Here's another opportunity to help us fight back against cancer. Jeff Martinson from Paul's Bible study group is running the Marine Corps Marathon this October with Team In Training and Carson is his honored teammate.
Jeff hopes to raise $1775 by September for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Thanks Jeff for helping us in the fight! The hope for a cure is out there thanks to those as generous as you!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Five Days of Swimming
For the moment, the Francesca Swim Tour has ended, so we can reflect a bit. My reflection centers on the fact that trying to swim for two teams during the summer is CRAZY!!! Having said that though, I have a feeling I'll be doing it again next summer. Here's how we've spent the past five days....
Wednesday
Francesca competed at the Northern Virginia Swim League (summer league) All Star Relays in Alexandria. The 200m freestyle mixed age relay, consisting of one girl from each age group (10 & under, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18), placed 10th and broke the team record. The rest of the team did great as well. This year, Mosby Woods sent 10 relays to All Stars - they had planned on sending 4!
Thursday
The Potomac Valley Swimming 14 and Under Long Course Championships began in Maryland. Due to mechanical problems with the pool, only the preliminary session was swum and finals was canceled for the day. Later that same day, they canceled all of the finals sessions and moved the entire meet to another pool in Virginia!! It was fine with us, the new location was A LOT closer to us and Francesca hadn't swum that day as well as she would have liked.
Friday
Francesca suffered a big disappointment in the 200m fly and lost 1st place by .02 of a second. 100m breast stroke did nothing to get her out of her slump either. Still two more days to go....this might be a REALLY long disappointing weekend.
Saturday
Francesca was back swimming with the summer swim team in a dual meet with another local team. Mosby Woods won by 50 points and Francesca easily won her two individual events. Could things be looking up???
Who is that headless butterflier? Francesca demos her LC Champs T-shirt.
Sunday
Francesca dropped 4 seconds in the 200m breast stroke to go from a 6th place seed to winning 4th overall. Best of all though was the 100m butterfly. Francesca won 1st place out of 70+ girls, winning against the same girl who beat her in the 200. The difference between 1st and 2nd? .05 of a second! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
And a note for future meets....you don't need to keep us waiting to score those 1st place points!
Love you Francesca!!! Your hard work this season finally paid off!
Oh, and sorry, no time to celebrate for too long. It is back to practice tomorrow at 7AM. The Eastern Zone Championships is two weeks away!!!!
-Mom and Dad
Wednesday
Francesca competed at the Northern Virginia Swim League (summer league) All Star Relays in Alexandria. The 200m freestyle mixed age relay, consisting of one girl from each age group (10 & under, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18), placed 10th and broke the team record. The rest of the team did great as well. This year, Mosby Woods sent 10 relays to All Stars - they had planned on sending 4!
Thursday
The Potomac Valley Swimming 14 and Under Long Course Championships began in Maryland. Due to mechanical problems with the pool, only the preliminary session was swum and finals was canceled for the day. Later that same day, they canceled all of the finals sessions and moved the entire meet to another pool in Virginia!! It was fine with us, the new location was A LOT closer to us and Francesca hadn't swum that day as well as she would have liked.
Friday
Francesca suffered a big disappointment in the 200m fly and lost 1st place by .02 of a second. 100m breast stroke did nothing to get her out of her slump either. Still two more days to go....this might be a REALLY long disappointing weekend.
Saturday
Francesca was back swimming with the summer swim team in a dual meet with another local team. Mosby Woods won by 50 points and Francesca easily won her two individual events. Could things be looking up???
Who is that headless butterflier? Francesca demos her LC Champs T-shirt.
Sunday
Francesca dropped 4 seconds in the 200m breast stroke to go from a 6th place seed to winning 4th overall. Best of all though was the 100m butterfly. Francesca won 1st place out of 70+ girls, winning against the same girl who beat her in the 200. The difference between 1st and 2nd? .05 of a second! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
And a note for future meets....you don't need to keep us waiting to score those 1st place points!
Love you Francesca!!! Your hard work this season finally paid off!
Oh, and sorry, no time to celebrate for too long. It is back to practice tomorrow at 7AM. The Eastern Zone Championships is two weeks away!!!!
-Mom and Dad
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Green Goggles
It only took a year, but Carson was finally able to put his green swim goggles to use!
The story of the goggles begins last year - two weeks before being diagnosed with leukemia. He did get to wear them in the water once or twice, but he really never was comfortable with them. Heck, he never really had a chance to break them in!
Last week Carson was finally able to put those goggles to good use.
Carson, in 2009, models his new green goggles for the camera. Finally, in 2010, he puts them to good use. Note his general puffiness (especially his neck) in the 2009 photo - a result of leukemia. Little did we know how sick he was at the time.
Two years ago Carson would go under water, albeit very briefly. Last year he was able to take a few lessons, but was then spent a good deal of the summer in the hospital. This year we are back to basics. He has even been afraid of getting his face wet. So, last week he spent an hour each day taking swimming lessons - which he thoroughly enjoyed!
