Riding Through the Storm with Kaylee

07/30/2026

Today was a pretty good day.

The acupressure bands seem to be making a huge difference in the nausea management. Kaylee woke up early and ate some scrambled eggs. Later in the day, one of my sweet co-workers and daughter brought a variety of Olive Garden dinners and Kaylee actually asked to eat a small bowl of spaghetti. That's huge compared to last time!!!

She is very weak and exhausted. Little tasks wear her out, but her spirits are good. She told me today that she felt empty and that sleep doesn't help her tiredness.

She received quite a few visits and gifts today and one of her best friends/neighbors came to hangout. She and Kaylee even asked to play Uno.

I have met quite a few other moms going through this journey. It helps to bounce things off each other and be a support for one another. I am very thankful for the strangers that have quickly become friends.

Tonight, I ask you to not just pray for Kaylee, but all those children and adults facing cancer. For their parents, children and family that support and become caregivers and would give anything to take their place.

Thank you for the continued prayers, support and love. I have attached a picture of Kaylee playing Uno and two of the signs she received this week.

07/28/2026

Kaylee is hanging in there. Yesterday was a long day. Her appointment was at 10am and we didn't get home until almost 3pm. She fell asleep on the way home and was awake for just a few hours, sporadically.

So far, the pattern seems similar to last time. She gets nauseous and wants to sleep it off. We did speak about some holistic alternatives with her care team, and are trying some of these before adding more nausea meds.

Her dietician spent time with us at the beginning of her appointment and was very pleased with Kaylee's weight. During chemo week she doesn't eat much, but the following week, she is eating enough to sustain her weight and energy. Hopefully this continues, but we will keep a food journal to be aware of any triggers and nutritional deficiencies.

We talked to our educational navigator, Amy. She is continuing to update Kaylee's school as we see how side effects progress with chemo. We know she will miss quite a few days on chemo weeks and for appointments. Kaylee's goal is to be in physical school as much as possible, so we are still working on the logistics of that.

Thankful for the best of friends. Jay worked yesterday...one friend drove us back and forth, another brought dinner (she brings it every Monday- appointment and chemo days- even when having her own dental procedure yesterday), another provided acupressure bands for Kaylee's nausea. It takes a village and I am so appreciative of our village.

Thank you for the continued prayers, positive thoughts, messages, dinners, gifts, cards and all the acts of service and love. We are very thankful!

07/27/2026

Rachel made a trail ride happen today. This ride was needed for everyone. Kaylee was so happy to be in the saddle today. She and Jorey were talking and laughing about how fast they got to ride today. A perfect way to spend the afternoon! ☀️🐎🌳

07/25/2026

Thankful that Kaylee, physically, had a great week. Kaylee had energy, an appetite and her body felt great.

Emotionally, this week took a toll on Kaylee and me. If you messaged, and I didn't respond, please accept my apology. We needed to gather our emotions this week and reset.

The best way for me to explain it...the world keeps moving at regular speed, while we are treading water in a twilight zone. Normal isn't normal anymore.

My parents were supposed to visit, but my Dad wasn't feeling 100%. While it was probably nothing, I couldn't risk infecting Kaylee. I hate feeling like the bad guy in scenarios like that.

Kaylee was asked to trail ride with one of her besties, but we needed the "all clear" from the doctor and figure out a different trail, where she wouldn't be in rivers and lakes. This brought on the emotions...nothing is as simple as it used to be. She would love to be trotting, cantering, galloping and splashing with the horses like she is used to.

Thursday, she had another wig appointment and a wig is ordered. Losing her hair is emotional. She has finally gotten her hair grown out long (her hair grows slowly) and some days, the thought of losing it all becomes overwhelming for her.

A few months ago, Heather and I had bought tickets to take our boys to a Liverpool soccer game in Nashville. I was really struggling trying to be a supermom and be there for both my kids. Ultimately, I decided I couldn't be 6-7 hours away right now. So, Heather showed up (like she always does) and is currently in Nashville with our oldest kids. She really is a rockstar- she put up with me changing my mind 100 times and bawling my eyes out. Like I tell Kaylee, I told myself, it's okay to cry. Sometimes our emotions just have to come out that way.

Sadly, a horse was injured this morning, and the trail ride couldn't happen. While the girls were disappointed, they were more worried about the horse. We just adjusted our plans and loved on Rhonda's horses this morning.

God has a way of telling us what we need to hear. Unbeknownst to Rhonda, I was having a rough week. She often texts me in the morning, and it's often a motivational/"thinking of you" text or picture. These were two that have hit home recently. Maybe someone else needs to hear it today, so I am sharing.

Thank you for the prayers and the love that surrounds Kaylee and our family. Monday is chemo day. I will try to send or post an update Monday or Tuesday. Thank you for the continued prayers for Kaylee and her health!

07/21/2026

This morning went well.

They did have trouble getting one her veins again and she handled it with so much grace. After not finding a great vein in the arm, they attempted the hand. She even watched them roll the needle around in her hand😬. The nurse asked if she wanted them to stop trying and she said, no. After no luck in the hand, they attempted an arm vein again. She said her veins are so deep and luckily her needle was just long enough.

