Thankful!

I apologize for the lack of postings, but as the old adage goes, "no news is good news". Adam is doing well and the spots the doctor was concerned about, they have ruled out any current recurrence or relapse of the disease. They are going to do more tests in December and to watch him closely for any signs or symptoms. Other than that he is doing fantastic!

We may soon have word on his Make-a-Wish event and will be posting any news regarding that within the next few days.

It seems to hard to believe that a year ago next week this journey began and here we are today, healthy and happy. Yes, the fear is always there, but it is so different than last Thanksgiving. We are so thankful, words can not begin to describe...

Doing Good

Adam is getting along well since his last Radiation treatment back the end of May. His hair has started to grow back in, quite a bit actually and he has some color back. He says he feels great and the doctors are very happy with his progress. He goes to the doctor July 13 for all of his tests and we are praying that everything is cancer free and if so then they will remove his port!!

Again, it has been the prayers of all our friends, family and those that don't even know Adam that have gotten us through this, and even though Adam is not completely back to 100% he is certainly better today than this time in January!

Home Again

Well, Adam is back home and back doing the things he enjoys. hanging out with friends, working on cars, and being a teen age boy. His chemo session went well, and he came over to dad's for a few days and now we await his tests and scans that are scheduled on the 15th of April to show us what our next step is.

Chances are that they will schedule the radiation within a few weeks. We continue to pray that this is the last of the chemo.

Happy Birthday

Routine

Not that having Hodgkins is routine, but it seems as though we are getting into a routine schedule. Chemo at the hospital, labs, labs, clinic, labs and then Chemo again. This past week due to the massive snow and ice storm, clinic was cancelled, so it broke the routine somewhat.

Normally clinic is the day when they schedule as much into 8 hours at the hospital for outpatient related issues as possible. Blood work, tests, x-rays and then a check up with the oncologists. Labs are a routine visit to the nearby hospital for blood draws, which enables to see how Adam's counts are doing. We can pretty much tell anymore by his actions without even having to draw blood. If he is easily fatigued and just kind of laying around and/or nauseous, we can pretty well figure his counts are going to be down. Labs are usually drawn twice a week.

Of course chemo is an admission to the hospital and they administer the chemo drugs intravenously.

This has now been the routine for the past 3 1/2 months, every 21 days. Does not seem that long. However, this month is a little different. As I already said the winter storm kind of put a bump in the routine, but also on February 10th, Adam will be 16.

Even though it happens to all of us, every 12 months, birthdays are special and not just a routine. This birthday will be even more special. At least as parents it will be. I am sure his mother as well as myself will look back over the past 16 years and see what this young man has accomplished and how he has grown and matured. And then we will see where he is now and how strong he has become.

Yeah we all get into routines in everything we do in our lives. Regardless if it is just the mundane tasks or the schedule brought upon us by sickness or other outside influences. Routines are there to make it a little more bearable, I suppose.

But as I look towards Adam's birthday I realize that his routine has been altered significantly. As a routine, most 16 year old boys are getting their temporary driver's license and looking forward to getting their first car. Adam, even though these things are part of his routine, and he wants more than anything to have that first car and drive, Hodgkins is also now part of that routine. Along with the Chemo, the labs and clinic visits. I know it's not easy for him, and I know having to share your 16th birthday with this hanging over you has got to be difficult. So as the day approaches an Adam becomes one year closer to becoming a man I hope we can step out of this routine and celebrate life and not focus on our current routines.

Still Being a Teen

Most parents will be able to relate to this post I am sure. Most teenagers do not understand the importance of keeping in touch with their parents when they are not at home. Even though we say "call me" that tends to get lost in the shuffle and the teens get caught up in their activity and mom and dad are the last thing on their minds.

When this happens, teenagers should understand that their parents are sitting there waiting and having these horrible visions run through their minds of their child being involved in an accident, or laying in a jail cell or worse. My mother was always afraid of things and always told me to make sure I had on clean underwear before leaving...in case something like that happened.

Most times, when a teen doesn't call in, one of these events have not taken place, it's just the fact that the teen really is not interested in stopping what he/she is doing to check in with the parents.

