will be for about 2 years as the chemo drugs destroyed his lympnodes and it takes almost 2 years for those to rebuild. We said good-bye to Travis oncologist, that was hard and also scary. No replacement has been found yet, but her partner will take over on Travis, She too knows Travis but we really had that trust and bond with his Dr.
Travis right now is fighting the crud, bad cough, sore throat, runny nose.. never ends.
Next week we will be going to Orthopedic Center in St Paul to run testing and see what options Travis has to repair his damaged joints. He has been in so much pain the last 3 weeks it just about did us all in, poor kid. We have been told with Travis' history of complications it would the best to wait until May to conduct any major surgery (hip replacement) so we will talk about that as well. We will have the spot of his knee be checked with St Paul, probably MRI. Travis will have surgery around the 1st of March to remove his G-tube and his port-a-cath and a bone marrow biopsy his surgeon in SF will do this.
We appreciate your continue support and prayers.
God Bless

December 30, 2005
We are so sorry for the lack of updates on Travis the last 2 months have kept us very busy with his medical needs.

October was not the best month for us, a few set backs and some new medical concerns that have popped up.

Travis continues his chemo treatments daily and in Sioux Falls, still remains at the 75% dose on some of his chemo drugs. Just have not be able to go 100% dose, too hard on his body. At Travis' last appointment with his oncologist, we learned that she will be leaving her practice at Sioux Valley Hospital. This is so sad and scary for us as we have built a great patient/doctor relationship of trust and faith with her. She knows Travis inside and out and he has been one of her toughest cases. We discussed the option of following with her so she can continue to be Travis oncologist but she is getting out of the field all together. She made the comment that she will not miss the disease, but she will miss the children. So, our search is on for a new oncologist wondering what to do next. Travis has such a great team of Dr's at Sioux Valley, so we are hoping the new replacement will be just as good. We wish Dr. T. the best and thank her for all she has done for Travis and us.

Travis' hip joint is finally getting to the end where there is total pain continuously. Dr. in Sioux Falls ordered him a scooter to help him get around for those long distance walks. About a month ago Travis was admitted to St Mary's to help him with his pain. Dr's. were able to get him hooked up to pump for pain management so we could control the pain at home. Many trips to ER (one ambulance trip, thanks medic's) in October for bone pain and lots of x-rays to make certain there were no fractures. Travis did brake his arm right due to a fall) after pheasant opening weekend so his hunting has been very limited. The fracture was his right arm, bad deal as this is his good strong arm. After 6 weeks in a cast Dr. thought the healing looked good but was concerned about his growth plate how he still has one at his age, but the chemo treatments of course play a big role in his growth so we are going to watch it and see next week if it is still healing. Of course the weather during November was not the best for Travis to be out in,, temperatures were very cold, way too much snow and ice, and with his brittle bones we need to void any falls that may happen. Of course the cold and respiratory bug hit the house and that took Travis down for about 4 weeks,, lots of antibiotics to avoid any hospital admits. Travis' oncologist wanted to wait 6 months after his last chemo treatment to start his bone repairs, but now with advance joint pain the repairs can not be held. Dr. agreed to go ahead and start Travis orthopedic needs so Travis has a Dr. appointment at the end of January in Minneapolis with his orthopedic Dr. and surgeons to determine what are his options and where we go from here. We know a total hip replacement and maybe a partial shoulder and knee repair. We are praying for a good medical report that can help relieve some of his pain and repair what has been damaged. School is going well, of course Travis teachers, school and his tutor Cari always manage to keep him caught up with it all. We thank all of them for their support.

Kelsey managed to keep us busy with Dr. appointments as well the last 2 months, she fell and twisted her ankle, next morning unable to walk,, so off to ER! X-rays showed no fracture, which was the good news but the bad news is Kelsey has a tumor on her tibia bone. Dr's here could not tell us if it was benign or not,, so off to Sioux Falls. Dr's. diagnosed it as a bone tumor and it is benign, great news! The cause for the tumor is unknown and when she is done growing hopefully the tumor will be replaced with healthy tissue. In the meantime the tumor may weaken the bone in that area so we will have examined periodical. What a scare that was.. Kelsey is relived as well. She is doing great in school and helps us getting Travis to school back and forth,, nice to have her driving.

Amanda and Jon were here for Christmas, really enjoyed all the family time we were able to spend together. Amanda and Jon are excepting with the baby due in March. Can not believe it was a year ago this time we were in Florida on Travis Make A Wish trip,, time does move forward rather quickly.

We wish all of you a Happy New Year filled with good health. Over the last year we have so much to be thankful for and we thank all of you being apart of our lives. To our family, friends we thank-you for your open arms and listening ears. To all of Travis' friends we thank you for your support and prayers. To those who stopped by to pass the time with Travis by playing cards, games, X-BOX challenges or watching sports, or to do a little hunting and fishing time we value your friendship. To all who send the cards of Get Well Cheer, words of encouragement, or just to say hello we appreciate your support. For those in our great community, churches and our pastor's who continue the power of prayer and the faith of healing. To all of you who supported, volunteered and donated with Travis' fund raisers to ease our travel and medical expenses we thank you for your support. To TRAVIS we are so thankful to be your parents and to have you as our son and brother. We thank-you for your strength, your courage, your faith in God, your love, and your heroism to fight your battle.
God Bless.

September 8, 2005
Travis has started his Junior year at school and is going full days. This is Wonderful. He is pretty beat at the end of the day but seems to be handling it ok. He went to Sioux Falls last week for his IV chemo treatments/blood counts and rehab appt.
The chemo dosage remains at the 75% level, he is able to handle this dosage. His blood counts are stable, but his liver counts were extremely high, so we have been repeating those counts ever 2 weeks. Dr. indicated that the high liver counts are due to the antiviral drug that he was taking for the shingle virus outbreak. We thought we were done with the virus, but it just will not go away, lesions will appear and then go away just felt like we could never get a handle on treating the virus. After talking to his oncologist this morning, she feels the chemo drugs are interfering with the anti-viral drug so, Travis is again put on hold for his oral chemo treatments for 3 weeks and back on an anti-viral drug to cure the virus. Unfortunately shingles are uncomfortable with burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching, and Travis is experiencing all of these symptoms. Along with his pain from ANV he is a hurting kid.
An update on his rehab appt. over the last 2 months Travis has been experiencing a lot more bone/joint pain. Dr. order 15
x-rays of his shoulders, knees, spine, hips and the report of all those indicate the AVN(Avascular Necrosis)is still present and in some areas progressing especially in his right hip joint. These reports and films are being sent to his orthopedic Dr. in MN for her to review and see if any further issues can be done at this time, if not we are waiting for Travis' chemo treatments to be done with (Jan. 06) and then 6 months body rest removing the toxins from his body and his immune system to get back to normal and then we will start his bone issues in MN. Dr. has decided to stop the PT and OT at the hospital and to continue with home therapy, reason being that he pretty much has gone as far as his body will let him.
Travis' summer went great, but too fast. Did spend a month with sister Amanda, Jon and Isaiah and truly enjoyed his break. Took in a few of Kelsey's softball games, and of course buddies with card games, XBOX challenges. A few boat outings with family and friends. Few fishing trips with his guide and buddy Shane Hyde, they seem to have a great time and even catch fish while having fun. With fall around the corner he has been busy applying for hunting licenses, deer, antelope and a few surprises for me I am sure. He loves his hunting and can hardly wait for Cody's call. We thank all of you for your continued support and prayers for Travis and his family.

July 21, 2005
Travis last Dr. appointment in Sioux Falls went well,, counts are slowly improving so the Dr. increased his chemo treatments to 75% dosages. Continues with his PT and OT. Cari and Travis got the school year done! Whoopie!!! Travis grades for his Sophomore year were great, we are all proud of him. Travis is complaining a lot more on bone and joint pain so we are trying to get into SF to see what the Dr. recommends. In the meantime taking pain reducers to help out.
Next appt in Sioux Falls in August 1st, so will keep you updated.
Had a great 4th of a July with family and friends, and the hot weather, can cool down anytime. Hot heat Travis does not handle well, but who does.
Last weekend Make a Wish hosted a benefit Hogs and Rods, we participated to show our support and appreciation for MAW, big part of our family, Thanks to all who donated and volunteered to make this a huge success.
Travis is currently in St Cloud visiting Amanda, Jon and Isaiah. Of course mom is a little nervous without Travis around. I am sure he is enjoying himself. Amanda did call on Monday stating Travis is not feeling well, called again last night and low and behold Travis has been diagnosed with Shingles. After talking to Sioux Falls and Dr's in St Cloud got him on some med's to help with the discomfort and spreading. Interesting after talking to his oncologist she said that Travis is the 5th case that has been diagnosed with shingles. Interesting all leukemia kids. Hopefully Travis will not have to suffer to much pain as this virus takes it's course, hear shingles can be very painful.
Thanks for your continued support and prayers for Travis.

June 27, 2005
Travis was discharged from St Mary's Hospital and is now at home. Blood counts are slowly coming up, Dr's gave the ok to re-start his chemo treatments again but at a 50% dosage. Right now we are having weekly blood counts done to be sure his counts can handle the chemo drugs.
Travis and Cari have been busy trying to get his Sophomore school year finished, few assignments left and hopefully this week they will be done! We so much appreciate Cari and all her dedicated work with Travis to help him get through this year of school. Hard to think school will be starting for the fall in about 8 weeks, time goes so fast. We were really surprised how weak Travis was when he was discharged from the hospital, thanks goodness his OT and PT ladies keep him going in the right direction and getting him stronger. Amanda and Isaiah are here, as we all celebrated Grandma Newling's 80 birthday and what a party it was, glad Travis was able to attend for a few hours and share some family time with his cousins from Washington.
Since the weather has been so hot and humid Travis stays home or inside a majority of the day, so to his friends, buddies that call and stop over for a XBOX match we thank-you!
We are off to Sioux Falls this week for Travis' Dr. appointments, blood work and chemo.
We thank you for your continued support and prayers for Travis and his family.
God Bless.

June 5, 2005
Travis was able to be discharged from the hospital Thursday afternoon. His counts are still pretty low but Dr's thought since he was not running a fever that the antibiotics were taking hold of his infection. Plan is to take him home with an IV pump and run the med's at home. Thus far things are going great. Off to Sioux Falls today to see his oncologist and run some blood work and test to see if his blood counts have improved any. His immune system is still on the low side so we are being very careful with him being around sick people.
Thanks for your continued support and prayers and helping Travis get over this bump in the road.

June 1, 2005
Travis' blood counts ANC is still pretty low,, today 302. White cells 1.6, Platelets 80, HBG 9.3.
Gaining slowly but no leaps and bounds. Lungs still have crackle sounds, hoping the sounds are the infection moving around and leaving. No fevers for the last 4 days so this is a great sign. Still administrating major antibiotics to help with the infections. Continues with PT/OT daily in bed, since he is in isolation he can not leave his room, so the 4 walls are getting boring.
Nurse Lori was able to access his port-a-cath yesterday so this is great news, really helps eliminate the pain and poking for IV's. Make blood test and drug administration go a lot easier and pain free.
Travis address for Get-Well wishers : Travis Newling % St Mary's Hospital 801 East Sioux Room 267, Pierre SD 57501 We thank you for your support and prayers.

May 31, 2005
Travis' is improving slowly, his counts are still pretty low. His body is fighting off the infections by using his cells so that really knocks down his counts. His ANC is about 240,, this is the blood count that shows us what Travis' body has the ability to fight bacterial infections. 240 is pretty low, Dr's say when he reaches 1000 he can go home. So this is going to take a few days, maybe another 5 to 7 days in the hospital. His immune system is pretty shot. White Cells are 2.4, Platelets 51 and HGB 8.6. No fevers for the last 48 hours, so that is a good thing.
Travis also tested positive for Rotavirus, which is a bacteria infection in his digestive system, so his cells are also fighting this infections along with his lung infection. He remains off chemo until his counts are stable. OT and PT are daily stops to work him over and to keep his strength up.
Travis' port-a-cath has not been able to be accessed so he has had many IV's(think we are up to 7).. About every 2 days he needs a new one, so that is getting old. He does have a reaction to one of the antibiotics that he is receiving, to help avoid the reaction the IV drug runs a lot slower about 2 1/2 hours, Travis remembers the reaction that he had in the past and it scared him, so he is really uncomfortable when this drug given which is 3 times within 24 hours so we make sure we are there to help encourage him that it will be OK.
Lots of movie watching and Twins baseball games have kept him busy.
Thanks to all for your prayers and support.
God Bless.

May 27, 2005
I feel like we are on a merry-go-round, are we staying or are we leaving?
Travis' Dr's. started him on a strong antibiotic yesterday, one that he has allergy reaction to, so we waited to see if he was going to react before taking off to Sioux Falls. No reaction, so this is good news. Chest X-ray yesterday does show a serve case of Pneumonia in both lungs and with the new drug Dr's were hoping for an improvement, which we were able to see this morning, no fever for 18 hours, coughing has reduced and respiratory treatments are being given, so those all seem to be going in his favorite. After taking to Sioux Falls again today and seeing the slight improvement Dr's think for Travis best health interest to leave him hospitalized in Pierre and continue with the antibiotics and blood test and x-rays everyday to see if the improvement continues. Travis oncologist indicated that she would not order anything different then what we are doing now and that she will be checking in everyday and that she is just a phone call away. Travis is comfortable with that and we are to after we saw a slight improvement. With his immune system being wiped out it is going to take a 7-10 days to get him built back up again.
Thanks to all for your support and prayers.

May 25, 2005
Travis' blood counts continue to drop and running a fever, bad cough remaining on the strong side still, unable to pin-point the source of infection.
DFA panel was drawn today, this panel test for many types of infection in the respiratory system. More stool cultures to be tested also.
Dr's order a transfusion of platelets, 6 units for this evening and then re-test blood counts in the morning.

May 24, 2005
Travis' Dr appt. in Sioux Falls on May 9th went ok,, Travis has lost 10 lbs. which is wonderful news.
His blood counts are stable and Dr's were able to continue with his IV chemo treatments.
Since Travis' Dr. appt in Sioux Falls Travis' has not been feeling well, so off to the clinic we go,, Friday Travis' liver counts were very high along with some jaundice and his WBC, Platelets and HGB counts were very low which forced his oncologist to stop all his chemo drugs. Along with a cough, vomiting, diarrhea, Travis has not felt good for a few days. Sunday he spiked a fever which landed him in the Pierre ER and then admitted to hospital in Pierre. Dr. started him on antibiotics right away and many blood test were drawn to find the source of infection as of today lots of test are returning negative (hepatitis, Mono, CMN) but still no answers for the infection/virus. His cough is progressing, chest x-ray are clear and he is still running a fever. Blood counts are still pretty low, but did not drop anymore today, so we will see which way they go tomorrow,, the right way we pray. His body is trying hard to fight the infection, but with his immune system so low it takes a little longer.
Tomorrow is the last day of school and Travis was looking so forward to that day as he was able to spend a lot of time at school this year. Cari and Travis will have to do some summer school to finish his Sophomore year, thanks Cari.
Travis will continue his OT and PT through out the summer to continue strengthen and conditioning his muscles.
We thank you for your continue support and prayers for Travis, we pray for his strength to heal.
God Bless

April 24, 2005
Travis' was in Sioux Falls April 11th for chemo treatments and Dr. visits.
Overall his blood counts were good for him and he received his chemo treatments. 3 days after we got home Travis had some real stomach issues, vomiting and diarrhea for a good five days. He was able to drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration.
We were getting a little nervous for a few days.
Last couple days Travis has developed a running noise, sore throat and a wet cough which will get him a trip to the Dr's office. After blood panels and chest x-rays Travis has fluid in his lungs, walking Pneumonia so starting on antibiotics to help with the virus. Of course home monitoring by mom to be sure he does not get real ill as respiratory stress and Travis have a few issues they do not get along.
Will be going back to his monthly Dr. trips to Sioux Falls in May so hopefully he can stay well until then.

OT and PT are going well, he has his summer classes lined up so that will keep him busy. Last I heard the school year has about 21 days left,, who's counting. Cari has made sure that Travis is on track and his Sophomore year is going well and will end with high marks as well,, Way to go Travis and Cari!

Travis has again planned a few weeks of summer vacation with his sister Amanda in MN so he will be busy with Isaiah and Jon.

Overall Travis is doing ok, he has his days but then who doesn't. His joints still bother him but he seems to tolerate the pain.

We thanks those die hard softball players, fans, coaches and volunteers who will be playing and organizing a softball benefit for Travis this weekend and thanks to Sheri Lappe for all her work in getting this together. Friends and Supporters are all wonderful people.
To all we thank you for your continued support as Travis continues on his journey. God Bless.

March 29, 2005
Happy Easter to All!

Travis enjoyed the Easter Bunny at home, last 2 Easter's we have been in Sioux Falls so a blessed Easter it was! Chemo treatments are going well, blood counts are very good for Travis. He had a rough week last week, couple trips to the clinic, just felt blah. Upset stomach, no appetite, no energy, low grade fever, could not pin-point any illness so maybe it was related to his chemo.
Sioux Falls appointments went well, blood counts were stable, Travis' weight remained the same. Did complain about the aches and pains in his knees and legs from his bone disease. Travis' pediatric physiatry appointment went ok, Dr measured Travis leg and he has lost another inch due to the hip damage, so now his right leg is 2 inches shorter then his left. Replacement in-soles have been built to help with the off-set. PT and OT and pool therapy are going great, Travis continues to gain strength and build muscles. Still room for improvements.
School is going well, hard to believe it is the start of 4th quarter and we are signing up for classes for next year already. Cari continues to keep Travis on track and up to date. Cari is such a life saver when Travis is gone for appointments or out of school due to illness.

To those who sent birthday wishes we thank-you. Travis' 17th birthday was awesome, he spent it with his buddies (thanks guys and Kelsey) playing cards, eating pizza and munchies. Seems these guys can never get enough card playing time in.
Travis was able to attend both the Lady Gov's and Governor's state basketball tournaments, able to participate in the fun and watched a lot of ball playing, great games and hats off to the Lady Gov's and Governor's for a great season.

We will be going down to Sioux Falls April 11th for Travis next Dr. appointments. Hopefully gas prices will not increase much higher.

Last week we moved my dad, Grandpa Smith into a retirement home, he seems to be adjusting well. Before the retirement home he was living with us, his health and age is catching up with him. His Dr. informed us that he needs 24 hour supervision/care which we could not provide. Like all of us, he has his good days and bad days and we all pray for the better days to be ahead.

We thanks all of you for your continued support and prayers for Travis and his family.
God Bless.

February 16, 2005
We have been busy over the last few months so I will do my best to update all of our great supporters. Travis' bone disease Avascular Necrosis continues to spread and damage his bones. Over the last month his pain has been on a high level. We try hard to control the pain the best we can, but still at a level that Travis can function. Hip replacements can not come soon enough. Dr's feel that Travis weight gain also is contributing to his pain along with the exercise limits. End of January Travis was not feeling well, bad cough and respiratory distress issues going on, so off to Sioux Valley here we come.. Dr's ordered chest x-rays and blood work and started him on antibiotics right away treating him for bronchitis and Pertussis. A few days in the hospital and a week of rest Travis was able to get over this bump.
Hang in there Travis!

Travis continues with his chemotherapy treatments(15 more months to go), his blood counts were stable enough for Dr's to increase his chemo doses for December and January were increased to a 75% dose and February to 100%. With the increase in chemo we pray he can handle the increase and his blood counts stay stable. Lots of flu and colds bugs going around so we are being careful on the visits and the contacts.

Travis OT and PT sessions and pool therapy are all going well. Along with a few extra trips to the pool with his buddies. His strength is getting stronger and muscles continue to build.

Travis referral from St Jude's went well. Dr's at St Jude's informed us and Travis that he is on one of the best Protocol chemo treatments for ALL. St Jude's would not do anything different or change anything that Travis' Dr's are currently doing now. We are thankful for this report.

School is going great, hard to believe it is half over. Travis did really well the first half, even in his speech class,, my man with such little words. New subjects and few new teachers but thus far everything seems to be going well, thanks to the teachers and staff. Cari and Travis are still tutoring after classes and both are doing an outstanding job. Thanks Cari.

Travis and hunting friend Cody have been busy goose hunting and just hanging out. Check out his goose hunting picture, as you can see it was a fun hunting day that day! Travis'(17th)birthday is the 26th of February (WHERE DOES THE TIME GO)he has been asking for a cross bow so we are going to surprise him and now he will have a new hunting equipment he will need to try out. We are so happy that he enjoys the sport.

Our Christmas holiday trip to Disneyworld was awesome. Never enough days to do everything. Travis was really beat by the end of the day, but we all were. Overall Travis had a great time, lots of smiles. The Give the Kids the World Village were we stayed at was a great place and we felt so welcomed by all.
I have added a few photos of are trip so please check them out.

Just a reminder of our new address 125 South Jefferson, Pierre SD 57501, Travis always loves to hear from his supporters.
We truly appreciate your support and your continued prayers for Travis. Thanks to all for the great Christmas and Valentine wishes and gifts.
God Bless

December 3, 2004
Happy Holidays to all!

I know, I know,, you all are asking no update on Travis? I apologize. Travis' medical and health needs have kept us VERY busy over the last 2 months.. So here is the latest update.

Travis' Dr. appt in Minneapolis was what we expected, the MRI showed his bone disease Avascular Necrosis continues to spread and damage his bones. Dr.'s informed us that Travis will need both of his hips replaced along with the possibility of his shoulder and now we are watching his knees very carefully too. If at all possible Dr.'s would like to do the surgeries after his chemo treatments are completed, April 2006. It would be to high of a risk to do surgery now. If the bone disease continues to take over and cause problems for Travis, not walking, his hips shatter, no pain relief, then Dr's will be forced to do surgery, so we pray for his body to be as healthy as it can be for the next 16 months. We are truly looking forward to this surgery as we know it will only help Travis in so many ways.

Travis continues with his chemotherapy treatments(16 more months to go), his blood counts were stable enough for Dr's to increase his chemo doses for October at a 50% and November were increased to a 75% dose. With the increase in chemo his blood counts will drop along with his immune system. Lots of flu and colds bugs going around so we are being careful on the visits and the contacts.

Travis continues his OT and PT sessions and pool therapy has been added on his schedule. With his hips being a weight bearing joint it is better for him to exercise with out the weight and being in the pool of course helps with that, but he is totally beat when he is done and a little sore the next day or two.

We have asked for a referral to St Jude's for Travis, so we are waiting for a phone call from St Jude's to set up an appointment and then we will be off to Memphis Tennessee. St Jude's is a wonderful Children's Cancer Center, we are going to consult with the Dr's and see if there is any new medical options that maybe available to help Travis. We are excited about making the trip.

School is going great, Travis really enjoys being back in class and with his classmates and friends. Travis' teacher and the school staff are so wonderful to work with and we appreciate their support. Travis is doing well with his assignments, going to school for 3 classes in the morning and then off with his special tutor "Saint Cari" to finish out the rest of his class time for the day. We can not say enough or praise Cari enough for all that she has helped Travis/us with. Besides his school curriculum, Cari and her family, Lukus, Sam, Ben and Ron always make sure when Travis is able to be out and about, he is out and about, even if it just a car ride(Cari's new car is so COOL and Travis enjoys riding around in it), of course cruising in Luke's pick-up is cool too. To Cari and her family we thank-you!

Travis has been busy over the last few months, as we all know hunting is a big part of Travis' sports life,, so a lot of pheasant and deer hunting trips have been on his agenda. Spending some hunting trips with cousin Chris, a few friends and of course his family he truly enjoys.
Travis was invited to a handicap pheasant hunt which him and mom took part of. What a great day of hunting! Lots of birds and great people that we met and enjoyed hunting with. Although we did not kill a bird it was a special event and we are thankful that we had the opportunity to attend,, looking forward to next year!

Travis' Thanksgiving Day was a day that he truly gave thanks! After 3 years of absent deer hunting, Travis proved to himself he can still fire a rifle by shooting a 5x5 buck.(Notice the new picture!) Cody Warne pictured with Travis and Shane Hyde who are hunting guides and NEW hunting buddies were able to help Travis and prove to him that his hunting skills were still within. True excitement for all! It was great to see Travis' eyes twinkle, lots of "cheesy smiles" on his face and yes mom cried with tears of joy and happiness. We are truly blessed to have such great friends and appreciate their support who made this hunt possible for Travis and we thank them. The photo is totally priceless! A very proud, happy and thankful parents and Travis too! So up to Thanksgiving Day almost 7 weeks into the pheasant hunting season and Travis has not killed a pheasant for 3 years, so yes he has the itch to kill a bird,, so Travis and Cody went out yesterday and Travis again showed his hunting skills(which he thought he lost) and got his limit of pheasants(3) so the twinkle in his eyes are still shinning. I can never repay Cody and Shane for all the hunting time and friendship they have been able to provide to Travis. Oh did I tell you too,, that Travis had a double deer tag,, so he shot a big doe too! Now that Travis knows his hunting knowledge and skills are back and he has missed 3 years that he needs to make-up for, he is waiting with gun in hand for someone to say ,, ready to go hunting? And out the door he goes.. WE LOVE IT!

Our Christmas holiday will be different but a holiday we will never forget. Travis was granted through Make A Wish(wonderful organization) the day he was diagnosed with cancer. Over the last 2 years Travis wish was to take his whole family to Disneyworld in Florida. I will share with you Travis' wish, to take his family To Disneyworld not so much for himself but to show his family his appreciation and support that has been given to him over the last few years. What a wish! What a kid! Of course without knowing the date from St. Jude's we may have to do some rescheduling.

