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Click here to go back to the main page. Sunday, March 22, 2009 6:22 PM CDT It's been a while. Everything is going great. Josh is now 5 years "Off Treatment". We are planning a big celebration just like the one we had when he finished treatment 5 years ago. So much to be thankful for. He's 15 now and has his license. Just his permit but he still drives anytime we go somewhere. He does real well, I suppose he should since he has been driving around the yard for years. He learned to drive a "stick" in my old purple bug. He does better than most people.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 5:50 PM CDT A long time has passed since my last entry. Things are still going great. Josh is so healthy and strong. He's 14 now and taller than I am. He is finished with middle school too. He'll be starting high school in August. Tyler is out of school now. Ready for college.
Friday, October 19, 2007 6:57 PM CDT It's been 8 months since my last post. Things are going just great. Josh is in his last year of middle school. Tyler is a senior. And I am half way through nursing school. How time flies. Thursday, February 22, 2007 4:07 PM CST It's been a long while since my last update. Halloween, Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We had a rainy, hot Christmas. Not what we were hoping for, but we were all together, except for my dad and Mimi. He was still recovering from bypass surgery. We will have our Christmas together when they get to come down. Hopefully soon. Grandma and Grandpa haven't been down from Indiana yet either. Grandma had knee surgery and isn't quite up to par yet. Hopefully they will get to come down before summer.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 6:51 PM CDT Wow, I haven't updated in 6 months. Things are so normal around here. I try not to think about how things were 3 years ago. Things are just too perfect now.
Monday, December 19, 2005 5:58 PM CST Whew! Just 6 more days until Christmas. Everything is in place and ready. Josh built a gingerbread house today. I made enough for Ty to build one, but at first he wasn't too interested. Then he decided to make a "Crap Shak". That's what it was too. I put a picture of them with their houses. What a mess. But I think they enjoyed making the mess, even Tyler.
Wednesday, November 9, 2005 6:08 PM CST It's already November. The boys will both be having birthdays in a couple of weeks. Josh will be 12 and Tyler 16. Wow. November and December are always busy months around this house.
Monday, September 26, 2005 4:32 PM CDT Wow, doesn't he look big. Things have been going just fine around here. Josh had an appointment with the clinic last week and as usual, all is well.
Thursday, August 4, 2005 9:53 AM CDT So far in between entries! Summer is over. Kids started back to school this morning. Let me first get this news out of the way. Tuesday Josh had his MRI and CT of the chest. Just spoke with the nurse from the clinic and all are clear. Aghhhh!!! What a huge load off. I always know he is being taken care of but what a relief to actually hear the results. Again....agghhhhhh!!!!!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:08 AM CDT School is almost out! Just 1-1/2 days left. Tyler has been coming home early every day this week. I don't understand the reason for that. We never did that. I'm hoping to go to Josh's class on the last day of school. Help out with a party or something. It's his last day of elementary school. Middle school next year. He wouldn't dare let me come to school then. Last week in his science class, each kid got a ball of owl barf. It had been sterilized. The kids dissected it and found bones from whatever the owl had eaten. Josh had some sort of mouse. He glued the bones onto a piece of stiff paper and it looked just like a mouse skeleton. I don't know the exact anatomy of a rodent but it looked cool to me.
Sunday, April 10, 2005 6:50 PM CDT Summer is almost here and it already feels like it. Things have been going great in the Lawson house. Report cards came out last week and Josh got honor roll again. Only a few weeks left of school. Next year Josh goes to a new school, middle school. Tyler will be in the 10th grade. Yow!
Saturday, February 12, 2005 6:18 PM CST Good News Again! Josh got his scans this past week. He has been off treatment for a full year now and they are all clear. Of course they are. I remember Dr. Barbosa telling me way back in March 03, that Josh's chances for a cure were "sky high". It sure was scary back then. But that was then. Sunday, January 16, 2005 5:38 PM CST 2 months since my last update. Eeeek! Sorry about that. Our family had a good Christmas as usual. It rained all day. How crummy for a kid. Cold and rainy. Tyler got a paint ball gun so he and Josh wanted to spend the day outside but couldn't. Oh well, we still had a lot of fun and it was so much better than last year.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 6:24 PM CST All is well in the Lawson house. I haven't updated in so long. The boys had birthday's on Nov 20 and 23. They had friends over. Luckily only one spent the night. Josh got a paint ball gun. Ugh! It's what he really wanted. He spends a lot of money on his recent hobby. Co2, paintballs. He holds his finger on the trigger and they just fly out. I keep reminding him, "that's about 5 cents a shot Josh..." Tyler got a new keyboard, mouse and an amplifier for his wireless system. He complains that he "lags" when he plays his games. Now I am working on what to get them for Christmas. It gets harder as they get older. Hard to believe Christmas is almost here.
Monday, November 1, 2004 1:19 PM CST Well, it's come down to an update every 2 weeks or so. Things are just going so well for us. Josh got his report card last week and he got honor roll again. He's such a smart kid. It comes so easy for him too. I could not be prouder of my boys. They have their problems but oh they could be so much worse.
Monday, November 1, 2004 3:09 PM CST Monday, November 1, 2004 1:19 PM CST Well, it's come down to an update every 2 weeks or so. Things are just going so well for us. Josh got his report card last week and he got honor roll again. He's such a smart kid. It comes so easy for him too. I could not be prouder of my boys. They have their problems but oh they could be so much worse.
Monday, October 18, 2004 11:58 AM CDT Hey, no hurricanes since my last update. Hope it stays that way. Still haven't cleaned up from the last. Boys are doing just fine. We spent the weekend at Poppy's and Mimi's. The river was way up so there wasn't any fishing. We did go for a boat ride though, just to look. We went to a nearby field and picked several 5 gallon buckets of peas. Then we sat around and shelled them. The weather was nice. We even had to wear long pants Saturday morning. But they were shed after a few hours. Lisa came over from Tallahassee. That was nice. I have been trying to get Francis to eat solid food but she didn't seem interested. I tried all kinds of things. Josh gathered a few acorns up there and she loved them. So when we got home, the boys and I went next door and let Francis free. We put her in the neighbors barn because our cats would probably eat her. I went to see her this morning and she was doing just fine. She jumped on my shoulder and we had our moment, then I left her there.
Saturday, October 2, 2004 10:22 AM CDT It's October already. Still very hot weather. Hopefully no more hurricanes this year. Jeanne was a real strong one and she got us good, just like Francis did. Lost 3 more trees and a lot of shingles. Could have been much worse. Driving around here, it's hard to believe that we didn't loose more. The boys finally realize that they don't want a hurricane anymore. Lots of work. Limbs and debris. One of the trees turned over and the roots are sticking up in the air about 12 feet or so. The boys got a water hose, shovels and whatever. They dug and played in that mud for the longest time the other night. They were so gross. I would never have let Josh do that last year. I'll be glad when all this mess is cleaned up. They have missed a lot of school due to the storms. They are going to have to make these days up, and they aren't too happy about that. Saturday, September 11, 2004 12:55 AM CDT Here we go again. Waiting for another hurricane. This one is worse than the last two. Kids are out of school on Monday. That makes 4 days out of school in the last 3 weeks. They are going to have to make these days up if this continues. The boys are always eager for a hurricane to strike but after Francis I think they might prefer for Ivan to pass us by. They had to pick up all the limbs in the yard and it almost killed them. They can be so dramatic. We lost a huge oak tree in the back yard. Thank goodness it fell away from the house. I have no idea how we are every going to clean it up. We lost power for only 29 hours, some people still do not have power. Luckily, Tom fired up the generator and kept the freezers and refrigerator going. No A/C though. Ugh! Lost internet connection for almost a week. Now that hurt. Josh and I have been feeding a baby squirrel every 4 hours since Francis threw her nest on the ground. Her name is Lumpy. She has a huge lump on her back. Must be some sort of injury. She's cute though.
Friday, September 3, 2004 11:50 AM CDT Friday morning and the kids are out of school. Thanks to Francis. First things first though. I spoke with the doctor this morning and the scans that Josh had on Wednesday are all clear. Hallelujah!! What a load off my mind. I knew it would be, but its good to hear it.
Saturday, August 21, 2004 7:36 PM CDT Things have gone very smooth the last couple of weeks. Both boys are doing great in school. Tyler is fitting right in for his first year of high school and Josh is in his last year for elementary school. I told him yesterday that he can't go to middle school next year. He's just not old enough. I just can't see it.
Saturday, August 7, 2004 7:47 PM CDT Josh got his port out last Tuesday. Everything went perfect. Of course! We were at the hospital at 6am. Then waited until around 8am for the surgery. It's like at the airport when they want you to be there 2 hours before your flight. So you can sit and wait. He was only in there for about 45 minutes, then the doctor came out and told us she was done and everything went well. We can't take the bandage off until tomorrow. I am dying to see it. To feel his chest and not feel that hard lump that shouldn't be there. He has been pretty tender since Tuesday but is better everyday. He walked around with his homemade cane for 2 days afterward. Bent over with his shoulder down. Poor thing. But he will be fighting with Tyler soon. I'm sure Ty will be glad too. After a year and a half of being careful when he and Josh fight.
Friday, July 30, 2004 6:13 PM CDT Josh didn't have his port removed yesterday. The doctor's office called on Monday and said they were going to have to reschedule. So he is set for surgery next Tuesday. School starts on Thursday so that is really cutting it close.
Monday, July 19, 2004 12:43 AM CDT Happy Monday. Things have been going real well around our home. We've been trying to get a few things in before school starts. We've been to the movie, been to Lithia Springs, the beach. We are going to a water park this week, if it isn't raining, it has rained off and on for 3 days. Woke up to rain this morning, a good reason to stay in bed. We went to Melbourne this weekend to see Tom's brother and his wife. They have a new baby. A cutie. Josh and Tyler enjoyed playing with their 2 year old cousin. They swam in the pool a few times, then took a short trip out in Uncle Ron's sailboat. Then it started raining. :( This coming weekend, we are going to visit my dad and my friend Lisa in Tallahassee. Tuesday, June 29, 2004 3:43 PM CDT We're back! We got home Saturday afternoon. What a wonderful time we had.
Thursday, June 17, 2004 2:40 PM CDT If anyone was wondering what we have been up to the past week, well we are preparing for Josh's Carribean Cruise. Yes, it is finalized. Last Friday Joanne from the Children's Dream Fund called with a cruise. It was very short notice but she said it was a wonderful opportunity. The Celebrity Cruise Line was going to donate a 7 night Carribean Cruise for Joshua. The only problem was that it only gave us a weeks notice. Tom checked at work and he was able to take off so we said "yes".
Monday, June 7, 2004 1:10 PM CDT Well those long awaited scans were done last Wednesday. An MRI and CT of the chest and of course they were all clear. What a huge relief. No treatment for the past 3 months and all clear. Now I can relax for another 3 months then it starts all over again. I called the doctor's office this morning about scheduling a surgery date to remove his port. They usually wait until the next set of scans but since he is considered "low risk", she said we could go ahead and get it out. I hope they do a better job on his scar. He doesn't like it now and won't go swimming without a shirt. I told him that he should be proud of that scar. It means he won!
Friday, May 28, 2004 9:21 AM CDT School is finally out. Yesterday I went to his party at school. Those kids were wild, I sure don't think I could be a teacher. Kids were running around the room. When we left, food was all over the floor, what a mess. But it was a good year. And it will only get better. Oh, and Josh got Honor Roll again, and a good citizenship award. Tyler will get his report card mailed to him soon.
Monday, May 10, 2004 5:55 PM CDT It's about time I updated. Things have been going just wonderful. Josh went to the clinic last Monday and all is well. His counts were great, weight it up. Even got a chest X-Ray. Dr. Kerr said everything looked good to her, although she is not a radiologist. They will be calling anytime with a date for his 3 month off treatment scans. No problem, he'll be fine. The lady from the Children's Dream Fund met him there to talk with him again regarding his wish. He told her he did not want a Disney Cruise anymore, now he wants a cruise on the Royal Carribean Cruise Line. She called a few days later and told him that he had been approved and she would get to work on finding just the right cruise for him. Yeah!!! He was excited.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 4:43 PM CDT Summer vacation is almost here. Only 25-1/2 days left. We are going to try and stay busy. Since we missed out last summer. Everything is going great with Josh. Seems too good to be true. One little boy that was diagnosed a month after Josh just finished and he is doing great too, but he has had difficulty with his motor skills. He is getting physical therapy. Josh seems just fine with everthing. He says his feet hurt a lot. I don't know if its the fact that he doesn't wear shoes when he is outside and is always stepping on rocks or if it is an effect of the Vincristine. I'll mention it to the doctor when we go back in May.
