Monday, August 23, 2004 8:00 PM CDT

Hi from here. We got back yesterday from the mountains. It was great! Not sure what to expect because the weather was suppose to be cold. We got up Sat. am and went to the river. Just as we put in, it started raining. But it only sprinkled for a few minutes. The sun came out and turned out to be quite nice. Dave's parents did good to for being their first time paddling like that. We put them both in individual ducky's (inflatable kayak). Everyone did a great job paddling. We were able to borrow a kayak from First Descents for Kelsey to paddle. It was a great time, and it was my first time paddling it, as last time I was in the rescue raft during camp. It was great to be out in the water. The river was up a bit, so we had some nice rolling waves to paddle through. And then after our paddle, we headed to Glenwood Springs. If any of you are familiar with it, it is terrific. It is the largest Hot Springs pool in the world, average temperature is 85-90 degrees. and then they have a therapy pool which is average 110 degrees. It is very relaxing. It is also great to go to after a day of skiing!!
Kelsey started school today. She did OK. Her best friend is at the school now too, which helps her. Also she has a friend from Church who is her math teacher. His daughter also had Cancer, several years ago and is in remission. So lots of great people at school for her. But I think she will do fine, sort of a new beginning this year. We are getting ready to help with the Golf Tournament this next weekend with Dave Cohen. He does this tournament every year to benefit Childrens Hospital. Their son Jakie has a caring bridge site too which his link is at the bottom of Sean's page if you would like to visit him. He is such a cute little boy and such a beautiful family who we love so much!! It will be bitter sweet at the banquet friday, last year Sean was just out of BMT. It was nice to be out of the hospital and seeing some friends and nurses and doc's at the event. And now this year we will be there without him. Always new hurdles to get over. Even the small ones are hard, but we will get through with Gods help. He is the only one to get us through, and know the pain that is in the deepest reaches of our hearts. We are so thankful we can lean on Him always. I thank you for all your continued thoughts and prayers for us. May the Lord bless each one of you. Love Laura

Thursday, August 19, 2004 11:15 PM CDT

Well just a quick note to say Hi! We hope you enjoy the new photos from Camp. It was such a good time and many memories we will never forget. It has been 7 months today since Jesus took Sean home. We try not to count the days, but sometimes I am more aware than others. And the 21st Josh went home 1 year ago. Sometimes time is forever, and others just a flash in the sky. That much closer that we will be with them. I pray everyday for that time to be now. I know there is much work to do to help save others though. But it is hard, because I want to be with them today, and begin eternity with joy in my heart that is unending. But God is giving me patience, and I pray for direction as to what He wants me to do. My Dad is doing about the same. Just living everyday. I guess God isn't done with him yet. We are going camping tomorrow and paddling Saturday. It will be our last trip before school. Kelsey starts on Monday. I know she says she is not ready, but I think she will be glad when it is here. It will be a good weekend, for some relaxation and paddling fun. We are headed to Glenwood Springs area. We are meeting Dave's parents up there, as they want to paddle too.We are actually paddling the same section we paddled the first week of camp. It should be fun, although the weather is not suppose to be that warm. That's OK we plan to go to The Hot Springs after paddling, so it will be just right! I love it up there, as you all know.I do talk about it a lot. Brad is in Madagascar paddling for 3 weeks. I am settling in to my 3 days per week schedule. But it cuts into my visiting with friends calendar. I don't have time to work, I have too many other things to do. HAHA.. We have been very busy, which is a good thing.Dave has been doing Hazmat testing the past 2 weeks at work.He is finished. Yeah! He did great as always. As my friend Deb says, organized chaos is good. But we are doing OK. Just getting through the days, with a lot of support from friends. I hope you all are doing well. We love you. Love Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Wednesday, August 11, 2004 10:44 PM CDT

Hello, well life isn't always predictable. As some of you know, my Dad's health is declining. He is still here, but for how long we are not sure. My Uncle Walt was diagnosed 1 month ago with lung cancer and also in his bones. Well he passed away last Tuesday morning. The funeral was Monday am. Please pray for my Aunt and my cousins. I know many miss him. We know he is with the Lord though. And that is what counts. That is still what gets me through on the hard days. Eternity is forever and our lives here are so short. Death is a part of life, and we shouldn't forget that. So many try and prolong their lives, but for what?! As Paul says in Phillipians: "To live is Christ and die is gain". I so look forward to the next life. No pain suffering, sadness, and a beautiful world to worship our Lord Yeshua. So I continue to pray that His return is soon, and I know there are many who need to be saved. So I say Hurry Up! Time is wasting and there might not be a tomorrow. Make that decision today to follow the one true Jesus Chist. He was not a prophet, or brother to Satan, He is the son of God. He is the only One true God, in whom His tomb is empty on this earth, among all the other mortal gods who still remain in their tombs today. So don't delay to tomorrow. As I have said before, you might not have a tomorrow.
We are still moving forward, and enjoyed our time at First Descents Camp. Such a blessing all who are involved in the camp. Caring, giving individuals.Kelsey registers for school tomorrow, and begins in 2 weeks. We are going camping once more before she starts school. We hope to go paddling. I added another day to my work schedule. So now I work 3 days a week. We will try it and see how it goes. I want to make sure Kelsey is OK at school this year, and to be there for her if needed. I think she is ready though.
Well, it is getting late and need to get ready for work. Take care and talk to you soon! Love always The Flanagans

Tuesday, August 3, 2004 11:43 AM CDT

Hi everyone, We got back from camp on Sunday. It was a great time. I was glad. We were welcomed by all knowing about Sean. All of the campers were awesome. I think we felt the connection because we could understand what they had gone through. And they felt the connection right back, because they had parents and sibblings go through their Cancer with them as well. One of the campers was a friend of Danielles, named Lacey. She remembered Sean from meeting at the Prosthetist to get fitted for his leg. She also had an amputation. We took Sean's Wavesport EZ boat to the camp. Sean wanted it donated to the camp. It was great bacause it's maiden voyage, was with Lacey paddling. Sean and Lacey had the same leg amputated, and all the padding that Sean used in the boat worked great for her. We were very excited, and knew Sean would have been happy.
The ranch that was used for camp is beautiful! I know the staff are working hard to find a permanant home for camp.The 7W Ranch has been most gracious to loan it to First Descents for the past 3 years. There were openings the first week, so Kelsey was able to be a camper and do all the activities. Brad taught her to roll in a kayak. She is very excited, and now we have to get her a boat to paddle. She had a great time with the campers. They are all about her age so it was a great fit. We are still getting caught up on sleep, as you know how teenagers are, up late, and of course we had to get up and get breakfast ready, and then try and drag them out of bed. Something about the mountains though, gives you the energy to get up in the morning and see what the Lord has planned. It is so beautiful up there. I always awoke with an anticipation of another day in His glorious mountains. We spent the night at Brads house on Sunday. He lives in between Vail and Glenwood Springs. A beautiful location on the top of a hill, overlooking the airport. Brad loves planes. That night was a full moon, and a flock of geese flew over us. The Lord knows how I feel about geese. We were with good company, Brads sister Courtney, and several of the counselors from camp. It was a perfect ending for us to an awesome 2 weeks of camp. We pray that one day, the Lord will bless us with allowing us to be a part of the mountains. It gets harder and harder to drive east and come home. The traffic is horrible coming down the mountain. It use to be just in the winter that traffic would be bad, with skier traffic, but now it is all year. It is like rush hours traffic in the city. Dave has 7 more years to retire, so we would love to retire up to the hills. There are several places we are looking at, but $$ always gets in the way. We will be patient, and if it is in the Lords will, we will someday be up there. Many Blessings on all of you! Shavuah Tav (Good week) Love The Flanagans

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 6:28 PM CDT

Hello everyone. I know I am suppose to be at First Descents Camp. We went up on Friday last week. Picked up the campers from the airports, and having a great time. I got a call on Sat from my brother that my dad wasn't doing well, and not sure if he would survive the night. My Dad has been in home Hospice care for the past month. He has COPD, and emphysema. Which means his lungs are shot. He is on oxygen, but his lungs are failing. My brother drove up to Vail to pick me up and I spent a few days at my parents. Dad is still here, but again not sure for how long. I was ready to head back up to the mountains today, but Dave is coming down on Friday to take the kids back to the airport, and staying here until Sunday, to pick up the next batch for the next week. I guess it didn't make much sense to drive all the way up there and drive all the way back on Friday. So I will stay here and get some things done, and if my mom needs anything, I am a lot closer than Vail. For the few days I was there camp was great! The kids are awesome!! They are so full of energy and are terrific kids. One of the campers we knew from Sean's Prosthetist. It was the same one Danielle went to also.
Small world. Kids from Texas, Arizona, Michigan. And one from Uraguay. Wonderful kids. As you can tell, the kids are great.It was great to spend some time with Brad's Mom, Jinny. She is a wonderful person and I love her very much. You can see where Brad gets his caring heart from. I hope next year to be more involved in the camp too. They are also looking for a permanant home for the camp. The 7W ranch has been loaned to them in the Summer for the past 3 years. But they need a permanant home. Ideally, they are looking for a place that is already built, but if they find the right piece of ground, that would work too. But the Vail area is very expensive. But with a Kayak camp, you need to be close to a river. So we will pray that God gives them just the right piece of ground. Like God promised the Israelites, the Promised Land. I know God has plans for this camp. We just have to be patient.Thank you again for your prayers and support. We love you!! Shalom! Love Laura

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 11:16 PM CDT

Hello everyone, Well just a quick update before we head to Camp. The paddle-a-thon went well last weekend. It was fun! Kelsey did great paddling her first river in a hard kayak, with a skirt. I guess Sean passed his talent for the river on to her. Our pup maggie, didn't have such a good time. She didn't like being in the boat, she got wet a lot and shivered the whole way. Especially when it started to rain, and had head winds, with water going up and over the bow, which is where she road. So she was glad to get back to camp, and dry off. It was fun to take her, but maybe next time will stay with Grandma and Grandpa. We leave on Friday for First Descents. We are excited to go. Kelsey gets to be a camper the first week, and the second week, she gets to be a junior camp mom. Our schedule is busy. I hope we will do OK. Just a bit nervous, and hope not too emotional. A lot of things going on. My Dad is in hospice care at home with Lung disease, and not sure how much longer he will be around. My uncle has lung Cancer and has metastisized to the bone's, with just a few months to live. So please pray for my family for strength.My cousin with Brain Cancer is doing OK right now, and remaining the same. Her daughter had a beautiful baby girl 2 weeks ago, and are so happy for them. And Danielle will be gone 1 year on the 30th of July. So my prayers go out to her family. I know everyday, they are remembering what they were doing this time last year. I know it is hard. I just keep remembering the scripture from Corinthians that God will NOT give us any more than we can handle. And He knows us better than we do! Thank goodness! We are going to be at Camp for 2 weeks, so we will give you updates when we get back. And we also have new pictures spreading Sean's ashes and Brad paddling with him. Hopefully Dave will have time to put them in the album for you. It was emotional, but it was good. And we will have many more pictures to share from Camp when we get back. I hope you all are enjoying your Summer's and some of you Winter. Will talk to you soon! And for the 2 Sabbaths we will be gone Shabbat Shalom!!! Love Always, the Flanagans

Monday, July 5, 2004 10:16 PM CDT

Hello everyone, We hope you had a good 4th of July. Those of you who live in the USA! Dave worked, and Kelsey and I went to some friends down the street to watch the fireworks. It was nice. Afterward, Kelsey said it wasn't the same. Nothing will ever be the same, but we have to keep moving forward. Thank you for all your prayers for our friend Martin. His surgery on his Brain to remove a tumor was a success. Just some side effects of his right side not working properly, but some rehab will be in order. He is home recuperating. We pray he will make a speedy recovery. We are getting ready for the paddle-a-thon this weekend. We are excited to go.It will be good to see Brad.We are starting to pack and Maggie our schnauzer knows something is up. Only this time she will go. I hope she does well in the boat, as she has never been on the water. She is only 2 years old though so we will find out! I think she will be fine since we will be out there with her. The Summer is already flying. After this weekend of paddling, the next weekend is Camp! So we will be packing again. But we are looking forward to this as well.
We have had a lot of rain which is good, but I am hoping for a nice weekend in the mountains and some hot weather!BRRR the water will be cold!!! Well it is getting late. Thank you again for your prayers. We love you and will continue to give you updates on our lives. Take care. Love ALways and Shalom. The Flanagans

Monday, June 28, 2004 9:55 PM CDT

Hello all, we are doing well. Kelsey got back from her Mission trip on Saturday night. She had a wonderful time, and was sad to come home. She strengthened some relationships that she had from last year. It was good for her to see some of the same people. I know she is anxious to go again next year. It will come soon enough.
I ask for some prayers for a dear friend of ours, Martin. He is our youth pastor at our Church. He had surgery this morning to remove a benign tumor in his Brain. The surgery went OK, not sure long term prognosis for his motor function yet. Will know more in the next few days. His wife, Becky has a 6 week old daughter and a 3 year old boy. His family is here to help from England, but prayers are always welcome. We pray for healing and full recovery for him. And to give strength to the family. We all know how hard it is even if it is not Cancer.
Also Brads Camp, First Descents is having a funraiser at State Bridge in Glenwood springs on July 10. It is a float trip and whoever participates gets sponsors for a 1 time donation, or for every mile paddled. We are all going to paddle on this day, even our little schnauzer Maggie! We bought her her own little life jacket! So any of you out there would like to donate to the cause is so appreciated! You can go on the link at the bottom of this page, to First Descents and give a donation or call us, to put you on our sponsor form. We are very excited about this and hope it will bring in a lot of money to the camp. And then the next week, camp begins and will be up there for 3 weeks. We hope and pray it will be a blessed time. We are praying for strength and wisdom in our walk with Yeshua. We are continuing our studies and pray for continued hunger to be in the Word. We are learning more everyday, and are very excited about it. I grew up in the "Christian Church" and never really knew Him in this kind of way, since He is the God of Israel. And originally, God of the Jewish people. It is exciting to learn of His Jewish roots, and learn what we are called to know and follow. We pray for each of you to seek out the truth and to know what each of us is called to do. Thank you for all your continued prayers and support. We love you all.Shalom, The Flanagans

Thursday, June 24, 2004 8:54 PM CDT

Hi. It has been awhile for an update. Kelsey is in Mexico on a Mission trip. She is building 2 houses for 2 families. She will be back on Saturday. We had a busy time last week. Our dear friends David and Ronda, are moving to Texas. They came to stay with us over the weekend. We had a blessed time enjoying the Sabbath with them on Saturday. We just had one hitch in the day, one of their beagles is grumpy and didn't like Maggie, our Schnauzer. They had a little encounter, and we ended up at the emergency vet getting Maggie a few stitches. She is fine and will get the staples out in about a week. And our friends are still not in Texas! They left Sunday morning, and their truck broke down in Pueblo. They are still there awating a transmission. So please pray for them, for protection all the way to Texas, and no more mishaps. Dave and I have been busy. We went up to Breckenridge Tuesday evening, to teach 2 CPR classes on Wednesday. And then back home. It went well. So back to work today, and looking forward to our dear friends Dave and Mary's open house on Friday. They have a golf tournament every year to benefit Childrens Hospital! Their son, Jake of whom many of you know HAD stage 4 neroblastoma, and is now in remission!!And we are so thankful! We pray all the time for them. The Summer will be flying by quickly, and we will be getting ready for First Descents Camp in a few weeks, then off we go, and the Summer will be over, and Kelsey will be back at school. I know she doesn't want to hear that.Thank you for your prayers. We pray for blessings on all of you in the name of Yeshua our Messiah.
Love always The Flanagan's

Tuesday, June 8, 2004 10:20 PM CDT

Hello. Well we got back from Vail on Monday. We decided to stay an extra day and unwind. The time in Vail was great! The kayakers are so awesome! We also want to thank Joel Heath, and Joe Blair for fitting Sean into the schedule. They are the ones who organize the Teva Games each year, and worked things out so we could do this. And we give a special thanks to Brad! We love him so much! He paddled Sean down the river and then did some tricks in the surf wave. Then we let him go in the wave along with his favorite flower, the Columbine. There were a lot of tears, but it was a good thing. It is what Sean would have wanted. And everyone around was great too. We had family and friends present, and were glad to share with them. It was good to share with one of Sean's favorite nurses, Loren, and Mark. Mark works at the front desk, on the Onc floor. We will always have a special place in our hearts for the nurses who took such good care of our Sean. They will always be a part of our family. We enjoyed our time in the mountains, as always we dread coming back to the city. One day we know, we will be able to drive up there and not have to come back. But for now we will be patient. God is not ready to relocate us yet, but we will let Him decide when and where. I hope it is west!!Kelsey is out of school for the Summer. Yeah! She leaves for her mission trip to Mexico in 2 weeks, then we go to Vail for First Descents Camp for 3 weeks. If any of you are interested in the camp, there is a link at the bottom of Sean's page. Brad is a special guy, and we want to help him out when we can. He has done so much for our family and giving Sean a wonderful finale to his life. So check out First Descents.
As always thank you for still keeping us in your prayers, and thinking of us. Love Always Laura

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 2:55 PM CDT

Shalom. We head to Vail tomorrow. I have spent the day packing and getting ready. I work tomorrow am, so Dave will pack the car. I think Saturday will be OK. It is stil emotional, but we hope and pray it will be a blessed time. As long as I focus on where Sean is and who he is with, I am OK. But when I think of how much I miss him, I get sad. But this life is very short, and we look to eternity.
We are anxious to see Brad, and Joel, and all of our friends and family joining us. And all of the other Kayakers that made Sean feel like part of them, last year. We will be there for Sean, and we know he would not want us to boo hoo for him. He was never that kind of kid. So we will enjoy the beautiful mountains and the river,the scent of pine, the wind through the trees, and the peace in our hearts that we will spend eternity with Sean. Thank you Lord for blessing us with such a wonderful son, and letting us have him for awhile, and sharing him with others. In the name of Yeshua, the Messiah, Amen. May the Lord Bless you. Love the Flanagan's

Thursday, May 27, 2004 4:00 PM CDT

Hello everyone. Again it has been too long. Things are going pretty well. I went to our Congressional Assembly, and spoke to our State Reperesentatives. So we have some good leads to go on. We met with another Homeopathic Doctor yesterday, who is trying to get Legislation in Colorado.What a wonderful lady, I only wish we could have met her when Sean was here. But like Sean always said,"things happen for a reason". It is going to be a long battle, but we are in for the long hall. We are getting ready for the Teva Games, next week. I know it will be emotional, but it will also be good. We have many friends and family coming up to share in this time. And hopefully can have closure. I know a lot of people weren't able to come to the memorial since it was the day after Christmas, but it was the best we could do. Anyway, it will be good to see Brad again, and the many athletes who shared their friendship with us last year. We love them all. We are leaving Thursday night after work, and are going to help out where we are needed, for the games. We were going to give CPR classes on Sunday, but we feel we won't be in the right frame of mind, after Saturday, so we will do that next year. Dave and I learned yesterday that the word Teva in Hebrew means Nature. We thought that was very cool. Dave and I are continuing our studies in the Bible, and God is convicting our hearts to make some changes in our lives. God is always faithful and grows our Faith everyday. We are so thankful for Him, as we would be nothing without Him. Our friends, David and Ronda who have been by us during Sean's death, are moving out of State. We will be sad to see them go, but encouraged for them to see what God has planned for them. I know it will be great things. I love the picture on the front of Sean's page with Brad. It makes me smile. When the Teva Games are over, we will put new ones in the photo album, where the Vail maps are now.The hard days come and go without warning. But we do get through them, and try and keep our focus on the Lord. And one day soon, we will spend eternity with Him and our Sean. Thank you for all your support and prayers. Love The Flanagan's

