Day 524 - This day in history

     If you're looking for health updates in today's blog I'm afraid to tell you that you've come to the wrong place.  There have been no changes, good or bad, since Sunday.  Nope, today we're going to reflect on where we were a year ago today and touch on what we're thankful for.

Curriculum Carnival at Hayes

   
     Thanksgiving has never been one of my favorite holidays; however, I do enjoy spending time with family and friends and of course I love the time off from work.  So why do I mention my lack of affection for Thanksgiving?  Because a year ago today Evan was confined to a hospital room at CHoA with Cristy and me.  I wanted nothing more than to spend our day down at my parents' house overindulging on turkey, dressing, casseroles and desserts.
     To save my regular readers some time, let me recap.  Around this time last year another infection was discovered in Evan's right leg and he had to undergo surgery.  If you want to read for yourself here is the link: Happy Thanksgiving!.  Evan has bounced back from the surgeries, but we're still working out the kinks with his balance and leg strength.  Cristy and I were of course grateful for Evan's mental and physical improvements last year, and we have so much more to be thankful for this year.

S'mores night with our neighbors

     I've made no secret that 2016 was the toughest year of my life to date.  I'll save much of this commentary for a blog later this year, but as hard as that year was, 2017 has given us more cherished memories than I can ever count.  Last year I was thankful for life and for the many, many people who had helped us along in our journey.  This year Evan's improved health has allowed us to live again.
     Last year I was genuinely worried that we might watch Evan die in the hospital.  That's horrible for so many reasons, but my two biggest fears were opportunities lost and I didn't want to remember him in that state.  Once we turned the corner from a health perspective my fear subsided; however, it will always be with me as long as the chance for relapse exists. Cristy and I have done everything in our power to make sure that both boys pack in as many memories as possible to address my second fear.

Warming up for the real Santa

     Under 2017's watch Evan's health has improved, we've made new friends, strengthened bonds with old friends, grown as a family, grown personally, grown professionally, helped serve our community and had a little fun along the way.  I continue to preach to the boys about respect and looking out for others, but it's a heavy lesson for such young minds.  We have much to be thankful for and I plan on raising a glass (or two) tonight to celebrate our failures and triumphs with the knowledge that tomorrow is not a given and to cherish each day.
     Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading this.  I hope you are able to spend the day with someone you care about.  Closing out with some photos from the past couple of days.  The majority of them are from Snow Mountain (Stone Mountain) this morning.

Day 521 - A week with the family

     Tomorrow marks the beginning of time off for me and a holiday break from school for Evan.  Over the next few days I'm going to try and spoil the kids with affection and activities around town leading up to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house.  We have much to be thankful for this year, but I'm going to save most of those comments for a blog later this week.

Playing dodgeball after dinner.

Laser tag during Hayes Spirit Night at Sparkles.

     Cristy and I took the boys to the Camp Sunshine house for family photos last weekend.  While we haven't seen the pictures yet, one of the staff sent us a photo of the boys via email.  He told Cristy the team working on getting the photos sent out smiled when they saw this picture of Evan and Nolan. More pictures from the Camp Sunshine house to come. 

Getting ready for family photos.

     On the health front we received some good news from Evan's orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday.  A couple weeks ago Evan went in to have an MRI of his right leg, pelvis and spine to check for infections, blood flow, etc.  His MRI looked good, with no indications of any infections, and Evan has now been cleared of all physical restrictions on his right leg.  Jumping, which had been prohibited, is now allowed.  This is the same doctor that performed a few of Evan's ankle surgeries, including the removal of infectious cysts from his arms and legs last year.  He commented to Cristy how great Evan looked and that he couldn't believe this was the same boy.  

Grabbing some lunch before heading to the Center for Puppetry Arts.

Puppet workshop after seeing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

     Also of note is a comment the doctor made about the growth plate in Evan's right ankle.  They took an x-ray of Evan's ankles to gather a baseline and will do another six months from now.  If the growth plate is indeed stunted it would likely cost Evan an inch to an inch and a half in height.  The recent MRI didn't show any areas of concern, which was welcome news for Cristy and me.  This time last year we were still recovering from the various surgeries, not to mention going through more difficult phases of chemotherapy.

Attending a play at the Alliance Theatre compliments of Camp Sunshine.

     Earlier today our friends Alan and Jenifer invited us to Newnan for a Thanksgiving celebration with friends.  I wanted to thank them for their hospitality and for hosting all of us this weekend.  The kids had a blast and I'm sure Evan will be talking about his first four-wheeler ride with Alan for days to come.  This was the first of many high calorie meals over the next couple of months.

We're all clear for trampoline horseplay!

Day 503 - Appointment follow-up and Camp Sunshine photos

     Another monthly appointment at the clinic is in the books.  Evan's blood work showed an ANC of 1.68, which is still higher than preferred.  The doctor Cristy spoke with today recommended a slight increase to Evan's weekly Methotrexate.  Other than this development the rest of the day went as expected.  Evan has an MRI appointment next week to check out his right leg and will meet with Ortho the week after that.

A rare picture of Nolan pouting

     Last night the kids got to go trick-or-treating dressed as Harry Potter characters.  One of our next door neighbors joined us with their kids as well and we made quite the caravan.  The kids had a blast and collected way more candy than they'll ever eat in a year.  I don't know that we could have had better fall weather.

Getting an early start trick-or-treating

     Also yesterday Evan's school had their first award ceremony of the year.  I'm proud to say Evan was presented with an award called The Leader in Me and also was recognized with the Principal's Honor Roll.  He's works very hard to perform well in school and takes it very seriously, especially for a 6 year old.  The Leader in Me award is presented to students who exhibit proactive habits, maintain good attitudes and do not blame others for their actions.  I'm very proud of the man he is growing into, despite the adversity he has faced.

     Cristy received an email from Camp Sunshine letting us know that our photos are ready.  I'm unable to post them all because some of the pictures contain other campers who may not approve of us using their images.  I've cropped the ones I could.  We're free to display them for personal use so chances are you may see one or two of them unedited around the house.

Making a scary face

Hustling around the bases

Shrinkydinks in the oven

Wish this was a video, Nolan was busting a move

Scoring his run in kickball.