Sunday, April 11, 2004 7:29 PM CDT Happy, Happy Easter!! What a nice, sunny Sunday. We started our day off going to church and boy was it packed. Standing room only. They sure played some beautiful music this morning. Then when we got home we noticed that our newspaper was not in the paper box. Darn! Someone stole our paper. When we got back to the house, surprize, surprize, Poppy and Mimi were there. That explained the missing paper. Smelled good in the house too. Mimi had made a yummy lunch. Good thing we didn't go out to eat today. They said they weren't coming for Easter. That was really nice. Then later on, Maria, Clay and the kids came out. We had ham, green beans, yams, etc. Good stuff. Good thing I'm not counting points today. All the kids had a good time. They were out of school on Friday and again Monday. 4 days off. Monday, April 5, 2004 5:44 PM CDT Well it's been over a week since I last posted. There are no medical updates anymore so it seems like there isn't much to write. Let's see, last Monday we were invited by the folks at the clinic to see the Lightning play hockey. That was a treat. The Lightning vs Senators. Exciting game. We sat in one of the suites. Several kids from the clinic were invited. Lots of food, snacks and drinks. They even had a Playstation 2 in the room. Yes Josh spent some time on that. After the game, (which they lost) we went back near the locker rooms and waited to meet Brad Richards, (one of the players). We all got lightning bug Tshirts and bandanas. He signed shirts, bandanas and photos. When we left, we were escorted out the back of the building. We walked through the players parking lot. Josh said, "look at all the Hummers". We walked through all the fans waiting to get a glimpse of a player. That was our 15 seconds of fame. It was fun.
Monday, April 5, 2004 5:44 PM CDT Well it's been over a week since I last posted. There are no medical updates anymore so it seems like there isn't much to write. Let's see, last Monday we were invited by the folks at the clinic to see the Lightning play hockey. That was a treat. The Lightning vs Senators. Exciting game. We sat in one of the suites. Several kids from the clinic were invited. Lots of food, snacks and drinks. They even had a Playstation 2 in the room. Yes Josh spent some time of that. After the game, (which they lost) we went back near the locker rooms and waited to meet Brad Richards, (one of the players). We all got a lightning bug Tshirt and bandanas. He signed shirts, bandanas and photos. When we left, we were escorted out the back of the building. We walked through the players parking lot. Josh said, "look at all the Hummers". We walked through all the fans waiting to get a glimpse of a player. That was our 15 seconds of fame. It was fun. Saturday, March 27, 2004 10:16 AM CST Well it's Saturday and spring break is almost over. Kids have only 2 days left and it's back to school on Monday. It always seems too short.
Thursday, March 18, 2004 7:32 PM CST Haven't written in a while. No news is good news, remember that. The kids finished their FCAT testing and now we are getting ready for spring break. One more day. Everyone comes to Florida on spring break so we are going to have to go out of Florida. We will leave Saturday and go north to the Tennessee area. We'll do the usual tourist stuff. Should be fun if everyone stays in a good mood. Monday, March 8, 2004 5:10 PM CST The "Blast 2004" was a success. What a great time we all had. Saturday was just perfect. The weather was beautiful. We put the meat on the smoker at 7 that morning. Chicken, pork, beef, and sausages and hot dogs later on. We had over 60 people to come out and help us celebrate. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Josh had his friends over, Tyler had his friends, cousins, lots of kids. We had cakes, brownies, ice cream and a 30 lb bucket of strawberries for shortcake. I'm sure everyone got enough to eat. Josh got lots of gifts too. Everyone was very generous. After everyone had eaten, we loaded the guns up and Josh got to shoot first. He unloaded the 22 into the mask. Then it was my turn, I blew it away with 5 shots from the shotgun. Tyler was next, 5 more shots, then dad. That poor mask. It felt good though. The mask is no more. After we destroyed it with the gun, the kids got a box of matches and burned it up. Stunk up the whole yard. P-U!!! Tuesday, March 2, 2004 8:46 PM CST My oh my, isn't life grand? We went to the clinic today. Counts were great and the MRI was normal. No more tumor. What a great feeling. He doesn't have to go back for a month. I had many questions for the doctor. I asked about secondary malignancies as a result of the chemo. She assured me that the chemo that Josh received was not the type that would typically cause any malignancies down the road. I asked about any neuro problems from the vincristine. He has not had any problems from it so far so she did not forsee any future problems. The dactinomycin,.... I asked about that. Would it cause any liver problems? No to that one too. She said that sometimes in a very small percentage of patients that it could affect the heart muscle. All in all, only about one percent of the kids should have any problems from the chemo. Ok, how about the radiation? She wasn't really concerned about that either. She said with the dose that he received, she didn't feel that he would have any problems later on. It's like whatever I threw at her, she just shot me down. Thankfully.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004 3:39 PM CST Today was our big day at the hospital. Josh got his IV at 9:30. He sure is a good patient. Then a CT of the chest, MRI of the brain and orbits, lunch and a bone scan. It will probably take over a week for the results. I'm ok though. His chest X-Ray was clear and so will these. Grandma went with us. I'm sure she was bored to tears. She couldn't even go in with us for the tests. It was nice though that we didn't have to go alone. His party is set for March 6. Sunday, February 22, 2004 1:32 PM CST What a beautiful day it is today. Breezy and almost hot. The boys are outside playing. I just found Josh down at the pond. He had a big bull frog tied to a fishing rod and he was trying to get Sparky to go after it. Yes Sparky is back. Wednesday, February 18, 2004 4:40 PM CST It was back to the clinic today, but no chemo. How nice that is now. He did need labs drawn through a vein today. I had him prepped with the Emla cream. He did fine, and his counts were high. Even his hemoglobin. He has gained weight too. He got a chest XRay also. The doctor said it was normal. Next Wednesday is his big day with all the tests.
Monday, February 16, 2004 6:54 PM CST No school today. President's day. Tom took Josh to work with him this morning for a little while. I hurried up at work and went to pick him up about 10:30 this morning. He was ready to leave. He had already snooped through all of dad's things. He had a huge bag of apple pies from McDonalds left over from breakfast and a couple of egg mcmuffins. He never gets tired of those. When we got home, Tyler was out of bed, Yeah! Then we went to the mall, amidst all the gripes and grumbles of two boys who wanted to stay home. Tyler needed some clothes though. We got our business done, somewhat. Josh got some new skate shoes and Tyler got a couple pair of shorts. All in all, we had a miserable time. Why couldn't I have had at least one girl? Thursday, February 12, 2004 9:05 PM CST What a quick trip we had at the clinic yesterday. In and out in 15 minutes. Had his finger poked and had great counts. They will get a little low next week. One more time. The last time. Tuesday, February 3, 2004 5:53 PM CST WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!! THIS IS IT! WE'RE DONE!!!! Last poke today. Yes after 48 weeks we have completed treatment. Time sure flew. It wasn't easy but he is finished. I feel like we just ran a marathon, and yes I said "We". Our family has faced the ultimate challenge. I hope that none of our family and friends ever have to go through anything like this with someone they love. I cannot imagine anything harder.
Sunday, February 1, 2004 8:59 PM CST The weekend is over. It's back to school tomorrow. Friday, Tyler went to Universal Studios with his class. He had a great time, because they just opened the bus doors and let them loose. No parents. Before picking Tyler up Friday night, we went out to eat, just the 3 of us. It's amazing how peaceful it can be without 1 kid. When they are together they pick, pick, pick at each other. It was nice. Josh had a seafood platter of course. Wednesday, January 28, 2004 3:41 PM CST It's that time again. Chemo day. Only one left. Hard to believe it's already been 47 weeks. It's scary too. The chemo and radiation have worked and he will soon be a normal 10 year old kid again. Next week he gets the Actino alone. One more time to feel sick. He will then return in a week for a CBC then he won't have to go back for a month. He gets his end of treatment scans on February 25th. In addition to the usual CXR and MRI, he will also get a CT of the chest and a bone scan. I really liked the feeling of knowing that we were doing something for him every week. It's going to be different now, knowing we are finished. Different is not the word for it, it is more like terrifying. We will get through it. Thursday, January 22, 2004 7:55 PM CST Haven't written in a few days. Tom's parents are still here and I don't seem to have as much time for the computer. Things are still going real well. Josh hasn't lost that much hair. It's still falling out but not that noticeable. He got his chemo yesterday and his counts were great! I'm going to buy steak for him tomorrow. He loves steak and he likes it kinda rare. When his ANC is low, he doesn't get rare meat.
Saturday, January 17, 2004 7:07 PM CST Kids have been outside quite a bit today. It has warmed up nice. They put on their army clothes and played army around the house that is being built next door. They sure did get dirty. I put a new picture on the photo page of them.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004 6:06 PM CST It's Wednesday so it's back to the clinic for chemo number 4. That means 3 more to go. This was the yucky one so he won't feel well tomorrow. I'll let him stay home with grandma tomorrow. His counts were up again. That's good. He's been eating like a pig lately too. His weight is up. 34.5 kg. The salsa is gone. We'll have to head back to Tia's soon. Sunday, January 11, 2004 7:03 PM CST Not much to update about this weekend. It was too cold to do much on Saturday so the kids stayed inside and played on the computers. They go online and battle each other. They yell back and forth from the family room to the bedroom at each other. They certainly seem to enjoy it. Friday, January 9, 2004 7:58 PM CST Josh feels better already. He got a big bag of dad's blood today. His hemoglobin was 7.5 this morning. Just a bit up from Tuesday. He will be rip roaring through the house this weekend. Supposed to cool off. It has really been hot for quite a while. After the clinic we went by Tia's and got him 2 quarts of salsa and chips. He could live on those. His favorite.
Tuesday, January 6, 2004 5:30 PM CST Chemo day again. We are counting down now. 4 more to go. He didn't have a real good day at the clinic. I made sure there was plenty of Emla on his port and when she accessed him, it didn't hurt at all. However, for the past few weeks he gets nauseated every time he goes to the clinic. As soon as he gets there, he starts feeling bad. When she uses the cleanser to clean his port area, he covers his nose with his hand and says he feels like he is going to throw up. I never realized it was as bad as it is until today. He said he really felt sick. The nurse got him a pan and woosh. He totally spilled it. Again and again. The poor nurse had already accessed him so she had to continue giving him the chemo while he did what he did. He felt much better after he finished. He was curious though, what the "big pieces" were. He later determined it was funnel cake from lunch. Nice, huh?
Thursday, January 1, 2004 6:51 PM CST Happy New Year. What did we do last night? Nothing. Josh and I were watching a movie in bed until about 11:55, then we switched it over and watched the ball drop. Then back to the movie. We are real party goers. Tuesday, December 30, 2003 4:23 PM CST Today was Josh's chemo. Only 5 left. The emla didn't numb him enough today. It hurt him when he got the needle and when she took it out. It has been a long time since he has cried. Next week will be better. I'll put plenty on him. We were going to have lunch afterwards but the boys weren't getting along, (fighting) and he was still upset about the needle so we just came home. I'm going in to work tomorrow for just a few hours so I guess Josh will go with me. They don't mind. He is no trouble. I'll just get him an egg mcmuffin and he can hide at my desk and eat and draw all over everything. Everytime he would go with me in the past, I would later find notes and drawings all over my area. Cute stuff.
Saturday, December 27, 2003 11:37 AM CST Things have finally calmed down around here. Everyone is gone today except me and the boys. The house is still a mess though. We had a very nice Christmas. The boys were very happy with their stash. Tyler got a new computer and Josh got a lot of games and such. Josh got his new computer a few months ago. It was Tyler's turn. They got a label maker and Josh has labeled everything in the house including the bathtub and the dogs bone. The new dog in the picture is not ours. It is his cousin's dog, Coco. Josh just loves any dog. Monday, December 22, 2003 8:04 PM CST It has finally warmed up today. Josh had a fire going last night. Tom calls him "Firebug". He won't leave the fire alone. Guess it has something to do with being 10 years old.
Friday, December 19, 2003 5:41 PM CST It was the last day of school until next year. 17 days of kids at home. Josh had his big party at school today. He got lots of treats from his teacher Mrs. Smedley. They had pizza, chips, brownies, cupcakes and cookies. He was wired when we left. I told Tyler that I was going to bring cupcakes to his class today. He just looked at me.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 1:54 PM CST Things are going just great. Josh had chemo yesterday and his counts were very good. His hemoglobin is dropping but that's ok, we know how to fix that. Dr. Ayala said he is just sensitive to the Dactinomycin. He got the CT done on Monday. Hopefully we will hear about that soon. He only gets 7 more chemo treatments then he is done. Hard to believe everything that he has been through this past year. No one ever thinks about these things. They happen to other people. Now we are those other people. But it makes us realize how fragile life is and how we shouldn't take the little things for granted. Every day is special. Take time for the important things.