Last of all, I did add a few pictures from the wedding so check them out.. Beautiful couple, Bride Amanda and Groom Jon, and of course ring barer-son Isaiah, what a kid! Travis and Kelsey sitting and waiting for the next photo shoot and the 3 important men in our family life, Jon, Travis and Isaiah.

As you can see we have a few medical issues coming up, so we ask for your continued support and prayers Travis.
Happy Holiday's to all and God Bless!
We have moved so an update on our new mailing address is 125 South Jefferson, Pierre SD 57501, if you have a spare Christmas card laying around Travis would totally enjoy hearing from you all.

October 8, 2004
Travis Dr's in Sioux Falls have requested a Dr. appointment for him in Minneapolis so we will be taking off today. Dr's are sending us with X-rays, MRI scans and reports to see if the Dr's have any in outs on Travis Avascular Necrosis disease. Travis has been out of school all week and it is so painful to walk. We took him to the ER on Sunday to help him with the pain. Dr's have now given him pain killers to help reduce the pain. Some day are better then others.
He continues to do some therapy and Cari continues to tutor so he does not get to far behind.
We ask for your continue support and prayers.
God Bless

September 29, 2004
We are back from Sioux Falls. Travis blood counts were stable enough for him to receive his chemo treatments. Dr. has also increased his chemo drugs to 50%. Travis also saw his pediatric Physiatry Dr. who examined his shoulder and his hip. We have noticed weakness in his right hip, so Dr. order x-ray's. Report came back today and it is not the greatest report, Travis' hip has increased in sclerosis which in consistent with Avascular Necrosis, the same bone disease that was diagnosed in his shoulder earlier this month. As we have stated before Travis bones have a extensive history of bone infarction.
Where do we go from here? We are waiting to consult with his Dr's and see what is best for Travis overall. Will keep you posted.
We ask that you continue your prayers for Travis.

September 23, 2004
Well 09/22/04 marks Travis' 2nd anniversary of his cancer diagnosis. As we celebrate this important date for us we thank all of you for your support and prayers for the last 2 years and ask that you please continue prayers for Travis. A year and a half is what is left on his protocol chemo treatments, it can not come fast enough.
Travis' appointment in Sioux Falls last week for his shoulder went ok,, Dr's informed us not to much can be done, of course new exercise in therapy and will monitor the stages the disease is going through. Along with the AVN he also has a fracture shoulder. Of course a normal healthy young person this would heal on it's own, but of course key word here is healthy.
Another time healing hurdle. Therapy sessions are going well, now with Travis' shoulder he has new goals to meet again and with his determination I know he will do it.
School is going well, Travis really enjoys his classes, teachers and best of all his friends. Attending school is something that Travis looks so forward to as it is a normal welcomed back into his everyday world. Saint Cari, (Travis' tutor) continues to assist him in his classes, tutors a class at home and helps with his assignments. Cari is such a caring, loving person and we are so thankful to have her on Travis' team. Love you Cari!
Travis will be in Sioux Falls Sunday and Monday for chemo treatments and also Dr's appointments. We are praying for good blood counts and a great report.
Last weekend State of SD honored Korean War Vet's and Travis was able to participate a little by helping with the elderly.
It is great to be able to give back what people have given him: support, caring, love and prayers. He had a great time.
Pierre homecoming is this weekend, depending on the weather a football game will be on Travis' agenda.
It is awesome to see him get involved, but by the end of the day he is wiped out. Thanks for your on going support and prayers.
God Bless

September 13, 2004
Travis has started school and tutoring and classes seem to be going well. Really enjoys being with his classmates and friends.
Continues with his OT and PT therapy sessions in the afternoons. Couple weeks ago Travis was complaining of his shoulder hurting, so last week he was off to the orthopedic clinic and x-rays and a MRI. Travis has been diagnosed with a bone disease known as AVN- Avascular Necrosis,, which is a disease resulting the temporary or permanent loss of blood supply to the bones in his arm. What caused this disease,, we know the answer before the research,, chemo/steroids.
Not for sure where we go from here other then to Sioux Falls to see a Orthopedic tomorrow, will keep you posted on Dr's report.
Wedding was beautiful and Travis did very well, and very handsome groomsmen. He got really tired but hung in there the best he could.
Please continue to pray for Travis as he has another hurdle to jump.
God Bless

August 23, 2004
Travis continues well on his chemo treatments at a 30% dosage. Gets a little worn out now and then, few aches and pains but over all he is doing great. Continues with his therapy sessions and he never complains about going,, thinks he enjoys the girls. Travis' rehabilitation Dr. suggested Travis have some orthopedic shoes designed for him to help with the difference is leg length and try to help corrections in his spine and hips, just received them last week so we will try them and see if they help at all.
School starts Wednesday and Travis will start out taking 4 classes in school, tutoring at home with awesome Cari and then off to therapy, so his days will be very busy. Travis is so determined to have a great school year and we are too. Travis enjoyed a week at Amanda's and Jon's last week and surely enjoyed himself with Isaiah. Kelsey went along too making sure Travis is ok.
Travis spent most of his summer hanging out with his buddies at the baseball, softball fields, of course XBOX tournaments and now the Draw Poker card games are hot. Amanda's and Jon's wedding is Sept. 3rd so it will be a busy week next week, will update the pictures with Travis in a tux!

Travis will miss his first day of school as he will be attending his friend Michaela's(15 years old) funeral. Michaela and Travis meet last May at Sioux Valley she lost her battle to liver cancer. It is hard to see her leave us, but she earned her angels wings and she is now cancer free, so please keep her and her family in your prayers and give them the strength to celebrate Michaela's new life in the heavens above.

We appreciate your support and prayers for Travis and ask for you to continue to pray for him.
God Bless

July 26, 2004
Summer's are always a busy time for us, seems like there is always something going on. Travis is doing ok,, still on the 25% dose of his chemo treatments. Blood counts (platelets) are still on the low side, but he is tolerating his chemo drugs which is wonderful. PT and OT are going well, working hard in his strength. Travis was seen by a orthopedic in Sioux Falls, since his right leg is about one inch shorter then the other Dr. requested in-sole forms for his shoes so we are waiting for those to arrive to see if this will help with his walking and back issues. We pray it does.
Travis finally got his hair cut, looks nice. I think he just had to make sure that his hair could grow after he lost it all! Boy did it grow.
Summer is going fast and we are already planning and thinking about Travis attending school this fall. We have a lot of concerns but we will take one day at a time and see what happens.
Travis went to Watertown last week to visit a special friend that he meet while he was in the hospital in Sioux Falls.
Michaela, 14, has liver cancer and is losing her battle, but she has not given up on hope and miracles. It was tough knowing this might be our last visit with her but we will never stop praying for her and we will never forget her and her family, wonderful people. Life is just not fair.
Right now Isaiah is visiting us so he is keeping Travis busy on his toes. Never a dull minute when Isaiah is around.
Kelsey played in the JO State softball tournament this last weekend so we were out of town for this event. Travis went with and with all the girls around he did just fine, night time could not come fast enough.
We are finally moved, we have purchased my parent's home and thus far we are busy still unpacking but we will get there. My dad lives with us and I know he sure enjoys the company and it sure make life a little easier taking care of him since we are there. His health is not the best but he manages to keep on going, but slowing down fast.
Amanda and Jon's wedding will be here before we know it and the kids have been busy getting ready.. they are doing a great job too!
Travis will be in Sioux Falls next week for chemo treatments, blood counts and check up along with his rehabilitation Dr. We pray all goes well.
To all of you that participated in the outstanding fund raiser for Travis at the Pierre Mall. To the committee that held the event, the merchants that donated, the community that supported the event we thank you for all you work and support. Travis really enjoyed the day being there and participating. HATS OFF TO YOU ALL!
Travis still has 18 months of chemo treatments to go, hard to believe that we are only half way through his treatments, but with your continued support and prayers we will find the strength to continue on with Travis' journey. God Bless and we thank you.

July 2, 2004
I am so sorry for the latest of this update, but we have been very busy.
Travis is doing ok, just got started back on his chemo treatments last week but only at 25% dosage. Travis' platelet count was still not high enough, only at 51, but his oncologist just thought we could not risk it any longer and started him on his chemo treatments. This week still shows his platelet count at 54 so he will remain on the 25% dosage. His Dr. appointment in Minneapolis was a nice trip, took in a Twins game and they won! The Dr. appointment for Travis' back went ok- Dr. x-rayed and determined the back brace Travis was wearing was not working nor improving his spine, so he was able to destroy that brace! yippee.. His upper trunk muscle have gotten weak from wearing the brace, so Dr. increased his therapy schedule and Travis needs to focus on upper trunk strengthening, so he and his therapist have been busy. As far as his spine, Dr felt that at this time Travis is not a candidate for surgery and will review his spine in 6 months and see if he has gotten worse. His fracture in his spine has fussed together so his curve in his spine is limited. We are asking for a second opinion have not heard of where yet. Overall Travis' last month has been great, few leg pains, sore toe(in-grown) and spending a few hours at the baseball park with his buddies. Travis was able to spend 2 weeks with Amanda, Jon and Isaiah in St. Cloud, perfect timing since he was not able to receive chemo. Truly enjoyed himself, but we sure missed him. It has been a long time since Travis was separated from us for a length of time, we were lost.
Travis will be in Sioux Falls next week for a check up to see where his blood counts are, chemo treatments and hopefully to visit with his rehabilitation Dr. to discuss his back and leg pains.
Thanks to all for your continued support and on going prayers.
Wish you a safe and relaxing 4th of July.. watch out for the nasty mosquitoes,, West Nile is a very serious illness as we have witnessed the side effects while we were in therapy last summer in Sioux Falls.

May 28, 2004
Travis had blood work done on Monday and his blood counts are slowly increasing which is wonderful news.
WBC 2.2, HGB 11.2 and platelets 53, still not high enough to restart his chemo treatments but we are getting closer. Blood counts will be done again on Monday to determine if chemo is on his agenda.
Travis' will be busy the first week of June with Dr. appointments in Sioux Falls on June 7th and then another Dr. appointment in Minneapolis on June 9th, will be going to Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare and been seen by an orthopedic specialist surgeon to review Travis' spine and back issue for reconstruction surgery.

Travis and his tutor, Cari finished up the 9th grade school year, (YEA!) this week and what a relief for both, they both worked really hard. We thank Cari for all her dedication working with Travis and his school teachers this year, Travis is a pretty lucky guy to have such a caring person like Cari and her family, not only for his school work but for all their support. They both deserve a great summer break. Travis will continue with PT and OT all summer, so that will keep him busy. If you had not had a chance to see the new therapy unit at St. Mary's Hospital you will have to check it out,, really nice.
We are hoping for a little vacation break so Travis can visit Amanda and Jon for a week in St Cloud, maybe a Twins game if they are in town.
We thank you for your continued support for Travis and wish you a safe Memorial Day weekend.

May 18, 2004
Travis feels a little better today after 2 units of blood, he has a little more energy. Bone marrow biopsy has been done and the report is wonderful news,, no leukemia cells! Bone marrow does show premature red cells and platelets so after stopping the dapsone (antibiotic) we are hoping the cells will take off and start growing strong, hard and fast. Travis will start a new antibiotic called Bactrim single strength and he will have weekly blood test for the next 2 years so his oncologist can monitor his blood counts while he is taking this antibiotics as this drug may also decline his counts. Continue with PT and OT in Pierre. Dr's are working with Minneapolis for back surgery no update as of yet. Hope to hear soon.
Since Travis nor I slept during the night as we watched the blood drip for 8 hours, we are checking into a motel relax and sleep and take off early in the morning for home.
Our thanks to all of you for your support, friendship, prayers for all of us.

May 17, 2004
Travis had blood counts done in Pierre this morning and the results of those low blood counts admitted him to Sioux Valley Hospital. WBC 3.0 HGB 6.8 and Platelets 27. His oncologist called and informed us that Travis needed to be in the hospital, 1.) to get at least 2 units of blood, 2.) more blood work and 3.) to do a bone marrow biopsy to help determine the reason for the low blood counts. We arrived to Sioux Valley about 3:30 and his Dr. was waiting for him and got things moving right along,, and her first words as she focuses on the worried mom,, is "Travis is going to be ok". How many times she has said those words and I truly believe in her,, sometimes in the past I do not hear them when I want to hear them but later on they come out. So tonight at 9:00 I can tell you that Travis is receiving his units of blood and that the test results from a methemoglobin blood study the count is high which is a good indication that an antibiotic, Dapsone is breaking down Travis' red cells. Plan is around 2:00pm to do another bone marrow biopsy to be sure that his bone marrow is generating cells and we pray it is,,
we continue to ask for your prayers and support as the roller coaster ride has hit another speed bump.
God Bless

May 15, 2004
Travis' fevers have disappeared still no reason as to why, but the antibiotics obviously took care of the problem.
Still on antibiotics, one more week left. We have been traveling back and forth a lot over the last 3 weeks along with Pierre clinic and hospital visits, so here is an update of those days..
lots of blood work, counts are still low, HGB dropped to 9.3, WBC 2.3 and platelets 27, still not able to start back on Travis' chemo treatments.
Were able this week to do his 5 days of Perdisone, steroids and vancristine chemo drug (once a month) that does not effect or damage his bone marrow. Spine x-rays were done yesterday to be measured again for his Scoliosis to compare his last x-ray and to see if his Scoliosis is advancing and to help determine if he is a candidate for back surgery in Minneapolis. He needs to have this done so he can stand straight and get out of his back brace. Would like to have surgery done before his sister's wedding in Sept.
Travis still continues to have his good days and bad days and we only do one day at a time, and we are truly thankful for each and every day. Today is a big day as he will be one of the first to use the new therapy facilities at St Mary's Hospital. He informed me he gets to cook in therapy today, something he loves to do, so we will see if he can smoke up the place today. He is excited about the new gym and all. Cari, Travis' tutor, is still trying to catch him up on his school work, but they are making great progress so hopefully not to much summer school on the calendar, but I think it would not bother Travis to extend into the summer months as he truly enjoys Cari's company everyday.
We ask if you could also say an extra prayer for Travis' great friend Michaela who is fighting with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, liver cancer. Dr's have been trying experimental chemo treatments with her and just have not found a cure to help her. We pray that God will help her heal. If you have never checked out her web page her it is, I know she would love to hear from our friends. http://www.caringbridge.org/sd/michaela/
We continue to ask for your support and prayers and we thank you for all you have done for Travis and his family. God Bless

May 5, 2004
Travis has been busy running back and forth to Sioux Falls and Pierre clinic the last 10 days. Still running fevers which means more blood testing and more clinic visits.
Over the last 10 days his oncologist has conducted blood counts, blood cultures, more chest x-rays, CT Scan's of his spine and chest and everything is coming back negative. Not able to determine why he is running a fever. I guess last time it took almost 2 weeks, so maybe in a couple days something will show up. In the meantime Travis is back to taking 2 more antibiotics to help with whatever infection he may have. Blood counts are still on the low side, WBC 1.8, HGB 10.5 platelets 27, still not high enough to start his chemo treatments. Back to Sioux Falls on Monday to check blood counts and see how the fevers are doing.
Thanks for your continued support and prayers for Travis.

April 29, 2004
After arriving home from Sioux Falls Tuesday night, Travis again ran low grade fevers through the night. After talking to his Dr's in Sioux Falls Wednesday morning the advised us to take Travis to Pierre clinic and get him checked out , which consisted of more blood work, chest x-rays and urine test. Test turn out to be ok, blood counts still on the low side, platelets 20 and WBC 1.2, HGB 10.2. More antibiotics were given injection form and that hurt. No one can tell us what is wrong and why the fevers. We have been told any new signs of not feeling well to call Travis' Dr's. right away and maybe something will show up to explain the fevers. Travis did get a couple of hours in tutoring today with Cari, they sure did miss each other. Cari has been gathering all the missed assignments and assignment's that will need to be completed to finish 9th grade, so maybe a little summer school time will be involved.
Travis did have therapy on Wednesday and boy he sure is sore today lots of muscles that need to be toned up. In time he will get there. Still pretty weak and sore right now.
More blood counts on Friday and we will go from there.
We ask for your continued support and prayers as Travis continues his battle.
God Bless

April 26, 2004
Travis is back in Sioux Falls, got home on Sunday night had supper and then Travis got the shakes and chills and then started running a fever during the night, then got the sweats. Called Sioux Falls Monday morning and Travis needed to been seen so here we are in Sioux Falls. Thus far being treated as an out patient, chest x-rays yesterday and more IV antibiotics, blood counts and blood cultures. Platelets are still low at 17. Chest x-ray shows a little fluff but overall pretty good. Today back to the hospital for ultra sound of liver, stomach, kidneys, spleen and bladder to make sure Dr's are not missing anything and more IV antibiotics. Will keep you all posted, thanks everyone for your continued support.
God Bless

April 25, 2004
Travis has been discharged from Sioux Valley hospital and we are on our way home.
Travis is pretty weak, lots of therapy lined up at Pierre so hopefully he will get stronger everyday.
No chemo treatments yet, Travis' platelets were way to low so a change in his antibiotics to see if this will help them increase. Repeat of blood work on Thursday and then maybe down to Sioux Falls later in the week for chemo.
We are all excited about going back home and we thank all of you for your prayers and supports. Hope to see you back at home.
God Bless.

April 23, 2004
Travis continues to make outstanding progress in healing and getting stronger everyday. Nurses and Dr's are just amazed at his progress. Therapy is going very well, Travis can take a few steps unassisted, right now does a little better with a walker. Long walks he may need to rest or use a wheel chair, but he will get there. His back is still an issue, his rehab Dr. has made an appointment for him at the end of June to go to Minneapolis. Still waiting for the blood counts to come back this morning to determine if Travis is able to start chemo today and then the plan is to come home and continue with therapy and continue to get stronger everyday.
Diet is going well, so hopefully no tube feedings to come home with us.
Amanda and Isaiah came down yesterday to visit and Dad and Kelsey will be down today so we will have a nice weekend. Ran into a couple Pierre firefighters last night so it was fun to visit.
Our thanks to all of Travis' fans and supporters all your prayers and get well wishes are working miracles.
God Bless, Hope to see you soon.
Travis' blood counts are low, platelets are only 18, on Wednesday they were 28, so no chemo today and I am not for sure what the plan is yet? I do know that Travis oncologist is going to get a hold of the infections disease team and talk about the antibiotic Travis is on because she feels that is what is wiping out his platelet count.
Will update when we know something.

April 20, 2004
WOW! Travis is making great progress,, Dr's and nurses look at him and then look at us and say what a miracle child you have,, thank-you Lord, what a true blessing.
Travis was moved from the intensive care unit to a regular room, so this is another great step closer to getting out of here. Travis' room number has changed to 1205.

I told Ttravis that he has played this healing game before but this time he knows how to take and use the short cuts.

Travis started PT and OT yesterday and took his first steps,, pretty tried and weak but overall did wonderful. He said his legs are pretty shaky but he did awesome. He was able to enjoy his leg exercise work out with a Pierre resident MaryKay Burke, so that was fun and enjoyable and she looks great too.
Blood counts are slowly rising, platelets 27, HGB 11.2 WBC 3.2. Lungs sound great and the diet is picking up,, lots of running out to bring food in,, hospital food is not the best for a 16 year old teenage.
Amanda and Isaiah will be down this weekend for a visit, that will be great and give mom and dad a break.
Dad is going home today and then coming back for the weekend. Looking forward to a fun weekend,
thanks again to all for your great support and prayers

April 18, 2004
Sorry for the late update,, As Travis is more alert he requires a lot more of our time, which is great. Over the last few days Travis, our hero, has had great steps to healing...
today was the first day Dr's were able to tell us that his chest x-rays look a lot better, finally some improvement in fighting off the infection. Travis has sat in a chair (with wheels) and was able to go outside for some fresh air and also throw a basketball around, Mom and Dad therapy session,,
Dr's removed his central line, artery line, NJ feeding tube, catheter and IV's, but all Travis has left is his port-a-cath line and oxygen, so be steps in removing all the tubes. Travis started going through withdrawals Friday night so med's to help with that issue. Diet is improving, feedings at night to help him out. Monday Travis will be evaluated from his Dr. for rehab and see where we are at and where he needs to start,, Travis lost most of his muscle mass, thanks to steroids, so we will need to rebuild muscle tone. April 26th will be his last dose of steroids so that will help too. Blood counts are still a little low, Platelets 20 Dr's are thinking the antibiotics maybe the reason, so will be switching that tomorrow, WBC 2.2 HGB 10.2.
Travis celebrated Easter today and enjoyed his bunny treats. Of course going through his cards and e-mails again.. (thanks for the mail)
Travis' strength and determination to fight his cancer is a wonderful gift. We are so lucky to have a super hero is our lives, keep up the great work Travis. To all of you thank you for your continued prayers and support for Travis. We hope to be home soon. (Our goal is by June 1st)
God Bless.

April 15, 2004
Travis had a fairly good day yesterday. lung exercises went great, well enough that Dr's stated last night maybe being taken off the ventilator today. Praise God.
Travis got up at 4:00am this morning so now he is taking a morning nap, so when he is more alert Dr. will attempt to remove the breathing tube and see how well Travis does. Blood counts appear a little better today, transfusion seem to help, WBC 2.3 HGB 10.5 Platelets 31.
Travis is so frustrated with us since I am a pretty poor lip reader, so hoping we can communicate better in the next few days. We praise God for this huge baby step forward and we pray for a great day for Travis.
i will update later today as we progress.  God Bless.

April 14, 2004
Travis had a little better night, finally was able to rest and get some sleep. of course the morphine and versed also helped. Diarrhea finally stopped so that helped a lot, lots of cream on his bottom. Blood counts are down this morning, WBC 2.6 HGB 8.2, so 2 units of blood has been ordered, platelets(37) are holding probably from the transfusion yesterday. Blood gases are stable. Travis will start his ventilator exercises again today and see how well he does, one step closer to getting him off the ventilator. Dr's are going to start his tube feedings again at a low dose and see if he can tolerate the feedings.
Travis did nod at the sport highlight of Barry Bonds 660 home run, so I know he is with it now and then.
Thanks for your continued support and prayers and all the cards and e-mails for Travis, he tried to read a card yesterday, looking and touching his mail gets him excited. Also a huge thanks to those who help celebrate Kelsey's birthday yesterday, and making her day special. She told me that her day was very special.
God Bless.

April 13, 2004
Travis' blood pressure has been very low all morning, Dr's increased his fluid intake to help boost it. Blood counts are a little low today, WBC 3.2, HGB 9.4 Platelets 20. Blood gases are stable.
Travis looks and acts very wiped out today, so he will not be doing ventilator exercises today and let him rest. Travis has developed a real bad case of continuous diarrhea, which could be from all the antibiotics, so a few changes with his med's, stop feedings for 24 hours, an abdomen x-ray this morning to make sure everything is ok, report show liver and spleen a little enlarge but nothing bad, other then a real sore bottom. So the skin Dr has been called in so we can try to relive some pain and irritation on his bottom. He just cries as it hurts so bad. Next step maybe a rectal tube to help him out, but his platelets are too low, so Dr's are communicating to see what will work the best for Travis.
Daily therapy to work his arms and legs. We continue to ask for your prayers and support for Travis as he fights hard to continue his healing.
God Bless

April 12, 2004
Travis has remained stable the last 2 days, blood counts and blood gases are holding, which is great.
No fevers the last 48 hours. One of his blood cultures from 04/01/ did finally grow a fungus, so besides the infection in his lungs he also has Candida Albicans in his lungs. So another change in his antibiotics to help control this infection. Dr's also think that is why his lungs were not clearing up is because of this fungus. White blood cells today are 3.9 HGB 10.4 and platelets 23 we will see what they are tomorrow hopefully a little higher. Counts are starting to decrease because the steroids are also decreasing in dosages, so we are hoping his bone marrow is kicking in. Chest x-ray last 2 days is about the same. Dr's have started to strengthen his lungs and muscles by lowering the vent settings so Travis had to work 4 hours this morning and 4 hours this afternoon by breathing on his own, one tried kid, but what a fighter.
Dr's were going to start chemo today, but after reviewing his medical condition and seeing how weak he still is and still on a ventilator it was decided to wait until Travis is stronger and blood counts are more real. Since Travis' paralyzed drugs have been stopped he is a little more alert and trying really hard to remove any tube, IV's central lines or anything that feels abnormal on him out of his way, so we watch him like a hawk, so far he has not had to be strapped down.
Bill went home today to take Kelsey back to get her in school this week and her birthday is tomorrow so Aunt Mary and friends are going to make it a special day for her 14th birthday.
We will celebrate it again when Travis is home as he was the birthday planner this year for her.
We ask for your continued prayers and support for Travis. Thanks...
God Bless

April 11, 2004
Happy Blessed Easter to All.
Travis continues to remain stable, small baby steps he is taking into healing.
Travis is still on the ventilator and Dr's are trying to wean him more and more each day, fight hard Travis.
Lungs remain to be about the same, no worse nor better. Blood gases and blood counts are also stable. WBC 7.90, HGB 11.4 and platelets 30. Oncologist has not been around yet this morning, so not for sure if she is happy with those numbers. Liver enzymes are a little high, either from the infection or antibiotics, Dr's will monitor these counts. No fevers for the last 2 days.
If Travis' ANC (blood counts) are stable and with in the range he will start his chemo tomorrow, Monday.
Therapy continues to come in daily to stretch and move Travis arms and legs, get him all stretched out so when he is ready for walking and sitting.
We are all together for Easter, Travis' sisters, Jon and Isaiah no big plans just hang with Travis and give him a play by play of the golf masters and maybe a few hidden egg hunts.
We ask for your continued prayers and support as Travis finds the strength to heal
God Bless.

