It has been a blissfully normal week for Ben and our family.   Ben continues to feel well and seems to be acclimating to the long days of school and after school activities.  He is tired by the weekend, but is not as fatigued as a few weeks ago.   He attended the large group choral and band festival on Wednesday and was actually able to perform for the first time in his high school career.  Music has always been so important to Ben and he has always found enormous comfort in it. (Thank you, Mary Beth for the picture!)  Earlier this week Ben stepped on the mound as a pitcher during the JV baseball game.  He has not thrown a baseball in competition since the summer prior to his freshman year.  This week he has thrown two scoreless innings.  Truthfully, we would be ecstatic regardless of the outcome,  as it is a  miracle he is able to throw a baseball at all. But I know he desperately wanted his pitching debut to go well. He was cheered by so many friends and family, including Eric from Shot for Hope. He made a point to stop at Ithaca on his way to Madison to see Ben.  It has truly been an incredible week.  Aside from the two and a half years of grueling treatments, Ben also has to compensate for the fact that he does not have an abdominal wall on his right side.  I am in awe every time I see him throw.  As I am typing this, Ben is golfing with his brother and a few friends.  It is his first golf outing this season and the first in several years without a central line in place.  Overall, it has been a pretty darn good week.  Thank God.  Last night, Mick and I attended a wedding reception  for a wonderful couple and dear friends of our oldest son, Jacob. Congratulations, Austin and Mikayla. It was a stunning wedding.  It was also the first time we felt completely comfortable leaving Ben for an extended period of time. Something that is not always considered is the impact a cancer diagnosis has on the entire family.  It is utterly devastating.  Please pray for the caregivers and families of all cancer patients.  The worry and emotional trauma is far reaching and acute.  This week Ben will have labs to check on his counts and IVIG levels. He will likely need an infusion within the next week or two.  We give thanks and praise for all of our blessings this week. We pray for stable labs and continued healing for our Ben.  God Bless.