Saturday, December 13, 2003 3:25 PM CST Only 5 days left for the kids in school then they are off for 16 days. They can't wait. This is the most exciting time of the year. I think they know everything that they have under the tree. They peek. It's been pretty warm today. Josh went out and washed my car. I didn't even have to ask him. He did a good job too. I put a new picture of him washing it.
Wednesday, December 10, 2003 3:30 PM CST It's Wednesday so that means chemo day. I got to talk to the doctor about the MRI results. She was very pleased. The report said exactly this: "No present discrete mass lesion visualized in the right orbit". It looks so good to see it on paper. What a wonderful Christmas present this has been. As for the "artifacts". Dr. Kerr felt it could be Josh's watery eye also. Just to be absolutely sure, he will get a CT on Monday. What fun, back to St. Pete, at rush hour too. Even his counts were great. Every single thing was within range of normal. All except 2 things that I don't even know what they are. He feels great too, so what could be better.
Monday, December 8, 2003 4:03 PM CST Hallelujah!!! The results are in. Great scans. No evidence of tumor/disease. Told ya! I already knew that. There was however "artifacts" around the eyelid, possible occular fluid. Doctor was not concerned at all, they are to do a CT later this week anyway. Josh told me that his eye was watering during the scan and he couldn't wipe it so maybe that was the problem, but the main thing is, "no evidence of tumor/disease". What a wonderful day. I sat around waiting all day long. So much to do but I didn't want to leave the house. Might even get my old job back. 2004 promises to be a much better year, I'm sure. Friday, December 5, 2003 8:17 PM CST Well the results won't be ready until Monday. So much for "red tagging" the films. I just don't know why it takes so long. I know they will be clear but it would be nice to hear it from the doctor. Wednesday, December 3, 2003 6:23 PM CST Today was a busy day. First we went to the clinic and Josh got a chest xray. Dr. Kerr looked at it while we were there and said it was perfectly normal. One down. Then he got both chemos. Hope he doesn't get that sick feeling. Then we drove over to St. Pete where he got his MRI. One of the nurses wrote "red tag" on the order. She knows how rattled I get so hopefully they will read it sooner. Dr Cottman, the radiation doctor saw him also. Said he looked fine, for us to come back in 6 months.
Friday, November 28, 2003 5:03 PM CST We are certainly enjoying our time off. We had a very nice Thanksgiving yesterday. There is so much to be thankful for this year. All that we have gone through this year makes you look at things differently.
Tuesday, November 25, 2003 6:07 PM CST Another good day at the clinic. His counts were excellent. He had a little cold this week but the doctor said he looked great. Next Wednesday will be our big day. He will get chemo, chest xray, MRI and then a follow up with the radiation oncologist. The chemo he gets on Wednesday will be the first one for his last round. We are almost finished. What a year it has been.
Sunday, November 23, 2003 2:59 PM CST Today is Josh's 10th birthday. We had a big party Friday night. Josh had 3 little guys over and 2 of them spent the night. Tyler's 14th birthday was on Thursday so he had 2 friends over also. We had 7 boys running through the house Friday night. They did have a good time. I heard the older ones making noise at 2:30am. Then bright and early Saturday morning they get up. Tyler got a fancy skateboard and Josh got a new game boy game, video card for his computer, some Yu-Gi-Oh cards and some $$$.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003 6:20 PM CST This was a "no chemo" Wednesday. He is into his 2 week break from chemo. We were in and out in 15 minutes. His counts were so good. He recovers quickly. His birthday is Sunday so we are having a dual birthday party on Friday. Ty's birthday is Thursday. They want their friends to spend the night. Eeeeekkk! What a Friday night that will be. But at least I won't worry about Josh catching anything. Strep is going around the school now. That would surely be an admission to the hospital.
Sunday, November 16, 2003 3:41 PM CST We've all been a little busy the last few days. Tom left for a tournament on Thursday and Lisa and Shawn got here on Friday. So the boys have been busy with Shawn and computers and video games. We ate out a couple of times, did some shopping. Just messed around. They like it when they come for a visit. Made some "sticky bunns". There is a new picture of that. But it's back to school tomorrow. Only 8 school days left until they get off for the Thanksgiving holidays. Wednesday, November 12, 2003 7:11 PM CST Doing good. Had a great day at school and a great day at the clinic. How his ANC can go from 700 on Monday to 2300 today, is beyond me. All his levels were good. I'm so grateful. It took over 2 hours at the clinic though, we weren't too thrilled with that. But he had a nice juicy steak for supper. He does love a good steak. Hopefully he will feel well enough for school tomorrow. Can't miss too many days.
Monday, November 10, 2003 5:09 PM CST Back to the clinic again this morning and still he has low counts. I know they could be much lower but I still don't like an ANC of 700. Only because it is usually so much higher. I probably should have sent him to school but I just couldn't. I was going to, driving along he is telling me all the reasons why he shouldn't go to school. "This girl that sits by me is sick", "everything is so germy there". But of course the real reason is, "I want to go home and watch TV or something". Something inside me suddenly said to just go home. So we did. What's it gonna hurt? He does great in school, he can miss a day or two. Tomorrow is a holiday so that little pip got a 5 day weekend.
Sunday, November 9, 2003 6:54 PM CST Another uneventful weekend, which is a good thing. I took Josh to the clinic on Friday morning to re-check his counts. His ANC was only 600 so we went right back home. I'm not sure why his counts get low sometimes and sometimes they don't. I wasn't sure about church but we went anyway. He seems fine. We are headed back to the clinic again in the morning to see if his counts have bounced back. It's also a good thing to know how long his counts are low so we know what he can and can't do. Thursday, November 6, 2003 6:30 PM CST We finally got our kitties. They are so cute. Josh loves them although he doesn't want to admit it. I guess its not cool to like a cat. Look at the new picture. Tuesday, November 4, 2003 5:54 PM CST Well, we still haven't gotten a cat but I'm still working on it. Josh has been busy with ant lions. Those things we always called doodle bugs. He digs up their holes and sifts through the sand and finds them. He notices the smallest of things. I guess that's why I've always called him "Bug". I put a picture of him with them on the photo page. Saturday, November 1, 2003 6:52 PM CST Things have been going just fine around here. Josh had a good week at school. His counts were good on Wednesday. We haven't been doing much. We've been trying to get a kitten. Josh and I went yesterday to the animal services place but failed their test. I told them I wasn't keeping the kitten in the house. Then we went to the Humane society today and the line was just too long. He was irritated because he had picked out a cute little black kitten. I'll go back next week when it's not so crowded. I will also tell them that the cat will get weekly massages, eat fancy feast in a crystal bowl and sleep in my bed. Maybe I will pass their test then. He really wants another dog but that will have to wait.
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 5:04 PM CST It's chemo day again. I picked him up just a little bit early from school so I could go by a shop in Tampa and get some caramel, and chocolate so we can make, caramel, choc apples. Josh said he would help me make them but I don't think he will eat them. He is so weird. Saturday, October 25, 2003 8:52 AM CDT It's been a good week for Josh. He got his report card on Thursday and I had a conference with his teachers. He got honor roll this time. His teachers say he is getting this "don't care" attitude. I guess it's because of all that has been going on with him. She says he will get a 100 n a test, then get a 10 Guess it depends on his mood that day. I suppose it has a lot to do with me doing too much for him. I've been trying to make him do more for himself but now he's a little spoiled. He is going to work much harder this 9 weeks. Hopefully he will get it back up to "Principal's Honor Roll".
Monday, October 20, 2003 6:56 PM CDT We have had a good week so far. Didn't do much this weekend. The boys are really into Yu-Gi-Oh cards the last few days. I'll be glad when they start playing with something else. Josh spent $18 on cards yesterday. I really don't like to see that, but I guess he thinks it's worth it. He has sure been getting a lot of mail lately. He got 3 packages and 2 cards in the mail today from his chemo angels. Stickers, candy, just little things. When I pick him up from school, I have the mail. His face just lights up. Friday, October 17, 2003 3:32 PM CDT First thing this morning we are at the clinic for his transfusion. What a long morning. We were there 4 hours. I think he is already feeling better. Had lunch at Tia's afterward. Bought 2 quarts of salsa to take home. Chips too. He's on a Tia's kick right now. You know how that goes with him. Stopped and got a pumpkin on the way home and a new pack of Yu-Gi-Oh cards. He deserved it. What a cruddy way to spend a free day from school. Wednesday, October 15, 2003 6:41 PM CDT It's Wednesday so that means chemo day. Everything went well. He had been feeling tired this past week so I figured his hemoglobin would be low. It was. 7.1, so we will be back on Friday for a transfusion. His dad gave blood on Monday so it will be ready by Friday. He will feel so much better after he gets the blood. Transfusions are more normal than abnormal for chemo patients. There is no school on Friday. What a way for him to spend his day off.
Monday, October 13, 2003 8:33 AM CDT The boys and I went to my Dad's house for the weekend. It was the annual Pioneer Day Festival. We always go. Not much of a parade and festival, but it's become a tradition for us to go every year. It rained off and on Saturday. Josh still collected a whole bag of candy at the parade. He likes to dash out for the candy that they throw. Then on to the Festival in the park. Curly fries and funnel cakes. All Josh really wants to do at my dad's house is fish, fish, fish. But with the rain, he didn't get to fish until Sunday. They weren't biting either. But he still had a fun time. Poppy and Mimi had some fish that they caught last week so we ate them. Little bitty fried catfish. Tyler and Josh ate quite a few of those. Yum! We had a good weekend.
Wednesday, October 8, 2003 3:30 PM CDT Just got back from the doctor. Josh is doing great as always. His hemoglobin is slowly going down again. He may need a transfusion again soon. But thats ok, these are just little inconveniences. His other counts are great. He won't be getting sick this week. There was a little boy at the clinic today about 4 or 5. Dr. Kerr said that he has been off treatment for a couple of years for rhabdo. He had it in the sinus area. He looked great. It was really nice to see him. It gave me even more hope for Josh. Tomorrow is the end of the 9 weeks. He only missed about 4 days I think. School is going great for him too.
Monday, October 6, 2003 6:03 PM CDT Kids are out of school today. Not sure why, teachers had to work. I really wanted to do something with my boys. So we decided to go have lunch at Tia's, (Josh's favorite place). Not sure what else we were going to do. Just as we are ready to leave, Ty starts griping about not wanting to go. I'm thinking how tired I am of complaining people that never want to do anything, so I told him, "Fine, stay home". He looked at me weird but we left without him. I've never left him home that long and I thought alot about what he might and might not be doing, but he survived. So it was just me and Josh. He ate so many chips at Tia's that he only ate 3 bites of his enchilada. I made up for him not eating. Ugh, thought I would be sick. Then we went to Gameworks in Ybor. He does love to go to that place. Got him a card that was good for one hour so he was non-stop. He likes these race cars. There are 6 of them and you compete against other players. He was up against 4 other adults. He beat them all. I was proud. They all get out of their cars and one lady comments, "He beat all of us?" Yeah, what's new? That hour flew by. We had a real good time. When I was his age, they had a "Pong" game at Grants. My how things change. We walked through Centro Ybor and he got a cup of ice cream. What kind does he get? Why....coffee of course. How gross. Then on the way home we had to get a few things at Publix. He wanted coffee ice cream to take home. Yuk, yuk and more yuk. He asked me if I would eat the whole container for $10. I said, "not for $100." He sure has a unique taste. Saturday, October 4, 2003 10:13 AM CDT It's Saturday morning. Josh is on the couch with that Gameboy up his nose. It's funny how they are with their things. Last night, Tyler got Josh's Gameboy Game, (Golden Sun). Josh hasn't played it in weeks. Oh no, this just can't be, now Josh has to play the game. He will be in another place while he plays. It's like he isn't aware of what goes on around him when he is in "GameBoy Land." Wednesday, October 1, 2003 8:36 PM CDT Well, it's chemo day. We had a morning appointment today because the doctor wasn't going to be available in the afternoon. It took 2 hours too. Yuk. Got him to school just in time for lunch. Monday, September 29, 2003 8:33 AM CDT We had a rainy weekend. Yesterday the boys and I went to Maria and Clay's house. We went to their church for the first time. The boys really didn't like that at all. Too long. They are used to stopping "on time". Well they don't at that church. But then they got to spend the entire day at their house playing with there cousins. It rained all day so the house was noisy. 6 kids. We all had a good time though. They watched movies and just made noise.