Someone asked me today, why don't they access her port for blood draws? When she had her port surgery, they told us they wouldn't. If the port is being accessed for chemo, they will use it that day. It does save time to not use the port because extra precautions are taken to flush and clean the port. After access, it needs flushed again and potentially Heparin added. If they continue to have trouble accessing her veins, we will reconsider advocating for that.

The appointment was very quick. They drew blood and we were on our way. They said no news is good news. Some of her test results have hit her MyChart and as far as we can see, she looks good for platelets and blood this week. If anything changes, we will share as we know.

Today, one of my co-workers dropped off a beautiful prayer shawl and prayer blanket for Kaylee (and the person attending chemo with her). There was a sweet poem and note sharing that Kaylee, our family and her medical team were prayed for by her family, the church and ladies making these beautiful items.

Kaylee loves a soft crocheted blanket. Both, my best friend and my Aunt Diane, made her ones when she was a baby and she used to sleep with them every night. It felt like a full circle moment.

I asked Kaylee if she would like to take a picture with her new shawl and she said, yes! Today was another good day. Thank you for continuing to love and support our girl!

07/18/2026

Long post alert:

We have had a couple of great days! Yesterday, Kaylee asked to get out of the house. She wanted to go see Moana. We masked up and went to an early movie.

Picture germaphobe...I wiped everything down (chairs, outside of candy wrappers, outside of cups, hand sanitized about 20 times). Heather and her boys joined us. We were 5 of maybe 10 people in the theater. That helped calm my nerves. Her numbers will most likely bottom out in a few days and we will stay as homebound as possible. She will get a blood draw this Monday. That will determine if she needs any platelet/blood transfusions.

I will admit, before this journey, I didn't have a realistic image of what cancer and chemo can look like. I pictured chemo days, of someone sitting in a chair, tired, maybe in a wrap/beanie covering their head. Before Kaylee's journey, I pictured chemo days as the worst of the days. Honestly, chemo days aren't always the worst of the days. It can be what comes after.

What you don't see are the days of fatigue, the pills that may be needed to keep nausea under control, antibiotics to protect lungs/ or other organs/ laxatives and magnesium citrate to keep the severe constipation that chemo causes under control. Trying not to check for fevers everyday, because you know that means grabbing the emergency hospital bag and numbing cream and driving to the ER. The daily spurts of fatigue that makes your 12 year exhausted from walking up the steps to get to his/her room. This is the stuff no one really talks about. I don't say this for pity, because my girl is 💪. It's just the truth that, thankfully, I never knew. So, if you have a family member or friend that has or is experiencing this journey/cancer, know if they are smiling and seeming normal it's because they are a fighter/warrior! Even if they aren't smiling- because there are moments of tears/screaming and all the emotions. Tell them how strong and brave they are/were!!

I can't finish today's post without thanking everyone for their support. I called my mom yesterday to tell her how humbling this journey has been. The outpour of love that we have received leaves me speechless. There hasn't been a day that someone different hasn't messaged to say they are praying for Kaylee and our family, or a gift is left on our front porch, or a card isn't received in the mail. Some of these things have been received from close friends and family, but others have been received from bosses (old and new), co-workers (old and new), classmates from high school, previous Pastor's families, churches, neighbors, and on and on. Not only do I pray for Kaylee's health, I thank God everyday for the support my family has received. I don't know if I will ever begin to repay everyone for their kindness, but please know I am forever grateful!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I will update after Kaylee's appointment on Monday. Much love💕

07/16/2026

The sun is out and Kaylee woke up feeling much better! ☀️♥️🙏

As yesterday progressed, she had some really good moments and ate some cereal and ramen. She has been able to keep everything down. The waves of nausea would hit hard and she would sleep it off. She slept through the night and woke up feeling halfway decent. We still gave her nausea medicine and she ate a little bit of food. Mimi called and Kaylee even said "she feels really good".

I already saw her silliness back today. Praise God for the blessings throughout the storm. We thank you for your prayers and good vibes, they are helping!

07/16/2026

Thank you to everyone who has reached out wanting to help support the Ohler's. We are setting up a meal train for just a few weeks at a time. We will continue to add dates throughout their journey. If you have any questions feel free to message Heather Dawn.

Kaylee was diagnosed with Stage 2A Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Please help support them by providing meals throughout this journey.

07/15/2026

Quick update:

We try to stay as positive as possible and find the blessings throughout this process. The last 24 hours have been rough. Kaylee started to feel nauseous not long after getting home. She hasn't been awake much, because when she is awake, she is trying not to throw up.

Some lymphomas have very little symptoms, which Kaylee was blessed to have one of these types. So, overall she has felt fairly healthy. She has been poked and pricked and in and out of the hospital/appointments for weeks, but her body wasn't feeling too bad. Now, to get better, her body is going to feel horrible. It's a hard concept to accept as an adult, so I know she questions it as a child. Chemo is going to be some of her lowest days throughout cancer. Please keep her in your prayers.