History

Journal History

Tuesday, April 15, 2003 12:35 AM CDT

Good afternoon everyone!

Mya is back in the hospital for another round of chemo. She was in good spirits yesterday when I went to visit her for a little while. Just a reminder that this Friday is the big "D" day. That's right the benefit dance is here already. Jumping Jukebox's Blake Vaughn is getting excited and is ready for a great evening. We also want to thank everyone who has help us so far in getting donations for this event. Sears has donated a Sony Stereo System-5 disk changer, 100W+100W, Hi-Fi. valued at $700.00, We've also received donations from several resturants, Tax preparation for your 2003, or 2002 extention from Greg Owens, CPA. Just a few of the items so far, but there are many more. Hope to see ya'll there.

Wednesday, April 2, 2003 1:22 PM CST

Good sunny afternoon to everyone. The benfit planning is going just great. Thanks to everyone that is helping out. Mya is going tomorrow for a new protocal so lets remember her in our prayers. We have set up the A.M.M. Leukemia Fund which is a non-profit organization. Anyone can go to any CCB branch and make a donation to this fund. It has been set up as another way to help out the Manley family. We have been on several different radio stations spreading the word about the benefit and the response is amazing. Tickets for the dance are available at several upstate locations: Patsy's Sunroom both Simpsonville loactions, Casin's Barber Shop Main St Simpsonville, J&D Photo Augusta Rd Greenville, & Phil's Music Butler Rd Mauldin. A special thanks goes out to Jumping Jukebox's Blake Vaughn who will be our DJ for this event. For more information you can e-mail us at myamanley@hotmail.com or call Kathy at 630-1425.

Sunday, March 16, 2003 1:14 PM CST

Mya was released from the Hospital Thursday March 13, 2003 after a two day stay for a Spinal Tap and Cheomotherpy treatments and is continuing her treatments at home for the next week with a nurse coming out to the house to administer the shots. She is doing very well and is getting her personality back.

On another positive note we are putting together a Benefit dance to help raise money to help the family out. It will take place on Friday April 18, 2003 at 7 p.m. at the Greenville Hilton. Tickets are $10.00 per person. There will be slient auctions held during the evening. For more information about getting the tickets or making a donation please send a e-mail to myamanley@hotmail.com.

Sunday, December 15, 2002 at 10:51 AM (CST)

Good morning on this beautiful Sunday!

Mya & Ren are back at home, after a short stay in the hospital.

Mya is doing well, and we'll have more updates soon!

God Bless!

Tuesday, December 10, 2002 at 09:16 PM (CST)

Good evening,

Mya & Ren will be going back to the hospital on Thursday, and will stay for 2-3 days. Mya will be getting more intense chemo treatments in the hospital during this stay.

Ren says that Mya is doing really well lately, and is becoming a real "chatty Cathy"... she's talking and repeating things all the time. She's been watching lots of cartoons, and apparently likes to keep the Grinch "in line" when she watches "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".

Keep them in your prayers as they prepare for another hospital stay this week.

God Bless!

Saturday, December 07, 2002 at 02:06 PM (CST)

Good afternoon, everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't updated this in a while...

Mya has been at home during the past week and a half. She takes her chemo pill every night before she goes to bed.

I just have to relate a story that Ren told us earlier this week... it's what life is all about.

Ren was making breakfast for Mya one morning, and was talking on the phone, too, when she noticed some movement behind her. Mya had been sleeping when she started breakfast, so she wasn't expecting to see Mya standing there.

Mya had gotten out of bed, gone to the cupboard to get a plate, and was standing beside Ren with her plate held up, with the biggest smile on her face, waiting for her eggs to be done. She just started giggling once Ren noticed her...

Isn't that the cutest thing?

Please keep praying for Mya and for Bethany Groce(www.caringbridge.org/sc/bethanygroce).

God Bless!

