Entry 42

Many of you are probably wondering, "Hey, where is the write up on the race?" No worries, it is coming. Mike is working on it and putting together some kind of video for it so you know it is going to be a lot more entertaining than me rambling on. So, keep checking; it should be posted soon. I promise it will be worth the wait (no pressure Mike).

With that said, I am skipping the race stuff since I don't want to invade Mike's domain and I will give you the update for today.

Ian is great! He did not pick up Lauryn's strep. She was a really good sport about wearing a mask for the first 24 hours around him and he thought it was cool to see someone else in one for a change.

It was my Grandma's 80th birthday celebration today so we (my family, Aunts, uncle, and cousins) met up at one of her favorite restaurant's, Sweet Tomatoes. Ian was tired, so of course, that means he has more energy and is bouncing off the walls unable to sit even more than normal. He has learned the value of saying "I am going to throw up" as he said that to me about 4 times tonight. The first time I raced him to the bathroom to find that he wasn't sick at all. He simply wanted to play in the bathroom (gross). He ran into the stall and locked me out so I watched him through the crack in the door to see what would happen (don't freak out-this is not a normal habit of mine so all of you who find yourself in a restroom with me, know that I am not going to be looking in). He unwound all the toilet paper and then rewound it. I was pretty much stuck because he had locked me out and the last thing I was going to do was crawl under the door. So I was super classy yelling him with my face jammed into the stall crack telling him to stop playing with the paper and come out. Then he discovered if he dipped the toilet paper in the toilet and flushed it, it would continue to unwind on it's on. I must have heard about 20 flushes before I could coax him into coming out all with other ladies snickering behind their closed stall doors. It's actually pretty funny now to think about.

Entry 40

I am kind of nervous. I just found out Lauryn has strep throat. She has had a fever or 101.5 and that is the magic number that gives Ian a guaranteed hospital stay. I really hope Ian doesn't pick it up. His counts are kind of low right now so his immunity isn't the best. The thing that might be going for him though is he gets an antibiotic every MTW so maybe that will keep it at bay. Pray he doesn't get it!

I forgot to write this in my earlier posts so I'll include it now. It was really cool at Ian's last appointment because we saw a little boy who was probably 8 having a party. He was celebrating because it was his last time at the hospital; he had done his 3 years of treatment and was cured! I loved seeing that. There is a light at the end of this tunnel.

Entry 39

I really don't have a lot to say- which is a good thing. Ian is doing well and continues to get stronger every day.

For those of you who live in KS or UT there is a R/C benefit race for Ian this Saturday. I am guessing that most or none of you have ever been to a race before. If you are looking for something to do on Saturday, this could be it. Just so you know, it's usually pretty dirty and dusty- so don't go wearing your Sunday best-or anthing you care about for that matter. You'll definitely want sunscreen and water and you can take your kids! If they are anything like ours, they'll have a blast watching the cars race and crash around the track.

Here is an idea of what you can expect. www.5spoke.com

The address to the track is:

24204 E State Route 58
Pleasant Hill, MO 64080

I still have to find out the address for the UT track but I'll post it when I find it.

Entry 38

We got the results from Ian's MRI. The blood clot is gone!!! They want to keep him on the blood thinners though for at least 3 more months to make sure that all the asparaginase is out of his system (that's what caused his blood to clot in the first place). I was hoping we could stop giving him the shots, but if it is less chance of him having another stroke, we'll keep it up. I am glad that it is working though.

His ANC (immunity) counts have dropped a lot since his last appointment though so we are going to try to be careful with his exposure until next Thursday in case they continue to drop. If they are lower at his next appointment, they are going to lower his chemo dose.

All in all, things are great! You would never know to look at Ian right now that he has leukemia. He has a ton of energy, he has hair (it's fuzzy, but it's there), his color is good, and he has lost almost all of the weight from the steroid.

I forgot to say this in my last post but I thought it was so sweet. Although Ian's diagnosis has been difficult at times, it has touched us and changed us in so many ways. When my girls were visiting with their friends in Utah, they decided to have a lemonade stand (technically it was fruit punch) and they gave the money they made to Ian for his medicine or whatever he needed. It has really made them think outside of themselves and I am so grateful that they are learning that quality. (By the way they made about $10- that will buy him a tube of numbing cream that he needs for his shots. Good job girls!)

