Journal History

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Monday, September 6, 2010 9:36 PM CDT

Sorry for the lack of updates. I don't know where time goes.
We had a busy and fun summer. The new picture is from a wedding Cam was in. Cute huh?! Cam is 5'2" and in SEVENTH grade! I still have a hard time believing he's in 7th grade already.
Health wise, he's doing good. He went to long term follow up in Aug and that went well. It's been 9 yrs! Woohoo!
We hate diabetes, but doing the best we can.
Cam is interested in golf now and is playing bass guitar in the school band. He's active in church and 4H which keeps me busy as well. I just finished online classes for Medical billing and coding and Admin Med Assistant, so now I'll be looking for a job. (not sure if I want to insert a happy or sad face here)
You can look for me on Facebook if you want more frequent updates. Thanks for checking in!
Carla

Thursday, March 26, 2009 2:26 PM CDT

Cam is doing well. He had some issues with his heart this winter and had to wear a heart monitor for 30 days and he had to have all sorts of tests, but he is fine. His heart beats fast at times, but it doesn't have an irregular rhythm, so the doc says he's just fine! Whew... I don't think I could have taken anything else.

It's spring break and we are just hanging out and trying to get together with as many friends and family as possible.

ACS - Relay for Life is coming up in June, so we are starting to get busy with that too.

Happy Spring!

LiveStrong and laugh often -
Carla

Monday, December 15, 2008 11:40 AM CST

I really need to keep up with my journaling more, but there is never enough time in the day.
Everything is going great here. Cam is doing great in school. He had his first band concert yesterday and for first year band they did awesome. Cam plays the corenet.
No school today because of slick roads, so we are both more than happy to stay home.
Cameron's check ups at Cardinal Glennon last month were great. His microalbumin had gone up again over the summer, so I had been concerned about that, but this time it was better than ever. WhoooHooo!
We've had the opportunity to do lots of fun things with Dream Factory - we went to see Carl Edwards race (and win!) this summer and then this fall we went to our first MU football game. Fun, fun, fun! We even got to go to their practice a few days before and hang out with the Tigers. Cam got all their autographs and then we had supper with them. That was way COOL!!!
Cam is getting really anxious for Christmas and for Christmas break so he can spend some time with his grandma and grandpa and some friends he doesn't get to see very often.
He only recently made a Christmas list which was surprising since he started his birthday list 2 months before his birthday. haha
Actually I wrote his Christmas list for him. He was in the ER last weekend for IV fluids and anti nausea meds after a little bout with a stomach virus. So, I wrote his Christmas list on a paper towel in the ER to try to keep him occupied... how sad is that! We've had several visits to the ER this year, but nothing too serious.
I have lots of work here to do, so I better take advantage of being stuck at home.
Take care, live strong, laugh often and don't forget to tell your loved ones how much you love them!
~ Carla

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 11:47 PM CDT

Sorry for the lack of updates. Life is just busy, but all is well and I hope to update soon with a new picture!
Livestrong!

Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:52 PM CDT

To my mom on Mother's Day

With my mother's touch she can make it better.
With my mother's loving hand she can show you the way.
With my mother's kiss she can make you happy.
With my mother's hug she can comfort you.
That is why I love my mother.
-Cam McGeorge
10 yrs old


When God made angels to guide us through lifes great mysteries he named them mom.
-Cam McGeorge


Happy Mother's Day 2008
ooxxoX
P.s. I love you mom!

BTW
I am doing fine and all the test results at Cardinal glennen were good.I only have 9 more days of school until I graduate 4th grade.Yippe!!

Sunday, February 24, 2008 9:26 PM CST

Today was a GREAT day! Today, Cameron and I were baptized.
It's a wonderful experience anyway, but to share that special moment with your child is something I cannot even put into words. I don't even know what else to say about it - it was just one of those WOW moments that I'll never forget. Marvin was there, Grandma's and Grandpa's, friends... it was just wonderful! Lots of hugs, kisses and I love you's today... especially between Cameron and I!!! :-)
I was a little nervous about it at first because Cameron wanted to be baptized on 'Awana Sunday' when there was going to be lots of extra people there. He didn’t care, but I did. I would have preferred something a little more private, but then I decided that there have been so many bad things that have happened in our lives, it was silly to be nervous about something so good. I talked to our very special friends, Lila and Red and after that, Sunday couldn’t come soon enough. Thank you, Red, Lila, George, family and friends – it was a great day! God Bless you all!

Saturday, February 2, 2008 10:24 AM CST

I’ve been aiming to update since Christmas and just never seem to get around to it. We had a wonderful Christmas. I think Cam got just about everything he wanted – lots of games for his Nintendo DS, movies and a Roboraptor. We got to spend a lot of time with family and friends during the 2 wk break, so that was nice. Now here it is almost Valentine's Day, so I don't know why I'm talking about Christmas! :)

Weather in Missouri has been crazy. We’ve had days in the 60’s with a 50 degree temperature drop and snow all in the same day. We've even had tornados - luckily nothing that effected us.

Our ‘barn cat’ Sadie is better now. She had pneumonia and had to be on antibiotics… bubble gum flavor of all things. What cat likes bubble gum! We think they need tuna flavored amoxicillin. LOL! We want Sadie to be a house cat, so we started bringing her in when we are home, but our cat Fancy is not too happy about that. We’ve had her for 11 yrs and she’s never been around other animals, so she is not taking very kindly to Sadie. They’re keeping their distance - no cat fights just some hissing when they cross paths.

I am subbing in the lunch room at school and have worked the last 2 weeks. I wasn’t sure how I’d like it, but I am having so much fun being a ‘lunch lady!’ It’s a lot of hard work and I’m exhausted when I get home, but I’m having a good time.
I feel like Rachel Ray. :)

Cameron is getting baptized Feb 24. He loves going to Awana on Wednesdays and the 24th they are having a special program at church, so he wanted to get baptized on ‘Awana Sunday.’ I think it is cool that he made this decision all on his own.

Cam has checkups in March, so I’ll update after those. He sees the dermatologist for a recheck about the extra large ‘mole’ on his head March 7. And on the 11th we go to Cardinal Glennon to see his renal doc, diabetes nurse and he has to have an echocardiogram.

Thanks for checking in and don’t forget to sign Cams guestbook so he knows you stopped by.
~ Carla

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 11:31 PM CST

'Tis the season to be busy, falalalalalalala
I've been anxious to update but haven't had time. Cam has been out of school for the last few days because of the ice storm, so I'm forced to stay home and get things done around here. ;-)
It snowed the end of last week and then we had a major ice storm over the weekend. Marvin went to work Sunday morning and didn't make it back home until Monday afternoon. Cam and I were without power most of the day Sunday and by Sunday night, we were getting cold and bored. Cam had already played his Gameboy and Nintendo DS so much they needed to be recharged and I can only paint by candlelight for so long, so we snuggled up in bed and read books by flashlight and played 20 questions. A big thanks to Boone Electric for getting the power back on. Thousands of homes were without power and they have been working long hard hours to get it up and running again.

Cam's new betta died - it had 'ick.' His first 2 fish lived for 2-3 yrs, so I don't know why the bad luck with the last 2. Cam was soooo sad he was pitiful. He loves animals and he's always wanted a pet of his own, but we decided we better wait until spring to get another fish. This may just be a coincidence, but the day after Cam's fish died, we went down to the barn to get feed for our horse and there was a cat that just wouldn't let Cam out of her sight. She just walked circles around him, purring like crazy. It was a purrrfect match! ;-) She has definitely been a house cat, but no one is claiming her, so I think she got dumped off here. We named her Sadie and she is sweet as can be, but we are afraid she might be sick. She goes to the vet Thurs, but in the mean time, she's had to stay in the barn. Other 'barn cats' would be jealous, so don't feel sorry for her. She has a heater, a heated water bowl, food, litter box and a bed. Yea, she is really roughin' it. ;-)
We already have an indoor cat and I'm not sure Fancy will like to share us with a 'stray,' but we'll see what we find out at the vet first.

All of Cams test results came back wonderful! His A1c is 6.8, his microalbumin/creatine level was awesome and Immunoglobulin was right where it should be. Couldn't ask for any better!

Cam never ceases to amaze me. He is such an inspiration and touches more hearts than we will ever know. We recently heard about a bride and groom that had Cameron's reindeer cards at every place setting at their wedding reception with a message that said they made a donation to CureSearch in lieu of favors...HOW COOL IS THAT!?! I am going to try to get in touch with them to see if I can get a picture from the reception. Such a generous thing to do. Wilms' warrior princess, Kathleen is the little girl that they made the donation in honor of. Stop by and wish her well:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kathleenbrennan

Take care,LIVESTRONG, laugh often and be jolly, by golly!
Carla
:-)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007 00:56 AM CST

Cams renal checkup at Cardinal Glennon went well. We are still waiting on microalbumin results, but other than that, Dr Wood was happy with his blood pressure, so no changes in meds this time.
Going back to the Costas Center (hem/onco clinic) was bitter sweet. It was great going there for 'long term follow-up' - Cam has been cancer free for 6 yrs this month! Definitely something to celebrate! WoooHooo!
Since this was our first visit, they went over everything - from how his cancer was discovered, surgery, chemo, side effects, etc... It was hard reliving it all, but they are no longer worried about Wilms' coming back, so it is time to move on. He doesn't even have to have chest xrays anymore and they really aren't worried about long term side effects from the chemo he was on, so we have a lot to be thankful for.
Wilms is very rare with only 500 new cases diagnosed per year and we learned that Cameron actually had what is called an "Extrarenal Wilms tumor." I knew that it was unlike anything they had ever seen before, but I don't remember them calling it anything special. I can't find much of anything about it on the internet. In a study done from 1980-1986 there were only 8 cases reported, so if you or your child has had extrarenal wilms' I'd love to hear from you.
Diabetes clinic wasn't there Friday, so we didn't get to follow up with them, but things are going well there. Cam had to get all sorts of blood work done, so we asked them to check his A1c while they were at it. No test results back yet, but I'll update those results when I get them.

This past week and half was a rollercoaster --
Marvin was on "Deer vacation" as Cameron called it and while he was gone, Cams new goldfish died. Cam was devastated, but we went out and got a Betta named Emerald (Emmy). Cam wanted to move the fish tank to his room, so I was helping him clean and I broke his bed when I tried to move it to vacuum under it. It took me a few days, but I figured out how to fix and it and Cam can sleep in his own bed again. ;-)
But that wasn't the worst of my problems...
I got canned! :( I cried and cried! After being a stay at home mom for almost 10 yrs, it took me a while to get use to working outside the home, but I was really enjoying it. Then out of the blue they decided to eliminate my position...
I'm trying to think positive - hopefully something better will come along. I might try to sub at school again. I was looking forward to making a career working in the medical field and was getting ready to sign up for some classes, but that will have to be put on hold. For now, I'll get back to doing ceramics and I get to babysit my favorite girls again. :-)

Now for the good news...
*Marvin is back home and he didn't get a deer - yeah! ;-) I don't like deer meat and Bambi and his friends are safe a while longer or as long as they stay out of the road.
*Cam got his grade card and he did wonderful. Way to go Cam! His teacher had nothing but good things to say about him and we have nothing but good things to say about her. It's a good year.
*The 4th graders had a Veteran's Day assembly and they did an awesome job. I am very proud of them. It was a wonderful ceremony.
*We were in a Holiday parade Sunday for Dream Factory and rode in a Corvette AND it didn't rain OR snow.
*Cameron got a speaking part in the Christmas program. He is thrilled! That kid can talk 24-7 and he's not a bit shy, so I know he will do a great job.
*Cam also won a limousine ride and pizza party in a drawing PTA had for their fundraiser. That all takes place tomorrow and since I don't have to work, I can go meet them for pizza! (HA!)
*We got the new 2008 Boone Electric calendar with Cams rainbow picture, so if you live around here, stop by their office and pick up your copy.
*And last but not least, Cams Reindeer notecards from curesearch.org are available now. They are sooooo cute - you definitely need to go to their website to check out the artwork.
So you see, Cam is on a winning streak... his mom and goldfish, not so much, but we'll come around. ;-)
Please leave him a message in his guestbook, he loves to read them.
I'll update again when we get test results back.
BTW - new photos in the photo album...
Have a Great Thanksgiving!
Carla
camsmam@juno.com

Sunday, November 4, 2007 5:42 PM CST

I started an update in July, Aug and then again in Sept... Now here it is November and Cam is already finishing up his first trimester of 4th grade. Where does time go?!
Cams Dr appts way back in July were fine. We go back to Cardinal Glennon Nov. 16th for Cams first visit to Long-term Follow up. It feels good to get to this point. No more visits to the oncologist! He will also be seeing his renal doc, but the diabetes clinic is not there that day, so we'll have to schedule that for another time.

Here's my attempt in giving you the condensed version of what happened in July, Aug, Sept and Oct...
In July, we went to see Carl Edwards race. He didn't win, but we still had a great time. Carl had a special autograph/photo session with the Dream Factory families. Unfortunately, Cam wasn't feeling his best. His blood sugar dropped to 47 while we were waiting for Carl and with the heat and a bad headache it took him a while to recover. We ended up going to the First Aid building to cool off in the A/C and then we were able to enjoy the rest of the race.
August update:
I started working part-time in a Dr's office... that is taking more than a little getting use to after being a stay at home mom for 10 years.
School started, Aug 15th and it is going really well. His blood sugar and blood pressure were really wacky the first few weeks of school though. The first day of school his blood pressure got low and by the time he got home, he wasn't feeling well at all. And trying to adjust his basal rates on his insulin pump was really difficult - especially since his pancreas decided it wanted to work! The second week of school, Cam had a low blood sugar of 23! It probably should have been a 911 call, but lucky for him, he pulled through ok and didn't even need a glucagon shot. He sure gave everyone a scare though, including his friend that took him to the office. Matt was leaning over him saying "Please don't die, Cam. Please don't die!" I think that freaked Cam out just a little bit! I must say, when I got the phone call, I was freaked out as well! That all happened on a Thursday and on Friday, Cam had an appt to see his pediatrician about all the headaches he had been having. They scheduled a brain scan for Monday and by the time Monday rolled around, I was ready to quit my job and home school! The brain scan was fine and they started Cam on meds for headaches. He was taking Tylenol on an almost daily basis, but since the meds, he's only had a headache bad enough for Tylenol twice. Hopefully he'll outgrow these.
Sept was a busy month with soccer and Cam has scars to prove it. He made it though all the games and practices unharmed, but him and some buddies were playing soccer on recess and Cam took a header to the pavement. His face and knees were a mess.
We got to go see Alex Kennedy race again in Odessa and he got 2nd place. Alex and his family are the best. We had a great time and can't wait to go back next year!
October was a busy birthday month. Lots of family and friends had birthdays and Cameron turned 10! We had a good time eating out with grandma, grandpas, aunt, uncles and cousins at Culvers the weekend before his bday. Then on his birthday he had his dad fix his favorite supper - cornbeef and cabbage! Yes, you heard me right and here's another surprise you would never guess - Cameron was Moses for Halloween! Complete with a robe (from last years Anikan Skywalker costume), beard, sandals and the 10 Commandments... all his idea. What 10 yr old picks cornbeef and cabbage over pizza and wants to go as Moses for Halloween! Too funny!!!
Cam also had 3 teeth pulled in Oct...he has several permanent teeth missing (don't know why... chemo maybe???)and needs braces, so we are trying to prepare. I see lots of $$$$$$$ signs.
Not much to update for Nov...
Cam got a goldfish today (his Beta died a few months ago) and we've been busy trying out names. Cam wants to call 'him' Buck and I am calling 'her' Opal.
Well, I guess that sums up all the important stuff. You might as well start hounding me to update after Cams check-up Nov. 16th or it will be Feb before I update again! :)
Take care, livestrong and enjoy life!
~ Carla
Nov. 5th
PS... I forgot to tell you about a couple of things we are really excited about. Cameron entered a picture of a double rainbow in the fair and got a blue ribbon AND it is going to be featured in the Boone Electric calendar! He can hardly wait for the calendar to come out. It should be soon.
Some of you may remember Cams handprint tie at Curesearch.org - now they have made a Christmas card out of one of his other designs he entered when he was 4.
It is a reindeer made with his handprints and it is toooo cute! So, why not help out a good cause and order your Christmas cards from curesearch.org
;-)

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 7:08 AM CDT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAM!!!!!!

Where did time go? I can't believe you are in the double digits already! Wow - you're a "TENager!" As I've told you before, this is my very favorite day of the year! Have a Grrrrrreat day!
Love you more than anything!
X's, O's and I's :)
- Mom and Dad

Sunday, June 24, 2007 11:31 PM CDT

There is never a dull moment around here!

First I'll tell you about the Relay for Life - it was a huge success. I'm not sure what our team total is yet, but the Relay in general hopes to bring in $200,000 when final counts are in. I can't thank all of our team members enough. I couldn't have done it without their dedication and devotion. (THANK YOU!!!!)
Cam sang "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry in the Relay Idol contest. Voting was done by applause this year and not by who raised the most money like last year. I'm sad to say that by the time it was over most of the friends and family that came out to see Cam had left. We yelled and clapped as loud as we could, but Cam came in about 3rd. We are so proud of him - he did an awesome job and raised a lot of money for ACS by selling autographed photos. He sold them on a donation basis and his fans paid anywhere from $1 to $50 for an autographed picture! How cool is that?!
The Relay was from 6pm June 8 - 6am June 9th. Cam slept a little, but I didn't sleep a wink. We came home and rested for a few hours and then left for an ASA race in Odessa to see Alex Kennedy race. Alex invited a few Dream Factory families to come spend the day with him and and we had the best time ever! It was amazing! Cameron even got to sit in Alex's car on pit road. Unfortunate for Alex, his power steering went out and he didn't get to finish the race. That happens to the best of them and Alex is one of the best - this young man is going to go far. You can see more pics and read about Alex at www.AlexKennedy.com
(Thanks to Alex, Terry, Michelle, Dennis and Richard - we had a GREAT time!)

Cameron has been attending Summer School this month and they are having a lot of fun. They get to go swimming a lot and he is enjoying that. One day his blood sugar had been high most of the day, so I let him swim with his insulin pump (which is water proof). At safety break I had Cam check his blood sugar and it was even higher. He usually gets low when he swims so that was very unusual for him. I went to give him a correction bolus and saw that water was floating around in the screen, so needless to say, his pump had shorted out. I did find a crack in it and not sure how it happened, but luckily it was still under warranty and Animas had a new pump to us the very next day.

Cam went to see the dermatologist earlier this month about the rather larger 'mole' I found on his scalp. The doc thinks it is fine, but took digital photos and measurements and wants to see him back in 6 months.

Marvin had a horrible Father's Day - he hurt his back bucking hay the day before and could hardly move. And Sunday morning, we had a water pipe break inside a wall when he was taking a shower to go to work. What a mess!!!!

This is Cams last week of summer school and Thursday we are going to Big Surf.... so let the FUN begin!!!! :)

Have a fun filled summer!

Carla

PS... July 21, we are going to see Carl Edwards race in St Louis and the 25th Cam has check ups with his specialists, so I'll update after that. Don't forget to leave Cameron a message in his guestbook.

LIVESTRONG

Sunday, June 3, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

So much has happened in the last few weeks (some good, some bad) I thought I'd update again.
Cameron is officially a 4th grader! Where did time go?! It seems like yesterday that he was in preschool! We are very proud of how well he did in school -- 3 A's and a B plus . He also got into the "Super Eagle Club" and that is quite an accomplishment. To be a Super Eagle, you have to get 10 Eagle tickets (50 in all) in each of the 5 life skills they practice at school - Perseverance, Responsibility, Cooperation, Caring and Respect.
(Way to go, Cam!!!!! We are sooo proud of you! Love ya lots!)

We are gearing up for the Relay For Life June 8-9. Cameron is looking forward to "Relay Idol" -- if you would like to vote for him, email me for details.
camsmam@juno.com

Now for the bad news.... Cam has a broken index finger! Two weeks ago we were in town shopping and when I had popped the trunk open, Cameron said he was going to crawl through the trunk to the back seat. I told him no, but unfortunately, as I was closing the trunk he was sticking his hand in.... a total accident, but I feel bad none the less! He smashed his index finger and it broke the skin a little, but he could bend it just fine. It hurt and he cried for a little while, but he didn't act like he was in much pain, so we went on to the 4H BBQ. I watched him close all weekend and he wasn't babying his finger at all. That happened on a Saturday and he didn't complain about it again until Thursday and then it was just - "Ya'know, my finger still hurts." There was never any bruising and the little cut had healed completely, but there was a place between the joints that was still a little swollen, so I took him in to see his pediatrician. Yup, it's broke, but is healing fine. Besides no playing ball and taping it to the finger next to it when he is going to be very active, there is nothing else to do. Boy do I feel like a heel! What kind of mom breaks her son's finger and then doesn't even take him to the dr for a week?! :(
I asked Cameron if I was going to get demoted and he said "I don't even know what means," so I asked if I went from being a good mom to a bad mom. Thankfully, he said no, that he wasn't even mad at me and he still loved me.
Whew! That was a close one! ;-)))))

The other not so good thing, is that I found a really yucky looking mole in Cameron's scalp that I'm worried about. Dr Beal thinks it is fine, but is sending us to a dermatologist to be sure. That appt is June 15 - I hope to update with some good news then.

Thanks for all your messages. Cameron really enjoys checking his guestbook for new ones, so keep them coming.

LIVESTRONG and LAUGH OFTEN!

~ Carla

Saturday, May 19, 2007 11:17 AM CDT

Gosh, it's been a long time since I've had a chance to update and there is so much to tell you about!
The first thing Cameron wants me to tell you is that he learned how to ride his bike. He was so excited...WE were so excited!!! When he finally decided HE wanted to ride his bike (instead of us begging him to) he just hopped on and went.
The last day of school is May 30th and then 4th grade Summer School starts June 4. Cameron is really excited about that because they get to go swimming a lot and 2 of his best friends are in his class.
We have been having a lot of fun in 4H this year. I am the Arts & Crafts leader and the kids seem to be enjoying that.
In Feb, our 4H club had a Chili supper that raised $1,000 for Dream Factory and Cameron received an award for selling the most tickets.
Tonight is our annual 4H BBQ.
We've also have been having fun with Dream Factory.
We got to go to a Royals game and one of our local TV stations interviewed us for their sports show. It was good, but at the end of the story they said that Cameron had been in remission for 4 months instead of 5 YEARS, so that didn't make us very happy. The Royals won though!
The Corvette Club had their annual Corvette Cup to raise money for Dream Factory. A Corvette model that Cameron made last year was donated back for the auction this year and it sold for $275! Last year it brought $250! Way to go Cam!!!!!
The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life is coming up June 8-9, so we are busy with that too.
(There is a link to his Relay webpage listed below).
So, that's what we've been doing for fun.
Health wise, Cameron had a bad winter. He was sick a lot, but luckily nothing serious - colds, sinus infections and pink eye... He started having a lot more headaches than usual so he had to go in for a scan of his sinuses. He thought that was cool because he got to see x-rays of his skull and thankfully everything was A-OK. I took him to the eye dr and now he has reading glasses, so that solved that problem.
He also had tummy problems after taking Tamiflu and had to be on Prilosec, but now that is ok as well.
Cameron had his checkups at Cardinal Glennon in March. His A1c was 7.6 - disappointing, but not a surprise given how sick he had been all winter. They ran several blood test this time. One was a C-peptide test to see if his pancreas was still working and it IS!!!!! That is very unusual after 4 years, but now I know why sometimes his blood sugar doesn't make any sense at all. We love the insulin pump, but sometimes it is so hard to make adjustments because there is no rhyme or reason to what his blood sugar is doing. He had an ultrasound on his kidneys. It was even obvious to me that one kidney is larger than the other, but that is ok because they removed more of one kidney than the other. With the kidney cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes, I really worry about his kidneys, but they are both growing and looked good.
Next round of check ups - July 24...
If I don't update before then, I'll update after that.(sorry it took so long to update, Martha! ;-)

Thanks for checking in and don't forget to leave Cam a message.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!!

Carla

Thursday, January 18, 2007 11:45 PM CST

Wow, this past week has been CRAZY. Last Thursday, Cameron woke up coughing and was having a hard time breathing. I was sure he was coming down with a cold anyway and assumed part of the barking cough was because of that. Now I'm guessing it was strictly an asthma attack, because he hasn't coughed since. I hate asthma attacks, they seem to come out of nowhere and are so scary for him and for me. We quickly got the nebulizer ready and that made a world of difference. I kept him home from school, but he made it though the day without anymore problems. I thought he'd be good to go on Friday, but he woke up with a stomach ache. I had him check for ketones and they were moderate. I totally do not get that, because he was not having problems with his blood sugar being high. So, Cam got to stay home from school again. His cold worsened as the day went on and we finally got rid of the ketones and then he had high blood sugar... totally opposite of how it is suppose to be. I'm still puzzled.
Friday afternoon we had winter storm warnings, so I'm glad we got to stay in. We got lots of ice (about 3" or so) over the next couple of days. No school Monday and Tuesday. Luckily the electricity stayed on and we had plenty of groceries and all of Cams medicine, etc. I don't know when I've stayed home so many days in a row. We were all going a little stir crazy. Wednesday was my first day out and about and although the buses were running on snow routes, school was back in session. The roads aren't bad, but walking to and from the car is difficult. Last night Cameron went to his Awana group at church and was sooooo excited because he had memorized all of the books of the New Testament along with several verses. Way to go Cam!

Tonight we had our ACS Relay For Life kick off meeting. The Boone Co. Relay For Life will be June 8-9 at the fairgrounds. If you are local and would like to join "Cameron's Team" let me know. Cameron is already making arrangements for saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing at Relay Idol and I'll be getting our Relay website ready soon for online donations!

Cams 4H club will be having their annual Chili Supper on Feb.24 from 4-7. Our fundraising efforts for this year will benefit the Dream Factory, so Cameron and I are really making an extra effort to make this a success. Tickets are $5 - we are selling them now, but you can also get them at the door. Let me know if you'd like to join us.

More snow in the forecast for this weekend. Wish it would warm up to melt the ice first! At least we've stocked back up on groceries and such.

That's about it for now. Check back soon and don't forgot to sign the guestbook!

LIVESTRONG -
Carla

Sunday, January 7, 2007 9:34 AM CST

Sorry for the lack of updates - Dec was a busy month!
We attended the Dream Factory Holiday Party. That is always a lot of fun and it's nice to see the other families we've gotten to know through the years. Cameron had his holiday concert at school which was really cute and then a class party the last day of school. On Christmas we went to Gramma and Grampa's. Cam got pretty much everything he wanted and if he didn't get it he bought it with his Christmas money. The day after Christmas we went shopping with Gramma. Cameron was patient with us as long as he was getting to look at stuff he wanted too. ;-)
Cameron got to spend most of that week with gramma and grampa. He had been wanting to do that for such a long time - he'd probably still be there if he could. It was so nice to have such a long break from school and to be able to spend extra time with our families and my new nephew made it even more special. He is so cute and such a peaceful little baby.

We had a quiet New Years at home. All in all we had a good 2006. One of the first years nothing too terribly traumatic happened, so we are hoping and praying for 2007 to be just as good or better!

School started back last Wed. It wasn't hard getting back into the school routine. I guess it wasn't difficult because even during Christmas break, Cam still woke up at 6am every day!

Health wise - Cams blood pressure medication was increased twice in one month. BP seems to be doing better now, but he's getting sick and tired of me having to check his blood pressure twice a day.
Blood sugar has been high the last couple of weeks, so I had to increase his basal rates on his insulin pump. We've both been fighting off a cold and he is going through a growth spurt, so I'm sure that is why.
Yesterday, Cam had a migraine. I hate it when he has those - they just wipe him out. He slept for a couple hours and woke up feeling ok.
He was sad because a friend was coming over and we had to cancel. We are getting together today though. He is very excited and woke me up at 5 something this morning asking when we were going to meet! This waking up so early has got to stop.... mom needs her beauty sleep!
Cam is such a bundle of energy!!!! Wish I could bottle some of that up and sell it on ebay. I'd be rich!
I guess I better go eat my Wheaties so I can keep up with him.

Have a happy and healthy 2007!
LIVESTRONG-
Carla

Monday, November 27, 2006 6:47 AM CST

Diabetes Awareness Month


Diabetes
Insulin
Animas Insulin Pump
Blood sugar checks 6-8 times a day
Eat good food
Three AM blood sugar checks makes mom tired
Extremely low blood sugar makes me cranky
Snacks

Awareness
Want a cure NOW!
America's # 1 health threat - diabetes
Regular check ups
Emergency Room visits :-(
Never forget to count carbs
Everything about diabetes stinks - except my doctor...
Shots - I hated shots!
Stem cell research

By Cameron McGeorge age 9

I hope you like my poem. Please leave me a message in my guestbook and pray for my checkups tomorrow.
*************************************

Good news update Nov. 28 --
Camerons checkups went well. His A1c was 6.8, which is wonderful for a growing boy. It hasn't been that good for 3 yrs! WhoooHooo!
He is in the 75 percentile for height and weight. It won't be long and he'll be as tall as his momma! :)
Camerons blood pressure had been creeping up a little bit, so Dr Wood went ahead and increased his meds. We are to continue to monitor his BP to make sure it's not getting low. No results on his microalbumin yet.
Next check ups will be in March with labs and an ultrasound. Ultrasounds
on his kidneys once a year and an echocardiogram every 2 yrs. We are thankful we don't have to go back and forth to ST Louis as much as we did.
This month Cameron has been cancer free for 5 yrs! YEAH!!!!! Now that's really something to be thankful for!

