The Adventures of Evan: Day 1255 - Thanksgiving is fast approaching

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is fast approaching and 2019 will soon be coming to an end. I don't need a holiday devoted to thanks to help me appreciate the blessings afforded to me and my family. Evan's continued health is just one of the things we're thankful for. Three years ago Cristy, Evan and I spent our Thanksgiving in the hospital (Nolan was in excellent hands with my folks).

First day on the Disney Dream

Cape Day 2019

Cristy getting ready to leave for Tribute to Quiet Heroes

Over the last two months we've had the good fortune of experiencing so many great moments; bi-annual Camp Sunshine trip, Cure's Tribute to Quiet Heroes, Halloween, pumpkin carving, Nolan playing soccer, our first Disney cruise and a Georgia Tech football game (the first for both boys). In addition to this I'm so proud of how well they're doing in school. During a recent parent-teacher conference I was pleased to hear how behaved both kids were socially and they both received the Principal's Honor Roll for their grades. I jokingly mentioned this on Facebook, but I'm very grateful that our kids take after Cristy scholastically. In my youth I didn't always treat school with the right priority and I'm hoping that the kids continue growing and don't stray down my path.

Since the last blog update Evan has had a couple of clinic appointments. Both visits showed marked improvements with his blood counts from then to now. After being off of steroids for a bit I was hoping he'd be a little less moody, but it appears this is just a phase he's going through as an individual. Overall he's a great kid, but he's very independent and fights us tooth and nail to get what he wants.

Last week Evan visited his orthopedic doctor and we received excellent news: he's all clear for any activity! Naturally we'll see what Evan wants to do in the spring, but he wanted to play soccer prior to being diagnosed. If he still has that mindset I'm happy to sign him up for his first season and work with him on his leg strength and stamina.

Even though this is a blog about Evan, over time it's morphed to cover the whole family. For the last couple months Nolan has battled a number of ailments. These include double ear infections, numerous fevers and Hand Foot and Mouth virus.

This was actually the tail-end of HFM

Last evening he spiked a fever of 101.3 and we gave him Tylenol. This didn't break the fever which forced us to give him Ibuprofen two hours later. His temperature continued to fluctuate through the night between follow-up doses. Cristy took him to the doctor this morning and I urged them to take blood this time. They found his white blood cell count at a 27 (this is incredibly high). We go back tomorrow for a follow-up appointment and the practical side of me says it's probably just an infection or virus, but this brings back so many memories. I'm unusually nervous and gun shy. Hoping tomorrow we can find the root cause of his symptoms and get him on the path to recovery. I don't want to see another child have to go through the battle again.

Wherever you find yourself this Thanksgiving I hope you're able to take a moment and reflect on the positive things in your life. Tons of pictures below celebrating the last 60 days.