Saturday, September 27, 2003 6:50 PM CDT Things have been going just great. He hasn't missed any school in a while. I didn't even keep him out this past week. I usually will keep him out of school 2 days out of every 3 weeks because his counts are usually low, but they have been so high. The doctor said to sent him to school. So we did! My birthday was Friday and Josh made me the sweetest card I have ever gotten. It said, "You are even more over the hill". He used colored pencils, drew balloons on it. Best card I have "Ever" gotten. I will certainly keep that one. Tom got the boys arrows for their homemade bows. Now I have yet more things to worry about. They have been outside a lot with those darn things. It's still really humid, just gross outside. A few more weeks and it might be more pleasant.
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 5:26 PM CDT Yet another great Wednesday. Counts were good, access went well. No problems at all. It was picture day also. He insisted on wearing a long sleeve shirt, long pants and a tie. He did look sharp but I know he was wishing he had not done that. He said he was frying at P.E. At least he admitted it. I really wanted to take a picture of him this morning before we left for school. I wanted to put it on the home page, but nooooooo, he wouldn't hear of it. He complained that "you never let me do what I want to do so why should I let you take a picture?" I asked him what it was that he wanted to do. "Drive the Montero around the yard, look at your shot gun, etc". Well I wonder why. Needless to say, I didn't get the picture. Monday, September 22, 2003 7:17 PM CDT Monday, Monday, back to school. That's ok. Josh loves school, although he wouldn't admit it. Yesterday he turned his ankle somehow. Wasn't really bad but he kept saying he needed a cane. So we went down in the front part of the yard where there was a tree that had fallen. We picked a nice branch and he cut it off the tree. Back to the barn we went. We were going to make him a custom cane. Josh used the drawing knife to remove all the bark. Then we sanded it and Tom found a rubber plug for the end of it. He is so proud of his cane. I put some pictures on of him with it. Silly boy. Saturday, September 20, 2003 7:28 PM CDT A leisurely Saturday in Dover. Boys didn't want to do anything. I tried to get them to go somewhere with me but they are home bodies. Rode the go-carts quite a bit. Josh was getting in the mud again and that is too germie. I told him to stay out of the mud. Right now they are in Ty's room and they have a giant tub of Legos all over the floor. About 10 years worth of Legos. Hope they don't think I am picking them up.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 7:16 PM CDT FANTABULOUS!!!! That's how I describe Josh's labs today. His WBC was 7.0 and ANC 4600. Could his blood have gotten mixed up with someone elses? Of course not, things are just falling into place. This must be the plan. I even asked Dr. Ayala about his remarkable progress. He has no neuropathy, rarely gets nauseated, strong, gaining weight, just like a non-cancer kid. She said this is the way it should be but unfortunately, it isn't always this easy for some kids. Things are definitely going right with him. All the prayers that have been said for Josh are making all the difference. Let's all just keep it up. Tuesday, September 16, 2003 7:17 PM CDT Got to school early this morning. Josh always wants to go early so he can work in the library. He is library assistant. When I got home I took his cat Charro to the vet. She had not been eating lately and was wasting away. She had feline leukemia. Had to put her to sleep. I won't ever do that again. Too hard. I was afraid of what Josh would do when I told him. Good ole Josh. Heartless. Wondering when we will get a new cat. Oh well, guess that reaction is better than crying. Monday, September 15, 2003 5:35 PM CDT Nothing much going on around here. Had a nice quiet weekend. Josh never wants to go anywhere. He's been sitting around with a jar of pepper rings and a fork eating them. He has always loved pepper rings. I bought him 3 jars so he has plenty. Like I said, he is feeling great. He is hollering at me to "lets go outside", so I'd better run. Thursday, September 11, 2003 8:10 PM CDT Ugh oh, Josh felt sick today. He got the Actino drug yesterday. Sometimes it hits him hard and sometimes it doesn't. He really wanted to try out for orchestra so he went to school and asked me to pick him up early. So I picked him up at 9:30. He said they didn't have try outs today. Oh well, at least he wasn't marked absent. He took 3 baths today. Makes him feel better. He layed around and watched a movie and we played a game with Yu-Gi-Oh cards. I had no idea what I was doing. I hope he makes it to school tomorrow. Can't miss too many days. I put up some new photos. Thursday, September 11, 2003 8:10 PM CDT Ugh oh, Josh felt sick today. He got the Actino drug yesterday. Sometimes it hits him hard and sometimes it doesn't. He really wanted to try out for orchestra so he went to school and asked me to pick him up early. So I picked him up at 9:30. He said they didn't have try outs today. Oh well, at least he wasn't marked absent. He took 3 baths today. Makes him feel better. He layed around and watched a movie, we played a game with Yu-Gi-Oh cards. I had no idea what I was doing. I hope he makes it to school tomorrow. Can't miss too many days. I put up some new photos. Wednesday, September 10, 2003 7:39 PM CDT It was a chemo day. He got both today. I just put him to bed and he was complaining that he didn't feel good. It's different every time for him. Some times it doesn't bother him at all. His counts were very good. Not as good as last week but very good for getting Actino 3 weeks ago. Hemoglobin still at 11. Amazing what a little pint of blood can do. Monday, September 8, 2003 8:34 PM CDT Well it took 5 days for results but it was worth it. The results were CLEAR!!!! Yep, I'll get to read it for myself on Wednesday but the nurse said they were improved from the last one done in June. The one is June was great. But I guess there is always room for improvement. What a load off of me. No one ever told me that being a mother was so difficult. When you have children, you just don't think of these types of things happening. But we are proof that anything can happen. Enjoy you children. Sunday, September 7, 2003 7:09 PM CDT A great weekend. Didn't do a thing, but Josh is doing great so everything is wonderful. Josh and I fed Sparky about 6 times this weekend. I know, I know, it's a terrible thing to do but he just loves that alligator. Guess we'll have to haul it off soon if it doesn't move on.
Friday, September 5, 2003 5:49 PM CDT Just another day, except I didn't get the results of his MRI from Wednesday. That really irritates me. Now I'll have to wait until Monday for them to tell me that they are all clear. I know those nurses are probaly aggravated with me but they will get over it. I only called twice yesterday and twice today. That's not bad. They should really try to put themselves in my place though.
Wednesday, September 3, 2003 6:22 PM CDT What a busy day. Went to Tampa this morning for labs. They sure were good too. ANC of 3000 and hemoglobin 11.1. Tom must have some potent blood. They did the chest Xray there too. Dr. Kerr looked at it before we left and she said it was normal. That's one down. On to St. Pete for the MRI. He slept through that again. I will get the results tomorrow. I know they are clear though.
Tuesday, September 2, 2003 6:07 PM CDT Josh only has one day at school this week. Tomorrow he gets his MRI and gets his counts checked. Then Thursday and Friday his counts will be low so he is staying home. He is still doing great! All of our problems are in the past. He has been playing his Gameboy non-stop for about 3 days. It's funny that he won't play it at all for weeks and weeks then all of a sudden, he can't put it down to eat. Last night the water was running in the tub for a while so I peeked in. He was sitting in the tub, hanging over the edge playing Gameboy.
Sunday, August 31, 2003 6:49 PM CDT Remember, "no news is good news", ....usually. Maria and the kids met us at church this morning. That was nice, then afterwards we all went to Applebee's. 6 kids, whoa!! But it is so much easier than when we used to go and they were younger. I can remember the waiters looking at all of us, and wondering what they were thinking. Anyway, they came over to the house after lunch and the kids played all afternoon. It was kinda nice outside, very breezy, almost a hint of fall in the air, but still a little too hot. So Maria and I each took a lawn chair outside, it was real nice, then the kids noticed us and here they came. Tyler and Michael on the go-carts, then Josh runs for the lawn mower. The golf cart is out of commission. So our nice time outside got noisey, exhaust filled and full of those dang love bugs. Yuk. Wednesday, August 27, 2003 7:05 PM CDT Wow!! A great day at the clinic. He is into his first week of his 2 week chemo break. His ANC was 2900 and his WBC 5.4. He hasn't been that high in about 3 months. And the hemoglobin was 10.4. Can't beat that. He is scheduled for his 2nd set of scans next Wednesday, but they will be clear. Just letting everyone know ahead of time. : ) Sunday, August 24, 2003 7:17 PM CDT Another hot day. We'll be so glad when October gets here. Such a nice time of the year. Josh woke up hungry this morning. Tom went up to McDonald's and got the boys McMuffin's and apple pies. I wonder if he is going to get on that kick again. Who cares, he eats them. Then off to church. Josh sure doesn't want to go lately. He did his homework during the service. I don't really care, if he gets just a little out of it then I'm ok with it. During the sermon, the pastor said that "worry is a warning sign that you are not putting God first", well I felt a little tap on my leg from Josh's shoe. It meant, "ehem......Mom, see, you shouldn't worry about me so much". I looked at him and he had this little smirk on his face. Oh, ok I guess he is right. I try not to worry so much but geez, it's hard. Saturday, August 23, 2003 6:36 PM CDT We decided to go to Orlando today. Every 3rd weekend we can't do anything with Josh so when we can, we need to. We went to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. What a rip off. It was interesting but not ($$$$$) that interesting. Then we went to an indoor skate park. Tyler really enjoyed that. We will have to take them over some time and let them practice. Then of course we can't go to Orlando and not go to Bass Pro. We lost Josh in there and by the time I found him, I was really getting scared. I'm thinking that no one would want a 9 year old kid but when I couldn't find him for so long, I was thinking some terrible things. Then I find him and he is holding a can cooler in the shape of a black lab. "Look mom, this is cool", grrrrrrrrr...... I put some new pictures up so take a look. Friday, August 22, 2003 8:28 PM CDT Josh made it through another week. Hooray!!!! After school today he went home with his friend Dillon. They played video games and swam in the pool until the thunderstorm hit. I'm glad he got to swim. This is the first time he has gotten to go swimming because we don't have a pool and the doctors say not to let him swim in a public pool or the beach or spring. He wanted to ride mopeds will Dillon but it never stopped raining. Maybe next time. He had something on his shirt when I picked him up and I asked him what it was. He said they had been eating Pizza Bites. And they were good! Hmmmm, I'm always trying to find something that he will eat so I asked him if he would eat them if I bought some. "No", typical Josh. Wednesday, August 20, 2003 8:48 PM CDT Josh got chemo today. He got the stronger one. He felt fine tonight. Hopefully he will go to school tomorrow. I was really encouraging it because he seemed to have already made up his mind that he will not feel well enough to go. The next 2 weeks he will not get chemo, just a blood test each time. Then we move forward to round 3. He will also get his scans sometime in the next 2 weeks. They will be just fine. All clear, I'm sure. Saturday, August 16, 2003 7:24 PM CDT All is well in the Lawson house. Tyler's friend Drew came over today and the boys had a good time. I couldn't find them at one time, I looked out the window and saw them in the cow pasture next door. 3 boys, and one of them was carrying a black umbrella. Josh. He doesn't like the sun at all this year. They came back after a while carrying a bait bucket. "YOU DIDN'T TOUCH THAT DID YOU JOSH?" "No Mom, I just watched". They had caught some minnows. The alligator is back in the pond again. His name is Spike. Josh named him. Wednesday, August 13, 2003 5:35 PM CDT We sure were proud of Josh last night. He was picked as Tuesday's Champion by the Dream Wish Foundation sponsered by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. When we arrived at the designated gate, we were met by our escort, Erin. A very nice young girl that stayed with Josh most of the evening. She had a bat bag for him filled with goodies. A beach towel, tshirt, ball glove, ball, stickers, pins, baseball cards and pictures. She took us down to the dugout where Josh was able to meet most of the players and get their autographs. There isn't much space left on that baseball. After batting practice she took us to the Tropicana Room, an upscale buffet. It was oh so nice, and good. Then it was back to the dugout. At 7:00 the announcer came on the loudspeaker saying it was time for the ceremonial first pitch. That's when Josh went out on the field. "9 year old Joshua Lawson from Dover". I had a grin like I've never had before. He wound up and threw a strong ball. A little low, he was mad at himself about that, but it looked great to me. Then he came back to our seats and we watched a good game. Devil Rays won 4-2. He was tired this morning but it was well worth it. Above is Josh and Rocco Baldelli, center fielder. He will probably be "Rookie of the Year".
