History

Sunday, October 2, 2011 5:02 PM CDT

I see that it has been months since I did an update. I thought I was going to do better but like everyone else we are always busy. We had a great summer and hated to see it end. We took our annual trip to Gulf Shores with Uncle Gary and Aunt Susan and then right before school started we took a weekend trip to Dallas. We visited the new Legoland and spent some time at Great Wolf Lodge. It was so crowded because everyone decided to take one last trip before school started but we still had fun.
The boys are off to a great start at school. Cameron is in the 3rd grade and doing great!!! We are very proud of his grades since he either has baseball practice or a game every night of the week. He is playing on 2 leagues during fall ball so it keeps him and Dad quite busy. Carson & I just make it to the games not practices. Carson is also doing great in 2nd great. He loves his teacher and I think he has her wrapped around his little finger already.
We just returned from St.Jude last week for Carson's 3 month check up. We got a great report. There was no change on his MRI so that was great news. We will return the first week of December for another MRI. We will also be going up the weekend before his check up to participate in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon weekend. I will once again be running the 1/2 Marathon, Chris,Cameron & Grandpa will run the 5K and Carson will participate in the Family 1 mile fun walk/run with his Nana. We also have our Alabama friends & family coming again this year to be part of our team and my cousin, Anna and her husband, Trea joined our team this year. We have already raised over $5,000 this year for St. Jude and would like to raise $10,000 by the race. You can donate online by clicking the St. Jude Hero link below.
While we were at St. Jude, Carson was asked to be in a photo shoot for a story they were doing in Promise Magazine. They were looking for a success story for Medulloblastoma and they were given his name by one of the Dr.'s and a social worker. He did a fantastic job and the pictures turned out awesome. Then after we got home I had an email from LeBonheur, they had taken some pictures of him and Cameron the day after his surgery and interviewed Chris & I. The article is written and he is in the LeBonheur magazine coming out. Cameron said we are famous. I told him yes but unfortunately for all of the wrong reasons. But we are so thankful to be able to do these stories so maybe we can give hope to other families that are beginning their journey at St. Jude.

Saturday, June 18, 2011 4:44 PM CDT

**********New pictures posted 7/24/11********Praise God!!! Carson's check up at St. Jude this past week was great. His MRI was stable. We did not have very many appointments this time. He did receive his new hearing aids. They are supposed to really help him hear the high pitch sounds that he cannot hear and we should be able to see a difference in his speech. We are so excited about this. The only problem is the ear molds are not fitted. They are a small piece that fits inside his ear that is hardly noticeable. The right one was not staying in and we lost it in the parking lot of the Target House. I noticed it was missing and found it before someone ran it over. Thank goodness because I really did not want to have to pay for a new one. We will return in 3 months. These visits make us extremely nervous because of the chance of recurrance. The day after we got home Carson had a bad headache. If he had not just had an MRI we would have been a wreck. I gave him Tylenol and it went away after about an hour.
We now are planning to enjoy the rest of our summer. Cameron is playing in a baseball tournament this weekend. Today he caught his first line drive in the outfield. Let's just say there were some very proud parents & grandparents at the ball game. Next weekend the All Star tournament begins. It is so much fun to watch them but I sure wish it was about 20 degrees cooler and not so humid. After all of this baseball, we are going to take a trip with Nana and Grandpa to Branson, MO. The day after we get back from that trip we are taking a family trip to the beach with Uncle Gary & Aunt Susan. By the time we get all of that done unfortunately it will be time to start preparing my room for another school year.
Thanks for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for Carson and all of the other families at St. Jude. Each time I go I am quickly reminded of how lucky we are. So many families at St. Jude are just beginning their long battles and many are being sent home because their are no other treatment options.

Monday, June 13, 2011 8:12 AM CDT

I just wanted to do a quick update to ask for everyone's prayers. We are leaving in a few hours going to St. Jude for Carson's check up. He will have a few appointments tomorrow. The first one will be to get his new hearing aids that are a lot smaller and will be a lot less noticeable and they will have a lot better sound quality. I just pray that he can tolerate them because they will be so different. His MRI is on Wednesday. I do not think we will have results until Thursday morning because it is scheduled for mid day and then the Dr.'s all go into brain tumor meeting that afternoon. We are extremely nervous now each time he goes for an MRI since they told us at some point it will probably come back. We just pray that if it has to that it will be years from now and that he will not have to endure any more surgeries at this point. I think 8 surgeries in his 8 years of life is enough for now. He is doing great and really enjoying his summer. He is reading chapter books and is so proud of it (and so are we!!!). He started one on a Saturday and finished it on Sunday. That is awesome b/c I can't even do that. HA!!
We are also very proud of Cameron b/c he made All Stars this summer. So to say the least our summer has been consumed with baseball. He's looking forward to this trip to Memphis to get out of his 2 hour practices that they have every evening in this terrible heat that we have in Louisiana right now. We spent all weekend in Minden playing in a tournament. They did great!!! I will update more when we return from Memphis and try to get new pictures up. I got a new camera for Mother's Day and have yet to get any pictures off of it. Please pray for safe travels and for great MRI results.

Saturday, April 16, 2011 5:46 PM CDT

We are finally home and we got a good report!!! He had his MRI on Monday and couldn't eat until 3:00. He then had his PET scan on Tuesday and again he didn't eat until 3:00. On Wednesday he fell asleep at 6:15pm without dinner and slept through the night. Going to St. Jude is a good diet plan. Even though he has gained almost 1.5 lbs since we were there in February. I think missing a few meals is not hurting him. Carson's neuro oncologist called me Tuesday evening to tell me there was a thickening in an area on the membrane right where they removed the tumor. The radiologist discussed it with him and they were unsure of it was residual tumor. Then we met with Dr. Boop (neurosurgeon) on Thursday and he was not concerned about the spot. He said he saw it on the MRI during surgery and then looked at it on the 3D video and he felt it was just scar tissue. He said that Carson has plenty of that in his head. We are still going to return in 2 months to do another MRI just to keep a close eye on it to be sure it remains stable. They did say due to there being A typical cells that there is a greater risk of the tumor returning. All of his therapists were pleased with how he is doing and his hearing has remained stable. We will be getting new & improved hearing aids when we return in January. We had a good trip but we missed Cameron a lot. This was the longest we have had to be gone without him. I think him & Dad made it just fine without us with a lot of help from Mrs. Yorba. I picked him up from school yesterday when we got back into town and took them to the movies to see HOP. Cameron is extremely excited that next time he will get to go with us. Continue to pray for all of the families at St. Jude. We met 4 new children & families that have just begun their journeys at St. Jude. For some of them it was their very first day there and were terrified. We remember clearly just exactly how that felt. Please keep all of these children & their families in your prayers as they begin this scary new chapter of their lives.

Sunday, April 10, 2011 11:50 AM CDT

I have to apologize once again for the long delay in updates. But there is a good reason that I have not updated, because life is back to normal. We are all in school full time and knee deep in baseball season. It is great to be back to running like crazy all of the time. We played 4 baseball games in less than 24 hours this weekend. But it was a lot of fun. Both boys were worn out at the end of it. Carson was asleep before the games finished. Cameron was out by 5:30 for the night.
I am going to make this quick because as I'm typing while Chris is packing my car. Mom, Carson & I are leaving today heading to St. Jude for more tests. He will be put to sleep tomorrow for an MRI and again on Tuesday for a PET scan. He also has appointments all day Wednesday & Thursday. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel today and for good results on all of Carson's tests. Keep Cameron & Chris in your prayers also as they stay home and keep going with the normal, crazy life. I will update as soon as we get results.

Sunday, March 6, 2011 6:54 PM CST

I hoped to not update again so soon but as most of you already know we had to make a quick trip back to Memphis. Carson went to school last Monday & Tuesday for 1/2 day. It was very hard on him. He would come home and sleep for about 2-3 hours. Tuesday was my first day to work a full day in several weeks. I woke him up at 6:20 to bathe him while Chris & Cameron were at ball practice. When I bent his head back to rinse his hair he screamed. After his bath he could not stand for me to pat his head dry. I called Sonja over to look at him and it was really red, swollen and was oozing. When I talked with our St. Jude nurse she said we needed to come on b/c if he got a fever we would not be able to travel. So with the help of Sonja and Chris I quickly got a bag packed for us and we hit the road at 8:15. We stopped in Stamps and picked up Nana. We made it in record time to Memphis that night. We arrived at the ER at LeBonheur at 1:30. Luckily our paperwork was done and we were sent straight to the 7th floor (neuro floor). We finally all laid down around 3:00. I think I slept a total of 30 minutes that night. They would not let Carson eat until we saw Dr. Boop (neurosurgeon). He had not eaten since 11:00am on Tuesday. By the time he could eat Wednesday around 10:00 he was starving and eating everything in sight. They said it was a superficial infection and that we did the right thing by coming to Memphis so they could treat it with antibiotics before it got worse. So, luckily they hooked him up to IV antibitiocs for 48 hours instead of having to open him back up and clean it out. He slept almost all day Wednesday and was very pale. During the 2nd dose of the antibiotic he had a common reaction which caused him to itch really bad on his head and nose. They had to stop the medicine, give him Benadryl and wait 30 minutes to restart the meds. They were giving it over 1 hour and had to slow it to 2 hours. By Thursday he was himself again but the incision still looked pretty bad. By Friday morning it looked much better and they released us by 11:00 to come home. He is now on an oral antibiotic and it is healing nicely.
Once again we have so many people to thank that stepped up to help us. Thanks to Aunt Sonja for getting to our house so fast to assess Carson and helping us pack. Thanks to the Ray kids for being a good distraction for Cameron because I had to tell him that Mama and Carson had to leave again. He was extremely worried about me driving at night and falling asleep. Thanks to Amy for keeping everyone updated. Thanks to Sherrie for keeping Cameron every afternoon and helping him do his homework. Chris said he didn't know what he would have done without her. And especially thanks to everyone for all your prayers. I told my mom and Chris that we have been through a lot but we are so very lucky because everything Carson has had has been fixable. There are so many children up there that are going through so much pain right now that it just breaks our hearts. Please keep all of these families in your prayers also. The week that Carson had his 2nd surgery they had nine new brain tumor patients admitted. That is nine children and families whose lives have been turned upside down in an instant and quite possibly will never be the same.
We hope to have a normal week this week. We do not have to make another trip to Memphis for 5 weeks (hopefully!!). We will have an MRI and also a PET scan done when we go back. The PET scan will be used as a baseline test. Unfortunely the tumor had already infiltrated, they think they got it all by looking at it with the naked eye but there still could be some cells that they could not see. They only see one meningioma in children every few years. It is much more common in adults. In adults they do radiation but because Carson is so young and has already been through radiation they chose not to radiate him again. He already has a lot of side effects from the first radiation and it could cause him a lot more problems if they had to do it again. They decided that if it returns they would rather do multiple surgeries before radiating again. Please continue to pray for Carson as he heals from his surgery and pray that this tumor will not come back. Thank you all again for all of your prayers. Superman is home with his family and ready to tackle the first grade again in the morning!!!

Thursday, March 3, 2011 12:20 AM CST

Praise GOD-Carson had a good night! He had a common reaction to the antibiotics after the 2nd dose. He started itching all over and was crying because it was very uncomfortable for him. They are now going to give the medicine every six hours over a 2 hour period. The plan as of now is to continue the antibiotics today and they will come home tomorrow. He will continue the antibiotics orally. The incision site is still a little irritated but they are treating it with an adhesive cleaner.

The Braun's are very thankful for all the prayers and love that you have all given!

Please continue to pray for Carson as he heals!

Amy

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:02 PM CST

UPDATE ON CARSON-

Ginger said that they saw the doctor and that he was very glad that they came on in because the incision site is infected and would have gotten worse. They think it's just superficial. They have started IV antibiotics and will continue for a couple of days. They hope to be home by the weekend. Pray for them to be able to get some rest and for quick healing for Carson.

THANKFUL FOR THE POWER OF PRAYER~
Amy

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 9:10 PM CST

Prayer Warriors-

Our sweet Carson needs our prayers! Ginger, her mom and Carson are headed back to Memphis because his incision site is infected. PLEASE PRAY as they travel and for Carson to heal quickly.

I will keep you posted as I hear more.

PRAYING~and~BELIEVING~
Amy

Sunday, February 27, 2011 5:41 PM CST

First of all I want to say I'm very sorry for just now getting around to updating. I also want to say a big THANKS to Amy for keeping Carson's page updated while we were in Memphis. That was a huge help. Carson was released from the hospital last Monday after a rough weekend. This surgery was a lot more involved and they found that the tumor was a lot larger than they had originally thought. He had a much harder time recovering from this surgery. He had to take a lot of narcotics to keep the pain under control and they in turn caused a lot of other problems. Chris & Cameron had to come home on Sunday so they could get back to work and school. That was hard on all of us. Cameron had a meltdown when his daddy told them they had to come home. He did great and enjoyed a fun day off last Monday playing with Jackson, Landry & Cooper. THANKS Aunt Sonja!!! Nana came up to stay with us. Carson was very quiet after he was released from the hospital. They recommended we stay in town for a couple of days. We finally got a good night's sleep Monday. That was the best thing for all of us. He was like a new child on Tuesday. I decided that I thought we could head home so we hit the road around 2:00. The last hour of the trip I was questioning my decision because he was too tired from sitting up in his carseat all of that time. But when we got to Nana and Grandpa's house we saw a little more of our Carson come back. We spent the night there and came home on Wednesday. We really saw our Carson when we picked Cameron up from school that afternoon. They were so glad to see each other. They just played and giggled all afternoon. That night we thought they'd never go to sleep for all of the giggling but we sure didn't mind. It was great to hear those sounds again.
Carson was the first case to get to use the new intraoperative MRI at LeBonheur. This allowed them to do an MRI on Carson before they even closed him up. Normally they have to wait until the next day, put him to sleep again and do an MRI to determine if they got all of the tumor. This way they could see immediately and decide if they could close or if they needed to keep going. St. Jude could also look at the MRI in real time. We got 3 thumbs up from 2 neuro radiologist from St. Jude and 1 from LeBonheur that had gotten a full resection, YAY!!! We will all return to school tomorrow and to our normal routines. We will have to return to St. Jude in 6 weeks for a week of testing. We pray that we get good results and can come back and finish out our school year.
We want to say thanks again for all of your prayers, support and kind words through Carson's page, email and text. Even though we may not be able to respond to everyone it means so much to us to hear from all of you and know that so many people are thinking and praying for our family. Continue to keep Carson in your prayers as he starts back to school this week.

Monday, February 21, 2011 12:10 AM CST

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!!!!!! Ginger said it best when she told me "Carson fought like a tiger" and now they are being released!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They will have to stay in Memphis until Tuesday or Wednesday. Please continue to pray for Carson to stay on the path of healing that he is now on.

PRAISING GOD FOR ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS~!
Amy

Sunday, February 20, 2011 4:03 PM CST

Thank you for your prayers-today has been a much better day for Carson. Ginger said that he woke up with his BIG SMILE and that was the medicine that SHE needed! They took him outside in his stroller so that he could see the sun for the first time since Tuesday. The doctors believe that the narcotics and steroids have been the reason for his behavior. He is still on steroids and will be for a few more days. The Dr. hopes to release them from the hospital tomorrow and they may be able to head home on Tuesday. Chris and Cameron are headed home now and that was very hard on both Carson and Cameron(and of course-Chris, too!). Ginger's mom is on her way to be with Carson and Ginger now. Please pray for safe travel for Chris, Cameron and Ginger's mom. Also, continue to pray for Carson's healing-our prayers are definitely being answered!

Thankful for Carson's smile~
Amy

Saturday, February 19, 2011 9:15 PM CST

It has been a rollercoaster day for our little Carson. He did not have a good morning because he was angry and they could not do anything to make him feel better. They HAVE been able to stop the narcotics and he has gone all day with just Tylenol and Motrin. The pain does seem to be lessening. THANK YOU, JESUS! Today he rode in his stroller and even walked down the hall! Now, things are back to not being so good. After he woke from his nap, he is unable to be consoled (again). They are unsure of the behavior change. At this time, we need to pray for Carson, Chris and Ginger. It is so hard as a parent when you CAN'T fix things for your children. I know they have to be so tired and ready to see Carson smiling and asking for Reeses!

PRAYING FOR THE GREAT PHYSICIAN'S HEALING~
Amy

Friday, February 18, 2011 8:00 PM CST

I know all of you are ready for an update.............Carson's CT scan looked fine, praise GOD. They think the severe pain may be caused by lots of blood from back to back surgeries. They said that it is just going to take time. Around 2:15 he ate 5 mini corndogs and they were able to give him a lortab. He did perk up for a couple of hours. His PT came in and had him stand and move around a little. He was only able to tolerate it for about 5 minutes and went downhill fast after that, screaming in pain. He then had to be given more morphine. If he improves a lot they will be able to go stay at the Target House tomorrow afternoon. He is going to have to come a long way before he will be able to go home. As you can see, we need to continue to pray for Carson. I know Chris and Ginger are brokenhearted to see their baby in so much pain. PLEASE PRAY FOR QUICK HEALING!

BELIEVING IN HEALING~
Amy

Friday, February 18, 2011 8:30 AM CST

I just heard from Ginger and she is asking that we pray for Carson. They did not have a good night. He has been in a lot of pain and has been given morphine several times. The Dr. just came by and has ordered a CT scan to rule out a shunt malfunction. This means he has to be NPO again in case they have to do a procedure. PRAY that his pain goes away and that he does not have to have anything else done.

PRAYING FOR A GREAT DAY FOR CARSON~
Amy

Thursday, February 17, 2011 10:42 AM CST

I heard from Ginger this morning and she said that they had a good night. They have been cleared to go to the floor. By now they should have started taking the lines, IV, and the cath out. I know that will make Carson feel much better. He still has not eaten or had anything to drink so they are continuing fluids until he does. He is very excited about seeing Cameron today. Ginger said that it is still very painful for him to move his head BUT he looks SO much better today!

Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery for our sweet, brave boy!

Amy

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 6:24 PM CST

Ginger and Chris are asking for all of you to pray for Carson. The surgery was much harder (per neurosurgeon) than the last time and he is having a lot harder time recovering. Ginger said that he had just woke up and was screaming in pain. They did give him morphine, so hopefully his pain will cease. By this time after the last surgery Carson was eating yogurt and pizza and smiling. She said that he is STILL trying to smile through the pain. I know it has to be so hard on them to see their sweet boy in pain.

PLEASE PRAY THAT CHRIS AND GINGER SEE THAT SWEET SMILE SOON!

Praying to the GREAT PHYSICIAN for HEALING!
Amy

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 8:02 AM CST

UPDATE******************2:10
Carson is in ICU now BUT they will be able to stay with him 24 hours. They are even going to make an exception and let Cameron see Carson. I am SURE that Carson will feel a lot better after seeing his brother!!

UPDATE******************12:45
Carson is now out of surgery! The doctors think that they got it all. There was more of the tumor than they had originally thought. He is stable and doing well. It will be about another hour before he will wake up. Hopefully, he will NOT have to go to ICU. Pray that Carson will not have too much pain when he wakes up. I am sure it won't be long before he is smiling that priceless smile.

Thankful~
Amy

UPDATE*************************
Carson is now in surgery! PLEASE PRAY!!

I just heard from Ginger and Carson's surgery will begin very soon. PLEASE PRAY!!!! I know it is going to be so hard for Chris and Ginger to hand him over to the doctors again. Also, please remember Cameron in your prayers. Ginger said he was very nervous this morning. I love to see how close Cameron and Carson are-what a special relationship they have! I have names written all over the palm of my hand to serve as a reminder to pray for Carson, all of those who will be caring for Carson and his precious family! I will keep you posted as I receive updates!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

PRAYING AND BELIEVING!

Amy Gates

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 8:33 PM CST

The Braun's are now in Memphis getting ready for Carson's surgery. His surgery has been moved back to 8:30 in the morning because our superstar will be the first child to use a new type of MRI called "intraoperative MRI". The i-MRI will allow the surgeon to see the exact location and size of the tumor and they will be able to use it during the entire surgery, allowing them to more accurately assess the extent of the removal of the tumor. Since Carson is the first child to have the i-MRI, someone from the marketing department will be interviewing Ginger about Carson and his journey! Aren't they in for a surprise!!!Ginger said that the neurosurgeon sounded very positive about being able to get all of the tumor this time. He did not get all of it last time because there was so much scar tissue that it was difficult to tell what was normal tissue and what was not. He said that since they have already gone thru the scar tissue and it hasn't had time to heal that it should be easier to get to-hopefully-the surgery won't take much longer than last time. The post-op MRI did show that the tumor appeared bigger-BUT-they do not think that it has grown. The doctor said that sometimes after surgery more of the area will light up on the image.

PRAYER WARRIORS---------------PLEASE PRAY FOR CARSON, THE DOCTORS/NURSES THAT WILL BE CARING FOR HIM, THE BRAUN FAMILY, AND FOR GREAT RESULTS! THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT GOD HAS ALREADY ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS FOR CARSON AND I KNOW THAT HE WILL CONTINUE TO!

Standing in Faith-
Amy Gates

Sunday, February 13, 2011 2:05 PM CST

We are at a loss for words about yesterday's Wiffle Ball tournament for Carson. We could not believe it when we saw all of the people that came out to support our family and to show their love for Carson. I had tears in my eyes when I pulled up. Then when Chris came to me I just lost it. We are so greatful to have such great friends and family and even people we have never met to come out and support us. It was a beautiful day yesterday and I think everyone had a great time. Our family had a blast especially our kids. They were exhausted. Carson fell asleep in the car as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot and slept for almost 4 hours. We were so glad that we were in town for it and could be out there enjoying the day with everyone. It was a huge help to us to have a normal day and get our minds off of everything else. A BIG THANKS to everyone for all of their time and hard work into putting this together. I am not going to list names for fear of leaving someone out. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by such a wondeful family and such fantastic friends in this community.

Please continue to keep Carson & our famiy in your prayers. We will be traveling back to Memphis tomorrow afternoon. Carson will have another MRI on Tuesday and another tumor resection at LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis on Wednesday. Please pray that they are able to get all of the tumor without complications.
Cameron will be having his first sleepover with the Ray's on Monday. He is excited about staying with them. Carson is not happy because Cameron will not be going with us. Cameron will be coming up Tuesday evening with Nana, Grandpa & Aunt Judy. This has been a very difficult few weeks for the 2 of them. They have had lots of questions about everything that is going on. This is alot for two 8 year olds to take in. Cameron asked me the other day if our family was back to normal yet. I'm not sure what normal is but hopefully after this week we will be able to get back to normal.
We just want to say THANKS again for all that everyone has done for our family. It has just been amazing!!

** Thanks to Kim Cox for the awesome video slideshow from the wiffle ball tournamant. See link below

copy & pastse : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD1Ks-Z0JRM

or click on link below

Friday, February 4, 2011 3:45 PM CST

Chris & I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone for all you have done for us in the last 2 very difficult weeks. To those of you checking our house, updating Carson's caringbridge page, the food brought by, the gifts to the boys to brighten their days, and especially to all of you who have been praying for our sweet Carson and our family. We definetly could not have made it without all of you. It is so wonderful to know that we have so many great friends and family members willing to do so much for us. We constantly checked the caringbridge site and all of your thoughtful words helped us get through some very difficult days. You don't know how much just seeing how many people are praying for us back home can lift our spirits. As you can only imagine, Chris & I were in total shock when we heard something showed up on Carson's MRI. This was just a normal check up that we have been doing for 6 years now. We never could have imagined that after this much time something would show up. The doctors couldn't believe it either.
As you all read yesterday we did get some pretty good news. We would have loved for them to have called us and said it was a benign tumor but that wasn't the case. We pretty much knew it wouldn't be the case. Because we know it could have been a lot worse we were very pleased with what we heard yesterday. He does have a grade 2 meningioma (a tumor of the membranes that cover the brain). They beleive this is a secondary tumor caused by radiation. We will be returning to Memphis on February 14th. He will undergo another tumor resection on February 16th at LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis. The neurosurgeon feels that he will be able to remove the tumor. They did say that with this type of tumor he will not get chemo. If for some reason they are unable to get all of the tumor he could possibly have to have a few doses of low dose focal radiation. We do not want Carson to have to go through that again because the radiation he went through 6 1/2 years ago is what has caused a lot of Carson's problems including this tumor. We hope to have a normal week next week with all of us back in school before we have to head back to Memphis. We ask you to please continue to pray for Carson as he heals from the first surgery, pray for the doctors & all of those who will be operating on Carson, and for our family as we face the next few weeks. Also, please keep Cameron in your prayers because it is really hard for him to see his brother go through so much. He has been absolutely amazing through all of this but he worries a lot about all of it.
Also, thanks to all of you who sent birthday wishes their way. Unfortunately they will not get to have a big birthday bash because of the fear of Carson getting sick. We also had to cancel their birthday trip to Great Wolf Lodge. Temporarily. They have been so understanding about all of this which is not unexpected from our boys. One thing is for sure, Carson is one tough little dude!!!
Thanks again for everything, it has meant the world to our family.

Thursday, February 3, 2011 11:41 AM CST

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAMERON AND CARSON!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a great day today is CELEBRATING two very special boys! Cameron is at school today and all of his friends were so excited to see him (and his tiger cupcakes). Carson is hanging out at home with his sweet mama! He is not feeling as well today. But..........I am sure he will bounce back soon-like he ALWAYS does! I got to see him last night and I was just in shock as I watched him laugh and play! HE IS TRULY AMAZING!

Chris and Ginger did hear from the doctor today. The results have come in and show to be a Grade 2 meningioma. This particular type of tumor is a tumor of the membranes that cover the brain. It is a very common secondary tumor caused by radiation. As of now the doctors do not think Carson will have to go through radiation/chemo-PRAISE GOD-but he will have to have the tumor removed. The neurosurgeon is out of town, but they hope to hear from him soon so they can find out the plan of action. The doctors told them that this is GOOD news and they are very pleased with the results because they feared it was a high grade tumor. Ginger sounded really good when I talked to her and has complete faith in the doctors at St. Jude. Please continue to pray for the Brauns and the doctors as they face the days ahead.

Thankful~
Amy

Tuesday, February 1, 2011 8:47 AM CST

--UPDATE--4:10
I just got off the phone with Ginger and they are on their way home. According to the MRI today, the doctors are not positive that they got all of the tumor. It is possible that it could be due to surgical changes. They will know more when they get the pathology report. Also, depending on the pathology report it is a possibility they will return for more tests in 3 weeks.
Please pray for them as they travel and for POSITIVE results!

CLAIMING-BELIEVING-and PRAYING FOR A GOOD REPORT!
Amy

Good Morning! I just heard from Ginger and she said that Carson just went back to have his MRI done. They did give him the gas and then put in the IV. That's a good thing, because poor Carson is tired of the whole IV thing! They will go to the neuro clinic at 10:45. At that time they should know if they were able to get all of the tumor. Pray for GREAT results!!

I will post again as soon as I hear more!

Amy

Monday, January 31, 2011 5:19 PM CST

I know you are all ready for an update on our miracle boy! I just heard from Ginger and she said that they did not have any appointments today, so they have been just hanging out. Tomorrow morning at 7:00 Carson will have his MRI followed by a neuro clinic visit, then audiology and OT. They plan to drive home tomorrow evening, if Carson is up to it. Please pray for them as they face tomorrow with all of the appointments. I am sure they have a very ehausting day ahead of them. They are all trying to keep their spirits up and be positive, but as you can imagine they are so worried. PLEASE pray for them to feel GOD's hand on them as they go thru this storm.

With a hopeful heart~
Amy

Saturday, January 29, 2011 11:47 AM CST

My heart smiled today when I heard from Ginger! She sounded GREAT!! They had a good night with Carson. This morning the doctor came in and discharged them!! Yet-another PRAISE!! They are now staying at the Grizzly House (as a family) which is like a hotel on the St. Jude grounds. I know Cameron and Carson are so glad to be together. Carson's spirits have been up and down. He DID NOT like having his IV's removed today. She said he got very, very upset. On Monday they should hear when Carson will have his MRI to make sure that all of the tumor was removed. They will also have other appointments in the early part of the week. They plan to be home by mid-week. They will have to travel back to St. Jude the following week to get the reports and make decisions as to what needs to be done. Although we have a lot to be THANKFUL for we still have a lot of PRAYER REQUESTS for our sweet Carson. Please continue to pray for the reports to come back benign, the MRI to show that they did get all of the tumor, for Carson as he continues to heal from the surgery, and for the Braun's as they wait in faith!!

Also, please say a prayer for Ginger's parents and Aunt Judy as they travel home today.

BELIEVING AND CLAIMING A GREAT REPORT~
Amy

Friday, January 28, 2011 9:03 AM CST

8:30
UPDATE-
I just talked to Ginger and they seem to be doing really well! Carson is smiling-OF COURSE-has eaten yogurt and a few bites of pizza. He is reading cards and starting to move around. What a PRAISE in itself! I do want to make a correction from earlier-the doctors said the tumor did not "appear" to be medulloblastoma. But, like with everything else they still have to wait for the final path report to know for sure. Continue to pray for the tumor to be benign and for Carson to keep smiling! I am posting a picture that Ginger sent me of Carson. It is so nice to see that sweet smile that ONLY Carson can give! Thank you JESUS for our precious Carson!

Amy

2:25
UPDATE-
I just talked to Ginger's Aunt Judy and she told me that Chris and Ginger had met with the doctors. The tumor is NOT medulloblastoma like last time. They are unsure of what it is and will have to wait two weeks for the report to come back. Some good news is that Carson should have an easy recovery due to the fact that they did NOT have to cut through the muscle! Also, he will NOT have to go to ICU, as they thought before! He is in recovery now getting hugs and kisses from his precious parents and will then go to a room! Hopefully, they will all be home mid-week. PRAISE JESUS!!! Please pray to the GREAT PHYSICIAN, Jesus Christ, for a POSITIVE outcome with the results. Continue to pray for The Braun's to stay strong and encouraged.

1:15
UPDATE-
The procedure is now finished and they are waiting on the pathology report. They really need our prayers for peace at this time. I know they are extremely nervous as they wait on the report. Carson is doing well. PRAY PRAY PRAY FOR A GREAT REPORT!!!!

12:15
UPDATE-Just heard from Ginger and she said that they have not yet removed the tumor but they are getting close. Should be within the next 15 minutes. TIME TO DOUBLE UP ON OUR PRAYERS! DEAR LORD-PLEASE LET IT BE BENIGN!

UPADATE-Ginger just sent me a text that said they just got started 5 minutes ago. They will give them an update at noon. KEEP THE PRAYERS GOING UP!

PRAYER WARRIORS-
Carson just had a MRI and will be going into surgery within the next few minutes. PLEASE PRAY for our sweet Carson and his family at this time. Also, lift up the team of doctors and nurses who will be performing the surgery.

One of my friends shared with me a great idea-write Carson's name on the palm of your hand so everytime you look at it you will be reminded to pray for him!

PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING~
Amy Gates

Thursday, January 27, 2011 4:20 PM CST

I just got off the phone with Ginger and they were getting to love on their sweet, brave boy. He is very groggy BUT is able to enjoy his cheese puffs! The preliminary results from todays test shows that there is not a tumor in the spine. Also, no tumor cells showed up in the spinal fluid. PRAISE GOD for this report! Carson will have surgery tomorrow morning, probably around 9:00. After his surgery, he will be in ICU for at least one night. Thankfully, they will be able to stay with Carson at all times in ICU. Chris & Ginger ask that we specifically pray that the tumor will prove to be BENIGN or low grade. They will know the preliminary results by the end of the surgery. Please pray for their family that is traveling to be with them as well. Ginger told me that they have been able to read all of the sweet comments that you have left for them and it means so much to them. I know they can feel your PRAYERS! KEEP THEM COMING!
I will post as soon as I hear from Ginger tomorrow!

Matthew 21:22-"And whatever you ask for in prayer, having FAITH and really believing, you WILL receive."

With FAITH~
Amy

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 8:10 PM CST

Hi! This is Ginger's friend Amy Gates, updating for her. I am asking that you join me in praying for the Braun's at this time. They went to St. Jude for Carson's check-up and found out today that there are some concerns. A mass was found on the MRI in the same spot as the original tumor. Tomorrow more tests will be done that will give them more detail as to what is going on. At this point, Ginger is asking that we specifically pray that when they do the spinal MRI tomorrow(at 11:30)that everything shows to be clear. Carson will also have a lumbar puncture tomorrow(at 2:00). PLEASE keep the Braun's in your prayers as tomorrow will be a very exhausting day for them. Pray for them to have peace and for God to guide the doctors as they find the path that needs to be taken for our sweet Carson.

Please check regularly this site for updates. As they find out details I will post.

Matthew 18:20-"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Believing in HIS power~
Amy Gates

Friday, December 31, 2010 4:31 PM CST

Since it is the last day of 2010 I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on our year. The boys are doing great in school this year. They are both making wonderful grades and love school. Carson made all new friends in his new 1st grade class. We knew he would because he is our social butterfly. Cameron transitioned in to 2nd grade without his brother and also is doing very well. His teacher brags on how well behaved he is and he never talks. He must hold it in all day b/c as soon as he gets to my classroom at 2:50 he doesn't stop talking until he goes to bed. Cameron just made the 75 point club in AR as the 2nd 9 weeks ended. We are so proud of him.
We had another successful St. Jude Marathon weekend. We didn't raise as much money as I would have liked but we still did well. Thanks to everyone who donated again this year. The boys partcipated in the Famly Fun Run this year. Cameron loved being part of it. He told everyone that he was running for his brother. Carson was also in the race and Tony the Tiger came across the finish line with him. It was a fantastic weekend and we really enjoyed seeing all of our St. Jude friends.
As soon as we got home we had both of Cameron's legs casted. He had to wear them for 3 weeks. This was done to help stretch his muscles so he can walk flat footed and get off of his toes. He did great and we got the casts off on Monday. He seems to be doing much better. He has to wear his braces 24 hours a day for now so they will not tighten back up.
Both boys have been sick all of Christmas break. Carson got sick right before we got out. Cameron got sick right before Christmas. They keep passing it back and forth. Unfortunately they both have had lots of headaches and that terrifies us as brain tumor parents. Other than everyone being sick we had a wonderful Christmas. Santa was very good to the boys as usual. I am still trying to find my house under all of the toys.
We will be heading to Memphis in a few weeks for Carson's check ups. He has appointments the last week of January. He will have his MRI on Wednesday of that week along with many other appointments over 4 days.
We wish all of you a very Blessed 2011.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

I have to say I think this is the longest that we have ever gone without an update. It has been so long that I do not know even where to start. We have been to St. Jude again since I updated last. Carson did not have to have an MRI this summer when we returned b/c as of March, he was 5 years off of treatment. (HOORAY!!) We will continue to go every 6 months b/c he is on growth hormone and needs to be followed by the endocrine dept. at St. Jude and also to have his hearing aids checked and for his eye exams. Because we did not have an MRI this visit we had a lot of extra time to do some fun things. Nana went with us on this visit. She has wanted to go to Graceland ever since we have been going to St. Jude. I finally took her. We all enjoyed it but the boys got bored b/4 Nana was ready to go. Also, in June it was kind of warm and Carson got tired of walking. The next day we took the boys to Mud Island. We had been there once b/4 but they were pretty little and did not really remember it. They loved it and it was a nice cool way to enjoy a 100 degree day in Memphis.
Also, this summer we took them on their first camping trip. They had been to Shady Lake once for a day but never overnight. I wasn't sure that I could handle it but we all had a blast. Cameron learned to skip rocks and the highlight of the camping trip was Grandad (my grandfather) driving us around as we hang our feet off of the back of the truck. It was a very fun weekend.
The next weekend, we took our annual week long trip to the beach. We were unsure of how the trip would be this year b/c of the oil spill but it was just as great as years past. There were a couple of days that there was a little oil in the water and we didn't let the kids get in but other than that it was awesome.
At the beginning of the summer we took the boys to Great Wolf Lodge for a weekend getaway. We also took in a TX Rangers game while we were there. That was a wonderful weekend and the boys want to do it again for their birthday.
One week from today the boys start back to school. This is going to be very difficult for all of us. It may be harder on me than the boys. Cameron will be going on to 2nd grade and Carson will be staying back in 1st grade. We told them this week and they seemed to handle it okay. I do not think Carson fully understood and it will hit him the first day of school. Cameron had lots of questions about why. He also said "So we will never be in the same grade again." It makes me sad that a 7 year old is worrying about the same thing that has bothered me. They both have wonderful teachers (a perk of mom teaching) and wonderful classmates. Carson is pretty excited about having all new girlfriends this year. Carson will still be in the same hall with me but Cameron is going to be in a different building across campus. That is good for him b/c I will not know everything he is doing. I really think that Carson will do well this year b/c he is reading so much better. We attended the summer reading program at our library this summer. They have each read 80 books this summer and ask each day to go to the library to get more books. I am so proud of both of them and so glad that they got the love of reading from their Daddy and Aunt Nesie.
I know now why I only update every 6 months b/c during this update I had to stop 3 times and run downstairs b/c someone needed something.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers, especially as we start a new school year with lots of big changes. We will return to St. Jude at the end of January for his annual MRI and other appointments. Hopefully I will be able to update again b/4 then but I am not promising anything.
One more thing......We will all be partipcating in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon weekend the first weekend of December this year along with many other friends and family. Chris and the boys will partcipate in a family fun run. They will have to run/walk and log their miles over the next few months. They have to go at least 12.1 miles before the run. They will run the last mile in Memphis to complete a half marathon. I will be running the half marathon again this year. Last year our team raised about $8,000. I have set a goal of $10,000 for this year. I am starting my fundraising efforts earlier this year to try to reach our goal. There is a link at the bottom of this page that you can click on and donate online. You can also make a donation by sending a check payable to: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to our address - 312 Audubon Dr, Bossier City, LA 71111. Thanks in advance for donations to St. Jude.

Sunday, January 31, 2010 5:26 PM CST

We had a wonderful trip to Memphis. Carson's MRI was clear!!! This March Carson will be 5 years off of treatment so as of now he will only have an MRI once a year instead of every 6 months. This is supposed to be good news but we like the peace of mind an MRI gives us. We will continue to go every 6 months. Because Carson is on growth hormone, has hearing loss and problems w/vision, he will still be monitored by all of these Dr.'s at St. Jude.
I can not believe that our boys will be 7 years old on Wednesday. Happy Birthday Cameron & Carson!!! It was 6 years ago this week that we began to get some answers about what had been wrong w/Carson since November. He was admitted into ICU the day after his b'day 6 years ago and then flown to Memphis the next day. This is when we discovered that he did not have a birth defect like they had first thought but that he had cancer. Each birthday is such a blessing b/c he was so sick on his first b'day that we were unsure how many more that he would see. Even though things are not always easy for Carson, we are so very blessed to have him here with us today. We met two different families that have been on treatment for medulloblastoma for 6 months. One was a 9 year old little boy and the other was a 19 mth old baby boy. Carson was truly a blessing for these two families to see b/c of how well he is doing at 5 years out. It felt great to share our story with them to try to help them with their long journey. It brought back lots of memories of when we were making this journey but made us so proud of how far he has come. Thanks to all of you that continue to pray for our family and please remember all of these families who have just begun their journeys.
On a good note, the boys had their first skating party yesterday. We were not sure how this was going to be putting skates on a child that can barely walk. Well it was just as you would expect. He looked just like Bambi on ice. But b/c Carson is so determined he kept trying and did not want to stop. We were worn out and the backs of my legs and my arms were very tired from holding him up the whole time. Cameron, on the other hand, got the hang of it after a while. He fell several times but got back up and tried again. He loved it. He fell one time really hard right b/4 we left and bruised his right cheek but he still wants his Daddy to take him skating again. I told them they would have to go w/out Carson & I next time. Also, Cameron lost his 2nd tooth last night. He will not let anyone touch his teeth but Uncle Richard. Luckily, we just live down the street from him and he can stop by to pull his teeth. I think we are going to have to start paying him a dental fee when he comes by.
Thanks again for all of your prayers for our family and all of the St. Jude families.