Wednesday, November 27, 2002 at 04:46 PM (CST)

Good evening,

Today was pretty rough for Mya. The doctors operated on her to put in the port, and then tried to give her the medicine through it. For whatever reason, the port didn't work. Then they had to remove one of the tubes and insert some kind of a metal box instead... sorry I'm sketchy on the details... Mya was obviously very uncomfortable through all of this.

She is back at home now, and won't get any more IV chemo treatments until at least next Wednesday. The doctors gave her chemo pills to take every night before bedtime as an alternative.

On this day before Thanksgiving, lets all remember to be thankful for God and our families. We all have LOTS to be thankful for.

Please continue to pray for Mya, Ren and Amber during this holiday weekend. God Bless!

P.S. Please visit another site on Caring Bridge... Bethany has been very sick after her second bone marrow transplant, and has been in and out of the hospital ever since. Let her know you're praying for her, too.

http://www.caringbridge.org/sc/bethanygroce

Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 09:33 PM (CST)

Good Evening,

Mya had another chemo treatment today -- Ren said it was a very rough experience. The staff had to poke her 7 times, trying to find veins to use. Based on the difficulties today, the next chemo treatment will be next Wednesday. They'll also put in the port on Wednesday, along with another bone marrow biopsy.

It was a stressfull day for Mya, Ren and the staff at the hospital. Please continue to pray for strength for all of them.

P.S. Mya is going through a lot of diapers because of her treatments. If anyone would like to donate some, Mya wears size 6.

Thanks to everyone!

Monday, November 18, 2002 at 02:03 PM (CST)

Good afternoon,

Mya had another chemo treatment this morning. They admitted her prior to the treatment, administered the treatment, and then released her. This will be "the drill" during each chemo treatment. Everything went fine today.

Her doctors are pleased with her progress so far. The cancer seems to have stopped growing. They'll continue as scheduled this week with more chemo on Wednesday and Friday, and then put in her port next week.

She's still swollen from the steroids, but also has a healthy appetite. There's still some damage to her liver and kidneys, but in time, the doctors hope that will get better, too. As long as things keep progressing this way, Mya will need treatments for the next 2-1/2 years.

Praise God for this wonderful news this morning!

Wednesday, November 13, 2002 at 06:18 PM (CST)

Good evening,

Good news -- Mya was released from the hospital today. She won't need to go back until Monday morning for her next chemo treatment. Plans are still the same for the next two weeks: M/W/F chemo, and then a week's stay for the port operation.

Ren isn't feeling well today -- we think the stress finally caught up with her (go figure). If anyone has been wondering how they can help, I imagine she'd appreciate some home-cooked meals over the next few days. If you're interested, contact me at the e-mail address below, and I'll give you some information.

Chemo seems to be working... please keep praying for God's will to be done for Mya. And keep Ren & Amber in your prayers, too, as they finally get to be a family again under the same roof tonight.

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 at 04:17 PM (CST)

Good evening,

Plans have changed again. The doctors wanted to watch Mya's reaction to another shot today, so they decided not to release her until tomorrow.

Current plans are: chemo treatments on Wednesday & Friday this week (hopefully as outpatient), and more outpatient chemo on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week. Then Mya will return to the hospital for another week's stay -- this time to put in the port in her chest.

Keep those prayers coming! God Bless little Mya, Ren and Amber.

Sunday, November 10, 2002 at 11:11 AM (CST)

Good Morning!

Ren just called with an update on Mya... the doctors gave her another round of chemo this morning, but also gave her some medicine that "has knocked her out." Our little angel has been sleeping every since that treatment.

The doctors have re-evaluated her condition, and now want to release her on Tuesday, instead of Monday. But the rest of the plans are the same -- she'll need to keep coming back for more chemo treatments on an outpatient basis.

Special praises go out to Brookwood Community Church today. At all of the services, they handed out a flyer:

Brookwood Community Church Blood Drive
Thursday, November 21st
3pm - 8pm
"It's All About Life... this blood drive is being held in honor of Mya Manley."