Friday, May 21, 2004 12:40 AM CDT

Sorry it has been so long since our last entry. We have been very busy, again. I am working at my old office, and things are going well. Kelsey has only about 1 week of school left, she is doing ok and anxious to be done for the year. Dave is still doing ok at the base. We have been very busy with this homeopath quack. Hopefully many of you who are local have seen the news. Once again, he was arrested for more charges brought against him. Our main goal in all of this, is to get him off the street to prevent him from doing this to others, and to get Licensing and Regulation for Homeopathic and Naturapathic Docs. Right now, there are no guidelines to regulate this area of medicine in Colorado, and it needs to be done! So we are going to join forces with a group of Homeopathic Doctors who have been trying to get Legislation in this area for the past 3 years. We pray we can make a difference. Please pray that we can. We feel this is our purpose right now, and we need all the help we can get. If any of you have any suggestions or people in higher places that we could talk to on this issue, we would appreciate it. We are also getting ready for the Teva Mountain Games the first week of June. We are going to spread some of Sean's ashes up in Vail after the Kayak competition on June 5th between 1-2pm. Anyone is welcome to come up and share in ths time. Dave will be putting the specifics of location and a map on soon. For you who are familiar with Vail, you can park at the Lionshead parking garage, and walk into town, there will be signs and many activites around. No tickets are needed, parking is free and events are free to watch ,except the food, and the vendors. It should be a good time. I know there will be tears, but a lot of support there too. Anyone needing additional info, can e-mail us @ ljflangirl@msn.com or daflanman@msn.com. Hope to see you there, and enjoy the day. We love you all, Love The Flanagan's

Friday, May 7, 2004 7:05 PM CDT

Well, it's friday. It has been a long week. And the weekend will be busy. I have a General Assembly meeting tomorrow morning. I hope it will be productive. Still not sure how the process will work, with our resolution. I will be learning. The weather has gotten hot real quick again. We are still hoping for some more rain. Kelsey has only 3 weeks left of school. I know she is counting the days. She writes them on her mirror each day. We are still teaching CPR. We have arranged a class in Breckenridge in June, so another weekend up there, only a business expense instead. We should be getting ready for the Teva games in June. They are only a few weeks away. Again if any of you would like to come up when we spread Sean's ashes, you are welcome to come up to Vail. It will be on Saturday June 5th, maybe around 1:00pm, but the best thing to do would be to come up mid morning and stay for the day. It is fun to watch all the events. I am spending mothers day with friends. Ashley was one of Sean's best friends and she is driving up from Western State, to see her mom,and thought it would be nice to be together. This day will be hard, becuase I miss my Sean so much. I wanted to be with someone who was a part of him. As I sit in his room, typing, it feels so lonely. I feel as though his memory is fading a bit. They are not as clear as they were even several weeks ago. And I don't want to forget anything, even the hard things because those are the last memories we have. At least time doesn't stand still, and each moment that passes is that much closer to seeing each other again and spending eternity with Jesus. I hope the mothers out there have a good day, and enjoy your children for they are truly a gift from God. Love ALways The Flanagan's

Sunday, May 2, 2004 11:22 PM CDT

Hello from us: We are doing ok today. Stop the ride I want to get off! Life is a roller coaster, with twists and turns, and sometimes I just want to get off for a awhile and rest. Have no worrries or headaches or issues to deal with. But that doesn't happen, so we have to keep going. We pray for strength everyday. Some days are better than others. And we know it will be like that, forever. We see others around us, and their lives are going on, and our's is still going slower. But that is OK, it keeps us in perspective. And realizes what is really important in life and not the petty issues many get caught up in. We have changed, and I feel for the better. Most times we are stronger and see the world in a different light. I thank God for the wisdom and grace He has given us through this trial. I pray we will always look to Him for direction and follow His lead. This was a good week, a bit emotional, but it was OK. Kelsey went on a retreat this weekend with church. It was for girls on how to act and dress how God would want them to. She had a good time. We are trying to get some things done around the house. So many things got negelcted this past year, we are playing catch up on upkeep. Our garage door broke 2 months ago. We got a new one,so now we have to paint. Of course we will end up painting the whole house.Also during Sean's TX, we had a leak in the upstairs bathroom, which came through to the ceiling downstairs, we couldn't do any of the inside stuff with Sean just out of BMT. So now we can finish the minor patch jobs left undone. There is always something that needs done. It does feel good to get these projects done. Kelsey's headaches are better, she has been going to physical therapy for neck massage. It has helped. And I am still taking her to an ENT next week. The test will be when we go up to the mountains again, that is when it starts. And there is cycle. Maybe it is a sunus thing. We are going up to Breckenridge again in 2 weeks, so we will see. And hopefully the ENT can shed some light on it. Dave and I are doing pretty good, we still have our Sean moments we call them, but I think for the most part, we are doing well. We just miss Sean so much, that that is the hard part right now. I am going to spend Mothers Day with a friend of ours, and one of Sean's friends. This day will be hard for me, so I know being with them will make it better. Ever since I became a Mom when I had Sean, every other holiday took a back seat to this one. I remember when I had Sean, how happy I was and couldn't believe I was a Mom. So Kelsey and I will share it with another special Mom. Our neice Kayla, is coming over tomorrow to go through some pictures and visit. It will be nice to see her. We don't get to see her or her sister much. They both are busy working and growing up. So the times we spend together are special. Well it's getting late, and I need to be up early to take Kelsey to school. Will write again soon! Love Alway, Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Tuesday, April 27, 2004 10:59 PM CDT

Hi. Today was my first day back to work at my old job. It was a good day. I was afraid I would be very emotional today because last time I was working there, Sean was still alive and fighting Cancer. Now he is gone. But others go on with their lives, and so will we. We are different and have changed but they are the same. There is a different feeling there. I know it is right. I will take it one day at a time. Dave is working tonight and Kelsey went to a concert with some friends from Church. She doesn't have school tomorrow, so I let her be out late. Since Sean is gone now, our empty nest will be coming quicker. I am not looking forward to that. Our family has always been so close, it is hard to not do everything together. That is the hard part about doing things. We want to share them with Sean and Kelsey. And we will never be able to share these moments with Sean, or enjoy his company or conversation ever again on this earth, and that is hard. However I do appreciate the time we had, and will always be greatful we had good relationships with our children. So we have to accept that life goes on, and so must we. We have blinked, and Kelsey is almost grown.I know this life on earth is short, but the older I get the more I realize this. I feel real old right now. In a way it is a good thing, because hopefully Christ will return that much sooner.I know a lot of people feel that before many of us die, Jesus will return. So that is exciting for me, then we can really have the joy in our hearts that was taken from us, and have it for eternity. I describe the pain, of losing a child, to something we will never have again.That exhilerating feeling you have when everything is perfect, and you feel you are on the top of the world. We will never have that kind of joy again on this earth, there is always a piece missing to have that kind of joy in our heart. It is a sad reality. I want to have that kind of joy, but I know it will never be there again while still on this earth. So I look forward in the next life, and long for it to come soon. Another day has gone by and that is one day closer to being together again. Thank you for your continued prayers, we still need them, Love Always, Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Monday, April 26, 2004 10:27 AM CDT

Hello. Another week has gone by. We have been very busy. I started my new job last week, and was going very well. I went back to my old office,for some dental work and they fired the troublemaker. The Doctor offered me my job back. Well, God always puts a spin on things. I prayed about it and decided to go back to my old office. I am very excited to be going back. So there is an opening at my old new job. Dave and I are still doing CPR part time. Which will be good. So that is the update on employment. Dave, Kelsey and I went to Childrens hopsital yesterday. They had a Memorial service for the kids that passed away this past year. It was ok. very sad though. We tried to make Sean's memorial a celebration of his life, and this service was just sad. We did met a young boys parents, whom we will be getting in touch with. We have heard so much about them, and want to be there for them if they need. It does help to have others to lean on, that have gone through it too. Kelsey is doing better in school. The year is almost over for her, and then she will be gone onto many adventures with Church and First Descents camp. So the Summer will be busy but a good busy. That's all the updates for now. Take care and love you all. Love in Christ Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 10:21 PM CDT

Hello. Well things are going pretty well.I started my new job on Tuesday. It was ok. Not sure yet. I also got contacted by my "old" office, and I met them today at a Dental meeting. It was good to see them. I work tomorrow at my "new" office. I am praying God will direct me on the right path. CPR is still going, although I haven't been very active in it this week, due to my new job, but it is still a good side business. This Sunday, we are going to Childrens Hospital for a Memorial service for all the kids that have passed this year. It will be hard, especially seeing all of the parents of kids that have died. I know there will be so many! In the small group of people we knew, there were 7 kids who we knew, and that is just the ones we knew about from Oncology. I hope it will be a special time too, to help the other parents and let them know we are there if they need anyone to talk to. We all have our good days and bad, but we need to keep going to keep our children's memories alive. Everyone of them had a will to survive. Anwd we have to make their dremas come true. Even if they aren't here to see them.
We are still in the early stages of stuff with the battle of the naturapath. The police are still looking at all the evidence. The detective said, we will be involved. We just want him and all the others that are praticing illegally, off the streets. We are hoping to get the word out to write to your congressmen and senators to write a Bill to regulate this area. Chiropractors had to go through the same thing when they weren't recognized as Doctors. They had to go through the process of being regulated. So please get the word out to put some regulations on Homeopathic Doctors and Naturapathic. I believe in Natural medicine,we just need some regulation so they are accountable for their actions and follow guidlines of treatment! If you have any questions regarding this, or would like more info. please write or call. 303-690-7175. We would love to talk to you. For you out there who don't live here, we are suppose to get a foot of snow in the city, and up to 3 feet in the mountains above 7000 feet tomorrow. The moisture will be good. It snowed a bit today, but melted as it hit. Will let you know how much we get. It is suppose to end Friday afternoon. Hopefully we wont' be digging out. Will give you an update later. Love you all Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Tuesday, April 13, 2004 11:55 AM CDT

Hi everyone. We are doing OK.Our schedules have been busy. We have been teaching CPR and trying to keep it up. It is not as consistent as I would like, but we are doing alright. I have also been marketing myself in Dental offices to work part time. I have a strong lead. I pray it will be a window God opens for me. If I have a consistent schedule, it would make things a bit easier, and then schedule CPR around it. So the Lord will let us know the direction I need to go. Kelsey is doing OK. We are still dealing with her health issues though. Not sure she keeps getting these headaches. I am pursuing this with her Doc's. Not going to settle for any "I don't know's" though. You get a little gun shy after seeing one of your children go through an ordeal. Dave is tired too, I guess we all are. I have resigned myself that we will be tired till we die. I went to lunch with Deb, and Toni yesterday. It was nice to get together with them. We try and go out once a month. We are so good for each other. I thank the Lord for putting them in my life. Because we need each other. A friend of Dave's at the firehouse has put together a foundation in Sean's name. It is in it's infancy stage, but he has a web page set up. Please visit at, www.wishforlife.org They are having a golf tournament and other activities in the near future. A very admorable thing he did. He is a great guy! We have a lot planned this Summer. We have decided to scatter Sean's ashes in Vail in June, during the Teva Games. The Teva Games were the highlight of Sean's life last year. He enjoyed hanging out with Brad and all the other pro kayakers, we felt it only fitting to do this. Sean wanted to paddle with Brad, and never got to, so this will be his chance(so to speak) After the final kayak competition on June 5th, we will give Brad Sean's ashes, and he will take him out in the water with his kayak, and do a few tricks, and rolls, and then scatter him in the river. Anyone is invited to join us there. It will be a celebration. I will give you an update for times, and location. Also Dave and I wanted to volunteer to teach CPR to any athletes that want to learn, so we will be busy up there. It will be a great time. Call us if you need any aditional information @ 303-690-7175.
And we still are going to volunteer at First Descents Camp. Kelsey is also going to California with Church and also going back to Mexico to build a house with a mission trip too. So her Summer will be very busy, she will also help with 1 week with the camp. It will be very exciting, and we are looking forward in helping others. It does help the healing process. So we are still moving forward. Our Faith is growing strong, and we are loving our Bible study with our friends David and Ronda. They have a solid rock faith, and we couldn't have made it this far without them. So we thank the Lord, he put them in our lives just when we needed them!And also all of you for your continued prayers! We love you so much!PLEASE GO TO THE PHOTO ALBUM, THERE ARE NEW PICTURES!
God Bless you all, Love Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Wednesday, April 7, 2004 6:34 PM CDT

Hi. Well, we are doing OK. Just getting by day to day. We celebrated Passover yesterday with some dear friends. It was great. They have been so good for us, and helped us through some very tough times. They were at our house the night before Sean passed away. God has a way of putting people in your lives at just the right time. We are so thankful. We know this year is going to be difficult. It has been so far. We trust God will keep friends with strong Faith in our lives. We are continuing to move forward. Kelsey is doing better, and counting the days until school is out for the Summer. Dave is still working hard. He hasn't been feeling well lately. I'm sure it is stress related, and not enough rest. I am continuing to market our CPR business, and temp work. So far God is providing for us. We know HE knows what we need and when, so we will trust Him. I get to work in a dental office next week. I am sort of excited because it has been 7 months since I have worked in a real job. And the Lord has provided for us, during these uncertain times. Anyway, I am looking forward in assisting. I will let you know how it went. We are dealing with the homeopath. Will let you know more on this when we can. Thanks again for all your prayers. I know some days we aren't very strong and find it difficult to go on, but we will, and do what Jesus has called us to do. Always ready for His return, but not giving up on the life He wants us to lead. Love in Christ, Laura

Thursday, April 1, 2004 1:46 PM CST

Hello. It has been a trying week. Kelsey has done OK with spring break. We took her to a fun center yesterday. We rode race cars, and played games. It was fun. We found out Tuesday evening that the holistic suppose Doctor who treated Sean in his last days, has been arrested for practicing medicine without a license. We were devastated. It was difficult enough for Dave and I. We have felt responsible for the difficult end Sean had to endure as it was, and now to find out this! We wish we would have never taken Sean there. We were hoping he could help Sean, and all he did was make him worse. We saw it after he had a second treatment with him, but you think sometimes you get worse before you get better. In this case it was not. Sean had one last treatment with him the day before he passed away. We knew Sean was terminal, but he wasn't doing that bad. After his treatment, he went down hill fast. We thought we were going to lose him that night, but he hung on until the next afternoon. Dave and I feel if he hadn't had this treatment, he maybe would have gone a bit more peaceful. But it was very frightening for Sean that evening. I know we can't live in the past, but it still hurts that things could have been different, and God could have blessed Sean with a peaceful death. Right now, we have to concentrate on the now, and help prevent this from happening to someone else. We will keep you posted on what happens. Another mountain to climb. I am getting tired of climbing!!!! Please pray for strength for us, as we are getting very tired. We need a valley to rest in, we can't do this for long. Today would be a good day for Jesus to return.Love in Christ Laura

Sunday, March 28, 2004 11:46 PM CST

Hello everyone. Today was a good day. Today was the Av's luncheon downtown. It was great! Kelsey was in the Fashion show for Av's better halves. A charity fundraiser for Childrens. We got to meet all the Av's players and spend time with them, and then Kelsey got to walk down the runway with Riku Hahl. She has a big crush on him! He was a lot of fun today, and took her around to all the other players to get their autographs. Kelsey picked out a beautiful outfit from Neiman Marcus to wear. She looked so beautiful! We met a lot of very nice families, and it felt good to do something for childrens. Sean was suppose to do the fashion show last year, but of course a surgery was needed so he had to pass. He was disappointed, because he was such a hockey fan! Especially the Av's. So today was partly sad, but happy for Kelsey. She loved all the attention and all the cute hockey players. We so appreciate Dave and Mary Cohen. They are the best! We were glad to see them today. In the program, they had Josh's, and Danielle's pictures in memory. They were in the fashion show previousely. SO it was nice to remember them. At least Sean got to meet all the Av's last year for his 18th birthday. That was a highlight of his life. Tomorrow is spring break for Kelsey so she is thrilled she gets to sleep in! Not much planned this week. We are going to go to Dave's parents over the weekend. It will be nice to visit with them. Dave's brother and family will also be there. It snowed today! Not prepared, but that is OK, That is spring in Colorado.We are all doing OK, still have our moments. We are realizing that lives are going on. I feel like we are on the highway, and everyone else is going 90 miles an hour, and we are going 10 miles and hour.It is hard to try and get back in the world. I don't think I want too either. We have changed too much. And for now we will be disconnected from the world. And try and focus on staying strong spiritually. That helps me, and studying Gods word gives me comfort. I so look forward to His return. Maybe today!.....Make sure you are all ready for that day.Take care and God Bless you all! Love In Christ, The Flanagan's

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 9:06 PM CST

Hi. Spring is here. The clouds are very ominous. Sean would have been glued to the windows looking at them. And I would tease him, we should watch twister now! It rained a bit but not much. We will pray for more.I have a Columbine plant, I pulled out of my backyard on the day of Sean's memorial, and put it in a pot. Sean loved Columbines. Today, I have 6 blooms on it. It is beautiful.He loved to go out in the yard, and photograph them when they were all in bloom. I bought more seeds to plant and I hope to have a backyard full of them this Summer.. Today is a bit better than the beginning of the week. For some reason, this past week, it has felt as though it was just yesterday that Sean had passed. But we know tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully better. At least we have another chance each day. Today I took my Cerification for CPR and First Aid Instruction, and I passed! So I can teach now too, and not have to make Dave do all the work. I am also marketing myself to do temporary assisting in a dental office. I pray I can make this work, because I am not ready to commit to a set schedule in an office. Kelsey still has not shown she can go to school on a regular bases, also we have too many things to do this summer, for me to tie myself down now. We are still hoping to volunteer for Brads camp, We havent heard whether or not they have accepted us. But we have the time off to jump in where we are needed. Also the Teva Games are coming up in June. We are going to hopefully offer CPR to the athletes, if they want to learn, if not, we can volunteer where we are needed. I think we will experience ups and downs with the summer and the events. We really miss Sean not being able to share them with us, because that was his passion. But we know he would want us to continue and help Brad, and the camp. and stay involved in the things he enjoyed. So we will.... We hope to put at least 1 river trip together this summer. Everyone gets so busy, and this is Brad's busiest time of year, so we will be patient and see what comes up. Thank you again for all of you out there. Thank you for the prayers and support. We couldn't have come along without you. Love and Hugs Laura, Dave, and Kelsey

Monday, March 22, 2004 3:01 PM CST

Hello. Sorry It has been so long since a new entry. We have had some hard days, and just trying to get by each day. We had a good time up in Breckenridge. The weather was beautiful, and we went to Sean's favorite place to eat. It was interesting. The place was busy, and they sat us at the table we ate at last with Sean. Also when we were checking in at the condo, in walks 3 of Sean's Onc. nurses. One of the nurses recently bought up there, and they were up for the day of skiing. They came to the condo for some food, and relaxation in the hot tub. It was very good to see them. We knew it was a GOD thing. We really needed that. So we tried to make it a happy time, there were a lot of memeories of Sean. He loved it up there, so even though, it was hard, we were glad to be there. Also one of Sean's friends, drove up from Western State to visit. Her and her family came up for the night. It was relaxing and nice to be with Sean's friends. We are so thankful to have his friends around still. It makes it a little easier. Spring is here.And today is in the 70's. Our CPR business is going pretty well. I also am doing some Temporary Assisting. This hopefully will work for us, so I can still be flexible for Kelsey. She has not been feeling well, lately. She had a sinus infection last week, and also diagnosed with mild asthma. Plus she is still anemic. Her body is just worn out, and needs a break. Her spring break is next week. I hope she will relax, and just lay low. Today was another hard day. They days go up and down. I can't believe it has been 3 months since Sean passed away. Some days it feels like yesterday, and others feel like many years have gone by. Recently it has felt like yesterday, so we are trying to cope and get through the days. Thank you again for all your support, and prayers. They are SO important to us. We do need them. Lots of Love, Laura, Dave, and Kelsey

