it's been a while!

 

Things have been so crazy around here that I haven't updated this blog for a while!  Carter is doing really well, has had two clinic visits since the last update.  Everything has looked good.  He also had one ER visit in the middle of the night.  He was diagnosed with "the beginnings of pneumonia" and was on antibiotics for 10 days.  Other than that, nothing major to report on our awesome Carter.  He'll have his last clinic visit at our hospital in a few days.  After that, we're heading across the world to FRANCE!  We already have a clinic visit set up with the new French hospital in January.  Let's hope there's some English speakers around!  Carter's doctor is very supportive and not worried at all about our big move.  I, on the other hand, am terrified about adjusting to a new hospital, new doctors, new nurses, new routines, taking the bus instead of driving our car to appointments, the list goes on and on.  Overall, I'm very excited about our new adventure but this aspect of it is not something I'm looking forward to.  Hopefully it will be a quick and easy transition.  We will really miss our current doctors and nurses.  They are all so fantastic and really care about my little boy.  It will be hard to say good-bye to them in a few days!

We also had a little "graduation party" for Carter from the Chemo Pal program.  Usually this kind of party is reserved fo whenr chemo is finished but since we're moving we got to have Carter's party early.  It was great to go out for frozen yogurt with Jason and Jeannie (from the Children's Cancer Association) and say thank you to them for all their support and help through these past two years.  I wish I had remembered to take a picture while we were there!  This picture was from a while ago, but it will have to suffice.  We have grown very attached to so many people who have helped us along this crazy cancer-fighting journey.  I hate good-byes!

two more clinic visits

 

Carter went in a week and a half ago for a CBC.  He's been on about half doses of both his oral meds and his ANC was high enough to bump one up a little.  The boys had a blast with Carter's chemo pal while we waited to talk with the doctor. 

 

Then a few days ago he went back in for his regular monthly clinic visit for chemo.  His ANC was sky high at 4300 so we increased his other oral med a bit.  Everything looks really good and he's feeling great these days.  He is still loving kindergarten.  He even wanted to bring his backpack in the clinic to show the nurses.  Other than that, not much to report (which I'm not sad about!). 

 

Kindergarten

Carter is officially a kindergartner!  I've been trying to prepare myself for this day all summer long.  He has been so excited and asked nearly every day this summer when school would start.  I thought he might explode from the anticipation.  The closer it got and the more we did to prepare (school supplies, backpack, new clothes), the excitement just grew and grew in him and the nervousness in me.  Then came back to school night.  I totally lost it before we even walked into his classroom.  Meeting his sweet teacher was more than I could handle and the poor kind woman was so sweet to this bawling momma.  He drank it all in as we did a few activities and picked out a new book.  I came home that evening thinking that my emotions had gotten the better of me but it was probably nothing compared to what the first day of school would bring.  I was so nervous to send my sweet little guy out into the world.  All the common fears of any mom sending their kindergartner off for the first time were on repeat through my head.

Finally, the much anticipated day came.  Carter got up early and was dressed and ready to go with plenty of time to spare.  Or in other words, time to wander around the house asking me when it would be time to go.  I dropped off the younger two at a friend's house and Carter and I headed for the school.  Suddenly, all I could think about was how grateful I am that he is healthy and well enough to be going to school right now.  Yes, having a child going through chemo and also attending public school is nerve-racking to say the least, but oh so exciting.  I've seen the little school room in the inpatient oncology unit and it's so great that it's there but I'm SO glad that Carter isn't having his first day of school there.  I was overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude.  What a triumph for our little man!  He's overcome so much already, now he's ready for new challenges and adventures.  He continues to inspire me and make me want to be better.  Just thinking about all that Carter has been through to get here is incredible.  He deserves to be involved in a normal thing like kindergarten.  He had to fight for this.  And he continues to fight everyday.  So as we pulled into the school parking lot, something magical happened.  The fear and nervousness disappeared and all I felt was happiness, excitement, gratitude, and of course, pride.  When we walked into his classroom, I could tell the teacher was ready to comfort me and assure me that everything was going to be just fine, but I didn't need it.  I was just so darn excited.  Not to mention that his excitement was very contagious :).  Now, I'm not saying that the nerves and fears are gone forever - they are most definitely not, but at that moment, when I needed comfort and strength, it was given to me.  It was so fun to think all day about what he might be doing and I was so eager to hear all about his first day.  I know that Carter has an incredible life ahead of him.  This is a small step to his greatness.