Cameron got his grade card a week or two ago and that was great. He is
really struggling with math this year, but still did well.
His school is having a Mathathon for St Judes Hospital, so Cam has been
working hard on his math and collecting donations. We have friends that
go to St Judes, so his heart is really into this. Cameron has such a good
heart... he's so caring. We have such a great son! (just incase you didn't know that. ;-)

Oh! We have more exciting news - my youngest brother and his wife had their
baby yesterday. A healthy baby boy. Congratulations! He's a cutie - can't wait to hold him again.

So much to write about - so little time. It's been a long day!

LIVESTRONG -
Carla

Thursday, November 2, 2006 8:07 PM CST

We had a spooktacular Halloween! Cams Halloween party at school was last Thursday. The kids had fun and lucky for Cameron, his blood glucose was a little on the low side, so he got to have a few more small treats than he normally would have. ;-) It's nice when he doesn't have to feel singled out.
Saturday night we went to a friends house for the best Halloween party EVER! Every year is better than the last. All that fun and it wasn't even Halloween yet.
On Halloween we were invited to a friends 1st Birthday/Halloween Party. We had supper there and then we all took the kids Trick or Treating. It was a fun night and Cam (aka Anakin Skywalker) got to trick or treat friends and family that he doesn't usually get to. He even got to have a light saber fight with Uncle Scott. ;-)
Cameron got way too much candy, so I traded him a book for some of it. ;-) I started doing that the first year after he was diagnosed with diabetes. I either bought candy back from him or traded him a book. It works out great for us. Just because he has diabetes, shouldn't mean that he can't go trick or treating. I do let him have some candy, I just don't let him over do it and with the amount he got, he still has enough to last him until Valentine's Day! We even kept a bag of candy back for low blood sugars.

November is Diabetes Awareness month and Cameron is working on a poem about diabetes to put on here, but with all the fun we've been having he hasn't finished it.
We have a busy weekend ahead, so I'm not sure he'll get it done this weekend either. On Saturday, we're going to "Diabetes Day," a Bday party and then a 4H banquet that night.

Thanks for checking in on Cameron and don't forget to sign the guestbook. He loves reading your notes.

LIVESTRONG --
Carla

BTW - next round of checkups with his endo and renal docs are November 28th.

Monday, October 16, 2006 6:04 PM CDT

Everything is going well here. We're busy as ever and having lots of fun. For Cams birthday we went out for pizza with family and some friends. Cameron had a great time and is enjoying all of his new toys and games. As a matter of fact, he is watching his new Star Wars movie right now. ;-)
He loves Star Wars and is going to be Anikan Skywalker for Halloween. Gramma Mary made his costume and it is awesome!
Saturday, we went to 'Pumpkin Fest' with one of my cousins and an aunt. We had fun spending the day with them and it was a nice day to be outside.

I love the new Cowboy Cam pictures I posted last week. A good friend of mine took those and some family pictures of us out in our dried out creek bottoms. (Thanks Laura - love the collage you put together!) All the pictures turned out so good, I'm still trying to pick out my favorite for Christmas cards. ;-) Glad we took the pictures when we did, now it is cold and rainy, the leaves are brown and on the ground and it's not so pretty right now. A few mornings last week we woke up to frost on the ground! It has warmed up a bit, but today is a dreary, rainy day.

On Cameron's birthday, another Wilms' warrior in Missouri lost his life to cancer and in the last few weeks a couple of local Dream Factory children have earned their wings as well. I struggle wondering if I should keep Cameron's website going. I wanted to do this website to bring people hope. I want it to be uplifting and even educational at times, but sometimes it is hard... it is hard for me to update with good news when someone right down the road is struggling to keep their baby alive or worse, another family is making funeral arrangements.
I feel very fortunate that our outcome is a good one. It hasn't been an easy journey tho' and I don't take a single day for granted. Our journey is not over yet.
Go hug your kids, your husband or wife, mom or dad... make sure they know how much you love them, for tomorrow you could be fighting the same battle.

LIVESTRONG!
Carla

PS... Make sure you check back in November. November is Diabetes Awareness Month and Cameron is working on a special poem.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 7:37 AM CDT

Adding new pictures - will update in the next day or two.

LIVESTRONG

Monday, October 2, 2006 10:09 AM CDT

Today is Cameron's birthday - my very favorite day of the year! I feel like I'm the luckiest woman alive!
Last night Cam was so excited he said he did not think he would be able to sleep. I told him that was ok - exactly 9 yrs ago, I was so excited I couldn't sleep either!!!

October 2, 1997 is a day that is etched into my mind forever. I remember it as if it was yesterday. It was the happiest day of my life.

Cameron, you rolled over moments after you were born and I knew then, that we had our hands full! ;-)
You amazed us then and you continue to amaze us. We are so proud of you. Proud of all you've accomplished and overcome and we know you were sent to us to do great things. We love you more than you could ever know! Today is a beautiful, warm day, just like the day you were born. It's a perfect day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
xoxo
Mom and Dad

Sunday, September 10, 2006 12:09AM CDT

I finally have some time to sit down at the computer.
We are busy with 4H and PTA again, so school is officially in full force. :) School started on Aug 16th and Cam has already had strep throat! Ugh!!! :-p
Between Labor Day weekend and school letting out because of the heat, I don't think they have had a full week of school yet. Thankfully the weather has cooled down and so have the classrooms. We are discovering that 3rd grade is a lot tougher than 2nd. Reading and math have always come very easy for Cameron, but he is finding math very difficult this year. It's really not much different, I think he is just overwhelmed.
Cams blood sugar has been crazy. Trying to adjust his insulin is a nightmare because the only consistency has been inconsistency! Having an insulin pump makes it a lot easier, but still...
It's tricky because this year he has PE and lunch recess before he even has lunch. yeyiyi

August was a big month for me - I turned 40. It doesn't seem like that long ago I was 30. Thirty didn't bother me, but I thought 40 might. It didn't. Too many people are fighting for their lives for me to worry about my age. Growing old is a good thing. I like the saying "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be." I have a great husband and the best son anyone could ask for, wonderful family and awesome friends to grow old with, so life is good! ;-)

Now I have to tell you about the new picture I posted! Friday night we went to a Dream Factory event sponsored by Bentz GM and the Corvette Club. They had an auction for Dream Factory and Cameron made a model of a Corvette for them to auction off - it brought $250.00! How cool is that!?! (That's the model he made in the picture)
It was a big hit and Cameron is anxious to make more. He even got an order for one - thanks John! Cameron had a great night. He loved walking around showing off all the items to be auctioned off and he got to ride around in 4 different Corvettes. He even got to go for a ride in an old 1966 Chevelle just like my dad used to have, so I thought that was pretty cool. Many thanks go out to the Dream Factory volunteers and to all the guys and gals in the Corvette Club - you're the greatest!

We attended another Dream Factory event at Moberly Raceway on Saturday night. The drivers went up into the stands with their helmets to collect money for Dream Factory, so a big round of applause for them!!! Hopefully Dream Factory made enough money to sponsor a few more 'dreams'. The only thing better would be that there were no more kids diagnosed with cancer or any other horrible illness.

I just realized how late it is. The school bus will be here in less than 7 hrs, so I best be going, but I wanted to add one more thing. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, so if you have gold ribbons wear them. If you don't, let me know and I'll get you one. If you can help support childhood cancer research in any way there are lots of families out there that would appreciate it.
THANKS
LIVESTRONG -
Carla


To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
Anatole France

Saturday, September 9, 2006 1:37 PM CDT

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's a busy weekend, but I'll update in the next day or two.

Thursday, August 3, 2006 10:27 AM CDT

A quick update to last Fridays very long journal entry...
Lab results are back and everything looked WONDERFUL! Microalbumin levels are now normal so that is a big relief!
We are waiting to hear back from Cams renal doctor, his blood pressure has been creeping up and I think she may want to increase his meds.
(More good news - heard from Cams doc and they are not going to increase meds - BP's are still good enough. :)

Saturday we went to a Nascar Busch series race in St Louis to watch Carl Edwards race. There was a 2 hour rain delay that wasn't very fun, but it was worth the wait - Carl WON! YEAAAAAAAH! Cameron was on TV again. They showed him holding a sign that said
"GO CARL!" :-} (Thanks Dream Factory!)

Sunday we went to the fairgrounds to pick up Cams 4H projects. He has 2 projects that are going to the State Fair. He was so excited about all of his ribbons that he couldn't believe that he got money too!

Monday we went to Six Flags with some friends. It was sooooooooo HOT (over 100)! We rode the water rides and then went over to the water park to spend the rest of the day. That made it tolerable, but it was very crowded. You couldn't hold your arms out without touching someone and it made it very hard to keep track of the boys. We had a great time though and managed not to get sunburnt.

A friends daughter is getting married this weekend and today starts 4 days of fun festivities. And next week we are going to visit some relatives in IL., so more fun ahead!

Thanks for checking in.
LIVESTRONG!
Carla

Friday, July 28, 2006 1:04 AM CDT

Nothing but fun and good news at our house, so bear with me - this is a long one!
I almost hesitate to update with good news tho' when so many families are struggling. There are so many children fighting for their lives. I feel very fortunate, because we could be in their shoes. I also think back to when Cameron was first diagnosed and was going through surgery and chemo and I really wanted to hear stories that had a good outcome. I decided that I would start a caringbridge site 'if' Cams could be a positive one to give other families hope. So that said, it has been 5 yrs and Cameron is still in remission! YEAAAAA!!! Dr Gale did not and will not use the term "cured", but "complete remission" is good enough for me. The most surprising news we got today is that Cameron no longer has to see his regular oncologist. (Dr Gale said he is welcome to come say "HI" - but that's it! ;-))) Next year Cam will start going to "Long Term Follow Up" - this is good because they will compile files of Cameron's complete medical history for us to have and they will be watching for any late effects. All day I was really excited about this news and it is GREAT news that Cameron has graduated from the regular oncology clinic to long term, but tonight I feel really overwhelmed and I'm not quite sure why...just lots of different emotions I guess. Dr Gale kept patting Cam on the back and saying "Good job, Buddy", but we couldn't have done it without them and I couldn't have done it without such wonderful friends and family. Cameron has been through so much in the last 5 yrs and it is hard not to think that he got the "short end of the deal", but five years is a huge milestone and life is good!

Cameron took a huge bag of Beanie Babies to the Costas Center (onc/hem clinic) to give to the kids, but because chemo kids have to be so careful about germs, the nurse suggested we donated them to the ER for kids that are just diagnosed with diabetes, are hurt, etc... We thought that was an excellent idea! Cam knows all about those ER visits! Cameron left with a big heart knowing that he did something to make another child smile.
After that he had chest xrays (which I am assuming were fine since we didn't hear any different) and then he had labs done (don't know results of those yet) and had lunch. After lunch we went to the diabetes clinic. Cams A1C was 7.3 (that means the 3 month average of his blood sugar was 150-170)... could have been better, but docs were happy with it. We also saw the dietitian and everything was good there.
Cams renal doc changed clinic days, so we could not see them today. Dr Wood let us get by with just having labs done and I gave her a copy of Cams BP (blood pressure readings) and we'll talk when lab results are in.

Oh, we also happened to see David, the Child Life specialist - still there and still making kids smile. When Cam was first diagnosed, David came in and told Cameron that he would try to get him an autographed hat from anyone he wanted. Cameron's favorite song that he sang all the time was Only In America by Brooks and Dunn and he wanted a Brooks and Dunn hat and he wanted it BAD. Everyday when Cameron saw David he'd say - "did you get my hat yet?" and everyday David would ask Cameron to sing for him and Cameron would tell him "Not until I get my hat!" Well, shortly after Cameron got out of the hospital, we got a phone call - David did better than just get Cam a hat, he got us concert tickets to see Brooks and Dunn, Toby Keith, Keith Urban and Montgomery Gentry in St. Louis. We had amazing seats. At first, Cameron sat there with his eyes glued to the stage and hardly moved a muscle, then someone came out and gave Cameron an autographed hat from Brooks and Dunn and he sang the rest of the night. It was just as much fun to watch Cameron as it was the 'stars' on stage. :)

Now for more fun and exciting news --
Cameron entered his 4H projects in the fair and all 5 of his projects got blue ribbons and at least one item is going to the State Fair! He is soooo excited!
Cameron is really revved up that we get to go see Carl Edwards race in St. Louis Saturday!!! We can hardly wait! And then it is back to St Louis Monday to go to Six Flags. We are going to keep the road hot between here and St Louis, but as long as it is not for chemo, I'm ok with that! Those days really stunk, but with the news we got today, I am confident that we won't have to go that route again.

Next check ups in 4 months.

LIVESTRONG,
Carla

PS... Don't forget to sign Cams guestbook - he likes to see who stopped in to check on him.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 0:14 AM CDT

We have been busy having a fun (but HOT) summer!
Cameron is spending some time with Gramma and Grampa. I took him there Sunday and was missing him before I even left. I missed him getting up out of bed a zillion times - first to tell me he loves me, then to tell me he can't go to sleep (even though he hasn't been in his room long enough to even try), and then to tell me his legs hurt (growing pains) and that he wants water, etc, etc. Then this morning I missed him waking me up bright and early to tell me that he is STARVIN'! :)

Summer vacation is going by way too fast. School starts back up Aug. 16th. Cams school won't be air conditioned, so I'm hoping for a big cool down before then. With the heat index it has been over 100 for several days with no cool down in sight.

Cameron has been busy playing, reading, going to parties and finishing up his 4H projects for the fair.
He finally got to meet Carl Edwards. Cam was sooooo excited - even if he did have to wait in line for several hours. Cameron told Carl that he would trade him autographs, so Cam gave Carl an autographed picture of him (Cameron) with Carl's car! What a HOOT!!!
There were so many things that Cameron wanted to talk to Carl about, but Carl had a few hundred other people to meet. Maybe they will meet again - better yet, Cam would love to go to a Nascar race. Him and his dad have gotten to go to a few local races, so that makes him happy.
Carl and his brother, Kenny, have helped out the Dream Factory and we really appreciate that. (That makes us even bigger fans!)
Before we went to stand in line to meet Carl, Cam wanted to go by to talk to Mike from the Dream Factory. Cameron wanted Mike to give him a ride there in his Corvette. (Evidently, Cameron doesn't like to do anything in a small way! haha)
Mike had to work and didn't have his Corvette with him, but he went home to get it and took Cam for a spin around town. What a guy! (*this is when the above pic was taken)
Cameron has had a few 'speaking engagements' lately to talk about the Dream Factory and is going to make them another model of a Corvette to auction off at their next fundraiser. It is fun to be involved with such a great organization.

Cameron goes to see his oncologist and endocrinologist on July 27th. Wish us luck. I'll be glad to get that appt out of the way. It's been a year since Cam has seen his oncologist, so that always makes me a little nervous.

I'll update with good news then. Thanks for checking in and don't forget to sign Cams guestbook.
LIVESTRONG -
Carla

Monday, June 26, 2006 10:10 AM CDT

Good morning!
We are having a fun summer. Cameron LOVES summer school! This is their last week and they have lots of fun things planned. I'm really looking forward to Thursday, they are having "Reader's Theater and Magic Show." Cams lines are so funny and he is so dramatic, I can't wait to see him act.

Yesterday, we went to Big Surf waterpark and had a great time with some friends. Cam, Matt and Nathan had so much fun together. We were there for 5 hrs and definitely had our share of fun, sun and water. When we noticed that the boys had sunburnt eyelids and Cam got sunscreen in his eyes we decided it was time to go home.
Cameron is more than a little aware of what cancer can do and with all the talk on the news about skin cancer, he was in a state of hysterics when he found out that his "eyes" were sunburnt. He said he was going to get skin cancer and I told him, no, he was going to be fine, but that didn't help matters. He yelled at me "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" What was I suppose to say to that!? I'd like to think that he is going to be just fine and will never, ever have to worry about cancer again, but I DON'T know that. :(((((
Cameron already had me get him one of those new swim shirts they have for boys. No matter how much sunscreen we put on, his little shoulders always seem to get too much sun because I can't seem to get him out of the water! He is swimming like a fish and could swim and play in the water for hours. He looks like a surfer dude with that little swim shirt on. ;-) Cameron had fun at the Wave Pool trying to dive under the big waves and swim through them and I did a little stunt at Big Surf that someone should have caught on tape for America's Funniest Videos. I rode the "Rapids" (it's a long, winding, downhill path on an inner tube). It's one of my favorites and I've been on it many, many times. Well, this time, I hydroplaned. I went flying through the air and did a flip. I was still hanging on to the handles of the tube so I landed upside down in the water.... very dangerous because the water was shallow. I am very sore this morning! Last night Cam and I were talking about our aches and pains. He has been having "growing pains" and I have to rub his legs every night and my back and neck hurt. I made the comment that I'm WAY too old to be doing flips through the air! Cameron's comment to that was "Well, how old is Carl?" (The Carl he is referring to is Carl Edwards, our favorite Nascar guy - #99, that does back-flips when he wins a race). I don't know how old he is, but I know that he is A LOT younger than me and I don't care to be doing anymore back flips!!!

Cam was sick last weekend with a high temp. I thought he might have had strep. It was just a virus, but bad enough that I had to take him to the ER because of his diabetes. He had "large ketones" and that can be very, very dangerous to a diabetic. Ketones are tricky business, but he escaped a hospital stay and is doing fine now.

If you missed the clip on CNN with Cams picture, you can still view it online. I've added the link at the bottom of the page. I have dial-up, so it doesn't work for me, but it should for most of you. They show a picture of Cameron in his scrubs when he was 5 and a picture of him and I when he was 3 - he had surgery to remove the Wilms' tumor 3 days prior. People have asked me why I have such a big smile on my face - my baby has cancer, but it had been 3 days since I held him. I was able to snuggle in bed with him, but he wasn't able to get out of bed until the 3rd day. So, that is why I have such a big smile on my face! I was very happy to be able to hold my baby again!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't forgot to hold your babies (no matter how old they are) hug and kiss them and tell them how much you love them. Life can change in an instant.

LIVESTRONG!
Carla

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 12:12 AM CDT

Hey everyone! Guess what - Cameron's picture is going to be on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 show!
It will air on Wednesday, June 14 at 10pm Eastern, 9pm Central during Anderson Cooper's "On the Rise" segment featuring MiniScrubs (www.miniscrubs.com).
If you miss it, you can view the piece on the web the following day at: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/

When MiniScrubs in Naperville, IL was just getting started, I ordered a pair of personalized scrubs with "Future Pediatric Oncologist" embroidered on them. Cameron used to wear them to the hospital and I can still picture him walking in to the Costas Center at Cardinal Glennon and in a very 'matter of fact' voice saying to his oncologist "So, are you going to do an ultrasound, CAT scan or what?" I don't know what we needed Dr Gale for when we had Dr Cameron!
(No matter what he was going through, Cameron has always made us smile!)

When Cameron was in Kindergarten, Jackie made him another set of scrubs that said "Dr Cameron." They are too little now, but Cameron used to dress up in them all the time and he wore them on Halloween. (I even had a matching pair that said "Nurse in Training.")
When Jackie found out she was going to be on the Anderson Cooper show, she said she immediately thought of Cameron and wanted them to air a picture of Cam in his scrubs. So there you have it... Cameron goes from our local NBC station, our local radio station KPLA, to CNN! He's sweeping the Nation off their feet. It is amazing to me how many hearts Cameron has touched. He has been such an inspiration to so many people. I hate that he has gone through all the horrible things he has, but hopefully he is making a difference in lives everywhere. I know he has mine!

Summer school is going well. We've been getting familiar with all the new faces at the elementary building and I'm very impressed with the great job everyone is doing with Cameron's care. With his new schedule, I expected horrible blood sugars last week, but they weren't near as bad as I thought. They were actually pretty good, but this morning they were super high. Go figure.
Diabetes is such a challenge - we can't wait for a cure. At least he has an insulin pump...

I better go check his blood sugar and get to bed. Thanks for checking in.

LIVESTRONG -
Carla

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 9:32 AM CDT

Martha has been waiting for an update about the Relay For Life and I've finally recovered so here it goes.
This was one of the best Relays ever! We had great weather and NO rain (I think that's a first)!
Cameron's class had a penny drive and raised $18.26 in 2 days.
I thought that was awesome. Just think of what they could have accomplished if I had come up with that idea a little earlier. ;-)
Friday morning, Cameron called in to KPLA to talk about the Relay and then he talked to them again when we got out to the fairgrounds. Cameron has that "radio personality" and just loves talking on air to Chris and Monica.
Cameron started off the Relay with the Pledge of Allegiance and then Cameron and my dad walked the survivor lap together. Cameron had been telling me for months that he wasn't going to sing this year, so I did not take my video camera. That was a mistake because as soon as we got there, he found out they were going to have their own American Idol contest "Relay Idol" and he couldn't wait! I took pictures, but wish I could have recorded it, he did GREAT! To vote for your favorite "Idol" you had to pay a dollar and that money went in towards team donations. Cameron got 2nd place! YEAAAA! He was so excited and so hyped up about it. He can hardly wait until next year. He's ready to start collecting donations for Relay Idol 2007. ;-)
Cameron went home with grandma and grandpa at midnight and I stayed up all night. I walked at least 15 miles and I had shin splints so bad I could hardly move. I'm sure racing Cameron had a little something to do with that. Next time I think I'll let him win. :-) I'm just too old to race an 8yr old! haha
Closing ceremony was at 9am Saturday morning and at that time, the Relay had raised more than $135,000.
By the time I got home I had been up for 28 hrs. I had a 4 hr nap and then had to meet Cameron and Grandma and Grandpa back at the fairgrounds for the 4H BBQ.
I want to thank Scott and Lucy for being in charge of "Cameron's Team" this year and my friends at KPLA deserve a big thank you for being a corporate sponsor for the RFL. THANK YOU ALL!

Cameron is getting an award at school today, so I will update more this evening!
*Wednesday, May 24 - The assembly was so much fun yesterday! The 2nd graders sang songs and played their Kazoos. It was very cute. Cameron got 4 awards! One for being such a good reader and writer, one for spelling and 2 more for reading. WooooHOooo - Way to go Cam!
Before the assembly, they had a Reader's Theatre presentation of The Great Kapok Tree. It is a story about the preservation of the rainforest - something which Cameron is very interested in.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I'm not sure if I'm excited or sad... It will be a bittersweet day.

Thanks for checking in and don't forget to sign the guestbook!

LOVESTRONG -
Carla

Monday, May 1, 2006 11:05 PM CDT

Here's a link to the article that was written about Cameron in this Friday's paper:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/May/20060505Feat003.asp

*Update, Friday, May 5th
Cameron had to go to the dr yesterday... He woke up in the night with a 102.4 temp and then threw up at breakfast. I took him in to the dr first thing yesterday morning. Cam has strep... again. That wasn't the worst of it though. I checked ketones before we left the dr's office and they were as high as the test strip would go... not good! I happened to catch Dr Beal coming out of a room, so I could inform him. I thought he was going to send us to the hospital, but Cameron promised to drink lots of fluids and try to eat, so he lets us go home. Thankfully, after one dose of antibiotic Cameron felt much better. He drank as promised and I was able to keep his blood sugar #'s down enough that we got rid of the ketones! By last night Cam was good as new! Whew!
(That will teach me to brag about how well things are goin'! :)
Cameron was most disappointed that he couldn't go to school yesterday and he missed the field trip. We had a great day today though. I took the 4H amphibian/reptile group to the Runge Center and to a few pet stores. Oh, the things I do for this kid... if he only knew how much I hate snakes!

***********************************

The lack of updates just means we have been busy having lots of fun.
Cameron has been to a couple of Dream Factory events. The Corvette Cup had a fundraiser for the Dream Factory and Cameron got to ride around in a Corvette - twice. The guys (and gals, can't forget you Mary) are awesome! The most kind and generous group of people I've ever met! Part of the fundraiser was an auction. Even Cameron got involved - he donated a model of a Corvette that he put together.
A very special friend 'won' an autographed Carl Edwards Tshirt and gave it to Cameron. Cameron was thrilled beyond words... seriously, it really was one of the first times I've ever seen Cameron totally speechless. Towards the end of the auction people were bidding on items and then donating them to the Dream Factory kids. Like I said, these are the most kind, caring and generous people ever! We appreciate all you do for the Dream Factory!

Yesterday, the Dream Factory chartered a bus and took the families to a KC Royals game. (Many thanks go out to Mike and all the Dream Factory volunteers!)
We were afraid it would get rained out, but we had a great day. We all got to walk the field before the game and Cameron was able to get MacDougal's autograph. Unfortunately the Royals lost, but watching the kids have such a good time was more fun than the game anyway! Cameron really bonded with his friend Joey (whom Cam has nicknamed "Little Joe" :)
Cameron took over pushing Little Joe around in his stroller and they had so much fun joking around. It was a hoot watching them and we are trying to make plans to see each other again soon.

The school year is winding down. Cam's last day is May 25th, but they have every Friday off in May because they did not use their snow days. There are lots of fun end of the school year activities this month that Cameron is very excited about. He has waited all year to do the rainforest project. They study rainforest animals and turn the 2nd grade hallway into a rainforest. They also have a few field trips planned. Fun, fun, fun! Cameron will have about a week off before summer school starts. He's excited about that too, because they are going to have a special science class. I am soooo glad Cam likes school as much as he does! (Thanks Mrs Austin, Ms Reid, Nurse Bullard and the lunch room staff - I couldn't do it without you! We are going to miss you so much next year!)

Gosh, so much to talk about. We've done so much in the last month or so.
We had a great Easter and Marvin was off work for the first Easter in many years, so we enjoyed spending the day together with family.
We've gotten together with my parents and brothers for my mom's birthday.
My brother Jason and his wife are going to have a baby in Dec. (YEAH!)
We went to the Magic House in St. Louis and then on over to visit relatives in Illionis and to attend Great Aunt Lois' 75th birthday party.
And now we are really busy with 4H and the Relay for Life. We still need more team members and more donations! I think our friends and family are getting worn out with our efforts to raise money for ACS. This year we have more diabetes friends supporting us than ever before. If you would like to make a donation, there is a link to Cameron's personal Relay website listed below.

Cameron is healthy and having fun, so the updates have been fewer are farther between.
Check out the new pics in the photo album and don't forget to sign Cameron's guestbook so he knows you stopped in to check on him.

LIVESTRONG!
Carla

PS... If you live locally, the Tribune will be running a story about Cameron this Friday.

Saturday, March 11, 2006 11:45 AM CST

I am sorry to say, that Kyle (www.caringbridge.org/ia/kyle) has lost his fight against cancer... :(
Every time I hear of another child that has earned his or her wings, my desire to find a cure for cancer increases.
If you want a cure as much as we do and would like to donate to ACS here is a link to Cameron's Relay For Life website:
http://www.acsevents.org/boonerfl/wilmssurvivor

To Cameron, we love more than you will ever know. You have taught us so much. Your journey hasn't always been an easy one, but it has turned you into the loving, brave, intelligent, kind and caring young man you are today. We are so glad that God chose us to be your parents!

Special Child

by Sharon Harris

You weren't like other children,
And God was well aware,
You'd need a caring family,
With love enough to share.

And so He sent you to us,
And much to our surprise,
You haven't been a challenge,
But a blessing in disguise.

You winning smiles and laughter,
The pleasures you impart,
Far outweigh your special needs,
And melt the coldest heart.

We're proud that we've been chosen,
To help you learn and grow,
The joy that you have brought us,
Is more than you can know.

A precious gift from Heaven,
A treasure from above,
A child who's taught us many things,
But most of all - "Real Love"



LIVESTRONG! Hug your kids and make sure you tell them that you love them!
-Carla

Thursday, March 2, 2006 7:21 PM CST

Everything is going great here.
Cam's having a growth spurt - he has grown an inch and half in a month! We just can't keep this kid full!
We'll have to take out a loan for clothes and food if he doesn't slow down! haha
His blood pressure and blood glucose is great and he's been healthy for the last few weeks! Yippeeee!
There's still lots of nasty germs going around, so I'm glad his immune system is able to fight things off a little better than the last several months (knock on wood). I do think he might be getting a cold, but it could be allergies. We have been having some really nice, warm weather and things are starting to turn green, so who knows...

Cameron is doing great in school and we just love his teacher! He has a great student teacher too! We had our parent/teacher meeting today and all is well. I'm so glad he enjoys school as much as he does.
He is really looking forward to spring break tho' so he can go see Gramma and Grampa.

I won a makeover contest and have been having a lot of fun with that. It has kept me extremely busy, but I'll tell you what, it sure feels good to do something for myself. The contest was through a local radio station and you had to write an essay about why you needed, wanted or deserved a makeover. I needed to have my eyes checked, I needed to go see the dentist, I needed to get in shape, but more than anything, I needed it for sanity sake... I needed time to do something for myself. I feel so much better and have so much more energy and just a better attitude in general. Thank you KPLA, Sterling Dental, Gold's Gym, Georgetown Vision, Dr Howard and LeSienne! You guys are great!!!!