Saturday, January 23, 2010 9:05 PM CST

I had good intentions of updating before Christmas but I never got around to it. I wanted to update and let everyone know that we will be leaving on Monday afternoon going to Memphis for Carson's 6 month check up. He will have his MRI Tuesday morning and several other appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel to Memphis and for good results on all of Carson's test.
Chris & I went to Memphis in December and participated in the St. Jude Memphis 1/2 marathon & 5k. This was our first trip to Memphis without Carson. It was really weird not having him with us. We could not image how the families return that have lost their loved ones to cancer. We had a great time and got to see lots of our St. Jude friends. We had four other people that met us there and ran on Carson's team. Team Carson raised over $8300 this year. This is more than we have ever raised. We were thrilled. We have already set our goal for $10,000 for next year. I think we can do it. I already have a couple of ideas of ways to raise money that I'm going to try so we can meet our goal. One of the things we did this year was a blue jean day at our school. Our students have to wear uniforms so it is exciting for us to get a blue jean day. Everyone that wore jeans had to bring at least $1.00. Benton Elementary raised $900 for St. Jude. We were so grateful for their generosity. We are so fortunate to be at such a wonderful school with such wonderful people.
The boys are doing great. Cameron continues to do super in school. He got two awards at the honors assembly this 9 weeks. One for straight A's and the other was for reaching his AR (accelerated reader) goal and maintaining an 80%. This is very unusual for 1st graders to do at this time of year so we were very proud of him. He absolutely loves to read. The books he reads and tests on are a 2nd grade 5-8 month level. Cameron also lost his first tooth on New Year's Eve. Thanks to Uncle Richard, who was the only one that he would let pull it out. Carson also got two awards at the assembly. He got one called BUG for Brought up Grades. He brought his grades up in Math and spelling. He also got an award for Young Authors. He wrote a story that won 1st place in his division in our school. Then on Friday I found out that his story had won in the Parish. We are so proud of both of them.
Please continue to pray for all of the St Jude patients and their families. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers for Carson.

Sunday, November 29, 2009 9:24 PM CST

***New Pictures - 01/23/10******

It has taken me so long to do an update and I did this wonderful long update just to lose it. You have to love computers. I even gave my list of excuses of why it has taken me so long to do an update. We got started back to school and between teaching and first grade HW with the boys is very time consuming. Right after we got started back to school, we sold our house and moved. This was very exciting but added to an already busy schedule. Then about a month after we moved in a tornado hit about a 1/2 mile from our house. Our front door blew open but luckily we had not damage. We were without power for 36 hours. Then I started 2 computer courses for work and am started another one today. I do not have time to get on the computer but have had to make time to complete these courses. So there are all of my excuses for not doing an udpate in a couple of months.
The boys love first grade. Carson is struggling but continues to work very hard. Because of his hearing loss it makes it very difficult to hear all of the sounds which causes problems with learning to read. He received a new person amplifying system at the beginning of the year. I was afraid it was not working correctly and I was right. Luckily, Margaret Berry, came over to check it for me and worked until she got it working properly. We can't say thanks enough to her. He is doing better now but he missed a lot the first few weeks b/c it was making his hearing worse w/the amplifying system than if he was without it. He works so hard and loves to read. He never gives up and we are so proud of him. Cameron on the other hand is reading at a 2nd grade 8 mth level and is making straight A's. He also loves to read and reads anything and everything you put in front of him. Luckily he took after his Daddy and his Aunt Nesie and not his Mommy.
We have both boys back in PT on a regular schedule. We are trying to work on Cameron's toe walking and continue to work on Carson's balance. We are so proud of how he is walking or maybe I should say running. He only has one speed. He doesn't know how to go slow. We have stairs in our new house and he goes up & down them all of the time by himself. So far no one has fallen down them.
Chris & I will be going to Memphis this weekened to participate in the St. Jude half marathon/5K. We are asking that all of our friends and family help us to give back to St. Jude by making a donation. This is one way for us to say thanks for all that this wonderful hospital has done for us. All of the milestones that Carson meets are all because we had a place called St. Jude to turn to when he was diagnosed with cancer. If it wasn't for the wonderful Dr's and nurses we may not have him here with us today. You can make a donation online by clicking on the St. Jude heroes link below. You can donate in either mine or Chris' name. You can also send a check payable to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to our new address: 312 Audubon Dr. Bossier City, LA 71111. Thanks in advance for your donation. Please give thanks for all of the healthy children in your life during this holiday season.

Monday, August 10, 2009 7:04 PM CDT

It's hard to believe that summer is over. I started back to work today and the boys start school on Wednesday. We have had a wonderful summer. We stayed on the road a lot mostly going to see Nana and Grandpa. They are going to miss seeing us so much when school starts.
We had a good trip to St. Jude. Carson's MRI was clear!!! He is still growing but not has fast as he had been so we are having to go up on his dose of growth hormone. He is getting taller but his weight is not going up. They said it is not bad now but if it continues this way it will be soon. We are trying to get him to eat new things but that is not always an easy task. All he wants is his chicken nuggets. Everything else was good. We didn't see audiology b/c they were in the process of moving. They have made lots of changes to St. Jude and everybody is in a different place now. It is really nice w/all new play areas that the kids just love. Also when we got there, they ran out of rooms at the Grizzly House (St. Jude hotel) so we had to go stay at the Target House. It was really neat going back to the place where we lived for a year while Carson went through his treatment but I had a very nervous feeling returning there. The kids do not remember staying there so they thought it was really cool.
Please pray for the boys as they start a new school year especially for Carson transitioning into first grade with new teachers and aids. Also please continue to pray for my uncle, David Ray, he will find out tomorrow if his leg has healed enough for surgery.

Sunday, July 26, 2009 11:37 AM CDT

I really thought I would have more time to update this summer but as you can see I did not do a very good job of that. This is our first weekend in 4 weeks to be home. It was actually nice to be home for a change. A friend of ours brought their big Banzai water slide over for us to use this weekend and the kids had a blast playing all weekend. It is so great to watch Carson climb up the slide, go down, and run around to do it again. These are things that we never thought he'd be able to do. He is so head strong and indepedent that there is not much he can't do.
It is that time again for us to go to St. Jude for Carson's 6 month check up. We are leaving later today and going to Nana's house to spend the night. We will be leaving in the morning for Memphis. We are going to make a stop in Little Rock to check on Uncle Buddy (David Ray). He is back in the hospital in Rehab and doing very well. They are trying to teach him to walk on his left leg b/4 they do surgery on his right leg. Please continue to pray for his healing. Carson's MRI is on Tuesday morning followed by several appointments on Tuesday afternoon and most of Wednesday. He is just doing great but it still makes us nervous when he goes in for his MRI. The boys are excited about our trip to Memphis & to St. Jude. They always love going up there. I think it is going to be a little cooler this week than the over 100 temps we have had so that will be nice as I walk back in forth to the hospital many times a day. I can not believe that our summer is almost over. We just have 2 more weeks b/4 we head back to school. The boys start back on August 12th. I am extremely nervous about Carson going to 1st grade. I hope he does well and it is not overwhelming to him. I will be just across the hall so that makes it a little easier.
Please pray for safe travels to Memphis and for good tests results. Also please pray for an easy transition into first grade and for me as I get a new group of scared Kindergartners and nervous parents. Thanks for continuing to check on us and sorry I do not do a better job updating. I'm not going to promise I'll do better w/school about to start.

Friday, May 29, 2009 6:33 PM CDT

****July 13, 2009 - ALL New Beach Photo*********

We did it!!!! We all finished Kindergarten!!! It was absolutely amazing to watch Carson walk/run across the stage all by himself to receive his diploma. I was sitting on the edge of my seat b/c I was so afraid that he was going to fall. He didn't and he was moving across that stage. I did meet him at the steps to help him down, we could not be more proud of him. There was a big applause for him and believe me Mom, Dad & Nana were all beaming as we watched him. It is times like these that we are reminded of what a blessing he is and how so many prayers have been answered.
I am really having a hard time with this. It has been so much fun to be a part of everything the boys did at school-every field trip, Christmas program/Graduation practice, field day, splash day, lunch, Thanksgiving feast,etc. I am so going to miss that next year. I know they will just be across the hall from me but it will not be the same as being in the same grade that I teach. Cameron doesn't understand why Mommy is not going to first grade also. He said "so mom what grade will you be in next year?" Also, we made the very hard decision to promote Carson to First Grade. The boys will be in class together for at least one more year. That was a very hard decision but we just pray that it was the right one. He knows most of his Kindergarten skills but First grade is such a hard grade and really different than Kindergarten. We are going to have him tutored over the summer so hopefully that will help keep him going and get him ready for next year. Cameron is ready for first grade and he loves to read. He will sit in his room for long periods of time reading books I brought home from school. He definitely takes after his Aunt Nesie and not his Mommy when it comes to reading - Thank goodness!!
We have one more t-ball game tomorrow and the boys are going back to Nana & Grandpa's for a couple of days while I go to class for 2 days next week. Then the boys have a dentist appointment and after that I plan on slowing down and enjoying some down time over the summer.
Thanks so much for continuing to pray for Carson. Also, my Uncle, David Ray, is still recovering from his motorcycle accident but continues to make improvements each day. Please continue to pray for him and his family.

Saturday, May 2, 2009 7:24 PM CDT

I cannot beleive that is has been 2 1/2 months since I updated last. I tried to update a few weeks ago but they have changed the site and I couldn't figure out how to. I finally got a few minutes last week to play with it and now I have it all figured out.
As you can see by our new pictures on the site we had a great Easter. This is Chris' first Easter without his Mom so we decided to do something a little different this year. We were out for Spring break the week afterwards so we headed to Atlanta, GA to Chris' brother, Jimmy's, home to spend Easter with his family and Chris' brother Gary & wife Susan. We had an awesome time. The kids enjoyed being together and playing. We spent Saturday at the Georgia Aquarium and we all had a wonderful time. Not much is going on at the present. We like it that way. Carson is really walking well and beginning to try to run which causes harder falls. He is playing t-ball w/Cameron and all of his friends from school and he loves it. Someone helps him run the bases and he goes all the way around with a big smile on his face and the whole crowd cheers. The very first time he did it the whole crowd cheered and the whole team got up to give him a high five, it brought tears our eyes. We are so proud of how far he has come. Cameron is also having a great time playing ball this year.
It is so hard to believe that in 3 weeks the boys will be graduating from Kindergarten. From a teacher's point of view I can't wait for the end of the year but from a Mom's point of view I am really sad that my boys are growing up and moving on to first grade. We actually have not made a decision about Carson yet. We are not sure if we are going to send him on and hold him back in first grade or go ahead and let him repeat K again. It is a very hard decision but hopefully we will make the right one for Carson. All of the kids are so good to him and I hate for him to not be with them and his brother another year. As a matter of fact the whole Kindergarten is good to him and all try to help him. He's pretty independent though and doesn't really like to be helped. That's why he has come so far.
On a more somber note, last weekend we got a call that my Uncle, David Ray (my mom's brother), was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. He had to be air lifted to Little Rock and has been in ICU ever since. He has no internal injuries or head injuries but he is very broken up. He has had a lot of surgeries this week and has many more to go. Please keep my Uncle in your prayers and our whole family. It has been very hard on the whole family. I know we have some great prayer warriors out there because we have so many of you who pray for Carson.
Thanks for continuing to check on us and keeping our family in your prayers.

Monday, February 16, 2009 5:37 PM CST

5 years ago today our lives changed forever. It was 5 years ago that Dr. Sanford walked in the room @ LeBonheur Children's Hospital to give us the news that Carson had a malignant brain tumor. Chris had gone home for a meeting and my Grandfather was with me to take Carson & I home that day. We had no idea that we were about to be hit with this.
Our sweet baby boy has come a long way within the past 5 years. We never thought he would sit up and now he's running all over the place with his brother. We never thought he would eat and now we can't get him to stop eating. This weekend as he ate one Reese's peanut butter cup after another, I got on to him and told him no more. Chris said "Rememeber when we said if he would just eat we would let him have whatever he wanted." Well I'm having to eat those words. He truely is a miracle and we are so proud of him. We can not imagine going through all he has been through in the past 5 years - chemo, radiation, many surgeries, and many hours of therapy over the years and he never fusses about it. He doesn't know any different because this is how his life has always been.
We are having a little trouble making it through this first year of school because we all are staying sick. We have all missed over our amount of days to miss b/c if there is a bug going around we are going to catch it. Carson woke up about 1 1/2 weeks ago burning up with fever. I took him in and they told me he had a virus. About 5 days later, Cameron's teacher called and told me to come check on Cameron. He was burning up with fever and by bed time it was up to 104. My kids have never had a high fever so I was pretty nervous. I took him to the Dr. the next day to find out he has the flu. This is the 2nd year that Cameron has had the flu after getting the flu shot. He is only the 5th case of kids w/the flu shot getting the flu. That is our luck!!! Then I got sick. I do not have the flu just a bad cold. Cameron had to go spend a few days with Nana so I could get back to work. He loved that b/c he gets a lot of attention at Nana & Grandpa's house.
Now Cameron is limping and not putting pressure on his right foot. I guess we'll be back in the Dr.'s office getting an X ray this week. I'm hoping he hurt it doing WII fit with me but being a cancer Mom and hearing horrible stories, I think the worst. It's probably b/c he beats me running on the WII fit every time. I'm going to be the next one hurt b/c I'm trying to run faster and to watch him and see how in the world he is beating me everytime. It is pretty funny to see the boys & I doing WII fit. I know now where they get all of their balance problems from. They get it honestly. We always have to close the blinds to be sure that none of our neighbors see us.
Please keep my Grandfather in your prayers. My grandparents help us out a lot and were taking the boys to therapy for us the first Monday each month. They have to drive 65 miles here to pick them up and another 60 miles on the interstate to Ruston. 2 weeks ago when they took them my grandfather was not feeling well. He ended up in the hospital the next day to find out he was having an on going heart attack. He underwent bypass surgery a week ago. He finally got to come home yesterday but still needs lots of prayers. Even though my grandparents are in their mid to late 70's they never stop so it is going to be hard on him to slow down.
Thanks for all of your prayers over the past 5 years!!!!

Friday, January 30, 2009 5:34 PM CST

I know it is hard to believe that I have done 3 updates in a week!!! I'm sure that I probably won't get around to another one for a month. Well our trip to Memphis was great. His MRI was CLEAR!!!!! And as you can see from the picture we got beautiful snow the last day we were there. The only problem with that was we had to drive home on some nasty roads for a little while that day. We were all pretty excited to see the snow. It was sooooo cold the whole time we were there and the sun did not shine the whole time we were there. It made for some pretty miserable walks to & from the hospital everyday.
Carson is really growing up. They asked me if he would hold the gas mask himself to go down for the MRI. I said "No, he is going to cry & fight it." Well he proved me wrong. He let me put him on the table and let them put the mask right on him. He never fussed & just went right to sleep. They do this so they can put the IV in w/out him knowing it. He had to keep his IV in all day for his endocrine appointment that afternoon. I thought he would have a problem with that but he didn't. He actually did better than me during that very long day. I think part of it was b/c he was under the influence of sedation drugs all day and does not have a care in the world. Actually he was pretty funny all day. The problem is you can let go of him because his already poor balance was really bad. He has grown 1 1/2 inches & gained 2 lbs in just 4 months. He is growing about 9 cm/yr and most kids his age grow about 6 cm/yr. They want him to catch up now and then we'll slow down the growth hormone as he gets on the curve.
We all went back to school Thursday & Friday even though none of us wanted to. The boys are so excited about their birthday party tomorrow. It is at Jumpin Jupiter this year. I have Carson's Mickey Mouse cake and Nana is bringing Cameron's football cake tonight. You know we can't agree on a them so we always just have 2 cakes. There actual birthday in on Tuesday. It is so hard to believe that our boys are about to be 6 years old. I will try to get birthday party pictures up this weekend.
As always when we make a trip to St. Jude, we are reminded of how fortunate we are and how horrible it is that so many children & families have to go through the pain of childhood cancer. We met a family while we were there whose 3 year old child was just diagnosed a few days earlier w/a brain tumor. Only about 5 children w/this type of brain tumor have survived. They were in the testing phase and were to begin treatment next week. My heart went out to them b/c I remember starting @ St. Jude and how devastating it was being told that your child has cancer. Also this little boy was a twin and they had to be separated. All of this I could really relate to. Please keep this family in your prayers and all of the families dealing with childhood cancer.
Thanks to all of you who still keep up with us and keep Carson and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday, January 23, 2009 7:37 PM CST

*****Quick UPDATE - 1/27/09******
I thought I would do a quick update to let our few followers know how our appointments are going so far @ St. Jude. We started yesterday w/his eye clinic visit. They had to dialate him this time. He was very frustrated for hours after that b/c he couldn't see. The good news is that his eye sight is a little better. After that he was scheduled for OT, PT & speech. Since he could not see, he closed his eyes and the next thing I knew he was sound asleep. So he slept through his next 3 appointments. Today we had to be @ the hospital @ 6:45 for his MRI. He went right back and did not even cry. He is getting to be such a big boy!!! We do not have results yet but all went well. He has had his audiology visit today and his hearing seems to be a little worse. They are going to have to reset his hearing aids. One of them is not working anyway and they are going to have to send it back in. It was perfect timing for that to happen since we are up here. We have one more appointment today @ the endocrine clinic. We are supposed to be finished by 5:00. It has been a long time but both boys & Dad have been very good today. I will update as soon as I get MRI resuls. Also it is freezing here and is going to get sleet tonight. We might have a difficult time getting home tommorrow. We are praying the weather forecast is wrong as usual.

I thought I would do better updating and putting up new pictures since I got a new computer but as you can see I'm not doing any better. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. We had a very nice Christmas. The boys had a blast and got all they asked for and more. I really enjoyed the 2 weeks off and not having to hurry and get ready to go everyday. The boys were ready to get back to school b/c they missed all of their friends. I'm glad they were excited about going back b/c I sure wasn't.
We will be heading to St. Jude on Sunday. Carson has 3 full days of appointments. Tuesday morning we start @ 6:45 w/his MRI and do not finish until 5:00. I cannot beleive that in just 3 weeks it will mark the 5 year anniversary of Carson being diagnosed. It is hard to beleive that it has been that long. We are so blessed to have him here with us today and to watch all of the things that he can do that we never thought possible. I wish that he could be just like all of the other kids at school but as far as he is concerned he is. There is nothing that he will not try. He works very hard to do everything that all of the other kids do easily. He has really come a long way in school. He recognizes almost all of his upper & lower case letters and knows several of his sight words. Cameron is reading very well and Carson gets right in there with him and can segment the words but hasn't yet figured out how to blend them. He still gets around school with the help of his "girlfriends". They used to fight over him everyday but now they worked it out and have a schedule for who gets to walk with Carson each day. It is precious and he is so proud of himself as well as we are. Carson's teacher has a new student helper for the rest of the year and she is taking Carson outside for recess for a while with the other kids. He is really loving that and it is good for him to be out there playing. We are so very proud of both of our boys and how well they are doing in Kindergarten.
It is also hard to believe that a week from Tuesday the boys will be 6 years old. There birthday party is next Saturday. Cameron has his own calendar that he made @ school and he marks off the days each morning. I have all of the important things written on his calendar so he can keep up with things and not ask me a million times how many more days until something. He is so excited that just a few days after we get back from Memphis is his birthday. I have all the days off from school marked on his calendar and he was talking about those days and said "and I do not have to go to school on my birthday." Wrong. Sorry but that is not a holiday.
Please pray that we have a safe trip to & from Memphis and that we get clean & clear MRI results. Also please keep all of the families w/children undergoing treatment in your prayers. We remember how all of your prayers got us through that very difficult time.

Sunday, December 21, 2008 8:29 PM CST

Okay, I know I said I would do a new update in a few days and that was a couple of weeks ago. We have so much going on right now as does everyone else this time of year. As you can see from the new pictures, we participated in the Memphis St. Jude Marathon weekend for the fourth year. I do not think all of our money is in yet but as a team, (Team Carson) I think we raised close to $6,000. My sister in law's sister, Ara & I ran the 1/2 marathon this year. This was my first time to have someone run with me and it was great. I was hurting toward the end but I kept going b/c of her. We ran it in 2 hrs 9 min. My best time ever. A few days later I was in severe pain in my back & chest. To the point that it hurt bad to even breathe. I felt so bad that I let Chris talk me into going to the Dr. This was the first time I have been to the Dr. in 2 1/2 years. They did an EKG, blood work and a chest x-ray. He said I had walking pneumonia. My sister in law, Andrea & nephew, Christian also participated in the 1/2 marathon. Chris, his brother, Gary, my Mom & Dad and their friends Frank & Brenda participated in the 5K. We had a great time again this year and enjoyed seeing all of our friends.
The boys had a Kindergarten Christmas program last Monday night. This was Carson's first ever program. They sang 4 songs. They both did a great job. Carson was up on a step between his two girls, Brooke & Lillie Mae, who help him everyday at school. They were absolutely precious. The girls held on to him the whole time to be sure he didn't fall. We were so proud of both of them and we have it all on video.
This Christmas will be really different for all of us without Grandma. The boys are having a hard time understanding that Grandma is not here any more. We will be going to my families for Christmas Eve but will spend Christmas day at home. We have not ever had a holiday that we didn't rush around from house to house so it will be really different for us this year. His brothers and their families will be coming a few days after Christmas. Please keep Chris & our family in your prayers this holiday season as we go through it without Grandma.
Also, please keep all of the children spending their Christmas in the hospital battling cancer and their families in your prayers. We want to Wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!!!!!

Sunday, October 26, 2008 6:37 PM CDT

****Sun. Nov. 30, 2008****
Finally New picts & an update coming in a few days. All thanks to a new computer. ******

*****Mon. Nov. 17, 2008
Cameron & Carson's Grandma, Chris' Mom, lost her 6 month battle with lung cancer on Thursday. Funeral services were held today. Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we all deal with the loss.*****

It's bad when I have people emailing me asking me to update. I cannot find the time to get on the computer. Carson wants to get on it as soon as we get home from school everyday. It's a good time for him too b/c I can get everything unpacked from the day and repacked for the next day while he is occupied. I have to get on it after they go to bed b/c if I'm on it he thinks he should be and so he hangs on me and I can't get much done. By the time they go to bed, I'm so tired all I want to do is go get in my bed.
Okay, now that I have made up all of my excuses for not updating, I'll get on with my update.
The boys are doing great in school. Unfortunately, they have caught everything going around. They had a nasty cold for weeks. Every morning Carson's eyes were glued shut from the cold in his eyes. We had a day off for Fall break a couple of weeks ago. The boys were supposed to go to Arkansas to Nana and Grandpa's for the weekend and Chris & I were going out to dinner for his b'day. Instead I spent my day off in the pediatrician's office b/c Cameron had gunk coming out of his ear and was running a fever. We finally got over all of that and last week we all had the nasty stomach virus that is running through our school. Carson started during the night Tuesday, then Cameron started during Wednesday night and Chris came home Thursday afternoon with it. They even gave it to their Uncle Gary who was in town. Way too many nights without sleep!!! Today everyone is well and I am hoping we can make it through a whole week at school without missing a day.
The boys are very excited about Halloween. Carson is going to be a red Power Ranger and Cameron is going to be a fireman. This is the first year they will be something different. We took them to the Halloween store and let them pick what they wanted to be. We have a Fall Bash/Pumpkin Shine at school tomorrow night. The boys are real excited about that. The boys class pumpkins are cute little cowboys/girls. My class is "Batty about Books". I will try to take pictures of our pumpkins to post on our site. Cameron has soccer practice one night and then Halloween. We have a busy week so I hope everyone can stay well.
Chris' mom is not doing well. Chris took her to the hospital yesterday b/c she was struggling to breathe all night Friday night. They admitted her and have found out she has pneumonia in her good lung. As of today the pneumonia is responding to the antibiotic and she is feeling a little better. Please keep her and Chris' family in your prayers. He has to spend many hours away from home right now to help care for her and it is very hard on all of us. The boys and I are adjusting b/c we know that this is where he needs to be right now.
Also, it is time again for us to participate in the Memphis St. Jude marathon weekend. I am training as much as I can with my new very busy schedule and trying to work around when Chris is home to watch the boys for me to run. I have added the link below to click on and make donations. St. Jude is the greatest place. Remember they turn no child away even if they have no insurance. Also, no one pays out of pocket for the treatment received at St. Jude. If it wasn't for St. Jude, Carson would not be a thriving Kindergartner right now. As you all know, we had a rough start at the beginning of this school year. Once again St. Jude was there for us and was able to get us the help we need to get Carson better and on with Kindergarten. Please consider making a donation and help us meet our goal of $3000. This is just one small way that Chris and I can give back.

Friday, September 19, 2008 6:39 PM CDT

We have actually made it through 2 full weeks of school. It is just 5 weeks into the school year so that's not too bad. HA!! The boys are loving school and doing great. Usually by Wednesday they are both worn out and usually have a meltdown. Cameron is a little too comfortable with school and his teacher which got him in trouble at school today. He thought his teacher wouldn't put him on yellow (bad) and he kept smiling at her when she would threaten him so she finally had to show him and put him on yellow. She told me not to get on to him too bad b/c it is his first one but I'm afraid it is not going to be his last one. Cameron has 2 girlfriends who he plays with on the playground everyday. They say Carson is a little chatter box at school this year. I think he is loving being at the same school & in the same class (part of the day) with his brother. Carson is really having a hard time staying on task with 18 other kids in his class. He has always been with just 6-8 kids so this is a big adjustment for him. The great thing about going to school with the boys is I know everything that is going on (good & bad) firsthand. Like when Cameron got bit this week by one of his classmates, I was right there to see and know what happened. I also get to have lunch with them everyday.
Well now that we have made it through 2 full weeks of school we will be out 1/2 of next week b/c we have to go back to St. Jude for a check up. This is good though b/c right now I can't talk and it is really hard to teach Kindergarten without a voice. Carson has appointments all day Monday & Tuesday. They are just checking to make sure there are no problems from the fluid being built up for a while.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 3:52 PM CDT

First of all I want to say thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. We could not make it through the tough times like these with out everyone's support.
We made it home yesterday. It was a very wet trip home thanks to Hurricane Gustav but we are very glad to be here. Carson is doing great. He is just about back to himself. He is irritating his brother, talking back to his mother and eating lots of cheetos and chicken nuggets. The last couple of days before we were able to get to Memphis his eye had started turning in really bad and he had begun stuttering. It was heartbreaking. We knew something was wrong and had been trying to get an answer for a couple of weeks. His eyes look better now but we are going to have them checked to make sure there was no permanent damage done. He is still stuttering some but not as bad. We have asked several times about this and no one has been able to give us an answer. I am waiting on a call from St. Jude but I think we will be returning in a couple of weeks to have these problems addressed.
One thing we learned from this first shunt malfunction is that you can not depend on a CT to give you the answer. On all 3 CT's over 3 weeks there wasn't much difference in the size of Carson's ventricles. Then they did a CT the day after his surgery and it still looked no different. They made us stay an extra day in the hospital b/c there was no change and they just wanted to make sure he was 100% before we left. They found the problem by tapping his shunt. They put numbing cream on it before they did it and he did not feel a thing. It hurt me a lot more than it hurt him. I couldn't stand watching them moving this needle around in his head. They were only able to get a few drops out and that told them there was a problem w/the shunt. Even though a shunt malfunction is horrible and life threatening, Chris & I were so relieved that it was something that could be fixed. We had made ourselves sick thinking of the possibilities.
If all goes as planned, Carson will officially begin Kindergarten on Monday. Because of hurricane Gustav they closed all schools in the state of Louisiana through Wednesday to use our school buses for evacuees. Cameron will go back to school tomorrow and Friday without us so I hope he does okay with that.
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for complete healing and no infections.

Sunday, August 24, 2008 3:34 PM CDT

****Sun. Aug 31st**********
Carson's surgery went well. It took about 45 minutes and we could see immediate results. He wasn't totally back to himself until yesterday. We were supposed to get out of the hospital yesterday but the doctors were concerned b/c there was no change on his CT. They decided to let us go this morning b/c he looks/acts so well. We will be staying at the Grizzly House (St.Jude) for a couple of days to be sure he is okay before we leave Memphis. We will see his neuro oncologist in the morning and have labs checked. Thanks to all of you for your prayers. Once again Carson is proof that prayer works.

***Thur. Aug 28th***

UPDATE: Carson will be having surgery in the morning. The doctors think that he has a shunt impediment and this is what has been causing all of his woes the last several weeks. They will be doing a shunt revision. His surgery is scheduled for 9:30. If you would please say a prayer for the little man.- Thank You

We will be leaving for St. Jude tomorrow. Carson will see the neurosurgeon on Thursday and the pain management Dr.'s on Friday. Please pray that they can figure out what is wrong with him and we can get him better soon!!!**********************

As you can see from our pictures we had a wonderful time on vacation. Due to all that is going on in our family, our vacation was shorter than normal, but it was great and we all needed it. Unfortunately the day before we left, Carson began complaining of a headache and throwing up. This is never good when you have a child w/a shunt and the history that he has. We went to the pediatrician's the next day and they said he had a virus and to go ahead on our vacation. Since he was bouncing off of the walls in the clinic, I thought he would be okay. We left that evening and he played hard until the night before we came home and he went down hill on us again. He woke up the next morning complaining of his head hurting and throwing up. It was a very long 9 hours home with a very sick child. We were in the ER the next day getting a CT to check his shunt. All was fine and he began feeling better. He felt great all week until last Monday (my first day of work). He threw up Monday morning and was pretty much lifeless all day. So back to the pediatricians. Nothing showed up on bloodwork or on the stomach x-ray. That evening we ended up in the ER again for fluids and nausea meds. They did another CT and stomach X-ray and they didn't show anything. By Tuesday afternoon he was admitted into the hospital. He spent 2 days there for observation. He finally felt better Thursday and ate so they let us go home. He is doing better but is still having episodes of his head hurting really bad and no one can explain why. They are thinking now that he has migraines. It is so scary because we have already been here once w/no answers and we do not want to go through this again. We are trying to get an appointment with a pediatric neurologist next week. If we still do not get answers we will probably be traveling to Memphis. Please pray for Carson that he feels better soon and that we get answers.
The boys are supposed to start Kindergarten tomorrow. I was already extremely nervous about this anyway and now we have this on top of it. I am not starting Carson yet because he does not feel well enough. It is going to be hard enough on his system when he feels good. He is going to stay with my Mom a few days until Cameron & I get started in school and we see that he is doing better.
We need everyone's prayers right now. We have a lot going on with Carson not feeling well, starting a new job, Cameron starting school and Chris' Mom is not doing well.

Friday, August 1, 2008 4:11 PM CDT

I finally have my computer back and it is working better so I thought I better get to updating. I am not going to promise that I'll do better b/c I am running like crazy trying to get my new classroom ready for this school year.
We got back from St. Jude a week ago and we had a great trip. All of Carson's tests were great!!! His MRI was clear, he has grown 1 inch in 6 mths compared to the 1/2 inch/year he was growing. His bone age has gone from a 3 1/2 year old to that of a 4 1/2 year old. He even showed out in therapy this time. We had to get casted for new braces b/c the first thing that happens when you are taking growth hormone is your feet grow and Carson's have. The boys had a great time and Carson is already ready to go back. Carson also had photos taken while we were there and will be on the St. Jude website real soon. I will add the link to the bottom of the page as soon as they are added.
I met with Carson's preshool teacher for a few minutes yesterday and they feel that he needs to be in Kindergarten as much as possible next year. I have a lot of concerns about him being in a Kindergarten class but the good thing is that I will be right there to help if needed. He will still go to preschool some and be in a Kindergarten class with his brother some. I think it will be good for him but Chris and I are still very nervous about it. We still have a lot to discuss before we decise exactly what we are going to do.
We have had a wonderful summer and I cannot believe it is almost over. The biggest part of our summer we have spent swimming in Grandma's pool. Cameron is swimming all over the pool just like a little fish. Carson still wears his floaties but needs absolutely no help. The first of June we went to Uncle Gary & Aunt Susan's house for a few days for their daughter Stephanie's wedding. We had an awesome time but Carson got a terrible stomach virus and began throwing up when it was time to get in the car and make the 8 hour trip home. He slept all of the way home which made us very nervous. We ended up in the doctors office the next week and had all kinds of tests run. Luckily it was just a virus. At the end of June, Nana and I took the boys to Shady Lake for the first time. I spent time there every summer with my Grandparents when I was little so I was excited about taking them. They had a fantastic time but despite the fact that a storm blew thru and it rained all afternoon. The boys thought it was cool hanging out in the camper. They have also enjoyed the visits from all of their cousins, aunts & uncles over the summer. We are hoping to leave next week for a few days to go to the beach. I'm sure I'll have lots of new pictures after that on the website.
Well, I hope all of you have also had a wonderful summer!! Please continue to pray for our family especially Chris' Mom. She has completed 3 rounds of chemo and will be having a CT scan in a couple of weeks to see if it is working. Plese pray for good results.

Thursday, July 3, 2008 9:00 PM CDT

WOW!!! I can not beleive that it has been over 2 months since I last updated. It is not because I have not thought about updating it but I just never have a minute and lately I have not had a computer to do it on.
Well, we are well into our summer and we are having a great one. The boys and I are staying busy with therapy, running around and lots of swimming. Cameron is now doing OT & PT right along side Carson. We've known for a long time that Cameron has had some balance & coordination issues but we've have been so caught up in getting Carson to where he needs to be that we just overlooked them. We decided that since he is about to start school that we needed to address these things and try to get them fixed. It is nothing major just some minor problems that are probably because they were born prematurely. We hope that his will be resolved with short term therapy.
It is hard to beleive that in just a little over a month Cameron will be starting Kindergarten. We are going to hold Carson back one more year and let him stay in preschool again. He will be in the same class with the same wonderful teacher that he had last year, Mrs. White. I am having a hard time with this but I know it is for the best. I did find out a couple of weeks ago that I have a permanent Kindergarten position at the same school that I taught at a 1/2 year last year. So both boys will be going to school with me. I am dreading the first day of school because it will be hard trying to deal with my class and sending Cameron off to his 1st day of Kindergarten. He is real excited about starting Kindergarten and going to "Mommy's school" but Cameron has a hard time with change(as does his Mom). I'm sure it will not take long and we will all 3 be in a good routine.
Carson has a 6 month check up in 3 weeks at St. Jude. He will have his levels checked for the growth hormone treatment that he has started and will be having an MRI. They are going to have to cast him for new braces for the first time in 2 years. Most kids outgrow their shoes about every 6 months but Carson can wear his for a couple of years. Chris & I were real excited the first time we put a pair of shoes on him and they didn't fit anymore. My mom will be going with us so please pray for safe travels and great test results.
Also, please be in prayer for my mother-in-law, Ann Marie Braun. She has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and has just had her 2nd round of chemo this week. She has her good days and bad days. This is very hard on Cameron & Carson because they don't understand why Grandma is so sick. The boys spent a lot of time with her since I went back to work in January. We are all in need of your prayers because it is very tough on our whole family and all 4 of Chris' brothers. I know we have some great prayer warriors out there because look at our little Carson and how far he has come. Thanks for all of your prayers and support for our family. I'll try to do a better job updating now.

Sunday, April 27, 2008 10:26 AM CDT

WOW!!! It's hard to believe that Carson is playing t-ball. This is the little boy that they didn't know if he would ever even sit up on his own and now he is hitting home runs. He played his first t-ball game 3 weeks ago and just loved it. He is so independent and doesn't want any help hitting the ball. Sometimes he runs by himself w/his walker and other times he likes to run holding one of our hands. He always wants Mom out on the field playing with him. That is fine b/c Chris helps coach Cameron's team so he has to be with him. Both boys are doing great playing ball this year. Carson's plays for the Tampa Bay Rays and Cameron plays for the Texas Rangers. Cameron cried the very first practice but has not had a problem since then. He actually got 3 ground ball this week and threw them to first base. This is big b/c all he likes to do is hit and run. He is pretty funny when he runs b/c he is more worried about his form and not about how fast he is moving. It wears me out watching him b/c I can't stand how slow he is moving. He will run by the opponents and just smile at them as he runs by. It is so much fun to watch both of them.
We are well underway with the growth hormone shots. We now have been giving it to him for 3 weeks. It is already becoming a normal part of our evening routine. He pretty much cries for a few seconds every time we give it to him but he says it doesn't hurt. We think that maybe it is the noise that is scaring him. We now play music or sing to him to try to distract him. Nana has even had to give it to him twice already. We have to mix the medicine every other week so last weekend was our first time to mix medicine. It didn't go so well. Let's just say that I almost had a nervous breakdown trying to get it done. That too will get easier as we do it more times.
The boys are still doing great in school. We bumped Carson up to 3 times a week a couple of weeks ago and he is loving it. He doesn't like to get up so early (neither do I) but after he gets there he loves it. They say that his little personality is really beginning to come out now. He gets to go on the playground on Tuesday's with my Kindergartner's. He passed me going out there last week and didn't even slow down to see me b/c he was ready to get on the playground. All of my students like to try to help him and play with him and he eats up all of the attention. He has gotten to where I can come in and out to check on him and it doesn't bother him and that is a huge step. Well, we just have about 3 1/2 more weeks of school left and next year both boys will be going to school with me. I am ready for a break but am sad b/c Cameron will be graduating from preschool. My boys are growing up way too fast.
This Friday night we will be participating in our local Relay for Life. This is the 2nd year for this event here in Bossier City and our 2nd year to participate. We have a team called Braun Battlers. If anyone would like to join our team we would love to have you. Just email me and I will tell you how to join our how to purchase a luminary in Carson's honor to light the path.
Thanks to all of you who continue to keep up with Carson and pray for him. He is proof that your prayers really do work.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

I see that several of you faithful followers had checked in on us over the last few days so I thought I better get on the ball and update. I have lots of excuses these days for not updating. One is that we are having alot of trouble w/our computer. Somedays it is fine and other days it will not do anything. Hopefully we will have that fixed soon. The other excuse is that I just do not have enough hours in my day since I have gone back to teaching. We are on Spring Break this week (YAY!!!) so I thought I would get a quick update done along with new pictures added.
We have a very busy schedule even on our week off. I am trying to get as much done as I can this week and still try to have a little fun with my boys. Today we have been home all day. Carson had PT & speech this morning and did not want to work for either of them. I think he knows he is on break and wants to be left alone. We are waiting for Carson's growth hormone medicine to be delivered today. We are finally going to get this started. I have been okay with this until now that it is time to really do it. I just have a lot of little things that are bothering me about starting him on this. It is just things that only a Mom would think of and worry about. I know it will all be fine and will be the best for him in the long run. Also, we were real concerned with the cost of the medicine and it looks like our insurance is going to cover the biggest portion of it. THANK GOD!!!!
The boys are doing great. I think last time I updated we had just gotten back from St. Jude and Cameron was home with the flu. Well two weeks after that he got another strain of the flu and was sick for another week. I was so surprised that none of the rest of us ever got it. Carson just keeps amazing us with all he is starting to do. He loves to eat now and his favorite thing right now is a big plate of scrambled eggs. He wants them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All we can say is thank goodness for egg beaters. One day we looked and he had a push up in one hand and a cookie in the other. We thought we'd never see that day. His walking is also getting better and better. He wants no help to walk. He doesn't even like to use his walker much anymore. He is very independent and very hard headed!!! He still loves school and is learning so much. I think in a couple of weeks we are going to up his days from 2 to 3 days a week in school for the rest of the school year. Cameron has started t-ball again. As usual he had a meltdown the very first practice. He has done fine ever since them b/c of a lot of bribery. He has his first game next week and we hope he does that without tears. Carson is also starting t-ball this year in the challenger league. We have not heard from this coach yet so we are not real sure when they are going to get started. I don't think we will have to worry about him b/c he has no fears.
Please pray that all goes well with starting growth hormone treatments. We will be going back to St. Jude the first week of May to see how he is doing with the treatment.

