Guitar Hero, Relay for Life, Walk for Wishes and updates...

Well, here it is... an update! There are so many things to talk about!

Brendon continues to do well. He is just getting over the flu that has been going around, but other than that he's been doing great! He has discovered Guitar Hero. He played it for the first time at the clinic last month (they have new flat screen tvs and XBox 360's in all of the rooms now.. very cool!!) and he's been hooked. He has a knack for it. It's pretty funny to watch him play it. He told me not to post this video on the webpage, but I had to. It's too funny not to!!

And here's a picture of Danny and Bren playing it at the house. Danny is playing with the guitar behind his back. Very official!!

We have been keeping busy with school, work, going to various doctors, dentist and orthodontist appointments and all of the other normal day to day activities. Yes, it's true.. Bren is getting braces. We had started the process before his diagnosis, but it was put on hold until his immune system was better. He is in a good place now. He is getting the separators, expander and brackets on his front 6 teeth next month. He had to have 2 baby teeth removed last week. That went very well. No issues at all, very quick and painless. Thank goodness for Novocaine!

Easter was nice. We all went to Belfast Saturday night and spent the night at a friend's condo. It was good to be away for the night. My brother Tommy met us there Sunday and we had an Easter egg hunt for Bren and went out to dinner. It was relaxing. This is Bren standing on a hill in Belfast looking tough on Easter!

And here is Bren and his Uncle Tommy. So handsome!

Brendon had his chemo today and it went well. He was given the framed pictures that were displayed at the Children's Museum of Andy and of Bren. They are beautiful! He is so proud of them. He couldn't wait to show the family.

We were asked to speak at a meeting at Central Maine Medical Center tonight for teachers regarding children with cancer and how it is for them to adjust to being back in school. It was a great experience for Brendon and I (Andy had to work). Brendon was a little nervous to talk in front of everyone, but he did great. I did most of the talking (imagine that, huh??), but he answered the questions and was so cute. We spoke about how we found out about Bren's cancer and how it was for him when he went back to school. It was nice to be able to talk about our experience and hopefully help teachers understand the child's point of view. Everyone was so nice and we both left feeling great. Brendon kept talking about how nice everyone was and how much fun he had. I think he might have a career in public speaking ahead of him :) Thanks to Cindy at MCCP for thinking of us and inviting us. You know we love you!!

We all are participating in a Relay For Life event on June 20th in Farmingdale (close to Augusta) with people from my work. I'm still working on the details for this event, but I'll let everyone know when a page is set up for us. I've heard that this is an amazing event and we are pretty excited about it.

And finally, Brendon, Andy and I are organizing a team for the Make-A-Wish Walk for Wishes in May. The walk is May 29th at 6pm. We are trying to raise $6,000. Seems like a lot, huh? Well that is approximately how much it takes to grant one wish. Brendon really wants to raise enough money to help another child have his/her wish granted. He is pumped for this walk! We are asking for donations. Anyone who knows us knows that we are not the fundraiser type. I am not a big fan of asking people for money. However, this is for a cause that is very near and dear to our hearts. We can not say enough good things about Make-a-Wish. Our trip was so much fun and such a welcome break from the stress of chemotherapy and life with cancer! If anyone is interested in donating, please follow this link for more information.

http://mainewish.kintera.org/maywalk/brendonstroops

If you would rather not donate online, you can mail a check made out to "Make-A-Wish" to us at:

The Dunn Family

408 Pleasant Street

Lewiston, ME 04240

Please forward this to as many people as you feel you can. We would appreciate it so much! I know that things are tight for a lot of people right now, but even a donation of $1 would help.

That's pretty much it for tonight. I'm sure there is a lot that I left out, but it's getting late and I'm pretty tired. I will try to update more often, but please know that no news is usually good news! Brendon will be going for some scans next month just to make sure everything is still good. Next month will be the one year mark! Halfway there!!

Take care! *Amber*