Wednesday, March 10, 2004 8:21 PM CST

Hello everyone. Thank you for continuing to pray for us and letting us know you are there. It is very comforting to us.
It is hard to be there for someone for the long hall, but we really appreciate it. Today is another day. Yesterday was hard. I think because of our testimony at Church on Sunday. It was mentally and physically draining. For someone who doesn't like to be in front of people. And stand in front of over 1000 people. I prayed, and I knew Jesus was standing there right beside us, and that eased my anxious heart. We have wonderful friends at Church that have been a big support. I know spiritually we are stronger, and we continue to lean on them. I tried to keep busy yesterday, raked the back yard, cleaned out the flower beds, washed both cars, and I still had time to cry. So today, I cleaned out the oven, and scrubbed the stove, and cabinets, and dusted. I did better today. And I spent time working on the CPR business. It has been really great for me. I can schedule classes when it works for us. I also am going to go through CPR Instructor training. That way I can teach classes on the days that Dave works, so that every day off he has, we are not teaching. I don't want Dave to get too tired. I still want to have time with him, to do what we want. Dave is doing OK. He has his good days and bad too. I am so thankful for Dave, He is so wonderful. I took our little miniature schnauzer, Maggie, to my parents today. They are going to watch her while we go to Breckenridge on Friday. My Mom loves little maggie. She is a fun dog, and I know God put her in our lives at the right time. She loved to sit with Sean and comfort him, she knew he was hurting, and you could see the concern in her eyes. And now she knows when we are sad, and sits by to lick away our tears. We love her so much, she really helps us get through the days. Kelsey is doing good in school, she has 1 more day this week, and we will take her out of school on Friday. I don't want her to have to go on Sean's BD. We will head up to Breckenridge in the morning, and hopefull it won't be too sad. Yesterday I also realized, I was sad because Spring is coming. I hoped it would make me happy, but it makes me sad to know Sean is not here to share it with us. All the new things and renewal of Spring. It represents new life. And it is sad when that life is not here. We will go on. It is hard, but I trust in Jesus that He will help us through. I know we could not do it alone. And will continue to look toward the sky in anticipation for Christs return. We will remember this time of year and remember Jesus sacrifice for us, and know we will be with Sean again one day. Because of Christs promise that He goes to prepare a place for us. So we wait for that day to come. Until then, I guess we have to move forward, and ask God for strength, and guide us in the right direction. I pray for blessings on all of you, and will write again soon. Love in Christ Laura

Sunday, March 7, 2004 7:15 PM CST

Hello everyone. Today is Sunday. We had a pretty good weekend. As always it was busy, which was good. Kelsey and I met with Shira, yesterday for lunch. She is the teaching specialist at Childrens. Even though Sean didn't need any tutoring while going through treatment, she still came into see us and visit with Sean. She has become a very close friend, and we love her dearly. We also had bible study yesterday morning and it was good. Today was also a busy day. Last week our pastor at Church asked us to tell our testimony of Sean's journey to the congregation. We agreed, and today we did. It was difficult, but we feel, helped a lot of people to understand what Sean went through this past year and us. It was very draining today, and we are all exhausted, but it felt good too. We know Sean continues to touch lives even now. I met a lady that is here visting from out of state, who's niece is an x-ray tech at Childrens. Her niece doesn't go to our church, but she heard about a boy named Sean from her who touched her life.She asked her relatives instead of giving presents this year for Christmas, to donate money to this rare cancer research to Childrens Hopsital.She did not think Sean would make it to Christmas. This was definitely a GOD thing. So even people we have never met our don't realize all the people Sean touched in his short life. He did make an impact. These are the stories that help us get through each day, people coming up to us and telling us how they were affected by Sean. We are so proud of our Son. We know he will have a grand mansion in heaven, on the river, with the perfect wave right outside his door to surf with his kayak. And we will be right beside him. We can't wait for that day. But we know God has a mission for us here and our job is not through yet. We just have to trust that God will get us through everyday, and hold us up when we are weak, and stand by us when we are strong. This next friday will be a bit hard, since Sean would have been 19 on the 12th. But we need to remember he is not in pain and our lives here on earth are short. As long as we keep that in perspective it is a bit easier. Dave's birthday is on Sunday the 14th. When Sean was born, we brought him home on Dave's birthday. SO please pray that it won't be too painful. We just miss him so much. He was such a joy. And we were so proud of the godly man he was becoming. Thank you again for all your continued prayers, we feel them everyday, and they help us get through one day at a time. God Bless you all, and remember Jesus sacrifice on the cross for us. Love in Christ Laura

Tuesday, March 2, 2004 11:34 AM CST

Hello everyone. It is March 1st already. Time is certainly going by quickly. Good.... I pray for the day that our family will be reunited. We are still doing OK. We are still struggling with Kelsey's teachers. They are not commnucicating with the counselor, and to us. Kelsey still has work to be finished from last semester. And the next quarter is done the end of this month. Unfortunately we have had to go up the ladder to the principal. Some of her teachers are not being sympathetic. So far it has been a struggle just to get to school, and now having a ball and chain dragging you down from last semester! It has been very frustrating. So that is our life right now, just trying to help Kelsey get back on track in school. I can't wait for the school year to be over, so she can let down a bit, and just "be" for awhile. Also I look forward to times when we can take vacations. I know Dave needs one. He didn't have any time to grieve either. He had the 2 weeks off after Sean passed and then back to work. And try and be as normal as you can. So we are looking forward to that. We are headed up to Breckenridge on the 12 the of March. That would have been Sean's birthday. We are just going for the weekend, but we hope it will be relaxing. Maybe ski one day, and hang out and swim. We are taking 2 of Sean's friends up as well. Lindy was with Sean when he passed away, and we hope this time will be good for her too. Sean and Lindy were suppose to go to prom together. Unfortunately, a surgery got in the way. But she was always there for Sean, and visited him in the hospital and out, and was there when he needed her most at the end. She still comes over and I am glad. She is a part of our family, and we love her. And Sean's best friend Quinten, which is Lindy's brother. We hope he will be able to make it up with us too. He also will be part of our family forever. Dave and I had our first CPR class last week. It went well. We have 4 more classes scheduled. So we hope we can keep it going. Also, I am going to advertise myself as a temporary Dental Assistant. That way, I have 2 different avenues of income. I don't want to tie myself to a set schedule. I like being flexible and can take days off when I need to. I pray God will guide me in the direction He wants. Right now this is right. And I will continue with this until God says different. We went to see the Passion of Christ on Sat. It was well done, I feel. It stayed with the scripture pretty well. I know we weren't there, but it is good for us to see the physical suffering Christ had to go through for us. Dave and I notice many similarities with Christ suffering and Sean. Not that Sean was in any way the same level as Christ, but the suffering the body goes through and not being able to do anything. And for some reason he had to go through it.And like God, being our only son too. And I'm sure many of you out there feel the same way watching your children suffer with these diseases. We just know God is watching always and we trust He will get us through it. I have a saying that I look at often, "When things get tough, God doesn't get me around trouble, He gets me through it". And "The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us". I know God is with us always. I can't look too far ahead, that is overwhelming.It is too hard to think of not seeing Sean for many years. But one day at a time is OK. I know in heaven is one day and a thousand of ours. So the time will be short for Sean when we see each other, and when we think of eternity compared to a few years on earth, I guess that puts it into perspective. I will be patient, and do my best to do Gods will on earth. As Kelsey said, when Sean and we found out he was terminal. "Just keep swimming" (Finding Nemo).And we will..... Thank you again for all your continued prayers. We love you and may God richly bless you. Love In Christ Laura

Monday, February 23, 2004 4:49 PM CST

Hello everyone. Well another day...We had a pretty good weekend. We went up to Breckenridge on Sat. just for the day. Dave's parents, brother and family were there. We went sledding and enjoyed ourselves. It was a nice day. Yesterday, we moved furniture. We aquired a desk from Dave's parents that is a bit bigger than our computer desk. We moved it into Sean's room and also moved the computer in here. So Sean's room is now the office. We still left his bed and all of his things here, we just moved them over a bit. I am still not ready to get rid of his things. So we will keep it like this for awhile. It is sort of nice to be in his room, and not just sitting on his bed wishing he were here. Kelsey had a hard day today, but she did go to a new group at school. It is for grief and loss at school. She like it and we hope it will help her to know other kids that are going through a loss. Not much happening right now. I guess that is good. Just going one day at a time. Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We couldn't have made it this far without them and you! God Bless and Hugs Love Laura

Thursday, February 19, 2004 10:34 AM CST

Hi. Well It is hard to believe it was 2 months today, that Sean passed away. It seems so much longer than that. We are making it through slowly. Kelsey didn't make it to school yesterday, she woke up after a dream about Sean, and was upset all day. She however made it today. I don't know for how long. She was very aware that today is the 19th. But we tried not to dwell on it too much. So she is at school, and Dave is at work. So that leaves me here to get things done, and cry a bit too. Dave's parents are coming in town today. They are going up to Breckenridge for the week, so we will be watching their Lhaso Ahpso, Patches. Kelsey loves her, and she is a good pup. Also our schnauzer, Maggie loves her. They love to play together. We will be going up for the day to Breckenridge on Saturday, to spend time with them, and Dave's brother Steve and family will be there. It will be nice to spend some time with them. As everyone is always so busy, it is hard to get everyone together at once. The weather has been nice. Yesterday it ws in the 70's, we washed the cars. And of course it is raining today turning to snow. But it is good as we still need the moisture.Sean loved the rain, so this is esecially nice. If we only had a bit of thunder. We love the Spring time. We would watch the clouds waiting to see what would develope, and hoping to see a funnel. Sean and I could have been storm chasers. We would go from window to window in the house to get a better look at the cloud formations. And growing up here, every year is different. Some storms come on quick and leave just as quick. Others hang around and threaten for awhile. So Springtime is fun here. And then we watch the movie Twister, just to make it a bit more exciting. I hope all of you are doing well. Will write again soon. Love and Hugs to everyone. Love Laura

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 3:50 PM CST

Hello. I hope everyone had a good weekend. And also a happy Valentines day. We are all doing OK right now. Dave was feeling a bit under the weather last week, but he is better. I think he just wears himself out. Not resting when he is home, and not sleeping regularly yet. We are trying to get some unfinished projects done at the house. They have been left idle while Sean was home, due to post BMT we couldn't sand or repair anything in the house. We had a leak in our bathroom several months back, which is the ceiling in our family room. Dave placed a piece of drywall up to get us by, and now we are patching that correctly. And then comes the fun job of painting the ceiling. But that will come later, when income from the CPR business starts rolling in. At least our projects are not emergency things, so we can take our time. It does feel good to move forward though. Especially with Spring being just around the corner. To finish things, and clean up. Sean's room is still the same. We eventually will turn it in to the office, as the guest room doubles for the office. Not much room in there for everything. We purchased a fire proof filing cabinet to store precious pictures and discs with pictures we cannot replace of Sean and the family. I hope we never have to find out if it works, but it eases my mind. Kelsey and I had lunch with Deb,her daughter Lindsey and Toni, and her daughter Stevie yesterday. I am glad we still keep in touch. We are going through the same emotions and we can talk to each other about them .I am thankful the Lord has put these special ladies in my life. And thank you for all of you out there, who continue to pray for us, we DO appreciate them, as I know that is how we can get through each day! Love and Hugs Laura

Thursday, February 12, 2004 9:17 PM CST

Hello . Well, the radio-a-thon was good.We hope Sean's story touched lives to help the hospital. It sounded as though it did. She and Gregg fro the morning show were tearing up while we were doing our interview on the air. I am glad that Sean's life has touched people. We love him so much, and we are still amazed at people that we talk to what an amazing young man he was. Even today, we went to the clinic to visit, and one of his nurses said, one of the last times he was there, he told her he was worried about us! He is the one going through cancer treatment, and he is worried about his parents! We know he knew he was dying, but didn't share those thoughts with us. He didn't want to worry us. He was so brave. Carrying it alone. Only he wasn't alone, God was carrying him! It is still hard though to see the suffering. But he was amazing up to the end. The song that the radio station played to Sean's story Evanescence, song My Immortal is now being played all the time. It is hard not to cry everytime I hear it now. Dave heard this song the day that we found out Sean was terminal. He was driving and had to pull over. So we asked them to put his story to this song. It is a beautiful song. I know Gregg, She, and Slacker will never listen to it the same again. They are such wonderful people. We are already planning on helping next year, God willing. It was nice to see all of Sean's favorite nurses up on 5a also. It is a nice feeling going up there. Yes, a lot of bad things happened up there, but the people helped you through those bad things. And that is why Childrens is such a great hospital. Also the other families you meet going through the same thing are terrific. So we help each other to get through everyday, and lean on one another. So thank you Childrens Hospital for taking the best care of Sean that you could. It is out of their hands when children go home to the Lord. We love you Sean, and miss you more than words can say. We look forward in us being together again. Love Dad, Mom and (K) Kelsey

Wednesday, February 11, 2004 10:15 PM CST

Hi everyone. Thank you for continuing to read Sean's page. We are still trying to be active and productive. Thank you for donating to 105.9 Alice radio! All the donations go to Childrens Hospital and research. I am glad Sean's story has touched peoples lives. We miss him everyday, but we know we will see him again. Dave, Kelsey and I are going down to the Hospital tomorrow around 3:00pm to give our support to this event. Last year when they did it, we were in the thick of things with Sean's treatment so I wasn't even aware it was going on. A lot has gone on this past year as you all know, so now we can slow down a bit, and try and help others in their struggles. It is a hard road. I pray we can help others go through their journey. My heart goes out to all the families that are still going through treatment, or just getting a diagnosis. The road is long and hard, and not for the weak. If your faith is strong, you will make it through. Listening to the stories today, made me cry. I have very mixed emotions about them all. On one hand, I am sad to see the children going though treatment, but then I am happy they are still here. And then like Sean, I am sad that he is no longer here, but then I am happy he is no longer having to endure treatment, and he has a new and perfect body with no pain. So I guess they are all bittersweet. We all have a journey in life to walk. No one can walk our path. We have to do it alone. We can just trust God will get us through it. God never promised a road without it's obstacles, but He did promise to be with us on the journey. Please if some of you have never donated to a good cause, please donate tomorrow or Friday. 100 percent of the donation goes back to the children. Please listen to the stories, and help someone else. You never know the future. Their phone number is: 1-800-458-KIDS.They begin again at 6am and end at 6pm mountain time. I pray for healthy kids for everyone, unfortunately we live in a fallen world, and bad things do happen to good people. So we need to help each other along the way. Because at the end of the line when we are standing in front of our Lord, we will be accountable for what we have done on this earth. I know that does not earn our way into heaven, because the Bible says the Only way to heaven is by Grace, and the free gift of the sacrifice of Jesus, and to accept this gift from Him, but "The things we do for the least of them, we do for Jesus". So remember that the next time someone does something nice for you. I will get off my soapbox now, and
close this journal. Thank you for listening. We love you all, and thank you for all your prayers and still remembering us!! Love to all. Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Monday, February 9, 2004 1:12 PM CST

Hi everyone. Well today is a better day.Except Kelsey is sick again. I think her immune system is not back up tp snuff yet. So we will go to the doctors today and find out what she has. Dave and I have been doing ok. We still are not on a good sleeping pattern. We toss, and lie awake. I know that will get better in time, so we will just take it one day at a time. The snow storm missed us this weekend. SO the sun has been shining since thursday. We still have snow on the ground, and it is cold, but the sun is beautiful. We love the sun. It could be 40 below out and as long as the sun is shining it would be ok. Dave, Kelsey and I have started a Bible study with our friends on Saturdays. The study is in Daniel, and Revelation on prophecy and the future. It has been very exciting for us. We are trying to get back involved in a study, and this one was perfect timing, with the right people. God knows exactly what we need, at the right time. So we are thankful for our friends. Dave, Kelsey and I are going down to Childrens Hospital on Thursday to help with the radio-a-thon. It is sponsored by Alice 105.9 and all the donations go to the Hospital. Dave and I went down last week to the station and taped Sean's story. From wednesday to Friday, they will be rerunning the tapes all day of childrens stories, including Seans. Not much happening here right now,just taking each day as it comes. Will write again soon! We love you all Love the Flanagan's

Thursday, February 5, 2004 10:42 AM CST

Hello everyone. Sorry it has been so long for an update. We are all doing OK right now. Kelsey has been to school everyday this week. So she is getting better. She wanted to stay home today, only because it was a delayed start because of the snow. But she went anyway. It has been snowing for the past 3 days, but not a lot of accumulation. Only about5-6 inches. The mountains have been getting more, which we are grateful. One we need the moisture, and 2 it is great for skiing. I am continuing to hand out flier's for CPR. That has kept me busy this past week. Dave and my anniversary is Friday th 6th. It will 22 years. We are going to just have a quiet evening and maybe go see a movie with Kelsey. Famiy time is very important to us, and love to spend time together. Sean's Birthday is also coming up March 12th. He would have been 19 years old. It will be a hard day, so I think we will take a drive to the mountains. Everyday is still hard. Yesterday, Dave and I went down to a local radio station Alice 105.9. They do a fundraiser for Childrens Hospital. They did an interview with us, to hear Sean's story. It was difficlut to go through again, but we hope it will help the Hospital. So they will be running Sean's story along with many others next week starting on the 11th to the 13th. The radio station will be broadcasting from the Hospital. Dave, Kelsey and I will go down on Thursday and be there for support. Many terrific people there that will always be a part of our lives. Thank you again for listening to our continuing stories. I know Sean is no longer in need of prayers, but our lives must go on. So we thank you for listening. We love you all Love Laura

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 7:45 PM CST

Hi. We are still here. And getting through each day. Kelsey went to school today. Yesterday, Dave and I finished up our flier for CPR. I took it to the printers. So today, I went out to businesses to deliver them. It felt good to be out trying to be productive. I am anxious to get started in doing the classes. The weather was warm today. There is still snow on the ground, but the sun was warm and melted quite a bit of it. We don't have near the snow as back east. And I am thankful we get the warm sun and mild days without the cold wet feeling they have, that chills you to the bone.I am looking forward to Spring. Last year with Sean in the Bone Marrow unit, all Summer we had to keep the windows closed, and not go outside. This year I am looking forward in opening the windows, and being outside as much as I can. I love the outdoors,and am going to enjoy it. Also to get out and do some camping and be in the mountains as much as possible. We are still planning on going to Montana.Sean was born in Great Falls, and we left when he was 6 months old. We were going to drive up to Great Falls, and shoot over to Yellowstone, and then down. Sean had a list of things he wanted to do, before he died. Well he didn't get any of them done, so we are going to take his list and do and go to all the places and do the things he wanted. Minus buy a Mini Cooper. I think we will just test drive one. But I think we can do everything he wanted on his list. It will be hard to do, but it's the right thing to do. And we will be glad we did it for him. Lots of Love to you. Love, Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Monday, January 26, 2004 11:21 AM CST

Hello, Well it is Monday. What a beautiful snow storm we got yesterday. It was not good for rush hour travelers, but it is nice to look at. Sean loved these kinds of stroms, and always loved the snow. So it makes me smile when it snows. Kelsey had another hard morning, so we will try school again tomorrow. The mornings are hardest for her, so please pray for her. We had a pretty good weekend. We have been busy with friends and family. We went to some friends for dinner, Fri. then to Dave's brother's for dinner on Sat. And yesterday was just a lay back day. Church was hard for me, but I made it there, And then we tried to relax and watch movies in the afternoon. It is still hard to just sit and watch a movie. We are still in that mode of need to be up doing something. I think in time we will slow down, and be ok. Dave and I are still in the process of getting our CPR business together. We got our business cards, and now I just have to finish up the flier to attach to the cards, and then I will go out and distribute them to businesses. I feel this is what God wants us to do. We will be flexible and can make our own hours, and Not get caught up in the selfishness of the world again. We will keep it simple. We feel very disconnected from this world, and it makes us realize WE are NOT of this world, only here for a little while. This earth is not what it's all about, and Sean's death has made us realize that. So we will try and see what God has planned for us here, and follow Him. That is all we can do. We thank you again for all of you and your continued prayers and support. We see first hand, one of Gods most important commands, to, "Love one another". We see that everyday in our lives. Thank you! We love you , Love Dave, Laura and Kelsey

Thursday, January 22, 2004 10:55 AM CST

We went to Deb, and Ron's last night. ( Danielles parents) It was a good time. It was good to see all the family and friends together. And to see many of the people that have been throught the same things we have. Josh's parents were there. And good to see them. They are wonderful people, and will always be connected to them as well. Josh, Danielle, and Sean are all in heaven together, having complete joy and peace. We envy that, and can't wait for our turn. I know we have to be patient, our job here is not done yet. So we will stick together and be there for one another when we need it. Our Faith definitely gets us through. We all know where our children are, and that is very comforting. And they will be at the front gates when we arrive. Today is better than yesterday. I know each day will be new. I thank the Lord for all of our friends and family that have stuck by us, and are there when we need you. We love you all. Love Dave, Laura and Kelsey
P.S. I plead with you who don't know where you are going when you die. Please seek out the truth. Don't wait until tomorrow, that might be too late!

