A Whirlwind of Santas!

I don't know if the past week and a half will ever be topped. Following United's Fantasy Flight we have been on a whirlwind of activities - all of which brought an abundance of presents. And the presents weren't just for Carson, either. Francesca made out like a bandit, too! And all of this has me wondering...will our kids ever learn the value of giving instead of receiving?

Christmas will never be the same.

A few days following the Fantasy Flight we attended a dinner extravaganza courtesy of Teardrops to Rainbows. Enter Santa and gifts. Two nights later we had the pleasure of attending Believe in Tomorrow's annual volunteer appreciation dinner in Ocean City, MD. Enter Santa and more gifts. Of course, being on the eastern shore, we had to stop off an Mancinis - where Carson unexpectedly received several more model cars for his collection!

Two days later, the 19th Hole Grille in Ocean City hosted several Believe in Tomorrow families for a breakfast with Santa...which, of course, included more gifts. And to top things off, a few days later Ipads4Cancer presented Francesca with new Vera Bradley bag and Coach purse...and Carson with a brand new Ipad! (Many thanks to BLR Holdings for working with Ipads4Cancer to make this special day possible!!)

In Medical News...

Carson's trip to the clinic on Friday was uneventful. His ANC was still higher than what the protocol desires, so his weekly chemo was upped slightly. (The daily chemo remains the same.)

In the past two days Jennifer has visited her GP, reconstruction surgeon, and physical therapist. The results from Monday's MRI are at the breast surgeon's office, but we haven't heard anything - which we are praying is a good thing. If the results of the MRI are okay, she'll proceed with surgery (mastectomy) on Wednesday morning (12/28).

"Thank You" is simply not adequate...

While our lives would certainly be a lot different without leukemia, breast cancer, and diabetes, we see ourselves just as normal everyday family going through life's challenges with God's help. In fact, we think we are a lot like everyone else. So, when others lift us up and shower us with kindness and mercy, it really catches us off guard. You'd think we'd be used to it by now, but we aren't. In fact, every time is like the first time, with all the emotions being stirred up anew.
The generosity of our friends and complete strangers continues to overwhelm us.

We consider each and every one of you a blessing to our family!!

Paul.

Fantasy Flight 2011

What a whirlwind of a day! We woke early this morning to head to Dulles airport for a special flight to the North Pole. Yes, the REAL North Pole!! Of course, the excitement was palatable. Carson was up and dressed way before any light in the house came on.

The flight to the North Pole was courtesy of United Airlines, Children's Hospice International, and Believe in Tomorrow. We had VIP parking, a dedicated check-in and security counter, entertaining elves, and yes, a ride in a Boeing 777 to the North Pole to visit with Santa! This was a very special 777, so it only took us 30 minutes to get to the North Pole. Check out the photos:

At the North Pole we were greeted by choirs, musicians, elves, team mascots, princesses, and the Chick-fil-A cow. Santa (and Mrs. Claus) spoke with each of the children and provided Carson with a very nice bag full of presents. Santa even told Carson he'd be sure to bring the Lego Police Station with him on Christmas eve. Talk about service!

For those who are wondering...this was a real flight. We had real boarding passes - destination North Pole. The North Pole was listed on the departure status screens throughout the airport (see pics). Passengers from other flights were even taking pictures of the screens. We REALLY took off and flew for circa 30 minutes, with the exchanges between the captain and North Pole "air traffic control" piped over the intercom for the kids to hear. Oh, and our seats were in business class. Sweet!!

For the record, I'm not sure what the official ground roll-out for take off was...but with no luggage/freight, little fuel, and an average passenger weight of circa 80lbs, a near empty Boeing 777 can get off the ground in less than 5 seconds!! In speaking with the captain afterwards, he said they actually look forward to this flight -it's a lot of fun to fly!

A HUGE Thank You to United Airlines, Children's Hospice International, Believe in Tomorrow, and the other organizations that helped to put this event together. As far as single events go, this was one of the biggest we've ever seen.

And judging from the smiles on all the little faces, it was a huge hit!

Paul.

Fun and Laughs at Kings Dominion

Day 79 of 1,278. Fighting leukemia one ride at a time!

We had an AWESOME day on Sunday. Well, Saturday was pretty good too, but Sunday wins the prize hands down.

Sunday we went to Kings Dominion...and had an absolute blast! For those of you not familiar with Kings Dominion, it's a large amusement park about an hour south of Washington. It's probably of similar size and flavor to Six Flags. There are the Nickelodeon characters and the shows. And of course, the rides!!

Check out the photos!



A super big THANK YOU goes out to the folks at Growing Hope for making this trip possible. They provide non medical support to families with children with cancer...like meals for the kids spending all day at the clinic and Kings Dominion getaway packages. They are super cool people.

The timing for Kings Dominion couldn't have been any better. The weather was perfect. The crowd was nonexistent. Our ANC count is the highest it's been in a couple of months. And with no chemo for the past two weeks, Carson was feeling awesome! What else could we ask for??

Well, if we were to split hairs, there is one thing that we'd ask for. Sleep! I don't know if it's the medication or just the fact that he is getting older, but that boy of ours is hardly sleeping. Carson seems to have given up naps. Who would give up naps?!? But even with giving up naps, he's not slowing down. He's still going to bed late and getting up early. What's up with that?

Just in case he's reading, I'm including the following open letter plea for help:

Dear Mr. Sandman,

Why don't you come to our house any more? Was it something we said? Did you lose our key? We can get you a new one. Whatever happened, we are sorry and we will do better. I promise. We really miss you! Things just aren't the same since you stopped coming. I wish you would come back. Carson needs you. Jennifer and I need you!!

Oh... forgot to mention...Saturday was the open house for the Falls Church City Maintenance yard. Carson got to sit in the garbage truck, front loader, school bus, snow plow, and many other vehicles. He got a t-shirt and kids construction hard hat...he's wearing the t-shirt today.

I'm writing this from the clinic. Things are going smoothly so far, but we will be here most of the day. We are restarting chemo (since our numbers are finally good enough) and have treatments most everyday for the next two weeks. Please keep Carson in your Prayers!!

Paul.

Good times on the Hog

Carson at war with leukemia. Day 55 of 1,278.

The break from going to the clinic has been nice. Carson isn't always in a good mood, but you wouldn't know it by these pictures!



Unfortunately we are going through a stretch of "gotta have momma" syndrome. Carson can be...scratch that...he IS a bear to be around. He doesn't want mom out of reach, much less out of sight. And this makes for long days at home.

The one reprieve is that Carson has wanted to meet up with his best bud Nils in the evenings and cruise the cul-de-sac. His desire to get back outside and ride his "hog" is alive again. Aren't those pictures great?!? You can tell he's having a wonderful time...plus it's good exercise for his weak legs.

Go Carson!!

Paul.