I have to say I feel a little guilty bragging about how well things are going for us, when there are so many families fighting the fight of their lives. Please pray for Kyle (www.caringbridge.org/ia/kyle)

LIVESTRONG!

Carla

PS...
Attention other caringbridge families - I somehow lost my "favorites" list of the caringbridge sites I visit. I've been trying to go through some of the past entries in Cams guesbook to find you, but it is a slow process because I have to get caught up on reading everything I've missed the last several months. So, if you stop by, please sign the guestbook or email me the link to your caringbridge website. We haven't forgot about ya.

Sunday, February 5, 2006 12:45 AM CST

I've gotten several phone calls wanting to know about Cams recent checkups, so thought I better get busy on an update. A couple weeks ago, Cam had appts with his specialists at Cardinal Glennon. It was a busy day, we were there for 7 hrs! Cameron's first appt was an ultrasound on his kidneys. The technician marked a spot on one of them, and his renal dr wasn't sure what that was all about. My heart sank to my feet when Dr Wood said they found a "spot", but she assured me that it was not a mass, so there was no need to worry about a reoccurrence. She thought that perhaps it was another calcification or possibly a kidney stone, but we would have to wait to see what the radiologist said. The report from the radiologist was fine and after comparing past ultrasounds, I think they decided it was the same calcification that has been there since surgery. Dr Wood was out of town last week, so if there are any farther concerns she will call me. But, after talking to the nurses we are confident that it is nothing to worry about. We had already taken in a urine sample to a local lab a few days prior so Cardinal Glennon could get results quicker and everything was great! Better than it has been in 2 years. Protein and creatinine ratios were great and Cams microalbumin is back to normal! Yipppeee!!! I am very excited that we got that under control! Continued high microalbumin could have meant early signs of kidney disease and I'm not ready to deal with that one! Blood pressure is good and Cam doesn't have to go back to his renal Dr until July when he sees his oncocologist, so this is a big step in the right direction.
Cams A1c was ok... could be better, but 7.7 for a growing boy that has been sick a lot is acceptable.
He also had to have an echocardiogram and that was fine as well. Now, if we could just keep all those bad germs away! Cam had a follow up with his ped. last week and they decided to keep him on antibiotics for one more week because his nose was still a little yucky... maybe a trace of the sinus infection left, so we wanted to make sure it was all cleared up this time. He's been sick long enough, so I hope this will be it for the rest of the winter!

Cameron has been through a lot and although his appts are getting fewer and farther between, he will always have issues that will have to be dealt with. It is sad to say tho' that some children aren't quite so lucky...

Please pray for our caringbridge friend Kyle. www.caringbridge.org/ia/kyle/

I received a newsletter the other day stating that one in every 320 children will be diagnosed with cancer. This is unacceptable.
If you can, please help support cancer research. Cameron is starting to raise money for ACS's Relay For Life, so if you would like to donate to that, that would be great (you can contact me), but there are so many organization that do so much good. In the long run, we will all benefit from any cancer research, so I don't really care if you donate to ACS or Childhood cancer research, breast cancer research, etc...
We just want a cure!

LIVESTRONG ~ don't take life for granted, live life to the fullest and make sure your loved ones know how much you love them.
Love,
Carla

Monday, January 16, 2006 11:44 PM CST

Life is crazy here in Missouri. Cameron is STILL SICK! Can you believe that!? - I can't.
He seemed ok, even went to school 5 out of 5 days last week (which seemed like an amazing accomplishment in itself). We had a good weekend too. Cameron and his dad went to a 4H shooting sports safety course and we went to see "Narnia" - which Cam loved! Cameron has been reading the books, so he had fun trying to tell everyone what was going to happen next. As I've said many times before - he never ceases to amaze me. He's been reading the Chronicles of Narnia and he's reading them so fast, I thought he was just reading words and not really comprehending the story... guess I was wrong! He is such a smart boy and since this is his website I get to brag about him all I want. haha
He's handsome too... and thoughtful, kind, loving, I could just go on and on, but to sum it up, he's just a GREAT son and we love him soooooo much! Wish his health was better. It just doesn't seem right, he's been through enough in his life time.
I guess I shouldn't be complaining, there are so many kids fighting for their lives right now... childhood cancer seems to be on the rise and the more I hear, the more devastating it gets.

Today was a school holiday and the weather was nice, so Cam spent the entire morning outside playing. He came in and watched Star Wars and then said he thought he needed a little nap. WHAT!? - a nap? Cameron? he must be sick! He went to bed for a little while and then started throwing up and throwing up and ... you get the picture. It wasn't a pretty one. I called his Dr and he said we should take him on in to the ER because he'd probably end up sending him to the hospital for fluids anyway. Cameron was very lethargic when we got there and so pitiful looking. :( It was amazing how he perked right up after he started getting IV fluids. When he started feeling better they did a chest xray (which was fine) and checked for ketones which was fine as well. Yesterday Cam just finished his 10 day supply of penicillin for Strep, but he still tested positive. UGH! They ended up giving him IV antibiotics and more fluids. I've got his blood sugar under control pretty well and since he wasn't throwing up anymore they let us come home. We have to go back to the Dr tomorrow though and see what they want to do.
Cam has been sick off and on since he was in the hospital in DC... :(

Cam wants to thank Chris for the popsicle and for doing a good job with the blood draw and IV stick. And as always, I appreciate how kind and compassionate Kelly is when we see her in the ER. You guys are great. I aimed to show Kelly her handy-work on the side of Cams head from a few months ago. Cams scar isn't near as bad as I thought it might be.

It's been a long day, so I'm going to go for now. I'll update tomorrow after we see Dr Beal.
-Carla

* Tues, Jan 17th
Cameron is doing soooo much better today. The IV fluids and mega dose of antibiotic at the hosptial yesterday really helped. Cam did not have ketones today, but after looking over the labs from yesterday, he had moderate ketones. The problem is, Cameron cannot seem to shake the sinus infection OR strep! - no wonder his WBC was so high. Dr Beal put Cam on Ceftin for 2 weeks and we see him again then to decide if he needs another round. Hopefully this will do the trick! No throwing up, no fever, no ketones and his BG's are ok, so off to school tomorrow for Cameron.
Wish us luck!

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:16 PM CST

Back to school - Jan. 2
Christmas vacation went by waaaaaaaaayy too fast! Cam had a fun (and healthy) vacation - he was back to school for a few days and now has strep. (blahhhhh)
I don't get it... he just finished his double round of antibiotics for the bad sinus infection he had a while back and he's sick again. I just don't think his immune system is what it should be...
Cameron has been wanting to have a "movie marathon" and I think tomorrow will be a perfect day for that. He can just lay around in bed and watch movies all day. He'll love that! I'll update more tomorrow...
LIVESTRONG,
Carla

*Jan. 5th - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLY! I love you!

*Jan. 6th - Day 2 of Cameron's "movie marathon."
He's having a good time watching Home Alone today... hope it doesn't give him any ideas! haha
Thank goodness for the portable DVD player Santa brought us. =)
Cam still felt pretty yucky yesterday, but seems to have turned the corner last night. He probably could have gone to school today, but an extra day of rest won't hurt!

A friend and fellow "Cancer Mom" sent me this poem. It is very touching and I couldn't wait to share it --

“The Strength of an Egg”

Parents of children with cancer are often referred to or viewed as
having "strength like a rock". Albeit flattering it is not quite true. It is
more like the strength of an egg. An egg you ask? Yes!
If you'll think about it, you'll see my point.

An egg has a polished, smooth outer appearance, with no cracks or weak spots
visible. It seems almost inconceivable that the inside might not be
as smooth or solid.

Most children, at some point, are shown the famous egg trick. An egg set at
just the right angle can withstand enormous amounts of pressure and cannot be
cracked or broken. Yet the same egg, tapped gently at an even
slightly different angle, will break. The contents, once so neatly concealed,
will come spilling out. The no-longer perfect shell will be crushed. It looks
so fragile that it seems inconceivable that it ever held any strength.

A rock, on the other hand is solid all the way through. To break it is almost
impossible. If you succeed, you will find that there is nothing inside but
more rock. It takes a lot more than pure hardness to hold the "HAND OF HOPE".

Parents of children with cancer are not solid all the way through. We hurt,
we fear, we cry, we hope. It takes a very careful balancing act to keep the
shell from being shattered. "Balancing an egg" while running a household,
going for doctors' visits and hospital stays, keeping the family together,
and holding on to the constantly unraveling ties of your sanity can be very
tricky indeed!

Occasionally, the angle will be off and the shell will break, shattering hope
and the neatly secured appearances of a truly fragile existence. Unlike
Humpty Dumpty, though, parents of children with cancer will pick
themselves up and put themselves back together again.


Wishing each and every one of you a HAPPY and HEALTHY 2006! Thanks for checking in on us. Cameron appreciates all of his messages.
LIVESTRONG, laugh harder and love your loved ones like there is no tomorrow!

Wednesday, December 28, 2005 11:04 PM CST

Cameron is having a GREAT Christmas vacation! He is at Gramma and Grampas right now and will be coming home tomorrow. Gramma Mary deserves a big round of applause - she changed Cams infusion site today!
(Whoooooohoooooooo - way to go Mom! You did it - I knew you could!)
Unfortunately, I have had to change Cams sites every 2 days instead of every 3. I think this is in part due to using the same area over and over. Cam just doesn't have enough fat (if only I had that problem... haha :). He is not comfortable letting me put his infusion in his tummy or leg, but he's going to run out of options soon. We'll have to talk this over with his endo in January.
BTW: Cameron goes to see his team of specialist Jan 26th - so keep him in your prayers for good test results.

We had our big Christmas dinner on the 23rd. Marvin and my brother Scott had to work Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day, so we had all of the family over here Friday. We had lots of fun, but it went by too fast.
Christmas Eve, Cameron and I stayed home and watched Christmas movies all day. Christmas Day we were up and all the presents were unwrapped by 6am before Daddy had to go to work. Cameron is having fun playing with all his new games and watching his new DVDs. His favorite gifts would be the Anakin Skywalker costume Gramma made and the portable DVD player Santa brought us. I'll post a new Christmas picture in the photo album.

Christmas vacation is going by so fast - school starts back Monday!
I can't believe that it will be 2006 in a few days. We want to wish all of our family and friends a HAPPY and HEALTHY New Year!
LIVESTRONG ~
Carla

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:35 PM CST

My last few updates have been pretty long winded, so I'll try to keep this one short.

Sunday we went Dream Factory's Christmas party and we had the best time ever! Thanks a million to all the volunteers and sponsors - you're AWESOME!

I had to take Cam into the Dr today. He just can't seem to get rid of the cold (or cold like symptoms) that he developed before our trip to DC. Besides a runny nose and some coughing he seemed ok, but it was going on way too long. He has a horrible sinus infection (again) and is back on a double round of antibiotics. When it comes to pain, Cameron just doesn't do much complaining and he has such a high energy level, not much gets him down. I knew when his blood sugars started going up, that something more than a cold was going on and I was right. Our saying around here is "Momma knows!"

Cameron is so excited about Christmas this year it is unbelievable! He must really think he's been a good boy because he has a list a mile long!!!! I can't deny that he has been GOOD, but we don't have a house big enough for everything he wants! =) LOL

Guess that's about all -- oh, I did update the pictures in the photo album over the weekend.

Please pray for Kyle and his family.
www2.caringbridge.org/ia/kyle/

Happy Holidays!

Thursday, November 24, 2005 0:15 AM CST

I'm finally getting a chance to update the website about our so called 'vacation'. We did have fun, but it didn't start off that way. For those of you that don't know, we went to Washington DC last week and Cam spent a day and half in the hospital!

We left our house at 6am Tuesday morning, left Uncle Scott's house at 7 or so and arrived in Arlington, VA at 3:30am the next morning. After just an hour or so of sleep, Cam woke up unable to breath. He was coughing and gasping for air. He couldn't really talk, but gradually got out the words "I love you" and then he said "I'm dying" and his body stiffened. Scott called 911 and Cam was taken by ambulance to the hospital. After a few nebulizer treatments, oxygen and steroid shots he came around. One dr said he had croup and another said it was an asthma attack.
The steroids made Cameron's blood sugar very high and that required us to stay overnight and we were admitted to the pediatric floor. After we got settled in, Cameron kept singing "AIN'T IT GREAT TO BE ALIVE, AIN'T IT GREAT TO BREATH!!!" And he meant it!
Fortunately, the Dr's there were in contact with our diabetes nurse at Cardinal Glennon. After many correction boluses, an increase in basal rates and extra insulin shots, we were finally able to get Cams BG under control. We left the hospital around noon the next day and headed to Washington DC.
We were in a run all day, but we were able to see a lot and we stayed an extra day to go to more museums.
When I look at the list of things we did, I can't believe we did all of that in a day and half! We went to the Arlington Cemetery and watched the Changing of the Guards. We saw the Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument, White House Visitor Center and the Jefferson Memorial. We saw the outside only of the U.S. Capitol and the White House and we went to the National Archives. We visited the Air and Space Museum, American History, Natural History, and the Museum of the American Indian. We absolutely loved all the museums (and gift shops!). We ended up having a lot of fun, but I'm not ready to go back yet! :)

I took Cam to see his pediatrician this morning and Dr Beal said that he thought Cam probably had the croup and that could have very well brought on an asthma attack. Cam is still a little wheezy today, so Dr Beal and I decided it would be best to have a nebulizer here at home. We are suppose to do at least one treatment a day to get us through the weekend. We are doing this more as a preventive to keep Cam out of the hospital this holiday weekend. We've had enough of hospitals lately!

Tomorrow we are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house and Cameron is going to (or attempt to) stay a few nights. Something usually happens and he has to come home early, but we are determined that things are going to go well this time. We've had enough bad luck lately! November hasn't been a good month - with Cam bonking his head and getting 4 stitches and going on vacation only to ride in an ambulance and site see from the hopsital window...ye yi yi! I'm ready for some Christmas cheer. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! We all have a lot to be thankful for, so don't forget to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. Life is too short not to!
LIVESTRONG,
Carla

Nov. 28th update --
Well, Cam's blood sugar was high at Grandma's and I had to go change his site late Saturday night. It was too late to drive back home, so I stayed all night too. Cam is also coughing more. I can't get that kid to keep his fingers out of his mouth! It drives me nuts!!!!
My good news is - my Christmas shopping is DONE! Yippeee! It has been many, many years since I've finished my shopping this early. Now I just have ceramic orders to finish up. Need to get Cam to finish his homework and get to bed. Have a good week!

(Kyle, we are praying for you buddy. Hope those scans you had today show good results. Keep up the good fight. We know you can do it!) www.caringbridge.org/ia/kyle

Monday, November 7, 2005 7:27 PM CST

Sorry for the lack of updates - October was just a busy month.
No news is usually good news...

This will be a long update though, 'cause I have plenty of things to report for the first week of November!

We had another trip to the ER last week. Cameron hit his head on the corner of the bathroom counter and had to have stitches. That kid has so many battle wounds, I think his nickname should be "Scar."
We frequent the ER so often, we have our favorites picked out and know them by name. Kelly is our favorite Dr and Michael is favorite IV guy. I told Kelly they should give frequent flyer miles to the regulars. Haha
Cameron has had stitches plenty of times for surgeries, but this is the first time from an accident and he was very nervous. He did great tho' and I had a surprise to share with him while Kelly was stitching him up.
We are going to Washington DC with Uncle Scott next week! WhooooHoooo! Cameron is VERY excited!!!!!!

Congratulations go out to Katie, who had a beautiful baby boy last week. While we were waiting for Cams turn in the ER we got to go see them and hold Baby Ryan. What a fun way to pass the time!

Cameron couldn't wait to go to school the next day to share all the excitement from the night before!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes out to all the stitchers at Love Quilts. You guys are AWESOME!
I had the local stitchers meet me in the nurses office at school Friday afternoon. Nurse Robin cross stitched a square as well, so I thought that would be a good meeting place to surprise Cameron. Robin called down to Cams class and asked him to come up to check his blood sugar. There we all were including the newspaper editor. Cam took a look around and went on to check his blood sugar. It was hoot, he didn't realize that was a trick to get him there. He was so surprised and he LOVES his quilt and pillows SO MUCH!!!! Cameron is very proud of it and calls it his "Quilt of Hope." We could never thank you enough!
Cameron will cherish this quilt forever. I'll try to post a picture in the next day or two.

Animas had a "Diabetes Hero" essay contest that I entered a while back. I didn't win, but thought I'd share it with you. BTW, Cameron was diagnosed with diabetes 3 yrs ago today...



My Diabetes Hero

Cameron is my son and my Diabetes SUPER Hero.
Cameron has had to endure more in the past 5 years than most people do in a lifetime. At the age of 3 he was diagnosed with cancer, at the age of 4 - high blood pressure, Type 1 diabetes at the age of 5, started using an insulin pump at 6 and developed asthma at 7. As you can see, Cameron has had many challenges, but nothing gets him down. To look at him, you would think he was a normal kid... A normal kid in every way, except, he has to check his blood glucose several times a day, count every carb that goes into his little body and take insulin.

When Cameron was first diagnosed with diabetes, I remember thinking that diabetes had to be just about the worst possible thing that my very picky eater could be diagnosed with. We have been through worse, so we could do this too. Everyday with Cameron is a gift. He has taught us to celebrate life and live life to the fullest.

July 1, 2004 - is a day we will never forget. It is the day Cameron got an insulin pump (Animas IR1200 - AKA "Hotshot"). Cameron is so proud of his pump. I remember him jumping up and down yelling "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!" I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry. Laugh at the fact that Cameron thinks getting an insulin pump is the best day of his life or cry because the best day of his life is getting an insulin pump. That day, he walked through the hospital halls showing everyone that he had a PUMP! Having a pump has changed our lives and has given Cameron so much more freedom. Freedom to eat what he wants (within reason, of course) and to eat when he wants. And, although Cameron still wishes that he did not have diabetes, having a pump makes it so much more tolerable.

Cameron is a trooper, he is a real hero in every sense of the word. He is full of strength and courage. He never ceases to amaze me and others around him. Cameron is an inspiration to family and friends with diabetes and admired by everyone that meets him. He is my hero in so many ways.

My son
Young

Delightful
Intelligent
Adventurous
Brave
Eager
Terrific
Easy going
Special

Helping hand
Enthusiastic
Respected by all
Optimistic

My son, my hero.

I love you Cameron!
Your very proud Momma, Carla


*Cameron wants me to remind you to sign his guestbook. There hasn't been any new entries for a while and he really enjoys reading them. Thanks!

Sunday, October 2, 2005

WOW, what a weekend we had!!!!!

Yesterday morning as I was trying to gather everything for Cameron's birthday party, Cameron had a new all time LOW blood sugar of 25!!!!!!!!! (His target BG is 120)
For those of you that don't know, that is dangerously low! Untreated low blood sugar levels can result in seizures, coma or even _____ (you'll have to fill in the blank here, because I won't even consider "that" as a possibility).
It must have been dropping really fast because one minute he was fine, was able to check his own blood sugar and the next minute he was barely conscious. I tried to give him juice, but it just dribbled out of his mouth. I got a straw thinking he might be able to sip it a little easier, but I could tell his BG he was getting lower and lower. By now, we are on the floor because he couldn't even sit up in a chair. Cam's screaming and crying and I'm trying to stay focused on getting his blood sugar up. He loves Smarties and we always have those on hand for "mild" lows. I was hoping he'd gobble those right up, but I was wrong. He wasn't even coherent enough to eat candy!
Marvin had to get the glucose gel to squirt in his mouth. Cam hates it, and we hate giving it to him, but it was that or giving him a glucagon shot and calling 911. :(((
The gel worked quick enough that he was then able to drink his juice. After that, he started coming around. All of this took place in about 15 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity!!!! Cameron rested on the couch for a while and we finished loading everything up for the party. (Didn't want the Birthday Boy to be late to his own party!!!!!! :)
I often hear adults talk about having a low BG and it takes them all day to recover... It took Cam about an hour to recover and it took mom all weekend!!!
I'd like to say that I hope we never experience another low like that again, but I know we will. Every day with diabetes is a learning experience, so we continue to learn as we go. I'm adjusting Cams pump again, but with him being sick off and on, it has been tricky. And after yesterday, I'd say that his pancreas is probably producing more insulin than he normally does.
A cure just can't come soon enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On to the fun stuff...
Cameron had a GREAT birthday party with lots of friends and family. He wanted a fishin' party, so we carried that theme throughout. He even had "dirt cake" with gummy worms and blue "pond" cupcakes with gummy fish. The kids had lots of fun at the cookout, playing at the park and fishing.
Cameron's cousin, Brendan, came home with us. We always enjoy that because they don't get to see each other very often. After we got home from the party, "the boys" (Marvin included ;-) decided they wanted to go to a race. They had a great time and didn't get home until midnight. The boys had a hard time settling down, but I think Marvin was asleep before his head touched the pillow. Cam and Brendan were up at 7 this morning ready to play with all the new toys they didn't have time to play with yesterday. =))))) They really had a good time!

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY CAMERON! Did you know that your birthday is my favorite day of the year?! I love you all the way to the moon and back!

LIVESTRONG, laugh often and don't forget to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.

-Carla

Monday, September 26, 2005 10:51 PM CDT

Update to my weekend entries --
Cam is fine! Yeah! We went to see Dr Beal today and he ordered another CBC. Cameron's white blood count is almost back to normal now. Whooohooo!!! What a relief that was! Dr Beal is confident that his WBC was so high because of all the throwing up he was doing Saturday. We were a little worried about appendicitis for a while, but that is no longer a concern. Cam seems fine now, so we'll just go with that. He's fine and will not get diagnosed with anything else - EVER!

I had to go sign Cam up for his 4H projects yesterday. He wanted to sign up for Archery, Amphibians and Reptiles and then he could pick a 3rd project if he wanted.
Unfortunately, there was no project leader for Amphibians and Reptiles, so guess what?! I'm it! For those of you that know me, know that I am completely and utterly terrified of snakes!!! What was I thinking! I've already told the kids that we will not be learning anything about snakes. Our focus will be on lizards, turtles and frogs. I don't even mind alligators! When we went to Florida on Cameron's wish trip from Dream Factory, I even chased an alligator to get a picture of it. Didn't phase me a bit - not scared of something that could eat me, but a snake, that's another story. Too funny!
I also ended up saying that I would do a ceramic project under Arts and Crafts, so Cam decided that would be his 3rd project.
What is it with me and volunteering!?!

Cam's birthday is Sunday, with his party on Saturday. He can hardly wait! I think he's probably counting down the minutes by now. I personally do not know where time has gone. He's growing up so fast! Seems like yesterday that he was only a foot and half tall. Now he's only a foot shorter than I am!

Here's a little funny for ya: They other day, Cameron informed me that he was going to start dating when he's 18. I thought - ok, I can deal with that. Then he said, he was going to get married when he was 19! I went from thinking that I've got 10 years with my son before I have to share him with "another woman" to - in 11 years my little boy, fresh out of high school, wants to be married!!!! ACK!
Reality check -- I've had enough of that for one weekend!
Hope this week is smooth sailin'!

Thanks for checking in!
LIVESTRONG, laugh often and don't forget to tell your loved ones how much you love them!
-Carla

Friday, September 23, 2005 9:26 AM CDT

Well... Cam has a sinus infection, but is doing much better now. His allergies have been so bad things just got out of hand.
His blood sugar has been all out of wack, so I thought something was going on - just wasn't sure what. Last Friday (at school), Cam had an all time LOW blood sugar of 28!!!! Ye, yi, yi!
He has passed out at 31, so I was amazed that he was even able to check his own blood sugar. Everyone handled the situation wonderfully. It was one of those situations that you don't get scared until after the fact when all those "what ifs" pop in your head.

We've really had some problems with lows at school. Second graders eats 30 minutes later than they did last year and Cam has PE at the end of the day before he gets on the bus.
I'm trying hard, but it has been very tricky trying to get his pump adjusted correctly. Cams blood sugar was great on Saturday. Sunday, he had fever and a headache. I couldn't get his b.s. below 200 all day, so I knew something was up. I was suspecting a sinus infection and I was right... (This isn't my first day on the job!!! LOL =)
Monday morning it was off to see Dr Beal. Dr Beal felt that the sinus infection was bad enough that Cam was going to need 2 rounds of antibiotics to kick it. Hopefully he won't have anymore trouble. No more fevers and sinus infections aren't contagious, so Cam was able to go back to school Tuesday. We have our appts for flu shots, check ups and the dentist scheduled. Dr Beal called Cam the million dollar boy 'cause he's so expensive. That's ok - we are thrilled to have him around! ;-) Insurance is getting to be a problem though! Nothing ever comes easy...

Last Saturday we went to motorcycle races and had a great time. Not too much going on this weekend. Sunday we are going to a 4H meeting to decide what projects Cam wants to sign up for and we are busy planning a Fishin' PARTY!

Our SOBOCO PTA cookbooks are in. If you are interested in one or two or three... please let me know! :-) We have 3,000 to sell!

Thanks for checking in and don't forget to leave Cam a message in his guestbook!

*UPDATE* Sunday, Sept. 25th
Cam got sick again yesterday and we spent most of the day in the ER.
Late Saturday morning, he started throwing up time and time again. His blood sugar was low and he couldn't keep anything down, so we went on to the ER around noon. It took an hour or so to be seen, but he slept most of the time. When he did wake up, he'd puke and then go back to sleep. (This was not a pretty site - especially in the middle of the ER waiting room!)
After Cam got hooked up to an IV he started perking up almost immediately. They ran several tests and the only thing they could find out of the ordinary was a high white blood count. If I remember right, during chemo days, his was around 5. His WBC is 24 now and the dr said he has sent people to ICU for WBC's that high, but since Cameron was looking and feeling better, he'd let us come home. If he starts throwing up again, runs a fever, etc, we have strict orders to take him back in. If we can make it through the rest of the day today, he goes in for a follow up with Dr Beal tomorrow. So far so good!
Let's just hope that the high WBC is just from the sinus infection and all the gastro stuff going on yesterday.
It was a stressful day for me - brought back too many memories of "chemo days" as I drove to the ER with Cam throwing up in the backseat. I look back and don't know how we made it through some days, but we did. I just wish after all Cam has been through, that he didn't have all the other problems we have to deal with on a daily basis. I must say tho' - having an insulin pump made a world of difference yesterday. If he was still on shots, he probably would have been admitted for sure. With the pump, I was able to disconnect for a short time and then lower his basal rate as low as it would go so his BG didn't get too terribly low.
Wish us luck and I'll update after dr appt tomorrow.
LIVESTRONG
-Carla

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 8:52 AM CDT

I want to thank Charlene for putting the collage of photos together for me.
These are the pictures from the events that I talked about in my last update - taking Cam to see Carl Edwards car in Columbia and going to the races in Moberly and getting to ride around the track in a Corvette.

Cam's doing well, but is still having problems with allergies like most of us around here.
He loves school and is a very eager learner. He always has lots to share (I'm trying to word that nice for "he talks too much!" LOL:) He is working on being patient and letting others have a turn. About the only time Cameron is quiet is when he's asleep. (If Grandma is reading this, she is saying "Don't talk about my boy like that!) {BIG GRIN} Cam just has too much to say... or at least he thinks he does. He'd make a great politician if he still wants to run for President in 2032.

Several people have asked me how many books he's read this year. Cam has only read 10 or so. He is reading harder books this year and chapter books, so I doubt that he'll get to the 450 that he read last year.

Gramma has shingles and is not feeling well at all. We hope she gets better real soon! The doc said that she probably shouldn't be around Cam until she is all better. The chances of anyone getting Chicken Pox from her are slim to none, but if it would happen to anyone, it would be Cameron. He doesn't follow the books on anything else, so we are just going to caution on the safe side.

I guess that is it for now, thanks for checking in and don't forget to sign the guestbook so we know you stopped by.

LIVESTRONG!
- Carla

Tuesday, August 30, 2005 10:21 AM CDT

Cam is doing great... well, except for the fact that he woke up in the middle of the night with a bad headache and complained of a sore throat this morning. =( His blood sugar was high this morning, so maybe he's getting a cold or maybe it's just allergies.
School is wonderful and he's really enjoying it. Cam is writing a book in class and has already had his first math and spelling test. He is very excited about 2nd grade, but can't tell me a whole lot about it =)
... he says they are just so busy he can't remember everything. LOL

We had a GREAT weekend.
Last Thursday we picked Cameron up from school and took him to see Carl Edward's race car at Office Depot, so that was really C@@L. Saturday, the Dream Factory had an event at the race track in Moberly and we had a blast there too! Carl's brother Kenny raced in that and won 2nd place. From what I hear, Carl is really involved in helping the Dream Factory and Saturday night his brother said that he would donate his winnings from that night to Dream Factory as well. The more I hear about the Edwards brothers, the more impressed I am. We also got to meet Josh, a nice young man that was also a Dream Factory recipient. The Dream Factory is near and dear to our heart, so anyone that helps support the Dream Factory or any child that has had to go through something horrible to get a wish granted wins my respect. The events that D.F. has are always fun, but the cause is so heart breaking...
The Corvette Club was at the race also. They weren't racing of course, but they do a lot to help the Dream Factory kids as well. They really know how to make the kids feel special! During intermission we got to ride around the track in Corvettes. What an awesome ride that was!
I have a picture of Cameron in a Corvette and more of the 99 car, but I can't figure out how to put them all on one page to post them on the website... maybe I'll figure that out in my spare time. HA

My Grandpa was in from Arizona for a short visit and we got to see him Saturday also. He is so enamored by Cameron. His eyes just light up when he gets to see him. I wish we could have visited longer... wish he wasn't so far away...