Brookwood Community Church is located near the intersection of Hwy 14 and Pelham Road (3161 South Hwy 14 in Greenville, SC). If you need directions, please call the church office at (864) 458-8944.

Ren is already overwhelmed by the response at the local blood banks. These new donations will continue to support and help Mya's treatments. After all, Mya will need these donations for the next two and a half years. So if you can't donate for whatever reason right now, please be aware that we'll need donations for a long time to come.

God Bless all of you for your continued prayers, cards, presents and other well-wishes to Mya, Amber and Ren.

Saturday, November 09, 2002 at 08:38 AM (CST)

Good morning everyone,

Mya is getting a break from the chemo treatments today. The doctors will give her another round tomorrow. If all goes well, they're still considering releasing her on Monday. But she'll need to be back at the hospital on Tuesday for more chemo. That will probably be about a three hour visit. So while it's great news that she may get to go home, she'll still be doing a lot of traveling between home and the hospital for more treatments.

Please continue to keep Mya, Ren & Amber in your prayers.

Thursday, November 07, 2002 at 05:06 PM (CST)

Good afternoon!

Wasn't it a pretty day outside today?! Thank God for all the beautiful colors!

Chemo treatments seem to be working well so far. The doctors want to do more chemo on Sunday, and then monitor how she's doing with the treatments. If she continues to tolerate the chemo, they might release her on Monday. Ren could then bring her back to the hospital on an outpatient basis. Keep praying for good results!

One more point: Ren says that the doctors will be putting a port in Mya's chest. This will eliminate the need for IV's with every treatment. They can inject the medicine directly into this port, and it's much more comfortable for Mya. They didn't want to put in the port at first, because they were concerned about infection. But Mya's immune system seems to be building up now, so they feel better about the operation.

Please continue all your wonderful prayers for God's will to be done for little Mya.

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 at 06:59 AM (CST)

Mya will have her bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap this morning. Please keep her in your prayers.

Take a look at the pictures if you haven't seen them yet. Thanks to all of Mya's well-wishers. She's gotten new dolls, balloons, stuffed animals, books, tapes, and lots of love. And she seems to really love those Cheetos, doesn't she?!

Thought for today from our "40 Days of Purpose" study (Ren is a shining example of this lesson):

"You can choose to respond to your circumstances the way Jesus would." Pastor Rick Warren

"When all kinds of trials crowd into your lives don't resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends. Realize that they come to test your faith and produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed and you become people of mature character, people of integrity, with no weak spots." James 1:2-4

Love to you all.

Monday, November 04, 2002 at 11:19 PM (CST)

UPDATE: Please take a look at the new pictures!

Thanks for all your continued prayers and well wishes.

Mya got her appetite back again today. She will get a few days off from her chemo treatments. The doctors will do another bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap on Wednesday morning to check on the leukemia. In the meantime, they may give her more platelets tomorrow.

Sorry it's taking so long to get new pictures up on the site. We hope to have them sometime tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!

Sunday, November 03, 2002 at 04:14 PM (CST)

Mya and Ren have moved to a new room #468. The phone number has changed accordingly (see below).

This weekend has been rough for Mya. Her white blood cell count has dropped to a critical level, so the doctors decided to stop the chemo treatments until at least Monday.

They did a battery of tests on Mya today, including drawing more blood, and gave her more blood and platelets. She's a lot weaker today than she ever was on Tuesday last week. They also had to cut off about 6 inches of her hair this weekend.

For anyone who wants to visit Mya and Ren, please note that Mya's immune system is extremely fragile right now. Her initial chemo treatments make this a critical time to keep all germs away. The nursing staff will be screening all future visitors, to make sure that "unwanted germs" don't enter Mya's environment. Please know that this is for Mya's safety; not because Ren doesn't want visitors.