Well imagine if you will this scenario happening with Adam at this current time in his life. As parents we are focused on getting him better and making sure that he is doing everything he needs to do to make that happen. At the same time we don't want to muffle his teen experience and we want him to maintain his relationships even though he has cancer. It has been made very clear to us from all the experts that it is important to allow Adam to continue leading as normal as a life as possible.

I guess that means not calling when he is out with friends.

His mother began to get worried as she had not heard for him in some time, and of course his cell phone was left at home.

As a parent, panic sets in. Visions of horrible things begin to move across our minds. We try to remember..."Did he put on clean underwear??" Then they come home.

It is very difficult for us to remember that Adam is still a teenager, with all those teenage emotions, feelings and confusions. He also still needs his freedom and independence to continue to find out who he is and who he will become. Even though he is dealing with a disease that has changed all of our lives, it is not changed the fact that he is still a teenager.

So did he get in trouble for not checking in with mom?

He said he did, but I doubt it was as bad as he made it out to be. I mean, he is still a teenager.

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008 will be a Christmas that our family will remember for quite sometime. It was a very blessed and a very good Christmas. Even though our family is in the midst of a health issue, Adam has been diagnosed and is getting treatment and by Christmas 2009 he will be over this hurdle and cancer-free.

Adam seemed to have a good Christmas, over-all he did extremely well. The only thing he complained about, and that really wasn't even complaining was he was getting fatigued pretty quickly.

He spent Christmas morning, as is the tradition, at home with his mother, brothers and stepfather. Then he traveled south to Cleves, Ohio at his uncle and his aunt (my brother Gary and his wife Angie) home for our family Christmas. He ate VERY good and was able to enjoy the family and the fun. Then it was off with Dad. Dan and I always celebrate with his entire family on Christmas night. It is held at his mother's and there is usually a good 20-30 people that make their way in and out. Adam stayed in a room where not as many people ventured as to not expose himself to any possible viruses, etc. but still had a good time watching the after dinner game -time, where we all played Catch Phrase.

Adam and his brother Jordan remained with Dan and I and will go back home Saturday.

Yes, Christmas was a good one, a memorable one and a very blessed one.

Life in the last few days

We came home late Tuesday night on the 9th of December. We had to have all of our ducks in a row to get ready to come home. Like having all the medicines that Adam would be on for a while and getting the delivery from HomeCare with his supplies. Bill picked up his meds from the pharmacy because we weren't going to get home until late.

The next day we started into our routine. We flush his PICC line and he takes his medicine. Sarah and Alyssa are here staying with us for a few days. She will be heading home tomorrow. Bill and Adam are going to take her home. Adam can ride in the car as long as he uses his mask and takes care not to expose himself to much. The ride was uneventful and they made it home with no trouble.

Friday was clinic day. The nurse coordinator met us in the lobby of the clinic and went over some material with me. Adam got checked out by Dr. Aly and then Dr. Saloman came in and looked him over. He did two meds via his PICC line and got some Ativan for nausea. He took a little nap while we were at clinic. He was pretty bummed out that he couldn't drive home but with the Ativan in his system, I wouldn't chance it.

We stopped by his dad's work and picked up a present from Erin's mom. She sent Adam six pints of Graeters ice cream (chocolate chip cookie dough, his favorite ice cream!) He couldn't wait to start into it and ate half of one container before we got home. He loved it!

Friday night Adam went to visit his friend John. These boys are so close and such good friends. John's mom said that John was so worried about Adam that it was hard for him to get anything done. The boys are six days apart in age so they are very close friends. They just sat in John's room and talked to a couple of their friends.

Saturday, Adam went to a friend's house for a while. I think that he may have overdone it a little because he was really tired when he got back. Fatigue is becoming a factor, I think, and Adam needs to take it a little more slowly until he knows what he is up against.

Sunday was a "yuck" day. Adam was tired from Saturday and wasn't feeling well. He got very nauseated. I gave him the Ativan so that it would help him to not be so sick. I'm hoping that he doesn't have very many of these kind of days. It's not fun for him and honestly, just makes me worry about him more.