I'm off to babysit 2 of my favorite little girls, so I gotta run, but wanted to update while I had the chance.

Don't forget to sign Cams guestbook, he really likes reading them!

LIVESTRONG -
Carla



Prayers go out to Josh that has to have a spinal one day soon and for Kyle (www.caringbridge.org/ia/kyle/), a little guy with Wilms' that has had another relapse. Jill (www3.caringbridge.org/mo/jillsjourney) is out of the hospital and doing well after her back surgery. Yippeee.

A cure for cancer just can't come soon enough!

Sunday, August 21, 2005 2:09 PM CDT

WHOOOOHOOOO - Cam's in 2nd grade!! School started Wednesday Aug. 17th and he loves it. He's waited all summer for this. We love his teacher and he's got a great group of kids in his class.
There was one little glitch Wednesday morning - Cam accidently pulled his infusion out. I went right over to change it and everything was OK. Thursday morning I went to school to read Cam's class a book about a child with diabetes. The book explained that Cameron is just a "normal kid" that can do everything they can and can eat the same things they do... as long as mom and dad says it's ok:)
I made cookies for the class so they could see Cameron check his blood sugar and me bolus his pump. The kids thought his pump was neat - that it looked like a game and I heard a few boys tell Cameron his (medical ID) necklace was "cool." This was a big improvement from a few years ago when a boy told Cam he looked like a girl because he wore a necklace. :-(

Friday night was "Relay Replay." Our Relay For Life that was scheduled in June was cancelled because of a horrible storm that blew through as teams were trying to set up. They had a difficult time finding a new location, but found one that was absolutely beautiful. There was a track around a lake with a wonderful walkway crossing over it. It was gorgeous when all the luminaries were lit. We had a heat index of 110 that day, so the beginning of the walk was miserable, but it finally cooled down and there was a nice breeze off of the lake. The only bad thing was that Cameron was over looked this year... He didn't get to sing or even get to say the Pledge of Allegiance. At the end of the Relay they started playing "Angels Among Us" and he ran up to the DJ and asked if he could sing it and he told him NO. Cameron was so disappointed! He has sang that song every single year since we've been involved with ACS. By the time we found Joe, the song was almost over and it was too late to do anything about it. He gave Cameron a Relay cap and said they would make up for it next year - that next year he can sing it two times!
That made Cam a happy "Relay-er" again. :-)
(Joe, Cam doesn't forget anything, so make sure you tell the "new guy!" :)))) LOL

BTW, I've posted new pics of the Relay in the photo album.

Cameron loves to read his messages, so don't forget to sign his guestbook!

Take care and LIVESTRONG
- Carla

Sunday, August 7, 2005 10:54 PM CDT

Sorry for the delay in the update - Lois, just called to see about Cams test results so I thought I better get busy and fill you in on our dog dayz of summer.

I hadn't heard back about Cam's final test results, so I called them this past week and got great news.
His microalbumin is now 30.8, which is much, much better. Yippppeeee! Normal is below >29 and Cams microalbumin has been in the 50's and 60's for over a year, so that is quite an improvement! It's still a little on the high side, but that is very good news that it has gone down that much. I think the increased dosage in his high blood pressure meds helped and also better control over his blood sugar. We still have to keep an eye on those kidneys - particularly the right one, so I'm glad they are doing another ultrasound in 6 months.

Cam had a great time at Diabetes Camp in Springfield. Every morning they had an "Amazing Race" with lots of activities throughout the day. They also had an educational session everyday to teach them about the food pyramid, treating low blood sugar, etc... Cams very favorite thing was getting to swim every day. It was a great opportunity for him to meet other kids with diabetes and I got to shop and have fun knowing that he was being taken care of. My favorite part was splurging on a haircut at a really fun and unique hair salon. I'm glad it was just a "day camp" though - I don't think I'm ready to let loose of him and let him spend a week away at camp quite yet. ;-)

Yesterday Cam got to spend most of the day with Dawson (aka - Camson) one of his insulin pump buddies. What a pair those 2 are! I'm the one that nicknamed them Camson and they had to keep reminding me to call them that and not Cameron and Dawson. They were in the Kids Day parade for the new Bass Pro in Columbia. Kids Day was a lot of fun with lots of activities for the little ones. We ended up staying for several hours. Cam was excited about the archery clinic and Dawson was thrilled to get to fish. They just recently stocked the pond and the boys both caught 2-3 fish each. Charlene and the girls where in town too, doing "girl" things so we met up later for lunch. Jordan is in remission, is doing great and looks wonderful! She goes back for a check up next month, so keep her in your prayers.
http://www3.caringbridge.org/mo/jordanmumma/

Jill is leaving for St Judes on the 9th and will be there for the rest of the month.
She is going to need lots of prayers for the days ahead.
http://www3.caringbridge.org/mo/jillsjourney/

Thanks for checking in.
Don't forget to sign the guestbook so Cameron knows who stops by to check on him.

Saturday, July 23, 2005 1:08 PM CDT

Cams dr's appts went well. It sure was a long day and we are glad to get all those appts behind us.
Cam had an ultrasound on his kidneys first. One kidney is still a little larger than the other, but that is to be expected. When they did the partial nephrectomy, they removed more of one kidney than they did the other. The right kidney (the one that has the calcification) has a place that is dilated where it meets the ureter. Sometimes this shows up and sometimes it doesn't...
I'm not sure if it is a case where it is always there and the tech may not always catch it or if it comes and goes. Regardless, they want another ultrasound in 6 months. All in all, his renal doctor, Dr Wood, was very pleased with his kidneys and say they look healthy. She was also happy with his blood pressure. Now we are just waiting on the results for the microalbumin. We won't get those results until next week sometime.
Cams chest xrays were nice and clear and once again, Cameron's oncologist said that he was Cameron's LEAST important doctor! WHOOOOOHOOOOOOO! That is such a great feeling! Dr Gale said he would see Cam back in a year unless we missed him so much we wanted to come back earlier. :-)
I was so proud of Cameron when we were at the oncology clinic. There was another little boy there Cameron's age that was getting chemo. Cameron started talking to him about when he had cancer and had to go through chemo. Cameron was just so grown up and mature about it and they had a nice time playing.
Cameron is such a kind, gentle, loving young man. I'm really proud of him and how well he has dealt with everything. His diabetes nurse always says the same thing. Bonnie just raves about Cameron and introduces him to everyone.
Diabetes clinic was our last appt. We had to wait a long time and didn't get to spend much time there before they closed. Cam's BG's have been all over the place, but even so, he still had a decent A1C. It was 7.7 a little higher than last time. I'm confident that his A1c would have been much better 2-3 weeks ago, so for this A1c I understand why it is what it is. It sure is easier to keep his blood sugar in line during the school year because he is on a set schedule. The summers are so busy. We are always on the go and some days are more active than others. It has been 100 - 102 degrees here lately, so we haven't been playing outside much. Anyway, everything went well and he doesn't have to go back for 4-6 months.

After we left the hospital we met Great Aunt Lois, Wonda and Nathaniel and Dominic at Union Station in St. Louis for supper. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe and Cam had a great time playing with the boys. He was so sad that he had to leave them... It was a long, long day and we didn't get home until 10:30 or so that night as it was. There are so many fun things to do in St. Louis, maybe when it cools down we can go back.
(Thanks for the supper Lois, we enjoyed it!!!!)

Tomorrow we are leaving for Springfield. Cam is going to attend a Diabetes Day Camp there for the week.
He is really looking forward to it and can hardly wait! We are going down with our friend Barb and will be staying the week at her daughters house. It should be a lot of fun, I just hope it cools down some.

Cameron had a very sad day last week. His goldfish, Nemo, died. Unfortunately Cam is the one that found him floating. He was so devastated - it was heartbreaking! I think we all cried. :(
When we get back from Springfield we'll have to go get another.

Every time we go back to Cardinal Glennon I get a reality check. Cameron has had to go through so much, but there are so many children that are fighting for their lives. I'm so thankful that Cameron has been cancer free for 3 and a half years and I am so sad for all the families that are losing the fight. Our thoughts and prayers are with them always.

LIVESTRONG, laugh harder and don't forget to let your loved ones know how much they are loved.

Carla

PS... Cameron wants me to tell you that he is 4'3" and he is only one foot away from being as tall as his mommy. :)
Actually, he had horrible leg pains (growing pains) during the night Thursday night and he wanted me to measure him the next morning and guess what!?! He had grown 1/4 of an inch!!!!
I think I'm going to put a brick on his head.
|:-)

Saturday, July 2, 2005 4:36 PM CDT

Summer has been busy and I'm updating less often, but we are having a lot of fun.
Cam had a wonderful time in Summer School. The last day was yesterday and was not quite as sad as the last day of First grade. They ended the day at the pool and it was a beautiful day for swimming.

June 23rd we went to Big Surf with Cams friend Matt and his mom.
Talking about fun - that was FUN!!! Cam had a blast and I did too!
Last year Cameron had a scary incident at Big Surf, but we learned our lesson and brought a life jacket this time. The life jacket really boosted his confidence level and he was much more willing to try some of the slides and other fun things. He's been to the pool a few times since then and is much more confident there even without the life jacket. YEA!!!!!!!
Last year was not his best swimming season, but I it looks like he's back on track now. It's a good thing, 'cause swimming lessons start Tuesday. ;-)

A few weeks ago, Dream Factory had a night at the Ballpark for the kids. They got to go to a Mavericks game and walk out on the field. It was really nice to see Joey (another Dream Factory child) and his family again. We are happy that Joey is doing well too.

Our ACS Relay For Life had to be postponed because of storms, so they have scheduled a "Relay Replay" for August 19th. We are still collecting donations, selling pizza discount cards and purple HOPE bands if anyone is interested.
We are trying to decide - or rather, I am trying to decide if we are going to do the Walk For Diabetes in September. Cameron would do every single walk that comes along. He wants to do them all - Alzheimer, arthritis, heart walks, etc, etc... and as nice as that is and as willing as he is to help, it is just impossible to collect donations for all of these charities. I think people are getting plenty tired of me asking for donations. I feel like we should give it a rest and give our family and friends a rest from our plea's, but we want a cure!!! A cure cannot come soon enough and we have had several family and friends that have been recently diagnosed with cancer. :(
Diabetes really stinks too!!!! Cams friend Dawson (his other half of "Camson") was in the hospital in ICU for a few days because of his diabetes. He's doing much better now and Cam can't wait to see him.

I had to stop by Cam's pediatricians office this week and they had to look up to see when they saw Cameron last. He hasn't been since December! The gals in the office and I were so excited because Cam hasn't had to see Dr Beal in 6 months - I hadn't even realized it had been that long! And, as I said in my last update, it's been over a year since he's been in the hospital. (knock on wood) He's also had his insulin pump for 1 year and he's gone a year without having to see his oncologist. (knock on wood)
All sorts of milestones going on here. Cam goes to see all of his specialist in St. Louis on July 21st and we are hoping and praying everything continues to go well for him!
Thanks for checking in and have a HAPPY and SAFE 4th of July!
LIVESTRONG
-Carla

Don't forget to sign the guestbook so we know you were here.

*Urgent prayers needed for Spencer.
http://www3.caringbridge.org/mo/spencermom/

**Update July 7th
Spencer earned his wings this morning and is now cancer free. Please say prayers for his parents at this difficult time.
(\0/)
./_\.

Sunday, June 5, 2005 12:03 PM CDT

My, where does time go?! We've been busy and having lots of fun doing so.
Last day of school was Thursday, May 26th and Cam cried...
He woke up Friday morning and said he wished he could start 2nd grade Monday. Cameron just LOVES school and it shows. He's going to summer school and that starts tomorrow. He really loves his teacher and we are lucky enough to have her for summer school as well.
Cameron ended up reading 440 books this school year and he never ceases to amaze me. He went to spend a few days with his grandparents this week and started reading Harry Potter!

We had a nice Memorial weekend and went to a few BBQ's. That was lots and lots of fun and Cameron made some new friends.

Yesterday we went to see a "Raptor show" at Art in the Park. Cameron loved it!!! He was hoping to see an eagle, but they had owls instead and he was just as interested. I kept trying to get him to leave so we could look around at the art work and crafts, but he wasn't ready to go. He said he wasn't leaving until they left. He was so fascinated and asked a million questions. He really has a soft spot for animals.
There are so many things Cameron wants to do - he wants to be a history teacher, pediatric oncologist, a paleontologist, zoologist and oh yeah, the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!! I think that should keep him busy. Last night he told me that he wants to be in history books. :)))) That made me laugh, but I have no doubt that he will do great things in life... he already has!

Everything is going well with Cameron. I was just thinking the other day that it has been a year (knocking on wood) since Cameron has had a stay in the hospital. Although we have had lots of dr's visits and even a few trips to the ER, there hasn't been anything serious enough to land him in the hospital. That's a milestone for him. The insulin pump has been a wonderful addition to his care and is helping a lot.
Cams big check ups with all of his specialists are coming up in July.

I keep asking Cameron to type a message on here, but he's busy having fun and asked me to do it for him. He says - "Pretty please, can you sign my guestbook? Lots of love from Cameron."
Thanks for checking in.

LIVESTRONG~
Carla

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad (Gramma and Grampa). We love you lots - see ya in a few hours.

Friday, May 20, 2005 1:04 AM CDT

This new picture of Cam was taken last weekend at Taylor's birthday party. We had so much fun. The slide was a big hit - the kids loved it and so did the moms! :)

Soccer is over and the last day of school is the 26th.
I don't know where time goes... it goes by too fast that's for sure!

Lots of end of the school year activities.
Cam has a big 4H BBQ this weekend and I have to get busy typing up some recipes for our PTA cookbook.
If you'd like to submit a recipe, please email me, we'd love to have it.

We are well on our way raising money for our Relay for Life team. I just read an interesting, but sad article in the paper about childhood cancer. The survivor rate is at an all-time high, but they pay a large and unacceptable price for that. A research showed that childhood cancer survivors are 2-6 times more likely to develop serious health problems (heart disease, kidney problems, infertility, lung problems and even other forms of cancer) by the age of 45. That just makes me want to cry. I can't stand the thought of Cameron or any child having to endure anything more than they already have. We just keep praying for a cure and hope they find one soon. We are also praying for my good friend Tammy H. that was just diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks ago... Love ya, Tammy. You are in for the fight of your life, but you can do it! See ya soon!

It's late, so I guess I should close for now... you get me talking about cancer and I don't know when to stop. I'm looking forward to the day when there is no more cancer and I have to find something else to talk about.

LIVESTRONG, laugh harder and love your loved ones like there is no tomorrow.
~Carla

Monday, May 9, 2005 10:57 PM CDT

Cams been having lots and lots of fun. The first graders had a field trip last week and are having lunch at the park this week. Last Saturday, Cam had a soccer game and we went to Family Fun Night at school. The weather was gorgeous and everyone had a lot of fun. The weekend before we went to Illinois to visit family. It was so nice to see them all again. Wish we could get together more often.
The month of May sure is busy - lots of year end activities going on at school.

Today is "LITTLE BOY'S DAY!" :-)
When Cameron had cancer he asked me when "Little Boy's Day" was...
there was Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent's Day, but no Little Boy's Day. Of course after going through everything he was going through, if he wanted Little Boy's Day, by golly, he could have it. I told him he could pick out a day and he decided it would be the day after Mother's Day. He's never forgotten about it, so we continue to celebrate.
Happy Little Boy's Day, Cameron!
I thank God everyday for you.
I love you more than you will ever know.
-Mom and Dad

Sunday, April 24, 2005 10:47 AM CDT

It's been a little while since I updated...
Last weekend we went to Rolla for Jordan's Birthday/No More Chemo party. We had a great time and it was so wonderful to see Jordan and her family again. Cameron and Dawson had such a good time together. I nicknamed the pump buddies "Camson". Where there's one, there's the other, so this way we just have to say one name. :)
Those 2 are just so funny when they are together! I am so glad to know the Mumma's. We have so much in common - it's good for all of us. Charlene has some great pictures of all the party fun on Jordan's website: www3.caringbridge.org/mo/jordanmumma/
Jordan still needs our prayers. If you get a chance visit her website.

Cam had a soccer game last Saturday and again on Wednesday. They just keep getting better and better - they really played great! The game yesterday was canceled because the field was too wet. Cam was disappointed - he would have loved to play in the mud.

Last night, Cams friend Alex came over and we helped Cam ride his bike. He's almost got it!!! Alex is going to come back over today and I hope to post a new picture of Cam riding his bike in the near future. :)
Cam is not one that likes to practice. He likes to do it perfect the first time or he's not interested. Little does he know he 'practices' lots of things every day. :)

Cam went in for some lab work last week, but we don't know the results yet. I hope to update Monday about those. He had his A1C checked and a urine test to check the microalbumin again.
He also had a dentist appt. We are just waiting for more baby teeth to come out so we can get started on braces. No cavities tho'!

Don't forget to leave Cameron a note in his guestbook - he loves to read them.

~ Carla

* new pictures in the photo album

**Update April 27th ~ Cameron's A1C is better - 7.2, so that is good. The microalbumin is still way too high... :-(
No more scheduled dr visits until July 1

Wednesday, April 6, 2005 12:32 PM CDT

Cam woke up sick in the early morning hours with a slight fever and coughing something horrible. His cough was so bad he couldn't catch his breath, so I had to try to calm him down so he could use his inhaler and that has helped. His blood glucose has been high this week, so I was afraid he was coming down with something. He is feeling much better now and is hoping to go back to school tomorrow because it is "Grandparents Day." We will just have to see if the fever stays away. The class has been practicing a very special poem for all the Grandparents and the cooks have a special lunch planned. Cam is also anxious to show his Gramma and Grampa the award he received at the assembly last Friday for giving 100o his school work. (Way to go Cam!!!)
Hopefully he will continue to improve today or we'll just have to have Grandparents to lunch day another time. Last year he was in the hospital, so he is going to be very disappointed if he misses it this year too!
Well, we just tested for ketones and he has a moderate amount... not a good thing, so we are getting ready to change his infusion and we need to be aggressive in trying to get his blood sugar better.

We've been having beautiful spring weather. That brings on it's on set of problems with allergies, but it's just too nice to stay indoors. Cameron is having lots of fun outside and with the time change it's almost impossible to get him to go to bed on time! Soccer has started back up and he's having a lot of fun with that too.

We are starting to gear up for American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in a couple of months. I've decided to take it easy this year, but Cameron would not hear of not doing the Relay so we are going to join my brothers team. A team member ordered a bunch of the purple wristbands that say HOPE on them for our fundraiser. If you are interested in one please let me know.
Cam just made up a cute little rhyme - "Raise your hand if you want a purple band." :-)
He also said that he would sign your band if you want him to.
What a cool way to honor such a brave lil' survivor!
He said he hopes everyone in the world will want one - me too!
:-)))))))))

Praying for a cure -
The McGeorges

ps... cams feeling good and got to go to school and eat lunch with his grandparents and also his dad and i.
it was a lot of fun.
i joked that we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a $2.00 school lunch special, but we really did have a good time. :)

I had Cam sign my HOPE wristband and it didn't stay, so that idea got canned...bummer

****UPDATE****April 8
Please pray for our friend Jordan.
www.caringbridge3.org/mo/jordanmumma/ She is on her way to the hospital in St. Louis. She went to the dr today and they found a spot on her remaining kidney. Jordan had the same cancer as Cameron and just finished chemo on Valentines Day...
We are devestated
Pray hard, livestrong and hug your kids extra hard tonight.-carla

UPDATE - Saturday, April 9th
Jordan's CT scan was clear today! Yipppeee! She has to go back Monday for another ultrasound, but hopefully it will be more good news and they can all breath a little easier.

Thursday, March 24, 2005 10:43 PM CST

Cam is doing great.
Blood sugar is still a bit goofy. Just as I was getting rid of all the low blood sugars Cam was having at school it's was time for Spring Break. Now he's having some highs, but every day I am more and more thankful for the pump and how easy we can deal with those highs and lows compared to when he was on shots.

Cam and I, spent 3 days in Springfield with our friend Barb. We had a ton of fun and came back tired... well, Barb and I did anyway. :)
We went to the Shrine Circus, the Zoo, Wilson's Creek Battlefield, Bass Pro and the Bass Pro Fish and Wildlife Museum. Cam was so into everything that we did. He loved seeing all the animals and the Battlefield was great because he had been wanting to learn more about the Civil War. It really was a weekend "all about Cameron." Nothing wrong with that though. :)
We did miss Daddy, there were lots of things he would have enjoyed but he had to work.

I think we may have stressed Barb out a little bit - most people don't realize how much care Cameron needs. It's our 'normal', so it's not something that I even think about. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me, but when other people see how much he goes through in a day they are amazed. He has his blood pressure checked once or twice a day, blood sugar checks 5-8 x's a day, allergy and asthma meds, infusion set changes and the hardest part for me - counting carbs! Of course we have to bolus his insulin pump every time he eats, but that's the easy part.
It's just our way of life. It's been like this for so long I don't really remember it being any other way. When I babysit, I catch myself counting Molly's carbs or Cam has a friend over and I count out their potato chips. Ben even lets me check his blood pressure. :)
I don't know why I'm going into all of this except to say that it could always be worse.
We have lost lots of our Caringbridge friends to cancer and it breaks my heart. So many little ones are struggling and every day more and more are being diagnosed with cancer and many other horrible illnesses.
Be thankful for what you have, make sure your kids know how much you love them and LIVESTRONG.


HAPPY EASTER!

Thursday, March 3, 2005 9:16 PM CST

Cam's doing great - he was only sick for a few days. We did not get to go to the JDRF Diabetes Family Retreat though. The other 2 families we were going to meet had to cancel as well... they've all had the flu.
Cameron's BG's have either been great or too low. His basal rate is set as low as it will go and he is still fighting lows in the afternoon. I made more adjustments to his pump today, so we'll see...
When he left school today, his BG was 173. When he got home I had him take a bath so I could change his infusion. Shortly after getting in the bath he started crying and just had a total melt down. I checked his BG again and it was only 32! I had unhooked his pump when he got in the tub, so he wasn't even getting any insulin then! My guess is that Cameron's pancreas decided to start working.
I wish it was permanent, but it's just something that happens every now and then with him.
Last week Cameron put an infusion in his Rufus bear. Rufus is a bear with 'diabetes' and has patches where he gets his BG checked. He even has his own medical bracelet! Cameron took Rufus to school today so he could show his school nurse that he put an infusion in his bear.
Before I know it, Cam will be doing his own infusions. The only problem is he likes them in his backside... it would be a little difficult for him to reach around there. ;-)

Cameron is featured on the Love Quilts website now. They are running ahead of schedule, so Cameron got moved up. His squares are due by Aug. 1. If you would like to sign up, you can now do so through their website link listed below.

Thanks for checking in --
Carla

Don't forget to LIVESTRONG, love stronger, laugh harder and live like there is no tomorrow

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 11:15 AM CST

Well... Cam is home sick again.
Saturday, Cameron's 4H group had their annual chili supper. His Gramma and Grampa joined us and then took Cameron home with them to spend a few days since there was no school Monday. They almost made it without anything happening. It seems bad luck follows Cameron to Gramma's - either he gets sick or something happens to his pump. Early Monday morning his blood sugars started rising and so did his temperature. He was kinda puny all day yesterday and today he has ketones, but no real fevers to speak of so far. We'll see how the day progresses.
Cam had to miss his 4H meeting last night and was really bummed about not getting to see his friend Mathew. He's hoping to go back to school tomorrow because he doesn't want to miss art class.

This coming weekend we are suppose to go to St. Louis for JDRF's Diabetes Family Retreat. We went last year and Cam got sick then too...
UGH - it's always something.
If we can get well, we should have lots of fun. Cameron's pump buddies Trenton and Dawson are going also. I'm hoping Dawson's family gets to go - his little sister Jordan just finished chemo last week. She had her first set of 'after chemo scans' with all good results (YEAH Jordan!), but her counts will probably start dropping this week and she had a fever yesterday... :( get well Jordan!
Jordan's website is: www.caringbridge.org/mo/jordanmumma/

Cameron's new subject of interest is The Titanic. He heard about it and wanted to know more so he borrowed some books from the library. (I don't want to brag, but think I've earned that right :))))
We just can't get over his reading skills and how much he LOVES nonfiction.
It must have skipped right over me to him, because that type of stuff never interested me much - especially in FIRST Grade!!!!

Well, I guess that is enough of my rambling about Cameron, but that's what you came here for right? :)
-Carla

LIVESTRONG, Love stronger, laugh harder and live like there is no tomorrow!

Thursday, February 10, 2005 6:50 PM CST

Sunday, Feb. 13th
I don't know if you remember me talking about the Mumma's... Jordan has Wilms' and her brother has diabetes and an insulin pump like Cam. Anyway, we were able to get together with them again yesterday and we had such a great time. We're just like old friends. How could you have that much in common and not be! The kids loved riding the carousel and Charlene and I had a fun time shopping. Tomorrow is Jordan's last chemo treatment. To wish Jordan well wishes go to: www3.caringbridge.org/mo/jordanmumma/
Good luck Jordy - we love you!

Jordan is going to get a Love Quilt too, so if you love to cross stitch and would like to do one for Jordan as well the information's below!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not a whole lot going on here...

Cam and I were sick last week, but are improving day by day.

I finally got my car back last Friday, but I'm going to have to return it for a few minor repairs.

Today Cameron read "Love You Forever" to Mrs Austin's second grade class. I volunteer in her class, so it was fun to be able to bring Cameron in to meet them. He did a great job and they were impressed that he has read 300 books already!

Tomorrow should be lots of fun. I'm subbing half day and the first graders are having Space Camp. They have been learning all about space. Last week they made large planets to hang in the hallway, wrote reports and all sorts of fun things.

Know anyone that likes to do counted cross stitch???
Love Quilts is a wonderful organization that makes quilts for children with cancer or other life long illnesses and they will be featuring Cameron in August. All of the quilt blocks are done in counted cross stitch. If you would like to learn more, their website is: www.lovequilts.org
They are always in need of stitchers and donations of material, etc...
If you would like to help stitch a block for Cams quilt, please email me and I'll tell you more about it.

Thanks for checking in on us!

LIVESTRONG ~
Carla

Sunday, January 23, 2005 11:48 PM CST

*UPDATE - Monday, Jan. 24*
We got test results today and they weren't too shabby.
The best news is that the biopsy done on Cams mole was perfectly fine and he gets stitches out this friday.
Cams microalbumin level is still elevated at 49, but for a random test that wasn't too bad.
Anything over 30 is considered too high and his has been as high as 67. He will have a recheck in 3 months to see if the higher dose of BP meds is helping.
While I was getting good news I decided to call and check on my car. They hope to have it done by the end of the month. Sure is taking a lot longer than I expected, but I'll be glad to get it back whenever that is.
************************************
Sunday, Jan.23 ~
The last week and a half has been a whirlwind... it makes my head spin thinking about it all.
Friday, Jan. 14th Cameron had a follow up appt with his dermatologist about the mole on his back.
We decided to go ahead and have it removed. Cameron was a very brave boy as usual. He has 4 stitches in his back, didn't shed one single tear and said "That wouldn't hurt a fly!" He never ceases to amaze me. For the next few days I kept asking him if his back was ok and his answer was "Why do you keep asking me that? It's fine!"

Sat., Jan 15th we lost a very dear friend of ours 'Grandma Jean'.
Her memorial service was today and although she wasn't Cam's real Grandma, he still took it very hard. She is going to be sadly missed by many... :(
(\0/)
./_\.
Between her death and all of Cameron's recent doctors appts, his cold and high BG's, he has had a really rough time at school this week. He just seems stressed out and is having a hard time staying on track. Hopefully things will get better for him real soon.
That aside, he is still doing great in school. He brought home his progress report this week and we are very pleased. He is starting to read chapter books and has a new love for the Magic Tree House series and anything about rhinos, alligators/crocodiles and eagles.

Tues. Jan 18th, Cam had his dr's appts at Cardinal Glennon. We got up at 5am, Cam up at 5:30 and was out the door by 6 for our first appt at 9. I had hoped Cameron would sleep on the way there, but instead he fell asleep on the exam table. It was just too funny - here the doctor is trying to examine him and he's snoring away. LOL :)
Cameron's A1C was up to 8.1 that stinks, but they said for this age, a recent cold and a growth spurt that wasn't bad. I've really had to increase his insulin dose over the last few weeks, but that is starting to even out again.
His renal doctor increased his blood pressure medication in hopes that it will help the microalbumin levels, so now I'm back to checking his b.p. on a daily basis.
If all goes well, we don't have to go back until July and that will be to see all of his specialists.
There are still a few test results we are waiting for, so I'll update more when I hear back from the doc. Thanks for checking in on Cameron and don't forget to leave him a message.

