All I Want For Christmas

One of Alina's new knitted hats ;-)

This week we had Alina finish her 28 day oral medication. She went to the OPI at CHOC on Tuesday to have her blood drawn which determined if she would start her next roadmap of treatment. A minor setback as her counts were low so we have to wait a week.  She will go again on Monday to have blood work to see if we can start treatment this week of Christmas. We are praying that she will continue her treatment plan with no further delay.

We have some news from a charity which supplies knitted hats to children. Alina received three hats and a set of gloves from my sister Nicole who found this charity. The charity may use a photo of Alina to be the 2015 gift button model. Final selection may occur next week but we will keep you posted and if she is selected, we will definitely let everyone know how we can help that charity as well as receive a button.

Alina is so strong and amazing, being proud parents does not do justice to the emotions we have. She continues to provide a positive attitude for all of us. As we get closer to Christmas, please remember that this day is to celebrate the birth of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Give thanks to his mercy for saving us and to God for sending his only Son on our behalf. We love you all and appreciate the prayers, LOVE, and SUPPORT that you continue to bestow upon our family.

Love,
The King Family

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Sorry for this update being late... but Alina had a good week. She is walking a lot better and riding her bike in the backyard. She likes to go for walks around our block which is a great improvement over the last couple of weeks. She had her last lumbar puncture on Thursday the 4th and the treatment went well. She is currently on an oral chemotherapy medication once per day until next week when she will start her next phase of treatment. This treatment schedule looks like she will have two chemotherapy medications through her port every ten days. A day before the treatment she will have lab work drawn to see if her body is stable enough for the treatment. We pray daily that she continues to be strong through this process. I can't tell you how PROUD we are of this little fighter. SHE IS AMAZING!!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. God continues to be at the center of all of this and his plan for Alina is GREAT!!

We love you all,
The King Family

GIVE THANKS

It's a Happy Turkey Day Indeed!

On this Thanksgiving we have to give all thanks to God! During the last month God has blessed us and our family with so much strength, grace, generosity, and FAITH that we can only be humbled by His presence. We extend our deepest THANKS to all our family, friends, co-workers and others whom have prayed for Alina's recovery and for the generosity that has blessed us. Give thanks today for YOUR HEALTH, loved ones, friends, and for those in need who may not be as blessed as we are. Take the time to reflect on how much YOU have to be THANKFUL for, you will be surprised!! We LOVE YOU ALL and wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Love,
The King Family

God is Good!

Great news and new hairdo... smiles to boot!

Today was a GREAT day!

We met with Alina's doctors to go over the results of a few tests that determine her risk level and her next treatment path. The goal of the first month of treatment is remission and Alina has reached that goal. Alina is now considered low risk. We are overjoyed and thankful!

We still have a long road ahead of us as she will continue on the 2 ½ year treatment plan, but we are confident that Alina will respond well and stay in remission. Since Alina has been home she is improving every day. She's able to walk with a little help and now that she's off the steroid (for now) her playful and feisty personality is quickly coming back. We continue to see God's goodness through Alina and we are so thankful for his blessings.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.  We love you!

The King Family

Small steps

This update is for Tuesday November 11. First, THANK YOU to all our Veterans current and former for all your sacrifices. Our lives are what they are because of what YOU do for our Country! Alina WALKED by herself for the first time in a month. She walked between our couches and was assisted to the living room to play with Aubrey and Bryce. It was exactly one month to the day that she started the pain in her legs which had left her immobile. Alina has her day 29 treatment tomorrow along with a bone marrow biopsy. We believe she has responded very well to the first treatment program and expect good results from the tests. Please pray for her to be strong during this process and test along with positive news on her results. We will know more next week on the results and will post those as we receive them. Thank you all again for your tremendous support.

Love,
The King Family

Day 22 of Treatment

Recent photo from this weekend.  As some of you may have noticed, the steroids Alina's doctors have prescribed have altered her weight.  This is to boost her immune system while undergoing chemotherapy.  Essentially this is a side effect of the treatment.  Gotta love her Buddha Belly!

Sorry this post is late! First I want to express our deepest gratitude to all our family, friends, co-workers, and in some cases strangers who have overwhelmingly given us support since this has begun. We very much appreciate the prayers, warm thoughts, dinners, and the generous gifts that so many people have donated. We are truly amazed at the generosity of others and are grateful from the depths of our hearts for Gods work in all of this. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! We would be not be anywhere if it were not for a couple if very important people in our lives. We would like to give a special thanks to Eric, Elenor, and Valentina for their exceptional work on this site and the outpouring of support that it has brought to our family. Their dedication to Alina and all of us is amazing. Eric and Elenor have researched, created, and put in countless hours to have this site up on the internet and on Facebook. They have been "Alina's Pals" since she was born and treat all our kids as if they were their own. WE CANT THANK YOU EVER ENOUGH for all that you give! WE LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!

Now for the update Alina had her day 22 chemo treatment on Thursday and all went well. She is still slow to walk as she has residual pain in her right ankle but we are working with her everyday to encourage her to get up and move around. She stands a little on her own and takes a few steps at a time but it is slow going. We have a big week coming up as her day 29 treatment and test results will determine our roadmap going forward with her treatment schedule. We are praying and ask for you to pray as well that these results show the disease is gone from her body and she is at low risk. We will update this Thursday afternoon with her treatment results but will not know the bone marrow biopsy results until the following Wednesday. The next two weeks will be a little stressful not knowing her outcome but we know God has her on a good path and we trust in him completely. Again, THANK YOU to all of you for your support and generosity. Please continue to spread Alina's cause for prayer. We will never have enough of those

Love you all! 
The King Family

Home Again

Yesterday was a good day. Alina was ready to come home and the doctors agreed after a long weekend of tests and drug modifications. Alina will be receiving shots twice a day at home for approximately the next six months.

We are home and hopeful that our hospital days are over for a long while. She is VERY HAPPY to be home. We thank you all for your prayers and support.

To all of you who have been so generous with the gifts on the site, WE CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH!! This is a long walk and will take several paths but God has us in his arms and will continue to lead us, give us strength and comfort knowing Alina will be well again. 

Thank you all! 
The King Family

First Steps

Today was a VERY GOOD DAY!! Alina was able to get out of bed and take her first steps without any pain in over two and a half weeks. We walked from our room down the hall and to the play room. It was truly amazing. I am so proud of this little girl and her strong will. She is BEATING this! We will walk again tomorrow and continue the healing steps. Take a walk with your child, wife, mom, dad, or anyone that is important in YOUR LIFE and enjoy the steps along the way. They are special no matter how small.
Love you all, The King Family.

THE CLOT

Alina's second treatment on the blood clot went extremely well. The doctor believes that he removed it all and she will be up and around in a couple of days! GREAT NEWS. We are getting out of PICU and going back down to Oncology for the night. We should get word in the next day or so when we can GO HOME. Thanks to God!

Love to you all,

The King Family

Alina Rae Site Launch

Today will be the first day that we will be letting everyone know what is happening with Alina. We have been so blessed with the outpouring of support from family and friends that it has been overwhelming. WE THANK YOU AND LOVE YOU ALL! Over the course of the next two and a half years we will go through the treatment process to CURE Alina! She is strong! We get strength from her and God and know that this will be positively resolved! Today she will be checked for the clot treatment that she received yesterday. At 12:00 they will go in thru her left leg and see how the treatment worked. Her leg looks better this morning so we are expecting positive news. I will update you all later today. THANK YOU all again for your prayers and support. Those two words do not seem enough at times but they come from our hearts with ALL OUR LOVE!

Scot, Roxanne, and Alina