Hello? Is this thing on?

Hello-lo-lo-lo. Anyone out there? It's been a while...

Some were subtle, others less so, but I got the hints. Sorry for the lapse in updates. I do appreciate that you're interested and supportive of Hayden's battle so I apologize. Part of the reason is that...there's so damn much, I don't know where to start.

California was a blast! We started in Palm Desert (near Palm Springs), where we mostly just hung out poolside for 4 days. It was also a US long weekend so there were lots of families at the resort - Hayden played with new-found friends and mom and dad drank margaritas. Very relaxing. Unlike H's wish trip, where we stayed at a resort for kids fighting life-threatening illnesses, no one here knew about, talked about, or even thought about cancer. Hayden looked like any other carefree child. In fact, we forgot about it too...until Hayden barthed and spiked a fever (doh!). No worries, though, a quick call to an oncologist back home put our fears to rest and we all carried on. There was one other episode when an older girl asked Hayden about the round lump in his chest (Iron Man port)...he casually replied it was for cancer medicine and swam on while her fully-open mouth collected pool water.


Hayden and his friends in the pool (Palm Desert).


Hayden coming down the water slide (Palm Desert).

Then, we drove to La Jolla (near San Diego) where I attended a conference and the boys played tourist. The very first order of business, though, was LegoLand. Hayden is a big Star Wars lego fan so he really enjoyed this day. It is pretty amazing what they can do with lego!


Hayden and Lego Chewie



Bionicle blade


Oh yes they did do Indiana Jones in lego


Batman and Hayden (Robin who?)


The Las LegoLand strip


More stuff to pack

You can't tell from these pics but, man, does this boy have curls now. Even people who didn't know he had straight hair at one time will comment on his locks. I must say, he looks very healthy with a full head of hair, a bit of meat on his bones, and a tan.

We also hit the San Diego Zoo and the boys drove up to Knott's Berry Farm to get their coaster fix. Hayden was feeling well through nearly all of it, but he got sick again in the Denver airport on the way home. For most kids, this would be a traumatic experience, but it ain't his first rodeo. We just quietly left the restaurant and slipped around a pillar where there was a garbage can. Ten minutes later he was eating lunch and playing DS. No problem.

We returned on a Sunday and got right back to business with a blood test and dr. appointment on Tuesday and a spinal on Wednesday. Plus he started his monthly 5-day pulse of steroids. Welcome home! One of his chemo meds was increased to 75% so we're keeping an eye on those counts. His neutrophils were at .62 last week. It's low but he had a bit of a cold so we'll see what happens next Tuesday.

And, in closing, a Hayden story:
I was making his lunch one morning - just finished cutting the green tops off the strawberries. I didn't even notice that he was shooting imaginary lasers at me from the other side of the island (pi-choo, pi-choo). I turned to put something away and he ducked, as though I was coming at him. As he cautiously peered over the top of the counter he said, 'I thought you were going to hit me with those crackers'. I grabbed the first thing I saw and replied, 'No, but I could get you with this strawberry'. 'Oh yeah', says my little boy, 'then I'll get the whoopin' cream!'

Now, I've been taking this he-looks-just-like-his-dad crap for 8 years so when he clearly displays traits from his mama...well, I just gotta laugh.