Saturday, February 9, 2008 8:46 PM CST

We are finally home from Memphis and all unpacked. We had a really good trip despite the bad weather. Carson's MRI was clear. There was no change from the last one. There was a question about a slight change in his ventricle size but they said if he wasn't complaining of headaches or having any problems that it wasn't anything to be concerned about. His hearing test was also unchanged. This is great news because his hearing loss could continue to get worse but luckily it has stayed the same. We met Carson's new doctor and we were very pleased with him. It is always hard to adjust to someone new but I think we are going to be as happy with him once we get to know him. Carson walked across the room while the doctors were in the room but when we went to PT and they needed to see him walk he wouldn't do it. He also wouldn't write his name in OT. It is so funny how they will not perform when it is the most important. The biggest part of our trip was meeting with endocrine and discussing growth hormone treatment. Carson is growing less than an inch a year and at this rate he will be extremely short. They recommended for us go ahead and get started so they can give lower doses and not have to give him a big boost to catch him up later. They have begun the paperwork and will be sending it in to our insurance company. When this is all finalized he will begin the treatments. We also enjoyed visiting with Easton and his Mommy & Daddy. We are excited to tell that Easton's MRI was clear also.
The boys had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday before we left. The boys fell asleep before we were even out of the parking lot, they were so worn out. Cameron woke up from his nap with fever. During the night he began running a really high fever so we spent the morning of their actual birthday in the pediatrician's office. Cameron was diagnosed with the flu. He was so sick that he didn't even know it was his birthday. The doctor started Carson & I on Tamiflu hoping we wouldn't get it before we had to go to St. Jude. Cameron was not able to go with us because he was contagious and can not be around the children at St. Jude. He spent the week with Nana and Grandpa. They said he was really good but after a couple of days, he really began missing us. He is just now feeling better. We really missed him in Memphis. It didn't seem normal without him.
As we arrived in Memphis on Tuesday, the weather began to get really bad. The sirens were going off as we pulled up to the security guard to enter the gates of St. Jude. By the time we got our car unloaded and in our room, they started knocking on all of the doors and putting us in the stairwell and rooms on the first floor. We had to stay in this little room, after being in the car all day, for about 45 minutes. The storms hit all around us but luckily not in midtown. There were 9 tornadoes in Shelby County (Memphis area). We had one more round of bad weather around 10:00 and then it finally settled down and we were able to go to bed.
It is always such a reminder of how blessed we are to have Carson after a trip to St. Jude. We hate that he has been through so much and continues to endure so many things but we are so blessed that we have such a wonderful hospital to care for him. We found out that they have made many changes to his protocol since he went through it. It is great to know that other families going through it will not have to endure quite as much. You have to love modern medicine. Please keep all of the families that have children currently on treatment in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday, February 1, 2008 5:04 PM CST

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMERON & CARSON!!!! It is so hard to beleive that it was 5 years ago that I was laid up in the hospital trying not to have these boys. But they were very determined to go ahead and enter this world and get started with life. It has been a wonderful 5 years too. We have been through a lot with the two of them but I wouldn't change it for the world. They have made Chris & I much better people because of what we have all been through. I am so very proud of them!!! We are having their birthday party tomorrow at Gymboree. This is the same place we had it last year and it was a lot of fun, very organized, we like organization. Their birthday is actually on Sunday and I'm sure we will be going to Chuck E Cheese because that is just tradition.
Carson has started preschool 2 days a week an loves it!!! The first day I was extremely nervous but Carson did not shed a tear. The 2nd day he ran into me on his way to speech and that did not go so well. I dropped my students off and had to go take care of him and get him settled down. He is doing awesome with his school work. He acts like he has been in the class all year long. He has picked up on everything really quickly. He is writing his name without help and recognizes several of his letters. He has a wonderful, patient teacher. Carson is adjusting to school much better than I am. It has been really hard on me working and juggling the boys and things at home. I love teaching but I hate being away from my boys. Luckily, they are really flexible at the school I work at and they let me take off and run to Cameron's Mardi Gras parade at school today.

Now it's time to come back down to reality. We are heading to St. Jude for a check up next week. We will be leaving on Tuesday. He has 1 appointment Tuesday evening and then the next 2 days are full of appointments. His MRI will be on Wednesday morning. This is the big one. It is extremely stressful waiting to find out whether or not Carson's tumor has returned. We will also be meeting with the endocrine deparment to discuss starting growth hormone treatment. We will be meeting his new doctor, nurse practionier, nurse and PT. We always enjoy going back to see everyone but it is always very stressful waiting on results.
Please pray for safe travels and clean scans.

Sunday, January 6, 2008 3:56 PM CST

I want to apologize to all of our faithful followers that I don't update more than I do but to let you know how hard it is to do an update, this is the 2nd one I've done today. When I was halfway through the first one, I had to get up an answer the phone. Cameron decided to help me out and log off of the computer for me. Then just as I set down again hours later to do this one, Carson fell in the kitchen and pulled the bar stool on top of him and needed immediate attention. So now I hope I can get through this update without any more interuptions. We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and are having a Happy New Year!!! We had a wonderful Christmas. Everyone stayed well and the boys had a blast. They are more fun each year to watch opening their presents. On Christmas Eve at Grandma's house, Carson was so excited that he was shaking all over. His little legs and arms were moving as fast as he could. He couldn't get the paper off of the gifts fast enough. Cameron can read his name this year so he gets his own presents. The problem is he doesn't know if it is to or from Cameron and he doesn't really care.
It was 4 years ago this week that we took Carson to Memphis for the very first time trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He has really come a long way over the past 4 years and has overcome an awful lot. Carson continues to do really well. He has really taken off with his eating. Matter of fact he likes food so much now that he eats all of the time. He eats alot of cookies but he also is eating chicken nuggets, grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches. He is like most kids and doesn't care for veggies, not even mac & cheese. I don't care what he eats as long as I don't have to puree it. We went out to dinner on New Year's Eve and it was the very first time in Carson's life that I didn't have to take his food with us to the restaurant. We ordered food for him for the first time but the problem was he didn't understand why he had to wait for his food.
We have a lot of changes coming our way for the new year. I am probably taking a job in a week teaching Kindergarten in Benton. This means that I have to do lots of rescheduling and working out all of Carson's therapy around school. It also means that Carson will start public preschool a few days a week. He will be going to school with me and on the days he doesn't go to school he will be staying at Grandma's house. Grandma will also be in charge of picking Cameron up at preschool everyday @ 1:00 and keeping him until I get home. I was just offered this job a couple of days ago and all of the details are not worked out yet. Please pray for my family and I that we make this transition smoothly so that I do not have a nervous breakdown. It is a wonderful opportunity for me because I wanted to start teaching again next year when the boys started school. This is a great way for me to get my foot in the door but it is just a little sudden.
We will be returning to St. Jude in about 4 weeks. It will be just a month shy of 3 years off of treatment. I cannot believe it has been that long. We will be there the first week of February for an MRI, an ABR, evals with all of his therapists and doctors and to discuss starting growth hormone treatments. Just one more big change for our new year. Please remember our family in your prayers as we go through all of these changes and keep all of the St. Jude families in your prayers also.

Sunday, December 9, 2007 12:34 AM CST

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update about last weekend. We had a fabulous time in Memphis. First of all, we met and exceeded my $2000 goal for St. Jude. When all of my money clears we raised around $2500. Team Carson raised right @ $6500. This is double what we raised last year. WAY TO GO TEAM CARSON!!!! Thanks to all of you who made it possible for us to give back to St. Jude in Carson's honor. It is such an awesome feeling for our family to do this for St. Jude and it would not be possible without all of our friends and families support. Also the run itself was successful. I completed the half marathon this year a whole 35 seconds faster than I did last year. For me it is not really about time but just to complete it without stopping. I was able to do it again this year. It is such a great feeling to finish this run because it is what I train for all year around. The adrenaline rush you get from running by St. Jude, The Target House (where we lived for 10 months) and by LeBonheur Children's Hospital (where Carson had all of his surgeries) is what really gets you through the run. Also, to see all of the signs and families cheering you on along the way. Team Jake is always visible along the run and helps push us along. We had a bigger team for Carson this year. We had family and friends from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia with us. Chris, Andrea (Carson's aunt), Christian (Carson's cousin) and Nana all participated in the Memphis Grizzlies 5K. Uncle Gary (Carson's uncle) & I ran the half marathon. Aunt Susan (Carson's aunt) is always our wonderful baby sitter and we could not do it without her. We also had a lot of cheerleaders with us this year. All in all the St. Jude marathon weekend was a huge success.
Chris, the boys & I went up a day early to meet with Carson's neuro oncologist, Dr. Fouladi. It was our last visit with her and Elizabeth (Carson's nurse practionier). They are both going to Cincinnati Children's Hospital at the beginning of the year. They both will be dearly missed. They have been with us since day one and it is really hard to see them go and start with someone new. We discussed with them Carson starting growth hormone treatment in February. We feel, after talking with her, that is something that we need to go ahead and do for Carson. Dr. Fouladi feels strongly that Carson is going to do really well and we need to give him every opportunity to live as normal a life as possible. The growth hormones will be a big step in that direction. We still have to go over everything with endocrine in February but we were able to get a few of our questions answered. Also while we were there Carson received his new hearing aids. We are excited about them because they are going to be extremely beneficial for him when he starts school. They are supposed to filter out some of the background noise and help him focus on the person talking to him. They are also supposed to help him hear better in noisy places like restaurants. He is doing well with them so far.
Carson continues to make great strides with his eating and walking. He is walking farther distances and is able to bend down, pick things up and even turn around now. It is just amazing to watch him and to know how far he has come. He is also eating really well. His favorite thing to eat right now is Shrek iced cookies and they are not easy to find. When I find them in a store, I buy 4 or 5 bags of them. He would eat cookies and drink cherry limeades all day if I would let them. When Nana's around he wants Mickey Mouse pancakes and whatever Carson wants Nana makes. It may take him an hour to eat 2 Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes but he is eating them and that is all that matters. Last night he wanted to try a hot dog. He nibbled on it for a while but had a hard time holding it together and biting it. He didn't want just a hot dog he wanted in a bun like we were eating.
Cameron is doing really well also. He is doing great in preschool and loves his teacher, Mrs. Maria. She is teaching them spanish and he can say all of his colors and count to 15 in spanish. He knows more spanish than I do and I took it in High School.
Thanks again to all of you who supported our family and Team Carson in the St. Jude Marathon weekend. We are already getting ready for next year's run on December 6th. We would love for anyone that wants to join our team to go with us and run or be a cheerleader.

Sunday, November 11, 2007 2:03 PM CST

**** New marathon picts in photos. I will update in the next few days about the Marathon weekend***

It is only 3 weeks away from the St. Jude race. I think I'm ready for it. I told Chris it all just depends on how I feel on race day. We are just a little more than $100 short of our goal. If you can help us reach our goal just click on the St. Jude heroes link at the bottom of the page and make a donation to St. Jude. Our Chick Fil A event was a success. We are not sure exactly how much we raised but I think we did okay. We had a big turn out and we enjoyed visiting with everyone. I don't think that that everyone understood that you had to mention St. Jude when you ordered for the money to be donated to the hospital. We are planning on doing this twice a year to try to give back to St. Jude. The owner of Chick-Fil-A, John, was awesome. He and his wife are going to match whatever we made that night. We are very excited that people like him are willing to help Chris & I give back to St.Jude. Thanks to everyone that came out and ate at Chick Fil A to give to St. Jude.
We are excited about our trip to Memphis. We are going to go up early because Carson is going to have a couple of appointments while we are there. Friday, Nov. 30th is Dr. Fouladi's last day at St. Jude. She is Carson's nuero oncologist. She will be going to Cincinnati to be the head of Cincinnati Childrens Hospital's neuro oncology dept. We are very sad to lose her. In this last year we have lost Carson's nurse, Dr., PT and speech therapist at St. Jude. It is so hard to start with new people. We love seeing everyone that has been with Carson since he started @ 1 year old so they can see how well he is progressing. We are so glad that we are going to get to see Dr. Fouladi one last time. We want to discuss the growth hormone treatments with her before she leaves. We will go back in February and talk with the endocrine dept. about it before we start them.
The big news about Carson is he has finally taken an interest in potty training. We started this week and he is doing great. The very first day he told me he had to poo poo on the potty. He has only been wet a couple of mornings all week and only had a few accidents during the day. We are so proud of him. It is like everything is coming together for him. He has been at home with me this school year but I think after the first of the year we are going to put him in public preschool. I am probably going to sub in the school where he goes. Chris just laughs at me and said that I will do anything to go to school with them from now on. That is why I have a teaching degree.
Cameron's soccer season ended yesterday. It did not go so well. He started off the season great but it went downhill fast. The last 2 games he cried. He played half of yesterday's game and then had a meltdown. Both boys have been sick for the last 2 weeks. Last Monday I took the boys to the Dr. and Cameron had a bad ear infection. I thought he was fine but apparently he got hit in the side of the face yesterday @ soccer and it hurt his ear really bad. Chris and I just thought he was crying b/c he didn't want to play so we felt bad when we realized that his ear was bothering him. We just neve know with Cameron because he is so sensitive about everything. He is still doing great in preschool and loves going to tumblebus on Thursday's. Carson got to go to Cameron's Halloween party and they both had a blast. At the end of this week is Cameron's Thanksgiving feast and Carson will get to go and be a part of it also.
Please remember my Dad this week. He will be having hernia surgery on Wednesday. He then has to be ready for a big weekend because Chris & I are shipping the boys off to Nana & Grandpa's house for the weekend so we can celebrate our 6th anniversary.
I will try to update again before the race but if not please pray for us to have safe travels, pray for all of the runners and pray for all of the children @ St. Jude that we are running for.

Sunday, October 28, 2007 3:23 PM CDT

We want to invite everyone to eat at Chic-Fil-A on Airline Dr. on Thursday, November 1st from 5:00-9:00. If you mention St. Jude when you place your order they will give 15f your purchase back to St. Jude. This is one way that Team Carson is trying to raise money for the marathon weekend. We are hoping for a really big turn out. It is a win/win situation for everyone. You don't have to cook and you can help all of the children of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at the same time. Please try to attend and tell everyone you know to come also.
Well, when I left off in my last update Carson had fallen and we were on our way to the emergency room. I thought it would be easier to go to Quick Care but after a 1 1/2 hour wait they turned us away and asked us to go to the ER. They read Carson's history and looked at his head and would not touch him. We spent about another hour in the ER. They wiped over one time and glued it together. He was such a big boy as usual and did not even cry. On Monday evening he leaned over and hit hit on the table in the living room. It just exploded and blood was all over him and me. We had to go to the pediatrician the next day for shots so I had her look at it. It was infected. Probably because they didn't clean it very well before they glued it together. She had to get all of the glue off of it and start him on a round of antibiotics. It has made me really nervous with the super bug going around. Carson has already had MRSA in his incision after his surgery so we know how bad this can be. He is now finished with his antibiotics and his head looks much better. It is still bruised but the cut looks good. Nana just can't stand it that it happened at her house but these kinds of things are going to happen as Carson learns to walk.
Cameron has a bad upper respiratory infection this weekend. He has a really deep cough and can't sleep. He is throwing up some because he is coughing so hard. Because he is coughing all night, I'm not getting any sleep either. Chris and Carson on the other had are sleeping together and they are sleeping babies. I'm sure this was brought on by the soccer game they played in the cold rain the other night.
Please do not forget to eat @ Chick-Fil-A this Thursday evening and mention St. Jude. We have many children from our community that have been affected by cancer and this is one way that we can all help.

Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

Chris & I have gotten our St. Jude heroes page up and it is ready for donations to St. Jude for the December 1st marathon/half marathon in Memphis. All you have to do is click on the St. Jude heroes link at the bottom of this page and make a donation. We received an email this week about a 10 year old, Katy, from our area that was recently diagnosed with tumors on her spine and sent to St. Jude. Her family has been given the news that no parent should have to hear. She only has a few months left to live. It breaks our hearts every time we hear this. We are so blessed to have Carson with us and that's why we want to do whatever we can to give back to St. Jude. We want to see the day when they have cures for all types of childhood cancer and no child or family will have to endure the pain that this family is going through right now. Please consider making a donation to St. Jude. Any amount will make a huge difference in childrens lives. If you do not want to make a donation online you can make a check payable to St. Jude and mail it to our home address that is at the bottom of this page. We appreciate all of you that have already made donations. You really do make a difference. Also, if you live in our area, you can give on Thursday, November 1st at the Chick-Fil-A on Airline Drive. They will donate 15% of their proceeds from 5:30 - 8:30 pm to St. Jude if you mention St. Jude when you order. You will not have to cook and you can give to St. Jude. It is a win win situation.
Things are going great. Carson is getting therapy pretty much everyday of the week and is continuing to make great strides. We have decided to not put him in preschool until after the first of the year. This is partly because Momma just can't let go. He continues to take about 20 steps independently and loves an audience to show out his new skills to. He is doing okay with his eating. He can do it but he is hard headed and only does it for certain people- not his Momma.
Cameron is doing great in preschool. He is getting to be such a big boy. He does tumble bus once a week and loves it and he just started soccer last week. Chris & I know nothing about soccer but he seems to be doing great. He did let a ball go right by him when he was playing goalie in the first game and the other team scored but that's okay.
The boys stayed at their Nana and Grandpa's this weekend so Chris & I could go out to dinner for Chris' birthday. When I left Carson had a fever and a runny nose but Nana said she could take care of him as good as I could. It wasn't easy but I left them. Nana is trying to break Carson of his bottle and potty train him while he is there. He has not had one bottle since I left him Saturday afternoon. She is making him drink his pediasure from a cup. She said he is doing okay with it but I know when he gets back to Mommy he will beg me for his bottle. The potty training is not going so well. He just sits there and potties in his pants when he gets off of the toilet.
Well I just received a call from Nana and the boys are coming back home early. Carson has fallen in her driveway and has a pretty deep cut in his head so I am meeting them at the emergency room as soon as they get into Bossier. He is so tough that he wasn't even crying when she called me but Nana was worried about him. I'm sure he will be okay but just keep him in your prayers. We do not like any trauma to Carson's head after all he's been through.
Also keep Katy's family and all of the other St. Jude families in your prayers.

Saturday, September 15, 2007 5:06 PM CDT

***Please click on the St. Jude heroes link below to make a donation on Carson's behalf to St. Jude****

Yes I know Karl I need to update. I just told Chris that I needed to stop a minute and update Carson's page and when I saw your guestbook entry I decided I would go ahead and do it. We had a wonderful time at the beach despite the fact that Chris had fever and chills all the way there and didn't feel great for a few days, then Monday my camera quit working and Tuesday we got both of our cell phones wet and they quit working and by Thursday Carson had a high fever and felt horrible. Oh and Cameron hit Carson in the face with a football and knocked a lens out of Carson's glasses. Except for all of that we had a great time. We just have to laugh at all of this because really none of it is a big deal. We kept Carson well medicated w/Tylenol and motrin and he never slowed down. We now both have new cell phones, we got Carson's glasses fixed there and for my camera I think I'll have to wait for Christmas for a new one. When you have been through as much as we have as a family these little things are just minor setbacks.
Both of our boys have sensory problems from being born prematurely and have always had trouble with the sand at the beach. Both of them are in OT working on these problems and you could really see a huge difference in them this year. They were rolling in the sand, throwing it and had tons of it in their swimsuits. Cameron really had no fear of the ocean either. The last few days the waves were pretty high and it scared me when he would just run out in to it. We had one day that the jellyfish were really bad so we didn't let them in the water. We had a blast and Cameron wants to know if we are going back next week. I wish we could but I guess we will just have to wait until next summer.
I want to tell you all again how proud we are of Carson. He continues to progress since IMOT. Since we have been at home this week he is really walking a lot more. Instead of crawling or scooting he is trying to get around the house more by walking. It is amazing how big of a difference this IMOT session has made. One of the girls in the Ruston PT clinic, who had not seen him since before IMOT, could not believe the difference in him when she saw him on Friday. They had him standing and turning in a circle. He was one step away from going all of the way around. But this morning he went all the way around in a circle for us. He feels so confident and has decided he likes walking so he is really trying so hard. Cameron is a big help. He takes him by the hand and walks him around the house. Sometimes that is a bad thing when they both went down on the tile today and Carson hit his head pretty hard. Also, Carson continues to do better with his eating. He still does not like eating things for me that he will eat for Miranda (OT). But this morning he ate a plate of scrambled eggs. He is getting a little faster with his eating also since IMOT. We have a lot of changes coming up with Carson's therapy and therapists but I think they are all going to be really good changes. We may be able to cut down on some of our time in the car which will be great. We also have not made a decision about whether he will start school or not so please keep that in your prayers that Chris & I make the right decision for Carson.
Cameron continues to do great at preschool. He loves Asbury Ark and his teacher, Ms. Maria. He is learning Spanish and may be able to teach Chris & I a thing really soon. He has a lot of stories to tell everyday when he gets home but Cameron always has a lot of stories to tell. Sometimes I have to tell him that my ears are hurting could he be quiet just for one minute. He is quite the talker.
Thanks again for all of your prayers during IMOT. Carson definitely is proof that prayers really do work. Please continue to pray for all of the St. Jude families, including Kami, Ethan and Jaydon. Also, we are working on Team Carson for the 07 St. Jude Marathon/half marathon. I hopefully will have Carson's web page ready soon so we can start raising money for St. Jude. This is one way that Chris & I feel that we can give back to such a great place.

Saturday, September 1, 2007 5:44 PM CDT

Carson has finally completed his 3 weeks of IMOT. This was our 4th round of intense therapy and it was the best one yet. Carson doesn't normally show a lot of progress during IMOT. We usually see his progress over the following weeks. This time was different. He really worked hard and came a long way. He is walking with great confidence. He falls a lot like any child learning to walk but now he is able to get himself right back up and keep going. I'm sure he'll fall a lot more than normal toddlers learning to walk but that is okay. We are truly blessed that Carson continues to progress in many ways. When he was going through treatment they told us that he may never be able to sit up, let alone walk. He is truely an amazing child.
Yesterday he wanted to walk all the way down the hall of the clinic w/out Mr. Karl holding his hand. Then last night Nana and Grandpa, Aunt Nesie, Kayleigh and Carlee came over and he really showed out. He walked from one person to the next person and back and forth. He had so much confidence and was so proud of himself. He never gets discouraged when he falls. He knows to just get back up and try again. He has such a strong will to want to walk and do everything Cameron, Carlee & Kayleigh do and that is what keeps him going. Can you tell how proud Chris & I are of him?
Now that we are all finished with therapy we are heading to the beach in the morning. We can not wait for a week vacation. The boys need it as much as Chris & I do. We are meeting Chris' brother Gary, and his wife Susan there. We can't wait for Carson to show off his new walking skills to them.
I'm sure we will have lots of new pictures for the site in a couple of weeks from the beach.
Thanks for all of your prayes for Carson and our family over the last few weeks. His progress shows that prayer really does work. Please continue to pray for all of the families at St. Jude. We are so blessed that we have our Carson and he is tumor free but unfortunaly there are still many families that are sent home because there is nothing left to do. There are several children from our area being treated @ St. Jude right now that need our prayers: Kami, Ethan, Jaydon and many others, they could use all of our prayers at this time.

Saturday, August 18, 2007 4:59 PM CDT

Well I was wrong when I said no news was good news since I had not heard from the endocrinologist about Carson's test. They had been trying to get in touch with us all week but we have been out all week doing IMOT and were missing their calls. They finally caught up with me late Friday afternoon and gave me the bad news. On one part of the test he did great, but he failed the growth hormone part of it. A normal range is 10 or above and Carson's was 2.5. He is in a high risk category for growth hormone deficiency. This means that he will have to get growth hormone shots every day until he is fully grown (about 16 or 17 years old). We know in the grand scheme of things this is not a big deal but we are still having a hard time processing this. We just hate that after all he has already been through and goes through that we have to do something else unpleasant to him. It seems that all of the side effects that were a possibility from his treatments have happened. We knew it was possible when we started treatments but at that point it wasn't a concern because we had bigger fish to fry. We are still so very thankful for the successful treatments and we will just deal with these things as they come. They said that we could wait until we go back to St. Jude in February before we start the shots. Chris & I have decided that is what we want to do. We see no reason to start this any sooner than we have to and the doctors said it would be fine. At least we don't have to make a special tyrip to Memphis. St. Jude does not distibute the medicine. It will have to go through our insurance company. There are 5 different companies that distribute growth hormones and it will be up to our insurance company which one they will use. They will then send out a nurse to show us how to give the shot. I'm sure it will not be long and Carson will be giving himself the shots. There is still a lot that we need to find out about the treatments and we will be discussing this with St. Jude over the next few months. They just went over the basics over the phone with us when they gave us the results.
The good news is that Carson has completed one week of IMOT (intense physical therapy). He did get a fever a couple of nights this week but was fine during the day. He has gotten a fever at least once a week since we were at St. Jude and we are not sure why. He has worked so hard this week. He is such an amazing little boy. I drag him out of bed @ 6:20am, throw his clothes on and throw him in the car to get to Monroe by 8:00am. He sleeps all the way there, works hard for 4 hours and then sleeps all the way home. He doesn't show a lot of progress during the 3 weeks of therapy. We really start seeing it after a few weeks of rest.
Cameron had an awesome first week of preschool. I took him to school the first day and he cried when I dropped him off and cried a little after I left but did pretty well. By the 3rd day Chris said he did not cry at all when he dropped him off. Carson and I stayed in Monroe that night so on Thursday morning Cameron cried again when Chris took him. I'm sure that it was just the fact that we did not come home the night before. We came home Thursday night and he had another great day on Friday. He will continue to do better, especially when Carson and I get home and things are back to normal.
Please pray for us as we deal with the new news that we have gotten. Pray for Carson and his therapists -Mr. Karl & Mr. Ron as they go through the next 2 weeks of IMOT. Also pray for all of the St. Jude families especially Kami, Ethan and Jaydon.

Friday, August 10, 2007 5:32 PM CDT

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update after our trip to St. Jude. We drove in late Wednesday evening of last week and I woke up Thursday morning with a bad stomach virus. It lasted for 4 days and then I had to get everything back in order from our trip.
Now to the good news. All of Carson's appointments went really well. His MRI was unchanged from the last one. All of his doctors and therapists were really impressed with his progress. He didn't show out a lot because he had a rough time this visit. Monday after his MRI we met up with Kim Cox and some kids from Benton United Methodist Church. We all went to lunch at our favorite Memphis Pizza. Then we tried to go to Mud Island but they are closed on Mondays. The boys had a good time with the kids but Carson wasn't himself. I thought it was just from the anesthesia but later discovered he had a high fever. I ended up taking him to the Medicine Room but they couldn't figure out what was going on with him. They gave him Tylenol and the fever went down and didn't come back up. Tuesday he had a long day with lots of therapists and doctors. He and I get really tired after all of this. Wednesday was the big endocrine test. He had to get 2 IV's for this. They had to stick him 3 times because one of them blew. This is one of those days that I miss his line. His body did exactly what they said it would do. He got the sweats and real irritable and finally fell asleep. They had to keep bothering him to be sure he was still alert. We have not gotten any results from the test but that is a good thing. Some of the things were going immediately to the lab and they were getting results that day. Part of the test had to be sent off and it would take a couple of weeks. They said they would call if something showed up and if not they would send me a letter. So in this case no news is good news. The sweet Physician's Assistant taking care of Carson packed him a special lunch so he would have somethings to try when he could eat at the end of the test. This was over and above what she has do to do but that is what is so special about the people at St. Jude.
We are back home and settled and will not return to St. Jude until February. The boys are still swimming as much as they possibly can. On Monday Cameron will start his first day of 4 year old preschool. He will go 5 days a week to our church preschool. The same day he starts school Carson starts IMOT in W. Monroe (85 miles from home). Thank goodness for Nana. She is going to come take Carson to his first day of therapy so I can go with Cameron to his first day of school. I am extremely nervous about Cameron going to school 5 days a week but Chris says it will be really good for him. It is always so hard when I have to split the boys up. After IMOT & vacation, we will decide where we will send Carson this year. We are considering putting him in our public preschool a couple of days of week but have not made a decision yet.
Please pray for Carson next week as he starts IMOT. Pray that it is successful and that Carson can endure the long hours. Pray for Cameron as he starts at his new school and deals with Mommy being gone a lot for the next few weeks with Carson. Pray for Chris and I that we can handle all of this and that we make the right decisions for Carson.

Saturday, July 28, 2007 12:32 AM CDT

7/31/7 Quick Update by Aunt Nesie
I just spoke with Ginger
Everything is going good at St Jude. The preliminary reports from Carson's MRI look great. Praise the Lord. She should have the final report tomorrow. Carson spiked a fever yesterday after his MRI. They spent several hours in the medicine room. They never figured out what the problem was. He is lots better today. They did eye exams, speech & other things today. She will have to explain all of that to you later. She said that she will make a complete update when she gets home. Keep them all in your prayers.
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We are having a fabulous summer! Busy as usual but we do have time for some fun. The boys have literally turned into fish this summer. They spend every free moment in the swimming pool. Cameron has learned to swim without floaties on over the last week. This is huge b/c just about 5 weeks ago he wouldn't go near the pool without floaties, a noodle and holding on to one of us. Now he jumps off of the diving board and swims to the side. He doesn't stop swimming. He just goes and goes when he gets it. Just watching him wears me out. Carson is getting there. Yesterday he was swimming with his face in the water and moving his arms. He kicks and his legs and can move pretty fast but he doesn't quite have the strength to
keep his legs up above the water yet. I think before the end of summer he will be doing as well as Cameron.
Also Carson is beginning to walk more and more. He is doing fabulous for all of his therapist. This week he had PT 4 times and did great every time. He walks long distances now. He is almost ready to just take off. He also is trying all kinds of new foods and learning to eat a lot of new things. Last week he ate a small piece of pizza and a 1/2 of a grilled cheese sandwich. It takes him about 1 hour to eat something like this but he is doing it and that is all that matters. Froot loops, cookies and mashed potatoes are still his favorites. He has just amazed us this summer. It seems like it is all coming together for him finally. Chris & I are so proud of both of our boys.
The boys and I are leaving this afternoon going to Nana's house. Then Nana, the boys and I will be leaving mid day tomorrow heading to Memphis for a few days for Carson's check up. His MRI is first thing Monday morning and hopefully we will get results by late that afternoon. Tuesday he has appointments from 8:00 - 3:00. He will see every therapist and Dr. that he could possibly see that day. Then on Wednesday he has testing in endocrinology. It takes about 5 hours to do the testing to check things like growth hormones and thyroid. They have to be sure that these things were not affected by radiation. Alot of the concern comes from the difference in size of Cameron & Carson. Cameron is about 13 lbs heavier and about 6 inches taller than Carson. We will either head home late Wednesday afternoon after the test or early Thursday morning. Then we will have one week at home before Carson starts 3 weeks of IMOT (intense therapy). As soon has he finishes that we are heading to the beach for a week. Then we will finally get settled back into our normal crazy routine.
Please keep Carson and our family in your prayers as we travel to Memphis and he undergoes all of the testing and appointments. Also keep all of the other St. Jude families in your prayers especially Kami Chauncy and Ethan Powell.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007 4:20 PM CDT

Happy 4th of July!!! I hope everyone is having a great day. Ours is really wet so our plans were changed. We were going to spend the day in the pool but that didn't happen. We are enjoying our time at home resting and not doing anything.
I planned on updating today anyway but after Melanie's guestbook entry I knew I had to. My sister has also been on me about updating. That's why she took it on herself to give everyone a quick update. It is just like Julie said on Easton's webpage, I think about updating a lot but I just never stop and put it on the computer.
The big news is Carson's walking and eating are coming along. He has taken about 12 or 13 steps for Melanie at the clinic 2 or 3 different times. She is so good with him and just has a way with him to get him to do things. Chris didn't believe it because he doesn't do this at home. She sent home video this week and he could not believe it when he saw it. I do wish I had a way of putting video on his website so all of you could see how good he is doing. Plus you could see how funny Melanie (PT) is when he walks for her. He feels so steady. You just have to barely touch him and he can walk. He just needs a little extra support and security and he will do it. He just doesn't have the confidence to take off just yet. It may be because of how many times he has fallen and bumped his head. He definitely has the best therapists working with him and I have no doubt that he will take off walking soon. We are going to the beach the first week in September and I would love for him to be walking before then. We are going to do IMOT (intense therapy) in August right before we go. We were supposed to do this in September but rumors are that there could be another insurance change in September so I'm trying to get ahead of this. You just have to love insurance!!!
Also he has begun to chew food. The bad thing is he likes to eat cookies and cupcakes and that's it. So his Nana came down last weekend and made him a whole lot of cookies so he could have them whenever he wanted. (SPOILED!!!!) He has tried mac & cheese for me a couple of times and he has tried several things for Miranda (OT). He can just chew soft things right now but this is a huge step. Everyone told me that everything would come together at one time and it seems that it is. His speech is coming along also so he is less frustrated because he can communicate with us. We are so proud of him and all of his therapists. He has awesome therapists working with him and they are all doing an fantastic job.
We will be returning to Memphis at the end of this month for Carson's 6 months check up. He will have an MRI on Monday and several other appointments over the course of three days. The last day he has an endocrine appointment to check his growth hormones. It will take several hours to administer the test. This test is to monitor whether or not he is growing like he should be. There is some concern on our part because he is about 6 inches shorter than Cameron and about 13 lbs smaller than him. Please pray for us as we make this trip. It is always very stressful for our family as we await results of all of his tests.
Thanks to all of you who continue to keep up with Carson and pray for our family!!!!

Monday, June 25, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

****New picts added 6/26/07****
Yay!!! He did it!!! Carson took 12 steps all by himself last Monday at therapy. He has also been eating for his Mommy and has tried macaroni & cheese and sugar cookies. We know, not the most nutricious of stuff, but what ever works. We are all so proud of him. And you should have seen the grin on his face when he ate that first piece of mac & cheese. I just wanted to give everyone a quick update until my sister has time to sit down I tell ya'll all about this in detail. Really, I can't imangine what Ginger does with all her time. :)

Carson's Aunt Nesie

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I think we all have finally recovered from our Disney World Trip. The boys are still talking about it and tell everyone they see about their trip. My brother-in-law said I was a little negative in my last update. I didn't mean to be because we definitely had a blast. I think I was still exhausted from the trip and not thinking clearly. The day after we got home, Carson & I went to Wal-Mart while Cameron was at preschool. He had to wear his light up Mickey ears all through Wal-Mart. We had not been home even 12 hours at this point so I was way to tired to fight with him. Let's just say that we got a lot of attention in Wal-Mart that day. They take their autograph books with them everywhere, they even want to sleep with them. The first few days I had to answer "Who's that?" a million times as they looked at their character autograph books. After a few times Cameron had it memorized and he read it himself and would help Carson. Carson's book has fallen apart but he is still holding on to it.

We are back in full swing with our normal life - lots of therapy. Carson has spent a lot of time over the last 3 weeks with Mr. Karl doing PT. He is doing great and has gotten back into the swing of it without any problems. Cameron has started OT because of some sensory problems. He is having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to it but he is doing okay. He does fine if he can see Carson while he is in therapy. They are so funny because they want the other one around at all times even though they fight with each other a lot. We will start on our regular PT & OT schedule next week. Carson will start OT twice a week for feeding next week. This will be the first time since January that he has gotten to do OT with Miranda.
Cameron has had a fun week!! He had to go to the dentist on Tuesday to have 2 teeth filled and 4 teeth sealed. His back 4 teeth have deep grooves for some reason and they had to be sealed or he would continue to get cavities. This was a traumatic experience. They gave him versette and it worked quickly. Carson used to get this before they put him to sleep for IT chemo so I knew how it affected them. He was pretty funny for a while and then it started wearing off about halfway through the procedure. I told them to keep going because I didn't want to have to go through this again. I had to lay across him to hold his arms and legs down but we made it and he doesn't really remember it. He was acting crazy all day. Today we had to go to the Pediatric eye doctor. Our pediatrician and a lady with the school system thought Cameron's eye was turning in. After a 2 hour appointment his eyes look good and his vision is perfect. Thank Goodness!! It is the way his skin folds around his eyes that give the appearance of his eye turning in. I told Chris this was all his fault because he looks just like you. Hopefully we have gotten all of these yucky appointments out of the way and can now enjoy our summer.
Our local Make a Wish chapter is having a fundraiser at the Boardwalk here in Bossier City on Tuesday, June 5th from 5:00 - 8:00. Some of the restaraunts are donating part of their proceeds to Make a Wish. The flyers they have made up for it have Carson's picture on it but I have not seen it yet. If you are local please try to attend. I'm not sure what they will be doing. I think they are going to auction some things off that some of the stores have donated. If it wasn't for Make a Wish Carson would not have gotten to enjoy such a memorable trip to Disney World. They made Cameron & Carson feel so special through all of this and we really appreciate it. It is such a wonderful thing that they do for so many children. Go to www.louisianaboardwalk.com and scroll down on the main page for more information.

Sunday, May 13, 2007 4:21 PM CDT

First of all I want to wish all of you mothers a Happy Mother's Day!!!!
I don't even know where to start telling about all of the fun that we had on Carson's Disney Make-A-Wish trip. We were picked up by a limo @ 4:40 am on Wednesday morning. The boys were up and pumped up to go to the airport. Everything went great on the flight there. We had no delays and the boys slept the whole flight from Houston to Orlando. We were greeted at the airport by a very nice man from Give Kids the World. He helped us get our rental van and load our luggage. When we got the Give Kids the World they had gifts for the kids. They also made mashed potatoes for Carson since he had not eaten for a while and that's all he will eat. They had Christmas for the kids that evening. That was a lot of fun. That was the only time that we really got to enjoy the activities at Give Kids the World because we were so busy at the parks the rest of the week.
The first day we went to Magic Kingdom. The boys had a blast. We didn't have to wait in any lines and that was the greatest. It's a good thing that we didn't because my boys are very impatient (that comes from their Daddy). The bad thing is they are now ruined and will never be able to go somewhere again because they won't understand why they have to wait in line. We saw alot of charcters and Carson would get so excited and just hug and hug them.
That evening we went to MGM to see the water/light show Fantasnic. That was really neat but we sat on the front row and got really wet.
The 2nd day we went to Sea World. The boys were tired and irritable when the day started. They didn't enjoy it like we thought they would. They didn't care about the Shamu show at all. There was only 1 ride that Carson could ride. We did see and Elmo show and that made the day better. Carson loved it. We sat on the front row so some of the characters came by and touched the boys so they got a kick out of that.
The third day we went to MGM for 1/2 a day and Epcot for 1/2 a day. They enjoyed MGM because there were a lot of their favorite characters there like Monsters, Inc. the Incredibles and Buzz & Woody. Carson loved the Playhouse Disney show but Cameron didn't really get into it. Cameron's favorite things at all of the parks were the 3-D movies. He really like Phillhar Magic at Magic Kingdom.
We didn't spend much time at Epcot because the boys were tired. We rode the Nemo ride and went to the Crush interactive show.
The fourth day we went to Animal Kingdom for 1/2 a day. I wasn't impressed with it at all. There were so many people there that you couldn't hardly move. We saw the Bug's Life 3-D show, then we went to the Nemo musical and then on the Safari ride. The Nemo show was awesome. We left and let the boys take a nap and then headed back to Magic Kingdom. We rode a lot more rides at Magic Kingdom again and did some of their favorites one more time. That evening we met up with Chris' cousin Cheryl and her family from Connecticut. They just happened to be there the same time we were. We saw the electric parade that evening and the fireworks show behind Cinderella's castle. That was a lot of fun for all of us.
The last day we went to Universal Studios and the Islands of Adventure. This park was a lot less crowded than the Disney parks and the boys really enjoyed it. Carson got to see Barney again and go to a Barney show. I think that was the highlight of his trip. The first morning, Barney and his pals visited Give Kids the World. He got so excited. Chris' cousin and family spent the day with us @ Universal. There was a lot of rides and things for the kids to do there. Cameron got to ride the Spiderman ride with Chris in the Marvel Hero section of Islands of Adventure. This was the highlight of Cameron's trip. We missed meeting Spiderman in person by 1 minute. There were a few rides that Cameron could ride that Carson couldn't because he is so much shorter than Cameron.
The whole week was a lot of fun. Chris brother, Gary and his wife, Susan met us there for the week. We were all exhuasted at the end of the week. Then when we got to the airport to go home we found out our plane would be delayed a little. Then it ended up being 2 1/2 hours late. I had no way to heat up food for Carson and no one that served mashed potatoes. I fed him cold food and he threw up all over the place so I had to go buy him some new clothes. We got thrown back into reality before we even got home. But even with all of that we had so much fun. It was so neat. Carson was the King of Disney World for a week. We have a lot of video and over 200 pictures. I will be changing the pictures out on his site often so everyone can see them.
The day after we got home I started getting all of his therapy scheduled again. It is a chore trying to get all of Carson's activities scheduled. The next 2 weeks we will be going to W. Monroe 3 days a week to spend all morning doing therapy with Mr. Karl. We are really excited to get all of this going again. It has been since the end of February since he had Physical Therapy and Occupational therapy. We will not be able to start w/his usual OT, Miranda, until June because she is on maternity leave.
Please pray that Carson can jump back into the swing of therapy again and learn to walk and chew food really soon.
Also remember all of the Mom's today that may have lost their precious children to childhood cancer. For some mom's this is a very difficult day.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 7:26 PM CDT

*****May 11, 2007 ****We had a fabulous time on our trip to Disney. I'll update later this weekend w/lots of details. I hope you enjoy the new picts from Disney World.***

Well it is official today. Carson is fully insured with unlimited therapy visits as of today. I have new insurance cards in hand and I'm so excited. We will be starting back with all of the therapists that Carson has been working with since he was 18 months old. They have helped him so much and I can't wait to get going again. Kim Cox has been such a huge help to us and worked with Carson some to make sure he didn't go without therapy. It meant so much to us that she took time away from her family to help Carson.
Tomorrow is my last day of work with the school system and I can get back to running Carson up and down the road to his many therapy appointments. Thursday we are leaving for Disney World for Carson's Make A Wish trip. We have put this off for a long time because we were hoping Carson would walk. We decided to go ahead and go. He's pretty independent with his walker so he'll be fine. The boys are so excited. Last week, Make A Wish and Chuck E Cheese gave the boys a party. They are making Cameron feel just as important as Carson. They are going to have a blast. The boys have been watching the vacation planning video over and over. I'm sure I will have tons of pictures for the website when we get back. Chris' brother, Gary and his wife, Susan, will be meeting us there. We always go on vacation with them and they are such big help with the boys.
I'm sure I will have lots to update when we get back and get all settled in. Please continue to pray for Carson because he has a long way to go with his eating and walking. Please keep all of the St. Jude families in your prayers. Also pray for us because this is our first time to fly with our boys.