April 9 ,1004
Travis had a very good night and his blood gas report was the best we have seen all week. His blood counts are stable WBC-14.2, HGB 12.2 Platelets 57.   Travis has adjusted very well back to the mechanical ventilator and we are thankful for this. Dr.'s stopped the paralyzation drug, Travis can respond by nodding when asked a question and he is moving his head and shoulders a little. Dr's do not want him to awake so they will give a little morphine to help relax him so he does not fight the ventilator. So with all this send it is a GOOD FRIDAY,, lots of things happen to our family on Good Friday's,, Kelsey was born on Good Friday's, Travis was baptized on Good Friday,, so this is our lucky day,,, please keep travis is your prayers as our hero continues to battle for his healing.
the mail was just delivered, WOW!, what a fan club he has, I think they bring a special truck for Travis' mail, to all thanks for the e-mails, cards phone calls and your support and prayers. I know we will never be able to repay all your friendship and kindness.
God Bless'

April 8, 2004
10:00am
Travis had a fair night still no changes in his lung disease. Blood gases are slowly decreasing for the last 36 hours, and remain to be stable. Dr's can not lower the setting on the ventilator Travis is on now, so this morning when they draw blood gases again Dr's will be able to determine if Travis is ready to go back to the mechanical ventilator since he does not need all the pressure in his lungs,
Travis is fighting hard and we pray for a report this morning. White count this morning 8.2., ad a transfusion of platelets units
 

1:30pm
Travis was transferred from the oscillator vent to the mechanical vent about 11:30 and he blood gases at 1:00 seem to be holding, so we are thankful for this. Still have a lot of room for improvement but this was a baby step towards Travis' goal.
Gases will be drawn again at 5:00 so we will wait anxiously for that report. We have been told that the infection that Travis has in his lungs is also within his body just could never pin point it in any cultures. That is probably one of the reason why his liver was attacked, but with all the antibiotics going through Travis hopefully he can overcome this infection. Chest X-ray this morning still shows a lot of infection but no new infection, so Travis is fighting hard to control it.
thanks you for your prayers and we ask for your continued prayers,,, thanks for all the e-mails and cards,, Travis blood pressure peeks during our reading times..
God Bless

April 7, 2004
Travis'(our hero) remains to be about the same, not a lot of changes. Chest x-ray is about the same, ventilator settings remain the same, so just waiting for Dr. Time and Travis. Blood gases are hanging in there,, blood gases help determine the settings on the ventilator,, the more stable the gases the less needs for the ventilator. Blood counts today are shocking so we can tell his bone marrow took a hit with the steroids, WBC 7.4, the highest I ever seen for Travis, the good news on the high white cells, the cells will produce antibodies that will overpower the infection, the downside is the cells can cause more infection. HGB is 12.0 and platelets 25.
Everything else, heart, kidneys, liver, blood pressure are stable.
We continue to ask for your support and prayers for Travis to help him through his journey. The email and cards are rolling in and thank-you for sending them, We read them a couple times a day to Travis, he knows that he has a lot of great people praying for him. I know when he wakes up he will go through those cards and e-mails one by one and read them. We have treasured all the cards and emails Travis has received since Sept. 2002 and he still gets the boxes out and re-reads them over and over and over, so we will add these to his collection of memories.
To all of you we wish you and your family a Blessed Easter.
God Bless. The Newling's

April 6, 2004
Travis' night was stable, no worse which is a great sign.
Dr's were able to remove 3 liters of fluid which helped his lungs. Still to early to tell if the steroids are helping. Blood gases report are a lot better then they have been over the last few days. Blood counts are holding. Little bit of a reaction (rash) to the antibiotic last night but are able to control it. We have been informed that Travis is better then he was 18 hours ago, but not out of the woods by any means. We thank you for the power of prayer and ask that you continue to help Travis heal with your support and prayers.
God Bless.

April 5, 2004
Dr's have informed us this morning that Travis is very sick and in a high critical condition. Yes we have found the disease and now they need to attack it. Travis' immune system has been destroyed he can not fight this infection by himself and Dr's are saying with this high risk of no immune system Travis beating this are 50/50%. Of course antibiotics are being given to help but are not enough. Dr's are going to try giving him steroids to help with the inflammation in his lungs. Steroids is about the end of his treatments for beating this infection. Dr's should be able to tell us in 48-72 hours if this treatment will work .
Of course all the risk have been explained to us and we feel in our hearts and with God's guidance this is the best solution for Travis. I ask all of you to please keep Travis in your prayers and ask for the power of healing hands. Please pass this message to all those you know that will also help us pray for Travis.
God Bless and THANKS,

Finally, answers... Travis' infection that he has been fighting all week is called Pneumocystis which attacks in a person lungs with a weakened immune system and that would be Travis.
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, or PCP, http://health.discovery.com/diseasesandcond/encyclopedia/364.html is a common serious infection by a normal inhabitant of the body found in children with weak immune system usually by chemotherapy. Dr's will treat Travis with Bactrim, antibiotic and if needs a boost with the inflammation in his lungs they may try steroids. Dr's say this infection comes on very rapid but it takes a long to cure. This infection does not produced Blood gases hit pretty high again at 3:00 this morning. Another unit of blood this morning.
I will update later waiting for Dr's, but wanted to share with you the know!
please keep Travis in your prayers.

April 4, 2004
Travis' condition is getting worse just like they informed us he would. Chest x-ray shows more disease taking over and Dr's had to up the ventilator settings. Travis has never been on the ventilator with setting this high, oxygen is set at 70%. Blood gases are really high, carbon dioxide and PH acids. Blood counts are WBC 3.2, Platelets 22 and HGB 10.7 Dr's will be giving more transfusions of blood and platelets today to help with the blood gases.
Travis is fighting hard and we ask for your prayers and support.
God Bless

April 3, 2004
Travis was moved off his ventilator on to the oscillating ventilator this morning and adjusted well to it. His chest x-ray's this morning showed morning disease and less volume so he needed to be moved to the oscillating vent. Blood counts today showed 1.3 white cells so they are growing which is good and bad,, good to help fight the infection and bad because the infection will start to grow. Still after 8 days we still have no answer as to what this disease is. Platelet count was down today 13, so other transfusion 6 units of platelets. I am told store bough ten platelets are not as great as the real thing. HGB 10.3, this is good. No high fevers today.. Dr's also started a drug to boost his immune system so maybe it will start to kick in.
I will update you all tomorrow hopefully with good reports.
Please keep Travis in your prayers and ask for the strength for him to heal.
God Bless

April 2, 2004
Travis is hanging in there, so we will too. We all know how strong he is and he again will prove to all of us what he has..
Last 24 hours Travis received another 2 units of blood and 6 units of platelets because his counts and immune system is so low. His sugar levels are up so Dr's have added insulin, potassium levels are low, so he has been given potassium to increase that level. Again adding new antibiotics today to treat viral and more anti-fungus infection. No we still do not know what his disease is, he needs white cells to attack the disease once this happens Dr's will be able to collect the infection,, they are trying really hard but no luck yet. Travis' kidneys and liver functions are stable. Dr's preformed an echo-gram through his esophagus this morning to look at his heart and report is that his heart is strong and healthy. Bone marrow biopsy went well this morning, report is that there are no leukemia cells in his bone marrow but the down side is that there are no cells in his bone marrow,, no white, no red, no nothing. Of course Travis needs all those cells to start the process of fighting and healing, so please pray for his body to make new cells and start attacking. Please pray for the strength and the healing for Travis has the Dr's are still telling us it is going to get worse before he gets better. Dr's are also telling us that by the weekend Travis will probably be on the oscillating ventilator, the king of all ventilators. Ventilator which does the breathing for you. Dr's are also saying we are here for awhile, time heals all!
Travis of course is in a medicated coma and his muscles have been paralyzed and he has no pain or he will have no memory of this bad relapse. Therapy has been coming in and exercising his joints to help with the stiffness. Like before Travis will have to learn how to sit, walk all over again, but like I told him, old hat stuff..
We ask for your support and prayers for the rough days and ahead for Travis and all of us. Thanks for the e-mails that are starting to flood in,, Travis so much enjoys them.
Here is the web site to Sioux Valley to send e-mails. Along with his mailing address. Room 1152, Miracle Room.
http://www.siouxvalley.com
Sioux Valley Hospital
% Travis Newling Room 1152
1305 West 18th Street
PO BOX 5039
Sioux Falls SD 57117
God Bless and thanks.

April 1, 2004
Travis had a pretty rough night last night, chest x-ray showed more volume in his lung but more shadows of this horrible disease, which we still do not know what it is. Travis' respiratory rates where pretty high, 60+ so to help Travis breathe and help his heart with less distress he was incubated. He tolerated the vent tube really well. Since Travis is in a medicated coma Dr's were able to remove samples of the disease in his lungs, hopefully we will find out tomorrow what is going on and get some answers. Many more test have been done and reports are pending, nasal culture, fungus cultures, blood cultures, blood panels. Fever of 102.6 still hanging on. Travis received 2 more units of blood today and 6 units of platelets. His counts this morning were WBC 0.3, HGB 6.7 Platelets 15. Dr's are telling us with Travis having no white cells it is very hard to fight off this disease, and the few white cells that he does have are going right to his lungs to attack. Dr's are also saying that Travis will probably get worse before he gets better. Once his white cells starting growing they will attack the disease and develop pus in his lungs. Plan is to administrate many antibiotics to kill the disease before his white cells start to attack. Bill and I were able to talk to Travis before Dr's put him on the ventilator and explained that he needed some rest and to sleep for awhile and let the Dr's and God help him heal. He is very scared and he also knew what was down the line for him. We are all frighten but we like Travis need to be strong to help him heal. I promised him it would not be along sleep.
Infections Disease Dr's have been called in and have added and changed a few antibiotics for Travis which he seems to tolerate. I know you all have heard me ask for your support by sending cards and e-mails for Travis because he just loves to hear how much everyone cares and supports him, so with that said here is his address:
note 1152 is the same room we had a year ago when Travis was on the vent and I told him I liked this room because it is a miracle room!!!!!
http://www.siouxvalley.com
Sioux Valley Hospital
% Travis Newling Room 1152
1305 West 18th Street
PO BOX 5039
Sioux Falls SD 57117
thanks for your support and prayers , God Bless
Travis, mom, dad and Kelsey.

March 31, 2003
Travis' afternoon started with chills then he hit a high fever and then his lungs started filling more making it hard for him to breathe. Dr's order chest x-ray which showed about 75% of his lungs were full,, still not for sure of what and Travis is not stable enough to scope his lungs for a biopsy. Dr's moved Travis to ICU and put him on a breathing machine called a bi-pap. Since Travis is having problems breathing and needs help getting oxygen into his blood and we want to avoid putting in a breathing tube. A bi-pap is a type of breathing machine that helps him breathe. It is a small, bedside respiratory machine connected to tubing and a facemask that Travis wears. The BIPAP machine does two things - it helps push air into the lungs and helps hold the lungs open to allow more oxygen to enter the lungs. Each time Travis breathes, the BIPAP machine assists him by applying air pressure to the lungs while the Travis is breathing out in order to hold open the air sacs in the lungs. Travis adjusted very well to the Bi-pap and we hope to be off of it in a few days or whatever it takes. Travis is very scared and nervous about being in the ICU unit and worried about a breathing machine as this just brings back many memories for all of us and he does not want to go down that road again. Blood counts remain about the same WC 0.3 HGB 7.8 and platelets 18, liver counts a little high but coming down, still no reports to indicate what type of infection we are fighting, with all the high fever Travis has had Dr's did order a echogram of his heart. So with this all said I guess you know what Travis needs,, more prayers and healing hands.
God bless and good night.

March 30, 2004
Travis' night and morning have not been the best.. fever most of the night, and 102 this morning along with the vomiting and diarrhea. Blood counts have dropped again this morning, WBC 0.4 HGB 8.4 abd Platelets 15. Dr's have ordered another platelet transfusion 6 units. CT scan was done this morning, no results back yet. Bone marrow biopsy still on for this afternoon, trying to get platelets into him before they do the biopsy. Still waiting on blood cultures reports, do have a culture growing something not sure what yet, but at least we maybe on to something that has caused his blood counts to drop and a reason for the fevers. Please continue to keep Travis in your prayers. God Bless and thanks.

Travis is still running a high fever, this hour 103. This afternoon has been a roller coaster, Dr's canceled the bone marrow biopsy due to Travis' oxygen level and rapid breathing. Dr's order chest x-rays which shows shadows in his lungs,, Dr's are thinking an infection, could be MYCOPLASMA which is a type of infection that are small bacterial organisms, lacking cell walls, so the infection can invade several types of human cells which cause a wide variety of human diseases. This infection moves very rapid as we all witnessed, within 45 minutes Travis oxygen levels dropped very quickly. Right now Travis in on oxygen 2.5 liters with many new and different antibiotics running through him. Not for sure if the blood culture growth is the same infection or not,, should know by tomorrow. Finished platelet transfusion about 12:30 this afternoon so we are hoping with the antibiotics that are being administrated will attack the infection before the infection destroys his platelets. Next question could this infection be the problem that attacked his liver? I am guessing probably, but will ask.
I am so glad we are here and finally getting some answers as to why Travis is so sick. Please continue to pray for Travis and ask for a speedy recovery.

March 29, 2004
Travis' last few days have been very restless. High fevers 104, not sure why, poor appetite, vomiting, diarrhea still present along with painful headaches, about an 8 on the pain scale. Tomorrow Dr's ordered a CT Scan of his head along with the BM biopsy in the afternoon. Hepatitis A test results are negative, still pending the results for 3 other Hepatitis, along with blood test. Today blood counts were WBC 0.3, HGB 8.6 Platelets 26, Liver ALT 128. Still holding his chemo treatments and did not start PT and OT therapy today, Travis was just wiped out and did not feel good. So we will pray for a better day tomorrow. We ask for your prayers to help Travis heal.
God Bless.

March 28, 2004
Travis' blood tests are coming back negative, so Dr.'s are still unsure what the problem is. No results for the urine test or hepatitis test. Blood counts today are WC 0.3 HBG 8.6 Platelets 26 , counts are rising because Dr's have stopped chemo treatments need to get Travis' blood counts back to stable before chemo can proceed. His Liver ALT 148 has gone down a little but still pretty high, still has the yellowing skin appearance but not as much as yesterday. Second day of nausea and diarrhea. Appetite is still poor. Low grade fever last night but this evening fever peaked 102.2 so back to the drawing board to figure out what is going on. More blood test and more antibiotics. Looking at Tuesday for the bone marrow biopsy, Bill went home this afternoon but will be back on Tuesday. We ask for your continued support and prayers as our hero has hit another speed bump on his journey.
God Bless. and thanks!

March 27, 2004
Short afternoon update...keep praying please...
Travis' woke up this morning with a high case of Jaundice, a yellowing of his skin and whites of his eyes, not a disease but a symptom of an underlying disorder. The discoloration occurs when excessive amounts of the body pigment bilirubin accumulate in the bloodstream. Normally bilirubin -- a natural byproduct of the breakdown of red blood cells in the liver -- mixes with the digestive juice bile and passes harmlessly out of the body through the digestive tract. But if the liver is not functioning properly or the passage of bile is obstructed bilirubin backs up into the blood Travis billrubin count was 168, very high. Dr's order about 10 different blood test along with Hepatitis testing. Ultra sound test of the liver, bladder, spleen, and kidneys all appear to be normal. Many urine test are being done to help determine the blood in his urine, still no results.

March 19, 2004
Travis' has started Phase IV of his maintenance chemo treatments, when we get to Phase XII, we will celebrate. Monday was a very busy day and totally exhausting for Travis. He started with his CT scan which shows some calcium bone growth and no abscess growth so this is great news. Off to Respiratory Care for his Nebulised pentamidine treatment, this treatment Travis receives once a month and the purpose is to prevent a type of chest infection called Pneumocystis Carinii pneumonia. Moving on to his oncologist, who was impressed with Travis' appearance and how great he looks. (we all are) Blood counts are stable except for the liver ALT a little high, Travis will have that rechecked in 2 weeks. Chemo treatments went well, slight side effects but overall he handle them fine. Continue with his daily chemo drugs at home. Next stop was his Rehabilitation Dr.'s who wrote more orders for PT, still room for improvement, therapy is a very slow process. Also x-ray of Travis' spine and pelvic area to compare previous x-rays with his spinal curves and fractured vertebrae. X-rays show about at 19% Scoliosis, which is a mild case of Scoliosis but Travis needs to be diagnosed with an Orthopedic Dr. so we will advance on and see what the methods of treatments he should proceed with, currently now he is wearing the brace method which is something we would like to dispose off. Last stop for the day was to a D.P.M, foot doctor, this appointment was to examine his toes, being diagnosed with unguis incarnatus (in-grown toenails) back when Travis went into septic shock, his whole body was traumatized and that included his toe nails. As his new toe nails grew the dead nails were pushed downward and resulted into in-grown toenails. Partial nail removal with antibiotic cream and drugs were the treatment to this problem.
School assignment's are going great and on schedule, but poor teacher Cari had a really bad fall and broke her wrist, God's speed for her to heal soon as her pain for awhile was unbearable. Registration for 10th grade is next on the school agenda. Yippeeee!
Our family hearts were sadden last week as we lost our dearly loved Grandma Smith, she spent everyday calling Travis 4-5 times a day to check on him and to be sure that he was doing ok, and to be sure to inform him that she prayed for him today and that God loves him and so does she. Travis is now blessed to have his own personal guardian angel above to be looking down upon him. Our memories of grandma will always remain in our hearts. Love you mom.
Thank you again to all who remember Travis on his birthday and to those who just drop a note now and then. Also a thanks to those who sent cards, flowers, memorials, brought over food, the visits and phone calls during my mother's passing, our family appreciates your support.
Travis' friend in Watertown who is battling liver cancer did not receive a very good Dr. report last week and we ask if you will please keep her in your prayers.
We thank you for your continued support and prayers
God Bless.

February 17, 2004
Happy 16th Birthday Travis!
We all send sweet birthday wishes for your special day and we are so proud of all your accomplishments over the last year that you have achieved.
You are a very strong young man and we love you.
Last 10 days have been mostly good days for Travis. Few days of being really tried and few upset stomach issues, but overall great days.
Travis really has enjoyed his sister Amanda and nephew Isaiah being home, but they will be leaving on Friday so that will be a change to get use to again.
Travis had a new experience this week with his G-Tube, (tube that is inserted into his stomach which we use for supplement feedings and to administrate medications) the tube broke and needed to be replaced. We do have replacement kits at home so Travis learned how to remove and replace his G-tube. Travis' medical knowledge just keeps on expanding. Two more weeks until his phase 4 of chemo treatments are done then on to phase 5. Appetite over the last week has improved so that is good news.
His daily agenda of therapy and tutoring are all going well.
Travis' has been watching the races on the weekends and few friends, Chris, Lukus and Nick over for some XBOX action. Thanks guys for spending time with Travis he really values your friendship. Travis was able to attend a Governor's boys basketball game last week, it was so fun and awesome to watch his buddies play the game and to visit with all his friends and those who stopped to say hi, it really meant a lot to Travis. We are all waiting for spring time weather so we can get outdoors and enjoy the river and a little fishing.
A special thanks to those who remembered Travis with Valentine wishes and special birthday greetings. The smiles on his face and the excitement when he opens and reads his cards will something that we will always remember. THANK YOU!
Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers.

February 17, 2004
Travis was in Sioux Falls yesterday for his chemo treatments, clinic visit, and ultra sounds and CT scan and I am happy to report that everything went well and as planned.
Chemo treatments went as scheduled 4 more weeks of the phase #4 of Travis maintenance protocol. Not for sure what the next phase consist of, will find out more next month.
Travis' blood counts were pretty good for him, still not in the normal range but that is to be expected while he receives chemo, White Blood Count 2.1, (Normal 4.5-13.5) Hemoglobin 11.8,(Normal12.0-16.0) Platelet Count157(Normal 140-420). CT Scan report no growth on the abscess infection which is wonderful news, but still showing a misalignment in his spine. Over the last 4 months Travis has be taking 2 major antibiotics we hope has killed every infection cell there was alive. Dr's order an ultra sound on Travis' liver, kidney's, spleen and bladder because over the last 2 weeks Travis has been very nausea and Dr's stated with the strong dosages of antibiotics over a length of time can develop gall stones, but the ultra sound was negative for the stones. Next step to help with the sickness feeling was to go a month with no antibiotics and see if that will help. We pray during the month he is off the antibiotics no infections appear or any other illness. Travis continues his OT and PT therapy and continues to make great progress, I think he is now up to 7 lbs. for his leg weights. Upper body strength is getting stronger everyday too. Keep going Travis!
School tutoring is going well, matter of fact Travis and Cari, his tutor, made the radio news last week both were interviewed on Travis' accomplishments that he has meet while tutoring at home. It was wonderful to hear positive news on the radio about Travis instead on the illness side. Of course Travis could not share the honor roll glory by himself as sister Kelsey was right beside him to receive a high 5 award!
Couple new classes this quarter have been added on Travis schedule so he and Cari and are making leaps and bounds to keep up with all the school work from keyboarding, pottery, jewelry beading and History.
Travis' sister Amanda and nephew Isaiah are visiting this week and that surely brings a lot more excitement in the household. Sisters are planning the big sweet 16th birthday party for Travis, so that will be a fun birthday for Travis. For those who would like to send Travis a birthday wish, his birthday is 02/26 and they can be mailed to 210 East Missouri, Pierre SD 57501 and thank you for thinking and remembering him on his special day.
I want to share this web site with you as Tony Dean from the Dakota Outdoors talks about the youth goose hunt that Travis was able to attend. It was such a highlight for him.
http://www.tonydean.com/reports.html?sectionid=4511
We continue to ask for your support and prayers for Travis and we thank you.

January 23, 2004
It has been awhile since I have updated and I apologize for that,, holidays are a busy time for all.
the New Year 2004 is here, "Can you believe it" Travis has been on his journey for 16 months and what a roller coaster it has been. We pray that the new year of 2004 grants Travis good health and many more miracles! During Travis' journey we have met a lot of wonderful caring friends and we thank you for all your support and loyal friendship and thank you for standing by Travis and us as we continue on with his journey, the Year 2006 can not come fast enough, the year we pray will be our last chemo treatments and cancer -free.
Travis was in Sioux Falls this week for his IV chemo treatments and oncologist check up. Dr.'s were excited to see how well Travis is doing. His blood counts were stable so he was able to receive his chemo treatments along with his antibiotic respiratory treatment.  Once again his chemo drugs have been increased which just totally wears him out and makes him sick, so a little R&R is on his agenda. He weight was down a little so we are monitoring his eating intake. Travis' is still taking high dosages of 2 powerful antibiotics for the abscess infection that he had and will continue at least another 3 months before discounting his antibiotics. Scheduled to go to Sioux Falls again next month for his chemo treatments and a repeat of a CT scan on his vertebrae and back to be sure that his abscess is not reappearing and to see if the vertebrae is healing. Travis was fitted for a new body brace, a little higher under his arms and a little longer on his hips which is to offer him some pressure points on his upper body which is to help his spine straighten out. Travis' neurologist suggestions reconstruction surgery down the road to straighten out Travis' spine. Will be excited to see the results of his next CT scan. Travis has been a very busy guy, continues with his OT and PT therapy, he is meeting his goals that his therapist and he made and moving on to even better and higher goals. Travis is regaining his strength slowly, but it is great to see Travis able to motivate a little on his own.
Travis' school tutor Cari, what a saint this wonderful beautiful person is, Travis looks so forward to her daily school visits as I know Cari too looks forward to her special time with Travis. Cari has set many goals for Travis and with his determination he is meeting those goals, by making the honor roll this quarter. Few friends over now and then for some XBOX game time, we thank his friends for sharing their friendship with Travis. Another highlight a few weeks ago Travis and his buddy Lukus got their first chance to go goose hunting with Pierre finest hunting guide, "Wicker Bill". Both had a great time and both shot their first goose. Of course we were so excited for Travis one more step towards his normal life style. Travis and his sister Kelsey started a new hobby together, jewelry beading and between the 2 of them making bracelets and necklaces for Christmas gifts it has kept them both busy and together. We are so proud of Travis and all his accomplishments. Travis is getting excited about his 16th birthday in a couple weeks, 02/26, he must think that 16 is a great age, drivers license, job opportunities, girls?, we will have to wait and see what changes are made in his life when he turns 16. I do know that his birthday will definitely be better then last year.
We ask for your continue prayers and on going support for Travis, day by day we will get there.
P.S. I promise next week to update the photo gallery.