-Carla

I almost forgot about all the excitement we had this morning. A neighbor called to say that our horse, Fax, was at his house. It was very odd, one of our gates was standing wide open. We don't know if someone tried to steal him or was just being onery and trying to let him go. Marvin had to go into work for a few hours in the middle of night and we wonder if that might have interupted something...
:(

Sunday, January 9, 2005 10:35 AM CST

Well, as much as I loved the Santa picture, Cam was ready for a change, so this is a picture of Cam and our horse "Fax". Cameron LOVES the snow. I think he went out a total of 4 or 5 times yesterday. His Grandpa Bob got him a pair of insulated bibs for Christmas, so pair that w/a coat and you have a nice and toasty Cameron that doesn't want to come inside - EVER. On one of the outings he and his daddy hung up the bird feeder in a cedar tree and took a walk in the woods.
(: now that Cameron is such a great reader, he is reading over my shoulder and telling me that they went for a walk FIRST and THEN, hung up the bird feeder... "And don't forget to tell them that my daddy fixed me a nice warm cup of hot chocolate when we came inside." :)))))
While they were doing all of this I was snuggled up on the couch reading a book - something I haven't done for a very long time! Even more surprising was the fact that it didn't have anything to do with cancer or diabetes. It was "Skipping Christmas" and I have to admit, skipping all the Christmas hoopla and going on a cruise sounded quite intriguing. In the end it turned out exactly like it would have if I tried to do that. Anything that could go wrong - did, and they didn't 'skip' Christmas after all. In actuality, how could you do that anyway? :) Especially when you have a little one that loves Christmas as much as Cameron.

Big congratulations and best wishes go out to Laura, Lance and big sis Molly. They have a new little someone to love. Welcome to the world Carly. We can't wait to see you!

Cam has dr's appts coming up at Cardinal Glennon the 18th and he goes back to the dermatologist again on the 14th, so check back for updates and don't forget to leave Cameron a message in his guestbook. :)

-Carla

Monday, January 3, 2005 0:03 AM CST

Hi all,
So much has happened since my last update, but I am going to attempt to give you the short version of what could be a very, very long update.
Cam had a check up with his pediatrician on the 14th. That went well, Cam is growing like a weed - is 54 lbs. and 4'1". He has been sick off and on since Thanksgiving weekend with a cough and runny nose. It was getting worse, so the doc put him on antibiotics for a sinus infection. By the next day the yucky runny nose had cleared up.
That evening Cam had his Christmas concert at school and that of course was great!

The Friday before Christmas vacation (the 17th I think), Cam woke up complaining of his back hurting and I asked him where. He pointed to a mole on his back. I took one look at it and thought I'd puke! (not that it looked that bad, but I was having a panic attack because I was so scared of what it could be!)
It looked nothing like it did before. I took him to see the dermatologist that day and they think it is fine. He goes back in a few weeks to have it checked again. Cam's oncologist had me take him to a dermatologist a year or so ago, so they had measurements on record and it had not grown. I was instructed to put lotion on it and it looks much better. We think he must have scratched it...
He did get back to school in time to enjoy the Christmas party.

Dec. 20th we went to daddy's work to have lunch with him and then we did some last mintue Christmas shopping. We were in a wreck on the way home... got rear ended. Car is in bad shape, but we are fine. We did go to the ER just to make sure - Cam hurt his head and my neck hurt(s), but we are ok.
I finally got a rental car a few days ago.

We had a good Christmas (better than last year anyway). Cam said that he must have been really good, because he got a lot of cool stuff. He said that he thinks the better you are the cooler the presents! :)

Dec 26th we met Gramma in town to check out the 'After Christmas sales'. Cam went home with her that evening to spend a few nights, but my mom called the next morning and said he had the worst cough she ever heard. He had 2 coughing spells earlier in the week so I was concerned as well. My parents live an hour and half away, so we all got ready and met in the middle to take him to the doc. Dr Beal had me take Cam to the hospital for chest xrays and to be tested for pertussis (whooping cough), but he (we) suspect that he was having asthma attacks. The other tests came back fine and Cam has been using his inhaler 3x's a day and hasn't had anymore trouble.

Dec. 30 - Cam's doing good and goes back to Gramma and Grampa's house.
New Years Eve - Cam's pump quit, so I'm off to Gramma's. Luckily we have a spare pump, but poor Gramma... Why do such things always happen on her watch!? (Mom, I love you!- don't know what I'd do without you! Thanks for all you do)
The new pump was a pain to set up because silly ol' me didn't write down all the basal rates, etc. Unfortunately the screen went bad on the old pump, so it really doesn't want to share that info with me!
I've made a mental note to myself to keep a paper trail of those basal rates and I'm hoping Animas can figure out a way to get my old info.
At least Cam got to welcome in the New Year by pumping again.
Between me doing a poor job of guessing basal rates and his infusion set going 'bad' this morning his blood sugar readings were a mess. At one point today his blood sugar was 583! After putting in a new infusion and giving a correction bolus he was back to normal in a few hours. What a roller coaster.

Well, I guess I better get to bed - it's going to be hard getting up for school in the morning.
Happy New Year!
-Carla

(this really was a short version, good thing I spared you some details or I'd be here til mornin'!)

Sunday, December 5, 2004 8:48 PM CST

Isn't this new picture GREAT!? ~ I just love it... I could look at it all day.
Cameron is so happy and is so into the Holiday season. We cleaned on the house some this weekend, decorated and put up the Christmas tree. (This year Cam has the all important job of crawling under the tree to turn the lights on and off:)
Cameron FINALLY finished his letter to Santa. He's been adding to it every single day for I don't know how long. Poor Santa is going to have to take out a second on his house to even get half the stuff Cameron is asking for.
The funny thing is, Cam got to see Santa twice today and the only thing he asked for then was Yu-Gi-Oh cards. haha:)

Today we went to Dream Factory's 1st annual Christmas party. It was so much fun! They had lots of activities and even had a little area for the kids to make a present for their parents and parents were NOT allowed.
Cam made something special for his daddy and then at one of the other activities he made me a Christmas necklace with "mommy" beads. The biggest hit of the day was Mr and Mrs Claus. All of the kids got presents ~ Cam got the new Harry Potter DVD and could not wait to get home to watch it!
Many thanks go out to Mike and all of the Dream Factory volunteers. As Cameron said "Thanks for making dreams come true!"

Happy December!

Friday, December 3, 2004 7:42 PM CST

Well, I've had more than one request to update Cam's website and take that pitful "Chemo Cam" picture off. So, we are going to see Santa this weekend and I promise a new picture and update soon. :)
~ Carla

Wednesday, November 17, 12:12 AM

Hi all,
Everything is going great so I just wanted to take a moment to talk about some of the things that we are thankful for.

Cameron is doing well and looks so good and healthy compared to this picture that was taken 3 yrs ago.
I am thankful that he is in remission and that his blood pressure is under control with meds and diet. I am sooooo thankful that he (we) got an insulin pump this summer. We finally have some normalcy in our lives and LIFE IS GOOD!

Cam is doing great in school! He just got his report card and it is fabulous! He has read 170 books already and is great in math too. We are very grateful for Mrs Y. She's a wonderful teacher.

I am thankful to wake up everyday to X's, O's, and I's (hugs, kisses and "I love you's").
I am thankful to be surrounded by great family and friends. A wonderful husband that cooks and doesn't complain when the house is messy. :)

I am thankful that our good friend "Grandma Jean" is out of the hospital, that Jordan's counts are good and her brother Dawson is out of the hospital...

I am thankful that Cam remembers chemo treatments as being "fun"! (because of the presents I must add). I am thankful for Dr Beal and his staff. Nurse Robin (the school nurse) and all of Cams specialist that are great at what they do.

Did I say "life is good" ?!

Well, I could go on forever, but it is late and I need to be getting to bed.
(Cam's already been up once to ask if it was time to get ready for school. ;>)
I'll be adding to my list as Thanksgiving approaches.
LIVESTRONG -
Carla

This evening I asked Cam what he was thankful for. He said "I'm thankful or a mom and dad that loves me, my house, my pets and my family. I'm thankful for healthy food, friends, school, books, a bed to sleep in and I am most thankful for living in the United States of America."
Wow! I think that is quite impressive for a first grader.
I was going to add that I am thankful for sunny days, the ocean, flip flops and chocolate, but that seems pretty irrelevant after Cams response! :)

PS... Cam wants me to remind people to sign his guestbook. He loves reading them.

Monday, October 31, 2004 11:54 PM CST

Sorry it has taken me a while to update about Cams dr appts. We have just been so busy having fun I haven't had much time for the computer lately.
(We got to hop off that rollercoaster ride for a while. :)

Cams appt at Children's Mercy went fine and we like the new nephrologist. He basically said the same thing as the other doctors I had talked to about the microalbumin. At this point they aren't too alarmed with the high number. Although there is a concern and they will continue to monitor it, there really isn't much we can do about it. Cameron has a lot of things working against those kidneys, so we have to try our best to keep his BG under control and if we notice an increase in his BP, we can call to have his meds increased.
All of his other tests came back 'normal'. yippeeeee

The last 2 weekends have been full of great fun!
Last Saturday Cam and I went to a costume party at his friend Matt's house and boy do his parents know how to put on a party! They were also in charge of the Halloween party at school and the kids had a blast. Cam was Spiderman.

A few weeks ago, another Wilms'/diabetes mom happened across Cams website and we have been emailing and calling ever since. It just so happens, we only live an hour or two apart and we all got to meet last Sunday. There was an instant bond. Little Jordan is 4 and was diagnosed with Wilms' in September and she has a 6 yr old brother with diabetes (and also on an insulin pump just like Cams!). On the way to meet them, Cam was talking about Jordan having cancer, Dawson having diabetes and asked if their older sister Amanda had high blood pressure. haha
We met them and their aunt and cousins for lunch and then we all went to a pumpkin fest. We had such a great time we didn't want to part. We had already become great friends. (*see new pic in photo album)
If you would like to wish Jordan well wishes, her website address is: www3.caringbridge.org/mo/jordanmumma

This weekend was jammed packed too. We had a garage sale at a friends house and then Cameron went to a birthday party. It was a skating party and he had a great time, until the last few minutes when he fell and hurt his elbow. And Saturday evening we went to another Halloween party!
This morning we went to a movie with Ben and his mom then we went out to lunch with my parents. Later in the afternoon we met friends for picture taking, supper and Trick or Treating. WHEW! - makes me tired just thinking about it all. :)
FUN, FUN, FUN!
Hope you had a great Halloween too!

LIVESTRONG
- Carla

(Jordan, I am so proud to wear the LIVESTRONG bracelet you gave me. I haven't taken it off even once and won't until you are done with chemo. Good luck tomorrow)

Monday, October 18, 2004 11:00 PM CDT

I'm really bummin' tonight. We got test results from Children's Mercy today and I'm not liking them so much (test results that is)...
Cameron's microalbumin was quite elevated - more so than the last 2 urine tests. Anything above 29.9 is too high and Cams was 67.3. :(
From what I understand, microalbumin has to do with kidney function and how much protein is leaking into your urine. I hope to get a better explanation tomorrow and what our next step is. By the time I got the test results the doctors office was closed. Will be calling them first thing in the morning.

Cams a1c was 7.4 - still higher than I want, but better than last time. At least we are going in the right direction with that. We just have to try harder.

There was also some sort of thyroid test that was elevated, but not by much. Am anxious to find out about that as well.

As far as allergies go, he doesn't have any!? Big surprise there! They are calling in rhinitis. Same symptoms as allergies and basically treated the same. Is sensitive to changes in weather, smells, smoke, dust, etc, etc...
At least he doesn't have to do allergy shots.

My brother Jason got married Saturday and it was a beautiful ceremony. We are excited to have Missy and her son Brendan in our family. Congratulations!

Cam will be seeing his new renal doctor next Tuesday, the 26th, so I will post next week sometime.
Thanks for checking in.
Carla

*UPDATE* Oct. 19
We've had some good news today, so i wanted to write a quick update.
Animas called today and they are going to send us a backup pump to have on hand. Now that we'll have that security, hopefully we will never have to use it.
I also talked to Cams ped. today and he doesn't think we really need to worry about the microalbumin at this point so that made me feel better. I'll put my worries on hold for now...
:)

Saturday, October 9, 2004 12:13 PM CDT

And the roller coaster continues...
at least it hasn't all been down hill the last week or so.

Cam's been anxious for me to get his website updated with his soccer pic and to tell you that they won 2-0 this morning. GO Wolves!

Cam had his birthday party last Saturday and a TERRIFIC time was had by all. Can't believe he's 7 now!
We had a little picnic at the park with hotdogs, chips, lots of cupcakes and LOTS'O'FUN! The boys had a great time playing at the park and battling their BeyBlades. Cam sure has a great group of friends. (see pic in photo album)
We brought Brendan (Cameron's soon to be cousin) home with us and the fun continued. It took forever for the boys to settle down and go to sleep that night!

Cameron is doing great in school. The 1st graders have a goal of reading 100 books before the end of the school year and Cam has already read his and had his 100 book party! He is so enthusiastic about school and always has a smile on his face. :)))))))))))))))))

We finally have appts set up at Children's Mercy. Cam has appts with endo and an allergy specialist this coming Tuesday and another appt. w/nephrology on the 26th. I'm so glad we were able to get an appt to see about his allergies. He is on the max dose of 3 meds and he had an asthma attack after soccer practice a few weeks ago... at least that's what we think happened. I took him to the doc the next morning and he said he thought it sounded like exercise induced asthma. He has been using an inhaler before practice and games and has done great w/o any wheezing.

We've been having really bad luck with pumps lately. Cam is on his 4th insulin pump. We sure love the pump when it works, but it sure is aggravating when it doesn't. Customer service has been great tho' - we always have a new pump the next day. He definitely does not want to go back on shots so even if it is a hassle at times, it is worth it. I think it's worth it for his happiness! He is so much happier since he's been on the pump... he feels like any other kid and it sure makes life easier.

Well, I'll sign off for now, but will add to this update later in the week to let you know how dr appts went.
Thanks for checking in - don't forget to sign his guestbook so we know you came to visit.
LIVESTRONG -
Carla and Cam

Tuesday, September 14, 2004 10:25 PM CDT

Hi all, just wanted to do a quick update to let you know that everything is going great. Cam is great, HotShot (the pump) is great, school is great and Cam is reading up a storm!

Cam is fine, he ended up not coming down with a cold, it was 'just' allergies. They really acted up after his migraine when he was too sick to take his allergy medicine. After a few days on his meds again, he was fine.
Some day when we figure out what hospital we are going to, I want to take him to an allergy specialist. He has to be off his meds for 2 wks before testing, so now is obviously not the time of year to do that!

Last week, we went to a reception that was put on by The Order of the Eastern Star. I so appreciate all they do. They worked hard and raised a lot of money for their chosen charities. Locally, they donated $14,580 to the Cancer Research Center. They also made donations to Children's Mercy in Kansas City and Siteman Cancer Center in St Louis for Childhood Cancer research. $12,892 went to the Missouri Heart Institute Foundation. And, Cameron was asked to help accept the check for $9,885 to the American Diabetes Association! A great big THANK YOU goes out to the ladies and gentlemen of the Order of the Eastern Star!
Thank you -
Carla and Cam

*UPDATE* Sunday, Sept. 19th
Took Cam to the dentist last week and am still seeing visions of dollar signs.
He is missing one of his incisors and one isn't growing in right. Am wondering if this could be a side effect from chemo... That darn ol' chemo, we'll never get over all the added problems it caused.

Cam had his first soccer game this afternoon and boy, did he have fun! They may not have won, but they sure played well. Maybe I'll remember my camera next time! :)

Cameron is getting very excited about his 7th birthday and is counting down.
I, on the other hand am wondering where the last few years went. It doesn't seem like my "baby" :) should be turning 7!

Hope to post soccer pics in a week or so.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 10:28 PM CDT

Let's see... where should I begin....???
Remember that rollercoaster ride I've been talking about for the last several months? Well, we're still on it...
I think the track is smoothing out a little bit - not quite so many highs and lows (and I'm not talking about BG's here:) The excitement for the day was Cams pump decided to quit at school this afternoon. First his pancreas and now Hotshot! Can you believe it!? It will be ok tho', we just went back to shots for the time being. A new pump is suppose to be here tomorrow afternoon. I'll get it programmed and can hook him back up as soon as he gets home. I'm not going to let 1 little pump failure ruin it for us... OK, it's not exactly a "little" pump failure when it stops working, but once you know the freedom of the pump there is no way Cameron would EVER want to go back to shots.
Yesterday morning he was jumping up and down because he can eat whatever he wants at school and I'm jumping up and down because they are great at counting carbs. :)
Everyone at school did an excellent job today when the pump decided to quit. I'm very thankful for them - the school nurse especially. Thanks Robin.

I volunteered at school today for picture day and visited Cams class. Cameron was "Friend of the Day" today. It's a special day where the kids get to bring 5 things from home and tell the class about themselves. The class then makes a book about their "Friend of the Day." It's a very cute project and makes the kids feel really special. He's got such a wonderful teacher. Thank you for your kind and caring ways Mrs Y.

Late Sunday afternoon we found a baby lizard on Cams Mizzou basketball. I caught it and put it in his critter box to take to school the next morning. We named him Norm after Norm Stewart. :)
I brought Norm back home and let him go where I found him. We wanted him to be able to find the rest of his family. ;-)Cam was upset that he might not ever see Norm again and would forget about him, so I video taped Cam and Norm and took a picture. :-) haha

We still do not have appts lined up with the new specialists. I found out Cardinal Glennon was trying to work out something with the insurance so that Cam could still be seen by all of his specialists there. Was hoping to hear final word today, but didn't.

Cam had his first soccer practice today and loved it.

As you can see, life is never dull around here so check back often. Don't forget to sign his guestbook.
Have a great Labor Day weekend and travel safely.
~ Carla

PS... To all the "insulin pumpers" - thanks so much for all of your support and advice.
**************************
UPDATE Thursday, Sept. 2 ~
Cam's new pump arrived this evening and it seems to be working well. His BG was high this morning, but we've been battling lows ever since. He came home from school with another migraine. :( Threw up several times and has been doing a lot of sleeping. He woke up for a short time and was excited about his new silver pump, so I put in a new infusion. I wanted to hurry up and get it in him and didn't leave the Emla cream on long enough... he didn't like that! We also tried his leg for the first time... We'll see how that goes. Wish us luck.

*UPDATE* Friday, Sept. 3rd
Pump and infusion are doing good...
think Cam is coming down with a cold tho'.

***A note to moms of children with cancer -
Have you been to the Candlelighters website lately?
I haven't been there for quite some time, but am very interested in a post recently made and am curious - did any of you take Clomid before becoming pregnant with your child that has/had cancer? I was on it for 6-8 months. If you took it too, you might want to go to Candlelighters so we can start documenting it. You can email me about it if you like. Thanks,
camsmam@juno.com

Monday, August 23, 2004 11:00 PM CDT

Hi all,thanks for checking in.
Cameron is doing great - he LOVES school! He's having a little trouble because he's not on meds this year for ADHD, but that can't be helped. The benefits do not out weigh the side effects. He is trying hard and is very smart so I think he'll be just fine. We are fortunate that Cameron has always enjoyed books and can sit endlessly to be read to. Tonight he read 3 books to me.

I went to school Friday and Cam and I talked to the class about diabetes. I read them a book and Cam checked his blood sugar, bolused his pump and then passed out treats for the kids. We also gave them a little necklace with a dog tag so they could be like Cameron. :-)
I think it went really well and the kids really seemed to "get it" .... much more so than in Kindergarten.
When I left they were arguing over who got to sit next to Cameron. ;-)

We went to a ceramic show over the weekend so I could get supplies. At the end of the day, they had drawings for door prizes and Cam won $20. He was so funny, he kept walking up to the lady asking her if he had won yet and then when the time came he did! He was sooooo excited! We stopped at the outlet mall on the way home and he bought cleats for soccer. Pretty cool, huh?! He can't wait until practice starts next week.

Oh, and how could I forget?! Cameron got his "first kiss" friday! Would someone please remind me, is he 6 or 16?! ... sometimes it is hard to tell! :-}

~ Carla

Wednesday, August 18, 2004 10:56 PM CDT

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

For the last week, Cameron has hardly been able to sleep because he was so excited that school was starting. You'd think it was Christmas or something. This morning he got up at 4am and asked if he could get ready for school. :-O (big yawn...) He did go back to bed, but was eager to get up when I went in to wake him up a few hours later.
He loves his teacher Mrs Y and even took her flowers this morning.

Cameron bounced off the bus this afternoon and said he had a GREAT day. He did say he had a "little" trouble raising his hand and staying in his seat.... LOL.
He loves school tho' and is eager to learn. He says "Homework makes you smart!" He also said the bus was too loud and he had another bad headache.
:( Wish those would stay away.

The pump is going great - his BG got real low at school today, so I think I'm going to have to play around with a diff. basal rate for school days. The school nurse is absolutely wonderful and is even learning how to put in his infusion.

Today was also my birthday. I had a good day knowing my first grader was having a good day and being well taken care of.

I'll try to post a new pic soon.
-carla

Sunday, August 8, 2004 1:35 PM CDT

Another busy week...
Cameron got to see a couple of his specialist at Cardinal Glennon Friday. I had thought the approval process for him to be seen had been taken care of, but it wasn't. We spent an hour talking to diff. people trying to explain the situation again before finally getting to see the docs.
Bonnie, his diabetes nurse was great as always. Always willing to spend the time to answer all my many questions. Cams A1C was up a bit - 7.9 now. Was disappointed, but he had that ear infection and his BG's were higher. He also had 2 unexplained BG's around 400 on Thursday. We made a few adjustments on the pump and worked out something diff. for bolusing, but haven't had a chance to try it yet. (After a crash course on the insulin pump, Cam is spending the weekend with Gramma and Grampa. I didn't want to confuse Gramma anymore by making her try something diff., so we'll give that a try tomorrow)

The microalbumin ordeal doesn't seem to be as worrisome as I had thought, but it still needs to be rechecked in 2 months and we'll go from there.

Onco appt. went well - chest xray was fine and he doesn't have to go back for a YEAR! YAHOOOO! :)
There is talk that at some point, Cardinal Glennon may start taking Cams insurance again. When I don't know. In October, we are going to start seeing endocrine and nephrology at Children's Mercy in KC.
Dr. Gale (Cam's oncologist) wants to continue to see Cameron. They really like to follow through with their kids and even if they don't take Cams insurance, it sounds like they will work something out so he can be seen once a year for his checkup. Another big YEAH!!!

Cams friend Ben spent a couple of days with us this week and they had a great time. Those boys get along so well together, it was a lot of fun. Marvin and I took them to see Matt Kenseth's stock car. That was neat, forgot to bring my camera tho'.

I had my 20th class reunion this weekend! Gosh 20 yrs - can't believe it's been that long! It was fun seeing "old" :) friends again. I took Cameron to the picnic yesterday afternoon. He was so funny, when I told him what we were doing he said "Well, you're waiting an awfully long time to do that don't you think? You should have done that when you were teenagers." haha

Cam (class of 2016:) goes back to school in a week and a half... don't know where this summer has gone.
Time goes by too quickly. Can't believe he's a first grader already. He just got a postcard from his teacher and is excited to be in Mrs Y's class. I think this is going to be a much easier year on everyone... no shots and he can eat the same things the other kids are having. Pretty cool!

Thanks for checking in on us. Cam loves reading his guestbook. He is such a good little reader. Drop him a note if you have time.

Until later....
carla

Saturday, July 31, 2004 - "Cartoon Day"

Hi everyone -
It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I've been trying like mad to find new specialist for Cam. (thanks to everyone on the IP list for your help)
We are going to start going to Children's Mercy in KC, but we hope to get in one last visit with his docs at Cardinal Glennon. Cam had appts with them for this coming Friday before we found out they quit taking his insurance. They are working on getting those appts. approved and then we'll make the switch.
I pray we get to go, School starts Aug. 18th and they need Dr's orders to do anything. I gotta get busy on Cams 504 too.

Cameron's ped. arranged for another urine test... We had hoped with the first morning urine the microalbumin would be in the normal range, but it wasn't. Big bummer!
I really want to see his nephrologist so I can find out exactly what this means before we start going to the new doc. I'm not prepared for another problem. :(

The insulin pump aka - HOTSHOT, is the best thing that's happened for along time. It has been such an easy adjustment. Cams BG's are right on target most of the time. A few highs and a few lows, but nothing like before. AND, he is getting so little insulin - way less than on shots.

Cam started running a fever last night. He seems fine this morning, but it is "Cartoon Day" after all. His fever is creeping back up though.
He's also had another migraine since I last bragged about him not having anymore.

My dad starts treatment Monday...:(

I've been finding 5 leaf clovers this summer. Marvin told me to leave those 5 leaf clovers alone - he said if a 4 leaf clover is good luck, 5 could be bad and we've had enough of that!!!

Wish us luck this week! ;-)
-Carla

*update Sat. evening -
Took Cam to mediquick today where it was standing room only. Cam and I ended up having to sit on the floor! We were there for 3 hrs. Cam has an ear infection. The doc looked at his throat, but didn't do a culture 'cause he needed antibiotics anyway. Hopefully he'll be good as new before long!
Gotta love the pump! Cam's BG's have been higher today and he's not eating much, so I'm able to bolus his pump a tiny little bit to get him back on track. It is working out really well!
I'll try to update next weekend to let you know how the dr's appts went.

Saturday, July 17, 2004 0:01 AM CDT

(Big sigh...) Man, am I getting tired of this rollercoaster ride we have been on. For every up there's a down. Today we had a double whammy. I just found out today that Cameron's specialists at the hospital will no longer accept Cams insurance. Now we are on the hunt for not 1, but 3 new specialist. It is still going to mean a two and half to three hr drive. I'm not sure if we'll go with dr's in St. Louis or KC this time.
And, if that isn't bad enough - I spoke with Cams renal nurse today and the urine test came back with elevated microalbumin. He's going to have to do a 12 hr urine collection, but we are going to have to arrange that with his pediatrician since we can't go back to his renal dr... I'm just so sad that we can't see his specialist anymore, especially with a problem arising. I asked what they would do if it was still high with the 12 hr collection and she said they would put him on an ACE inhibitor which he is already on, so I'm not sure what they can do. :(
From what I understand, if the microalbumin continues to be elevated he's in the early stages of kidney disease. I'm crushed. Why can't Cameron just be healthy. I'm tired of this ride we have been on for the last 3 yrs. I thought with the insulin pump things were looking up and maybe it still will. Maybe the better blood glucose control will help his kidneys.

The good news is Hotshot is great! Gosh, we just love the insulin pump! I still hate the infusions, but we got some insets with a shorter cannula and they are not near as intimidating on such a skinny little boy. Cams BG's are so much better and he acts like he feels like a million bucks. Now if I could do something about those kidneys...

Time to go check Cam's BG. It's not like I can sleep anyway.
Goodnight -
carla

Update Sun, July 18th -
I forgot to mention in my previous update that Cameron has not had anymore migraines. yeah! hopefully that's over with.
Yesterday he and the other 4H-ers were in the county fair parade. It was a lot of fun and they were so cute!
Cam went to a swimming party in the evening and had a blast... slept until 10 this morning. It is stuff like that that makes me so thankful he has a pump. On shots he could have never slept until 10 and going to birthday parties are GREAT. It is so nice not to have to worry about what time they are going to have cake and if Cam can even have it or not. Hotshot is wonderful and it came at the perfect time in our lives, just wish he didn't need it at all, wish there was a cure.
OH! that reminds me - when I told Cameron that he wasn't going to be able to see his Dr's at the hospital anymore he said "So did they just give up because no one has found a cure!"
How heart breaking is that! He thought they gave up on him because they can't make all this stuff go away. :(

Friday, July 9, 2004 11:50 PM CDT

Hi all, Cam and Hotshot are getting along really well. Cameron just loves his pump! Tonight we went to Golden Corral to celebrate Cams grandpa's birthday. He got to eat whatever he wanted at the buffet and I actually did pretty good at counting carbs. Cameron's BG's have been great. We are still doing minor adjusting, but I'm sure that is something that will be ongoing - no 2 days are alike.
Yesterday Cam had swimming lessons and a tball game immediately after. This weekend he has 2 birthday parties in the middle of the afternoon and because of the pump he gets to be a reg. kid, doing reg. kid stuff. I'm so happy for him. I hate doing the infusion sets, but it is all worth it to see Cam so happy.

Like always, we've been on another rollercoaster ride.
Cam has been having migraines (4 just recently), so today they did a head CT. Thank goodness everything is just fine. For now we are just going to make note of what he ate when he gets them. We can put him on a preventative medication, but I want to see if there is a food trigger first... he's on enough meds as it is. Cams nurse practitioner has a sneaky suspicion that it could have been the meat tenderizer I put on his wasp sting. Some of you may remember the wasp sting I wrote about recently. I used vinegar on it, but also a meat tenderizer which is loaded with MSG. MSG can be a migraine trigger, so we'll see if that is what it was. No headaches since Monday, so maybe it is out of his system.