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 5:35 PM CDT We sure were proud of Josh last night. He was picked as Tuesday's Champion by the Dream Wish Foundation sponsered by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. When we arrived at the designated gate, we were met by our escort, Erin. A very nice young girl that stayed with Josh most of the evening. She had a bat bag for him filled with goodies. A beach towel, tshirt, ball glove, ball, stickers, pins, baseball cards and pictures. She took us down to the dugout where Josh was able to meet most of the players and get their autographs. There isn't much space left on that baseball. After batting practice she took us to the Tropicana Room, an upscale buffet. It was oh so nice, and good. Then it was back to the dugout. At 7:00 the announcer came on the loudspeaker saying it was time for the ceremonial first pitch. That's when Josh went out on the field. "9 year old Joshua Lawson from Dover". I had a grin like I've never had before. He wound up and threw a strong ball. A little low, he was mad at himself about that, but it looked great to me. Then he came back to our seats and we watched a good game. Devil Rays won 4-2. He was tired this morning but it was well worth it. Above is Josh and Rocco Baldelli, center fielder. He will probably be "Rookie of the Year". Monday, August 11, 2003 3:42 PM CDT Back to school again. Josh is doing wonderful. He was glad he finally got to go to his special math and science class. They were waiting until Monday to get that rolling. Says he ate like a pig at lunch. Great.
Saturday, August 9, 2003 7:19 PM CDT What a rainy day. We stayed in the house all day. Josh just sat around watching TV and eating. I've got no problem with that!
Friday, August 8, 2003 8:05 PM CDT Finally the weekend is here, and we only had a 3 day week. Guess we aren't used to getting up yet. The kids both had good weeks. No problems with Josh at all. He sure has eaten good today. Tonight after supper I was trying to work in the bedroom on the expansion and he called me wanting an apple. So I wash my hands, peel and slice him an apple. I go back in the bedroom, "Mom!" he wants another apple, so I go back in the kitchen, wash and get him another one. Back in the bedroom, "Mom!", he wants some of the baked ham that we had for supper. He eats all that then he ate 2 popsicles. Yeah! That's what I like.
Wednesday, August 6, 2003 7:56 PM CDT Josh's first day back to school went great. He's irritated that he doesn't have any of his old friends in his class, but I know him and he will make new friends. This year he will change classes more often. He will have Language Arts for 2 hours, then he will have his math and science, (gifted) :) Had to add that, then back to his homeroom teacher for all the other stuff. P.E., art and music are stuffed in there somewhere too. He is glad to be back. He talked all about his teacher today. She seems real nice. Tyler is pretty happy with his classes too. All except for one. He's mad because the price of lunch went up. I'm mad because the price of lunch went up. You can get a combo meal at McDonald's for less than it costs to eat at Tomlin Middle School.
Tuesday, August 5, 2003 6:22 PM CDT Josh got his first transfusion today. We got to St. Pete a little after 8 this morning and left around 1pm. I suppose it could be worse. It was very boring. He slept a little. He feels better and his lips are pink. We got back just in time to go to Plant City for him to meet with his new teachers. First we had to see all the ones from last year. Mrs. Miller and Coach were his guardian angels last year. I'm sure they will still be this year too. I met his new teachers and we discussed all the things they can do to help Josh. Seating him away from sick kids being the most important. Everyone is very cooperative. It's such a little hometown school. Everyone wants what is best for him. He is ready for tomorrow. Monday, August 4, 2003 5:47 PM CDT Josh got his chemo today. All counts were acceptable except that darn hemoglobin. It was 6.9. We can't wait around any longer. Tomorrow we go to All Children's at 8:30 for his first transfusion. At least there is blood there that Tom donated last week. I'm not going to let this get me down. The doctor says that most children require transfusions. Josh will be just fine. These are just little things that keep the water stirred up and keep us from getting too relaxed. Dr. Grana said that his level could go up and stay up or it could go up and then come back down in 3 weeks or so. We just have to wait and see how Josh's body reacts. I'm hoping to be finished over there and back before 2:30 when he has his open house at school. I need to really talk with his new teacher and make sure she knows all about Josh and what she can do to help keep him from getting sick again. Sunday, August 3, 2003 7:39 PM CDT Only 2 days left until school starts. Josh is ready to go back. He is bored around here. We did see a little gator in the pond today so they have been down there several times today looking for him. He is small, maybe 2 feet long or so. August is alligator season. So there could be more. Friday, August 1, 2003 7:55 PM CDT All is well in Lawsonville. I feel guilty because I spent most of the day outside working on the house. I left poor Josh all alone. I told him I felt bad about it. I asked him if he cared. He shrugged his shoulders, "No", and continued watching TV. He worked on his hole a little today. He has it about 3 feet deep. He got pretty dirty too. I didn't like that and made him go take a bath. Wednesday, July 30, 2003 6:57 PM CDT Chemo day, and it was both drugs today. We went school shopping after chemo. Josh is ready to go. Shoes, supplies and back pack. Ready for next Wednesday. Tyler is another story. Tuesday, July 29, 2003 7:57 PM CDT The boys had a truly boring day today. They watched me get a spa treatment on my feet and a pedicure. I'm sure they were bored to tears but hey, I've got New York toes now. It gave us something to do anyway. My friend Cindy has a new nail shop so we had to go check it out. Then we went to the Candy Kitchen, a little shop that specializes in nostalgic candy and just weird candy. Tyler got a lollipop with a worm in it. Like I would let him eat that. Monday, July 28, 2003 8:05 PM CDT Tyler is back home after a week at my dad's. He was ready to come home. My dad called this afternoon and said Tyler was ready to come home, so Josh and I met him halfway, around Wildwood. I think Josh is glad he is home, even though he says he isn't. Brothers. Sunday, July 27, 2003 7:13 PM CDT Just me and Josh today. Tyler is still at my dad's and Tom was fishing. We went to church, stopped and got him a sub from Publix and then he stayed on the computer all afternoon. We are going to have to get out and get some new school clothes and supplies. Only a little over a week until school starts. Friday, July 25, 2003 7:38 PM CDT Today we went back to the clinic to check Josh's blood counts. His hemoglobin went up some so the doctor was ok with everything. But his white count was 1.2 and his ANC was 300. Geez, it's been a long time since I've seen him that low. He normally gets to his lowest point about 16 or 17 days after he receives the dactinomycin and they don't normally check it at that time so who knows, maybe it has been that low before and we just didn't know it. He'll make it through this, his counts will probably be much higher tomorrow. We just had to change some plans. We were going to go out to eat with Connie and Larry tonight but we decided not too. No crowds this weekend. Thursday, July 24, 2003 8:04 PM CDT Josh has been tired today. He slept till 10 this morning. Hope that doesn't mean his hemoglobin has dropped. We will go tomorrow and have it checked. Tom was unable to donate blood today. They told him not until tomorrow. I wish he would go to another donor site. Those folks in Plant City don't know which end is up. He was due to donate TODAY.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 7:51 PM CDT Josh got chemo today. The needle stick didn't go so well today. Don't know why but the area didn't get numb enough. When he wiped the creme off, I noticed it looked pink. Not the usual whitish color. I didn't say anything but when she put it in, he tried not to cry but he just couldn't help it. It hurt. I really don't know why either. We will try a different tube next week. It's our last tube too. Sure hope they start selling the stuff again before we run out. His counts were good all except his hemoglobin. 7.4 it has never been that low. Yikes. Tom could not donate any blood until tomorrow. It has to be 56 days between donating. The blood he donated 55 days ago is no longer good . Josh will go back on Friday and they will check him again. Sure hope we don't have to use a stranger's blood. Not that his dad isn't strange but at least he is familiar. Tuesday, July 22, 2003 9:54 PM CDT What a nice day we had today. We did some shopping in Brandon. He got a Jurassic Park game for his computer. Went by the office and spent some time with the girls. I miss the place sometimes. Tonight Josh and I went over to Wendy's house. He played a board game with her son. That was fun for him. He is doing so well and HIS HAIR IS GROWING IN. Tomorrow is chemo. Monday, July 21, 2003 7:45 PM CDT Another good day. Josh is so bored without his brother. All day long, he says, "I'm bored, I'm bored". Maybe we will go out somewhere tomorrow. I'm bored too.
Sunday, July 20, 2003 7:33 PM CDT We're back home. Josh wanted to stay. Tyler did stay. Maybe for a week or so. It will be strange around here without Tyler. Josh sure enjoyed himself. He does love to fish. I told him that next year he can stay for a week too. We had a little fish fry on Friday night and brought home some fish to eat this week. Yum. Check out the new pictures. Saturday, July 19, 2003 2:47 PM CDT Fish, fish, fish. That's all the boys want to do. Especially Josh. He caught the biggest catfish yesterday. Tyler caught a big bass. We feasted on fried fish last night. They have gone out twice today. A big storm cut the first trip short. Back again this afternoon. Saw a gator last night, cruising down the river. I think this has been good to get Josh away for a few days. This is the first time we have really done anything since Josh got sick. Saturday, July 19, 2003 2:47 PM CDT Fish, fish, fish. That's all the boys want to do. Especially Josh. He caught the biggest catfish yesterday. Tyler caught a big bass. We feasted on fried fish last night. They have gone out twice today. A big storm cut the first trip short. Back again this afternoon. Saw a gator last night, cruising down the river. I think this has been good to get Josh away for a few days. This is the first time we have really done anything since Josh got sick. Thursday, July 17, 2003 5:40 PM CDT We are at Poppy now. Got here about 3:30. Went straight out on the river. Wow was it hot. A storm rolled in so we went back to the house. Caught 3 good size red bellies. Saw a beaver too. My dad says he has never seen a beaver on the river in all these years. Just the damage they do. Thursday, July 17, 2003 5:40 PM CDT We are at Poppy now. Got here about 3:30. Went straight out on the river. Wow was it hot. A storm rolled in so we went back to the house. Caught 3 good size red bellies. Josh is sure complaining about the stairs. He has lost some energy since getting sick. I put some new pictures of the boys out on the river. Wednesday, July 16, 2003 8:10 PM CDT Chemo went great. Never a problem anymore. His hemoglobin was low. 8.6. I wonder why. We will certainly have to keep an eye on that. Tom can't donate any blood yet. It has been too soon since the last time. I'll just have to feed him steaks all week. Tuesday, July 15, 2003 8:24 PM CDT Josh is doing just great. Today Maria and the kids came over. We were going to go skating, then someone remembered that they don't allow hats in the rink. I don't think Josh should have to feel self conscious about his bald head and I wasn't sure if they would allow him to skate with his hat so we said "no" to skating. We decided to go to Gameworks. So we headed off to Channelside. I don't know why I thought it was there. It's at Centro Ybor. They really enjoyed it. Lots and lots of games to play. Ty likes the driving games and Josh the shooting games. They had a great time. Only 2 bums asked us for money on the street. Not bad. Tomorrow is chemo. No big deal says Josh. Monday, July 14, 2003 8:53 PM CDT Nothing new to report. Josh is doing great. It's been so hot, the boys haven't been outside much. They rode around on the go-cart and golf cart today. We'll do something tomorrow. Friday, July 11, 2003 5:33 PM CDT Another boring day in the Lawson house. Josh didn't feel good again today. Didn't eat much of anything. I went outside for a little while around noon today and it wasn't long before he comes out, in my flip flops, "Mom, I don't feel good". He likes me around when he feels cruddy. So I went back inside while he played computer and watched a little TV. Thursday, July 10, 2003 8:12 PM CDT Josh didn't feel too good today. Nauseated. But not so bad he couldn't eat or PLAY WITH HIS NEW COMPUTER. Yes, his new computer arrived today. He was thrilled. I put a picture on the next page. Wednesday, July 9, 2003 9:13 PM CDT Haven't written because everything is going great. He had chemo today. It goes so smooth. Not like in the beginning. His counts were good too. Now its the Zofran around the clock for 2 days so he won't feel sick. We went to the hobby shop after clinic. The boys each got a model. Josh got a more advanced one. Every 5 minutes, "Mom", so needless to say, I have a model to assemble. I got a lot done today. We went to Red Lobster for lunch. He wanted shrimp pasta. Did he eat it? No, it had cheese on it. I tell you, he finds something wrong with everything he eats these days. They say the chemo changes the taste of things. Things he used to like, not anymore. He hasn't lost weight, so I won't complain. Of course its a real chore to try and figure out what to make him that he will eat. But we've done ok so far. Sunday, July 6, 2003 8:15 PM CDT Another hot day. Tyler's friend Drew came over and all 3 boys rode go-carts, got dirty and had fun. Wendy from where I used to work, came by and brought Josh a collection of goodies from everyone at work. A model, things to put together, just little boy things. That was real nice of them. He is busy putting the model together right now. I said that he should wait until tomorrow when he is bored. He didn't listen to me. Saturday, July 5, 2003 9:13 PM CDT Everything is going great. Last night the boys popped fireworks to their heart's content. I sit back and worry that someone will get hurt. A mother's thing I guess. After we came inside, I was happy thinking the fireworks were all gone. But they had each stashed a supply in their rooms. Typical.