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 4:14 PM CST

Hello everyone. We went to Vail this past weekend. It was good to get away and try and enjoy ourselves. Brad is a great friend! Joel, his manager, set us up with accomodations and lift tickets for the weekend. It was restful. We skiied one day. After 3 years of not skiing my body had a wakeup call. But it felt good. Brad took us all over the mountain and skiied with friends. The weather was great and the snow was pretty good. Kelsey brought her friend Katlin. They took a snowboard lesson. Kelsey wanted to try it for Sean. Sean was a diehard boarder. She fell too many times to count and hurt her arm. So the girls gave up, and we shopped and ate the rest of the trip. And we are back to reality. Everyday is a struggle. Some days are better than others. Today is one of those days, that I don't know if I can do this for the rest of my life. It is just too hard. I hate feeling sad, and I miss Sean so much! I pray that God will come and take us home too. I just don't want to do this for the rest of our lives. It is bad enough with the pain of missing Sean, and then seeing Kelsey hurt so much because she missses her brother. It gets very hard. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, and feel stronger. Tomorrow would be Danielles birthday. We are going to try and go to their house and help them get through. All these milestones are difficult. One day at a time. Thank you for praying. We still do need them. Love you all Laura

Wednesday, January 14, 2004 12:25 AM CST

Well another day.... Now that the holdays are over, the ball has dropped. It was a blessing to have Sean pass away, Kelsey's birthday, and Christmas all in 1 week because it gave us something to do,and kept us busy and focused. Now that everyone is back to their routines, it is difficult.This past Friday Kelsey couldn't go to school, so we decided in the afternoon to take off and go visit Dave's parents in Grand Junction. They just built a new house, and we hadn't seen it yet. So we went for the weekend. It was good to get away. It is very hard to be at the house much. Too many memories, and not enough to do. Dave is back to work, and Kelsey has finals this week. She went to school 2 days last week, and she will finish finals on Thursday morning at 10:30am. Brad has invited us up to Vail for the weekend, so we will leave Thursday morning and come home on Sunday. We are looking forward to it. We thought the pain would get easier, but we feel it is harder. But I think it is because when he first passed away, there was so much to do, we didn't think. And now that things have slowed down, we have more time to think. The pain is still very fresh, and we hurt and cry everyday, but we DO get through eveyday. Some days are harder than others. We keep praying and we know Jesus will get us through. We pray for the day we will be together again, but we know we still have a purpose here, so we try and be patient. We try and focus on what is eternal rather than worldly. And know that Sean is happy and not in pain. We look at pictures of Sean, and it helps. Especially I took a picture of him 2 days before he died, and he was not happy. Normally he could muster a smile even if he didn't feel good, but that day he just couldn't. SO that helps us to know it was his time to go, and rid himself of this broken body, and traded it in for a new one, with no scars, and a whole body. We know these bodies are temporary and in the Bible are called tents. So we have to keep remembering that. Some day we will be together again, and rejoice in it. We have a lot of great pictures too. Sean was always so happy and full of life. He always worried about others. And didn't worry about the small petty things like so much of us do. We feel so blessed to have Sean as our son. He was very special, and we are thankful he has touched so many lives. We thank all of you for your continued prayers and support. We hope you are all doing well, and I pray for all the other families out there who have lost a child. We love you and talk to you soon! Love Laura

Tuesday, January 6, 2004 8:45 PM CST

Hello everyone. Well it has been over 2 weeks since Sean has went home. It seems longer only because we have kept busy that we haven't had much time at home. In a way it has been good. Yesterday was a tough day for Kelsey. It was first day back at school. We went with her to the counselors office. We talked and Kelsey wanted to come back home. So we took her home. Dave and I had errands to run, so she went along. It was a good day. We went to the hospital and took back some linens we had borrowed for Sean's hospital bed, as regular sheets don't fit. So we went back up to 5a and visited the nurses and saw Sean' Doctor there. It was bitter sweet. It was comforting to see all the wonderful nurses and friends who have been there for us this past year. And part of me was sad because I miss Sean, BUT mostly comforted that Sean wasn't there having to endure more treatment. His body is whole again with no pain, and that made me feel much better. I felt pain in my heart for the children that are still there enduring painful treatment and being so brave to fight this disease. We then went to Confluence Kayaks. It is a kayak store just down by the Platte river. Before Sean passed away, we had gone down there to see if they had any equipment to donate to First Descents Camp.They said they would at the end of the year. We went down yesterday, and they had boats and equipment to donate. It was great! Very caring guys that take time for you. We can't wait to volunteer this Summer at the camp. We love Brad and his family. They are now part of our family. So yesterday was a good day. But today is a lay low day. I stayed home and went through pictures. We have 3 boxes of pictures with no dates on them, so it will take awhile. If I ever take regular pictures again, I will immediately write who, where and when on the back. Kelsey wet to school today, it was hard at first, but once she got there she was ok. So she made it through her first day. I know we have to take them one day at a time, but it feels like we are always on alert and it is a struggle to take each day. I still can't imagine going though life like this. It is too hard. It is very exhausting. I pray for strength each day, because some days it takes all our strength just to do "normal" things. Dave is back in his routine of work. He went back December 31st. He still has his struggles, but he is hanging in there. And I am trying to get in a routine too. I do need to work, but not full time like I use to. I am thankful we made budget cuts, and we don't miss them. Before Sean was terminal, Dave and I were in the early stages of going into business of teaching CPR. Dave is an instructor. So I can organize the classes, and he can teach. Scheduling classes to fit our lives. I don't want to go back to an office with set a scedule . I still want to be home for Kelsey, and be flexible to help with the camp, and other things if needed. So I am going to proceed as we planned. It will also be good for me to work . We are planning on scanning many of our pictures, so we will try and get more pictures to share on the web for you to see. Sean is a wonderful young man, and we are so proud of who he became. And we are so thankful we know he is in heaven with Jesus. That is the only thing that gets us through each day.The only way to heaven is through Jesus, not by works done here on earth to earn your way in. And the awesome thing is the way is free. It is the gift of Jesus sacrifice on the cross from God.He took our sins to the cross, and then 3 days later, rose to reign over all. All we have to do is take it.So take His gift now, while there is still time. We were not expecting Sean to pass away so quickly, so make sure YOU know where you are going WHEN you pass to the next life. There are only 2 choices. Pick the right one. We love you and thank you for letting us know how Sean has impacted your lives. It does give us comfort. Love in Christ The Flanagans

Thursday, January 1, 2004 9:07 PM CST

Hello everyone. Thank you for all the prayers and many of you who came to Seans memorial service. It was beautiful. We praised and sang, and cried and remembered Sean's wonderful life. We apologize for taking so long to write, but or computer had a virus and we had to reload and start from scratch.Now that the holidays are over, the days will get longer. We were busy always, and now the routine is back for most. Our busy lives have suddenly stopped, like a brick wall. We go from being nurses at Sean's bedside, to parents again. There is a lot of adjustment. We find ourselves looking at each other not sure what to do. And the small things are big. Going out to eat with just 3 instead of 4. The empty seat at the table. I could go on, and on, but we try to remember the happy moments. Every day we have to make a concious decision to get through. Today is another year. And we pray this next year will be better. We know it will because Sean is in Heaven, and has a new body and no more pain. We thought some of you might want to hear about what happened, so here it is. His last week on this earth was not good. He was in the hospital the weekend before he passed away, with neumonia, bacteria in his blood and of course the cancer was still growing. On Monday the 15th, Sean's Doctor looked at his x-rays and knew Sean was at the end. So Sean decided he wanted to be home. We took him home on that Monday, and had a hospital bed delivered. He was not able to breathe and was not well enough to go up the stairs, so we set up camp in the family room. Dave and I took turns sleeping in the family room with him. The homeopathic Doctor made house calls. But we realize now, that Sean's body was too sick to do anything and this medicine only made him worse. So Sean quit all treatment and was only on his pain meds. He was on a constant IV of Dolodid, and Versed. And back up to 280 milligrams of Oxycontin per day. And the pain was still there. He was on 12 liters of oxygen and it was still hard for him to breathe. His lungs were failing him. By Friday morning he was much worse. The nurse, from the butterfly program from childrens came over. (The program is hospice for kids). She arrived in the morning and Sean's organs were starting to shut down. His skin was yellow, and he was having a hard time breathing. We all gathered at his bedside, and were there for him. We said our goodbyes, and told him it was time to go. He was in such pain, we couldn't stand to see him like that. As always, Sean did what we asked of him, and he went. It was very hard, but we know where he is and we will see him again. We miss him so much that our hearts break, but we try and remember he is not in pain, and is free from his broken body. We will take it one day at a time, and pray for strength to get us through. On Christmas day, we took a trip up to Breckenridge. Sean loved it there.Sean was cremated so we also went to find a box for his ashes. Something from the mountains that fit him. It was a great trip. It snowed a bit while we were there, it was a beautiful day. Sean would have enjoyed it.But we know he is in a far better place. Sean will say, "what took you so long" We thank you all for your prayers and support. We know we have wonderful friends to lean on, and we will. We will keep writing to let you know how things are. We are going to take a river trip this summer, and sprinkle some of Sean's ashes in the river. That is what he wanted. So we are looking forward in taking this trip. We love to be outdoors where the air is clear and the water is cold, and the birds are singing and the sun is shining. It will be a very special trip with Brad, and Sean's and our friends. We hope each of you will have a blessed new year. Love the Flanagan's

Sunday, December 21, 2003

Memorial services will be held at:
Southeast Christian Church
9650 S. Jordan Road
Parker, CO 80134
303-841-9292
26 December 2003
7:00pm

Please send donations to:
First Descents
P.O. Box 2193
Vail, CO 81658
In memory of Sean Flanagan

Please see link below for info on the First Descents Kayaking Camp.

Friday, December 12, 2003 7:17 PM CST

Hello. Well Sean is not doing as well as expected. His body is taking the Chemo treatment hard. He has had to have blood every other day since last Friday. And last night he had 2 units of packed red blood cells, and platelets. He had a reaction and ended up with a fever of 104.9 over night and difficulty breathing. So now he is down at the hospital. They admitted him and decided he has too much plasma in his blood causing him to feel like crap. We are still waiting for a chest x-ray to see if anything is in his lungs. We hope it has nothing to do with a colapsed lung. So they will probably keep him for a few days. Sean also went to the homeopathic Doctor on Wednesday. We are hopeful this will help Sean feel better at the least. Although we are still praying for a miracle.Unfortunantely Insurance doesn't pay for ths treatment, but we will worry about that later. We will let you know how the chest x-ray comes out. Please continue to pray for us, and to keep us healthy. Kelsey has been sick the past 2 days and again out of school. Thank you again to all of you helping out and providing meals to us. It is a tremendous help! God always provides, and we remain faithful. Sometimes its hard!! Love you all Laura

Friday, December 5, 2003 10:28 PM CST

Sean is finished with his first week of Chemo. We think he is doing better. It is hard to tell if it is just wishful thinking or just a lot of medications keeping the pain away.He also is retaining fluids, but the Dr's hesitate to put him on a diuretic because then it strips his potassium, and then they have to supplement that. So they are hoping it will go away by itself. We see the Doctor on Monday. They are giving him a bag of his stem cells back, so hopefully this also will help him feel better. We went to the hospital today. Make-a-wish had a shopping day for the kids. Sean got to go and do some shopping for his family and friends. He had a good time. They take you in a room with gifts, and Sean gets to pick and then they wrap them, so he comes out with everything taken care of. It is always nice going to the hospital for fun rather than dr visits. Sean gets blood and platelets tomorrow morning. I hope it will help him feel better. He is run down and tired. I am very glad they can do it right here at home. Kelsey went with friends downtown to go ice skating tonight. I'm sure she will have a great time. Denver also had their xmas light and parade tonight so I'm sure there are a ton of people. I am going to hit the hay now. I am tired and have a busy day tomorrow taking Kelsey and her friend to the Hilary Duff concert for her birthday. And I want to be ready for the night. It should be fun and Kelsey is very excited about it. Have a great weekend everyone and talk to you soon! Love you Laura

Thursday, December 4, 2003 9:27 PM CST

Today is day 4 of chemo. It is going ok. Sean is feeling some of the side effects of the chemo, but we try and keep on top of it. We hate giving him all these drugs though. Tomorrow os his last day od chemo for 2 weeks, then he will start it all over again. He is getting blood and platelets on Saturday am, so hopefully that will help him feel better. He is also going to childrens hosp, tomorrow to do some xmas shopping. Make a Wish sponsors a time for Sean to go shopping for his family. He is looking forward to that. We have all our decorations up, it will be a simple christmas, which is as it should be. This has forced us to get out of the fast lane of hectic shopping and concentrate on what is really important. We are thankful for our family, and we will remember the birth of our Lord and Savior. And celebrate his birthday. And of course Kelsey's birthday as well. She turns 15 on December 23rd. I am taking her to a concert on Saturday with a friend. We are going to the Hillary Duff, and Jessica Simpson concert. Some of you ay know who they are. It should be fun, and good to get out of the house, and enjoy Kelsey's birthday. Last year I missed her celebration, since Sean got his initial diagnosis on December 10th. So we are doing it again this year. Only Dave will be home with Sean and I will go out with the girls. We also have an appointment with another Doctor who does holistic medicine next week. Since Sean's Onc. Dr's don't have much to go on, we are looking at other options. We hate all the drugs in Sean' body too, so we hope and pray there will be some hope in this area. So pray for this plese!There are certain circumstances that brought us to this Doctor.So we hope and pray there are some answers for pain relief and healing of his body. We will let you know how it goes. Bye for now. We love you Laura

Wednesday, December 3, 2003 3:44 PM CST

Hello, Well today is day 3 of the neverending chemo. There is no stopping point with this chemo. He can be on it as long as he wants. We are hopeful that the chemo will shrink the tumor to reduce the pain. That way he will be able to get out more. We went shopping yesterday, he wanted to go get the pirates of the carribean dvd. It was so good in theatres he had to have it. I know it is good for him to get out of the house, so we try and find things to do to do that. Except go to the hospital. It is great doing chemo and blood here at home rather that spending the day at the hospital. He is still eating but feeling a bit nauseaus. We are hoping it wont be too severe. We are still checking on other options. Sean does not qualify for any studies right now, because he is not self sustaining. His blood counts have to be up and stay up without help. We are planning on giving Sean some of his stem cells back too, I don't know when. But this should help his body maintain blood counts then maybe he will be elligible for a study. We are trying to research many options and see if there are any firm possibilites. There are many things out there to cure Cancer but every cancer is different so what will work for one will not work for the other. I have an example of one. A husband and wife had the same brain cancer,the same treatment, the husband died within a few months, and the wife is still alive. So it all comes down to, when God is ready to take us home. We continue to pray for Sean to be healed though. He is still strong, and for the most part has good days. Thank you again for all your prayers, and support we love you. The Flanagans

Sunday, November 30, 2003 7:56 PM CST

Sean starts his new chemo tomorrow. We are anxious for this since we are hopeful that the pain will subside. Tomorrow they will do everything at the clinic. It will take 4-5 hours for the chemo to go in, so it will be an all day affair. Sean had lots of his friends come to visit today. It was good to see them. Some are going back to school, so they stopped by. It was a busy day, but it was good for him to see how many people care for him. So please keep writing or calling, and visiting Sean. It keeps his spirits up. Right now he has a couple friends with him watching a movie. The Italian Job, one of his favorites. It is good for them to just hang out and sit with him. We hope and pray the chemo will shrink the tumor, and will be able to reduce the pain meds, so he can be a bit more mobile. We are hoping to reschedule his make a wish to January. And also Sean has always wanted to go back up to Great Falls Montana, where he was born, so we are going to try and get an RV so we can take a road trip up, and he can rest and be comfortable on the way up.We will try and put that together for maybe May sometime. We will see how things play out. Will write again tomorrow and let you know how his first chemo treatment goes. Again thank you for all your prayers and support! We love you all and appreciate all you have done. Love The Flanagans

Saturday, November 29, 2003 9:26 PM CST

Hello everyone. Well we have had our fill of turkey already. So we ate chinese tonight. Sean is still in a lot of pain. We had to up his basel rate on his pain pump. His leg hurts all the time. We can feel the hard tumor in his leg, and it is visible to see as well. This awful Cancer is fast growing for sure. Sean starts his new Chemo on Monday. It is called Topotecan,Cytoxin. His Doctor has had good results from it. Although it is just to slow the Cancer to prolong his life. Hopefully it will shrink the tumor so the pain won't be as bad. Sean is still not giving up, and is going to fight this all the way, but also mentally preparing for the worst. He is very strong. And we all have our good days and bad. But we try and have more good days.It is very heartbreaking to look too far into the future, but we know that if God wants to cure Sean, He will. We pray everyday for a miracle. Because at this point NO Doctor could take credit for him being cured. They have done all they can to try and cure him. So it would only be God to give credit to. So we just take the days one at a time. And if He takes Sean, we just pray for strength to get through, and know we will see Sean again. We would just miss him terribly! But again, we are praying for a miracle. I have seen miracles done, and I pray for one for Sean. He is so special, and we love him so much. It breaks our heart to see him in such pain. Thank you for all the prayers, we need them very much right now, , to keep us strong, and help Sean through this. We did have a good Thanksgiving, and we are so thankful to all of you! Love in Christ The Flanagans

Tuesday, November 25, 2003 3:12 PM CST

Well today we got the news that the mass in his leg is Cancer. We are going home today. Sean will be on IV pain meds to keep control of the pain. His leg hurts to move it. The Doctors say, the cancer has gone all the way to the end of the stump. And to do surgery at this point would do no good, only weaken Sean and make hime more uncomfortable for these days ahead.I don't know why God has chosen this path for Sean, I only know we still have to trust in Him, and get us through this as a fmily. As a parent it is heartbreaking. We still trust God will get us thorugh. It will be very difficult!Being told your son has only maybe 1 year at the most to live is heartwrenching. We are all still very sad, and many tears shed. But Sean still tries to cheer us up, and make us laugh. We are going to try and move his make-a-wish trip up. We weere going to Hawaii in March for his 19th birhtday, but we thought it best to move it up. We are going to try and do things that Sean wants to do, and try and enjoy our time. I know Sean is not giving up, but it is so hard to have faith that God will heal him from this. I know he can, I just don't believe he will. We still pray for a big miracle that God will heal his body.Because He is the almighty healer and can do anything even if the Doctors say his time is limited.Please pray for our family, and pray that we will be strong for Sean, and his body will be strong and fight this awful disease. We need all the prayers right now, so please continue to pray and will let you know how things are. Dave updated the site this morning and so to get the whole story go to past journal entries. Thank you and God Bless.

Tuesday, November 25, 2003 9:08 AM CST

Sean finally had his chest tube out last night at about midnight. Hopefully we can go home today and enjoy thanksgiving at home. The doctors came in yesterday at 3 pm and gave Sean and family the findings of his biopsy. It is Ewing sarcoma in his lungs and they have a strong suspicion that it has returned to his right leg. A MRI is scheduled for 9am today to verify the suspicion. With that said, the doctors have given Sean 2 months to 1 year to live. Two months without any treatment and up to 1 year with chemo treatment. Sean has picked the chemo treatment saying, “I am not giving up. This will not beat me.” We are still out looking for any other treatments that might kill this thing and the doctors are still working feverishly to find something, but at this point it is what it is. For Sean to be able to be in any “study” type treatments he has got to be able to maintain his blood counts on his own and at this time he cannot. If that changes he may be able to receive some sort of new treatment that may or may not cure him. The doctors did say that “based on the way that Sean has responded to all the treatment that they have given him, he if anyone will surprise us all and pull through.” Sean has never had the “normal” reaction to any of the treatment. Sean has said that if this is the path that God has planned for him then he will have to take it. After we were given the news and everyone had a good cry, Sean wanted to take a nap. As he was falling off to sleep he asked us all for a favor, he wanted to see all smiling faces when he woke up. I think that we did our best. PRAYERS AND GOD BLESS!!!