December 18, 2003
I hate to report that the flu bug has hit our household. Travis and I went to the clinic today and sadly to say Travis tested positive for Influenza A, thus far his symptoms are headache, vomiting, sore throat and fever. DR's right away put all of us on the Tamiflu, which is supposed to attack the influenza virus and stops it from spreading inside your body. DR's also mentioned that the flu shots the family got will help as well. We are all praying that Travis does not get too sick from the flu.
We once again ask for your prayers and support as Travis journey has hit another speed bump.
God Bless

December 11, 2003
Sorry we have been slow getting an update out on Travis, but we are very busy, 'tis the season!
Travis is doing very well, of course he has his good days and bad days and we have seen more good then bad so this is wonderful. We have also seen something that we all have missed for a long time which is his glowing smile and his "giggles", what a gift that is to have back.
Travis' days are very busy as he continues his OT and PT therapy here in Pierre and is getting stronger every day. His back pain make some of his therapy appointments unbearable, but overall he enjoys the work out. Cari, his tutor is also busy with Travis getting him caught up with his  assignment's, may have to do a little extra school work during  Christmas vacation. We did go back to Sioux Falls last week as Travis' upper body brace needed to be refitted, first time we have  been down and back within 24 hours, wow! Travis' blood counts are stable and all the antibiotics seem to be agreeing with him. Chemo treatments of course are still ongoing and doing well. Travis' 10 hour night feedings are still on his agenda, he has gained some weight but could use a few extra pounds.  Will be going to Sioux Falls on the 22nd and we pray that we will be home for Christmas. Few friends over to past the time on the XBOX and to watch and cheer  his Vikings to a victory, he really enjoys his buddies! The flu season has arrived and we are trying so hard to avoid the exposure. Travis is really worried about getting the flu, he has seen on the news all the kids that have gotten seriously ill from  the complications of the bug. Travis really appreciates those who  have declined visits due to them not feeling well,, as he would say  to me, "they really do care about me mom",, yes that is right Travis they all  love you.  Thanks for the get well cards, Christmas cheers that keep rolling  in, you are all wonderful people to take the time to cheer Travis up. We continue to ask for your support and prayers as Travis continues to heal and  we thank you for your support.   Wishing you all real peace, real love and real joy at Christmas and  always.

November 26, 2003
Travis is home and slowly healing. Major therapy is on his agenda to help strengthen his weakness. Back pain is still present but no where close to where it was a month ago. Dr's have sent Travis home on high dosages of antibiotics for at least for 3 months. Due to the high dosages of antibiotics Travis will have his blood counts checked every 10 days. Travis was able to receive his chemo treatments and they went well. Travis' next Dr. appointment is 12/22/03 and at this time Dr's have scheduled a CT Scan to review Travis' fractured vertebrae and to see how it is healing. Also to check on the abscesses that was removed to see if there is any changes there. Along with more chemo treatments and 4 follow-up Dr. appointment's, it will be a busy day in Sioux Falls. Travis appetite is back, eating like he normally does,, sometimes hospital food is just not what the Dr. ordered.
Travis has been able to keep up on his school assignments, and we are thankful for his strong will power has he works so hard.
Travis' sister Amanda graduates from St Cloud State University and his goal is to be able to attend her graduation. He is so proud of her and really wants to be a part of her celebration.
Our thanks to all of you for everything you have done for Travis and his family. We ask for your continue support and prayers as Travis continues to heal.

November 19, 2003
Happy to report that surgery went well and Travis feels a lot better without that tube hanging down his back. His surgeon has decided to wait a month before a repeat of a CT scan, he feels Travis needs a few more weeks to heal. Dr's have been reducing Travis' pain medication and today they removed his med pump, so all his pain med's are taken orally, along with all of his antibiotics. Will continue night feedings as Travis' appetite is still not the best. Still continue therapy twice a day. Chemo is still scheduled on Monday and then hopefully we can come home and continue with therapy in Pierre and then return to Sioux Falls in 4 weeks for Ct scan, more chemo treatments and Travis' monthly check-up. Blood counts are stable. The hospital is getting a lot of kids in with flu and RSV illness so it is time for us to get out before we catch a bug. Sounds like the weather is trying into a white winter, another reason for us to get home.
Thanks to all for all your prayers and support for Travis, he continues to find the strength to heal.
God Bless

November 18, 2003
Hello to all!
Travis seems to be doing ok,, he is scheduled for surgery on Thursday at noon to remove the drainage tube and then the surgeon has ordered CT scan for a follow up to see be sure all of the abscess is gone and to see how his vertebrae is healing. Am not for sure of the plans if it is not?
Therapy has been increased to OT and PT hour in the morning and hour in the afternoon.
Goal is to hit rehabilitation really hard at the end of the week and then review Travis' strength on Monday and see where he is at. Chemo treatments are still on the agenda for Monday and if all goes well we are hoping to come home on Tuesday or Wednesday, but one day at a time. Major antibiotics will be given at home at least for 3 months with weekly blood counts to be sure his counts are stable and to be sure the antibiotics are doing their trick and no damage to his liver, etc. Everything that is good for you, I guess also has a bad side effect to it.
Guess we can say that we know chemo for Travis sure has a lot of bad side effects for him.
School work is going well, Travis is keeping up with his assignments.
It will be nice to have a break next week for Thanksgiving. Dad was down for a few hours over the weekend, he and Kelsey went hunting and came home deer-less. oh well maybe next weekend.
Travis continues to receive your support with e-mails, cards, phone calls and we thank all of you for prayers and support.
To all of you who helped Travis pray for his friend Katie last week, we thank you. Katie has gone to be with God and the heavens above, we are sadden to lose her as a friend but joyful to know that God has a wonderful angel in his heavens.

November 14, 2003
Travis is getting stronger each new day and we are so thankful for his strength to keep on fighting. His pain is a little better not as strong but still there. Therapy twice a day along with the extra exercise from mom he is pretty beat at night. Dr's have rescheduled his surgery to remove his drainage tube to the 20th of Nov. and then we have chemo treatments on the following Monday,, 24th and then maybe if everything looks and goes well we could be home for Thanksgiving, hard to believe it is turkey time already. Travis is keeping up with his school work and we are thankful for all that have helped him to stay focused in that area.
Dr's. have stopped Travis' daily feedings hoping to see an increase in his appetite.
Blood counts the other day were stable and no fevers. Dr's are going to reschedule the times when Travis receives his antibiotics to bedtime as he seems to became nauseas and then he will not eat, so we hope this will work.
Travis has meet another young lady Katie who is 15, sweet heart of kid. Katie is very ill and has only a few days left of her journey of life, so Travis has asked if I would ask all of his friends to say a special prayer for Katie as God and the angels above open the gates for her.
Dad and Kelsey will not be coming down this weekend as Kelsey gets to try her luck on her 1st year of deer hunting. I am sure she will have stories for Travis.
We ask for your continued support and prayers for Travis.
Thanks for all the calls, emails and get well wishes in the mail, he shines like a star when the mail comes.

November 11, 2003
Travis seems to be tolerating his pain a little better each day, still on his med pump but does not need it too much pain med during the day. Dr's are thinking about removing his drainage tube in his back on Monday. CT scan was done today to be sure that everything looks good in Travis lower back, we are praying for a great report.
Travis was fitted again today for another back brace, but his rehabilitation Dr. says he needs to go back to the old hard body jacket until his fracture heals. Travis had PT today and was able to sit on the edge of the bed and walk about 20 feet,, of course the pain level was high but he did an outstanding job. Dr's have started his PT twice a day again so we hope to be on our feet soon,, no long distance walking but up moving around is great news. No heavy lifting and no bending over. No fevers since surgery which is also great news. Blood panels are to be done in the morning so we should get the results in the morning.
Travis' spirits seem to be up a little, he really got into the Monday night football game last night, when the Green Bay packers lost,, better news for his Vikings.
Tons of mail again today,, we just love the little old lady, volunteers when they delivery,, they think Travis must be famous as much mail as he receives, we told her he is famous he is our hero and our son..
We ask for your continue support and prayers for Travis.
God Bless

November 10, 2003
Travis is still dealing with pain, poor kid he tries so hard to work and deal with it, but it is a struggle.
Over the last year of Travis' hospital stays the doctors used a lot of narcotics for pain and sedation and Travis' body is pretty immune to them and it takes a lot of medication to relax him, but still they can not over dose him. We have found out that a portion of Travis' vertebrae was removed,, plans were to remove the whole lumbar 3, but the Dr. went in and cleaned up around the vertebrae and removed the wing of lumbar 3,, the wing is a part of the vertebrae which wraps around the muscle next to the lumbar 3. I have not found out yet what in detail that means as far as Travis' recovery time. We do know that he will go back to surgery maybe Friday and have the drainage tube removed and then surgery again to straighten out his spine which is very crooked due to the abscess pushing against it. Of course he skin is starting to break down, bed sores, on his shoulders and lower back so we are waiting to see a skin Dr. either to get a new air bed or something to help with his skin.
Of course with his bacteria/staph infection present we do not need the infection to attack these sore sights.
All the blood, bone and abscess cultures that were done, all show what we already knew, an infection of MRSA,, which is good, at least no surprises there.
Appetite is still very poor but the tube feedings and diet supplements are helping him gain weight and a boost on his energy level. Blood transfusions of 3 units last week also helped in the energy level and hope it will also help speed up the healing.
Therapy in bed this week is just on his arms, so Travis is lifting weights to keep his strength up in his arms.
We are trying to catch him up on his school assignments, we miss our tutor teacher Cari.
We thank all of you for your continued support and prayers. The mailbox was full today of cards and e-mails and Travis thanks you for them,, he reads them about 4 times a day.

November 7, 2003
Sorry I am slow on updating as we know many of you are waiting to see how our little hero is doing.
Surgery finally started about 5:00 and finished about 7:30 and finally out of recovery at 8:30 and then to Intensive Care for monitoring, because the narcotics, (pain medicine) was at a very high level. Neurosurgeon entered through Travis' back and was able to remove and drain the large abscess which was a lot larger then they thought, about the size of a 14 inch softball. Also cleaned and washed the muscle and bone area where the infection was and sprinkled the area with "pixie dust" (antibiotic dust) to help kill any infection that may have been missed. Samples of the muscle and bone area were sent to the lab for cultures to confirm the infection, and to make sure we are not dealing with any other problems, have not heard anything back yet as it takes 24-48 hours. As far as the vertebrae area, Dr. did not remove Travis' lumbar 3, Dr. stated the infection in that area did not look as bad as what they were thinking, so he cleaned out the area and a little sprinkle of "pixie dust" and continuous use of antibiotics the vertebrae should heal on it's own, Time will tell. This is good news because it eliminates the weeks of bed rest for Travis. Dr also said that if it does not heal, we can go back in after 8 weeks and remove the lumbar 3 and replace it with rods, pins, whatever it will take to repair it. Once again we pray for the power of healing.
Travis has a drainage tube in his back and will go back to surgery in 7-10 days to remove the tube. Today Dr. has order a repeat of a CT scan to be sure that all the abscess is removed. Pain level is very high and Dr's are trying to control it with his med pump along with extra doses Travis can administrate. We are hoping that the pain relief will come soon with the abscess being removed and less pressure on his spine. Dr. also made the comment that we were lucky that this abscess did not burst as the large size and the location of it, so thank-you LORD. Blood counts are on the low side platelets 76, HGB 7.6 not for sure if they will transfuse him today or not. Travis has been receiving nutrition's through IV and his G-tube and has gained about 8 lbs, and the Dr's are excited about that. PT. Therapy will continue, but in bed for a few days, and Travis' chemo treatments (oral) are also being given daily.
Thanks to those that have sent e-mails, cards, (we all know how much Travis loves the mail!), phone calls and all for your prayers
and support. Once again our hero's journey he has reached another hurdle that he needs to battle with and we all know what a fighter Travis is so we know that he will make it through with flying colors. We appreciate your continued support and prayers for Travis and his family.
God Bless.

November 6, 2003
Travis is scheduled for surgery this afternoon at 4:00,, they save the best for last!
Travis is really nervous and scared, but overall doing ok.
The neurosurgeon has told us that he will go in and remove all the infection in the muscle and in the vertebrae and place a drainage tube in to drain out what was missed. The infection in his vertebrae lumbar 3, will be more then likely removed which we result in 2 months complete bed rest, within those 2 months Dr's will administrate high antibiotics to kill any infection. Goal is at the end of 2 months to go back to surgery and replace the lumbar 3 that was removed with some type of equipment, not for sure what at this time. We ask for your prayers and support to help Travis along his journey.
God Bless.

November 5 , 2003
MRI was completed this morning and we have been informed that the abscesses have not decreased in size,, so now we are waiting to consult with a neurosurgeon about removing them and also removing the bone infection in his vertebrae. We were also told after the infection has been removed in the vertebrae the neurosurgeon would conduct another surgery and replace the bone loss in his vertebrae and straighten out his spine.
I will update later after we talk to the surgeon.
We ask for your continued support and prayers for Travis
God Bless

November 2, 2003
Travis received a blood transfusion early Saturday morning, counts were getting pretty low. Blood cultures were drawn again this morning to see if there is any change in the infection level in his blood. No fevers for the last 48 hours so we are praying that the antibiotics are working. He weight has increased about 2 lbs. so this is great news,, appetite is still fair. Dr's plans are to continue 2 more days with the 3 strong antibiotics, daily blood panels and cultures and then on Wednesday conduct another MRI and see if the infection is decreasing in size. So I guess we will know more about what the plans are after Wednesday.
PT and OT were started on Friday, Travis is up and walking short distance 3 times a day, pain is an issue when walking but he needs to grin and bare it as bad as this sounds he does very well with it.
Dad and sister Kelsey came for a visit this weekend it was a pleasant visit for all.
We continue to ask for your prayers and support for Travis.
God Bless

October 31, 2003
BOO! Happy Halloween..
Travis had a pretty rough night and day, started about 4:00am with vomiting, chills and very high fever. 104.7-104.9. Dr's are sure that the fevers are from the MRSA infection, or the disturbance of the abscess, or there is a chance of the abscess rupturing. Lots of concerns with the infection. Blood cultures have also indicated a infection of the blood, but not know which type of infection yet, hopefully something will grow within the next 24 hours to indicate what kind of infection. 3 antibiotics are still being administrated. Dr's have indicated that a MRI will be done early next week to see if there has been any change in the abscess size, decrease or increase and after the MRI study then they will decide how to remove the infection in his muscle and in his bone.
Travis' body jacket seems to be fitting better, but we still do not like it.
Supplement feedings are still in place as Travis is still not eating or gaining weight.
For those that are interested in sending Travis a Get Well note here is his address:
Travis Newling
Sioux Valley Hospital
Room 1260
1305 West 18th Street
Sioux Falls SD 57117
phone number is 605-328-1260
Dr's have not made any comment as to how long we will be here, other then awhile. We are in no hurry to get home as we need to get Travis well first. Travis has been placed in isolation and also started bed therapy this afternoon.
We ask for your continued prayers and support for Travis.
God Bless

October 30, 2003
Travis biopsy procedure went well. Dr's withdrew about 20cc of fluid and the specimen has been diagnosed by ID Dr. as  methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. MRSA is not a new word for Travis or his Dr's has he was diagnosed in April with his pneumonia having MRSA. Dr's are thinking this staph bacteria infection may have been the reason why Travis has a fractured back. The MRSA may have started in the spine which developed into bone infection, ate away at the lumbar 3 and after that damage was done, the infection continued to grow and started feeding into his muscle next to the spine. Dr's are growing cultures to determine the type of bacteria in the MRSA and will also be conducting numerous blood panels to be sure the MRSA is not in the bloodstream which could be a serve life threatening infection. Numerous antibiotics will be started and the treatments will be up to 3 months. Next step is to remove all of the infection in the muscle and vertebrae, so an orthopedic will be consulted and figure out where to go from here, Dr's feel the infection needs to be removed more so then trying to heal with antibiotics as Travis immune system and healing system are very weak.
Travis' body jacket arrived and he is wearing it 23 hours a day and right now he is not a happy camper as it is uncomfortable and you have to relearn (again) how to sit, lay, get up, walk with all new body movements, but in the long run we try to encourage him by letting him know the healing is the pain he feels.
Thanks to all for your support and prayers.
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Good Morning,
just a quick note to inform all of you that we are still waiting for the team to get together to conduct Travis' biopsies. 3 departments from the hospital are needed that is why it did not get done yesterday as everyone's slots were full.. CT Scan tech's, radiologist and anesthesia are those that need to assist, so hopefully this morning we will be able to find something out,,
ID team, infections disease Dr's asked a lot of questions yesterday,, wow I felt like we were aliens,, both Travis and I were tested for TB, tuberculosis,, hospital had a confirmed case yesterday, interesting I thought but they have to start digging and ruling out diseases as no one knows what this mass is and since it is so close to his spine which is the central nervous system they are very concerned. Pathologist and ID Dr's will be they ones that will be studying the smears, cultures, etc. from the biopsies.
I forgot to mention that Travis is on night G-tube feeding, with all the pain from his back his appetite as been very poor, he lost about 15 lbs. so we need to beef him up again..
I will update you all later today when I know something.
Thanks for all your prayers and concerns.
Love
Margie and Travis.

October, 29, 2003
Travis made it to all his appointment's in Sioux Falls on Monday however his last appointment landed him in the hospital. Travis back pain is so bad and Dr's think with that much pain something is wrong. That night Travis had a MRI and a bone x-ray done of his spine and lower back. Dr's have reported that his lumbar 3 fracture is still present but no change which means it is no worse, but he does have a large mass in his muscle next to his spine along with 2 smaller mass near the same muscle. The large mass is about the size of a baseball and the other 2 about the size of golf balls. Once again we have seen many different specialist Dr's that last few days to help determine which road we are going down to figure out what is going on. We are hoping today Dr's can do biopsies of these masses and give us some idea what they are. A team of infectious disease Dr's have been called in also to help with the diagnoses of the biopsies. We have been told the masses could be an infection, blood or cancer. After the results of the biopsies are in then Dr's will consult and decide what the plan and treatment(s) can be.
Travis was fitted for a body cavity jacket which he will need to wear 24 hours a day to help with his fracture. Travis is on a continuous med pump to help control his pain and it seems to be working and making him comfortable. His blood counts dropped from yesterday, Dr's are not sure why but will be watching them closely.
We once again continue to ask for your support and prayers for Travis as he continues to be our hero as he battles his illness.
God Bless.

October 22, 2003
Travis is happy to report that he has been home for 4 weeks, this is the longest period of time that he has been home with out
hospitalization over the last year. WOW! Sister Kelsey has really enjoyed her brother being home to hang and play with.
School tutoring is going well with Cari, she comes every morning and then Travis is off to therapy in the afternoons. His days are busy. Studying hard to earn his spot on the school honor roll. Still continue to fight the battle with his fractured vertebrae, muscle spasms has caused his spine to shift which delivers more pain to his back problems. Travis is very weak can not walk, get out of bed or a chair with out assistance. His weakness is getting stronger just a very slow progress.
G-tube seems to be working well with his daily medications and chemo treatments. Overall if it was not for the back problems Travis would be doing well.
Travis has 5 Dr. appointments in Sioux Falls next week along with major chemo treatments, we pray everything goes well and we receive good reports.
Pheasant hunting opened over the weekend and Travis was not able to participate in the big hunt. He did manage to go out for a few hours each day just to observe the hunt, hunters and the birds. We are hoping that he will be able to enjoy deer hunting in November.
We thank you for your continue support and prayers for Travis as he continues to heal and fight his illness.
God Bless.

September, 29, 2003
Travis' appointment went well in Sioux Falls on Friday. Chemo treatments were able to begin again and Travis did very well with them. However he did need a blood transfusion with one unit of blood. Travis has been fighting a fall cold, so Dr's prescribed a few med's to help out with his cold. Our next Dr. visit is in one month, it will be nice to stay home for 30 days.
Therapy is going great, OT and Pt weekly and tutoring at home for school is also going well, Travis seems to be hanging in there with his assignments. His appetite seems to picking up a little, must still like mom's cooking.
Travis had a few friends visit over the weekend, it was great to see them together playing XBOX and watching the Viking's game, what great therapy!
Thanks for your continuous support and prayers.

September 24, 2003
Thanks to all of you for all your support that you have given to Travis and our family over the last year,, you all have gone that extra mile for us and we so do appreciate everything that you do and continue to do for us.. God Bless
Sept 24th a milestone for Travis, marking one year since he was diagnosed with cancer.
During these 365 days Travis has been through a lot. Some of those days we were uncertain the direction they were going, but over the last year Travis has shown to us what strength, courage is all about and how prayers, support and love can endure all of us through hardships.
Travis' was discharged from Sioux Valley on Saturday, 09/20. He is pretty weak from not eating or drinking much. His surgery is healing slowly, but well, his G-Tube works great and really helps with his medicines and supplement feedings. Dr.'s stopped his chemo treatments on Sunday to let his body heal from surgery, chemo slows down the healing process. Travis' chemo treatments will restart on Friday 09/26 will be going back to Sioux Falls to receive his spinal injection and IV chemo treatments along with a new set of chemo drugs.
Therapy is going well, Travis works really hard to gain his strength. Travis is working hard in keeping up with his school assignment's, his favorite tutor, Cari is having great success with Travis as he works hard.
A little excitement in Travis sport life,, Twins Win their division,, few more baseball games that he can enjoy watching and those Vikings,, WOW!,, maybe Super Bowl?
 Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Travis.

September 19,2003
Travis' surgery went well, and we were able to use it last night for his medications. Also Dr's ordered a small feeding of pedialyte too, so the tube works great. The abdomen pain is another story,, but Travis will learn to tolerate it. Back pain is not as bad as his brain is focusing on new pain. All antibiotics have been stopped and other medications are decreasing and looks like we are getting close to coming home, Dr's are thinking maybe this weekend. Home is always a better place to heal in our book. Blood counts are still increasing , but with the surgery Dr's will hold Travis' chemo treatments for 5 days to let the healing continue on the incision. Chemo drugs will effect the healing so that is why they will wait until next Friday for chemo treatments to restart.
We ask for your continue support and prayers as Travis continues to heal.
God Bless.

September 18, 2003
Travis' week has been long and hard for him, one dealing with his back pain and the other taking his medications.
Dr's conducted a upper GI x-ray yesterday to see if Travis has a stomach reflex due to excessive vomiting. GI results came back ok,, next was to have a Dr come in and see if Travis has a behavioral eating disorder,, of course us that know Travis know that is not the problem,, it is swallowing his medicines that is the
issue. Dr's have discussed Travis' chemo maintenance which for the next 2 1/2 years Travis on a daily basis will need take his med's, and realizing that it is so difficult for him to do Travis has been given an option to help in taking his med's which is to have a G-Tube insertion (Gastrostomy tube insertion) which is a feeding tube into his stomach. Travis will be able to take a majority of his med's through this tube. Travis is willing and excited about a G-Tube and is willing to give it a try, so the gastroenterologist surgeon and Travis have a date at 1:00 today to conduct the surgery. We all pray that this is the relief that Travis needs to help with his stress load of taking med's. His G-tube can also be used to help with his fluid and food intake in case he every needs it. Travis continues his therapy daily and seems to be doing well. PT is really hard on him with his back, but seems to be helping a little with his pain management. Antibiotics have been cut done to one which is administrated every 6 hours. Blood cultures and panels show that the C-Diff infection is gone and the staph infection is still being treated. Blood counts are more stable WBC 2.3 which show us that Travis is fighting his infections, Platelets are 47 and his HBG is 8.6 these counts are increasing as well which is a good sign. Travis has a big chemo day on Monday so we hope that his blood counts can remain stable so he can receive his chemo treatments. Travis has not had a fever for the last 96 hours, which is another great sign of healing. We ask for your continued support and prayers for Travis.
God Bless

September 11, 2003
Last couple days have been rough and hard on all of us, but I am happy to report that our hero Travis has once again jumped this hurdle and is gaining strength to heal each day. To even hear the word septic shock again was a total nightmare and scary.
Blood cultures growth reports indicate a coag-negative staph infection and we hope with all the antibiotics Travis is receiving will help with all of the infection. The C-Diff infection is getting better and the nausea and diarrhea are starting to slow down. Fevers and chills are still present, they come and go, but fevers are not as high, they say that the fevers and chills are good signs to show that his body is working hard to fight off the infections. Travis started therapy this afternoon to help with his back pain. Still in a lot of pain but he needs to stretch out those bones and muscles to help them heal. Chemo treatments are back on the agenda and seems to be going ok. Since the morning and early evening is going well they are thinking of moving Travis back out to the patient floor. Yippee! More blood panels and counts tomorrow to see if the infections are getting under control, if so Dr's will start to cut back on the antibiotics Travis is on. Travis will probably be in the hospital until next Wednesday or Thursday if all goes well.
We continue to ask for your love, support and prayers and help Travis find the strength to heal.
God Bless

September 10, 2003
Travis has been transferred to Intensive Care Unit at Sioux Valley.
The last few days and nights have been very rocky,, nauseas, diarrhea, low blood pressure and high fevers, 104-105 is the reason for the transfer. Travis vitals need to be monitored very closely as Dr's are very concerned that a relapse of septic shock may occur. Oxygen is also being given as his O2 levels are low. Travis is very weak.
Blood counts have dropped and orders are for 2 units to be given. HGB count is 6.5. White blood cells are 0.9 and platelets are 46. Transfusions of platelets maybe needed. Travis' counts have dropped over the last 2 days. Dr's are thinking drop in counts due to chemo drugs, or some type of infection taking over. We pray that the infection is not in his blood stream.
More blood cultures will be drawn tonight to help determine the infection.
3 more IV antibiotics have been added to the list of medicines along with more pain narcotics for Travis' back pain. Steroids have been added to help fight off the infection as well. A wonderful drug but as we all know the side effects are awful.
Ultra sound and chest x-rays reports are good, today the spine x-ray was done and all that is shown thus far is still the fracture on the 3rd lumbar. Have not been told if it is healing or not. Therapy is on hold until Travis is strong enough to continue, Chemo treatments have been put on hold until the high fevers and the infection are gone.
Bill is on his way down and that will help with all the stress and may relax Travis a little bit. Last 4 nights with no sleep is very hard on anyone.
We continue to ask for your support and prayers as our hero has another battle in his health journey he needs to conquer.
God Bless

September 8, 2003
Travis was discharged from Sioux Valley on Tuesday and after a few days of R/R at home he stated school on Friday. He
really enjoyed his day of friends, school and all the greetings he
received.
Tuesday was a different day,, Travis only lasted 3 hours of sitting, he found out how much discomfort his fractured lumbar is. Over the last week he has been in the Pierre emergency room with high fevers and severe pain in his lower back. Blood panels and blood cultures were drawn and nothing was showing positive. Travis went to the Pierre clinic on Tuesday and Wednesday with once again fevers and lower back pain, chest x-rays and more blood panels done still no results to help us indicate what the fevers and pain are from. Saturday night back to ER and then air lifted to Sioux Valley Hospital. Travis' last 10 days have been really hard on him with all the pain he is dealing with along with the high fevers which resulted in dehydration. Thus far we know that Travis' blood cultures are showing a positive growth, not able to determine what yet, hopefully the next 24 hours will show us something. His stool cultures also show a positive for C-DIff(Clostridium difficile) a spore forming bacteria in his digestive system which would explain some of his fever, and his symptoms of diarrhea. C-Diff will be treated with an antibiotic called Vancomycin. We are hoping that this antibiotic will also work on the blood infections that is growing. Chest CTscan were done today along with a ultra sound of the gall bladder, kidneys, liver, bladder to see if this may be cause of the serve back pain,, all these test look great,, so that leaves us to do another spine x-ray to see if the vertebrae is healing, or to see if another lumbar has been fractured. Of course more blood panels to be sure the all the infections is under control. Therapy is still on going daily event and his strength was getting there, but now with his back so sore it is hard. Travis is so down, our hearts go out ot him,, his goal this fall was to be able to start school and enjoy his school year with his friends and try to get back into his normal routine of life.
Travis will be at Sioux Valley at least for the week and hopefully returning home with antibiotics to fight off his infections as it will take about 10 days to fight of the C-Diff.
Our request from you as always is to ask for your continued support and prayers for Travis and he continues to fight and heal.

