JENESSA NICOLE “BOEY” BYERS

A fellow Chris Daughtry fan with a heart of gold is running in honor of Boey. Meaghan is one of our wonderful supportive internet friends that we met through Absent Elements website. She has given us warm and supportive words during this difficult journey and been a real blessing. She has had a heart for pediatric cancer warriors for some time and she has wanted to do something. She asked for permission to run a race in Boey’s honor next month. She has sent Boey a racing singlet for her to decorate that she will wear in the run to show her support for Boey and to raise awareness for Pediatric Cancer.

Click here for details.

Thank you Meaghan! When I told Boey that someone wanted to do this her eyes opened wide and sparkled. She is very excited to design her singlet. Because of you Meaghan and many of the people like you us Byers feel so supported. Thank you and thank all of you.

We feal very supported. By family and friends, people at church and the community,and even people we have met through the internet.    Just a quick note to say Thank you. The gifts, emails , visits, and the myspace comments have meant so much to us!!! We especially feel supported by the number of Believers that have told us that they are praying for our family and our daughter.

It really has been an encouragement!! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!

  Sorry it’s been soooooo long without an update…our little warrior is doing amazingly well considering the last two chemos hit her pretty hard. She’s been reacting to the chemo by swelling up like a little puffer fish..or as dad would say “his little prize fighter”. It’s heartbreaking to say the least. I asked all the docs which are made up of mainly residents, fellows, etc..so it is very confusing at times. It’s a teaching hospital, so we rarely see her primary doctor. I asked them why she was reacting this way, it never happened before. As much as I LOVE these docs, they weren’t sure. So I tried to figure it out myself. The only thing that was different these last two times was the fact that she had now gone through radiation. I asked to speak with her primary doc(who we rarely see..hint hint..if you’re reading!!) and ran this by her. I asked her if the radiation has made her skin more sensitive, and the lining of her throat is still inflamed and in the healing process, and she said YES, it is from the radiation. It could take up to 6 months to a year for her to be completely healed from the damage caused by the radiation. So until she is completely healed, Boey will react this way to the chemo. ThankGod she sleeps through most of the chemo at the hospital, otherwise it would be hard for her to keep her eyes open due to the swelling. This last chemo her blood pressure really gave us a scare too, it kept decreasing as the night went on, so dad and I took turns watching her and the nurses were awesome and vigilant with her care. 

   These last few days she’s been bursting at the seams for the AI concert!! This morning she woke up all excited and said “7 MORE DAYS GUYS TILL I SEE MY HERO AND SQUEEZE HIM, KISS HIS CHEEKS AND MAKE HIM DO THE DAUGHTRY DANCE WITH ME”!! It’s so awesome to see her so energized and full of life. Chris is one heck of a guy, special beyond words. He has given our family backstage passes and an opportunity to meet Boey in a private area, but we haven’t told Boey yet, we want to surprise her!! She knows she’s going to meet him, but not the details. We had an offer from a very generous friend to pay for a limo that night so she would have V.I.P treatment…it’s so cute, they can even roll out a red carpet for her when she gets out of the limo. We want to make it as special as we can for the strongest little warrior in the world. This will be her moment. She has fought so hard, and taught our family so much during the last 7 months, she more than deserves this special moment. She has shown the cancer who’s BOSS, and continues no matter how dam hard it is, to NEVER stop fighting, that’s NEVER an option for her. We are praying that she stays healthy and strong so she can be with Chris next Friday. The docs have given us a heads up for her to go as long as her counts are high enough. We have an appt for next Thursday before the concert to make sure she is ready for her big day:)!! EXCITING IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!!!

If Boey’s scheduled chemo stays on course, the docs said her last chemo would fall on Nov. 17th and she would be declared cancer free close to or on Nov 21st..the same day Chris Daughtry’s Debut CD is released!! The timing is incredible! Even though Keep Me Close will always be close to her heart and her personal favorite, she can’t wait to hear his new songs!! We are going to through a HUGE CANCER FREE/CD RELEASE PARTY THAT DAY!! So much to look forward to, she just needs to stay strong and keep fighting her way through the next few months!! YOU CAN DO IT BOEY GIRL..YOU’RE SO CLOSE!!