Speaking of swimming, Francesca is swimming at the Junior Olympic meet starting tomorrow (Thursday). The meet continues through the weekend...yes, that's four full days of swimming. Oh, yea, I can't wait!
Paul.
The story of the goggles begins last year - two weeks before being diagnosed with leukemia. He did get to wear them in the water once or twice, but he really never was comfortable with them. Heck, he never really had a chance to break them in!
Last week Carson was finally able to put those goggles to good use.
Carson, in 2009, models his new green goggles for the camera. Finally, in 2010, he puts them to good use. Note his general puffiness (especially his neck) in the 2009 photo - a result of leukemia. Little did we know how sick he was at the time.
Two years ago Carson would go under water, albeit very briefly. Last year he was able to take a few lessons, but was then spent a good deal of the summer in the hospital. This year we are back to basics. He has even been afraid of getting his face wet. So, last week he spent an hour each day taking swimming lessons - which he thoroughly enjoyed!
Speaking of swimming, Francesca is swimming at the Junior Olympic meet starting tomorrow (Thursday). The meet continues through the weekend...yes, that's four full days of swimming. Oh, yea, I can't wait!
Paul.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Drowning
We haven't written a blog recently because we are literally drowning in swimming activities, more so than usual. Francesca was busy last Sunday with the Mutual of Omaha Break Out Swim Clinic in Ashburn. It featured gold medal Olympians Josh Davis and Lacy Nymeyer. The rest of the week was spent going back and forth between swim practice for her year round team and meets for her summer swim team. We had a meet on Wednesday and again on Saturday. There was another trip to the pool for a pep rally Friday evening.....
Add to that more trips to the pool because Carson also had swim lessons every day last week. He was NOT excited that Mommy would not be getting in with him; but was easily bribed with silly bands in to not fussing too much about it. He was a brave boy and decided he loved his teacher Mr. Jake and that it was OK to dunk your head in the water, as long as you had your goggles on. Video to prove that the dunking actually occurred will be posted in the near future.
We are very proud of this soon to be uploaded video. Last summer Carson took swim lessons the week before he was diagnosed. Poor guy, he wasn't feeling good and we had no clue; we just thought he was afraid. What a difference a year makes.....Carson loves the pool and is so happy to be there. It is great to see him smiling, laughing and full of life. Several times during his lessons I was overcome with emotion just watching him. I'm so glad he is able to enjoy an almost normal summer this year. God is so good!
This coming week the theme will again be swimming. Francesca has a summer swim team relay meet on Wednesday. That is followed by the beginning of the 14 and under Long Course Championships on Thursday. Long Course Champs continues again on Friday. Saturday morning is a summer swim team meet and Sunday is the final day of the Long Course Champs. Just to make things interesting, the Long Course Champs is being held in Maryland and is also a prelims/finals meet. Thursday, Friday and Sunday are sure to be all day swimming events!
Tomorrow we have a clinic visit. Carson appears to be feeling great; but only the blood will tell what's really going on.
Stay tuned.
-Jennifer
Add to that more trips to the pool because Carson also had swim lessons every day last week. He was NOT excited that Mommy would not be getting in with him; but was easily bribed with silly bands in to not fussing too much about it. He was a brave boy and decided he loved his teacher Mr. Jake and that it was OK to dunk your head in the water, as long as you had your goggles on. Video to prove that the dunking actually occurred will be posted in the near future.
We are very proud of this soon to be uploaded video. Last summer Carson took swim lessons the week before he was diagnosed. Poor guy, he wasn't feeling good and we had no clue; we just thought he was afraid. What a difference a year makes.....Carson loves the pool and is so happy to be there. It is great to see him smiling, laughing and full of life. Several times during his lessons I was overcome with emotion just watching him. I'm so glad he is able to enjoy an almost normal summer this year. God is so good!
This coming week the theme will again be swimming. Francesca has a summer swim team relay meet on Wednesday. That is followed by the beginning of the 14 and under Long Course Championships on Thursday. Long Course Champs continues again on Friday. Saturday morning is a summer swim team meet and Sunday is the final day of the Long Course Champs. Just to make things interesting, the Long Course Champs is being held in Maryland and is also a prelims/finals meet. Thursday, Friday and Sunday are sure to be all day swimming events!
Tomorrow we have a clinic visit. Carson appears to be feeling great; but only the blood will tell what's really going on.
Stay tuned.
-Jennifer
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Marking Our First Anniversary
It's hard to believe it's only been a year since Carson was diagnosed with leukemia. This is probably the point where we should start some kind of family tradition - where we go out and do something special to celebrate Carson's battles. However, that would be something an organized family would do...which we are not. Instead, we are going to a swim meet, to the grocery store, and will later have friends over for dinner.