Sunday, April 22, 2007 3:46 PM CDT

It has been a while since I updated and I'm so sorry. I'm trying to work right now and it has been very hard. I am working for a month at Kerr Elementary, the school I taught at before Carson got sick. I'm working with the first graders again but I'm just helping the other teachers w/small group work. I have really enjoyed working with the kids but it has been really hard trying to juggle my own kids. Chris is very glad that it is just short term because he is having to run the kids around. My aunt, Jill, and Chris' mom are taking turns keeping the boys during the week. They still go to Mom's Day Out one day for most of the day while I'm at work and Cameron is in preschool two 1/2 days. They have done okay with me being gone. Carson had a meltdown Friday when it was time for me to leave and wouldn't let go of me. It was hard to peel him off and walk out with him crying but I had to. Also, last Sunday night Cameron threw up all night long so I got no sleep and then I had to leave him all day sick. Then Tuesday morning Carson threw up everywhere right before I left for work. I was late to work because I had to juggle everything and find someone to keep Carson while Cameron went to Mom's Day Out. I do not know how Mom's work full time because this has been very hard.
The boys are both well now and doing great. Carson still doesn't like the theratogs and he still screams when it is time to put them on. Unfortunately while I'm working he is not wearing them b/c I would have to teach everyone how to put them on b/c to change his diaper you have to take it off. We have started with a new speech therapist through home health and she is great. I have been really pleased with her and I think Carson really likes her. He still is seeing all of his therapists through the school system and he is getting some PT right now. Beginning May 1st we will have our insurance back in place so he will be able to start back with Melanie Massey's clinic for PT and intense OT again. Hopefully he will just take off walking and eating a lot more. They are still taking swimming lessons and loving it. They are both going under water and doing great with it. Cameron is a little afraid of jumping off of the side of the pool but will do it with lots of convincing. Carson, on the other hand, will do it and never think twice. Cameron is still playing t-ball. That almost ended b/c the very 1st game he got scared and cried and would not go out on the field. Chris was devasted and so was I. The next game Chris took him by himself and he did great and loved it. Carson & I went to watch him this weekend. He was doing great until he realized we were there. He started to have a meltdown so Carson & I left and then he was fine. For some reason he does not want me there. Chris is not going to be able to take him this Saturday so he may not play when I take him.
This Friday night is the local Relay for Life. It is the first time that we have had one in Bossier City. Our church set up a team called "Asbury Survivors" There are several satellite teams under them. One of the teams is the "Braun Battlers" We have at least 20 people on our team. There are over 70 people from our church participating. We are looking forward to this big event and we hope it is a huge success.
Continue to pray for Carson as he still struggles with learning to walk and chew foods. Pray for all of the children of St. Jude including those here locally, Kami Chauncy, Ethan Powell and Jaydon Rogers.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 5:19 PM CDT

******************New Pictures Added 4/2/07***************************

I want to apologize to our faithful followers, Kim & Karen T., for not updating already. I did get around to changing out all of the pictures but not to write an update. My boys are playing quietly right now so I thought I would take this opportunity to let everyone know how our recent trip to Memphis went.
We had a good trip. It was nice going to St. Jude without the stress of having an MRI & awaiting results. We had PT everyday, sometimes twice a day, and we had speech a couple of times and an audiology appointment. He had to have new ear molds made for his hearing aids and he did really well while they did it. He had a speech eval. so we would know what we need to work on with his new speech therapist. Sometimes Carson doesn't always cooperate. He doesn't answer things that I know he knows. We are going to have to start working more on his action words so we are going to start focusing on them when we are looking at pictures or books. Physical therapy was the primary reason for the visit. He is doing well with his new theratog suit. He let's everyone but Mom put it on him. He throws a fit every time I try to put it on but he doesn't if a therapist does it. This makes it very difficult to get it on every morning. Once it is on he is fine but it is very diddicult to get it on him while he is thrashing around and screaming. He did the same thing with his hearing aids and braces so I know it will get better. I can't do it by myself right now because he does act so bad. It does seems to be helping him. He is taking the initiative to take steps between objects without us persuading him to do it and he is doing much more independent standing. I'm not sure if it is the suit doing it or if it is a delayed reaction to IMOT. I sometimes see the effects of IMOT after a few days. We really haven't been home much since IMOT so it could just now be that we are seeing the results. Over a 6 week period we have only been home 1 week. I think we are home until the first of May. My bags were just beginning to pack all by themselves.
Cameron is doing great with t-ball. He doesn't like playing in the field. He just wants to hit the ball and run the bases (sometimes not in the right order). It is really cute to watch them. They are having the first scrimmage game on Saturday. They will have a game every Saturday morning and every Monday evening until June. The boys start swimming lessons tomorrow so that should be real exciting. I'm sure the first time will be pretty hard on me and them. Carson seemd to be ready to swim last summer so we hope he'll take off pretty quick.
We met Kami Chauncy and her family while we were in Memphis. She was diagnosed with leukemia just a couple of weeks ago. She is such a precious, young girl. I'm sure it is really hard on her being away from her siblings and her friends at school. Please keep Kami & her family in your prayers. (www.caringbridge.org/visit/kamisroadhome) Also continue to pray for Ethan Powell & his family (www.ethanpowell.com) and all of the families who have children fighting cancer.
Keep Carson in your prayers as he adjusts to wearing his new suit and patience for mom to get it on him each day. Thanks to all of you who continue to keep up with us and pray for us.

Sunday, March 11, 2007 12:45 AM CDT

Nana, the boys & I are leaving for Memphis again in the morning. We are going to stay a week and learn how to use theratogs. It is a suit used in physical therapy to help with balance, coordination and many other things. It is similar to the adeli suit that they use in IMOT. We will bring this suit home with us and he will wear it under his clothes as much as he can. I'm not sure all of the details yet until they train me on it next week. Carson will have PT twice a day this week at St. Jude so he can get used to the suit and so I can learn how to use the suit. He is also going to have speech a couple of times and he has an audiology appointment to check his hearing aids. This will not be a stressful trip because there is no MRI this time. I feel like since the first of February all I've done is pack and unpack my bags. I'm excited about this though because it may be just what he needs to get him walking.
Carson's insurance for unlimited therapy should go back in to effect on May 1st. I'm so excited we have finally gotten this all taken care of. In the mean time we are working with a new PT through home health. He came twice last week for an eval and to get to know Carson. We are working on getting a speech therapist set up to start after we get back from Memphis. In May, when the insurance goes in to effect, we will start back with his OT & PT that he has always seen. On Friday Carson & I went to Bossier Parish Community College and he was used as a model for Kim's PTA class. Melanie & Christin (his therapists) worked with him and he really showed out for the class. He even impressed me with how well he did.
Cameron started t-ball on Saturday. I'm so excited that he is playing but it makes me sad that Carson can't get out there and play with him. I was worried about how Carson would do at practice but he was okay. He wanted to go out there a couple of times but he understood. Chris is helping coach the team so he is going to let him come out on the field some during practice so he feels like he is a part of it too. I'm starting them both in swimming lessons the week we get back from Memphis. Carson loves the water and I think he will learn to swim pretty quick. He is probably going to swim before he walks. I'm trying to get them ready for the water before we go on our trip in May.
This week we found out that a 7 year old little girl named Kami Chauncy from our area was diagnosed with leukemia and is at St. Jude. Please pray for her family as they start this journey. Her caring bridge site is: visit/kamisroadhome. Please stop by and leave them a note of encouragement in their guestbook. Also please pray for safe travels for us tomorrow and pray that Carson tolerates this new suit. Please continue to pray for his walking and eating issues.

Sunday, March 4, 2007 4:13 PM CST

We are finally home from Memphis and settled in. We had a great time while we were there. We left as soon as we got home from Carson's last IMOT treatment on Friday. We met Uncle Gary & Aunt Susan (Chris' brother & wife) on Saturday in Memphis. We went to the Children's Museum, to the Zoo, to the Peabody to see the ducks walk out & we took a horse/carriage ride. We had a really fun weekend. On Monday we headed over to St. Jude. Our first appointment was with our social worker to start working on our insurance problem again. I dreaded starting my week dealing with this problem but we have made a lot of progress this week. We don't have anything finalized yet but we are working on a few things and hopefully it will all be worked out soon. First of all we are trying to get home health set up to start PT with Carson. I hate starting with a new therapist but it may be a good change. We may be able to continue with our regular therapist real soon but that is still a work in progress. Everyone at St. Jude was a huge help and went out of their way to try to help us. Also, everyone at home has been so good to us and all of your prayers have really helped.
All of Carson's appointments went really well. His eyes looked better and are not pulling in as bad so we get to back down on patching each day. He has no more hearing loss which is great. And most importantly his MRI is clear!!!! Thank you Lord!!! All of his Doctors, nurses & therapists were so impressed with him as he ran around that hospital with his walker. That's the first time any of them had seen him walk with his walker. His doctor, Dr. Fouladi, kept saying "Carson is truely a miracle!" We laugh and tell everyone to watch out because he doesn't have brakes on his walker. He will run over anything and anyone in his way. (usually Cameron)
He is such a trooper. He was already worn out from 3 weeks of IMOT. Then we get there and he had appointments from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm without even a break for lunch. He was so good all day and never fussed. To say the least, he was sound asleep as soon as he stopped. We also saw the endocrinologist while we were there. He had grown a little but had dropped on the growth chart some. We have not gotten word on his labwork yet so apparently it looked okay. They are going to check him again when we go back and at that time we may have to discuss further testing and growth hormones. We pray that he doesn't have to go through that but if he does it will be okay after all he's been through. We now will be going to St. Jude every 6 months. This first time it will be 5 months because it worked out better for our schedule.
We enjoyed seeing some of our friends at St. Jude on our visit. Louie & Easton were both there getting check-ups and had clear MRI's! We were all 3 at St. Jude at the same time going through treatment. It is so great to see all 3 of these boys now and see how great they are doing. We also got to see Ronell while we were there. She has been going through treatment since we were there. Please keep her & her family in your prayers as she continues to battle.
Please continue to pray that we get all of our insurance problems fixed real soon so Carson can resume therapy. Pray that Carson can learn to balance so he can walk and that he continues to progress with his eating. He still will not eat as well for me as he does his therapist. Remember all of the St. Jude families. We often forget what it is like until we return for our visits and it brings us back to reality. We are so blessed to have had a place like St.Jude to give Carson a chance.

Sunday, February 18, 2007 6:39 PM CST

***Wednesday, 2/28/7 4:22pm***

Carson's MRI is stable. We had a good trip. All of his appointments went very well. We are on our way home right now. I will update in a few days.
***************************************

I will start with the bad news. I received a call Friday evening, after we returned from a long week of IMOT, there is a problem with our COBRA insurance. I am not sure what is going on but it looks like we are not going to be able to get our extension on his policy now. They did not call me directly so I don't have a lot of information yet. If this is the case, Carson will have no more coverage for therapy at the end of next week until next year. Chris & I are devastated. We worked so hard, made many phone calls & collected a lot of paperwork to get this done and now we are going to have to start all over. Carson has come so far and we can not give up now. Chris & I will start fighting again first thing in the morning trying to get answers to fix this problem. What is so frustrating is that I started working on this way in advance so Carson wouldn't have a lapse in coverage and no down time with therapy. Now because of someone's mess up we are now going to be in that situation. We are not sure right now what we are going to do but we are exploring every avenue. If anyone has any suggestions of a way for us to get Carson the PT & OT he needs please let us know. Because of the damage to Carson's brain from surgery & the tumor he needs alot of stimulation from therapy to help him continue to progress. Unfortunately he will not work for Chris & I like he does a therapist. We also are not trained and do not know what he needs. It is amazing how one phone call can change so much but it has. We have tried to stay positive over the weekend. This will work out some how but we need everyone's prayers to help us get there.
On a positive note, Carson had another wonderful week in therapy. He continues to work so hard everyday and truely amazes me. He got really tired by Thursday and really had a hard time that day but he worked through it. He continues to try eating new things for speech but not for Mom or Dad. They even tried chicken nuggets and french fries this week. He did pretty well with it. Friday evening he took 7 steps for Chris & I several times and had great balance. He didn't do very well on Saturday but he is probably just very tired. He is getting stronger and his balance is getting better but he still has a long way to go.
We have one more week of IMOT to go and then the next week we are heading to St. Jude for Carson's 4 month check up. He will have his MRI on Wed. Feb. 28th. We will be leaving on Saturday going up to have fun over the weekend before all of his appointments start on Monday. Also this week, Cameron's preschool is have a trike-a-thon/Mardi gras parade for St. Jude on Tuesday. He has been raising money for St. Jude and is real excited about being in the parade. We have decorated his bike and I will hopefully have pictures of it on here later in the week. If you look in the photos there is a picture of the sign that Cameron's uncle Johnny made for his bike.
Please pray for our family. Pray that we find a way to get Carson the therapy he needs, pray that Carson learns to walk this week, pray for Karl as he works with Carson & the other children, pray for our safe travels as we are on the road a lot and pray that Carson gets great results from his test at St. Jude.
I will try to update again before we go to St. Jude if I have a minute. I just will not have alot of time between the end of IMOT and leaving for Memphis. If I don't get to it I will update as soon as we get MRI results the following week. Thanks for all of your continues prayers and support. It really helps us especially in times like this.

Sunday, February 11, 2007 2:55 PM CST

We have made it through our first week of IMOT. He tried to get sick before it started. On Wednesday, the week before IMOT, we spent the afternoon at the pediatrician's office because he had a double ear infection. One had already ruptured and the other was on its way. He must have a high tolerance for pain because he didn't act like it was bothering him. Every once in a while he would pull on his ear but he never cried or acted like he felt bad. So he just finished up an antibiotic and hopefully he is all clear.
Their birthday party last weekend was wonderful. This was the first year that we didn't have it at our house. It was so nice not having to clean before and after the party. We had it at Gymboree Play & Learn and the theme was fire trucks. They had an instructor that played with them for about an hour and every thing they did had to do with fire trucks. All of the kids seemed to really enjoy it. All of our family was so amazed at how Carson stays right with the other kids and does everything that they do. This is how he does at Mom's Day Out also. He doesn't miss a beat. All of the kids are always so good to him which is just wonderful because that has always concerned us.
Well back to our first week of IMOT. He has had a WONDERFUL week. No, he is not walking yet but it is coming. (hopefully!) He has worked so hard everyday for Mr. Karl. Carson loves Mr. Karl so he does anything he asks of him. I get tired just watching him so I don't know how he endures 4 hours of hard work everyday. He gets tired about halfway through everyday and that's when they stop and work on his feeding. He is doing fabulous with his feeding. He has eaten crackers, vanilla wafers, applesauce, oatmeal, yogurt w/strawberries, and lots of birthday cake this week. He seems to like his sweets. Today he ate an M&M cookie at his Grandma's. This really excited Grandma since she has never seen him eat anything solid. He has also been riding the tricycle up & down the halls of the clinic with no problem. He is having a little trouble riding his at home but he is getting better with it. We are just so proud of him because I don't think there is any way that I could go through what he does and still have a big smile on my face. He doesn't get a nap and he keeps going until about 8:00 every night. This past week Carson & I stayed at Kevin, Chris' brother, & Sherri's house so we didn't have to drive so much. Cameron stayed the week in Arkansas at Nana & Grandpa's. The next 2 weeks we are not going to be able to stay as much because Cameron has a lot going on at preschool and I want to try to be able to take him to his activities.
Yesterday we put up a new full size bed in the boys room for the boys to sleep together in. Carson has been in a crib & Cameron in a toddler bed. Carson went to bed for the first time in his whole life without a bottle and went to sleep with no problem. Cameron wanted Daddy to sleep with them in their new bed so he wasn't so happy. He stayed awake in his bed until after midnight and them made his way into our bed. We really thought it would help Cameron stay in his bed if he was sleeping with Carson but I guess it is not. Hopefully he will get used to it and start staying in his bed all night.
I'm sorry for rambling on but we have had a lot going on in the last couple of weeks. Please say lots of prayers for us over the next few weeks. Pray for safe travels as we travel back & forth to Monroe, pray that Carson can continue to endure therapy and not get sick and pray that Carson learns to walk & eat. Also there is a family from here that has just been sent to St. Jude with there 8 week old little boy, Ethan Powell. Please remember this family because it is very scary to learn that your child has cancer and to begin the journey that they have started. He was diagnosed with leukemia and I think they have a website and as soon as I find out what it is I'll post it on Carson's site.
Thanks to all of you who continue to keep up with Carson and keep him in your prayers. There have been several people sign his guestbook over the last couple of weeks and that means a lot to us. Even though he is off of treatment we still have a long way to go with his therapy and we still need lots of prayers and encouragment.

Sunday, January 28, 2007 2:59 PM CST

I know this is a long overdue journal entry. I didn't realize how long it had been since I had updated. We received great news about our insurance. After months of phone calls & paperwork, we finally resolved our insurance situation. Carson will be able to get unlimited PT & OT again this year. We are going to go ahead & do IMOT (intense PT) again in February to try to get Carson to walking. We will start on Mon. Feb. 5th and finish on Friday Feb. 23rd. Then the following week we will return to Memphis for Carson's 4 month check-up & MRI. We have a very busy month of February. I will try to do better and update each weekend during IMOT to keep up with Carson's progress. He is so ready to walk. He is beginning to let go & dance around some without falling. He is real unsure of himself so he puts his hands back down quickly. He wants to walk everywhere now. He either wants to hold our hand or use his walker. He is also doing great with his eating. He is eating all kinds of things that are blended. He is even asking to eat when it is lunch or dinner time. Most days he is only taking a bottle in the morning & at night. There are some days that he is still wanting more & I let him have them. Last week he started chewing things for his OT. He chewed up a goldfish cracker & swallowed it a couple of sessions last week and then he ate some noodles in chicken noodle soup. This is huge b/c just a few weeks ago he would have thrown up if he swallowed any of those things. He still will not do these things for me but I'll take what I can get. Every once in a while he gets something to far on the back of his tongue & doesn't know what to do with it that makes him sick. But I'm so proud of how far he has come.
Next weekend, Sat. Feb 3rd, is the boys 4th birthday. I can not believe that my babies are already 4 years old. Four years ago this time I was laid up in the hospital on bed rest trying to keep them from coming. They were ready to come into this world & so they decided to come on 2 months early. I was sure ready after 3 weeks in the hospital but they were not ready. They have been through a lot in the first 4 years of their life but it has made them wonderful little boys. They are so close and Cameron is so good to take care of Carson. Even though I don't think Carson really needs to be taken care of because he is one tough little boy.
Please pray that we can get through this session of IMOT without any illnesses. Pray that Carson has great results & can endure the long hours of work Mr. Karl puts him through. I will try to do another update at the end of his first week of IMOT.

Thursday, January 4, 2007 2:37 PM CST

Happy New Year!! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We sure did! This was the first Christmas in all of Carson's life that he wasn't sick. It was great and both boys were so much fun. My neice, Carlee, came down with the flu on Christmas Eve. We had been with her for a few days and were so afraid the boys might get it but I guess their flu shots worked. Carson has had a horrible cough and had to have breathing treatments a few nights. But I think it is because of our crazy weather.
Carson was so funny opening presents @ Christmas. Everyone that he opened he said "Ooh, Mommy I like it!" It didn't matter what it was. Cameron was all about give me more presents. He'd open one, put it to the side and look for another. They both got bikes but we've already traded Carson's in for a tricycle. His legs are so short that he can barely touch the peddles. He is beginning to be able to peddle it. Cameron took off on his bike and does great. He does get easily distracted by cars going by and runs off of the sidewalk.
We finally finished IMOT a few days before Christmas. He had a fabulous last week. Unfortunately because he was sick so much of it we didn't acheive our goal of walking. He is using his walker a lot now instead of scooting on his bottom everywhere. And you better get out of his way because he moves fast and he'll run over you. He just this week got back to eating a little better for me since before he got sick. We have not got our insurance situation fixed yet so he is getting very limited therapy right now. Hopefully we will get something resolved soon and we can pick things up again. I really feel if we could get intense therapy for him for the next few months he will take off in all areas. He is really talking a lot and using sentences. He is so funny!
I'm sorry it took so long to update but I've been enjoying my boys and the holidays. I'll try to do better. I'm going to try to get new pictures from Christmas on here soon.

Sunday, December 17, 2006 6:04 PM CST

***New pictures added 12/17/06****
We have had a much better week. Carson had a bad weekend last weekend. He felt really bad Saturday night and had fever Sunday morning. Monday he felt better so we went to start another week of IMOT. By Wednesday he was back to himself. He worked so hard for Mr. Karl on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. He was back to laughing, singing and playing hard. We are not going to get the results from IMOT that we had hoped for because he has been so sick through most of it. Chris, Nana & I all could feel a difference in him this weekend. He feels stronger so this may not have got him to walking but it has gotten him a little bit closer. We are going for a regular PT appointment tomorrow and Tuesday - Thursday he will do IMOT. This will finish up his 3 week protocol. We are still working with our insurance companies trying to get more therapy for him for next year. So he has to work really hard for the next 2 weeks for his therapist.
We are really looking forward to Christmas. Hopefully our boys can stay well for a few days so we can have a great Christmas with our families. Please continue to pray that Carson has a very productive week in therapy this week and that we get our insurance problems resolved in the next couple of weeks. Also do not forget to pray for all of the St. Jude families who have children undergoing treatment during the holidays and for those families that have lost their children and have to go through the holidays without them.

Friday, December 8, 2006 8:44 PM CST

I don't even know where to start. We have now taken Carson to the doctor 5 times over the last 2 1/2 weeks. He will feel pretty good for a couple of days and then he will get sick again. We think this all started with a stomach virus that he just has not been able to get over. After he had the CT scan he went a couple of days and did pretty well. Then last Friday he didn't feel well and got sick right when it was time for us to get in the car to go to Memphis for the St. Jude marathon weekend. He was very irritable after we got to Memphis. I have always been able to console Carson but this time I just couldn't make him happy. This stressed me out more than I already was. I felt like he was mad at me because he felt so bad and I wasn't making it any better. Saturday afternoon after the run we ended up taking him to St. Jude to the medicine room to get checked out. It was horrible. He kicked, screamed & fought us the entire hour. They said he had an ear infection and started him on an antibiotic. He felt bad all day Saturday and was in a very bad way when we started home on Sunday. He slept 4 hours in the car until we got to Nana & Grandpa's house. He came alive after Nana put drops in his ears and he and Cameron helped her decorate her Christmas tree. I was so glad to see him feeling better. Since he felt so bad all weekend we decided to stay home Monday instead of starting back to IMOT (intense PT). On Tuesday I took him back to the pediatrician because he was still getting sick and had been very constipated. Dr. Cush-John examined him again and did an abdominal x-ray. She said he definitely had a bad ear infection and that it was responding to the antibiotic. The X-Ray showed that he had definitely been constipated but it looked like it was getting better. He got sick again after we got home. We started back to IMOT on Wednesday and he did really well. We were able to go 3 days in a row this week. It looks like it is going to take us 5 weeks to do a 3 week treatment plan. He still is not himself, he got sick in the car on the way home from IMOT yesterday. I don't feel like he is getting everything out of IMOT that he should because he is not yet 100%. Today we got stuck in traffic on the interstate and then we were rerouted due to an accident. It took us 3 hours to go 80 miles. I have decided that we are just not supposed to be doing IMOT right now because everything is working against us. In the middle of all of this we are still fighting with both of our insurance companies to secure more therapy coverage after the first of the year. He really needs to get as much therapy in as he can before the year ends.
On to the good news. The run was a huge success. Team Carson raised over $3000 in Carson's honor for St. Jude. My brother-in-law Gary and I the 1/2 marathon. We both beat our expected times. I ran it in 2 hours 13 min. and Gary ran it in 2 hours 33 min. Chris, Mom, Dad, Frank and Brenda Scroggins all did awesome in the 5K. I'm trying to talk Chris into training with me to do the 1/2 marathon next year. There were about 8600 runners in Memphis this weekend running for St. Jude. It was just awesome and made us feel so good to see so many people supporting such a wonderful hospital.
Please continue to pray for Carson to get better real soon so he can have a successful IMOT treatment. Even with all of his setbacks in the last few weeks he has been working his little tail off when he has been able to get his PT. We have come to expect this from him. He has been set back with his eating so pray that he can get back on track with his eating real soon. Also pray that we can resolve all of our insurance problems and Carson can get his much needed treatments.

Thursday, November 30, 2006 8:53 PM CST

***New Pictures added from the marathon on 12/4/06. I'll do a new update in a few days.****

I just wanted to do a quick update and let everyone know how Carson is doing. He finally felt better on Sunday and had a pretty good day. He would play a little but would have to lie down frequently throughout the day. We decided to take Monday off from IMOT (intense PT) and let him have one more day to recover. He had a pretty good day Monday but still got tired easily. Monday night he got sick again and had a restless night. Tuesday morning he was very irritable and could not hold anything down. This is the point that I panicked. We headed straight to our pediatrician. There was a 2 hour wait but I was in pretty bad shape when we got there and they know us pretty well so we got right back. They sent us home again and told us to watch him a couple more hours. I talked to St. Jude and they decided that we should go ahead and get a CT. We headed to Schumpert Hospital @ 2:15 and he had the CT by 3:00. He was such a big boy but was not happy when it was over. The radiologist that was on that day was a neuro radiologist and was so nice. He read it quickly and let us know that everything looked perfect. Thank God!!! When we got home he was hungry and held some pudding down. He had a better night. We started back to IMOT on Wednesday. He really struggled because he was so weak but he tolerated it and did not fuss. Today he had a much better day. He was not 100ut he worked hard and ate for the Speech therapist. The therapists working with him are so awesome. They always do what is best for him. We are so blessed to have such great people working with him. He was very tired and fussy when we got home. He was asleep by 7:15. He will not have IMOT again until Monday. Hopefully he will be back in full force by then and we can get to working on walking.
This is a big weekend. We are heading to Memphis tomorrow afternoon for the St. Jude run. Thank you to everybody who donated to St. Jude in Carson's honor. We reached and exceeded our goal and it is all because of you. I am extremely nervous about running my first ever 1/2 marathon. Keep my brother-in-law, Gary, and I in your prayers as we try to finish 13.1 miles Saturday morning in 24 degree weather. Chris, my Mom and Dad and a couple of their friends are running the 5K. We hope to get some good pictures of Team Carson. We will post them on the site next week. It will probably be the end of the week before I can update the site again because we will be staying with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law in Monroe some next week instead of traveling back and forth everyday.
Thanks again for all of the donations to St. Jude. We would also like to thank everyone who has kept Carson in their prayers while he has been sick. Please continue to pray for him to get his strength back and to have a very successful IMOT treatment.

Saturday, November 25, 2006 4:41 PM CST

We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! Unfortunately ours is not going very well. Carson started IMOT (intense physical therapy) on Monday. He had two really good days but he was not doing very well in speech and with the feeding. He was not wanting to eat and was gagging on things easily. I was concerned because he had come so far with Miranda in OT over the last few weeks. Cameron was staying at my Mom's and had been sick with a stomach bug since last Thursday and it lasted over a week. Wednesday morning Carson woke up and started throwing up. We cancelled IMOT and headed to the pediatrician. This was like deja vu for us. Three years ago Thanksgiving week we went to the pediatrician with Carson and it did not end well with us finding out after several visits that he had a brain tumor. With all of this said he is still very sick today and we have already made two trips to the doctor this week. We saw the same Doctor yesterday that we saw on Friday after Thanksgiving 3 years ago. They drew blood yesterday and it does appear to be a virus. As a mother of a child with a brain tumor and a shunt you can never be too careful when your child is throwing up and sleeping all the time. It has brought back so many memories because he is so sick, just as he was 3 years ago. He has been real lethargic and will not eat or drink anything. We have been able to keep him hydrated by giving him syringes full of pedialyte several times an hour. He has had a little more life today. He has tried to get up a few times but is only able to sit up for short periods and he has to lay down again. He did ask for pudding today and ate about 1/2 of a container and held it down. He has also told Cameron "NO!" a couple of times. That is a good thing to hear since he hasn't really said anything over the last few days. I am afraid that we are not going to be able to start back on Monday with IMOT because he will not be strong enough for 4 hours of therapy. Please say lots of prayers for Carson because he needs to get his strength up to be able to get his IMOT in before the end of the year because of our insurance change. I will try to update again in a few days to let everyone know how he is doing and how IMOT is going. If we are able to start again in a few days. Please pray for him to feel better soon because it is so hard to see him this sick.

Thursday, November 16, 2006 2:52 PM CST

First of all I want to say THANK YOU!!! to everyone that has donated to St. Jude for the run. I'm just short $100 of my $1500 goal. I'm so excited. The race is only 2 weeks away and I'm getting nervous about running 13.1 miles. I think I'm ready but running in Memphis up & down hills is going to be a lot different than running here in my flat neighborhood. I just have to keep focused about why I'm doing this and I think I can do it. I also hope the weather cooperates. The wind seems to be always blowing hard in Memphis and that makes for a really tough run.
We are so busy right now that I don't even know where to start. We had a wonderful Halloween as you can see from their pictures. The boys thought trick-or-treating was pretty cool. Carson wanted to check everything out that people gave him instead of letting them put it in his pumpkin. Carlee & Cameron weren't in the door for two seconds before they started eating all of their candy.
We have started intense OT now that our therapist has moved here and we don't have to drive so far to see her. It has made a huge difference. We are seeing her 3-4 times a week and he is eating all kinds of things for her. On the days that he sees her we have cut down from 4 to 3 bottles a day. He is still not chewing things but he is eating a big variety of things that we have blended like macaroni & cheese, beef stew and chicken pot pie. This is huge since he has only been eating pudding & baby food bananas for a long time. She is also crushing crackers of vanilla wafers and feeding it to him and he is not even spitting it out. He finally let me feed him something last night and I was so excited. I think we may be finally getting somewhere. I know we have a long way to go because he still has to learn to chew but he is doing so much better.
He is still not walking and somedays his balance is better than others. We are starting IMOT again next week. This is the same intense therapy that he did back in May in Monroe @ Melanie Massey's. It is a 3 week 5 days a week 4 hours a day program. We really need great results from this. We are having a huge insurance change at the 1st of the year and it doesn't look like Carson will be able to get as much therapy as he needs. We are saying lots of prayers that this is going to be very successful. I'm really having a hard time with this because we have been so blessed to be able to give him so much therapy. I'm really scared about him getting so far behind if we are not able to continue like we are. So I'm asking everyone to pray for great IMOT results and that we can get our insurance problems resolved before the 1st of the year.
On a different note, we have done some fun things in the many hours of therapy and going non stop. We did take the boys to see Monsters, Inc. on ice and they loved it. For some reason 3 times during the performance Carson had a meltdown and starting pointing to the door screaming "That way!" He wanted to get out of there. Then he would get so excited and start laughing again. I'm not sure what was happening. The only thing that I can think of is the noise level in things like that bother him. We have also tried out gymboree & gymboree art class over the last few weeks. The boys loved it and we would loved to enroll them in it to be able to do fun things w/them. But unfortunately I can't find time in our very busy therapy/school schedule.
Please remember to pray for us as we begin IMOT also remember all of the St Jude families that have lost loved ones. It is a very difficult time with the holidays coming up and thay need a lot of extra prayers right now. Also, remember the families that have children on treatment right now and have to be away from their families during the holidays.

Sunday, October 29, 2006 2:26 PM CST

We are finally home and all unpacked from our trip to St. Jude. The boys always get so excited to go back for each visit. Cameron gets a little more excited than Carson because to Cameron it is all fun but Carson remembers once we get in the hospital that it is not all fun for him. It rained the whole time we were there so we didn't get to do anything fun like go to the zoo. As you probably read from Chris' quick update that all was clear. They didn't go over the final report with me because both his Dr. and nurse practitioner were out Friday morning. When I read it I didn't really understand it but it did sound better this time than in the past. All of the places that have been noted on previous MRI's that were of concern are all stable so that's great. It did note that he had sinusitis and they would explain all of the junk coming out of his nose. The most important thing is the top sentence that says "There is no change" and that's what you want to read.
We often forget everything that we have been through when we get so busy with our daily lives but we are quickly reminded once we step foot back into that hospital. We saw many families that had just began their journey at St. Jude and we saw many families that were celebrating their last treatment @ St. Jude. It is so hard in both situations. It is scary not knowing what is about to happen to your child when you begin but it is also scary when you finish and you just pray that all of the treatments worked and you do not have to go through that ever again. St. Jude is such an awesome place and they are finding so many new cures everyday. The treatment for the type of cancer that Carson had has already been revised and is so much better. They are able to do less chemo and radiation and have a lot less long term side effects with a higher cure rate than when Carson went through it just 1 1/2 years ago. This is such great news for other families that have to go through what we went through. But remember they can not do all of this research without all of our help. If you would like to make a donation to St. Jude you can do so at the bottom of this page by clicking on the St. Jude heroes link and making a donation for the 1/2 marathon that I'm running for St. Jude. Also you can help the kids at St. Jude have a very Merry Christmas by going to www.target.com/stjudewishlist and purchasing something for the kids of St. Jude. They will ship it directly to St. Jude for the kids to have for Christmas.
Well off of that subject. The boys are very excited about Halloween this year. Cameron is going to be Buzz Lightyear and Carson is going to be Woody. I will try to get some good pictures of them and get them posted on the website later this week. We are going to a pumpkin shine tomorrow night and then trick-or-treating in our neighborhood Tuesday evening. Then on Thursday we are taking the boys to see Monsters, Inc. on Ice. They are so excited and Chris is too. ha!!
Continue to pray for all of the children and their families that are at St. Jude undergoing treatment right now. Also remember all of the families that have lost their precious children to this horrible disease. This time of year with the holidays coming up is extremely difficult for them so we need to pray for them during the upcoming months.
Thanks to all of you who have made donations already for our run @ St. Jude. As soon as I get all of the money in and posted we will be 1/3 of the way to our goal.

Thursday, October 26, 2006 10:03 PM CDT

Carson's MRI went well today. Preliminary results are clear. We will get the final report tommorrow and will update then. It looks good so far!

Thursday, October 12, 2006 3:54 PM CDT

As most of you know by now, sweet little Jake Owen Raborn earned his angel wings last Thursday afternoon. He fought a long hard battle and was a very courageous little boy. His family has been absolutely amazing through all of this and continue to be. They are an inspiration to all of us. If you haven't already take a minute and leave them a little note in their guestbook on Jake's site (www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen).
On a lighter note, Carson continues to get stronger everyday. He is taking 4-5 steps at a time now. I hope he is going to take off really soon. We are planning on doing IMOT (intense 3 week therapy) between Thanksgiving & Christimas. So hopefully this will give him the push he needs to get him walking before Christmas. That would be the best Christmas present we could get. He still will not eat anything but pudding. He is getting better about letting the OT put crushed goldfish crackers in his mouth and he swallows it but he will not let Chris or I do it. We are hoping in the next few weeks to be able to get more intense OT. This will just add to our already crazy schedule but that doesn't matter. If we can get him to eat sooner we are willing to do whatever. He is also beginning to talk a lot more. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. He has an attitude and he likes to tell us what to do. One thing he does is tell me which way to go when I'm driving. Like if I'm passing Toys R Us, he is yelling "No, that way!" and pointing at the store. He is so funny. His favorite thing to say is "No, NO don't do that again!" I wonder where he has heard that before. ha!
Mom's Day Out continues to be challenging with them in my class. Carson is doing okay, but Cameron has a listening problem. He doesn't think he has to listen to me when he is in my class. So I let the other teacher get on to him and he immediately stops. I guess that's a good thing. At least I know he listens to someone. Cameron is really coming along since he has started preschool. He is doing a great job tracing his letters and numbers and he is really getting the hang of using scissors. The only problem with that is every time he sees a pair of scissors he wants to use them and I really have to watch him.
We will be going to St. Jude for Carson's 4 month check-up & MRI in a couple of weeks. We will be leaving on Tuesday, October 24th. His MRI is on Thursday, Oct. 26th. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel to Memphis and pray for clean scans.
Also do not forget to donate to St. Jude for the run at the link below. We need to raise at least $500 to be a St. Jude hero. It doesn't matter how big or small your donation is because every little bit helps. We need to raise as much money as we can so they can find more cures to save more lives so that no more families have to go through what the Raborn's are going through right now. You can click on the link below to make a donation with your credit card or you can mail checks payable to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to our address: 2103 Mockingbird Ln, Bossier City, LA 71111

Sunday, September 17, 2006 3:52 PM CDT

***NEW PICTS ADDED 10/03/06*****

I just want to remind everyone to eat at Chili's Restaurant on September 25th. 100f proceeds made that day go to St. Jude. Because no one pays out of pocket at St. Jude it is very important that we all do our part to give a little to help all of the children that are diagnosed with cancer. If it wasn't for all of us they wouldn't be able to do the research and continue to come up with new methods to save lives. On this same note, Chris & I will be running again this year in the St. Jude races in Memphis on Saturday, December 2. Chris is running the Memphis Grizzlies 5k and I will be running the St. Jude 1/2 Marathon. We are trying to raise at least $1500 for St. Jude. This is our way of trying to give back a little to the hospital that saved Carson's life. You can make donations on our St. Jude heroes page. The website is listed below. If you are on Richard's email list you will be getting an email soon to remind you. Please help Chris & I try to reach our goal and give back to St. Jude to help many other children.
On Wednesday in the Shreveport Times they are writing an article about giving charitable donations as wedding gifts. St. Jude is one of the charities they are talking about. They called and asked me to use Carson's picture in the article. If you do not live in our area you can read the article on line at www.shreveporttimes.com.
We all are back into our school year schedule and Carson has so many therapists seeing him everyday that I can not keep up with his schedule. He is doing great. Last week he had a wonderful week. Every therapist that saw him last week was so excited about how he was doing and what a great mood he was in. He is still on the listening therapy program and I asked to change one of his CD's because he wasn't focusing very well. I think it worked because his attention span was so much better this week. Also, his therapists are all doing such an awesome job with him that he is coming along really well. The only problem we are having is the boys are in my Mom's Day Out class on Wednesdays because it is the only 3 year old class available that day. Well that is worst than I had every imagined it would be. The first day Carson cried for the first 2 hours and Cameron did the opposite of everything that I told him to do. They are really showing me. If you are going to give 9 other kids your attention, we are going to really make it hard on you. And boy are they!!! The 2nd week only Carson went with me and Cameron stayed with his Grandma because he had pictures at his other school that day. Carson did much better that day. I hope it is better this week. I am going to bribe them on the way to school this week.
Carson got a new walker from the school system this week and it is wonderful. He can walk so much better with it than with his old one and he loves it. He can even walk in the grass with it. Without it I either have to carry him all over the backyard when they are playing or he scoots on his bottom in the grass and that makes for a lot of grass stained clothes. It makes him very happy to be independent. The walker gives him this. He is getting stronger every day so hopefully he won't need it long and will be able to take off on his own.
Please continue to pray for Jake Raborn (www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen). He is on a vent right now due to a procedure he just had. They also just found several tumors on his brain. He and his family need all of our prayers right now. Also thanks to all of you who continue to check on Carson and keep him in your prayers.