Congratulations to my brother Jason and Missy on their engagement! It's funny - Cameron was just asking me when he was going to get a cousin and I told him that if Jason and Missy got married, Brendan would be his cousin. He is very excited to have a soon to be cousin!... we are all excited! Yaahooo

I think that's it for now. Thanks for checking in on us!
~ Carla

Saturday, July 3, 2004 12:43 AM CDT

Hi Everyone!
We're on the 3rd day of pumping and everything is going really well.
I don't think I slept at all Wednesday night. The pump came about 7pm, we watched the instructional DVD a few times and programmed it. At 9am Thursday we were at the hospital taking 'pumping 101' :) and by 10:45 he was hooked up! I was so nervous about it, but it was a lot easier than I expected. Now, if I could only get up when my alarm clock goes off to check BG's (blood sugar for those of you that don't know:).
I've been so tired! Last night I turned my alarm clock off and then woke up 5 in a panic because I didn't check Cam at the right time. I'm going to set a timer tonight so that doesn't happen anymore!

Cam had a migraine yesterday and ended up throwing up after supper. Unfortunately it was right after I gave him his bolus of insulin. No low blood sugars though and after he woke up from a nap he was fine and dandy. Except for the headache anytime you ask him how he's doing he says "GREAT!". That is so good to hear. He just loves his pump! As soon as he found out the pump was on the way he named it "Hot Shot."
When we got to the hospital his shirt was untucked and as soon as he was hooked up, he tucked his shirt in so he could proudly show off his pump. He told everyone that would listen about Hot Shot. In ultrasound he was telling the ladies about it and that he named it after one of his transformers. One lady asked what it transformed into and we all had a good laugh when someone said that it transformed into a pancreas! LOL
That evening he called his Gramma and I heard him tell her that it was the BEST day of his life! It brought tears to my eyes that he was so happy that he got an insulin pump and sad that he even had to have diabetes in the first place. It's heartbreaking that after all he has been through the best day of his life is getting an insulin pump....
Cameron's A1C was 7.4 this time - better than last time and hopefully with the pump it will just get better.
I was thrilled with Cams ultrasound. He had one 3 months ago and they were concerned that maybe one kidney was growing and one wasn't. After comparing the two, they can tell that both are growing at the same rate and the size diff is just because they removed more of one kidney than they did the other. There has always been a swollen area on one kidney at the opening of the ureter where urine sometimes pools. I worry about that, but it's not changing and they are continuing to check for protein, creatinine levels, etc... he did have a trace of protein, but everything else looked good and they are sending blood and urine off. As far as they can tell, everything looks great.

Well, since I first starting writing this, Cams BG's are high for the first time... :(
We are still in the stages of adjusting basal and bolus rates, so we'll have to check in with the doc in a little bit. Time for lunch and to figure out insulin...

Tune in next week and have a safe and happy 4th of July!
-Carla

PS... Cameron loves reading all of his messages. Thanks!

Sunday-
Everything is still going well. Cam's only had that one high BG. He's mainly been right on track or on the low side, so we are still adjusting the basal rate. I changed the infusion for the first time today... that's going to take practice. I had to refer to the book and video through the whole process. It'll get easier though.

Many thanks to all that helped with the whole pump process - Richard and Jill at Animas, Tricia - the Animas clinical nurse and our CDE - Bonnie. Thanks so much!!!

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 10:30 PM CDT

Wow - another update! 3 times already this week!
Our rollercoaster continues... up and down, up and down...
Good news is Cams pump came today and we are doing the pump training tomorrow! I'm a little nervous about it, but it will be ok. Cam is very excited and has already named it "Hot Shot". :)
Cameron is also seeing his endo and renal docs tomorrow. This is the first time we've been to the hospital and he hasn't had to see his oncologist. Cool huh?

Bad news is Cams grandpa (my dad) had the 'spot' removed from the inside of his bladder today and he's going to have to start treatments again in about a month.
I HATE CANCER!!!!!!!! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!

There's a picture of Cam and his grandpa in the photo album walking the survivor lap together.

That's all for now. I'll update in a few days to let you know how the pump is working out.

carla

Monday, June 28, 2004 10:05 PM CDT

Just a quick update since I had a long winded one yesterday. :)
Cameron's t-ball game was so much fun! Cameron loved being the pitcher! It kept him busy, which kept his attention. That's sometimes hard to do when he's in the outfield playing in the dirt. haha :)
All the kids did a fabulous job! The season's not quite over yet, they still have 2 makeup games.

Today Cameron got stung by a wasp. :(
I started out putting a baking soda paste on it and then remembered reading that wasp stings are alkaline and to put vinegar on it instead (just a little tip I wanted to share). When I took the baking soda paste off he had a HUGE red swollen area. I soaked a cotton ball in vinegar and we held that on for a while and it worked like magic! A little bit of ice and he was good as new.

Talked to the folks at Animas today and Cams insulin pump should be here Wednesday! YEAHHHHH!!!!
Cam has to go for checkups with his specialist on Thursday, but I don't think they will have time to help us with the pump then. I'll keep you updated though. Thanks for checking in on us.

Sunday, June 27, 2004 11:41 PM CDT

Hi all, I've been aiming to update all week and just haven't taken the time...
This last week has been a rollercoaster - full of all sorts of ups and downs.
Last weekend we went to Big Surf and had lots of fun! We did have one little (no BIG) incident.
Cameron and a friend were each going to go down a slide. The life guard was there to catch one, but then all of a sudden here came Cameron shooting down the other slide and no one noticed him but me. I just froze. It was like my feet were stuck in the concrete. I kept yelling at them to get Cameron and every time they turned around he was underwater. It was very scary, but he was ok. Next time we'll know to take his life jacket! They don't usually let you have them at pools around here, so I never thought about bringing one. It took a little while to get Cameron coaxed back in the water, but he did and we had fun the rest of the day. Am curious how he'll do at swim lessons though...
He's always been "No Fear Cameron" - such a dare devil, willing to try anything. That kid had absolutely nooooo fear. I could go on and on about the things he did or tried to do, like jumping off the diving board the first time he was ever in a pool or wanting to ride his tricycle down a slide when he was 4. This summer things have changed. This year he doesn't even want to get on a bike. He's still brave in so many other ways.... maybe he just figured out he doesn't have to be brave alllll the time.

Monday we found out my dad has another 'spot' in his bladder and is going in to have that removed this week. Not sure if it is cancer yet, but it will be if they don't go ahead and remove it. He's had bladder cancer since '79. Unfortunately it just keeps coming back...
Tuesday, Cameron had a check up with Dr Beal, his pediatrician. It went great, but I was terrified before we got there. (See I'm not brave all the time either!:) I woke up that morning and realized that it was exactly 3 yrs ago to the day that Dr Beal, told us Cameron had cancer. It brought back so many bad memories... Our lives haven't been the same since. Wednesday was another downer for me - my original 'due date' for the baby I miscarried on Christmas. Although I think it should have been a week or two earlier, that was still the date I had in mind. We sure have been through a lot these last 3 yrs, but I think I'm a better person for it. I got to thinkin' about Savannah (who's birthday is today), and of Cameron James, Lowri and other Wilms' children who lost their lives to cancer and I had to be grateful for being able to hug and kiss Cameron every day. For getting to tuck him in bed each night and for being able to tell him "I love you" and especially for hearing it back.
There's still a lot that we have to deal with on a daily basis, but all in all, life is good and I have a lot to be grateful for.
Oh, at Cams checkup we discovered that his reflexes are back! I'm so excited - He hasn't had any reflexes since his very first chemo treatment!
Wednesday Cam went home with Grandma and Grandpa and stayed until Friday.
Today he had a tball game - they played great! I'll try to update about that and post a pic later in the week. I'm too tired and this entry is long enough as it is. :)
Goodnight -
carla

Sunday, June 13, 2004 11:47 PM CDT

WOW! I wish every one of you could have been at the Relay For Life this weekend - at least the opening ceremony! I am so proud of Cameron, he did such a fabulous job! (He gets better every year:)
Cameron and 7 of his friends from school said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Grand Old Flag. And it wouldn't be a Relay if Cameron didn't sing Angels Among Us. No matter how many times I've heard it, I still cry. At sundown he sang I Believe I can Fly and Can't Help Falling In Love. I can't get over how much he loves the limelight! He is such a natural up there on stage and he sure knows how to pull at those heart strings. I Believe I Can Fly and Angels Among Us always reminds me of his story about when he went to Heaven and wanted to stay and play with all the other little angels... (big sigh...)

We started off with 25 people on our team(s), after midnight we were down to 5 adults and 7 kids. At 2am we had awful winds and it started blowing our canopy away, so we had to hurry up and take it down. Thank goodness my brother was still there to help with the canopy, or it would have blown over the fence. Unfortunately at this point all the luminaries had to be blown out. :(
After the canopy was loaded up, my brother Jason left and more friends - now we are down to 2 moms and 5 kids asleep in a tent. My husband had already gone because he had to go into work early the next morning.
5:30am - another storm rolls in. yiyeye
We got the kids moved to a van and the last tent down, just in time.
Ok, so now it is just Cameron and I, soaked, no shelter and no place to sit, so we left around 7am.
There was a building we could go in, but you couldn't hear the announcements or anything, it just wasn't any fun in there and I hadn't had any sleep for about 26 hrs, so Cam and I went home.
I did have one brother that was still there with his own team. I called Scott when the storm was over to see if they were still having the closing ceremony, but they had ended the Relay a few hours early due to the weather. I'm so proud of Scott, he has already signed his team up for next year. I, on the other hand said this is our last year.... We have been soooooo involved for the last 3 yrs and I am finding it harder and harder to raise money - especially since we have been trying to raise money for two causes. I think I'll give it a rest for awhile, but they won't be able to keep us away.... We'll still be there and I'll probably get involved in a different aspect of it.

Well, we are still waiting on the pump. What I thought was final approval was really just a phone call telling me what the insurance coverage would be IF they approved it. I was so excited, I didn't catch the "IF" part. The rep. doesn't think it will be a problem though. We had a small sit back because the letter of recommendation had expired and they had to get a current one. Can you imagine - they are only good for 30 days! ... like in 31 days Cameron won't have diabetes anymore. Wouldn't that be nice!

Before I close, I want to thank all the people from the IP (insulin pumpers) list for all of their support.

I also want to congratulate Angel Lowri's mom Harri and family on their new son and brother born June 13th. Owen weighed in at a whopping 10lbs and 11oz! You've got your own personal angel watching over you... Take Care.
(\0/)
./_\.

Thanks for checking in on us.
Carla

PS... I'll be posting more Relay pics in the photo album... doubt if it will get done tonight though...good night

Friday, May 28, 2004 9:44 PM CDT

Whooohooo! Cams a first grader now! Yesterday was the last day of school and what a great day it was. I am so proud of Cameron and how well he did in school. Cameron is such an eager learner and is such a great reader. For his Kindergarten graduation we gave him a Scholastic Dictionary and he just loves it. He has looked at all 600 pages more than once and he'll probably be reading it cover to cover before I know it! :)
Yesterday there was an assembly and the kids sang and got awards. It was so much fun! I've been so excited for school to be out for the summer and then when the day came I was teary eyed all day.
As I was getting ready to go to school, I put on a necklace that had a picture of Cameron when he was a year and a half and I was just overwhelmed with emotion. In some ways it seems like such a long time ago because he has done and conquered so much for someone so young. But, then again, it seems like yesterday that I was constantly stepping over all of his trains. He LOVED Thomas the Train. He used to say he was "train crazy" and he was! If it wasn't a train he turned it into one. Then it was Buzz Lightyear and now he's into Super heros and all the "BIG boy" stuff.
Before I know it, it will be girls AND cars... he's always liked girls. He was a little bitty thing in a grocery cart and he'd point and say "pretty little girl" ... Ok, enough reminiscing or I'll start crying again.

We got some fantastic news yesterday - the insulin pump has been approved! YIPPPEEE!!!
I've been reading such wonderful things about it, I'm even more excited than I was before. I expect it to be difficult at first getting it programed and regulated, but I think it is going to be sooo worth it. I'm not sure how soon we'll get it or be able to get started, but hey, it's a start!

Sorry it took so long to update. It's been such a busy month with tball starting, all the end of the school year activities and the Relay for Life coming up in 2 wks.

Have a safe Memorial weekend.
- Carla

*Saturday, May 29th
I just uploaded a new pic of Cameron. He caught 5 fish in less than 30 minutes today! WOW!!!

Sunday, May 2, 2004 9:19 PM CDT

Just a quick update to let you know that Cameron is doing great. I've been teaching preschool the last 2 wks, so haven't had much free time. Teachers definitely do not get paid enough! I'm totally wiped out by the time I get home.
The kids are sure missing their teacher and we will all be glad when she comes back... so will I!

Cam is back to wanting a pump. I'll get busy this week filling out insurance papers and finding out answers to some questions I have and then we should be set.

Today Cameron went to a skills clinic for t-ball. The Mavericks were there helping the kids learn how to pitch, hold the bat, etc... The kids had such a great time.
Later in the month the kids get to go to a Mavericks game and go out on the field with them. Cam is so excited!

I'm going to sign off for now - just wanted to let ya know that Cameron's fine. School is going well and will be out before we know it!
Until later...
carla

Thursday, April 8, 2004 5:41 PM CDT

Lots of catching up to do -
Cam just got out of the hospital today and seems to be better just being home.
Saturday morning we got up bright and early to go to a insulin pump class and then to a Diabetes Family Retreat put on by JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Cameron was so tired, but I thought it was because he got up so early. He slept through almost the entire class, then at lunch time when they brought out pizza and Cameron refused, I knew something was wrong. He felt feverish and I remembered that strep was going around school again so I mentioned it to his endocrine nurse. She said we should take him on down to the ER (lucky for us, the pump class was at the hospital). Sure enough he had strep throat AGAIN! Cams throat didn't look that bad, so they thought we caught it pretty early. I wanted him well as soon as possible and because the penicillin shot worked miracles last time I requested one again. I debated about coming on home, but we were 3 hrs away and he got well so fast last time we decided to go on to the Retreat. When we got to the hotel he seemed better, but the real red flag came when he refused pizza for the 2nd time! We ended up staying in our room for the rest of the day and Cam had temps of 103-104 all night long. Tylenol just wasn't doing anything. The next morning I brought him breakfast and he threw up it up. He felt so lousy. Gramma had gone with us, so she took care of Cam for a while so I could go to another session about insulin pumps. It was nice to hear parents and kids talk about how 'the pump' changed their lives. Wish I could have spent more time chatting with them and learning more, but we needed to get Cam back home. I sure didn't understand why he seemed to be getting worse instead of better.
He started throwing up again on the way home. After we got home he had a short nap, was still running a high temp and threw up every time I tried to give him Tylenol. I barely got the car unloaded before we were off to the ER again (at our local hospital this time). He was very dehydrated and they pumped him full of 2 bags of IV fluids and let us go home around midnight. The next morning was even worse so I took him to see his pediatrician and they admitted him into the hospital. We've been there since Monday morning and I sure am glad to be home!!! Cam had a stomach virus on top of strep throat. The poor kid didn't eat anything for 4 days and lost 5 or 6 lbs that he didn't have to lose. Then Tuesday, he started sneezing and having cold symptoms!!! WHAT NEXT!?! But, that's better now that he's been able to take his allergy medicine. Sure didn't think his allergies would be bothering him in a hospital...
He's still running a fever every now and then and he's not eating much but at least he's keeping it down. I felt so sorry for him and all the extra pokes he's got this week. Between IV's, labs, blood sugar tests and insulin he sure wasn't a happy camper. During one of the IV pokes when someone asked to see his arm, he said "Well ok, but it's kinda skinny."
Unfortunately he's not sure if he wants an insulin pump now. The IV's are too fresh in his mind. He thinks the IV looks too similar to the infusion set he'd need to wear with the pump. The pump sounds great, but he would be hooked up to it 24/7. Weigh that option to 4 shots a day (that he doesn't really seem to mind) and I'm not sure which one comes out ahead. Hmmm, one poke every 3 days or 12 shots in 3 days. The decision is up to him and I'll support which ever one he decides. The most intriguing thing I learned about the pump is that for Type 1 diabetics, it can prolong their chance of complications for 15 yrs and add 5 yrs to their life! I think that is pretty exciting and Cam can use all the help he can get.
More good news is, somehow I miraculously managed to keep Cams blood sugars in a pretty good range while he's been sick. I was so grateful that Cams pediatrician trusts me enough that he wrote orders to the hospital for 'mom' be on control of all meds.

Well, Cam is awake from a nap and I have lots of laundry and catching up to do around here. I also have lots of new toys and games to find a place for! A BIG THANKS to all who brought Cam balloons, cards, games, toys, etc during his hospital stay. It sure helped pass the time.
Please sign Cams guestbook, he loves to hear from you.
-Carla

HAPPY EASTER!

Sunday, March 28, 2004 11:05 PM CST

Our dear sweet friend Savannah joined the angels in Heaven last night. I am so saddened by this news. Please pray for her family - the tough times just got even tougher.
When Cameron was first diagnosed with Wilms' I reached out to 4 other Wilms' families for support. Savannah's family was one of them. I'm sad to say that out of the 4 families that I originally reached out to, 3 have lost their child to cancer. Savannah has joined Lowri and little Cameron James and many other children who once had cancer. It just isn't fair - their families need them and miss them so much. Their lives will never be the same again.
Since Cameron has been in remission there are many other Wilms' families that I try to keep in touch with, but it is hard to see more and more names added to the Wilms' list and even harder to see them go when they have fought as hard as they possibly can and still lost the battle. For the cancer that is suppose to be one of the easiest to cure, it sure doesn't seem like it.
Cancer sucks!
If you haven't done so already, please, I'm begging you, make a donation to American Cancer Society or the National Childhood Cancer Foundation. We want a cure and we want it now! There is a link to Cameron's ACS Relay For Life website below. Please take this opportunity to make a donation in honor of Cameron or in memory of Savannah or any other person that has had to fight this beast. They need your help.

May you rest in peace Savannah - have fun dancing and playing with all the other little angels.
I'm sorry you had to go, your family and friends miss you terribly.
(\0/)
./_\. we love you

www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/

Sunday, March 21, 2004 11:05 AM CST

Hi all - just a quick update for all of those that check in on us on a reg. basis. We've had a fun filled week. Monday, all the kids in 4H made treasure chest boxes (which Cam fell on and broke the next day).
Wednesday, the entire Kindergarten class (123 - I think) went to see the play "Free to be You and Me." It was GREAT!!! All the kids had a wonderful time and they were so well behaved. Way to go Kindergartners!
Friday, we had a play date after school with a few friends and then we all went out for pizza. The kids played games and got prizes out of the gumball machines - which leads me to another story...
Saturday, I took Cameron to the kids aerobics class at the gym and his friend Maddie was there. Cameron promptly took a ring out of his pocket (that he got the night before at the pizza place) and asked Maddie to be his girlfriend! It was soooo sweet. She had the biggest grin on her face you ever did see. :->
yiyeye - sometimes I wonder if he is 6 or 16!

We also had a Team Captains meeting for the Relay For Life this past week. Cameron has several friends from school on his team (including Maddie) and they are all going to be a part of the Opening Ceremony this year. I've been working on Cameron's ACS Relay For Life web page and I've added the link to it at the bottom of this page.
You can also make on-line donations there (-; wink, wink ;-)

This week is spring break. Cameron has a check up with his pediatrician tomorrow and then he's off to grandma's for the week.
HAPPY SPRING!
-Carla

Thursday, March 11, 2004 10:28 PM CST

just a quick update...
all of Cams test results are in but the echo - everything else looks great.
I'm sure the echo is fine or I would have heard different by now. I just haven't had the time to call his renal dr.
This has been such a busy week!!! meetings at school, volunteering, subbing............

I tried an infusion set on Cam for the insulin pump and he did wonderful! He didn't cry and he didn't have a reaction to the adhesive or the cannula. yeah!
We are going to a pump class next month, so we'll just keep trekking on and hopefully he'll be able to get a pump.

PLEASE keep praying for our friend Savannah. She is in the hospital fighting a high fever and trying to get better so she can go to Disney. To send her well wishes go to -www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/

Our friend Jordan is home and doing amazing after her brain surgery. She was only in the hospital for 4 days and went to school half days this week! Way to go Jordan! She still has a long road ahead of her with 6 wks of radiation, so keep prayin'...

Thanks for checking in on us,
Carla

PS... we still need more team members for our Relay For Life team - hope some of you can join us. We have a great time. Email me if you're interested.

Friday, March 5, 2004 1:25 PM CST

Another check up out of the way! Whooohooo! Now I can relax for 3 months until the next checkup. :)
6 hrs driving time (in the pouring down rain) and 7 hrs at dr appts sure made for a loooong day and on top of that Cam has strep throat again! .... more on that later because I'd rather tell you the good news!
Onc. update:
Cameron's oncologist said that he has now become Cameron's LEAST important Doctor. It's a pretty good feeling to know that cancer is the least of Cameron's worries. The doc said Cameron would have 1-2 more 6 month checkups and then just once a year there after.
Renal update:
Cams blood pressure has been pretty good, so no change in medication there, but he does have to go back in 3 months for another ultrasound on his kidneys. It seems one kidney has grown considerably since his last ultrasound and one has not... this could be due to the surgeons removing more of one kidney than the other. His renal dr is going to compare past ultrasounds a little closer and review the history of his surgery in more detail. We'll know more at the next ultrasound. Urine tests have come back good and kidney function is fine.
endocrine update:
We saw Cams diabetes nurse practitioner this time. She is great, but we never seem to have enough time. She gave me her email address, so I'll be able to email her with any questions.
Cams hemoglobin A1C was 8 percent (which means his average bl. sugar during the last 3 months was 180) - only slightly better than the 8.1 last time. They are fine with that, but I was hoping for better. We were also told that Cameron is no longer in the 'honeymoon phase'. DARN! I knew it was coming, but was still in hopes that Cameron's pancreas would continue to work some. In the beginning there was some question if he really had true type 1 diabetes. My theory was that if diabetes was caused by the chemo then maybe, just maybe, his pancreas would always continue to work some... that his pancreas might decide to wake up and get busy instead of in there snoozin'. Cameron and I joke around that his pancreas is in there snoring away and he tells his pancreas to "WAKE-UP" or he says his pancreas is a lazy bum and is just letting us do the work for it. :) It is sometimes nice to add some humor to a tough situation.
We looked over some insulin pumps, but only got to try one inset. It didn't go in right and Cam cried so we had to remove it. I did bring some home to try later. Right now he is wearing a piece of the adhesive to see if he'll be able to tolerate that.
Blood work in endocrine turned out fine so far... waiting to hear back about a thyroid test.
Also waiting to hear back about his echocardiogram.
This morning I'm waiting to hear back from Cams pediatrician. While at the hospital yesterday we discovered Cam had strep throat. The dr that saw him about that said Cameron did not 'act' sick enough to be on antibiotics so he would not give us a prescription! I tried to explain to him that Cameron doesn't complain about much and that he still has plenty of energy even when he is sick. (He doesn't let much get him down!) Cam has never once complained when he had an ear infection, he usually doesn't even complain when he has a sore throat. When he had strep throat a few weeks ago the only thing he said was that his throat was a little dry. He's just not a complainer. I'm not sure if he is afraid to complain or he has a high tolerance of pain or both. He's had so many hospital visits, etc... If I were him I probably wouldn't want to complain either. I'm so proud of Cameron. He is such a trooper!
Oh, Cam is 48" and 48 lbs... a pound for every inch he is tall. :) I can't believe my baby is 4' tall already!
Well, I'll add to this update as I find out more.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
-Carla

PS... We did get to go to Olive Garden for supper to celebrate Cams daddy's birthday. Was afraid Cam might not keep it down, but so far he is not throwing up. I just hope to get some antibiotics in him so he doesn't get too sick and his diabetes too far out of control.
Just got a call from Cams nurse and they are calling in antibiotics for him! yeah! I just love his pediatrician and all the nurses there. They are the best team in the world!
Thanks!!!

Monday, March 1, 2004 9:18 PM CST

Hi everyone -
Not much new to report. Things are going well.
Saturday we went to KIDDS DAY sponsored by the ADA. Cameron got to play and have fun with other kids with diabetes while I learned more about diabetes and an insulin pump, etc...
Cameron is eager to become a "pumper".
He goes for his big round of tests and dr appts this Thursday (his daddy's 40th birthday!)
We hope to be able to try different insets to see if he'll be able to use a pump and then we'll get started on the paper work to see if insurance will fork out the $6,000 + for one.
Wish us luck on the 4th. Cameron has 6 appts that day!
I hate to say it, but I've been having nightmares that cancer is back. I think I'm more worried about this appt than any other. We've had so many little friends relapse... it is just so scary. It's like a little black cloud hanging over your head. I don't quite remember what it was like to be a 'normal' family without all these worries.

Please remember to keep our dear friend Savannah in your prayers. She is trying so hard ....
Love ya Savannah.
www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah
We also have a sweet little friend Jordan that went in for brain surgery today. I haven't heard how it went, but we are hoping for the best and hope that she will not have to have chemo again. She was finishing treatment about the time Cam started and her tumor just recently started growing again. Please add Jordan to your prayers.
Thanks,
carla

Monday, February 16, 2004 11:36 PM CST

I just added a picture of Cameron with his "Jack-o-lantern smile" in his photo album. It's not the greatest - had a hard time getting a picture of him where you could see his teeth or lack of. :)

Cameron is doing pretty good. Blood sugars are under control pretty well (knock on wood). He did have strep throat last week. I was subbing at school and promised Cam I'd come eat lunch with him. After I walked him back to his class he started complaining of a tummy ache. He had said his throat was dry earlier that morning and he hadn't been eating real well, so to be on the safe side I had the school nurse check him out. She was pretty sure it was strep so they had to get busy and find a sub for the sub. Cam threw up as soon as we walked in the dr's office. GROSS. We were afraid that he might end up needing IV fluids if the vomiting would continue or if he wasn't eating, but he did wonderful. We opted for him to have a shot of antibiotics instead of 10 days of meds and he recovered so much faster. That shot was a life saver and he was able to go back to school Friday for his Valentine's party. That was a lot of fun. I took ceramic tiles in and helped the kids put their hand prints on them. We got together with friends after school and then went for pizza that night. Saturday Cam went to a skating party. He's only been skating twice, but loves it. He's a little slow, but he only fell once! He's amazing! Gotta love him!
Saturday night was the 4H-ers annual chili supper - that was fun too. Tonight we had our 4H meeting and I took tiles to that also. The kids painted them and will enter them in the fair this summer.... Busy, busy, busy - I'm starting to spread myself a little thin, but am enjoying what I do and love working with all the kids.

Please continue to pray for our dear friend Savannah. She needs all the prayers she can get.
her website address is: www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/
Take care sweet Savannah and we hope you are feeling better and out of the hospital soon.

My dad had 2 cancerous spots removed from his bladder today. He is home and doing well.

Our ACS's Relay for Life kick-off is tomorrow. I hope that every Relay brings us a little closer to a cure. A cure can't come soon enough. If you are local and want to be on our team let me know.

-carla

Saturday, February 7, 2004 11:19 PM CST

Hi all,
We're still having yucky weather here. School was dismissed early one day and out another because of snow.
Cameron had me get him a zip-lock bag so he could fill it full of snow. When I asked him why, he said he wanted to put it in the freezer so he could play with snow in the summer... thought that was cute.
It is suppose to be in the 30's tomorrow so I'm looking forward to that.

Cam seems to be over his cold and his bl. sugars are a tiny bit better.

He lost ANOTHER TOOTH this week! - was eating lunch when it happened and accidently swallowed it. Man! was he devastated!!! He cried and cried. At least it was his 7th and not his first or it would have been even worse. We wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy and she was very understanding. :)
Cameron has wanted the Tooth Fairy to bring him a Bionicle the last 2 x's, but she brought money instead. That upset him too. (He's so spoiled!) I had to keep explaining to him that the Tooth Fairy was not like Santa, so now he's given in to the fact that he is going to have to save his money to buy it himself. Unfortunately, he doesn't have anymore loose teeth at the moment. Good thing 'cause he's having a hard time biting into things.
His jack-o-lantern smile is just too cute though. I'll have to take a picture to put on here.

Guess I'll go for now. Thanks for checking in on us and I'll work on getting a new pic of my 'toothless wonder.'

Please continue to pray for our friend Savannah. www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah
***update***
And pray also for my dad. He is going in this week to have a cancerous spot removed from his bladder. He has had bladder cancer since the mid 70's and it just keeps coming back... :(((
************************************************


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Tuesday, February 3, 2004 8:15 PM CST

Hi all -
Cameron's check up has been postponed until March 4th.
The hospital he goes to is 3 hrs away and he has to see 3 specialist and have chest X-rays, ultrasound on his kidneys, an echo on his heart, etc, etc...
As you can see, it is an all day event. He has missed too much school as it is, so we had to wait for them to be able to schedule it all in one day.

My 'oops' in Cams insulin doesn't seem to be working as well as I had hoped. His blood sugar is super high in the mornings at school (200's - 400's). Not a good thing because it makes him very hyper. He has WAAAAAAAY too much energy as it is, so it is really hard to deal with school work when his bl. sugar is that high. Cameron has had a cold for the last week or so, so that could be the culprit of the high bl.sugar. If it doesn't get better we'll have to try something different with the insulin.
When we go back to the docs in March we are going to try some different insets on him to see if he'll be able to use a pump.