 Just got home. 

(These pictures are in reverse order so if you're picky about that sort of thing I suggest you start at the bottom)

 

 His teacher drew a heart on his hand "because I love Mommy and Daddy!"

 

 When he first got to his classroom.

 

 Waiting to cross the parking lot.

 

Killing time before leaving for school.

 

And for the record, he LOVED his first day!  He kept remembering things to tell us all night long.  He and his brother stayed up way too late playing in their room - they must have missed each other.  

Counts are back up

We visited the clinic again today and Carter's counts are up high enough to restart the oral meds.  I feel like I've written this exact sentence so many times before.  It kinda feels like we're on repeat of this cycle and I don't know that it will ever stop.  At least not til he's done with treatment.

Carter has been feeling pretty miserable off and on the last couple days.  He's even woken up crying from pain a few times.  I'm really hoping its just a virus or something and will be over soon.  I had high hopes that we were done with this kind of nonsense!  He's set to start school in a few days so he needs to be better by then!  Poor thing, it just never ends.

2 clinic visits

A couple weeks ago Carter had to go in to the clinic unexpectedly because of a fever.  It was probably just a virus.  His ANC was 600, barely above the 500 cutoff for being admitted to the hospital.  Phew!  His fever came back later that day but thankful, they let us stay home since we had just been there a few hours before.

Last week was his monthly clinic visit for a check up and chemo.  Everything went really well, except his ANC was down to 200.  We're holding the oral chemo until his counts go back up.  We'll go back in tomorrow to check.

And the last item of business:  It's been a year since we had Carter's dragon smashing party!  It was last Labor Day weekend that tons and tons of friends gathered in our backyard to watch Carter stomp on those dragons.  What an awesome day that was!  Here's a link to my post about it.  I can hardly believe it's already been a year since Carter started maintenance.  It's had it's ups and downs and Carter has learned and grown so much.  I like to think we all have, but I know for sure that Carter has :). It's still hard to see the end from here because it's so far in the future, but looking back on how far we've come already is great motivation to keep on truckin.  If my math is correct (ya never know), we are halfway through it all.   Yay Carter!

Chief for a Day event!



Last week was the big state-wide Chief for a Day event in Seattle. They put us up in a hotel the night before so we wouldn't have to get up super early to be there by 9 am. We stayed at the Westin Seattle and it was amazing! They gave us a suite on the 40th floor with beautiful views of the city and Puget Sound. It was breathtaking. And huge. There was a big living room/dining room/kitchenette area that connected two bedrooms.

  

Half of the living/dining/kitchenette area.

The spread we found waiting for us.

Part of our view.  The Space Needle is between the two buildings on the left.

Another part of the view towards the Puget Sound.

But enough about the hotel.  The next morning there just so happened to be an IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) training conference happening at our hotel.  Once they heard that Sheriff Carter would be staying at the same hotel the night before they wanted him to be a part of their opening ceremonies.

We met with all the dignitaries right before it started.  Carter walked in with them and sat up on the stand.  It was so cute.

They did the flag ceremony and prayer then introduced Carter.   Then he thanked Carter for taking time out of his busy schedule to be there with them and then dismissed him and us so we could get to our other event.  The two men with guns followed us down the aisle as we left.  It was really cool to be a part of that.

After we were done at the hotel, we headed over to Century Link Field where all the other little Chiefs were.  We had breakfast and Srgt Gardner took Carter around to get autographs from all the Sheriffs and Chiefs there.

Then we waited for the motorcade to leave.

Riding in the motorcade was one of my favorite parts.  There was a huge line of police vehicles and the police motorcycles kept zooming by us to stop traffic.  The motorcade vehicles were the only ones on the road.  All the on ramps were backed up with a Police motorcycle in front of them keeping them off the road until we passed.  We felt like VIPs.

We arrived at the Criminal Justice Training Center where the event was to be held.  Everyone sat in the auditorium and then all 27 of the Chief for a Day kiddos came in accompanied by the academy class who were serving as chaperons.  Our recruit, Chris, was awesome.  He helped us carry things, got the kids ice cream, took them to see things while I waited in line, and much more.