Thursday, July 3, 2003 5:44 PM CDT Nothing going on around here. Boys spend a lot of time in that silly little pool out back. But they have fun. Josh is doing great. Wednesday, July 2, 2003 7:40 PM CDT Chemo day. His numbers were good again. The only thing I am concerned with is the area around his eye. The chemo, Dactinamycin, can cause areas that were previously treated with radiation to become red again. It is also swollen just like it was when he was getting the radiation. He never got the Dactinamycin during radiation. I suppose for that very reason. Dr. Kerr say's he is ok, that fluid collects there and doesn't drain as well. There is a picture of her with Josh on his photo page. She is real friendly. She has always been very optimistic about Josh, from the beginning. Tuesday, July 1, 2003 9:04 PM CDT Everything is great. Nothing new to talk about. Boys have spent a lot of time in the little pool out back. Not much else to do. Tomorrow is his chemo day. Sunday, June 29, 2003 7:28 PM CDT Nothing new again. Boys popped fireworks again. I tell you, there won't be any left by Friday. Went to church, came home and did nothing. Hot again. Saturday, June 28, 2003 7:30 PM CDT The boys got fireworks today. They were really worried that the 4th of July would get here and they wouldn't have any. So they have taped them to GI-Joes and have been blowing them up all day. They probably won't have any left by next Friday. But they sure are excited. Friday, June 27, 2003 5:01 PM CDT Again, nothing new. He felt a little "pueky today. Nothing bad, just not as good as he usually does. Don't know what is up with that.
Thursday, June 26, 2003 5:40 PM CDT Another boring day. Nothing to report. Josh is still doing great. Rode the mower again. Go-carts. Played computer. Just like every other day.
Wednesday, June 25, 2003 8:31 PM CDT These chemo days just get better and better each time. No problems at all. Even his counts were great. The lady from "Make A Wish", came to see him today at the clinic. I had turned in his papers for his dream wish. He choose to go on a Disney Cruise. They interview the child before they begin work on preparing the wish. She was very friendly and told Josh about some other kids and what they chose for their wish. She said he doesn't have to decide now but he should be thinking about it. I had always thought that the Make a Wish Foundation gave these gifts to terminally ill children but it is for any child diagnosed with cancer. Hmmmm, it never stops. So much giving and giving. There is a lot of good in this world. Anyway, she gave Josh this little bear. His name is Chemo Bear and he has a port in his chest. His hair comes off in the back too. It stays on with velcro. Tuesday, June 24, 2003 8:11 PM CDT Another wonderful day. Josh mowed a little grass today. He really enjoyed that. Pretty hot outside though. He's been eating fish today. Cooked on the stove with lemon and butter. He scarfs it, so I cook it. Wonder what the next phase will be. Monday, June 23, 2003 8:36 PM CDT Nothing going on but I figured I had better write anyway. Josh is doing great. I call him "hippy", cause he has little hairs on his head now. Not enough for me to smell yet, (I loved to smell his hair) but hopefully it won't fall out. Sunday, June 22, 2003 8:04 PM CDT I didn't write last night because we have been stuck in the house for 4 days. Nothing to tell, but remember, no news is good news.......usually. We have gotten 8.5 inches of rain in the past 5 days. I think it's over now. After church we had lunch at Sonny's. Josh ate french fries and bread. I wish I could get him to eat more but he hasn't been hungry. If I find something he really likes he will eat it even if he's not hungry. The key is finding what it is. He said today that he wanted some salmon, (in the can), he loves it. I put it with eggs. Scrambled eggs with salmon. He has always liked that, so I guess I go to the store tomorrow. Later we went to Brandon looking for a computer for him. The one we went for, they didn't have. Typical. Advertise an item and you never even had it. So we went to about 5 other stores. He was disappointed but I promised we will get him one. I figure July 4th there will be lots of sales. He got a new game for the computer. Friday, June 20, 2003 8:10 PM CDT Josh felt a little better today. He is eating so-so. Went to Maria's house so the kids could play. They had fun. Rained all day again. We have gotten over 6 inches in the last 3 days and it's supposed to rain again tomorrow. We had tickets to go to a baseball game tonight. Minor league. It was raining. We didn't go.
Thursday, June 19, 2003 7:40 PM CDT Josh woke up not feeling too good. As the day wore on, he felt a little better. I asked him what he wanted for supper. "Mitzi barf and biscuits", Carols dog is named Mitzi and well, you can figure out the rest. That is what he calls beef stew. At least he ate it. All he has to do is say he will eat it, and I will cook it. Wednesday, June 18, 2003 4:59 PM CDT Today was chemo. He got both today. He's not feeling as good as last time. He just says he doesn't feel that good. Hopefully it won't get worse. The needle stick has become so easy for him. It doesn't hurt that we ask for his favorite nurse, "Terry." She gets it every time. I got the report for his MRI last week. Dr. Ayala was very pleased. She said he was doing just what he is supposed to be doing. According to the scales, he is also 2 pounds heavier than last week. Yippee!!!! Tuesday, June 17, 2003 7:18 PM CDT The boys and I went to Brandon today. Had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant. Josh's idea, then he doesn't eat. Went to the aquarium store. Tyler picked out an 8" long sucker fish. Well that's about it. Tomorrow we go for chemo. I'm sure he will do fine. Got some new pictures. Monday, June 16, 2003 7:24 PM CDT I wasn't going to write anything today because he is doing so well. But I wanted to share his new "virtual" quilt. It was made by these wonderful ladies that have a website called, "Quilts of Love". They wrote me and wanted to know a little about Josh so they could make him a quilt of his own. There are truly some special people in this world and we have met an awful lot of them since Josh got sick. The address is http://quiltsoflove/quilt/joshuaL/joshua.html or you can click on the link at the lower portion of this page.
Sunday, June 15, 2003 7:25 PM CDT Forgive me if I don't write every day. He is just doing so well, I feel like I may be boring some people. There just isn't anything to write about. We went to church this morning. We came home and the boys stayed in the house all day and fought over the computer. I would like to fill it with dynamite and blow it up. It causes so many conflicts.
Saturday, June 14, 2003 7:33 PM CDT Repeat, repeat, repeat. But sometimes repeats are good. I look at Josh and I see such a healthy, active little boy. I have to keep reminding myself how careful we must be with him. A friend of mine called today and wanted to know if I wanted to take the boys to a movie with them. I had to say no. Even though he seems so healthy, it just isn't a good time for him. Maybe next weekend. Some think I am being over protective. I don't care. Whatever it takes, that's what I say. He will have many, many years to go to movies and do things that I don't want him doing right now. Friday, June 13, 2003 9:08 PM CDT Nothing new today. Josh is Josh. He is doing so good. We are at a month now with no fevers. Now we shall try for 2 months. Yeah, we are getting greedy now. Thursday, June 12, 2003 6:45 PM CDT Drum Roll Please.................Scans are clear. Nurse called today and said that Dr. Kerr said that they showed excellent progress. We all knew that would be the outcome, though...didn't we. I try not to worry so much, and put my faith where it should be but it's so hard. He is just doing so well. 3 Egg McMuffins and 3 apple pies today. I wonder how long this will go on, the McDonalds thing I mean. Thursday, June 12, 2003 6:45 PM CDT Drum Roll Please.................Scans are clear. Nurse called today and said that Dr. Kerr said that they showed excellent progress. We all knew that would be the outcome, though...didn't we. I try not to worry so much and put my faith where it should be but it sure is hard. He is just doing so well. 3 Egg McMuffins today and 3 apple pies today. I wonder how long this will go on. Wednesday, June 11, 2003 8:02 PM CDT Busy day today. Tom came home early so he could go with us. First we went to the oncologist to get a blood count. He doesn't need the chemo today. His numbers were great. Not what I expected at all. His history after getting the bad chemo was always low, low numbers. But he was also hospitalized those times. He is so healthy right now, his numbers aren't even low. He even gained a half pound since last week. Wonderful. Next we go to St. Pete to see the radiation oncologist, (Dr. Cotman). Just a follow up. He was very happy with Josh. Everything looked good. He wants to see him in 6 months. Then to the hospital for his chest ct. Started his IV with no problem. I had the numbing cream on it. Had the CT without incident. Then the MRI. I just know they are all clear. Tuesday, June 10, 2003 6:13 PM CDT Another uneventful day, which is good. We stayed in the house most of the day. It's so humid outside. His counts are low for about the next 5 days or so. So I am pretty much trying to keep him in a bubble and see that will keep him out of the hospital. Monday, June 9, 2003 7:16 PM CDT Yet another good day. They have spent the entire day on my computer again playing that game. I went and bought some memory for Ty's computer tonight and hooray, I am back on mine again. Solved that problem. Sunday, June 8, 2003 7:46 PM CDT Repeat again. Josh is still doing great. You would never know he was sick. Didn't do anything today. Went to church this morning. We sure have 2 handsome boys. Came home and they stayed on the computer again all day. I have not been able to even sit at the desktop for 2 days now. Rained about 5 times today. Just a yucky day. But a great day for Josh. I have a new picture on the site and a lot of new ones at the bottom of this page. The Yahoo link, click on "Our Family". Saturday, June 7, 2003 7:43 PM CDT Still going strong. This morning Josh and I went looking for yard sales. We had this idea that we could find something interesting and put it on eBay. Not. Didn't find anything except junk. So we went to McDonalds and did some shopping. He got a computer game. The boys have been playing it since 12:30 today. Its now about 9:00. I'm going to have to get them a decent computer because, THEY ARE ON MINE!!!!! Friday, June 6, 2003 6:57 PM CDT Another repeat day. Nothing to report. Still on a roll at day 20 and counting. Thursday, June 5, 2003 5:50 PM CDT Just another day in paradise. Nothing new to report. Feeling good and eating good. I don't think the boys even went out of the house today. Watched a movie and played video games and computer. Too humid outside. We're looking for another good day tomorrow. Wednesday, June 4, 2003 5:21 PM CDT Whoohoo!!! Another wonderful day. Went to the clinic this morning. His hemoglobin was 9.5. His other counts dropped some but that is expected. Next week they will be much lower. There was a prescription clipped to his chart for an MRI and CT of the chest scheduled for next Wednesday. It was due and I was looking forward to it, so I can see in black and white that the tumor is non-existent but now I'm scared. I know its gone, nothing to worry about.