Today was the 100th day of school. They had all sorts of fun activites to do today and even had a visit from "Zero the Hero". The kids got to take a collection of 100 items, so Cam took his Spider-Man bank w/ 100 pennies. I was surprised to learn that Cameron can count to 100 by 10's so easily. I didn't even know he knew how to do that!

We have been getting ice and snow every few days it seems. Our road has been horrible and hardly has time to get better before we are hit with more wintery conditions. We're suppose to get 5-7 more inches of snow Wed. and Thurs.
I AM SOOOOO READY FOR SPRING!!!

As you can see not much going on here when I resort to talking about the weather. :))))
It's time for Cams bedtime checkup, so I must go, but not before I tell you his joke of the day.

Knock knock
Who's there?
Soup
Soup who?
Soup-er Cam!

(I think this is his best joke yet:))))

Monday, January 26, 2004 7:25 PM CST

Another quick update to let you know that we have postponed Cameron's trip to the hospital for his checkups and tests.
Roads are horrible here. We have quite a bit of ice and are suppose to get more snow tonight. School was cancelled today and I have a feeling it will be tomorrow too.

Cameron is excited that he lost another tooth today. His 6th! I can't believe he has lost 6 teeth already and is only in Kindergarten. He is hoping the tooth fairy will bring him a Bionicle, but I'm hoping she won't. We have an over abundance of toys around here! He got bored with the money the tooth fairy was leaving so he had been asking me if I thought the tooth fairy could bring him a book instead. Wouldn't you know - the tooth fairy brought him a book called "I Lost My Tooth."
Now, what's a tooth fairy to do! She's no Santa. :))))
ooops, gotta go - Cam is having a meltdown - he just lost his tooth!
Hmmmm, maybe the tooth fairies mystery is solved. haha

Sunday, January 25, 2004 10:25 AM CST

just a quick update -
Cameron goes in for checkups and tests Tuesday. I don't know that he will see his oncologist this time, but he'll be seeing his endro and renal docs. Cam also has to have an echo done on his heart and ultrasound on his kidneys.
Pray all goes well.
We have LOTS of ice here. We've had rain and then sleet since early morning and it is still coming down. We are suppose to get a 1/2 inch or so of just ICE! Our porch looks like a skating rink already. Unfortunately Cameron's daddy had to go to work. He got there before it got too bad, but not sure how he'll get home.
I'm kinda of hoping for no school tomorrow, but hope the roads are good for our 3 hr drive Tuesday. Wish us luck and I'll update later in the week.
-Carla

Saturday, January 17, 2004 12:20 AM CST

Hi all - thanks for checking in on us.
Cameron is doing ok. He woke up Thursday morning with really high blood sugar and then I remembered I forgot to give him his 24hr insulin (Lantus) the night before. I'm surprised this was the first time, but hope it will be the last. There is just soooo much to remember! Blood sugar and blood pressure checks, shots, meds... the list goes on and on. (The kid has a thorough checkup before he even gets to go to bed!)
I had been wanting to talk to the Dr about switching his Lantus to the AM anyway. This way I got to do it without asking permission! :)))
If I give Cam enough Lantus at night for good bl. sugars during the day, he gets low in the middle of the night. That could be VERY dangerous if I didn't catch it. Therefore I have to check his bl. sugar at midnight or so and wake him up to eat a snack if needed. That's no fun for either of us! Since he was w/o insulin for almost 12 hrs we haven't got the full effect of switching to mornings yet. I'm not sure if he will benefit from the switch in the long run, but hope it helps.

Thursday, Cameron was on our local talk show "Pepper and Friends" where he always has a great time. He was with a bunch of friends from 4H showing off a quilt they help make. The kids all colored blocks on it that pertain to things they learn about. They are selling chances to win it and are donating half of the money to a therapeutic riding center for kids. If you happen to be interested in tickets you can email us.

Speaking of quilts, if you haven't checked out "SuperCams" on-line virtual smile quilt, you are missing out. I've added the link to it below.

I cannot close before I request that you pray for our friend Savannah who is fighting Wilms' for the 3rd time. Unfortunately, after months of chemo and radiation it is still there and growing. :(
Please pray for a miracle. You can find Miss Savannah's website at: www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/
A big THANKS from her friends and family.

-carla

Saturday, January 3, 2004 11:38 PM CST

Nothing exciting going on around here, but I wanted to stop in to wish every one a very HAPPY and HEALTHY New Year. I hope 2004 is a better year for all of us.

It has been a rough week, but Cameron is home now and I am so glad to have him back. I missed him so much! I can't stop hugging and kissing him.
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking such good care of Cameron when I needed it most.
Physically I am better, now the emotional part of miscarrying has settled in. Cameron is taking it rather hard. I feel sorry for him. He was so happy about being a big brother. One morning he woke up and gave a little wave to my belly and said "Hi Baby" like he did every other morning and I had to remind him that there wasn't a baby... he asked if he could just pretend... :(((
Then yesterday we ventured out to the mall - Cameron stopped to look at a baby in a stroller and then told the mom that we were going to have a baby, but it stopped growing and now we're not. It just breaks my heart. Cameron would have been a GREAT big brother. I wish I could have granted him that. I'm getting too old and the risks of a miscarriage are just too high to try again.
For some reason it just was not meant to be...

(\0/)
./_\.


Another message added 12:39am 'cause I can't sleep...
Please visit Cameron's Smile Quilt (link added below). Thanks Deb, Sandra, Sprite and all the other quilting angels that made it possible. It's adorable - Cameron (aka - SuperCam)loves it!

Saturday, December 27, 2003 8:03 PM CST

Hi - I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
I am so proud of Cameron for many reasons, but on Christmas I was especially proud of the fact that when he woke up on Christmas morning and I asked him if he knew what day it was - he said "Yes, today is Jesus' birthday". I'm so happy that the importance of Christmas didn't get lost in all the gift giving frenzy.
He did have a good day and he must have been a very good boy this year, because Santa thought he needed lots of new toys! He got a Navy GI Joe, leap pad books, lots of super hero stuff, Hot wheels, DVD's... I think you get the picture - not much that he didn't get. :) Now where are we going to put it all?!

I on the other hand had the worst Christmas of my life...
Miscarried the baby on Christmas day. :(
We went to my parents house and I left Cameron there to go to the hospital. I wanted Cameron to enjoy the day, so grandma waited until the next day to tell him. I've been in so much pain and am totally wiped out, so Cameron is staying at grandma's until I go back to the doctor Tuesday.
Cameron is very upset that he is not going to be a big brother after all. He was so looking forward to that and talked about the baby every few minutes. This is going to be a hard adjustment for all of us.

Hope the new year is good to us all.

Love,
carla, marvin and cam

Sunday, December 21, 2003 10:15 AM CST

Good morning -
Cameron had his Holiday Concert at school Friday. It was soooo cute. They did such a wonderful job! The Kindergartners sang: Jingle Bells, Must Be Santa and Snow is Falling Today. It was just adorable. Good job Cameron! (2 thumbs up:)
Afterward they had their Christmas party. That was fun too, but I let Cameron have too many treats and his blood sugar was sky high at supper time. I thought he was busy enough to work some of it off, but I guess not ... wish I had given him an extra shot of insulin and we wouldn't have had to worry about it. Anyway, we made it through ok, and we learn our lessons as we go.
Cam's feeling well these days, now I'm the one sick. Feeling pretty crummy this weekend, but should be good to go by Christmas. Cameron's busy counting down the days until Christmas. He's so excited he can hardly wait!

Cameron wanted me to update his website with some Christmas jokes for you:

Knock Knock
Who's there ?
Mary
Mary who ?
Mary Christmas !

Knock Knock
Who's there ?
Donut
Donut who ?
Donut open till Christmas !

HAHAHA!!! :))))

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Carla, Marvin and CAMERON

Please keep Cameron B.'s family in your prayers this holiday season. It's going to be a tough one for them. You can send them a message and read Cameron's story at:
www.caringbridge.org/mt/my.little.cam/
Sweet little Savannah (www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/) needs lots of prayers too.
There are lots of Wilms' patients that need prayers... there are too many tragedies happening. Please support them in anyway you can... through your local Dream Factory or Make a Wish organization, American Cancer Society, National Childhood Cancer Foundation, or just stop by some of their website and wish them well.

And don't forget to Love the ones you're with!

Wednesday, December 17, 2003 10:38 PM CST

It has been a busy, busy week getting ready for Christmas. I don't know where the time has gone. Cameron is doing well - just a few sniffles and coughs every now and then. Today Cameron's class sang at the nursing home and Friday they are having their Christmas party and the Winter Concert that was cancelled Sunday due to the weather.
It warmed up nicely on Monday and almost all the snow melted. Monday and Tuesday I was asked to substitute in the preschool classroom and had a lot of fun doing that. It was my first time subbing, but I think it went well and the kids were great. Cameron was in that class last year and it is such a wonderful program.
It's a fun week, but I am going crazy trying to get everything done that I need to. I guess with a baby on the way it isn't going to slow down any time soon. :))))

Now for the sad news :(
I am sorry to say that our dear little friend Cameron B. (or as my Cameron calls him " Cameron James") earned his wings yesterday and is now an angel in heaven with our other Wilms' friend Lowri. I'm sure his parents need all the prayers they can get to help them through this difficult time.
Also, PLEASE keep our friend Savannah in your prayers. She is putting up a good fight, but has been fighting off Wilms' for far too long.... longer than any child should have to. She needs lots of prayers to help her pull through this. (www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/)
We love you Savannah. Keep up the fight and get well soon! And the same goes to all the other children fighting cancer. Someone needs to find a cure soon. We are losing far to many little ones to this horrible disease.

(\0/)
./_\.
******

Sunday, December 14, 2003 11:34 PM CST

What a week! Cameron got sick last weekend with a high temp and it continued thru Tuesday. He still has a runny nose and a cough, but because he has an abundance of energy anyway, it hasn't really slowed him down. I worry so much about Cameron, he is sick so often. His pediatrician had told me that Cameron's immune system will never be what it should. I was hoping he was wrong, but this year it is really proving to be true. Thank goodness we got flu shots in October or he probably would have been much worse. There have already been several confirmed cases of the flu in his school.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning we got about a half inch of ice and then 3" of snow - no school on Wednesday. I was glad that Cameron got an extra day off school because he has already missed more school than the district allows. :(
Saturday morning it started snowing again and we got another 8" !!!
Cameron was suppose to be in a Christmas program at school today, but it was cancelled. I hope it is rescheduled for another time. He is too cute practicing his little songs. :) School is back on for tomorrow, but the buses are running on snow routes, which means we have to meet the bus a mile down the road if he is to ride it.

Cameron would have loved to go sledding today, but since he is still trying to get over whatever he had I talked him into staying in and taking it easy. So, we finished decorating the Christmas tree and watched Christmas movies all weekend. I just love it when the Christmas tree is up. It is so relaxing to sit back and admire the beautiful ornaments and twinkling lights. ahhhhhhh

Please pray for our special friends Savannah (www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/) and for
Cameron B. (www.caringbridge.org/mt/my.little.cam/) they need all the prayers they can get and so do many other friends (big and small)...and it wouldn't hurt to pray for Cams immune system to get better so he isn't sick so much!
(\0/)
./_\.
Stay warm and stay safe.
Carla

Wednesday, December 3, 2003 10:51 PM CST

Cameron is having a good week and his blood sugar levels are better. (maybe all that 'sugar-free' pumpkin pie over the holiday weekend was the cause :)
Cameron could hardly wait for Monday morning to come so he could tell every one at school that 'he' was having a baby. :) Cameron is so excited that he is going to be a BIG BROTHER! He is brushing up on his reading skills so he can read to the baby. We are all so impressed with him. His grandma got him a Dick and Jane story book and he can read to page 78 by himself! What a smart kindergartner he is.

Monday we went to visit Santa. Santa was amazed at how much Cameron has grown this year. ;-) Cam had a huge long list for him. It should have been - "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" (He has lost 4 already with another one loose), but he asked for more exciting things. Imagine that! His visit with Santa was much better this year than in the past when he told him he didn't want anymore cancer and that he has diabetes and he doesn't want anymore shots...!
That gets me a little teary eyed, but we are a lot more positive around here this holiday season and that's a GOOD thing!!!

This morning we had a little snow and Cameron could not wait to get out in it with his snow boots on! He walked out the door and said "IT'S A FABULOUS DAY!" - I didn't quite feel the same way, because I was afraid the roads would get bad, but they did not. It's nice to see things thru the eyes of a child.

Happy December!

PS...
Check back again soon and don't forget to leave a message for Cameron. He loves to hear from you.

Thursday, November 27, 2003 10:51 PM CST

What a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving we had!

Cameron is fine - although we're having problems with his blood sugar being high again. He got to go to school Tuesday to participate in the Thanksgiving Feast. I also went and it was a lot of fun. The kids were adorable dressed as Pilgrims and Indians. :)
The school nurse said his throat didn't look good and with his extremely high bl.sugar and moderate ketones I took him to see his dr. after school. Everything checked out fine. He never complains of his throat or ears so I never know with him.

Cameron and I went to my parents today. My 2 brothers were there and one w/his girlfriend and her son. Unfortunately Cams daddy had to work. I have several ceramic orders I need to get done, so Cameron is spending a few nights with Grandma and Grandpa.
We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends and we have so much to be thankful for. Cameron is thankful for pumpkin pie - (I made him a special sugar free one this year :). We are thankful that Cameron is 2 yrs in remission and that (knock on wood) he hasn't been diagnosed with anything new this year!
And the most exciting blessing is that we are going to have a baby in June! It was quite the surprise, but a true blessing from above. Cameron is so excited that he is going to be a BIG BROTHER he can hardly wait!!! We just told Cam yesterday and my family today. They are all as thrilled as I knew they would be. :)

Hope everyone had a safe, healthy and very happy Thanksgiving! We sure did!

Carla, Marvin and Cameron

Monday, November 24, 2003 8:53 AM CST

HI,
Cameron is home from school today. He seems fine, is a ball of energy, but ran a temp all night. I hope that was all there is to it. He always seems to get sick at the worst times... like his birthday.
Cameron hopes he can go back to school tomorrow. They are having a special Thanksgiving feast and his class will be the 'Pilgrams'.
(Hence the update - Cameron wanted Pilgrams on his website. :)



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Will update again over the weekend.

Saturday, November 1, 2003 12:52 PM CST

I am sooooooo bummed - I forgot to take Halloween pics with my digital camera to put on here! Cameron was so cute in his lil' HULK clothes, his BIG HULK hands, green face paint and green hair gel. We went to a few houses around here and then to town so he could TRICK or TREAT with his best buds. He had such a great time. He really amazes me - Cameron never once even asked for a piece of candy! We went to Walmart afterward and I bought him a new book. Some of his candy he can keep and some I'll trade him. When I was his age I would have ate half my candy that night and a book would have been a big disappointment in exchange for all that fun Trick or Treating.

The Halloween party at school was great fun too. I feel so sorry for Cam sometimes though - especially at school when they are always having special treats. I do try to bring alternatives when I can, but I felt bad for him at the Halloween party. Here he sat with 3 big cookies in front of him and surrounded by candy... I let him have 1 cookie and he didn't argue for more. I sure don't think I could be as good about it as he is.

On to some happier news! Cameron's checkups were great!
They didn't do an ultrasound or anything on his kidneys, but his blood tests and urine tests came back wonderful. Chest xrays were clear and blood pressure good.
The only thing that disappointed me was his A1C. It was at 8.1 - which means his average bl. sugar for the last 3 months was around 180. Dr's are happy with that, but I was very disappointed because it was much better last time. I'm a little hard on myself because I feel like I'm the one in control of his diet and shots and it reflects on how good of a job I'm doing. I've been trying so hard, but I'm also trying to realize that I don't have total control and part of the reason it was higher is because he was sick the end of Sept/beginning of Oct and had the really high blood sugars. We talked to the dietitian again and feel good about that. His diet is so much easier to cope with on the new insulin he is on. It makes it easier on all of us.
*The best news is that his oncologist said that we can now go every 6 months for checkups! Yipppeeee. It does make me a bit nervous, but it feels good that the dr has enough confidence to let him wait that long between appts. Cam will be going back in January for a very thorough checkup with an echocardiogram and ultrasound on his kidneys. That will make me feel better about waiting the 6 months. He'll still need to see the endro and renal dr every 3-4 months.

Well, Cameron is at his grandparents this weekend and I had planned on getting a lot done around the house, so far that's not happening...

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. We sure did.
Carla

Saturday, October 25, 2003 9:17 AM CDT

Hi everyone!
Not much going on here... Cameron is getting excited about Halloween. We've worked out a plan so that he can still go "trick or treating". We'll save the things he can have, save a few things for when his blood sugar is low, but the part he is excited about is that I'm going to buy the rest of his candy from him. That way he can take his money to go get sugar free candy, a toy or whatever he wants. Sounds like a good plan to me and I get some candy out of the deal... it's been a long time since I've had candy! This is the first year that I haven't bought Halloween candy half a dozen times before Halloween even got here. :)

Cameron is going to go as the Incredible Hulk! Who would have guessed?!!! :)))
For the Halloween party at school Cameron is going to wear his scrubs that say "Dr Cameron" and I am going to wear scrubs that say "Nurse in Training".

Oct 30th Cam goes for his big checkups with all his specialists. Wish us luck and look for an update and Halloween pics next weekend.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

*********************************

Special prayer requests for:
Savannah who is on a short break from chemo so that she will feel up to being a flower girl in a wedding coming up. Savannah is one special little girl - unfortunately she is battling Wilms' for the 3rd time. :(
For lil' Kaymrn who goes in on the 30th for a check up after being done with chemo and is having lots of side effects.
For Katey who is getting her port out on the 30th (yahooo).
And for another little Cameron that needs lots and lots of prayers. After a long battle with Wilms', it looks like he will be at war against leukemia. :(
www.caringbridge.com/mt/my.little.cam/

There are just way too many children fighting for their lives. Adults too...

Saturday, October 11, 2003 10:23 PM CDT

Hi folks! Sorry I didn't update right away after Cameron's party and the walk. Time just seems to get away from me now that Cameron is in Kindergarten.
Cameron got over his virus in time for the Diabetes Walk and his birthday party.
Plenty of family and friends came out to support Cameron in his walk for a cure. Thank you all!
The walk was 3 miles. Cam walked about a mile and pooped out on us. That's ok, I wasn't expecting him to be able to walk the whole way. We raised over $700... a small dent in what they need to find a cure.
(Over all I think they did fairly well and they had more teams than ever before, so that's a good thing).
Cameron is getting so tired of all these shots. He gets at least 5 a day and the dose keeps going up. He told me the other day that he is tired of shots and wants to get an insulin pump. I told him maybe we could try it when school is out. I'd give anything if his diabetes would just go away so he could be a normal 6 yr old. Eat what his friends eat, play when he wants to play and not have to stop to check his blood sugar, have shots etc... It breaks my heart what that kid has and is going through.
Cameron's blood sugars had gotten better last week and now the last 3 days they have been VERY high again. I don't think he has had any readings in his target range. I keep increasing the dose and it isn't helping. I can tell something is going on by his blood sugars. Either he is getting sick again, has some sort of infection I don't know about or his pancreas quit. :(
Cam has his 6 yr well check next week and then at the end of the month we see all the specialist at the hospital. I'll be glad to get that appt over with. It is always a dreaded day, but I also feel so relieved when it is over.

On to the fun stuff....
After the walk it was PARTY TIME. And, boy - did Cameron have a great time! We all did. The walk and the party were both held at the park and we could not have asked for better weather. It was a GORGEOUS day! Lots of family and friends showed up with a heaping pile of gifts.
Gift bags, wrapping paper, bows, cards and toys were flying everywhere and lots of little hands to help. I think all the kids had a great time. (I wanted to post a picture, but I haven't heard back from all the moms yet to make sure it is ok).
I've been trying to convince Cameron that he needs to get rid of some old toys to make room for all the new. "awww, mom" - he says. So far the only thing he is willing to part with are a few Happy Meal toys. :) haha
That kid does alright in the toy department!!! :))))))
He is beginning to know how to work it too when he wants something that I say "no" to.
"But mom, I have been through so much and I had my port taken out and I have to have shots all the time.... and, and, and... "
yea, yea, yea, I'd give him the world if I could. I'd wave a magic wand and make all his troubles go away. I'd have a world with no cancer and no diabetes...
Unfortunately we can't have everything we want. That's life and we just live it to the fullest.
Live well, live long and be merry.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Carla

Thursday, October 2, 2003 12:06 PM CDT

Dear Cameron,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CAMERONNNNNNN,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!


Well, Cameron - you were born 6 yrs ago today at this very minute. I've never been happier than the day you were born.
It was love at first site... I didn't think I could love you any more than I already did, but the moment I saw your precious face my heart filled with more love than I ever knew. Everyday I love you more than I did the day before. You have brought so much joy to our lives and I am grateful for every day that you are here with us.
You are such a brave young man for 6 yrs old and we are so proud of you and the big kindergartner you are.
Now, hurry up and get well so you can get back to school. They miss you. :)

I love you all the way to the moon and back...
From - Momma (Daddy too of course:)

***********************************************
Cameron finally seems to be doing better today. So far no fever and his blood sugars are getting better (not great, but better). He had to go back to the Dr on Tuesday. Cameron's blood sugars have been so extremely high. He's had several readings in the 400's. Not good at all considering they are suppose to be in the 80-180 range. He was also showing small to moderate amounts of ketones in his urine... that's not good at all and most likely because of the high fevers he has been having. (some as high as 105 !). Having ketones means his body was not getting enough insulin (even though I was giving him extra insulin to bring his blood sugars down) and that his body was using up fat for energy. This can be very serious and VERY dangerous. Luckily we made it through and hopefully things will only get better from here. This goes to show that even a 'simple' cold virus can really throw diabetes into a tailspin. It has been a scary week and just the beginning of cold and flu season. As soon as he's all better we are going for flu shots!
Pray for good health and good weather for Sunday and thanks for checking in on Cameron.
Don't forget to leave Cam a message. :)

**************************************

PS... THANK YOU Jeannie, Jennifer, Marlin and Cliff for the huge bouquet of balloons and the birthday bear!!! What a wonderful suprise!
love you all,
Cameron

Monday, September 29, 2003 10:35 AM CDT

Well.... Cameron is sick, so he's home from school today. For now, he seems better than he did last night. His blood sugars are high and I'm having a hard time keeping them in check. We spent about 5 hrs at the hospital yesterday. Cameron had a whole routine of tests and was hooked up to an IV so he wouldn't get too dehydrated. They ruled out all the 'bad' stuff and think it is just a virus. Besides the IV, Cameron didn't mind the hospital too much. His new friend Michael even took him out to show him an ambulance before we left. Cameron thought that was waaaay COOL and can't wait to go back to school to tell everyone about it.

He woke up at 2am this morning with a temp of 104.4! and a cough that wouldn't quit. Thought we were going to have to make another trip to the hospital, but we eventually made it through ok. Being sick is bad enough, but when you put all his other complications in the mix it means trouble. He can't have ibuprofen or cold medicine because of his kidneys, so he is really limited on the meds he can have.

I hope this virus is short lived and that we don't get it. We have a very busy week planned. Cameron turns 6 Thursday and this weekend we are going to a Dream Factory event and are participating in the DIABETES WALK Sunday with Cameron's birthday party to follow.
Fun, fun, fun..... as long as no one is sick!
I'll update next week to tell you about our exciting weekend.

Friday, September 5, 2003 6:40 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Cameron is doing great, school is going very well and everything seems alright in our little corner of the world. Cameron LOVES school. He told me he loves his teacher more than he loves his toys. For a 5 yr old - that's saying a lot! He really misses his preschool teacher, but we still get to see her in the halls every now and then. Nurse Robin and all the lunch room staff are doing a mighty fine job taking care of Cameron. I'm impressed with everyone. I volunteered this week on picture day and had a great time. I signed up for PTA and Cameron is going to get involved with 4H. All sorts of new and exciting things to get involved with this year.

It's so nice to get on here and talk about the good things happening in our lives and that is one of the reasons why I started Cameron's website. As I went to other websites and read all the sad stories about reoccurrences that other families were having to deal with and the heartbreaking stories of young children that lost their battle against cancer (big sigh......) well, it just breaks my heart...
We have lost several little friends to the very same cancer that Cameron had. Wilms' is suppose to be one of the most curable cancers - rare, but curable... but it sure didn't seem like it. I found myself reaching out for any information I could find on pleasant outcomes. I wanted to hear the stories about the children that were doing ok after having cancer. I wanted hope and that is what I hope that I can bring to other families faced with this ugly disease. Cameron may have high blood pressure and diabetes - none of which are easy by any means, but in most cases he's like any other normal healthy kid... and he acts like it too! :)
Cameron's second year in remission will be coming up in November. Let's hope and pray it stays that way and one day I'll be on here celebrating the fact that he is considered 'cured.'

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. We have gold ribbon pins that we 'sell' for a donation to the National Childhood Cancer Foundation. This is the company that made the tie Cameron designed. (Which by the way is on sale. So, if you haven't bought one yet, you may want to do that soon. :)
The NCCF is working very hard to find a cure for childhood cancers. If anyone is interested in a gold ribbon pin, just let me know.
Also, as many of you know we are also participating in the WALK FOR DIABETES October 5th.
Cameron has a website for that too.
Sorry, I feel like I'm begging for donations, but we are very dedicated in helping find a cure for cancer and diabetes. Cameron prays for that every night. He always asks - "What if there is a cure for diabetes tomorrow?" and I tell him we would throw all those syringes away and have a party!
A cure couldn't come soon enough for us.
Luckily Cameron is good about having to take shots because he is up to 4-5 shots a day now. We switched insulin over the Labor Day weekend and are still trying to adjust to that routine. We don't like the extra shots, but it will be better for him in the long run. With the new insulin he will have a lot more freedom when it comes to food... and that will be a good thing. He now takes a long acting insulin that last 24 hrs and then he has to have a shot of a fast acting insulin everytime he eats.

If you get a chance, please check out Cameron's website for the American Diabetes Association.
I think you will have to copy and paste this:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1291&px=1671970&s_tafId=1686&s_oo=rf-b1fWT_FuPLhYs3lnipg..

THANKS!
Carla

Sunday, August 24, 2003 11:55 PM CDT

Cameron is doing great. He is healing good and you'd never know he had surgery... well, except for the fact that he shows everyone he sees his port. :>)
Cameron loves school and things are going well. He sure is a bundle of energy! A little too much energy, but I can't complain. I'd much rather see him like that than how he was 2 yrs ago. He's come a long way and I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished.
Kindergarten is a big deal!
I think Cameron was most excited about riding the bus and he got to go for a short trip on it Wednesday. School was letting out early due to the heat and I decided that I'd wait outside for him so I could take a picture of him getting off the bus. Well, I waited and waited and waited... After about an hour, I was worried that he may have gotten on the wrong bus. It was about then that a 'stranger' pulled up in our drive with Cameron in the back seat! The bus overheated and they were worried about Cameron sitting on the bus in this hot weather if his blood sugar got low, so they had someone come pick him up and bring him home. (Thanks Carol!)
After that I felt pretty good about school. He's got a lot of people looking out for him and my feeling is - the more the better.

Well, I better be getting to bed. We are still trying to get used to getting up early... more important than that - Cameron lost another tooth today and I think the tooth fairy will be coming soon.
:)

Sunday, August 17, 2003 11:17 AM CDT

Good morning!
Cameron is doing great after his surgery on Friday to have his port removed. He never ceases to amaze me! What a brave boy you are, Cameron.
Cameron was more scared about seeing the Dr's with masks on than the surgery itself. I was able to talk to the anesthesiologist out in the hall to explain the situation and they said that they could sedate him before they took him in if I wanted them to and I did. They were unable to get the order in before they came to get him to take him down to surgery, so they decided to just put it in his IV. It worked out great. They were all wonderful about it and turned their masks around backwards until it had kicked in and he couldn't care less if they had masks on or not.
It took less than 2 hrs from the time they took him back, surgery and recovery when we got to see him again. When he came out he was hoppin' mad about having to have surgery and wanted to know when they were going to do it! :) It was kinda funny since it was over. He did have a very bad headache though and they said it was probably from being sedated and that they sometimes wake up kinda mean. He wasn't mean, just cranky, but after he fell asleep in my arms he was fine from then on. When he woke up there was a group of volunteers that had just brought in a "Cart of Joy." It is a cart full of toys and the kids get to pick one to take home with them. He is soooo excited about his new Power Ranger and can't wait to show his friend Brian. There is a new picture of Cameron and his Power Ranger in the photo album.

Cameron was discharged about 5pm and the nurse had to walk us out. Cameron was running thru the halls and she had to remind him to walk and that he was suppose to take it easy. Can't keep him down. You'd never know he just had surgery.
The only tricky part of the day was his insulin since he couldn't eat after midnight. We reduced his long acting insulin in half, but it still got low and he had to be hooked up to IV's as soon as we got there.
We spent some time with Bonnie, his diabetes nurse and we are trying to adjust his insulin again. He is up to 3 shots a day now and after he gets into the school routine we'll probably increase it to 4 shots a day. That's the bad part, but the good part is he'll have more freedom on when and how much he eats. I think he will like that better. It's hard to get a kid to eat when he's not hungry.
I think we'll try this way for a while and hold off on the insulin pump for now... hopefully there will be something even better in the near future. Better yet - a CURE!