Ren reports that the blood banks are getting swamped with activity on Mya's behalf -- thanks to everyone who has been participating. Please keep up the donations!

Finally, the hospital's PR department has begun to handle the phone calls that come through the main hospital number, instead of directing the calls to the room.

Many praises go out again to: Russ & Lisa on AM1330, all the local churches that have been praying for Mya, Brookwood Church, all the retreat participants this weekend, and all those troopers that are helping move as we speak. These people may be tired, but they've been energized with the Holy Spirit from this weekend, and they're all doing an awesome job right now!!

Please continue to pray for God's will to be done for Mya and Ren and their family. God bless!

Late Evening Update: I just spoke with Ren, and she said it's been a pretty rough day. The doctors decided to give Mya another chemo treatment today, and she's developed some bruising from it. They'll get the white blood cell count back in the morning.

On a happier note, Ren wanted to say thanks to everyone who's brought presents to Mya, including all the balloons, stuffed animals, flowers, books, movies, etc. We'll have pictures of all the "love" on the site soon.

Friday, November 01, 2002 at 09:15 AM (CST)

Hi Everyone,

First of all, thanks so much to AM1330 Russ & Lisa, for devoting so much time to Ren & Mya on their show this morning. We can see a lot more "hits" to this site, even in the short time this morning. You're all awesome!

Mya had her first chemo treatment yesterday. It was pretty uncomfortable for her, but she came through it like a trooper. The staff will be drawing blood from her finger every morning, to continue testing the impact of her treatments. In addition, because of all the IV fluids, Mya's got some fluid in one of her lungs. They're also treating her for that infection.

Mya's appetite has returned in the last few days. On each or my visits, she seems to love eating the Cheerios with Mom, and even took some bites of bacon and eggs this morning. And of course, she's been treated to a little bit of Halloween candy this week.

She'll be continuing her chemo every day for the next few weeks, so please keep Mya in your prayers. She'll probably be getting her hair cut off, so she'll be more comfortable during the chemo treatments.

Please take a look at the beautiful pictures of Mya on this site. You'll fall in love with her immediately!!

Wednesday, October 30, 2002 at 02:59 PM (CST)

Mya Manley is Ren Manley's 2 year old daughter. Mya was taken to the ER late on Monday evening, to find that her heart rate was over 180 (when a normal reading would be between 100 and 120), and she was also jaundiced. The doctors gave her blood transfusions and platelets throughout the night, and were able to slow down her heart rate by morning. They were suspecting that she had leukemia, but wanted to do a bone marrow test on Tuesday morning to confirm their diagnosis.

The test results came back yesterday to confirm that Mya does have leukemia. On an encouraging note, the form of leukemia is a more common one that the doctors think is easier to treat. Mya had a spinal tap test this morning, to determine whether the leukemia is present in her spinal column. This will help the doctors better evaluate her chances of a full recovery. Regardless of the test results due this afternoon, Mya will be starting chemotherapy treatments at Greenville Memorial this week, and will continue to stay at the hospital for the next two weeks. After the two weeks of treatments in the hospital, Ren and Mya can go back home, and start visiting the outpatient clinic for regular chemo treatments and checkups.

Please continue to pray for Mya and Ren and her family, as they await the latest test results.

If anyone would like to donate blood, the Carolina-Georgia Blood Bank Center (near Greenville Memorial) has an account set up in "Alby Mya Manley's" name. Anyone that donates blood for Mya will help defray the costs of Mya's blood and platelet transfusions.

Another way you can help is to get tested/register on the national bone marrow directory. This test usually costs about $73.00, but it's a great way to help people all over the country. Contact the blood bank for more information.

UPDATE this evening: the test results this afternoon showed NO signs of the leukemia in Mya's spinal cord -- good news.

Also, if you donate blood in Mya's name at the blood bank, they'll probably ask for Mya's social security number. Please call Ren at the hospital for that number.

Wednesday, October 30, 2002 at 02:42 PM (CST)

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