Monday, November 24, 2003 1:27 PM CST

Sean is doing well. His biopsy was accomplished with a scope so his healing is going quickly. The masses in his lungs are cancer, not fungus. We are all waiting to meet with the doctors so that they can give Sean his options on how to treat this reoccurrence. Hopefully we can be home for Thanksgiving and then start treatment, if that is what Sean wants of course. So that everyone knows, Sean is doing ok with all of this. He has told us that he wants to keep fighting. I am so proud of him. His strength is so great that he has left over for us to hang onto. Thank you Sean. That’s it for now. Will update when Sean has made a decision on what he is going to do. Please keep Praying, and God bless you all.

Friday, November 21, 2003 3:01 PM CST

Sean is back in the hospital. A fever of 104.7 is what put him there. His leg is swollen and hot to the touch so the Doc’s think that an infection may have settled in his leg where the tumor used to be. So a recap, an infection in his port, type A Flu, and an infection in his leg. All things considered Sean is feeling pretty good. At least he isn’t complaining. He is a little worried about the lung and bone marrow biopsy scheduled for tomorrow at 8am, more about the results rather than the procedures. We will let everyone know of the results when we get them. Patty had her surgery and they took the tumor out and put chemo disks in. She is doing better than expected and this is good. Please continue to pray for Sean and Patty. On a happier note, Sean has been quite busy when he has been feeling well. As you can see in the photo section he has gotten into his new kayak and paddled a little. He tried to do an Eskimo role once and almost made it. He did this without any support for his right leg, I think that once we get the padding and support figured out for his stump he will have no problems. Also as you can see from the photos, Sean got to meet Warren Miller, this was very exciting for Sean. Sean was very impressed with Mr. Miller’s kindness and compassion. He is a reel down to earth guy. Thank you to Brad from our whole family for this once in a life time experience. Got to go now, love and God bless. PLEASE KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING!!!!!!!!!! (sorry for the quallity of the photos, not sure what happened)

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 9:45 AM CST

Well yesterday Sean went through his cat scans and bone scan. The bone scan came up clear, but the cat scan shows something in his lungs. The Doctors see a mass. They don't know what it is, but they suspect it is still cancer. BOOO..But it also might be an infection or something like that. They are planning on doing a biobsy hopefully Saturday. We will let you know if this is correct. We are so bummed out. This was very upsetting, but I guess there are no gurantees in life and cancer treatment. PLEASE pray that it is just an infection! We will find out more information today from the Dr's, and let you know what is next. Sean is doing ok. It was very upsetting to him too, but what can you do. You have to keep going. Also my cousin, Patty, her surgery got postponed to today at 10:00am. So please continue to pray for her and her family. They need it too! Well, Kelsey and I are headed to the hospital, Dave is already there. So will let you know when there is more news. Thank you again for all your prayers. We love you . Laura

Monday, November 17, 2003 12:17 AM CST

We all had a great time Friday night! We went to Warren Millers new premier movie at the Paramount. It is called Journey. If some of you don't know who Warren Miller is, he has been filming skiing since the early 50's. He has traveled all over the world filming extreme skiiers. He is 79 years old this year and still skiis around 100 days per year. Our friend Brad Ludden was in the film too. He did ski a bit, and of course Kayaked in Morocco. It was a lot of fun.We got to meet Mr. Miller and take a picture with him. Well it's official. Sean has the flu. I spent the day at the hospital with him yesterday. He had a high temperature early Sunday am. so of course we had to go to the hospital yesterday. He has the type A flu that everyone around here has right now. He is on antibiotics, and flu meds to get rid of it fast. Dave is at the clinic with him today. He was suppose to get his Broviac out today, but since he was sick, they cancelled it. Also they called this morning and said one of his lines was positive for bugs. So they will give him antibiotics for that too. So I'm sure it will be a long day at the hospital.I am going to the Dr. today too, I am still struggling with the sinus congestion too, so hopefully they can fix me up. We just need a storm to come through to kill all the bugs floating around. The flu is at epidemic levels right now. At least half of Kelsey's school is out sick right now. It has been too warm this time of year.It is snowing in the mountains, but it is suppose to be in the 40'-50's again. So it needs to get cold! I am asking for prayers for my cousin, Patty. She is the one with the brain tumor. She is going in for surgery today at 3:00pm. She has developed paralysis on her left side, and becoming more disoriented. Please pray for her and my family, that the surgery will go well. They are also going to place small wafers of Chemo in her brain to work on the tumor. They won't be able to remove the tumor, because of the size. This has been very hard on her immediate family, so pray for strength, and to know God is there with them. Thank you. We will keep you updated on her health as well. Thank you for your support. We love you and talk to you soon! Love Laura

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 9:49 PM CST

Hello everyone. Well Sean is doing about the same as far as the cold. His body has aches and pains, but the nausea is finally subsiding. So hopefully within the next few days, he will be feeling better.The chest x-ray yesterday revealed a bit of fluid in the lung, so is Doctor put him on antibiotics. With the Radiation done to the lungs, his Doctors are being very cautious, so they always want to check things out. Which we are glad as well. His broviac removal is 8:30am on Monday. I know he will be glad to get it out. And his Bone Scan, and Cat scan's are on Tuesday. So we will let you know the results as soon as we get them. So this week is going to be for relaxing. No more appointments. Just hanging around and sleeping. It will help him to sleep as much as he can too, so he can recover from this cold, and start feeling more "Normal" whatever that is. He probably doesn't remember what normal feels like. But that is the goal. Still hasn't been wearing his leg much, but hopefully too when he starts feeling better, he will have more energy to work with it. Well that is all for now, I hope all of you are doing well, and keep the sick bugs at bay! Take care and talk to you soon!

Sunday, November 9, 2003 2:59 PM CST

Hello everyone! Well it is finally over Sean if finished!!! Yeah! As of Thursday, Sean is finally through with treatment! He is still dealing with nausea quite a bit though. We are hoping it will go away pretty soon.We don't know if it is because of his ulcer, or from residual chemo and radiation. So time will tell. Sean is scheduled a week from this monday to get his broviac I.V. out. He is excited about that. So he will only have his mediport in. It is nice because it is under the skin, and doesn't get in the way like the broviac. So his activity won't be hindered. Tomorrow we go to the clinic and also do a pulmonary function test. And we don't have dates yet for his other scans and tests. but will keep you posted. We will be praying that all the tests come back clear. Right now I am fighting a cold, and I am afraid I gave it to Sean. His throat hurts this morning. I pray it won't be too bad, and go away quickly.Please pray he will heal fast. We have plans to go see the new Warren Miller premier Friday night, at the paramount. Our Friend Brad Ludden is in the new film. He will be paddling in the movie, not skiing.We all were raised on Warren Miller films, and Love them! It should be great!What a job to film and ski for a living! Or for that matter paddle rivers like Brad. We are hoping to get Sean up this ski season, and maybe try a monoski. It is a sit in ski, sort of like a kayak, so it will be right up Sean's alley.We will have to see how the Doctors feel about him going up to alltitude first. Sean is strong, so hopefully he will bounce back pretty quick. Will give you another update soon, and let you know when his test will be, and what the results are. Take care and God Bless you all. Love Laura

Wednesday, November 5, 2003 8:17 PM CST

Hello everyone! Well this is an exciting week. Tomorrow is Sean's LAST Radiation treatment! We are all very excited! It has been a long road, but Sean made it, and we hope and pray this is the last of it!We went up to Vail for a bit of R&R over the weekend. Just to hang out with Brad and get away from town. It was great. We took all of Sean's oxygen stuff just in case, but he didn't need it.Which we were glad. Sean also had a big night yesterday. We went to the Richie Center at Denver University. We went Kayaking in the pool. Confluence Kayaks of Denver has kayaking at the pool every Tuesday. They are great people, and thanks to Don who took so much time to help Sean with the padding in his boat, where his amputated leg will be. Sean did great! He was a bit scared in the beginning, one, it is a new boat, and 2 not sure how it will feel with only one leg. But after a few minutes of uneasiness, he was paddling around like a pro. It was great to see!!We still have a few modifications we have to do to the inside of his boat to make it more comfortable for his stump, but this is a start! Brad said he will also help Sean. Since he is familiar with this, he will have some good ideas for Sean. Kelsey and I also got in to paddle. We brought my boat, and paddled around. It felt good to be back in a boat. It has been 2 years since we all have been on the water. So hopefully this next Summer, we will be doing a bit more. Things are winding down. We are planning on scheduling Sean to remove his Broviac I.V. line next week. He wants it out. It gets in the way, and since he also has a double mediport in the other side, he wants this one gone. The mediport is under the skin, so when they need to get an I.V. going they just poke through the skin. The broviac has lines outside his body so all we have to do is hook I.V's to it. But we are going to Glenwood Srings for Thanksgiving, and the Hot Springs pool is not chlorinated. The doctor's don't want him to get in with the Broviac, so Sean says it goes before we go. So we will try and schedule it's removal next week. It will be just a day surgery. Sean is still having nausea problems, but we are hoping after tomorrow, the symptoms will die down a bit, and be more under control. We are also weaning him off his pain meds too! It is taking time, but he will eventually be off of those too! He has been on them since December. He is making progress. It feels a bit weird to know his treatment is almost finished! I think we will feel sort of lost. Not having some kind of appointment everyday. But we are certainly NOT complaining! Next week he will be doing all of his baseline tests. A new MRI, CT scan, Bone Scan, and x-rays, Pulmonary function test. And hopefully that will be it. At that point if all the tests are clear, Sean will be CANCER FREE!!!!So pray that all of his test are clear, and he NEVER has to do this again! We will keep you posted! Thank you again for all your prayers and support! We love you all. Laura

Monday, October 27, 2003 8:58 PM CST

Hello everyone. Well Sean is almost finished with treatment! He has 5 more Radiation treatments left and hopefully that will be that. He will still have regular visits, and need to do another MRI, and CT scan soon for a baseline. So we hope and pray those will be clear, and the Cancer will be gone! Sean is doing ok, still weaning him off the narcotics. That is a slow process, but he is making progress. He is still on the steroids, and still eating and gaining weight. He is about 135 pounds now! Which compared to 113 pounds he was several months back. He is looking healthier and getting energy too. He has started his physical therapy too, which is helping him stretch and biuld muscle back in his amputated leg. There is some muscle there , and the Doctor is very excited how much strength he has in his leg. He feel Sean should be able to walk fairly normal with his prothesis. Sean is a miracle walking. He has been through so much! We feel so blessed he has come so far, and he is so strong. We know his strenth comes from above. And we are truly thankful! Thank you all again for your prayers. God Bless.. The Flanagans

Monday, October 20, 2003 8:29 PM CDT

Hello everyone. Everyone is doing ok. The Fall weather has been beautiful! It is nice to have a full Season for once instead of Summer to Winter in 2 weeks. Sean is doing better. They gave him a week off of Radiation due to his skin in the tumor site breaking down so much, and it causing a lot of pain. We went in today and they did one treatment, but they did what they call "Boosters".They usually do these at the end of treatment. There are 3 of these, and they just make the field smaller, and put the Radiation in the area where they didn't get a good clean margin when they took the original tumor out. So they will do 2 more of these, and then go back to the normal Radiation. Which we are glad, there will only be 8 of those! So things are winding down, and we are getting very excited that Sean's treatment is almost over! We cannot believe it! It has been a long year. But we are so thankful we got through it together. And we will continue to count our blessings. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we will be doing a lot of Thanking this year. We have many to thank for the continued prayers and support that we have gotten from people all over the world. You are all very special, and I know God has stored gifts in heaven for each one of you. He sees all, and never forgets what a friend does for another. "Love one another" is the greatest Commandment. So Thank you all, and God Bless you!!! Love the Flanagan's

Tuesday, October 14, 2003 6:00 PM CDT

Hello. Well today is Tuesday. Sean has 11 more treatments to go and then he is done! He saw one of the Radiation Doc's last Friday, because his skin is getting so burned in the tumor site, that they gave him 2 days off this week. So no Radiation yesterday, or today. He went to the clinic yesterday, and everything was ok. No transfusions or blood products needed. Yeah!! His nausea is better still thanks to the steroids. They will wean him off of those slowly, so he can continue with the energy, and eating good. It is just his skin that is very painful right now. And such a sensitive area anyways. Sean hates Radiation, but at least he is inching toward the end! It has been a hard year, and hopefully by the holidays, we will be able to relax, and enjoy doing nothing! Just enjoying our family and friends. That is what it is all about anyway. I know people get rapped up in all the gifts, and shopping, and stress about what to buy, and enough money, but Cancer changes how you think. And it is all about people and relationships. So this year we are definetely thinking different. No stress with buying gifts we can't afford. It is all about people, and enjoying each other. And strengthening those relationships, because as I and many others have said, life is too short to worry about things. God placed us here on this earth to build a relationship with Him and others.We are called to tell everyone about Him, so they can spend eternity with Him as well. There is a Bible verse that says," I am the way,the truth, and the life,no one comes to the Father except through Me". John 14:6 So nothing you can do on this earth can get you into heaven. It is just the free gift Jesus offers to you, all you have to do is accept it. I encourage all out there who don't know Him to find someone who does know, and ask them to tell you. And how to recieve that gift of salvation. If anyone who reads this would like to e-mail me and call me I will put my e-mail address so you can contact me. I want everyone to be sure, if you die today, do you know where you will go? If you are not sure e-mail me! And I will call you... I will not apologize for saying this, The Holy Spirit led me to do this. Hope to hear from you. Love In Christ Laura Here is my e-mail address: ljflangirl@comcast.net

Thursday, October 9, 2003 8:28 PM CDT

Hi sorry it has been so long since the last update. We have been very busy with Radiation and clinic visits. Also Laura quit her job. You would think there would be a lot of time, but she has been searching the want adds, and
making calls in her spare time,and working on her resume.
Sean has been doing ok. Last week we went to Radiation and they took his vital's and his oxygen level in his blood was 84, normal is in the high 90". So the Radiation Doctor was very concerned, and sent us down to Childrens. They then proceeded to do a chest x-ray, ekg, and a echo. They were concered that he was getting fluid around his heart and lungs again. All the results were negative. They felt it was residual radiation from the lungs that caused it. So they put him on steroids again, and sent him home with oxygen. That made him feel much better, and only needed the oxygen for a couple of days. The steroids are very helpful because they give him energy and increase his appetite. So those are good side effects. The radiation is going ok, he has had 16 treatments.There will be a total of 28. It does make him real tired.We found out the other day there will be 28 treatments instead of the 25 we thought. The last 3 will be very concentrated , and the field will be smaller,to zoom in on exactly where the tumor was. Tonight he was having indegestion.And had pain in his chest. Which scares him because he feels it will be something that he will have to go to the hospital for. Which I don't blame him. We do get a bit excited when he doesn't feel quite right. But it does come with the territory. Sean will also be starting physical therapy next week, which will be very good. He hasn't been wearing his leg much. It has been getting heavy and it is easier for him to get around while the radiation is taking place.He did wear it alot more before radiation. His leg was stronger, but Sean has lost his energy to use the muscles. Sean's hair is slowly coming back, and his facial hair looks good.(as you can see on his front page) His little goatee is growing nicely. He is looking better. We will just be glad when this is all over. Then we can hopefully enjoy the slower pace again and relax. Thank you again for all your imputs and prayers. They are still very much needed. We will continue to pray for all of you out there too. Pray that Sean' treatment will go by fast, and no hospital stays, also please pray for Laura to find what God wants for her. Thank you all We love you

Sunday, September 28, 2003 8:08 PM CDT

Hello. It is Sunday. Sean is doing ok. He is just tired, and a bit nasueated from the Radiation. Only 17 more treatments. Yesterday was a busy day. Sean was able to meet his Yaps Pen Pal. We went to the Pinery Equestrian Center for a reunion. It was great to see all the other dogs there. Sean's pal is a yellow lab,Boone with a front leg amputation. We will get some pictures in soon! He is very sweet. So we spent the day with him and his Mom, Connie. A very special family, who we love already!We look forward in spending time with them hopefully in the snow too, as Boone loves the snow.We also took our Miniature Schnauzer, Maggie. She was very excited to see so many dogs. She ran all over the place just trying to see what everything was about, and the other dogs are use to being together, so they looked at maggie like what is all the fuss. She finally settled down, and enjoyed the company and the day. We also went to Sean's aunt and uncle's for dinner. It was good to see them, as it has been awhile. But afterward Sean was very tired. As this is the most activity he has had in several months. It was good to get out though. And yesterday was a beautiful fall day. The sun was out and all the trees are turning colors.We love this time of year. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts. Love ya Talk to you soon!

Monday, September 22, 2003 10:28 PM CDT

Hi. Well we had a long week. Sean was in the clinic 3 times last week. He just wasn't feeling well, and weren't sure why. He was nauseated all week and just feeling tired. We were trying to wean him off the narcotics, also started Radiation on Monday, and his sister Kelsey had the flu last Wednesday, so alot of factors involved, and trying to decide which one was making Sean feel bad. We feel it was a bug. He started feeling icky before Radiation, but I'm sure it didn't help the situation. So then Friday he ended up with a fever of 102.7 So of course back to the hospital we go. Spent the whole weekend there. They did blood cultures, and everything was negative, so who knows.They gave him 2 units of blood, some antibiotics, and discharged him today, and on the way home, Sean went for his Radiation treatment. Bummer!!! But at least we are wittling them down. He has to have a total of 25 treatments. He has had 4 so far. I gave him 2 marinol when we got home for the nausea, and right now, he is down watching the Bronco game eating snacks. He has the munchies. which is a good sign, and he is not nauseated. So that is great! And the Broncos are winning against the Raiders Yeah!!! So it is a good night. We hope we can keep the side effects at bay from the Radiation. That would make this go alot better. This coming Saturday is also day 100 from BMT! So that is a mile stone to come to, and he can take the mask off to go out. Although, I'm sure we will keep one around for compromising places. Especially when we know his blood counts will go down from the Radiation. I don't know if I told all of you too, Sean has a pen pal with the Yaps program with Childrens Hospital. They hook you up with an animal with similar circumstances. Sean has a pal named Boone. He is a yellow Lab with an amputated front leg. He got hit by a car, and lost the leg. Sean has been writing him and his family, and we hope to see them this Saturday. The Yaps program is having a get together to meet. So we are looking forward to it. Talk to you soon! Love the Flanagan's

Friday, September 12, 2003 7:12 PM CDT

Hello, and G'Day to our Aussie friends too!
Sean is doing good! Although he had an appointment today for pre-radiation testing. He will start Radiation next Tuesday. He has a Clinic appointment, EKG, Echocardiogram, chest x-ray, IV antibiotics, and a visit with his BMT doctor, and BMT Doctors on Monday, so we said you are starting on Tuesday. He will have 5 weeks of Radiation, and yes we are still praying for smooth sailing. But we will once again take it 1 day at a time. For all of you that live in the Denver area, we got the new dates back, that Sean and his friend Brad will be on Channel 7 news. The first one will be tonight at 10:00pm Channel 7, the other dates they will air it is: 9/14 at 7am and 5pm, and 9/17 at 11am. For some of you that don't know, We nominated Sean's Pro-Kayaker friend Brad Ludden, for the Everyday Hero award. And he came to the Hospital the day Sean had his last surgery, and recieved the award. A suprise to him! It was very exciting! Brad has a Cancer camp in Vail. He is a very special guy in our lives! Next year hopefully, Sean will be going to the camp, and we as a family want to go help where we can. Our house is busy right now, but a good busy, Kelsey is going to Homecoming next week, so we are trying to prepare for that! The dress, the hair,etc.. Sean never had interest in these things when he was in High School, so this is good. For those of you not living in the Denver area, it is suppose to SNOW tonight! Yeah!! We love the snow,It has already snowed several inches in the mountains, and Vail Pass, so I expect an early Ski season, we are hoping and praying that Sean will be up for going up this Season, maybe even trying to snowboard a bit. We have several friends who teach up at Winter Park. Even if we just go up and "hang out" would be great. We are planning on going up to the Mountains for Thanksgiving to just relax. After all this treatment, it is very good to go up. We love the mountains, they are therapy for all of us. Thank you all who sign the guest book, It is great hearing from you, and learning that there are so many others battling the same or similar diseases. These human bodies of ours, are flawed, but I know our heavenly bodies will be perfect! I look forward to that for all of us! God Bless Love the Flanagan's

Wednesday, September 11, 2003 NEW PICS

Hello, Well it's another day. Sean is doing OK for now, his appetitie has decreased now that the steroids are finished. They sure made him eat. But he did gain some weight during that time. He is still tired, but the Doctors say that is normal for coming off the steroids too. All of these drugs! We are trying to wean him off the narcotics he has been on since December. He is in NO pain now, so the less drugs the better. We heard yesterday that Sean should be starting Radiation on Monday. Please pray that he will go through this smoothly and no side effects! Dave and I are really anxious about it. Please pray for our family to remain strong during this time, and focus our eyes upward to Christ. Through all of Sean's Treatment , he has been the one getting the negative side effects of Treatment. He only had 8 out of 10 days of Radiation to his lungs, and ends up in the hospital for 1 week with complications. And this Radiation is suppose to be 5-6 weeks on the tumor site. So you can understand our anxious hearts. On a lighter note, Sean is doing better with his prosthesis. He is trying to put more weight on it and trying to build his muscles back. His muscles in his thigh are almost non existent, so he has work to do. We are also trying to get physical therapy in place, just trying to deal with coverage with our Insurance Co, on that one. You know the hoops you have to jump through on that one! Sean is getting stronger though. It showed this passed week, when both Dave and Kelsey ended up with Bronchitis, and Sean didn't get it! Sean is anxious to be able to take off the mask that he has to wear in crowded areas. He is on day 83 today, and the magic number is 100, so he is almost there!We will be glad when we can open the windows again, the air is becoming cool, and Fall is just around the corner. I look at Sean and am still amazed the journey that we have been on this past year. What a shift in the road. We are doing a Bible study in Church right now, with a book called, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. I highly recommend it. The basic question is, why are we here? It is helping us see what our purposes are while we are on earth, and prepare us for eternity. Coming face to face with these kinds of challenges in life make you look at your life a little deeper.It made me realize how short our lives here on earth are, but eternity is forever! We ALL live forever, we just have to decide were we will be. This study is here at just the right time. As always, Gods timing is always perfect. Thank you all for your continued prayers. We apprectiate all of you who have been there, with words of encouragement, and prayer. We love you all.