Thursday we got to spend the afternoon at the zoo. It was lots of fun, but we missed some excitement while there. A cheetah escaped! We didn't see it, but the paper said that it was roaming with the visitors until the zoo employees blocked it in and captured it.
Thursday evening we went swimming. Cameron was bummed that he couldn't go swimming again. No bath or anything until Monday...

Thanks for checking in on Cameron. Don't forget to sign his guestbook.


Aug, 18th ~ HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY to my birthday bud - Molly and HAPPY 30-something to Cameron's Uncle Mark. :))))

Love ~ Carla, Marvin and Cameron


A special Thank you to Carl and Wonda for your hospitality.
We had a great time! Cameron wants to thank his best bud for
the "Finding Nemo" gameboy game. He loves it! We had to stop
on the way home to pick it out. THANKS!
HI to Dominic and Nathaniel - Cameron misses you and
can't wait to see you again.

Saturday, August 9, 2003 10:00 AM CDT

Cameron finished swimming lessons yesterday. He enjoyed them so much and had a GREAT time. He just loves playing in water. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go back a time or two before school starts and the pool closes.

I've said it before, but I truly do not know where the summer has gone with school starting so soon. We are meeting with Cameron's Kindergarten teacher and the new principle Tuesday to discuss Cameron, diabetes, etc...
He is so excited about school. I am too, but a little hesitant. His care has been so dependant on me. I feel like we have struggled for 2 yrs to keep him alive and well and to just hand over that responsibility to someone else is going to be hard for me to do. I know Cameron better than anyone else and it is even hard for me to figure out if his actions are just 'Cameron being Cameron' or because his blood sugar is high or low. His blood sugar sometimes drops so fast and he gets so dangerously low it is very scary. He recently dropped from the mid 200's down to 31 in a matter of 30 minutes. I was taking him up to my parents and we were going to go through the McDonald's drive thru and then drive on to Grandma and Grandpa's. He was talking to me one minute and I looked in my mirror as I pulled in the parking lot and he was out cold. I almost went through the drive thru thinking maybe he was just asleep, but thought better of it and parked to check on him. He started thrashing about and said "help me, something's wrong" - it was awful! His legs were like wet noodles. He could hardly walk and I had to carry him in McD's. He passed out in my arms as I was checking his blood sugar, but came to ok. They got me orange juice right away and he recovered pretty quickly. I told him he gave me a really big scare and he asked "why?" - he didn't even remember!
Anyway, I didn't intend on getting in to all that... it's just that I have a hard time figuring things out myself, I don't know how someone that hardly knows him is going to. I'm sure his teacher will do ok, but am concerned about when he's out on recess, on the bus, etc... too many kids to watch and they won't really have a chance to know him well enough to tell a difference.

Yesterday Cameron was on a local TV talk show "Pepper and Friends" with our friend Alecia from the American Diabetes Association. They talked about the Walk For Diabetes that's coming up. He had a blast - he's such a ham and loves being on TV. He got to do "Pet Corner" after the show. It's a commercial for the Humane Society. They introduced a dog that is up for adoption and it was on the news last night.

Next Friday, the 15th Cameron has surgery to have his port removed. We are going to St. Louis the day before to have some fun at the zoo. We get to stay with some of Marvin's family for a few days so that'll be fun to visit with them.
Cameron is nervous about the surgery - mainly because he doesn't like masks. He still remembers surgeons with masks on when he was going under the first time and it really scared him. He panics every time he sees a Dr with a mask on. It's really sad.
We also plan to attend an insulin pump class at the hospital the next day. A pump would make life a little easier because he could eat when he wants, but I don't think he'll be a candidate for one. We'll see...

Guess that gets you caught up. I'll update again in a week or so about our trip to St. Louis.
carla

Sunday, August 3, 2003 9:54 AM CDT

Hello,
Hope everyone is having a fun summer. I personally do not know where the summer has gone! School starts Aug. 20th!

Cameron started swimming lessons last week and has 4 more lessons this week. He LOVES it!
Wish we could have started sooner. He hasn't got to swim near as much as he'd like.

Cameron is having a hard time with his Grandma Carol's death... poor little guy.
My parents watched Cam for a week when Carol was in the hospital and while we were making arrangements, etc.
Marvin sure missed Cameron. I missed him too, but it was a nice break from the nursing duties. This week they took Cam for a few days so I could help his Grandpa Bob around the house.
(Mom and Dad - thanks for all your help! We love you sooooo much!)
Cameron doesn't want his Gramma Mary out of his sight. He's always had such a close bond with her. As a matter of fact he used to call her "Momma Mary" before I finally convinced him that she was his Grandma. He's so afraid someone else he loves is going to die and he's worried about himself because Grandma Carol had high blood pressure and diabetes like him. :(

While I'm thinking of it - we are going to be joining in on American Diabetes Association's WALK FOR DIABETES on October 5th in Columbia. Please contact me if you would like to join our team or would like to make a donation. We'd LOVE to see you there!!!
We are determined to help in anyway we can to help find a cure for cancer and diabetes... anything to make our life easier!

Carla

PS... Cameron wanted me to tell you that he has a goldfish named NEMO. That's why we had to change to the fish background. :)

Sunday, July 20, 2003 10:01 PM CDT

Cameron's Grandma Carol passed away this morning.


Carol McGeorge
August 3, 1935 - July 20, 2003

May you rest in peace

(\0/)
./_\.


July 25,2003
It is also with great sadness that I announce the passing of RJ Voight who fought cancer for a very long time.
His mother, Michele, needs lots of prayers - she is not taking it well and was admitted into the hospital.
Our prayers are with you...
There is far too much cancer in this world and many broken hearts due to this ugly disease. Please pray for a cure for cancer and diabetes.

Friday, July 18, 2003 7:35 PM CDT

*A July 19 update below*

Cameron's urine test came back ok. There was a little bit of protein, but they said nothing to worry about. He'll probably be tested again when he goes back in Oct, but they didn't seem very concerned at this point. No blood or calcium in his urine, so that's good.
Ok, that was the good news...
Now for the bad - Cameron's Grandma Carol (Marvin's mom) went into the hospital yesterday. She had surgery to remove her gall bladder and to repair a hernia. She seemed to be doing ok and was hopefully going to get to go home today, but then this morning she had a stroke... we think.
She had all sorts of tests today, but no tests results are back. It drives me crazy that it takes so long to hear anything. It's insane that we won't know anything until tomorrow morning. Test results are sitting in front of someone they just can't tell us until certain people see it, read it and put it in her file, etc...

What a bummer today was -
at least we know Cameron is ok. That's one load off my mind for a few days anyway.
That's all for now...
carla

*Update - July 19, 2003*
Cameron's Grandma Carol is doing very poorly. She had a massive stroke. Medically speaking there is nothing they can do for her...
It's been a sad day for the McGeorges.
:(
Pray for a miracle.
Carla, Marvin and Cameron

Wednesday, July 16, 2003 11:12 PM CDT

Hi all -
I've gotten several phone calls today from family and friends checking in to see how Cameron's dr appt went, so I thought I better get on here and update.
So far - soooo good!
The u/a yesterday was negative for all the things the dr was previously concerned about, but... (there always has to be a "but..." doesn't there?) he had quite a bit of glucose in his urine and was told they would like to see better blood sugar control. I'M DOIN' THE BEST I CAN!!!
I think Cameron might be coming out of his 'honeymoon' period. That's kinda a bummer. If that's the case then his pancreas is calling it quits for good. Time will tell.
I also think he is having a growth spurt and wonder if that has anything to do with it. He's eating more, but I am also increasing his insulin. Even still, he has had some pretty high blood sugars in the 2 and 300's.
Cameron is interested in getting an insulin pump, but... (there's that "but" again!) I'm afraid he might be allergic to part of it. The inset has a catheter type tubing and he was allergic to the catheter when he was in the hospital with his Wilms' tumor surgery.
He's interested in the pump because he can eat when he's hungry and not when he 'has' to. It would sure save a lot of arguments, but I'm not sure it's for us. I still have lots of research I want to do and lots of questions to ask. I teased Cameron and told him we could trade his port in for a pump. That's not too far from the truth. If we are going to try the pump we'd have the perfect opportunity while he is in the hospital getting his port taken out.

Cameron did his 12 hr urine collection today and we have to take that in to be tested tomorrow, so I'll update again later in the week.
until then...
carla

Please pray for our friend Savannah, she is battling Wilms' for the 3rd time.
Stay strong Savannah. (Butterfly kisses:)
To wish her well wishes go to:
http://www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/

Tuesday, July 8, 2003 7:52 PM CDT

Well, the unknown continues...
Not sure what is going on with Cameron yet.
Odd to be so concerned about pee! After sending his last u/a (urinalysis) off he has an unusually high amount of calcium and protein in his urine. The blood that showed up in the office dip test did not show up when they sent it off to the lab, so they are a little confused.
Cameron is going to have to do a 12 hr collection and then he has another u/a next tuesday.
The urine test at the hospital last week was done right after his CT scan with the contrast dye. I am hoping (and praying) that is what caused the results we got.

None of this should effect Cameron being able to get his port taken out. I think we will schedule it for August. He has swimming parties almost every weekend this month and I think we want to sign him up for another set of swimming lessons. He loved them so much last year and it sure helped him gain his strength back.

I'll update again next week when I know more, so stayed tuned to the Days of (Cameron's) Life...

Maybe next time I'll have something fun and exciting to talk about (and nothing but GOOD news!:)

In the mean time - lets have fun!
Gotta try to stay positive - right?!

carla

ps... i posted a few more new pics

Please pray for our friend Savannah, she is battling Wilms' for the 3rd time.
Stay strong Savannah. (Butterfly kisses:)
To wish her well wishes go to:
http://www.caringbridge.org/il/savannah/

Thursday, July 3, 2003 7:45 PM CDT

Cameron had his big check up yesterday. Dr Gale (his oncologist) called this afternoon and said his CT scan and chest Xrays were fine and that we can talk about having Cam's port taken out.
We are still waiting on urine test results. Cameron had a small amount of blood and calcium in his urine so they are sending it off for more testing. I'm anxious to talk to his renal dr, but probably won't hear anything until next week. We were able to take him off of one of his blood pressure meds, but may have to increase the one he's on - we'll see how it goes.
Cameron's diabetes is under control a little better and his A1C is now 6.8
It sure is tricky getting his blood sugar in his target range. Trying to get shots, meals and snacks timed right with the right amount of carbs and insulin for his activity level is quite interesting. He still has some really highs and some very lows and gets symptomatic, but I'm getting the hang of adjusting his insulin when needed.
I keep trying to remind all of Cameron's Dr's that I did NOT want to be a nurse, but they tell me I'm doing fine. I might as well be one, but I have enough nursing duties at home. :)

Cam's all through with summer school and T-ball now. They both were a big success and maybe starting Kindergarten won't be such a challenge.

Tonight in Walmart he made up a song about Care Bears and was singing it all through the store making people smile. He's such a great kid. :))))))
We went to a wedding last weekend and had a great time. Cameron sang "Can't Help Falling In Love" to the bride and groom. It was so cute. He sure loves to sing and is not shy about it at all - and, he LOVED dancing with all the pretty girls.
Congratulations T.J. and Jenny!

Please keep our friend Savannah in your prayers. She is battling Wilms' for the 3rd time in less than 3yrs. Savannah finished treatment the first time about the same time Cameron was diagnosed. Reoccurences are most common in 18 -24 months - Cameron was diagnosed 24 months ago and finished treatment 18 months ago...
I want him to be able to get his port out, but now I'm nervous about having it removed. Between the timing of reoccurences and him having nightmares that cancer has returned - I'M SCARED!
We do have plenty to be thankful for, but I sure do wish there was a cure for cancer!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

PS... there are a few new pics in the photo album.

Sunday, June 15, 2003 10:12 PM CDT

Happy Father's Day!

Cameron had a T-ball game today and played great! (made it to home plate twice) Goooooooo Cameron!
His grandmas and grandpas came to see him play also and then we all went out for pizza. fun, fun!

The Relay For Life was great. Cameron had a blast. The day started off rainy, but thankfully it cleared up. It sure did get cool that night though.
Cameron opened the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang - Grand Old Flag in front of hundreds of people. He's a natural up there on stage. Later in the night he sang "Where The Blacktop Ends" and the next morning he sang (or is that sung?:) - "I Believe I Can Fly". Cameron did such a good job! I wish I could put sound on here so everyone could hear him.
He had so much fun that morning dressed up like Incredible Hulk...he even had green hair! Our friends at ACS gave Cameron Incredible Hulk stuff - including the Hulk hands he has been wanting for so long.
(Thanks Lynn!)
He wanted them so he could "knock out cancer"...wish that was all it took.
Poor Cameron has been having nightmares that cancer is coming back. He talks about it all the time - it is so sad that he worries about that. It breaks my heart. :(

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all our family and friends that helped make the Relay a big success... and a special thanks to all of you that stuck out the cold weather to help walk through the night. Hope to see you there again next year. (we already signed up to have 2 teams again next year, so if you want to be on our team let me know! :)

*update June 18, 2003
Please pray for our friend Savannah who has had her 2nd relapse of Wilms'. :(
What a fighter she is to be fighting off cancer for the 3rd time.

Get well soon Savannah! Hope you get to go home in a day or two.
Love, hugs and prayers,
carla

Sunday, May, 25, 2003

It's that time of year again...
Please join us at the Boone County Fairgrounds for
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY'S 9TH ANNUAL RELAY FOR LIFE
Friday, June 6th at 6:00pm to Saturday, June 7th, 10:00 am

Cameron will be saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing Angels Among Us at the opening ceremony.

We are raffling off 2 quilt wall hangings made by our friend Kristi (team member and mom to the other 3 kids in the picture).
The gold ribbon quilt pictured above represents childhood cancer. The second Patriotic Star quilt is also pictured if you click on 'view photos'.
Tickets are $1 for 1 or 6 for $5.
If you are interested in purchasing raffle tickets, PLEASE email me ASAP for more info. The Relay is right around the corner!

A BIG THANK YOU to our family and friends that joined Cameron's Relay For Life teams or formed teams of your own.
And also a BIG THANK YOU to our family and friends that are donating to help find a cure for cancer!
Our goals is that no one has to go through what Cameron has.

****************************

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited.....
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit.


- Source Unknown

*********************************

Congratulations to my brother, Scott for getting his Masters in Social Work.
Whoooohoooooo! Way to go Scott. We are so proud of you!
Speaking of being proud...
Friday was Cameron's last day of preschool. I am so proud of all that he has accomplished this year. It was a tearful day. He loves school and his teacher, Mrs Nichols so much. Cameron told her that he loves her all the way to the end of the rainbow. Mrs Nichols has been truely wonderful. We could not ask for a better teacher. A big THANK YOU goes out to Mrs Nichols for all of her care and concern. Wish all teachers were like you.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day. Don't forget to take a moment to remember those we've loved and lost...

Sunday, May 11, 2003 10:27 PM CDT

HOW GOD SELECTS THE MOTHER OF A CHILD WITH DIABETES
by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with diabetes are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint Matthew."

"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, Patron Saint Cecilia."

"Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint Gerard. He's used to profanity."

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a child with diabetes." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly", smiles God. "Could I give child with diabetes to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel".

"But has she the patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I am going to give her has her own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps. "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she cannot separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with less than perfect."

"She does not realize it yet, but she is to be envied. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see .... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice ... and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as if she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid air. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!
******************************
Monday ~ May 12, 2003
Last year Cameron decided that the day after Mother's Day should be "Little Boy's Day" and he didn't forget! :) I think every day is "little boy's day", but after all he's been through, who's going to argue.

HAPPY LITTLE BOY'S DAY, CAMERON!!!

ps... cameron's last blood tests were a-ok :)

Friday, May 2, 2003 10:47 PM CDT

Last weekend Cameron, Gramma Mary and I went to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo where this picture was taken.
We had so much fun, the weather was beautiful and besides being troubled by allergies, Cameron stayed healthy! We've only tried to go there about 4 times and something always came up...
We got into Silver Dollar City using our passport from GIVE KIDS THE WORLD. Thanks again to the DREAM FACTORY and GKTW!

Anyone who might be interested in purchasing the video/DVD of
The New Adventures of Pinocchio
please go to
www.pinocchiosnewadventures.com
They are giving a portion of all sales from that website to the Dream Factory to help make other 'dreams' come true. Dream Factory has been great to us - I've already ordered our copy!

Cameron had to go in and have labs drawn this week to check kidney function because of the new high blood pressure medication he is on. Hopefully all is well - haven't heard results yet...
His next big appt at Cardinal Glennon is July 2nd. If that goes well he gets to have his port taken out. yippeee

until later,
carla

Monday, April 14, 2003 11:00 PM CDT

Last Tuesday, April 8th - Cameron had another checkup at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. I FINALLY got results back today.... everything is FINE! Yippeee.
Cameron's chest xrays were fine and all the blood tests were normal.
His blood pressure had been on the rise, so we are adjusting his b.p. meds and trying to switch to an ACE inhibitor to prolong the development of kidney disease. Cams b.p. is better this week. He's still on 2 meds twice a day, but hopefully we can stop the norvasc and he'll just be on the enalapril 2x's a day.
We are also trying a different insulin, so we are in the process of figuring that out too.
Cameron still has to have 2 shots a day with a mix of 2 diff. insulins, but with the humalog insulin he'll be able to eat right away and won't have to wait 30 min. after his shot. The humalog is short acting so we might have to adjust his NPH (long lasting) insulin to make up for it.
Cameron can test his blood sugar and can also give himself shots. What a trooper! I draw it up in the syringe and he injects in his tummy. He's so amazing! We've come a long way since November.
Eating 5 times a day can still be a chore, but he's getting used to it and so am I. It's better than the 6x's a day we started out with. That was awful. The new insulin gives him a little bit more leeway also.
You wouldn't believe his schedule --
He gets his bl. sugar checked, a shot, and eats breakfast at 8am.
At 9am he gets his bl. pressure checked, 2 b.p. meds and 2 allergy meds.
11am, bl. sugar checked and lunch.
11:30 or so leave for preschool. 2pm has a snack at school. 3:15 back home.
5:30 - 6pm bl. sugar checked, shot, supper.
8pm bl. sugar checked and bedtime snack.
Then bl. pressure checked and more meds!
What a day! Makes me tired just typing it.
When Cameron was first diagnosed with diabetes his hemoglobin A1c was 8.7% - which means his average bl. sugar was above 200 (that's not very good). Now it is down to 7% - average bl. sugars being around 150-170. As hard as we have been trying to keep his blood sugars in normal range I had hoped for better, but this is ok. 7% is the high end of normal. They will check it again in 3 months.
His target range for his bl. sugar is 80-180.
The good news is he is still in his "honeymoon" period, which means his pancreas is making some insulin. I don't think "honeymoon" is the right word for it - I call it "the calm before the storm".
Cameron goes back in 3 months and in addition to all the other tests he will have a CAT scan on his kidneys. If all goes well (which we hope and pray it will), his oncologist said he can get his port taken out before Kindergarten starts. Yeah!
He is signed up for T-ball this summer and is getting excited about that. Gramma Mary and Grampa Gale got him a new ball and glove so he has been practicing every day since. :)
Cameron is having so much fun and has so much more strength than he did last year. Keep up the good work Cameron!

Be sure to sign Cameron's guestbook ~ he thinks it is VERY COOL!

Cams personal nurse,
Carla

Wednesday, April 9, 2003 2:34 PM CDT

I'd like to take a moment to write about Cameron's DREAM FACTORY trip to Disney. Although I'm writing this a year later I want to thank everyone at DREAM FACTORY and GIVE KIDS THE WORLD from the bottom of my heart. We had the best time ever. After all Cameron has been through it was a joy to see him having such a good time. We really had a jammed packed week full of fun. We went to Disney - Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Universal, Island of Adventure, MGM, Sea World, Kennedy Space Center and Cocoa Beach.
Some of Cameron's favorite things were meeting all the characters and getting autographs - especially Buzz Lightyear. His favorite ride was the Star Wars Ride and he LOVED the ocean.
Give Kids The World was just as magical as Disney. It was fabulous!!! Cameron was treated like a King wherever we went.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
(To my mom - Thanks for all your help through such a difficult time and most of all thanks for finding Cameron's 'lump' when you did. I'm so glad you could go with us. We love you.)

PS...
Ever since Cameron was diagnosed with diabetes he has been asking when he gets to go on another 'wish' trip. ;-)
kinda funny, but sad that he associates going on vacation with having cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes... :(

Nov 10,2002 -
Lots of you know the resent happenings in our lives and lots of you don't - so I'll just fill everyone in. For those of you who haven't heard Cameron was admitted into the hospital Thursday night and was released this evening.
A few weeks ago we had gone on vacation to Springfield/Branson and once there Cameron developed a fever and we had to cut our trip short. When we got back home Cams temp was 103.+ and his pediatrician sent us to the ER. Cameron had a sinus infection.... the poor kid had been troubled by allergies and colds all summer.
Once he was through with the antibiotic his ped. wanted to see him back - our appt. was Thursday. On Tuesday I noticed Cam drinking more and going to the bathroom quite frequently. He kept telling me he was drinking lots of water to help his blood pressure (which seemed reasonable enough to me). While we were at the Dr's Thursday I asked if they would do a urine culture and then we couldn't get Cam to go potty. Here he was going every few minutes before and now he was being shy about it.
The Dr said that we could take a cup home and just bring a sample in next time we were in town, but I said I'd rather wait. They flattered me by having to stay in the office late while we all waited for Cam to go pee. Unfortunately it showed his glucose to be over 1000 so off to Boone Hospital for further testing. Cam has Type 1 diabetes... Off to Cardinal Glennon we go for more testing and we spent the next three days learning about diabetes and how to check his blood sugar and give him insulin shots.
I keep reminding the doctors that I did NOT want to be a nurse and this was definitely not something I signed up for when I decided to be a mom. Soccer mom maybe, Dr Mom - I don't think so.
Well, signed up or not - here we are....
His insulin is far from being regulated. We have to test Cams blood sugar at least 4 times a day and for now he has to have 2 insulin shots a day. I have to call the dr's at Cardinal Glennon every day with his blood sugar levels so they can figure up how much insulin he needs of which kind.
Cameron is not liking this at all and is very resistant about all the needles. He is so scared and that makes it hard on me. I keep explaining to him he does not have a choice and that if he did there is no way I'd be sticking him all the time. The poor thing looks like a pin cushion at this point.
Diet is another major issue.... we had to grocery shop when we got home. It is not easy finding things that he can have that is not only low in sodium (because of his high blood pressure), but now also low in carbs and sugar. This is definitely a challenge! He is on a very strict schedule. He has to eat 3 meals and 3 snacks at a specific time every day with a certain amount of carbohydrates each time .
Yea right, tell that to a 5 yr old. He cannot snack at all when he wants to. This he does not understand. There is a lot we don't understand. One of them being - why Cameron, when he already has so much to deal with???? :(
~ Carla and Marvin

How we discovered Cameron had high blood pressure ~
In Nov. - Dec. of 2001 (shortly after he finished chemo), Cameron started having headaches, would get dizzy and even passed out a few times. He was really worrying us. We even had to take him in for a brain scan. Thank goodness everything was A-OK there.
Cameron's pediatrician, Dr Beal had us come by the office - we talked about taking him to see an eye dr, etc and they also checked Cameron's blood pressure where they found it to be 140/101! Yikes!
Off we go to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital again for a 4 day stay ~ Dec. 13-16, 2001.
Cameron has to have his b.p. checked 2-3 times a day, is on high blood pressure meds twice a day and is on a low sodium diet.
Dr Wood (his renal doctor) has determined that the high blood pressure is being caused by the spot that has calcified on his right kidney. Our hope is that one day the blood vessels will reroute themselves around this spot instead of trying to force blood through a calcification. If this happens his b.p. should go back to normal. Keep your fingers crossed.

Cameron's story about the Angels ~ Summer 2001 ~
A couple of months after Cameron's surgery, he came to me one day and said "I see angels." I asked him where he saw them at - did he see them here at home?... He looked at me like that was the craziest question he ever heard and said "No, I saw them when I went to heaven". Then he told me he went to heaven when he was in the hospital. I asked him what the angels looked like and again, he looked at me like I was asking the silliest question in the world. I told him I did not know what angels looked like, that I had never seen a real angel before. Cameron was only 3 at the time and I didn't know if he would know how to describe them to me, so I asked him if they were like mommies and daddies or little boy and girls...?
He told me they were little boys and girls. "Some had blonde hair, some had brown, but most had 'burr' heads just like me" - Cameron said as he rubbed his balding little head. He said he wanted to stay and play with them, but God told him it was not his turn and he had to go back. Then a 'really good' angel brought him back to his hospital bed.
A few days later, Cameron brought me a picture that I have always had sitting out of my Grandma and her son. He asked me who that was with Granny. I told him that was my Uncle Billy. Cameron told me that Billy looked like the really good angel that brought him back to his hospital bed.....
Billy had died several years before Cameron was even born.
(\0/)
./_\.
April 6th, 2003 update - Cameron talks about the Angels quite often, but today he told me that something was going wrong with the operation and the Angels took him up to heaven so they could fix him...
I don't know what to say to that.
He is such a remarkable young man.

Cameron had to have a hernia operation when he was 2 months old, but other than that the first 3 yrs of his life was healthy and uneventful... that is until June 19, 2001.
Cameron was staying with my parents for a few nights and while he was laying in bed with his arms stretched up over his head he asked his Gramma Mary to rub his tummy (he has always LOVED massages). She felt a big lump and said "Oh my goodness!" and I guess Cameron could tell by the tone of her voice that it wasn't a good thing because he said "At, at, at, don't say those words".
On Friday morning June 22nd, I took Cameron in to his pediatrician. My mom, dad and grandpa met me there. It was such a grim morning and we hadn't even been told anything yet, but we knew something wasn't right. The nurse came in to feel Cameron's tummy and then she had the dr come in. He was sure then that it was a Wilms' tumor (a rare form of kidney cancer), but sent us to a local hospital for an ultrasound.
I had to call my husband at work to tell him to meet us at the hospital and what the dr suspected. Our greatest fear was confirmed and arrangements were made for us to go to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. They told us that he would probably be in surgery that night to remove the tumor and his left kidney that it was attached to. We were in total shock. It was late afternoon before we got to St. Louis and by the time they did all the tests they needed, it was too late to do surgery. They scheduled surgery for Monday and sent us home for the worst weekend of our lives. I cannot even express how it felt to look at our seemingly healthy 3 yr old son and know that cancer was growing inside of him and there was nothing that I could do about it. Monday could not come soon enough. I wanted that cancer out of there! Cameron and his daddy even went out and got crew cuts. Knowing that Cameron would start to lose his hair, we thought it would be a little less of a shock when it did if it was real short.
Monday June 25, 2001 ~
Surgery that was suppose to last 2 -3 hours lasted more like 5. After a couple of hours his oncologist came out and told us that they had never seen anything like it before and they were trying to save his kidneys. The tumor was connected to the right kidney and then stretched over and wrapped around the left kidney. The normal treatment is to remove the kidney that it is attached, but they obviously could not do that. They removed the tumor, portions of both kidneys and we hope that at least one kidney would function. The surgeon also put in a port-a-cath in his chest to administer the chemo.
Cameron spent the night recovering in PICU and was well enough to be put into his own room the next day. That night was a different story.... he was in so much pain. I would notice his lips turning blue, his heart rate would drop and the monitors would start going off. Cameron would get such a scared look on his face and say - "Help calm me down momma - sing You Are My Sunshine." If I sang it once I sang it 50 times that night. Neither one of us got any sleep.
The next day was better, but all Cameron wanted was all those tubes out. He eventually got fed up with them and pulled the tube out of his nose by himself.
Both kidneys are functioning! He started chemo - vincristine and dactinomycin and was released from the hospital Sunday, July 1st.
His oncologist made arrangements for Cams pediatrician, Dr Beal, to give him his weekly treatment of Vincristine so that we only had to go to St. Louis every 3 wks for the Dactinomycin treatment.
Chemo was gruelling. He lost most of his hair - this didn't bother him or us as much as him getting so sick and throwing up all the time. When he was about half way through his treatments was when it really hit him hard and he started losing lots of muscle mass. He didn't have the energy or even the muscle strength to play. He'd crawl from the couch to a toy and then be too tired to play with it. It hurts just to think back to those times. I have just wanted to put it out of my mind, but it will never, ever go away.
Cameron got so weak we had to start physical therapy and I was able to give that to him at home.
The last chemo finally came Nov. 2. We were so happy for chemo to finally be over.
His next appt was scheduled 3 wks later for chest Xrays and a CT scan on his kidneys. His oncologist, said that after all his tests that he expected everything to be just fine and he'd need to see Cameron back every 3 months. Well, that's not quite how it turned out. Dr Gale came in and said they found a spot on his right kidney. I thought I'd fall through the floor. My heart sank. How could that be?! After several tests and lots of check ups they determined that it is a spot that has calcified. Thank goodness it was not cancer. They do have to check it often to make sure it hasn't grown or turned into cancer and we hope and pray it won't.

To my family and friends ~ you will never know how much your support meant to us during such a difficult time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We love you.

Saturday, December 28, 2002 at 11:57 PM (CST)

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