Monday, September 4, 2006 3:10 PM CDT

*** New Pictures added***We have not had a lot of fun since we have been home from vacation. The week after we got back I had a little stomach virus. Last week Cameron was sick from Sunday through Wednesday and Carson was sick from Tuesday through Thursday. It was a horrible week. They were so sick and there was nothing I could do to help them. I did a lot of laundry and sanitizing all week. So we were not able to start Mom's Day Out like we were supposed to last week and all of Carson's therapy had to be cancelled for the week. By the end of the week I was about to go crazy being stuck in the house with two very sick kids all week. Everyone's all better now and we will hopefully get started on our new schedule this week.
I did get to take Cameron to preschool for parent's day. It was an 1 1/2 hour day that I got to stay with him. It was horrible. He was the only child that cried. He felt well enough Friday to start preschool so I took him for his first day by himself. I was a nervous wreck. Chris said "It is not real school it's just preschool" I laughed and said "It's a good thing because I couldn't handle it." He asked that morning if Carson was going to get to go with him. This is so hard for me that I'm having to separate them for the first time. So I had to explain to him why he could go and Carson couldn't. He was okay with the answer I gave him. I dropped him off that morning and he went in with a smile on his face and was still smiling when I picked him up. His teacher said he had a great day and did not cry at all. I was so excited that he adjusted so well to a new school without Carson. That afternoon I took both boys to their very 1st circus since he was such a big boy. They had a blast. I think they got a bigger kick out of watching all of the other kids around them than they did the circus. Cameron also discovered that he liked cotton candy but he wanted me to feed it to him where he wouldn't get it all over his hands. Carson liked to lick it and put it back in the bag. Cotton candy is a big mess when it has been licked. We had fun even though mommy had cotton candy stuck all over her before it was time to go.
Hopefully things will go as planned this week and we can get going with all of Carson's therapist,Mom's Day Out and preschool. Please keep Cameron & Carson in your prayers as they start a lot of new things this week. I'm sure they'll adjust a lot better than mommy will.

Sunday, August 20, 2006 7:56 PM CDT

****New pictures added 8/25/06****
We have had a wonderful summer. As you can tell from our pictures, we have just returned from Orange Beach, AL. We had a wonderful, relaxing family vacation at the beach. We all needed it especially Carson. He has therapy everyday and I'm sure it was good for him to have a break from all of his appointments. They had a much better time this year than last year. Neither one of them could stand the sand last year but they loved it this year. I laughed and said "This is thanks to thousands of dollars of therapy that they can play in the sand this year." Both of our boys have a lot of sensory problems but luckily they are getting better. They also loved the ocean. The first day the waves were pretty rough and they loved it. Carson didn't care if it hit him right in the face but Cameron didn't really like it in his face. We had a great time and hated to see it end. Cameron keeps asking "when are we going back to the beach?"
Our schedule is about to get real crazy next week. They start with their school therapists again next week. So we will be adding alot more therapy appointments to our already busy schedule. Cameron starts a new preschool on Friday. Carson is not able to go because he is not potty trained. That's something that we have really worked on yet since he doesn't walk yet. They will both be in Mom's Day Out on Tuesday & Wednesday. On Wednesday they will have to be in my class. This should be fun!! ha!! Then on Thursday & Friday Cameron will go to preschool. Hopefully by January we will be able to get Carson in with him.
Carson continues to work hard on trying to walk. He has recently taken 3 or 4 steps at a time several different times. He just got his new taller braces last week. He can stand for longer periods of time with these on. He's a lot more stable in them than in the shorter braces. He has not walked in them much yet. He will have to get used to them. He also is still not eating any better. He wants to taste everything but not chew anything. I am trying to convince him to drink his milk from a straw instead of a bottle but he is not wanting to do this yet. Please continue to pray for Carson that these things will eventually come to him and he'll be able to do everything that Cameron can.

Saturday, July 22, 2006 4:01 PM CDT

*****Saturday, July 29*****I just wanted to do a quick update an remind everyone that in our area tomorrow is the last day to purchase a ticket for the St. Jude Dream Home. The drawing will be held from 12:30 - 4:00 on KTBS 3. The proceeds from the $100 tickets go to benefit St. Jude and many wonderful children like our Carson.
We are having a good weekend. It has finally rained some and cooled down to the low 90's. Thank goodness!! I can't handle many more 100 days. By the time I would get the boys in their carseat I would be sweating. Carson has had croup all week and was not feeling well. He got sick last Sunday so we went in on Monday for a chest x-ray. We spent the first part of the week at home. We went to Chuck E Cheese this morning. Oh what fun!! We can only handle about an hour of all that noise. Carson still isn't feeling very well and after all of that fun he was pretty miserable.
Next week is the boys last week of Mom's Day Out for the summer. It will also be the last time in Ms. Lou Lou's class. She is the only teacher they have ever had at Mom's Day Out. I'm glad they are moving up to the big 3 year old class but I'm very sad that we will have to change teachers. She has been so good to our boys and we will miss her.
Carson continues to get stronger everyday and so much closer to walking. He stood about 12 seconds for Melanie the week before he got sick. I'm hoping Monday he will stand even longer for her. I've given them a deadline of 2 1/2 more weeks to get him to stand independently. We are going to the beach and I would love for him to be able to stand before we go on vacation. I didn't even ask them to have him walking just standing. I thought I was being pretty reasonable. Just kidding Melanie & Christen!!!
Thanks for all of your continued prayers for Carson & all of our St Jude friends. We are so excited that Jake Raborn is finally out of the hospital and back at the Target House. Way to go Jake!!!! Please continue to pray for him and all of the kids at St Jude that are fighting cancer.

Sunday, July 9, 2006 9:49 PM CDT

New pictures added on 7/9/06******

I'm sorry it takes me so long to update. We have been very busy this summer. Carson's last appointment was on Friday @ St Jude but we stayed all weekend and played. Two of Chris' brothers & their families were in Memphis for the weekend so we had a blast. The boys got to play with their cousins that they have not seen in over a year. They had a great time and I think the hotel was glad to see all of us and our 6 kids leave. We had our first trip to Mud Island and it was a lot of fun. I can't beleive that as long as we stayed in Memphis that we never went there. It is a really neat place and the boys really enjoyed it. We got home Sunday evening and we were all tired. A lot of Chris' family was here for the week of the 4th so we had a busy week the week after we got home. We are looking forward to a normal week this week and getting back into our routine.
Carson's visit to St Jude was good. There are some things that they are going to watch on the MRI but some of them have been there for a while and are unchanged so that is great news. They do not think what they are seeing is anything to be concerned about but they just want to watch it closely to be sure. He had his first endicrinologist appointment and that went okay. He had grown quite a bit since we were there 3 1/2 months ago so that was good news. He had a time that he was not growing so that was a concern. They are just going to monitor him closely and make sure he continues to grow. He is still a little shorter than Cameron but I think he is just going to be my short child. For the most part it was a good visit and we always enjoy seeing everyone. He didn't show out a lot but he did walk with his walker across the room one time for his wonderful E Clinic nurse Tabatha.
I hope all of you received Richard's email with the link to our commercial we did for Carson's therapist Melanie Massey. If you did you may want to check the site again because they are supposed to be making a 2nd commercial real soon. I haven't seen it and I'm not sure when it will be ready. I'll let you know as soon as I find out that it is on the site.
Carson continues to work hard on trying to walk but he still doesn't quite have the balance to take off. He did stand independently several times this week for Mr. Karl & Ms. Christen. He was casted w/new taller braces while we were at St Jude so I'm hoping that when he gets those they will help him to take off.
Thanks for all of your prayers for Carson & our family during our trip to Memphis. It never gets easier waiting for the MRI results. It always reminds us of how lucky we are to have Carson and have the time we have had with him. It is so hard to walk those halls and see families standing in the hallways crying because they have just been told that there is nothing else that can be done for their child. Please pray for all of the St Jude families because it is not easy to go through this with your child.

Sunday, July 2, 2006 8:54 PM CDT

The MRI was clear!!!! I am so sorry that I'm just now updating. Every time I went by the computer @ the Grizzly House someone was on it. We had some family come in town while we were in Memphis so we have been very busy. Thanks so much for all of your prayers. I will update more in the next few days when I get unpacked & all of the laundry done to give details of all of his appointments. Thanks again for checking in on us it means so much to us to see how much everyone still cares & prays for Carson.

Thursday, June 22, 2006 3:27 PM CDT

****update 6/25/06**** Carson & I filmed a commercial for Melanie Massey Physical therapy while we were in Monroe doing his intense therapy. It will air on NBC & Fox in the Monroe & Ruston area and in parts of S Arkansas & parts of Mississippi. If you do not live in this area you can view it online @ http://www.mmptinc.com/kids_about_testimonials.html.

Yeah, yeah I know it is time to update. I've been trying to get around to it but Carson thinks if I'm on the computer he needs to help me. This week is crazy because I have Carlee (my 3 year old neice) with me. My sister had a new baby girl, Kayleigh Anna, yesterday morning @ 8:15am. She was 6 lbs 8 ozs & 18 inches long. Momma & baby are doing great. She will be in the hospital until Saturday so Carlee is staying with us. The 3 of them have fun together but there is alot of fighting between three 3 year olds that do not know how to share.
Carson is doing great. Melanie (Jake's Aunt Mo & Carson's therapist) was real excited about how well Carson was doing this week. She said his balance looked so much better. Nana (my mom) is in there right now doing therapy with him. We are all therapist & nurses in our family now after all we've been through. Carson walked a long way down the hall at the hospital yesterday with his walker. He did great and I know it was good exercise for him. He is so proud of himself when he does it. He just stops & smiles at everybody he passes. It is like look at me, see what I can do.
We are having a great summer and we are not quite as busy thank goodness. Last week we went to Arts on Fire to paint plates to be displayed in the St. Jude Dream Home. For those of you in our area do not forget to purchase a ticket to help St Jude. The drawing is early this year so get your ticket now.
We leave Tuesday evening heading back to St Jude for our 4 month check up. His MRI is on Wednesday morning. I will try to do a quick update on Thursday as soon as we know something. As usual we are a little nervous but he looks great & continues to improve so hopefully there is no reason for us to worry.
Please pray for us as we travel to Memphis next week and for clear scans. Also continue to pray for Jake (www.caringbridge/la/jakeowen.) He came off the vent today but still needs lots of prayers.

Monday, June 5, 2006 3:01 PM CDT

Well, we are finally finished with IMOT (intense therapy). I think we have all been going through withdrawals today and are trying to figure out what to do with ourselves at home all day with no therapy. Even Cameron asked "Carson going to go see Mr. Karl today". We are going to try to get back in to a normal routine this week. We will start back to Mom's Day Out tomorrow. We will go on Tuesday's & Thursday's during the summer. Carson is going to begin getting a little more intense physical therapy than he was getting before IMOT. We decided since he is getting so much closer to walking that we need to continue with a lot of therapy. So we will be adding therapy time to the 9 therapist that we already have.
Chris & I want to thank everyone so much for all of the encouraging words in our guestbook and for all of your prayers. We beleive in the power of prayer. Carson did not walk at the end of the 3 weeks as they thought he might but he is so much stronger. We are so thankful to have gotten the chance to do this therapy. Karl is an awesome therapist and Carson would get so excited each day to go "play" with him. That's exactly what Karl makes it like for the kids is play. Carson & Karl both worked hard for 4 hours everyday but he did it in such a fun way that Carson did not realize that he was working. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of therapist @ Melanie Massey's working with Carson. He has come along way and he continues to progress. Sometimes I wish we could speed it up but I'm so proud of him for how far he has come. We are planning to try to do IMOT again before the end of the year or the 1st of next year. Even if he is walking before then it will help him in lots of other ways.
We will be heading back to St. Jude in 3 weeks. Carson has appointments on June 28th & 29th. His MRI is on Wednesday the 28th. He will also see the endicrinologist for the 1st time. We are going to stay a few extra days in Memphis because a couple of Chris' brothers and their families are meeting us there for the weekend. We are looking forward to that time.
Please continue to pray for Carson as he continues with all of his therapy. Also remember Jake Raborn (www.caringbirdge.org/la/jakeowen) and his familiy as they have been going through a difficult time for the past couple of months. He is a fighter and proof that prayer really does work. Thanks again for being so encouraging to our family through all that Carson has been through over the last couple of years.

Saturday, May 27, 2006 5:24 PM CDT

We have had another good week!! No, he is not walking yet and I don't feel like he is going to by the end of next week. He is getting a lot more stable and I'm sure it will come in time. Wednesday of this past week is usually melt down day for most kids because they are half way through it and really tired. Not for Carson. He had a great day on Wednesday. Tuesday was his best day. He tried to take a step or two but he didn't try again after that. He just does not have the balance and coordination to walk yet. He has been riding a horse two days a week in therapy but they are not going to do that any more because it is just too hot for him out there. Karl, the therapist, is so good with Carson and he loves to go play with him. This has been great because Carson has worked so hard for him. I have been with him everyday this week and gotten to see everything he's doing. He has serious Mommy-itis right now. This is probably because he has had me all to himself all of this week. I have been really down this week because I wanted to see a significant change. I'm trying to keep a positivie attitude. I'm so thankful just to have my Carson here with me today and healthy. I just wish he could run and play with Cameron & Carlee and do everything that they can do. It breaks my heart to see him just watching them with a big smile on his face. He never gets upset but it bothers me.
Cameron did great with Nana and Grandpa all week. We don't even think he missed us. He did get sick on Tuesday and was running fever for a couple of days. I was so glad that he wasn't with us to get Carson sick but it was hard not being with my baby to take care of him. But his Nana took good care of him.
We are going to enjoy a restful weekend this weekend and get ready for one more hard week of therapy. Karl is going to work with Carson on Monday, even though it is a holiday, so we won't miss a day of therapy.
Please say lots of prayers for us this week. Pray for Karl, Carson's therapist and pray for Carson to endure one more week of therapy. Please pray that this program works and helps him to be able to do all of the things that the other kids can do. So if everyone that reads this would pray for Carson & his therapist each day @ 12:30 when he begins his therapy each day.

Saturday, May 20, 2006 3:47 PM CDT

WOW!!! What a week!! Carson's first week of IMOT (intensive mode of physical therapy) went great. I was so worried about how he was going to do with 4 hours of therapy in the afternoon during nap time but being the amazing child that he is he did it. Monday we drove in to W. Monroe and he slept in the car on the way so I was glad he got a little nap in before his first day. Carson can go for hours on a power nap. He went right to Karl, the therapist, like he had known him forever. He was able to tolerate the adeli suit the first day for about 45 minutes. Cameron & I left Carson and went to McDonald's to have lunch and play. When I got back they had Carson in the spider cage with all of these bungy cords coming out from him and he was standing playing a computer game. He was so tired when I picked him up that he went right to sleep in the car. He woke up as soon as we got to my brother in law's house because he wanted to see Cameron. He was asleep that night by 8:00 and did not move until 8:00 the next morning. By Wednesday he was very tired and cranky and I was so worried that he would not make it the whole 4 hours but once again he amazed us and did it. By Thursday & Friday I figured out a schedule for Carson to eat and get a good nap before therapy and it worked out well. Thursday & Friday he had awesome days and worked really hard. Matter of fact by the end of Thursday's treatment he didn't even care that I was there to pick him up he wanted to stay with Mr. Karl. It kind of hurt my feelings. He really looks a lot steadier this weekend and I have noticed him transitioning from our couch to the coffee table much better today than he ever has. He is extremely tired. He slept all the way home last night and could not get awake after we got home. He would not even stand for about 45 minutes after he got awake because his legs were so tired. He is also doing great in speech therapy and occupational therapy. One of the new things they are doing with him is a vestibular program. It is really strange. They play this weird music in a dark room and spin him around on a swing and then flash lights in his eyes to follow. They say this is great for the area of Carson's brain that has been damaged by the tumor. I'm just really excited about all of the things that they are doing with him and how well he is tolerating it all. They say that the second week is usually a big week so I can't wait to get started again to see what all he is going to be able to do after another week.
Cameron & I have had a lot of fun together while Carson is having treatment. He has not always had as much Mommy time as Carson has so I have used this week to make him feel special. We went to McDonald's playland one day, to a beautiful park one day and to Jungle Gym one day. He had a blast but was so tired by the end of the week because he was not getting a nap either. This week Cameron is going to stay at his Nana and Grandpa's so he will really be spoiled by the end of the week.
Here are a few prayer requests for the week: Pray that Carson can tolerate another week of intense therapy, pray that Cameron handles being away from Mommy all week and that Mommy can handle being away from Cameron all week, pray that Nana & Grandpa have enough strength to make it through a whole week with Cameron, and that we can all handle another week away from home.

Tuesday, May 9, 2006 9:08 PM CDT

I'm sorry that I have not updated sooner but as always we are going non stop. Carson is not going to start the intense therapy (IMOT) until next Monday, May 15th. There was just a schedule change with the therapist. So this week we are just hanging out and resting some trying to get ready for the next 3 weeks. Today his physical therapist, Melanie, started him on a little walker. He loves it and is doing great. He was just about running across our living room with it tonight. He did okay outside with it but he would get stuck in the grass and tumble over. He's tough though because he would just laugh and try again.
We are still working on the feeding issues but it continues to get a little better. He started drinking Capri Sun through a straw a few days ago. He really wants to do it if Cameron is doing it. He'll do anything that Cameron is doing especially if it will irritate Cameron. That brotherly love is just great!! Now he wants to eat his baby food fruits and pudding. I'm not having to fight him to get it in his mouth. If you ask him if he wants pudding, he says "Yeah, Okay". It's pretty cute.
Over the last couple of weeks everybody that comes in contact with him says something about how much he is talking now. It is like all of the sudden he is talking and putting 2 and 3 words together. He'll repeat anything you say. I am beginning to hear the sounds that he is missing because of his hearing loss. Words that have S in it he leaves out because he is not hearing them. We are just real excited about how he is progressing. It just seems that everything is coming together at one time. I can't wait for him to start IMOT to see how much more he can do at the end of it.
Please pray for us over the next 3 weeks. It will be very hard on all of us mentally and physically. It is always hard to be away from home especially for small kids when their schedules and routines are all thrown off. Plus, they miss thier daddy. I will try to do short updates over the weekends to let you know his progress during the three weeks.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 3:46 PM CDT

*******New Picts added 4/25/06*********

I apologize to all of you wonderful people, who continue to check on Carson, for not doing a better job updating. I have good intentions each day but my day gets away from me before I know it. We continue to stay busy w/Mom's Day Out and lots of therapy. Carson has 9 therapists that work with him. Most of them see him at least twice a week. As of this week his PT is going to up his therapy to 4 times a week. That's not even counting the 3 therapists that Cameron sees for minor preemie issues.
Besides staying very busy with therapy we are doing a lot of fun stuff. I have tried to at least keep pictures updated so you can see what we are doing. A few weeks ago we went to Nana & Grandpa's to fly kites. That's all Cameron could talk about the whole week before we went. It was the perfect day to fly a kite. The boys & Carlee had a blast. The next weekend we all went to the Tyler Zoo. They had a blast there also. Cameron is still talking about that. We also had a wonderful Easter. We went to a big Easter Egg Hunt at the Boardwalk. It was a lot of fun. This was the boys 1st big Easter. They had just gotten out of the NICU their 1st Easter. Carson had just begun chemo their 2nd Easter and last Easter we were on our way to St. Jude for our end of chemo check-up. So it was pretty exciting to have a normal Easter this year.
We continue to work on teaching Carson to walk & eat. It all continues to get better. We have made a decision to begin a new type of therapy. It will begin on May 8th and last 3 weeks. It is 4 hours a day 5 times a week for the 3 weeks of intense therapy. We will be doing this in W. Monroe (1 1/2 hrs from home). We will stay with Chris' brother & his wife some during the week instead of driving back & forth everyday. We are very excited about it and we are praying he will be walking by the end of it. I'll try to do a quick update on the weekends each week to keep everyone up on his progress during the therapy.
Please pray for Carson & our family as we begin this new program. Also remember some of our St. Jude friends who are going through a lot right now: Jake Raborn, Taylor Watson & Jay Gaskin's family.

Friday, March 24, 2006 2:41 PM CST

***4/15/06 - New Photos added & I plan to do a new update real soon!!!******

I know I said I would update last weekend when we got settled and I'm just now getting to it one week later. It takes us a while to get settled and get back into our normal routine after a week away from home. I also was trying to get all of Carson's results in before I updated and I just got those this morning.
As we told you briefly last week, Carson's MRI was clear. They were seeing something in his lungs that appeared to be the onset of pneumonia or bronchitis. They told us if he got a fever to take him into the Dr. immediately. When they checked his ears at St. Jude before his hearing test they found a lot of wax build up in his ears. So we had to go to the pediatrician this week and have it cleaned out. While we were there they saw fluid behind his ears and his nose had began running that morning. So they were right, he was getting sick. We started an antiobitic last night that he will have to take for the next 10 days. He is a little irritable right now. It would be nice if we could find out before he got sick all the time so we could get ready for it. Carson's hearing test showed that his hearing loss remained the same. Sometimes it continues to affect them for years after chemo but luckily his shows no more damage than he had one year ago. He was fitted for new ear molds for his hearing aids. He also had to be casted for new leg braces b/c he has out grown his. We really need the braces right now b/c he continues to take one step every once in a while so we know it is just around the corner that he'll take off walking.
We found time one afternoon to go to the zoo while we were there. It was beatiful the whole time up there. The boys had a blast at the zoo. We've been several times but that was the first time that Carson has really enjoyed it. All of the other times he was so sick that he really didn't know what was going on. It was a long busy few days and we were all worn out after we got home. Like I said it has taken us all week to recover and get back into the groove of things. We really enjoyed seeing everybody while we were there. No one could beleive how big the boys were and how great Carson was doing.
Carson also had to do a cognitive test that last 2 1/2 hours. I can't make it through a whole one and I'm not even the one being tested. He did great. I think he could have done a little better but he was so tired and it was nap time. He had brought his score up by 20 points from last year when he was tested. The Doctors were very impressed that he had come up that much.
We continue to work on his feeding issues. We had a hard time doing it in Memphis. Now that he is sick, he is not really wanting to eat anything. I understand because no one does when they are real congested so I'm not going to push it until he begins to feel a little better.
Thank you for all of your prayers. We are so excited that he is one year off of treatment and still doing great. Please continue to pray that he will began eating better and walking soon. Also please remember to pray for all of the St. Jude children. We met several families that had just begun their journeys at St. Jude and we know how hard that is.

Monday, March 13, 2006 3:51 PM CST

****3/17/06****
MRI is clear!!! Thank you for all of your prayers. Nana, the boys & I will be leaving Memphis in the next 30 minutes. Please pray for our safe travels home. I will update more about our trip over the weekend after we get settled at home.

I'm sorry I have not updated before now. I have had several people email me wanting to know how Carson's eating is going. It is going much better. He is not throwing fits when it is time to eat and he is trying a lot more foods. He is doing great w/only 4 bottles a day and some days we even get by w/just 3 bottles. I had a wonderful speech therapist from W. Virginia answer my cry for help. She has been a tremendous help to me. She has given me several things to try w/Carson that have worked. I think she has helped the most b/c she is always praising me for what I do. That is such a big help when you feel like you are failing all of the time to have someone pat you on your back. Thanks Karen you are the best!!!! We are still working on teaching Carson to chew so right now he is still eating soft foods such as mashed potatoes, yogurt, pudding, mashed up green beans. He is beginning to be a little chunk but that is what a lot of pudding will do to a person.
We leave in the morning going to Memphis. My Mom is going with the boys and I. His test begin on Wednsday morning. The big tests are not until Friday. He will have his MRI is @ 9:45 am w/an ABR (hearing test) following. We should have the results Friday afternoon before we leave Memphis. If for some reason they can't get the results to us Friday at a decent time we will not head home until Saturday morning.
Carson took a step for his Physical Therapist Friday morning. I actually saw him do it. I usually miss the big things he does. She told him he can't start walking next week in Memphis when she is not around. I kind of hope he does so he can show out for everyone up there.
My talk at church went great. The first one was the hardest one to get through. The 2nd and 3rd one I did a lot better. Last year they raised $500 for St. Jude. This year they raised $1400. I was so excited. I'm so glad that sharing Carson's story can help other children. Even though it is not always easy to do I know how much it can help.
Thanks for all of your continued prayers for Carson and our family. Keep praying that Carson continues to do great w/his eating and that he takes off walking real soon.
I will have Chris do a quick update Friday evening when we get the results.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 6:36 PM CST

We made it through all of Cameron's (Carson's twin brother) procedures last week. He did great with the rectal biopsy. We left home at 6:15am & didn't get back until 2:00. The procedure was only 5 minutes. The hospital messed up on scheduling. He was to go in at 8:15 and they didn't take him back until 11:30. So I had a 3 year old that could not eat or drink all of this time. Luckily after the procedure the Doctor brought us a sandwich because Cameron was a bear when he woke up at 12:30 and was starving. We do not have the official results but I think everything is okay.
Our trip to St. Jude has been changed. We will not be going next week. Instead we will leave on Tuesday, March 14th. He will have therapy & appointments Wednesday & Thursday and his MRI & hearing test will be on Friday, March 17th. So remember to say lots of prayers for us that week for safe travels and clean scans.
We are trying to force Carson to eat and get off of the bottle. It has been very unpleasant around here since we started this last Thursday. I can't quit giving him the bottle all together because he won't drink from anything else. He can but he refuses to. I am letting him have 4- 5 oz bottles a day instead of 7 or 8. He is eating a little more. He still prefers pudding over everything else. I finally figured out that his bottle is his security. He has held on to it through all he's been through. So sometimes if I just let him have his bottle even if it's empty it makes him happy. If anyone out there has any suggestions of how to make this easier please let me know. Please everyone say lots of prayers for me because it is very hard for me to do this. I feel like I'm being mean to him and I can't stand that. Each day does get a little better but we have a long way to go.
I got a call today that our church (Asbury UMC) youth is doing a fundraiser for St. Jude. I am so excited they are doing this for St. Jude. They have asked me to speak at all 3 services on Sunday, March 5th. Please pray that I choose the right words and I can get through it. I'm not great at public speaking and don't care to do it, but I feel like I owe so much to St. Jude and can never say no to do something to help them.
Also please remember several of our St. Jude friends: Jake Raborn (www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen)he is having a bone marrow transplant, Louie Hentz(www.caringbridge.org/ky/louie) MRI on Thurs, Feb. 23, Easton Wargo (www.caringbridge.org/fl/easton) MRI on Monday, Feb. 27 and Taylor Watson (www.caringbridge/org/wv/taylor) has had tumor growth. Please check in on these families and sign their guestbook to let them know how many people are praying for him.

Thursday, February 9, 2006 12:40 AM CST

We made it through our first big birthday party. Carson & I got a stomach virus on Tuesday evening before their birthday weekend. Nana had it too so I couldn't call her in for help. Thankfully we were all over it by Thursday. Friday we took the boys to Chuck E Cheese. Their cousins Carlee & Connor met us their for lunch. They had a blast. Now Cameron asks everyday to go eat pizza at Chuck E Cheese. Satuday we had the big party. We had 46 people in our house. It rained all day Friday so the backyard was wet. When everyone left I had as much grass in my house as in my backyard. Everyone had a great time. It took Chris & I a couple of days to recover.
Cameron went today to have an x-ray because of his problems with chronic constipation. They had to do a barium enema and that was very unpleasant. He was so big!! The Dr. kept saying how good he was. The preliminary report looks fine. We will hear from the Dr. in the next few days. Next Tuesday he has to go back in and have a suction biopsy to check the nerves in his lower colon. This will be very unpleasant. He will not be able to eat or drink until after the procedure. Please pray for Cameron & our family as we go through all of these tests.
At the end of this month we will be heading back to St. Jude for Carson's check-up. We will travel on Sunday, February 26th. He will have tests and appointments all week. His MRI is on Wed. March 1st. We should be home by Friday, March 3rd.
Please continue to keep Carson in your prayers as well as Cameron. Also remember all of the children at St. Jude who are still fighting the fight.

Thursday, January 26, 2006 8:58 PM CST

***New pictures added 2/6/06****

Okay, Okay!! Yes, I'm falling behind on my job. I just like to wait until I have a lot to tell everyone before I do an update.
Well everyone is finally well for the 1st time in 1 1/2 months. I hope they stay that way for a while. I'm tired of runny noses and coughing.
We are about to have a lot of changes coming our way. The boys big 3rd birthday is 1 week from tomorrow on Feb. 3rd. I can not beleive my little babies are already 3 years old. Chris is making me start dressing them like boys and not all cutesie like I like to do. This birthday party will be their 1st real birthday party. The day after their 1st birthday Carson ended up in ICU. Their last birthday Carson was still on chemo and we really couldn't have a lot of kids around. We are excited about their "train" party we are going to have. We just hope everyone is well and the weather is nice so we can be outside.
Tomorrow I meet with the school therapists to do both boys IEP. Carson finished with his Early Steps (birth-3) therapists this week. He will start with all new therapists next week. I hope he does okay with the change. Cameron will also be getting OT. Most of the therapy will be done while they are at Mom's Day Out. I'm hoping this will cut down on our hectic schedule. Maybe I'll have more time to do updates. HA!! We are still continuing with our wonderful OT & PT from Melanie Massey's clinic. These 2 girls are doing great things with Carson. As my Mom wrote in her guestbook entry, he showed out at Kindermusik this week. He pulled himself into a standing position in the middle of the room without holding anything. He wasn't able to keep his balance, but I'm sure it won't be long. He wants to walk really bad so he can keep up with Cameron and his cousin Carlee. His OT is working hard on getting him to eat. They are teaching him to chew right now. He chewed a goldfish cracker a little the other day but he wouldn't swallow it. He continues to do his therapeutic listening.
Well between the phone ringing, my kids needing something and Chris coming home from work, I have lost my train of thought. I will try to update again soon. Thanks for all of your concerns. I'm so glad you still check in on us. Thank YOU!!!

Monday, January 2, 2006 3:23 PM CST

I'm going to start with the good news. Carson has eaten lasagna three times over the last few days. This is the 1st solid food besides baby food and pudding that he has ever eaten. The 1st time he did it no one was here but the boys & I. I called everybody to tell them. The next day Chris walked in while I was feeding him. He said he couldn't believe it. He never thought he'd see the day. This makes me think it is more of a behavorial issue causing him not to eat. I am going to just keep trying and praying that we've made a breakthrough. It seems that all of a sudden he is blossoming. He is trying to stand some, he is also talking a lot more and he is eating a little. Chris & I are so excited. Just pray that his eating trend continues.
We had a wonderful Christmas. The boys were so much fun. They had a blast opening their presents. They would want to stop and play right them with each new toy. We were so thankful to have our boys and have everyone healthy this year.
Everyone being well didn't last long. I spent all morning Friday in the doctors office with Cameron. He was broken out in a rash and had a fever. They said it was just another virus and it would have to run its course. He also said that Carson will probably get it. Great!! Carson hasn't been sick again but he did give us another scare. Wednesday morning home health came out and drew his monthly labs. I got a call around 12:45, (as soon as Carson fell asleep for his nap.) to tell me that Carson's calcium was dangerously low. They told me he needed new labs drawn STAT and to bring him to LSU right away. So I packed him up and off we went. We were so scared because all of the rest of his labs looked great. They drew new labs and it was fine. Something apparently contaminated the calcium. Carson likes to keep us on our toes.
We hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!! Please continue to pray for all of the families with children that are continuing to battle cancer.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 9:23 PM CST

****New pictures in photo album*****
We have had a very exciting week. It all started with Cameron last week. Tuesday at Mom's Day Out they noticed he was struggling to breathe at nap time. That evening it got really bad. He got sick in his bed right after he went to sleep because he was coughing so hard. By 11:00 pm, he couldn't catch his breath and he was throwing up. My sister came over to stay with Carson and Chris & I took Cameron to the ER. They gave him a shot of a steroid and a breathing treatment. They said he had the croup (sp?). We had to wait 3 hours to see how he reacted to the treatment. We got home at 4:15 am.
Friday morning both boys slept in until 9:00 am which is very unusual. After they got up, I couldn't keep Carson awake. This is not a good sign with a child w/history of a brain tumor. Then he began to throw up and we were really scared. The pediatrician sent us straight to the ER. They did an x-ray, CT scan and bloodwork. The scans looked fine but they wanted us to wait to see the neurosurgeon. He was in surgery so they admitted us to the hospital. He had a fever of 101 but when the motrin kicked in he was fine. Unfortunately we couldn't get released until we saw all of the Doctors. We finally got home at 7:00 pm. He is still fighting the croup that his brother gave him. We haven't had a good nights sleep in a week because they get worse at night. I'm afraid it is always going to be scary for us every time Carson gets sick. We just hope we can get everyone well for Christmas. This will be Carson's first Christmas that he has not been on chemo or very sick. So we are very excited about Christmas this year.
Other than all of this we have been doing wonderful. We are busy getting everything ready for Christmas. Just pray that everyone is well for Christmas. We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Thursday, December 8, 2005 9:25 PM CST

**New picture in photo album 12/8/05**
We have had a very busy week and a half so this entry may be a little long. First of all on a sad note, we have lost another one of our precious St. Jude babies, Tyler James. He passed away early yesterday morning at LSU in Shreveport. I got to visit with Erica and Tyler in Memphis Friday. They then flew him home on Saturday to LSU hospital so all of their family could see him. He has fought a long hard battle and his mother has been strong through it all. They need all of the help and encouragement we can give them. Please go to his website at www.caringbridge.org/la/tylersmom and leave Erica a word of encouragment and also check out how you can donate to help with funeral and other expenses.
Our reports were good. Carson's MRI was stable. There are still a few spots that they are watching but right now no one is concerned. We are so excited that we have made it through another 3 months. We will return to Memphis in March. Everyone was pleased with how he is developing. They are even okay with the small steps he is taking toward eating. We visited with our friend's Louie and Easton and their families while we were in Memphis. Both of them also received great news. It was great to see all of our St. Jude friends again.
After a long hard week of long hours at the hospital and one test after another we had a fun weekend in Memphis. Chris' brother Gary and wife Susan came in Friday evening. We took the boys to the Memphis Zoo to Zoo lights Friday night. Cameron loved Santa but Carson wouldn't go near him. We rode the train and both boys loved it. Saturday morning Chris, Gary and I ran in the St. Jude 5K. Gary beat me by 30 seconds. I won't say where Chris finished. It was awesome. There were over 5,000 people running in the 5K, 1/2 marathon and marathon. It was wonderful to see that many people running for our kids at St. Jude. I am starting to train to run in the 1/2 marathon next year. I'm hoping I can get a big team to run with me for Carson and St. Jude next year.
Both boys were evaluated through the school system today. They both qualifed for services but not for preschool. Cameron qualifed for OT because of his sensory problems due to being premature. Carson qualifed for speech, OT & PT. The academic area and speech area were mild and PT was moderate so he did not qualify for the non-cat preschool program. This is great because now they can both go to a preschool of our choice. They prefer to service them in the natural environment at this age anyway. They will not begin their services until they turn 3 in February.
We want to thank everyone for all of their thoughts and prayers while we were in Memphis. Carson has touched so many lives in his little life and I'm still amazed at the number of people that still keep him in their prayers.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 9:58 AM CST

**Quick Update***Carson's MRI was clear. Thank Your Lord!! We will update more about our trip and the run in a couple of days.****

We want to thank everyone for their generous donations to St. Jude on Carson's behalf. We have met and exceeded our goal. We will be running the 5K on Saturday, December 3rd. We hope the weather is nice because their will be thousands of people running for St. Jude.
Chris, the boys & I will be leaving for St. Jude on Tuesday, November 29th. Carson's MRI is scheduled for Wednesday, November 30th. This is exactly 2 years to the date that he was sent to the hospital for his very 1st scans that showed he had a brain tumor. He will have appointments all week. We are excited to go back because a lot of our friends are going to be up their for tests and to run in the race. As usual we are very nervous. He is doing great so we have no reason to worry but you never know. We are going to have Cameron's eyes checked also while we're there by the St. Jude doctor to see if he has a weak eye muscle. It seems like there is always something going on with our 2 boys. Chris & I wouldn't know what to do if everything was normal all of the time. But I guess that's life.
Carson continues to progress in therapy. Monday he walked to me at the end of his PT session holding only 1 hand of his therapist. I'm so proud of him. Maybe when he gets walking down we can focus more on eating. He continues to just eat pudding, yogurt and a few baby food fruits. He has begun to do his therapeutic listening with headphones. He wouldn't wear the headphones at first so we hope now that he is listening the correct way we will see even more changes in him. It is a sight to see such a little person wearing such big headphones.
Please keep us in your prayers as we travel to Memphis. Pray that Carson and all of our St. Jude friends (Easton on Dec. 1) having scans get great reports. We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We will update or have Richard send an email as soon as we get results from Carson's MRI.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 9:38 PM CST

****New Pictures added 11/1/05***
**update 11/2/05 *** Carson's wonderful therapist reminded me in Carson's guestbook that I forgot to tell everyone that he was standing independently yesterday. After she worked with him a while he stood up by himself and stood independently. I am so proud of him!!! He is on his way to walking!!!

I'm sorry that I haven't kept up with the updates better. We have something going on all of the time. I took on working at the Mom's Day Out program the boys go to a few days a week but with all we have going on my attendance record is horrible. Thanks goodness they are understanding and very flexible. We finally have gotten everyone well. Cameron had a virus but luckily Carson didn't get it. Unfortunately, I'm suffering from pink eye now. It is miserable. I feel really bad for Carson now that I see how bad it is. When I wake up in the morning and my eye won't open it is a bad feeling. I noticed today that Carson had a rash on his hands, knees and feet. I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't seem to bother him. We think he may have gotten it from his halloween costume.
Today we had to take both boys to the Evaluation center for the school system. They both were referred for more screening. I knew Carson would be but I was a little surprised about Cameron. They were concerned that Cameron may have strabismus (a weak eye muscle) in his right eye. We now will have to to see a pediatric opthamologist. I'm sure this is a result of being 2 months premature. They are also concerned with his speech. He talks a lot but he still uses a lot of baby jargon. We will go back for more screening the week after we get back from St. Jude. I dread going to these appointments. They boys started being evaluated at 6 months old because they were premature. Every time we have one of these appointments it is always something. It's hard for parents to be told all of the time that there are problems. I know that most of them are minor but all parents want perfect children.
On a different note, Chris & I are running in the Memphis Grizzlies House 5K in Memphis on Dec. 3rd. This is part of the St. Jude marathon that's held each year. We are going to be there the week before for Carson's 3 month check-up. We have a St. Jude Hero website to raise money for St. Jude. The link for the Heroes site is at the bottom of this page. Please visit our site and donate any amount you can. No matter how large or small everything helps. All of the money goes to help find more cures to save more precious children like our Carson. Even though it seems like the therapy appointments and evaluations will never end, we are so thankful to have Carson here with us today. We owe so much to St. Jude and this is one small way that we can help.
Please keep our family in your prayers as we go though these evaluations and make the decisions for the best therapy and education for our boys. Don't for get to visit our St. Jude Hero site!!!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005 9:57 AM CDT

I'm sorry I'm not doing a very good job updating lately. It's not because we don't have anything going on to tell. It is just we are going all of the time.
Carson is doing a little better with eating. He is now eating yogurt with fruit in it and tolerating the fruit in his mouth. He is able to swallow it most of the time. He is also beginning to put more foods in his mouth and trying to eat them but he just can't. He wants to so bad. He begs for food but he just can't make himself eat. He is not taking as many bottles a day. He is wanting his yogurt and pudding more. He is also beginning to get stronger everyday walking behind his push toy. He was wanting to walk a lot Sunday and was walking barefoot without shoes and braces. That was a huge improvement. He also rode his little 3 wheeler up to the coffee table, put his hand on the coffee table and got off of his toy and stood there. Chris & I were very impressed. His speech is also coming along very well. He is beginning to string 2 words together a lot now.
The bad thing about us being on the go all of the time and being around other children is both of the boys are sick right now. Carson woke up early Saturday morning and his right eye was swollen and matted up. He had pink eye. Sunday morning it was in both eyes. Today they look much better but we have to continue eyedrops all week 4 times a day. That's a lot of fun!! Saturday night Cameron had a fever. He has continued to have fever off and on. He has been dragging around like he is miserable. He has no other symptons. He is extremely whiney. So we have had a fun weekend!! I'm sure they will switch and Cameron will have pink eye and Carson will have the fever.
Please pray for our boys that they will feel better soon. Pray for Chris & I to have patience until everyone gets better. Please remember all of our St. Jude friends also.