August 27, 2003
Travis' blood counts were stable enough on Monday so Dr's were able to do surgery to place his port-a-cath and also to start his next maintenance phase of chemo. This phase has 84 days of daily chemo drugs and monthly visits to Sioux Falls for IV chemo drugs. Dr's have reduced Travis' chemo drugs 50% for this phase just to reintroduce his body to chemo and then in a month they will start to increase the chemo levels again. Travis ferratine level(iron in his blood) is still at a very high level, Dr's were treating this while Travis was in the hospital last week but still fighting a high level, Dr's are going to let Travis' body rest for a month before they attack it again. Travis' back is still pretty sore, but in time this will heal too. Travis continues his therapies of OT, PT and Speech weekly.
It is great to have Travis back at home again and he really enjoys sleeping in his own bed. School has started this week and we are hoping to get Travis back into his routine of school and friends.
We thank you for your continue support and prayers for Travis and his family.

August 22, 2003
Travis' bone scan report was not the greatest news we wanted to hear, but at least we got an answers as to what our problems are.
It is just like the Dr's have been telling us all along,, Travis is so sensitive to his chemo treatments ..
The side effects of one of Travis' chemo drugs, along with the steroids have caused thinning of his bones and muscles. They say that young male are a rare case and are usually not a high risk,  (they do not know Travis!). Travis has a facture in his 3rd lumbar. Dr's. have discussed the treatment for Travis which will be a fitted back brace, PT therapy, more and more and more, exercise, time and prayers. Along with more medication, lots of extra calcium and Vitamin D and pain killers.
The bone scan also showed Avascular Necrosis of the bone, (joint damage or bone death) to his right hip and damage also starting to set in the left hip, all caused by prednisone, steroid). Dr's do not seem to concerned right now with this damage as it already has taken place but to focus on the vertebrae. In the future a hip replacement will probably be needed to repair the joint damage. Tomorrow Dr's will do more blood test and see where Travis' levels are and see if he is ready to return to his chemo treatments. Dr's are also attacking Travis' high iron overload Ferreting well we are here.
We ask for your continued support and prayers for Travis as he also continues to find the strength to heal.

August 21, 2003
Well I am sad to report we still are uncertain of the severe pain and fevers that Travis is dealing with over the last week. He has not ran a fever for 48 hours which is good news, so the antibiotics may have helped kill something, MRI and Ultra sounds did not show any cause for his pain. Yesterday x-rays for hip and pelvic were done, no signs of any problems there. Today Dr.'s ordered a bone scan from head to toe, so we are hoping something here will show up. Dr's are saying that all that Travis has been through his bones and muscles are still recovering from the septic shock and are very weak, and this like everything else takes time to recover. Also with Travis being so sensitive to chemo drugs his poor body overall is so weak. Blood counts are still pretty low so another week off chemo treatments, going on 5 weeks with no chemo treatments. Surgery of course did not happen this week due to the high fevers. After the results from the bone scan are back Dr's will determine what the next steps are.
We ask for your continue support and prayers for Travis as he continues to find his strength to heal.

August 18, 2003
Travis was air ambulance to Sioux Valley Hospital from St Cloud Hospital on Sunday afternoon. Dr's felt that his temperature was stable enough to transport. He is still running high fevers along with his severe lower back pain. All the blood cultures that have been done are not showing any growth to determine a source of` infection. Dr's again have ordered more stool cultures, urine cultures, blood cultures, West Nile testing to see what is going on. Travis is also scheduled for a MRI of his lower back and ultra sound of his kidneys, hoping something will show up there. In the meantime we sit and wait for some test result to show us something. Please continue to pray for Travis as he once again has another bump in the road he needs to get over.

August 16, 2003
Travis has been visiting his sister, Amanda in St Cloud for a few days and his visit continued to St Cloud Hospital as a patient. Travis was admitted to the hospital on Thursday with high fever, chills and lower back pain. Communications between Travis' Dr. in Sioux Falls and in St Cloud medical treatments for Travis at this time will be high dosages of antibiotics and massive blood cultures to determine the source of infection. Chest and lower back x-rays were are so completed along with a bone scan to see if any bone infection or lung infection was present, all x-rays reports were negative. Plans are to treat Travis in St Cloud until Sunday and then transfer him to Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls. Since cultures are in the lab and waiting for reports to see if anything is growing, Dr's will not release him in case it is a staph or serious infection. Travis was schedule for a Dr's appointment in Sioux Falls on Monday to check his blood levels to see if he can return to his chemo treatments, along with his surgery that was scheduled on Tuesday, but now with the infection settling in, I questioned the surgery on Tuesday.
Please continue to keep Travis in your prayers as he continues to fight his battle.

August 11, 2003
Last few weeks have kept us busy between traveling to Sioux Falls, therapy and numerous clinic visits for blood counts.
Travis' surgery once again has been cancelled due to his low blood counts. Dr's are very concerned about Travis' low blood levels as to why the bone marrow is not generating new cells. Dr.'s requested a bone marrow biopsy last week and we are happy to report that the pathologist report was great news, the bone marrow is still in remission and Dr's are able to see new cells(red cells, white cells and platelets) producing but just growing slowly. Dr.'s are discovering that Travis' body system is very sensitive to his chemo drugs and this phase of his chemo drugs had effected his bone marrow growth. Once again his immune system is destroyed again. Travis has been off his chemo treatments for almost 4 weeks due to his low blood counts, we are hoping and praying next week to restart his treatments. Travis' surgery again has been postponed and we are also hoping and praying next week to have his port-a-cath replaced. Therapies are going well, lack of energy on some days so he is really tried in the evening. School will be starting in 2 weeks and not for sure what the plans are for Travis' schooling yet, in the process working with the school to figure out what will be the best for Travis.
We continue to ask for your prayers and support for Travis.

July 28, 2003
Travis has a CBC, blood planel done this morning and his results were not the greatest.
His WBC 1.3, HGB, 6.5 and Platelets are 44., so we are on our way to Sioux Falls.
Travis has been off chemo for the last 7 days hoping that his blood counts would increase, since they have not Dr's have no other choice but to induce blood transfusions. His HGB and ANC levels will increase, but so will his ferratine level which is way above normal now. Dr's are hoping to increase his ANC level, counts that help determine his immune system level, so they can do surgery this week to reinsert his port-a cath, so we can administrate medicine through his new port to attack his ferratine level. Will update later as we need to hit the road.
Take care and continue to keep Travis in your prayers.
Thanks to all!

July 10, 2003
Travis has been home for about a week and his life style has made some big changes from all the medical support and needs to out patient rehab and mom care. Overall things are going ok,, out patient therapy is once a day 5 times a week, we pick up the extra rehab hours by doing activities at home. Standing and walking are coming along still unsteady and needs assistances. Few falls at home but nothing to major, just frustration. Trying to get assistance in the Education needs that Travis requires, he has been tested about 3 years behind so he still has a lot of catch up to do there. Last night was the first night since we have been home that he has slept all night,, security is a big issue, but it is coming along.
Chemo treatments are going well, will be going back to SF for a PLANNED medical appointment(07/20) and monthly chemo treatments. The new medicine for the seizure attacks has finally been accepted by Travis' body system. Travis is having a hard time with the heat and the bright sunshine, one of the side effects from the medicines is sunlight so he does not get out a lot during the day. We continue to ask for support and prayers as Travis has proved to us all that it is working.

July 1, 2003
First of all thank you to all of you that participated in Travis' welcome home caravan,, we thank all of you that were there to help with his medical attention that was needed. All though Travis does not remember the event he was very surprised to know so many of you showed up and he was so thankful.

Of course you all know that we are back in Sioux Falls Hospital trying to figure out the problem or cause of Travis' seizure. He was scheduled yesterday for the following test, MRI, MRA and an EEG
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detailed pictures of body tissues and organs without the need for x-rays.
MR angiography (MRA) is an MRI study of the blood vessels.
Electroencephalograph- where electrodes are attached to your head and record your brain activity.
Thus far what we have been told from the neurologist is that Travis' brain is showing seizure activity. What Dr's. can see is that the activity has been brewing for awhile. Few things they feel may have been the factor, 1) Travis' IT chemo treatments, this treatment is the injection of chemo into his spine which helps control the cancer cells in the central nervous system, this drug will be changed to another chemo drug as he will continue his treatments 2) Travis' coma, being the brain was so inactivity for many days could be another issue, along with all the medication he received during the sedation period. .
Travis will start another new medication to help control and avoid the seizure activity and be reevaluated in 6 months to see if the brain nerve cells are back to normal. We all are learning another new medical term, seizures, the cause of, medicines for treatments, testing for seizures, how to be ready and treat when they occur.
Our hero, another battle he will fight has he continues to heal.
His Feritin, iron in his blood is still very high and needs to be monitored and reduced, so while we are here steps are being made to help reduce the iron intake.
Therapy in Pierre was to be started today, so hopefully we can back on schedule with that routine. We are hoping to leave Sioux Falls late this afternoon and come back home, and start where we left off on our first arrival back home on Friday.
Travis' friends have entered a float in the 4th of July parade to Welcome Travis home, be sure to watch for it and anyone interested may join in on the fun.
We once ask for your continued support and prayers for Travis as he heals.
God Bless.

June 30, 2003
Just a quick update,,
Travis was air lifted back to Sioux Falls Hospital this afternoon after a seizure attack as soon as we got home on Friday and just not feeling well over the weekend. We are scheduled to visit with a neurologist and also EEG, MRI and MRA will be done to see what is going on,, I will update later.
Please continue to pray for Travis as he has another hurdle in his journey he needs to jump.
Take care.
God Bless

June 27, 2003
Travis has just finished his last therapy session at Sioux Valley and within a couple hours we will be on our way home!!!
Our hero has completed this chapter of his journey with flying colors.
Also Travis will be on KELO TV tonight during the 6:00 news so stay tuned..
I will update later this week..
God Bless.. see you in Pierre.

June 26, 2003
Travis' surgery went very well we are happy to report. Dr's are very pleased with his results from the bone marrow biopsy, less then 2% blasts, so his bone marrow is still in remission. which is awesome, after the septic shock Dr's did not know what they were going to see. We are also happy to report the beginning of Travis' 3 year chemo treatments, thus far are going well. Purpose of Travis' 3 year of treatments is to let the chemo attack all the cancer cells outside the bone marrow which are through out his body.
The greatest news is that we are going home!!!!! Few blood counts Friday morning followed by Travis' therapy sessions and then Travis will be discharged. Travis will continue his rehabilitation therapy in Pierre as an out patient and also school tutoring. Travis will continue his chemo treatments at home and then once a month trips to Sioux Falls. We are in the works of trying to find some healthcare for Travis, for now his health needs are 24 hour care, so if anyone has any suggestions we would love to hear from you. I am still working on this one.
Our last goal before leaving was to do a follow up on KELO Health Beat which will air this Friday,, sorry not for sure the time. either the 5:00 or 6:00 KELO news. I will tell you that I did get a little emotional as it is very scary/joyful for us to be bringing Travis home. . Just looking back at everything he and all of us have gone through just brings tears to my eyes.
We still have a lot of work to do at home as Travis continues to recover, but going home is a big step to healing.
We thank you all of you for your support over these last few months, you have traveled with us in this journey and with out your support and prayers who knows where we would be.
We ask for your continued prayers and support for Travis.
God Bless you all and we hope to see you in Pierre next week.

June 24, 2003
Travis is scheduled for surgery this morning. along with his bone marrow biopsy and the start of his 3 year chemo maintenance with a chemo drug injected into his spinal fluid. We are praying for a great outcome. Travis is a little nervous, knowing sedation is what kept him in a coma for 45 days so he is thinking hard, little depress. Blood counts are gaining on their own which is wonderful. Travis has developed a problem with all the transfusions that he received, he blood counts are showing an excessive amount of Iron-storage Protein known as Feritin. What the Dr's. are telling us is that too much Feritin can and will damage living organs, liver, kidneys, bladder, heart, etc. to help resolve this issue Travis will be receiving a continuous IV med which will help absorb the storage Fertitin proteins. Repeat of blood counts on Friday to see what progress has been made.
All Travis' medical needs for his arrival of coming home are in the process, so many needs to be meet and put into place, we are excited about just the thought of coming home, we are praying for a smooth transition.
Thanks for all your support, prayers and love for Travis and all of us as we continue to recover. Hope you are enjoying the lastest updated photos of Travis.. the cooking photo was a theraphy session Travis had.
God Bless

June 22, 2003
I am happy to report that Travis is recovering wonderfully. Still needing assistances in walking with his walker but we are getting there. Have achieved many goals over the last week in therapy, going up and down steps, longer walking distances, getting in and out of cars and Suburban, bathroom duties, standing for length of 5 minutes.. it is so great to see Travis make such great progress. Our Hero! Appetite still not the best but hopefully soon he will be eating like a teenage kid. Lungs appear to be clearing just fine, the shadowing in his lungs Dr.'s feel it was a patch of bacteria staph.  The enlarge duct to the liver will have just to be monitored for now, if it cause problems then it will have to be repaired. Travis is able to sleep nights with out oxygen, so this is great. We have lost the feeding tube today,, on our own,, Travis got a little emotional when Amanda, Jon and Isaiah left today and got upset and vomited and the NG tube came along with,, hopefully will not need to replace it. Goals this week are to have surgery on Tuesday to remove Travis' port-a-cath, bone marrow biopsy and to inject chemo into Travis' spine. Also will be starting his 3 year maintenance treatments this week if his blood counts are high enough.. RBC are seating pretty low last couple of days,, hoping to see an increase before they do a transfusion. Care conference this week went well,, Dr's are working with Pierre to get therapy in order so when we do come home things are in place,, we are planning on being home by the 4th of July. Travis will need 24 hour care when we get home so need to study this plan out very well also. Everyone tells me it will work out. Lots of medicines to come home with, major antibiotics for awhile till his immune system is back into normal working condition to fight off all bacteria's.
Travis had a busy week this week,, some of his buddies(Chris Smith, Lukus Leidholt, Sam Willard and Nick Marso) came to Sioux Falls for a visit and all were able to attend a SF Canaries baseball game,, all had a great time. Biggest surprise to all of them was the surprise visitor Travis had Friday morning,, Michael Bennett, running back from the Minnesota Vikings,, how cool,, do not know who was more excited for the surprise visitor,, Travis, mom, the boys or all the nurses. It was great,, Travis was the talk of the hospital again that day,, of course many pictures and autographs for all.. we will never forgot that exciting day and it was so wonderful to share the moment with his friends! Thanks Cari for bringing the boys down! Dad, Kelsey, Amanda, Jon and Isaiah were here this weekend and everyone remarked as to how well Travis is doing,, getting stronger everyday. Girls decorated Travis room,,red, white and blues stripes and stars,, getting ready for the 4th of July. Enjoyed a few outings this weekend despite the hot, muggy weather.
We appreciate all the support, prayers, and encouragement for Travis and all of us, it is helping us as we journey along.
God Bless.

June 15, 2003
June 15, wow we have been here over 2 months,, some days it sure feels like it too.
Travis' recovery over the last few days has been a little rocky. This week high fevers have set in, lots of blood panels and cultures have been drawn, Dr's are thinking maybe a reoccurrence of MRSA - Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus, often referred to simply as "staph," are bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. No reports back on the bacteria yet. Another ultra sound done on his bladder and liver following up on the enlarge bile duct, nothing to report on this either. Chest x-ray was done on 06/14/03 need to rule out pneumonia, Travis' lungs do not sound too clear, maybe some fluid build up, his breathing intakes have increased. We did get a report back on the chest x-ray and Dr's. are seeing some kind of shadowing in the lungs, not for sure what the shadows are, so a CT Scan of his lungs, chest were order and completed last night, nothing to report on this scan yet, hopefully something this morning and nothing serious. Travis' immune system is still pretty weak as he is still recovering from his last round of chemo. His blood counts are trying to recover, WBC 0.4 Platelets 41, and Red Blood Cells are 8.4 just had a blood transfusions on Wednesday so that has helped with the energy level in therapy. Have not started his maintenance chemo treatments yet, still waiting for his blood counts to come back up, maybe next week. Therapy is going well, 3 hours a day and this totally wipes Travis out. His legs in walking a pretty weak, so he has been fitted for AFO's, ankle, foot orthosis. Custom molded plastic braces which are designed to stabilize his weak muscles and help correct the position of the foot and ankle. Travis was heart broken when he was told that he would need leg braces for awhile, but after wearing them and seeing how much they help him, maybe it is not a big thing after all. Since they are custom made Travis was able to pick out the color/pattern of the AFO's, boy are they WILD! Will send a picture later in the week. Travis continues to make great progress in OT., PT., and Speech therapy.
Travis is walking with moderate assistance with a walker, right now his distance is appx. 30 feet at once, of course he continues to meet that goal and working on increasing it. He has such great high goals in therapy and he works so hard to meet those goals.
Attended a few care planning conferences this week to be sure that all of Travis' out patient therapy needs will be in place so when we do come home everything is ready for him. We hope to be home for the 4th of July!
On Travis' good days he may receive a pass to leave the hospital, over the last weekend he was entitled to a few passes and he was able to enjoy a few sporting events. State soccer was in Sioux Falls with Pierre teams playing, along with Pierre Teener baseball games,
it was great to watch and visit with his friends, along with extra visitors at the hospital.
Dad continues to come down on weekends and sisters Kelsey and Amanda will be here this weekend for Father's Day. Hopefully we can get out to enjoy some sunshine.
Travis continues to receive his support through the mail, e-mail's
and we thank- you for them. We had some great news in a get well card that dad sent down this week, a SD lottery scratch ticket was enclosed and it was a winner,, a big winner of $5,000.00 I could not believe it,, I ran right to the lottery office to verify it and they handed me a check,, wow! Travis and I were so excited, called dad to tell him we had a winner, of course thinking a 10.00 or 20.00 winner, but not a big winner. What perfect timing in our lives to have a little excitement. I told Bill maybe this is a sign, a turning point to indicate that all our days ahead will be wonderful! We do believe in miracles! (no clue what we are going to do with the $$ :0). Medical bills!
We thank you for your continuous support , encouragement and prayers for Travis as he continues to recover.
God Bless.
Happy Father's Day!

June 4, 2003
Few days have passed and Travis is moving in the right direction to recovery.
Last night his IV clotted again, so many attempts to try to get a new IV in,, finally 2 hours later nurse's were successful. Wish we had our port-a-cath back. Travis' Dr. was not too excited about the IV issue and ordered blood panels this morning and indicated if his blood counts were high enough Travis would receive his chemo and his last dose of major antibiotic and then remove his IV and let his veins rest. Well his blood counts were high enough and we are pleased to report that our June 5th date came one day earlier and Travis has now finished his last phase of intense chemo and now we will wait a week or two before we go into his 3 year maintenance,, once again your support of prayers and love have fulfilled Travis' needs.
Another exciting day was yesterday and today as Travis, "our hero" was able to walk 30 feet with assistance in the parallel bars in therapy,, oh how I cried!! I was so excited,, bless his heart. Travis did have a really bad day on Monday night really depressed, he sat and cried and said that he just wants to walk again and this big step he took has really helped his self esteem.
He is asking a lot of question about what happened to him, why did he sleep so long, what happened every day he was in a coma, why can he not do all the things he once did before he got sick, why can I not remember all the things I use to know.. we try to answer his questions as truthfully as we can and we pray that he and us will understand what has happened to him was for a good reason and some day we will know why. He really gets down on himself as he try's to figure this all out. We appreciate all your thoughts, prayers and encouragement as he really needs them to help him cope as he continues to fight for his health.
Thanks for the continuous cards, e-mails , phone calls and visits,, Travis enjoys them very much. Thanks to those who donated to the Children's Miracle Network in Travis' honor, he was impressed!
God Bless.

June 1, 2003
We have had a very busy weekend with Children's Miracle Network broadcasting live from Sioux Valley Hospital,, lots of excitement and Travis is enjoying every minute of it. I hope you all had a chance to see him on TV this weekend to see the progress that Travis has made.
Travis platelets are critical low today 17, so he is undergoing a platelet transfusion right now, another 10 units. Appetite is not the best, but we are working on it.
Buddy Lucas came for a visit over the weekend and Travis manage to find a little strength to play a video game and watch a movie for awhile, the visit alone was great therapy.
Chemo treatments are getting to the end in this phase, next large dosages will be Thursday, June 5th and then we will start Travis' 3 year maintenance when his blood counts recover.
I have attached a couple photos, Tom and Darcie Kurtenbach and Nick were down and presented Travis a benefit check for the donations that were raised at the pancake feed which the Pierre Fire Dept hosted. About $8,000.00 was raised and we thank all you that attended and to the volunteers and to the vendors that gracefully donated food products. CMN presented Travis with his gold medal of courage, he is pretty proud of his miracle medal and I sure he will cherish it for every we all know that he definitely earned it, our hero.
The other photo is of course Travis being interviewed during the phonathon with KELO TV in his room. He was on TV about 6 times over the weekend, so he had lots of visits.
Thanks to all for your continuous support and the healing prayers, they are truly working.
God Bless.

May 30, 2003
Travis once again started to run a fever and chills last night right after therapy,, now what new challenges do we have to face? Dr. was called and more blood cultures were drawn last night, one day at a time. Chest x-ray this morning showed a slight improvement, still waiting for cultures to show anything. Blood panels were drawn this morning blood counts still pretty low,, WBC 0.7 HBG 9.4 Platelets 28, so Dr's have order 2 blood transfusions for today, thus far on the hospital stay we have gone through 20 units of red blood cells, 1000+ units of platelets , so our thanks to you that were able to donate. Thus far gallbladder and liver ultra sounds reports came back normal,, double vision still seems to be an issue for Travis
Stool cultures were also drawn today as Travis seems to be having too many lose stools.
Therapy is going well,, few new challenges Travis was able to succeed at, little frustration at times, but he finds the will power and strength.
Few visitors this weekend, Dad for sure and friends so it will be nice to have a few visit to pass the time.
Have a great weekend and many thanks to all for your continuous support and prayers.
Once again your support through e-mail memos, cards and phone calls we can not express our thanks.
God Bless

May 29, 2003
Travis' pneumonia is getting better, still in his lungs but the new antibiotics seems to be handling the infection and fevers. Friday will do another chest x-ray and see what that will show. Will deal with his port a cath after his pneumonia clears up and done with his intense phase of chemo
Blood counts are really low due to Travis' chemo treatments,, WBC 0.5, RBC 9.6 Platelets 28. Hang in there Travis we are just about on the downhill slide and you have been a great fighter,,
One more week of Travis' intense phase of chemo, we ask for your continues prayers to help Travis get through the next 7 days. Travis is really weak, appetite is not the greatest but he continues to keep on fighting through his battle. "Our Hero"
OT/PT Therapy continues to move forward still not able to stand or walk but in time we pray to see these challenges for Travis to be an easy task soon. Speech therapy also consist of specialty services of Language Development and Cognitive Development sometimes Travis has to really think about the answers when he does not do well he really gets frustrated, but he never gives up. He was able to tie a shoe lace today and remove his shoe and sock.. a very hard task for him but he did it.
Travis has lots of weeks of rehab ahead of him and we pray that he will continue to progress no matter how big or small those steps are. Once Travis is able to walk a distance and stand for a length of time, Dr's will let him go home and he will receive OT/PT therapy in Pierre. We can hardly wait for that great day.
Thanks to all for all your concerns and support and we all know with your continued support and prayers Travis will overcome his challenges and get back to his normal life of being a great kid.
Travis will be the spot light again this Friday night on KELO TV during the 6:00 news and also hit and miss times over the weekend for the telethon and KELO TV will also be doing live broadcast from the hospital so will see him through out the weekend,, he loves this TV stuff..I think he is just getting adjusted to the fact that he has cancer and he is learning that it is ok and life does go on.. what a guy!
God Bless.