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. Here are some simple ideas.

• Save the toys you receive in happy meals and donate them (unpoened) to a children's hospital. They are always needing toys for their prize boxes and happy meal toys or little toys from the dollar store are a great way to help with that. For those of you who have the privilege to live near us (ha ha) you can give them to me and I'll save you the trip.
• Save any gently used books or toys, preferably without little pieces, to hospitals for them to use in their waiting areas or toy rooms.
• Save your magazines. The waiting rooms are stocked when you have an appt, but for the kids and parents who have to be admitted, there is nothing on the floor for them to do other than watch tv.
• Little hygiene kits with a toothbrush, mini toothpaste, comb, soap, and mini shampoo are great for parents and kids who find themselves unexpectedly having to spend the night. (I could have totally used this when Ian was rushed to the ER and then tranferred to the PICU- I know I had major death breath that next morning until Mike arrived with my things and the last thing I wanted to do was talk to all the doctors and nurses that kept coming in).
• Put your spare change into the Ronald McDonald collection boxes. I met several parents who came to the hospital from really far away-many times, out of state, and they were living at theses houses while their kids were in the hospital in lieu of staying in a hotel.

Thanks to all of you for all your prayers and support!

Entry 37

Ian had a follow-up MRI today. They wanted to see if the blood clot in his brain has gotten smaller. We should hear the results tomorrow. I hope it is small enough so he can go off the blood thinners. It would be nice to have a break from giving him shots. His poor little legs are black and blue from all the shots we have to give him. Plus, because his blood is thin, he bruises and bleeds alot easier. He is getting used to them though. He actually sang through one of his shots the other day and if he thinks I've forgotten to give it to him, he reminds me.

He was so out of it after the MRI. The nurses loaded sheets and blankets into a wagon and then Ian got to go for a ride. It would have been a long hike carrying all his dead weight to the car so I was glad for the wagon. I got him in the car and buckled and he instantly unbuckled his seatbelt and ran out of the car trying to take the blankets and sheets from the wagon. We repeated this little charade for 5 minutes with him crawling over the seats and getting out the doors I was far away from. I child locked the ones that I could, but it was obvious he wasn't going to keep his seatbelt on and he was crying so irrationally and having such a complete meltdown (mainly due to the drugs) that I gave in and we "borrowed" the sheets and blanket (I will return them at his appt tomorrow). He was asleep in about 2 minutes and slept for about 4 hours when we got home. Then he woke up and had to make up for lost time by drawing on the walls, getting into nailpolish and getting it all over hisself, the floor, and his clothes, dumping water all over Emma's dinner plate, and dumping out every box of toys we own. While I was cleaning up one mess, he was making another. Got to love side effect of drugs! Apparently he is feeling better. He wouldn't have had the energy to do any of those things a month ago. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Entry 36

We have been on vacation this past week-hence the lack of posts. I have a ton to catch you up on. I don't even know where to start.

We went to Utah for Mike's parents 55th wedding anniversary. Ian got to go golfing with his dad and grandpa, swim, and see fireworks among many other things. The fireworks show was loud for him- I had to cover his ears, but once that was done, he loved it. They started with guys parachuting into the stadium and then there were performances by the Blue Man Group and Miley Cyrus. It was so funny. I asked Ian what his favorite thing about the fireworks was and he said "When they played Indiana Jones music to the fireworks." His lego Star Wars addiction has been replaced by Lego Indiana Jones (I must say, it is a really fun game-yes, I know I have turned into a computer nerd and I am proud of it.

At the golf course Ian played along with his own set of clubs. We were staying with a friend who used to be a golf pro so his son has pretty much golfed since he could walk. He outgrew his last set of clubs and gave them to Ian. Ian was SO excited and proud of his new clubs. You can see him in the pictures golfing with Grandpa.

I put the picture of Ian in here eating pizza because my friend and her husband just bought this great pizza place called Dimitri's and that is where we were when you see him chowing down.

The last day there, we met at a beautiful park in the mountains with all of Mike's family. You can see Ian playing in the water of the stream in one of the pictures. He also sat right down and made friends with another little boy his age that was fishing.

He had a great trip and by the end he was ready to come home and "Go to sleep in my green room."