Marykate's surgery is rescheduled for Thursday, April 2 at MD Andersen Cancer Hospital in Houston. Doctor consultations are set up for the prior Tuesday and Wednesday. We will be working on travel arrangements for Sunday, March 29 or Monday, March 30 as well as getting the rest of the kids set up. She is feeling better today after being pretty sick for the last week.
Mark & Julie
Sat. March 14, 2009
Marykate started her second round of chemotherapy Wednesday night at the children cancer ward at Doernbecher. The medications make her tired and nauseated. We met a 16 yr. old girl, Kim, from Longview that was just diagnosed with leukemia on Wednesday. We knew they were new because she still had her hair! We really felt for them, being newly diagnosed - its such a shock the first few weeks. Kim and Marykate have spent a little time a couple of evenings visiting. We are planning on going home this afternoon. Marykate's surgery is scheduled for April 13 or 20.
Mark 7 Julie
Fri. March 6, 2009
Marykate lost her hair today. It ALL came out in one day! I thought it might happen over a week or two, but by Friday night it was all gone. Marykate made the best of it and wadded up hairballs and threw them at her brothers and sisters. She made one especially large one for the cat, commenting that it was the biggest fur ball he had ever hacked up. We laughed until we cried.
Mark & Julie
Tuesday March 3,2009
It seems strange to be in the hospital when she feels fine. We still can't go home because blood count are now 450. Maybe tomorrow. We decided to make the best of it and had Mark bring us some real food and watched a movie. We actually had a nice time in our "suite". Lisa, the 14 year old is back too, but having some problems, her chemo is really hard on her and she is quite sick.
Mark & Julie
Mon. March 2, 2009
Marykate developed a fever at home this evening and had to go to the OHSU ER. She will get antibiotics and go home when that subsides and her white blood count is higher. It was about 550 - normal is 1,000 to 8,000.
Mark & Julie
Feb. 20, 2009
Had surgery to install the port-a-cath at 10 AM. Admitted to room around 1 PM. She had various other MRI and CAT scans, etc. According to nurses there is an unusual number of teens in our ward tonight and more unusual still that they would get together and visit. Marykate joined five of them at the end of the hall for a card game. They sat in a circle, all bald, except for Marykate (obviously the new girl!) and all hooked up to their IV drugs. This was a very unusual, spontaneous event as most people keep to their room and don't feel well. The kids ranged in age from 14 to 19. One guy, Jordan, a 19 years old basketball player, had had his leg amputated a couple of months ago. It was nice to see someone a little further down the road who was doing well. The kids played cards for a little while and then just sat and talked for a very long time. Another girl, Lisa (14) was just diagnosed in January. She had an osteosarcoma in her shoulder, but her cancer had metastasized to her lungs already. The parents of many of these kids started to congregate a little further down the hall and talked for a long time too. It was a really nice time to get to talk to other people in the same situation. We didn't get our chemo started until 1AM.
Mark & Julie
Feb. 19, 2009
Marykate was supposed to get admitted to start chemo today, but they were unable to start a picc-line in her arm. It is sort of like an IV but with a catheter that threads up your vein and sits in a larger vein near the heart. Her vein kept clamping down on the tube and would not allow it to move. We had to go home and will come in tomorrow for early surgery to install a port-a-cath. It is a semi-permanent IV device that is implanted under the skin. A needle can be inserted into it to give chemo and other fluids/meds or draw blood.
Since we were not in the hospital we were able to attended the Woodland girls varsity basketball game at rival Ridgefield High School. Unexpectedly Marykate was called out to the center of the court where the whole Ridgefield team rallied around her wearing her jersey number on their arm. The announcer told Marykate that the whole community was behind her. We found out later that the Mark Morris High School team had her jersey number on their arms the previous game that Marykate missed while in Houston.
Mark & Julie
Feb. 13, 2009
We returned early from Houston without surgery.
Our flight from Portland arrived in Houston at 4:00 pm (CST) Wed. Feb. 11. We drove directly to MD Andersen Cancer Center for check-in. Marykate finished with a MRI at 12:30 am. We didn't get to sleep at the Double Tree Hotel until after 2:00 am.
We were up early Thursday morning for a quick breakfast and 9:00 am appointment with two surgeons and the oncologist. We discussed the pros and cons of repeating the previous limb saving surgery again with hope for a better outcome or removing the known cancer with an arm amputation. The new scans showed a possible separation between the nerve and the tumor which may allow a surgical tumor removal with unknown damage to the nerves. Two rounds of chemotherapy to hopefully shrink the tumor prior to surgery were recommended. The plan is for the surgeon to attempt a limb saving surgery. But if the tumor cannot be totally removed without making the arm useless then an amputation will be performed.
We changed our flights to 9:30 pm and arrived home at midnight Friday.