Saturday, October 8, 2005 12:50 AM CDT

I'm sorry for the long delay getting an update done. After being gone for 2 weeks I had a lot to do at home. Well, Carson is still not eating. He went a few days after we got home where he wouldn't take anything by a spoon, not even his pudding or yogurt. We now have got him back to eating that again. Also, the last 2 days, he has been putting cheerios and cheetos in his mouth and trying to eat them but he will not swallow them. He wants to eat everything Cameron eats but he just can't swallow for some reason. I think maybe if we had another week or 2 in W. Monroe we might have gotten him there. He really took to all of his therapist and did great for them. The therapist at Melanie Massey's are awesome and we really appreciate all they did for us while we were there.
We did get our insurance situation straightened out. We took out a Cobra policy on Carson. It is good for 18 months and Carson will have unlimited OT & PT. It is going to cost us a fortune but we do what we have to to get Carson's therapy. He is continuing to get stronger walking behind his push toy. Last Christmas he learned to sit up so maybe this Christmas he will start walking. These are the best gifts any Mom and Dad could ever get.
Please continue to pray for Carson. Pray that he continues to progress in his eating and walking. We do not want to have to go to an eating clinic because it is hard on Cameron when I have to be gone a lot with Carson. He doesn't understand why I go places with Carson all of the time and not with him. Also please keep Jake Raborn (www.caringbirdge.org/la/jakeowen) and his family in your prayers. He is going through more chemo. Take a minute to drop his Mom and Dad a note on his website.

Saturday, September 24, 2005 9:02 PM CDT

We have finished our 1st of two weeks of intense PT, OT, and speech therapy. We are really in need of everyone's prayers. It was a very long and tiring week. First of all it is hard on the boys being away from home and out of their routine. They were going to bed late and not sleeping well at night. They were taking very short naps or no naps at all some days. He has taken to all of the new therapists really well. He has tasted a lot of new foods but not eaten any. He also is drinking apple juice from a straw some. This is huge because he never would drink anything but pediasure from a bottle. This next week is very important because we are going to have a huge cut in therapy by our insurance beginning in October. Carson gets about 155 PT visits a year and 52 OT visits a year and they only are going to allow for 20 each a year. It is very important he gets all of his therapies to learn to walk and to eat. I am not giving up. I'm going to do all I can to trying to convince them to change their mind. If they don't we have no idea what we will do. Please pray that Carson can endure another long week of hard therapy. Also pray that we will find a way to get all of the therapy Carson will need over the next few years.
Also please don't forget to eat at Chili's on Monday, Sept. 26. 100% of the profits from the day goes to St. Jude. If it wasn't for St. Jude we may not have Carson today.
Thanks to everyone that has sent encouraging words to us the past week and for all of your prayers. It means so much to us and it is a big help to get us through this.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 4:59 PM CDT

We have started a new venture with Carson and we need everyone to pray for him and our family. For the next 2 weeks we are going to do very intense therapy with Carson. We are using some of the therapists he already knows and some new ones. This is being done in W. Monroe which is about 1 1/2 hours from home. We will be spending most of the time at Chris' brothers house in W. Monroe so we don't have to drive so much. This is going to be very tiring for Carson as it is without dragging him up and down the interstate everyday. He will have speech, OT & PT 5 times a week. The main goal is to get him to eat more than yogurt and pudding and to get rid of the bottle. If this doesn't work, we will probably have to go to Dallas for 4-6 weeks to a feedling clinic. He has already done great for all of his therapists in the 1st 2 days. He worked with Brandon for PT today. This is his first time with a male therapist and he loved it. We are already very tired after 2 days so please say lots of prayers for Carson that he can endure this and for our family as we spend a very short time away from home.
Also I want to remind everyone to eat at Chili's Restaurant next Monday, September 26th. 100% of the profits from the day will go to St. Jude. Please tell all of your friends to go eat and support a wonderful hospital.
I will update again as soon as I can to let everyone know how Carson is progressing. Please say lots of prayers for us right now and and tell everyone you know to pray for us. Also Carson took 10 steps with his push toy without assistance last week. This is the farthest he has walked.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 4:59 PM CDT

Wednesday, September 14, 2005 9:26 PM CDT

I'm sorry for the long delay in updating. Our schedule is so hectic right now and it's about to get worse. We all started preschool (Mom's Day Out) last week. I'm teaching 3 year olds 3 days a week and the boys are in the 2 year old class. It's 5 hours a day and I think it's going to be great for Carson. Cameron goes to class without a problem and Carson is beginning to do better leaving Mom. I have to be careful that they don't see me during the day because they don't understand why I can't get them. I'm hoping Carson will learn from the other kids like he learns from Cameron. To add to our crazy schedule with speech, OT, PT & school, we are going to add some PT visits this month. We are changing insurance again in October and we may be limited to our therapy visits. So we are going to try to do PT 5 days a week the month of September while we have no limit on insurance. We are all bound and determined to get Carson walking as soon as possible. We are still considering a feeding clinic. We are looking at 3 in Texas as a possibility. One is at Baylor, one is at Texas Children's in Houston and one is in Irving, TX. There again we don't know what our insurance is going to allow us to do so we have to wait until October before we can make a decision. Chris & I are ready to go and get this baby to eating before the holidays. We aren't ready to be apart again but we want what's best for Carson.
Please keep Carson and all of his St. Jude friends, especially Jake Raborn (la/jakeowen) and Tyler James (la/tylersmom) in your prayers. I will try to do better updating from now on.

Friday, September 2, 2005 7:48 AM CDT

I am sorry we haven't updated before now. The MRI was clear! They were unable to do his spinal tap. When they looked at his scans there was not enough CSF to do one. They think this will always be a problem because the area the fluid flows through is so narrow due to damage from all of his surgeries. They are still seeing the cyst on the pineal gland but it was stable. There are still a couple of spots they are seeing in the tumor bed that remain stable also. They still think this is from radiation. His therapist and doctors were all very impressed with the progress he has made. He showed out for everyone. He did such a great job that he was asked to do a photo shoot for rehab services. He had pictures made for 1 1/2 hours after a long day at the hospital and he did awesome. This will be on Stjude.org showing what they do in rehab services (OT, PT, audiology & speech). We will let everyone know as soon as they are on St. Jude's website. They are still concerned that he is not eating. We are talking with his speech therapist & nutritionist at St. Jude about a feeding clinic. The one they gave us information on is in Pittsburgh, PA. We would have to leave home again for a little while if we decide to do this. We are in the middle of changing health insurance so we will have to wait until we get on our new plan to see if they will cover this. It is very frustrating that we can't get him to eat. It is time to do something different. I'm just excited that there is something out there for us that could help.
We had a great trip to St. Jude. It is always fun to go back and see everyone. We miss our St. Jude friends and the comfort of being at St. Jude. We are all like one big family. But on the other hand, it is always so stressful to go back. As I walked to the hospital Wednesday morning I thought our lives could be changed today depending on the results of the MRI. It's like Easton's mom, Julie, said "Today could be the best day or the worst day". One thing about being at St. Jude is Carson is no different than everyone else there. No one looks at him differently because he has hearing aids or glasses or leg braces. He is just like everyone else.
For those of you we have received emails from wondering if we are okay at home in Louisiana we are fine. We are north of all of the destruction. We were in Memphis when it hit and we had high winds and rain there. We didn't get a drop of rain at home.
Please keep Tyler James (www.caringbridge.org/la/tylersmom) and Jake Raborn (www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen) in your prayers. Jake is at St. Jude and had a PET scan yesterday. Please visit his site for information. Tyler & Erica need our prayers and support. Tyler has been in the hospital for 4 weeks. Wednesday before we left he had a fever and they don't know why. He is very sick and it is very hard on Erica. She is there along with Tyler so she is at the hospital all day everyday with him. Take a minute to visit his site and leave them a note. If you can send a care package to them at the Target House address on his website. Things that would help are: pants for Tyler sz 3T, deodorant & other toiletries, microwaveable food (ex. mac & cheese & other things she can prepare at the hospital). She is such a sweet girl and doesn't ask for anything or complain. Thanks to anyone who can help this sweet little boy and his mommy out.
Thanks to everyone that has signed our guestbook and emailed us over the last couple of days. It is so wonderful to know that so many people are continuing to pray for Carson and our family. Please continue to keep Carson in your prayers. We are so excited that we have another 3 months of fun ahead of us with our boys.

Friday, August 26, 2005 8:15 PM CDT

We want to remind everybody that Sunday is the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway. It will be televised on KTBS 3 and will have many stories of our local St. Jude families. Tomorrow is the last day to tour the house. If you have a chance to go by, there is a picture of Carson hanging in one of the rooms.
We have had a great week. Last weekend was my birthday so Nana and Grandpa came down. The boys get so excited to see them and they are so sad when they leave. The boys and I went up Wednesday and spent the night with Nana and Grandpa. We had a great time just hanging out and playing.
Carson has done great the last 2 days in PT. He is getting so much closer to walking independently behind a push toy. He still has a little ways to go. But he is beginning to take a few steps at a time without us holding him or the toy. When he figures out that he can get more places doing this he will take off. We have tried to start theraepeutic listening, but he will not wear the headphones. Cameron will wear them and then he puts them on Carson. Carson doesn't fight Cameron like he does us. He will wear them for a minute when Cameron puts them on him. We are just going to keep trying.
Well next week is a big week. Nana, the boys and I are leaving Monday for Memphis. Carson has appointments with all of his therapists, the eye Doctor and audiologist on Tuesday. Wednesday he will have his MRI & spinal tap. We meet with Dr. Fouladi (neuro oncologist) at 1:30 to get the preliminary results. Chris & I are so nervous. I don't think MRI's will ever be easy.
Please pray for safe travels and clear scans. We still need prayers for Carson to begin eating, to learn to walk so he can keep up with his brother, and for his speech so he can express to us his needs. Thanks to everyone who continues to follow Carson's story and for everyone who continues to keep us in your prayers.

Thursday, August 18, 2005 9:26 PM CDT

**New pictures added 8/19/05***

We are home from a wonderful vacation. We left Friday evening for Gulf Shores, AL and we got home late last night. This was the boys first real vacation. They had a great time. They didn't really care for the sand. They would do okay and then they would realize it was on their feet and between their toes and we would have to try to get it off. We took a Dolphin cruise and saw several dolphins up close. Cameron thought that was cool of course to him all fish are named Nemo. They both like playing Putt Putt golf with Daddy & Uncle Gary. It was a lot of fun and we are all worn out. The boys took a long nap today trying to make up for late nights and short naps over the past few days.
Now that we are home we are trying to get prepared to head back to Memphis in 1 1/2 weeks. We leave on Monday August 29th for Carson's 3mth check up. He will have his MRI & spinal tap on Wed. August 31. Chris & I are very nervous about this MRI as we always are. It was awesome to get away but now we are back and reality has set in. We just pray that everything is still stable and we can continue to have lots of fun with our boys.
Please continue to pray for Carson. He still has a long way to go to physically catch up with Cameron. Also he is still not eating food which is a huge concern. Please remember Carson and all of our St. Jude friends.

Monday, August 8, 2005 8:29 PM CDT

I would like to thank everybody who participated and donated money for the St. Jude Miracle Mile Walk this past Saturday. It was a success. There were about 50 walkers and the total raised is a little over $4000. I raised a little over $1100 and I jogged all 4 miles. This was pretty good for the 1st time. Hopefully next year it will be twice as big.
Please do not forget to release balloons on Tuesday, August 9 at 5:00pm CST in memory of Hanna (www.caringbridge.org/la/hanna). You can visit her website for more details.
Today we had a transition meeting with Early Steps and the Bossier Parish School Board to discuss where Carson will receive therapy when he turns 3 in February. It takes a lot of time so we have to start 6 months prior to his 3rd birthday. He will have an evaluation and we will do an IEP through the school system in a couple of months and then Chris & I will decide where he will receive his services. He can receive the services through the school system in our home or go to public preschool 3 days a week. We also may just decide to use our insurance and have private therapy. It is a lot for us to think about and we want to make the best decision for Carson. Just like all parents, we want the best for our children so every decision we make is extremely important.
Hopefully we are leaving Friday going to the beach for our very 1st family vacation. We are meeting Chris' brother and his wife there. We can't wait!! We had to postpone this trip once due to the hurricane so we are hoping nothing gets in our way this time. Both boys have had upset stomachs so we hope they get over that by the end of the week.
Thanks again for all of the donations to St. Jude and to everyone who worked so hard to make the walk a success. Also please keep Chris & I in your prayers as we make these decisions about Carson's therapy. I will probably not update again until the end of next week when we get home from our vacation. I'm going to try to get some pictures on here from the walk before we leave.

Wednesday, August 3, 2005 9:27 PM CDT

***HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!!!!!*********
First of all we want to remind everyone that this Satuday morning is the St. Jude Miracle Mile Walk. I will be speaking before the 8:00 am walk and then I hope to jog the 4 miles without passing out. I have raised $550 as of today for St. Jude. Thanks to everyone for sponsoring me and contributing to St. Jude.
Also I wanted to let everyone know that next Tuesday, Aug 9 there will be a memorial service for little Hanna (www.caringbridge.org/ms/hanna) who passed away from a brain tumor 1 year ago. They have asked they everyone let ballons go at 5:00pm CST that day. So if everyone would join with this family and lets send as many balloons up as we can.
We have had a pretty good week. Last weekend Dennise & I took all 3 kids to Nana and Grandpa's. Carlee had fever while we were there and we found out today that she had a virus. We just pray now that the boys don't get sick since they were together Friday - Sunday. Last night we took the boys to get a haircut. This was Carson's very first haircut. They both were great. We did have to do it outside and they let them hold a squirt bottle and squirt Mommy & Daddy with water as they got their haircut. We have had therapy everyday this week. Carson's OT discussed something new with us today to help Carson. It is called therapeutic listening. He will listen to electronically altered CD's through headphones twice a day for 30 minutes a day. My only concern is him keeping the headphones on. I'm willing to do anything at this point. It should help him with his eating problems, speech, transitions and some physical issues. We are going to look into it more and ask more questions.
Please pray that this new technique is something that will really benefit Carson. Pray for all of the volunteers working to make the St. Jude walk a huge succes and pray for me that I get through my speech. Again thanks to everyone that has made a donation to St. Jude to benefit all of the children like Carson.

Thursday, July 28, 2005 3:29 PM CDT

Carson had labs drawn again on Monday. All of his labs lookd great. He did not tolerate being stuck as well this time as he did the first time. He screamed & fought us. This is the only thing I hate about not having his central line.
The boys went to Nana and Grandpa's and spent the night last Thursday evening. This is only the 2nd time Carson has been away from Mommy overnight. They made it okay without me. Carson fought them a little on taking his bottle. He thinks that only Mommy knows how to give him his bottle. Also Carson had a little fall on Mimi's tile and hit his head pretty hard. He was fine. It just scared everyone and he had a pretty big knot on his head. They were glad to see me Friday evening when I went to pick them up.
Carlee, my neice, is staying with us during the day most of this week. The 3 musketeers are having a blast together. It is actually easier with her here because they entertain each other. I just wish someone was potty trained because I'm changing a lot of diapers.
We are still struggling with eating. His OT, Miranda in Ruston, wants to start seeing him at least twice a week instead of once. I am all for it if she can get him eating more. I really feel like she can.
Also please do not forget that Saturday, August 6 is the St. Jude Miracle Walk here in Bossier City. We need everyone to participate. We need walkers, volunteers and donations. If you need information or if you want to sponsor me by making a donation to St. Jude contact me at cgccbraun@earthlink.net. I have early collected $280 and I would like to collect a lot more.

Thursday, July 21, 2005 8:51 PM CDT

Carson continues to amaze us everyday. He is pulling up and crawling on and off of our couch as fast as he can. He is becoming more of a handful because he can now explore so much more and he doesn't want to miss a thing. He also learned to drink from a straw this week. This is huge. Now we have to convince him the straw is better than the bottle. He only takes a couple of sips a few times a day. He also ate a little bit of mashed up banana tonight. It would be great if we could get him to eat healthy fruits and not just pudding and trix yogurt.
Carson did give us a scare this weekend and the beginning of the week. He threw up two mornings. This is the 1st time he has thrown up for no reason since he finished chemo. Our first through was tumor or hydrochephalus. Because throwing up either morning or evening is how all of this began. But yesterday both boys had diarrhea. This is one time I was glad they both had it. Now I know they must have a little stomach bug.
Mom's Day Out is finally going great. Cameron is no longer crying when I drop them off. Carson fusses for a second but he always does when someone takes him from Mommy. Neither one of them cried at all Sunday in the church nursery when we left them. I am substituting at their Mom's Day Out this week and next week on Tues & Thurs. so I get to peek in at them to make sure they are okay throughout the day. I do not want them to see me because I don't think they would understand why I'm not getting them.
Please continue to pray for Cole Walker's family. Also I'm speaking at and walking in a Miracle Walk for St Jude on Aug. 6. If anyone is interested in sponsoring me by making a donation to St. Jude or if anyone wants to participate contact me by email at cgccbraun@earthlink.net.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 6:28 PM CDT

July 14,2005 **Please pray for Cole Walker's family. Cole passed away last night at St. Jude. He has fought a long hard battle and is now finally at peace. His funeral will be Saturday at 2:00 in Grenada, MS. Please take a minute to sign Cole's guestbook to let his family know you are thinking of them. (www.caringbridge.org/ms/colewalker

Things are continuing to go well. Even though our vacation to the beach was cancelled because of the hurricane, we still had a great mini vacation. We left Friday evening going to Hot Springs and we returned Sunday. Carlee, Cameron & Carson had a blast being together all weekend. They got in bed after 11:00 both nights so they were worn out. We rode the Duck Saturday morning and then we went to Magic Springs. After naps we went swimming and lounged by the pool. It wasn't the beach but it was a very nice getaway. We are hoping to reschedule our beach trip for August.
Carson seems to really be progressing all of the sudden. He has pulled up to stand 4 times in one week. It's just a matter of time before he takes off walking. He seems to be trying to talk more and say a lot more words. We have been having trouble with his hearing aids for the last couple of weeks. We finally found someone locally to check them. He has grown so much over the last 4 months that he needs new ear molds. Once we get his hearing aids going again he may really start talking. He never stops. He goes and goes when all of the rest of us are worn out. We like to call hips naps Carson power naps. They don't last very long. I guess he's trying to make up for all of the time he lost while he was sick.
Please continue to keep Carson and all of our St. Jude friends in your prayers especially Cole Walker and his family. Cole has been in the hospital for a couple of months now and is very sick.

Thursday, July 7, 2005 8:10 PM CDT

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Ours was great. Dennise, Carlee, the boys & I went to Nana and Grandpa's at noon Friday and stayed until Saturday. We had a wonderful time playing and swimming with Nana and Grandpa. Sunday afternoon we had a pool party at Grandma Braun's and we had a blast. I was water logged by the end of the weekend but Carlee and the boys could swim all day everyday if we would let them. On the 4th we just hung out at home and rested from our busy weekend.
We finally got Carson's lab results from last week back and they look great. He can quit taking the last medicine he is on. He is beginning to eat more but all I can get him to eat is pudding. Oh well that's better than nothing. He also pulled all the way up for the 1st time Tuesday. He has been pulling up to his knees and not able to get up on his feet. He wants to stand all of the time and his cruising is getting better everyday. He just needs more strength.
I also want to brag on Cameron a little. I feel like he gets put on the back burner all of the time. He is beginning to do better at Mom's Day Out and in the nursery at church. He is growing up so fast. He has been counting to 10 for months now. He counts everything (especially M&M's). He is also saying his alphabet. This week he recognized a number when he saw it and that really excited me. I'm so proud of him.
Well we were supposed to leave tomorrow on our 1st family vacation to Gulf Shores, AL. But as everyone knows there is a hurricane heading that way so we have cancelled our reservations. We are very disappointed. We are going to take the boys to Hot Springs for the weekend and go to Magic Springs. We are hoping to reschedule our trip to the beach in August.
Please continue to pray for Cole Walker and his family.(www.caringbridge.org/ms/colewalker) They are having a really hard time right now and are in need of lots of prayers.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 9:20 PM CDT

We have not had a lot going on this week. The boys have not had Mom's Day Out this week because Bible School is going on at the church where they go. I'm afraid next week is going to be horrible because of a week off. Carson is continuing to progress a little in therapy. We are so exciated about Miranda his new OT at Melanie Massey's Clinic. She is doing a great job working on Carson's eating. We still have a long way to go, but she's just begun with him and I can already see progress. Carson had labs drawn by home health yesterday. This was the first time since he had his central line pulled. He had to be stuck. Just like everything else, he was a big boy and did just fine. We are waiting for the results. If they are good he can stop taking the last medication that he is on. It will be very weird to go a day without him having to take some type of medication.
We are looking forward to a long 4th of July weekend at home. Last year we spent it in Memphis. This year we are going to have a pool party with our friends and their children. It should be exciting with 7 kids the same age as the boys all in the pool at the same time.
Please continue to keep Cole Walker and his family in your prayers. He has been in the hospital for several weeks now. Please take a minute to visit his website and sign his guestbook. (www.caringbridge.org/ms/colewalker)

Thursday, June 23, 2005 9:30 PM CDT

We have had another wonderful but busy week. Last weekend we went to Carlee's (my neice) 2nd birthday party. We were not there for her 1st birthday because we were in Memphis so we were very excited to be there this year. This week has been filled with therapy appointments and Mom's Day Out. Cameron has done a little b etter this week. They finally figured out to take him outside for a little bit and then he's okay. Carson did great today. He even ate a container of tapioca pudding while he was there. He hasn't done that in a while. But he still will not take a bottle while he is there. His Nana was able to give him a bottle twice this week. That's the 1st time in about 3 weeks that he's taken a bottle from anyone but me. He now has two occupational therapists. One that's working with fine motor skills and the other working on oral sensory issues. Hopefully she will be able to get him to eat real soon.
Today I did a short interview on KRMD for the St Jude Dream Home Giveaway. I didn't feel it went real well but it was hard to do after listening to some of the other stories earlier in the day. They sold more tickets by 2:00 today than they did last year on the 1st day of the radio-thon. They will be doing it all day again tomorrow. Also I have been asked to speak in August before a Miracle Walk benefiting St. Jude. I guess if I keep doing it I'll eventually get better at it. So everyone in this area please do not forget to buy your Dream Home tickets to help St Jude so they can continue to do research and find cures for childhood cancer.

Thursday, June 16, 2005 7:51 PM CDT

We sheltered the boys for 1 1/2 years and were able to keep them fairly well. As soon as we start doing normal things they get sick. Last week they both had pink eye. Thank goodness Cmaeron had it first. Carson's eye was swollen shut last Saturday and if I didn't know what it was I probably would have panicked and thought his tumor was back. Now Cameron has a very runny nose which means Carson's will be in the next few days. In an odd way it is nice to be dealing with those normal everyday problems.
Last Friday our local news station, CH 3, came and interviewed Chris & I. This was to promote the St Jude dream Home being built in our area. We have also been asked to do an interview next Thursday on a local radio station to promote the Dream Home. I'm not a great speaker, but I will do anything for St Jude.
Mom's Day Out is not going so well. Carson is doing great but Cameron is not. I had to pick Cameron up on Tuesday 1 1/2 hours after I dropped him off because he wouldn't quit crying. Today was a little better. I just hope he continues to do better and begins to like it. They need to be with other children and I need a little time to myself.
We have some St Jude friends that need our prayers right now - Cole Walker (ICU @ St. Jude), Tyler James (bone marrow transplant) and Jake Raborn (Pet Scan next week). Please pray for these children and all of the other children battling cancer.

Thursday, June 9, 2005 8:47 PM CDT

**new pictures added 6/05**
***St. Jude patient of the month - www.stjude.org*****

We have had a very busy week. Saturday we took the boys swimming. Carson will not get in the baby blow up pool, but he loved going in his grandmother's swimming pool. This was the 1st time for him to be in the pool. He had a blast. Both the boys were freezing but we couldn't get them out. They are also having a blast taking their baths together every night. What a mess with all of the splashing. It is the little things in life that we couldn't wait for Carson to be able to do. Sunday we attended a family reunion. Everyone was so excited to see how great he looks. Tuesday Cameron started in Mom's Day Out. He cried off and on the whole time, but he did okay. Today I took both boys to Mom's Day Out. This is the first time I've left Carson since before he got sick. This was so hard to do. Cameron was irritable before we left because he knew where we were going. They both cried a minute when I left them. I got a call at 11:30 and Carson wouldn't take a bottle for them. I didn't go get them until 1:00. I just told them not to worry about feeding him. He would eat when he got home. She said for the most part Carson did great and really enjoyed playing with the other kids. They also said Cameron did a little better today. Hopefully each week will get a little better. What a thrill it is for us to finally be living a somewhat normal life with our boys. We just pray everyday that it continues to be this wonderful.

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 9:30 PM CDT

**New Photos added 6/6/05 in view photos****

****Carson is St Jude patient of the month for June. Go to www.Stjude.org to read his story.******

****Urgent prayer needed for two St. Jude patients and their families. Cole Walker (www.caringbridge.org/ms/colewalker) and Jake Raborn (www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen). Both of these babies are in ICU with infections. Please take a minute to sign their guestbooks to let their families know you are praying for them.

Carson is doing great. We are getting more into a normal routine everyday. Tomorrow he should be cleared to have the line site submerged in water. This means fun bath time with Cameron and lots of fun in the swimming pool this summer. He is doing great wearing his hearing aids. It is a fight every morning and after naps putting them in but after we get them in he's fine. I can't tell a difference yet but I can't expect him to learn to talk as soon as he can hear.
We are still fighting the battle of eating. I am doing everything the therapist tell me to do and the only thing I'm getting from it is a big mess. He throws food all over my dining room. I have to mop every time we get finished with a meal.
Please continue to pray for Carson to continue to progress. Also pray for all of the St Jude families.

Friday, May 27, 2005 10:01 PM CDT

We finally made it home today. We had a great trip to Memphis. This trip was much better than our last. The final report was good. The MRI shows no evidence of tumor. The small place in the tumor bed that they saw last time is still there but has not changed in 6 months. They do not believe it is tumor but they will closely monitor it. Also, as of right now he will not need eye surgery. They thought his eyes were more in line this time. He got his hearing aids yesterday afternoon. They bother him when I first put them in, but he is doing a great job wearing them. I can't tell the difference yet with them, because Carson has always been able to hear. He just can't hear high pitch tones. So hopefully over the next month he will start talking more. He also had his central line pulled yesterday. This is the line that was surgically implanted in Feb '04 so he could get his chemo. They pulled it right out of his chest in a second. I am so excited it is gone. No more dressing changes and line flushings. I don't know what to do in the morning because that was a part of my daily routine. Next weekend he will be able to play in the bath tub with Cameron and go in the swimming pool.
We are always reminded when we return to St. Jude of how horrible cancer is. We have some friends that need a lot of prayers right now. Cole Walker (www.caringbridge.org/ms/colewalker), a brain tumor patient, is very sick and in ICU right now. Please pray for his immune system to come up so he can fight all of the infections he has. Also prayer for Tyler James and his Mom Erica. (www.caringbridge.org/la/tylersmom) Tyler goes in and starts full body radiation for 4 days on June 6th and then he will receive a bone marrow transplant. Please pray that this does the job and beats the cancer.
Please keep these children and Carson in your prayers. It is so hard on the families to watch your child go through so much. Thanks to everyone that has signed our page over the last few days and for everyones prayers. Carson is proof that prayer truely work.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 6:48 PM CDT

Carson had his MRI and spinal tap this morning. Preliminary results on the MRI are stable. This is the word that you want to hear after an MRI at St. Jude. Ginger will meet with Dr. Fouladi in the morning to discuss it more in depth. They were able to get spinal fluid today during the tap. The last time they were unable to. We do not have any results on this yet but usually if the MRI is clear the spinal fluid is also. We have learned to try not to get to high or to low so we are waiting until the final report before we jump for joy. We are, however, ready to do our best Michael Jordan imitation. Carson is getting his central line out at 11:00 in the morning. This means that he can now take normal baths with his brother which he absolutely loves. He can also go swimming at Grandmas rather than sitting on the side kicking his feet. It will be such a relief to finally get that line out. The PGA FedEx St. Jude classic is being played in Memphis this week. Several golfers have been at St. Jude this week. Cameron got to play miniature golf with Loren Roberts yesterday and have his picture made. These guys are huge supporters of St. Jude. Not only do they raise money but they also donate alot of time to the kids. We will update tommorrow with more definative results. Please continue to keep Carson and all of the St. Jude kids in your prayers.

Sunday, May 22, 2005 9:08 PM CDT

We have had a wonderful weekend. We spent part of it at Nana and Grandpa's and the rest of it packing for Memphis. THe boys, Nana, and I are leaving after lunch tomorrow for St. Jude. Carson has appointments on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. His MRI and spinal tap is on Wednesday. We hope to have preliminary results that evening. If things look good he will get his line pulled on Thursday. This line was surgically implanted February '04 so he could receive his chemo and they could draw labs. Then we will get his hearing aids. We will be home late Thursday evening.
Please pray for save travels and clean scans. Also keep Chris and I in your prayers. We are extremely nervous about this trip.
Chris will update the site as soon as we have some news.

Thursday, May 19, 2005 11:46 AM CDT

We don't have a lot to report this week.
We are just enjoying being a normal family.
We got together with friends and their kids last weekend and had a crawfish boil.
There were seven little boys playing together.
Then Tuesday the boys had a playdate with four other little boys.
They are having a blast getting to play with other kids.
They have been sheltered from other kids almost their whole life because of risk of infection.
Cameron has had to be protected because if he gets sick, Carson could get sick.
They are going to start in a Mom's Day Out program in June.
Cameron is going twice a week and Carson is going once a week.
I am nervous about leaving them, but excited that I will have a few hours once a week to myself.

We will being leaving Monday going back to St Jude.
This will Carson's first MRI since he finished chemo.
Chris and I are extremely nervous about it.
We are trying not to worry, but it is hard not to.

Please pray for one of our St Jude friends, Easton Wargo.
He is having his MRI today at St Jude.
He had been off of chemo for three months and is doing great.
Pray for great MRI results for this sweet little boy.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 9:29 PM CDT

We have no big news to report this week. Each day Carson is getting a little more confident with his crawling. He still prefers to scoot on his behind but I think soon he will see that crawling is an easier and faster way to get around. We still have not succeeded using a sippy cup but he does hold it and puts it in his mouth. He also is still not eating great so we need a lot of work in these areas.
I did have a wonderful Mother's Day Sunday. We went to Nana and Grandpa's for the weekend. We had a wonderful time. Carson showed out for our whole family. Everyone was so excited to see him crawl. There were a lot of tears of joy falling.
Mother's Day is so special because it is such an honor to be a mother. I never knew when we decided to have children that it would be like this, but I believe it has made me a better Mom. I hold my boys close everyday because you never know when things can suddenly change.
I want to wish all of the Mother's a late Happy Mother's Day especially to the Mom's of St. Jude patients.

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 9:43 PM CDT

We have some exciting news to report today!! This morning Carson crawled all by himself. He didn't do it again all day until his Daddy came home. He then crawled several times for good distances. We were so excited we just cried. This is the best Mother's Day gift I could have gotten. He is also really trying hard to pull up to stand. He is real close to doing it. He is amazing how fast he is beginning to develop. I'm sure that a lot of it is he is beginning to get his strength back since he's been off of chemo for a month. But we also have wonderful therapist working with him and they are making a huge difference. He is beginning to try to say more words and I'm sure that will improve once he gets his hearing aids at the end of this month.
We are still battling eating foods and drinking from a sippy cup. He is beginning to put different sippy cups to his mouth that he wouldn't try a couple of weeks ago. He is eating a little better but we still have a long way to go before he can stop drinking pediasure.
Please pray that he continues to develop quickly and that he will start eating better.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 8:53 PM CDT

I'm sorry that our updates are few and far between, but no news is good news. We don't want any excitement so we like not having anything to report. One negative thing is Carson threw up today after several weeks of not being sick. He had eaten non stop for about 3 hours, so I'm hoping that was the problem.
This past weekend was wonderful. We went to the Kerr School Carnival. This is the school I taught at before Carson got sick. We enjoyed seeing everyone. There is a picture of us at the carnival on our site in the photo album. Later that day Nana, Grandpa, Nesie and Carlee came over. The kids played outside all afternoon until Cameron feel face first on the concrete. He had a knot on his head, a bloody nose and a fat lip from the fall.
Carson is still doing very well sleeping in his own bed. His bed is still in our room. I'm not sure when I'll be ready to move him into his own room. He is still doing great in therapy. He is getting closer everyday to crawling and now he is trying to pull up and stand by himself. We are still trying to get him to eat more food and drink from a cup. We are ready to throw the bottle out. He is doing better with eating but still not great.
Please continue to pray for Carson. Pray that we can get him off of the bottle and he can gain enough strength to crawl and pull up on his own.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 9:17 PM CDT

I think we have finally succeeded with getting Carson to sleep in his own bed. The last two nights I have gotten him down without him screaming. He is still not always happy when he wakes up in the morning but I am sure that will get better too. He has also been off of his nausea medicine for a week now and he has not been sick. Hopefully we are finished with all of that. In a couple of weeks we are going to be down to one medicine twice a day. We are so used to 4 or 5 meds everyday we want know what to do. I'm sure Carson will be happy. He has had medicine poked in him since he was born. We also found out today that his hearing aids came in at St. Jude. We decided not to drive up to get them in the next week of two. We are going to wait and get them when he is scheduled to go back at the end of May for his MRI. We are scheduled for the week of May 24th for testing.
Thanks to everyone who continues to follow Carson's story and continues praying for him. Even though we are finished with treatments we are still battling with cancer's side effects. So please keep up all of the prayers. Also please keep Erica James and her son Tyler in your prayers. They are having a tough time right now.
His website is (www.caringbridge.org/la/tylersmom). Please send her a word of encouragment. It would really mean a lot to her.

Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:30 PM CDT

It has been a hard week for our St. Jude family. Two precious St. Jude patients earned their angel wings this week. Last Saturday Noah (www.caringbridge.org/nm/noah) passed away. He has been battling a brain tumor for the past several months. Also, Ali, a 13 year old girl who had neuroblastoma, passed away Tuesday evening. She has been battling cancer since she was 5 years old. She was cancer free but died of other complications. It is always so hard for us to hear of families losing a child to cancer. It always makes us think of our own child. I have been very angry about all of the horrible side effects of chemo Carson is suffering from. But I am very thankful to still have him here with us.
Sometimes it is hard to be back in the normal world and away from our St. Jude family where we are all the same. I am reminded everyday of how different our life is now because of cancer. Carson has a long way to go to catch up with his brother but that is what keeps him motivated. He tries to do everything Cameron does.
Also we are still working on the sleeping situation. It will be 9 nights tonight that he has slept by himself. he still is not happy about it. He goes to bed mad and wakes up mad. Everybody says but I bet you are sleeping a lot better without him in bed with you. Honestly I am not. I still worry about him and I miss him being beside me.
Please pray for the two families that have lost their chidlren and all of the families of children with cancer.

Monday, April 11, 2005 8:35 PM CDT

We had a wonderful weekend. Friday afternoon we went to Nana and Grandpa's for the weekend. Daddy, Aunt Nesie, Uncle Johnny, & Carlee went with us. It is like a 3 ring circus when Cameron, Carson and Carlee get together. Saturday morning they had the St. Jude bike-a-thon in Stamps, AR where my parents live. They had a good attendance and raised about $2000. We had a great time and were very proud of the kids who raised the money. Sunday morning before church we went to the fairgrounds to see the elephants, camels and ponies that were there for a circus. The boys thought it was pretty cool. They were worn out from their busy weekend.
Carson is still sleeping in his own bed, but he is still not happy about it. He cries for about 10 minutes every night before he falls asleep and when he wakes up in the morning he is not happy. I know with a little time it will get easier for him.
Carson is a real handful now that he's off of chemo. He scoots all over the house. You just never know where you'll find him. I've always heard that twins personalities switch and theirs have. Cameron is so easy to deal with and well behaved and Carson is the one we have to keep our eye on now. This is definitely a nice problem to have.
We want to thank everyone again who participated in the bike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 9:38 PM CDT

We are having a wonderful time trying to be a normal family. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since Carson finished chemo. It is hard to remember what normal is. We met Daddy last Friday for lunch. That is something we really haven't been able to do because of Carson's low immune system. It was beautiful here this weekend so we spent a lot of time outside. Saturday morning we took the boys and Carlee to see Blue's Clue's Live. Carlee and Cameron loved it but Carson was scared. Carson and I stood in the back and watched it. I guess it was just too loud. That was really different from Carson's quiet, sheltered world he's lived in for the last year. Sunday we went to our church for the 1st time in 6 months. Chris & I are really enjoying this time with our boys.
There are a few things that are not so fun that we've been doing. We are still working hard on getting Carson to eat. He is beginning to eat some things with texture like cream of broccoli soup and tapioca pudding. We even got him to eat 3 tiny pieces of doughnut today. We are trying to teach him to drink from a sippy cup. Now he only drinks from a special bottle called a haberman feeder. This transition is not going well at all. We've also decided that it's time to make Carson sleep in his own bed. He is not adjusting well and neither are Chris & I. We can only stand to let him cry for 20-30 minutes and then we give in. We can't stand for him to get that upset over sleep after all he's been through. Last night he was very tired and only fought it for 10 - 15 minutes and then he fell asleep. He slept all by himself all night. When he woke up this morning he was not happy that he was not in Mommy & Daddy's bed. To be honest, his Daddy & Mommy misses snuggling with him in our bed.
As you can see we have a lot going on that we need everyone to pray for. Pray that Carson will begin doing all of these things and that Chris & I have the strength to keep pushing him to do them. Well I am going to go get some sleep since Carson has cried for 20 min's and finally put himself to sleep again tonight in his crib. Now I just hope he makes it all night.
**Also check out a couple of new pictures of Carson in the photo album.**

Thursday, March 31, 2005 9:00 PM CST

We have finally made it home from Memphis. It was not the best trip to St. Jude that we've had. We were reminded that even though Carson is finished with treatment this journey is far from over. We are beginning to see some of the horrible, harmful side effects of chemo and his brain tumor. This is the 1st MRI that he has had in a while that they did not say that there was definitely no tumor present. There was one small spot in the original tumor bed that was bright on the MRI. They are not real concerned and they said that it could be old blood or damage from radiation. There is also a cyst on his pineal gland that had grown a tiny amount but they said it was no big deal. They are going to closely monitor both of these things. We will be returning to St. Jude in 2 months for test instead of 3 months. They said this was for my peace of mind not because they are worried. One thing about St. Jude is they give it to you straight and don't beat around the bush. We also found out that the chemo has caused severe high pitch hearing loss in both ears. We will have to go back to St. Jude in 2 weeks to get his hearing aids. He also may possibly have to have eye muscle surgery to correct his left eye that turns in. This will be discussed further when we return in a couple of months.
Chris & I are going to try hard not to worry the next 2 months while we wait for another MRI, but it's hard not to. It is never going to get easier. It is also so hard to know that because of this horrible disease that our little Carson is going to have to struggle to deal with all of these bad side effects all of his life. But Chris & I are so very thankful to still have him with us and we are so proud of everything that he is doing and how he is progressing.
Please continue to pray for Carson and our family as we deal with all of these issues. Also please pray for patience as we wait for 2 months to see what's going on.

