I forgot...

Cody is starting his chemo this morning. It will be outpatient so hopefully the days won't be too long. He is also getting a scan this morning to hopefully identify the new spot on his liver. They are hoping that it is a new growth area.. Cross your fingers on that one... I will keep you posted..

What a day..

The relay is over... The weather was not the best but it could've been much worse. I'm disappointed in many of those who were suppose to participate. The whole purpose of the Relay for Life and the fact that it goes all night is to make the point that cancer never sleeps. Many people left early and others left when it started raining. I guess since they raised money it didn't matter to them that they left early. I am proud to say that the Progeny folks stayed until the end. I myself started walking at 3:30 am and stopped at 9:30. The whole Progeny crew was there until the end. I am so proud to be associated with them. Lori, Susan, Glen, Phil, Marie, Rachel, Shirley and Heath did a great job. I may try to recruit them for the fight against the beast. I personally didn't finish first but I'm proud of what we accomplished. I would like to thank all of you who contributed to the Relay. I've decided that now my focus will be totally on Band Of Parents. It is time that my efforts go directly to Cody. In no way am I trying to make it seem less of need for research in other areas but I hope that you all can understand what I am saying.

Unfortunately the pictures did not turn out very well. Only a couple turned out worth posting. Here they are.

One more day..

Cody has one more day of radiation treatments, for now. He will go in Monday to start the second round of chemo. He handled the first round pretty well and we pray that he does it again. He has been so energetic and happy that you just can't tell that he is in the middle of all this. So far it looks like his hair isn't going to fall out from this chemo either. He will also be getting a special CTscan to look at a spot on his liver. Everyone is hoping that the spot is just new growth from the liver surgery. That is a special prayer request for ya....



Friday is Relay for Life! If you live near the Washington DC metro area please show up and cheer for our little man. I want the loudest cheer for Cody. It usually is anyway but this is more special. There is an urgency now more than ever. Also, if you have not taken the time to visit my Relay for Life page, please do so. We are making a push for young lives here...

God Bless....

Good start to the week...

We expected that Cody would need blood and platelets for sure by now. Much to my surprise he seems to be holding his own on both. None was needed today. He has 4 more days of radiation and then he will start his next round of chemo, probably next week.

Today I discussed the option of a port with the doctor. For those of you who have had the pleasure of not knowing anyone with cancer, you may not know what a port is. Well, let me first refresh your memory on what Cody presently has. He has a double lumen. This a double tube that is inserted in to one of his main arteries in his chest and sticks out for easy access. This is where they administer drugs during his treatments. The disadvantage of Cody's setup is that you have to be very careful about getting water, dirt and germs close to the opening in his chest. Infections are always a problem. Every 24 hours we have to flush them or they will clog and we would have to go to the hospital to open them. With the lumen Cody can't swim or take shower or bath. Summer is a very hard time of year because he will want to be out playing and he will get sweaty. Sweat will get under his dressing and cause problems. That happened the first time Cody was being treated. He had to have his tube replaced. Cody is an extremely active boy so this is a big problem.

Most adults and older kids have ports instead. They are an access point that is under the skin. It is usually on the chest just below the collar bone. It doesn't have any of the problems associated with the double lumen. The only drawback is that Cody will have to get use to being stuck in that area. We will be able to put numbing cream on that location before he is injected. Here is a link that shows both.

I hope the doctor decides that it is OK.

The Relay for Life starts Friday evening and goes through Saturday noon. Cody and I will be doing the opening ceremony on Friday evening and then I will be running a few miles. I'm kinda excited about it.

Thank you for the continued prayers...

A Busy Few Days..

Sorry for not posting in a couple of days. I guess no news is good news right?

I was able to get another 5 mile run in this morning. It was great. Nice and cool, fresh air, what more could you want?

I had a busy day today. I rewired the electrical outlet on our back deck. The I ran over to my brother-in-law's new house to help cut up trees and clear the land. I will be over there tomorrow also. For as much as he and all our relatives and friends have done for us I could never repay them.

Cody has been doing very well the last few days. He is amazing. No treatments today or tomorrow so I'm loving it as much as he is. We will have radiation on Monday morning and maybe blood or platelets.

I have a picture from the Cody's Crew stand at the school yesterday. I'd like to thank Mrs. King , Mrs. Watts and all the others who helped man the stand. Mrs. Watts is one of Cody's kindergarten teachers. I will also post a picture of the BOP stand from the Kidsfest today.