Thursday, September 4, 2003 11:55 PM CDT

Hello everyone, I will make this quick as it is getting late. Sean did well at his CT scan today, they are just getting ready for Radiation. So he will have another appt. next week to do another check for the exact position of Radiation and hopefully talk to the Dr. and see how many treatments she will want. Also and update on the channel 7 news. feature. They called and they don't have all the video footage complete yet. Evidentally they want more video on Brad and friends kayaking, so they will call us next week to let us know the dates it will be on TV, Will let you know when we find out. Sean is doing good with his new leg, he is getting along very well. He will need to do a ot of physical therapy, but that will come. Kelsey is sick. She started school last Monday, and she has already been out of school for 3 days. Took her to the Dr. today, She already went last week, but she was not better, so they took a chest x-ray today, and find out tomorrow if there is anything there. She is coughing and wheezing. I'm sure with all the kids at school, sharing bugs and getting use to everyones bugs. Alot of kids are sick, so far, Sean and I don't have it, We will be praying, especially he will stay healthy. If any of you are interested also, Sean is in this months Kayaker magazine. Brad wrote an article in the letters to the publisher and there is a picture of Sean with his new kayak when he first got it shortly after his amputation. We took some pictures today of him with his new leg, will try to get them on tomorrow so you can see him. Take care and talk to you soon! Love you all and God Bless!!!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2003 11:32 PM CDT

Hi all, Well Sean is still continuing to get better. He is eating like a horse, and gaining weight.Alot of his apetite is from the steroids they have him on for his lungs and heart. But what a great side effect! His hair is growing back. The hair on his head is coming in like peach fuzz. It is very soft. Sean gets bothered because we want to touch it and run our fingers through it. But that's ok he can be bothered. His facial hair is also coming in, he has had to shave his face several times. He is growing a soul patch on his chin,or a flavor savor( whatever you call a little patch of hair) it looks very cool!We attended a Banquet on 8/29 whom our friend Dave and his family put on each year. They have a golf tournament, and auction, that they sponsor each year, to benefit Childrens Hospital Cancer. There son also had Cancer. It was very nice, and was good to see Danielle's family there. Danielle was very active in fundraisers and always spoke at the tournament. It was good to see her family continuing her legacy.In all of the heartache and treatment of these illnesses, we have found the most caring and giving people in this world of Cancer. Sean goes tomorrow to the clinic. He sees his ONC. Doctor, and also his surgeon. Dr. Haire will remove the sutures in his leg. YES it has finally healed, and is closed!!!He has not had any drainage from it since the surgery, so we are very happy for that. We should also find out tomorrow when they want to start Radiation on the tumor site. It should be in another 2 weeks or so. Sean also has an appointment tomorrow with Chris, his prosthetist. He will go for another fitting for his leg. Sean has been working hard to straighten his leg to get ready for the prosthesis, so I hope soon he will get his leg. I know there will be a lot of Physical Therapy, but Sean is determined to get rid of the crutches soon! He is also anxious to get in his Kayak. Now that the sutures some out, maybe he can get in a pool. We want to set up some time to go to a pool, and let him paddle in his new boat, which hasn't seen water yet! So this is a small goal, but it is a start. Also for many of you have heard us talk about Brad Ludden. Well we nominated him for a Channel 7 everyday hero award. So the day of Sean's last surgery, Channel 7 came down to the hospital, and we suprised Brad. His manager arranged for Brad to come down to see Sean, and was presented with the award, as well as an interview with him and Sean. So if you live in the local area, and get Channel 7, watch on Friday Sept. 5th at 10pm. or Sunday Sept.7th at 7am or 5pm, or Wed. Sept.10 at 11am. They will be running it each of these times, so if you can watch one of these times, It should be neat. Well, will keep you posted on what happens tomorrow, and pray for no complications with Radiation. Thank you again for all your prayers. They are what is getting us all through! Love and God Bless you all

Thursday, August 28, 2003 10:08 AM CDT

Hello all,
We are very sorry that it has taken so long to update. I guess that we just got rapped up with the fact that Sean is feeling so well that we didn’t take the time to get on the computer. Sean has been home since last Friday. It was fluid around the lungs and heart that was causing the problems with his breathing and it was caused from the radiation. So he received 8 out of 10 radiation therapy sessions on his lungs and he will not be getting anymore, on his lungs anyway. Sean is doing remarkably well, knock on wood. Sean received some good news on Monday. The Doctors say that he can go out to restaurants and take his mask off to eat, as long as the restaurant isn’t busy. This is sooo cool. Sean was very excited that he was able to go pick Kelsey up from her first day of High School. He was even more excited on Tuesday when he got to help her with her home work. Where was this excitement when he had home work????? At this point we are all waiting for Sean’s incision to heal and then he will be starting radiation on his pelvis region. Until then we are going to enjoy and rejoice the fact that he is feeling well. We ask that you say a prayer for the family of our friend Josh. Last Friday Josh went home from the hospital to be with our Heavenly Father. We love you Josh!
God bless you all and we will try update more often.

Monday, August 18, 2003 12:42 AM CDT

Hello everyone,
Sean came out of his latest surgery doing pretty good. The surgery was more extensive than his Surgeon had first thought it would be. Once the Surgeon started his process he found a big void in Sean’s leg that was hidden. The Doctor had to take muscle from Sean’s stomach and thigh to fill in the void spot that was left from the tumor. The Surgeon also took off a huge mole and manipulated Sean’s stump to try and break up the scar tissue allowing Sean to straighten his leg more. Sean was out of the hospital by Tuesday afternoon and made it to radiation on Wednesday. By Friday he was using his crutches to get around instead of his wheel chair. Saturday he made it upstairs to his own bed and had what seemed like to me a good nights sleep. By Sunday afternoon Sean was back in the hospital with chest pains and difficulty breathing. Chest x-ray, EKG, and echo have all showed nothing to be wrong. This is good because Sean said that the pain felt like his collapsed lung. Still today Sean is in pain with the breathing, but his anxiety is down and he is resting. The ONC Doc’s think that this is a side effect from the radiation. The radiation Doc’s say “on the norm” not this early in treatment. Haa! Since when has Sean reacted to any of his treatment “to the norm?” We will have to wait and see what all of the fine Doc’s come up with. Until then we sit in limbo as far as what is creating the pain.
We thank you all for your prayers and as soon as Sean gets back on his foot, he said he is eager to read and respond to your journal inputs.
With Love the Flanagan’s

Sunday, August 10, 2003 11:45 PM CDT

Hi just a note to tell you Sean is going in for surgery tomorrow am to close up his tumor site wound. The Doctors are concerned it is not healing fast enough so they can proceed with radiation. So the surgeon will go in tomorrow at 8:30 and re-close it. He has attempted to close it several times before, but now there is so much more healing on the wound that it Hopefully will stay closed. The wound is still open about 4 inches long. But compared to the original incision that was about 18 inches long this is much better. He will also put in some more antibiotic beads to prevent infection again, and clean things out. So hopefully it will be an easy procedure. Sean is going to stay over night for this. Last time we tried to hurry him out after surgery it didn't work, so we are just planning on him staying. This way, he can just relax for the night and leave Tuesday sometime. Sean has had 1 week of Radiation already to his lungs. He ony has 1 more week to his lungs, then wait a couple more weeks for Radiation to the tumor site. Hopefully it will be healed over by then. And then we hope and pray it doesn't reopen. He has been tired this week, and was sick 1 day. so not too bad. We are still giving him IV fluids every night, so I think it really helps. He has been eating pretty good too.It is getting late, and we have to be at the hospital at 7:00am so that means up at 5:00am Please pray for a smooth surgery, and quick recovery with no unexpected events. We appreciate all your prayers, We really do need them!! Thank you all again. We couldn't have gotten through all this without all your support.We Love You.A Bible verse keeps going through my head." Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, and in all things acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path". I know He is in control!! I just have to keep reminding myself that...

Thursday, July 31, 2003 11:23 PM CDT

Hello again, Well, we have good news and bad news. The good news, Sean is doing very well. His appetite is back, and he is eating more normal food, and the nausea is gone! He is gaining weight. The bad news is, Sean's friend Danielle, passed away on 7/30. She was a very special person, and a Godsend for Sean. She helped him get through all the tough times during Chemo. She was 18 also. She was always positive and was always concerned about others.She has a special place in our heart, and we will miss her, but we know she is in heaven, and has a whole body again!We know we will see her again. Please pray for her family for comfort....... We went in last week for a consult with the Radiation Dr. and we have another appt tomorrow with them to get Sean ready for Radiation. He will start that on Monday, on his lungs. He will have 2 weeks of radiation on his lungs, and we will still wait another 4 to 5 weeks until radiation will be done on his tumor site. It is still trying to close and if the radiation is started too soon, it will stay open, although the radiation might just reopen it anyway, but the Doc wants to wait and give it more time to heal. He is hoping to get Sean off the wound vac next week, since the wound is healing , and then take him to the operating room, and close the wound up again. So we will see when we go in on Monday. He sees the surgeon every Monday. Sean is hoping to be done with the wound vac! It is a hassle to carry everywhere you go. It goes in a back pack on Sean's back, and then there is a tube coming out of it to attach to his wound. So it will be better if he doesn't have to carry it around. And also that means he would be getting better too!! He has been dealing with this open wound since March, so it is time to be done with it.Sean went up to Vail this morning to visit the First Descents Cancer Camp. The Doctors gave Sean permission to go up for the day. The Camp was last week and this week. So it was good for Sean to get out of town, and see some new scenery for a day. Dave drove hime up there, and saw Brad, and got to participate in some activities while there. I hope he had a good time, they are still on the road headed home, so they won't be home until late. Kelsey is in Mexico on a mission trip with Church. They are down building a house for a family. She will be home Saturday evening. It seems a lot has happened this week. I also have a cousin who got a Cancer diagnosis today, please pray for her and her family. We just have to keep up our faith, and trust in God that he will get us through. My favorite Bible verse is: Romans 8:28 "God causes ALL things to work for good, for those who Love God, and are called according to His purpose". So we HAVE to trust in Him that He is in control, and He will get us through these trying times. And like a song I hear on the radio, this earth is not our home, we are just visiting, our true home is in heaven with Jesus. See you soon Danielle! We love you!!

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 11:53 PM CDT

Hello everyone. Sorry it has been a while since my last entry. We have been enjoying our time together and not taking the time to be up on the computer. Sean is doing very well. His Tumor site wound is finally starting to close up! He still has the portable wound vaccum on it so that is helping it close up. The surgeon sees him every Monday. He is pleased with how things are going. He is also getting ready for a prosthesis.And also we are going tomorrow for a consult with the Radiation Doc. We are estimating Radiation to be in about 4 weeks, but we will know more tomorrow. We go to the Prosthetist on Friday to take impressions for a temporary leg! Yeah!! So at least that process is finally beginning. Sean has driven short distances a few times in his car. That does a lot of good mentally for him, getting back his independance a bit. So things are coming along. His apetite is also coming back, the nausea is almost gone, and he is eating better and more normal food! He is gaining weight, he is about 128 pounds now. He stopped the TPN (Total Periperial Nutrition) last week, they have him just on fluids at home, and I know that will only be a short time too, as long as he drinks enough they will take him off that too! So we are making progress! Sean is doing so much better! Just a note as well, Sean's friend who has Osteo Sarcoma is back in ICU, and is not doing well, please pray for strength and healing for her. Thank you, God bless you all and thank you for the continued prayers for healing. They are working!! Love you all and talk to you again soon! Love the Flanagan's

Saturday, July 12, 2003 10:03 PM CDT

Hello everyone. We are still home. Sean has been doing ok. Still dealing with the nausea, but his Doctor said this is only day 21, and most kids are still in the hosital at this point. So I think Sean and us, need to be patient, and know it will go away soon! He is still sleeping a lot which is expected, one trying to recover, and 2 being a teenager. We know each day he will get stronger. We went to the prosthetist on Thursday, and he placed a stump shrinker on Sean's stump. He said in about 2 weeks, he will be ready for a temprorary prosthesis. He still has sutures from the original surgery in March, so those need to come out, and there is also a part on the stump that is not healed so it has to be dry before he can fit him with one. It still has a scab on the end, so hopefully it will heal now that Chemo is finished and he is slowly getting his appetite back. We have watched a bunch of movies, since it is difficult for Sean to go anywhere. He has to wear the mask anytime he leaves the house, which is a pain. And he can't go anywhere and eat so we just stay home. At least it is cool here too! The weather outside has been plenty hot! It has been in the 90's for about 2 weeks now. So we are glad to be inside, although, we do miss the fresh air. But this is just temporary, so we will manage.Sean is still thinking of his Kayak, and Snowboarding. We watched a Warren Miller movie tonight, which gets us in the mood for SNOW! We just keep looking to the future,and know Sean and all of us will be out in the water, and on the slopes soon!Since we all love the outdoors, we look forward to the times we can get out and enjoy Gods beautiful countryside! We appreciate all of you out there who have hung in there with us. This is no short term illness, so it is nice to see and hear from people who are still praying for Sean and thinking of him! We will talk to you soon!

Tuesday, July 8, 2003 10:45 PM CDT

Hello everyone, Well we are still home. Sean went to the clinic yesterday, and everything looked good! He didn't need any blood Yeah! He is slowly coming around. His appetite is still slow, but he will get better. He gets cravings for food that doesn't agreee with his stomach, then pays for it the whole next day, so we are trying to keep the food bland and healthy. We go to the clinic again on Thursday, and also to the prosthetist to get fitted for a stump shrinker. He is getting ready for a temporary leg! The shrinker will shrink the stump to a good size then they will take an impression of his leg and fit him with a temp. one. His leg is not in the right position for a permanant one. And I don't know if everyone gets a temporary one first. Sean has to do some stretching exercises to straighten his leg, so he will be able to walk correctly. So now comes the physical therapy. It is exciting to be at this point to finally get a leg! I know Sean will be more independant too! He is a bit nervous, but I'm sure he will do fine. All the rest of us are doing well, Kelsey leaves in a couple weeks to do a Mission trip to Mexico with Church. She is going down with several families and they will be building a house for a family down there. I know it will be a life changing experience for her. To be so lucky to live in the USA and have all the technology and medical facilities here. As some of you know, she had Open Heart Surgery as a baby,also at Childrens Hospital in Denver. We almost lost her, but the Doc's at Childrens are the best!So we feel very fortunate to live so close to a great hospital! Thank you once again for all your prayers and support! We love you all...

Friday, July 4, 2003 11:48 PM CDT

Happy 4th everyone! Sean got out of the hospital on Wednesday the 2nd. It was great to get him home. His counts went way up, when we left his blood counts were 5000! So his grafting worked and his stem cells found their home in his bone marrow and started to reproduce. He is still fighting with some of the symptoms of nausea, and a bit of pain in his stump, but most everything else is gone. So he is home! His cells only took 13 days to infuse, so he did very well. He is still very weak, but getting better everyday. We give him 15 hours of lipids and TPN every night, which is about 2500 calories per day, plus all the vitamins he needs. His apetite is coming around very slowly, since he hasn't eaten anything in 3 weeks, his stomach will take awhile to get back to normal. We go to the hospital tomorrow, we have to go everyday or every other day, just to check his blood counts. If he needs blood products at all or any other things. He got platelets yesterday, so hopefully he will be ok tomorrow. He rests a lot, which is good. And since we have a constant temperature in the house it makes it easier. Thank you for all your prayers and support! Sean is healing and his body is doing what it's suppose to do, So we Thank you for the prayers! They are working! Continue praying his body will grow strong again, and pray,he is free from cancer! Thank you and we love you all very much! Happy Birthday to our Country and we hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday! Love to all. The Flanagans

Saturday, June 28, 2003 11:38 PM CDT

Hello friends, Dave is at the hospital tonight with Sean. Kelsey got home from camp on Sunday. Kelsey and I are home, trying to de-clutter the house. When Sean comes home we have to keep the house as clean as possible, so things we don't need either get thrown out or stored in the basement until he is healthier.We had to get air conditioning put in since we can't open the windows , due to airborne "things" outside. We also got the air ducts cleaned yesterday, and the carpets will be cleaned and the house cleaned next week. The hospital has a check list of things we have to do before he can come home. His body is showing signs of "grafting", which means his body is making new stem cells, and his blood counts are rising!! Yeah! We are trying not to get our hopes up too soon, because they can fluctuate each day, so we need to be patient. The chemo side effects are SLOWLY going away. His throat and stomache still hurt, and still has a bit of nausea and upset but he is better. Once again, it just takes time. Today is day 8. so 9 days ago was the infusion of his Stem Cells. But it is hard since he has been in the hospital since June 11th. He is getting tired, and wants to just come home. Thank you for your prayers and continued prayers. They are working! Pray for continued healing to his body, and no Cancer cells! In 6 weeks, Sean begins Radiation, but at least it will be Out Patient. That will be about 1 hour a day for another 6 weeks, and we just pray his body will keep healing from all this intrusion. Right now though, we will concentrate on healing from this , and getting him home. Take care all, and talk to you soon! Love and God Bless you!!