Thank YOU to all our incredible friends and family who have been so supportive during this very difficult time. Thank you most of all for the prayers, the very reason she is winning this nasty battle. I want to give a special shout out to all of our kick ass friends at Absent Element. You guys are so amazing in your support of our lil warrior. NDG, Mr. Daughtry.com, you guys are so awesome, thank you to all of you who have lifted our family up in prayer. THANK YOU will never be enough for all you have done. WE will make sure Chris knows how incredible his fans have been to our spunky and fierce lil warrior and our entire family. Boey is now sitting here with me and wants everyone to know how much she loves her funny smiley’s and cool pictures on her Boey Thread and she loves reading her guestbook entries. She said “they make me happy”. THank you guys for bringing her so much happiness!! As Boey would say “This Tumor Messed With The Wrong Boey”..DID IT EVER!!! KEEP KICKIN IT TO THE CURB BABY GIRL….AND KEEP SMILIN:).

God is so AWESOME. He is answering your prayers, so please keep them coming!!(((((((((((((BOEY HUGS TO ALL HER ANGELS)))))))))))))))))))

     Emotional roller coaster sums up this last week perfectly.  Last week we were very relieved that the new meds helped alleviate the nasty side effects of the chemo. All last week her throat and mouth were hurting so badly she didn’t want to eat anything but Mac N Cheese(she’s now officially sick of it). That was scary because once she stops eating this brings on other huge issues(possible nose tube if she loses more weight. Nose tube could get infected…the list goes on…it’s crucial that she eats and drinks). The pain pills help her to eat a little bit, so she tries to eat as much as she can after she takes them. She hasn’t been drinking her Glutamine in the last week because it makes her gag and she is really sick of it. Not that we can blame her, but we are worried cause this is the first time she’s had such terrible sores. She is definitely motivated to start drinking it again.

The last fever incident was so scary, Rob and I agreed that after this last chemo, we are GOING NOWHERE. I don’t want to take any chances of her getting sick with a fever like last time. I know the docs tell us that 95% of the time it’s from your own bacteria in your body that makes you sick, but every single time she’s had a blood culture it’s been negative. Her last big chemo was last Thursday the 27th and her lowest point for blood counts is always 7 - 10 days after her chemo. We never would have suspected that her counts would ever fall into a neutropenic level. Yesterday she went in to get her counts, and we were absolutely shocked when the nurse said she was neutropenic. This means that her absolute neutrophil counts are below 500…hers are 350. Her white blood cells are 800. Her hemoglobin is perfect, which is why she has great energy and doesnt’ seem lethargic at all. That’s why we never expected her counts to be so low. They definitely don’t go hand in hand. The doctor told us lastnight that as long as she doesn’t spike a fever(good Lord, we don’t want to go through this again), she will be okay.
She gets her Neupogen shots 10 days in a row after her big chemo, and we were hoping the shots would keep her counts high enough and never fall this low. I can’t even imagine what would’ve happened without the Neupogen shots, we are so grateful for this medicine(it stimulates white blood cell growth in the bone marrow).
Please pray that her little body can fight even though it is suppressed right now. She has been through so much, I can’t even imagine her getting sick again with a fever, especially when her counts are this low. This is a very scary time for all of us. We have to be strong and keep it together so she can be strong and fight. Rob is my rock, thankGod we balance eathother out so well(everyone that knows us will appreciate this comment..lol). I am leaning on God’s strength, he is seeing us through this. He is giving us the wisdom, strength, and perservance needed to get through this difficult time. He is an awesome God.
Today Boey is going to work on her scrapbook for Chris(can’t wait to show you the pics on this site), and watch all of his AI performances(he always lifts her spirits)!!! She wants to do another video(like the one she has under the Audio and video link here), but we are hesistant cause of her counts being so low. We just need to get through this scary time without any sickness!! Your prayers are very powerful, please pray for her. This has been one draining emotional rollercoaster of a week.
We want to thank EVERYBODY out there who has given to us in so many ways. We have been so blessed by so many awesome people, we wish we could hug each and every one of you and tell you personally how much we appreciate all you have done. We are SO grateful, and so blessed. We want you to know that each and every one of you have touched our hearts and we cherish everything you have done for our family. A heartfelt thank you to all of our Boey angels surrounding us in love and prayers:).