Summer Camp

This week Michael is attending Junior high camp with his church youth group.  That sentence is loaded with meaning for this family.

It was after he arrived home from camp last year that it became obvious that there was a physical problem with Michael.  In the days prior to camp, he'd had a low fever that kept him home from a few activities.  The fever disappeared, though, so we packed him up and sent him off to camp.  He had a great time, but it ended up being a long week for him.  In addition to some bizarre injuries, like the bunk above him collapsing, he reported that he had been a bit tired all week.  When he got home, he napped.  And napped.  And napped.  The next two days, he just wasn't himself--tired, pale, disinterested in normal activity.  That's when I took him in to see the pediatrician to determine what might be wrong.  You know the story from that point . . .

Now, almost a year later, he is back at camp.  To think that in that year he has battled a rare form of leukemia, undergone chemotherapy and radiation, gone into remission, received a successful bone marrow transplant from his brother, and has now regained the health and strength necessary for his doctors to grant him permission to attend a crazy week of Junior high camp reminds us of the perfect plan of a loving, sovereign God to Whom this family owes an immeasurable debt of gratitude.

I pray Michael enjoys every second of the great chapel challenges, the smelly camp water, the endless soda and snacking, the mud pit, the swimming, basketball, climbing wall, hiking, golfing, paint ball, horses, etc. On Saturday, I plan to celebrate each silly story and that duffel bag full of soggy, grass-stained clothing.

A Teenager! Yikes!!

Michael's birthday was a real cause for celebration this year.  He was quite proud to become a teenager.  He was finally old enough to open his own facebook account (I'm to put in a shameless plug here for any and all to send him friend requests.).  It may sound melodramatic, but the rest of us were just indescribably thankful to be celebrating another birthday with a healthy Michael.

Michael spent his birthday at not one, but two!, Cardinal games.  Tickets had been provided by sources that weren't even aware of the timing, but the games certainly made his birthday weekend exciting.  He had friends over for a sleepover.  I'm sure moms everywhere wonder as I do why these events are called "sleepovers," when the children involved DON'T sleep.  The guys had a great night together not sleeping.

A birthday surprise came in the form of a card shower from family and friends in our church and community.  He spent a long time opening and reading dozens of cards and notes, and he asked many times how so many people knew it was his birthday. The efforts of his grandma and aunts to organize the shower will long be remembered.

We celebrated quietly together as a family with his birthday dinner, cake, and gifts.  What an amazing milestone after an equally amazing year!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Please Welcome . . .

Mark has been a member of a local Rotary club for quite a few years now.  The Rotarians have been very supportive of Michael in his journey through leukemia.  Last week, it was Mark's turn to provide a speaker for their lunch meeting.  He asked if Michael would join him and share with the club what the past year has been like from his own perspective and be able to meet and thank those who have been so kind and encouraging to him.

Michael did attend and spoke for several minutes about his experiences.  He was nervous and reported later that he'd stumbled and repeated himself, but he truly did a fine job.  To his horror, he found out that one of the members records each speaker and posts the presentations online!  I've included the link to the video, if you'd like to watch it for yourself.

http://youtu.be/lSCVcBdC8Ms

Michael's not particularly eager to begin a career in public speaking, but I'm glad that he had this opportunity to share his story.

Business As Usual

Michael had a monthly checkup on June 26th.  Heading back to Children's is always bittersweet.  It's encouraging to have a scheduled appointment, get a good report, and visit with some of the doctors and nurses who made our stays there so pleasant.  Our light hearts are burdened, though, when we see some of the current patients who are struggling and when the sounds and smells take us back to our own difficult trials there.  These days are a powerful call to gratefulness and renewed perspective.

This month's report for Michael was a great one.  One of the ladies in the clinic said that Michael is the perfect patient, just shows up and does his business as usual with no surprises. I would leave it at that, but I live with a couple of gentlemen who rejoice at every opportunity to analyze numbers.  For those of you who are numbers freaks interested in the details, I'll record them.

• 5' 1 3/4"--a little growth
• 83 lbs.--a little gain
• ANC of 5,394--great!
• Thyroid levels were normal--a concern since one side had grown due to radiation

After one more regular checkup in late July, the next big date on the calendar for us is August 14th.  Michael will undergo his next biopsy.  That will be the nine-month marker for him in his journey to what we pray will be two years of remission in October 2013.  They were kind to schedule this biopsy so that the results should be back before the school year begins to avoid any starting/stopping of his 8th grade year should he relapse and need further treatment.  We are certainly praying that his remission will continue, and he may begin the school year celebrating!

A Working Man

This summer brought a first for Michael.  A good first.  He was finally old enough to work in our Vacation Bible School.  He eagerly signed up, attended all the planning meetings, and looked forward to his job for the week.

He was assigned to be a helper to the Games Director.  The daily schedule included three separate game times for our one hundred (+/-) children, ages four through sixth grade.  Michael helped assemble game equipment, assisted in guiding the groups in their various games, and often played the games with the children.  Each day he claimed that he worked hard and came home quite tired.  We were glad to see his willingness to serve.

At this point the most obvious lingering result from his battle with cancer seems to be his decreased strength or, at least, a difficulty in sustaining his strength and energy.  He is making much progress, but it will take time.  Junior high age boys are not known for their patience, so this process is a struggle for Michael.  We are praying that over the summer he will be able to rebuild to the point that when he begins the school year this fall, he will be as "normal" as possible.

Perfect Attendance?

(My computer has been gone the last few weeks for some "mystery" repairs, so I apologize for simply disappearing for a little while.)

After we returned from our mini-vacation, Kristen and then Timothy both developed sudden fevers which left them miserable and drained for a couple of days.  The fever and a sore throat were their only symptoms, and by the time I decided to call the pediatrician, they felt better.  The episode was a minor blip on the typical health radar; however, I spent quite a bit of time praying that whatever they had would not affect Michael.  The next days passed, and Michael was and continues to be fine!

The school report cards for the year arrived, and we celebrated each child's work and accomplishments.  I was proud of their grades, but what struck me most was that Katherine and Jeffrey had perfect attendance.  Timothy missed only three days of school; each of those days was spent at the hospital for testing or the transplant. No one, NO ONE, had been sick all year long. 

How had I missed that?  Until Kristen's and Timothy's fevers, we had not had a sick child for almost an entire year? My five very friendly, active, involved children had not caught even one bug from any of their dozens of classmates and friends?  During a year when Michael's immune system was so seriously compromised, his family stayed perfectly healthy?  OK, I'm belaboring the point . . . What an amazing answer to prayers!

Those Perfect Attendance certificates are extra special this year.

"Over the river and through the woods . . ."

Yes, to grandmother's house we went.  Michael was given permission to leave town for a "vacation,"  so we went to visit out-of-town relatives for a week.  We divided our time in Iowa between my parents' home and my sister's family's home.  It was a wonderful time of relaxing, nephews/cousins' birthday parties, meeting our newest nephew/cousin from AZ, cookouts (with s'mores!), backyard swimming, too many indoor and outdoor games to even count, a beach picnic, and lots of visiting and other fun activities.

While we stayed at both homes, we were able to meet or renew acquaintance with several sweet friends who have faithfully prayed for Michael and encouraged him from afar.  We were again reminded of what a true blessing so many of you have been.

It was hard for all of us to believe that the last time we left town was over Memorial Day weekend last year.  What a long, wonderful, exciting year it's been!