May 28, 2003
Travis is getting stronger everyday, he would do anything just to be able to sit up by himself, same goes for standing and walking. Really gets depressed as he is unable to motivate with out assistance,, we really try to encourage him that it will come.. just takes time.
Few set backs within the last couple days, first Travis' port-a-cath needs to be surgical removed, couple reasons,, septic shock that hit Travis may cause an infection to his port and secondly it just does not want to work properly. As soon as Travis gets strong enough he will have surgery to remove the port. Travis has spiked a very high fever,, too high to be a side effect from chemo, last night peaked to 103.9. Travis' Dr. was called numerous times throughout the night to help make him comfortable and give orders to help determine the problem(s) for the fever.. Blood cultures have been drawn 3 times within the last 6 hours so hopefully something will show up as the cultrues grow.
Travis has a new pain in his right shoulder and lower right abdomen side, Chest x-ray were order and x-ray shows a new case of pneumonia has settled in again, back to major antibiotics.
Ultra sounds have also been ordered on his gallbladder and liver, should know some results by late afternoon.
Appetite is not the best,, few bites and that is about it, but the continuous feedings are still running. Double vision is still present,, one day at a time.. have to remember that Travis was in a medicated coma for over 45 days and still is receiving some of those med's at a lesser dose.
Travis is pretty wiped out so most of his activities for the day have been canceled as our hero needs a day of rest so he can continue to fight his illness.
We ask for your continuous prayers and support for Travis
God Bless.

May 23, 2003
I guess we are having one of those days,, forward 1 step, back 3, but hanging on. Travis is a little down today he has been through a lot today and it has been all downhill...
Travis' port-a-cath is not working properly, this morning nurses could not get blood drawn, so removed the needle and reassessed him, this did not work either, so removed that needle and couple hours later tried again and still no luck, so we are waiting for further suggestions,, might have to do a x-ray dye and see what is going on. Echogram of his heart was done this morning to check on any damage that may have occurred during his illness, no news yet.
Chest x-ray this morning appears to be a great important since 30 days ago, so things are moving the right direction there.
Therapy went so/so this morning, sometime during rehab Travis' skin on his bottom ripped during a bathroom duty, due to the skin tear we have major bleeding, a platelet transfusion is on the agenda, when we get his port accessed. In the meantime mother is a little worked up, and patient relations is doing an investigation,, we will see.
Travis appetite is still not that great, Dr. is going to cut back more on the his feedings to see if this will increase his appetite. Still weaning his medicines, few more days.
Chemo is still progressing,, next 4 days of ARC will probably cause high temperatures again.
Dad will be joining us for the weekend so will be busy showing him Travis' strength that he has gained in the last 5 days.
Be sure to catch Travis on TV during the 6:00 KELO TV news tonight. What a star!
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.
We ask for your continuous support and prayers for Travis and his family.
God Bless

May 22, 2003
Moving on up....well after being in Intense Care Unit for 37 days, I am happy to report that Travis has been transferred to the Pediatrics Unit., so we have a new address and phone number:
Sioux Valley Hospital
%Travis Newling Room 1213
1305 West 18th Street
Sioux Falls SD 57117
605-328-1213 phone.
Now my hours are really busy as the nurse/patient ratio has changed big time. More work for all. Travis, mom and the nurses.
Major rehab(OT, PT, Speech, RT) is under way and Travis' days are very busy Travis knows how important rehab is and he works so hard at it, he knows rehab will get him home. When he is not in a rehab session, he demands rehab in his rooms so Travis and I are busy all the time. Travis really enjoys getting into his rehab chair and going for a chair ride an hour a day. Therapist can seen improvements daily as Travis is getting stronger, what a great report.
Chemo treatments are going well, few side effects, but overall Travis is getting through them.
Travis has been running a fever last couple days labs were done to see if an infection shows up, so far nothing growing.
Travis' medicines are still being weaned slowly, some kind of med daily, they switch off everyday in reducing the med's. Chest x-ray looks good, still a little cloudy but not too bad.
Travis' vision has got me concerned , yesterday a lot of double vision so will need to start sorting this one out. Blood counts last few days are pretty low, trying to hold off on platelets as long as the Dr. can. Appetite is not the greatest yet, still loving the Jell-O and pear sauce.
Jan Andrews KELO TV HealthBeat has been following Travis' health since September and was up to visit again yesterday to check and see how rehab was going. So, if you are interested in Travis' progress and would like to watch it on TV tune in this Friday night and next Friday night during the 6:00 KELO nightly news on channel 6, Jan just loves to visit with Travis. I will inform you that it may be hard for his little friends to view as Travis is pretty weak and sick, but he has improved so much and we are so proud of him, our hero!
We continue to ask for your daily support and prayers as Travis continues to heal.
God Bless.

May 20, 2003
Last couple days have been very busy for both Travis and I. Bill(Dad) went home late Sunday night, we miss him but we know that he needed to get back to Pierre for many reasons, Kelsey, homestead, job, etc,, the list goes on. He plans on coming down on weekends. Thanks to everyone that helped in numerous ways so Bill was able to stay with us while Travis was so sick, we know it was hard for dad to leave Travis but we will be talking to him on the phone during the week soon. Travis is starting to spike fevers again and his blood counts are dropping, Dr's believe these are side effects from his chemo treatments. To be on the safe side will be doing some blood cultures today along with 2 blood transfusions. June 5th can not come soon enough, this is when Travis will finish his intense chemo phase that the is currently on.
OT, PT and speech therapy are going along well,, lot of work on Travis' part, still pretty weak but with his strength and will power his is getting stronger each day. Rehab is able to strap him in chairs to help support him in sitting and standing positions, great to see him off his back. Mail rehab is going great, it is a struggle to get the cards out of the envelopes, but as much as he loves his mail he is determine to open them, please keep the rehab mail coming, thanks!. Travis found out yesterday that his writing skills are very poor and he was pretty upset as he could not write his name. Vision seems to be rather poor as well, I have to keep on reminding Travis and myself that the septic shock infection hit every muscle in his body so it will take major time to heal. Liver counts are coming down, Dr's still think right now that Travis could not handle an MRI scan, so will have to wait with that. A video swallow was done yesterday to determine when Travis swallows if the air ways are getting blocked so no food, fluids go into his lungs, test went well and Travis has been given the permission to eat, so this is another great progress of healing. Thus far Jell-O has been the only request. Still receiving oxygen flow and NG feeding tube, probably for awhile yet.
Dr's are thinking with in the next couple days of transferring Travis to the ped's floor and when medical needs are less needed then transferring him the rehab unit.

We would like to thank all of those who were able to attend the pancake feed, We heard it was a great success and the food was awesome. Also thanks to the Pierre Fire Department, to the vendors for their donations, all the volunteers who made this benefit a great success.
We ask for your continued prayers and support for our hero, as your encouragement makes his struggle easier for him to heal
God Bless.

May 17, 2003
Travis had a busy night last night ,, loves to remove those tubes, had to replace his NG tube 3 times last night.. so major tape and mittens with tape and little sedation to help the poor guy clam down. Still a little mixed up on a few things but overall talking so much clearly and louder. Chemo is going well, blood counts are a little low today so waiting to see if a transfusions are on the agenda for today. Strength is coming along great, Travis sat in a bed chair yesterday for about an hour, really tried him out. Thus far Travis has a great attitude for PT and OT therapy treatments, always waiting and willing to move forward with his exercises, bless his heart, he is trying so hard to get well. Lungs seem to be a little fuller then yesterday so Travis needs a little support of oxygen to help him breath, still receiving breathing treatments.
Sioux Falls is getting ready for the BIG Rib Fest in a couple weeks, Wilbur from Famous Dave's came to visit before he turns into BBQ Ribs! Travis enjoys just about any kind of company.
Thanks to all for your continued support and prayers. God Bless.

May 16, 2003
Travis finally had an awesome night, slept in 4 hour shifts, so we all got some much needed rest. At 4:00am he was asking all kinds of questions and we can make out just about every word! Our Hero! First few words were, where is my nephew? Did you find Isaiah , where was he? Where is Kelsey?, and when are we going to St Cloud? Wondering if his friends can come over and watch TV. We are so excited to be able to talk to Travis and he has made us laugh at a couple things. One I will share with you all, Travis is always being reminded that he can not pull at his NG or oxygen tubes, his monitoring devices so this morning Bill (Dad) was adjusting his tubes and Travis told him to put those down and leave them alone or he(Bill) will get into trouble. :0) Withdrawal effects are still present, very active mood swings today, gets pretty upset, but he understands why. Dr's are very surprised at Travis' progress he is gaining in motivation, communications, no baby steps here,, leaps and bounds is what we are being told. Everyone has prayed for this strength and healing and once again Travis is finding the strength to continue to move forward. Chemo went well yesterday and will continue his intense treatments until June 12th. Few side effects have set in like the nausea, but medicine can cure that. Muscles are pretty sore, lots of leg cramps which are pretty hard on Travis. He really enjoys and looks forward to his therapy because he knows these fine folks will get him strong enough for him to go outside, stand, sit, etc. Blood counts look ok this morning, WBC 3.3, HBG 11.2, Platelets 50.
Travis is excited about his pancake benefit feed, wishes he could be there to wave hi to everyone. Travis has asked if he could have a poster board at the feed so all that attend can write him a note, so be sure to look for the bright posters hanging on the wall.
Thanks to all of you for you continued support and prayers and please keep them coming, you are all doing an outstanding job of helping Travis
God Bless.

May 15, 2003
Travis' night was again very restless,, about 2:30am, we decided it was time for a few winks.
Poor kid, he went yesterday 24 hours with no sleep. Hopefully today and tonight he can rest.
Travis' chemotherapy treatments started this morning and the only adjustments to his dosages will be to reflect his weight. Travis chemo drugs will start dropping his blood counts and that usually happens within the next 10-14 days. OT and PT Therapy is going well,,Travis' hand/arm strength is getting better and stronger. Legs/hips are still very weak, little strength, but in time this will come too. Speech therapy will also start tomorrow, tongue, mouth exercise to help Travis to speak and to help communicate with us off a communication board.
Blood counts are pretty stable today, along with his blood gases. Travis' main goals for the weeks to come are his intense chemo treatments and big time rehab therapy.
We have all witnessed Travis' strength to heal and survive and we know he will continue to do so in the weeks ahead.
With all my spare time on my hands I have been able to volunteer and do projects in my room for Children's Miracle Network,(a wonderful organization and they have helped Travis and us out in many ways), It keeps me busy and you all know me, that I need to do. CMN is hosting a phone-a-thon over Memorial Day weekend and KELO TV has been interviewing patients and families over the last couple weeks and today was the Newling family's turn. Jane Andrews with Health Beat did a interview on us, 1st was an update on Travis' ALL and why is he in the hospital this time and then what we think of the care and support we all have had and are receiving from Sioux Valley, family and friends. .. not a hard question there,,
I believe our segment will air Friday night 05/30/03 right before the phone-a-thon, so if you get a chance please tune in, Travis is on camera and he even smiled for his mug shot, first smile I have seen in about 40 days, he was awesome. Another TV segment on the chaplin services provided at Sioux Valley we will be taped tomorrow for that.
Please enjoy yourself at the Pancake feed we know first hand what great pancakes the PFD can make, and thanks to all who will participating in the eating, cooking and serving. Wish we could be home to partake, but we will be in spirit.
Thanks for everyone for their support, prayers , God Bless.

May 14, 2003
We seem to have our nights and days totally mixed up, another restless night, but getting stronger. Able to understand a few words that Travis is saying, and we definitely know when he is saying NO. Chest x-ray still remains about the same, good but not great. CT scan does not give the Dr's the answer to Travis' high liver counts, so maybe next week when he is a little stronger will do a MRI. Couple new thoughts as to the enlarge duct, maybe a gall stone in the liver duct, could explain his server back pain a month ago? , also all the medications, and the overall shock. Therapy is going well, Travis is definitely sore and stiff and you can see the pain in his face when the exercises are too much. This morning he is breathing on his own with no oxygen support, way to go Travis. Another great day of healing. Travis is a lot more awake and aware of where he is at and what is going on. Plan is still to start his chemo treatments this week, as weak as Travis is, we are very concerned about a relapse of septic shock. Will be asking Dr's about the chemo dosages to see if there will be any adjustments made.
Once again we need the power of praying to help Travis find the strength to continue his chemo treatments. Bathroom duties are going great, no more medical assistance, just the parents and the nurses. I know it is a guy thing, he finds it hard to go to the bathroom in bed,, Travis thinks he needs to stand to go.. Bless his heart. Hopefully soon down the road he will have the strength to stand. Plan is to get him up in a rehab chair today, another big step. These big steps are so precious to us and we are so excited to see, wish we could share them all with you.. Steve Willard was here today, Travis was excited and gave Steve a thumbs up sign, how exciting!
You can also see a photos of Travis by clicking here, this photo shows the power of healing and how great Travis looks.
I can never end an update with out informing to all of you how we appreciate your kindness, support, prayers and encouragement to Travis and us.
God Bless.

May 13, 2003
Travis' night was again very restless. Bill was up with him until 2:00, then mom at 3:00 and still going strong. Travis' decided it was time to remove NG tubes, IV's. So all had to be reinserted and of course he did not like that. His catheter was removed on Monday and so Travis has been learning how to urinate all over again,, pretty hard and sore to do,, but finally after many hours of trying he succeeded with an output of urine(about a liter full). It was such a relief that Travis even feel asleep as he peed. CT Scan this morning was completed, no news back as of yet. Blood gases and counts are pretty stable but the platelets were 28, so another transfusions of platelets this afternoon. Chest x-ray looks great. Therapy is going well, Travis likes to sit up in bed, but needs a lot of help to do this. Travis really enjoys his ice chips. Really hard to understand what he is trying to say, but in a few days I am sure we will clearly hear every word. Eye infection also appears to be clearing. I can not believe we have been here a month and how sick Travis was and how hard he has fought to get were he is at today, our hero. The days ahead will be full of questions and answers , I do not think Travis will every know how sick he was, but he will definitely know how hard he fought to get well. We ask for your continuous support and prayers as Travis heals each and every day.
God Bless

May 12, 2003
Travis was pretty restless last night,, Dr's order a little something to clam him down so he could rest. His withdrawals make him pretty restless and they want to keep him comfortable so about 3:00 this morning he got some much needed rest.
Travis morning is starting out wonderfully, we are able to communicate by his head movement of a "yes" or a "no". Few ice chips this morning, which is a great sign. OT and PT have been increased to twice a day, so he will be one exhausted kid at the end of the day. Therapy went well this morning, few leg bends and Travis sat on the edge of the bed, with help, but overall that was a giant step too. Blood gases still remain stable, blood counts seem to be ok,, WBC 5.7, this is the highest we have seen them since Sept., HGB 11.4 and platelets 37, maybe transfusions of platelets tomorrow, his platelets counts have to be at least 75 before they will do chemo. Chest x-ray appears to be improving really well, air continues to be moving in his lungs. Planning on a CT scan tomorrow of his liver to help explain the enlarge duct, liver counts still a little high this morning but better then yesterdays count.
Mail delivery was outstanding this morning, so I know after his nap he will enjoy me reading them(thanks).
We have waited so long for the day when we would be able to communicate with Travis. I can not even express to you how great this feeling is, to know that our son, our hero, Travis is back with us. How hard he has fought for this day. We ask for your continuous support and prayers for the weeks ahead of rehab and intense chemo treatments and pray that Travis will continue to find the strength to heal.
God Bless

May 11, 2003
CELEBRATE EXTUBATION DAY!
Our hero, Travis has been removed from the ventilator about 10:30 this morning and thus far seems to tolerate the extubation. Blood gases have been drawn shortly after Travis was off the vent and gas counts are stable. Travis is on oxygen and RT and nurses are doing a lot of oral suctioning of secretions. Travis is a little restless being off the vent as it is a scary feeling and with all the secretions in his throat he gets excited thinking he can not breath. Travis is still a little sedated, IV drops of PRN's (pain relief narcotics)have been stopped, any PRN's that Travis may need will be given by a push through his IV. So very soon he will be smiling at us. Gastrologist indicated an enlarge duct in Travis liver so this week and CT scan will be done to check farther into his liver issue. Blood counts are pretty stable today WBC 3.3, HBG 10.9, Platelets 49. Chest x-ray still showing improvement on the pneumonia and his lungs are moving air, eye infection seems to be improving as well, so overall today is a great Mother's Day.
Kelsey, Amanda, Jon and Isaiah were here this weekend and were able to watch Travis come off the vent so this was a great sign of healing and strength that Travis shared with them all. Dr. Johnson, Rehab is working on all the exercises Travis will be needed to regain his muscles and strength, probably 4-6 weeks of rehab. Once again he will find the strength to recover and heal.
Travis' chemo treatments will begin this week sometime and I can not think of a better place to be other then here. 3 more weeks of intense chemo and then off to our 3 year maintenance program.
Thanks again to all those who have sent the support and love by e-mails, cards, phone calls, and visits we so much appreciate your encouragement, kindness and friendship. We ask all of you for your continuous support and prayers for the days ahead. For those in the Pierre area hope you can find the time to stop and celebrate Travis healing at his pancake benefit May 18th.
God Bless

May 10, 2003
Travis' was pretty restless during the night.. extra morphine to help him relax and sleep. With his eye infection they administrate drops and ointment every 2 hours and then patch his eyes closed for the night,, he totally hates all of his eye care. He tried to remove the patches most of the night, so the nurses gave in and removed them. He needs to see what is going on. Blood counts appear to be stable this morning. HBG 11.4, white cells 3.9, platelets 41, so over all for Travis this is not too bad.
Lungs seem to be clearing and breaking up which is great news. The nurses suction his lungs frequently and seem to be able to remove a lot of sputum. Chest x-ray shows slight improvements. Probably will leave the chest tube in till Travis is off the vent. T-P vent trail went well again yesterday another 4 hours, great job Travis! Another 4 hours is on the agenda again for today.
Travis' blood counts on his liver have been up and down, so Dr's have called in a gastrologist to observe him and see if he can determine the cause of the high counts. Numerous causes could be associated with this, enlarge liver, viral infections, reactions to drugs, blood transfusions, maybe hepatitis. A doppler ultra sound as been order so we will see what this shows along with other blood test that are taken place.
No fever during the night,, hurrah!
Travis continues to heal slowly day by day and we are so happy for each and every one of these days, You keep fighting our hero, and when you go home we will all have a hero victory party for you as you have fought so hard to win your battle.
God Bless,
Wishing all A Great Mother's Day!

May 9, 2003
A peaceful, restful night last night for all of us. Travis T-P trial went very well yesterday,, 4 hours just what the Dr. ordered, so the order for today is another 4 hours, which he started at 9:45 and thus far is doing well. By this afternoon he will be beat, an afternoon nap is on the agenda. Another slow day of healing, who could ask for more. Dr's are thinking maybe another couple days of trails and then maybe Sunday Travis will be off the vent,, do not want to pull it too soon, but on the other hand do not want to leave it on another day longer. Travis got a little excited when we told him the Wild's won hockey last night ,, so hopefully he will be able to watch them as they advance and play the Ducks. Blood counts look very good this morning, amazing how transfusions help. The eye culture they did a couple days ago is showing some type of growth, so infection has set in of some kind. His eyes just look so sore. Of course being so sedated and paralyzed it is hard to keep your eyes moist. Also may have been the reason for the fever? Dr. Johnson, (Rehab) was in this morning to observe Travis, will have to learn the rehab plan for him after is has been discussed. OT and PT therapy has been increased to 5 days a week instead of the 3 days, so he is able to handle a couple more days of therapy. Just got done reading e-mails and cards this morning, you all will never know how much this means to Travis and us..he just lights up! We read his mail to him and then everything is placed back into the envelopes so when he awakes this will be great therapy for him to remove the cards from the envelopes. Pretty soon he can do all the opening. Get well wishes Travis has received are so breath taking, all across the states, KS, CA, MN, MT, WA, TX, CT, IN, SD, AZ, Travis has such a large fan club. Along with the world wide prayer chain, outstanding friends who all wish the best for Travis. He is one lucky kid and so are we.
We are thankful for another great day of healing and we ask for your continued support and prayers.
Travis' sisters will be here this weekend to visit and celebrate Mother's Day. Amanda and Kelsey have been struggling with Travis sickness, it is so hard on them both. Mom and Dad not being home has been an impact on Kelsey, Amanda trying to finish out her college year and student teach. We are so thankful for your support and the strength you have found to give Travis and us, our family is blessed with heroes. We love you.
Wishing all Mom's a great Mother's Day.
God Bless

May 7, 2003
Travis received another transfusion of platelets last night 10 units, not surprised. Probably couple blood units today. Chest x-ray showed that his right lung re-inflated so this is great news. His GI feeding tube has clogged this morning, so would you believe they are trying to unclog it with Coke,, I knew Coke was hard on your stomach? WOW. Dr's had an optometrist check out Travis' eyes this morning, Dr. does not think an eye infection is the problem, maybe just irritated. Could not really give us any idea if there is damage present to his eyes, hard to say with all the sedation and the septic shock, (that day will come) Change eye drops and ointment to see if this will help. Goals on the ventilator for today is to shut it down completely and just run oxygen through the breathing tube,, this will be a big step for Travis and all of us,, 4 hours is his goal,, Travis our hero, we are all rooting for you! You show the Dr's and nurses that you do have the strength.
Therapy is going well,, they are trying to prepare us for the lack of energy, muscles tone and strength that Travis will not have. Travis withdrawals are hard on him and us,, the med's have been cut again today,, so hopefully real soon he will be able to respond to us. Dr's. have talked again about chemo treatments, maybe on Monday next week. One day at a time!
Lots of e-mails and cards again today,, (thank you!) As I was reading the mail to him today, Travis heart rate got a little high when I read a card from a 14 year old, 8th grader from Alcester,, cute young woman, (she sent a photo) she indicated that she knows one of Travis' uncles, and wanted to send her support and prayers.. sweet girl! Will have to dig into this one.
We are thankful for another great day of healing and Travis continues to find the strength to heal. God Bless.

May 6, 2003
Travis had a great night last night, pretty tried kid after all the hard work he did yesterday. Up and down temperature. Trying to get him on a day night schedule now, so maybe we can all sleep. Blood counts pretty low this morning, WBC 2.8, HBG 8.6, Platelets 24 Dr's would like to see Travis build those counts up a little on his own before ordering transfusions. Pain and sedation med's are slowly being weaned off, but at the same time administrating med's to help with the withdrawals that he will be going through, another balancing game. Chest x-ray showed this morning that Travis right lung again has a leak so another chest tube was reinserted. Bummer. Still showing a lot of fluid along his lungs so we still have some fluid that needs to be taken off. Travis will again be on the vent trail today, hopefully he can do another 4 hour shift, we were so proud of him yesterday to able to handle 4 hours. We are trying to keep Travis more alert and awake to help him wake up, today his hospital school teacher will be reading to him,, he loves to be read to and really enjoys Sheri's company. I have been catching Travis up on his mail by reading it to him, this will take days,(ha!, he loves it) and watching TV and movies.
Cultures are still coming back with no new infection growths , great news.
We are thankful for the great days of healing and strength that Travis has been given by all through your support and prayers, let them all continue.
God Bless

May 5, 2003
Cinco de Mayo, (Spanish for “Fifth of May”), national holiday in Mexico commemorating the Mexican Army’s defeat of French forces on May 5, 1862, in the Batalla de Puebla (Battle of Puebla).
Also the holiday to celebrate Travis' victory battle over his illness as he heals!
Travis tends to improve each day, little steps but we will be happy for those steps as they are huge for want he has been going through. Travis' goals for the next few days is to have him off the ventilator. Today they started a vent trial in which the vent settings are shut down and Travis will breath on his own,, he proved to the Dr.'s that he can do this and did for the time frame they wanted him at,, 4 hours. Oh Travis you are so much a blessing to us all. Chest x-ray showed a slight improvement, long way from being great, but we will settle for slight improvements each day. Blood counts and blood gases are pretty good today. WBC 3.3 HGB 10.1, Platelets 37. Right chest tube is to be removed today, so this is a great news as well. As Travis tends to be more awake each day as the med's are starting to be less Dr.'s have asked us to talk to him and maybe watch TV or movies that Travis enjoys so he can hear things he is use to,, so here comes Bob Barker with the Price is Right.. not too much to watch in the morning and he does like this game show along with Jeopardy. Travis will open his eyes on a command so I am glad he can hear me and still listen to me. We definitely have many issues and days to talk about, he was always so interested in the war, he will be happy to hear the great updated news on that. OT and PT therapy Travis seems to enjoy and doing well. Message therapy sessions start tonight and I know he will love those. Continues to run a low grade fever,, Dr.'s drew a culture on his eyes as one tends to be a lot redder then the other, maybe an eye infection has set in, 48 hours for that culture to grow, in the meantime antibiotic ointment for his eyes. Travis you continue to fight your battle as you are in command and winning. Please continue your prayers and support as Travis continues to find the strength to win. We thank God for another great day of healing.
God Bless.
 