Friday, June 27, 2003 2:07 AM CDT

Hi Sorry it has been so long, as you can see the time, it is late, so I'll make this quick so I can get to bed. Sean did well in the first few days of treatment, the Chemo has a delay reaction so the side effects didn't kick in until last friday. He has been very sick. They have him on all kinds of medications for the side effects, but they don't get rid of them just make them less severe. So time goes on and we hope each day will be better. The Chemo strips the lining in your digestive tract, beginning in your mouth to your bottom. So everything is hurting. It hurts to swallow, and his intestines are always hurting with cramps, plus his ulcer is causing pain as well. They have been giving him his fat in a bag, and vitamins , which is good, because he hasn't eaten anything for about 1 week now. Today he seemed better, his throat still hurt but the side effects seemed a bit better, so we hope he will be in the recovery stage pretty soon, and the side effects should go away in the next week. His counts yesterday were 16, and they have to be over 1000 before he can leave the hospital so he has a ways to go.The Doctors and nurses are awesome though! They help us all through. There is great support at the hospital. Hopefully as soon as he starts feeling better he will be more active and can call people on the phone and do activities there. They have a family lounge that we can all go in and watch tv and eat. Sean is the only one who can eat in his room, to keep the bugs out. Kelsey has been at camp all week, she gets home tomorrow. It was a good week for her to be away. We have been at the hospital almost every waking hour. Please pray for healing of Sean's body, and ease the symptoms. He is getting very discouraged and very tired of "it" all, so Please lift him up in prayer!And sometimes it is very hard to pray, so please pray for us as a family that we will stay strong in our faith and as a family.Love and God Bless....

Wednesday, June 18, 2003 10:29 PM CDT

Hi everyone, sorry it has been a few days to write. Sean is doing OK in BMT. He is FINISHED with Chemo!!! YEAH! It started on Wednesday the 11th , a bit slow. His blood pressure went down to 73/20 during the first treatment, so they stopped it, and gave hime fluids, and then gave the Chemo over 6 hours rather than 2 hours. That went much better. He had 4 days of one Chemo and 2 days of another. But he is finished with that and today was his day of rest.Still fighting the nausea though. The Chemo days are not counted as days, they are negative days. So tomorrow is his infusion day! A big day! He gets his stem cells back!! Tomorrow is day Zero. So from tomorrow it will be about 4-6 weeks of recovery.They should give his cells back around 11:00 am, and should only take about 1 hour. Please pray that all goes well. It goes in just like getting a blood transfusion. The Doctors and nurses keep a closer eye on him during the Infusion. He rested a lot today, and ate a few things. They did start him on lipids and TPN 2 days ago, so even if he doesn't eat anything, he is getting enough calories and vitamins to sustain himself. But eating is definitely a bonus! We think back now, and are so glad we went to Vail for his last outing. It was good for all of us, and now we can look back on it and remember how much fun we had. It really helped that Sean had that extra week to get some strength and gain some weight. That has helped him get through this a bit better I feel. Sean has a friend that is in the Hospital too. Her name is Danielle, and she is very sick. She has Osteo Sarcoma, please pray for her too, she needs a lot of prayers to heal her body. Thanks to all of you , and I pray God will be with all of you and keep you and your families well. Love to all...

Tuesday, June 10, 2003 9:45 PM CDT

Hello everyone! Well things are going very well right now! We DID delay BMT until this week, and YES we were able to go up to Vail for the weekend! It was AWESOME! We left Thursday after work and came home Sunday afternoon. Sean did great! We all got to be treated like VIP's, during the Teva Mountain Games. They had Kayaking, Mountain biking, Rock climbing,Fly fishing, and a Dog competiton. But of course we were there for the KAYAKING! Brad Ludden whom of course is in the picture with Sean is sponsored by Dagger Boats,and Nike, took very good care of Sean, and all of us too!All the Product Sponsors were generous and truly nice people.We got to sit with all the Kayaker's and "hang out" with them, watching the events. We knew this is Brad's job to go all over the world and compete in these competition's, and always busy doing interviews or competing , but he always made sure Sean was taken care of! He is an amazing young man! We are proud to know him.Sean also had an interview with Fox Sports Network. They interviewed Brad first for the camp, and then interviewed Sean. It was very exciting! It is supposed to be aired on June 22 in the Denver area. The producer said he would get us a copy of the interview as well. Sean was so excited to see all of these famous Kayakers whom he sees in movies and in magazines. So it was terrific for Sean to just hang out with them and to talk to them. They are all very nice down to earth people who just enjoy the Sport and like to share with others. We will definitely be at next years event! Maybe Sean will be paddling then! We will also go up and volunteer at the 1st Descent Cancer Camp,next Summer as most of you know is Brad's Camp. We can't wait to go to that. Sean has picked up his appetite this weekend as well. I think the company had alot to do with it. And he just had an awesome time! Well tomorrow is the Big day. BMT... He goes in at around 10:00am so he is eating alot tonight. He had 2 helpings of Pasta at Grandma and Grandpa Savages, and then came home wanting Chinese food! So I ordered him Chicken Lomein ( his favorite) and had 2 helpings of that! I don't know if they will allow take out food, so this was kind of like his last meal before Isolation.Tomorrow, they just get him settled in and start giving him fluids. On Thursday is when they start the Chemo drugs, this will be 5 days of intense Chemo which will wipe out his whole immune system , then they give him his Stem Cells back, and wait for his body to recover. We just hope and pray he goes through this smoothly and quickly. His tumor site incision isn't healing still and has not closed ,so they are going to put a vacuum unit on it to force the skin to close. So hopefully before the Chemo takes effect they can get it to close. Well thank you again for all your prayers and support, will try and keep you posted as often as possible. It also helps there is a computer in the Hospital Library to use, so we will be doing updates from there. Take care and love you all...

Saturday, May 31, 2003 11:39 PM CDT

Hello everyone. Well it was another busy day, But a good busy. We had Graduation parties to attend. We went to Daniel's party.(Sean's friend with Osteo Sarcoma). It was great seeing her. She was on a "pass" from the hospital since she was in for tests. She looked good, even though we knew she was tired. There were a lot of great people and friends for support there, with a lot of nurses from 5a and Doctors. It's good to see people so dedicated that this is more than a job. Its' about people and their lives. Sean is doing pretty well. He is getting around a bit better each day.He is getting a bit tougher too. He fell down today in the house. This is the 3rd time, and he is ok. He is learning how to fall so he doesn't hurt himself. Just fall on your face. hahah Well, we have some great news too. We have posponed BMT for 1 more week. The Doctors feel Sean can go to Vail next weekend to watch the Teva Mountain Games. Kayakers from all over the world will be here competing. So we will spend the weekend in Vail. Sean is very excited and so are we!!! One last hurrah before BMT, as we have learned he won't be able to go the moutains for at least 3-6 months after BMT because of the altitude. So this will be good to go up and have some R and R time. Especially since we all Love the mountains and getting outdoors. We still go to the clinic this Monday, so we will be doing a bit more tests. They want another CT scan of the original tumor site. Plus the surgeon will look at this area, and hopefulley tell us what can be done to get it to heal quicker, since it is still draining. Sean is very tired of that and wants it to close up and heal. So we will see what the Doc says on Monday. Well, bye for now. God Bless...

Friday, May 30, 2003 10:18 AM CDT

Hello everyone. As you can see in the photo album Sean is doing much better. Sean's friend Brad Ludden ,came to visit. If some of you don't know, Brad provided Sean with the new Kayak. It was great that Brad took time out of his busy life to come over and visit Sean. He travels all over the world Kayaking.What a job! He is an awesome guy. We love him !! Sean is continuing to get stronger and heal. It is just nice to have him home and spend time together. Sean goes to the clinic on Monday. this visit will determine if he is ready for BMT. He is still scheduled to go in next Tuesday, the 3rd. We are kind of hoping he is not ready, as there is a outdoor competition and kayaking event in Vail we would like to take Sean to , but we will see. Right now it is pretty quiet at our house. Sean is still getting Fat-in-a-bag every night, and just relaxing and visiting with freinds as much as possible before BMT. We are enjoying this time as well. Thanks again for all your continued support, as you know this goes on and on. Love you all...

Monday, May 26, 2003 8:08 PM CDT

Hi everyone. Well to give you the update. Sean did have Surgery the day before his Graduation. Needless to say, we had a feeling he wouldn't make it to Graduation. The surgery was delayed 2 hours on Thursday, and didn't get started until about 12:30, so he didn't get out into the recovery room, until around 2:30. He was in alot of pain. The Orthopoedic Surgeon had to do a little more than he anticipated, and ended up re-suturing the entire length of his stump again. It just wasn't healing up, in fact, the skin was pulling apart. Also he took out the antibiotic beads, that he placed initially,in the tumor site, and also the piece of mesh, to hold his organs in from the initial surgery as well. His body inside had healed enough that these were no longer needed. So that was a good thing. They did the Bone Marrow Biopsy, and placed a Broviac IV line in the other side of his chest. This will be used for Bone Marrow Transplant.
Anyway, so Sean missed Graduaation, but he is OK with it, and so are we. It is just a little glitch in the large picture of life. We still had Sean's party on Saturday. It was great. Sean was feeling a bit tired, but OK. It was great seeing all Sean's friends and relatives and all the support he has. So now we focus on BMT. His admission date is set for June 3rd. We still have a lot to do while he is in, like clean the house from top to bottom, and also check on getting air conditioning for the house. When he gets out, they don't want the windows open for fear of airbourne spores that Sean could inhale, and being it will be the beginning of July, we will die of the heat. So one more thing to have to deal with! Oh well life goes on and so do we. Sean is feeling much better, the nightly TPN, and fat in a bag, as we call it , is going great! Sean has more energy, and is eating a bit more during the day. It is a slow process, but in time, he will gain weight and strength back. We go to the clinic for blood counts tomorrow. Hopefully we will be in and out and need nothing! Take care , and Please Keep praying!!! Love you all

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 10:47 AM CDT

We have been very busy these past few days. Sean has been going through all his pre BMT testing. We made it through almost all of it. Once again a wrench was thrown into the equation. Sean is still not healing good from the original tumor site,the reason he is not healing is nutritional. His body is acting like he is anorexic. Everytime he eats something, his body tries to get rid of it. So we, and the Surgeon told the Oncology Doc, to put him on TPN, and Lipids. Which is Total Peripherial Nutriton, and the lipids are FAT. So every night we hook him up to IV, and he gets vitamins and Fat for 12 hours while he sleeps. We noticed a difference the next day! He has more energy and is able to eat some food as well. Now the surgeon wants to go in and close up the wound and clean up the end of the stump. And he feels the best ways to do this is go to the operating room, so he can clean it up without hurting Sean. Sean also has to get a Bone Marrow Biopsy done, and place another access line in his chest for IV during the Bone Marrow Transplant. So we felt the best way to do all of this was at one time. Well the only day the Surgeon could do it, is on Thursday. Which is the day before Graduation. So Sean will be going in at 10:30am, on Thursday for this and hopefully!!, he will be up to graduation on Friday. We might just have to show up during the diploma's and skip the speaches, we will see. And hopefully he will be just fine by Saturday for his party. At least he will be home for that, and can just hang out with friends. Which is one of his favorite things to do anyway. He even went to see the X-men movie with his friend Quinten yesterday. So that is definitley a step in the right direction. Take care and hope to see some of you on Saturday. Love Laura

Thursday, May 15, 2003 11:21 PM CDT

Well we made it through the long day of tests. We were up at 4:30 to get to the hospital by 5:45am. Yes Sean is sleeping now. I am sure he will sleep very sound tonight. We weren't able to get all the tests done. It was just too much for Sean. We did 2 MRI's, 2 Bone Scans, Chest x-ray. Sinus x-ray. He will finish the scans on Monday. I think if you were healthy, this schedule would wear you out. They just tried to cram too much into one day. Also as it stand, it looks as though Sean will be beginning BMT one week later. Which will be the first week in June. Not sure on the date yet, wil let you know. Sean just needs a bit more time to get some strength, and finish healing from all of his surgeries. He is trying to eat more, but it is hard when your body is in this condition. So we do what we can to help Sean eat whatever he wants. Sometimes I feel he is like a pregnant woman, with cravings at odd hours. Oh well, we Love him anyway!! Just a reminder for all of you out there, You are all invited to our house on May24th at 2:00pm to Celebrate Sean's Graduation. We will throw some burgers and dogs on the grill, and if you like bring a side dish to share. We would love to see you all! You can either rsvp on this web page, or call Dave or Laura at 303-690-7175. Thanks again for all your support and prayers, they are much needed and we REALLY appreciate them! Love to all of you.....

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 11:22 PM CDT

Hi again, once again sorry for the late update. We have been getting ready for all these tests with the BMT. Sean began tests yesterday with a dental visit, and YES no cavities. Today he began all the clinic tests also a meeting with the Bone Marrow Transplant Doctor. Tomorrow is a long day with tests beginning at 6:00am! Try convincing Sean he has to get up at 4:30am! Hopefully he will be able to sleep a lot through the tests. Then he just has another day of test next Wed. and then he will be ready. His admission date right now is May 27th. The Docs want to make sure his wounds are either almost healed or healed up by the time he goes in. His healing has been delayed because of the lack of healing properties. But he is doing OK. Will try and give you another update a bit sooner than the last. Sean Graduates from High school on the 23rd of this month. We are having a Bar-B-Q at our house on the 24th. It starts at 2:00pm we will provide hamburgers and hot dogs, and any of you are welcome to come by for a visit. Please rsvp to Dave or Laura at 303-690-7175.We can give you directions if needed. And please bring a side dish to share if you like. Thanks again for all your prayers. We love you all

Tuesday, May 6, 2003 9:29 AM CDT

Sorry for taking so long to update. Things seem to be going 200mph and when we have free time we are greedy and use it as free time.
On May 1st Sean had a long knight. He was invited to his senior awards ceremony at school and was presented with the Raptor award. This award is given to students that have showed great strength and perseverance to over come obstacles in life. Thank you to Mr. Sean Hiland for his love of students and his undying will to do what is correct, regardless of what the system says. May 2nd brought on Sean’s last Chemo before BMT. Also on this day Seans sister had her fingers slammed in a door. Not once but three times. She ended up with a broken middle finger and the end of her Volley ball season. Sean did very well with this session and he was home by 5pm on Sunday the 4th. Sean has not had any nausea to this point and we pray that it stays that way. He is eating fairly well and we hope to have him very healthy before he returns for the BMT. Sean is getting stronger and stronger every day. He is working with his walker and doing very well. Maybe he can use it instead of his wheel chair to receive his diploma!!!! We will see. PRAY! Thankfully we do not have much to pass on. I am going to end now so that I have time to upload some knew pictures. God bless you all!!!!

I add this to the update not to boast but to show you how proud we are of our son. This is what one teacher had to say about Sean at the Senior awards ceremony. This is the type of teacher that all parents should pray that their children have the opportunity to meet. Not because of what he has said here about Sean, but because of the impact that he has had on Sean over the past couple of years.

Sean Flanagan- Raptor Award 2003

Over the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with many extraordinary students at Eaglecrest. In many cases what has made these students extraordinary is their ability to overcome hardship by persevering with discipline and courage. I am always amazed by the resiliency of some of the young adults we have here tonight. However, every once in while I meet a student who’s situation makes me stop and appreciate how fortunate I’ve been in my own life. During the last few months one of our seniors, a former student of mine, has endured circumstances that few could ever comprehend. I feel truly honored to be able to present this next Raptor award to a student who exemplifies perseverance and courage in the face of overwhelming hardship.

Toward the beginning of the school year Sean Flanagan began to notice that the pain he felt in his hip wasn’t subsiding. Atfirst, it was believed that he may have injured his hip during some type of physical activity. Later it was thought that perhaps he may have had scoliosis in his lower spine. Around the beginning of September Sean began to attend physical therapy for the nagging pain that was developing throughout his pelvis. In November Sean started a more intensive round of physical therapy to alleviate some of the pain. Unfortunately, in early December Sean collapsed while taking a shower at home. He was rushed to the hospital and a few days later diagnosed with a tumor the size of a small football. On December 16th it was confirmed by the staff at Children’s Hospital that Sean had in fact a tissue and bone based cancer known as a Ewing Sarcoma.

Due to the aggressive nature of this cancer, chemotherapy was begun immediately. A majority of the tumor was located in the pelvic region, but some was identified in his lungs. Throughout his treatments, Sean has had to endure a collapsed lung, constant fatigue and nausea, fever, ulcers, numerous operations, and pain few could imagine. Doctors have recommended that Sean undergo thirty intense rounds of 6-7 types of chemotherapy, to be followed by weeks of bone marrow transplants later this summer. A few days before his senior spring break Sean had the lower part of his leg amputated and a large portion of his pelvic bone removed.

Throughout all of this ordeal Sean has shown tremendous courage and remained positive despite his situation. A great deal of this strength is a testament to the kind of person that Sean is and the kind of supportive family that he has come from. Sean has not been able to attend school this second semester, but is here tonight. It gives me
great honor to present one of tonight’s Raptor awards to a student who exemplifies all that this award represents. I hope that Sean’s circumstances have encouraged you to persevere with courage over the obstacles that may be in your own life. I know that it has helped me take stock of what is important in mine.

Tuesday, April 29, 2003 11:10 PM CDT

Well it's another day. Sean is still doing ok. Still struggling with the apetite, but getting better. We are so thankful that we have had this time to regroup at home and spend some time together. We use to take it for granted when we had nights or days together. Now they are precious. Sean goes in this Friday for his last Chemo before BMT(Bone Marrow Transplant). We are dreading that because he will be in for so long. We will be praying hard that Sean will sail through this and not have any complications like he has had in the past. I am afraid for BMT because of every procedure Sean has gone through, he has had the complication, so please pray that he will be fine. We are also getting ready for Graduation too. Sean Graduates 5/23. So we hope he will be ready for this. Well, I am cutting it short, Seam wants something to eat, so I need to get him some calories! And when he wants to eat, I gotta do it quick so he won't change his mind. Take care everyone. And thanks for all the support.

Friday, April 25, 2003 1:18 PM CDT

Hello everyone. Well I think it is a record! Sean has been home for almost 1 week now!! He is doing much better. He is sleeping a lot, but you heal when you sleep. So I know he is healing and doing better. He is eating a bit, not as much as we would like, but he is eating! I know if we were in Australia,Christina would fatten him up with her awesome cooking!! Sean has been more mobile, and using his walker a bit more. It is good to see him out of bed. We are just praying for him to get stronger before BMT and maybe it won't be so hard on him then. He still is very thin. He weighs 52 kilo's which is 114 pounds. So we have some work to do. His leg is healing ok. He is in a removable shell, that we can take off everyday to change the sock on his stump. And he seem much more comfortable in this. It is not as heavy as the cast. So he is able to manuever around a lot better. So things are coming along. One thing at a time. Right now we will concentrate on his next chemo. Then to BMT. We will think about radiation a little farther down the line. That will be 6 weeks of that, and we don't know how soon after he gets out of the BMT he will start this. We will keep you posted though.
Also Laura is still working as a Dental Assistant part time now,but is trying to find a home base job, nothing has come up yet. We are still praying for this so she will be able to be home to help Sean, and also be there for Kelsey. The hospital stays get to be long, and Kelsey also needs her parents too. Please pray for God to bring the right one along.Thank you for your prayers and support. Will talk to you soon! Love the Flanagans

Sunday, April 20, 2003 8:51 PM CDT

Sean came home Saturday evening at about 8 p.m., it was wonderful. Sean managed to use a walker to get from the car into the house. Someone had to walk behind him and steady his balance, but hey what do you expect when you haven’t been on your feet for three weeks. Sean seems to be doing much better this time. In-fact he even went to church this morning. Everyone was happy to see him and he got a wonderful gift from a friend. Sean goes into the clinic at the hospital tomorrow. The surgeon is going to take a look at his wounds and the prosthetics guy is going to start fitting for the leg. Sean’s next round of chemo is scheduled for May 2nd; this is the last chemo until bone marrow transplant starts the last week of May. BMT will be the Monday after his graduation ceremony. That’s all for now, we will let you know how the visit tomorrow goes. Thank you for your prayers. God Bless.