We will be going to Dornbecher Children's Hospital Wednesday at noon for two appointments and return Thursday to admit Marykate for chemotherapy. It appears that she will be there four days and return home. We are planning to return to Houston in 6-7 weeks for surgery (10 day recovery). She will continue chemotherapy for an additional 18 weeks when she returns home.
Mark & Julie
Feb. 10, 2009
Marykate had a great evening Monday thanks to many in the Woodland community. Jay Foreman posted on his blog at http://nwgirlsbballnews.blogspot.com. We leave for Texas Wednesday.
Northwest Girl's Basketball News & Scores (SW Washington - Vancouver area)
It was Mary Kate's Night
What a community, what a school, what a team, what a coach... Wow... Woodland High School's gym was packed for the J.V. game Monday night. A lot of the students, a lot of the administration, varsity team parents and boosters, the press, and just basketball fans came to show their support to Mary Kate Hughes. And she was just smiling and having fun, as if she wasn't aware of what was going on.
When I came in the gym, she stopped her warm ups and came over and gave me a hug, spoke for a minute, and went back to warming up. I had to go outside and fight my tears back. I got back in to see the start of the game though. Mary Kate was to play two quarters in the J.V. game and then be a surprise starter and play two quarters of the varsity game.
In the J.V. game she took 4 shots in the 1st quarter, the fans hanging on every shot but she miss them all. Then in the 3rd quarter she pulled up from the top of the key and hit a 3 pointer. The gym erupted. I don't even know what happen after that. All of a sudden the game was over and the varsity team was coming out to warm up.
In the varsity game warm ups, you could see Mary Kate beginning to be a little nervous. During one of the warm up drills she stumbled and fell, but laughing it off she got up and continued to get ready. Then came the pre-game ceremony, it was senior night and the team manager along with Jessica Hughes, Mary Kate's older sister were honored. Then came the poem. A poem for Mary Kate from her teammates. That was a tough one, keeping dry eyes. Then they did the starting line up, and the announcer says "at guard, a sophomore, #11 Mary Kate Hughes" and again the gym exploded. A dream come true, starting a varsity game along side her sister Jessica.
In the first quarter the ball went straight to Mary Kate, she took the first shot, it was short. She went down on defense, one of the Washougal players took a shot, missed it, the rebound came long, Mary Kate tracked it down, lead the fast break and sent a great pass to a team mate for the first two points of the game. Not much happen after that, and shortly afterwards Mary Kate came out of the game, and didn't re-enter until the 4th quarter.
In the forth quarter, she caught the ball on the wing, drove to the hoop, throw it up, and scored. The gym erupted again. Her first varsity points. Then with her sister Jessica feeding her the ball, she hit a short jumper. 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assist and a night she and many won't forget.
When I came in the gym, she stopped her warm ups and came over and gave me a hug, spoke for a minute, and went back to warming up. I had to go outside and fight my tears back. I got back in to see the start of the game though. Mary Kate was to play two quarters in the J.V. game and then be a surprise starter and play two quarters of the varsity game.
In the J.V. game she took 4 shots in the 1st quarter, the fans hanging on every shot but she miss them all. Then in the 3rd quarter she pulled up from the top of the key and hit a 3 pointer. The gym erupted. I don't even know what happen after that. All of a sudden the game was over and the varsity team was coming out to warm up.
In the varsity game warm ups, you could see Mary Kate beginning to be a little nervous. During one of the warm up drills she stumbled and fell, but laughing it off she got up and continued to get ready. Then came the pre-game ceremony, it was senior night and the team manager along with Jessica Hughes, Mary Kate's older sister were honored. Then came the poem. A poem for Mary Kate from her teammates. That was a tough one, keeping dry eyes. Then they did the starting line up, and the announcer says "at guard, a sophomore, #11 Mary Kate Hughes" and again the gym exploded. A dream come true, starting a varsity game along side her sister Jessica.
In the first quarter the ball went straight to Mary Kate, she took the first shot, it was short. She went down on defense, one of the Washougal players took a shot, missed it, the rebound came long, Mary Kate tracked it down, lead the fast break and sent a great pass to a team mate for the first two points of the game. Not much happen after that, and shortly afterwards Mary Kate came out of the game, and didn't re-enter until the 4th quarter.
In the forth quarter, she caught the ball on the wing, drove to the hoop, throw it up, and scored. The gym erupted again. Her first varsity points. Then with her sister Jessica feeding her the ball, she hit a short jumper. 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assist and a night she and many won't forget.
A LETTER FROM A COACH THAT CARES
This letter is in response to an email I sent to coach Glenn Flanagan of Woodland HS. I recently received information from a family at the school that one of his players had been diagnosed with cancer. This was his response.