Tuesday, June 3, 2003 7:15 PM CDT Day 17, no hospital. Josh is still doing wonderful. Feels great, looks great. We didn't go anywhere today. Tomorrow he goes to the clinic. No chemo for 2 weeks. It's part of the protocol. They will check his blood levels. If he does need blood, there is a bag waiting just for him at the Childrens Hospital. Tom's blood. So that's one thing we don't have to worry about. Monday, June 2, 2003 5:35 PM CDT DAY 16!!!!! Today, we went to the grocery store and drug store. Whooooo what an exciting day. But it was a great day because Josh feels great. He is eating like a little pigglet. I love it. Tomorrow will be good too. Sunday, June 1, 2003 6:29 PM CDT Day 14 and no hospital. Yeah!!!!! Went to church this morning, came home and didn't do anything. Josh is feeling great and eating pretty good. I did go outside and work in the barn for a little while. I felt comfortable leaving Josh in the house. I know I'm silly but for a while, I could not let him out of my site. He did come outside several times just to see what I was doing. It was too hot outside. The heat really bothers him. So he would go back inside. Said he was bored. I'd like to try and find him a better computer. His is so old that he cannot play any of the newer games on it. Saturday, May 31, 2003 6:56 PM CDT Just like any other day. This morning Tom and my dad went to Accent Marine with the boys. Carol and I went to the plant nursery. They left around noon. Tyler skateboarded all day, Tom reworked his ramp. Josh just messed around. Geez, nothing to talk about today. That's a good thing though. We are also on day 13 without being in the hospital. That is a record for him and we intend to make it a lot longer. Friday, May 30, 2003 6:47 PM CDT My dad and Mimi got here today for the weekend. Josh has played the PS2 almost the whole day. He has layed around a lot, I'm not sure if he feels bad or if he is just totally into the game he is playing. His appetite is not the best but at least he hasn't been sick since the chemo. Thursday, May 29, 2003 8:10 PM CDT Josh made it to school today. It was only a half day. He got an award for his high scores on the math portion of the FCAT. He scored a 5. Which is as high as you can get. Only 8 children in the 3rd grade from his school scored a 5. Yes I am bragging. Wednesday, May 28, 2003 5:40 PM CDT Today was the day. The first day Josh didn't cry when he got the needle. The nurse was wonderful. She kept him talking, about his girlfriend and football. Then I told him to look at me and she put it right in. He said, "is it in?". Then he got the medication to help to prevent nausea, then the chemo and we left. A very, very good visit. It was in Tampa too. No more St. Pete!!!! Tuesday, May 27, 2003 2:35 PM CDT He stayed the whole day at school. He is feeling great. Eating like a little pig. I love it. He got even more gifts at school today. A BMX magazine, spongebob sponge and a photo album with pictures of him. Each child created a page for him with their picture on it and a special note to Josh. It was very touching. Everyone has been so incredibly caring. Monday, May 26, 2003 8:39 PM CDT Yet another good day. Maria and Clay came over with the kids. They rode go carts, shot the bb guns and just had fun. Brought Josh a big bag of "stuff", paint set, a big ball, cars, etc. Sunday, May 25, 2003 8:45 PM CDT Another good day. Went to church first thing this morning. During the service, Josh wispers to me, "I'm starving", just what I wanted to hear. They wanted Taco Bell on the way home. Great. Saturday, May 24, 2003 7:24 PM CDT Today was so "near normal" that it was almost eerie. Tyler's friend Drew came over and the 3 boys played inside and out all day. I even went to Brandon for a while. We are watching a movie tonight, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". What a long movie. We've got 2 hours left. Yikes!!!! Friday, May 23, 2003 7:26 PM CDT He's doing better today. He didn't want to get up for school this morning. We just layed there a little while longer. I took him in a few minutes late. He was tardy,....oh well. He stayed almost the whole day. I picked him up about a half hour early, I was making myself crazy trying to get there to get him. I just couldn't bear him being there the entire day. When I got there, he's like, "mom, I was in the middle of a spelling bee and I didn't even get to spell one word." Hmmmm, guess I shouldn't worry so much. I went with him to the book fair, he got a couple of books. Then we went to Wal-Mart. Mrs. G. gave me some money to get him something. He wanted an Icee Machine. So he got one. What a mess that thing is. He is going to be so spoiled you will be able to smell him. But you know what......I....DONT.....CARE!!!!!!!!
Thursday, May 22, 2003 8:32 PM CDT Josh went back to school today. I was worried so I called his teacher about noon. She said he was doing fine and asked if I wanted to talk to him, "sure I said". He said he was a little nauseated and asked if I would pick him up a little early. I was hoping he would make it the whole day but he did real good for his first day back in a week. Wednesday, May 21, 2003 8:09 PM CDT Hoorah!!!!! Radiation is over with. The skin around his eye looks fried. Its very sore and tender in the inner corner of his eye. Poor little guy. But he is feeling better. Rash is almost completely gone and no fever. He got his chemo today. That didn't go well at all. He was quite upset with the nurse. He said the area was not numb. He finally calmed down and she was able to get the needle in and give him the chemo. I hope that doesn't happen again. The cream had been on for about 2 hours so he should'nt have felt anything. Tuesday, May 20, 2003 7:04 PM CDT Josh is still fighting this rash. Took him to the doctor again and she agrees with me that it must be a drug allergy. She thinks its the Timentin that he was given in the hospital this past weekend. He got the same rash last time he was given the drug. But we thought it was the Sulfa. As soon as this whole ordeal is over with the rash and fever, she might try the sulfa again. It is a much better drug than what he is currently on now. They use it as a preventative to a type of pneumonia that he could get while on chemo. He still has a fever that seems to go up and down. He doesn't feel too good either. Not eating as well as I want him to. I'm not sending him to school again tomorrow, just not ready. Hopefully by Thursday. Monday, May 19, 2003 5:49 PM CDT Josh stayed home from school today because he still had a little temp and I was worried about that rash. This morning the rash was worse, so I called the doctor and they said to bring him in after radiation today. When we got there he had a temp of 101.1!!! He had not had a fever like that at home. He never got over 99.4. Why it choose to spike over there, I don't know. Anyway they put us in a room and the nurse comes in and wants to access his port and draw a blood culture. "WHAT?", we had not put the cream on his port to numb it. What a minute I asked. I think it may be a drug allergy lets talk to the doctor first. So Dr. Grana comes in and I explained to her that he had this same rash and fever when he had his second addmission to the hospital. He was on 2 different antibiotics at the time. Timentin and Tobramycin. He was on the same drugs this time also, so maybe its the same thing. Who knows, maybe he was never allergic to the Sulfa at all. Maybe it was the Tobramycin or the Timentin. We are going to assume that he is though. Anyway, she agreed that it seemed like a drug allergy. His lip were slightly puffy this morning also. She thought they still were. So tomorrow we will go back at 10 in the morning and check his rash again. If the temp goes to 101.5 tonight, then she said we have to bring him back to the hospital. Josh and I both thought we were going to have to go back in today. What a scare. While we waited in the exam room, I snickered to Josh, "what if I have to get dad to bring our stuff up here?" "We will be wearing polka dots with stripes."
Sunday, May 18, 2003 2:17 PM CDT We're home again. Josh is fine. I tell you, I will never try to predict what Josh is going to do. I thought we had a long stretch ahead of us without going to the hospital. Shows how much I know. We will just take one day at a time. If we have to go to the hospital once a week, so be it. His counts are higher today and he feels good. Friday, May 16, 2003 4:11 PM CDT Nothing new today. Just sat up here with nothing much to do. We've been on the computer a lot. Hope no one was trying to call. His hemoglobin was 7.8 today. That is critical for an adult but the doctor says Josh looks and feels good so not to worry. We'll see what he runs tomorrow. Might still need a transfusion. Tom is getting set up with the blood bank so he can donate in case Josh needs it. He and Josh share the same O+ blood type. Thursday, May 15, 2003 8:25 PM CDT Dang it! Here we are again. This one sure was unexpected. He must have picked up a bug somewhere because his counts are all high. Except the hemoglobin. Minimum of 3 days in here again. I guess we had better just get used to it. This might be how the whole year may go. But that doesn't mean anything when we talk about his outcome. He is still going to do just fine. The doctors keep telling me that. Wednesday, May 14, 2003 5:32 PM CDT Chemo didn't go as well as I had hoped. The needle went right in and Josh didn't even cry. But no blood return. Nurse had it in the right place but for some reason it didn't want to flush. She kept pushing and poking much to Josh's dismay. Another nurse came in and removed it and reinserted it. It worked but only after I had sweated a pint under my armpits. She drew a blood count and his hemoglobin was only 8.5. Eeeek. He's never been that low before. He went ahead and got the chemo. They left the needle in the port while we went over to get the radiation. The oncologist wanted to know the radiology doctors feelings on the low count. He was ok with the 8.5 but felt they should repeat it. I was glad to hear that because I have seen low counts before when the nurse does not draw enough blood off to waste before she draws the sample. So we go back and they draw again. This time is 9. A little better but not where "I" want it to be. So the plan is to come back on Friday and get a blood count again. If it is less than 10 then they will probably want to transfuse him. It's ok though. We all have to face the realization that these things are more normal for a cancer patient than abnormal. If he went through this whole thing without any sort of a transfusion, he would be a rare one. Tuesday, May 13, 2003 5:26 PM CDT Another uneventful day. Which is good. Tonight they found some soft, mushy ground. It was like a magnet for those boys and their go-carts. Check out the new pictures. Click on the link at the bottom and look to see the mud on Josh's tooth. Monday, May 12, 2003 6:39 PM CDT The boys have been riding their go-carts quite a bit this afternoon. Just any other day around here except one little boy is bald. Each time he passes by the window where I am sitting, he gives a big wave, and I wave back each time. A beautiful day.
Sunday, May 11, 2003 4:44 PM CDT Whew its hot today. Went to church this morning. Josh looked so handsome. Dress pants, fancy belt. Can't wait till he's a teen. He already has a girlfriend. Saturday, May 10, 2003 12:12 AM CDT Went to MOSI this morning so Josh could compete in the toothpick tower building competition. His partner Stacy was there when we got there. There were kids from all over the county representing their school. They got their tower pretty high but it started to lean, then finally it fell over. He was disappointed but he got over it pretty quick. He feels real good. Went out for lunch. It's gonna be a good weekend. Friday, May 9, 2003 9:31 PM CDT Had a good day at school. Even showed his friends his new bald head. He really thinks its "cool". Tonight Ty, Josh and I went to the mall. Walked around a little while. Kinda crowded. Thats about it for today. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Thursday, May 8, 2003 3:13 PM CDT Well he did it. Josh shaved his head. It was looking patchy and that kinda made him look sick. He started talking about it last night. I said that we should talk about it for a while before we did it. He really wanted to shave it though. So this afternoon we went out on the porch and began shaving. It made me sad to see his hair like that but when we finished, he looked up at me and said, "bald is beautiful". He is such a smiley face. Always happy. Wednesday, May 7, 2003 4:51 PM CDT What a great day. I consider each day that Josh isn't sick a wonderful day. Today was radiation, (day 15) and chemo. His port was already accessed from the hospital stay so that was one good thing. The labs were great! His white count was 4.0. That was on the low end of NORMAL!!!!! Josh said, "Mom, it doesn't have a line under it", meaning it wasn't abnormal. His ANC was 1400!!!!!! We celebrated on the way home. Slurpies, laffy taffy, chips, and I ate a whole slim Jim. Who cares about fat and calories right now. We laughed and ate all the way home.
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 6:12 PM CDT More good days. I tell you, you just would never know that Josh was sick. Except for his lack of hair. He went down to Frank's and fed the cow again tonight. Had to come straight back and get in the tub. Slobber all over his legs and shorts. Yuk.
Monday, May 5, 2003 6:55 PM CDT Frank is trying to give the boys a calf. He is being hand fed so he is really friendly but what would we do with a cow? Anyway, there is a new picture of the boys with "Bobby". Monday, May 5, 2003 12:03 AM CDT Got home around 1pm. Josh is sure glad to be home. He is laying on the couch watching Scooby Doo with Dixie Bean. He has missed that dog more than anything. The blood cultures never grew anything in the hospital so I'm saying that his counts just got low and he gets a fever when this happens. He won't get the mean chemo for another 3 weeks or so. So hopefully he won't get a fever for about 5 weeks. Now I'm a doctor. Saturday, May 3, 2003 6:46 AM CDT Well here we go again! Josh is now back in All Childrens with a fever again. He started Friday morning with a low grade fever and by afternoon it was up to 101.4F, back we go again. As of 11:00 last night he was doing fine. Had a problem getting his IV in the port!!! The nurse ( The Hatchet) as Kim calls her, could not put it in in two attempts. Had to call in a special nurse to do it. Of coarse Josh had a fit and was crying and wanted the "wicked witch of the west" to stop. The first nurse said," let me call for help and we will hold him down"! That didn't sit well with his mother ( you just don't mess with this mother hen when it comes to her kids,) not a good idea!!!! Of coarse she could hit it in the first try but they want let her do it. Needless to say the first nurse got a ear full, of WORDS and not a fist! The second nurse was just fine and everything went well. Will find out results later on today. Will revise post when we know something. Thursday, May 1, 2003 5:28 PM CDT Day 11 of radiation. Nothing new there. He is doing real well. He got a card today from my Aunt Helen. She sent him a check so he could buy a new game or something. People just keep giving. Yesterday the ladies from where Tom works gave him a NeoPet. Its one of those little computer pets that you have to feed and take care of everyday. He had been wanting one. Wednesday, April 30, 2003 7:06 PM CDT Our busy day. Chemo then radiation. Picked him up at school a little early. On the way over we stopped at Best Buy on Dale Mabry so he could use his gift card. He couldn't find anything in the PS2 games so he decided to look at the computer games. All these games require so much to make them work properly and our computers don't have those fancy video cards and such. So he gets all mad and yells, "ALL OUR COMPUTERS ARE CRAP". So we left without anything.
Tuesday, April 29, 2003 5:45 PM CDT Another good day. He was rather crabby on the way to St. Pete and back. Tired I guess. His appetite has returned too! I just need to get him in bed earlier at night. The mornings can be rough. Monday, April 28, 2003 6:25 PM CDT Good day at school. He is eating much better. He got another Best Buy gift card today from Lindy at work. Guess we'll have to make a trip back down there.