That said, we can recount the events of July 10, 2009 in excruciating detail. It's been a loooong year. (Click here to see our first blog entry.)
Here's how the past year would look using numbers to tell the story:
The past year has been an amazing journey. We have been blessed with loving family and friends, and a great team of doctors. And, yes, this is worthy of starting some kind of family tradition to celebrate. Even for a family as disorganized as ours.
Paul.
That said, we can recount the events of July 10, 2009 in excruciating detail. It's been a loooong year. (Click here to see our first blog entry.)
Here's how the past year would look using numbers to tell the story:
- 8 - number of hospitalizations
- 70 - number of clinic visits (outpatient)
- 3 - trips to the ER
- 11 - trips to Radiation/Oncology
- 14 - number of spinal taps
- 4 - number of bone marrow tests
- 13 - number of times under general anaesthesia
- 60 - number of nights spent in the hospital
- 4 - number of bottles of strawberry syrup used (to flavor medication)
- 360 - number of sick leave hours used
- 25 - number of weeks with in-home help from family
- 153 - number of blog entries
- 99 - number of refills allowed on Carson's maintenance medications (including chemo)
The past year has been an amazing journey. We have been blessed with loving family and friends, and a great team of doctors. And, yes, this is worthy of starting some kind of family tradition to celebrate. Even for a family as disorganized as ours.
Paul.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Wrong
Clinic
We had a clinic visit yesterday and Carson's counts were great. Boy, was I wrong in my prediction of low counts. Over 1,000 on his ANC, Hemoglobin 9.6, platelets 194. Good, good, good.
We go back in 2 weeks for another counts check. So, once again, I'm going to predict low counts. Hey, that reverse psychology, reverse self-fulfilling prophecy stuff worked last time!
Medicine! A Round for Everyone on Me!
As of Monday, everyone in our family, with the exception of me and the dog, was taking some sort of prescription medication that was required daily, most of it multiple times per day. That changed though. as our dog Shade is now also on prescription meds for the next week. To be given twice daily in fact. I am thinking of preparing everything in advance, having everyone form a line and then administering it one after the other! It will resemble a hospital, or perhaps the psych ward...
We took Shade to the vet on Monday morning for what appeared to be a sty in her left eye. Turned out it was a blocked duct that had formed a cyst and minor surgery was required. Those of you that know Shade know how shy and sensitive (read "afraid") she is around everyone but us. Staying at the vet for the entire day was extremely hard on her, despite the good care she received. I'm happy to report though that she is doing just fine and appears to have survived her ordeal. Now she just has to have cream in her eye twice daily until she gets her stitch removed next week. I've put an alarm in my phone, along with all the others, to help me remember.
Shade's War Wound
The small pink stuff next to her eye are her sutures - which match her collar so well!
We had a clinic visit yesterday and Carson's counts were great. Boy, was I wrong in my prediction of low counts. Over 1,000 on his ANC, Hemoglobin 9.6, platelets 194. Good, good, good.
We go back in 2 weeks for another counts check. So, once again, I'm going to predict low counts. Hey, that reverse psychology, reverse self-fulfilling prophecy stuff worked last time!
Medicine! A Round for Everyone on Me!
As of Monday, everyone in our family, with the exception of me and the dog, was taking some sort of prescription medication that was required daily, most of it multiple times per day. That changed though. as our dog Shade is now also on prescription meds for the next week. To be given twice daily in fact. I am thinking of preparing everything in advance, having everyone form a line and then administering it one after the other! It will resemble a hospital, or perhaps the psych ward...
We took Shade to the vet on Monday morning for what appeared to be a sty in her left eye. Turned out it was a blocked duct that had formed a cyst and minor surgery was required. Those of you that know Shade know how shy and sensitive (read "afraid") she is around everyone but us. Staying at the vet for the entire day was extremely hard on her, despite the good care she received. I'm happy to report though that she is doing just fine and appears to have survived her ordeal. Now she just has to have cream in her eye twice daily until she gets her stitch removed next week. I've put an alarm in my phone, along with all the others, to help me remember.
Shade's War WoundThe small pink stuff next to her eye are her sutures - which match her collar so well!
-Jennifer
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Hair Report
Carson continues to do very well. He has tons of energy, which he uses to ask tons of questions about everything. Looking at him now, you can't tell that he is a cancer patient. We don't get any stares in public places any more due to his bald head and pale, thin appearance. Those days are gone for now. The only stares we get now are towards the weird mother who scrubs down everything he might touch with a sanitizing wipe and yells "Don't touch that! Too many germs"
Check out Carson's hair transformation below. They are in order, from a few days after diagnosis until present. The last picture was taken yesterday.
Hope everyone had a super holiday weekend!
-Jennifer
Check out Carson's hair transformation below. They are in order, from a few days after diagnosis until present. The last picture was taken yesterday.
Hope everyone had a super holiday weekend!
-Jennifer
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