Hey Jay,
Marykate Hughes, a sophomore, for us has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time. She comes from a wonderful family of 10 kids. They are definitely a basketball family as well. Her oldest sister Ashley Hughes was first team all GSHL for Woodland last year and sister Jessica is currently the point guard for Woodland's varsity. You may remember Marykate worked out with you in the fall here at Woodland. For me as her coach, she is a wonderful inspiration to me.
Here's a little of her story, sometime around her being in the fifth or sixth grade, Marykate was diagnosed with cancer in her right arm. They caught the cancer, but it left her with some limited mobility in her right arm. Not to be deterred, Marykate wasn't going to give up playing basketball, so she switched from playing right handed to left handed and continued playing. She has worked hard and not even her teammates can tell that she was originally right handed. She currently is one of the leading scorers and best players on our junior varsity team.
Recently doctors found out that the cancer has come back in her right arm and the family is now waiting to here as to what their options are. As expected though Marykate came back at practice the day after her examination, with a smile on her face, shagging balls for teammates and doing what she can to be a part of the team.
Jay your thoughts and prayers are appreciated. As Jimmy Valvano said and Marykate is showing us, "cancer may take away your physical abilities, but it cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul, those 3 things will carry on forever.
From me, I would just encourage everyone to step back, take a deep breath give your coach a hug, your teammates a hug, your daughters a hug and lets not take for granted this great sport that we are allowed to play.
Coach Glenn Flanagan (father of 3) Woodland High School Girl's Basketball
To the Hughes family, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
To the readers of this blog, feel free to express your thoughts via comments or email me. We will rally behind this young lady Marykate Hughes and make a difference.
Hey Jay,
Marykate Hughes, a sophomore, for us has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time. She comes from a wonderful family of 10 kids. They are definitely a basketball family as well. Her oldest sister Ashley Hughes was first team all GSHL for Woodland last year and sister Jessica is currently the point guard for Woodland's varsity. You may remember Marykate worked out with you in the fall here at Woodland. For me as her coach, she is a wonderful inspiration to me.
Here's a little of her story, sometime around her being in the fifth or sixth grade, Marykate was diagnosed with cancer in her right arm. They caught the cancer, but it left her with some limited mobility in her right arm. Not to be deterred, Marykate wasn't going to give up playing basketball, so she switched from playing right handed to left handed and continued playing. She has worked hard and not even her teammates can tell that she was originally right handed. She currently is one of the leading scorers and best players on our junior varsity team.
Recently doctors found out that the cancer has come back in her right arm and the family is now waiting to here as to what their options are. As expected though Marykate came back at practice the day after her examination, with a smile on her face, shagging balls for teammates and doing what she can to be a part of the team.
Jay your thoughts and prayers are appreciated. As Jimmy Valvano said and Marykate is showing us, "cancer may take away your physical abilities, but it cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul, those 3 things will carry on forever.
From me, I would just encourage everyone to step back, take a deep breath give your coach a hug, your teammates a hug, your daughters a hug and lets not take for granted this great sport that we are allowed to play.
Coach Glenn Flanagan (father of 3) Woodland High School Girl's Basketball
To the Hughes family, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
To the readers of this blog, feel free to express your thoughts via comments or email me. We will rally behind this young lady Marykate Hughes and make a difference.
Feb. 8, 2009
Marykate noticed tingling in her fingers of her right hand in December. Pain in her arm then became progessively stronger to the point of not being able to sleep. We contacted her oncologist at Doernbecher Children's Hospital for an appointment.
An MRI revealed that the cancer Marykate was treated for over five years ago had survived surgery and radiation. The tumor was about an inch diameter. It came back in the same spot on her right shoulder adjacent to the nerves and veins that supply her right arm. The original surgery cut out the tumor but could not remove a margin beyond that without cutting the nerves and making the arm useless.
Marykate noticed tingling in her fingers of her right hand in December. Pain in her arm then became progessively stronger to the point of not being able to sleep. We contacted her oncologist at Doernbecher Children's Hospital for an appointment.
An MRI revealed that the cancer Marykate was treated for over five years ago had survived surgery and radiation. The tumor was about an inch diameter. It came back in the same spot on her right shoulder adjacent to the nerves and veins that supply her right arm. The original surgery cut out the tumor but could not remove a margin beyond that without cutting the nerves and making the arm useless.
Since cancer came back the doctors at Dornbecker Children's Hospital in Portland recommended removing her arm and shoulder to hopefully eliminate the cancer all together. We have decided to go to MD Andersen Cancer Hospital in Houston, Texas to have cancer doctors that have had much more experience with this rare synovial sarcoma cancer review her case. If there is a better treatment we believe they will be the best team to decide. The last couple of days we have been frantically organizing this last minute trip. Marykate has appointments all day Thursday with three doctors in addition to scans. I just booked a hotel, plane flights for Wednesday and have yet to reserve a car.
Mark & Julie