Sunday, April 27, 2003 9:52 PM CDT Lisa and Shawn left this evening. We had a nice time. The boys always enjoy them when they come. Because they aren't like adults. They are just big kids. They especially like to hang out with Shawn because he plays Playstation, knows all the computer games and well, he's a guy. We all had a good time though. We went to Kazbors for lunch. I really don't like that place but Josh wanted chili cheese fries. So he ate about 2. He ate a whole can of vienna sausages tonight. So he must be getting better. Back to school tomorrow. He is in an olympic toothpick tower building event tomorrow. Can't miss that. Saturday, April 26, 2003 10:28 PM CDT Busy day. Lisa and Shawn came last night for a visit. They brought Best Buy gift cards for the boys. So today we went to Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Comp-Usa and Tia's before he finally wore out. He was ready to go home earlier but when he got to Comp-Usa, he became interested in a computer game, so we just sat down and waited. Still not eating a lot but getting better each day.
Friday, April 25, 2003 6:26 PM CDT One good day after another. Today I went with his class as a chaperone to the Florida Aquarium. It was nice to see him goofing around with his buddies. Our group was Josh and 3 of his friends. They couldn't have seen much because all they did was run from one exhibit to the next. The only thing they found interesting was this huge eel. More specifically the area on the eel that goes to the bathroom.....Boys. Thursday, April 24, 2003 5:52 PM CDT Not much new. He did well in school all day. Radiation again. He seems to have a low grade temp tonight. 99.2. I know it could be nothing but I am nauseous just thinking about it. He has some sores on his bottom lip. Maybe even from that. He has a field trip to the Aquarium tomorrow. Of course I am going with him. Wednesday, April 23, 2003 6:13 PM CDT What a busy day. Josh went to school this morning. I picked him up early because we had to go get chemo and radiation today. Of course these are done in St. Pete. First was the chemo. Before we left the school I put the numbing cream on him. This time he said it didn't even hurt when she put the needle in. Hallelujah. I knew the day would come when it wouldn't hurt. He told his dad, "I still cried, cause I looked at the needle." We saw Dr. Barbosa today. I like him because he always tells me how well things are going to work out. He says he has never in 25 years lost an orbital rhabdo patient. I like to talk to him.
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 8:07 PM CDT Another good day. Went to school and did fine. Wore his hat today. No problem. Some of the ladies where Tom works sent the boys each a Walmart gift card. So we went to Walmart tonight. Josh bought him a new BB pistol. I have added a new picture of them shooting it tonight. Ty couldn't find anything. Monday, April 21, 2003 7:23 PM CDT I didn't send Josh to school today. I wasn't sure if he was quite ready. He is still not eating much. But each day is better than the previous day. Radiation went fine. 80 miles round trip, hour and a half drive time for a 10 minute appointment. Oh well, I enjoy the drive with him. Except he played the same song over and over again. Sunday, April 20, 2003 3:19 PM CDT What a wonderful day. Life is glorious. First thing this morning we went to early Easter service. Josh felt pretty good. On the way home got an egg mcmuffin and hash brown. Didn't eat much but ate some. No fever, no fever, no fever. He and I have layed around building a lego model that he got for Easter and listening to his new cd. Tom and Tyler out spending some time together building a skateboard ramp. Ribs on the smoker. It's only going to get better. Saturday, April 19, 2003 4:42 PM CDT WE ARE HOME!!!! We left around noon today. He hasn't felt the greatest but he is glad to be home. No rash, and no fever. Must have been the sulfa. He ate a little chicken noodle soup a few minutes ago, so things are looking up. Had some surprises when he got home. Grandma had sent a box, Poppy and mimi got him some things too. Mrs Charles and Mrs Miller, (Josh's teacher) showed up too bringing gifts. Everyone has been great. Josh is going to get spoiled. Oh well, so what!
Friday, April 18, 2003 6:30 PM CDT Josh got his chemo late last night. He woke up around 2am throwing up. He didn't have much to throw up since he hasn't eaten much of anything. Felt bad all day long. He has has 2 baths. He prefers a bath to a shower. Anytime he doesn't feel well, he always fills the tub with hot water and soaks away his problems.
Thursday, April 17, 2003 8:36 PM CDT Still here. Josh and I are watching a movie about a huge squid. He has been much better today. Rash much improved and fevers not as high. Must have been the sulfa drug. He got his first radiation treatment and he's supposed to get the chemo but it's late and they haven't brought it yet so maybe tomorrow. Not much going on, Dad and Carol came last night and again tonight. Lee and Jackie were here last night too. They brought Josh a big rocket. The kind with the boosters that you actually shoot up in the air. He liked that. He told his dad to take it home, but "Tyler better not open it." Wednesday, April 16, 2003 5:47 PM CDT Dr. Kerr thinks Josh is having a reaction to a medication. He gets a sulfa drug 3 consecutive days a week to try and prevent infections. I had mentioned that before because last Saturday he got the drug then that night he got the fever. Then again this past Saturday he took the pill and again got the fever and a rash this time. I sure hope it is just the medication. The doctor discontinued the sulfa pill and antibiotics that he is on here. Timentin and Tobramycin to see if one of them might be the cause. I have met a mother online that has a daughter with the same orbital tumor. She said that her daughter was allergic to the drug also. She would get a fever and a rash. Hmmmm, sound like the problem to me. Tuesday, April 15, 2003 5:35 PM CDT We met with Dr. Cotman today. He is the radiation oncologist. They will make the mask tomorrow and he will probably get his first dose. This doctor doesn't say much. He has lots of experience though. I just wanted him to tell me how well Josh was going to do, but some doctors don't do that I guess. Monday, April 14, 2003 11:01 AM CDT Here we sit in the hospital again. His fever just kept going up yesterday. They did the usual. Blood cultures and start him on antibiotics. Dr. Barbosa still thinks its viral but just in case, the antibiotics are needed. I asked him why it has come back just like last time with the nausea and fever. He thinks it just a virus that just hasn't run its course. Josh's counts are lousy. His ANC needs to be 750 to get his chemo which is due on Wednesday. His ANC this morning was only around 150. His WBCs have dropped to 1.3. When I saw the labs I boo hooed as usual. Dr Barbosa assured me that this will in no way affect his outcome. His chance for a cure is still, "Sky High". I needed that. I also asked him if I should take him out of school, with his counts being so low. He said that he would not, most of the infections they get come from themselves. We all have a lot of ugly bugs within us but we have the ability to fight them off. He does not. Dr. Barbosa feels that it is important for him to be "normal", he says that he has 30 years experience in treating children with cancer and Josh needs to be with his peers. So I guess we'll see. I forgot to ask him about Dixie Bean. If there is a chance that she could be causing any problems, goodbye Dixie Bean. Monday, April 14, 2003 7:32 AM CDT Well Josh is back in the hospital. Took him in last night. He had a temp and a rash. We don't know yet what is going on. He is in Room 273 at All Childrens, will be there at least 3 days if not more. His blood count has dropped to a all time low of 350, The nurse and doctors has said that this is normal in some children. He probably will not get his next chemo until his counts come back up but they will decide that Wednsday when he is do. Mom is of coarse with him and dad and Ty went home so Ty can go to school. Will pass along info when it comes availably. Sunday, April 13, 2003 10:20 AM CDT Been a little busy. Clay and Maria came for a visit Friday night. They had been wanting to see Josh for a while. They stayed a little too long though. Josh was tired. It was nice to see him playing with the kids though. Then Saturday morning Aunt Lana and Uncle Sonny came down. Wow, 200 miles for a 1 hour visit. Guess they wanted to check on Josh too. Then we drove over to the lake. Tom was in a tournament. We only stayed a little while, Josh was getting a little bit of a fever again. He got up to 100.7 last night, then back down again. Right now he is 100.3. I just don't know what is going on. We will probably end up at the hospital again. I've told him that it will happen again. If not now, then another time. He gets so upset. He also has a rash on his arms and legs. Thankfully it doesn't bother him. It is yet another side effect of the poison he is getting. He noticed this morning that his hair is falling out. He can pinch a few stands and it comes right out. I wish that were our only problem. If I could only get him to eat something. He hasn't had a thing since yesterday about 3pm he ate some french fries from McDonalds. Friday, April 11, 2003 4:40 PM CDT What a great day. Josh's fever didn't come back. I slept on the floor by his bed and checked on him probably 50 times in the night. No fever. He had a good day at school. This morning when I dropped him off, Coach St. Charles handed me a cd of some pictures that she had taken of Josh and his classmates. When I figure out how to change the format, I will add them to the site. She always has a positive word or two about Joshua's recovery. It really helps. Thursday, April 10, 2003 9:11 PM CDT Josh had to go to the nurse's office today. He layed down for about an hour and took a nap. I was proud of him for taking care of this himself. I've told him that if he doesn't feel well to go see the nurse and lay down for a while. If that doesn't help, and he needs to come home, to give me a call. I'll be right there. He needs to stick it out as much as he can though, we are almost finished with 3rd grade. Wednesday, April 9, 2003 6:32 PM CDT 7:30 Just one more thing. He just dug his report card out of his backpack. Principal's Honor Roll. He came up in some B subjects so he's gone as high as he can go now. All A's. I also found a card from his teacher, Mrs. Miller. It said, "This is more than just a card, its a hug with a fold in the middle". Everyone wants to do something for him. Wednesday, April 9, 2003 4:58 PM CDT Well today was his third dose of Chemo. They left the needle in from the hospital yesterday so that was great for him. Something he's not used to yet. They drew his blood and my stomach did a flip flop when I saw the results. They told me that the counts would drop but I guess I just wasn't ready to see it on paper. She said they would be up by next week. I sure hope so. I am an emotional wimp. Tuesday, April 8, 2003 7:54 PM CDT We're home. He feels much better and the fever has gone down. Must have been viral. We won't plan on that happening again. No more obstacles. Back to school again tomorrow and 3rd dose of chemo. Monday, April 7, 2003 9:40 PM CDT Just left All Childrens and Josh was doing alittle better. Temp went away from 8:00am then at 7:00 pm it came back. Still giving him antibiotics, he is eating better now and drinking plenty of fluids. He is in good spirits, full of energy this evening when his big brother showed up to play. Monday, April 7, 2003 11:24 AM CDT Well Josh is still in All Childrens. Still has a temp. of around 102 to 103. They can not find what is causing it. Doctors at this point do not seemed that concerned, said this happens quite often. Lets hope not, Josh handles it quite well but his mother is a total basket case! They say it might be viral, not much of a concern but will have to stay until the fever is gone. Could be able to go home tomorrow or could be weeks we just don't know yet. Sunday, April 6, 2003 7:30 AM CDT Well things has turned on us a little. Josh is now back in All Childrens Hospital. We took him last night about 7:00pm. He had a 102.4 temp. This is standard procedure to re-admit when they get a fever. They took blood to see if they can figure out what has caused it. Everything looks ok so far just has a high temp. He will be in there at least until Monday or Tuesday. His mother is staying with him now. His brother and I (Dad) will go back soon as his mother calls this morning. This is just a little bump in the road, things will work out I'm sure. Will update soon as we know something and can sit down to inform everyone. Friday, April 4, 2003 3:09 PM CST Feels good today. We had our first out patient visit for chemo. We saw Dr. Ayala. She said he was doing great. About the "tumor regrowth", she didnt' think so. she felt it was still some scaring. Not tumor. Agghhh, sounds good to me. But, Tom and I both thought that he would be getting chemo for 27 weeks, It's more like 42 weeks. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do. She said we need to get with the radiation doctor because that will start in about 2 weeks. Thursday, April 3, 2003 4:43 PM CST What a long day. We went to see the surgeon in Bradenton who removed the tumor, (Dr. Berman). He was very optimistic about Josh's recovery. He has a small lump under the eye again. I was thinking and hoping it was from the surgery, maybe scar tissue or something. Dr. Berman feels that it is tumor regrowth. I sure didn't like the sound of that but with the type of tumor it is, it grows fast. He said the chemo would take care of it. That is the chemo's job. But to think that the tumor is still in there just gives me the creeps. It's like the devil himself is still living in Josh. We've got to get that out of him. He did say though that if you are going to have a rhabdo tumor, Josh has the one to have. He said the most important thing is that Josh convinces himself that he will beat this. Josh knows he will and so do we.
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 3:55 PM CST Another good day for Josh. Felt fine all day long. But I'm afraid that the twice a week trips after school to get a slurpy will now become more frequent. I can't say "no". He slept in his own bed last night too. I guess it was time. I will miss smelling his hair when he lays next to me. Tuesday, April 1, 2003 2:22 PM CST Hooray! Josh stayed at school the whole day. I will be picking him up every day now. Too many germs on that bus. He said he felt bad for about 5 minutes but it went away. Monday, March 31, 2003 10:22 AM CST Josh's first day back to school. He only made it 2 hours before he was feeling sick and wanted to come home. Tomorrow will be better I'm sure.
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