Wednesday, April 16, 2003 11:30 PM CDT

Well it's another day. Sean was home from the hospital on Friday. He was home for Sat. and Sun. Monday am he woke up with a fever of 102.4 So back to the hospital we went. They gave him more antibiotics, and some fluids. He was very dehydrated. They of course admitted him. The Docs weren't sure where the fever was coming from, although the wound where the tumor was, was getting red and tender to the touch. The surgeon looked at it a couple times on Tuesday. He was in surgery all day, so if Sean continued to spike a fever, he would do surgery that night. They were concerned because he was what they call, Nuetrapenic. Which means his blood count was very low. So high risk of complications if doing surgery. But his fever kept climbing, It reached 39.9 (104), when the surgeon came into the room, and he decided the benefits outweighed the risk, so Sean went into surgery about 9:30pm to reopen the original tumor site, and clean it out, and place "beads" with time release antibiotics. He also cleaned up the amputation site and straightened it out and placed a cast on it. Sean came through very well, but with low blood pressure. But they continued to give him platelets, and Whole blood. His night went pretty well, what was left of it.He got to his room around 1:30am And was finally settled around 2:00am But this morning when he awoke, he wanted a big glass of milk. And he had an apetitite. So he had a pretty good day. The preliminary results of the cultures of the amputation and the tumor site,came back today, and it appears there was something on the amputation site. So we hope and pray now that it is cleaned up, he will just heal, and be able to come home soon! His spirits are up, and his dry sense of humor is always there.He is a great young man, and we are so proud of him. I can say, that through all of this, few times has he been discouraged.He has always been positive. He is a survivor!!!! We love him dearly. We know God has very special plans for him, I feel part of it we already see.We are all drawing on his strength, and see the miracles God can place in each of our lives.It is how we choose to react to dificult situations. A very wise preacher,and dear friend of ours said," we are like tea bags, it is when we are placed in hot water, is when our true colors really come out". God Bless!!

Saturday, April 12, 2003 10:04 PM CDT

Today is a good day. Sean came home yesterday! Yeah!! After 20 days in the hospital, it was time to come home. He also got a suprise yesterday. His brand new special edition kayak, was delivered to the hospital. It was great! We strapped it on the car, and came home yesterday, about 5:30pm.Good to be home. He had a very restlesss night though, and was up about every hour. one from being in a different bed, we have a hospital bed, and it's very hard, also trying to regulate oral pain medication rather than IV meds. But he seems better today, getting things under control, and got him in the wheelchair for a little while. The surgeon is still planning on surgery on the 21st, as long as his blood counts start to climb. If they haven't got high enough, they will postpone for another date. But as far as we know, this is still set. Sean is also going into the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit the last week of May. So this will be another long stay. At the least, it will be 3 weeks.We will keep you updated about this. He has all kinds of tests to do the month of May, to get ready for the BMT.Plus he graduates from High School, and has prom. So he will have a busy month.Every day he gets a little bit better. You notice that little things are big accomplishments, when dealing with therapy. It is very slow. Once he has his surgery on the 21st, I hope he will heal quicker, and be in less pain. The surgeon will be placing a cast on it to keep it straight, and also a temporary prostheic leg will be placed. So this will be an exciting day for us. We hope and pray everything goes well. Again we will keep you all updated.Will talk to you all soon!

Tuesday, April 8, 2003 11:07 PM CDT

Hi everyone. Sean is finally finished with this Chemo Treatment. It was a 5 dayer,and it was long. Especially since he has been in for 2 1/2 weeks with his surgery too. Dave is with him today, tonight and tomorrow. I will go after work tomorrow night, and be there for him. Sean is doing better.Hopefully Sean will come home either Thurs. or Fri.If they can get him on oral pain meds, he can come home. Dave had him out of his room today, in a wheelchair. He was once again visited by Brad Ludden, the famous kayaker, who is the founder of First Denscents Cancer Camp. He spent about an hour with Sean, just visiting. What a great guy! It is good to talk "Paddle talk" with someone who has been all over the world paddling. Brad has even told Sean he is custom making a Kayak for Sean. Sean is very excited. Sean goes in, in about 2 weeks to have his amputation revised, There is still a dead spot, to say it plainly, on the end. The surgeon says it only takes about 15 minutes in the O.R. to correct this. Also the Prosthetist ( he makes Sean's Prosthetic leg),an awesome guy! will be in the O.R. to fabricate a leg for Sean to wear out of the O.R. He won't be able to put alot of weight on it, but it is a start.We are planning on 2 weeks from yesterday, which is the 21st. Once again will keep you updated.It's getting late. Thanks for your continued prayers and support. You are all awesome!

Friday, April 4, 2003 11:03 PM CST

Today was a better day. Last night,Sean's sister Kelsey spent the night. It was good to spend some time with each other. Also Kelsey helped the nurses, and now she has decided she wants to become a pediatric nurse! The nurses also put a trapeze above Sean's bed. It allows him to pull himself up and lift himself out of bed. This has given him more inspiration to get stronger. He is working his upper body too. It also has gotten weak, due to just lying in bed. He is determined to get out of bed, so this piece of equipment has helped alot. Today he did get out of bed, and into a wheelchair. He strolled down the hall and back. Just enough time to change scenery, and then back to bed. But he was out! He did great.We are so proud of him. We admire the strength in him. We know that God is the one keeping him strong, so we are thankful. He slept most of the day after his outing, which was ok. They started his Chemo this morning. The Doctor's decided his fever was not that serious, and nothing has presented itself, as to why he has it, so they began Chemo at 8:30am. He will finish it on Tuesday, so God willing, Sean will be able to come home on Wednesday or Thursday. Everyday he is stronger, so we pray that he will continue through Chemo. Chemo kills all your fast growing cells, so he will have to work even harder during these times. I could already see it in his face today, his skin becomes gray and shallow. Since he hasn't had a Chemo treatment for about a month, his color was good, and hair was growing back, but it will all go away again. At least he has a nice shaped head to be bald. And so does his Dad! Dave continues to shave his head as long as Sean is bald. Bald is in anyway, so they fit right in! It's getting late. Keep up the prayer's . We love you all.

Wednesday, April 2, 2003 9:21 PM CST

Well, things are better.Yesterday, the Physical Therapist got Sean up out of bed, even for a few seconds, HE was up!!! It wore him out and then slept for most of the day, but that's OK he is moving forward. Today Dave is with Sean, and said that the P.T. also got him up out of bed. He was awake and talking and doing better.And asking for Little Debbie Brownies. I know it is a long road ahead, but Sean is a trooper, and will get through. He is excited to get out on the river and kayak. He has been thinking on how to modify his boat for his lost limb. I teased him that now he will have have room to carry his own gear when we go paddling. The professional Kayaker, who came to see Sean a couple weeks ago, also has a camp in Vail called, 1st Descents. It's a camp for kids who have had cancer or are going through it. They have kayaking, horseback riding, and other activities. We are all excited to get invloved in it. I don't know if we will be able to this Summer, but definitely next year.Sean has at least 1 more surgery. The Doctor has to modify Sean's amputation, and then about 6 weeks after he will get fitted for a prosthesis. So still many things to go through.Sean hasn't started Chemo yet, he has been battling a fever, and the Doctors don't know where it's coming from so they keep delaying. Hopefully tomorrow he wil begin his 5 day treatment. Then if they can get Sean off IV pain meds, he can come HOME!! We are looking forward to that. No more sleepless nights with IV alarms going off every hour. And vital's every 4 hours. Sean is an amazing young man, We are very proud of him. We have alot of support at the hospital, and people we've met. Dave Cohen is a big support, and yes thanks to Danielle, and her Mom Deb! They are terrific support for us. Helping me through the tears and frustraion through everything we are going through,is a big help. And Danielle has helped Sean get through some of the Phantom pain he has experienced where his leg should be.Always thank you for prayers and support. We couldn't get through this without all of you! God Bless you.

Sunday, March 30, 2003 11:49 PM CST

It was rough for your mom and me today Sean. We hate seeing you in so much pain. You gave 200% on your physical therapy today and it sent you spiraling down. Well your mom called at about 10 pm and may have found out why you had such a bad day. The pharmacy gave you the incorrect amount of one of your pain meds. Veronica & Karen figured it out and now your mom says that you are doing better, thank you Angles. I pray that you have a restful knight and you can have a fresh start tomorrow.
Thanks to all for your support. God Bless.
New photos soon to come.

Saturday, March 29, 2003 10:33 PM CST

Hi Sean had a better day today. The epidural is helping control his pain. Especially the phantom pain. He still has sensations in his foot that is not there. They are also giving him some medications orally to help with the phantom pain. The Doctor was in today. Sean's leg is looking ok. There is an area that will need to have some additional surgery too in the near future. But pretty minor compared to what he has been through. Tomorrow they take the Epidural back out, as they want to get started on Chemo next week, so they want it out. They have adjusted his meds, so hopefully the transition will be smooth! (we pray). The Doctor also wants him to try and get up tomorrow. So hopefully Sean is finally on the road to recovery. We got biopsy reports from the tumor today also. They said that 90 percent of the tumor was dead, and 10 percent was still viable, so that is why Chemo is continued to kill it all. Sean should be fitted for a prosthetic leg in about 6 weeks.He will begin in the wheelchair, then to crutches and alot of Physical therapy. Dave is with Sean tonight. My turn to be at home. Hopefully, it will be quiet at the hospital. Time for bed, because tomorrow is another day. May God Bless all who read Sean's page, and again Thank you for all the prayers. Love Lots

Saturday, March 29, 2003 12:34 AM CST

Yesterday was not a good day for Sean. His epidural had to come out and the Doc’s hoped to control the pain by oral meds, didn’t work. Sean finally had a new epidural put in and then the rest of the day was spent trying to catch up to the pain. When I left for home at 8 pm he was resting comfortably, and Laura (his mom) called at 11 pm and said that he was doing even better. Praise God!

Friday, March 28, 2003 12:36 AM CST

Sean came through his amputation surgery with flying colors. The amputation was best case scenario, just below the knee, thus proving that the Lord shines upon those that shine for Him. The surgery only lasted about an hour and a half so it was very quick. Sean was up to his usual nurse harassment almost immediately. I look at this as a good thing, because it is all in good humor and if he didn’t truly love all of these people he would not be pulling their chains like he does. One of the first things Sean said to me was, “Hey dad now Kelsey (his sister) can say that she is taller than I am, …. when I stand on my stump.” I wish that I could express to you all just how much that lifted me up and set the tone for the entire recovery room from that point on. There was actually joy in the room and everyone’s spirits were lifted. Sean has doctors coming to him to have their spirits perked up on a bad day. This says a lot for a young man going through what he has gone through and knowing the battles that he still has coming.
Early this morning Sean had his epidermal removed and he is having some pain issues that the pain team is trying to help him work out. They are good about making sure that all of their patients are always comfortable. Even with the pain Sean is still in good spirits and he is keeping everyone in stitches with laughter. I wish that I could record all of the conversations and comments that he makes.
Sean is asking for me have to go.

Thursday, March 27, 2003 12:09 AM CST

26 Mar 03
Sean is doing better today. He is moving around quite a bit with a minimal amount of pain. Today Sean had a very special visit from Brad Ludden. Brad is a professional white water kayaker and is featured in many extreme white water kayaking movies. Sean was thrilled to meet him, not to mention the great gifts that he brought. Sean is looking forward to paddling with Brad and picking up some pointers. This was a wonderful experience for Sean and I know that he will never forget it. Thank you Brad for making changes to your busy schedule, and have fun kayaking in Idaho. Thank you Shira for arranging the visit. You both have hearts of gold.

Please don’t forget to read the past journals and to sign Sean’s guest book.


27Mar 03
Well Sean gave his dad a call this morning and said that he felt that his foot needed to taken off. I asked him who he heard this from and he said that nobody told him, that he just knows that he is going to loose his foot.
It wasn't two hours after that call and sure enough Travis (Seans surgeon doesn't like being called doctor)made the decision that Sean already knew. Sean is now in surgery and Best case Sean will loose his foot just bellow the knee, worst case it will be just above the knee. Sean has already accepted the fact and made the comment that it's good because he will get discount lift tickets for snow boarding and there will be more room in his two new kayaks. Well this sight will get updated as soon as we know how much of the leg has to go. Chemo will start next week. The docs don't want to wait too long for chemo again because if they do the surgery to remove the tumor will have been a waste of time. If you wait too long the cancer will start to grow again. Pray for Sean.

Monday, March 24, 2003 9:50 PM CST

Today Sean had to be moved to a different bed and taken to the Oncology ward (5a). This was tough on Sean, very painful! But just like every other bump in the road that Sean has come to he screamed a little, cried a little and when it was all said and done he was giving the nurses and his dad a hard time with his one of a kind since of humor. I need to put down in this journal something that Sean did the day after his surgery. This will allow everyone to see just how strong and faithful Sean has been throughout this entire ordeal. This is the morning after surgery and Sean still has a breathing tube down his throat so he can't talk. Using a pen and paper Sean asks if the tumor was removed and if he still had his leg. The answer of course was yes. His reply on the paper was short and simple but speaks a million words. He wrote "I WIN." Sean is now resting comfortably in a room up on 5a. He will be there for roughly 2 weeks because once he heals enough from the surgery he will be going through a 5 day chemo treatment. Sean would like everyone to know that he is grateful for all of the prayers and that he loves everyone.

Sunday, March 23, 2003 10:56 AM CST

Sean made it through surgery fine. He went in with the nurses at 8 am on the 22nd and was completed with the surgery at between 5 and 5:30 pm. His tumor was the size of a large canalope. The doctor says that he should still have use of his leg, but there will be some limitations. We will update this more in depth when time allows. Until then, thank you for the prayers and please keep praying. Love you all.

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 11:53 PM CST

We wanted to provide a more detailed account of Sean's illness, so here it is...

11 Dec 02
Sean has so much pain in his leg that he collapses to the floor and gets sick, Sean goes to the ER. Here the doctors found a tumor in his right groin area. Sean was immediately sent to The Children’s Hospital of Denver. For the next three days Sean is in so much pain that the slightest movement is unbearable. One nurse stated that she has written this down as a first in her journal, “she has never seen a person on so much of and so many kinds of pain meds, (all narcotics), and still be breathing on his own. Sean seemed to be in an almost comatose state. That is until you had to move him. Then he would scream out in agony.

13 Dec 02
Sean finally has relief from the pain. The doctors have put an epidural in to relieve his pain. At the same time the doctors took bone marrow and a core sample of his tumor. Sean has been amazing through the whole process. All he can keep saying is that he is going to beat this. That this is happening for a reason and God will let him know what that reason is in time. Also MRI, and Cat Scan done today.

16 Dec 02
Diagnoses day, Ewing Sarcoma (Cancer). The Cancer is in his right thigh. It extend up through his pelvis. The tumor in his leg is very large.About the size of a grapefruit. Chemotherapy is to start immediately. With all the Cat scans, MRI’s, Bone scans and X-rays, the doctors feel that the cancer has not gotten into the bones but they think that it has gone to the lungs. Prognoses, 30 to 50 percent chance of surviving the next 5 years. We are now concentrating on Sean’s physical and mental welfare.

31 Dec 02
The past 21 days have been a roller coaster ride for us all, especially Sean. Sean is finally on oral pain meds and no epidural. His first of 11 rounds of chemo has been completed. Normal protocol for this type of tumor is to have chemo every three weeks. First treatment is for three days and the second treatment will be 5 days, third 3 days, fourth 5 days and so on. The doctors feel that Sean needs to be on a more aggressive treatment and his protocol will call for chemo every two weeks. This will barely give Sean enough time to recover from each chemo treatment, but the doctors feel that Sean’s condition warrants this aggressive treatment. Still have surgery, stem cell treatment and radiation to learn about. But for now we are going rejoice in the fact that Sean comes home today!

19 Jan 03

Sean woke up not being able to breathe very well. All day long he didn’t feel well. By dinner Sean was having trouble breathing. Called 911 and they took Sean back to Childrens. They took a chest x- ray, they found Sean had a collapsed lung. They felt this happened because of the cancer in the lung was dying from the Chemo, which caused a hole in the lung, which caused it to collapse. They placed a chest tube in the ER that night. He was able to breathe easier.



23 Jan 03

The Doctors decide the chest tube is too small, and are unable to keep his lung inflated. They decide to go in and place a larger one, and at the same time, scope the lung and remove any Cancer that can be seen. They removed a piece of Cancerous lung and stapled it back. Also roughened up the lining to help the lung re-inflate and stay inflated. They placed a larger chest tube. Sean is also due for Chemo, so they begin this the next day.

7 Feb 03

Sean on 5 day Chemo, not feeling well, Can’t get rid of the nausea and pain in his stomach.

15 Feb 03

Sean has a fever of 101 which means a trip to the ER. Sean still is having pain in his stomach. He is admitted and discussing scoping his stomach to find the problem there.

18 Feb 03

They scope Sean’s stomach, and find an ulcer. They immediately place him on ulcer meds, and he is feeling better.They also put him on new meds, marinol, to help him eat and keep the nausea in control.He is so thin.

20 Feb 03
Home from the hospital.


24 Feb 03
Back to the Hospital for Stem Cell IV placement. (They place a special IV in his arm to harvest Stem Cells from his blood. They freeze these cells and give them back to him when he is almost finished with Chemo. The Stem Cells form into white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. They form in Bone Marrow. So when they give these back to him, he will be in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Childrens).

25 Feb 03
Stem Cell collection

26 Feb 03
Stem Cell collection

28 Feb 03
Chemo for 3 days.

7 March 03
Consult with Surgeon for removal of tumor Scheduled surgery on March 20.
8 March 03
MRI

10 March
Highlight for Sean. Surprised him with a trip to the Pepsi Center, to meet the Avalanche Hockey Team For his 18th Birthday. We were able to watch them practice, and then meet them after, and get autographs. We were also allowed to tour the locker room. We were then surprised by our guide, that she had 4 tickets to tonight’s game if Sean felt up to it. Of course he was. It was a late game, so we had to stop by the hospital and get Sean’s blood levels checked. ( we have to do this once or twice a week in between Chemo treatments). His levels were low. He needed platelets today, which only takes about 30 minutes. Whole blood takes about 4 hours. Then off to home to rest before the game. Went to the game and had an awesome time! Sean was tired but it was definitely worth it.

11 March 03
We took Sean to Breckenridge for his Birthday. He wanted to go up there and just relax and get away . Went and hung out,played some pool and enjoyed the nice weather. Grandma and Grandpa Flanagan came up for 1 night for Sean's Birthday. Wasn't in the mood for a big night out, so we stayed at the condo and ate Ramen noodles. Chemo changes your taste and desire for food. This week it's Ramen noodles.

17 March 03
New MRI and Cat Scan to get ready for surgery

19 March 03
Home in the blizzard! Got about 4 feet of snow starting 3/17 pm and didn't stop until tonight.Spent the day shoveling the driveway with neighbors.Can't get the car out though. The snow is too deep in the street. The Surgeon called, cancelled surgery for tomorrow, Denver is trying to dig out from the blizzard . Hopefully reschedule for Friday or this weekend. Will let you know…..

21 Mar 03
We now have a new surgery date. 22 Mar 03 @ 0800 (8am). The surgery should last from 4 to 8 hours. It is difficult for us to take Sean in to go through this with him starting to feel so well. His last Chemo was about three weeks ago, and his body has about completely recovered from that. But it is like the Doc's say, this is not an elective surgery. Sean needs this to completely recover. Thank you all for your support and prayers!!

Tuesday, February 25, 2003 9:54 PM CST

As most of you know Sean was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma December 13th 2002. The tumor is in his right thigh, with a metastisis in his lungs. He has had 4 chemotherapy treatments so far and will have 11 total treatments. He had a colapsed lung after his 3rd chemo. They placed a chest tube in his lung and during this procedure they went into the lung and removed the cancer that was there, so in a way this was a blessing. It showed us that the chemo was working. The week after that, he ended up with a 101 degreee fever and complained of a constant stomach pain. Sean was admitted to the hospital for the fever and while he was there the Doctors decided to scope his stomach. They found a Ulcer and put him on meds, this is helping. Sugery is scheduled sometime in March to remove the tumor in his leg. The Doctors are also talking about radiation, but not sure if and when. This week, 2/24, Sean went in for Stem Cell Harvest. He had a hard IV placed in his arm with 2 accesses. Sean is hooked up to a machine that will separate the stem cells from the rest of the blood. The blood is pumped back into his body and the stem cells are frozen. When his chemo is completed he will get the stem cells back. He goes in for his 5th chemo this Friday 2/28. Sean is doing ok and we all have our good days and bad. Sean has been through the ringer, and he still is doing ok. Thanks for all of your prayers, Please continue to pray for Sean and all of us. WITHOUT FAITH AND PRAYER WE COULD NOT HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR. GOD IS WORKING HIS MIRACLES EVERY DAY.

Click here to go back to the main page.

----End of History----