Natalie Orlando Update

New info in today. I spoke with Dominick on the phone yesterday to clarify about Natalie's treatment. It turns out she has had her first round of treatments. There are several different drugs that they are giving Natalie, with the most intense being the chemo therapy, make you nauseated, potentially lose your hair kind. Nat will probably be getting that drug on weekends, and as I understand, on Saturdays. But we will see, things may change depending on Natalie's response to the therapy.

She responded pretty well to this first round. She didn't even throw up. That is certainly a praise.

As the treatment continues, please pray for little Natalie. Being poked and proded is no fun, and if you can imagine a 2 year old trying to understand the strange feelings certain drugs may bring on, then you know how disorienting it is for her.

All this leads to the next area of need. Dom said he found out today that Natalie's white cell count is low, so it looks like they will be in for at least 2 more weeks. Dom and Dana are both super tired and as you can imagine, there is strain on their relationship with all the stress.

• Please pray for Dom and Dana to be united and to get time together.
• Please pray for Nicole to continue sleeping well (as she has been.)
• Please pray for Endurance for their families.
• Please pray for Natalie to respond to the therapy well.
• Please pray for continued financial help or consider helping since they will have to secure housing and daily food for another 2 weeks.
• Please pray for Natalie's roomate. Another child going through therapy. That little one was throwing up all night last night. This keeps the Orlandos up all night with nurses, etc. coming in and turning on the lights and talking at normal levels.

I am going to add a donation link on this site soon for those of you who want to donate to Natalie's care. It will be serviced through PayPal and go directly to Natalie's bank account. More on that soon. In the meantime, you can contact Heather Hughes about financial donations.

Lastly, Please remember to post your comments, questions, or prayers to Dom and Dana. As they get time, they will get your messages of care and that is such a huge encouragement to them. And tell your friends about this site. The more people who know and pray the better.

Just got a call from Dominick. Here is the update.

The last couple of nights were on and off rough. Natalie has had a fever, and it is unconfirmed if it has subsided as of yet. Dominick didn't mention it on the message.

He did mention that the doctors have inserted a "PIC line" into Natalie's chest. The purpose of the pic line is to be a direct delivery system. You can find out more by following the link.

Unfortunately there was a complication with the PIC line. According to Dom, it went up toward her neck instead of directly into her heart, meaning that the line may not serve as a direct line any longer. This is yet to be determined by the doctors. As a result, Natalie has not received any Chemo treatments yet to my knowledge.

Additionally, Natalie received some pain medication (I assume due to the procedure), and it has caused her to be a bit grumpy and in Dom's words "tripped out."

It is a frustrating waiting game for Dom and Dana as the hospital is short staffed due to the holiday. Please pray for this situation. Dom described it as things "are not firing on all cylinders."

However, to end on an up note:

A great praise from Dom is that they did a spinal tap to check for Leukemia cells in Natalies spinal fluid and brain. They expect there will be some, but the core they tested revealed none.

This is wonderful, becauase it means that the cancer is not as advanced and it places Natalie into a lower risk category.

Thank you Jesus!

Today is Dana Orlando's birthday! Leave a birthday wish for Dana in the comments section.

Dana, may you day be filled with life and hope!

Here is an email from Andy Lewis, Pastor of Faith Community Church:

Dearest Faith Family,Dom, Dana, Natalie and Nicole have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayer and amazing support provided by our family! God has already used us to be a huge support and encouragement to them in their time of need.Yesterday Natalie was confirmed to have ALL leukemia which is apparently a very treatable if not curable form of leukemia. We thank God Natalie is considered by the doctors to be a low risk patient who will not have to face the prospect of a bone marrow transplant! They will all be at Stanford over the course of this next week to get treatment started. The good news is Natalie's treatment will not be nearly as difficult as it could have been. Dom tells me that as soon as Natalie is stable she will be able to come home and then in the first month they will be going to Stanford once a week.

In the second stage of treatment they will be going once a month and then over the course of the next two years they will be able to administer chemo-therapy drugs themselves at home. Dom and Dana are both relieved by this news.

As of today we can pray for Natalie as she fights a fever. With her suppressed immune system the fever is not a surprise but it is a setback in her treatment. Dom and Dana are now checked into a great hotel that's paid in full for the next seven days and is only five miles from the hospital! They also have received many visits already and they are so appreciative of all the love they've received. One additional thought. Dana's birthday is tomorrow. If any of you want to send her a card or a thoughtful gift, Heather and Jonathan Hughes will be delivering all of our gifts on Sunday afternoon after worship. If you would still like to send something you can
drop it off at the church office, contact Heather at 419-5355 or give Heather your gift this Sunday morning.Once again our God is proving Himself faithful even in the face of events we would not choose for our lives!

Thanks for your prayers and concern.

Andy

A couple of challenges that the Orlando's are facing right now have to do with housing.

The accommodations at Stanford Children's hospital are booked. This has forced the Orlando's to stay at a hotel - finance here is the challenge since their stay at Stanford may be as short as a couple of weeks to months.

The second challenge is caring for Nicole, their newborn, in the midst of this. Nicole, being a newborn, is putting her mommy & daddy through an intense sleep deprivation course. As a parent of three, I have been through this course and can tell you it is quite intense. The best thing for a baby to learn sleep is a consistent routine, and trips back and forth to Stanford hinder that routine.

Here is a praise: An anonymous donor has generously afforded the Orlandos housing at a Holiday Inn Express near Stanford for a week. This is a great example of the Lord's provision through his body.

Secondly, I know from Andy Lewis, the Orlando's Pastor, other individuals have contributed to the Orlando's financial needs by giving cash. Yet again, God is working to care for his kids.

Here is how you can help:

Pray for God's provision in housing.
If you feel compelled, offer to help financially to help them have a consistent place to sleep.
If you know of a housing option in the Stanford area, please contact me.


Heather Hughes is coordinating all financial gifts to the Orlando's and her information can be found on the August 29th update or you can email her.