Monday, March 28, 2005 10:05 PM CST

We had a very busy weekend. On Saturday morning week hit the road to Nana and Grandpas in Arkansas. The boys had a big day celebrating their birthday (again). This will be the last time until next year. We all went to church on Easter sunday as a family and afterwards we had a big lunch at Mimi's house. Shortly after lunch it was time for Ginger, Nana, and the boys to head to Memphis for Carson's tests. This morning he had his MRI and spinal tap. They were unable to get any fluid fron his spine during the tap. Late this afternoon Ginger received some preliminary results from his MRI. Things look pretty good at this point except for one area of concern. There is what appears to be a a cyst in Carson's brain that has grown a little since his last MRI. Unfortunately, we do not know alot at this point. Carson's doctor is off until Wednesday so we will have to wait until then to get more definitive results. We will update as soon as we get more information. Please keep Carson and all of the other St. Jude families in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday, March 25, 2005 9:24 PM CST

ALL DONE!!!! That's what Cameron and Carson would say. Carson took his last dose of chemo at 7:05 this past Wednesday morning. We all jumped up and down! We never thought the day would come. We had a big day planned but it didn't work out. The boys' cousins were in town from Pennsylvania and were going to come over to play but they came down with stomach viruses. My mom surprised us and showed up shortly after lunch. She said that she had been there from the beginning of all of this and she wasn't going to miss Carson's last day of chemo. I went and picked up my neice Carlee from her babysitters to come over and play with the boys. The three of them played in the moon bounce in our backyard for hours. They were worn out. Thursday evening we went out to eat with a group of people from Chris' work. It was the first time that we have been able to do something like that in a year. It sure did feel good. I took the boys to see the Easter bunny yesterday. Cameron loved him and didn't want to leave, Carson didn't like him at all. Today we spent the day with thier cousins from Pa. at thier grandparents farm in Minden. We went on a hayride, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and waded in the creek. The boys had a blast. Unfortunately, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Andrea, Christian, Coleman, and Carolyn have to leave tommorow to head home. We will miss them alot. We are going to Nana and Grandpa's in Arkansas tommorow to have one more birthday party. We are trying to break the record for the number of parties for one birthday. On Sunday Carson will get to go to church for Easter. This will be our first trip to church as a family in months. We have to leave right after church to go to Memphis. Carson will undergo tests on Mon., Tues., and Wed. The biggies are on Monday. They are his MRI and his spinal tap. They will have a big no-mo chemo party for him on Wednesday. In the last year we have seen and been to several of these parties. We are so fortunate and grateful that it is finally time for our little man to have his. Please pray for a safe trip to Memphis and for good results on his tests. Also, please pray for continued healing of Carson and that he will remain tumor free. We will update again as soon as we have the results from Carson's MRI.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 8:52 PM CST

I was going to update last night to let everyone know about the party, but I went out to eat with my sister-in-law and didn't have time. It was so nice to eat without interruptions and to have an adult conversation. Well we didn't have the party as planned. It rained off and on all day and most of our friends had cancelled because of sick children. So we decided Sunday morning that we would just get together with all of Chris' family that was in town for the party. I made cupcakes and tried to make Barney purple icing, but to say the least I didn't succeed. Cameron cried when everyone sang Happy Birthday. That doesn't say much for our singing. About 2 hours after we all got together, Carson had a break down. I think he was just too tired, but Chris and I were very worried. We went home and let him rest a while and then he was okay. The boys had a good time and did not know that it was supposed to be any different. So next weekend we are going to Arkansas to my parents and have another little party with all of my family. My aunt made a Barney cake for the party and froze it for us. So we are going to have cake and ice cream. The boys are dragging the birthday out for 2 months. But if anyone deserves a 2 month long birthday party it is Cameron and Carson.
Well tomorrow is the big day!!! His last dose of chemo. Chris is going to set up their moon bounce we got for their birthday party and didn't use. Cameron and Carson's cousins from Pennsylvania and a couple of our friends are coming over to play. We are so excited and scared. I will update soon to let you all know about our big last day of chemo.

Saturday, March 19, 2005 11:25 AM CST

Carson's labs were not great Thursday, but they are good enough to continue with his last 4 doses of chemo. The bad news is his immune system is below 1000. This means it is dangerous for him to be with a crowd of people. Their 7 week late birthday party is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. So we are praying for nice weather. If it rains we will cancel it because we can't have 30 people in our house with Carson. If it's nice we will go ahead and have it outside and not let Carson get passed around. I'm sure his counts are low because he is fighting the same virus that Cameron is fighting. Cameron's immune system is actually lower than Carson's right now. If we cancel the party I don't think we will reschedule. The boys will never know. That means next years party will have to be twice as big.
Also, I received an email a couple of days ago that there is a 16 year old boy from Minden, LA named Casey Beavers that was taken to St. Jude. He complained of chest pains and they took hims to LSU. They found a large tumor around his heart and lungs and also cells in his lymph system. Please keep this family in your prayers as they begin a very scary journey. Every time we hear of a family starting at St. Jude it brings back memories of how scared we were to walk through those doors the first day. But he couldn't be at a better place because St. Jude is a wonderful hospital and they will take great care of him as well as his family.
Please continue to pray for Cameron and Carson. Also pray for the families starting at St. Jude with their precious children.

Monday, March 14, 2005 9:13 PM CST

The boys are both sick. Cameron had a runny nose and a fever on Saturday and Sunday. Everybody was very needy all weekend. This morning Carson's nose was running really bad. This evening he has a low grade fever. I'm sure we will be spending tomorrow at LSU. I should have known we couldn't get through these last few weeks without some small problem. He only has 9 more doses of chemo to go.
Before he got sick he was beginning to eat foods with a little more texture like applesauce. He is beginning to be able to go from a sitting position to a crawling position. He is also trying to climb on things when you have him in a standing position. He learned this from Cameron climbing on my coffee table.
I made the decision last week to stay home one more school year with my boys. Maybe I can see what normal time is with my babies. I love teaching and will probably go back soon, but I needed a little more time at home with Carson before I am comfortable with someone else keeping him.
Please keep Cameron and Carson in your prayers as they fight this bug they've gotten. Also keep me in your prayers as I deal with 2 needy, sick babies.

Thursday, March 10, 2005 8:31 PM CST

We had a big scare today. Home health drew Carson's weekly labs today. I got a call around noon from LSU hospital to tell me that the labs were really bad and they needed to be redrawn to be sure they were correct. Luckily they were incorrect. It appears that the line was not cleared good before labs were drawn. The only thing that matters is that his labs looked great. He doesn't need a blood transfusion and his immune system is way up. We don't have to stop his oral chemo. He only has 13 more doses to go.
We are still fighting a battle trying to get Carson to eat. He is eating about 1 container of very smooth baby food a day. We did get him to take a few bites of mashed potatoes and gravy but he had a hard time swallowing it because it was a little thicker than he is used to. I am trying to get him to take a sippy cup, but he will have no part of it. He likes to hold his brother's cup and pretend he is drinking it, but he won't even pretend when you give him one of his own.
Please continue to pray that his immune system stays up and that he will finally eat solids and get off of the bottle.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 12:26 AM CST

I realized in a meeting this morning that it was one year today that we began our journey at St. Jude. What a long day that was. Chris & I were scared to death. We received so much information that day that our heads were spinning by the end of the day. Carson was so sick and just like a newborn baby. Wow!! What a difference a year makes. He is so full of energy today and as I type he is riding across my living room on his little bike. We are so lucky to be where we are today. So many families that walk through the doors of St. Jude with babies with brain tumors do not get as far in their treatments as Carson has. We went into this knowing he had a 30% chance of cure and we were so excited to get that percentage. Now after all of his treatments and the tumor being removed, he has about a 75% chance of cure.
Carson has 6 doses of oral chemo down and 15 doses to go. He is doing great with it so far. He will have labs checked each Thursday. He started out really low so we pray his immune system comes up some or at least stays steady. If he drops any they will stop chemo early. We want him to get all of his chemo because we want him to be cured.
Last Friday Carson went to BPCC to be a demonstration for a PT asssistant class. He performed very well. Cameron went too and he loved that he was the center of attention of 16 people. The therapist doing the demonstration bragged to the class about how far Carson has come in such a short time.
Thanks to all of you who have continued to keep up with and pray for Carson over the past year. Please keep up the prayers. We just have a couple of weeks to go.

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 9:33 PM CST

Carson had a pretty rough weekend. He had the stomach virus that Chris had last week. He was in a pretty good mood Saturday but he was irritable Sunday. We laughed about how much tougher he is than we are. He didn't let a little stomach bug get him down. It is hard to tell the difference between a stomach virus and side effects from chemo. I'm sure he is over it now, but he is still throwing up a couple of times a day. He has lost a pound over the last few days. That's a lot for him because he is already underweight.
Hopefully we made our last trip to LSU today. He had labs drawn and a check-up to clear him to begin his 3 weeks of oral chemo. His ANC had to be 750 to begin chemo and his was 756. He just barely made it. St. Jude shipped the chemo to us today and I will start giving it to him on Thursday. He will get a dose each morning for 21 days. Then we should be finished with chemo.
Please continue to pray for the Bowen family and all of the other families that have lost their precious children to cancer. Also pray that Carson begins feeling better and he makes it through the last few weeks of oral chemo with flying colors.

Friday, February 25, 2005 9:54 PM CST

Please keep the Bowen family in your prayers. Ben passed away this evening around 5:30. He has fought a long hard battle with a brain tumor and he has finally finished his battle.
I am sorry that I have not had a chance to update this week. Chris has been fighting a stomach virus all week and my 2 year olds have been 2 all week. We have had lots of fits thrown and everyone needs Moms attention at all times. But we have had a great week. Carson got his last dose of vincristine chemo at LSU this week. This chemo is really hard on his muscle tone and it makes him achey. Hopefully these things will be better soon. He will start 3 weeks of oral chemo next Thursday if his immune system is strong enough. He will then be finished with chemo. He has been very nauseated and throwing up almost everyday. He had done so much better, but I guess it is all building up in his body again. He is not letting any of this slow him down. He has now learned to ride forward on his push toy. He wants to be on it all of the time because he can get around. He loves to play chase now because he can get away from us on his toy. We have joked that we are going to buy him a helmet so when he falls of he will not have a head injury.
Please continue to pray for Carson as he completes his last few weeks of chemo and remember the Bowens as well.

Friday, February 18, 2005 2:16 PM CST

I would like to start by sharing with everyone just what a wonderful place St. Jude is. We all know what great things they do to cure children of cancer, but many people do not know what they do for the families. Chris & I went to visitation Wednesday evening for Stanton Haynes. It was so wonderful to see many familiar St. Jude faces. Several Doctors, nurses and other staff members of St. Jude drove over 5 hours to be there for the Haynes family. That is proof of what an awesome place St. Jude is!!
Carson and I had a long day yesterday, but I am not complaining. We left home at 8:30 going to LSU for chemo and we did not get home until 5:30. The orders from St. Jude didn't get there until 1:30. Apparently there was a problem with the fax lines between Shreveport and Memphis. He then needed a blood transfusion. Thank goodness Chris donated blood for him on Tuesday. The blood got there at 11:30. It takes about 3 1/2 hours to transfuse. We hope this will be the last one ever he has to have. Even though it was a long day, I thought of what they Haynes family are going through and my frustration didn't matter anymore.
Carson only has 5 more weeks of chemo left but many years to go before we are out of the woods. He also has many years of therapy because of the damage the tumor, chemo and radiaton has done to his brain. Chris and I are just going to take it one day at a time and thank God for each day we have with our precious boys.

Monday, February 14, 2005 10:00 PM CST

First of all we received bad news earlier today that one of our St. Jude angels received his wings today. Stanton Haynes from Minden, LA passed away early Sunday morning. Please keep Jeff and Tina Haynes in your prayers. Even though we are so close to being finished with treatments, we are constantly reminded of how horrible this disease is. I am so proud of Carson because he is such a fighter, but as we get closer to finishing chemo it scares me. This is when the true test begins. Because of all that we've been through and all that we've seen other families go through, we just want to hold our boys and love them every minute.
It was one year ago, Feb. 15, that Carson was finally correctly diagnosed. After 2 1/2 months of not knowing we finally knew, but it wasn't what we wanted to hear. Chris had been gone less than 24 hours back home for business meetings when Dr. Sanford (neurosurgeon) came in to tell us the news. I then had to tell Chris over the phone. Carson and I went home for a couple of days before his surgery. That was the longest trip home from Memphis I have ever made. Chris went immediately and gave blood for Carson's surgery that day which was one year ago. He will be donating blood in the morning again for Carson because Carson will probably be getting a blood transfusion at the end of this week and we hope this will be his last one. It has definitely been a long and memorable year. We have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that helped us get through this long journey.
Carson received his leg braces today and he will have an eye appointment in the morning. We will be heading back to Louisiana tomorrow afternoon. We will not return to St. Jude until Easter Sunday. This will be the longest that we have ever been away from St. Jude. Please continue to pray for Carson and all of the families that have lost their little loved ones.

Saturday, February 12, 2005 2:46 PM CST

Carson did it!!! He finished his last inpatient chemo this morning at 9:00 am. Sonja, the boys and I made the trip early Thursday morning. The boys slept the whole way here. Carson went inpatient Thursday afternoon and they began his chemo that evening. So far he has not been sick at all. He did have a really bad night last night. He cried off and on all night long. I do not know what was bothering him, but they gave him some benadryl for nausea and he finally settled down. I am so glad that is all over with because Carson is feeling so good all of the time that it is hard to keep him contained in a hospital room. Also, we found out that he finally is on the growth chart for his age. I think this is the first time in his life that he has been on the chart. He showed out for his nurses and doctors when we got here. He said all of his words and all of his cute things he does right on cue. Sonja went home this afternoon and Nana came to stay with us until Tuesday to ride home with us. This should be our last trip to St. Jude until Easter Sunday. He has 5 more weeks of chemo left and we hope that he will be finished forever. It is a very exciting but scary time for us. Please pray that our last few weeks of chemo goes as well as the past year of chemo has gone.

Tuesday, February 8, 2005 9:41 PM CST

***update 2/9/05** Carson's immune system did come up enough to start chemo. Sonja Ray, the boys & I will be leaving early in the morning going to St. Jude. Pray for safe travels and for Richard who is going to be home alone with his 2 kids for a few days.

First of all we want to thank everyone for wishing Cameron and Carson a Happy Birthday. We had a great day. Cameron decided on his 2nd birthday that he no longer needs naps. Thank goodness Carson still needs them. We are supposed to leave early Thursday morning going to St. Jude for his last inpatient chemo. As of yesterday, his immune system was to low for him to begin the chemo. They will draw labs again tomorrow morning to see if they have come up enough to begin. We pray they have because we are ready to get this over with.
As Chris and I sat in our living room last night, we heard Cameron and Carson giggling together in their room. We counted our blessings because there was a time that we were unsure if we would have moments like that with the two of them together. We are constantly reminded of how quickly things can change. Please pray for a couple of families who have children fighting for their lives - Ben Bowen's family (www.bens-story.com) and Stanton Haynes' family (www.caringbridge.org/la/stanton). We know that any of us St. Jude families can be in the situation these families are in so we cherish every single giggle that we can get.

Thursday, February 3, 2005 11:29 AM CST

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMERON & CARSON!!!!!
It is hard to beleive that our boys are 2 years old today. It has definitely been a tough 2 years, but it has been well worth it. Two years ago Chris & I had our babies quickly taken from us right after birth because they were born prematurely. The first time we saw them was so hard. They were hooked to all kinds of monitors and Carson was on a ventilator. Then last year on their first birthday it wasn't any better. Carson went into the PICU and was hooked to all of the same monitors. This year is much better, because of all of the prayers and the wonderful Doctors and nurses at St. Jude. We have so much to celebrate on their 2nd birthday. Carson is truly a miracle. We are not having a birthday party until the middle of March because Carson's immune system is so low. I do not want to run the risk of his chemo being delayed. Also, Chris is not even going to be in town today for their birthday because of work. The boys, Chris & I made cupcakes last night. What a mess!! Carson had it all over his face, clothes and in his hair. Cameron didn't like it on his hands so he didn't get into it much. We had a lot of fun just being together as a family and that is the most important thing right now. Carson and I went to get chemo this morning and Cameron had a play date with Abigail. Our trip to LSU went real smooth today and Cameron had a blast this morning. The boys and I are just going to hang out together and probably watch their new Barney videos. Please pray for me today and tomorrow while I am by myself with my 2 year olds.

Tuesday, February 1, 2005 8:50 PM CST

Carson has not let this round of chemotherapy slow him down. He looks great and is always full of energy. Everyone that has seen him over the last couple of weeks is just amazed at how great he looks. We did have one little bump in the road yesterday. His central line clotted. This is the first time we have ever had a problem with his line and he has had it for almost one year. The home health nurse got just enough blood out of it for labs yesterday morning. We had to go to LSU yesterday afternoon for a chest x-ray and to have it flushed with TPA. This is a stronger flush than the heparin I flush it with on a daily basis to keep it from clotting. This was not a big deal and it worked thank goodness. Hopefully we won't have any more problems with it. We will return to LSU on Thursday to get a dose of vincristine. Then we leave again a week from tomorrow heading back to St. Jude for our last round of inpatient chemo.
Thanks to everyone who has kept up with Carson's progress over this past year and that has continually prayed for his healing. Carson is definitely proof that prayer works.

Friday, January 28, 2005 12:57 AM CST

We made it safely to Nana's yesterday afternoon. The boys were so excited to see Nana and Grandpa Fuller. Carson received a dose of vincristine chemo. yesterday morning before we left. He will get his 3rd dose of vincristine next Thursday, Feb. 3rd on their 2nd birthday. What a birthday present! He was in ICU last year the day after their 1st birthday so we hope it goes a little better this year. If everything stays on track he should finish his chemo the week before Easter. So we are waiting until then to have their birthday party. We don't want to run the risk of Carson getting sick from another child and delaying his chemo. We are so excited that in about 8 weeks he will be finished. But we will still need lots of prayers because he is not in the clear for 5 years. Chris and I will have 5 stressful years of MRI scans and other testing that we will have to deal with. We do feel very fortunate that Carson's treatments have gone so well to this point. We pray that it continues. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and we can almost touch it.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005 12:18 AM CST

Carson continues to do great!! He did get sick one time last night, but that one time is no big deal since he just started another big round of chemo last week. Everybody here can not believe how big he has gotten and how wonderful he looks. He had an eye appointment today and we are only going to have to patch his eye every other day now. This is great because as he gets to feeling better and getting stronger it is getting a little harder to get him to leave the patch alone. They did not have time to recheck his sight so we will get that done when we return in a couple of weeks. Carson is going to be casted for leg braces tomorrow and hopefully we will get them when we return in February. He is wanting to stand up and he can hold on for a few minutes and stand without my help. What a blessing it is going to be when he can get around without my help. We will get one more dose of chemo on Thursday and then Mimi, the boys and I will be on our way home for two weeks. Please pray that we have a safe trip home and that Carson continues to do great with this last round of chemo.

Saturday, January 22, 2005 9:20 PM CST

Carson finished his inpatient chemo this morning. He has done great but he has been a handful. He has been pulling on his lines a lot. The first night he pulled one of the tubes from his line and blood was beginning to come out, but luckily Tina Haynes (Stanton's mom), was sitting there with me and knew what to do. Chris said Carson has finally gotten mad about all that he has gone through. Hopefully, we are almost finished with all of this.
We are going to stay here until Thursday to get his 2nd dose of vincristine chemo. He is going to be fitted for leg braces on Wednesday. We will return in a couple of weeks for another round of inpatient chemo and hopefully to get his braces.
The boys enjoy being here because there is always so much to do. They also take good naps and sleep good at night because we are so busy. Uncle Gary (Chris' brother) & Aunt Susan came to see us today. The boys were so excited to see them. They sure do love their Uncle "Gee".
Thanks to all of you who have prayed for Carson and our family and sent us so much encouragment. We were so excited to get good results again on his MRI. His scans are not perfect due to all of the damage from the tumor and from surgery, but there is no evidence of tumor and that is the most important thing. Please continue to pray for Carson as we go through the last 9 weeks of chemo.

Thursday, January 20, 2005 10:08 AM CST

Good morning,

We are sorry that we have not updated recently but we are in Memphis and yesterday was a very busy day. Carson had his MRI yesterday and everything looked great. There is no sign of tumor! He will be admitted this afternoon to start his last ten week round of chemo.We have to run right now and get back to the hospital for PT. We will update again very soon. Thank you to everybody for your thoughts and prayers.

Monday, January 17, 2005 10:38 AM CST

We will be leaving tomorrow to go back to St. Jude for Carson's 10 week check-up and to begin his last 9 weeks of chemo. The boys and I are going to spend the night at Nana and Grandpa's tonight. Chris will pick us up Tuesday afternoon to take us to Memphis. This is the 1st time he has been able to go with us for testing and chemo since the very first round almost 1 year ago. I am so glad he will be there with me because the rest of the week will be long.
We have enjoyed a nice weekend at home before Carson begins chemo. again. We had friends over Sunday and the boys had a blast with the other kids. They have not had a lot of chances to be with other kids because of Carson's low immune system. Just a couple more months and all that will change. I'll probably have a house full of kids all the time. Luckily the boys have each other to play with and entertain. God knew what he was doing when he gave me 2 at one time. Not only are they good playmates, but Cameron is an awesome therapist for Carson.
Please keep our family in your prayers as we travel to Memphis. Pray for good test results and also that his immune system will be up enough to begin his last round of chemo. Also thanks for all of your words of encouragement this week.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005 12:00 AM CST

We have not updated lately because Cameron had a stomach virus at the end of last week. Of course I ended up getting it on Monday. It's hard on a family whenever Mom is down. Thank goodness for a wonderful Nana who came in and saved the day. She definitely has a knack for doing that. We keep praying that Carson doesn't get it, so far so good.
Carson finished his oral chemo today. We will begin his last 9 weeks of chemo next Thursday. Chris, the boys and I will leave Tuesday afternoon for Memphis. Carson will have an MRI and spinal tap on Wednesday. Thursday he will go inpatient to begin his chemo. We will be in Memphis for 1 1/2 weeks. Even though we are getting close to the end of chemo, our journey is no where near over. He is not considered to be in remission until 5 years out. Brain tumors have a tendency to come back in the 1st 6 months to 1 year. We still need lots of prayers for our little Carson. He is also developmentally delayed due to all he has been through. This is very hard on all of us. We hope and pray that he begins to develop more quickly after he finishes chemo but we do have to face the fact that he will never be up to speed with Cameron. We appreciate all of you who continue to check Carson's site on a daily basis and send us such encouragement. I do not know if this will ever get easier, but with everyone's love and support we have been able to handle everything that has come our way. Please continue to pray for Carson and our family daily.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005 2:39 PM CST

Carson is still doing really well. He has continued to eat a little baby food for the last few days and Chris and I are thrilled about it. Unfortunately we know several families that have received bad news concerning their children's tumor in the last few weeks. With cancer things can change quickly. Chris and I know this first hand because one year ago our lives changed very quickly. We have learned to cherish every moment that we have with our boys and because of this we have become better parents. We will be returning to St. Jude in a couple of weeks for an MRI, spinal tap and to begin his last 9 weeks of chemotherapy. As always, it will be very hard on Chris and I as we wait for all of his test results. It will never get easier because you never know when things can suddenly change. Many St. Jude families have recently received bad news and some have lost their children to the monster that is cancer. Please keep these precious children and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Also, please continue to pray that Carson will keep eating and gaining weight.

Sunday, January 2, 2005 1:07 PM CST

Happy New Year!! We are hoping for a much better year in 2005. We made it through the holidays without a trip to the hospital. That is a huge difference from last year. Carson is in his 2nd week of 3 weeks of oral chemo and he continues to do well with it. He just keep improving and getting stronger everyday. He wants to stand up, but he is just not strong enough or balanced enough to do it. He has started pulling himself out of his chair up to his toybox. He can stand for a minute and even grab toys with one hand. He also ate a container of baby food fruit last night and was begging for bites if I moved to slow. He has not eaten food in a while, he just usually tastes it and that's all he would do. I am so excited, I hope this becomes the norm. I just completed a 2 week brushing protocol and joint compression on him. It is supposed to help with his oral sensory problems. It seems to have worked because he is even letting me brush his teeth more often. Please continue to pray for Carson's continue progress and all of our St. Jude friends.

Monday, December 27, 2004 2:29 PM CST

We hope everyone had a wonderul Christmas. Ours was great!! It started off slow because of a slight change of plans. We were not able to go to Christmas Eve dinner at the Braun's because one of our neices was sick. Carson's immune system is really low right now. It was barely high enough to begin his oral chemo. We opted to stay home and not risk it. We spent too much time last year at Christmas in the hospital with Carson and we did not want a repeat of that this year. Things got hectic Christmas day and Sunday. We spent Christmas day and night at Nana and Grandpa Fuller's. The boys had a blast playing with their cousin Carlee and their new toys. We spent Sunday afternoon at Grandma Braun's. The boys enjoyed romping around with their uncles. To say the least, the boys are worn out tonight.
Carson is doing well with his oral chemo. He has only thrown up once since he started it. His appetite is still good and he is gaining weight. He is also beginning to sit up by himself for longer periods of time.
We've been so blessed this year. We have really watched Carson come a long way and he continues to develop. We have also met a lot of wonderful people through our journey this year who we will always cherish. There are a many valuable lessons we have learned over this journey. One is to cherish and love your children each and every moment and also it is the simple things in life that make us happy. Just being with our boys and my family is what made it such a wonderful Christmas. Thanks again to all of you that have been there for us over this year. We are praying next year brings wonderful things for our little Carson.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004 5:02 PM CST

Carson continues to do great. He got sick a few times the last two days, but other than that he is doing wonderful. Nana came down yesterday and kept the boys while Chris and I went to his company Christmas party. I did not know what to do with all of the adult conversation and without someone begging for my food off of my plate. We had a great time and I think Nana and the boys did too. Carson is not having Physical Therapy this week, because his therapist is sick. There are several of our family members sick also. Unless everyone gets well real soon we will be spending Christmas at home alone. I spent too much time last Christmas in the hospital with Carson and we are trying to avoid that this year. We are really looking forward to Christmas with the boys, but it will be a hard Christmas for Chris and his family. This is his first Christmas without his Dad. He passed away shortly after Christmas last year. Even though we are so excited with how well Carson is doing, there will still be a lot of sadness for the family. Please keep the Braun family in your thoughts and prayers and all of the others who are going through the holidays without a special loved one.

Saturday, December 18, 2004 7:26 PM CST

Hello everybody,

We hope everyone is doing well. Things on this end are going pretty well. Ginger took Carson to LSU on thursday and he received his chemo. Everything went fine. He is up to 21 lbs., watch out NFL, here comes the Car Man. Carson has started with a new speech therapist this week. We really like her. She is actually teaching Carson sign language. He is picking it up pretty fast. We did some Christmas shopping today and the boys were so good. We are really looking forward to Christmas this year. Last year at this time we had a very sick little boy and nobody knew what was wrong with him. We thank God that he was finally properly diagnosed and for the most part, things have gone our way so far. We pray that this will continue. There are several St. Jude families which are not doing as well. Helen Garner, a sweet little angel, has gone to be with Jesus. She had a twin brother named Robert. She would have celebrated her first birthday yesterday. Please pray for Helen and her family. Another family, The Bowens, are also going through an extremely difficult time. They are spending their last weeks with their wonderful little boy Ben. He just turned two in November. As parents, we cannot imagine what these families are going through. Please remember that this is part of everday life for St. Jude families and this is why it is such a great cause. Ginger and I feel so fortunate that we still have our little boy and that his treatments have gone so well. Many St. Jude families will not be able to be home during this holiday season. As always, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday, December 10, 2004 11:13 AM CST

We made it to Nana's last night. The boys slept almost the whole way home. They are always so good for the trip. They were so excited to see Grandpa when we got home. Carson is doing great. They put him on an appetite stimulant while we were there and he is drinking more pediasure and he has not seemed to be as nauseated. He is still not eating solid foods. They are hoping that while he is on this medicine he will want to start trying foods. Carson will go on oral chemo the week of Christmas. His immune system usually stays up during this chemo, so hopefully we will get to be with our families for Christmas. We will not have to go back to St. Jude until January 17th. They will do an MRI and hearing test at that time and he will begin his last 10 weeks of chemo. Please remember our St. Jude friends that have not received very good news lately and continue to keep Carson in your prayers.

Wednesday, December 8, 2004 5:21 PM CST

Carson is doing great during this round of chemo. He has not been as sick as he was when he started back on chemo a couple of weeks ago. He will get a quick push of chemo tomorrow and we hope to be on the road tomorrow afternoon back home. We have really enjoyed being back here at St. Jude. There is so much for the kids to do here in such a safe environment for Carson. When we are home I can't take him out any where and they both get tired of being with just Mom all day every day. We are always excited to go home, but after you have a long stay at St. Jude it is hard to get back into a normal routine at home. The downfall of being here is I had to tell two families today goodbye that will not be returning to St. Jude. The Bowen family and the Garner family have gone home because there is nothing else that St. Jude can do for their precious children's brain tumor. That was a very hard goodbye, but I am glad we were here to see them one more time. Please keep these families in your prayers during this very difficult time and pray for all of the St. Jude families during the holidays, because so many of them will be away from their families.

Monday, December 6, 2004 3:26 PM CST

We've had a good weekend. Carson was dismissed from the hospital Saturday around noon. We forgot to tell you on Friday that Carson and Cameron got to see Santa & Mrs Claus. The David Johnson Chorus came to St. Jude to sing Christmas carols to the patients. The singers were all dressed up as Mr. & Mrs. Santa Clause, several reindeer, a toy soldier, raggedy Ann and several elfs. The boys really enjoyed them.
Saturday night we took the boys to Zoo Lights. As we entered the zoo, we walked through falling snow. Cameron was fasinated! We went by Santa's work shop and had a photo made with Santa. We were not sure Cameron would want to sit on Santa's lap but he was fine. Matter of fact he was so fine he didn't want to leave. I had to beg him to come back to me.
Sunday morning, we received an inviation to Helen & Robert Garner's first birthday party. The boys really enjoyed playing with the other children and Ginger and I enjoyed visting with the other moms. Remember we told you about Helen in our up date on Friday. Hospice is coming today to assess Helen to see if she can travel the six hours home. Helen's mom, Nancy was choosen for a makeover on Good Morning Memphis. We have not seen Nancy today but I'm sure she is looking good. All the moms up here deserve to be pampered.Please keep Helen and her family in your prayers.
Last night the St. Jude kids were invited to The Peabody Hotel to the Jingle Bell Ball. This is an annual event for disabled children. The Grand Ballroom was decorated to the hilt. Mr. & Mrs. Santa were special guess and posed for photos. There was a D.J., dancing, a majician, a puppet show and refreshments consisted of PB & J finger sandwiches and decorated Christmas cookies. The childred were given a gold christmas ornament w/their name on it, a ballon and a gift bag.
Today Carson and Ginger have been at the hospital since 9am for therphy, blood work and she just call to say he needs a blood transfusion. Carson is doing really well. Got to run Cameron and I are headed to the hospital to take Car-car a bottle.

Friday, December 3, 2004 9:21 PM CST

We arrived in Memphis around noon on Thursday. We had a good trip. The boys were perfect as always. Ginger & Carson headed to the hospital to get started on his lab work. Once the lab work was approved, we were told that it would be after 6pm before a room would be available. At 7:30 we still had not heard from the hospital so Ginger & Cameron went over to check out the Snowman Disco Jam. The cafeteria had been transformed into a snowy winter wonderland. Everyone enjoyed dancing and eating pizza. It is so wonderful to see how the staff love all the patients. Ginger called back to the Grizzlies House and insisted that I bring Carson over to have their photos made together. Carson was finally admitted at 9pm & chemo was started at 11:30. So far he is doing very well. He will receive his last dose of chemo for the week tonight and will be discharged on Saturday afternoon. We plan to stay in Memphis until he receives his chemo next Thursday. Ginger said after one day up here she remembers how wonderful St. Jude is, but also is reminded of how horrible cancer is to innocent children. Nancy Garner, a dear friend we met at the Target House, who is also the mother of twins, was told yesterday that her one year old daughter, Helen was not going to win her battle against cancer. Please keep the Garner's in your prayers. Ginger was also told that one of Carson's sedation nurses lost his 20 year battle with cancer. Ginger attended a very emotional memorial service in his honor this afternoon. We all become so close here at St. Jude so when someone loses their life it is like losing a family member.
Thanks for checking on Carson and thanks for all your prayers.
Nana Fuller

Tuesday, November 30, 2004 10:47 AM CST

We have had a change in plans. We will not be leaving for St. Jude today. Carson's immune system is too low for us to begin another round of chemotherapy. We will have his labs checked again Wednesday evening and if his immune system is up we will be leaving Thursday. I am really down about it, because I do not want any delays, but I completely understand why we have to wait. Carson is also real close to needing a blood transfusion again. They think all of his counts should recover on its own. We have never had this happen, but all of the chemo is just building up in his body and it is hard to recover from it at this point in his treatments. Please pray that they call with good lab results on Thursday morning and Nana, the boys & I can head to Memphis. We will keep you updated to let you know when we will be leaving. Also please remember Jake Raborn (www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen). He underwent surgery yesterday to remove the cancer in one of his lungs. He has several more surgeries to come over the next couple of weeks. This family needs lots of prayers right now.

Sunday, November 28, 2004 9:43 AM CST

Good morning,

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a nice quiet one at home with the boys, it was great. We were even able to get all of our Christmas stuff up with little cooperation from the boys. Carson is doing really well right now. He came very close to needing a blood transfusion last week but his counts rebounded just in the nick of time. His counts will be checked by home health in the morning. We pray that they are still O.K. Ginger and Nana will be leaving on Tueasday evening for St. Jude. Carson will be admitted on Wednesday to receive his second heavy dose of chemo during this ten week round. Hopefully, he will get out of the hospital on Friday. Ginger and the boys are going to stay in Memphis for the following week because we are fairly certain that the little man will need a blood transfusion then. Because of the comfort level that Ginger feels at St. Jude, she would rather stay up there during this important time. We will update again later on this week. Please keep not only Carson, but all of the St. Jude families in your thoughts and prayers during this holiday season.

Monday, November 22, 2004 9:21 PM CST

I'm sorry I have not done a very good job updating lately. Things have been a little hard over the last week. We went to LSU for the first time last Thursday for chemo. Things went okay, but it took a lot longer than it should have. I had both boys with me, but luckily Chris was able to meet me there. It should have taken 30 minutes and it took 2 hours. It was the first day in their new clinic and it is going to take them a while to get everything organized and we understand that. We know that each time it will go a little smoother. We had a rough weekend, because Carson is wanting to be held by Mommy constantly. It is hard on me, but I know he feels bad and I am his comfort. My mom reminded me that I still want my Mom when I don't feel well. We also had lots of memories of one year ago when this all started. This was the week that we began trying to find out what was wrong with Carson. Little did we know one year ago where we would be today and what all we would have been through. We have a whole lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Carson's immune system is dangerously low right now and his hemaglobin is really low. I am going tomorrow to get his blood type checked for a possible transfusion tomorrow or Wednesday. Chris, the boys and I will spend Thanksgiving at home because of his immune system being so low, but we are so glad to be home together that we are all okay with that. Carson will get his chemo this week on Wednesday due to Thanksgiving and then we will return to St. Jude next week for another hard dose of chemo. This will be our last trip until the new year. I have very mixed feelings about that. I do not like making the trips, but I am so comfortable with everyone there that I have a hard time being gone for a very long time. Thanks to everyone that has been there for us over this last year and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wednesday, November 17, 2004 4:07 PM CST

We are back in Bossier City!! We got to my Mom's Monday evening and we spent the night there. We arrived home Tuesday afternoon. Carson has been nauseated because of the chemo since Sunday morning. It is so hard to see him this way, because I have watched him do so great over the last 2 months while he was off of chemo. I am having a harder time watching him go through this round of chemo than I have in the past. My mom reminds me to quit dwelling on it because it has to be done and it will be over with before we know it. We still have not gotten results on his spinal tap, but no news is good news. They were not able to get a good reading on his hearing test, because he had a lot of fluid from his upper respiratory infection. They will check him again when he finishes chemo. Tomorrow we will have our first trip to LSU for his chemo and lab check. Carson's immune system is dropping, so we will have to be very careful over the next week. We will be returning to St. Jude on Dec. 1st to start the 2nd round of chemo. After that we will not have to make another trip until after the new year. Hopefully we will all stay well and this chemo will fly by quickly. Thanks to everyone for all of the thoughts and prayers through all of his testing and our trip to St. Jude.

Saturday, November 13, 2004 1:03 PM CST

I'm sorry I have not had time to do another update. It is so hectic when we are here at St Jude and I'm exhausted at the end of the day. Everything went great yesterday. Carson was able to have his spinal tap. Dr. Sanford (neurosurgeon) did not see any problem with doing it. His tests were on time yesterday, which is unheard of usually. He had his hearing test first and then his spinal tap. I do not know results from either one of them, but we should know Monday before we leave. Carson had a lot of fluid on his ears from his recent upper respiratory infection, so the hearing test will not be very accurate. We went in patient as soon as the test were over to begin his last 20 weeks of chemotherapy. They finally got the chemo started around 5:30 pm. He has done great so far from it. He has not been sick and is still eating, playing and laughing. One of the chemo drugs has seemed to make him a little irritable when he is moved. This is just one of the side effects of the drug. Hopefully this will not effect his physical and occupational therapy when we get home. Melanie, his physical therapist from home, is up here with her nephew Jake Raborn(www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen). She came and worked with Carson a little yesterday and he did great. Carson will get the last dose of chemo for the week this evening. If all goes as planned we will get out the hospital sometimes tomorrow. He has a couple of appointments Monday morning and then we will be heading back to Louisiana. We will have to come back to St. Jude for more chemo the week after Thanksgiving. Please pray that Carson continues to do great on this last round of chemotherapy.

Thursday, November 11, 2004 7:53 PM CST

Well it has been a very long day, but the end results were worth the wait. First thing this morning, Carson went in for his eye exam. The doctor was very pleased. Carson's eyes are seeing equal. The doctor said, "Well I see Mom has been working hard on this." Now Carson will only have to wear the patch one hour a day. We can't wait until we hear no patch and then one day maybe no glasses. After the eye exam, we had a little break so back to the Grizzlies House to check in on Cameron and Nana. Around 11:00 we all headed back to St. Jude for lunch. Carson just sat there as we all ate. He never fussed not even for the next two plus hours as he waited for his turn in line for the MRI. We finally arrived back at the Grizzlies House at 4:30pm. We didn't expect to receive the results of his MRI because the test was so late in the day. I got on the laptop to check for messages from well wishers today. About 5:45 I picked up the phone to make a call and realized that the laptop across the room was tieing up the phone line. We quickly removed the laptop plug-in and checked the phone. I left to go out and get dinner and my cell phone rang. Nana gave the doctor my cell phone number. Well I guess I held you all in suspense long enough. The preliminary report showed NO TUMOR!!!! Yes, I know what your thinking, we already knew that but there is always the fear that it might come back. We are so excited about the news. Tomorrow Carson has a spinal tap to check the spinal fluid and a hearing test to see how the chemo and radiation has affected his hearing. He already has severe hearing loss in his right ear, so we hope that there has not been any additional hearing loss. They noticed on the MRI a little problem with the flow of his spinal fluid and there is a possibility that his spinal tap will be cancelled for tomorrow. The neurosurgeon will look at the MRI in the morning and make a decision.
Also, yesterday when I arrived at St. Jude, Chili's Restaurant was presenting a 2.6 million dollar check to the hospital. This was the profit from the Chili Peppers for childhood cancer day in September. Thanks to all of you who helped make that day such a success for St. Jude.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004 8:04 PM CST

First, thanks to everyone for sending so many words of encouragment and all of your thoughts and prayers over the last couple of days. We really need it during this testing time. Nana, the boys & I made it to Memphis last night around 7:00pm. We had a smooth trip. The boys slept almost the whole way. We didn't stop until we got to Forrest City (about 45 miles from Memphis). The last 20 minutes of the trip Carson screamed. We thought he was just tired and hungry, but when we stopped he had red spots on his face and arms. He looked like he had an allergic reaction similar to the one when they gave his medicine wrong at LSU. The spots went away pretty quick after we got to the Grizzlies house. During the night he was unsettled so we turned on the light and he had broken out again. Thank goodness he did this here in Memphis. I called the hospital and they ordered benadryl for him. Today he has broken out a few times during the day. We have no idea what is causing this.
He had several appointments today and everyone we saw was so impressed with how far he has come over the month we have been at home. Also he gained a little weight and has grown a half inch. Tomorrow is the big day. He has his eyes checked at 9:00 am and then his MRI is at 11:30 am. I will feed him at 3:00 am and he will not be able to eat again until after his MRI. The MRI will last a couple of hours. They are hoping to get the results to us tomorrow afternoon, but there is a possibility it will be Friday morning. Please pray for good results and for our patience as we wait to hear from the doctors. We will post an update as soon as know the results.

Monday, November 8, 2004 5:01 PM CST

It's hard to beleive, but it has been a month since we left St. Jude. Nana, the boys & I leave in the morning heading back to have a series of test run and start his last 20 weeks of chemotherapy. I am scared, but also excited to go back. I can't wait to see all of our friends and Carson's caretakers, but we are always a little nervous when he has an MRI. Unfortunately Chris will not be able to go with us, but because St. Jude is such a wonderful place, they will do a conference call so Chris can be a part of everything. Carson has come such a long way in the time that we have been home. I just pray that this last round of chemo does not set him back too much. Carson is scheduled to have his MRI on Thursday, and a hearing test and spinal tap on Friday. Then later Friday he will be admitted and start his chemo. We will be in the hospital for two nights. We have a couple of appointments on Monday and then we will be heading back to Louisiana for a couple of weeks. When we get home, we will not be going out or having visitors because of Carson's low immune system. Please call or email me where I can handle this time being held up at home. Please keep our whole family in your prayers as we travel and wait for Carson's test results. I will update his site as soon as we have results from all of his tests.

