Friday, September 19, 2008

7 months to go!!

Brendon has 7 more months of chemotherapy! It's hard to believe. It seems like it has gone by so fast and yet so slow at times. Thank you all for the support, prayers and thoughts. We are truly blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives.

We are sad to say that Savannah Hurley passed away on August 8th. We were unable to attend the funeral. It was very hard to tell Brendon that she passed away. He understands that she is in a better place now and is no longer in pain, but it's hard for him to understand why the doctor's couldn't cure her. We had a long discussion about the different types of cancer and how tough some of them are to treat. It's hard for me to understand it so I don't expect him to understand. He's even more determined to find a cure for cancer now.

Brendon has been doing well. Last month we had a few scares and illnesses, but thankfully it wasn't anything too horrible. He had a fever of 101.5 last month which meant a late night trip to the ER to have his blood drawn and a dose of antibiotics. All the results came back fine. His blood counts were great and his strep throat test came back negative. It was just a virus and he seemed to be doing much better the next morning. He's been battling something on and off for about a month now and no one is really sure what it is. His voice has been really hoarse, he's been coughing and blowing his nose a lot. He did go to the doctor for a chest x-ray and some more labs to rule out pneumonia or bronchitis. They all looked normal, which was great. It might just be allergies. It seems to be the time for them..

This summer flew by! Brendon is doing very well in school. He's a 5th grader now and he's loving it. He's decided to join the band and learn to play the drums. He's always wanted to play them, so I guess now is a good time. He's also on the student council, which he is very excited about.


We went to Funtown with Andy's work before school started and had a blast. Brendon really loves Dragon's Descent and this year he was able to talk his dad into going on. The first time Bren and I went on it was a few years ago and I screamed like a little girl. Brendon cried when we were at the top and I was trying to calm both of us down (while trying really hard not to swear and tramatize the kids next to us..). When it dropped us I thought I was going to die. It was scary, but awesome! Brendon LOVED it once he went through the entire thing. Now he's hooked on it. Andy really liked it and he's not a ride kind of guy. Here's a picture of Bren and Andy on the big swings.
Brendon and I went to see the Blue Angels with Make-A-Wish at the beginning of this month. It was so great! He got to skip school and I got to skip work for the day. We had great seats and the weather was gorgeous! They had Megasaurus (which is like a fire breathing-transformer-tank kind of thing) which was pretty cool. Brendon and all of the other Wish kids got to meet the Blue Angels after the show. Those men are so amazing. They were so polite and kind to all of the kids. The kids were able to get autographs and then pose for pictures with the pilots. It was a lot of fun.
We also went to York's Wild Kingdom with the Maine Children's Cancer Program. It was so much fun. We had never been there before. Brendon went on a paddle boat for the first time. He thought it was really cool, although he had issues with steering it.. Thankfully there were not a lot of people around us when we got stuck in the corner.. :) Here are some pictures from York's Wild Kingdom.



Behind Brendon's Grandparent's house in Buckfield there were a ton of wild blackberries. Andy and I went away for our anniversary the last week of August so Brendon stayed with Andy's parents. When we got to the house to pick him up he was picking blackberries with his Grampa and his Great Aunt Esther and Great Uncle Billy. When he got back this is what he looked like...

Cute, huh? They had fun.

Last weekend Brendon's home health nurse got married on Peak's Island and we were invited. Unfortunately we missed the ferry and Bren wasn't feeling good. He had a nasty cough and I think it all worked out for the best because he really wouldn't have been able to enjoy himself. We are all bummed that we missed it. Congratulations Mel and George!

I'd like to end with a funny story about what happened after Brendon and I went to York's Wild Animal Kingdom with the Maine Children's Cancer Program. While we were there Bren was using his money (which was in his wallet) to pay for games and other small things that he wanted to do. When we got home that night he was looking in his wallet and realized that his hunting license was gone. He asked me if I had it, which I didn't. We went through the standard "Where's the last place you had it?", "Are you sure you brought it with you?", etc.. He finally said that he thought it fell out at York's Wild Kingdom. He was extremely upset because this is his first year hunting and his dad told him to make sure he hangs on to his license. I told him that we would call Andy (he was at work) to ask if it could just be reprinted. He said (and I quote), "Mom, the worst part is is that my license has all of my information on it. You know, my address, my name and my date of birth. All that security stuff. What about my identity?"... I tried so hard not to laugh because honestly, what 10 year old worries about identity theft?? I told him that he is 10 and that I didn't think anyone would steal his identity. It was a classic moment. I'm still laughing about it as I type! He's so funny. Turns out we can just re-print it so all is well. Now I'll just have to check his credit reports for fraud! :)

Take care everyone!

Much Love,
~Amber