May 4, 2003

May 3, 2003

Travis has adjusted very well to his vent and many control settings have been changed,, his PEEP is now down to 7, started at 10 and the tidal volume has also been decreasing. Travis is not fighting any of these changes too much, so Dr.'s are thinking maybe by Wednesday Travis should be off the ventilator. Hang in there Travis and keep on fighting you are doing AWESOME!  Sedation medicines are being reduced more and more each day so Travis can start taking small breaths of air on his own. Blood pressure tends to go a little high for awhile then a little low,, but nothing too serious to worry about. Chest x-rays this morning show a small improvement in the pneumonia also Dr's noticed that one of Travis chest tubes has dislodged so this will be removed today from his left lung. Dr's do not see any air building so hopefully will not have to replace it. Goal is to remove the other chest tube with a water seal in the next couple days as well. Travis temperature seems to peak now and then,, no blood cultures are indicating any new infections, fever still maybe from the pneumonia. Dr's will also start removing slowly some on the IV's  lines and central lines as any foreign object in your body is on more reason for infection. We were told until the fever subsides no chemo treatments well be given, so hopefully in a couple days Travis can begin his treatments. Just figured out his calendar for treatments, Travis last chemo treatment will be 01/22/2006. Another great day for a celebration! Another platelet transfusion this morning as his counts dropped to 27. HBG is holding at 9.6, white cells were 2.2 this morning, blood test show that Travis is still genetrating his own cells.  

May 2, 2003
By Margie Newling

Mail was just delivered I am getting about as excited as Travis does,(you are all so wonderful to remember Travis in your thoughts.) I know it will take him 2 days to get caught up in all his mail and e-mails. We thank you all for your continue support and prayers for Travis and he improves each and everyday.  God Bless. Margie

May 1, 2003
By Margie Newling

During the night Travis lungs started to break up the heavy and stiffness from the ARDS, nurse were able to suck a lot of junk out of his lungs, and his blood gas count were done a little earlier this morning to indicate that his  blood gases are a lot more stable, which are all great signs to indicate Travis is ready for a vent change.  This is such great news and another great milestone for Travis,, hunting boots seem to be helping him along with all the prayers and Travis' strength to fight.  I am happy to report this morning that our hero Travis has jumped a great hurdle today and so far is is tolerating and adjusting to his new conventional ventilator , 05/01/03 @ 9:00am,,  Travis we are all so proud of you,, 

 The Dr.'s will evaluate his blood gases often to be sure  Travis' lungs are handling the ventilator and also to ensure the vent  settings are just perfect for Travis.  Travis will have numerous adjustments to the settings  for most of the day until they can figure out what is the most comfortable for Travis and what he can tolerate.

 A quick description of the settings that we will be watching, one is called a PEEP which is positive end expiratory pressure..  It keeps some pressure in the lungs at the end alveoli, the tiny air sacs where oxygen passes into the bloodstream, from collapsing.  The pressure is measured and carefully adjusted because there can be complications with high levels of PEEP.  The amount of PEEP is often increased and decreased gradually but occasionally it is important to change the level of PEEP more quickly.   No problem here,, Travis will handle this just wonderfully. Another adjustment on his ventilator includes the size of each breath (Tidal Volume) that Travis receives and the number of breaths (respiratory rate) the he  receives each minute.  This setting is adjusted depending on the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in his blood.  (this is the blood gases counts that they draw a lot during the day) Also the ventilator can sense when the Travis takes a breath of his own, this will help time Travis' own breathing rhythm.  Travis will remain in his drug-induced coma and will remain  paralyzed  for a few more days to prevent him from fighting the ventilator. This is a great step for Travis and all of us and we pray for a great day on his new vent change. Thanks for your support and your prayers of healing and strength for Travis and his family. 

April 30, 2003
By Margie Newling
Last night was the ups and downs of his blood pressure and temperature, few balances of medicine and fluids and Travis became stable about 4:00am this morning. Another transfusions of platelets and blood for today. Travis' cells counts are down today, White count 3.3, HGB 7.7 and platelets 31 the decrease was to be expected because a medicine which was helping Travis build up cells was stopped in hoping that Travis can generate cells on his own with no medication, so during the day we should be able to see if Travis can grow and generate cells, fight hard Travis. . Chest x-ray indicated that the new left chest tube is doing it's job and Travis is tolerating it just fine. Few adjustments to the ventilator over the night so probably will not be a whole lot of adjustments today, need to let Travis get comfortable to the new setting,, which are getting lower, which is great, you keep fighting, our little hero. His port-a-cath was reassessed yesterday, this needle needs to be changed every 7 days to help prevent infection, Travis developed a fluid pocket build up where the needle was inserted so the needle was removed and will try again to access his port later today to ensure the port is working properly. His port is so important and we were very thankful it was accessed when we arrived to Sioux Falls 15 days ago. My time has gone by fast. Updated Travis yesterday on his mail, he gets so excited. I was telling him about the hand made cards of get well wishes and prayers sent from each student in the St Joseph kindergarten class, he will be so excited to look those all over, they are just adorable. Bless their hearts for keeping Travis in their prayers and everyone else. Had a few visitors over the last couple days stop by and show their support and love, and we thank all of you who continue to show your support and prayers to Travis and all of us.
I have heard through the grapevine that the Pierre Fire Dept. is hosting a pancake feed for Travis on May 18th 7:00am-1:00pm at the Pierre American Legion, if you could help please spread the word. We would love to attend, but time will tell. Another Kodak moment.
Travis continues to heal slowly everyday and we are so thankful for each day of healing. Please continue your prayers for Travis and his family as we find the strength everyday to heal. God Bless all of you, you are the greatest.
Happy May Day,, (Travis' May Day basket is full of healing powers and prayers)
Love Margie.

April 29, 2003
By Margie Newling
Well the night was a little more exciting then the day, more transfusions of platelets and blood.
Still continues a low grade fever, blood gases are a little low, chest x-ray this morning showed another leak in the left lung, ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome which is wrong with Travis' lungs, which is the inflammation of his lungs and fluid accumulates in the air sacs which leads to low blood oxygen levels. The fluid buildup inhibits the passage of oxygen from the air into his bloodstream. The fluid also makes his lungs heavy and stiff and not able to expand so the mechanical ventilator will help him with his lungs to expand, along with another chest tube (breathing tube) interested into his lung. So today Travis has a chest tube in the right and left lung. Hopefully this will be all he needs to help heal his lungs.
He moved his head again for me this morning so that was a great sign of communication for us. He is fighting so hard and he continues to be winning along with a few set backs. Just heard his Dr. order another transfusion of platelets this morning,, he bleed a lot when the chest tube was inserted. His pupils of his eyes remain to be about the same, his body weight is just about were it was when we came in, so they have really drained the fluids. His protein feedings are going well and Dr's are pleased with that, his healing will be so much easier with his feedings.
Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers for Travis and his family. We pray that Travis continues to find the strength each day to improve and heal.
God Bless.

April 28, 2003
By Margie Newling
Travis still is running a low grade fever, his blood pressure tends to be too high or too low, he has not found the middle range yet, but he is working on it. Dr's. still believe that his sedation and his body are still the reason as to why the blood pressure differences. Chest x-rays this morning still remain about the same, no increase or decrease. Dr's have slowed the IV fluids down and continue to increase the protein feeding and Travis is doing well with that. Lost a few more pounds of fluids yesterday, really can tell that the puffiness is decreasing. Couple BM's over the night and this morning all on his own, so that is so wonderful. Travis continues to fight his battle and seems to still be in charge. We are so thankful for each and every day that he improves. Ventilator still remains about the same, hard to adjust too much with his collapsed lung,, nurses again today suction his lungs and he really does not like that, get a little irritable. Travis started therapy today, OT and PT will stretch his therapy over 24 hours, little at a time as the do not what to get him too excited. The muscle relaxer that he is on I told you that they take it off every morning, to give his body a rest and let his body know that it still needs to work,, this morning he let me know that he is awake and fighting as he moved and lifted his head, which was great and wonderful for me too see. it was a great sign that Travis showed me to say "Mom. I am doing OK"! Bless his heart.
We Love you Travis,
We went out and bought Travis a pair of high top shoes today to help with his foot drop, as a person lays for a length of time your ankles tend to drop lower and lower so high top shoes would help. So Bill and I went out and bought him a pair of camouflage hunting boots. Nice high tops to go over his ankles and I do believe that he will be the only person in ICU with combat boots on while his is fighting his illness. Kodak moment!
Travis' white cells today were 4.4, HBG 10.4 and platelets 40 so we can see that his bone marrow is generating cells and he is using them as fast as he can make them. Today Travis' blood gas counts are ok which is great news, blood gases that Dr's are watching are carbon dioxide (PaCO2) and oxygen (PaO2), hydrogen ion activity (pH), total hemoglobin (Hbtotal), oxyhemoglobin saturation (HbO2), and the dyshemoglobins carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and methemoglobin (MetHb). Sometimes his gases are a little low due to his blood pressure counts. (just like a car needs gases to run)
The mail lady that delivers mail was just amazed how much mail Travis received today, he had over 50 e-mails and cards,, I informed Travis of his mail today and his brainwaves increased so I know he is excited about his fan club, thanks to all of you for making his day,, ours too! There is a little patio right outside the floor so I did manage to go out and sit in the great sunshine today,, we try to get out a little bit each day, it is really hard, but it mentally helps us.
We all continue to find the strength and the healing power as Travis's slowly heals and we appreciate your support and prayers as well and we thank God for another great day.
God Bless.

April 27, 2003
By Margie Newling

April 26, 2003
By Margie Newling

April 25, 2003
By Margie Newling
Travis has great news to report this morning,, Code Brown exploded last night at 11:00 and then again about 3:00 this morning,, we are all so happy to see his digestive system move.. I know this had to be a wonderful feeling for Travis too. Travis seems to be resting comfortable after the BM so this is great for us to see. He tried to lift and move his head last night,, little early for that so the increased his medication, soon Travis you will wake up, but for right now you are just not ready and your body still needs to heal so use your strength for that. His lungs have not changed,, no increase or decrease of the pneumonia, his chest tube is working great with the drainage. Dr's main concern now is his lungs and also Travis has a high risk of infection as he just lays around, so this could be a set back. His blood pressure and organs seem to be maintaining in the normal range few bumps now and then, but nothing too exciting . Tube feeding is going well and Travis really needs the protein for his healing.
today Dr. started an insulin drip to help with the sugar intake to his blood little low right now.
Will watch that carefully as we all know what happens when we get too much sugar.
Travis continues to find the strength to heal and we are so thankful for the healing power. Possibly could continue Travis on his chemo treatments next week and it will be nice to finish this intense phase here at the hospital were they can monitor his treatments daily. Once again they have informed us of the rehab Travis will need so we will be here a long time.. like I keep telling them we are not going anywhere and we have the time, the time to heal and every baby step is a great improvement.
We can not express enough how important our family and friends are as you continue to support and pray for us all and we ask for your support daily.
thanks to all for the e-mails. cards, calls and visits your support is so important to us and you all know how Travis loves the mail.. Cari Leidholt has a few stories to share, she know how Travis loves the mail.. tutoring has to stop when the mailman comes..
I will again send addresses since a some are still asking for them.
http://www.siouxvalley.com to send a e-mail wish.

Sioux Valley Hospital
%Travis Newling Room 1152
1305 West 18th Street
Sioux Falls SD 57117
605-333-1171

God Bless

April 24, 2003

Another 10 units of platelets again this morning, his right lung has collapsed and has air leaking  so a chest tube has been interested to help remove the air and fluids, and hopefully this will be all he will need to cure this set back. Able to remove one of his IV lines, it had been come infected and they can get by with out it. 2 of his antibiotic drugs have been removed,, which is great, his Blood pressure he is maintaining his own,, you go Travis. Heart rate is stable today,, so hopefully things will continue to improve day by day and they can start reducing the ventilator. His ICU Dr. would really like to start feeding Travis,, even if it is one or 2 teaspoon of protein he needs nourishment, so will restart the tube feeding again today. I told Travis that Mother's Day is around the corner and I thanked him for the great gift of love he is giving me by fighting to heal,, so you keep fighting Travis, we all love you!

April 23, 2003
By Margie Newling

April 20, 2003
By Margie Newling

His white bloods cells remain to be 0.7, last couple days they were 0.5,  so he is busy making new ones,, white blood cells are the infection cells and since he has an infection growing  his pneumonia, this infection will tend to increase,(one of the set backs) but he needs his white cells to increase, because the help build up the segs and bands which builds his immune system up. Confusing, Yes I know!, overall this is great.   He continues to be on the ventilator and few adjustments have been made to lower the pressure and Travis can tolerate this as well. (I just love these little faces)

The pneumonia remains about the same, no increase, no decrease.   His pupils remain the same, no change, He responds to his Lasix, fluid retention so the goal for today is to try to eliminate some fluid but not too fast because he needs the fluids to help maintain his blood pressure and oxygen levels in his blood.Bilrubin(liver) counts went back to normal, his kidneys, bladder, are working  all remain stable. 

His heart is holding very strong and appears normal..His infection scale was a 2.0 yesterday which h better then the 9.0 when we came in. Still waiting for the digestive system to move,, he has passed some gas and his bowels seem to be heard moving so we will wait for this BM to happen..I am sure you will all hear me back in Pierre when this happens!!!  It will come they tell us that with laying around with no activity and all the medication it just takes time,, so we definitely have that. I told Travis it took me 9 months to bring him into the world I can wait again . Bless his heart he is such a great trooper..

So overall Travis is hanging on, he has the strength to continue his long road of healing and he continues to fight his battle at his own pace and with the little baby steps of progress is all that we can ask him to do. You hang in there Travis and WIN your battle, you are mom and dad's HERO! We love you!

April 20, 2003
By Margie Newling

Besides Travis major infection of the urine, lungs and blood he has developed a secondary infection in his lungs, fugal infection has set in, which they thought would happen. He has pneumonia, and his lungs have collapsed, but the infection they have killed and the lungs are remaining about the same as far as pneumonia, so he is fighting his lung infection ok.

Travis has made baby steps to improve but he has a very long road ahead of him, and it will be a very slow healing process. His blood counts continue to be monitored and improving in the right direction, Red blood cells he is maintaining, his white cells he has been sitting on a 0.2 count, today he is at 0.5, so a slight improvement.  The DIC disorder seems to be unstable, seems to have a leakage in his veins so he is using a lot of platelets, I believe over the last 3 days he has received at least 36 units, 5 units of blood.

His body is retaining a lot of fluid, which he does need for his blood pressure to be stable, they have started him on medication to starting reducing the rent ion, but have to be careful and watch his blood pressure as they do not want to drop his blood pressure. The medication to stable his blood pressure is still being administrated, lesser dosages are being given which is great. His heart appears to be back to normal, lost the fluid that was there and the stress on the heart also has been removed, so once again he is fighting.  Oxygen counts are stable and look great,, way to go Travis!. No temperature for the last18 hours, awesome Travis, His liver, kidneys and bladder seem to be back to normal,, That a boy!, now if we could get his stomach and digestive system to move that would be great and that is the next goal that Travis is working on.  The power of praying and all the support and Travis' strength to heal is working and we all pray that this continues. We have had a lot of support over the last few days and we can only express our thanks to those that have sent cards, phones calls, the visits and all of your prayers. Once again family and friends are truly the best.

April 18, 2003
By Margie Newling

April 17, 2003
By Margie Newling
Travis 3rd week of chemo was getting close to the end and of course the side effects took a toll on him by the fatigue and his very low blood counts.
On Monday 4/15/03 he did not feel too bad, just really weak. During that night Travis complained of severe pain in his left, I sat up with him through the night trying to help him reduce the pain, pain gradually getting worse moving into his lower back. I called the Dr. in Sioux Falls and informed us to take Travis to Pierre Hospital ER and have him checked over and see if we can determine the pain issue.
X-rays, blood counts, CT scans were all done and showing very little results to determine the pain. Between Pierre Dr's and Sioux Falls Dr's. and 6 hours in the ER. Travis went home with morphine to be given for his pain. Within the next 6 hours Travis failed rapidly, first things that frighten me was the rash on his body, not one that I see with his platelets, after doing his med's Tuesday night he started vomiting up blood, and his breathing was beginning to be harder for him. Travis was rushed to Pierre ET and he was failing rapidly.
Due to bad weather we were not able to transport Travis by air ambulance so he was ground ambulance to Sioux Falls. Travis arrived in the nick of time.
Due to his very low blood counts and his weak immune system Travis went into a septic shock, which is a very serious abnormal condition that occurs when a overwhelming infection takes control, it leads to low blood pressure and low blood flow.
Vital organs, brain, kidneys, heart, liver may not fun function properly, Travis's heart rate was very high, his digestive system and bladder have been paralyzed.
Travis is very sick child and is fighting for his life. He is a big player along with wonderful team of medical staff that he is playing with and between all of them we are praying for a great victory. Travis has received numerous transfusions of blood, platelets, fluid intake is really high, this helps with his blood pressure, mega antibiotics to help with the infection, he is on a ventilator, and is completely sedated and will have no memory of what he is going through. (mom and dad will fill him in)
His medical staff indicated that Travis acted like he fought until he got here keeping his body system going and then we got here and it was like a stress relief for Travis and he just told them to take over he needed a rest, so he is resting and now we are waiting for him to start his healing process.
We have seen some slight improvement since we have been here, the blood flow to his legs has increased and the pulse can now be heard. His stomach is being pumped and the output looks so much better then when we got here, was very dark, bloody output. His body color has changed from the dingy gray, yellow to a rosy pink.
The rash which was from the major infection is gradually disappearing. Slight temp, his heart seems to be a slight abnormal due to the high infection and all the stress it has been under, Pierre and SF both have some blood cultures which seem to be rowing some for of bacteria so hopefully soon we can find out organism is causing this huge mess we are in. I will try to keep you all updated the best I can, but everyone please pray for the healing power for out son to be a survivor.

Today 4/17/03 Travis is in critical condition and as soon as his condition is updated I will promise to let you all know.
He is in Sioux Valley ICU Room 1152 and you know what I need from all of you is the cards and emails that Travis loves so well I can read them to him ad he would enjoy this so much..
God Bless you all and thanks so much for your support.
Love you All
Margie
 

April 14, 2003
By Margie Newling
Travis' 3rd week is about the same as the last 2 weeks, he is really getting run down. Little strength to do much of anything, a lot of bed rest.
He has fallen a few times, pretty much needs assistance in his daily functions, walking, dressing, eating. Had blood counts done on Friday will repeat them again today, Monday. Counts are dropping rapidly so might have to go to Sioux Falls for an extra day to get some transfusions. Forcing the fluids intake, this is such a chore, really hard to do when all you want to do is sleep or you do not have enough strength to drink. Trying to avoid dehydration which sets in so fast.
We pray that Travis' next 3 weeks of intense chemo will go fast, his last day for his steroids is Tuesday so that will help a lot. Wonderful drug to help fight off cancer cells but really nasty side effects. We appreciate your support and prayers for Travis, Have a great Easter.

April 4, 2003
By Margie Newling
Travis is in his 2nd week of Intense chemo he is doing fair. His last 2 weeks have been very tough, very weak and really ran down, energy level is pretty low. Besides the side effects of nausea, diarrhea, mood swings, appetite loss, he has developed bottom sores from his chemo which is a side effect. His blood counts are dropping very quickly due to the chemo and his leukemia, so once again his immune systems is nonexistent. Travis will be going to Sioux Falls Tuesday and Wednesday for more treatments which will be his 3rd week of intense chemo, after the 3rd week he will have 7 days off and then he will continue with another 3 weeks on intense treatments.
I look back at the experiences on this journey that Travis has endured over the last 6 1/2 months: all the chemo treatments and the awful side effects of his chemo drugs, the numerous medical testing, clinic visits, hospital stays, needle injections, doctors, doctors, doctors, nurses, meeting a lot a great medical staff, weekly road trips, missing school and his friends, learning about leukemia, getting to know other kids with cancer, blood and platelet transfusions, all the medical ups and downs, emotional and physical feelings, the great support from the community along with all the prayers and love from our family, friends and everyone else that have placed Travis into their lives. Travis is such a great kid and he has found the strength to carry him through his journey thus far with little complaint. We can only pray that the strength continues with him during his journey of treatments over the next 3 years and with all your continuous support and prayers we know the strength will be his.
Wishing you all a Blessed Easter Season.

April 1, 2003
Travis was in Sioux Falls most of last week. He has started his last intense phase of chemo, 6 weeks in length. Plan is to hit his body hard and strong with chemo drugs one last time before his 3 year maintenance phase. Higher dosages of the chemo drugs that he took in his first phase. He already has experienced some of the side effects, mood swings, appetite increase, weakness, fatigue. The steroids medication that he is also taking to help fight his cancer side effects will cause the fluid build up, the puffiness in his face (moon face look), vocal cords swelling, hair loss, what little he has.
The first 3 weeks of this phase will be a non-stop regardless of his blood counts, so it will be very hard on him, one day at a time.
We are leaving today for Sioux Falls for his chemo treatments that he will be receiving this week. We ask for your continue support and prayers for Travis.

Few Highlights:
Travis has been and training himself to swallow his medication, he has problems in swallowing pills, but he has taken some giant steps in trying to teach himself to take his medication. Great job Travis!
Travis tutoring is going well, he just finished his SAT testing last week, so his was able to get that completed. He also has received his registration packet for 9th grade, oh boy! Travis also got the privilege of going buffalo hunting last weekend and he was pretty excited. Not to much stress in hunting down the buffalo, they are in a corral and you can shoot the one you want, so that is what he did and in one shot he had a dead buffalo,, you thought he was on a safari,, lots of smiles that day,, guess this made up for his missed deer hunting season this year.
Again thank you all for your continuous support, the cards, donations, and your prayers.
God Bless you all.

March 21, 2003
Travis' antibiotics are working just like they are suppose to,, he has gotten over his virus of the influenza B. YUK!
Blood counts and ANC are pretty low right now so we need to take extreme caution and be sure to avoid any colds, flu bugs, etc. so we do not end up in the hospital again. Travis did not have to do blood or platelets transfusions this week, which is great news. He will have blood counts repeated again on Tuesday and if his body is ready he will start another Phase of chemo treatments(60 days) this will be the last intense phase of chemo before he starts his long 3 year maintenance chemo treatments. Home schooling is going great.  Travis and Cari are working together just wonderfully,, of course a typical kid, he will always give more to someone else then his parents! Ha.
Travis really enjoyed the spring type weather we had last week as he was able to sit outside for awhile. His older sister Amanda and nephew Isaiah were in Pierre during her spring last week really enjoyed a few days with them. Travis is itching to see the Twins play this spring so I guess mom will have to work on that request.
We ask that you please continue your prayers for Travis and we thank you!
God Bless.

March 14, 2003
Travis was able to receive his chemo treatments in Sioux Falls on Monday and able to come home after his treatments. Monday night he spiked a high fever, his SF DR. sent us to Pierre ER and ordered blood test and started Travis on antibiotics. Were able to go back home early morning around 1:30 and he had a rough night running a high fever, 103/104. After talking to his SF Dr. Tuesday morning we were back on the road again going to Sioux Falls. Travis was admitted to Sioux Valley Hospital, his high fever had the Dr's confused as to what was going on. With his leukemia and chemo treatments his blood counts drastically drop, so it is really hard to determine what is causing the high fever.
Chest x-rays, sinus CT Scans, blood cultures, blood counts, urine specimens, RSV swabs all were order to check for infections,, all test results were negative. So more tests were order, finally a test results came back with a positive result, Travis has Influenza B. His Dr. has order major antibiotics that we will be able to administrate through his port at home, so we came back to Pierre late Thursday night. Travis will have blood counts drawn again on Monday to see were he is at, watching for blood or platelets transfusions as his counts will be dropping with his infection and chemo treatments. Will be going to Sioux Falls on Wednesday to be examined, have his port re-accessed and to be sure he is responding ok to his antibiotics.
Please continue to keep Travis in your prayers,, another hurdle he needs to jump.

March 3,  2003
Many thanks to all of you who remembered Travis on his birthday. thank-you, thank-you!
Travis had a great birthday, full of happiness and smiles. He loved his birthday greeting cards and notes, banners that he received. Walls and doors were decorated with his birthday cards, (who needs wallpaper) the house was decorated for all of us to enjoy. Will try to get some photos on next week.

Travis' blood counts were checked on Friday 02/28, the report results were that his counts are too low for chemo treatments, Travis was scheduled for 3 chemo treatments on Monday. He will have his blood counts rechecked on Friday, 03/07 and if they are high enough he would then receive chemo on Monday, 03/10 in Sioux Falls. Travis blood counts did show that his immune system is still pretty low. A lot of flu bugs, strep throat and colds going around so we are once again trying to be so careful. Travis' mouth sores are slowly disappearing with time. His hair is re-growing, he will make a comment now and then to someone, usually a bald person, at least I have hair! His energy level is up a little, spends a little more time in the kitchen with me, Chef Travis. Will be nice when spring arrives and we can get out for walks. Overall the last few days, he has enjoyed some good days.
He really enjoys his school tutoring with Cari Leidholt, (what a blessing) Travis is just about caught up again with his assignments.
We ask for your continue support and prayers for Travis, God Bless.