Friday, November 5, 2004 10:42 AM CST

Finally we are well in our house. Thank goodness!!! Everybody says it is mine turn next to get sick, but I don't have time to be sick. It has been a long week held up in this house. We finally got out yesterday and I took Carson to therapy for the first time this week. It was his last trip to the therapist in Ruston. We will begin with new therapist in our home when we return from Memphis. The therapist were so excited to see how far Carson had come in just a few weeks. We plan to have a fun weekend together as a family before we have to leave for St. Jude on Tuesday. Thanks for everyone's prayers while my family was sick and for the words of encouragement you sent to us.

Tuesday, November 2, 2004 1:50 PM CST

Well so much for Carson not getting sick. When he woke up from his nap yesterday he had fever. We got to the clinic at LSU 5 minutes after they closed and they sent us on a van across the street to the ER at LSU hospital. I was not happy to ride in a van full of people and without Carson in a carseat. It was just down the street, but that's all it takes to have a wreck especially in the rain. It just went down hill from there. They got us out of the waiting room full of people into a room immediately. Then the nurse did not know how to get labs from a central line. That scared me, but luckily Dr. Jeroudi walked in about that time and I told him the problem. He went and got a nurse that knew what to do. Then they finally got his antiobitics. They were going to give him 2 antibiotics and fluids and let us go home. One of the meds was vancamyacin which has to be given very slow. I know this because I had to give it to Carson for a couple of weeks when he had a staph infection our 2nd week at St. Jude. They told me it would take 1 to 1 1/2 hours to give. After 15 minutes he started rubbing his eyes and ears and his face, ears and head turned bright red. I called for someone to come in there and they turned the antibiotic off. It had already all run in in 15 minutes and it was supposed to take over an hour. Because they messed up and ran it in to fast he had a bad reaction. They quickly gave him benadryl and kept fluids running for another hour to help clean out his system. I was not happy at all but I held it all in. I called Chris and told him what happen. He did not handle it as well as I did. Now I am very scared to stay here to do Carson's chemo. If we can keep him well, he will never have to go back to the hospital. We hopefully will just deal with Dr. Jeroudi and his staff at the oncology clinic. So when we return from Memphis in a couple of weeks, no one will be allowed into our home and the boys and I will not go out. It is going to be a very long 20 weeks, but we can do it. I'll do anything to keep from going to the hospital again. Everyone will have to send me emails and call me where I do not go nuts. The hardest part will be over the holidays when we can't go be with our family. Please pray that the doctors and nurses here can take care of Carson where we can stay home with our family and pray that the boys can stay well over the next few months.

Monday, November 1, 2004 2:07 PM CST

The boys and I have had a great weekend. Chris, on the other hand, has not had such a great weekend. He has been running a high fever since Friday. He finally went to the doctor today and he has an upper respiratory virus. He got what Cameron had last week. I hope Carson does not get it, because we leave for St. Jude one week from tomorrow and he can't be sick.
We finally made our trip to Nana and Grandpa's. We left Saturday morning and came home Sunday afternoon. The boys had a blast as usual. We dressed them up for Halloween and took them to see a few people Saturday night in Stamps. Then Sunday we went to church with Nana and Grandpa. Everyone was glad to see the boys. They have not seen Carson, at the church I grew up in, since last year at Christmas. They could not beleive how good he looked. We celebrated Halloween at home on Sunday night. Aunt Nesie, Uncle Johnny and Carlee came over and went with us trick-or-treating. The boys had a good time, but they were too hot in their bumble bee costumes. They were so cute, so as soon as I get pictures we will post them on the website. Cameron got a bigger kick out of the kids coming to our door trick-or-treating when we got home than he did trick-or-treating. Well I better get back to cleaning while all 3 of my boys are asleep.
Please pray for Chris and pray that Carson and I do not get the virus.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:26 PM CDT

We are having a wonderful week. Cameron is feeling much better. Carson worked very hard for over 2 hours in all of his therapies yesterday. Then last night we went to the pumpkin shine at Stockwell Elementary School. The boys really enjoyed it and it was nice to see lots of people that I have not seen in months. We stopped by the fire station in our neighborhood on the way home and one of Chris' friends let the boys sit in a fire truck and turned the lights on for them. They thought it was really cool. Today Nana and I took the boys to have their Christmas pictures made. It is kind of warm to get in the Christmas spirit, but I wanted to get it done before he starts chemo and we can't get out of the house any more. This afternoon I picked up Carlee and we took all 3 of them to the pumpkin patch. That was a nightmare. No one wanted to cooperate for pictures. After we got home, I tried to take pictures of all 3 of them for Christmas cards and that was bad also. I just tried to see how much I could torture myself today. Well it is kind of nice to feel like some what of a normal family for a few weeks. Tomorrow I'm going to rest up from all of the fun we had today.

Sunday, October 24, 2004 9:01 PM CDT

Our weekend did not go as planned. Instead of a fun filled weekend at Nana and Grandpa's I spent a couple of hours in the ER with Cameron on Saturday. Right before I put the boys in the car to leave I noticed Cameron was burning up and his cheeks were real red. He had a temperature of 103. Because of Carson's immune system being so low, the doctors advised us to take Cameron in and have blood work done. It appears he has a virus and it will just have to run its course. We are trying to wash our hands a lot and keep the boys separated as much as possible, but it is not easy. We just pray that Carson does not get sick, because it will be much harder on him to recover from. I would not know what to do with myself if I didn't spend time in a hospital each week. Please keep both of my boys in your prayers.

Friday, October 22, 2004 1:54 PM CDT

We have had a wonderful week. Carson's therapy continues to go very well and he seems to be progressing everyday. Him and his brother fight like normal brothers would and beleive it or not, but we think that is great. Anything that he does that is normal we think is pretty wonderful. I just finished interviewing with someone from the Early steps program getting Carson enrolled to have all of his therapies in our home when he starts chemotherapy. It takes about 30 days to get it started so hopefully it will all be set up when we return from Memphis. The boys, Carlee, Dennise and I are going to visit Nana and Grandpa this weekend. I'm sure we will have a fun filled weekend and the boys will be very spoiled, but they deserve it.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004 12:38 AM CDT

We are all doing great. Cameron & Carson both have a runny nose, but that is expected with as crazy as the weather is here. Carson did great in physical and occupational therapy yesterday. They said he seemed to have more control in his arms and better trunk control this week. The main reason I am updating is because I just found out a very precious baby from St. Jude went to be with Jesus earlier this week. His name is Ben Reed and he was also diagnosed with a brain tumor. It always hits way to close to home when I hear of the loss of a little one like my precious Carson. Please pray for this very young family. You can also visit his website at www.benjaminfrankreed.com and send them an encouraging message.

Monday, October 18, 2004 2:26 PM CDT

I just wanted to do a quick update for those of you that check on Carson and our family regularly. We do not have much going on. We are finally settled in and everything unpacked. We cleaned out and up this weekend. We also went to dinner at Richard and Sonja's on Saturday. The boys had a blast playing with Landry & Jackson. Then Sunday after church we went to the pumpkin patch and took a lot of great pictures. Hopefully we'll be able to put some on our website soon. It is so wonderful to be home and feel like a normal family again. We've got about 3 more weeks and then we'll have to slow down and stay at home due to Carson's counts dropping when he starts chemo again. That's okay because we are going to enjoy all the time that we have before we go back to St. Jude. I better get off and get busy before my two sweet boys wake up from their afternoon nap.

Thursday, October 14, 2004 5:50 PM CDT

We met with Dr. Jeroudi, the oncologist at LSU, today. Chris & I were very pleased with him and his staff. We think they will do a great job taking care of our little Carson. It is just going to take a little time to get adjusted to the new people and new way of doing things. We are so used to the St. Jude way, but I think they will be doing things a lot like they did. Carson did great with the new people, so that was good. We probably won't have to go back until the middle of November when he starts chemo again. The new cancer center will be open at LSU then and I think it will be very nice. Just please pray that Carson will continue to progress at home and pray for Cameron too. Cameron is getting a little cold and I hope Carson doesn't get it also.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004 8:33 PM CDT

I am sorry that I have not done an update in a week, but we have been very busy at home. We made it home, after a stop at Nana and Grandpa Fuller's, around 9:30pm Thursday. Chris was waiting on us in the front yard. He had a big sign made for Carson that says "Welcome Home Superman Love, Daddy". He wanted to hang it on our house, but it rained for a week so it is in our living room. Over the weekend I saw a huge improvement in Carson. He is rolling all over my living room. Cameron better watch out, because Carson is getting close to catching up with him. We are so excited to be home and see how good it is for both Cameron and Carson to be in our own home. We started Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech on Monday in Ruston. Carson did great!!! He took to everyone there and had a blast. I was impressed and so were they with how well he was doing. We then went to visit Nana and Grandpa Fuller for a couple of days. There were many people that came by over the couple of days we were there to see the boys. It was so good to see everyone. We finally had a beautiful day today, so we spent some time playing in our own backyard. Tomorrow morning Chris & I are taking Carson to see Dr. Jeroudi, the oncologist at LSU. They just want to get a base line on him in case we have any problems while we are at home. Well the boys are in the bed already, so I better go and get the house cleaned up a little. I will try to do better updating now that we are settled in. Please continue to pray for Carson and all of our friends back at St. Jude.

Wednesday, October 6, 2004 7:48 PM CDT

This is probably the last update for a couple of days. I have been trying for 4 hours to get on here today, but I have two boys that have needed a lot of attention. Carson has had a great day today. He has been sick once, but that's better than yesterday. Cameron may have a stomach virus. He has not been feeling well today. This could make for a long trip home tomorrow. Carson will have radiation at 9:00 tomorrow and we should be finished by 11:00. Mimi, the boys & I will hopefully be on the road heading to Louisiana shortly afterwards. I already have lots of appointments set up for Carson and a trip to Nana & Grandpa's scheduled for next week, so I don't see us slowing down any time soon. Keep Carson in your prayers that he will continue to progress developmentally while we are at home and pray for us to have a safe trip home tomorrow. I will update again as soon as I find my computer in all of the unpacking I am going to have to do. I am sure I will have lots of help from my two little helpers, so it will probably take twice as long.

Tuesday, October 5, 2004 9:42 PM CDT

I can't beleive a big part of Carson's treatments are almost over. We will be leaving here sometimes Thursday afternoon after his last radiation treatment. We received our discharge papers today and received our schedule for November when we will return to begin Carson's last 20 weeks of chemotherapy. We are going to have to adjust to a different life of not going to St. Jude everyday. It is really going to be weird for a while. We are really going to miss all of our friends we made here and all of the wonderful people that haven take care of Carson. Carson's sedation nurses, E clinic staff, anesthesiologist, and triage nurses have done such a great job of taking care of him. We are going to miss everyone and I think they are going to miss Carson's big smile that he has on his face everyday when we would go to the hospital. There are not many hospitals that children can go into with a big smile on there face, but St. Jude is one. We can't say thank you enough to all of the special people that have come into our lives through this journey. Please continue to pray for us as we wrap this part of Carson's treatments up and continue on with all of his therapies at home.

Monday, October 4, 2004 5:05 PM CDT

Well the countdown is on. Only 3 more treatments for Carson and then we get a month at home. We are all so excited but also scared. We met with his neuro oncologist for the last time today until November 10. We also have his physical and occupational therapies set up thanks to Melanie Massey in W. Monroe. I am afraid we are not going to be able to get his speech set up because of insurance reasons, so I am going to be checking into other resources when I get home. It is very important he gets speech, because they are working on teaching Carson to eat. Right now Carson will only take a bottle and it is very important that he begin eating food. We are just taking care of all our last minute things we need to do in Memphis. Cameron & I went to see the pediatrician and got our flu shots. I had to go first to show Cameron it was okay. He did better than me!! Well continue to pray for Carson and all of the other families here at St. Jude.

Jake Raborn
Stanton Haynes
Louie Hentz
Alex Mohlnar
Ben Bowen (going home Wednesday)
Easton Wargo (home)

Sunday, October 3, 2004 5:48 PM CDT

I am sorry that I have not updated in a couple of days. The boys & I were by ourselves Thursday afternoon and Friday, so I didn't have much time to get on the computer. We have had a very nice weekend. It was our last weekend here in Memphis for a while. Chris did not have as hard of a time leaving this weekend knowing that the boys and I would be home Thursday. Carson has four more radiation treatments and we will be finished for a month. We will return to St. Jude on November 10th for an MRI, hearing test and begin his last 20 weeks of Chemotherapy. Please pray that we have a great last week and that Carson continues to progress developmentally. It is so hard to watch Cameron doing everything and knowing that Carson can't. It gets frustrating for Carson sometimes that he can't get where he wants to be.

Thursday, September 30, 2004 2:25 PM CDT

We are finally finished for the day. Carson's 7:30 radiation treatment was delayed and he did not get on the table until 10:15. He was hooked up to his fluids and we were ready to go in when they told us they were working on the radiation machine and it would be another hour. We then had to reschedule all of his other appointments, but it all worked out and we are all done for the day.

The boys and I are by ourselves until late tomorrow night when Daddy & Mimi get here. We had a great week with Amy & Abigail. It is good for Cameron to have someone to play with while Carson & I are gone all day everyday. Cameron & Abigail were so funny together. We took them to the zoo yesterday and we all had a blast. All 3 of them were asleep before we got out of the parking lot. We are so lucky to have great people in our lives like Amy and all of our other friends and family that have pitched in to help us out over the last 8 months. We could have not done it without all of you. THANKS!!!!

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 5:27 PM CDT

Thanks to everyone that prayed for Carson yesterday. It worked because he is having a much better day today. He has not been sick at all today. We also got big news today. We are coming home a week from tomorrow, Thursday, October 7. I have mixed feelings about it. I am very excited to go home and have our family back together, but it is so hard to leave St. Jude and our friends here. It is such a comfort to be right here at the hospital and we are so far away that it scares me. We also have everything set up for us here and we have to get everything set up at home like his therapies. It will take me weeks to get unpacked from our 8 month trip away from home. Continue to pray for us that the last week of radiation goes as well as they have been.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004 1:14 PM CDT

I'm sorry I have not had a chance to update yet this week. We are busy with Amy and Abigail here with us. Cameron and Abigail are irritating each other just like brothers and sisters. We have really enjoyed watching them. Carson just sits back and laughs at them. Amy is out with Cameron and Abigail right now and Carson is napping, so I have a quiet moment to update real quick.

Carson is not having a great day. He has been getting sick more since Saturday. After he woke up from sedation today, he was real irritable and then he kept gagging. He finally threw up all in the room while we were waiting on the doctor. He continued to seem to feel bad and did not work well in Physical therapy because he was still nauseated. He finally got to feeling better and laughing and he worked hard in occupational therapy. I just got a call that all of his lab work looks good so that is good news. He doesn't normally take a good nap in the afternoon and he has been asleep for 1 1/2 hrs now, so that makes me think he still does not feel real well. Maybe after his nap he will feel better and be ready to play with Cameron and Abigail. Also, I am supposed to get a call sometimes today to let me know the exact date that we will be leaving St. Jude. Maybe by tomorrow I will be able to let everyone know when we will be home. Please pray that Carson feels better and he doesn't continue to be nauseated.

Friday, September 24, 2004 3:04 PM CDT

We have had another great day. Everything was on time today. Carson took a little longer waking up from sedation, so he missed physical therapy and we had to reschedule and go back this afternoon. Both his occupational therapist and physical therapist were so pleased to see how well he was holding himself up. We are now in the process of getting all of his therapies set up at home. It is not easy because we have to be careful not to max our insurance out. We have some people working with us right now to try to get things set up. I just do not want any down time, because he has come a long way. Please continue to pray for Carson's progress and that Chris has a safe trip to Memphis today.

Friday, September 24, 2004 3:04 PM CDT

Thursday, September 23, 2004 12:55 AM CDT

Yesterday was difficult going to Tammy's memorial service. It was just a reminder of how horrible cancer is and what it does to our children. I just wanted to come home and hold on to both of my boys. But today has been great. I checked on Carson at the end of his Occupational therapy treatment and he was sitting up all by himself for over a minute. I just wanted to start crying I was so excited for him. It is getting a lot harder for him to not be able to do what Cameron does because he feels better and wants to do everything his big brother does. It makes me sad that he can't do it, but I am sure that he will pick up on things from Cameron and learn from him. He is also doing great wearing his eye patch. He has had it on today for over 3 hours now. Please continue to pray that Carson will continue to develop and be able to do everything Cameron does.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004 4:02 PM CDT

Carson has not had as good of a day today as yesterday. He is a little more irritable, but it could be because he has several teeth coming in right now. He has not had but a 15 minute nap today because we were at the hospital for so long. We waited on a doctor for over an hour again today. This is becoming the norm here lately. I just keep reminding myself that we are half way through radiation and it will be over before I know it.

Yesterday I told about Tammy Jackson that passed away earlier this week. I have got some information from her family if any would like to send her mom, Vicky, a card or make a donation to St. Jude in Tammy's memory. There home address is: Vicky Jackson
2610 Blarney Stone
Bloomington, IL 61704
They are a very sweet family that have been dealing with their daugher's illness for a long time. I am sure just a little note to them would be much appreciated.

Please keep the families of these St. Jude children in your prayers:

Jake Raborn
Stanton Haynes
Easton Wargo
Louie Hentz
Ben Bowen
Tyler James
Helen Garner

Tuesday, September 21, 2004 3:47 PM CDT

First of all thanks to everyone who ate at Chili's yesterday and supported St. Jude. Carson is having a much better day today. His occupational therapist said he had the best day in therapy that he had ever had. He took a 2 1/2 hr nap and I'm sure that helped a lot. The doctor said that he is at the point in his treatments that he will begin to be really tired each day. We waited to see the doctor today for over an hour and because they were running so late we missed physical therapy. I hate that because he needs as much therapy as he can get. I began patching his eye today and he has had it on now for 2 1/2 hrs and has done great with it. I do not know why I would have expected any less he does great with everything.

Yesterday I took Cameron to get his first haircut. It was hard to do, but since he is almost 20 mths old and has never had one he was in bad need of it. I was okay until afterwards and his little curls were gone. It made me sad and his Daddy and Grandpa were not happy about me doing it either. But I did get some good pictures and I kept his little curls. Poor Carson had his first haircut when they shaved his head for surgery the first time, but I have his hair too.

Also yesterday I found out that we lost a very sweet 18 year old girl, Tammy Jackson, that has been here at St. Jude for 2 1/2 years. She has older twin brothers, so she just loved my boys. They are a very sweet family and they have been dealing with her illness for a very long time. They will be leaving the Target house in the next couple of days and returning home to Illinois. Please remember this family in your prayers as they deal with the loss of such a precious girl. I will get their address on here tomorrow after I talk to the family, so if there is anyone that would like to drop them a card I am sure they would appreciate it. Please keep this family and all of our other friends here at St. Jude in your prayers.

Monday, September 20, 2004 2:58 PM CDT

It's been a long day at the hospital. Carson had radiation at 7:30 this morning and then we had several other appointments. He has been real irritiable since Friday, so I think the radiation is beginning to get the best of him. He is still smiling a lot and playing but I can just tell he doesn't feel as well as he did. He had an eye appointment today and they are going to have me begin patching his eyes for 2-4 hours a day to try to help strengthen his left eye. That's just one more thing to keep up with, but I would rather do that and try to fix it than him have to go through any more surgery. Please pray that he can tolerate the eye patch and continue to pray for his eating problems and daily radiation treatments. Also, please do not forget to eat at Chili's today, because all proceeds from today go to St. Jude. Thanks to all of you that have already eaten at Chili's today and supported St. Jude.

Sunday, September 19, 2004 2:00 PM CDT

We had another wonderful weekend with our Daddy. Nana and Aunt Frank also came this weekend. It was the first time Nana had seen the boys in 3 weeks. I do not know who was more excited, Nana or the boys. We did not do anything exciting this weekend, but it was very nice just playing together on the playground and inside. Carson has not eaten food very well this weekend and he is continuing to get sick a couple of times a day. We are getting ready to start another week of radiation. Hopefully it will go as well as the last couple of weeks. Please pray that Carson has a good week and Chris & Nana have a safe trip home.

Friday, September 17, 2004 2:12 PM CDT

We are finished with treatments for the week. We have had a great week with the exception of Carson continuing to get sick at least once a day. I wish they could figure out why he continues to be sick. He also has not continued to eat baby food as well as he did on Wednesday. We really need everyone's prayers that Carson will begin eating food better and holding it down. The boys & I are ready for a big weekend. Daddy will be here sometimes late tonight and tomorrow after lunch Nana and Aunt Frank will be arriving. Nana is so excited because she has not seen the boys in 3 weeks. I am sure that will be a lot of spoiling going on this weekend, but that's okay because the boys deserve it. Pray that everyone is safe traveling here to see us this weekend and continue praying for Carson.

Thursday, September 16, 2004 3:51 PM CDT

We have had a pretty good day. Carson had 3 appointments this morning before he was put to sleep for radiation. He did okay until the last one. He started screaming about half way through speech. His radiation was about 45 minutes late. This was the last treatment that they radiated a large area. Starting tomorrow they will just radiate the tumor bed. They were unable to give me an exact date that we will be finished. They said they have not made a decision about whether he will get 25 or 28 radiation treatments. The earliest we will be home is October 7 and the latest will be October 12 (Chris' birthday). Well I have got to wrap this up because Cameron & Carson are fighting over a toy.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004 12:58 AM CDT

We had a great day today unlike yesterday. Yesterday Carson's 9:00 radiation did not start until 10:30. This seems to happen a lot in radiation, but Carson never fusses. Today everything was right on time and we even left the hospital an hour earlier than we were supposed to.
They weighed Carson yesterday and he is back up to where he was before surgery - 19lbs. I have been having a very hard time with Carson eating food. He takes his bottle great, but he will not eat baby food. His speech therapist works with him on textures and tastes but so far we have not succeeded. I have asked for suggestions and I continue everyday to let him taste everything I eat and try to feed him baby food. He clamps his mouth closed and shakes his head. He does like to lick my cheetos and french fries. His doctor laughed and said going from a bottle to cheetos is quite a jump. Today Carson ate almost a whole small jar of bananas for his Aunt Sherri. That is the most he has eaten since he was 9 months old. I knew Aunt Sherri was wonderful so now we may just have to keep her with us for a few more weeks. I am really hoping that he will just take off eating now. Tomorrow we will meet with his radiation oncologist and hopefully find out exactly what date we will get to come home. Tomorrow his radiation is not until 10:00 so I hope they are on time because that is a long time for a baby to go without eating. Please pray that Carson continues to eat well and that his radiation treatments continue to go as smoothly as they have been.

Monday, September 13, 2004 3:22 PM CDT

The boys and I had a great weekend with our Daddy. We had to tell him goodbye twice this weekend. We took him to the airport around 6:00pm on Sunday and he called me before I got back to the Target House to tell me they overbooked the flight and he probably was not getting to go home tonight. I went back around 8:30pm to pick him up. The boys were so excited to see their Daddy come back through the door. This morning Carson & I took him back to the airport on our way to the hospital. Aunt Sherri came in last night to help with Cameron this week. He was very good for her today. Carson had a long day at the hospital, but everything went great. He did wonderful in all of his therapies and he had no problems with radiation. We have a pretty short day tomorrow so we will probably get out and show Aunt Sherri around Memphis. Thanks again for all of your prayers and messages sent to us. Please remember all of the other families we have listed in previous journal entries.

Friday, September 10, 2004 4:00 PM CDT

First of all thanks to everyone that sends notes to us each day. It means so much to Chris & I to know how much we are loved and prayed for each day. As most of you saw from the pictures Richard sent out, Carson & Cameron are doing great. We had a great time at Cole's birthday party yesterday. Carson woke up after a short nap and got in on the fun. Cameron has a blast when he gets out of our little apartment and can play with other kids here.

We had a long day today. Carson was not able to eat until 1:30 today. He had an MRI and radiation scheduled for 10:30 but it did not start until 12:00. As usual, Carson was a perfect little angel. The MRI was done because next week they are going to begin radiating a smaller area and they needed to get an image of the exact spot to radiate. We have now completed one week of radiation and have five weeks to go. We are counting down the days until we can come home for at least 3 weeks.

Also, thanks to all of you who took the time to sign Erica & Tyler James' web page. I am sure that it really means a lot to her. It has to be very hard being here with your sick child all alone. Chris & I feel so blessed to have so many family & friends that have taken their time to come here to stay with the boys & I. We just do not know how blessed we are until we meet those that are less fortunate than us. Please continue to pray for all of the St. Jude families and especially those that are here without the support that we have.

Wednesday, September 8, 2004 9:37 PM CDT

We have had a great day today. Carson continues to do great through his radiation. He has not been sick since Monday morning. Cameron is having a blast this week with Sonja. He is worn out every evening when Carson & I get home.

We have met another family through someone elses caringbridge site. We found out they are also from Shreveport. Erica James is a single mom here with her son Tyler. He was diagnosed with leukemia. She had to give up her job to come here to take care of her son. Sonja & I met her tonight and she was a very sweet lady. Please visit her caringbridge site at www.caringbridge.org/la/tylersmom or send her a card to:
1811 Poplar Ave #511
Memphis, TN 38104
It means so much to us when we get a little note on our web page or a card in our mailbox to let us know people from home are thinking of us. Thanks so much to everyone who takes the time each day to sign Carson's guestbook.

Tuesday, September 7, 2004 8:07 PM CDT

Today we started radiation again after a nice long weekend. After his treatment, Carson had an appointment with his radiation oncologist. He was amazed at how great Carson was doing right after treatment. Carson was putting on a show for the Dr.'s & nurses. Dr. Kuhn told him he had to start working for his Physical Therapist and he asked Carson if he understood. Carson shook his head yes and the whole room fell out laughing. Well he was so proud of himself that he started clapping and saying yeah. Dr. Kuhn said this baby is doing great!!! He had Occupation Therapy this afternoon. His therapist is so proud of his improvements. She said each day she sees him he is doing something more. Thanks for all of your prayers. Carson is definitely proof that prayer works!!

Monday, September 6, 2004 11:58 AM CDT

Happy Labor Day,

I hope everybody is having a super Labor Day. We have had a wonderful weekend with the boys. I got here friday night and my boys were both awake waiting on me. Saturday morning we took them to Sesame Street live at the Desoto civic center. Carson was a little scared at first but he came around. They both enjoyed the show very much. I thought it was a little too long! Yesterday, we took them to get thier first pair of tennis shoes. Let me tell you, this was definitely an adventure. We finally got them fitted with the right sizes after several tries. I have to leave this afternoon to go back to work but help is on the way. Aunt Sonja is flying in this evening to help Ginger with the boys this week. Ginger and the boys are looking forward to seeing her. Something tells me that Richard is going to have a very long week but he is an awesome daddy and will be fine. Carson's radiation treatments resume tomorrow. He has been in a great mood this weekend and although he has a long week ahead, we know he will do fine. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for all the St. Jude families.

Friday, September 3, 2004 12:14 AM CDT

We had an early day today. We started at 7:30 am and we were finished by 10:30 am. He was nauseated yesterday after his first treatment, but so far today he has not had any problems. We are looking forward to a nice long weekend with Daddy. We do not have anything at the hospital until Tuesday. Then we have a very hectic schedule for the week. I am afraid that this is how it is going to be for the next 6 weeks.

We ran into one of my students, Shelby Couch (from my first 1st grade class), today at the hospital. It is always so nice to see a familiar face when you are away from home. Her younger brother, Jay, has been treated at St. Jude for a few years now. He got his port out this week and he is doing great right now.

Please remember Carson & I as we have a very busy 6 weeks ahead of us. Also remember Cameron because he is passed around so much when I am this busy. There are also several other families that need our prayers right now.

Ben Bowen - www.bens-story.com
Stanton Haynes - www.caringbridge.org/la/stanton
Jake Raborn - www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen
Louie Hentz - www.caringbridge.org/ky/louie
Benjamin Reed - www.benjaminfrankreed.com

Thursday, September 2, 2004 3:51 PM CDT

Carson was a perfect little angel today as he always is. We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 for his first radiation treatment at 8:45. We did not get in for treatment until 10:15. He had not eaten since 10:30 pm. He had a big smile on his face and never fussed. Treatment took a little longer today because they had to do x-rays to be sure he was lined up perfectly. They had to make a few adjustments and then radiation only took about 10 minutes. After today we should be first, so hopefully we want have the wait time any more.
Cameron has a runny nose and I am afraid he is getting sick. This time of year it is going to be so hard to keep the two of them well. Please pray that we can keep both boys well through this so we can sail through Carson's radiation treatment and get home as soon as possible.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 7:30 PM CDT

It has been a very hectic week. Today was much lighter than Monday or Tuesday. We signed the consent to do radiation and went over everything one more time yesterday. They explained to me that the first two weeks of radiation will be the hardest and they will radiate the biggest area. Then the next four weeks they will focus just on the tumor bed and radiate a smaller area. Tomorrow is the big day. We will have radiation at 8:45 in the morning. Normally it will take about an hour. Tomorrow they have some other things they have to do and it will take a couple of hours. After tomorrow we will be first each day and we will begin at 7:30 each morning. Please pray for Carson as we begin this new treatment. Also, please remember Jake Raborn from Monroe, LA (www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen) His family also has a big day tomorrow. They will be getting results of his MRI, MRA & CT scans.

Monday, August 30, 2004 8:22 PM CDT

The last two days have been very hard. Yesterday, the boys and I had to say goodbye to Nana and Daddy. It is never easy to see either one of them leave. Then before Aunt Susan got here to help us for the week, the fire alarms went off of at the Target House. So here I was alone with both boys and had to figure out quickly how I was going down five flights of stairs holding both boys. Thankfully I ran into the family across the hall and the daddy took Cameron down for me. But I had them both on my hips and had figured out that I could do it if I had to. The firemen came and went through the house and could not find anything.

Today has also been a long day. I got up a couple of times during the night to feed Carson since he could not eat all morning. We left for the hospital at 11:30. When we got there we found out they were running behind. Then they had an emergency that came in and we got delayed again. It was 2:00 before they finally took him back. Carson was an angel the whole time. They were able to take his stitches out while he was asleep. He woke up with a big smile on his face. He finally got his first bottle at 4:30 today.

Tomorrow is also going to be a long day for Carson & I. He will be able to eat tomorrow, but he has alot of appointments. We start at 9:30 and do not finish until 3:00. Nana wants to know if they schedule his nap in there somewhere. Right now the plans are for Carson to begin his 6 weeks of radiation on Thursday. As always, please keep Carson and our family in your prayers. Also, please remember all of the other St. Jude families.

Sunday, August 29, 2004 12:32 AM CDT

We have had a wonderful time with the boys this weekend before all the fun starts this week. Yesterday, we went to the childrens museum and this morning we went to the park. Carson has a long week ahead of him. Tomorrow, he will not be able to eat until late in the afternoon because he is being put to sleep at noon for MRI and CT simulations. These are required prelimanary tests for Carson's radiation. After these tests are completed, they hope to start his radiation treatments late this week. If not, they will start early next week. The little man is still doing awesome. He will get his stitches out tomorrow while he is asleep. Please continue to keep Carson and all the other St. Jude families in your prayers.

Thursday, August 26, 2004 1:49 PM CDT

Our little Carson is still amazing everyone with how wonderful he is doing so soon after surgery. He is just about back to normal. Chris & I met with the Dr.'s this morning. We made our decision about the next step for Carson's treatment. With a lot of encouragement from Dr. Fouladi & Dr. Khun, we will proceed with radiation for 6 weeks and then 20 more weeks of chemotherapy. It is now believed there was some residual tumor left from the first resection and that chemotherapy killed it. Because the tumor was not totally removed, we need to do radiation to kill any microscopic cells that could still be present. Chris and I feel good about our decision. We want whats best for Carson and that would be to be cured of cancer. We will spend next week doing all of the preliminary testing to start radiation. They are going to expedite testing for us to get started on radiation as soon as possible because Carson has been off of treatment for almost 5 weeks. The 6 weeks of radiation will be very hard on us all because Carson will not be able to eat each day until after his radiation because he will have to be sedated. As always, please keep our family in your prayers as we move forward with his next treatment.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004 4:11 PM CDT

Carson is still doing great. Nana & I took the boys to the park Monday and they had a great time swinging. Today has been a long day and unfortunately we are going to have to wait until tomorrow to meet with the brain tumor team to make our decision. I met with Dr. Fouladi (Carson's neuro oncologist) this afternoon. She explained to me the reasons we should do radiation next. I am not going to go into all of the reasons, but for the best chance of cure we just about have to do radiation. Dr. Fouladi & Dr. Khun (radiation oncologist) met this afternoon to try to come up with an answer for us. The problem is there is not enough research on the type of tumor Carson has to make this decision easy. I will meet with the Dr.'s at 9:00 in the morning and we will conference call Chris so he can be a part of the discussion. Please pray that Chris & I will make the best decision for Carson. As Dr. Fouladi told me today, "This is all in God's hands". I will update tomorrow afternoon after our meeting.

Saturday, August 21, 2004 1:05 PM CDT

What a great birthday present for a mommy. We received encouraging news on Carson this week. Also, the little man got out of the hospital today. He is doing so much better in the last few days. When we got him home to the Target House this morning Cameron walked up to him and layed his head in Carson's lap. He sure did miss his brother. Ginger will meet with the physicians at St. Jude early next week to discuss Carson's course of treatment. I will be able to participate via conference call. We still have some big decisions to make in the near future but hopefully the success of his surgery will make them easier. Also, please pray for Ben Bowen and family, (www.bens-story.com), and all of the other St. Jude families.

www.caringbridge.org/fl/easton
www.caringbridge.org/wv/taylor
www.caringbridge.org/ms/hanna

Friday, August 20, 2004 2:35 PM CDT

Good aternoon,

Carson is doing better today. He had an MRI this morning, we hope to talk to his physician this afternoon regarding the results. We did receive word from St. Jude yesterday that the final pathology report showed that the piece remaining is not tumor. We are waiting for the nuerosurgeon to confirm it. If this stands true, it is unbeleivably wonderful news. Ginger gave Carson his first bottle since surgery this morning after his MRI. He was able to keep it down which is very encouraging. That little man was hungry! His nana is at the hopital with him now so that we can spend some time with Cameron. Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and prayers, they are working!

Wednesday, August 18, 2004 5:54 PM CDT

Hello everybody,

Carson is doing o.k. this afternoon, the day after his surgery. He is sleeping alot and when he wakes up he is in some pain. He hasn't given us that signature Carson smile yet but we know it is coming soon. Ginger and I met with the physicians this afternoon. There are some differing opinions among the physicians about Carson's surgery. The information we received yesterday after surgery may have been misleading. At this point, we are still uncertain about the mass remaining in Carson's head. We will have to wait for the final pathology report of the biopsy that was taken, this could take up to a week. Thank you for everyone's thoughts and prayers yesterday. It means the world to us.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004 5:07 PM CDT

I'll start you saying, thank you, God!
This has been a long and stressful day but the out come was well worth the wait. Carson slept right up until time to be taken down which was about 7:45am. Ginger said he started playing and talking while they waited in the holding room. They gave him a seditive and he started laughing at everything. He even continued to laugh as a very large orderly took him from Ginger's arms. Carson's sweet laughter made a stressfull time for his parents easier. The process of getting him to sleep and into position took a couple of hours. They started the entry about 9:50am. Around 11:00am they told us the surgeon had made his way to the base of the area where he would begin to remove tissue. At 12:10pm they told us that the surgery went well, Carson was doing fine and they were beginning to close. Doctor Sanford came in about 1:30pm. He told us he removed and sent a frozen section to the lab. The results 'healthy cells'. So he removed another section from another angle and sent it to the lab. The results 'healthy cells'. He then went over the top of the area of tissue in qestion and removed another section which was also sent to the lab. At that time he did not have the results but he does not expect the results to be any different than the previous two. He said from examining the cells under his surgical microscope, he did not see any abnormal cells. As he told us after the last surgery in February, he felt that he removed 100% of the tumor. YES, THAT IS RIGHT! The area they thought was remaining tumor turns out to be misplaced tissue which was pushed into this area from the very large tumor. Our prayers have been answered. We have asked everyone to pray that Carson would be alright and even to take it one more steps that God would just remove the remaining tumor. As I said in the beginning, THANK YOU, GOD!!!
Carson will spend tonight in ICU. Ginger and Chris will be at the Target House to get soom rest. Tomorrow Carson will go in to a private room for several days of recovery. Chris and Ginger will meet with all Carson's doctors to discuss the next step in his treatment. Please pray that God will continue to guide them all to make the best decisions for Carson. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Monday, August 16, 2004 2:29 PM CDT

I just wanted to send one more update before Carson and I headed to LeBonheur Hospital. We just met with Dr. Sanford to discuss the surgery. As we already kind of knew, the surgery is going to be very risky due to how close it is to the nerves on his brain stem. Please pray that the surgeon can get the tumor without hurting Carson. The surgery has been moved up to 8:00 am. Carson weighed in at a whopping 8.8 kilos (19.36 lbs), this is the most he has weighed since he has been sick. He is doing great. He wants to do everything Cameron does. They both want to push the elevator button now every time we get on it at the Target House. We will hopefully have an update on here tomorrow afternoon after his surgery.

Sunday, August 15, 2004 9:19 PM CDT

Nana, the boys, and I made it back to Memphis on Friday just fine. We actually made it in the fastest time ever. The boys slept the whole way so we did not stop until we arrived at the Target House. We have just played around all weekend. The weather has been wonderful, so we have been able to play outside on the playground quite a bit. We went to a birthday party this afternoon for one of the other patients. Tomorrow is a big day for Carson and I. He has to have labs drawn at 7:45am. They will have to stick him for one of the labs. We will then meet with his neuro oncologist at 9:00 and then at noon meet with Dr. Sanford, the neurosurgeon. Right now the plans are that Carson will undergo surgery at noon on Tuesday. They could possibly move the time up a little when I meet with them tomorrow. If there is any change, we will let you know. We will have someone do an update for us as soon as possible after surgery on Tuesday. Once again, please keep Carson and our family and all of the other St. Jude families in your prayers.

Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:27 PM CDT

Unfortunately, Carson's surgery was postponed a few days. Right now, it is set for noon on Tuesday, August 17. They are going to try to do it a little earlier if possible. That would be great for us because it is hard to not let an 18 month old eat when he wants. The good side of the surgery being moved is Chris was able to donate blood for Carson and we had a few more days to spend at home. The boys, Nana and I are heading back to Memphis Friday afternoon. Chris will be flying up the 1st of the week. Wednesday, after surgery, Chris & I are meeting with the brain tumor specialists to discuss the next step for Carson. We have to decide whether we want to do radiation or go on to his last 20 weeks of chemotherapy. There is no right or wrong answer. The physicians are going to give us as much information as possiblefor us to make the best decision for Carson. As parents, this is a difficult position for us to be in. But we know that we have the best Doctors at St. Jude. Please keep Carson, the physicians and our family in your prayers. We will send an update as soon as possible after surgery. Also, please keep all of the families at St. Jude in your prayers, especially Ben Bowen's family and Hanna's family right now.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004 11:33 AM CDT

Good morning,

We just wanted to give a quick update. Carson's surgery has been delayed. Don't worry, he is still doing awesome. His surgeon has an emergency case this Thursday and will not be able to operate on Carson until Tuesday. Hopefully, this will not change. We will give another update in the next few days. Thank you to everybody.

Tuesday, August 3, 2004 8:55 PM CDT

Hello everybody,

Our little warrior is doing great. His MRI showed that his tumor is "stable". It did not shrink and it did not progress. The physicians assure us that this is good news. We will know exactly what the next step is later this week after the physicians have their case meeting on wednesday afternoon. They have told us that surgery is the probable next step. Carson and Cameron's great grandmother has been in Memphis helping Ginger with the boys for the last ten days. Those boys sure do love their Mimi. I scooped up Nana Saturday morning and we headed to Memphis. We had a fantastic weekend. Ginger and I would like to thank everybody for your thoughts and prayers. It means the world to us.

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:27 PM CDT

Carson is currently on his last week of oral chemo. We have been able to come home for most of this. Unfortunately we can only stay 7 days at a time and we have to return to Memphis to keep our housing. We are in town until Tuesday, July 27. Carson's counts are low right now so we are keeping our visitors to a minimum. When we return next week Carson will have his 2nd week of testing. His MRI is scheduled for Thursday July 29. We will need everyone's prayers this day. It will be a very long day for Carson and all of us. We will know that afternoon what the MRI shows, but we will not know what the next step for Carson is until the next Wednesday when Carson's physicians meet. He is doing great and getting stronger every day. Please pray for our family as we have a lot of decisions to make about what to do next. We will try to update his web page as much as possible. When I return to Memphis next week, I will try to add pictures to the album and possibly do a slide show of the boys. Thanks to everyone that has sent a message to Carson. It really means a lot to us to know that everyone is thinking of us.

Sunday, April 25, 2004 4:26 PM CDT

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