Hold up!

That's what he said...Dr. Stoffman, that is. He took one look at the results of Hayden's blood test and put a stop order on his chemo. The good news is that he gets a brief reprieve from the pills that must be taken on an empty stomach (not easy these days). That bad news is that he's, once again, neutropenic (low neutrophil count = compromised immune system). I'd like to say that he gets a reprieve from all pills but he started his 5-day stretch of steroids today. With that comes increased appetite and mood swings. Funny thing though, his appetite didn't go back to normal after last month's 5-day stretch so this should be interesting. As Tom says, 'He's got some butter on him.'

Not a great week for academics either. Hayden missed school on Monday because he wasn't feeling well. He had a clinic appointment this morning and a field trip this afternoon. Then, on Thursday, he'll likely miss some school to shoot a fund-raising video for the Rainbow Society (tried to plan it during lunch...we'll see). We're also helping out with the Children's Hospital radiothon. Lots going on...

Hayden's enjoying his skating lessons and still pumped to play hockey this Fall. He's never had a stick on the ice though, so we enrolled him in a summer hockey camp. Plus, he's still doing tae-kwon-do twice a week. All in all, things are good. Even though we are having troubles dialing-in his chemo doses, we are very grateful to have an active, happy kid.

To borrow a line from Monsters Inc...

Hayden was in the zone today...put up some big numbers.

1.3 to be exact. His neutrophil count is right in the middle of the optimal range (1 - 1.5) so there's no change to his chemo doses. To officially acknowledge his immune system's resurgence, we went to Toys 'r Us to spend a gift card that was burning a hole in his pocket. It was kind of cute...when he talked to his grandma on the phone she asked why he went shopping. He simply replied, "Because I can."

This is our month to skip the lumbar puncture so no PDU appointment until May. Our next clinic visit is April 20.

Tomorrow's a big day - he starts skating lessons. Yep, one step closer to the NHL.

A sure sign of spring

Christa is once again training hard for the Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon in Hayden's honour (benefits the Canadian Cancer Society). Pretty impressive, huh? I should add that she also has a full-time career and is a full-time wife and mom...and a great friend. And she's already surpassed last year's fundraising efforts and is on her way to raising the bar, once again. Go Christa!

If you'd like to sponsor Christa, you can make a tax-deductible donation here:
https://www.runningroom.com/dashboard/donations/index.php?raceId=4980&eventId=16577&memberId=VTVXYQ5iVjhWOQQwAz0%3D&item=8&guest=1.

Good luck with your training, Christa! Hope the wind's at your back.

Here's a pic from last year's marathon...remember this kid?

Well, look at him now...

Hayden with Olympic fever


Looking forward to spring break this week and no appointments...hope Grandma's ready for the steroid boy (heheheh).

Blood, chess, and years

Busy times...it started with an 8:30 a.m. blood test at the CancerCare Clinic, followed by an appointment with Dr. Stoffman. Hayden's neutrophil count is still on the low side at .77 but, seeing as it's slowly climbing, we're staying the course on his chemo doses.

From there we blasted over to St. George school where Hayden slid into a seat just in time for the first chess game. There was a row of local celebrities - he played a cop and lost. After that, he went on to win 12 games. I gotta say, it's very cool to see a gym packed with that many elementary-school-aged kids...sitting...quietly...thinking. Whoa.

Tomorrow is Hayden's monthly spinal, followed by 5 days of steroids. It's also the day of his belt test for tae kwon do. And one other thing...tomorrow he is exactly 2 years away from being chemo free. March 24, 2012. That's it. We're done.

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.

1.17

Woo hoo! Hayden's neutrophil count hit the optimal range. Good timing too because we are preparing for a trip to sunny California. Legoland here we come!

Get a haircut

First cut for the fresh-from-the-brain hair is this week. Wonder if those crazy curls will stick around?

No clinic today. Hayden's blood counts are likely up, due to the 5-day pulse of steroids he just finished, so it wouldn't be a true test. We'll give it another week and see where he's at.

Hayden's keeping busy with tae-kwon-do twice a week, archery on Saturdays (1 class left), and we usually do public skating on Sundays. He's been out on the snow scoot a few times and loves it. Good times, indeed.