Here he is with all the other Chiefs.  We did the badge pinning and presentation of certificates and then headed over to have lunch.

Me with Sheriff Carter and Sheriff Lucas.

Each little chief had a table full of gifts for him/her and their family.  We got lots of goodies, my favorite being a scrapbook from Denise with all the newspaper clippings, press releases, pictures, etc from this summer.  It is amazing.  Carter got a new backpack and all his school supplies among other things.  His favorite gift is either the police helicopter or his new camera.  That's right, he got a waterproof camera.  He's been really wanting one for a while now so it was a perfect gift.

There was free ice cream everywhere.

And face painting

and pony rides.

This may have been my favorite part.  The K-9 demo.  They let any little chief that wanted to have a turn to go be a helper to the K-9 handlers.  We've met these guys a few times before since they train down here in our county.  They were really excited to see Sheriff Carter and they even had a little gift for him. 

So he went up there, they gave him a fake gun, and then he said to the bad guy, "Stop or I'll send the dog!"

You can see him to the right with his gun pointed at the bad guy and he was saying, "Show me your hands!"

Then the dog was called off and Carter took the bad guy away.  I think he's the only little chief that improvised that last step.  It was so cute to watch him do that.  I loved it!

Srgt Gardner and everyone else there from the county took such good care of us.  We were all exhausted from being out in the 100 degree heat so we packed up to head off.  But first we opened the gift basket they had for us.  I didn't actually take any pictures of that happening but here's part of the aftermath:

It was such a fun day. 

What an incredible summer we've had!  We have grown very close to these folks we've been working with all summer and it's sad that it's over now.  Luckily, they have assured us that our friendships will continue.  What a ride it's been!  Thank you to everyone that has helped in any way.  We are truly blessed.

Aug clinic and some surprises!!

We went in for Carter's monthly clinic visit last week.  We even had some friends come along to join the fun.  And Carter's chemo pal was there, too.  It was a full/fun room :)  Carter did great, as usual.  It was pretty uneventful, just the way we like it.  His numbers are all looking good so they increased the dose of one of his oral meds again.  They're slowly trying to get back up to full dosage, we're at about 70% right now for both of them.

Now onto the fun stuff!  First of all, Sheriff Carter got to go meet the police dogs!  Here's an article about that:  http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/aug/02/sheriff-carter-meets-police-dogs/.  Then a few days later, the Sheriff's department and Chief for a Day folks sent us to the Great Wolf Lodge!  That was a blast.  We didn't tell the boys what we were doing so they were so surprised and excited to see the huge indoor waterpark insided the hotel.  Here's their faces just seconds after seeing it:

And here's the wolf cave they got to sleep in.

As if that wasn't enough, we came home to a big surprise.  Here's the news clip from that evening: http://www.katu.com/news/local/For-him-to-have-this-to-play-with-its-a-dream-come-true-165079486.html

I can't believe all that was done for us.  Friends, neighbors and strangers all came together in the 103 degree heat and worked ALL day long, cleaning everything spotless inside and out, new light fixtures outside, new plants, bushes, and flowers, new bedding and decor for the boys bedroom, new kitchen set for the baby girl, cleaned our carpets, and of course the huge play structure in the backyard.  I can't name everything that was done it was so much.  And I have no idea who all helped.  I know a few of you that were involved but I know there was more that are still unknown to us.  So just let me say  THANK YOU!!!!!  Thank you so much, this all means so much to us.  To see the look on the faces of our kids when they saw they're new bedroom and "park in the backyard" (as they call it) was priceless.  I can never say thank you enough.  I am overcome with emotion whenever I think about all the kindness that we have been the recipents of.  We are amazed and comforted by the goodness of the world around us.  We already knew that we have fantastic friends because they've done SO MUCH for us already.  But their dedication, along with that of others that we've never even met is just....   I'm in awe.  A special thanks to Sergeant Shane and Denise for organizing this whole thing.  We are so happy that you chose our son to be your Sheriff and that we've had the opportuny to work so closely with you all summer long.  I don't even know where to begin with my Thank Yous for you so I'll save that for later :)  We had such an amazing weekend, it's hard to go back to real life today.  But it's made much easier because my house is clean and pretty, and the kids are outside playing :)