February 24,  2003
Travis still is dealing with his mouth sores the pain has reduce but still dealing with it. Need to avoid salt, spicy, sour food items as those really irritate his sores. His diet for the last week has mainly been freeze pops, soups and pudding. Travis went to Sioux Falls on Friday 02/21, he was scheduled for 3 chemo treatments but with his mouth sores they only administrated one chemo drug. His Dr. indicated to us that Travis' mouth sores are from one of his chemo drugs and that the sores are indicating to us that his body has reached the maximum of what he can handle of this drug. To try avoid future problems, next time Travis is to receive this chemo drug the Dr. will have to reduce the drug intake by 20%. Travis' red blood cells were pretty low also, so he received 2 units of blood on Friday. Will be doing a blood counts today, Monday 02/24 to check his platelet counts as they were dropping as well. His immune system is still pretty low, so we are trying to keep him well especially for his birthday on Wednesday.
Many thanks to all of you that are sending Travis birthday cards they are starting to roll in and WE so much appreciate your thoughtfulness. I wish you could see his smiling face when he goes through the mail, he has something joyful to look forward to everyday.
God Bless

February 18,  2003
Travis received his chemo last week Wednesday and Thursday, ( 3 different types on chemo drugs) in Sioux Falls and the side effects got the best of him this weekend. He started running a temperature, vomiting and developed mouth sores from the outside of his lips, on his tongue, inside his cheeks and down through out his throat,, he is in a lot of serve pain. After talking to his Dr. in Sioux Falls on Sunday, it was decided to take him to the Pierre hospital and get some morphine for pain, an antibiotic to try to avoid any bacterial infection from his mouth sores, since your mouth is so full of bacteria, and medicine for his upset stomach. As painful as his mouth sores are Travis knows that his fluid intake is so important and he did manage to take fluids to avoid dehydration as he knows he would have been admitted into the hospital. Travis was able to come home after 4 hours in the emergency room getting him checked over and medicated and then we were up all night pushing the morphine in him,, poor kid. Another hurdle Travis will jump over in time. Monday night was not much better,, his sores are bleeding so that really scared him. His fluid intake is OK,, but his appetite is none. I am sure he probably has lost 10 pounds over the last few days. Travis' next chemo is on Friday, of course that all depends on his blood counts , I hope we can get his mouth healed up before the next chemo treatments. One day at a time, yesterday was in the past.
We would like to thank all of you for all the great Valentine's that you shared with Travis last week,, he so much enjoys receiving mail. THANKS!
We ask that you please continue your prayers for Travis and ask you to help brighten his special day, his birthday on
Feb. 26th by sending him a card or a note.
God Bless.

February 7, 2003
Travis saw his Dr. in Sioux Falls on 02/06/03, lots of blood test, cultures, x-rays. ultra sounds to determine what is causing his fever.
So far they have been able to determine that Travis has a bacterial infection and so far it's growing in his bronchial tubes, so we have a bronchitis. Hoping to kill that infection before in moves into his lungs. We are still waiting for some test results to come back looking for other signs of infections or fungal infections. He is undergoing 10 days of heavy IV doses of antibiotics, our choices were to keep him in Sioux Falls Valley to do the treatments or to come home with an Intermate Infusion System "Mom Home Health Care".. I have been trained how to do the IV 's at home.. every 8 hours through Travis's port-a-cath so hopefully this will work. Evaluating him every 6 hours and reporting back to Sioux Falls any signs of no improvement back to Sioux Falls.
Of course with this bacterial infection in his body his immune system has been quickly destroyed. Different then 3 days ago when he had an immune system. Of course now he has a real high risk for infection to occur. Pray this antibiotic will work and does the trick for him.
The other down side of all this is that his chemo treatments have and will be delayed again.. he just started taking chemo this last week after a delay of treatments for 20 days.. Hopefully his blood counts will come back up so he can continue with his treatments next week.

February 5, 2003
Few set backs over the last couple weeks.
Travis received chemo treatments on Jan. 30th and 31st in Sioux Falls. High dosages of chemo of course making him ill.
He was able to go back to Pierre on Friday, Jan 31st, we got as far as Chamberlain and Travis got really sick, vomiting and running a high fever. After talking to his Dr. in Sioux Falls we were told to turn around and go back to Sioux Falls and Travis was admitted to Sioux Valley Hospital. Dr. started antibiotics right away, chest x-ray, and IV's fluids precaution for dehydration and medicine for his vomiting. His high fever has got us all wondering what is going on, could be infection in his port line, a virus, or his chemo treatment, just do not know. Blood cultures were drawn to see if any bacteria would grow. Travis was able to come back to Pierre late Saturday night with the understanding that we monitor him and call back with reports to the hospital and the Dr. every day or if Travis becomes very ill.
On Monday 02/03/03 Travis has developed a running nose, sore throat and bad deep cough and continues to run a fever, so it looks like a virus has set in. Just what he did not need. Travis has been sick all week, getting really run downed. Since he is not getting any better and his body can not fight off this virus he needs to go to Sioux Falls today to be observed to see what is going on. His Dr. just does not want to take any chances if we missed something.
Back to Sioux Falls on Sunday 02/09/03 for 3 days of chemo treatments if his blood counts are stable.
Please continue to keep Travis in your daily prayers.
God Bless

January 30, 2003
Travis has started his next phase of chemotherapy treatments on Jan. 22. These treatments in this phase are an introduction phase before going into a maintenance phase. Travis is to receive high doses of chemo every 10 days, praying that his blood counts can remain stable, if not his treatments will have to wait until his blood is healthy enough to continue. This introduction phase is 56 days long and his treatments are IV form, injections into the cerebrospinal fluid, injections in muscle and oral. Travis pain tolerance is getting better a lot easier in accepting his treatments. Amazing how strong he can be and how far he has come, bless him!

Travis was excited to look at his upcoming calendar, checking his dates of treatments and was excited to see that on his birthday he has no treatments, AWESOME! Travis' birthday is Feb. 26th, we would like to make this a special day for him and ask for your help by sending him a card/note or a phone call we would appreciate your support.

We also ask for your continue support in your daily thoughts and prayers. God Bless.

January 21,2003
Glad to report that Travis' blood counts are high enough for him to continue with this chemo treatments. He will be going to Sioux Falls on Tuesday 01/21 to start another Phase of his treatments. Once again IV, injections and oral treatments will be used in this phase. After we receive more information on this phase we will pass it along.
Travis has new small hairs re-growing in his head, hopefully he will be able to keep them. His spirits this week are really good and he has been very careful to avoid any cold flu bugs and he has been very lucky.
A few new fund raising benefits coming up, please check them out.

January 9, 2003
By Margie Newling
Over the last two weeks Travis' blood counts are really running extremely low, so things have been really hectic. He was able to receive his high dosage of chemo on 12/30/02 in Sioux Falls which went great. He has had numerous blood panels done over the last two weeks, counts were really down on 01/02/03 so a flying trip to Sioux Falls for blood transfusions. Will be doing another blood panel 01/09/03 to determine what is next for his medical treatment needs,, continue with chemotherapy or more blood/platelets transfusions. Doctor's will not administrate Travis' chemo treatments unless his blood levels are high enough so his body can accept the chemo. Of course with his white blood cells being so low his immune system is almost nonexistence. Plan is to start another new treatment phase of chemo 01/13/03, I believe this phase is 45 days.
Amanda and her family were home for New Year's so Travis really enjoyed their company. Thanks to all of you for the Christmas and New Year's wishes that you sent to Travis he so much enjoys his cards and notes. With that said I know he would enjoy hearing from everyone on his birthday which is February 26, so if you have a spare moment I know he would love to hear from you and we would really appreciate you thinking of him as you continue to do on a daily basis and with your help we can make his making his birthday a special one.
God Bless and wishing you all a very Happy Healthy New Year.

December 26, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis finished his 14 days of intense chemo on Sunday. His chemo treatments do severely depress his blood counts and his platelets counts(platelets are the cells that help form clots to help stop bleeding). Since his counts were so low he required transfusions of blood and platelets. Blood transfusions went great, but the platelets transfusions was not so great. Travis had a reaction to the platelets. It was an awful thing to watch and very scary for Travis and I. With the doctor's and nurses immediate response.
they were able to help relieve some of the reactions with in a couple of hours. We only pray and hope that Travis never reacts to a platelets transfusion again. Travis needs to have his platelets counts checked again on 12/26 to determine if another platelet transfusion is needed this week. Travis liver counts are also very high so will be checking his counts daily until the counts are reduced.
He received some high dosages of chemo on Monday 12/23/02 and now he will be off chemo treatments until next Monday,12/30 as his body needs a little rest.
Have a Healthy Happy New Year.

December 19, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis blood levels on Monday, 12/16 were stable enough to continue his chemo for the rest of this week. His chemo treatments are bringing down his blood counts and he will need blood transfusions by the end of the week. Travis will be going to Sioux Falls for his transfusions and then he will start new chemo treatments again on Monday 12/23 and then a little break for Christmas and for his body to get strong again. Travis has 4 weeks left in this phase of his chemo treatments, and hopefully they will go by fast.
His spirits this week have improved which always makes us smile. He received a gift of electric socks this week so he definitely has toasty warm toes.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year.
Travis, Bill, Margie, Amanda and Kelsey.

December 13, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis was admitted to Sioux Valley Hospital on Monday 12/09/02 to begin his 14 days of intense chemo treatments. Chemo drugs once again will be administrated by IV's, oral and injections with high dosages. Travis has been pretty sick this week with his treatments and he has his good and bad days but we are thankful for each of them. Of course with the high dosages of chemo his immune system will be really low, so he will need to be careful with all the flu bugs going around. Travis was able to come home on Tuesday and can finish out this week with chemo at home. Will go back to Sioux Falls on Sunday the 15th. to check his blood levels and be sure he can go on for the next 7 days.
Travis' hair is pretty much gone, so he develops the chills and is cold all the time. His sister was able to find for him a nylon cap for him to wear so hopefully that will keep the heat in. Thanks again for all of your support and please continue to keep Travis' in your daily prayers.
God Bless.

December 6, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis developed the flu bug this week, so once again his chemo treatments were ceased due to dehydration. He received massive fluids in Sioux Falls. We will be going to Sioux Falls again this weekend and try to start his 14 day chemo treatments on Monday 12/09/02.
Travis was a little upset with the set back knowing that his long road of treatments were lengthen another 1 week. We try to assure him that we will all get through this, he is so strong and he really has a lot of support and a lot of prayers from everyone to guide him.
"If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it".

December 3, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis will be admitted to Sioux Valley Hospital on 12/04/02 to begin 14 days of intense chemo treatments. He was not able to begin his treatments on Monday as planned due to low blood counts. Treatments will be IV, injections and oral. Not for sure the length of his stay, short stays are always welcomed. Travis knows that he will have some good days and bad days during the next 14 days of treatments and he will handle them one day at a time. We know that he has the strength and the power of healing is in good hands.
Thanksgiving was really awesome for Travis, as his sister Amanda, Jon and Isaiah were here for a few days. Really enjoyed their company. Weather was just beautiful so he was able to do a little hunting, school work, hanging out with family and friends, and of course watching the Viking's play(ouch).
As always we appreciate your support and powerful prayers for Travis.
Happy Holiday's

November 25, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis appointment in Sioux Falls went well this week. Nurses and Doctor's were able to access his port so were able to administrate chemo treatments into his port. His blood labs were also drawn from his port which really makes Travis happy less sticks and pokes into his veins.
He received his chemo treatments, but again dosages were only half due to his blood counts being so low along with a high liver count. We were able to come on Monday night, no extra hospital stay so that too was a real treat! Due to Travis's low white blood counts he has to be very careful to avoid any virus as he can not fight them off, so mom is on germ control! Over all Travis had a really good week last week, enjoyed a few visits from some buddies and he and dad even got the chance do a little road hunting. Also trying to do some catch up on his school work. His spirits last week were really great and we really enjoy seeing Travis smile! These are the good days that we look so much forward to.
We wish you all a Blessed Thanksgiving.

November 19, 2002
By Margie Newling
We are still in Sioux Falls Hospital , Travis blood counts are still pretty low this morning, so Doctors have order another blood transfusion for him.
Since he will not be scheduled to come back to Sioux Falls until next Sunday thought they would try to increase his blood counts. WBC .05, HGB 8.3 Platelets this morning are 87 which are a lot better then yesterday which were 24. His spirits this morning seem to be up a little so this is to be consider one of our better days. Hooray! His appetite is increasing a little which is wonderful to see.
He has a chemo treatment this morning which will be an injection and a new chemo drug for Travis, so hopefully he will be able to tolerate it.

November 18, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis has had a very long week of intense chemo treatments. After arriving home from Sioux Falls last week he spiked a temperature and became very ill and weak do to the combination of chemo, morphine and sedation of his surgery. He slept for days, no appetite and very little fluid intake which resulted in admitting Travis to St Mary's Hospital on Friday and Saturday.
His platelets counts seem to be dropping day by day and his white blood count is down, 0.5. Left Sunday for Sioux Falls after arriving Travis received 8 units of platelets. He also lost 10 pounds in the last week.
Nurses tried to access his port that was placed last week but were unsuccessful do to blood clots on his port and some swelling still in his chest. We will until next week and see if we can administrate his port. So, back to the IV's again to administrate the platelets and chemo drugs. His chemo drugs that were given today were decreased by half the dosage due to his high liver counts. Travis will stay an extra day or 2 in Sioux Valley Hospital for fluid intake and observation.
Please continue to keep Travis in your daily prayers.
God Bless.

November 11, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis was admitted to Sioux Valley Hospital on Monday 11/11/02 to receive his Chemo treatment, drug which is injected into his spinal cord. Treatments went well, but due to his critical low blood counts, WBC 0.9, HGB 5.8, this week he will be staying a few extra days to receive blood transfusions again this week. Also have schedule an appointment for surgery on Tuesday for his port placement. Doctor feels that his blood clots have reduced to proceed with his port. Great news, by having his port this will really help reduce all the pain from sticks, pokes, IV's, etc. Travis vocal cords are still swollen for his chemo treatments and hopefully soon he will be able to yell or scream at us instead of his soft whisper! His hair loss is very effective, makes him sad but we keep encouraging him that this too will pass and he will have new hair growing back in before he knows it, where his dad's will not grow back!
Thank you ! To all the blood and bone marrow donors that donated and tested for Travis.
Benefit Auction: What a HUGE success. We know that the whole community and surrounding areas were there as it was standing room only. We appreciate your participation and support in making Travis's benefit a great success. God Bless All of You!

November 4, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis was admitted to Sioux Valley Hospital on Monday 11/04/02 to start his new phase of chemo treatments. This phase is called consolidation therapy which will be for 63 days, this therapy will consist of new combination of drugs to destroy any cancer cells that survived the induction phase. Travis chemo drugs again will consist of injections, oral and IV treatments. Of course all new chemo drugs all new side effects, nausea, hair loss, low blood counts, mouth sores, abnormal liver functions and appetite loss. He will also be receiving chemo drug injections into his spinal fluid to destroy and prevent any cancer cells crossing into the CNS, central nervous system.
Travis blood counts are critical low today WBC 5.8, HGB 4.4 his oncologist has ordered blood transfusions, so far 2 units are on the orders through out the night, will see what tomorrow blood counts show to determine if more units are needed.
Another Doppler scan was done to check on the blood clots in his arm, x-ray showed some relief in the clots, but clots are still present. Dr. has ordered a different blood thinner drug which will be oral which will help with one less injection. Due to the clots still present will have to continue to wait on the placement of his chest port.
Travis energy level is very low and he is really weak all do to his low blood counts. The side effect of hair loss is progressing very rapidly within the last few days.
Please continue to keep Travis in your prayers and God Bless.

October 29, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis was able to make his Dr. appointment in Sioux Falls on Monday 10/28/02. He has been so weak that we were not sure if it was going to be possible. He blood counts looked good enough to administrate his chemo (IT chemo which is injected into cerebrospinal fluid) and to perform his bone marrow aspirate and biopsy (bone marrow test are done to check for cancer cells in the bone marrow) and LP, removal of spinal fluid to be examined for cancer cells.
Travis hemoglobin counts are low (red blood cells) cells that carry the oxygen and carbon dioxide into your blood, with a low count will explain Travis fatigue. He also received another injection of Lasix, fluid retention, lost almost 10 pounds last week of fluid and looking to lose more this week.
We are continuing the blood thinner injections twice a day, still no movement of the blood clots in his arm, which also means no advancement on the implant of his port.  Bilirubin counts were a little high, which was a side effect one of the chemo drugs.
Travis will complete his induction (initial phase) of his protocol (written plan for treating his cancer) this weekend. Doctors were able to inform us and Travis that the induction phase is a success and that his leukemia cells in the bone marrow are in remission stage. WONDERFUL REPORT!
Travis will now advance to his next phase of high dosages of chemo drugs which will be daily drugs with combinations of oral, injections and IV. This phase purpose is to destroy any cancer cells that survived the induction.  Not for sure of the length of this phase or the drugs or how long Travis will be in Sioux Falls after we start his next phase. Of course just like his other chemo drugs the common side effects will be hurdles that we can jump along the way.
We continue to ask for your strong prayers as Travis continues to battle his leukemia illness.
Keep the faith and God Bless.

October 23, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis went to Sioux Falls on Monday 10/21/02.  As we thought due to the blood clots from his picc line they are not able to insert a port line for at least up to 2 months.  What this means that all chemo treatments, blood test, medicine injections will have to be injected through IV's.  His little arm looks like a pin cushion.  Drs. have not had too many cases of clots with picc lines so they are going to do some checking into maybe the material the picc line is made of and some other testing. Travis will continue to be on a blood thinner (given by injection) for a 2 months and then Drs. will reorder a Doppler and some blood test to monitor the clots and hopefully be able to insert a port. Travis was able to receive his chemo treatments on Monday.   The nurses started another IV in his arm to administer the chemo's. He also received an injection of diuretic, he has stored about 10# of body fluid and this injection as really helped him. He has a lot of swelling in his body (side effects of chemo) which makes all his muscles ache really hard to motivate, along with talking as the swelling is pressing against his vocal cords. His emotions are riding the roller coaster, some days good and some not. We just take one day at a time and pray for the better ones ahead.
Travis has some blood test this week in Pierre and then back to Sioux Falls on Monday which will be day 28 of his Induction Therapy. This phase of chemo was to kill as many abnormal white cells in the shortest amount time possible. We are praying that we will see some great results.
His sprits were a little down as pheasant hunting opened last weekend and he was not able to be a part of it, just broke our hearts as well. Told him that they are not that many birds this year as they were waiting for him next year!
We thank everyone for their outgoing support for Travis and ask to please to continue to keep Travis in your prayers.
God Bless you all.

October 17, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis was dismissed from Sioux Valley on 10/11, Friday.  What a surprise! His blood counts were a little better, so we got to come home for the weekend. Travis slept most of the weekend, really tried and drained. Seems like all we did for him over those 2 days was to administrate his drugs and feed him.  His appetite is still increasing (side effect from the chemo).
Went back to Sioux Falls on Monday for more chemo treatments. Dr removed his picc line as it was not working properly.  The Dr. could not draw blood out of it so they pulled the line. Which now means the have to inject the chemo into his veins until he gets a port line in his chest, hopefully next week? Travis has had a few chemo treatments at St Mary's Hospital in Pierre, but we comminute weekly to Sioux Falls.  I think we will be there most of next week for treatments and to see if we can get his port in.
Travis got his braces removed today, due to the mouth sores he has from the chemo it will really reduce some of the irritation. Travis's arm that the picc line was in has really swollen overnight, so after talking to SF we went to visit his Dr in Pierre and after an ultra sound was done.   It was determined that he has developed blood clots in his arm veins. So along with all his other treatments  that he is receiving he will now be taking injections twice a day, blood thinner to help with his blood flow and hopefully the clots will dissolve soon.  He still sleeps a lot through the day, not too much activity yet.  We try to walk about a half hour a day. On Oct 18th he will have 10 days left of his induction chemo treatments, hopefully we will know if Travis leukemia is responding to the chemo treatments he is receiving. He still continues to receive phone calls and cards and we really appreciate your support.
God Bless

October 11th, 2002
By Margie Newling
Day 15 into his Induction Chemo treatments. Half way to day 28 which will inform us if these treatments will work for Travis. Today his chemo are given oral and injection.
Thursday use to be our big chemo day, but that has changed to Monday's.  So on the 14th will be a busy day for Travis. Totally zaps him out for energy.
Travis still has the cough and drainage in his throat and still has the clammy sweats at night.  Better then hot flashes they tell me, mouth sores are appearing more and more. Blood counts are slightly up a little, but still critical low. His sprits are up one moment then down the next.  We try not to give him a whole lot of time to let his mind wander as it does. They keep him pretty busy here.  School studies seem to be going ok.  He can still only focus for about 2 hours then he is done, but is managing to hang in there. We need to explain to all a few things about phone calls and visits and appreciate your understanding, since every day is different and the side effects from the chemo vary we need to inform you that if you call and Travis does not want to talk, please do not take it personally.   He does not feel well enough to talk at that time or is totally exhausted, but please be sure to call back (he really enjoys hearing from all) Also, when visiting us, we have been informed that if any one that has been exposed to the flu, colds, etc. to please stay away for a few days and also if you do have a slight cold, sore throat or just do not fell to great.  Please inform the nurse and they will either decline your visit or ask you to mask up before visiting Travis. As we have mentioned his immune system is so low he can not fight off any kind of injection or virus.
Please continue Travis in your prayers and thank to all for your loving support.

October 9th, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis's treatments over the last couple days are going ok. Travis has  developed a cough and running nose, sniffles which concerns his Dr due to his critical low blood counts he will have a hard time fighting off what ever the cough, sniffles are developing into. Dr. started an nebulizer antibiotic treatment which is given monthly. Also a fluid retention drug to help release his fluid in-take. Today he is receiving more saline fluids. His emotions are still low, but with the win of the Twins last night maybe they will increase. I need to address the issue on phone calls. Travis really enjoys hearing from everyone, but if you do call and Travis does not feel like talking please do not take in personally.  Between the lack of energy and the side effects and mood swings of his treatments some days are better then others, but he loves you all and thanks you for your support.

October 7th, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis received another blood transfusion this morning, he develops headaches with these, so hopefully the Tylenol will take care of that. His treatment for chemo today is oral and an injection into his leg muscles.  Travis had a set back on his chemo treatments, he was to receive 2  treatments last Thursday and he did not receive them, so this will expand his Induction phase by 3 days. Travis is expressing himself more and more each day, he is still frighten and scared.
He received lots of visitors this weekend, and he enjoyed everyone one of them, thanks to all! He really looks forward to the e-mails and cards so please encourage all to continue the communications. His Dr. really wants us out of here due to all that bacteria, germs, and virus's in this hospital, so we are on the waiting list for Ronald McDonald's(he will be here today) house and then we will be treated at the clinic, daily, then every other day. White blood count is still critical low 0.4, HBG still low at 9.6, but the ANC is 240, this is the blood cells that fight off infection,bacteria's, etc.. this is very low...Doctor's would like to see this count over 1,000, which is nowhere near normal but it helps. Travis medical counselor, Michelle will be at GMMS today to talk and explain to the students about Travis's illness. We hope that this will help them understand and ask questions to ease their worry thoughts.
Travis and his family appreciate everything that all our family, friends, and the community who have shown their support and generosity. We ask that you please continue to keep us in your prayers!

October 4th, 2002
By Margie Newling
Travis has been diagnosed with ALL(acute lymphoblastic leukemia). Know to all as cancer of the blood.
He will undergo a very long road of chemotherapy for 3 1/2 years. Right now Travis is in the Induction phase of his treatments, which is 28 days. Its purpose is to kill as many abnormal white cells in the shortest amount of time possible. Travis will have a high risk for infection since his white blood count will be extremely low. The methods for giving drugs in this phase are oral, IV, Intramuscularly, Intrathecal. Travis's treatments will be divided into 6 phases (approximate total of a year) and then he will be placed on a maintenance which is the final phase. Along with blood transfusions when needed, so far he has had 3 units of blood. Of course along with the treatments are many side effects that he will deal with, so far the side effects are slowly moving into his system. Many blood test and bone marrow testing are done to see how will Travis is responding to his treatments.
Travis is in day 7 in Phase 1 of his treatments and so far everything is working the way it is planned, so that is great news. We handle one day at a time, and pray for a good day every day.
We are planning on moving into the Ronald McDonald house next week and then will we be going to the clinic daily as an out patient for treatments. When we move in I will update you on our address and phone numbers.
Travis is sadden, frightened and emotional drained. He really looks forward to his daily e-mails, notes and cards of good well wishes.  Travis has a great school teacher here, her name is Sheri and she is corresponding with GMMS teacher's to help Travis maintain his daily assignments. Due to his fatigue and not feeling well he is limited to the amount of time for school studies, but he is trying hard. He really misses his fellow classmates and teachers. Travis has many counselor's that attend to him. Helping Travis understand his disease and try to answer any questions he may have and counsel him with all the treatments and testing he is going through. One of his counselor's will be in Pierre on Monday to visit and explain his disease to his classmates, teachers, family and friends. We appreciate her time to help everyone understand.
Travis and his family would like to express a multitude of thanks to all  those that have expressed their concerns in so many different ways, phone calls, get well wishes, fund raisers, blood donations, visits and your thoughts and prayers. We ask all of you to continue with your prayers towards Travis for a speedy and successful recovery.